For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL - March 7, 2012 - 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
Loews Corporation
(
L
),
Diamond Offshore
(
DO
),
CNA Financial Corporation
(
CNA
),
Nokia Corp.
(
NOK
) and
Microsoft Corp.
(
MSFT
).
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Here are highlights from Tuesday's Analyst Blog:
Loews Corp. to Underperformed
We are downgrading
Loews Corporation
(
L
) to Underperform from Neutral on the back of weak fourth quarter
results. Operating earnings in the fourth quarter lagged the Zacks
Consensus Estimate owing to lower investment income from the
limited partnership, increase in insurance reserves for its payout
annuity business, lower earnings at Diamond Offshore and weak
equity investments.
Loews' subsidiary -
Diamond Offshore
(
DO
) - again posted lower earnings in the fourth quarter due to a
higher number of planned downtime days for scheduled maintenance,
survey, mobilization and upgrades. For 2012, Diamond Offshore
estimates a year-over-year decline in contract drilling revenues
due to downtime for rig mobilizations, regulatory surveys and
shipyard projects.
Also,
CNA Financial Corporation
's (
CNA
) exposure to catastrophe loss cost it $208 million, a substantial
deterioration from $113 million in the year-ago quarter.
HighMount, the exploration and production business wing,
generated weaker revenues and net income on lower sales volumes.
The downside resulted from less drilling activity and low natural
gas prices.
However, CNA's property and casualty operation continues to
deliver solid performance on the back of new business, continued
rate improvement and higher retention. Besides, 2011 marked the
fifth consecutive year of favorable prior-year property and
casualty loss development. Also, CNA's merger with CNA Surety,
completed in June 2011, will help it to expand its Specialty
franchise.
Loews maintains a strong balance sheet with minimal debt. It has
aggressively bought back shares in the past. Loews spent $718
million in 2011 to buy back 18.2 million shares, with 0.8 million
shares repurchased in the fourth quarter.
The quantitative Zacks #4 Rank (short-tem Sell rating) for the
company indicates downward pressure on the shares over the near
term.
Headquartered in New York, Loews Corporation is a diversified
holding company. The company's principal subsidiaries are CNA
Financial Corporation, Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc., Boardwalk
Pipeline Partners LP, Loews Hotels Holding Corporation and
HighMount Exploration & Production LLC.
Nokia Suffers S&P Downgrade
Nokia Corp.
(
NOK
) has suffered a setback as Standard & Poor's Ratings Services
(S&P) downgraded its credit rating. Currently, S&P rates
Nokia as BBB-, which is the lowest rank of the rating agency's
investment grade category. As per S&P, Nokia's partnership
with
Microsoft Corp.
(
MSFT
) may help the company to strengthen its competitive position in
the global smartphone market, but significant fall in demand for
the company's legacy Symbian-based handsets will more than offset
the positives of Windows Phone based smartphones.
Quarterly net revenue in the fourth quarter of 2011 was
approximately $13,496.7 million, down 21% year over year.
Smartdevices (including smartphones and tablets) revenue was
$3,705.7 million, down 38% year over year. Mobile Feature Phone
revenue was $4,101 million, down 23% year over year. Smartdevices
average selling price (
ASP
) was $188.9, down 9% year over year. Mobile Feature Phone ASP was
$43.2, down 24% year over year. In the fourth quarter of 2011,
Nokia shipped 19.6 million smartdevices and 93.9 million Mobile
Feature Phones, down 31% and 1% year over year, respectively.
Despite fairly good market traction for its Lumia series of
Windows Phone-based smartphones, Nokia's top line fell primarily
due to poor performance of its Symbian-based handsets compared with
low-cost handsets from Samsung, LG, and HTC in the Asian
markets.
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CNA FINL CORP (
CNA
): Free Stock Analysis Report
DIAMOND OFFSHOR (
DO
): Free Stock Analysis Report
LOEWS CORP (
L
): Free Stock Analysis Report
MICROSOFT CORP (
MSFT
): Free Stock Analysis Report
NOKIA CP-ADR A (NOK): Free Stock Analysis
Report
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