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4 Utility ETFs Gaining Despite Lackluster Q4

At the tail end of the earnings season, the retail and utility sectors are the only ones with a number of companies yet to report results. As per Earnings Trend report, earnings of all the utility companies that have reported so far are down 5% year over year for the fourth quarter of 2015, with 21.4% of the companies beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Meanwhile, revenues are down nearly 13.3% for the quarter, with none of them surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The utility sector failed to impress in its fourth-quarter results with earnings and revenue miss from some of the major players in the space, including Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK ) and Dominion Resources Inc. (NYSE: D ). Although some companies like NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE ) managed to beat on earnings, revenues came short of expectations. However, the slowdown in U.S. economic growth, Chinese market turbulence and plunging oil prices along with other factors resulted in a bearish environment, which led to demand for securities from sectors that provide a safer option. Thus, the utility sector, which is considered to be one of the safer options when the market is exhibiting a high level of volatility, managed to remain in the green over the last one month despite lackluster results (read: 3 Utility ETFs in Focus on Market Downturn ). Below we have highlighted the quarterly results of the aforementioned utility companies in detail. Duke Energy Duke Energy reported adjusted earnings of 87 cents per share for the quarter that fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 94 cents by 7.4%. However, quarterly earnings increased by a penny year over year on the back of higher retail pricing and wholesale margins in the regulated business. Total revenue was $5,351 million, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5,709 million by 6.3%. The company has provided 2016 earnings guidance in the range of $4.50 to $4.70 per share. Shares of the company declined 1.4% (as of February 19, 2016) since its earnings release. NextEra Energy NextEra Energy’s quarterly adjusted earnings of $1.17 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.11 by 5.4%. Earnings climbed 13.6% year over year on the back of higher revenues from Florida Power & Light Company. However, revenues of $4,069 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.6% and decreased 12.8% from the year-ago level. NextEra reiterated its earnings guidance of $5.85-$6.35 for 2016. Shares of the company went up 7.5% since its earnings release (as of February 19, 2016). Dominion Resources Dominion Resources’ quarterly earnings of 70 cents per share lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 87 cents by 19.5%. Earnings decreased 16.7% from 84 cents per share in the prior-year quarter due to mild weather conditions in its service territories, absence of a farmout transaction and the impact of bonus depreciation. The company’s operating revenues of $2,556 million also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4,092 million by 37.5% and declined about 13.1% year over year. Dominion expects to earn 90 cents to $1.05 per share for the first-quarter 2016 compared with 99 cents per share in the year-ago period. The company expects earnings for 2016 in the range of $3.60 to $4.00 per share. Shares of the company fell 3.8% since its earnings release (as of February 19, 2016). ETFs in Focus Mixed results notwithstanding, many utility stocks managed to hold up gains over the past one month, sending the related ETFs higher. This has put the spotlight on utility ETFs. Below we discuss four of these ETFs having a sizeable exposure to the above stocks, holding Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold) with a Medium risk outlook (see all Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs here ). Utilities Select Sector SPDR (NYSEARCA: XLU ) XLU is one of the most popular products in the space with nearly $7.6 billion in AUM and average daily volume of roughly 14 million shares. The fund tracks the Utilities Select Sector Index and holds 31 stocks with NextEra Energy, Duke Energy and Dominion Resources among the top five spots with a combined exposure of nearly one-fourth of its total assets. Sector-wise, Electric Utilities (57.82%) dominates the fund followed by Multi-Utilities (38.85%). The fund charges 14 bps in investor fees per year. The ETF has posted gains of 7.3% in the past month (read: 4 Utilities to Buy in a Bear Market ). Vanguard Utilities ETF (NYSEARCA: VPU ) This ETF tracks the MSCI US Investable Market Utilities 25/50 Index. The fund holds 82 stocks in its basket. Duke Energy, NextEra Energy and Dominion Resources occupy the top four positions in the fund with a combined exposure of a little more than 20%. More than half of the fund’s assets are invested in Electric Utilities followed by Multi-Utilities (33.8%). The fund has amassed almost $2 billion in its asset base and trades in a moderate volume of 175,000 shares per day. The fund has a low expense ratio of 0.10%. The ETF has surged 7.6% in the last one-month period. iShares Dow Jones US Utilities (NYSEARCA: IDU ) The fund follows the Dow Jones U.S. Utilities Sector Index and holds 59 stocks in its basket. Duke Energy, NextEra Energy and Dominion Resources are placed among the top five stocks in the fund, together accounting for a share of more than 21% of total assets. On a sectoral basis, Electric Utilities (53.28%) and Multi-Utilities (34.51%) hold the top two positions in the fund. The fund manages an asset base of around $764 million and exchanges about 199,000 shares per day. It is a bit expensive with 44 bps in annual fees. IDU was up 7.5% in the last one-month period. Fidelity MSCI Utilities ETF (NYSEARCA: FUTY ) This ETF tracks the MSCI USA IMI Utilities Index. The fund holds 83 stocks in its basket. Duke Energy, NextEra Energy and Dominion Resources are among the top four in the fund with a combined exposure of a little more than 20%. More than half of the fund’s assets are invested in Electric Utilities followed by Multi-Utilities (33.8%). The fund has amassed almost $231 million in its asset base and trades in a moderate volume of 140,000 shares per day. The fund has an expense ratio of 0.12%. FUTY was up 7.5% in the last one-month period. Original Post

Should You Bet On Airlines ETF Despite Mixed Earnings?

The airline stocks have been highfliers since the second half of 2015 on dirt cheap oil prices and encouraging fundamentals. Earnings picture was also pretty decent for the space. Higher margin, lower debt, surging ancillary revenues and a host of modifications in operations helped the sector gain altitude (read: Highflier Airlines Earnings : Time for JETS ETF ). As a result, the pure-play aviation ETF U.S. Global Jets ETF (NYSEARCA: JETS ) lost just 5.5% (as of January 21, 2016) after accounting for all the global market issues. This was quite respectable when compared with the 11.7% losses put up by the broader market ETF SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA: SPY ) in the same timeframe ( read: The 13 Best and Most Interesting ETFs to Launch in the First Half of 2015 ). In such a backdrop, all eyes were fixed on airlines earnings this season. But sadly, major carriers fell shy of investors’ expectations. Greenback strength appears to be main reason behind this underperformance. Q4 Results in Detail The season unveiled with Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL ) missing on both lines in Q4 of 2015. Results were hurt by the strength in the U.S. dollar, with foreign currency movements having an adverse impact of $160 million. However, Delta’s shares added 3.3% despite the earnings miss in the key trading session of January 19. This is because the company, the bottom line of which grew 51% year over year on low oil costs, expects to generate over $3 billion in savings in 2016 on steeply plunging oil prices. This Zacks ETF Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock has a Zacks Momentum & Value style score of ‘A’ and a Growth score of ‘B’, at the time of writing. United Continental (NYSE: UAL ) also came up with soft Q4 results this month as both earnings and revenues miss. Adjusted earnings were up substantially year over year on lower fuel costs. Revenues declined 3% on lower passenger revenues. Cargo revenues were also downhill while the other revenues improved 10.9%. However, its indicators are promising with a Zacks ETF Rank #2 (Buy), and Value score of ‘A’ and Momentum score of ‘B’. Shares also added modest gains of about 0.5% to close January 21, the day it reported earnings. Yet another leading U.S. carrier Southwest Airlines Co. ‘s (NYSE: LUV ) fourth-quarter 2015 bottom line matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate while the top line missed the same. But investors should notice that revenues grew 7.5% year over year helped by 3.3% and 119% expansion in Passenger and Other revenues, respectively. This Zacks ETF Rank #1 stock also boasts hopeful indicators of Momentum score of ‘A’ each and a Value score of ‘B’. LUV was up 0.5% post reporting earnings. Though these heavy-weight companies underperformed on earnings, the sector has seen sturdy performances by others. Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE: ALK ) reported earnings (on an adjusted basis) of $1.46 per share in the fourth quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.43. Earnings increased 55% year over year. Revenues of $1.38 billion were in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The top line grew 5% on a year-over-year basis. The company also hiked its quarterly dividend by 38% to $0.275 per share. This star performance within the struggling pack offered the stock over 8.1% gains post earnings. ALK has a Zacks ETF Rank #1, a Value and Growth scores of ‘B’ and a Momentum score of ‘A’. Should You Buy JETS? By now, one must have realized from the indicators that the mood in the airlines industry is upbeat. The sector is in the top 4% category of the Zacks Industry Rank at the time of writing, giving strong cues of the upcoming flight in the entire industry. However, as company-specific risks seem higher, investors might play the trend via basket approach to tap the entire potential of the space. And to do so, what could be a better option other than the JETS ETF? The $46.8 million-fund holds over 30 stocks in its portfolio and is concentrated on a few individual securities, as it allocates about 70% to the top 10 holdings. American Airlines (12.46%), Southwest Airlines (12.37%), Delta Airlines (12.13%) and United Continental (10.54%) are the top four elements in the basket. Alaska Air holds the ninth position in the fund with 3.74% weight. The product charges 60 bps in fees. Link to the original post on Zacks.com

Mixed Views On Emerging Markets: Funds To Buy And Sell

There are mixed views on emerging markets now. According to a report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, fund managers have mostly been pessimistic about emerging-market equities since 2001. On the other hand, some strategists at leading banks and financial companies believe that securities from emerging markets may have hit their lowest point. Amid the contradictory opinions, certain market experts are of the view that investors often invest in emerging market funds too late or they stay invested for too long. So, while buying certain favourably ranked emerging market funds at a discount now should be a prudent move, investors may also dump certain Sell-rated funds that their portfolio will not miss. The Pessimism According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s monthly survey, fund managers are the most underweight on emerging-market equities against developed-market equities since the survey began in 2001. While post 2009, fund managers’ relative positioning had jumped and stayed mostly in the green till 2013, the sentiment soured after that. In 2014, the sentiment dropped to a new low before rebounding in late 2014 and early 2015. However, the sentiment is the most pessimistic now. The bearish outlook is concentrated mostly on Asia. Investors are apprehensive about the slowdown in China’s economy while the U.S. central bank may hike rates. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) meeting on Nov 30 is also crucial. Investors fear further devaluation in the Chinese currency but not before IMF adds the yuan to its Special Drawing Rights basket of currencies. And if this happens, Bank of America strategists fear that the markets will move even lower. Goldman Sachs projects that yuan traded at offshore rate may weaken by 2.5% to 3% against the dollar in the next 2 months. Eventually, the devaluation of yuan may impact other emerging-market currencies, as they are often influenced by the monetary policies in the world’s second-largest economy, China. The Contrarian View Meanwhile, market watchers at a number of leading banks and financial institutions have said that they believe asset values for emerging markets have hit a rock bottom. In fact, the views come from the likes of Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Barclays PLC. Following three continuous years of losses, markets and assets from developing nations are poised for a rebound. According to Morningstar, in the 12 months ended October, emerging-market stock funds traded in the US dropped an average 13.4%. A major indicator of valuations for emerging markets is the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, which is down 30% from the high achieved in 2011. The index is currently trading at approximately 12x its earnings estimates. Additionally, the index’s valuation is nearly three times lower than the S&P 500’s current figure. This is why analysts at Barclays believe that prices of emerging market securities are significantly lower than their intrinsic value. Over the six-month period since the last three American market tightening cycles began, global markets have gained an average 15%. Strategists are also hopeful that emerging markets might rebound in 2016. They say that it might not mirror the “roaring”2000s, but 2016 might be the year the emerging markets “find their feet”. 2 Emerging Market Funds to Buy As mentioned earlier, investors should not miss the buying opportunity. An uptrend in emerging economies brings good tidings for investment instruments from these countries. Many of them currently have reasonable valuations compared to their historical averages. Below we present 2 International Bond – Emerging Market mutual funds that carry either a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #2 (Buy). Remember, the goal of the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank is to guide investors to identify potential winners and losers. Unlike most of the fund-rating systems, the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank is not just focused on past performance, but also on the likely future success of the fund. Fidelity New Markets Income (MUTF: FNMIX ) fund invests the lion’s share of its assets in emerging markets or makes other investments that are economically linked to emerging markets that have stock markets as defined by MSCI. These emerging market countries also may also be the ones with low- to middle-income as classified by the World Bank. FNMIX currently carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1. FSRPX has gained respectively 3.7% and 0.2% in the year-to-date and 1-year periods. The 3- and 5-year annualized returns are 1.2% and 5.4%, respectively. Annual expense ratio of 0.84% is lower than the category average of 1.16%. Goldman Sachs Emerging Market Debt A (MUTF: GSDAX ) predominantly invests in emerging market debt securities. These instruments may be issued by governments as well as corporate entities. To gain exposure to certain emerging economies, GSDAX may use structured securities or derivatives among others. GSDAX currently carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #2. GSDAX has gained respectively 2.8% and 0.5% in the year-to-date and 1-year periods. The 3- and 5-year annualized returns are 1.5% and 5.1%, respectively. Annual expense ratio of 1.24% is higher than the category average of 1.16%. 2 Emerging Market Funds to Sell It is also important to not stay invested in certain underperforming funds. For investors not ready to bet on the emerging markets now or for investors who have lost plenty staying invested in some emerging market funds, below we present 2 funds that either carry a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #4 (Sell) or Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #5 (Strong Sell). Eaton Vance Emerging Markets Local Income A (MUTF: EEIAX ) gains exposure to the emerging economies by investing in securities and derivatives among other instruments. Bulk of EEIAX’s assets are invested in securities denominated in currencies of emerging market countries, fixed income instruments that are issued by emerging market entities, and in emerging-market denominated derivative instruments. EEIAX currently carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #5. EEIAX has lost respectively 10.6% and 16.5% in the year-to-date and 1-year periods. The 3- and 5-year annualized returns are negative 7.2% and negative 2.5%, respectively. Annual expense ratio of 1.25% is higher than the category average of 1.16%. PIMCO Emerging Markets Currency A (MUTF: PLMAX ) invests most of its assets in currencies of emerging market countries or in fixed income instruments denominated by these currencies. PLMAX currently carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #4. PLMAX has lost respectively 5.2% and 9.7% in the year-to-date and 1-year periods. The 3- and 5-year annualized returns are negative 4.7% and negative 2.4%, respectively. Annual expense ratio of 1.25% is lower than the category average of 1.58%. Original post