For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – November 24, 2020 –
Zacks Equity Research
highlights
Cross Country Healthcare
CCRN
as the Bull of the Day and
Alkaline Water Company
WTER
as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on
Enphase Energy
ENPH
,
Canadian Solar
CSIQ
and
TOTAL S.A.
TOT
.
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
Bull of the Day
:
Cross Country Healthcare
is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and it is the Bull of the Day today. This healthcare staffing firm is going to see the benefits of the rising costs in healthcare workers’ salaries as the pandemic rages on. There are reports that part time nurses were getting $35 per hour before the pandemic, but that level spiked to $125 and has now settled back down to $85. That is really a one-off data point, but it tells the story that I want to focus on.
The idea is that healthcare workers are under phenomenal stress right now as the pandemic has them concerned not only for patients, but themselves and the families as well. To say that they all deserve more pay is an understatement!
At the same time, there is a shortage of healthcare professionals, so this in turn will drive up the salaries that much more.
Earnings History
I see a really good earnings history with four beats in the last four quarters. There were two consecutive beats of 500%, so that has really skewed the average.
Each time the company posted those massive beats they posted and EPS gain when the consensus was calling for a loss. We have to love that!
Estimates
Wall Street has smartened up, at least for the estimates going forward. I don’t see any more losses, but still some beatable numbers. I see 7 cents for this quarter up 5 cents in the last month. Next quarter flipped from a loss of a penny to a gain of 2 cents.
The full year numbers are showing big moves, with this year moving from 12 cents to 31 cents and next year lifting from 18 cent to 29 cents.
These are solid moves in the right direction.
Valuation
The 24x forward multiple is a little high, but nothing crazy, I saw revenue contract a little in the most recent quarter but that could start to turn around. A price to book of less than 3x is great to see as value players love that and the multiple is 2x for CCRN. The price to sales multiple of 0.4x is a little worrisome, but that should resolve itself in the coming quarters.
Bear of the Day
:
Alkaline Water Company
is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) but I am sure that will turn around in the near future. The point of this Bear of the Day article is that sometimes a great idea can come across to you when the estimate trend is at its lows. This is just that sort of thing.
I had the pleasure to speak with the CEO of Alkaline Water a few weeks back and I got to hear a side of the story that I am not sure every analyst on the street has heard. I haven’t had a good chance to tell that story yet… but I will in time and I assure you that it is a good one.
For that simple reason, I have decided to highlight WTER as the Bear of the Day… and this will hopefully put it on your radar screen as this is the name that I will be looking to add to one of my subscription services down the road. With the Zacks Rank at the lowest level, now is not the time… but it will happen at some point.
Market Cap
One of the things that is holding this story back is the market cap. At less than $100M, it is hard to add it to one of my services which could see anywhere from $4M – $8M of investor dollars flow into it. That would cause a dramatic move in a name like this.
I am sure that other analysts have the same issue with this company, so know that when this issue gets solved a lot of other issues will probably go away as well.
Water In The Pandemic
The CEO told me a great story about how the pandemic actually helped his business. The meat of the idea is that when people began hoarding toilet paper and other essentials, restrictions were put on some items. Only 2 packages of water per family forced some people to buy brands that they would not have normally tried.
This has led to good sized inroads for market share gains and in many cases wallet share. Alkaline Water benefited from the lockdown and if there are future lockdowns I am sure they will benefit from that as well.
CBD
The main reason why I spoke with the CEO is their new CBD venture. This looks to be a great growth opportunity for the company and when the time is right, I will share what I learned with the subscribers of Stocks Under $10 or Home Run Investor — which ever service this stock will fit in best with.
Additional content:
3 Stocks to Gain from Expanding Solar Market in Southeast Asia
The Southeast Asian region is set to become one of the fastest-growing solar energy markets in the world due to the rising demand for electricity and prolific solar resources. Electricity consumption in this region is expected to double by 2040, per the International Energy Agency (IEA), leaving ample scope for the solar energy market.
Notably, over the past few years, the solar energy market in nations such as Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia has been steadily growing, where a handful of solar projects have come online.
South-East Asian Nations in the Spotlight
As stated in a report by Wood Mackenzie, Vietnam currently leads Southeast Asia’s solar photovoltaic (PV) market with the largest installed capacity in the region. In 2019, Vietnam’s cumulative solar capacity increased more than five times, which led the nation to emerge as one of the top 10 solar countries in the world.
Among the other nations in Southeast Asia, Malaysia and Singapore are showing stark indications of solar market growth. For instance, Malaysia has set a target of increasing its renewable energy in electricity generation from 6%, currently, to 20% by 2025, and the majority of this would be driven by solar (as reported by
Reuters
). Singapore has targeted at least 2 gigawatt (GW) peak of solar power capacity by 2030, or more than 10% of current peak electricity demand, replacing natural gas which generates 95% of the country’s power now.
Key Catalysts Driving South-East Asian Solar Market
Solar energy usage has been increasingly becoming popular in the region due to the significant rise in electricity demand, declining costs for solar panel installations, falling technology costs and favorable policies related to the increasing adoption of solar energy. The increasing cost-competitiveness of renewable energy sources, including solar, continues to provide a substantial boost to installations.
Considering the growth prospects of the solar market in this region, abundant investments are also pouring in. Interestingly, a
new climate fund
backed by philanthropic donors is aiming to trigger $2.5 billion of clean energy investment in Southeast Asia, of which surely a major portion will be spent on solar expansion. No doubt these growth drivers are expected to significantly boost the Southeast Asian solar market in the coming days.
What Lies Ahead?
Per a Wood Mackenzie report, Southeast Asia’s cumulative solar PV capacity is expected to reach 12.6 GW by the end of 2020, which is further forecast to grow to 35.8 GW by 2024.
Large-scale solar projects will have a strong hold on the installation capacity for the next five years. Further, as project economics start to become more attractive, distributed solar installations will also pick up.
Stocks in Focus
Let’s take a brief look at a few energy companies that are expanding their footprint in the South-East Asian solar market. Considering the market’s growth prospects, these stocks are poised to benefit significantly.
Enphase Energy
, in November 2020, signed a distribution partnership agreement with the Philippines’ solar energy provider, MSpectrum, to distribute IQ 7 family of microinverters to its residential and commercial installers across the nation, starting first-quarter 2021. The company carries a Zacks #3 (Hold). You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here
.
Canadian Solar
, in August 2020, commenced the construction of a 5-MWp commercial and industrial (C&I) rooftop solar project in Malaysia in collaboration with Antah Solar and Eleaps. Once it begins to operate, the plant is expected to generate approximately 6,700 MWh of solar electricity each year for 25 years. The company currently holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
TOTAL S.A
., in March 2020, signed a binding contract to provide 25 megawatt-peak (MWp) of solar rooftops for 24 facilities of one of the largest food companies in Thailand. In December 2019, the company completed three solar rooftops with a combined capacity of 1.1MW for Jentec Storage in the Philippines. The company carries a Zacks #3.
5 Stocks Set to Double
Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.
Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.
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