For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL - March 21, 2012 - Zacks Equity Research highlights
U.S. Bancorp
(
USB
) as the Bull of the Day and
Loews Corporation
(
L
) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research
provides analysis on
Motorola Solutions Inc.
(
MSI
),
Exelon Corporation
(
EXC
) and
Verizon Wireless
(
VZ
).
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
:
We are upgrading our recommendation on
U.S. Bancorp
(
USB
) to Outperform from Neutral based on its solid fundamentals in the
midst of a challenging economic environment. The company's
fourth-quarter 2011 earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate
due to growth in revenue and reduced credit costs.
Top-line expansion was supported by increases in both net
interest income and fee-based revenue. Its diverse revenue stream,
improving credit quality and solid capital levels are
impressive.
Though a low interest rate environment and regulatory issues
remain our concerns, we believe that the company's loan growth will
be encouraging and it will raise dividend and buyback shares
following the stress test results.
Bear of the Day
:
We have downgraded
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 limited
partnership, increase in insurance reserves for its payout annuity
business, lower earnings at Diamond Offshore and weak performance
of equity investments.
Results at HighMount remained soft due to lower sales volume
stemming from lower drilling activity and lower natural gas prices.
CNA has substantial exposure to catastrophe losses. Losses in the
fourth quarter totaled $208 million, a substantial deterioration
from $113 million a year ago.
Our six-month target price of $35.00 per share equates to about
12.1x our 2012 earnings estimate. This price target along with the
annual dividend of $0.25 per share implies an expected negative
total return of 9.6% over that period.
Latest Posts on the Zacks
Analyst Blog
:
Motorola Solutions Wins Contract
Motorola Solutions Inc.
(
MSI
), one of the leaders in the lucrative U.S. Public Safety market,
received a contract worth $22 million from ComEd, an electric
supply company and a part of
Exelon Corporation
(
EXC
).
Motorola Solutions will provide 900 MHz ASTRO 25 digital trunked
radio systems, a two-way digital radio transmission system, which
offers consistently clear audio service across its footprint. Even
if there is any disruption in power supply during heavy storm, the
new technology will continue to transmit voice along with important
information to ComEd field workers, hence maintaining smooth
work-flow.
ComEd, like other utility companies, uses backdated 900 MHz land
mobile radio frequency. Therefore, implementation of this new
technology by Motorola Solutions will help ComEd to cover an
extensive area of 11,400 square miles in northern Illinois,
including the city of Chicago. Motorola's XTL and XTS series of
digital mobile and portable radios and GTR8000 base station radios
will provide support to the new technology for gaining efficiency
in delivering high quality voice, data and GPS
support.
Motorola's business model remains compelling and we believe the
company will be able to maintain its current top-line growth going
forward, primarily due to the critical nature of the public safety
network in the U.S. and massive growth potential in the Middle
East. Furthermore, the company has entered into an agreement
with
Verizon Wireless
(
VZ
) to install a standard-based public safety broadband network for
mission-critical operations leveraging on the nationwide LTE
network of Verizon, which we believe will act as a positive
catalyst for the stock going forward.
Despite these positive traits, we believe that slowdown in the
government expenditures due to budgetary pressures, particularly at
the state and local level, may significantly jeopardize the
company's overall financials as the company is heavily dependent on
Government expenditures.
Currently, Motorola Solutions Inc. has a Zacks #2 Rank,
implying a short-term Buy rating.
Motorola Solutions Inc., based in Schaumburg, Illinois, is a
leading communications equipment manufacturer, with a strong market
position in bar code scanning, wireless infrastructure gear, and
government communications.
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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EXELON CORP (
EXC
): Free Stock Analysis Report
LOEWS CORP (
L
): Free Stock Analysis Report
MOTOROLA SOLUTN (
MSI
): Free Stock Analysis Report
US BANCORP (
USB
): Free Stock Analysis Report
VERIZON COMM (
VZ
): Free Stock Analysis Report
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