The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Costco, Staples, DreamWorks Animation, First Solar and St. Jude - Press Releases
March 01 2012 - 3:30AM
Zacks
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – March 1, 2012 – 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 Costco (COST),
Staples (SPLS), DreamWorks
Animation (DWA), First
Solar (FSLR) and St.
Jude (STJ).
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Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst
Blog:
Good News on GDP, ECB
In its second read on the fourth quarter of 2011, the commerce
department reported that the U.S. economy expanded at a
better-than-expected 3% pace in the last quarter of 2011, up from
the 2.8% in the first read a month ago. This compares to the third
quarter’s 1.8% growth rate. The positive revision primarily
reflected increased consumer spending, though contribution from
non-residential fixed investment and net exports also improved.
Personal consumption expenditures (PCE), or consumer spending,
which accounts for close to 70% of the economy, increased by 2.1%,
up from the first read’s 2% estimate. This was an increase from the
1.7% increase in the third quarter and the 0.7% growth in the
second quarter.
The consumer spending increase is particularly welcome given the
relatively weak internals of the original fourth quarter GDP report
that had substantial contributions from the less-desirable
inventory component. Given the recent improvement in the labor
market, one could reasonably expect favorable momentum on the
household spending front.
Also helpful to the spending picture should be the growing evidence
of increased bank lending. While we don’t want another debt-driven
consumption binge in the economy, it is nevertheless an improving
trend.
The ECB injected huge amounts into the Euro-zone banking system
through its second round of Long-Term Refinancing Operation (LTRO).
The central bank paid out €529 billion in three-year loans to 800
banks, up from €489 billion injected through the same program in
December. The program was particularly successful the first time
around as it helped ease liquidity concerns about the banking
system. It also had a positive impact on the government bond
markets of Italy and Spain, where bond yields have been on a
downtrend ever since the December LTRO.
Many in the market view the LTRO program as the ECB’s backdoor
quantitative program, though it’s not clear the extent of actual
bond purchases that the banks undertook with the extra money.
In corporate news, we have better-than-expected results
from Costco (COST)
and Staples (SPLS),
while DreamWorks Animation (DWA)
and First Solar (FSLR) came out with
weak results after the close on Tuesday.
St. Jude Beefs Up Dividend
Medical technology major St.
Jude (STJ) has bumped up its quarterly dividend to 23
cents a share from 21 cents, representing a 10% hike. This lifts
the annual dividend to 92 cents per share from the current payout
of 84 cents and equates to a dividend yield of roughly 2.2%. The
revised quarterly dividend is payable on April 30, 2012, to
shareholders of record as on March 30, 2012.
St. Jude’s Board, in February 2011, approved the commencement of
a regular quarterly cash dividend. The company paid the initial
quarterly dividend (of 21 cents a share) on April 29, 2011.
Moreover, the Minnesota-based company’s Board, in December 2011,
authorized a new share buyback program, allowing it to repurchase
up to $300 million of its common stock. St. Jude completed, during
third-quarter 2011, the $500 million repurchase program announced
in August 2011.
St. Jude remains confident that it has reached a level where it
can return value to investors in the form of dividends while
continuing to invest in growth programs along with share
repurchases and acquisitions.
St. Jude’s revenues and earnings for fourth-quarter fiscal 2011
beat the Zacks Consensus Estimates. Revenues rose 4% in the
quarter, fueled by double-digit growth across the company’s
Cardiovascular, Atrial Fibrillation and
Neuromodulation franchises.
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COSTCO WHOLE CP (COST): Free Stock Analysis Report
DREAMWORKS ANIM (DWA): Free Stock Analysis Report
FIRST SOLAR INC (FSLR): Free Stock Analysis Report
STAPLES INC (SPLS): Free Stock Analysis Report
ST JUDE MEDICAL (STJ): Free Stock Analysis Report
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