For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – November 25, 2009 – 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: Bank of America (BAC), MGIC (MTG), Fannie Mae (FNM), Freddie Mac (FRE) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ).
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 Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:
Home Prices Continue to Rise
It is encouraging to see home prices rise. If this continues, some of the people in underwater houses (meaning with a mortgage more than the value of the house) might just see the flood recede and regain some positive equity in the house. This would greatly reduce the number of foreclosures in the future. It would make it an economically rational thing for people to pay their mortgages again. As it stands today in big areas of the country, it isn’t.
As a result, mortgage delinquencies have been skyrocketing, and eventually those delinquencies will lead to foreclosures. That could reignite a vicious circle, where the foreclosed houses flood the market, once again depressing prices, which causes more people to think there are better places to put their money than paying their mortgages.
Rising home prices have the potential to turn that into a virtuous cycle. To the extent that happens, it has very positive implications for the entire mortgage complex, from the big banks like Bank of America (BAC) to the mortgage insurance firms like MGIC (MTG) to the wards of the state, Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE).
However, I fear that the increase in home prices is only temporary. That it is the product of extraordinary government efforts to prop up home prices, and that those efforts can not be sustained forever. These include the tax credit (recently expanded to include move up buyers), which is scheduled to end at the end of April, and the Fed’s program of buying up $1.25 Trillion in mortgage-backed paper to manipulate mortgage rates lower. They should finish up their purchases by the end of March.
HP Revenue Down, EPS In-Line
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) reported fourth quarter EPS of $1.14, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny.
Revenue for the quarter came in at $30.8 billion, a decrease of 8.0% from the $33.6 billion reported in the year-ago period and down 5.0% on constant currency basis.
Revenue fell across all businesses, including servers and data storage systems, software, PCs and printers. The Americas reported a 3.0% decline in revenue to $13.6 billion. Revenue declined 17.0% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) to $11.7 billion and 1.0% in the Asia Pacific to $5.4 billion. Revenue from China increased more than 20% from the year-ago quarter.
International markets accounted for 64% of total revenue in the fourth quarter, with revenue in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) declining 4.0% on a year-over-year basis and accounting for 10.0% of total HP revenue.
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
