Chicago, IL – February 6, 2013 – Zacks Equity Research highlights SodaStream International (SODA) as the Bull of the Day and Caterpillar (CAT) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Suncor Energy Inc. (SU), Atlas Energy L.P (ATLS) and Northern Tier Energy LP (NTI).
Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2678.
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
Bull of the Day:
Getting a commercial rejected from the Super Bowl telecast is turning out to be the best thing to happen to SodaStream International (SODA) in quite some time.
The maker of home beverage carbonation systems had its first ever Super Bowl commercial rejected by CBS, supposedly due to the references made to two of the biggest sponsors of the Super Bowl, Coke and Pepsi. It ran a shorter, and tamer, commercial during the game instead.
But the original commercial, entitled "Game Changer" has been put up on YouTube and has already garnered 4.3 million views and counting. Not too shabby for a company with a $990 million market cap making its first advertising push into the U.S. market.
SodaStream, headquartered in Israel, makes home soda makers, flavored syrups, gas cylinders and bottles. It entered the U.S. market in 2009. The U.S. market now makes up about a third of the company's sales and turned profitable in 2012. It sells its beverage systems in 15,000 retailers across the United States and in thousands of retailers worldwide.
Bear of the Day:
After 3 years of double digit earnings growth, including 93% growth in 2010, it looks like Caterpillar (CAT) is going to hit a wall in 2013 as earnings are expected to decline by 4.4%.
The bad news started with a 13% fourth quarter 2012 earnings miss even as the company reported record full year 2012 sales.
The world's largest construction and mining equipment maker also had the embarrassing episode of having to announce it was writing down $580 million for its purchase of Zhengzhou Siwei Mechanical & Electrical Manufacturing, which made roof-support equipment for underground coal mines, after it discovered discrepancies in the physical inventory after it closed on the deal in October 2012. It blamed "coordinated accounting misconduct" inside the Chinese company.
That acquisition had been the company's largest Asia investment since 2010.
Revenue fell to $16.08 billion from $17.24 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011 as China slowed and Europe remained mired in a recession. Inventory was lowered by $2 billion in the quarter.
Latest Posts on the Zacks Analyst Blog:
Suncor Energy: Will It Miss?
Canada’s biggest energy firm and the largest oil sands outfit, Suncor Energy Inc. (SU) is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 results after the market closes on Tuesday, Feb 5, 2013.
In the third quarter, the company delivered a positive 13.33% earnings surprise, aided by volume growth at Oil Sands along with better refinery margins and start-up of operations in Libya . This represented the fourth straight quarter of positive earnings surprise. Let’s see how things are shaping up prior to this announcement.
Factors to Consider This Quarter
The operating scenario for oil sands developers will remain critical in the near to medium term. Suncor is also susceptible to oil and gas prices, which are inherently volatile and subject to complex market forces.
Suncor’s deep oil sands technology, though proven, is still vulnerable to potential implementation delays. In particular, there are risks related to growth and other capital projects that depend wholly or partly on new technologies. A high debt level and significant capital expenditure may also have adverse affects on the company’s earnings and cash flows.
In fact, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the fourth quarter has moved down by 2 cents to 80 cents per unit over the last 30 days as the tendency for a downward revision was more obvious.
Earnings Whispers
Our proven model does not conclusively show that Suncor Energy is likely to beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the fourth quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive earnings Expected Surprise Prediction or ESP (Read: Zacks Earnings ESP: A Better Method) and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or at least Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. But this is not the case here as elaborated below.
Negative Zacks ESP:The Most Accurate estimate stands at 78 cents while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is higher at 80 cents. This results in a difference of -2.50%.
Zacks Rank #3 (Hold): Suncor’s Zacks Rank #3, however, increases the predictive power of ESP. That said, we also need to have a positive ESP to be confident of an earnings surprise call.
Other Stocks to Consider
Here are some other companies you may want to consider on the basis of our model, which shows that they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:
Atlas Energy L.P (ATLS), earnings ESP of +260.00% and Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Northern Tier Energy LP (NTI), earnings ESP of +7.97% and Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Get the full analysis of all these stocks by going to http://at.zacks.com/?id=2649.
About the Bull and Bear of the Day
Every day, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research select two stocks that are likely to outperform (Bull) or underperform (Bear) the markets over the next 3-6 months.
About the Analyst Blog
Updated throughout every trading day, the Analyst Blog provides analysis from Zacks Equity Research about the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets.
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 analyst 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 by visiting http://at.zacks.com/?id=7158.
About Zacks
Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Leonard Zacks. As a PhD from MIT 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=4582.
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.
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
support@zacks.com
http://www.zacks.com
Read the analyst report on SODA
Read the analyst report on CAT
Read the analyst report on SU
Read the analyst report on ATLS
Read the analyst report on NTI
Zacks Investment Research
More From Zacks.com
