For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – December 8, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Companhia de Bebidas das Americas, or AmBev (ABV) as the Bull of the Day and Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Citigroup Inc.(C), Bank of America Corporation (BAC) and Wells Fargo & Company (WFC).
Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5506
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
Bull of the Day:
Our long-term recommendation on Companhia de Bebidas das Americas, or AmBev (ABV), is Outperform. We anticipate the company perform well above the broader market.
AmBev is the largest beverage company in South America and commands a strong portfolio of well-established flagship brands. Furthermore, the company continues to witness solid performance in the Brazilian market, which remains a key driver of top-line growth in the future.
Moreover, AmBev has taken initiatives to reduce its debt-levels and enhance financial flexibility, while consistently rewarding investors in the form of dividends and share buybacks. However, intense competition from established as well as regional and local players in its markets may limit the above-market performance of the company.
Bear of the Day:
We expect significant declines for Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) in both revenues and earnings in fiscal 2010. Revenue should improve in 2011, assuming an improvement in overall economic conditions.
The company has announced a significant reduction in headcount. However, it is likely that the company will not be net free-cash-flow-positive in the forseeable future.
We have changed our recommendation to Underperform and dropped our price target to $10.00.
Latest Posts on the Zacks Analyst Blog:
Kuwaiti Fund Sells Citi Stake
The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), the country's sovereign wealth fund, has sold its entire stake in Citigroup Inc.(C) and made a 37% return on its initial investments. The KIA converted all its preferred shares to common shares and sold the stake for $4.1 billion, making a profit of $1.1 billion.
The KIA had invested $3 billion in Citigroup by acquiring the preferred shares in January 2008 to help the bank strengthen its capital position when it was hit hard by the subprime-mortgage losses in the U.S. At that time, the KIA had also invested $2 billion in Merrill Lynch, which was bought by Bank of America Corporation (BAC) in 2008.
The stake sale news by KIA comes in the midst of Citigroup’s effort to seek the government’s approval to allow it to repay the TARP fund. Last week, Bank of America has announced its plan to repay the TARP fund. This has increased the pressure on Citigroup and Wells Fargo & Company (WFC), both of whom have also borrowed from the TARP.
In September, the Government of Singapore Investment Corp. realized a profit of $1.6 billion by selling around half of its Citigroup stake after converting its preferred shares to ordinary shares.
Prior to the investment by KIA in Citigroup in January 2008, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) had invested $7.5 billion in Citigroup in November 2007. The investment was made in return of an 11% dividend until March 2010 when it has to start buying the bank's common stock. As per the deal, the units will be converted at a price of not less than $31.83 per share. Incidentally, both KIA and ADIA had been criticized for their investment in Citigroup when the shares plunged with the worsening of the economic crisis.
Get the full analysis of all these stocks by going to http://at.zacks.com/?id=5507.
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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