Thursday, February 23 2017

Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Home Depot Inc (HD), Medtronic plc (MDT) and Kraft Heinz Co (KHC).

Home Depot shares have gained +15.61% over the last year, more than the Zacks Building Products - Retail industry, which has gained +12.06% over the same period. Improving customer experience, solid execution and consistent housing market recovery helped the company post better-than-expected bottom-line results for fourth-quarter fiscal 2016, retaining its four-year long trend of beating earnings estimates.

Home Depot initiated a robust guidance for fiscal 2017 and updated its capital allocation strategy, which called for a higher long-term dividend payout target of 55% of net earnings. (You can read the full research report on Home Depothere.)

Medtronic shares have underperformed the Zacks categorized Medical - Products industry over the past one year, gaining +4.17% vs +12.49%. A mixed second-quarter fiscal 2017 result in November coupled with lowered guidance for fiscal 2017 is discouraging, indicating slim of recovery down the line. However, Medtronic’s recent tie-up with Fitbit in diabetes care may have a positive impact on the company. It’s consistent growth across all groups and regions are also encouraging. Recent FDA approvals may also boost the company. (You can read the full research report on Medtronichere.)

Kraft Heinz has outperformed the broader sector in the past one year, while its fourth-quarter 2016 earnings and revenues beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company’s overall organic sales growth for the said quarter was commendable, while margins also improved.

The company’s move to raise its three-year integration cost savings target to $1.7 billion from $1.5 billion is also appreciable. But, the company’s net sales declined 3.7% year over year because of lower sales across all segments. (You can read the full research report on Kraft Heinzhere.)

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO), Waste Management, Inc. (WM) and Spectra Energy Corp. (SE).

Today's Private Buys & Sells from Zacks Research

While we share the above news with the public, our sensitive recommendations are hidden from everyone but selected members. Would you like to peek behind the curtain and view them?

Starting today, for the next month, you can follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time from value to momentum  . . . from stocks under $10 to ETF and option moves . . . from insider trades to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises (we've called them with 80%+ accuracy). You can even look inside portfolios so exclusive that they are normally closed to new investors. Click here for Zacks' secret trades >>

Mark Vickery

Senior Editor

Note: Sheraz Mian heads the Zacks Equity Research department and is a well-regarded expert of aggregate earnings. He is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media and publishes the weekly Earnings Trends and Earnings Preview reports. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here >>>