Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Maguire Properties, Citi Trends, Guess? and Alcoa.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: Maguire Properties (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :MPG), Citi Trends (Nasdaq:CTRN CTRN Colorado Technical Recruiters Network CTRN Can't Talk Right Now CTRN Certified Transport Registered Nurse CTRN Change That's Right Now, Inc (New York, NY phobia clinic) ), Guess? (NYSE:GES GES GTN (Global Transportation Network) Exercise System GES General Estimates System (NHTSA) GES Ghana Education Service GES Government Economic Service (UK) ), and Alcoa (NYSE:AA). See the latest posts to the Analyst Blog by visiting http://at.zacks.com/?id=2673 E[acute accent acute accent n. A mark (´) indicating: a. that a vowel is close or tense, as é in French été. b. that a vowel or syllable has a high or rising pitch, as in Chinese or Ancient Greek. c. ]Here are highlights from Thursday's Analyst Blog: E[acute accent]Office Rents Rising E[acute accent]Nationally, office fundamentals continue to strengthen. On a macro level, we are steadily seeing declines in vacancies and concessions. Additionally, landlords are starting to regain pricing power Pricing Power An economic term referring to the effect that a change in a firm's product price has on the quantity demanded of that product. Pricing power ties in with the "Price Elasticity of Demand. and we are finally starting to see rent increases on new leases. This comes after years of falling rents, as the industry came down from the high flying rents which accompanied the internet boom. E[acute accent]As expected, markets on the coasts, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , D.C. and California are the best performers and we favor companies with a large presence in these markets. Southern and Midwestern markets continue to struggle with new supply hampering the South and slow job growth negatively affecting the Midwest. E[acute accent]Among the office companies we cover, we would recommend Maguire Properties (NYSE:MPG), which has a class A office portfolio located in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . We expect Southern California to lead the country in job growth in 2006, which will continue to push demand for new office space. E[acute accent]Dreary Retail Numbers E[acute accent]Retailers reported sales numbers for March this morning, and the results paint a fairly dreary picture. My initial read on the numbers is that consumers are coping with high gas prices, rising interest rates, and a cool housing market by spending less at the mall. This situation will likely persist until the consumer gets some relief on the macro level (i.e. lower gas prices, the Fed ending the interest rate increases), and most retailers will be forced to navigate choppy waters for the foreseeable future. I say most because there will be some pockets of strength, especially in the specialty retail segment from those companies that continue to stay ahead of the merchandising curve. Two companies in my coverage list that fit the bill are Citi Trends (Nasdaq:CTRN) and Guess? (NYSE:GES)--both of which reported impressive sales numbers today. Their stocks are up 13% and 7%, respectively, in early trading. We continue to have Buy recommendations on both CTRN and GES. E[acute accent]Employment, Then Earnings E[acute accent]After today, things are going to get interesting. E[acute accent]Before the start of trading tomorrow, March employment numbers will be released. Expectations are for a 190,000 increase in non-farm payrolls. (Keep in mind, however, that the consensus estimate for the monthly payroll number is typically wrong.) A higher number would further suggest a tightening of the labor market labor market A place where labor is exchanged for wages; an LM is defined by geography, education and technical expertise, occupation, licensure or certification requirements, and job experience , which will only add to the uncertainty of what the FOMC See Federal Open Market Committee. FOMC See Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). will do after the May meeting. E[acute accent]After having a weekend to double-guess where interest rates are headed, investors will have to digest a barrage of earnings news. First-quarter earnings season will officially kick off on Monday. Alcoa (NYSE:AA) is projected to report a first quarter profit of 50 cents per share Cents per share The amount of a mutual fund's dividend or capital gains distributions that a shareholder will receive for each share owned. . E[acute accent]I'm optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op about first-quarter earnings. The economy appears to have strengthened, there is an increasing amount of chatter about pricing power from companies and commodity prices have been soaring. Plus, there was not a notable downward revision in earnings estimates in late March - something that would have occurred if corporations were concerned about not being able to meet expectations. E[acute accent]See the latest posts to the Analyst Blog by visiting http://at.zacks.com/?id=2645 E[acute accent]About Zacks Equity Research E[acute accent]Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis Qualitative Analysis Securities analysis that uses subjective judgment based on nonquantifiable information, such as management expertise, industry cycles, strength of research and development, and labor relations. to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term. E[acute accent]Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons. E[acute accent]Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to Verb 1. subscribe to - receive or obtain regularly; "We take the Times every day" subscribe, take buy, purchase - obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction; "The family purchased a new car"; "The conglomerate acquired a new company"; this free newsletter today by visiting http://at.zacks.com/?id=2674. E[acute accent]About Zacks E[acute accent]Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research Zacks Investment Research A firm that compiles earnings estimates and brokerage firm investment recommendations for thousands of publicly traded firms. , Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Leonard Zacks. As a PhD in mathematics Len knew he could find patterns in stock market data that would lead to superior investment results. Amongst his many accomplishments was the formation of his proprietary stock picking system; the Zacks Rank, which continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros. |
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