For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – August 19, 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: Progressive Corp. (PGR), Allstate Corp. (ALL), Infinity Property and Casualty Corp. (IPCC), State Auto Financial Corp. (STFC) and Duke Energy Corp. (DUK).
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:
Fitch Cuts Progressive
Fitch Ratings downgraded Progressive Corp. (PGR) but not because of a deterioration of the company’s financial profile. Interestingly, the action was the result of a change in the agency’s rating criteria.
Fitch cut Progressive’s Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘A+’ from ‘AA-‘ and Senior debt ratings to ‘A’ from ‘A+’. However, the outlook assigned for all ratings is stable. The agency increased weightage on Progressive’s capital strength by focusing more on its estimated leverage ratios and its monoline character.
According to Fitch, Progressive has high net premiums written to surplus and net leverage ratios compared to its peers, and this exposes its capital to unanticipated pricing errors. Additionally, the company maintains an “autos-only” policy and does not provide any other form of insurance. This monoline nature exposes the company to the specific risks of the auto industry.
However, Progressive’s industry leading position, strong risk-based capital ratios, underwriting margins and stability were also recognized by Fitch.
Progressive competes with some of the industry leaders such as GEICO, State Farm and Allstate Corp. (ALL). While Progressive focuses only on auto insurance policy, these competitors also sell non-auto forms of insurance.
The recession has curtailed consumers’ ability to purchase automobile insurance policies, thereby hurting balance sheets of auto insurance providers such as Progressive, Allstate, Infinity Property and Casualty Corp. (IPCC) and State Auto Financial Corp. (STFC). However, we believe that the recent rebound should bring some relief to these companies.
Duke Energy Goes Green
Duke Energy Corp. (DUK) recently signed an agreement with Sun Edison and will buy electricity generated at the privately held company’s solar farm at Davidson County in North Carolina. The 16.1MW facility is touted as the largest photovoltaic solar farm in the U.S.
The solar farm will serve dual purposes for Duke. It will add 16.1MW of annual capacity to its kitty. Secondly, it will go green. According to the company’s estimates, the same amount of electricity produced from fossil fuels would have emitted 32.3 million pounds of carbon dioxide annually. Duke Energy would then be required to offset it by spending more on carbon credits following the American Clean Energy and Security Act.
The act stipulates stringent caps against carbon dioxide emissions. Duke Energy expects the facility to be operational by December 2010.
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
