Zacks Earnings and Margins Strategy Highlights: American Financial Group, ICT Group, Kendle International and Optimal Group.

CHICAGO -- Earnings are the single most important metric for a company. Combine that with a healthy Net Profit Margin and you find a screen that has generated a cumulative return of +464% since January 2001. In 2005, this screen continued its winning ways with a +22.3% return. This screen is called the Earnings and Margins Profit Track strategy. Here are four stocks meeting this screen's exclusive criteria: American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG), ICT Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:ICTG), Kendle International Inc. (Nasdaq:KNDL) and Optimal Group Inc. (Nasdaq:OPMR). View the entire list of stocks for the Earnings and Margins Profit Track at http://at.zacks.com/?id=1858

Here are four companies that meet the following Earnings and Margin Profit Track:

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG), a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) company, generated earnings growth of 31% last year over the previous year. In mid-February, AFG announced fourth-quarter core net operating earnings of $1.11 per share, exceeding the consensus estimate by almost 16% and outperforming the year-ago total. AFG commented that 2005 was a banner year for its insurance operations even though it is considered to be the costliest year ever for the insurance industry. The company will announce results for the first quarter on April 26, 2006.

ICT Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:ICTG) is a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) company that experienced earnings growth of 132% for the most recently completed year versus the year-ago total. ICTG posted fourth-quarter earnings of 29 cents per share, excluding items, in late February. The result was ahead of the previous year's 15 cents and surpassed analysts' expectations by approximately 7%. The company stated that revenue growth in the quarter and the year was driven by strong gains in its healthcare and Government businesses.

Kendle International Inc. (Nasdaq:KNDL), a leading, global full-service clinical research organization and another Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) company, meets the requirements for this Profit Track with annual earnings that were up a healthy 300% year-over-year. KNDL announced fourth-quarter earnings of 31 cents per share, excluding items, in mid-February. The result exceeded the consensus estimate by about 19% and outpaced the year-prior performance. The company noted that its continued focus on project delivery and operational excellence delivered strong results for its customers and shareholders in 2005.

Optimal Group Inc. (Nasdaq:OPMR) reported fourth quarter and 2005 year end results in early March. The company's quarterly earnings per share were ahead of the previous year's total. OPMR stated that the fourth quarter of 2005 closed out a successful year for its core payments businesses. Optimal Group, another Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) name, grew an impressive 500% last year compared to the year prior, the highest rate of year-over-year growth currently listed under this Profit Track.

Discover all the current stocks currently on the Earnings and Margin Profit Track at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=1859

About Profit Tracks

What is a "Profit Track"? Each Profit Track is a successful stock picking strategy with proven results through the Bear Market of 2001-2002 and the Bull run started in 2003. On Zacks.com we have created these nine unique screens to offer investors great strategies to potentially outperform the market in the years ahead. In 2005, the Low Price Stocks strategy was the top performing Profit Track with a return of +51.9% followed by the Recent Price Strength screen with a +35.5% return. To see all nine strategies along with philosophy, past performance, and current stocks, go to http://at.zacks.com/?id=1838

All the Profit Track strategies were created and backtested using the Research Wizard software from Zacks Investment Research. If you like this screening strategy, but want to narrow down the list of stocks and even improve the performance, then you should start a free trial to this powerful stock picking tool. Learn more about the Research Wizard free trial offer and our new special report "Top 10 Stock Screening Strategies" at http://at.zacks.com/?id=1993

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