Zacks Sell List Highlights: True Religion Apparel, Coca-Cola HBC S.A. (ADR), J&J Snack Foods and Life Time Fitness

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Feb 24, 2011, 09:30 ET

CHICAGO, Feb. 24, 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): True Religion Apparel, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRLG) and Coca-Cola HBC S.A. (ADR) (NYSE: CCH). Further, Zacks announced #4 Rankings (Sell) on two other widely held stocks: J&J Snack Foods Corp. (Nasdaq: JJSF) and Life Time Fitness, Inc. (NYSE: LTM). To see the full Zacks #5 Rank List - Stocks to Sell Now visit: http://at.zacks.com/?id=92

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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 TRLG and CCH 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:

True Religion Apparel, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRLG) posted a fourth-quarter profit of 48 cents per share Feb 24 while analysts projected a profit of 58 cents. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for December 2010 is pegged at a profit of $1.84 per share, a decline of a penny in the last 7days. The past month has seen downward revision by one analyst out of 6, bringing the average forecast for 2011 down 2 cents to $2.02 per share.

Coca-Cola HBC S.A. (ADR) (NYSE: CCH) announced a fourth-quarter profit of 83 cents per share on Feb 9. Analysts had expected the company to report a profit of 84 cents. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the full year decreased 5 cents to $1.64 per share over the past couple of months.

Here is a synopsis of why JJSF and LTM 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;

J&J Snack Foods Corp. (Nasdaq: JJSF) reported first-quarter earnings per share of 38 cents on Jan 20, which came in 2 cents shy of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The full-year average forecast dipped 10 cents to $2.63 per share in the last 60 days as the covering analysts lowered expectations. Next year's estimate dropped 9 cents to $2.86 per share in the same time span.

Life Time Fitness, Inc.'s (NYSE: LTM) fourth-quarter earnings of 43 cents per share, announced on Feb 17, lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7 cents. The diluted earnings per share fell by nearly 7% on a year-over-year basis. The average forecast for 2011 decreased 2 cents to a profit of $2.31 per share in the last 7 days as 5 out of the 7 covering analysts cut back on expectations. During that time period, the following year's estimate moved down 5 cents to $2.75 per share.

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 at http://at.zacks.com/?id=93

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.

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