For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL - May 17, 2012 -
Zacks Equity
Research
highlights
Macy's, Inc.
(
M
) as the Bull of the Day and
AGL Resources, Inc.
(
GAS
) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research
provides analysis on
Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated
(
JLL
),
Procter & Gamble Co.
(
PG
) and
Safeway Inc.
(
SWY
).
Full analysis of all these stocks is available at
http://at.zacks.com/?id=2678
.
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
Bull of the Day
:
Macy's, Inc.
(
M
) has been taking prudent steps to increase sales, profitability
and cash flows. These include integration of operations,
consolidation of divisions and customer-centric localization
initiatives. To help drive traffic, Macy's continues to focus on
price optimization, inventory management and merchandise planning.
These help the company to deliver better-than-expected
first-quarter 2012 results.
The quarterly earnings of $0.43 per share beat the Zacks
Consensus Estimate of $0.40, and rose 43.3% from the prior-year
quarter. Macy's continues to expect fiscal 2012 earnings between
$3.25 and $3.30 per share.
The company hinted that it is seeking to expand both the Macy's
and Bloomingdale's brands, which present enormous opportunities to
enhance market share. Macy's, which saw a 1.2% increase in April
comparable-store sales, now expects comps growth of approximately
3.7% for fiscal 2012.
Bear of the Day
:
We are maintaining our Underperform recommendation on
AGL Resources, Inc.
(
GAS
) with a target price of $35. We expect shareholder sentiment
toward the company to remain lukewarm, considering its investment
in higher-risk unregulated operations, ongoing regulatory
uncertainties and the challenging economic environment.
AGL's earnings are likely to suffer in 2012 due to a
less-than-favorable outlook at its wholesale segment. Additionally,
the inclusion of the shipping operations (post Nicor acquisition)
has left AGL with a weak business, thereby heightening its risk
profile. Partially offsetting these negatives are the company's
large and stable customer profile, consistent dividend growth and
strong liquidity position.
Considering these factors, we see little reason for investors to
own the stock and therefore maintain our Underperform
recommendation. Our $35 price objective reflects a 2012 P/E
multiple of 12.7x.
Latest Posts on the Zacks
Analyst Blog
:
Jones Lang Extends P&G Alliance
Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated
(
JLL
), a leading real estate investment trust (REIT), has recently
extended its global strategic alliance with
Procter & Gamble Co.
(
PG
), one of the largest consumer goods companies in the world, by
forging a new five-year agreement as its global commercial
facilities service partner.
With the deal, Jones Lang has further cemented its strategic
ties and reinforced the business relationship with Procter &
Gamble that had originated in 2003, when the two companies joined
together to pioneer service delivery approaches and
technology-supported platforms to excel competitive pressure.
Under the terms of the new agreement, Jones Lang would provide
integrated facility management, project development, construction
management and strategic occupancy planning services for all the
owned and lobal leased corporate facilities portfolio of Procter
& Gamble, spanning over 60 countries across 6 continents
including North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and
Australia.
Several positives weighed in favor of Jones Lang in outsmarting
competitors in the race to be adjudged the best in its business by
Procter & Gamble, including its unrivalled track record of
superior service delivery, flexible global service model and
dedication to using facilities and real estate investments as a
competitive advantage for the consumer goods company.
Safeway Boosts Dividend
Major grocery chain
Safeway Inc.
(
SWY
) recently announced a 21% increase in its regular quarterly
dividend to 17.5 cents per share from earlier quarterly rate of
14.5 cents. The dividend will be payable on July 12 to shareholders
of record as of June 21, 2012.
Safeway has an effective capital deployment policy in place and
strives to benefit shareholders through dividend payments and share
repurchases. During the first quarter, the company repurchased 46
million shares for $1 billion. It additionally increased its share
repurchase authorization by $1.0 billion to $1.1 billion.
Despite the prevailing volatile macro environment, Safeway
possesses high earnings visibility, consistent cash generation
ability and disciplined investment. At the end of the first quarter
of 2012, Safeway had $134.5 million in cash and cash equivalents
compared with $729.4 million at the end of 2011.
The company's free cash flow in the first quarter declined to
negative $224 million from positive free cash flow of $112 million
due to higher capital expenditure of $308 million ($185 million in
the year-ago quarter). In 2012, Safeway expects around $900 million
in capital expenditures with free cash flow in the range of
$850-$950 million.
Get the full analysis of all these stocks by going to
http://at.zacks.com/?id=2649
.
About the Bull and Bear of the Day
Every day, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research select two
stocks that are likely to outperform (Bull) or underperform (Bear)
the markets over the next 3-6 months.
About the Analyst Blog
Updated throughout every trading day, the
Analyst Blog
provides analysis from Zacks Equity Research about the latest news
and events impacting stocks and the financial markets.
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Continuous analyst coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150
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which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company
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are six-month time horizons.
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AGL RESOURCES (GAS): Free Stock Analysis Report
JONES LANG LASL (JLL): Free Stock Analysis
Report
MACYS INC (M): Free Stock Analysis Report
PROCTER & GAMBL (PG): Free Stock Analysis
Report
SAFEWAY INC (SWY): Free Stock Analysis Report
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