Zacks Sell List Highlights: HSBC Holdings, Lowe's Companies, Cardinal Health and News Corp.

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Zacks.com releases details on a group of stocks that are currently members of the exclusive Zacks #5 Rank List - Stocks to Sell Now. These stocks are currently rated as a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell): HSBC Holdings (NYSE: HBC) and Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW). Further, Zacks announced #4 Rankings (Sell) on two other widely held stocks: Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) and News Corp. (NYSE: NWS). To see the full Zacks #5 Rank List - Stocks to Sell Now visit: http://at.zacks.com/?id=92.

Since inception in 1988, the S&P 500 has outperformed the Zacks #5 Rank List -- Stocks to Sell Now by 129% annually (+5.3% vs. +12.1%). While the rest of Wall Street continued to tout stocks during the market declines of the last few years, Zacks told investors which stocks to sell or avoid.

Here is a synopsis of why HBC and LOW have a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell) and should most likely be sold or avoided for the next one to three months. Note that a #5 Strong Sell rating is applied to 5% of all the stocks in the Zacks Rank universe:

HSBC Holdings (NYSE: HBC) has been struggling lately along with many other names in the financial arena. The company, which is trading near a 52-week low, has seen the consensus estimate for year 2008 drop from the two months-ago level of $8.53 per share to last month's forecast of $7.60. While the current Wall Street estimate was decreased further to $7.49 per share, the most accurate projection currently stands at $8.05.

The share price of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is low. In fact, the company is trading near a 52-week low that it descended to earlier this month. During the past seven trading days, analyst estimates did edge up a penny to $1.86 per share for the year ending January 2008. However, analysts were calling for $1.94 two months ago and the most accurate forecast stands at $1.85 today. For the following year, expectations have been tumbling as well. The current consensus projection of $1.90 is below last week's $1.92 and last month's $1.94. The most accurate estimate for the year ending January 2009 is pegged at $1.82.

Here is a synopsis of why CAH and NWS have a Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) and should also most likely be sold or avoided for the next one to three months. Note that a #4 Sell rating is applied to 15% of all the stocks ranked by Zacks:

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) has seen analysts reduce earnings estimates ahead of its earnings report. Four out of fourteen covering analysts decreased fiscal second-quarter projections from last month's 90 cents per share to 89 cents. Two of the analysts brought their forecasts down to 88 cents during the past week. The most accurate Street expectation is 87 cents. CAH plans to announce second-quarter results for fiscal 2008 on January 29, 2008.

News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) has been sinking to 52-week lows lately and is trading slightly above that level right now. Wall Street estimates have been bearish for NWS. During the past three months, forecasts for the year ending June 2008 fell from $1.24 per share to $1.20. The most accurate fiscal year projection is at $1.19. For the following year, Street expectations declined from $1.41 per share to $1.38 over the past 90 trading days. The most accurate estimate for the year ending June 2009 is currently pegged at $1.33.

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About the Zacks Rank

Since 1988, the Zacks Rank has proven that "Earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices." Since inception in 1988, #1 Rank stocks have generated an average annual return of +32.2%. During the 2000-2002 bear market, Zacks #1 Rank stocks gained +43.8%, while the S&P 500 tumbled -37.6%. Also note that the Zacks Rank system has just as many Strong Sell recommendations (Rank #5) as Strong Buy recommendations (Rank #1). Since 1988, Zacks Rank #5 stocks have underperformed the S&P 500 by 129% annually (+5.3% vs. +12.1%). Thus, the Zacks Rank system allows investors to truly manage portfolio trading effectively.

The performance of the Zacks Rank portfolios shown above for annual and year-to-date periods are the linked monthly total returns (price changes + dividends) of equal weighted hypothetical portfolios, consisting of those stocks with the indicated Zacks Rank, assuming monthly rebalancing and zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios. The hypothetical portfolios were created at the beginning of each month from Jan 1988 forward based on the values of the Zacks Rank available to Zacks' clients before the beginning of each month. The portfolios created monthly from 1988 through September 2006 exclude ADRS and are comprised of stocks that have the indicated Zacks Rank and were covered by at least two analysts at the time of the stocks inclusion in the portfolio. Starting in October 2006 and going forward, the portfolios are comprised of all stocks with the indicated Zacks Rank and do not exclude ADRs, which is more reflective of the list of stocks that customers will find on the Zacks web sites. 2007 returns are for the period of Jan 1 - Jun 30, 2007. These performance numbers have been audited from 1995 through 2003 by Autschuler Melovan, a division of American Express Financial.

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Source: Zacks.com