The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Philip Morris, American Express, Honeywell, BB&T and SunTrust Banks

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – April 22, 2019 – 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: Philip Morris PM, American Express AXP, Honeywell HON, BB&T Corp. BBT and SunTrust Banks STI.

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

Q1 Earnings Continue to Impress: Retail Sales Hit 18-Month High

A massive jump in retail sales has delivered a major boost to investor sentiment ahead of the opening bell. This key metric of economic heath posted its biggest jump in 18 months during March. Meanwhile, first-quarter earnings continue to roll in today with several bellwethers posting results ahead of the opening bell.

Among notable companies slated to report earnings before the market opens are Philip Morris, American Express and Honeywell. While the spotlight now shines on other sectors, banks like BB&T Corp. and SunTrust Banks are also releasing earnings numbers.

Philip Morris beat on both lines with earnings of $1.09 per share exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 99 cents. Net revenues of $6,751 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6,735 million. However, the top line declined 2.1% in the reported quarter.

Honeywell also beat both estimates for both earnings and revenues. Earnings of $1.92 per share exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.83. Honeywell’s first-quarter revenues came in at $8,884 million, surpassing the consensus estimate of $8,621 million. Notably, the top line declined 14.5% year over year.

While American Express’ first quarter earnings of $2.01 exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny, sales fell short. Revenues of $10.36 billion for the quarter ended March 2019 missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.21%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $9.72 billion.

Major banks continue to release earnings with BB&T Corp. and SunTrust Banks both beating on earnings in the first-quarter. However, while SunTrust also beat on the topline, BB&T’s revenues clocked in at of $2.90 billion, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.91 billion.

Retail sales increased 1.6% in March, easily exceeding the consensus estimate for an increase of 0.9%. The headline number was primarily boosted by a 3.1% jump in sales of new cars and trucks. This was the category’s best performance to date this year.

But with the average price of gasoline spiking nearly 10% in March, sales at gas stations also jumped 3.5%. This is the second straight sharp increase for the category. But excluding autos and gasoline, sales still gained a solid 0.9%. Notable winners for the month included online retailers, as well as home-furnishing and clothing stores.

Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2019

In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-holds for the year?

Who wouldn't? Our annual Top 10s have beaten the market with amazing regularity. In 2018, while the market dropped -5.2%, the portfolio scored well into double-digits overall with individual stocks rising as high as +61.5%. And from 2012-2017, while the market boomed +126.3, Zacks' Top 10s reached an even more sensational +181.9%.

See Latest Stocks Today >>

Media Contact

Zacks Investment Research

800-767-3771 ext. 9339

[email protected]                                   

https://www.zacks.com                                                 

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/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.