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Covenant Logistics and Herbalife have been highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 4, 2022 – Zacks Equity Research shares Covenant Logistics Group CVLG as the Bull of the Day and Herbalife HLF as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on BRT Apartments Corp. BRT, Equity Residential's EQR and Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. MAA.

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Covenant Logistics Group is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and it sports an A for Value and a B for Growth.  This company just posted a big beat and has seen a solid move higher.  Let's explore more about this company in this Bull of The Day article.

Description

Covenant Logistics Group Inc. offers a portfolio of transportation and logistics services, through its subsidiaries. The company services include asset-based expedited, dedicated and irregular route truckload capacity, as well as asset-light warehousing, transportation management and freight brokerage capability. Covenant Logistics Group Inc, is based in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Earnings History

When I look at a stock, the first thing I do is look to see if the company is beating the number.  This tells me right away where the market's expectations have been for the company and how management has communicated to the market.  A stock that consistently beats has management communicating expectations to Wall Street that can be achieved.  That is what you want to see.

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For CVLG, I see four straight beats of the Zacks Consensus Estimate.  That is great to see, but by itself that is not enough to make the company a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

The average positive earnings surprise over the course of the last year works out to be 22%.

Earnings Estimates Revisions

The Zacks Rank tells us which stocks are seeing earnings estimates move higher.

Over the last 60 days, earning estimates have moved up for CVLG.

This quarter has moved from $1.17 to $1.51.

Next quarter has increased from $0.79 to $0.94.

The full fiscal year 2022 has increased from $5.43 to $5.77.

Next fiscal year has seen the estimate move from $3.56 to $3.97.

Positive movement in earnings stock is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Valuation

The valuation for this name is quite low with a 6.5x forward earnings multiple.  The price to book is 1.5x which is well below the 3x level that value investors need to see. Price to sales comes in at 0.44x and has room to grow.  I see margins increasing in each of the last two quarters and with revenue growth slated to come in at 16%, this name looks very attractive.

Bear of the Day:

Herbalife is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) but it could be worthy of deeper after -16% and -10% moves on back-to-back days. This article will look at why this stock is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) as it is the Bear of the Day.

Description

Herbalife is a global network marketing company offering a range of science-based weight management products, nutritional supplements and personal care products intended to support weight loss and a healthy lifestyle.

Earnings History

When I look at a stock, the first thing I do is look to see if the company is beating the number. This tells me right away where the market's expectations have been for the company and how management has communicated to the market. A stock that consistently beats has management communicating expectations to Wall Street that can be achieved. That is what you want to see.

In the case of HLF, I have three beats of the  Zacks Consensus Estimate and one miss. This alone does not make the stock a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and it doesn't make it a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) either.

The Zacks Rank does care about the earnings history, but it is much more heavily influenced by the movement of earnings estimates.

Earnings Estimates

The Zacks Rank tells us which stocks are seeing earnings estimates move higher or in this case lower. For HLF I see annual estimates moving lower.

The current fiscal year consensus number moved from $3.39  to $2.24 over the last 60 days.

The next year has moved from $4.24 to $2.30.

Negative movement in earnings estimates like that is why this stock is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

It should be noted that a majority of stocks in the Zacks universe are seeing negative earnings estimate revisions. That means that the stocks that are seeing small but negative earnings estimate revisions are falling to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Additional content:

What to Expect from BRT Apartments (BRT) This Earnings Season

BRT Apartments Corp. is slated to report third-quarter 2022 earnings on Nov 7 after market close. The company's quarterly results are likely to reflect growth in revenues and funds from operations (FFO) per share.

In the last reported quarter, this residential real estate investment trust's (REIT) adjusted FFO per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.13%.

Over the last four quarters, BRT Apartments surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate on three occasions and missed the same on the other, the average beat being 9.29%.

Let's see how things have shaped up before this announcement.

Factors to Consider

For the U.S. apartment market, demand remained healthy initially in the third quarter, though normal seasonality returned in September.

BRT Apartments is the owner and operator of Class B and better multi-family assets,
mainly in well-situated Sun Belt locations. The company is expected to have benefited from healthy market fundamentals.

Particularly, in the third quarter, BRT Apartments' properties in growth markets are likely to have benefited from population growth and job in-migration. Also, a shortage in quality housing is aiding the demand for rental units in its markets.

Further, BRT Apartments is likely to have progressed in its efforts to grow and improve its portfolio through targeted dispositions and the acquisition of its partners' remaining interests in several joint ventures.

During the said period, BRT announced that the unconsolidated joint venture in which it holds an 80% equity stake accomplished the sale of a 204-unit multifamily property — Waters' Edge — in Columbia, SC, for $32.4 million. The company estimated to recognize an $11.4 million gain on this.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate of $21.9 million for third-quarter revenues suggests a significant increase from $7.7 million reported in the year-ago period.

Before the third-quarter earnings release, the company's activities were not adequate to gain analysts' confidence. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarterly FFO per share has remained unchanged at 42 cents in the past month. However, the figure suggests year-over-year growth of 35.5%.

Here Is What Our Quantitative Model Predicts:

Our proven model does not conclusively predict a surprise in terms of FFO per share for BRT Apartments this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an FFO beat, which is not the case here.

BRT Apartments currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The company has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Performance of Notable Residential REITs

Equity Residential's third-quarter 2022 normalized FFO per share of 92 cents outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 91 cents. Rental income of $695.1 million also exceeded the consensus mark of $694.1 million. On a year-over-year basis, the FFO per share grew 19.5% from 77 cents, while the rental income increased 11.5%.

Equity Residential's results reflected healthy demand during the primary leasing season. This residential REIT benefited from the favorable real estate tax and payroll expenses. However, EQR narrowed its full-year guidance for normalized FFO per share.

Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc., commonly referred to as MAA, reported a third-quarter 2022 core FFO per share of $2.19, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.09. The reported number improved by 23% year over year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities' quarterly results were driven by an increase in the average effective rent per unit for the same-store portfolio. MAA increased its outlook for core FFO growth for the year.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represent funds from operations (FFO) — a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.


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Equity Residential (EQR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
MidAmerica Apartment Communities, Inc. (MAA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
BRT Apartments Corp. (BRT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Herbalife LTD. (HLF) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Covenant Logistics Group, Inc. (CVLG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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