Business & Finance
Business and Finance
Business and Finance
Fri, September 24, 2010
Thu, September 23, 2010 American States Water Company, PPL, Transcend Services and Luminex
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): American StatesWater Company (NYSE: [ AWR ]) and PPL Corporation (NYSE: [ PPL ]).Further, Zacks announced #4 Rankings (Sell) on two other widely held stocks: Transcend Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: [ TRCR ]) and Luminex Corporation (Nasdaq: [ LMNX ]). 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 AWR and PPL 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:
American States Water Companya™s(NYSE: [ AWR ])second quarter earnings of 48 cents per share on August 5, missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 16%. On a year over year basis Earnings Per Share dropped 27%. The full yeara™s average forecast slipped 7 cents to $1.96 per share over the past two months. Next years expectations slid 9 cents to $2.08 in that time period.
PPL Corporation (NYSE: [ PPL ]) posted second quarter profit of 62 cents per share on august 5 missing the average forecast by 7.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year is pegged at a profit of $2.86 per share that dropped 29 cents over the last 60 days. The revenue decreased 10% to $1.50 billion. The following yeara™s estimates fell 20 cents to a profit of $2.91 per share in the same time period.
Here is a synopsis of why TRCR and LMNX 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;
Transcend Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: [ TRCR ]) posted second quarter profit of 18 cents per share on July 29,that was 10% below the average forecast. This apart the Earnings Per Share also dropped 25% on year over year basis. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2010 decreased 5 cents to 79 cents over the past couple of months. Estimates for next year fell 12 cents to 95 cents in the same period.
Luminex Corporation (Nasdaq: [ LMNX ])announced second quarter earnings of 2 cents per share on august 5, which was 3 cents short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The covering analysts have slashed expectations in the past 60 days by 5 cents. The full year average forecast now stands at 19 cents per share. Estimates for the same time span for 2011 has also been slashed 3 cents to 41 cents per share.
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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