Zacks.com releases details on a group of stocks that are currently members of the exclusive Zacks #5 Rank List – Stocks to Sell Now. These stocks are currently rated as a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell): Manpower Inc (NYSE: MAN) and Texas Instruments Inc (NYSE: TXN). Further, Zacks announced #4 Rankings (Sell) on two other widely held stocks: DuPont Co (NYSE: DD) and Crane Co (NYSE: CR). To see the full Zacks #5 Rank List - Stocks to Sell Now visit: http://at.zacks.com/?id=92
Since inception in 1988, the S&P 500 has outperformed the Zacks #5 Rank List — Stocks to Sell Now by 81% annually (+2% versus +11%). While the rest of Wall Street continued to tout stocks during the market declines of the last few years, Zacks told investors which stocks to sell or avoid.
Here is a synopsis of why MAN and TXN have a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell) and should most likely be sold or avoided for the next one to three months. Note that a #5 Strong Sell rating is applied to 5% of all the stocks in the Zacks Rank universe:
Manpower Inc (NYSE: MAN) reported a net loss in the third quarter and forecast fourth-quarter profit below market expectations, as the global economic slowdown deepened. Manpower expects fourth-quarter earnings of 97 cents to $1.01 per share. The world's second-biggest staffing company, however, said that the full impact of the economic crisis had not yet been felt by the labor market. Analysts have lowered their 2008 forecast by 36 cents to $4.92 per share.
Texas Instruments Inc (NYSE: TXN) reported a 27% drop in third- quarter profit and projected sales to fall nearly 20% in the fourth quarter, hurt by slowing sales of mobile phones. The company sees profit of 30 cents to 36 cents a share on sales of $2.83 billion to $3.07 billion in the fourth quarter. In the last seven days, consensus estimates on 2008 earnings has been reduced by 7 cents to $1.71 per share. Analysts expect macro and company-specific wireless issues to continue weighing on this stock in the near term.
Here is a synopsis of why DD and CR have a Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) and should also most likely be sold or avoided for the next one to three months. Note that a #4 Sell rating is applied to 15% of all the stocks ranked by Zacks;
DuPont Co (NYSE: DD) saw third-quarter earnings falling 30%, hurt by hurricane Ike and guided to a lower profit in the full year. In the last reported quarter, four of the company's five business segments saw volumes decline. DuPont now sees earnings of $3.25 to $3.30 per share, down from its prior view of $3.45 to $3.55 in 2008. The analyst community believes that the stock will not rebound unless the economy itself begins to show signs of recovery. Consensus on 2008 profit is now pegged at $3.29 per share.
Crane Co (NYSE: CR) missed consensus forecasts on third-quarter profit, hurt by an unexpected slowdown in orders beginning in August, and reduced its outlook for the full year. The company expects to report a profit of $2.75 to $2.90 per share in 2008, compared with its prior guidance of $3.45 to $3.60, primarily due to uncertainty across its end markets. Crane also said it was implementing some cost-cutting measures that could lead to a pretax charge of up to $25 million in the current fourth quarter, which was not included in its recently lowered guidance.
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About the Zacks Rank
Since 1988, the Zacks Rank has proven that "Earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices." Since inception in 1988, #1 Rank Stocks have generated an average annual return of +30%. During the 2000-2002 bear market, Zacks #1 Rank stocks gained +43.8%, while the S&P 500 tumbled -37.6%. Also note that the Zacks Rank system has just as many Strong Sell recommendations (Rank #5) as Strong Buy recommendations (Rank #1). Since 1988, Zacks Rank #5 stocks have underperformed the S&P 500 by 81% annually (+2% versus +11%). Thus, the Zacks Rank system allows investors to truly manage portfolio trading effectively.
Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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