The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights:Unisys, Broadcom, Marvell Technology Group, Infosys and Big 5 Sporting Goods
CHICAGO, Jan. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include the Unisys Corporation (NYSE:UIS-Free Report), Broadcom Corp (Nasdaq:BRCM-Free Report), Marvell Technology Group Ltd (Nasdaq:MRVL-Free Report),Infosys Ltd (NYSE:INFY-Free Report) and Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. (Nasdaq:BGFV-Free Report).
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Here are highlights from Tuesday's Analyst Blog:
Unisys Gets World Cup Contract
Unisys Brazil, the regional counterpart of Unisys Corporation (NYSE:UIS-Free Report), along with a few other local companies, received a $110 million contract from the Extraordinary Security Department for Large scale Events (SESGE) to provide mission-critical infrastructure solutions for the 12 Brazilian cities that will host the 2014 FIFA World Cup. SESGE is a part of the Brazilian Ministry of Justice.
The consortium will be responsible for providing IT systems, services and infrastructure for 13 integrated command and control centers (CICCs) that will be set up in different cities. The CICCs will manage and monitor communications among public security agencies such as the military, civil and federal police departments, civil defense and fire brigade.
The members of the consortium will also be responsible for event-related applications, information processing, storage and desktop updates. Unisys aims to apply state-of-the-art technologies in order to make the event a great success for soccer fans across the globe.
Based in Blue Bell, PA., Unisys specializes in helping clients to secure their operations, enhance utilization and efficiency of their data centers, strengthen support to their end users and constituents and modernize their enterprise applications. The primary markets that Unisys serves include the commercial and public sector including the U.S. federal government, financial services, communication and transportation.
Unisys is currently focused on building specialized industry skills and resources required to win industry-specific project opportunities. The company is investing heavily in developing a team dedicated to pursue growth opportunities for application-managed services, both for its existing and new clients.
Unisys currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Other stocks that look promising and are worth considering include Broadcom Corp (Nasdaq:BRCM-Free Report), which carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and Marvell Technology Group Ltd (Nasdaq:MRVL-Free Report) andInfosys Ltd (NYSE:INFY-Free Report) which carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each.
Big 5 Holiday Sales Up, Outlook Revised
Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. (Nasdaq:BGFV-Free Report) announced favorable sales results for the fourth quarter and full-year 2013. The company also revised its earnings outlook for the same period.
Net sales for the quarter rose 1.8% to $248.0 million from $243.6 million last year. However, comparable store sales (comps) slipped 0.5% compared to the prior-year quarter and also came below the previous guidance of lower single-digit growth. Last year, the company posted a 6.5% increase in comps for the fourth quarter.
In the apparel segment comps rose in the lower double-digit range but showed a marginal improvement in the footwear segment. Also, sales in the hardgoods segment declined in the mid-single digits due to soft demand for firearm and ammunition products, which was the main driver of comps in the last quarter. Comps also decreased owing to unfavorable weather condition in the Western market zone.
However, the company's merchandise margins for the quarter expanded by 47 basis points (bps). Big 5's continued focus on improvising product margins and effective cost management have been quite impressive, enabling the company to deliver healthy results.
Big 5 reported net sales of $993.3 million for fiscal 2013, which rose 5.6% from $940.5 million year over year. Further, comps for the year increased 3.9%.
Given the sales results, the athletic goods retailer revised its earnings outlook. The company now envisions earnings in the band of 21-23 cents per share in its fourth quarter, which is narrower than the previous guidance of 20-28 cents per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter currently stands at 25 cents a share, slightly above the company's current prediction.
For fiscal 2013, Big 5 anticipates earnings to range from $1.24-$1.26 a share, below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.32 per share.
Though the holiday season has been a tough one for many retailers because of the competitive promotional environment, Big 5 faced the challenges well and is favorably positioned to deliver another sturdy quarter, backed by healthy product margins and cost containment efforts. Currently, this California-based company holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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