CHICAGO, Jan. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks Equity Research highlights Lions Gate (NYSE:LGF) as the Bull of the Day and American Greetings (NYSE:AM) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK), Lindsay Corporation (NYSE:LNN) and MRC Global Inc. (NYSE:MRC).
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Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2678.
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
Lions Gate (NYSE:LGF) is coming off a strong positive earnings surprise and is a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy).
Lions Gate makes motion pictures, television programming and syndication. The company operates through two segments, Motion Pictures and Television Production. The company distributes a library of approximately 13,000 motion picture titles, and produces and syndicates 19 television shows. Lions Gate was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California.
Lions topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the last three quarters. The March 2012 quarter saw the company post a beat of $0.03 or 16% ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Following this beat, the stock rose 3.2% in the session after the release.
The September 2012 quarter was the most recent report and the beat was nothing short of stunning. The company reported earnings per share of $0.53 when the Zacks Consensus Estimate called for $0.08. That means a beat of $0.45 or 562%! The stock traded higher by more than 10% in the trading session following the release.
American Greetings (NYSE:AM) is coming off a large negative earnings surprise and is a Zacks #5 Rank (Strong Sell).
American Greetings designs, manufactures and sells greeting cards and other social expression products in the United States and internationally. The company provides greeting cards, gift packaging products, party goods, stationery, giftware, and custom display fixtures. American Greetings was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.
The most recent quarter saw the company miss the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a large amount. The company reported a loss of $0.05 per share while the consensus estimate was calling for a gain of $0.48. That translates to a $0.53 miss or 110%. The stock fell 2% in the session following the release.
Latest Posts on the Zacks Analyst Blog:
Stanley Black & Decker Cut Down to Strong Sell
Zacks Investment Research downgraded Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK) to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) on January 26.
Why the Downgrade?
Jan 24, 2013 $5.58 $6.64Stanley Black & Decker reported a 12.3% year-over-year increase in its earnings, excluding one-time items in the quarter; settling at $1.37 per share. Results came to a cent above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.36. In 2012, earnings came in at $4.67, up 1.3% year over year but 5.1% below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.92. Revenue in the quarter improved 4.0% year over year while gross margins went up 30 basis points to 36.0%.
Leaving aside the financial results, it was the outlook for 2013 that drew a great deal of attention. For the first quarter 2013, earnings were estimated at 17.5% of full year earnings versus a historical range of 18% -19%. For 2013, earnings were guided in the range of $5.40-$5.65 per share.
Management anticipates that security and industrial markets in the United States would remain weak in 2013, offsetting slight gains expected from the housing market related recovery. Additionally, instability in the European markets, decline in industrial and security markets and flat construction market, are likely to impact the company's business in the region.
Headwinds are also expected from a higher tax rate, with a 20-30 cent impact on earnings, and escalating interest expense, roughly a 10 cent impact. All these along with trailing four quarters average negative earnings surprise of 4.3%, leaves us with Earnings ESP (Read: Zacks Earnings ESP: A Better Method) of -0.8% for the first quarter 2013, -0.2% for 2013 and -0.8% for 2013.
Other Stocks to Consider
Lindsay Corporation LNN MRC Global Inc. MRCGet the full analysis of all these stocks by going to http://at.zacks.com/?id=2649.
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