In October, existing home sales rose by 10.1% and are now 23.5% above the year-ago rate. Sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.10 million, up from 5.54% in September and a 4.94 million pace a year ago. Existing single family home sales rose by 9.7% to a 5.33 million pace, while condo sales soared by 13.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 770,000. Sales have been greatly aided by the "first time" homebuyer tax credit, which while eventually extended and expanded, for most of the month looked like was about to expire. Thus, in October people were scrambling to try to get in under the wire. This is the fifth straight month that existing home sales have exceeded year-ago levels. Even more impressive is the fact that actual, non-seasonally adjusted sales actually were higher in October than they were in September. This is ...

Lithia Motors (LAD) announced a profit of $7.2 million or 33 cents per share, before special items, in the third quarter, an improvement from $1.45 million or 7 cents per share in the year-ago period. This was attributed to increased sales due to the U.S. Government’s “Cash for Clunkers" cash incentive program for fuel-efficient vehicles. The auto retailer managed to nearly meet the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 34 cents per share.

Revenues in the quarter declined 10% to $458 million driven by lower new vehicle sales. New vehicle sales fell 15% to $242 million while used vehicle sales remained almost flat at $136 million. Same store new vehicle sales declined 14.3% while used vehicle sales increased 3.9% on a year-over-year basis.   Lithia’s gross profit margin increased 190 basis points to 18.7%. New vehicle margin rose 110 basis points to 8.8%, used vehicle retail margin elevated 490 basis points to

...

Celanese Corporation (CE), a leading global chemical company, reported net earnings of 58 cents per share in the third quarter of 2009, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 42 cents. Results, however, were lower than last year’s 78 cents. Weak pricing and lower volumes, especially for Acetyl Intermediates and Industrial Specialties products on weak global demand led to net sales of $1.3 billion in the quarter, down 28% from the same period last year. The Acetyl Intermediates segment primarily serves customers in the chemical, paint and adhesives industries. Consumer Specialties: Net sales slid 8% to $271 million in the quarter, driven by lower sales volumes primarily in North America and Europe and negative currency impacts. However, higher pricing, lower raw material and energy costs and benefits from the company’s fixed cost reduction efforts drove a 24% rise in operating profit to $52 million. Consumer Specialties continued ...

Net earnings of $1.51 per share for paint and coating maker Sherwin Williams Company (SHW) in the third quarter of 2009 exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.35 per share and improved marginally from the $1.50 reported in the same period of the previous year. Cost reduction helped the modest improvement in profits. In the first nine months of 2009, the company reduced its selling, general and administrative expenses by nearly $94 million, and improved its working capital ratio to 12.5% from 13% last year. Net sales in the quarter declined 64% year over year to $2 billion. Weak demand in the residential and commercial architectural paint market and lower sales in industrial coatings and non-paint categories lead to a 13.5% decrease in net sales in the Paint Stores segment to $1.22 billion. Net sales of the Consumer Group decreased 7.1% to $330.5 million in ...

Mattel Inc. (MAT) is not required to submit its toys to independent laboratories for safety tests. However, other toy-makers, clothing manufacturers and companies selling products for young children need to send their samples for third-party testing. The third-party testing law was passed last summer as there was a significant increase in the number of recalls of toys contaminated by lead. Interestingly, a number of those toys had been produced by Mattel and its subsidiary Fisher-Price. According to the new law, third party testing is mandatory for both big and small companies making products for children 12 and under. Strict limits have been set for lead, lead paint and chemicals such as phthalates. However, Mattel’s request to use its own labs has been recently granted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). According to CPSC personnel, Mattel has proved that its labs were protected from unwarranted ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 24, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Yum! Brands (YUM) as the Bull of the Day and Sunoco (SUN) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Sherwin Williams (SHW), La-Z-Boy (LZB) and Mohawk (MHK).

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:

The operator of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC fast food chains, Yum! Brands (YUM), reported second quarter results, with double-digit growth in the bottom-line. Earnings per share grew 11% to 50 cents, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 43 cents

Driving growth is the company's overseas divisions (China and Yum Restaurants International), which constitute the only stable segment of the entire restaurant industry. Both the divisions are on track to grow

...

Existing home sales rose 7.2% from last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.24 million from June’s rate of 4.89 million. This was also 5.0% above the year-ago level of 4.99 million, and the consensus expectations of 5.0 million. This is very good news. The only real weak spots I saw in the report were that inventories rose by 7.3%, so despite the increased sales rate, the months of supply remained at a very high (but off peak-level) of 9.4 months. Median prices fell 15.1% from a year ago to $178,400. While median price is not the best metric for judging home prices (it can be easily influenced by the mix of houses), this rate of decline is roughly consistent with the Case-Schiller numbers and is not a surprise. While some uptick in inventories is normal, this month was much more than normal. The overhang of ...

Valspar Corp. (VAL) revealed a 38% improvement in profit to $65 million or 61 cents per share for the fiscal third quarter. The world’s sixth largest paint and coatings manufacturer also topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 53 cents per share. Net income in the corresponding quarter a year ago was $47 million or 44 cents per share.   Valspar believes its restructuring actions, which improved the efficiency of operations, were the driving factors behind the earnings growth.   However, sales during quarter scaled down 17% to $794.6 million on a year over year basis. Valspar seems to be continuously affected by the slowdown in the industrial and architectural coatings markets, which is a result of the housing slump.   Valspar anticipates the difficult sales environment to continue through 2009, particularly in the coil, general industrial and wood product lines, which account for about 40% of its revenues. ...

LKQ Corp., the largest nationwide provider of automobile aftermarket collision replacement parts, today announced that Terry M. Fortner has joined the company as VP of Industry Relations & Market Development. His responsibilities will include the development, implementation, and coordination of LKQ’s product and service offerings to the automobile insurance and collision repair industries.

Mr. Fortner brings with him 32 years of experience with Ohio-based Nationwide Insurance, one of the biggest insurance and financial service companies in the world, where he was VP of Material Damage Claims. His extensive knowledge of automobile damage insurance includes involvement with a number of related industry organizations, such as CCC Insurance Advisory Council, COPART Advisory Council, ABPA Award, and CIECA. He was also a member of the I-Car International Board of Directors, and currently serves on the executive committee of the I-Car Educational Foundation Board of Trustees.

Outside of the industry, Mr. Fortner is a

...

You could say that BWI Holdings, Inc. is really into garbage. But the growing waste solutions company based in Alberta, Canada now goes well beyond standard residential trash handling. BWI has managed to firmly establish itself in a full range of related waste handling and recycling operations, serving commercial, industrial, construction, homebuilding, and even the oil field industry. They also provide special support to the construction industry, in the form of things like fence and sanitary facility rentals, as well as hydrovac site cleanup and water hauling.

In order to manage its diverse operations, BWI has divided itself into four business segments:

• Solid Waste • Liquid Services • Water Hauling • Septic Services

BWI’s source of revenue is based upon customer fees for waste collection, landfill disposal, and recycling. The company’s activities cover operations in Calgary, Edmonton, and the smaller Alberta communities of Edson and Red

...