For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 3, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: CIT Group Inc. (CIT), Dean Foods (DF), Frontier Communications (FTR), Verizon Communications (VZ) and Time Warner Cable (TWC).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Monday’s AnalystBlog:

CIT Group Files Chapter 11

CIT Group Inc. (CIT) has filed for Chapter 11 protection on Sunday. The company struggled for months to avoid collapse since the recession elicited billions of dollars in loan losses, and the financial crisis made it incapable of funding itself from

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Dean Foods (DF) reported relatively strong third-quarter results with earnings of 34 cents per share. Quarterly earnings were up 21% year-over-year. Quarterly net sales declined 13.2% year over year to $2.7 billion due to the pass-through of lower overall dairy commodity costs, despite positive contributions from acquisitions and lower net sales volumes in the WhiteWave-Morningstar operations, which were partially offset by acquisition-related volume growth in Fresh Dairy Direct and WhiteWave-Morningstar. Net sales in the Fresh Dairy Direct segment declined 18.3% as the company passed some of the lower dairy costs to customers but were partially offset by continued volume growth. Raw milk prices were 45% lower compared to the prior-year. Net sales at WhiteWave-Morningstar increased 5.7% to $709 million, driven the Alpro acquisition, partially offset by the exit of a foodservice relationship in the Silk® brand and the exit of some private label organic milk ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 7, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: MetroPCS Communications Inc. (PCS), Leap Wireless International Inc. (LEAP), Sprint Nextel (S), America Movil S.A. (AMX) and Dean Foods (DF).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

MetroPCS Underperforms

MetroPCS Communications Inc.’s (PCS) second quarter results missed Zacks Estimates. Total revenues of $859.6 million were an improvement of 26.6%, compared to the same quarter of the previous year but below Zacks Estimates of $862 million. On a GAAP basis,

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Dean Foods (DF) reported strong second-quarter results with earnings of $0.43 per share, a penny above the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Quarterly earnings were up 30.3% year-over-year.

Quarterly net sales declined 13.6% year over year to $2.7 billion due to the pass-through of lower overall dairy commodity costs, despite positive contributions from acquisitions and volume growth in Fresh Dairy Direct and modestly lower sales in the WhiteWave-Morningstar business.

Net sales in the Fresh Dairy Direct segment declined 16.0% as the company passed some of the lower dairy costs to customers but was partially offset by continued volume growth. Raw milk prices were 41% lower compared to the prior-year.

Net sales at WhiteWave-Morningstar fell 4.6% to $622 million, attributable to slower category growth and the company’s exit from a food service business in the Silk brand and some private label organic milk business in the U.K. The decline was partially

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• Kraft (NYSE:KFT) posted second-quarter results 2 cents above projections at 56 cents, as revenues fell 5.9% from a year ago to $10.16 billion, off estimates of $10.37 billion. For the year, the firm issued in-line guidance of $1.93, up from its prior view of $1.88

• Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), whose results were feared likely to show a negative impact from declining consumer spending, reported a one cent better than estimated fourth quarter earnings of 80 cents a share; however, revenues of $18.66 billion were below Street estimates of $19.32 billion.  Fiscal 2010 guidance was issued of $3.65 to $3.80 a share, compared with Street projections of $3.76 a share

• Dean Foods (NYSE:DF) reported inline returns of 43 cents a share on revenues of $2.7 billion, versus estimates of $2.8 billion

• Sony (NYSE:SNE) announced plans for a new e-reader at a low price point of $199 in the US, aimed

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – July 10, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Dean Foods (DF), Hain Celestial (HAIN), United Natural Foods (UNFI), Del Monte (DLM) and Physicians Form Face (FACE).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

Organic Products in Demand

On account of mounting competition from alternative channels and evolving consumer needs towards a healthier life, the natural and organic sector is gaining importance. The natural products sector (which includes organic foods, nutritional and herbal supplements, cosmetics and medicines, among other categories) generated sales

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On account of mounting competition from alternative channels and evolving consumer needs towards a healthier life, the natural and organic sector is gaining importance. The natural products sector (which includes organic foods, nutritional and herbal supplements, cosmetics and medicines, among other categories) generated sales of over $68 billion in 2008. Over the last five years, the natural products industry grew 8% versus 2% for the overall grocery industry. Most recently in 2008, the natural products industry grew 7.4% versus a 2% decline for the grocery industry.

Food companies like Dean Foods (DF), Hain Celestial (HAIN), United Natural Foods (UNFI) and Del Monte (DLM) are market leaders in the natural products sector, and the competition is primarily based on brand recognition, price, taste preference and quality. Acquisitions have been a key part of these companies strategy to build their market share. Acquisitions have not only expanded their geographical

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There is an increasing shift towards private labels, as branded products become dearer for budget-conscious consumers.Private Label products are gaining momentum since the third quarter of 2008, especially among budget-conscious consumers in a recession struck economy. According to a survey conducted by the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) and Gfk Custom Research, 91% of the people surveyed stated that, they will continue buying private label products even after the recession ends.More than 60% of the U.S. population considers private label brands as good as branded products, and approximately 30% rate the private label products higher than branded ones. Even retail giants like Wal-Mart (WMT) are revamping their shelves with more private label products to increase profit and store visits by customers.Further, according to a report on private label food and beverage trends by NPD Group, 24% of the overall consumption ...

Dean Foods (DF) announced today the agreement to acquire Alpro, a division of the Vandemoortele Group. Alpro is the European market leader in branded soy food products, with the brands Alpro (which targets the retail and out-of-home channels) and Provamel (which is distributed in the specialized organic health store channel). With five manufacturing sites in Belgium, the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands, Alpro generates annual revenues of e260 million ($360 million).Dean Foods expects the e325 million ($450 million) transaction price to be modestly accretive to 2009 earnings. The transaction is being financed under the company's existing revolving credit facility, and management does not expect the need to raise additional equity as a result of the acquisition.Demand for soy and organic foods have increased rapidly due to growing awareness among consumers regarding the health benefits of soy and organic foods. The Dean Foods brand ...

The third-largest US automaker, Chrysler, filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday. The firm is expected to undergo a 30-60 day restructuring, receiving $8 billion in government funds and creating an alliance with Italian automaker Fiat, which managed its owned turnaround in the past 5 years.

Today's expected releases include: Allergan (NYSE:AGN), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Clorox (NYSE:CLX), Dean Foods (NYSE:DF), and MasterCard (NYSE:MA).

Aon (NYSE:AOC) reported a first quarter as earnings at 76, 12 cents less than expected, along with a 2.7% revenue decline to $1.85 billion.

Dean Foods (NYSE:DF) reported first quarter results of 52 cents, 10 cents better than expected, as revenues dropped 12.2% to $2.7 billion with indications of a solid start to the second quarter.

Fortune Brands (NYSE:FO) reported first quarter results of $1.03, ahead of estimates by 8 cents notwithstanding revenues plunged 20.3% to $1.44 billion, as was expected.

Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) received an analyst upgrade from UBS (NYSE:UBS).

Goldman Sachs

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