Stepan Company (SCL) continues to outperform, seeing a higher share price than that of about 3 weeks ago when it was last featured as a Growth and Income pick. The stock outpaced the market by approximately 15% during those 3 weeks. The company also boasts strong fundamentals, including a ROE of 19%.

Forecasts Remain Bullish

Analysts polled by Zacks are calling for third-quarter earnings of $1.12 per share, up from 54 cents over the past 60 days. Results for the third quarter are scheduled to be released in late October.

The full-year Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.76 per share was increased from $2.77 over the past 2 months.

Earnings per share are expected to grow 15% over the next 3 - 5 years, versus an industry average of 10%.

Strong Fundamental Comparisons

The company's return on equity (ROE) of 19% tops the industry average of 12%. Stepan's net profit margin of 4%

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Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #1 Rank ("strong buy") List today:

The Bancorp Inc (TBBK) Barnes & Noble Inc (BKS) Bway Holding Co (BWY) EV Energy Partners LP (EVEP) Forestar Group Inc (FOR) Given Imaging Ltd (GIVN) Guess Inc (GES) Orbitz Worldwide Inc (OWW) Palomar Medical Technologies Inc (PMTI) Polo Ralph Lauren Corp (RL) Quanex Building Products Corp (NX) Rodman & Renshaw Capital Group Inc (RODM) Royal Gold Inc (RGLD) A. Schulman Inc (SHLM) Steak n Shake Co (SNS) Stone Energy Corp (...

Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST) recently announced second-quarter earnings of 82 cents per share, eclipsing the previous year's 54 cents and matching the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Sales jumped 8% year-over-year, while comparable store sales improved by 3%.

Management said the company's ability to deliver compelling bargains, while operating on much lower inventories, remains the primary driver of the strong results, adding that the best performing merchandise categories during the second quarter and year to date periods were Dresses and Shoes, while the strongest regions were the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.

Shares spiked 4% on ROSS' record quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate Jumps on Strong Results

Ross hiked its earnings guidance and Zacks analysts followed suit. Ross sees full-year earnings ranging between $3.00 to $3.12 per share.

The full-year Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.08 per share is up 8 cents in just the past week.

For the following year, analysts polled by Zacks are calling for earnings of

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When you invest in a stock, one of the best things you can see is analysts raising their expectations about what the company is going to earn for the current fiscal year. There are several ways of measuring this, but the following is a list of the companies with the biggest increases in their consensus earnings expectations for this year over the last month.

To make the list, a company had to have a current mean (average) estimate of over 50 cents, be a member of the S&P 500 and have at least three estimates for this year. The 50-cent restriction was put in to prevent small dollar changes that are huge percentage moves from dominating the list (going from a penny expected to a nickel). Having 3 or more estimates also helps insure it was not a fluke. The S&P 500 restriction was put in to make sure we

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Corn Products International, Inc. (CPO) has had a few tough quarters since I last wrote about it in December 2008.

The company, the largest producer of dextrose in the world and manufactures starches, high fructose corn syrups and glucose, reported second quarter results on July 28, however, that surprised on estimates by 9.68%.

Earnings per share were 34 cents down from 90 cents in the year ago period. The Zacks Consensus Estimate called for 31 cents.

Sales were down 11% to $912 million compared to $1.03 billion in the year ago period. The results were impacted by higher net corn costs, negative foreign currency translations and lower volumes. Net corn costs per ton rose 41% primarily due to lower corn oil prices. Helping the bottom line was the decline in energy costs, which fell 7% from a year ago.

Guidance Reaffirmed

The company is anticipating a stronger

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 7, 2009 – Four free stock picks are being made available today on Zacks.com. The industry’s leading independent research firm highlights one Zacks #1 Rank Strong Buy or a Zacks #2 Rank Buy stock for each of the four main styles of investing: Aggressive Growth, Growth & Income, Momentum, and Value.

The four highlighted picks are: Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc. (HGR), Lubrizol Corp. (LZ), Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NWL) and Corning Inc. (GLW).      Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Four daily picks are offered free at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5607

Zacks #1 Rank Stocks have nearly tripled the S&P 500 since 1988, producing an average annual return of +26%. Performance has been notable even during volatile and down times. For example, during the last bear market, 2000-2002, the market tumbled -37.6% – but Zacks #1 Rank stocks gained +43.8%.

Here is a

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Corning Inc. (GLW) reported second-quarter results before the bell this morning. The numbers were down from last year, but still ahead of expectations. Earnings came in at 39 cents per share, 8 cents better than the consensus. Revenues were down 18% from last year to $1.4 billion, as sales in its largest segment, display technologies, fell 17% to $673 million. Corning did record solid sales growth in its telecommunications segment, up 14% to $437 million, on strong demand for its optical fiber and cable in China. CFO James Flaws provided some texture to the company's results, saying, "The resurgent demand for LCD glass is propelling us to restore much of our previously idled production capacity as quickly as possible to meet our customers’ needs." Looking forward, Flaws added, "As we enter the second half of the year, we are seeing signs that the impact of the ...

AMGN, Amgen Inc.

GLW, Corning Inc.

HRAL, HearAtLast Holdings Inc, HRAL.PK

DrStockPick Watch List!

DrStockPick Watch List! for Monday July 27, 2009

 

My Picks for Monday July 27, 2009 are:

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AMGN, Amgen Inc.

AMGN is a leading human therapeutics company in the biotechnology industry. For more than 25 years, the company has tapped the power of scientific discovery and innovation to advance the practice of medicine.

AMGN pioneered the development of novel products based on advances in recombinant DNA and molecular biology and launched the biotechnology industry’s first blockbuster medicines. Today, as a Fortune 500 company serving millions of patients, Amgen continues to

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Corning Inc. (GLW) rose almost 5% on lower-than-usual volume of 12.5 million shares, versus the average of 14.3 million.

Corning announced first-quarter earnings of 10 cents per share in April, topping the consensus by an average of 67%.

The current-year consensus estimate for this Zacks #2 Rank ("Buy") company advanced 9.4% to 93 cents per share from 85 cents a month ago, as 7 out of 17 covering analysts revised upward.

"GLW" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?Zacks Investment Research

Corning Inc.'s (GLW) MACD indicator has moved into bullish territory with a reading of 0.3028. The Zacks #2 Rank ("Buy") stock has advanced slightly to $15.72 in morning trade. Analysts have been raising their full-year earnings estimates, with the consensus up 3 cents over the past week to 92 cents per share. The most accurate estimate is even bullish at $1.02 per share.

"GLW" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?Zacks Investment Research