For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – Feb 14, 2018 – 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 Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) , Raytheon (NYSE:RTN) and Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) .
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:
M&A Continues to Fuel Market
The stock market has been dealing with many variables over the last week or so but the one constant over the past 7-8 years inserted itself into the US Stock market narrative once again over the last 24 hours, takeovers!
General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) announced a deal to buy CSRA and Walgreen's approaching Amerisource about the purchase of the 76% of ABC stock that it doesn't already own. ABC is up about 9% today on the rumors of the deal and CSRA was positive about 32% yesterday on the announced nearly $10b offer from GD including about $2.6b of debt.
One of the best kept secrets of this US stock market is the shrinking share count available to investors to purchase. Over the last half dozen years or so nearly $7T, yes, that's TRILLION, has been taken out of the market due to 2 factors: mergers and acquisitions (takeovers included) and stock buybacks. Stock buybacks make up about $4.5-5T of that number with the remaining due to M&A. You may ask "why is that important?" well, namely Earnings Per Share or EPS.
As shares decrease over time, the amount of attributable earnings which are spread over those shares can either rise, stay the same or fall. In two of those cases, staying the same or rising earnings means greater EPS. Even in a falling earnings environment, depending on the rate (the ratio between the two) at which shares are being retired, EPS does not necessarily have to fall.
Some would argue that share repurchases by themselves are not indicative of future positive stock performance and in certain cases, like IBM (NYSE:IBM), they might be correct. But in general, share repurchase programs are but a function of an overall capital return program to shareholders and not the strategic blueprint for a company's success. Point being, IBM's lagging performance over the last decade is about operational and management miscues, not a buyback.
With this as a backdrop I looked at both of the above deals and searched out possible investing set-ups, taking into account: competitors, sector, option volatility levels and other possible external catalysts.
In either case, neither provides for a clear cut "we should buy XYZ because it's very clearly the next target" but in looking at both sectors, Defense/Aerospace and Drug Distribution Supply Chain, I did find two exceptional Zacks Rank #2 stocks in Defense and one Zacks Rank #2 stock in Drug Distribution. I'll begin with the two Defense stocks.
Lockheed Martin: a defense stock darling and a Zacks Rank #2, sports a 2.31% dividend yield and sits squarely in what may be one of the strongest defense spending cycles we have seen in decades. This is part of my "external catalyst" thinking and along with the current elevated option environment, owning the stock here, $350ish, and selling the June 370 calls for $8.00 is a nice 22.5% annualized yield if taken out of the position above $378.
Along the way, you also pick up one quarter of the annual $8 dividend so an extra $2 of return to tack on. Zacks has earnings estimates for LMT increasing 15.71% for the current FY and although LMT trades at a peer and market multiple, its cash flows are prodigious dwarfing the industry average and are approximately 50% greater than GD.
Raytheon: another defense stalwart, Raytheon's business mix, mainly combat ready defense products to buyers globally including the US Defense Department apparatus, positions the company to build on its already strong cash generating capabilities. A Zacks Rank #2 stock that pays a dividend yielding 1.54%, RTN is enjoying earnings estimates that are increasing 16.99% this current FY. Buying RTN here and selling the MAY 230 calls for $2.70 sets up an investor to realize an approximate 39% annualized yield if taken out of the position above $232.70, while also collecting a quarter of that yearly $3.19 dividend.
Cardinal Health: this drug distribution, Zacks Rank #2 stock is a bit more complicated. Three things are happening to this company and none are overly bullish on a very short term basis: 1) Possibility of losing a major customer 2) the threat of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) 3) not being the company bought by WBA today. Parceling out each of these, #'s 2 and 3 could actually work to CAH's favor, Amazon could buy CAH! CAH has a market cap of only $18b and Amazon paid $13.5b for Whole Foods, if you think about supply chain and delivery mechanisms, it's certainly not a reach to think of Amazon buying its way quickly into the drug distribution pipeline using an expert like CAH as the conduit. Customer retention is not easy, cutthroat competition is driving prices lower but CAH continues to acquire great companies, has a pristine balance sheet and enjoys long term contracts.
For investors looking to add a bit more speculative "punch" to their portfolio, buying the stock around $66 and selling the JUNE 72.5 calls for $2.00, producing an annualized yield of 34.5% if taken out above $74.5, could be a great trade set up. You also pick up a dividend at the end of March which is a healthy 2.72% annual dividend yield.
These 3 companies, all Zacks Rank #2 stocks, provide solid portfolio additions or could be added to if already owned. The elevated nature of macro volatility should be captured by the individual investor! Owning these stocks and selling upside calls at these volatility levels makes tremendous investing sense. And maybe best of all, all 3 companies are in the middle of multi billion dollar share repurchase programs.
The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All
Last year, it generated $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.
See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1 Stock of the Day pick for free.
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.
Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News
Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015. Its average gain has been a stellar +26% per year.See these high-potential stocks free >>.
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zacksresearch
Join us on Facebook (NASDAQ:FB): https://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT): Free Stock Analysis Report
Raytheon Company (RTN): Free Stock Analysis Report
Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH): Free Stock Analysis Report
Original post
Zacks Investment Research