The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Wells Fargo, Bank of Ireland, Moody's, General Motors and Ford Motor

  The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Wells Fargo, Bank of Ireland, Moody's,
                        General Motors and Ford Motor

PR Newswire

CHICAGO, May 25, 2012

CHICAGO, May 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- 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  Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC),
Bank of Ireland Group (NYSE:IRE), Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO), General
Motors Company (NYSE:GM) and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F).

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101027/ZIRLOGO)

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit
from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Thursday's Analyst Blog:

Wells Fargo Sees Growth Ahead

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) is well positioned to grow its business in the
years ahead. At its annual investor day event held earlier this week, the
company had come out of financial crisis well and achieved nine consecutive
quarters of earnings per share growth.

Wells Fargo announced its target of return on assets of 1.3% to 1.6% and
return on equity of 12% to 15%, subject to economic and regulatory
environment. This is likely to support a shareholder payout ratio of about 50%
to 65%.

Wells Fargo's average return on assets between the first quarter of 2009 and
2012 is 1.12% and average return on equity for the same period is 10.97%.

Moreover, with a strong capability to generate organic capital, Wells Fargo is
well positioned for future attractive acquisition opportunities but will
adhere to discipline while assessing such deals. Notably, since 2011, the
company has completed six transactions which include both loan portfolio
purchases as well as business unit acquisitions.

Notable among these were the purchases of BNP Paribas North American Energy
Lending, Burdale Financial Holdings Limited from Bank of Ireland Group
(NYSE:IRE) and EverKey Global Partners. These deals were completed in 2012.
Wells Fargo also made loan portfolio purchases from Irish Bank Resolution
Corp., Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Bank in 2011.

Additionally, the company has agreed to buy San Francisco and New York
City-based Merlin Securities LLC, and the deal is pending at this moment. The
company plans to expand its operations in international markets and augment
its asset management business.

Moody's Reaffirms GM Credit Rating

Moody's Investors Service, the credit rating agency of Moody's Corporation
(NYSE:MCO), has reaffirmed the credit rating of General Motors Company
(NYSE:GM) at Ba1, citing the company's outlook to be positive.

The agency is confident about the company's competitive business model in
North America, better cost structure, improved lineups and strong market
position in Asia. As a result, it is looking forward to upgrade GM to
investment grade credit rating within a year.

Recently, Moody's raised the senior unsecured ratings of Ford Motor Co.
(NYSE:F) to Baa3 from Ba2 and of its financial arm Ford Credit to Baa3 from
Ba1, as well as dropped its speculative grade liquidity rating on the company.
The agency left unchanged its "stable" rating outlook for the company and its
financial arm.

The upgrade was driven by the Ford's strong market position and higher
profitability in North America, high cash balance, ability to match production
with market demand and sound operating and financial management.

With securing investment grade ratings from two of the three main agencies
(Moody's and Fitch), Ford succeeded in reclaiming its collateral for $23.5
billion loan, including the blue oval logo that is embossed on its vehicles.

GM, a Zacks #3 Rank (Hold) company, reported a $100 million fall in profits to
$1.6 billion in the first quarter of 2012 from $1.7 billion in the same
quarter of 2011, before special items, due to lower profits from its European
operations.

On per share basis, adjusted profits were 93 cents during the quarter, down 2
cents from the first quarter of 2011. However, it exceeded the Zacks Consensus
Estimate of 84 cents. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT)
dipped to $2.2 billion in the quarter from $2.0 billion in the year-ago
quarter.

Revenues in the quarter went up 4% to $37.8 billion on a 3% rise in unit sales
to 2.3 million vehicles globally. It was higher than the Zacks Consensus
Estimate of $36.4 billion. The automaker occupied a worldwide market share of
11.3% during the quarter, compared with 11.4% a year-ago.

Based on the improved macroeconomic conditions in the U.S. and pent-up demand
in the automotive sector, GM expects light vehicle sales in the range of 14.0
million–14.5 million in the U.S. during 2012. This compared with the prior
guidance of 13.5 million–14.0 million units. The automaker is gearing up for
20 major vehicle launches in 2012 across the globe in order to drive sales and
revenues.

Want more from Zacks Equity Research? Subscribe to the free Profit from the
Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5515.

About Zacks Equity Research

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative
analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the
long-term.

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.

Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the
latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter
today: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5517

About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed
in 1978 by Leon Zacks. As a PhD from MIT 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 at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5518.

Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance
numbers displayed in this press release.

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/zacksresearch

Join us on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts

Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors
should always research companies and securities before making any investments.
Nothing herein should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell
any security.

Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
support@zacks.com
http://www.zacks.com

 

SOURCE Zacks Investment Research, Inc.