Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Broker Upgrades. Every week, Zacks editor Mark Vickery updates the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the Broker Upgrades include: Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY), National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV), Schlumberger, Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE).
Here are highlights from Thursday’s Broker Upgrades:
Steady price appreciation has mirrored steady EPS growth for Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY), which has outperformed nearly all other companies today in terms of ABR - up 0.14 to an even 2. An increase in crude oil prices this week - which began even before worries of regional instability following Thursday's assassination of Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto - was no doubt a big factor here.
Oil and gas drilling company National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV), bolstered by its recent announcement it will acquire Grant Prideco for nearly $7.4 billion in cash and stock, sees its ABR rise 0.08 to 1.69. According to Zacks senior oil & gas industry analyst Sheraz Mian, "While there is some concern in the market regarding the quality dilution of NOV's product portfolio following the acquisition given GRP's exposure to the relatively soft North American onshore drilling scene, we do not put much stock in such fears.”
Though large-cap oilfield services company Schlumberger, Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) has also made substantial gains in ABR recently - up 0.06 to 1.65 - senior analyst Sheraz Mian prefers other names in this group, such as Halliburton and Baker Hughes. But as crude prices staged a rally this week, the large-cap name once again demonstrated strength.
Largest of the Big Pharma stocks, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) has also been rewarded with an increase in ABR, from 2.25 to 2.31. A recent report speculating how Pfizer might have the inside track on cancer development, along with massive amounts of cash on hand to make acquisitions over the next couple years, may be two factors positively affecting the company, in regard to brokers' upgrades.
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The performance of the Zacks Rank portfolios shown above for annual and year-to-date periods are the linked monthly total returns (price changes + dividends) of equal weighted hypothetical portfolios, consisting of those stocks with the indicated Zacks Rank, assuming monthly rebalancing and zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios. The hypothetical portfolios were created at the beginning of each month from Jan 1988 forward based on the values of the Zacks Rank available to Zacks' clients before the beginning of each month. The portfolios created monthly from 1988 through September 2006 exclude ADRS and are comprised of stocks that have the indicated Zacks Rank and were covered by at least two analysts at the time of the stocks inclusion in the portfolio. Starting in October 2006 and going forward, the portfolios are comprised of all stocks with the indicated Zacks Rank and do not exclude ADRs, which is more reflective of the list of stocks that customers will find on the Zacks web sites. 2007 returns are for the period of Jan 1 – Jun 30, 2007. These performance numbers have been audited from 1995 through 2003 by Autschuler Melovan, a division of American Express Financial.
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