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CHICAGO--(BUSINESS
WIRE)--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: Visteon Corp. (NYSE: VC), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F),
BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT), Saks, Inc. (NYSE: SKS) and Dassault
Systemes (Nasdaq: DASTY).
Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit
from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=4579
Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst
Blog:
Visteon Downgraded to Sell
Visteon Corp.’s (NYSE: VC) near-term prospects
have been dampened by constant production cuts at Ford (NYSE: F), higher
costs and uncertainty about its restructuring efforts. An apparent rise in
non-Ford revenue was not enough to drive the stock.
The current cost structure combined with spiraling raw material costs is
likely to challenge VC’s operating performance in the
upcoming quarters. Commodity pricing pressures would continue to challenge many
suppliers like VC. The highly-leveraged balance sheet still needs to be tackled.
Considering these factors, we downgrade the shares from Hold to Sell and set a
target price of $2.50.
BB&T Estimates Chipping Away
BB&T Corporation’s (NYSE: BBT) 2Q08
diluted operating earnings came in at $0.69 per share, a penny ahead of
consensus.
The results were supported by 11 bps sequential expansion in the net interest
margin and strong growth in fee-based income. While the loan growth was healthy,
non-performing assets and net charge-offs rose sharply due to further
deterioration in the residential real estate markets.
Saks Coming Back Down to Earth
We are downgrading Saks, Inc. (NYSE: SKS) from Buy to Hold. While the
stock is up about 8% from our July 16 upgrade, we don’t
believe it will outperform the market over the next six months. We were
disappointed by the company’s second quarter results and
the management’s outlook for the second half of the
year. We were not alone. The stock sold off over 8% on the news.
The company’s results demonstrate that higher-end
retail is now deteriorating along with the rest of the retail sector. For Saks,
that points to weak sales trends and lower profit margins in the back half of
the year. As a result, we are taking down our estimates for 2008 and 2009. We
also expect consensus estimates to decline, and that will further pressure the
shares in the months ahead.
Dassault Trades within Fair Range
Dassault Systemes (Nasdaq: DASTY) reported revenues below our
estimates for the second quarter of 2008 but matched our earnings expectations.
It continues to forge strategic alliances and partnerships to stay ahead of
competition. Dassault is a proven leader in its field and garners a high
price-to-earnings multiple. At 22.7x our 2008 earnings estimate or 20.5x our new
2009 estimate, the company is priced around 2.0x to 2.2x its long-term growth
rate.
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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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