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Simon Property Group, Federal Realty Investment, Monster Worldwide, Yahoo! and Constellation Energy Group

^{Published on 2010-11-29 07:11:43 - Market Wire}
 

CHICAGO--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Zacks.com Analyst Blog features: Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE: [ SPG ]), Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: [ FRT ]), Monster Worldwide Inc (NYSE: [ MWW ]), Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: [ YHOO ]) and Constellation Energy Group Inc. (NYSE: [ CEG ]).

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Here are highlights from Fridaya™s Analyst Blog:

Simon Bids for Capital Shopping

Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE: [ SPG ]), a leading real estate investment trust (REIT), has recently made a $3.6 billion acquisition offer for Capital Shopping Centers Group Plc (CSCG.L), the largest shopping center operator in the U.K. Following the offer, Capital Shopping share prices surged 13% on the London Stock Exchange a" the highest since it began trading as a public company in 1992.

The offer was disclosed when Capital Shopping announced an agreement to buy the Trafford Centre shopping mall near Manchester in northwest England for $1.2 billion in shares and bonds. Capital Shopping would also assume approximately $1.4 billion of debt related to the purchase. The deal represents the highest price ever paid for a British retail property.

Spanning across 1.9 million square feet of space with over 35 million visitors a year, Trafford Centre is one of the 10 biggest malls in the U.K. The acquisition is part of the long-term strategy of Capital Shopping to establish itself as the leading developer, owner and operator of preeminent regional shopping centre destinations in the U.K. With the purchase, Capital Shopping will own 5 of the top 10 malls in the U.K.

Simon Property presently holds a 5.6% ownership interest in Capital Shopping. The company is currently mulling to gain a strategic foothold in the U.K. through the acquisition of a leading domestic shopping center owner. With the successful completion of the takeover bid, Simon Property would emerge as a retail real estate behemoth in the U.K.

Simon Property is the largest publicly traded retail real estate company in North America with assets in almost all retail distribution channels. The company generally enters into long-term leases with its tenants, which insulate it from short-term market swings that have weighed on other players in the industry.

Furthermore, the companya™s international presence gives it a more sustainable long-term growth story than its domestically focused peers. The geographic and product diversity of the company safeguards it from market volatility and provides a steady source of income.

We maintain our Neutral rating on Simon Property, which presently has a Zacks #3 Rank translating into a short-term Hold rating and indicates that the stock is expected to perform in line with the overall U.S. equity market for the next 1a"3 months. We also have a Neutral rating and Zacks #3 Rank for Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: [ FRT ]), one of the peers of Simon Property.

Monster Climbs as Claims Fall

Shares of Monster Worldwide Inc (NYSE: MWW) surged 9.61% in regular trading on November 24 as jobless claims in the US declined by 34,000 to 407,000.

According to the Labor Department, approximately 407,000 workers filed new applications for unemployment benefits last week, the lowest in over two years.

Monster is an online recruitment firm of the parent company Monster.com, the leading career website in the world. Monster works by connecting employers with quality job seekers at all levels and by providing personalized career advice to consumers globally through online media sites and services.

The worldwide economic slowdown has caused companies to reduce headcount, freeze hiring and delay recruitment related decisions. The primary source of revenue for the company is recruitment advertising. Many of the key industry verticals of financial services, retail, manufacturing and construction, served by Monster were severely affected by the slowdown in the global economy.

This had adversely impacted the business of Monster as top line tumbled down in late 2008 and early 2009. Nevertheless, with the economy showing sings of revival and macro business environment improving, Monster should expect business to gradually pick up pace.

With signs of a recovering economy, we expect companies to increase their recruitment via online vehicles such as Monster.com. Monster is seeing noteworthy increases in renewal rates, repeat customers and new customers. Customers are increasing their purchases ahead of a complete economic recovery.

Monster recently acquired HotJobs from Yahoo. HotJobs is a leading online recruitment website, which was previously owned by Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: [ YHOO ]). The HotJobs acquisition should strengthen Monster's position in the online job market and global recruitment resources.

Along with an expanding customer base, Monster will now have access to roughly 62% of the US Internet population (130 million). Monster will also expand its newspaper partnerships from 400 to 1000 with the addition of 600 HotJobs daily and weekly newspapers providing local reach in all 50 states.

While the impact of these positive developments will not be felt in 2010, we expect the company to return to profitability in 2011. In the long-run, we would like to be cautious on its path to recovery and hence maintain our Neutral recommendation on the stock.

However, in the short-run, the stock carries a Buy rating supported by Zacks Rank #2 as Monster reported solid results for the third quarter and provided a strong outlook for the fourth quarter.

Constellation Asset Acquisition Approved

Constellation Energy Group Inc. (NYSE: [ CEG ]) received a regulatory approval from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approving its acquisition of the generation assets of Boston Generating LLC, a unit of privately held US Power Generating Company.

The $1.1 billion transaction although finalized in August 2010, was held up due to the approval of the court as part of U.S. Power Generatinga™s ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. However, the final regulatory approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is still awaited.

Constellation Energy with the approval will acquire five electricity generation plants in Boston of a combined capacity of 2,950 megawatts. This will make the company one of the largest electricity generators in the New England region. New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the U.S., consisting of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

Constellation Energy manages and aggregates demand response capacity programs in New York, New England, the Mid-Atlantic states- California, Texas and Ontario, Canada. In addition to providing demand response programs, energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions, Constellation Energy is a leader in competitive electricity and natural gas supply in the U.S.

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