The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: General Motors, Ford Motor, Honda Motor, Tesla Motors and General Electric
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – October 02, 2014 – 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 the General Motors Co. (GM-Free Report), Ford Motor Co. (F-Free Report), Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (HMC-Free Report), Tesla Motors, Inc. (TSLA-Free Report) and General Electric Company (GE-Free Report).
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:
GM Gains on Credit Rating Upgrade from S&P
Share price of General Motors Co. (GM-Free Report) rallied 0.9% to $33.17 after Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Ratings Services upgraded the credit ratings of both General Motors and GM Financial to investment grade with a stable outlook. The current GM corporate and GM Financial credit ratings stand at BBB-.
S&P had assigned a junk rating to General Motors in 2005, which was four years before the company hit bankruptcy. Prior to the current upgrade, the corporate rating of General Motors was pegged at BB+, while GM Financial’s rating had stood at BB.
S&P had assigned the BB+ rating to General Motors in Sep 2011. Following this, the rating organization had revised the company’s outlook from stable to positive in Sep 2013.
The rating upgrade was based on General Motors’ initiative to deliver leading vehicles together with improving operational efficiency. In addition, the company boasts a strong balance sheet and had cash and cash equivalents of $19.9 billion as of Jun 30, 2014. During the first half of 2014, General Motors had a net cash flow of $5.8 billion from automotive operations, up from $5.7 billion in the comparable year-ago period.
S&P believes that General Motors will be able to continue improving profits in North America and also achieve profitability in Europe soon. The agency is also optimistic about the strong sales being generated by the company in China. Recently, the automaker announced expectations of selling over 3.1 million vehicles in China this year.
However, the rating agency is concerned about the large number of vehicle recalls by General Motors. The company has announced 66 recalls covering about 29 million vehicles in North America so far this year. Owing to the series of recalls made, General Motors recorded a $2.5 billion charge for recall-related repairs in the first half of 2014.
General Motors is a prominent player in the automotive industry along with Ford Motor Co. (F-Free Report), Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (HMC-Free Report) and Tesla Motors, Inc. (TSLA-Free Report).
GE Oil & Gas Opens Facility in Florida
General Electric Company (GE-Free Report) recently announced its intentions to invest approximately $50 million to build a state-of-the-art facility. The new facility will primarily manufacture components meet the rising demand for its industrial technology solutions in the oil and gas industry.
Based in Jacksonville, FL, the new manufacturing plant will manufacture General Electric’s Mooney regulators and Becker control valves for the energy industry, in addition to the other oil and gas products. Further, facility will create additional 500 jobs over a span of three years in Florida, thereby providing the state with a plethora of opportunities.
The Florida plant is expected to start operations by Nov 2014, deploying advanced manufacturing processing technologies for the production of quality oil and gas products to meet customer demand in a fast and safe way, while also creating job opportunities. Therefore, the facility will not only foster innovation in the advanced energy products but also promote economic development in the state.
General Electric is poised for long-term growth and has undertaken strategic initiatives to capitalize on opportunities. In order to focus more on its core business, the company is increasingly investing in key industrial businesses through restructuring, state-of-the-art technology, and R&D initiatives. Through these initiatives, General Electric expects operating earnings from its industrial business to aggregate 75% of the corporate operating earnings by 2016.
Meanwhile, the company has been very focused in its attempts to restructure its portfolio. It is realigning the corporate strategy to a manufacturing-based entity and intends to shrink its finance business by 2015 to reduce credit risks, which have been a drag.
General Electric Company is one of the largest and most diversified technology and financial services corporations in the world. The company offers a wide range of products and services which comprise aircraft engines, power generation, water processing, and security technology to medical imaging, business and consumer financing, media content and industrial products.
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
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.
About Zacks
Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978. The later formation of the Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock picking system; 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.
Get the full Report on GM - FREE
Get the full Report on F - FREE
Get the full Report on HMC - FREE
Get the full Report on TSLA - FREE
Get the full Report on GE - FREE
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
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
support@zacks.com
http://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 http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
Read the analyst report on GM
Read the analyst report on F
Read the analyst report on HMC
Read the analyst report on TSLA
Read the analyst report on GE
Zacks Investment Research
