For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – June 15, 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: Johnson & Johnson, Inc. (JNJ), Family Dollar (FDO), Dollar Tree (DLTR), Wal-Mart (WMT) and Costco (COST).
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Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:
J&J Remains Undervalued
Johnson & Johnson, Inc. (JNJ) currently trades at 12.5x our 2009 EPS estimate of $4.51. We believe J&J’s diverse and deep product mix, lack of cyclicality, strong financial position and consistent record of earnings growth will insulate it from a prolonged economic downturn.
We believe J&J offers investors long-term value with low risk in the form of stable earnings and a diverse product portfolio. While management’s 2009 EPS guidance implies a slight contraction from 2008, results through the first quarter were ahead of ours and consensus estimates. We also note that actual results can be highly influenced by the movement in foreign exchange rates.
In the near-term, the company’s “AAA” credit rating, large cash balance and product and geographic diversity should provide some downside protection in the event that economic conditions deteriorate further. We believe the stock remains attractively priced at these levels, and reiterate our Buy recommendation with a $70 price target. The dividend currently yields 3.5%.
Port Tracker Gives Retail Insight
We think import cargo volumes are a good indicator of what retail sales are likely to like in the months ahead. Looking at recent monthly trends and Port Tracker’s forecasts, points to monthly stabilization at much lower levels than last year. There is nothing in these figures that suggests a consumer-led recovery is in the cards.
As a result, we still think the best way to play retailers is to stay defensive. That includes discounters like Family Dollar (FDO) or Dollar Tree (DLTR), mass merchandisers like Wal-Mart (WMT) and Costco (COST).
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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.
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