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Two More Join Toxic Asset Program – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:16:37 +0000

The U.S. Treasury Department announced on Tuesday that two more large investment companies have fulfilled the necessary requirements and are ready to join the federal government’s toxic assets purchase program.

The federal government initiated buying toxic assets from banks with the intention of helping them resume normal lending, which will fuel economic recovery.

The two investment companies, which together raised more than the $500 million needed to close investment funds, were New York-based Angelo, Gordon & Co. LP and Norwalk, Conn.-based GE Capital Real Estate. These companies will jointly invest in the Public-Private Investment Program (PPIP), under which the Treasury provides financial support for private firms that buy distressed assets, including mortgage-related loans.

These two companies take the total number of firms to have joined the government in buying toxic assets to six. The private sector capital raised by these six firms totaled $3.58 billion. With the Treasury’s additional investment capital, the total amount available for buying bad bank assets stands at $14.34 billion. Invesco Ltd. (IVZ) and TCW Group Inc. have already agreed to invest in PPIP.

In March 2009, the Treasury initially announced that the program would buy as much as $1 trillion worth of toxic assets. However, amid improvements in the economy, the program has been scaled back several times.

However, the Treasury has remained optimistic and now expects PPIP to be a $40 billion program. It expects three more firms to participate in the program soon.
Read the full analyst report on "IVZ"
Zacks Investment Research

Biggest S&P Est Increases – Analyst Blog

Dirk Van Dijk — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:55:35 +0000

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 are dealing with substantial companies.

Most likely these firms either reported much better than expected earnings, or communicated better times coming in their conference calls to the analysts after earnings were announced. Notice that there are companies from a wide variety of industries on this list. Often the best strategy is to pick stocks where the overall level of expectations is low -- for example, where the expected earnings level for this year is well below last year’s level, but where the analysts are starting to think that things might just be bad, not a disaster. The low level of earnings causes the stock price to be depressed, and when the worst does not happen, the stock rebounds.

Also, a consensus estimate in motion tends to remain in motion (notice how for most of the firms the 12-week change is larger than the 4-week change). If the analysts have been raising their estimates, they are far more likely to continue raising them than turn the other direction and start cutting them. Having a large number of estimates moving in the same direction has also been useful in predicting which direction a stock is likely to go in the near future.

This list is a good starting point to investigate companies that might be worth investing in.

I will post a second list with the stocks with the biggest estimate cuts shortly, which if they are in your portfolio should be candidates for culling from the herd.

Company	Ticker	2009 Zacks Consensus	4-Week % Change	Positive Revisions	Negative Revisions	EPS Growth	P/E
Intl Paper	IP	$0.60	400.00%	12	0	-70.30%	33.63
Fifth Third Bk	FITB	$0.77	201.85%	14	0	135.12%	12.57
Hess Corp	HES	$1.10	116.78%	7	1	-84.98%	49.8
Freept Mc Cop-B	FCX	$2.59	69.00%	10	1	-62.19%	24.45
Western Digital	WDC	$3.04	43.58%	11	0	19.56%	10.53
Caterpillar Inc	CAT	$1.49	32.59%	14	1	-73.67%	32.07
Avery Dennison	AVY	$1.78	27.18%	8	0	-41.76%	15.47
Franklin Resour	BEN	$3.34	21.46%	13	1	-49.95%	28.23
Cameron Intl	CAM	$2.22	19.04%	13	0	-17.01%	15.37
Apache Corp	APA	$4.86	18.07%	14	1	-58.18%	17.93
Noble Energy	NBL	$2.82	17.90%	12	1	-60.04%	21.44
Whirlpool Corp	WHR	$3.89	17.30%	5	0	-29.24%	15.87
Texas Instrs	TXN	$0.84	17.21%	25	1	-44.67%	28.66
Goldman Sachs	GS	$15.25	16.74%	16	1	241.21%	10.73
Gannett Inc	GCI	$1.53	15.69%	5	0	-57.54%	5.05
Wells Fargo-New	WFC	$1.66	15.18%	17	2	120.93%	17.36
Expedia Inc	EXPE	$1.13	14.97%	10	0	-1.67%	19.92
Jpmorgan Chase	JPM	$1.61	14.76%	10	3	93.75%	26.34
Eastman Chem Co	EMN	$2.89	14.07%	7	0	-35.83%	18.26
Coca-Cola Entrp	CCE	$1.50	14.00%	7	0	13.26%	12.99
Intuitive Surg	ISRG	$5.27	13.46%	12	0	2.95%	43.66
Black & Decker	BDK	$1.78	13.37%	9	0	-63.57%	23.25
Corning Inc	GLW	$1.17	12.08%	13	0	-25.76%	14.54
Autonation Inc	AN	$1.03	11.00%	6	1	2.73%	19.45
Whole Foods Mkt	WFMI	$0.85	10.93%	7	0	-19.98%	33.51
Radioshack Corp	RSH	$1.53	10.41%	15	0	0.54%	10.6
Newell Rubbermd	NWL	$1.26	10.23%	10	0	3.07%	11.02
Devon Energy	DVN	$2.99	10.12%	10	2	-69.78%	21.31
T Rowe Price	TROW	$1.42	9.91%	15	2	-22.13%	34.36
Pactiv Corp	PTV	$2.40	9.86%	8	0	37.20%	10.82
Iron Mountain	IRM	$0.94	9.75%	6	0	25.04%	31.46
3M Co	MMM	$4.19	9.32%	16	0	-18.74%	17.39
Fmc Tech Inc	FTI	$2.60	9.23%	10	0	-4.26%	16.76
Invesco Ltd	IVZ	$0.70	8.84%	13	2	-46.52%	29.51
Cf Indus Hldgs	CF	$7.60	8.75%	4	1	-47.29%	10.98
Amerisourcebrgn	ABC	$1.77	8.47%	13	1	22.54%	11.49
Tjx Cos Inc New	TJX	$2.36	8.29%	14	0	17.45%	15.03
Mylan Inc	MYL	$1.16	8.05%	14	0	45.00%	11.37

Read the full analyst report on "IP"
Read the full analyst report on "FITB"
Read the full analyst report on "HES"
Read the full analyst report on "FCX"
Read the full analyst report on "WDC"
Zacks Investment Research

Treasury Finally “Unveils” PPIP – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:00:27 +0000

Treasury finally "unveiled" details of the much-anticipated, much-delayed and now scaled-down version of its toxic or "legacy" assets purchase program, which was announced earlier as a part of the Financial Stability Plan in February.

The Public-Private Investment Program, or PPIP, will leverage private capital with government subsidies, so that the chosen investment firms can buy up the legacy assets, which have been clogging the balance sheets of the banks, making them reluctant to lend. The Treasury selected nine financial firms as partners for the program, including BlackRock Inc (BLK), Invesco Ltd (IVZ) and GE Capital Real Estate, a subsidiary of GE (GE). PIMCO (PKO), which was widely expected to be on the list, announced that it had withdrawn from the program due to related uncertainties.

The nine firms chosen have been given up to three months to raise an initial $500 million each to begin participating in the program.

The market situation since the program was originally announced has changed a lot -- credit conditions have eased and the banks are now able to raise private capital on their own. Besides the legacy assets (mainly mortgage backed securities), the banks now face a bigger threat from the residential real estate, commercial real estate and consumer loans on their balance sheets, as the housing and commercial real estate pricing continues to deteriorate and unemployment continues to rise.

Further, there may be a growing lack of interest on the part of banks to sell these legacy assets since they seem to believe that they could get a better valuation later.

But even the scaled-down version of the program could serve an important purpose of helping to establish a market for these securities that have been impossible to price. Further, it is necessary to have the program ready, in case the economic recovery falters. Last month, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) had warned that taxpayers still face potentially large losses because the governments have failed to act quickly enough to remove toxic assets from the balance sheets of important banks. The Treasury said that the program could be expanded if the economic situation deteriorates.

It is unclear whether or when the Treasury and the FDIC will launch the so-called Legacy Loan Program, which is designed to remove problematic, illiquid individual loans from the books of banks. In yesterday’s release, the Treasury said that "FDIC remains committed to building a successful Legacy Loan Program and will be prepared to offer it in the future."
Read the full analyst report on "BLK"
Read the full analyst report on "IVZ"
Read the full analyst report on "GE"
Read the full analyst report on "PKO"
Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Industry Rank Analysis Highlights: Invesco Ltd, Franklin Templeton Investments, AllianceBernstein Holding, BlackRock, Barclays, T. Rowe Price Group and Janus Capital Group. – Press Releases

Charles Rotblut — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:46:35 +0000

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - June 18, 2009 - Zacks.com releases the latest Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks featured in this week's analysis include Invesco Ltd. (IVZ), Franklin Templeton Investments (BEN), AllianceBernstein Holding (AB), BlackRock (BLK), Barclays (BCS), T. Rowe Price Group (TROW) and Janus Capital Group (JNS).

Zacks Industry Rank Analysis is written by Charles Rotblut, CFA, Senior Market Analyst for Zacks.com.

This Week: Forecasts Rising For Fund Managers

The spring rally has led to higher profit expectations for mutual fund managers.

To a large extent, this is a bit of a no-brainer for those who understand how the investment management industry works. Money managers earn a fee based on assets under manager (AUM). Any increase in the size of a portfolio should result in more fee dollars.

The S&P 500 rose approximately 40% since early March. All things being equal, AUM should have increased as a result.

However, fund managers have also enjoyed an influx of dollars. According to Strategic Insight, U.S. investors added more than $55 billion into stock and bond funds last month, making May the second consectuive month with $50+ billion of inflows.

It's worth adding the calendar into the explanation for why estimates are rising. The first-half of the year is almost completed. We already know what the first-quarter profits were and the data signals that the second-quarter should be strong. This means that analysts should have greater confidence about what full-year earnings will look like than they did 2 months ago.

But, given that most of this is already known, why did many analysts wait until the past 7 days to raise their forecasts? The announcement of May AUM numbers are the likely reason.

Last week, Invesco Ltd. (IVZ), Franklin Templeton Investments (BEN) and AllianceBernstein Holding (AB) all said AUM rose in May relative to April. Though this should not be surprising, analysts probably wanted confirmation of higher AUM before adjusting their profit forecasts.

Earnings Estimate Revisions
Company	Stock	2009 EPS Forecast	1-Week Change in Forecast	Number of Revisions
AllianceBernstein Holding	(AB)	$1.10	7.8%	4
Franklin Templeton Investments	(BEN)	$2.71	3.4%	8
Invesco Ltd.*	(IVZ)	$0.63	1.6%	8
Janus Capital Group	(JNS)	$0.30	15.4%	3
T. Rowe Price Group	(TROW)	$1.29	3.9%	5

*Profit projections for IVZ are up a total of 5% since late May.

Mergers Could Provide An Additional Boost

Though the trend in earnings estimates revisions is a positive, there is also speculation that more mergers could be forthcoming in the industry.

Such discussion was brought to the forefront last week with BlackRock's (BLK) acquisition of Barclays Global Investor. Once the deal is completed, it would make BLK the largest money-management firm. Included in the deal is Barclays' (BCS) iShares business.

Still, it's important to realize that mergers are unpredictable. Therefore, investors should view the potential for other deals as a possible bonus, rather than a reason to invest.

Still Room For More Upward Revisions

A better strategy than counting on a merger would be to keep an eye on the Zacks Rank. T. Rowe Price Group (TROW) is a Zacks #2 Rank ("buy") stock. AllianceBernstein Holding (AB), Franklin Templeton Investments (BEN), Invesco Ltd. (IVZ) and Janus Capital Group (JNS) are Zacks #3 Rank ("hold") stocks.

The sheer number of covering analysts is reason why none of the stocks are on the Zacks #1 Rank ("strong buy") list. Agreement is one of the factors considered by the Zacks Rank and while several analysts have raised full-year forecasts, others have not. The lack of revisions by all of the covering analysts hurts the Zacks Rank, but also provides the potential for more estimate revisions.

The assumption being, of course, that current consensus estimates are too conservative. Given current trends, this assumption may well turn out to be correct.

(BLK and BCS are also Zacks #3 Rank stocks. However, the short-term outlook for these companies could be impacted more by the pending merger than earnings estimate revisions.)

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About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Leonard Zacks. As a PhD in mathematics 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 3:1 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 by going to http://at.zacks.com/?id=5610.

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Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.

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.

Contact: Charles Rotblut, CFA
Company: Zacks.com
Phone: 312-265-9352
Email: pr@zacks.com
Visit: www.zacks.com

Zacks Investment Research

Forecasts Rising For Fund Managers – Zacks Industry Rank Analysis

Charles Rotblut — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 05:00:00 +0000

The spring rally has led to higher profit expectations for mutual fund managers.

The S&P 500 rose approximately 40% since early March. All things being equal, AUM should have increased as a result.

But, given that most of this is already known, why did many analysts wait until the past 7 days to raise their forecasts? The announcement of May AUM numbers are the likely reason.

Earnings Estimate Revisions
Company	Stock	2009 EPS Forecast	1-Week Change in Forecast	Number of Revisions
AllianceBernstein Holding	(AB)	$1.10	7.8%	4
Franklin Templeton Investments	(BEN)	$2.71	3.4%	8
Invesco Ltd.*	(IVZ)	$0.63	1.6%	8
Janus Capital Group	(JNS)	$0.30	15.4%	3
T. Rowe Price Group	(TROW)	$1.29	3.9%	5

*Profit projections for IVZ are up a total of 5% since late May.

Mergers Could Provide An Additional Boost

Though the trend in earnings estimates revisions is a positive, there is also speculation that more mergers could be forthcoming in the industry.

Still, it's important to realize that mergers are unpredictable. Therefore, investors should view the potential for other deals as a possible bonus, rather than a reason to invest.

Still Room For More Upward Revisions

A better strategy than counting on a merger would be to keep an eye on the Zacks Rank. TROW is a Zacks #2 Rank ("buy") stock. AB, BEN, IVZ and JNS are Zacks #3 Rank ("hold") stocks.

The assumption being, of course, that current consensus estimates are too conservative. Given current trends, this assumption may well turn out to be correct.

(BLK and BCS are also Zacks #3 Rank stocks. However, the short-term outlook for these companies could be impacted more by the pending merger than earnings estimate revisions.)

Zacks Premium and Zacks Elite subscribers can view the Zacks Industry Rank List at http://www.zacks.com/zrank/zrank_inds.php. This interactive list allows you to see all of the companies, and their Zacks Rank, within more than 200 industries. Shown below is the Zacks Sector Rank List, which shows the trend in estimate revisions on a broader scale.

Sector Rank as of Jun 17
Sector	This Week's Zacks Rank	Last Week's Zacks Rank	FY09 Revisions Ratio	FY09 Estimates Revised Up	FY09 Estimates Revised Down
Retail-Wholesale	2.52	2.51	3.42	629	184
Consumer Staples	2.80	2.83	2.08	181	87
Consumer Discretionary	2.85	2.87	0.84	123	147
Medical	2.91	2.89	1.02	244	240
Computer and Technology	2.94	2.93	2.01	570	284
Conglomerates	2.96	2.89	1.50	9	6
Utilities	2.97	2.99	0.72	75	104
Business Services	3.01	2.96	0.95	36	38
Oils-Energy	3.02	3.06	0.85	325	381
Auto-Tires-Trucks	3.06	3.09	0.76	28	37
Basic Materials	3.10	3.10	0.75	130	173
Aerospace	3.13	3.20	0.48	14	29
Finance	3.17	3.17	0.87	474	544
Construction	3.18	3.13	0.56	42	75
Industrial Products	3.18	3.16	0.69	93	134
Transportation	3.25	3.27	0.36	69	192

Charles Rotblut, CFA, is the senior market analyst for Zacks.com. He can be reached at crotblut@zacks.com.

Zacks Investment Research

Georgia Stocks

Fred Fuld — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:24:00 +0000

As one of the states with the largest manufacturing industries in the country, it is no mystery as to why Georgia ranks as one of the top consumers of energy. Some interesting facts on what is the world 28th largest economy follow:

1. The travel industry contributes around $20 billion a year to the state economy.
2. Georgia’s bioscience industry generates 15,000 jobs.
3. Over 250 bioscience companies are headquartered in the state.
4. The Georgia paper industry is second only to Alabama, and it employs 26,000 workers.
5. The state has the largest commercial forest in the country, which produce over $19 billion in revenue and employ more than 150,000 people.
6. The food processing industry generates more than 70,000 jobs, and produces sales receipt of over $16 billion a year.
7. The largest manufacturing employer is the textile-carpet industry which employs over 100,000 workers and produces more than $2.5 billion in revenue annually.
8. There are over 700 textile companies headquartered in Georgia.
9. The mining industry of non fuel minerals produces $1.8 billion in income, and it employs over 9,000 workers.
10. Georgia’s clay production amounts to 24% of total U.S. production

The following companies are headquartered in Georgia:

The Coca-Cola Company (KO) makes, delivers and sells non alcoholic beverages around the globe. The stock has a market cap of $102.17 billion, a PE of 18, a PEG of 1.61, and it pays a yield of 3.4%.

United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) is a parcel delivery firm, and it operates worldwide. The stock has a market cap of $50.95 billion, a PE of 247, a PEG of 1.36, and it pays a yield of 3.5%.

Home Depot, Inc. (HD) is a retailer of home improvement products in North America. The stock has a market cap of $34.33 billion, a PE of 10, a PEG of 1.06, and it pays a yield of 4.5%.

Southern Company (SO) produces and markets electricity in the south. The stock has a market cap of $25.79 billion. A PE of 15, a PEG of 2.74, and it pays a dividend of 5.2%.

Aflac Incorporated (AFL) is a life and health insurance company in the United States and Japan. The stock has a market cap of $20.54 billion, a PE of 12, a PEG of 0.74, and it pays a yield of 2.3%.

SunTrust Banks, Inc (STI) is a financial institution providing services to individuals and businesses in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $14.81 billion, a PE of 12, a PEG of 2.49, and it pays a yield of 7%.

Invesco Ltd. (IVZ) is an investment management company providing management services in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a PE of 9, and it pays a yield of 1.4%.

Oca Cola Enterprises, Inc. (CCE) makes, distributes and sells nonalcoholic drinks. The stock has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a PEG of 1.27 and it pays a yield of 2.5%.

Genuine Parts Company (GPC) is a distributor of industrial and automobile parts in North America. The stock has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a PE of 11, a PEG of 1.30, and it pays a yield of 5.0%.

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) is an online marketplace for the trading of securities and commodities. The stock has a market cap of $5.49 billion, a PE of 19, and a PEG of 0.67.

Don't forget to check out the stocks from the states of Wisconsin, Louisiana, Michigan, and Kentucky.

Author owns UPS.

By Stockerblog.com