Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day Highlights: Aspen Insurance, PVR Partners, AT&T, Verizon Communications and Apple
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – April 15, 2013 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Aspen Insurance (AHL) as the Bull of the Day and PVR Partners (PVR) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on AT&T Inc. (T), Verizon Communications (VZ) and Apple Inc. (AAPL).
Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2678.
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
With excellent underwriting results and solid investment portfolio returns, P&C insurer Aspen Insurance (AHL) and reinsurer has been consistently delivering positive earnings surprises.
Further by increasing share buybacks, this Zacks Rank #1 stock will further enhance shareholder value.
Founded in 2002 and based in Hamilton, Bermuda, Aspen operates through wholly-owned subsidiaries and offices in Bermuda, France, Germany, Ireland, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Aspen Insurance reported its Q4 results on February 7, 2013. The quarter resulted in a loss of $0.15 per share, significantly better than the Zack Consensus Estimate of a loss of $1.21 per share, mainly due to excellent underwriting results.
Gross written premiums were $576.2 million, up 25.6% from the previous year quarter, primarily due to a 40.2% rise in gross written premiums in the Insurance.
With rising costs and declining commodity prices, MLP PVR Partners (PVR) has been disappointing the investors with sub-par results.
In view of the cloudy outlook, investors should avoid this Zacks Rank # 5 (Strong Sell) stock for the time being.
Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, PVR Partners owns and operates a network of natural gas midstream pipelines and processing plants, and owns and manages coal and natural resource properties.
The company operates in two segments--Coal and Natural Resource Management, and Natural Gas Midstream.
Fourth-quarter 2012 revenue came in at of $270 million, down 6.3% year over year, primarily due to lower contribution from natural gas and natural gas liquids businesses and decline in coal royalties. The revenue was short of consensus estimate.
Latest Posts on the Zacks Analyst Blog:
AT&T Offers New Calling Plan
AT&T Inc. (T) announced the launch of its latest international calling facility for a select group of customers. Starting Apr 12, the company’s GoPhone subscribers will enjoy a new global calling option under the Mexico Plus package.
Priced at only $10 per month, Mexico Plus offers 1,000 minutes of call time that can be made to any landline and mobile numbers in Mexico. It also has the feature of making calls to over 50 other countries, including Canada, China and India. Customers can avail this package along with AT&T GoPhone’s $50 monthly unlimited plan or $65 smartphone monthly plan with data.
From the aforesaid date, customers under the AT&T GoPhone plan will also have access to lower rates on the existing international long-haul packs. Users will receive call time of 250 minutes applicable in over 50 countries for only $5 a month.
AT&T – the second largest provider of wireless services in North America after Verizon Communications (VZ) – expects this new offering to gain popularity. Although a number of other prepaid international calling packages are available in the market, GoPhone Mexico Plus package enjoys an edge over them owing to its unique plans and affordable price that render high flexibility.
We believe that AT&T remains favorably positioned with strong growth prospects ranging from robust subscriber additions, higher smartphones adoption, expanding Long Term Evolution coverage, growing demand for mobile Internet to the introduction of various lucrative plans and services.
Nevertheless, constant access line losses, competitive threats, heavy subsidies for Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) iPhone sales and federal regulations will likely put some pressure on the company’s performance in the coming months.
Get the full analysis of all these stocks by going to http://at.zacks.com/?id=2649.
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