For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – June 28, 2010 – Zacks.com Analyst Blog features: Accenture plc (ACN), Supervalu Inc. (SVU), Synnex Corp. (SNX), Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc. (MAA) and Unisys Corporation (UIS).
Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513
Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:
Accenture Tops
Accenture plc (ACN) reported third quarter 2010 EPS of 73 cents, substantially exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 69 cents.
Revenue
Accenture reported third quarter 2010 total revenue of $5.57 billion, up 8.0% from $5.15 billion a year ago. This was within the company’s guided range and included a five percentage point positive impact from foreign currency. The meaningful growth in revenue may be attributed to the increase in revenue across all its operating segments.
Accenture saw revenue growth across all its operating groups, with Product revenue improving the most by 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. Communications & High Tech revenue grew 2.0%, while Financial Services revenue was up 12.0% year over year. Health & Public services revenue was up 3.0%. Resources revenue was down 11.0% from the year-ago quarter.
SVU Boosts Shareholders’ Value
Supervalu Inc. (SVU) announced a share repurchase program, and declared a regular quarterly dividend.
The company’s Board authorized the grocery chain to buyback about $70 million of shares through June 30, 2011. Stock repurchases will be made primarily through cash generated from the settlement of stock options. This new repurchase program replaces the existing $70 million buyback program authorized in May 2009. Under the previous plan, the company had repurchased about 220,000 shares for $2.9 million.
At the same time, the company approved a regular quarterly dividend of 8.75 cents a share, implying an annual divided of 35 cents. The dividend will be paid on September 15, 2010 to stockholders of record as of September 1, 2010. As of June 18, 2010, there were approximately 212.1 million shares outstanding.
Synnex Tops in Q2
Synnex Corp. (SNX) posted a strong 33.3% growth in net income to $24.8 million for its fiscal 2010 second quarter, compared to $18.6 million a year ago. Earnings from continuing operations came in at 70 cents per share, surpassing both the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 68 cents and the year-ago result of 55 cents per share.
Total revenues during the quarter grew 12.8% to $2.03 billion from $1.80 billion in the year-ago quarter. The growth was driven by a 12.8% growth in distribution revenue to $2.01 billion coupled with a 10.5% increase in GBS revenues to $27.6 million.
Synnex’s gross profit grew 15.6% year over year to $116.7 million, while gross margin improved 10 basis points (bps) to 5.7%. Selling, general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of total revenues, dipped 30 bps to 3.6%. Accordingly, operating income rose 44.8% year over year to $43.4 million, while operating margin increased 50 bps to 2.1%.
Mid-America Acquires Upscale Asset
Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc. (MAA), an apartment-only real estate investment trust (REIT), recently acquired Alta Brookwood – a 256-unit upscale property in greater Greenville, South Carolina MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area), for an undisclosed amount.
Alta Brookwood is strategically located in close proximity to the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research, an advanced research and development campus. The acquisition is an integral part of Mid-America’s long-term strategic plan to invest in high-growth Sunbelt markets. In addition, Greenville is gradually emerging as a national hub for the automotive and motorsports industry and offers huge growth potential for the company.
Mid-America utilized available capacity under its existing credit facilities and cash from equity issuance to fund the acquisition. Since the beginning of the year through the end of April 2010, Mid-America had issued common shares worth $72.6 million at an average price of $52.14 each under its continuous equity offering program.
Unisys Creates New Center
Unisys Corporation (UIS) recently announced that it will create a new Application Modernization Center of Excellence (AMCOE) in St. Louis, Missouri.
Unisys expects to hire approximately 300 IT professionals for this center by 2012. The new center will serve as the core application development hub for Unisys Federal Systems. The center will be functional by the fall of 2010.
The center will also help Unisys to centralize its application modernization services and support provided to its government clients, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Want more from Zacks Equity Research? Subscribe to the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5515.
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 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: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5517.
About Zacks
Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Leonard Zacks. As a PhD in mathematics 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=5518.
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.
Contact:
Mark Vickery
Web Content Editor
312-265-9380
Visit: www.zacks.com
