CHICAGO, May 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 the URS Corporation (NYSE:URS-Free Report), NRG Yield, Inc. (NYSE:NYLD-Free Report), Vectren Corp. (NYSE:VVC-Free Report), Embraer SA (NYSE:ERJ-Free Report) andAmeris Bancorp (Nasdaq:ABCB-Free Report).
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
Here are highlights from Monday's Analyst Blog:
A URS Earnings Miss – How Likely Is It?
URS Corporation (NYSE:URS-Free Report) is set to report first-quarter 2014 results after the markets close on May 13. The company delivered a positive surprise of 36.8% in the last quarter. Let's see how things are shaping up for this announcement.
Factors to Influence This Quarter
During the first quarter, uncertain macroeconomic conditions and currency headwinds continued to be a drag. In addition, URS was facing delays in procurement decisions and reduction in anticipated spending in the defense sector.
With the passing of President Obama's $1.1 trillion Omnibus spending measure in Jan 2014, the budgetary woes ebbed and the U.S. Department of Defense resumed efforts to strengthen its artillery. As a result of the resumptions, the company received a couple of orders.
The bill allows Pentagon to utilize as much as $93 billion for buying weapons and another $63 billion for advancing research and development in the sector. The company's Oil & Gas division continues to perform well.
Earnings Whispers?
Our proven model does not conclusively show that URS is likely to beat earnings this quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1, 2 or 3 for this to happen. That is not the case here, as you will see below.
Negative Zacks ESP: That is because the Most Accurate Estimate stands at $0.65 while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is higher at $0.67. This translates into a difference of -2.99%.
Zacks Rank #4 (Sell): URS Corporations' Zacks Rank reduces the predictive power of ESP because the Zacks Rank #4, when combined with a negative ESP, makes surprise prediction difficult.
We caution against stocks with Zacks #4 and 5 Ranks (Sell-rated stocks) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is witnessing negative estimate revisions momentum.
Other Stocks to Consider
Here are some other companies you may want to consider as our model shows they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:
NRG Yield, Inc. (NYSE:NYLD-Free Report) with Earnings ESP of +40.00% and Zacks #2 Rank (Buy).
Vectren Corp. (NYSE:VVC-Free Report) with Earnings ESP of +1.39% and Zacks #2 Rank.
Embraer SA (NYSE:ERJ-Free Report) with Earnings ESP of +1.79% and Zacks #2 Rank.
Ameris Bancorp Upped to Strong Buy
On May 10, 2014, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Ameris Bancorp (Nasdaq:ABCB-Free Report) to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Why the Upgrade?
Ameris Bancorp has been witnessing rising earnings estimates on the back of strong first-quarter 2014 results, steady organic growth and a healthy capital position. The long-term expected earnings growth rate for this stock is 8.00%. Further, the company recorded a solid return of 34.1% in a year's time.
Ameris Bancorp reported its first-quarter results on Apr 22 with earnings of 32 cents per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 33 cents by 3.03%. However, earnings came in significantly higher than the prior-year quarter figure of 20 cents.
Results in the reported quarter were primarily driven by rise in revenues and lower provision for loan losses.
Net loans ascended 28.6% year over year, while total deposits grew 20.9%. This reflects organic growth of the company. Non-performing assets as a percent of total assets declined 43 basis points to 2.29%.
On the flip side, a 15.1% rise in operating expenses and a 33.7% increase in interest expenses were recorded.
For 2014, the Zacks Consensus Estimate increased 4.4% to $1.67 per share over the last 60 days. For 2015, the Zacks Consensus Estimate advanced 13.3% to $2.04 per share over the same time period.
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
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