All Star Analysts Portfolio: Black & Decker Corporation, Dollar Tree Stores, General Electric and Wells Fargo & Company.

Business Editors

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 2, 2003

Zacks.com just released its latest additions and deletions to the coveted All Star Analyst portfolio. This exclusive portfolio represents all stocks with a Strong Buy rating from at least five analysts with a 5 Star All Star ranking. These are the brokerage analysts whose stock recommendations proved to be the most profitable for investors. The newest members to the list are: Black & Decker Corporation (NYSE:BDK), Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR), General Electric Corp. (NYSE:GE) and Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC). View the entire list of stocks on the All Star Analyst portfolio at http://asaportfolio.zacks.com

Here is a synopsis of why these stocks are on the All Star Analysts Portfolio:

Black & Decker Corporation (NYSE:BDK) is a global marketer and manufacturer of quality products used in and around the home and for commercial applications. Yesterday, Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) and The Black & Decker Corporation (NYSE:BDK) announced that they have signed a letter of intent in which BDK will purchase the Baldwin Hardware and Weiser Lock businesses from Masco. Analysts believe that the acquisition of these strong brand names provides an excellent strategic opportunity for Black & Decker's further expansion of its lock and door hardware business by offering these products in all price ranges. Besides the recent acquisition plans, the company announced strong first quarter numbers. In April, BDK announced that net earnings for the first quarter of 2003 were $43.4 million or 55 cents per diluted share, which was a whopping +34% increase over diluted earnings per share of 41 cents per diluted share in the first quarter of 2002. Sales for the first quarter of 2003 were $968 million, up a mere +2% from $952 million for the same period last year, but the numbers for the rest of the year look strong. BDK continues to make progress on its restructuring plan and enjoys good momentum in the marketplace. Several top All Star analysts believe that BDK could be a great tool to build a more profitable portfolio.

Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) is an operator of discount variety stores offering merchandise at a fixed price point of $1.00 or less. The nation's leading operator of single-price point dollar stores reported first quarter 2003 earnings per share of 29 cents, a +16% increase compared to 25 cents in last year's fiscal first quarter ended April 30, 2002. Thanks to stronger than expected Easter sales, sales for the fiscal first quarter, which spanned February 2, 2003 to May 3, 2003, were $615.6 million, exceeding the Dollar Tree's original guidance of $590-$610 million. Total sales increased +20.8% quarter-over-quarter, and comparable-store sales rose 2.2%. Things look to be picking up for the discount variety store as DLTR announced last week that it has completed its planned acquisition of Greenbacks, Inc., a Salt Lake City-based $1.00 store operator. Dollar Tree paid approximately $100 million in cash for all of the outstanding securities of the privately held company. Many top All Star analysts believe that the specialty retail market will be on the fast track to recovery by the end of the summer, and as such, investors may want to add DLTR to their cart of profitable picks.

General Electric Corp. (NYSE:GE) is one of the largest conglomerates in the world. GE is a company on the move. In June GE announced that GE Consumer Finance-Americas has finalized the acquisition of Conseco Finance Corp.'s U.S. sales finance, consumer finance and private label credit card businesses. The company added that this acquisition would be a terrific complement to their existing sales finance and private label credit card businesses. In April GE announced that first quarter 2003 earnings before required accounting changes were $3.2 billion, or 32 cents per share, compared with $3.5 billion, or 35 cents per share, in first quarter 2002. In this tough economic environment, 8 of their 13 businesses delivered double-digit earnings growth, which impressed many analysts. The company also told analysts that they remain comfortable with their target range of $1.55-$1.70 per share for the year. GE is a diversified conglomerate that has managed to stay afloat during difficult first half markets. The forecast for the second half looks to be much brighter and several top All Star analysts are recommending GE as a top choice. Investors looking for a blue chip that has excellent growth potential and a decent dividend should further research GE.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) is a holding company whose subsidiaries are engaged in banking and a variety related businesses. Last month, WFC the nation's #1 ranked Internet bank, announced that it has launched online training modules designed to teach corporate customers how to use the Internet to simplify their business processes. The new tutorials allow customers to receive interactive online training at their own pace, at a time that is convenient for them. Wells Fargo is the first financial institution to offer online tutorials to its corporate customers. In addition to building brand loyalty through education, WFC is also building its portfolio as the company announced that it has completed the acquisition of 11 mutual funds ($1.4 billion in assets under management, 4/30/03) from Montgomery Asset Management, LLC. With low rates and a rising stock market, many top rated All Star analysts are recommending investors bank on WFC.

Discover all the current All Star Analyst rankings and top analyst recommendations at http://allstarrank.zacks.com

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