For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL -October 25, 2018 - 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: Procter & GamblePG , Philip MorrisPM , HoneywellHON , Lockheed MartinLMT and IlluminaILMN .
Here are highlights from Wednesday's Analyst Blog:
Top Analyst reports for Procter & Gamble, Philip Morris and Honeywell
The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Procter & Gamble, Philip Morris and Honeywell. These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.
Procter & Gamble 's shares have declined -5.1% year to date, underperforming the Zacks Soap and Cleaning Materials industry, which lost -4.7% over the same period. The Zacks analyst attributes the underperformance to strained margins, which in turn have been caused by increased commodity and shipping costs, adverse currency, higher business investments and aggressive pricing from private-label products amid intense competition.
Moreover, sales remain muted due to weak demand and lower prices. While the company expects recently announced price increases to help rebound sales and margins, analysts' fear of impacts on demand and consumption. Also, softness in the grooming and baby care businesses remains concerns.
However, the company has an impressive earnings surprise history, which continued in fourth-quarter fiscal 2018 marking its 13th consecutive beat. The company's focus on product improvement, packaging and marketing initiatives, and productivity cost-savings plan bodes well. Further, it is benefiting from higher demand for skincare products, along with fabric and home care products.
Shares of Philip Morris have outperformed the Zacks Tobacco industry over the past three months (+5.6% vs. +0.2%) buoyed by sturdy top- and bottom-line performances as well as a positive view for 2018. In fact, the third-quarter 2018 results mark fifth and sixth straight quarter of year-on-year earnings and revenue growth, respectively. Results also surpassed estimates in the period.
The quarter's robust performance was backed by favorable pricing and strong brand performances in the combustible category. Further, the company is undertaking initiatives to strengthen RRPs, which have been gaining market popularity.
However, Philip Morris has been grappling with persistent declines in total shipment volumes, mainly stemming from weak cigarette sales. Stringent government regulations on tobacco products have been marring cigarette industry volumes for a while. Moreover, unfavorable currency movements are a viable threat.
Honeywell 's shares have outperformed the Zacks Diversified Operations industry over the past six months, increasing +2.4% vs. a -1.6% decline. In third-quarter 2018, the company's earnings grew 16.7% year over year and also exceeded expectations by 2%.
The company believes that solid demand for innovative technology solutions will continue to drive its segmental revenues in the quarters ahead. The Zacks analyst thinks stronger sales volumes, increased productivity and ongoing commercial effectiveness actions will likely boost near-term profitability.
However, the stock looks overvalued compared to the industry for the past six-month period. The company is presently facing inflationary headwinds across its entire supply-chain process. Escalating costs might dent Honeywell's profitability in the quarters ahead.
Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Lockheed Martin and Illumina.
Will You Make a Fortune on the Shift to Electric Cars?
Here's another stock idea to consider. Much like petroleum 150 years ago, lithium power may soon shake the world, creating millionaires and reshaping geo-politics. Soon electric vehicles (EVs) may be cheaper than gas guzzlers. Some are already reaching 265 miles on a single charge.
With battery prices plummeting and charging stations set to multiply, one company stands out as the #1 stock to buy according to Zacks research.
It's not the one you think.
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss . This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT): Free Stock Analysis Report
Honeywell International Inc. (HON): Free Stock Analysis Report
Illumina, Inc. (ILMN): Free Stock Analysis Report
Procter & Gamble Company (The) (PG): Free Stock Analysis Report
Philip Morris International Inc. (PM): Free Stock Analysis Report
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
