For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL - May 22, 2012 -
Zacks Equity
Research
highlights
Pool Corporation
(
POOL
) as the Bull of the Day and
ArcelorMittal
(
MT
) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research
provides analysis on
Woori Finance Holdings Co. Ltd.
(
WF
),
Bank of America Corporation
(
BAC
) and
Citigroup Inc.
(
C
).
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
:
Pool Corporation's
(
POOL
) first-quarter 2012 earnings outperformed the Zacks Consensus
Estimate. The company is a recognized leader in the industry. The
potential for market growth is significant and cost-containment
initiatives augur well for the business.
Pool's results reflect continued growth in its once-struggling
green business. Amid a tough business environment in terms of weak
growth in new pool constructions and faltering consumer confidence,
Pool's revenue has been marching ahead and exhibits strong earnings
power. The upcoming quarter is also seasonally strong.
The company expects the market condition to improve beyond 2012 as
well. The company is focused on bolstering shareholder returns by
share buybacks and dividend hikes. Hence, we rate the stock
Outperform.
Bear of the Day
:
We are maintaining our Underperform recommendation on
ArcelorMittal
(
MT
) following our assessment of its first-quarter 2012 results.
Earnings missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate while revenues beat
the forecast.
The company's net debt climbed by roughly $1.1 billion in the
quarter. ArcelorMittal also reduced its growth outlook for steel
and announced a few divestments including the sale of its steel
foundation distribution business to Nucor Corporation. These
divestments are a part of the company's strategy to dispose its
non-core assets, a move which it expects to continue in the second
quarter.
ArcelorMittal remains affected by the challenging economic
conditions in Europe. It is also exposed to volatility in steel
pricing and tough competition. Our long-term Underperform
recommendation on the stock indicates that it will perform below
the broader market. Our price target of $13 is based on 6.5x our
fiscal 2012 earnings estimate.
Latest Posts on the Zacks
Analyst Blog
:
BofA Entangled in Another Lawsuit
South Korea-based Woori Bank, a unit of
Woori Finance Holdings Co. Ltd.
(
WF
), sued Merrill Lynch unit of
Bank of America Corporation
(
BAC
). Woori's complaint accuses the investment bank of creating and
selling seven collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) that were made
up of residential mortgage-backed securities in 2005 and 2006.
CDOs typically repackage bonds and other assets into new
securities. These are not traded on a public exchange, and hence
allow the firms like BofA to generate fees by brokering deals
between buyers and sellers. However, CDOs have performed dismally
since these were invested in securities comprising sub-prime
mortgages, which are known to have larger-than-average risk of
defaulting in the market. Eventually, the market downturn shattered
the investment banker's expectations and led to huge losses for the
common investors.
Woori alleged that Merrill issued misleading statements and
omissions related to the mortgage-backed securities and also
concealed the risks associated with the securities. The company
claims that the documents used in offering these securities
contained untrue statements or omissions regarding the risks
involved in these investments. These misrepresentations of the
risks provoked investments, which virtually have no value at
current levels.
Woori has filed the lawsuit in the New York State Supreme Court
in Manhattan. The company demands for damages worth $143 million
along with other penal charges.
Recently, the U.S. District Judge in Manhattan approved BofA's
$315 million settlement with investors related to the Public
Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi pension fund. The
settlement was made to compensate the investors as BofA misled
these investors by giving them deceptive information on risks
associated with mortgage-backed securities issued by its Merrill
Lynch unit.
BofA denied all the charges made against it. However, Merrill
Lynch, which was purchased by the investment bank in 2009, averred
that the losses faced by the investors were attributable to the
downturn in economy and housing bubble.
Last week,
Citigroup Inc.
(
C
) also faced similar legal charges made by Woori Bank. The
complaint lodged claims that Citi misrepresented documents as an
underwriter in the sale of CDOs and residential mortgage-backed
securities, which turned Woori's $95 million investment, made
during 2006 and 2007, into loss.
Numerous lawsuits alleging BofA of such wrongdoings would surely
dent its reputation and financials. However, we believe that the
investors, who have lost their hard-earned money in such
investments, should feel relieved.
Shares of BofA currently retain a Zacks #3 Rank, which
translates into a short-term Hold rating.Considering the
fundamentals, we also maintain a long-term Neutral recommendation
on the stock.
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.
About Zacks Equity Research
Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and
qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and
which to sell for the long-term.
Continuous analyst coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150
publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry
which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company
profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices
are six-month time horizons.
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BANK OF AMER CP (BAC): Free Stock Analysis
Report
CITIGROUP INC (C): Free Stock Analysis Report
ARCELOR MITTAL (MT): Free Stock Analysis Report
POOL CORP (POOL): Free Stock Analysis Report
WOORI FIN-ADR (WF): Free Stock Analysis Report
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