CHICAGO, April 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks.com releases details on a group of stocks that are currently members of the exclusive Zacks #5 Rank List – Stocks to Sell Now. These stocks are currently rated as a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell): Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE: PTP) and Mercury General Corporation (NYSE: MCY). Further, Zacks announced #4 Rankings (Sell) on two other widely held stocks: Owens-Illinois, Inc. (NYSE: OI) and Graham Packaging Company Inc (NYSE: GRM). See the full Zacks #5 Rank List - Stocks to Sell Now visit
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Since inception in 1988, the S&P 500 has outperformed the Zacks #5 Rank List of Stocks to Sell Now by 80% annually (+2% vs. +10%). While the rest of Wall Street continued to tout stocks during the market declines of the last few years, Zacks told investors which stocks to sell or avoid.
Here is a synopsis of why PTP and MCY have a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell) and should most likely be sold or avoided for the next one to three months. Note that a #5 Strong Sell rating is applied to 5% of all the stocks in the Zacks Rank universe:
Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE: PTP) announced fourth-quarter loss of 46 cents per share on Feb 8, that lagged analysts' expectations by nearly 167%. This was 99 cents lower than the earnings of December 2009. Total revenue decreased 26% to $212.69 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year slipped 48 cents to a loss of $1.28 per share in the last 7 days as all the 5 covering analysts reduced estimates. Next year's estimate dipped 22 cents to 31 cents per share in a span of 30 days.
Mercury General Corporation (NYSE: MCY) posted a fourth-quarter loss of 15 cents per share on Feb 7, which came in 85 cents wider than the average forecast. Total revenue for three months ended December 2010 fell 3.21% as compared to last year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the full year fell to a profit of 25 cents per share from $2.82 over the 60 days. Forecast for 2012, fell 23 cents in a span of a couple of a couple of months
Here is a synopsis of why OI and GRM have a Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) and should also most likely be sold or avoided for the next one to three months. Note that a #4 Sell rating is applied to 15% of all the stocks ranked by Zacks;
Owens-Illinois, Inc.'s (NYSE: OI) fourth-quarter earnings of 45 cents per share, announced on Jan 27, missed analysts' expectations by 4%. Revenues for the fourth quarter fell by nearly 50%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2011 dipped 18 cents to $2.87 per share over the past couple of months. The same period has seen a decline of 23 cents in the forecast for 2012, which now stands at $3.47 per share.
Graham Packaging Company Inc (NYSE: GRM) reported a fourth-quarter loss of 58 cents per share on Feb 10 that fell nearly 469% short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The full-year average forecast is currently $1.75 per share, compared with last week's projection for a profit of $1.73. During that time, 2 analysts out of 6 revised downward. Next year's forecast dropped 2 cents to $2.07 per share in the same period.
Truly taking advantage of the Zacks Rank requires the understanding of how it works. The free special report; "Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions" is available to provide this insightful background. Download a free copy now to prosper in the years to come.
About the Zacks Rank
Since 1988, the Zacks Rank has proven that "Earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices." Since inception in 1988, #1 Rank Stocks have generated an average annual return of +27%. During the 2000-2002 bear market, Zacks #1 Rank stocks gained +43.8%, while the S&P 500 tumbled -37.6%. Also note that the Zacks Rank system has just as many Strong Sell recommendations (Rank #5) as Strong Buy recommendations (Rank #1). Since 1988, Zacks Rank #5 stocks have significantly underperformed the S&P 500 (-0.9% versus +9%). Thus, the Zacks Rank system allows investors to truly manage portfolio trading effectively.
Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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