Business & Finance
Business and Finance
Business and Finance
Tue, July 20, 2010Mon, July 19, 2010Sat, July 17, 2010Fri, July 16, 2010Thu, July 15, 2010Wed, July 14, 2010Tue, July 13, 2010Life Partners Holdings, AAR, Barnes & Noble and Spartech
Published in Business and Finance on Thursday, July 15th 2010 at 14:05 GMT by Market Wire
CHICAGO--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Zacks.com releases details on a group of stocks that are currently members of the exclusive Zacks #5 Rank List a" Stocks to Sell Now. These stocks are currently rated as a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell): Life Partners Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: [ LPHI ])and AAR Corp. (NYSE: [ AIR ]). Further, Zacks announced #4 Rankings (Sell) on two other widely held stocks: Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: [ BKS ]) and Spartech Corp (NYSE: [ SEH ]). To see the full Zacks #5 Rank List - Stocks to Sell Now visit: [ http://at.zacks.com/?id=92 ]
"Earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices."
Since inception in 1988, the S&P 500 has outperformed the Zacks #5 Rank List of Stocks to Sell Now by 80% annually (+2% vs. +10%). While the rest of Wall Street continued to tout stocks during the market declines of the last few years, Zacks told investors which stocks to sell or avoid.
Here is a synopsis of why LPHI and AIR have a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell) and should most likely be sold or avoided for the next one to three months. Note that a #5 Strong Sell rating is applied to 5% of all the stocks in the Zacks Rank universe:
Life Partners Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: [ LPHI ]) announced first-quarter earnings of 40 cents per share on July 8, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 31%. For 2011, the average forecast is currently pegged at $2.36 per share, which declined 18 cents over the past couple of months. The current quartera™s estimate slid 5 cents to 56 cents per share in that period.
AAR Corp. (NYSE: [ AIR ]) posted fourth-quarter earnings of 31 cents per share on July 13, which marked a 39% year-over-year decrease. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the full year slipped a penny to $1.41 per share in the last 30 days. The following yeara™s forecast dipped 3 cents to a profit of $1.87 per share over the past week. A month ago, analysts expected earnings of $1.94 per share.
Here is a synopsis of why BKS and SEH have a Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) and should also most likely be sold or avoided for the next one to three months. Note that a #4 Sell rating is applied to 15% of all the stocks ranked by Zacks;
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: [ BKS ]) reported a fourth-quarter loss of 90 cents per share last month, which came in 9 cents wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The full-year average forecast now stands at a loss of 7 cents per share, compared with last montha™s projection for a profit of 90 cents. During that time, all the 3 covering analysts reduced their forecasts.
Spartech Corpa™s (NYSE: [ SEH ]) second-quarter earnings of 13 cents per share, posted on June 9, lagged the average forecast by 31%. Earnings slumped 35% year over year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year fell 2 cents to 74 cents per share over the past month as one analyst out of 4 cut back on expectations. Next yeara™s forecast dipped a penny to 98 cents per share in the same period.
Truly taking advantage of the Zacks Rank requires the understanding of how it works. The free special report; aZacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisionsa is available to provide this insightful background. Download a free copy now to prosper in the years to come at [ http://at.zacks.com/?id=93 ]
About the Zacks Rank
Since 1988, the Zacks Rank has proven that "Earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices." Since inception in 1988, #1 Rank Stocks have generated an average annual return of +27%. During the 2000-2002 bear market, Zacks #1 Rank stocks gained +43.8%, while the S&P 500 tumbled -37.6%. Also note that the Zacks Rank system has just as many Strong Sell recommendations (Rank #5) as Strong Buy recommendations (Rank #1). Since 1988, Zacks Rank #5 stocks have significantly underperformed the S&P 500 (-0.9% versus +9%). Thus, the Zacks Rank system allows investors to truly manage portfolio trading effectively.
Visit [ http://www.zacks.com/performance ] for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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