Since inception in 1988, the S&P 500 has outperformed the Zacks #5 Rank List – Stocks to Sell Now by 80% annually (+2% versus +10%). While the rest of Wall Street continued to tout stocks during the market declines of the last few years, Zacks told investors which stocks to sell or avoid.

Here is a synopsis of why AAON and LYV have a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell) and should most likely be sold or avoided for the next one to three months. Note that a #5 Strong Sell rating is applied to 5% of all the stocks in the Zacks Rank universe:

AAON, Inc’s (AAON) first-quarter earnings of 30 cents per share, reported last month, declined 23% year over year. This apart, earnings missed analysts’ expectations by 14%. For 2010, the Zacks Consensus Estimate moved down 14 cents to a profit of $1.38 per share over the past 2 months. During that time, the following year’s average forecast dropped 12 cents to $1.62 per share.

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (LYV) posted a first-quarter loss of 63 cents per share on May 10, compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for a loss of 36 cents. The full-year average forecast widened to a loss of 32 cents per share from a projected loss of 17 cents over the past month. A couple of month ago, analysts had expected Live Nation to post earnings of 3 cents per share.

Here is a synopsis of why AYE and TEG have a Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) and should also most likely be sold or avoided for the next one to three months. Note that a #4 Sell rating is applied to 15% of all the stocks ranked by Zacks;

Allegheny Energy, Inc. (AYE) announced first-quarter earnings of 61 cents per share on May 5, which was 9 cents short of analysts’ expectations. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2010 dipped a penny to $2.10 per share in the last 7 days as one analyst out of 15 reduced forecasts. Estimate for next year now stands at $2.28 per share, which moved down a penny in the same period.

Integrys Energy Group, Inc. (TEG) reported first-quarter earnings of $1.49 per share last month while analysts anticipated a profit of $1.56. The company’s profit fell 5% on a year-over-year basis. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the full year declined 3 cents to $3.04 per share over the past month, reflecting cuts by one analyst out of 6. Analysts had projected earnings of $3.09 per share two months ago.
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