Apogee, Actuant, Allied World Assurance,Alleghany andHCI Group highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
CHICAGO, Oct. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks Equity Research highlights Apogee (Nasdaq:APOG-Free Report) as the Bull of the Day and Actuant (NYSE:ATU-Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis onAllied World Assurance Company Holdings, AG (NYSE:AWH-Free Report), Alleghany Corp. (NYSE:Y-Free Report) and HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI-Free Report).
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
Apogee (Nasdaq:APOG-Free Report) recently posted a solid earnings report, but that was after a string of reports that either missed or just met the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The recent big beat has propelled the Zacks Rank higher and today it is the Bull of the Day.
Prior to a recent strong beat, APOG had 6 straight quarters that consisted of two meets and four misses. That is a lot of negativity being built in to the name. The hardest part of the story is that it started with two misses, then two meets and then two more misses. The "faith gap" was pretty large indeed.
The most recent earnings report was a solid beat. The August 2014 quarter was reported on 9/16 with the company reporting earnings of $0.35, fully $0.08 more than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.27. that translates to a positive earnings surprise of 29%. Not to be lost in the impressive bottom line performance was a super strong topline performance. Revenues came in at $232M vs the $213M estimate, a $19M beat or about 9% higher than expected.
Apogee designs and develops glass solutions for enclosing commercial buildings and framing art primarily in the United States, Canada, and Brazil. Apogee was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Over the last several months, we have seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for APOG basically hold still at $1.45. This was the case even as the company missed two quarters! Following the most recent report, the Zacks Consensus Estimate kicked higher to $1.50. Now that nickel doesn't seem like a lot, but keep in mind it is the first beat in 6 quarters, so don't fault the analysts for not going hog wild on their models.
The 2015 Zacks Consensus Estimate has held perfectly still at $2.15 for the entire year. It is very likely that there is only one estimate in the system, so look for more action from this number in the coming months.
Actuant (NYSE:ATU-Free Report) is a fresh trading vehicle having been spun from Time Warner in June of this year. They were able to produce a solid beat in their first public report, but analysts have had a hard time getting their arms around earnings estimates for the stock. A big swing lower in estimates has made this stock a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), and it is the Bear of the Day.
Actuant Corporation makes a range of industrial products and systems worldwide. It operates in three segments: Industrial, Energy, and Engineered Solutions. This segment primarily markets directly to OEMs through a technical sales organization. The company was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.
The last seven quarters has seen one beat, one meet and four misses of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. That is not what investors want to see.
The most recent report that sent this stock to a Zack Rank #5 (Strong Sell) had the company coming in $0.05 light of the Zacks Consensus Estimate for a negative earnings surprise of 9.6%.
Estimates for ATU have been falling for some time now. The 2014 Zacks Consensus Estimate stood at $2.27 as of May of this year, but then kicked lower to $2.24 in June. The number stayed put through September, but then was hit hard after the most recent miss. The 2014 Zacks Consensus Estimate is now at $2.09.
Additional content:
Consider Adding Allied World to Your Portfolio
On Oct 21, 2014, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, AG (NYSE:AWH-Free Report) to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Why the Upgrade?
Allied World has been witnessing rising earnings estimates on the back of a number of positive tidings at the company, which include investment in the real estate market, product launches as well as mergers and acquisitions. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2014 increased 1.8% to $3.36 per share as an estimate was revised upward over the last 60 days.
Earlier this month, Allied World entered into an investment agreement with Blue Vista Capital Management LLC (Blue Vista), a real estate private equity firm. As per the deal, Allied World acquired a minority stake in the company and decided to provide growth capital for Blue Vista's real estate investment capital platform expansion.
This deal ushered Allied World into investing in the real estate sector and real estate asset management. This transaction is expected to prove beneficial for the company as it complements the existing asset management relationships of Allied World.
Moreover, in Aug 2014, the company inked a deal to acquire the Hong Kong and Singapore operations of Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance plc. for $215 million. This is in line with the company's strategy of increasing its scale of specialty insurance operations in the region.
Further, over the last two months, Allied World has launched two products that aid the company's portfolio expansion objectives. First, the company introduced its property line for energy risks catering to the Canadian market. However, the initial phase of the launch of the property and casualty coverages took place in May and this was the next step toward establishing a best-in-class P&C insurance in the Canadian market.
Moreover, Allied World of North America added a product to ForceField, which is a range of the company's professional liability products. The beneficiaries of the deal include the U.S.-based publicly traded companies, which will be insured from an extensive range of liability exposures. This launch definitely enhances the liability insurance portfolio, thereby making the company more competent to serve clients.
All the aforementioned developments drove bullish sentiment on the stock and pulled up share prices by 3.9% over the last two months to close at $37.77 in the last trading session.
Other Stocks to Consider
Investors interested in the property and casualty insurance industry could also consider stocks like Alleghany Corp. (NYSE:Y-Free Report) and HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI-Free Report), which carry the same Zacks Rank as Allied World.
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