Broadridge Financial Solutions, Applied Optoelectronics, Papa John's, Yum Brands And Domino's Pizza Highlighted As Zacks Bull And Bear Of The Day

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – March 1, 2018 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) as the Bull of the Day, Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Papa John's (NASDAQ:PZZA) , Yum Brands (NYSE:YUM) and Domino's Pizza, Inc. (NYSE:DPZ) .

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Broadridge Financial Solutionsis a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and has a Growth Style Score of "A" which get's this stock on my radar screen. Let's take a look at why this stock has the best Zacks Rank possible in this Bull of The Day article.

Description

Broadridge Financial Solutions provides investor communications and technology-driven solutions for the financial services industry worldwide. The company provides cloud-based marketing and customer communication tools, as well as customer and account data aggregation and reporting services. The company was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Lake Success, New York.

Recent Earnings

On February 8, the company posted earnings of $0.79 per share and that was $0.24 better than the consensus estimate at the time. Revenues rose 13.4% year over year to $1.01 bln vs the $0.95 bln consensus.

BR raised guidance for FY18, seeing EPS of +27-31% from +15-19% to ~$3.97-4.10 vs. $3.82 Wall Street consensus estimate.

Estimates Moving Higher

Over the last 60 and 90 days, there have been 3 positive revisions to the current quarter, next quarter; this year and next year estimates. That is a lot of movement in the right direction!

The 2018 number has moved from $3.72 to $4.04 and the 2019 number moved from $4.04 to $4.41.

Those big moves are what really pushed the Zacks Rank to the highest level.

Bear of the Day:

Applied Optoelectronics was a market favorite in early 2017. The stock soared as buyers chased after each other to grab a piece of this ultra hot play. Times have changed and this stock is now a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) and the Bear of the Day.

Description

Applied Optoelectronics makes fiber-optic networking products primarily for Internet data center, cable television (CATV), and fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) networking end-markets. Applied Optoelectronics was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas.

Recent Earnings

The company reported earnings on Feb 21 after the close and topped the Wall Street consensus of $0.83 by $0.06. Normally, investors love to see something like that, but this beat came with some ugly guidance.

The company is expecting to earn $0.28 to $0.34 next quarter but at the time the Wall Street consensus was calling for $0.69.

Revenues are expected to be between $67M and $71M and that was also well below the $86M consensus estimate at the time.

Estimates Moving Lower

Following earnings and really the guidance, future earnings estimates moved lower and they did so in a big way. Investors that care about the fundamentals tend to shy away from stocks that post lower guidance and see lower earnings estimates.

Additional content:

Forget Papa John’s and Pizza Hut, Buy Domino’s

Shares of Papa John's surged on Wednesday following the company’s announcement that it ended its partnership as the official pizza sponsor of the NFL. At the same time, the league’s new pizza partner, Yum Brands’ Pizza Hut, saw its stock price pop as well.

Papa John’s also topped our revenue estimates after it reported $467.6 million in Q4 sales on Tuesday. Yet, the company fell short of fourth quarter earnings estimates and saw its North American comparable store sales dip by 3.9%—which is a trend the company expects to continue (also read: Papa John's Stock Dips As Q4 Domestic Sales Sink).

Meanwhile, Pizza Hut has been a drag on Yum in recent years, with some suggesting that the company divest the pizza chain. Its new partnership, amid slumping NFL television ratings, might be Yum’s final effort to boost sales.

Yet, with all of this talk about two pizza chains that are currently facing significant headwinds, investors might want to consider another pizza chain that is poised to expand both its top and bottom lines.

Domino's Pizza, Inc.

Domino’s has become one of the world’s largest fast-food chains, now boasting more than 14,800 stores in over 85 international markets. Last week, Domino’s posted 4.2% domestic same-store sales growth, which led to 7.7% growth for the full year. The company, which opened 829 new locations outside of North America in 2017, saw its international comp-store sales climb by 3.4% for the year. This marked the 24th straight year of positive international same-store sales growth for Domino’s.

The pizza chain has become an international powerhouse while also maintaining strong domestic sales. Domino’s recently reaffirmed its three-to-five year outlook that calls for global retail sales growth of 8% to 12% and domestic and international same-store sales growth of 3% and 6%.

Domino’s has also been on top of consumers trends. The company has built up its mobile and online ordering platforms to accommodate for customers that crave this ability. In order to expand its reach in other ways, Domino’s also upped its in-store, carry-out deals and began to revamp restaurants.

The pizza chain also recently partnered with Ford to test new self-driving car technology, which could one day become a large part of Domino’s business model (also read: Ford Teams With Domino's and Postmates on Self-Driving Car Project).

Looking ahead to the first quarter of 2018, Domino’s is projected to see its earnings soar by over 40% to hit $1.77 per share, based on our current Zacks Consensus Estimate. Domino’s sales are projected to climb by 10% to hit $3.07 billion for the full year, while its earnings are expected to skyrocket 48.50%.

What’s more, Domino’s has met or topped earnings estimates in the trailing seven periods and is expected to see its earnings climb at an annualized rate of 15.17% over the next three to five years.

Investors should also be happy to note that Domino’s is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and rocks an “A” grade for Growth in our Style Scores system.

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About the Bull and Bear of the Day

Every day, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research select two stocks that are likely to outperform (Bull) or underperform (Bear) the markets over the next 3-6 months.

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Continuous analyst 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.

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