Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day Highlights: Zillow, Techne, Delta Air Lines, Southwest and United Continental Holdings
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – May 10, 2013 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Zillow (Z) as the Bull of the Day and Techne Corporation (TECH) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL), Southwest Corporation (LUV) and United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL).
Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2678.
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
Zillow (Z) Just reported a great quarter, raised revenue guidance and noted that more than half of its traffic is coming from mobile. As a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), it is the Bull of the Day.
There is no doubt that the market is placing a premium on companies that are more mobile based, as usage of smartphones and tablets has exploded. On the most recent earnings call the company noted they are getting 55% of traffic from mobile devices and even more on the weekend.
The company also released a very telling stat. 93 homes were viewed each second on mobile devices during 1Q13. That is an increase of 63% from the year ago period. During 4Q12, that stat was 53 homes per second which represented a year over year growth rate of 47%. So the pace of growth is increasing.
Another segment that saw growth was the mortgage marketplace revenue from mobile. The last time this percentage was released was 3Q12 and it was 20%. The most recent quarter saw 31% of revenues being generated from mobile for the mortgage marketplace.
Zillow operates of a real estate and home-related information marketplace on mobile and the Web. It covers 110 million homes and provides a "Zestimate" or a Zillow provided estimate for homes, townhomes and condominiums. The company has also expanded into the rental industry.
Techne Corporation (TECH) has been infected with a plague of negative earnings surprises. The company has posted only one positive surprise in the last seven quarters and has seen earnings estimates decline. The stock is a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) and is the Bear of the Day.
The company is currently riding a streak of four negative earnings surprises, and has missed in six of the last seven quarters. Investors generally want management to have a better handle on handling the expectations of Wall Street.
The misses are small, but they are misses nonetheless. The June 2012 quarter saw a 5.8% miss while the September 2012 quarter missed by 5%. The December 2012 quarter posted a negative earnings surprise of 2.6% and that was followed by the most recent miss of 1.1% for the March 2013 quarter that was posted on April 30.
Expectations on the top line have seen similar trouble, with the company coming in light on the top line in each of the misses by as much as $3M or 3.1% and as little as $1M or 1.7%.
Latest Posts on the Zacks Analyst Blog:
Delta to Boost Shareholder Wealth
Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL), the largest airline company in the U.S., is set to restart its quarterly dividend and has authorised a share repurchase program, over a period of three years. The move is believed to be an attempt by Delta to win back investors’ confidence, who have suffered due to the slump in the airline industry.
The airline giant has authorised a share repurchase program of $500 million and will pay a quarterly dividend of 6 cents per share on Sep 10 to the shareholders of record on Aug 9. Delta last paid a dividend in 2003. Together, the dividend and stock buyback program will return $1 billion to the shareholders of Delta. The news showed a favourable impact on the market, which lifted the stock price by 3.21% in the Wednesday trade in NASDAQ to arrive at $18.66.
Delta has sufficient cash to carry out this program. The company exited the first quarter of fiscal 2013 with $3.64 billion in cash and short-term investments and $457 million in free cash flow.
After Southwest Corporation (LUV), which pays a quarterly dividend of a penny, Delta will be second among the big airline companies in the U.S. to pay a dividend. Beside these two company’s other major airlines like United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL) do not pay dividends.
Delta has made several investments to improve operating efficiencies and customer experience, which aided the company to re-initiate shareholders’ return. Further, the Atlanta-based company has also considerably reduced its debt in the last 5 years, which reflects its balance sheet strength.
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.
Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today by visiting http://at.zacks.com/?id=7158.
About Zacks
Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Leonard Zacks. As a PhD from MIT Len knew he could find patterns in stock market data that would lead to superior investment results. Amongst his many accomplishments was the formation of his proprietary stock picking system; the Zacks Rank, which continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment
Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros at http://at.zacks.com/?id=4582.
Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/zacksresearch
Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts
Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should always research companies and securities before making any investments. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security.
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
Read the analyst report on TECH
Read the analyst report on DAL
Read the analyst report on LUV
Read the analyst report on UAL
More From Zacks.com
