Athlon Energy, Isle of Capri Casinos, Bank of America, BlackRock and American International Group highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
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CHICAGO, Feb. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks Equity Research highlights Athlon Energy (NYSE:ATHL-Free Report) as the Bull of the Day and Isle of Capri Casinos (Nasdaq:ISLE-Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis onBank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC-Free Report), BlackRock Inc. (NYSE:BLK-Free Report) and American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG-Free Report).
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Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
Athlon Energy (NYSE:ATHL-Free Report) has a limited earnings history, but analysts have been moving estimates higher for this energy stock. As a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy), it is the Bull of the Day.
While North Dakota and the Bakken region have been getting most of the energy related press, there is another area that has also caught the eye of investors. The Permian Basin is an area of west Texas and New Mexico that is rich in oil, natural gas and even potassium salts (potash).
Texas has long been an energy hub, but with the brutally cold winter, the Bakken has been hampered in terms of production. The more advantageous climate for drilling has allowed ATHL to capitalize on the recent increase in the price of oil.
Athlon Energy, an exploration and production company that focuses on the acquisition and exploitation of unconventional oil and liquids-rich natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.
On November 11, the company reported earnings and they beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8 cents for a 50% positive earnings surprise. The company noted they would give guidance for 2014 early in the first quarter and we should expect a few more wells to be online.
Isle of Capri Casinos (Nasdaq:ISLE-Free Report) has been a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) since December 4, 2013 and today it is the Bear of the Day.
In looking back at ISLE's news feed, I came across very little about it besides a bunch of negative earnings surprises. While the stock has done very little over the last year, it is still up about 40%. This is partly due to a recent rumor that made the rounds.
In late January, the chatter was that ISLE was looking to sell itself. This caused the stock to move from $7.50 to the $9 range. Without that rumor the stock would have a return that aligns more closely to a stock that has missed several earnings reports.
Isle of Capri Casinos owns and operates 15 regional gaming facilities under the Isle and Lady Luck brands. Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. was founded in 1990 and is based in St. Louis, Missouri.
ISLE has missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in four of the last five quarters. In each of those quarters, the company also fell short of revenue expectations.
The misses have been big. The last three reports have negative earnings surprises of 183%, 266% and 33% respectively.
Additional content:
BofA ' s $8.5B Settlement Gets Final Court Nod
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC-Free Report) can now heave a sigh of relief as Justice Saliann Scarpulla has approved the bank's proposed settlement of $8.5 billion, which was put on hold for a long time. The settlement deals with the sale of faulty mortgage-backed securities by Countrywide Financial Corp. prior to the financial crisis.
The distressed mortgage lender was acquired by BofA in 2008. Thereafter, the company has been facing litigations associated with the acquired units.
In 2011, BofA had reached an agreement with investors to pay $8.5 billion for its legacy Countrywide mortgage repurchase and servicing claims. The group of investors included BlackRock Inc. (NYSE:BLK-Free Report) and American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG-Free Report), among others.
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