Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: ConocoPhillips, EnCana and Esterline Corporation.

CHICAGO -- 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: ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), EnCana (NYSE: ECA) and Esterline Corporation (NYSE: ESL).

See the latest posts to the Analyst Blog by visiting: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2673

Here are highlights from Wednesday's Analyst Blog:

COP's Strong Position Continues

Our continued positive view of ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) shares reflects the company's strong position in the politically stable OECD [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development] markets and attractive valuation. The company has significantly strengthened its upstream portfolio through its Burlington and LUKOIL transactions, and remains a premier domestic refining player.

Recent alliance with EnCana (NYSE: ECA) further cements its upstream and downstream prospects. With balance sheet leverage almost within management's target range and capital expenditures expected to remain around current levels over the next few years, the company is expected to deploy the bulk of its excess cash flows towards shareholder returns. Buybacks are expected to be around $4 billion this year.

Our unchanged target price of $80 results from applying 2007 P/E [price-to-earnings] and P/CF [price-to cash-flow] multiples of 8.6x and 5.4x, respectively - still at discounts to the super majors. Despite these positive attributes, the stock is the cheapest in the group, based on all conventional valuation metrics. We believe that greater appreciation of the company's repositioned upstream asset portfolio following the Burlington and Lukoil deals and its strong U.S. refining footprint will help it narrow its valuation discount.

Bullish on Esterline Corp.

Esterline Corporation (NYSE: ESL) is still in a splendid position to take advantage of the upcoming surge in deliveries of commercial aircraft as well as whatever level of spending is approved by federal bureaucracies, both domestically and abroad. Through a number of acquisitions (the latest being CMC on March 14, 2007), it has expanded its capabilities to the point that it has now entered the arena of systems integrators.

It does not appear to this writer that the market has yet fully appreciated ESL's earning possibilities, as the company transitions from a period of higher spending on research, development, test and evaluation [R, D, T&E] for new aircraft to the actual production of a variety of models. Increased levels of income are indeed foreseeable over the next decade.

See the latest posts to the Analyst Blog by visiting http://at.zacks.com/?id=2645

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