Nyse Order Imbalance 14345.0 Shares On Sell Side

For new and old investors, taking full advantage of the stock market and investing with confidence are common goals. Zacks Premium provides lots of different ways to do both.

Featuring daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank, full access to the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research reports, and Premium stock screens, the research service can help you become a smarter, more self-assured investor.

Zacks Premium includes access to the Zacks Style Scores as well.

What are the Zacks Style Scores?

The Zacks Style Scores is a unique set of guidelines that rates stocks based on three popular investing types, and were developed as complementary indicators for the Zacks Rank. This combination helps investors choose securities with the highest chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.

Each stock is given an alphabetic rating of A, B, C, D or F based on their value, growth, and momentum qualities. With this system, an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on, meaning the better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform.

The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:

Value Score

For value investors, it's all about finding good stocks at good prices, and discovering which companies are trading under their true value before the broader market catches on. The Value Style Score utilizes ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and a host of other multiples to help pick out the most attractive and discounted stocks.

Growth Score

While good value is important, growth investors are more focused on a company's financial strength and health, and its future outlook. The Growth Style Score takes projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow into account to uncover stocks that will see long-term, sustainable growth.

Momentum Score

Momentum trading is all about taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook, and these investors live by the saying "the trend is your friend." The Momentum Style Score can pinpoint good times to build a position in a stock, using factors like one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates.

VGM Score

What if you like to use all three types of investing? The VGM Score is a combination of all Style Scores, making it one of the most comprehensive indicators to use with the Zacks Rank. It rates each stock on their combined weighted styles, which helps narrow down the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum.

How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank

The Zacks Rank, which is a proprietary stock-rating model, employs earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings expectations, to make building a winning portfolio easier.

Investors can count on the Zacks Rank's success, with #1 (Strong Buy) stocks producing an unmatched +25.41% average annual return since 1988, more than double the S&P 500's performance. But the model rates a large number of stocks, and there are over 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, plus another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.

This totals more than 800 top-rated stocks, and it can be overwhelming to try and pick the best stocks for you and your portfolio.

That's where the Style Scores come in.

You want to make sure you're buying stocks with the highest likelihood of success, and to do that, you'll need to pick stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B. If you like a stock that only as a #3 (Hold) rank, it should also have Scores of A or B to guarantee as much upside potential as possible.

Since the Scores were created to work together with the Zacks Rank, the direction of a stock's earnings estimate revisions should be a key factor when choosing which stocks to buy.

For instance, a stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, even one that boasts Scores of A and B, still has a downward-trending earnings forecast, and a much greater likelihood its share price will decline as well.

Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.

Stock to Watch: Watts Water (WTS)

Headquartered in North Andover, MA, Watts Water Technologies, Inc. designs, manufactures and sells various water safety and flow control products to promote safety, energy efficiency, and water conservation for commercial and residential buildings. The company reports its business under three geographic segments: Americas (73.6% of total revenues in third-quarter 2024), Europe (19.7%) and APMEA consisting of Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa (6.7%).

WTS is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.

It also boasts a Value Style Score of B thanks to attractive valuation metrics like a forward P/E ratio of 23.65; value investors should take notice.

Two analysts revised their earnings estimate higher in the last 60 days for fiscal 2024, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.03 to $8.74 per share. WTS also boasts an average earnings surprise of 7.1%.

With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Value and VGM Style Scores, WTS should be on investors' short list.

Zacks Investment Research

EchoStar Corporation SATS reported a third-quarter 2024 non-GAAP loss of 52 cents per share compared with a loss of 51 cents in the prior-year quarter. The bottom line was wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 28 cents by 85.7%.

Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Revenues in the quarter totaled $3.9 billion, down 5% year over year. The top line missed the consensus mark by 1.5%. Net subscriber losses in Pay-TV and Broadband and satellite services led to the contraction. However, steady growth in Retail Wireless and 5G Network Deployment businesses is a tailwind.

In response to the results, SATS’ shares plummeted 12.9%, and the trading session closed at $22.76 on Nov. 12. Shares of the company have gained 133.7% compared to the sub-industry’s rise of 18.2% in the past year.

Segmental Details

In the reported quarter, revenues from the Pay-TV segment were down 6.7% year over year to $2.62 billion. In the third quarter, SATS experienced a net decline of roughly 43,000 pay-TV subscribers, a notable improvement from the loss of 64,000 subscribers in the previous year’s quarter. A key factor in this improvement was the increase in SLING TV subscribers, which grew by 145,000, surpassing the 117,000 additions in the prior year quarter.

EchoStar now has 8.03 million pay-TV subscribers, which includes 5.89 million DISH TV and 2.14 million SLING TV customers. The surge in SLING TV subscriptions and lower churn in DISH TV helped offset fewer new DISH TV activations.

Retail Wireless category ended the quarter with 6.98 million subscribers and reported $896 million in net sales, up 0.5% year over year. The segment saw a net decrease of nearly 297,000 subscribers in the third quarter compared with a decline of 225,000 in the year-ago period. The lower net subscriber losses were due to a reduction in churn rates. The segment was adversely impacted by net losses from government-subsidized subscribers, particularly due to the Affordable Connectivity Program funding closure on June 1, 2024. Excluding these losses, the company added approximately 62,000 Retail Wireless subscribers during the quarter.

EchoStar Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

EchoStar Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | EchoStar Corporation Quote

Revenues from Broadband and Satellite Services were $386.7 million compared with $413 million in the prior-year quarter. Subscribers declined by 43,000 in the third quarter, an improvement from the 59,000 loss reported in the prior-year period. The net loss reduction is attributed to the successful launch of the EchoStar XXIV (Jupiter 3) satellite, which enhanced service offerings and attracted new customers. However, the conclusion of the ACP program on June 1, 2024, hurt broadband satellite subscriber growth.

Net sales from 5G Network Deployment increased to $43.2 million from $29.9 million a year ago.

Other Details

Operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) was $316.7 million in the third quarter compared with $365.9 million in the year-ago quarter.

OIBDA for PayTV was $676 million compared with $675.6 million a year ago.

OIBDA for Broadband and Satellite Services was $77.5 million, down 31.4% year over year.

OIBDA loss for Retail Wireless was $90.8 million compared with a loss of $105.6 million in the prior-year period.

OIBDA loss for 5G Network Deployment was $330.7 million compared with a loss of $299.2 million a year ago.

Balance Sheet

As of Sept. 30, 2024, SATS had total cash and cash equivalents of $622.6 million compared with $419.2 million as of June 30, 2024.

For the nine months ended Sept. 2024, SATS generated $1.2 billion of cash from operating activities compared with $2.02 billion in the year-ago period.

SATS’ Zacks Rank

Currently, EchoStar carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Performance of Other Companies

Iridium Communications IRDM reported an EPS of 21 cents for the third quarter of 2024, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5%. The company incurred a loss of 1 cent per share in the prior year quarter.

Shares of IRDM lost 16.1% in the past year.

Itron Inc ITRI reported non-GAAP EPS of $1.84 for third-quarter 2024, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 62.8%. The company reported earnings of 98 cents in the prior-year quarter.

Shares of ITRI surged 90.8% in the past year.

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. WTS reported third-quarter 2024 adjusted EPS of $2.03 compared with $2.04 in the prior-year quarter. The bottom line topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2%.

Shares of WTS have gained 10.4% in the past year.

Zacks Investment Research

Intrusion Inc. INTZ incurred a third-quarter 2024 loss of 35 cents per share compared with a loss of $2.78 a year ago. The bottom line was narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 42 cents. Reduced operating and interest costs due to the conversion of $9.5 million of senior debt to equity helped the company achieve a considerably narrower net loss in the third quarter.

Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Quarterly revenues totaled $1.5 million, up 2.5% year over year and 3% of 3% on a sequential basis. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues was pegged at $2 million. The upside resulted from an increase in Intrusion Shield revenues (up 49% sequentially). This growth reflects a surge in customer demand for cybersecurity solutions and Intrusion’s expanding market reach as it inks more Intrusion Shield logos each quarter. INTZ added seven new customers to its Shield portfolio in the third quarter, bringing the total number of new logos acquired year to date to 18.

Intrusion Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Intrusion Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Intrusion Inc. Quote

In addition, INTZ was awarded a $2 million contract by the U.S. Department of Defense, supporting the government’s growing cybersecurity efforts through its Shield and consulting services. Management anticipates the continued strength of the Intrusion Shield to enhance financial outcomes in the fourth quarter of 2024 and beyond.

In response to the results, INTZ’s shares jumped 11.5%, and the trading session closed at 82 cents on Nov. 12. Shares of the company have lost 92.2% in the past year against the sub-industry's growth of 10%.

Other Details

The gross profit margin was 77%, slightly lower than 78% reported in the prior-year quarter, driven by varying product mixes across quarters.

Total operating expenses for the period were $3.2 million, down from $3.8 million in the previous year quarter.

Operating loss was $2 million, narrowing 24% year over year due to lower operating expenses.

Balance Sheet

As of Sept. 30, 2024, INTZ had total cash and cash equivalents of $1.1 million compared with $1.5 million as of June 30, 2024.

INTZ’s Zacks Rank

INTZ currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Performance of Other Companies

BCE Inc. BCE reported third-quarter 2024 adjusted EPS of C$0.75 (55 cents) compared with C$0.81 in the prior-year quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 57 cents.

Shares of BCE lost 26.4% in the past year.

Itron Inc ITRI reported non-GAAP EPS of $1.84 for third-quarter 2024, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 62.8%. The company reported earnings of 98 cents in the prior-year quarter.

Shares of ITRI surged 94.8% in the past year.

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. WTS reported third-quarter 2024 adjusted EPS of $2.03 compared with $2.04 in the prior-year quarter. The bottom line topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2%.

Shares of WTS have gained 10.4% in the past year.

Zacks Investment Research

TELUS Corporation TU reported third-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of C$0.28 (21 cents) compared with C$0.25 in the prior-year quarter. The bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 23.5%.

Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Quarterly total operating revenues increased 1.8% year over year to C$5,099 million ($3,738 million) owing to higher service revenues in the TELUS technology solutions (TTech) segment offset by lower service revenues in the TELUS digital experience segment (TELUS Digital). The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,711 million.

The company’s operating revenues (arising from contracts with customers) were C$5,042 million, up 1% year over year. TELUS reported 347,000 net customer additions in the third quarter, marking a 14.5% year-over-year decrease. This includes strong mobile phone net additions of 130,000, 159,000 connected device additions and 58,000 total fixed net additions.

In response to the results, TU’s shares were up 3.2%, and the trading session closed at $15.66 on Nov. 8. Shares of the company have lost 9.1% in the past year compared with the sub-industry’s decline of 3.5%.

Quarterly Segmental Results

In the third quarter, TTech revenues and other income rose 2.7% year over year to C$4,424 million. TTech operating revenues (arising from contracts with customers) increased 1.9% year-over-year to $4,367 million.

The expansion is driven by healthy subscriber growth in mobile networks, home Internet, TV and security services, along with growth in health, agriculture and consumer goods services. Revenues from managed and unmanaged data services is also on the rise. However, the growth is partly offset by lower prices in mobile, Internet and security services, along with decline in TV and fixed legacy voice services sales.

Mobile network revenues inched up 0.7% year over year to C$1,766 million, driven by a higher mobile phone subscriber count and strength in IoT connections amid lower mobile phone ARPU.

Fixed voice services revenues declined 6.3% year over year to C$179 million as a result of the ongoing fall in legacy voice revenues due to technological substitution and price plan changes. The decrease was partly offset by the success of bundled product offerings and the company’s retention efforts.

TELUS Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

TELUS Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | TELUS Corporation Quote

Health services revenues increased 4% year over year to C$439 million due to growth from pharmacy management software upgrades, a boost in virtual pharmacy sales, expansion of employee assistance programs and rising demand for health benefits management and retirement solutions.

The segment’s adjusted EBITDA of C$1,723 million increased 5.5% year over year, owing to broad-based cost-reduction efforts, subscriber growth and a rise in health services revenues. Adjusted EBITDA margin improved 110 basis points year over year to 39%.

TELUS Digital operating revenues (arising from contracts with customers) fell 4.4% to C$675 million due to lower revenues from a leading social media customer and other technology customers and a reduction in revenues in other industry verticals, notably in communications (excluding the TTech segment), eCommerce and banking, financial services and insurance against a tough macroeconomic backdrop. The decline was partially offset by growth in services provided to existing clients, including Google, as well as new clients added since the same period in the prior year and favorable forex impacts.

TELUS Digital's operating revenues and other income inched up 0.9% to C$897 million. The segment’s adjusted EBITDA of C$131 million increased 30% from the year-ago quarter.

Other Details

Adjusted EBITDA increased 1.3% year over year to C$1,842 million owing to increased sales and synergies from the LifeWorks acquisition.

Cash Flow & Liquidity

In the third quarter, TELUS generated C$1,432 million of cash from operating activities compared with C$1,307 million in the year-ago quarter. The free cash flow increased 58% to C$561 million.

Capital expenditures (excluding spectrum licenses) declined 13.1% year over year to C$668 million due to the planned slowdown of fiber and wireless network builds and systems development.

2024 Guidance

TELUS now anticipates TTech's operating revenue growth to be just below the lower end of the prior guidance (2-4)%. This updated forecast reflects the tough competition in the market and the team's ongoing commitment to high-quality operational performance.

TELUS reiterated the outlook for TTech Adjusted EBITDA, consolidated targets for capital expenditures and free cash flow. It continues to expect TTech adjusted EBITDA to grow in the range of 5.5-7.5%. Free cash flow is anticipated to be approximately $2.1 billion and capital expenditures to be $2.6 billion.

TU’s Zacks Rank

TELUS currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Performance of Other Companies

BCE Inc. BCE reported third-quarter 2024 adjusted EPS of C$0.75 (55 cents) compared with C$0.81 in the prior-year quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 57 cents.

Shares of BCE lost 26.4% in the past year.

Itron Inc ITRI reported non-GAAP EPS of $1.84 for third-quarter 2024, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 62.8%. The company reported earnings of 98 cents in the prior-year quarter.

Shares of ITRI surged 94.8% in the past year.

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. WTS reported third-quarter 2024 adjusted EPS of $2.03 compared with $2.04 in the prior-year quarter. The bottom line topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2%.

Shares of WTS have gained 10.4% in the past year.

Zacks Investment Research

BCE Inc. BCE reported third-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of C$0.75 (55 cents) compared with C$0.81 in the prior-year quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 57 cents.

Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Quarterly total operating revenues dipped 1.8% year over year to C$5,971 million ($4,377 million). The consensus estimate was pegged at $4,450 million. The decline is attributed to a 14.3% fall in Product revenues, which totaled C$685 million, amid 0.1% growth in Service revenues, which came in at C$5,286 million.

In response to the results, BCE’s shares tanked 2.3% and closed the trading session at $28.07 on Nov. 7.

Segmental Results

The company has combined its Bell Wireless and Bell Wireline operating segments to form a segment called Bell CTS. BCE now reports its segment results under Bell CTS and Bell Media.

Bell CTS’ operating revenues went down 3.3% year over year to C$5,280 million due to soft demand trends in product and service revenues.

Within the Bell CTS segment, Service revenues fell 1.4% to C$4,595 million, hurt by ongoing declines in legacy services but bolstered by growth in mobile phone and business solutions services.

Product revenues plunged 14.3% to C$685 million due to lower consumer electronics revenues from The Source. Also, lower demand for consumer electronics, fewer mobile device sales and reduced telecom equipment sales to large business customers contributed to the decrease.

BCE, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

BCE, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | BCE, Inc. Quote

Postpaid mobile phone net subscriber activations were 333,111, down 76.8% year over year. The number of postpaid mobile phone net subscriber activations decreased due to rising mobile phone postpaid customer churn owing to growing competitive market activity and promotional offers on postpaid plans.

Prepaid mobile phone net subscriber activations were 69,085 up 187.3% year over year. The primary driver behind the expansion was an 18.7% rise in gross activations due to augmented retail distribution and effective Lucky Mobile marketing strategies coupled with a lower customer churn rate, which jumped 44 basis points to 4.66%.

Bell Media revenues grew 10.1% year over year to C$782 million, primarily driven by a 19% surge in digital revenues. Its strategy to enhance its digital footprint included acquiring OUTEDGE Media Canada and bringing NBCUniversal channels like USA Network and Oxygen True Crime to the Canadian market. With subscriber revenues up by 13.5%, Bell Media continues to capture market share in streaming, solidifying Crave’s reputation as a prime destination for premium content.

Other Details

Adjusted EBITDA in the reported quarter grew 2.1% to C$2,722 million. This increase, along with a cost-cutting strategy that drove a 4.8% reduction in operating expenses, brought BCE to its highest adjusted EBITDA margin in more than 30 years. The adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 45.6%, up from 43.9% in the prior-year quarter.

Cash Flow

BCE generated C$1,842 million of cash from operating activities compared with C$1,961 million in the prior-year quarter. The free cash flow was C$832 million compared with C$754 million a year ago due to higher cash flows from operating activities.

BCE Revises 2024 Revenue Guidance

Due to lower-than-expected product revenues and ongoing wireless pricing pressures, BCE revised its 2024 revenue guidance from 0-4% growth to a decline of about 1.5%.

Despite the revised guidance, management reiterated all other financial targets for 2024. It continues to anticipate adjusted EBITDA growth between 1.5% and 4.5%. Free cash flow growth is projected to be in the band of (3)-(11)%. The annualized common dividend per share is estimated to be C$3.99.

BCE’s Zacks Rank

BCE currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Performance of Other Companies

Itron Inc ITRI reported non-GAAP EPS of $1.84 for third-quarter 2024, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 62.8%. The company reported earnings of 98 cents in the prior-year quarter.

Shares of ITRI surged 77% in the past year.

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. WTS reported third-quarter 2024 adjusted EPS of $2.03 compared with $2.04 in the prior-year quarter. The bottom line topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2%.

Shares of WTS have gained 5.2% in the past year.

Western Digital Corporation WDC reported first-quarter fiscal 2025 non-GAAP earnings of $1.78 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.3%. The company incurred a loss of $1.76 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Shares of WDC have gained 51.1% in the past year.

Zacks Investment Research