For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – August 18, 2017 – Zacks Equity Research Tencent Holdings Ltd. (OTCMKTS: (OTC:TCEHY) – Free Report)as the Bull of the Day, Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.(NYSE: (NYSE:RGR) – Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis onBest Buy (NYSE: (NYSE:BBY) – Free Report) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: (NYSE:WMT) – Free Report).
Here is a synopsis of all four stocks:
Tencent Holdings Ltd.(OTCMKTS:TCEHY – Free Report) just reported one of its strongest quarters ever. This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) is at the top of the heap among China's Internet giants.
Tencent is one of China's leading online gaming and media companies. However, it has been expanding its business in other key areas, including mobile payment with Weixin Payment, and the Cloud.
It now has a market cap of $411 billion, putting it up near the largest companies on the planet.
A Huge Second Quarter
On Aug 16, Tencent reported second quarter and first half results. It beat the Zacks Consensus by 2 cents reporting $0.23 versus $0.21.
Second quarter revenue rose 59% to $8.4 billion with net profit up 45%.
The quarter was boosted by growth in Weixin Payment, Cloud and AI technologies.
Online gaming is its bread and butter, however, and it rose 39% primarily due to its smart phone games. This was the first quarter in the company's history that mobile game revenue exceeded PC game revenue.
Social network revenue jumped 51% as WeChat, its social messaging app, saw a 20% gain in active monthly users to 960 million.
Online ad revenue was up 55% due to higher traffic to Tencent video.
Gross margin was the one weak area, as it fell to 50% from 57.3% a year ago due to investments in video and other new emerging technologies.
Estimates Move Higher
It's not surprising, given the great quarter, that full year estimates are already on the move higher.
The 2017 Zacks Consensus Estimate jumped to $1.03 from $0.94 in the last week. That's an astounding earnings growth of 61% year-over-year.
Analysts are equally bullish on 2018, as they see another year of double digit earnings growth, up 29%.
Shares Soar in 2017
The big gains from Chinese Internet companies in the first half of the year are a sign that the Chinese economy is re-awakening.
Shares of Tencent are up 73% year-to-date.
Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.(NYSE:RGR – Free Report) is facing tough times under President Trump. This Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) has seen sales and earnings decline by the double digits in 2017 due mostly to politics.
Sturm, Ruger is one of the largest firearm manufacturers in the US. It makes 400 variations through 30 product lines.
Sales Drop Big in the Second Quarter
On Aug 2, Sturm Ruger reported second quarter results and missed big on the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Sturm Ruger reported $0.57 compared to the Zacks Consensus of $1.11. That's a miss of 49%.
Net sales fell 22% to $131.9 million from $167.9 million a year ago.
If you recall, 2016 saw stronger-than-normal demand during the Presidential election cycle due to fears by gun enthusiasts that Hillary Clinton would win the White House and put gun restrictions on buyers. Remember, this was the same fear that emerged in 2008 after Barack Obama won.
The 2008-2016 period resulted in record gun sales.
Since Trump won in November 2016, sales have fallen.
The estimated unit sell-through of Sturm Ruger's products from the independent distributors to retailers decreased 13% in the first half of 2017 compared to the first half of 2016. For the same period, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System saw a 7% decrease in background checks.
Retailers have also been reducing inventories and trying to generate cash for the typically slower summer season.
The gun sales slowdown is impacting the entire industry which has also resulted in Sturm's competitors applying sharp price discounting and offering lucrative consumer rebates.
Estimates Being Cut
There's no reason to think that gun sales are dramatically going to turn around any time soon. The analysts have been cutting 2017 and 2018 estimates as a result.
The 2017 Zacks Consensus Estimate has fallen to $3.69 from $4.37 just 90 days ago. It made $4.59 in 2016 so that's an earnings decline of 19.6%.
2018 is expected to be a bit better than 2017, but estimates have been cut there in the last 3 months to $4.17 from $4.63.
Shares Sink 7.6% in 2017
It's been a roller coaster ride over the past 2 years and right now, shares are on a downward slide.
Additional content:
Back-to-School: 2 Stocks to Profit from Record-High College Shopping
We are halfway through August, and parents and young people around the country are preparing to pack up and head off to college. So Zacks is here to look at two companies with huge exposure in the college shopping market that also happen to have high Zacks Ranks.
As most students and parents know, going back to school shopping can be very expensive. For elementary and high school students the costs are enormous. But parents and kids headed back to college or for the first time know that the costs are much higher. In fact, overall back to school spending for college students is almost double that of K-12.
Notebooks, backpacks, and new clothes are expensive, but laptops, speakers, futons, and microwaves cost a whole lot more.
K-12 back to school spending is projected to jump 8% to $29.5 billion, according to a National Retail Federation survey. However, college kids and their families are expected to spend a total of $54.1 billion on back to school related shopping, which is up from $48.5 billion in 2016.
The 2017 college spending projections place this year ahead of the previous high water mark reached in 2012. The staggering figure is due in part to a rise in college enrollment, along with reviewed consumer confidence—but also because big-ticket purchases and the sheer amount of goods just add up.
Now, let’s take a look at two big-name companies with high Zacks Ranks that could turn college student spending into major profits.
Best Buy(NYSE:BBY – Free Report)
Best Buy is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) that scored an “A” for Value and a “B” for growth in our Style Score system. The electronics powerhouse has a market cap of $18.5 billion and a forward PE of 15.61.
Best Buy’s estimated earnings growth rate for the current year is 9.2%, which is far above the industry average of 3%. Shares of Best Buy have skyrocketed from $32.32 a share a year ago to rest at over $60 per share today, which is only a few dollars below its 52-week high.
Best Buy’s massive climb has been spurred in part by the company’s commitment to grow its online sales. In the most recent quarter, the company’s domestic online comparable sales jumped by 22.5% from the year-ago period.
The company—which sells computers, printers, TVs, tablets, video game consoles and more—could really cash in on the back to college market. Based on the National Retail Federation report, electronics will be the top spending sector out of all of the back to school related categories at $12.8 billion.
Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT – Free Report)
Wal-Mart is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and sports an overall VGM grade of “A.” The we-sell-everything retailer’s current market cap sits at $244 billion, and the company is coming off a solid second-quarter earnings report.
Wal-Mart beat earnings and revenue expectations, and even showed that it can contend in retail’s war against Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). The company posted adjusted earnings of $1.08 per share, which just topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate and prior-year quarter’s adjusted earnings of $1.07.
On top of that small beat, the company posted revenues that were up 2.1% year-over-year to $123.4 billion, which also surpassed our Zacks Consensus Estimate. Walmart U.S. same-store sales climbed 1.9%, while Sam’s Club comparable store sales gained 1.2%.
Maybe more importantly, management noted that the company’s online sales and GMV climbed 60% and 67%, respectively.
Shares of Wal-Mart dipped on Thursday despite its strong report, but that seems to have more to do with the overall market than Wal-Mart. The company’s stock currently sits $2 below its 52-week high of $81.99 a share.
Bottom Line
Back to school college shopping is a big-time moneymaker for many retail outlets around the country. Best Buy and Wal-Mart are both major names with large exposure in this highly coveted early fall spending spree.
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Tencent Holding Ltd. (TCEHY): Free Stock Analysis Report
Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (RGR): Free Stock Analysis Report
Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY): Free Stock Analysis Report
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT): Free Stock Analysis Report
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