For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – February 25, 2010 – 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: TJX Companies Inc. (TJX), R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (RRD), Bowne & Co., Inc. (BNE), Frontier Communications (FTR) and Verizon Communications (VZ).

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Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:

TJX Companies Tops Estimates

The TJX Companies Inc. (TJX) reported results for the fourth quarter of 2010 with earnings of 94 cents per share. Earnings were well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 60 cents per share and were up a 104% year-over-year.

Net sales for the quarter grew 10.4% year-over-year to $5.9 billion. Consolidated comparable store sales increased 12% for the quarter. The company’s segments both in the U.S. and International reported positive sales and comparable store sales growth.

The company’s segments in the U.S. such as Marmaxx, Home Goods and A.J. Wright reported net sales growth of 13%, 16% and 8% respectively. Internationally, TJX Canada and TJX Europe reported sales increases of 7% and 6%, respectively.

Gross margin for the quarter expanded 411 basis points (bps) to 26.6% versus 22.5% in the comparable prior-year quarter.

The company had cash and cash equivalents of $1.6 billion, long-term debt of $774 million and total shareholders’ equity of $2.9 billion for fiscal 2010.

Donnelley Beats, Acquires Bowne

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (RRD), a leading provider of integrated communications and printing solutions, reported fourth quarter 2009 results that beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3 cents.

The challenging economic environment impacted RRD’s end-market demand and forced the company to lower prices in fiscal 2009. However, the company now expects demand to stabilize and even strengthen in future quarters. As a result, the company expects revenue growth in fiscal 2010.

The company reported non-GAAP net income from continuing operations of $95.4 million, or 46 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2009. This surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 43 cents, but fell from the prior-year quarter. The company had reported net income of $129.3 million or 63 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2008. Earnings partially benefited from the lower effective tax rate of 21.1% in the fourth quarter of 2009, which compares to 30.8% in the year-ago quarter, primarily due to a change in the mix of earnings across tax jurisdictions.

Net earnings included pre-tax charges for restructuring ($17.5 million) and impairments ($131.1 million) totaling $148.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. Notably, all of the restructuring and impairment charges in the quarter were related to the reorganization of certain operations and the exiting of certain business activities.

Net revenue for the reported quarter declined 7.6% year over year to $2.58 billion, compared to $2.80 billion reported in the prior-year quarter. Revenue includes a 1.7% positive impact from changes in foreign exchange rates. Revenue fell due to a decline in volumes and continued pricing pressures across most of its products and services. However, on a sequential basis, revenue increased, validating the recovery in end-market demand.

R.R. Donnelley also announced its plans to acquire Bowne & Co., Inc. (BNE), a provider of shareholder and marketing communications services for approximately $481 million in cash, or $11.50 per share. This represents a 65% premium to Bowne’s closing price of $6.97 on February 23.

The agreement has been approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies. The acquisition is expected to close in the second half of fiscal 2010. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to R.R. Donnelley’s earnings in the first full year after the closing of the transaction.

Frontier Meets, but Profits Slide

Frontier Communications (FTR) announced fourth quarter results with adjusted (excluding acquisition and integration costs) earnings per share of 15 cents, matching the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The result represents an improvement from 11 cents a share reported a year-ago.

For full year 2009, adjusted EPS of 56 cents beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2010 EPS is 60 cents per share.

The company incurred acquisition and integration costs of roughly $13.9 million in the fourth quarter in connection with its impending acquisition of Verizon Communications’ (VZ) regional wireline operations.

Reported net income for the quarter plunged 87% year-over-year to $4.4 million or 1 cent a share. For full year 2009, reported net profit dipped 34% year-over-year to $120.8 million or 38 cents a share.

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