Despite an extremely difficult operating environment, La-Z-Boy Inc. (LZB) has reported 3 straight quarters of positive earnings surprises. The most recent of these reports was last week.

< ?DART(15);?> In response, analysts have revised earnings estimates higher in the past 7 days, while LZB finds itself on the Zacks #1 Rank Top Performers List for Monday with a gain of more than 7%.

Volume is at 733,000 shares, compared to the daily average of more than 927,000.

La-Z-Boy is, of course, part of the Furniture industry. It is 1 of 3 companies from this space on today's Zacks #1 Rank List. The other 2 names are Select Comfort Corporation (SCSS), which was the Top Performer on Thursday, and Tempur-Pedic International Inc. (TPX).

Estimates for La-Z-Boy Up in Past Week

Analysts have responded positively to La-Z-Boy's most recent quarterly report. All

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Agrium Inc. (AGU) reported adjusted net earnings of 29 cents per share in the third quarter of 2009, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 32 cents. Year over year, earnings declined a significant 87% on lower volumes and prices. Revenues were down 41% year over year to $1.9 billion on weak corn prices and lower consumption of crop protection products at retail level.  Retail segment: Retail segment revenues plunged 25% to $1.2 billion in the quarter on a 41% decline in crop nutrient sales to $345 million due to a significant decline in crop nutrient prices. Crop nutrient volumes in the quarter remained flat. Gross profit from the crop nutrients business almost halved to $31 million. Crop protection sales were $768 million in the quarter, down 12% from the same period last year. The decline was driven by lower volumes for fungicides and lower pricing for glyphosate products. ...

CVS Caremark’s (CVS) third-quarter earnings came in at 65 cents, a cent above the Zacks Consensus Estimate and higher than 60 cents reported in the year ago period. Revenues increased 18.2% year over year to $24.6 billion primarily due to robust growth of both segments - pharmacy services and retail pharmacy. However, gross margin declined to 20.3% in the reported quarter compared to 21.1% in the year ago period.

We are pleased to see the robust performance of the pharmacy services segment during the reported quarter. Revenues increased 23.4% to $13 billion. Revenue growth would have been higher at 27.2% but for the recent generic introductions. While pharmacy netwok claims processed during the quarter increased 9% year over year to 146.5 million due to the addition of RxAmerica claims and new client wins, offset partially by a reduction in claims due to the termination of two large contracts (effective beginning

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Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation (RL) reported results for the second quarter of fiscal 2010 with earnings of $1.75 per share. Earnings were well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 96 cents and were up 10.8% year-over-year. Net sales for the quarter declined 3.4% year-over-year to $1.3 billion, primarily due to lower domestic wholesale sales, a reduction in same-store sales at the company’s retail segment and approximately 1% unfavorable impact of foreign currency translation. These were partially offset by the wholesale contribution of formerly licensed childrenswear and golf apparel products in Japan, and low single-digit currency growth in Europe. Gross margins for the quarter expanded 189 basis points (bps) to 59.1% versus 57.3% in the comparable prior-year quarter. The increase was attributable to improved wholesale and retail segment margins, particularly in international markets, and supply chain cost savings initiatives. The operating margin for the quarter also expanded ...

Arris Group Inc. (ARRS) has decided to acquire the privately held Digeo Inc., including its intellectual property portfolio, for a total consideration of approximately $20 million in cash.  Digeo is a pure-play interactive television (iTV) that has diversified its operations into digital video recorder (DVR) and interactive program guide (IPG) market after its merger with Moxi Digital Inc in 2002. The company’s flagship product Moxi(r) HD DVR is a premium hub for home distribution of digital entertainment.  The deal is expected to be closed in the fourth quarter of 2009. Purchase of Digeo together with the recent acquisition of patents and video processing technology for digital network of EG Technology Inc will significantly strengthen Arris’ combined portfolio of digital video networking and multimedia services delivery platform.  Acquisition of these valuable video processing assets will give Arris an edge in this industry, which is very competitive. ...

Harry Winston Diamond Corp. (HWD) recently reported a second-quarter net loss of $24.5 million, or 32 cents per share, on sluggish sales and foreign exchange loss. This compares with a net profit of $49.9 million, or 81 cents, in the year-ago period. Quarterly performance was also worse than the Zacks Consensus Estimate for a loss of 5 cents.

Toronto-based Harry Winston is a specialist diamond enterprise with assets in the mining and retail segments of the industry. The company supplies rough diamonds globally from production received from its Diavik diamond mine in Lac de Gras, Canada. The company has a 40% stake in this mine, which is operated by Rio Tinto Plc (RTP). Harry Winston also retails fine jewelry and watches through its wholly owned subsidiary, Harry Winston Inc., with outlets in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

The company’s quarterly sales plunged 49.1% year over year to

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Cabela's, Inc. (CAB) is bucking the retail doom and gloom as same store sales rose 6.1% on strong hunting equipment sales. The company has surprised on estimates 2 out of the last 4 quarters by an average of 36.25%. CAB is trading at 14x forward earnings.

Company Description

Cabela's is a specialty retailer of hunting, fishing, camping and outdoor merchandise. It operates 30 stores nationwide. The company also has a large mail order and Internet business.

Cabela's also issues Cabela's CLUB Visa credit card, which is its primary customer loyalty program. It is operated through a wholly-owned subsidiary, World's Foremost Bank.

Cabela's Surprised by 133.33% in the Second Quarter

On July 30, Cabela's reported fiscal second quarter 2009 results that easily beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8 cents. Earnings per share rose 27.3% to 14 cents from 11 cents in the year ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - June 22, 2009 - Zacks Equity Research highlights NCR Corporation (NCR) as the Bull of the Day and Rite Aid Corporation (RAD) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Avon Products (AVP), Kimberly-Clark (KMB) and Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG).

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:

Given its robust business model, aggressive cost-cutting measures and new business initiatives, we expect NCR Corporation (NCR) to resume growth across segments later this year. This should be sustainable for the foreseeable future as its customers seek to cut costs through increased automation.

However, NCR experienced a significant drop off in business activity in the retail segment in

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - June 22, 2009 - Zacks Equity Research highlights NCR Corporation (NCR) as the Bull of the Day and Rite Aid Corporation (RAD) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Avon Products (AVP), Kimberly-Clark (KMB) and Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG).

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:

Given its robust business model, aggressive cost-cutting measures and new business initiatives, we expect NCR Corporation (NCR) to resume growth across segments later this year. This should be sustainable for the foreseeable future as its customers seek to cut costs through increased automation.

However, NCR experienced a significant drop off in business activity in the retail segment in

...

Given its robust business model, aggressive cost-cutting measures and new business initiatives, we expect NCR Corporation (NCR) to resume growth across segments later this year. This should be sustainable for the foreseeable future as its customers seek to cut costs through increased automation.

However, NCR experienced a significant drop off in business activity in the retail segment in the second half of 2008 as well as in the first quarter of 2009. The new offer worth $13.0 million from Georgia state, coupled with a new facility addition in Brazil will help the company going forward.

Meanwhile, the company has a sound balance sheet and generated moderate cash flows in Q1. We maintain our Buy rating on NCR shares but increase our six-month price target to $14.00, after factoring in the economic environment.Zacks Investment Research