CHICAGO, Aug. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks Equity Research highlights Apogee Enterprises (Nasdaq:APOG) as the Bull of the Day and Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis onChevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), Total SA (NYSE:TOT) and Eni SpA (NYSE:E).
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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:
We have upgraded our recommendation on Apogee Enterprises (Nasdaq:APOG) to Outperform from Neutral with a target price of $18. The company's first-quarter fiscal 2013 earnings were $0.06 per share, reversing the prior-year loss of $0.08 and doubling the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.03. Total revenues improved 1% to $154.1 million.
Apogee is focused on increasing its exposure in the U.S. market, which will help top-line growth moving forward. It has increased its earnings guidance range and raised its quarterly dividend by 10% to $0.09 per share.
We have upgraded our long-term recommendation on the stock to Outperform from Neutral, which indicates that it will perform above the overall market. Our price target of $18 is based on 32.1x our fiscal 2013 earnings estimate.
Bear of the Day:
Procter & Gamble's (NYSE:PG) fourth quarter earnings of $0.82 were flat with the prior-year levels, as benefits from pricing and cost savings from restructuring activities were offset by a top-line shortfall and rising commodity costs. Revenues declined 1% largely due to foreign exchange headwinds.
Further, P&G is witnessing sluggish growth in the developed nations, principally in North America and Western Europe, due to weak economic conditions and market share declines. Moreover, rising commodity costs are constantly hurting the company's margins.
Other short-term headwinds include business disruptions in Venezuela, import restrictions in Argentina and negative impact of foreign exchange. We thus have an Underperform rating, as most of these issues are expected to persist and pressure earnings in the near term.
Latest Posts on the Zacks Analyst Blog:
Chevron in Angola-Congo Venture
Chevron Overseas Congo Limited - an affiliate of Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) - announced its plans to develop the Lianzi field. Located 65 miles away from the shore and at a water depth of about 3,000 feet, the field lies in a zone between the Republic of Congo and the Republic of Angola.
The development project - worth $2.0 billion - involves the installation of subsea production system and a 27-mile electrically heated flowline. These will be used to transport oil from the field to the Benguela Belize Lobito Tomboco platform, located in Angola Block 14.
The project - which is expected to produce its first oil in 2015 - will have a production capacity of maximum 46,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, upon completion.
Chevron's arm in Congo will act as the operator of the Lianzi field with a 31.25% interest, while Total SA (NYSE: TOT) controls a 36.75% stake. The remaining stakes are shared among Eni SpA (NYSE: E) (10%), Angolan energy firm Sonangol (10%), the Republic of Congo National Oil Company - SNPC (7.5%) and Portugal-based Galp Energia (4.5%).
This is Chevron's first venture in the Republic of Congo and the company looks to establish a strong foothold in West Africa - one of the richest hydrocarbon basins in the world.
Both Congo and Angola will likely provide support to the cross-border project. The Lianzi field will also act as the source of encouragement for the development of other cross-country fields.
San Ramon, California-based Chevron displays a strong portfolio of global projects, targeting volume growth of around 20% by 2017. Additionally, Chevron possesses one of the healthiest balance sheets among its peers, which helps it to capitalize on investment opportunities with the option to make strategic acquisitions.
However, due to its integrated nature, Chevron is particularly susceptible to downside risk from any weakness in the global economy. We are also concerned regarding the company's high level of capital spending, which may result in reduced returns going forward.
As such, we see the stock performing in line with the broader market and maintain our long-term Neutral recommendation, supported by a Zacks #3 Rank (short-term Hold rating).
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.
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