The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Berkshire Hathaway, salesforce, Danaher, Halliburton and American Airlines

In this article:

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – June 17, 2019 – 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: Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B, salesforce CRM, Danaher DHR, Halliburton HAL and American Airlines AAL.

Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Top Stock Reports for Berkshire Hathaway, salesforce & Danaher

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 Berkshire Hathaway, salesforce and Danaher. These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.

You can see all of today’s research reports here >>>

Berkshire Hathaway’s shares have underperformed the Zacks Insurance - Property and Casualty industry in the past six months (+3.7% vs. +7.1%). However, the Zacks analyst thinks the company is poised for growth over the long term on its sturdy insurance business.

The company’s inorganic growth story remains impressive with strategic acquisitions. A strong cash position supports earnings-accretive bolt-on buyouts. Demand for utilities is expected to rise in the future and drive earnings growth.

Continued insurance business growth also fuels increase in float. The company’s non-insurance businesses are also delivering improved results supporting overall performance.

A sturdy capital level provides further impetus. However, Berkshire Hathaway’s exposure to catastrophe loss remains a concern as its property and casualty insurance business generates maximum return on equity. Also, huge capital expenses due to railroad operations are worrying.

Shares of salesforce have gained +10.1% year to date, underperforming the Zacks Computer Software industry, which has gained +28.6% over the same period. However, salesforce's first-quarter fiscal 2020 results gained from solid growth across all its four major cloud offerings.

The company is benefiting from deal wins in the international market. Rapid adoption of its diverse cloud offerings, given an upsurge in demand for digital transformation, is the constant key catalyst. Strengthening relationships with cloud companies like Amazon, Google and IBM are a positive.

Additionally, strategic acquisitions like MuleSoft, Datorama and Cloudcraze are helping it deliver a strong uptick. Nonetheless, stiff competition from Oracle and Microsoft is a concern.

Unfavorable currency fluctuations persist as a key headwind. Besides, increasing investments on international expansion and data centers are an overhang on near-term profitability.

Danaher’s shares have gained +8.6% over the past three months, outperforming the Zacks Diversified Operations industry, which has increased +1% over the same period. The Zacks analyst thinks sturdier demand for products, Danaher Business System ("DBS") implementation and shareholder-friendly policies will likely bolster profitability going forward.

Also, it anticipates that the acquisition of General Electric's BioPharma business will boost its biologics workflow solutions business. Also, the divestiture of the dental business will improve its competency. However, rising cost of sales and unfavorable movements in foreign currencies might continue to restrict Danaher's growth.

For 2019, the company lowered adjusted earnings per share guidance from $4.75-$4.85 to $4.72-$4.80, primarily reflecting dilutive impact of funds raised for the BioPharma buyout. Earnings estimates for 2019 have improved in the past 60 days.

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Halliburton and American Airlines.

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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 https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.


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American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
salesforce.com, inc. (CRM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Danaher Corporation (DHR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Halliburton Company (HAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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