(PH) - Parker-Hannifin Corp - All 13 analysts covering the stock upped their estimates

Parker-Hannifin Corporation (PH), a Zacks #1 Rank stock, topped the Street’s earnings estimate in 12 out of the past 14 quarters. The company recently reported solid results for the second quarter and first half of fiscal 2007. Analysts have been upping their profit forecasts for both this year and next. On Jan 25, the Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of 26 cents per share and authorized the repurchase of up to 10 million shares. Full Analysis Parker-Hannifin Corporation is a full-line diversified manufacturer of motion control products, including fluid power systems, electromechanical controls and related components. The company operates through three business segments: Industrial, Aerospace and Climate & Industrial Controls. PH beat the consensus earnings estimate in five straight quarters by an average margin of 8.1%. Moreover, the company topped the Street’s estimate in 12 out of the past 14 quarters. In half of the 12 quarters PH surprised by a double-digit percentage. Earnings per share grew 39.3% over the past five years. On Jan 17, PH reported second-quarter fiscal 2007 profits of $1.55 per share. Compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.39, the company surprised to the upside by 11.5%. Even more impressive was the 34.8% year-over-year improvement. Revenues came in at $2.5 billion, up 13.6% from $2.2 billion in the same period last year. Chairman, CEO and President Don Washkewicz stated, “Led by exceptional performance in our Industrial International and Aerospace segments, we were able to deliver another record second quarter, and we remain solidly on track for another outstanding year in fiscal 2007.” For the first half of the year, profits increased 33.7% to $403.6 million versus $301.8 million in the prior-year period. Revenues experienced an 18.5% leap to $5.06 billion from $4.27 billion for the first half of fiscal 2006. PH increased revenues for the past nine years while expanding gross margins and growing profits for four years running. Consensus estimates for this fiscal year currently reside at $6.63, marking a 4.6% jump over the past 30 days. All 13 analysts covering the stock upped their estimates. Profit forecasts for next fiscal year have risen 3.8% to $7.06 over the same period of time, and reflect upward revisions by all 13 covering analysts as well. Earnings per share are projected to grow 13% over the next 3-5 years. On Jan 25, the Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of 26 cents per common share of stock. The dividend is payable on Mar 2 to shareholders of record as of Feb 15. PH has a current dividend yield of 1.3% and a five-year average dividend yield of 1.4%. The Board also authorized the repurchase of up to 10 million shares. PH is currently trading at a valuation of 12.5x current fiscal-year estimated earnings and at 11.7x next fiscal-year estimated earnings. The market, as represented by the S&P 500, is trading at a valuation of 15.9x current fiscal-year estimated earnings and at 14.5x next fiscal-year estimated earnings. The company has a price-to-book ratio of 2.3, compared to 4.8 for the market. Its PEG ratio is 0.94. Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home

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(BLK) - BlackRock, Inc - Consensus estimates have been trending higher

BlackRock, Inc. (BLK) beat the Street’s earnings estimate in seven out of the past eight quarters by an average margin of 6.4%. The company recently reported strong results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2006. BLK increased revenues for the past seven years. Consensus estimates have been trending higher for this Zacks #1 Rank stock. On Nov 2, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 42 cents per share of common stock. BLK is currently yielding 1.0%. Full Analysis BlackRock, Inc. provides global investment management, risk management and advisory services to institutional and retail clients around the world. As of Dec 31, 2006, the company’s assets under management totaled over USD 1 trillion across fixed income, liquidity, equity, alternative investment and real estate strategies. BLK’s merger with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers closed on Sep 29, 2006. Over the past two years, BLK has been rather successful when it comes to exceeding analysts’ earnings expectations. The company beat the Street’s estimate in seven out of the past eight quarters by an average margin of 6.4%. Earnings per share grew 25.2% over the past five years. On Jan 23, BLK posted fourth-quarter profits of $1.61 per share, topping the consensus earnings estimate of $1.54 by 4.6%. Compared to earnings of $1.21 in the prior-year period, the result represented a 33.1% year-over-year improvement. Revenues soared to $1.02 billion, compared to $369.1 million in the fourth quarter of last year. For the entire year, profits came in at $322.6 million versus $233.9 million in 2005. Revenues almost doubled to $2.10 billion from $1.19 billion. BLK increased revenues for the past seven years. With BLK expecting that it will generate up to $85 million of pre-tax expense synergies associated with the Merrill Lynch Investment Mangers transaction (which closed on Sep 29, 2006), the company upped its full-year 2007 earnings per share guidance to between $7.25 and $7.55 on an adjusted basis. BLK’s previous outlook called for profits between $6.65 and $7.05 per share. Consensus estimates have been trending higher for BLK. Estimates for this quarter and next have risen 5.7% and 5.4%, respectively, over the past 30 days. Profit forecasts for this year and next are up 5.2% and 2.9%, respectively, over the same period of time. Please note that all five covering analysts upped their estimates for this year. Earnings per share are projected to grow 20% over the next 3-5 years, easily topping the 14% expected growth rate for the industry. On Nov 2, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 42 cents per share of common stock. BLK is currently yielding 1.0% and has a five-year average dividend yield of 0.90%. Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home

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(JEC) - Jacobs Engineering Group Inc - Four analysts have raised their 2007 numbers

The company has exceeded earnings estimates in seven straight quarters, with year-over-year growth averaging about 30% during that time. Four analysts have raised their 2007 numbers. Over the past month, 2007 estimates have increased 25 cents to $4.19 per share, while next year's numbers have risen 36 cents to $4.88 per share. Full Analysis Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEC) is one of the leading providers of professional, technical, and construction services to industrial, commercial, and governmental clients. The company provides its services through offices and subsidiaries located principally in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Jacobs heavy revenue concentration from a relationship-based (RB) business model differentiates it from industry peers whose revenue is derived from a transactional model. The RB model is based on the belief that customer needs are ahead of its own, and that relationships grow from earned trust. As trust builds over time, Jacobs has been able to secure over 80% of its total revenue from this business model. The company has a high retention rate of customers in the range of 89-93%. As these customer relationships are long-term in nature, the sales opportunity comes from cross selling services to its existing customer base. Jacobs has renegotiated certain long-term supply agreements at fixed prices, which pave the way for steady earnings in the near future. JEC's federal business reaps the benefits today of its past efforts to solidify a working relationship with NASA. In the past two years, the company captured four significant NASA programs including the Johnson Space Center contract. The Johnson contract (five years, $1.15 billion) covers products and services for the International Space Station, Space Shuttle, and many of the space agency's other projects. The growing backlog of a solid number of contracts in the past few months is a precursor to strong sales in the future. At the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2007, Jacobs reported a $1.40 billion (15.5%) year-over-year (y-o-y) increase and a $618.8 million sequential gain in the backlog. Its technical professional services backlog continued to grow and increased 22.5% y-o-y and 7.5% sequentially to $5.54 billion. The company has exceeded earnings estimates in seven straight quarters, with year-over-year growth averaging about 30% during that time. Four analysts have raised their 2007 numbers. Over the past month, 2007 estimates have increased 25 cents to $4.19 per share, while next year's numbers have risen 36 cents to $4.88 per share. Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home

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(AHM) - American Home Mortgage Investment Corp - eye-popping 348.1% year-over-year earnings improvement

American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. (AHM), a Zacks #1 Rank stock, exceeded analysts’ earnings expectations for 12 straight quarters. Consensus earnings estimates have shot upward since AHM released its fourth-quarter and full-year results. On Nov 20, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.06 per share. The company has a price-to-book ratio of only 1.6, compared to 4.8 for the market. Full Analysis American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that engages in the investment and origination of residential mortgage loans. The company is one of the top 20 national lenders, with coast-to-coast operations and the ability to originate loans in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. When it comes to exceeding analysts’ earnings expectations, AHM shines bright. The company topped the Street’s estimate for 12 consecutive quarters. Furthermore, in half of those quarters AHM surprised by a double-digit percentage. On Jan 25, AHM posted fourth-quarter profits of $1.21 per share, beating the consensus earnings estimate by two pennies. When compared to the 27 cents earned in the prior-year period, the result marked an eye-popping 348.1% year-over-year improvement. Revenues soared 71.2% to $257.7 million, compared to $150.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2005. For the entire year, net earnings came in at $263.5 million—a 39.1% jump when compared to $189.4 million earned in 2005. Revenues hit $1.03 billion, which was the first time in the company’s history in which annual revenues topped the $1.0 billion plateau. Analysts responded to the company’s solid fourth-quarter and full-year results by upping their earnings estimates. Consensus estimates for this quarter and next have risen 23.9% and 6.5%, respectively, over the past seven days. Profit forecasts for this year and next are up 8.7% and 10.4%, respectively, over the same period of time. On Nov 20, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.06 per share. In the same period last year, AHM’s quarterly dividend amounted to 91 cents per share. As a REIT, the company is required to distribute at least 90% of its taxable income to shareholders. AHM is currently yielding 12.1% and has a five-year average dividend yield of 5.9%. AHM is currently trading at a valuation of 6.5x current fiscal-year estimated earnings and at 6.0x next fiscal-year estimated earnings. The market, as represented by the S&P 500, is trading at a valuation of 15.8x current fiscal-year estimated earnings and at 14.4x next fiscal-year estimated earnings. The company has a price-to-book ratio of only 1.6, compared to 4.8 for the market. Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home

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(TROW) - T. Rowe Price Group, Inc - Upward revisions were submitted by 11 covering analysts

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (TROW) beat the Street’s earnings estimate in six out of the past seven quarters. The company increased revenues and grew profits for the past four years. Assets under management finished the year at a record $334.7 billion. TROW recently boosted its quarterly dividend by 21.4% to 17 cents per share, leading to a current dividend yield of 1.4%. Full Analysis T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. is a global investment management firm that provides a broad array of mutual funds, sub-advisory services and separate account management for individual and institutional investors, retirement plans and financial intermediaries. TROW also offers a variety of sophisticated investment planning and guidance tools. The company’s investment management services span the full range of U.S. and non-U.S. equity, fixed-income and multi-asset class investment styles. TROW topped analysts’ earnings expectations in six out of the past seven quarters. The company’s most recent surprise occurred on Jan 26 when it reported fourth-quarter profits of 53 cents per share. The Street was calling for 50 cents per share. Compared to earnings of 43 cents in the fourth quarter of last year, the result equated to a 23.3% year-over-year improvement. Revenues jumped 21.4% to $489.1 million from $402.9 million, while assets under management finished the year at a record $334.7 billion. For the full year of 2006, profits rose 22.9% to $529.6 million, compared to $431 million in 2005. Revenues climbed 20.5% to $1.82 billion from $1.51 billion. TROW increased revenues and grew profits for the past four years. President and CEO James A.C. Kennedy stated, “We are pleased to report excellent results for T. Rowe Price Group in 2006, driven by steady growth and continued healthy cash inflows to our funds and investment portfolios from across our business.” The company’s strong capital position allowed it to boost its quarterly dividend by 21.4% to 17 cents per share from 14 cents per share in the prior quarter. TROW has a current dividend yield of 1.4% and a five-year average dividend yield of 1.6%. Moreover, the company repurchased $171 million of its common shares in 2006. Over the past 30 days, consensus estimates for this year jumped 10 cents to $2.31. Upward revisions were submitted by 11 covering analysts. Profit forecasts for next year have risen by an even larger magnitude—15 cents over the same period of time. Two analysts upped their estimates. Earnings per share are projected to grow 14% over the next 3-5 years, in line with that of the industry average. On Jan 29, TROW announced that it will now offer another international investment opportunity, the Overseas Stock Fund. The fund seeks long-term capital growth by investing in the common stocks of established companies outside the United States. Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home

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(BLUD) - Immucor, Inc - Three analysts have raised their numbers for 2006, while two have done so for 2007

BLUD has met or exceeded earnings estimates in each of the past three quarters, with the last two surprises averaging 11%. Year-over-year growth has exceeded 50% in six out of the past seven quarters. Three analysts have raised their numbers for 2006, while two have done so for 2007. Over the past month, this year’s estimates have increased almost 5% to 77 cents per share. Full Analysis Immucor, Inc. (BLUD) develops, manufactures, and sells a complete line of automated systems and reagents used in a number of tests to detect certain properties of the cell and serum components of human blood prior to blood transfusion. Immucor s reagents are mainly used to determine blood group and blood type, to detect and identify blood group and platelet antibodies, and to conduct paternity testing and prenatal care. BLUD spends a significant amount on research and development (R&D), to improve existing products or to develop new ones, and continues to invest in its sales force, in order to gain market share. The company generates a majority of its revenue from the sale of reagent products. BLUD expects to continue increasing manufacturing efficiencies going into fiscal 2007 through implementation of a Manufacturing Execution System ( MES ), a new sales forecasting system, and a new marketing database, the combination of which is expected to drive more accurate forecasting of product demand and resulting material and labor requirements. In addition to these manufacturing efficiencies, a pricing strategy implementation in fiscal 2005 has been helping to improve gross margin. This pricing strategy is targeted at increasing prices on traditional reagents, as well as on Capture products, within a new three tier standardized pricing structure applicable to all customers who are not members of group purchasing organizations. BLUD has met or exceeded earnings estimates in each of the past three quarters, with the last two surprises averaging 11%. Year-over-year growth has exceeded 50% in six out of the past seven quarters. Three analysts have raised their numbers for 2006, while two have done so for 2007. Over the past month, this year’s estimates have increased almost 5% to 77 cents per share. Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home

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(BKUNA) - BankUnited Financial Corp - estimates for both this year and next year have risen - PEG ratio of 0.74

BankUnited Financial Corporation (BKUNA) beat the Street’s earnings estimate in 11 out of the past 14 quarters by an average margin of 7.5%. Consensus estimates for both this year and next year have risen over the past two months. On Jan 25, the Board of Directors authorized an increase in its share repurchase program by 600,000 shares. The company has a price-to-book ratio of only 1.3 and its PEG ratio currently sits at 0.74. Full Analysis BankUnited Financial Corporation operates as the holding company for BankUnited FSB. Through the bank's 78 full-service branches located in Florida, it offers various retail and business deposit products, as well as a variety of value-added, fee-based banking services to retail customers and businesses in its market. The company also offers residential, consumer and commercial loans. BKUNA beat the Street’s earnings estimate in 11 out of the past 14 quarters by an average margin of 7.5%. Over the past six quarters, the company exceeded estimates on five occasions while matching once. On Jan 22, BKUNA posted a 4.4% positive earnings surprise for the first quarter of fiscal 2007. Earnings per share came in at 71 cents, compared to the consensus estimate of 68 cents. Profits in the prior-year period amounted to 50 cents per share, marking a 42.0% year-over-year improvement for the company. Net interest income soared 53.6% to $78.8 million versus $51.3 million a year earlier. Non-interest income increased 51.1% to $11.6 million. Chairman and CEO Alfred R. Camner stated, “We had exceptionally strong results in the first quarter. Our record quarterly income was a result of increased earning assets, a higher net-interest margin, controlled loss experience and a strong increase in other operating income.” Consensus estimates for both this year and next year have risen over the past two months. Estimates for this year jumped nine cents to $2.87, while profit forecasts for next year jumped 18 cents to $3.10. Earnings per share are projected to grow 13% over the next 3-5 years, while the industry is expected to grow at a 10% clip. On Jan 25, the Board of Directors authorized an increase in its share repurchase program by 600,000 shares. The total number of shares that may now be bought back under the program is 3.6 million shares. During the first quarter, BKUNA repurchased 130,000 shares of its common stock. On Dec 1, the Board declared a cash dividend of one-half cent per share, its eighth consecutive payout. BKUNA is currently trading at a valuation of 9.5x current fiscal-year estimated earnings and at 8.8x next fiscal-year estimated earnings. The market, as represented by the S&P 500, is trading at a valuation of 15.7x current fiscal-year estimated earnings and at 14.3x next fiscal-year estimated earnings. The company has a price-to-book ratio of only 1.3, compared to 4.8 for the market. Its PEG ratio currently sits at 0.74. Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home

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(STT) - State Street Corp - Upward revisions were submitted by 13 of the 16 covering analysts

State Street Corporation (STT) topped analysts’ earnings expectations in five out of the past six quarters by an average margin of 7.0%. The company recently reported solid results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2006. Analysts have been upping their profit forecasts for both this year and next. On Dec 21, the Board of Directors boosted its quarterly dividend by a penny to 21 cents per share. STT is currently yielding 1.2%. Full Analysis State Street Corporation operates as the holding company for State Street Bank and Trust Company, which provides various products and services for institutional investors worldwide. The company has $11.3 trillion in assets under custody and $1.6 trillion under management. STT’s broad and integrated range of services spans the entire investment spectrum, including research, investment management, trading services and investment servicing. STT exceeded analysts’ earnings expectations in five out of the past six quarters by an average margin of 7.0%. On Jan 17, STT reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of 86 cents, which topped the Street’s estimate by two cents and earnings in the prior-year period by 16.2%. Total revenues came in at $1.62 billion, up 14.1% from $1.42 billion in the fourth quarter a year earlier. For the entire year, profits jumped 30% to $1.09 billion, while total revenues increased 15% to a record level of $6.35 billion. Chairman and CEO Ronald E. Logue stated, “I'm pleased that we exceeded the financial goals we set for the year, helped by a favorable operating environment. Nearly every revenue item on our income statement increased in double digits on a year-over-year basis, and we achieved positive operating leverage again this year.” The consensus estimate for this year jumped seven cents to $3.85 over the past 30 days. Upward revisions were submitted by 13 of the 16 covering analysts. Profit forecasts for next year have risen 14 cents to $4.34 over the same period of time, and reflect upward revisions by three analysts. Earnings per share are projected to grow 12% over the next 3-5 years. The industry is expected to grow 10%. On Jan 22, STT announced its acquisition of Currenex, an independently owned online foreign exchange trading platform. The approximately $564 million purchase is expected to accelerate STT's participation in the fast growing electronic foreign exchange trading marketplace. On Dec 21, the Board of Directors boosted its quarterly dividend by a penny to 21 cents per share. The quarterly dividend rate is 11% higher than a year ago. STT has a current dividend yield of 1.2% and a five-year average dividend yield of 1.3%. The company’s return on equity, a common measure of profitability, tops that of the industry average—17% compared to 16%. STT is a Zacks #2 Rank (Buy) stock. Zacks #2 Rank stocks have generated an average annual return of 21.6% since 1988. Because the Zacks Rank has a market cap bias, Growth & Income investors may find a greater number of large-cap stocks by considering both Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) and Zacks #2 Rank (Buy) stocks in their selection criteria. Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home

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(PKTR) - Packeteer, Inc - well-positioned in the rapidly growing application traffic management market

Packeteer is in a strong position in a rapidly growing industry. Additionally, the company has a strong balance sheet, including $76.6 million of cash and investments and zero long-term debt as of December 31, 2006. This should help Packeteer to instill confidence in large potential customers as well as pursue further strategic acquisitions. Full Analysis Packeteer, Inc. (PKTR) is a provider of network appliances and software that enhance application performances over enterprise wide area networks (WAN) and the Internet. An enterprise WAN is a computer communications network that extends beyond a single location or office. The company's application-adaptive bandwidth management solutions give businesses control of bandwidth at congested WAN access links, helping service providers and enterprises connect highspeed local area networks (LAN) with wide area backbone networks by removing bottlenecks. PKTR is well-positioned in the rapidly growing application traffic management market and is the dominant vendor according to International Data Corporation (IDC), an industry analyst. Beyond the service provider segment, WAN optimization has a number of untapped opportunities in the enterprise market as new trends develop. According to IDC, the market is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.1%, from about $255 million in 2004 to almost $611 million in 2009. Such a scenario bodes well for the future prospects of Packeteer. The company has a strong balance sheet, including $76.6 million of cash and investments and zero long-term debt as of December 31, 2006. This should help Packeteer to instill confidence in large potential customers as well as pursue further strategic acquisitions. Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home

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(ENH) - Endurance Specialty Holdings, Ltd. - topped earnings expectations in two of three quarters by an average 23.4%

Endurance Specialty Holdings, Ltd. (ENH), a Zacks #1 Rank stock, exceeded analysts’ earnings expectations in two out of the past three quarters by an average margin of 23.4%. Consensus estimates for this quarter and for the full year have risen over the past month. On Nov 1, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 25 cents per share. The company has a price-to-book ratio of only 1.1. Full Analysis Endurance Specialty Holdings, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, is a global provider of property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. The company operates in six segments: Property per Risk Treaty Reinsurance, Property Catastrophe Reinsurance, Casualty Treaty Reinsurance, Property Individual Risk, Casualty Individual Risk, and Aerospace and Other Specialty Lines. ENH topped analysts’ earnings expectations in two out of the past three quarters by an average margin of 23.4%. In both quarters the company managed to surprise by a double-digit percentage. The company is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter and full-year 2006 results on Feb 7. On Oct 25, ENH posted third-quarter earnings per share of $1.87, beating the Street’s estimate of $1.38 by 35.5%. Gross premiums written amounted to $476.2 million, compared to $370.6 million in the third quarter of 2005. For the first nine months of the year, profits came in at $299.3 million, versus a loss of $170.7 million in the prior-year period. Gross premiums written climbed to $1.50 billion from $1.48 billion for the first nine months of 2005. Consensus estimates for this quarter currently reside at $1.52. This marks a three-cent improvement over the past 30 days. Profit forecasts for the full year have risen eight cents to $5.66 over the same period of time. Two analysts submitted upward revisions for this year. On Nov 1, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 25 cents per share. The company has a very respectable current dividend yield of 2.90%. ENH is currently trading at a valuation of 6.2x current fiscal-year estimated earnings and at 6.6x next fiscal-year estimated earnings. The market, as represented by the S&P 500, is trading at a valuation of 15.7x current fiscal-year estimated earnings and at 14.3x next fiscal-year estimated earnings. The company has a price-to-book ratio of only 1.1, compared to 4.8 for the market. Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home

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(CNS) - Cohen & Steers, Inc - beat the consensus earnings estimate by a solid 17.7%

Cohen & Steers, Inc. (CNS), first presented as a Growth and Income pick on Sep 21, is up nearly 56%. CNS exceeded analysts’ earnings expectations in four out of the past five quarters by an average margin of 13.8%. Analysts have been upping their earnings estimates for both this quarter and for the full year. Earnings per share are expected to grow 14% over the next 3-5 years. This Zacks #1 Rank stock has a current dividend yield of 1.1%. Full Analysis Cohen & Steers, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a manager of equity portfolios primarily in the United States. The company serves individual and institutional investors through a range of open-end mutual funds, closed-end mutual funds and institutional separate accounts. CNS also has a small investment bank that advises real estate businesses and REITs. Since CNS was first featured as a Growth and Income stock on Sep 21, the company has added two more positive earnings surprises to its track record. CNS has now topped the Street’s estimate in four out of the past five quarters by an average margin of 13.8%. Moreover, the stock is up nearly 56% since its debut. On Jan 24, CNS reported fourth-quarter profits of $16.6 million, or 40 cents per share. The result beat the consensus earnings estimate of 34 cents by a solid 17.7%, and soared past earnings in the prior-year period by 66.7%. Total revenues ballooned 54.0% to $57.6 million, compared to $37.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2005. Assets under management reached a record $29.9 billion at Dec 31, 2006. At Dec 31, 2005, assets under management stood at $20.5 billion. During the quarter CNS established an office in London to focus on the United Kingdom and European real estate securities markets. The company now has a presence in Belgium, Hong Kong and London. Co-Chairman and Co-CEO Martin Cohen stated, “Our second full year as a public company was one of great progress. We executed on our business plan and took advantage of a number of opportunities that materially enhanced both our current earnings as well as our growth prospects.” Consensus estimates for this quarter are up 21.2% to 40 cents over the past 30 days. Two of the four covering analysts submitted upward revisions. Profit forecasts for the full year have risen 10.1% to $1.53 over the same period of time. Three of the six covering analysts upped their estimates. Earnings per share are expected to grow 14% over the next 3-5 years, compared to a 13% projected growth rate for the industry. On Nov 8, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 13 cents per share of common stock. The company has a current dividend yield of 1.1%. CNS’s return on equity of 35% is in line with that of the industry average. Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home

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(SINA) - SINA Corp - compound annual growth rate of about 15% for the next five years

The company has exceeded earnings estimates in each of the past three quarters by an average margin of 31%. Seven analysts have raised their forecasts for 2006, while six have done so for 2007. Over the past three months, both this year and next year's estimates have jumped by about 10%. Full Analysis SINA Corporation (SINA) is a leading provider of online media and value-added information services to global Chinese community. According to Alexa, SINA was ranked the top ten most visited websites in the world. SINA provides services through five major business lines including SINA.com (online news and content), SINA Mobile (mobile value-added services), SINA Online (community-based services and games), SINA.net (search and enterprise services), and SINA ECommerce (online shopping). The company sells advertising services, short messaging services, premium email, online gaming, listings, and enterprise solutions. Most of its revenue is derived from online brand advertising and mobile value-added services including short messages and ring tones. The potential opportunity for online usage in China is huge, with only 123 million internet users out of its 1.3 billion citizens. As more Chinese consumers go online, the market should generate a compound annual growth rate of about 15% for the next five years. This fertile landscape should provide SINA with numerous avenues for growth. SINA is one of the most recognizable brand names among Chinese Internet companies. In addition, the market for wireless services in China also has significant growth potential because of the about 430 million mobile phone users and the large number of consumers who still do not have wireless service. SINA is in a good position to take advantage of these growth trends, as it can attract more users to use its wireless services than its competitors through its popular website. The company has exceeded earnings estimates in each of the past three quarters by an average margin of 31%. Seven analysts have raised their forecasts for 2006, while six have done so for 2007. Over the past three months, both this year and next year's estimates have jumped by about 10%. Content Courtesy: Zacks Investment Research #1 Ranked Stocks Highlight Archive To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That is why we created the free special report: Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home

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(ANGN) - (NGM) - (BIDU) - (CYBS) - (KNXA) - Jim Oberweis, The Oberweis Report newsletter

Jim Oberweis, editor of The Oberweis Report newsletter, recommends owning stocks in 2007 with an overweight allocation in growth plays as well as Europe and Japan markets. Read this featured expert's commentary and take a look at a sampling of his Current Portfolio stocks. Commentary from December 29 It has been said that economic forecasting is like driving a car blindfolded and following directions given by a person who is looking out of the back window. Unfortunately, the future is rarely an extrapolation of the past. In many cases, the events that shape annual market returns are also the most unpredictable, events such as natural disasters, war, and Sept 11th-type terrorist attacks. While nobody can predict those types of events, it does make sense to spend time thinking about which areas of the market are most attractive and most vulnerable in absence of outlier events. Before we get to next year, it is only fair to review last year's prognostications. Our 2006 forecast turned out to be a mixed bag. We wrote in the January 2006 outlook summary, 'We think global equities will appreciate in 2006. We expect U.S. equities to lag non-US equities, particularly those in Asia.' We were right on in that regard. Global equities throughout the world posted favorable gains. The S&P 500 gained 14%, the British FTSE 100 Index gained 11%, and the German DAX gained 22% (in local currencies). Emerging market Asian equities such as China and Vietnam posted exceptional gains for the year. The larger-cap oriented Hong Kong Hang Seng Index rose 34%. Notably, small-cap China stocks did even better. In Asia, the exception was Japan, whose Nikkei 225 returned only 7% for the year. Next we said, 'We expect the dollar will decline against both the Euro and the Yen in 2006.' The dollar hung in there against the Yen, finishing the year right about where it began. However, the dollar experienced a significant decline against the Euro in 2006, with a decline of about 11%. In U.S. dollar terms, the FTSE and DAX returns were much higher, namely 26% and 36%, respectively. Lastly, we noted, 'Large-cap stocks will perform better than small-cap stocks, but growth stocks will outperform value stocks, and the latter effect will be most important.' On this account, we were flat wrong. Small-cap stocks edged out large-cap stocks yet again, and value stocks performed substantially better than growth stocks ' again. That brings us to our 2007 outlook. Although we were early last year on our call of a shift towards growth stocks away from value stocks, the evidence is now more compelling than ever ' and sooner or later this shift will occur. In fact, the move appears to already be underway, as growth led value in the fourth quarter. The relative price/earnings ratios of value stocks at all market capitalizations appear to us to be expensive relative to growth stocks. That disparity has only increased in 2006. Stocks will outperform bonds in 2007. Even though most economists expect slower GDP growth in 2007, that opinion seems so ubiquitous that we don't think slower growth will be a problem for the market. If everybody thinks growth will be slow, a little faster-than-expected growth will ignite equity prices. We believe equities both here and abroad will offer attractive returns in 2007. We continue to favor international equities over domestic equities, mostly due to the continued cheaper valuations abroad, even after this year's rally in foreign markets. We expect the dollar to continue to trend lower, which will magnify foreign market returns in U.S.-dollar terms. (Note: On that note, you may want to visit our website at www.oberweisfunds.com. A preliminary prospectus, which is not complete and will change at a later date, has been filed for a new fund, the Oberweis International Opportunities Fund. We may not sell shares of the fund until the prospectus is effective, which is expected to occur on February 1, 2007. If you would like to receive a final prospectus when it becomes available, please call or visit our website). Though the Fed futures appear to be pricing in a very high probability of interest rate cuts by mid- 2007, we believe there is a reasonable possibility that the market consensus is wrong and that the Fed will hold firm through the first half of 2007. Students of the Internet Spectacle know well that markets sometimes go to irrational extremes before mathematics take hold. However, over the longer term, it is the mathematics of cash flow and the cost of capital (i.e. interest rates), not the madness of crowds, which drive stock prices. Lord knows, it can be a long, painful wait. But remember the Chinese Proverb: 'One moment of patience may ward off disaster. One moment of impatience may ruin a life.' In short, here is what you should do: * OWN STOCKS! Even if the economy plateaus, valuations look attractive for equity markets and the return prospects for 2007 are above-average. * Underweight value stocks, overweight growth stocks. Be particularly wary of small-cap value stocks. High growth stocks (i.e. companies with 30%+ revenues and earnings growth) such as those in the Oberweis Report are very well positioned to outperform their small-cap value counterparts. * Overweight developed-market international stocks like Europe and Japan. Despite tremendous gains in 2006, emerging markets like China will underperform developed markets like Europe and Japan in 2007. That said, we still think China will be an excellent long-term investment over the next 10 years. A couple of holdings from the Current Portfolio' Angeion Corporation (ANGN) designs, manufactures and distributes cardio-respiratory diagnostic systems, related software and programs for the management and improvement of individual health and fitness. The company's MedGraphics division develops pulmonary function and cardiopulmonary exercise testing systems. Such systems are used for screening asthma patients, as well as for pre- and post-assessment of heart and lung surgery patients. The company's New Leaf Fitness division takes the technologies developed by MedGraphics and markets programs to consumers to improve fitness and manage weight. Sales in the latest quarter grew 45% to $8.8 million versus $6.1 in the same quarter last year. EPS in the same period was $0.17 versus -0.07 last year. Rochester Medical Corporation (NGM) develops, manufactures, and markets silicone which is PVC - and latex-free urological and urinary continence care products for urinary dysfunction management and urine drainage management. The company's products use silicone-based and soft liquid-filled catheters which are easier to insert and more comfortable for patients compared to traditional catheters. Individual products include silicone-based external male catheters for managing incontinence and intermittent catheters for both males and females urine retention. Rochester also has a line of acute care products including an antibacterial Foley catheter that reduces the risk of hospital-acquired urinary tract infections. Major customers consist of Hollister, Mentor Medical, and Porges. In the company's most recent fourth quarter ended September 30, 2006, sales increased 58% with sales of $6.8 million compared to $4.3 million in the fourth quarter of last year. Rochester also reported earnings per share of $.08 in the fourth quarter 2006 versus $.06 in the same quarter a year ago. Other Current Portfolio stocks include' Baidu.com (BIDU) is the leading Chinese language search engine. Baidu's mission is to provide the best way for people to find information online, including Chinese language web pages, news, images and multimedia files though links provided on our website. In addition to serving individual Internet search users, they also provide an effective platform for businesses to reach potential customers online. Their online marketing services include auction-based P4P and tailored solutions. They believe we were the first auction-based P4P service provider in China. Cybersource Corporation (CYBS) is a leading developer and provider of real-time, or on-demand, e-commerce transaction services. Through our Internet Commerce Suite, the company offers services to online merchants for global payment processing, fraud prevention, tax calculation, export compliance, territory management, delivery address verification and fulfillment management. The services enable online merchants to focus their resources on areas where they can most effectively differentiate themselves, such as marketing, Web site content, merchandising and customer support. Kenexa Corp. (KNXA) provides software, services and proprietary content that enable organizations to more effectively recruit and retain employees. Kenexa solutions include applicant tracking, employment process outsourcing, phone screening, skills and behavioral assessments, structured interviews, performance management, multi-rater feedback surveys, employee engagement surveys and HR Analytics. Kenexa is headquartered in Wayne, Pa. This article highlights the commentary of James Oberweis Jr. for the Zacks.com audience. James Oberweis Jr. provides insightful analysis, market commentary, and favorite recommendations on a timely basis in "Oberweis Report" newsletter. Try it free for 30 days and see if you can improve your investment performance. Learn more about "Oberweis Report" and 30-Day Free Trial. And get immediate access to current issues and special reports. Click here nowK. Here's How You Can Profit from the Pros Find out what other leading experts are saying about the market. And what stocks they are recommending. For free. Just sign up for our free email newsletter, Profit from the Pros, where we'll give you the commentary, advice, and insight from those rare few experts who consistently beat the market year in, year out. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home

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(ECOL) - (JEC) - (GROW) - (SLW) - Spear's Security Industry Analyst newsletter

Gregory Spear, editor of the Spear's Security Industry Analyst newsletter, discusses a situation in the Middle East that could have a negative impact on stocks. However, this featured expert does have a game plan. Find out What Spear is buying in light of the Middle East events and read a detailed profile on one of the companies. Executive Summary from January 25 Apart from the daily horror show in Iraq, the situation in the Middle East has been making few headlines over the last month. Gregory Spear and his team believe that this period of relative quiet is merely the calm before a very big storm. Israel has 'leaked' details about its plans for a nuclear attack on Iran, and Iran is showing unmistakable signs that it believes these plans are credible. The financial markets are still assuming that an attack on Iran is a remote possibility, but a change of commanders in the region and the build-up of U.S. naval forces in the Gulf suggests otherwise. How should you play it? Spear and his team are buying American Ecology (ECOL), Jacobs Engineering (JEC), U.S. Global (GROW) and Silver Wheaton (SLW). Below is a detailed recommendation for one of these companies: Given our innate tendency toward irresponsible business and government practices vis a vis the natural environment, toxic waste management and disposal is a secular growth story, and it doesn't need the U.S. economy to be strong to perform well. American Ecology (ECOL), headquartered in Boise, Idaho, is the nation's oldest radioactive and hazardous waste services provider, operating for more than fifty years. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides radioactive, PCB, hazardous and non-hazardous waste services to commercial and government customers throughout the U.S., such as nuclear power plants, steel mills, medical and academic institutions, refineries and chemical manufacturing facilities. The company currently operates three nuclear and 21 hazardous waste disposal sites in the U.S. with primary service in the California, Nevada and Arizona markets. It is a low-level radioactive waste services provider in eight states. A new initiative involving interstate waste transport via 234 company-owned railcars, however, is already generating new contracts from commercial sources. New treatment and container buildings are scheduled to be built in Nevada and Texas in 2007. Waste volume has increased at a compound annual growth rate of 24% since 2001. Twenty years ago, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster stopped nuclear power proliferation around the globe. With the advent of new, safer technologies on the horizon, such as Pebble Bed Reactors, Spear and his team expect nuclear technology to experience a resurgence of interest and investment over the next two decades, both domestically and abroad. As public and government attention is called to the industry, however, scrutiny of environmental issues remains high. Spear's team believes that will be good news for ECOL. In early December management guided analysts to expect earnings of between $0.92 and $1.02 per diluted share for 2007, which reflects projected year-over-year growth in operating income in the range of 11%-24%. This guidance was lower than expected, and given the P/E ratio of the company the shares plunged that month to a low of $17. When ECOL announced a 15-cent dividend on January 2nd, shares popped about a buck and have remained steady. The company has about $11 million in cash, $20 million of working capital, an unused $15 million line of credit, and plans to announce fourth quarter and full year 2006 financial results on February 6, 2007. Spear and his team do not expect any surprises on the earnings front. Rather, Spear and his team see ECOL is a 'headline' play on the first theater use of tactical nuclear weapons. ECOL already has a major disposal contract with the Army Corps of Engineers. If the company gets a contract to help with the clean up in the Middle East, so much the better, but Spear and the team are not counting on that. This article highlights the commentary of Gregory R. Spear for the Zacks.com audience. Gregory R. Spear provides insightful analysis, market commentary, and favorite recommendations on a timely basis in "Spear`s Security Industry Analyst" newsletter. Try it free for 30 days and see if you can improve your investment performance. Learn more about "Spear`s Security Industry Analyst" and 30-Day Free Trial. And get immediate access to current issues and special reports. Click here now. Here's How You Can Profit from the Pros Find out what other leading experts are saying about the market. And what stocks they are recommending. For free. Just sign up for our free email newsletter, Profit from the Pros, where we'll give you the commentary, advice, and insight from those rare few experts who consistently beat the market year in, year out. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home

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(SIMO) - Ian Wyatt, Growth Report newsletter

Ian Wyatt, editor of the Growth Report newsletter, profiles Silicon Motion Technology. This featured expert explains that with the movement toward miniaturization running full speed ahead, so too are Silicon Motion's prospects. Read Wyatt's analysis on the company and discover why he would be a buyer of its stock. Why Ian Wyatt and His Team Like Silicon Motion: from January 18 *Niche player in rapid growth area of consumer electronics *Custom product development drives revenues and company's know-how *Fabless ' nimble and unattached to expensive capital equipment Silicon Motion Technology (SIMO) is a fabless developer (does not engage in manufacturing instead concentrating efforts on design and development) of semiconductor controllers for digital media storage and mobile multimedia devices. Silicon Motion sells custom-built and off-the-shelf controllers for these devices. Success is known to breed success and the proliferation of MP3 players, PC cameras, car navigation systems and broadband video phones has created heightened demand for devices that better enable the consumer to create, store, exchange and play back digital media content. This, in turn, has created greatly increased demand for ever-smaller communications devices, which require device-specific integrated circuit solutions (controllers). The controller acts as the gateway for information between the device and the storage medium. Silicon Motion designs controllers that enable the movement of data between flash memory chips and end-users for the purposes of display, manipulation and transfer or storage. Silicon Motion's products include: flash memory card controllers, USB 2.0 flash controllers, MP3 / JPEG controllers, mobile graphics co-processors and image processing controllers. The company also develops multimedia SoCs (systems on a chip) that function as controlling or processing units within a digital media device as well as providing graphic and imaging solutions. The Market According to Gartner Research, the market for semiconductors in consumer electronics equipment from 2003 through 2010 is expected to increase to about $54 billion from approximately $29 billion, representing a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 9%. The increasing demand for higher performance, ultra-portable consumer electronics is expected to drive that growth. Specifically, according to IDC Research, worldwide shipments for compressed format audio players are expected to grow from approximately 101 million units in 2005 to around 153 million units in 2010, representing a CAGR of approximately 9%. For their part, smart handheld device shipments are expected to increase from approximately 31 million units in 2004 to approximately 175 million units by 2009, representing a CAGR of approximately 41%. Drivers of this growth include advances in storage capacity and storage technologies. For example, the resolution of consumer digital still cameras (DSCs) has increased from approximately one megapixel to eight megapixels in a few short years. This, in turn drives the need for larger storage capacities using flash media (instant on-off storage medium) and controllers to access and retrieve (pictures, in this case) from this memory. Competitive Advantages Chief among Silicon Motion's advantages is its custom work, i.e., designing controllers to specification. In other words, the company is able to incorporate solutions derived from many different projects into any customer's specific controller requirement. Further, each additional project not only drives revenues, but also increases the company's knowledge base. As a result, Silicon Motion is able to graft mutli-protocol usability into every chip; hence their controllers support the broadest portfolio of flash memory devices and comply with all major industry standards for flash-based storage products in the industry. This in turn increases Silicon Motion's value-add proposition for its customers by enabling it to design multifunction controllers with wide ranging compatibilities. Moreover, the company's modular design architecture in both hardware and software allows the firm to quickly open up additional markets and expand the customer base. The company has developed what's called in-system-programming, which enables the use of software to control and modify some functions of a chip in process instead of requiring a complete hardware redesign and remanufacture of the entire chip as product requirements change. Another Silicon Motion advantage is its location in Asia and, thus, its proximity to the electronics supply chain. As OEMs have increasingly outsourced the manufacture (and design, in some cases), they have naturally migrated to lower cost areas in Asia, in particular to countries such as Taiwan and China. As a result, the supply chain for portable digital media devices has also migrated to Asia. Silicon Motion has offices in China, Japan and Taiwan that support one or more of the functions of sales, after-sale support, research and development, and operations, allowing the company to respond customers' needs. Protecting its intellectual property are at least 14 patents in Taiwan, 19 patents in the United States, four patents in China and three patents in Japan, relating to various flash management and USB application technologies. The expiration dates vary from 2007 through 2025. Determined not to find itself by the wayside as technology advances, the company has a total of 15 pending patent applications in Taiwan, 18 in the United States, six in China and three in Japan. In addition, Silicon Motion has achieved a strong presence in the market by way of branding. The term, 'Silicon Motion' and its logo (a three-dimensional cube depiction of the letters 'SM') are registered as trademarks in Taiwan and the United States. The company has also made application in China and Japan to register its mark. Caveats Concerns Wyatt's team has related to Silicon Motion are more macro level than firm specific. The semiconductor industry is highly cyclical in nature and there have been periods when the industry, as a whole, has been depressed for extended durations. Additionally, the industry is highly competitive ' to say the least. The final concern Wyatt's team has is a unique one: a shortage of flash memory. In 2004 and 2005, some of Silicon Motion's customers were unable to acquire enough flash memory to meet the demand for their products. While Wyatt and his team's concern is somewhat allayed by the ensuing ramp-up in production of flash memory that followed the shortage, Wyatt and his team still believe it's worth mentioning. Another way to look at this is that the shortage of flash memory denotes heightened demand in the end markets of Silicon Motion's products. Financial Results Silicon Motion has posted a steady rise in sales since it began reporting financial results in 2002. Sales have risen for three straight years, from $13.9 million in 2002 to $27.9 million in 2003, $66.1 million in 2004, and $81.9 million in 2005. On the earnings side, the company has also delivered solid growth. From a loss of $13.3 million, or $.80 per diluted ADS in 2002, the situation turned positive in 2003 with earnings of $3.4 million, or $0.14 per diluted ADS, and accelerated to $8.2 million or $0.32 per diluted ADS and $20.5 million, or $0.71 per diluted ADS for 2004 and 2005, respectively. The company continued in its progress with a strong showing in the third quarter of 2006, ended September 30. Sales for the quarter were impressive, at $31.6 million, up 39% from $22.8 million in the third quarter of 2005. Third-quarter earnings totaled $8.8 million or $0.28 per diluted ADS, a 35% improvement over the previous year's third-quarter earnings of $6.6 million, or $0.21 per diluted ADS. On the balance sheet, as of September 30, 2006, the company had no long-term debt and $53.8 million in cash and cash equivalents. Outlook and Prospects With the movement toward miniaturization running full speed ahead, so too are Silicon Motion's prospects. The ever increasing number of digital media devices such as MP3 players, smart phones, DSCs and digital video cameras (DVCs), PC cameras, and PDAs, has played a role in securing the integrated controller's position as the critical link between the portable digital media device and consumers' access to stored content. To this effect, the company provided guidance calling for sales in the fourth quarter of 2006 to be between $33 million and $34 million, which represents an increase of 26.4% to 30.3% from $26.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2005. Based on the guidance, full year 2006 revenues should range between $103.6 million and $104.6 million, an increase of 23.9% to 25.1% from 2005 revenues of $83.6 million. This article highlights the commentary of Ian Wyatt for the Zacks.com audience. Ian Wyatt provides insightful analysis, market commentary, and favorite recommendations on a timely basis in "Growth Report" newsletter. Try it free for 30 days and see if you can improve your investment performance. Learn more about "Growth Report" and 30-Day Free Trial. And get immediate access to current issues and special reports. Click here now. Here's How You Can Profit from the Pros Find out what other leading experts are saying about the market. And what stocks they are recommending. For free. Just sign up for our free email newsletter, Profit from the Pros, where we'll give you the commentary, advice, and insight from those rare few experts who consistently beat the market year in, year out. | Blog Home| VitalStocks Home

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