Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day Highlights: Macy's, Genworth Financial, McGraw-Hill Companies, Broadcom and NetLogic Microsystem
CHICAGO, Sept. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks Equity Research highlights Macy's, Inc. (NYSE: M) as the Bull of the Day and Genworth Financial (NYSE: GNW) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), Broadcom (Nasdaq: BRCM) and NetLogic Microsystem (NASDAQ: NETL).
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101027/ZIRLOGO)
Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2678.
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
Macy's, Inc. (NYSE: M) has been taking prudent steps to increase sales, profitability and cash flows, which include integration of operations, consolidation of divisions and customer-centric localization initiatives. To help drive traffic, Macy's continues to focus on price optimization, inventory management and merchandise planning.
These helped the company to deliver better-than-expected second-quarter 2011 results. The quarterly earnings of $0.55 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.47, and jumped 57.1% from the prior-year quarter.
Following this management raised its outlook. Macy's now expects fiscal 2011 earnings between $2.60 and $2.65 per share. The company hinted that it is also seeking to expand both the Macy's and Bloomingdale's brands.
Genworth Financial's (NYSE: GNW) second quarter operating loss wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate loss. A substantially higher year-over-year loss at the U.S. Mortgage Insurance segment, partially offset by better results at Retirement & Protection and at International, resulted in the company's soft performance. We expect mortgage insurance business to remain pressured.
Additionally, improvements in its other business lines are expected to be slow, given the economy's sluggish recovery. Our six-month target price of $5.25 equates to 10.5x our earnings estimate for 2011, implies a negative return of about 9.8% over that period. This is consistent with our Underperform recommendation on the shares.
Additionally, the quantitative Zacks Rank for Genworth is currently #5 (Strong Sell), indicating downward pressure on the shares over the near term. Short interest is currently 1.2 days.
Latest Posts on the Zacks Analyst Blog:
Greek Default Fears All Over Again
What is new on the Greece front? For starters, they are running out of cash to pay their bills. And they may not be able to get the next tranche of funds from the European bailout fund given their inability to put in place previously agreed-to measures. It is unclear at this stage whether it is a high-stakes poker game between the Greeks and Europeans (read: Germans) or something real. But it has nevertheless renewed default fears. And those fears are putting a spotlight on a number of French and other European banks that have exposure to Greek debt.
The resignation of a senior European Central Bank official on Friday and the lack of direction from the G-7 meeting over the weekend add to the feeling of policy paralysis over the Greek situation. All of this is pushing up the yields on Italian and Spanish government bonds and pressuring down the exchange value of the common currency. Given this uncertain backdrop, it is no surprise that the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond and the price of gold are in record territory.
In corporate news, McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) announced its decision to split itself into two separate public companies focused on the education and markets businesses. The company is also accelerating its $2 billion stock buyback program and is committing to repurchase $1 billion by the end of 2011. In major M&A news, Broadcom (Nasdaq: BRCM) is acquiring NetLogic Microsystem (Nasdaq: NETL) for $3.7 billion that will strengthen the company's position in offering integrated communications and processing platforms.
Get the full analysis of all these stocks by going to http://at.zacks.com/?id=2649.
About the Bull and Bear of the Day
Every day, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research select two stocks that are likely to outperform (Bull) or underperform (Bear) the markets over the next 3-6 months.
About the Analyst Blog
Updated throughout every trading day, the Analyst Blog provides analysis from Zacks Equity Research about the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets.
About Zacks Equity Research
Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.
Continuous analyst coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.
Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today by visiting http://at.zacks.com/?id=7158.
About Zacks
Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Leonard Zacks. As a PhD from MIT Len knew he could find patterns in stock market data that would lead to superior investment results. Amongst his many accomplishments was the formation of his proprietary stock picking system; the Zacks Rank, which continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment
Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros at http://at.zacks.com/?id=4582.
Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/zacksresearch
Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts
Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should always research companies and securities before making any investments. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security.
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
[email protected]
http://www.zacks.com
SOURCE Zacks Investment Research, Inc.
Share this article