Under the Lot 7 production contract, the company will build two Block 30 systems and three Block 40 systems for the Aeronautical Systems Group at Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. The award also includes a ground station consisting of a launch and recovery element and a mission control element, plus two additional sensor suites that will be retrofitted into previous production aircraft. The contract runs through 2011.

The company will deliver in 2010 the two Block 30 aircraft equipped with the Enhanced Integrated Sensor Suite (EISS) that provides electro-optical/infrared and synthetic aperture radar imaging capabilities. These aircraft will also be retrofitted to incorporate the production Airborne Signals Intelligence Payload.

The HALE UAS, Global Hawk can soar at altitudes of more than 60,000 feet for more than 32 hours and send near-real-time reconnaissance imagery and signals intelligence data to air, ground, and sea forces. It can fly three times as long and operates at a fraction of the cost per flight hour of its manned counterpart. Compared to other similar UAS, a single Global Hawk collects the same information as 18 smaller medium-altitude UAS.

Global Hawks are currently flown in four locations across the globe: Beale Air Force Base in Northern California, Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California, Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland, and a forward operating location in support of Overseas Contingency Operations in the Persian Gulf.

FirstEnergy had purchased the partially complete plant from Calpine Corp. (CPN) in January 2008. The plant includes two natural gas combined-cycle combustion turbines and a steam turbine with 544 MW of load-following capacity and 163 MW of peaking capacity. With the revised construction schedule in place, FirstEnergy expects to spend around $200 million to complete the plant.

Ohio-based FirstEnergy is a diversified energy company engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, as well as energy management and other energy-related services. It controls over 14,000 megawatts of generation capacity and serves more than 4.5 million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

FirstEnergy remains focused on maintaining a strong balance sheet and improving operational efficiency. These have resulted in consistent operating performance in recent quarters despite slowing economic conditions.

Going forward, the shift of FirstEnergy’s subsidiaries to market based rates in 2011 will drive strong earnings and cash flow. However, these positives are effectively priced in its current share price. Hence, we maintain our Neutral recommendation for the company.

Company Description

Lubrizol Corporation makes chemical that are used for improving the quality and performance of products used in the global transportation, industrial and consumer markets.

This involves production of lubricant additives for engine oils, other transportation-related fluids and industrial lubricants, as well as fuel additives for gasoline and diesel fuel. Lubrizol also makes ingredients and additives for personal care products and pharmaceuticals.

The company describes its products as ones that enhance the quality, performance and value of its customers' products while reducing their environmental impact.

Lubrizol is headquartered in Wickliffe, Ohio. The company owns and operates manufacturing facilities in 19 countries, as well as sales and technical offices around the world. Founded in 1928, Lubrizol has approximately 6,800 employees worldwide. Revenues for 2008 were $5.0 billion.

Bullish Forecasts

The company continues to see higher Zacks Consensus Estimates and stellar share price momentum. Shares have been hitting fresh 52-week highs and are currently trading slightly below that level.

The full-year Zacks Consensus Estimate stands at $5.88 per share, which was increased from $4.25 over the past 2 months. For the following year, the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.17 per share jumped from $5.78 in just the past month.

Shares of LZ have been soaring past the market. During the past 3 months, shares surged more than 30% ahead of the major averages.

A Strong Quarter

The company saw second-quarter earnings of $2.02 per share, eclipsing the previous year's $1.26 and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.86. Revenues of $1.11 billion were down 17.7% year-over-year.

Management said the company benefited from ongoing margin management initiatives and decisive cost reduction actions, adding that the company's strong results highlight the cumulative impact of Lubrizol's efforts to build and sustain market leadership positions while providing the innovative technology that is valued by customers.

Favorable Comparisons

Lubrizol's return on equity (ROE) of 19% tops the industry average of 9%. The Growth and Income pick also offers an industry-leading dividend yield of 2%.

Zacks Investment Research

The three-year old contract has been extended twice. Goodyear was in talks with USW in Cincinnati since June 8. The steelworkers were adamant throughout the negotiations about maintaining their job security. However, Goodyear did not disclose any details about the deal, especially on job cuts and plant closures.

Goodyear is focused on streamlining its operations by achieving cost reductions of $2.5 billion by 2009. Of this, the company already achieved $1.8 billion by the first half of the year. Goodyear anticipated that its master labor agreement with the USW will result in savings of $300 million in 2009.

A weak industry demand negatively affected Goodyear Tire’s results in the second quarter. The company reported a net loss of $221 million or 92 cents per share for the quarter versus earnings of $75 million or 31 cents per share in the same quarter last year. Total segment operating income plummeted 93% to $24 million from $330 million in the prior-year quarter. Sales were down 25% to $3.9 billion.

We continue to recommend the shares of Goodyear as Neutral with a target price of $19.

The new technology that works on SYNC, SmartGauge with EcoGuide and Ford Work Solutions, will allow the owner to select the time, duration and utility rate for recharging his car on a touch-screen navigation interface and Ford Work Solutions in-dash computer.

The owner could thus choose to accept a charge only during non-peak hours, between midnight and 6 am, when electricity rates are cheaper or when the grid can use renewable sources like wind or solar energy.

Ford said that all 21 of its PHEV Escapes fleet are likely to be equipped with the vehicle-to-grid communications technology. The first batch of specially equipped PHEVs has already been delivered to American Electric Power (AEP) of Columbus, Ohio.

Over the past two years, Ford has consistently focused on technologies based on battery systems, vehicle systems, consumer usage, and grid infrastructure to commercialize electric vehicles. So far, the company and its energy industry partners have logged more than 75,000 miles on the PHEV test fleet.

Ford has formed several partnerships to push its PHEV commercialization strategy. Of all 13 of these partnerships, the company considers the one with Electric Power Research Institute to be vital for the promotion of seamless integration of electric-drive vehicles into the power grid and the transportation sector.

Ford has several new launches in the pipeline that are perfectly in line with this strategy. These include a pure battery electric Transit Connect commercial van (to be launched in 2010), a battery electric Focus compact car (2011) and a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle and next-generation hybrid electric vehicle (2012).

We recommend the shares of Ford as Neutral with a target price of $8.

The acquisition of 21,800 net acres includes 28 wells currently producing 24 million cubic feet equivalent per day (MMcfe/d), as well as associated natural gas and water gathering facilities. Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Williams already holds about 190,000 acres in the Piceance Basin.

The latest acquisition may contain an estimated 795 billion cubic feet equivalent of net reserves (Bcfe), of which approximately 150 Bcfe are proved reserves. Williams plans to finance the $258 million transaction, along with $15 million in projected 2009 development costs and $50 million of the 2010 development costs, with available cash.

The additional acreage contiguous to its existing operations in the area further strengthens Williams’ industry-leading Piceance position. The deal is part of the company’s development efforts that have resulted in robust natural gas production in this region over the last few years.

In a separate development, Williams announced plans to form a joint venture with Dominion Resources Inc. (D), a major natural gas producer, to build a new pipeline. It will transport up to 1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas produced in the Rockies and Appalachian basins to growing markets in the Eastern and Mid-Atlantic regions.

The pipeline, to be named as the Keystone Connector, would run from the terminus of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners’ (KMP) Rockies Express pipeline in eastern Ohio to Williams' Transco Station 195 in southeastern Pennsylvania.

The companies are planning to bring the 240-mile pipeline into service by 2013. The Keystone Connector will offer producers year-round access to the growing East Coast markets and will provide customers increased domestic supply alternatives. We currently rate Williams shares as Neutral.

Company Description

Lubrizol Corporation makes chemical that are used for improving the quality and performance of products used in the global transportation, industrial and consumer markets.

This involves production of lubricant additives for engine oils, other transportation-related fluids and industrial lubricants, as well as fuel additives for gasoline and diesel fuel. Lubrizol also makes ingredients and additives for personal care products and pharmaceuticals.

The company describes its products as ones that enhance the quality, performance and value of its customers' products while reducing their environmental impact.

Lubrizol is headquartered in Wickliffe, Ohio. The company owns and operates manufacturing facilities in 19 countries, as well as sales and technical offices around the world. Founded in 1928, Lubrizol has approximately 6,800 employees worldwide. Revenues for 2008 were $5.0 billion.

A Strong Quarter

The company saw second-quarter earnings of $2.02 per share, eclipsing the previous year's $1.26 and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.86. Revenues of $1.11 billion were down 17.7% year-over-year.

Management said the company benefited from ongoing margin management initiatives and decisive cost reduction actions, adding that the company's strong results highlight the cumulative impact of Lubrizol's efforts to build and sustain market leadership positions while providing the innovative technology that is valued by customers.

The full-year Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current stands at $5.85 per share, which was increased from $4.25 in just the past month.

Shares of LZ have been soaring past the market. During the past 3 months, shares surged by more than 15% ahead of the major averages.

Favorable Comparisons

Lubrizol's return on equity (ROE) of 19% tops the industry average of 11%. The Growth and Income pick also offers an industry-leading dividend yield of 2%. Zacks Investment Research

Volumes were more than a fifth lower in the industrial segment over the year-ago period, as softer economy has reduced the industrial volumes across the nation. Other utilities like Constellation Energy Group (CEG) and Dominion Resources (D), also reported sharp fall in industrial volumes in the quarter.
 
Tepid economy providing no growth triggers dragged down revenue to $3.2 billion from $3.5 billion in the year-ago period. AEP reiterated its fiscal 2009 outlook and expects EPS of $2.75 – $3.05. This is in-line with our expectation of $2.86 for the current fiscal year.
 
The company’s capital position remains stable with debt-to-capitalization steadily improving to 57.3% after the first half of fiscal 2009 from 63.1% after the end of the previous quarter. Also, with more than $3.5 billion available from revolving credit facilities, AEP has a strong liquidity position close to $3 billion after the first half of the fiscal year.
 
AEP is one of the largest public utility holding companies catering to approximately 5.2 million customers spread over 11 states.  We maintain our cautious Neutral recommendation on AEP.

Dayton, Ohio-based DPL Inc. sells electricity through its principal subsidiary, Dayton Power and Light Company (DP&L). DPL owns approximately 900MW of natural gas and diesel peaking generation capacity, and 2,800MW of coal-fired generation capacity. DP&L is an electric utility with more than 500,000 residential, commercial, industrial and governmental customers in its 6,000 square-mile service area in west-central Ohio.

The other subsidiaries of DPL Inc. are DPL Energy, LLC (DPLE) and DPL Energy Resources, Inc. (DPLER). DPLE engages in the operation of merchant peaking generation facilities and DPLER markets wholesale power generated by the DPL power plants. In fiscal 2009, the company was nominated by Forbes to be among the 100 most trustworthy companies based on accounting and governance practices.

For the quarter, we expect DPL Inc. to report EPS of 36 cents, lower than the year-ago EPS of 41 cents. The deviation comes from lower rates and non-deferral of fuel and certain fuel-related O&M costs.

The situation will improve from the third quarter since the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) has approved DP&L's electric security plan (ESP) in June 2009. The ESP has stipulated rates till the end of fiscal 2012. The ESP will increase the bill of an average residential customer with monthly consumption of 750kwh by approximately 1.8% in 2009 and by 2.7% in 2010. Higher rates come at an opportune moment for the company, which is planning to invest $475 million to upgrade its infrastructure during the period of 2009 - 2011.

Apart from this, PUCO has also approved a fuel recovery mechanism from 2010, which will enable DPL Inc. to recover its fuel costs, primarily coal. This is a welcome relief for the company, since its fuel costs rose 32% to $19.5 million in the first quarter of 2009 over the year-ago quarter.

As a result, subsequent to the third quarter of fiscal 2009, we expect EPS to move northward to 50 cents. Overall, DPL expects earnings to range between $2.00 and $2.30 per share in fiscal 2009, in line with our expectations of $2.14 per share. With a stable earnings base, the recent PUCO approval for its ESP, and absence of any share buyback since August 2006, we expect the company to report in line with these expectations. We currently maintain a Buy rating on DPL.

Chicago, IL – July 9, 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: Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), US Bancorp (USB) and Wells Fargo (WFC).

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Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:

Mortgage Fraud on the Rise

There typically two types of mortgage fraud. The first, fraud for property focuses on applicants making misstatements to obtain a loan (embellishing income and concealing debt), and the second fraud for profit focuses on elaborate schemes to focus on falsifying appraisals and loan documents, which include identity theft and shell companies.

Reports of fraud have not moderated during the 1H09 as losses are $208 million higher compared to the year ago level. The FBI believes attempts have the potential to spread as expectations for the current economic downward trend is expected to continue into 2009 and perhaps into 2010.

The top 10 mortgage fraud states were California, Illinois, Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Colorado, Maryland, Florida, Missouri and New York. Therefore it its extremely probable that financial institutions such as but not limited to Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), US Bancorp (USB) and Wells Fargo (WFC) will continue to experience negative credit quality trends during the coming quarters.

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In the first quarter, Tenneco had reported adjusted net losses of $29 million or $0.61 per diluted share, compared with adjusted net income of $10 million or $0.20 per diluted share a year ago. Revenues were down 38% year-over-year to $967 million, on lower OE production volumes.

Earlier, Tenneco had stated that cash generation and strict cost management remain its top near-term priorities in the face of the global economic crisis. The company plans to lower its global salary costs by a minimum of 10% each quarter, equivalent to the reduction of salary cost by about $7 million each quarter during 2009.

Senior level executives would take a larger salary reduction. The company plans to downsize 1,100 positions, 500 salaried and 600 hourly, out of its 21,000 employees worldwide.

Tenneco’s total costs are coming down by about $30 million every year. Cost cutting has offset some of the negative impacts of higher raw material prices, particularly in Europe, where 12 facilities have been moved from Western Europe to Eastern Europe and an 11% reduction in headcount has been implemented. About 30% of the production now takes place in Eastern Europe.

Under the current global restructuring program, the company aims at closing three manufacturing facilities in North America – an elastomer plant in Milan, Ohio, and two OE emission control facilities in Evansville, Indiana and Emigsville, Pennsylvania. Internationally, the company is shutting down the Dunsborough engineering facility in Australia.

Tenneco is flexing operations at both its Cozad, Nebraska and Hartwell, Georgia OE ride control plants instead of completely shutting down these facilities. With these measures, Tenneco anticipates generating $58 million in annualized cost savings by the end of 2009.

Yet, what remains a matter of concern is that Tenneco’s fixed costs are about 40% of its sales. Pricing pressure from OEMs, weakening demand for aftermarket parts, and sizeable production cuts at General Motors (GMGMQ) and Ford (F) are the negative factors associated with the stock.

We expect the company to report net losses in the range of $1.50 to $1.55 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2009. Revenues are expected to slip about 20% to 25% year over year. We rate the stock a Hold and set a six-month target price of $11.50.

STATES WITH PROJECTED FY2010 BUDGET GAPS
State	FY2010 pre-budget	FY2010 mid-year gap	FY2010 Total	FY2010 Total % of Budget
Alabama	$1.2 billion	0	$1.2 billion	16.70%
Alaska	$1.3 billion	0	$1.3 billion	30.00%
Arizona	$4.0 billion	0	$4.0 billion	41.10%
Arkansas	$146 million	0	$146 million	3.20%
California*	$34.2 billion	$19.5 billion	$53.7 billion	58.20%
Colorado	$1.0 billion	$384 million	$1.4 billion	18.60%
Connecticut	$4.1 billion	0	$4.1 billion	23.20%
Delaware	$557 million	0	$557 million	17.60%
District of Columbia	$650 million	$150 million	$800 million	12.70%
Florida	$5.9 billion	0	$5.9 billion	22.80%
Georgia	$3.1 billion	$750 million	$3.9 billion	22.30%
Hawaii	$682 million	$297 million	$978 million	19.10%
Idaho	$411 million	0	$411 million	16.40%
Illinois	$9.2 billion	0	$9.2 billion	33.00%
Indiana	$1.1 billion	0	$1.1 billion	7.50%
Iowa	$779 million	0	$779 million	13.20%
Kansas	$1.4 billion	Yes, DK size	$1.4 billion	22.60%
Kentucky	0	$1.1 billion	$1.1 billion	11.30%
Louisiana	$1.8 billion	0	$1.8 billion	21.60%
Maine	$640 million	0	$640 million	21.40%
Maryland	$1.9 billion	Yes, DK size	$1.9 billion	13.60%
Massachusetts	$5.0 billion	0	$5.0 billion	17.90%
Michigan	$2.4 billion	0	$2.4 billion	12.00%
Minnesota	$3.2 billion	0	$3.2 billion	21.00%
Mississippi	$480 million	0	$480 million	9.60%
Missouri	$923 million	0	$923 million	10.30%
Nebraska	$150 million	0	$150 million	4.30%
Nevada	$1.2 billion	0	$1.2 billion	37.80%
New Hampshire	$250 million	0	$250 million	16.20%
New Jersey	$8.8 billion	0	$8.8 billion	29.90%
New Mexico	$345 million	0	$345 million	6.30%
New York	$17.9 billion	0	$17.9 billion	32.30%
North Carolina	$4.6 billion	0	$4.6 billion	21.90%
Ohio	$3.3 billion	0	$3.3 billion	12.30%
Oklahoma	$600 million	0	$600 million	10.50%
Oregon*	0	0	0	0.00%
Pennsylvania	$4.8 billion	0	$4.8 billion	18.00%
Rhode Island	$590 million	0	$590 million	19.20%
South Carolina	$725 million	0	$725 million	12.50%
South Dakota	$32 million	0	$32 million	2.90%
Tennessee	$1.0 billion	0	$1.0 billion	9.70%
Texas	$3.5 billion	0	$3.5 billion	9.50%
Utah	$721 million	$279 million	$1.0 billion	19.80%
Vermont	$278 million	0	$278 million	24.80%
Virginia	$1.8 billion	Yes, DK size	$1.8 billion	10.90%
Washington	$3.4 billion	$195 million	$3.6 billion	23.30%
West Virginia	$200 million	0	$200 million	5.30%
Wisconsin	$3.2 billion	0	$3.2 billion	23.20%
Wyoming	0	$32 million	$32 million	1.70%
Total	$143.2 billion	$22.7 billion	$165.9 billion	24.40%

This will lead to very drastic cuts in state budgets. Access to medical care by the poor will likely be one of the first things to be cut.

Education budgets will also probably be pared. This could be decreased spending on new textbooks, which would not be good news for publishers like McGraw-Hill (MHP) and Scholastic (SCHL).

Another area that is likely to be hit is new equipment at the municipal level. For example, I would not expect Oshkosh (OSK) to have a very good year selling new fire engines and snow removal equipment to municipalities.

Layoffs of state and municipal workers will simply add to the already high and rising unemployment rate. In short, a big part of the federal stimulus spending is being offset by (legally mandated) anti-stimulus actions at the state level.

As the graph shows, state fiscal problems tend to persist well after the recession is officially over. Indeed the problem is usually worse in the second or third year since by then the "rainy day funds" have already been used up.

Following the last recession, states collectively had their worst year in 2004 with a shortfall of $80 billion (or less than half what they face for fiscal 2010), which was well after the recession officially ended. Thus 2011, and possibly even 2012, will be a very lean year at the state level as well.

On Monday, June 29, interim service began on REX East, the eastern section of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners' (KMP) 1,679-mile multi-state Rockies Express Pipeline (REX). With a capacity of 1.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), natural gas started flowing on the 444-mile segment of the $6.6 billion pipeline that runs from Audrain County, Missouri, to the Lebanon interconnection point in Warren County, Ohio. Earlier, during May last year, the western section of the pipeline (REX West) came online. The 713-mile pipeline runs from the Cheyenne hub in Weld County, Colorado, to a major delivery point in Brown County, Kansas and has a capacity of 1.5 Bcf/d.

The remaining portion of the 639-mile 42-inch diameter Rex East pipeline, which will end in Clarington, Ohio, is expected to be operational by November 1, 2009. When fully completed, the entire 1,679-mile pipeline will be capable of transporting roughly 1.8 Bcf/d of natural gas and is backed by firm commitments from creditworthy shippers for nearly all of the capacity on the pipeline. Kinder Morgan is the operator of the REX project and has a 50% interest, with the other partners being ConocoPhillips (COP) and Sempra Energy (SRE).

REX is a key pipeline asset that will fully integrate the fast growing Rockies natural gas producing region with consuming markets in the Midwestern and Eastern U.S. The lack of adequate take-away capacity in the Rockies has been the bane for natural gas producers in the region due to its negative impact on local natural gas pricing. It is expected that with the completion of this pipeline, the Rockies basis spread (the discount at which Rockies natural gas gets priced relative to other regions in the country) will narrow significantly.

Kinder Morgan is the largest independent owner and operator of petroleum product pipelines in the U.S., transporting nearly 2 million barrels per day of gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel, and natural gas liquids. The partnership also has capacity to transport 7 billion cubic feet/day (Bcf/d) of natural gas. It owns or operates more than 26,000 miles of pipeline and approximately 170 terminals.

We currently have a Buy recommendation on the partnership given its focus on stable, fee-based, well-diversified assets, and its strong balance sheet, which allows flexibility when raising capital for acquisitions/expansions. With a number of organic projects expected to come online over the next few years, we see favorable long-term growth profile for Kinder Morgan.

Dayton, Ohio-based diversified energy utility DPL Inc. (DPL) and its subsidiary Dayton Power and Light Company were upgraded by Moody's Investors Service. On last Friday, June 26, Moody's upgraded the parent's senior unsecured debt rating to Baa1 from Baa2 and the subsidiary's senior secured debt rating to A1 from A2.

The upside came from an approval for ESP settlement establishing rates till 2012 from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). The ESP was originally filed in October 2008 as required by Ohio Amended Substitute Senate Bill No.221 (SB 221).

Under the terms of the settlement, DP&L will freeze base distribution and generation rates through 2012, with limited exceptions including changes in regulatory and tax laws, storm damage costs, costs associated with any new climate change laws or regulations, and certain regional transmission organization related costs.

The settlement lent stability to the fortunes of DPL, which was rocked on the troubled shores of the Midwest economy. DPL's issuer rating rose to A2 from A3 while the rating of its preferred stock improved to Baa1 from Baa2. Moody's also upgraded the trust preferred securities of DPL Capital Trust II to Baa2 from Baa3. The rating outlooks of DPL and DP&L are still positive, subsequent to the July 2008 upgrade from stable.

Michael G. Haggarty, a Moody's senior credit officer observed, "The upgrade reflects the credit supportive cost recovery provisions included in the company's rate plan, which will provide rate stability and potentially improve the utility's already strong cash flow coverage ratios at least through 2012."

With a high dividend yield of 4.9 and ROE of 23.5%, DPL was nominated as one of Forbes' "100 Most Trustworthy Companies" in 2009. The defensive stock (Beta: 0.58) rose more than 8% over the past month. All this gives us enough confidence to continue our Buy rating of the stock.

Company Description

Lubrizol Corporation makes chemical that are used for improving the quality and performance of products used in the global transportation, industrial and consumer markets.

This involves production of lubricant additives for engine oils, other transportation-related fluids and industrial lubricants, as well as fuel additives for gasoline and diesel fuel. Lubrizol also makes ingredients and additives for personal care products and pharmaceuticals.

The company describes its products as ones that enhance the quality, performance and value of its customers' products while reducing their environmental impact.

Lubrizol is headquartered in Wickliffe, Ohio. The company owns and operates manufacturing facilities in 19 countries, as well as sales and technical offices around the world. Founded in 1928, Lubrizol has approximately 6,800 employees worldwide. Revenues for 2008 were $5.0 billion.

Rewarding Shareholders with Industry-leading Income

The company recently declared a dividend of 31 cents per share, noting that it is payable September 10 to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 10. The company boasts a dividend yield of 3%, which is well ahead of the industry average.

First Quarter Results

Lubrizol announced first-quarter earnings of $1.06 per share in late April. The result was slightly below the previous year's $1.10 but in line with the consensus estimate.

The company upped its earnings guidance and analysts followed suit. Brokerage analysts increased full-year earnings forecasts from $4.25 to $4.27 per share in just the past week. Estimates stood at $3.77 per share 3 months ago. The most accurate 2009 estimate is much higher at $4.38.

For 2010, Wall Street is projection earnings of $4.70 per share, above last week's $4.69 and the 3 months-ago level of $4.28.

Lubrizol offers strong fundamentals, including a return on equity (ROE) of 15%, which nearly doubles the industry average of 8%. Zacks Investment Research

GDP (final) contracted by 5.5% in the first quarter to $ 14,097.2 in current dollars, revised downward from the BEA's preliminary Q1 estimate of a 5.7% contraction after falling 6.3% in the 4th quarter of 2008.  The decrease in GDP in the 1st quarter reflected negative contributions from exports (down 30.6%), equipment and software, private inventory investment, nonresidential structures, and residential fixed investment which were partly offset by a positive contribution from personal consumption expenditures which composes nearly 2/3 of the gross domestic product. Imports (down 36.4%), which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, decreased.  Coupling the decrease of the 1st quarter with the 4th quarter, this is the worst contraction of GDP this country has experienced in over 60 years.

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Chicago, IL - June 22, 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: Wells Fargo (WFC), Fifth Third (FITB), Comerica (CMA), China Telecom (CHA) and China Unicom (CHU).

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Here are highlights from Friday's Analyst Blog:

States of Unemployment

There are now 14 with double-digit unemployment (27.4%) vs. none a year ago. Eight states have seen their unemployment rates increase by 5.0 points or more, and nine more have seen increases of at least four points.

While all states have seen unemployment go up, four states have had increases of less than two points, and three of them were low unemployment states to begin with. Only two states, Nebraska and North Dakota, have unemployment rates that are under 5%, while a year ago 25 of states did.

The states with double digit unemployment include many of the nation's most populated states (CA, FL, IL, IN, MI, NC, OH). High rates of unemployment will mean more loan defaults and foreclosures. Thus banks with high exposure to high unemployment states are particularly vulnerable:

Wells Fargo (WFC) has lots of exposure to California and to the Carolinas (thanks to its purchase of Wachovia). Fifth Third (FITB) is highly exposed to Ohio, Michigan and Florida. Comerica (CMA) has a big exposure to Michigan.

China Telecom Leads Fixed-Lines

We reiterate our Hold rating for China Telecom (CHA), the largest fixed-line service provider in China. The company entered the Chinese mobile telephony market through the acquisition of CDMA business and network assets from China Unicom (CHU) for RMB 110 billion (US$16 billion).

The company remains the market leader in fixed-line phone service and is well positioned to benefit from the rapidly growing Chinese wireless market. In our opinion, CHA's attractive long-term opportunities arise from its dominant position in broadband, the emerging need for wireless and business from value-added services.

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Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

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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 to 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 at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5518.

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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.

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Chicago, IL - June 22, 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: Wells Fargo (WFC), Fifth Third (FITB), Comerica (CMA), China Telecom (CHA) and China Unicom (CHU).

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Here are highlights from Friday's Analyst Blog:

States of Unemployment

There are now 14 with double-digit unemployment (27.4%) vs. none a year ago. Eight states have seen their unemployment rates increase by 5.0 points or more, and nine more have seen increases of at least four points.

While all states have seen unemployment go up, four states have had increases of less than two points, and three of them were low unemployment states to begin with. Only two states, Nebraska and North Dakota, have unemployment rates that are under 5%, while a year ago 25 of states did.

The states with double digit unemployment include many of the nation's most populated states (CA, FL, IL, IN, MI, NC, OH). High rates of unemployment will mean more loan defaults and foreclosures. Thus banks with high exposure to high unemployment states are particularly vulnerable:

Wells Fargo (WFC) has lots of exposure to California and to the Carolinas (thanks to its purchase of Wachovia). Fifth Third (FITB) is highly exposed to Ohio, Michigan and Florida. Comerica (CMA) has a big exposure to Michigan.

China Telecom Leads Fixed-Lines

We reiterate our Hold rating for China Telecom (CHA), the largest fixed-line service provider in China. The company entered the Chinese mobile telephony market through the acquisition of CDMA business and network assets from China Unicom (CHU) for RMB 110 billion (US$16 billion).

The company remains the market leader in fixed-line phone service and is well positioned to benefit from the rapidly growing Chinese wireless market. In our opinion, CHA's attractive long-term opportunities arise from its dominant position in broadband, the emerging need for wireless and business from value-added services.

Want more from Zacks Equity Research? Subscribe to the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5515.

About Zacks Equity Research

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5517

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 to 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 at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5518.

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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:
Mark Vickery
Web Content Editor
312-265-9380
Visit: www.zacks.com

The Conference Boards' Leading Indicators Index increased by 1.2% in May to 100.2 (2004=100) , which is the second increase in 8 months, following a 1.1% advancement in April (revised from 1%) and a -0.2% reduction in March.7 of the10 components of the index made positive contributions: index of supplier deliveries (vendor performance), interest rate spread, stock prices, real money supply, index of consumer expectations, building permits, and manufacturers'new orders for nondefense capital goods. The negative contributions to the index were average weekly manufacturing hours, average weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance (inverted), and manufacturers' new orders for consumer goods and materials.

The Coincident Indicators decreased 0.2% to 100.7 (2004=100) in May, following a decrease of 0.3% in April and of 0.6% in March. The positive contributions to the index were personal income less transfer payments and manufacturing and trade sales, while industrial production and employment were offsetting.

The Lagging Indicators decreased also by 0.2% in May to 112.0 (2004=100). None of the contributions to the index advanced over the month.  Average duration of unemployment (inverted), commercial and industrial loans outstanding, change in labor cost per unit of output, and change in CPI for services all made negative contributions to the index.  Unchanged were ratio of manufacturing and trade inventories to sales, average prime rate charged by banks, and ratio of consumer installment credit to personal income.

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Company Description

Strayer Education, an education services holding company, owns Strayer University and other assets. The company's mission is to make higher education achievable and convenient for working adults in today's economy.

Strayer offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business administration, accounting, information technology, education, health care, and public administration to more than 45,000 working adult students at 65 campuses in 14 states, Washington, D.C. and worldwide via the Internet.

Founded in 1892, Strayer University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

Rising Forecasts

The company, which has outperformed the market over the pas year, is seeing higher estimate revisions on a record first quarter.

Analysts are calling for second-quarter earnings of $1.97 per share, up from $1.81 over the past 60 days.

For the full year, analysts boosted earnings estimates to $7.27 per share from $6.99 over the past 60 days.

For 2010, analysts see earnings of $8.87 per share, versus the 2 months-ago projections of $8.60.

Record Results

The company posted record results in the first quarter. Revenues jumped 28% year-over-year, while earnings per share of $2.08 came in 6% ahead of the consensus estimate and topped the year-prior $1.64. Strayer's Spring 2009 total enrollments were up 22%, and the number for new students increased by 26%.

The company said it continues to expand its geographic footprint with the successful opening of its first two campuses in Ohio, located in Cincinnati and Columbus. Strayer also noted that, as of March 30, its balance sheet showed cash equivalents and marketable securities of $84.0 million with no debt.

The second-quarter report report is scheduled for release on July 16, 2009.

Favorable Industry Comparisons

Strayer boasts a return of equity (ROE) of 51%, soaring past the industry average of 14%. Strayer's net profit margin of 20% is ahead of the industry average of 10%. The company also rewards shareholders with an industry-leading dividend yield of 1%. Zacks Investment Research

What is a Smart-Grid?

"Smart-grids" deliver electricity from suppliers to consumers using digital technology to save energy, reduce costs and increase reliability. Many global governments are promoting such a modernized electricity network as a means of increasing energy independence and reducing global warming issues.

An electricity grid is not a single entity but an aggregate of multiple networks and multiple power generation companies with multiple operators employing varying levels of communication and coordination, most of which are manually controlled.

Smart grids increase the connectivity, automation and coordination between suppliers, consumers and networks, which perform either long distance transmission or local distribution tasks. Transmission networks move electricity in bulk over medium-to-long distances, are actively managed, and generally operate from 400kV to 800kV over AC and DC lines.

Local networks traditionally moved power in one direction, "distributing" the bulk power to consumers and businesses via lines operating at 132kV and lower. This paradigm is changing as businesses and homes begin generating more wind and solar electricity, enabling them to sell surplus energy back to their utilities.

Efficiency Through Technology

Modernization is necessary for energy consumption efficiency; real-time management of power flows; and to provide the bi-directional metering needed to compensate local producers of power. Although transmission networks are already controlled in real-time, many in the US and European countries are antiquated by world standards, and unable to handle modern challenges such as those posed by the intermittent nature of alternative electricity generation, or continental scale bulk energy transmission.

According to Deloitte, in 2009, smart grid providers may represent one of the largest and fastest growing sectors within the "clean," green energy industry. Deloitte forecasts that electricity, as a percentage of total energy consumption, will increase from 9% in 1973 to 16% through 2009.

Additionally, they estimate that modern smart-grids offer approximately twice the efficiency, at 60%, as the average efficiency of the world's legacy electricity grids at  approximately 33%.

Finally, Deloitte estimates that the annual cost  of power outages and power quality disturbances in the U.S. approximates $180 billion.

Likewise, a recent study by the U.S. Department of Energy study estimates that smart-grid modernization of U.S. electricity grids with would save between $46 to $117 billion over the next 20 years.

Among other conclusions, Deloitte deduces through its smart-grid analysis that "[M]ajor manufacturers and utilities should explore partnerships with, and consider acquisitions of, smart energy companies."  Such is the case we now see with Duke Energy and Cisco.

Both Companies Known as Trail-Blazers

At the risk of over-stating the significance of this relationship, particularly for the traditionally staid, 100+ year old electricity industry, both Duke Energy and Cisco rank as consensus innovative leaders in their respective industries. Under terms of the agreement, Cisco seeks to develop and deliver to Duke Energy a state-of-the-art, industry-leading, end-to-end, power plant-to-customer, smart-grid network communications infrastructure.

Empirically speaking, U.S. support for smart-grid technology became federal policy with passage of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Subsequently, smart-grids received additional support with the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which appropriated $11 billion for the creation of a smart-grid.

Support from the Federal Government

As recently as January 2009, in his National Address, President Obama requested Congress to pass legislation including the development of new electricity "smart-grids."  On March 19, 2009, The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a proposed policy statement and action plan for standards governing the development of a smart-grid. Successful progress toward national implementation of smart-grids continues.

Upon completion, the new, "internet protocol-based open standards" architecture will replace Duke's existing, antiquated analog electric grid with a long-overdue, secure digital backbone infrastructure.

The resultant smart-grid, widely thought to be replicated by other leading energy utilities, will modernize some the most outdated infrastructure in the U.S. - electricity delivery systems - with secure, reliable and efficient data, networks and communications.

The collaboration project will ultimately update the delivery to, and use of electricity by, Duke's 11 million customers served in five states: Ohio, Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Kentucky. Throughout the term of the project, and in subsequent years, Duke will install large-scale new smart-grid technology, including millions of electric and natural gas "smart meters," in addition to hardware and software for distribution.

"Smart meters" replace analog mechanical meters with digital meters which record energy usage in real-time. Smart meters provide a communications pathway extending from generation plants to electrical outlets and other smart grid-enabled devices.

Manifold benefits await Duke Energy and its customers.

The proposed modernized electric grid will:

• Build an 'Energy Internet', which will enable decentralized power generation, so that customers may be both energy clients and suppliers; allow supplier selection of power consumption to offer flexibility to energy consumers;
• Integrate solar and other renewable energy sources into the electric grid;
• Encourage consumers to actively participate in operations of the grid; improve electricity delivery, improve systems efficiency and reliability, increase energy independence, decrease environmental impact, and help customers reduce their energy consumption, strengthen grid security and resist attack;
• Provide higher quality power that will save money wasted from outages;
• Incorporate two-way digital communication to detect power outages and be readily inter-operable, upgradeable and scalable to new emerging technologies.

Going forward, Cisco plans to continue to deliver products and services to support this initiative serving a growing smart grid communications infrastructure market projected by Cisco to reach $20 billion annually over the next five years.

Duke Energy maintains a Street analyst consensus recommendation with a Buy-rated bias; an average long-term EPS growth rate of 4.2%, within a range of 2.0% to 6.0%, and a target price of $15.48 per share, within a range of $14.00 to $20.00 per share.

Cisco Systems boasts a Street analyst consensus Buy rating with an average estimated long-term EPS growth rate of 10.9, within a range of 2.0% to 20.0% and an average target price of $22.38 per share, within a range of $15.00 to $30.00 per share.

Before we begin, let's explain the contrarian stance that makes Schaeffer's so unique. When searching for a bullish pick, we like to see heavy skepticism toward an outperforming stock, as this leaves ample room for upgrades or other positive catalysts to fuel the stock higher. When searching for a bearish pick, on the other hand, contrarians are looking for significant bullish sentiment toward an underperforming stock, as we believe an excess of optimism is a sign that everyone has already bought into the stock and sideline money is virtually tapped out.

However, keep in mind that some optimism and pessimism is genuinely warranted and isn't always a contrarian indicator - like an outperforming stock with many "buy" ratings or an underperforming stock with a plethora of "sell" ratings.

Brokerage firm RBC Capital on Thursday opined that financial stocks are at the beginning of a new, multi-year bull market, Dow Jones reported. As a result, analysts upped their rating on the banking sector to "overweight" from "sector perform," and predicted a rise in banks' revenue and earnings due to wider net interest margins and reduced credit costs. Furthermore, RBC singled out KEY, upgrading the stock to "top pick" from "sector perform."

In light of the bullish comments, call volume catapulted higher on KEY. According to the Zacks filter, the equity saw more than 24,000 calls change hands Thursday, tripling its average daily volume of fewer than 8,000 contracts. The stock's Jun 5 call was most active, with 9,350 contracts crossing the tape.

However, the option's popularity is nothing new; during the past couple of weeks, Jun 5 call open interest has swelled by more than 21,000 contracts. In fact, the at-the-money 5 strike is now home to peak call open interest in the front-month series, with more than 25,100 contracts in residence.

In Friday's trading, it appeared that the optimists in the options arena set the bar even higher for KEY. The security's Jun 6 call was most active, with more than 3,500 contracts changing hands. The near-the-money 6 strike is currently home to almost 8,000 call contracts in the June series of options, and harbors 5,100 open call positions in the July series - the highest in the back-month series.

The escalating optimism among near-term traders is further evident in KEY's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio, which measures options slated to expire within 3 months. The stock's SOIR currently rests at 0.98, in the 30th annual percentile, implying that short-term speculators have been more bullishly biased toward the equity less than a third of the time during the past year.

So, are the high hopes among options players warranted? Let's examine the stock from a technical perspective.

While the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) has rallied almost 4% since the start of 2009, shares of KEY have surrendered about 35% year-to-date. Further demonstrating the stock's status as a market weakling of late, KEY has underperformed the broader SPX by 22% during the past 40 trading sessions.

Nevertheless, the equity has staged a decent rebound since the start of June, advancing about 23% to hang out in the $5.40 neighborhood. What's more, KEY is poised to close its second consecutive session atop double-barreled resistance at its 10-day and 20-day moving averages - a feat not accomplished since mid-April.

From a longer-term perspective, though, the charts aren't as encouraging. Since skimming the $40 level in February 2007, the stock has backpedaled more than 86%. And though some may argue that shares of KEY look cheap at the moment, any rally attempts could face a roadblock in the form of the stock's descending 32-week moving average, which has smacked the security lower on several occasions during the past couple of years.

In conclusion, while the confidence among call speculators continues to grow, shares of KEY may still have some technical hurdles to overcome before proving that their recent rebound has legs. If the stock fails to conquer the potential challenges on the charts, the escalating optimism could subside. Should the bulls in the options arena remove their rose-colored glasses en masse, an unwinding of optimism could act as an additional catalyst to the downside.

Zacks Investment Research

The dollar-weighted average maturity of the portfolio is expected to range from three to ten years. As of February, its portfolio turnover was 42%.

The fund has topped the total returns of its benchmark index in the last 1-, 3- and 5-year periods. It has an expense ratio of 0.80%.

Allegiant Ohio Intermediate Tax-Exempt A (AOHRX) seeks to provide current income that is exempt from federal income tax and, to the extent possible, from Ohio personal income tax, in keeping with conservation of capital.

This non-diversified fund was incepted in April 1991. Its assets are invested in investment grade securities and unrated securities that the advisor considers to be of equivalent caliber.

Cynthia Cole has been lead manager at the fund since October 2000. Cole has 22 years of industry experience.

Allegiant Government Mortgage A (ARSAX) seeks to provide current income as well as preservation of capital by investing in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government.

It may invest in securities issued by non-governmental issuers, such as mortgage-related debt securities, asset-backed debt securities, commercial paper and preferred stock. The fund has allocated 92.96% of its assets in bonds and 6.60% in cash equivalents.

The fund distributes dividends monthly. Capital gains, if any, are offered annually.

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2676.

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

First Solar's (FSLR) growth story will continue with its order backlog surpassing $6 billion, higher capacity online in the Malaysia and Ohio facilities, higher volumes in the German market, declining cost per watt, a recent all-stock acquisition of OptiSolar, and the new utility scale PV system deployments in the United States.

However, a weak Euro in light of its focus on Europe, declining governmental subsidies for solar initiatives, tight credit markets and the modules oversupply situation in the market may partially hamper growth.

Accordingly, we maintain our speculative BUY recommendation on FSLR with a six-month target price of $225. Price appreciation to our near-term valuation target represents 17.4% upside potential.

Bear of the Day:

Wendy's (WEN) new management team, led by Arby's CEO, have outlined what we think is a viable, albeit multi-year turnaround plan that includes improving margins, reinvigorating the brand, revitalizing comps, and expanding internationally.

However, Wendy's turnaround efforts come at a difficult time for the industry, which faces rising input costs and a deepening recession. Arby's, which serves pricier food, is being particularly hard hit, with comps falling 8.7% in 1Q09.

While we think there is a lot of low-hanging fruit for initial margin improvement, management's $100 million annual incremental store-level operating profit target will in our opinion take at least two years and necessitate executing on many levels.

Latest Posts on the Zacks Analyst Blog:

Housing Prices Still Falling

We are right in the middle of that "fair value" range at 1.1. However, rents have started to fall at the major Apartment REITS such as Equity Residential (EQR), Mid-America Apartments (MAA) and Apartment Investors (AIV) and that usually presages declines in the rent component of the Consumer Price index (one more reason to be more worried right now about deflation than inflation, but longer-term inflation will be the bigger threat).

This also suggests that there are still more price declines to come, but that the worst of it is now behind us. While much depends on what city you are in, housing prices are now reasonable, but not exactly cheap. We will probably undershoot "fair value," so if you can hold off buying a new house for a few more months, your patience is likely to be rewarded. On the other hand, if you are planning on staying in the house for the next 20 years, it will not make that much difference at this point (unlike the past few years).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2649.

About the Bull and Bear of the Day

Every day, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research select two stocks that are likely to outperform (Bull) or underperform (Bear) the markets over the next 3-6 months.

About the Analyst Blog

Updated throughout every trading day, the Analyst Blog provides analysis from Zacks Equity Research about the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets.

About Zacks Equity Research

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today by visiting http://at.zacks.com/?id=2677.

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 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks InvestmentResearch 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 at http://at.zacks.com/?id=4582.

Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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.

However, a weak Euro in light of its focus on Europe, declining governmental subsidies for solar initiatives, tight credit markets and the modules oversupply situation in the market may partially hamper growth.

Accordingly, we maintain our speculative BUY recommendation on FSLR with a six-month target price of $225. Price appreciation to our near-term valuation target represents 17.4% upside potential. Zacks Investment Research

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS), which passed the government's stress test, said it plans to soon repay the $10 billion of bailout money. Nevertheless, banking analyst Meredith Whitney warned, "the recessionary environment is very difficult," due to problems looming with credit cards and mortgage originations.

Oil and gas shares rose 8.7% and basic materials were up 6.5% as investors began to bet on the early stages of improved spending by businesses.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) and Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE:SLB) led energy companies in the S&P 500 to an 8.5% advance. Exxon added 4.1% to $70.80 and Schlumberger gained 12% to $56.53.  El Paso Corp. (NYSE:EP) was the leading gainer in the group, rising 27% to $9.03, after the company reported better-than-expected profit on expanding lines and hedging correctly on energy prices.  General Motor (NYSE:GM) led the declining issues on the DJIA after reporting a huge first-quarter loss that pushed it closer towards bankruptcy.  McDonald's Corp. (NYSE:MCD) reported another month of impressive comparable sales with April recording a 6.9% jump in same-store sales.

A U.S. Labor Department report Friday said non-farm payrolls declined 539,000 in April, beating economists' projections for a decline of 600,000. Figures for March were revised to show a steeper decline of 699,000.  Unemployment rate rose to 8.9% from 8.5% in March.    

Fed Chairman Bernanke speaks tonight on the stress tests. On Wednesday, April retail sales are due for release, and are expected to have declined 0.1% following March's 0.2% drop. Although economists doubt the ongoing strength of the consumer, Friedman Billings, Ramsey on Friday lifted the price targets on several retailers including Abercrombie and Fitch (NYSE:ANF), Ann Taylor (NYSE:ANN), and Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ:PSUN). On Friday consumer price numbers are expected to show annual headline numbers at their lowest since January 1955, off 0.6%, with core CPI up 1.8% on an annualized basis. Among key companies slated to release earnings are JC Penney (NYSE:JCP), Macy's (NYSE:M), Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) and Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT).

Company Description

Strayer Education, an education services holding company, owns Strayer University and certain other assets. The company's mission is to make higher education achievable and convenient for working adults in today's economy.

Strayer offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business administration, accounting, information technology, education, health care, and public administration to more than 44,000 working adult students at 60 campuses in 12 states, Washington, D.C. and worldwide via the Internet.

Founded in 1892, Strayer University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

A Record Quarter

The company recently posted record results in the first quarter. Revenues jumped 28% year-over-year, while earnings per share of $2.08 came in 6% ahead of the consensus estimate and topped the year-prior $1.64. Strayer's Spring 2009 total enrollments were up 22%, and the number for new students increased by 26%.

The company said it continues to expand its geographic footprint with the successful opening of its first two campuses in Ohio, located in Cincinnati and Columbus. Strayer also noted that, as of March 30, its balance sheet showed cash equivalents and marketable securities of $84.0 million with no debt.

Thanks to the strong spring enrollment growth, Strayer's second-quarter earnings per share outlook now ranges between $1.95 to $1.97 per share.

11 out of 12 analysts are calling for second-quarter earnings of $1.97 per share, up from last weeks $1.81. For the full year, 13 out of 15 analysts boosted earnings estimates to $7.25 per share from last week's $6.99.

Favorable Industry Comparisons

Strayer boasts a return of equity (ROE) of 51%, more than doubling the industry average of 22%. Strayer's net profit margin of 20% is ahead of the industry average of 15%. The company also rewards shareholders with a dividend yield of 1%. Zacks Investment Research

Company Description

The Buckle is a retailer of casual apparel, footwear, and accessories for young men and women in the United States. The company's casual apparel products include denims, bottoms, tops, sportswear, and outerwear.

Known as a denim destination, each store carries a wide selection of fits, styles, and finishes from leading denim brands, including the company's exclusive brand, BKE.

Headquartered in Kearney, Nebraska, Buckle currently operates 391 retail stores in 40 states, versus 369 stores in 38 states as of March 5, 2008. This includes the February 25th opening of two new stores in Destin, Florida and Buffalo, New York (BKE's first store in the state of New York) as well as the March 4th opening of two new stores in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania and Westlake, Ohio.

Solid Income

The company recently declared a dividend of 20 cents per share, noting that it is payable on April 27 to shareholders of record at the close of business on April 15. BKE's dividend yield of 2.3% is well above the industry average.

Quarterly Results Reflect Growth

The Buckle posted strong results for the fourth quarter. Comparable store net sales grew 14% year-over-year, while net sales came in 22% ahead of last year. Annual comparable net sales increased by 21%. Net sales for the year jumped 28%.

Fourth-quarter earnings per share of 74 cents topped the consensus estimate by a penny and eclipsed the previous year's 63 cents. Full-year earnings per share of $2.24 topped the year-prior $1.63.

Bullish Forecasts

Wall Street boosted earnings estimates on the stellar report. Current year earnings projections of $2.46 per share are above last month's $2.31.

Healthy Fundamentals

The Buckle boasts a strong balance sheet with no debt. The company's return on average (ROE) of 29% more than triples the industry average of 9%. Its net profit margin of 13% sits high above the industry average of 3%. Zacks Investment Research

Only 52 companies are confirmed to report, including S&P 500 members Apollo Group (APOL), Lennar Corporation (LEN), Monsanto Company (MON) and Micron Technology (MU).

First-quarter earnings season will "officially" start on Apr 7, when Alcoa (AA) reports. The bulk of reports won't be seen until the second-half of the month.

March employment data is due out on Friday. Keep an eye on nonfarm payrolls, forecasts have the decline holding in the 600k range for the fourth-consecutive month.

• Tuesday: March Conference Board consumer confidence, March Chicago PMI, January CaseShiller home price index
• Wednesday: March ISM manufacturing index, February pending home sales, February construction spending, March ADP employment data, March auto sales, weekly crude inventories
• Thursday: February factory orders, weekly initial jobless claims
• Friday: March unemployment and nonfarm payrolls, March ISM services index

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will speak at a Fed Reserve credit market symposium on Friday, Apr 3.

Vice Chairman Donald Kohn will also speak on Friday. He will discuss measures to pull the U.S. out of the recession at the College of Wooster, in Wooster, Ohio.

G20 members will meet on Thursday, Apr 20. The meeting could cause some volatility in the dollar, though a major announcement is not expected.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will be making appearances on the Sunday morning talk shows on Mar 29 (Meet the Press and This Week with George Stephanopoulos); his performance could impact whether stocks and the dollar start the week on a good note or not.

The markets are overbought following the biggest 10-day rally since 1938. Continue to keep an eye on Washington for news about the banking and automobile sectors.

Companies That Could Issue Positive Earnings Surprises

Apollo Group (APOL) topped expectations during the past 3 quarters by an average margin of nearly 10 cents per share. Ahead of the company's fiscal second-quarter report, one of the covering brokerage analysts raised his forecast. Though the change did not impact the consensus earnings estimate of 65 cents per share, it did result in a more bullish most accurate estimate of 68 cents per share. Apollo Group is scheduled to report on Tuesday, Mar 31, after the close of trading.

Companies That Could Issue Negative Earnings Surprises

During the past 30 days, 5 of the more than 30 covering brokerage analysts have cut their fiscal fourth-quarter forecasts on Research in Motion (RIMM). The revisions knocked the consensus estimate down by a penny to 84 cents per share. Though not large, the changes are notable because the Blackberry maker has missed twice in the past 3 quarters. Plus, forecasts for fiscal 2010 have been tumbling. Research in Motion is scheduled to report on Thursday, Apr 2, after the close of trading.

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

Earnings Calendar

Here is a list of companies that we have confirmed will report during the week of Mar 30 - Apr 3¹. Prices are as of Thursday's, Mar 26, market close.

Company	Ticker	Zacks Consensus Estimate	Year Ago Actual	Last Qtr Surprise	Report Date	Report Time	Price
Cal-Maine Foods	CALM	$1.71	$2.41	(9.5%)	3/30/2009	BTO	$23.71
Forest City A	FCE.A	$0.20	$0.19	(133.3%)	3/30/2009	N/A	$4.17
Full House Reso	FLL	$0.02	$0.00	200.0%	3/30/2009	BTO	$1.10
Interoil Corp	IOC	($0.85)	N/A	466.7%	3/30/2009	BTO	$26.98
Layne Christens	LAYN	$0.40	$0.50	(4.6%)	3/30/2009	BTO	$21.65
Metabasis Thera	MBRX	($0.28)	($0.35)	0.0%	3/30/2009	AMC	$0.65
Novavax Inc	NVAX	($0.13)	($0.11)	(14.3%)	3/30/2009	N/A	$0.99
Oxford Inds Inc	OXM	$0.03	$0.03	(15.6%)	3/30/2009	AMC	$7.11
Providence Svc	PRSC	$0.06	$0.35	(211.1%)	3/30/2009	BTO	$6.14
Votorantim Cel	VCP	($0.82)	$0.81	N/A	3/30/2009	N/A	$5.23
Amer Caresource	ANCI	$0.06	$0.02	50.0%	3/31/2009	N/A	$7.78
Apollo Group	APOL	$0.65	$0.41	15.5%	3/31/2009	AMC	$77.83
Borders Group	BGP	$0.93	N/A	(18.5%)	3/31/2009	AMC	$0.70
Cyclacel Pharma	CYCC	($0.33)	($0.56)	30.2%	3/31/2009	N/A	$0.39
Decode Genetics	DCGN	($0.19)	($0.53)	0.0%	3/31/2009	AMC	$0.20
Edap Tms Sa-Adr	EDAP	$0.04	($0.19)	(66.7%)	3/31/2009	BTO	$1.30
Exfo Electro	EXFO	$0.04	$0.05	33.3%	3/31/2009	AMC	$3.49
Fsi Intl	FSII	($0.15)	($0.03)	(13.3%)	3/31/2009	AMC	$0.37
Fuller(Hb) Co	FUL	$0.14	$0.32	0.0%	3/31/2009	AMC	$14.28
Gigamedia Ltd	GIGM	$0.15	$0.18	12.5%	3/31/2009	BTO	$6.36
G-Iii Apparel	GIII	($0.06)	$0.12	0.6%	3/31/2009	AMC	$6.40
Hana Bioscience	HNAB	($0.17)	($0.12)	20.0%	3/31/2009	AMC	$0.13
Lennar Corp -A	LEN	($0.71)	($0.56)	3.8%	3/31/2009	BTO	$10.28
Medis Tech	MDTL	($0.34)	($0.41)	0.0%	3/31/2009	N/A	$0.52
Miva Inc	MIVA	($0.14)	($0.27)	(22.2%)	3/31/2009	AMC	$0.22
Nn Inc	NNBR	($0.15)	$0.26	(10.0%)	3/31/2009	BTO	$1.37
Petro Resources	PRC	($0.01)	N/A	50.0%	3/31/2009	AMC	$0.26
Physicians Form	FACE	$0.12	$0.33	1100.0%	3/31/2009	AMC	$1.77
Saba Software	SABA	$0.04	$0.03	100.0%	3/31/2009	AMC	$1.61
Sealy Corp	ZZ	($0.02)	$0.17	(533.3%)	3/31/2009	AMC	$1.80
Sonic Automotve	SAH	$0.03	$0.68	(26.5%)	3/31/2009	BTO	$1.74
Steelcase Inc	SCS	($0.01)	$0.22	(72.7%)	3/31/2009	BTO	$5.85
Tam Sa-Adr	TAM	($2.92)	$0.45	(164.7%)	3/31/2009	N/A	$6.53
Unifirst Corp	UNF	$0.67	$0.79	14.1%	4/1/2009	AMC	$29.91
Worthington Ind	WOR	$0.05	$0.25	-91.43%	4/1/2009	BTO	$10.17
Acuity Brands	AYI	$0.54	$0.82	5.1%	4/2/2009	BTO	$24.66
Allscripts-Misy	MDRX	$0.12	$0.07	16.7%	4/2/2009	AMC	$10.72
Angiodynamics	ANGO	$0.12	$0.14	0.0%	4/2/2009	AMC	$12.57
Carmax Gp (Cc)	KMX	$0.01	$0.20	(600.0%)	4/2/2009	BTO	$13.49
Corel Corp	CREL	$0.20	$0.22	(7.3%)	4/2/2009	BTO	$1.70
Demandtec Inc	DMAN	($0.03)	($0.03)	50.0%	4/2/2009	AMC	$8.64
Global Payments	GPN	$0.42	$0.44	5.3%	4/2/2009	AMC	$33.91
Lawson Software	LWSN	$0.07	$0.07	33.3%	4/2/2009	AMC	$4.68
Lindsay Corp	LNN	$0.21	$0.79	8.5%	4/2/2009	BTO	$31.95
Micron Tech	MU	($0.60)	($0.40)	(67.4%)	4/2/2009	N/A	$4.22
Monsanto Co-New	MON	$2.09	$1.79	63.3%	4/2/2009	BTO	$87.64
Msc Indl Direct	MSM	$0.41	$0.73	4.3%	4/2/2009	BTO	$31.74
Msci Inc-A	MXB	$0.21	$0.18	(43.5%)	4/2/2009	N/A	$16.02
Research In Mot	RIMM	$0.84	$0.72	3.8%	4/2/2009	AMC	$45.04
Rite Aid Corp	RAD	($0.11)	($0.07)	0.0%	4/2/2009	BTO	$0.43
Schulman(A) Inc	SHLM	$0.04	$0.29	6.4%	4/2/2009	AMC	$14.54
Azz Inc	AZZ	$0.78	$0.60	8.6%	4/3/2009	BTO	$28.46

BTO = Before The Market Open, AMC = After The Market Close

¹Some of the companies listed in the earnings calendar may not be in the Zacks Rank universe.

Zacks Investment Research

For an explanation of the contrarian stance that makes Schaeffer's so unique, check out a recent version of Trading Tools.

The Put/Call Ratio Greater than 1.0 screener

Before we begin, let's break down today's stock screener. The filter looks for stocks with a high put/call open interest ratio, indicating a preference for bearish bets among near-term options. Why is this important? Simply put, a high Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) – measuring options with less than 3 months until expiration – suggests that expectations for the security to rally are extremely low. In other words, a high ratio usually indicates skepticism among short-term options speculators.

Though volume is light, options traders are leery

According to the Zacks filter, Lancaster's SOIR remains relatively high, pointing to a significant amount of pessimism among short-term options players. More specifically, the security's SOIR rests at a lofty 1.62. Compared to similar readings taken during the past year, the current SOIR registers in the 84th percentile. In other words, near-term options traders have been more bearishly biased toward the equity only 16% of the time during the past 52 weeks.

However, after digging deeper into LANC's options configuration, we find that options are very lightly traded on the equity. Peak put open interest in the soon-to-be front-month April series rests at the 40 strike, home to fewer than 650 contracts. This round-number strike is also home to peak call open interest, with only about 400 bullish bets in residence.

Nevertheless, is the cynicism in the options pits warranted? Let's take a look at LANC's recent performance on the charts and find out...

Besting the broad market...

Since tagging a new annual low near the 26 level in November 2008, shares of LANC have been a beacon of hope on the Street, skyrocketing about 60% higher with help from their 10-day and 30-day moving averages. Further demonstrating the security's muscle on the charts is its performance compared to the broad market. During the past 60 trading sessions, the equity has outshined the S&P 500 Index (SPX) by an impressive 47%.

From a longer-term perspective, we find that LANC's recent dash into the black has it poised to close the month atop its 20-month moving average for only the second time since June 2007. Shares are also sitting atop support in the 37-to-38 neighborhood, which contained most of the equity's pullbacks from late 2002 until early 2008. However, the security's quest for new highs could be stalled in the overhead 45 region, which played the part of staunch resistance during the past few years.

Word on the Street

Similar to LANC's short-term options configuration, analyst coverage on the uptrending security is light. What's more, the 2 brokers bothering to rate the shares are skeptically skewed, despite the stock's status as an outperformer. According to Zacks, the equity currently harbors a lukewarm "hold" and a single "sell" rating, with nary a "buy" in sight.

The bottom line

Overall, it's surprising to see how little attention LANC garners on the Street, considering the stock's achievements on the charts. What's more, it seems the modest recognition the security does attract is primarily pessimistic. However, this bit of bearish sentiment could actually act as a boon for the stock in the near term. Should shares of LANC continue their quest for new highs, taking out potential resistance in the 45 neighborhood, the stock could bait more buyers. Plus, an unwinding of skepticism in the options arena – not to mention a fresh wave of positive analyst initiations, upgrades, and/or price-target boosts – could act as catalysts to the upside for the explosive equity.

Zacks Investment Research

Company Description

Headquartered in Waynesboro, VA, NTELOS Holdings Corp. is an integrated communications provider. The company provides products and services to customers in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Maryland and North Carolina, including wireless phone service, local and long distance telephone services, IPTV-based video services as well as data services for internet access and wide area networking.

Higher Forecasts

The company is seeing upbeat forecasts from analysts on solid fourth-quarter and full-year results. The current consensus estimate for 2009 earnings of $1.56 per share is 1% above last month's projection and 11% higher than the level of 2 months ago. The most accurate forecast is higher at $1.64.

Estimates for the first quarter of 40 cents per share are up from last month's 37 cents.

Growth in the Fourth Quarter

The company recently announced fourth-quarter earnings of 15 cents per share, topping the previous year's 10 cents. Operating revenues for the quarter totaled $140.6 million, up from the year-prior $127.9 million.

NTLS noted that one of the highlights for the quarter was its launching or expansion into 6 markets, which led to 70% of total cell sites being upgraded at year-end.

The company also declared a quarterly cash dividend of 26 cents per share, which translates into a robust, industry-leading yield of 5.4%. The dividend is payable April 13 to stockholders of record on March 19.

Favorable Industry Comparisons

NTELOS Holdings offers a return on equity (ROE) of 23%, above the industry average of 13%.

The company earnings per share are expected to grow 12% over the next 3 – 5 years, which is in line with the industry average.

NTELOS Holdings has a net profit margin of 9%, compared to the industry average of 7%. Zacks Investment Research