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 STX and HBHC 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:
Seagate Technology (STX) announced a fourth-quarter profit of 70 cents per share on July 20, which was 8 cents short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. For 2011, the average forecast slipped 85 cents to $2.41 per share in the last 7 days as 20 out of 23 analysts reduced estimates. In that time span, next year’s forecast dipped 76 cents to $2.52 per share.
Hancock Holding Co (HBHC) posted second-quarter earnings of 22 cents per share on July 20 while analysts projected a profit of 45 cents. Earnings slid 48% on a year-over-year basis. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2010 fell 34 cents to $1.48 per share over the past week as 7 analysts out of 10 cut back on expectations. The following year’s forecast decreased 46 cents to $2.08 per share during that time.
Here is a synopsis of why MYE and ISCA 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;
Myers Industries, Inc. (MYE) reported second-quarter earnings of 1 cent per share on July 22, which slumped 88% year over year. This apart, earnings came in 90% short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The full-year average forecast dropped 17 cents to a profit of 41 cents per share in the last 7 days as all of the 3 covering analysts revised downward.
International Speedway Corp’s (ISCA) second-quarter earnings per share of 22 cents, posted on July 8, came in 7 cents worse than the average forecast. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year declined 12 cents to $1.51 per share over the past month as all of the 5 covering analysts slashed projections. Next year’s estimate moved down 8 cents to $1.69 per share in the same period.
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