Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day Highlights: Big Lots, Inc., EQT Corporation, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wal-Mart - Press Releases
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – January 15, 2010 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Big Lots, Inc. (BIG) as the Bull of the Day and EQT Corporation (EQT) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C) and Wal-Mart (WMT).
Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5506
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
Big Lots, Inc. (BIG) is the largest broad-line closeout retailer with annual revenue over $4 billion. The closeout format gives it an edge over traditional discount retailers as customers are offered merchandise assortments at very low prices.
We think the company's focus on closing underperforming stores, reducing operating expenses and improving merchandise content are steps in the right direction. Moreover, the company's in-store initiatives and testing of smaller prototype stores will help drive traffic. Comparable-store sales are regaining strength.
However, rising competition from dollar stores and other discount retailers, and limited consumables product offerings when consumers are cutting discretionary spending are concerns. Our target price is $33.00 per share.
Ahead of the fourth-quarter results, we are initiating coverage on EQT Corporation (EQT) with an Underperform recommendation and a target price of $39.
The company continues to deliver consistent production growth on the back of its E&P segment. It estimates a 20% hike in gas sales this year, supported by an attractive Appalachian resource potential and an extensive drilling program. Given our cautious outlook for natural gas prices in the near to medium term, we believe these positives may fail to materialize.
Additionally, the company's capital budget relies heavily on future cash flows, which is subject to a number of variables. Our target price is $39.00 per share.
Latest Posts on the Zacks Analyst Blog:
More on the Budget Deficit
The largest single on-budget expenditure increase in absolute terms of any department came from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), with a $23.5 billion, or a 12.7% increase, to $208.3 billion. However, $13.8 billion of that, or 58.7% of the total increase, was due to increases in aid to the states to pay for Medicare. If that had not happened, the states would have had to either raise taxes (they are not allowed to run operating deficits) or cut other spending by that much.
The other program with a significant increase in costs at HHS was the Medicare prescription drug benefit program (Medicare Part D), which increased by $2.2 billion or 4.4%. The biggest percentage increase was in the Department of Labor, where spending surged by 80%, or $18.8 billion, to $42.3 billion. That is almost entirely attributable to higher unemployment benefits, which increased by $18.7 billion, or 113%, to $35.7 billion.
With almost 40% of all the unemployed now having been out of work for more than 26 weeks (the point at which regular state funded benefits expire), without those extended benefits, millions of Americans and their families would have been left with no income whatsoever. They would have been defaulting on their mortgages more, thus exacerbating the problems for the big mortgage operations at places like Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C). They would have been unable to shop even at the Salvation Army, let alone Wal-Mart (WMT).
Get the full analysis of all these stocks by going to http://at.zacks.com/?id=5507.
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.
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