Tag Archives: zacks-consensus

Oracle Q3 Earnings Beat Put Tech ETFs In Focus

Tech bellwether Oracle (NYSE: ORCL ) reported third-quarter fiscal 2015 results (ending in February) after the closing bell on Tuesday. The company beat our earnings estimates for the first time in the past four quarters, while revenues lagged due to negative currency translations. Earnings per share came in at 65 cents, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. Revenues were flat year-over-year at $9.3 billion and below our $9.45 billion estimate. While the company’s shift to the Web-based cloud computing business is paying off, a strong dollar restricted the top line during the reported quarter. Excluding the impact of unfavorable currency rates, revenues would have risen 6%. Cloud software platform sales climbed 29% from the year-ago quarter, and accounted for 4% of total revenue. Oracle will continue to benefit from the new generation of cloud computing and Big Data, and will steal market share from Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM ), the only major software company competing in the cloud segment. Notably, the company is on track to sell more than $1 billion of new cloud subscriptions in the full fiscal 2015 (read: 3 ETFs Leading the Technology Sector Surge ). For the fiscal fourth quarter, the world’s largest database software maker expects revenues to grow in the range of 1-6% in constant currency terms and earnings per share to range between 90 to 96 cents. The midpoint is well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 90 cents. Oracle also pointed out in its conference call that high volatility in foreign exchange rates could hurt revenues in the future quarters. The company also raised its quarterly dividend by 25% to 15 cents per share. Based on dividend hike and cloud optimism, Oracle shares rose almost 4% in after-hours trading. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), and has a poor Zacks Industry Rank in the bottom 43% at the time of writing, suggesting mixed trading in the coming days. ETFs in Focus Given this, ETFs with the highest allocation to this software giant will be in focus in the days ahead. Investors should closely monitor the movement in these funds and avoid these if the stock drags them down (see: all the Technology ETFs here ): iShares North American Technology-Software ETF (NYSEARCA: IGV ) This ETF provides exposure to the software segment of the broader U.S. technology space by tracking the S&P North American Technology-Software Index. The fund holds a basket of 57 securities, with Oracle taking the third spot at 8.44% of total assets. It is quite popular, with AUM of over $1.2 billion, while the volume is moderate, as it exchanges nearly 92,000 shares a day. The product charges 47 bps in fees and expenses, and has gained about 4% so far this year. IGV has a Zacks ETF Rank of 3, or a “Hold” rating with a High risk outlook. First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index ETF (NASDAQ: TDIV ) This fund provides exposure to the dividend payers within the technology sector by tracking the Nasdaq Technology Dividend Index. The product has amassed about $766 million in its asset base, and trades in volume of around 233,000 shares per day. The ETF charges 50 bps in annual fees (read: 5 Dividend ETFs to Buy for Income in 2015 ). In total, the fund holds about 95 securities in its basket. Of these firms, ORCL takes the sixth position, making up roughly 4.24% of the assets. In terms of industrial exposure, the ETF allocates one-fifth portion in semiconductors and semiconductor equipment, followed by technology hardware, storage & peripherals (16.9%) and software (15.2%). It has lost 1.8% so far this year. iShares U.S. Technology ETF (NYSEARCA: IYW ) This ETF tracks the Dow Jones US Technology Index, giving investors exposure to the broad technology space. The fund holds 140 stocks in its basket, with AUM of $3 billion, while charging 45 bps in fees and expenses. Volume is moderate, as it exchanges nearly 686,000 shares in hand a day (read: Bet on These Top Ranked Tech ETFs for Outperformance ). Oracle takes the ninth spot in the basket, with 3.94% of assets. The product is heavily skewed toward the software and services segments, as these make up just less than half of the portfolio. Tech hardware and equipment, as well as semiconductors and semiconductor equipment take the remaining portion in the basket. The fund has added nearly 1.7% in the year-to-date time frame, and has a Zacks ETF Rank of 1, or a “Strong Buy” rating with a Medium risk outlook.

Coca Cola, PepsiCo Earnings Stir Up Consumer Staples ETFs

The beverage space closed out 2014 on a sizzling note as two cola and food bellwethers – Coca Cola Co. (NYSE: KO ) and PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP ) – quenched investors’ thirst with better-than-expected earnings for Q4 ’14. In fact, 2014 will remain especially memorable for PepsiCo as the company beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for both earnings and revenues in all four quarters. On the other hand, Coca Cola managed to beat on both lines in Q4 after posting mixed results in Q3. Let’s delve a little deeper. Impressive PEP Earnings & Dividend Hike On February 11, PepsiCo beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for both earnings and revenues. Not only this, the food and beverage behemoth announced a 7.3% increase in annual dividend along with an authorization of a new $12 billion share buyback program. Pepsi’s fourth-quarter core earnings per share of $1.12 easily surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.08 by 3.7% and year-ago earnings by 6% helped by higher organic revenues, improved margins and lower taxes. Total sales of $19.95 billion – down 1% year over year – beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $19.78 billion. A stronger snacks performance and improved beverage volumes in Europe and Americas were probably the reasons for the beat. However, it was adverse currency translation which weighed on total revenue growth as currency concerns ate away 6% revenue growth. Pepsi now expects core constant currency earnings per share to increase 7% in 2015, in tune with the long-term management goal of high single-digit core constant currency earnings growth. Notably, currency is expected to mar both earnings per share and revenues by 7% in 2015. Thanks to upbeat earnings, the PepsiCo stock was up about 2.5% in the key trading session of February 11. Coca-Cola Too Posts Decent Earnings On February 10, Coca-Cola reported adjusted earnings of $0.44 per share in Q4 which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by around 5%. Earnings declined 5% year over year thanks to a stronger dollar, which was up 5% on a constant currency basis, driven by improved organic revenues and cost-cutting efforts. Net revenue slipped 2% year over year to $10.87 billion due to headwinds from currency and structural changes. Excluding these effects, constant currency revenues grew 4% in the quarter. The best part is that revenues beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10.77 billion by 1%. An extra selling day, better sparkling beverage performance, strong price/mix gains and volume growth in North America helped the company to hold gains. Management remains hopeful about its 2015 operations and sees this as a transition year. However, foreign exchange is expected to hurt 2015 revenues by 5% and profit before tax by 7-8%. While an overall beat offered the KO stock about 2.8% gains in the key trading session of February 10, its shares retreated about 0.1% on February 11. ETF Impact The beverage earnings also put in focus several consumer staples ETFs having notable exposure to Coca Cola and PepsiCo. Funds like Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA: XLP ) , Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (NYSEARCA: VDC ) and iShares Dow Jones U.S. Consumer Goods Sector ETF (NYSEARCA: IYK ) have large allocations in KO and PEP. Below, we have highlighted these funds in detail: XLP in Focus The most popular consumer ETF in the market, XLP follows the S&P Consumer Staples Select Sector Index. The fund invests about $10.2 billion of assets in 41 holdings. Of these firms, the in-focus Coca-Cola takes the second spot, making up roughly 9.21% of the assets while PepsiCo accounts for about 4.63% of XLP taking up the seventh position. The fund charges 15 bps in fees per year from investors. The fund has added about 1.6% (as of February 11, 2015) post KO earnings. XLP currently has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold) with a ‘Medium’ risk outlook. VDC in Focus This fund manages a $2.61 billion asset base and provides exposure to a basket of 100 consumer stocks by tracking the MSCI U.S. Investable Market Consumer Staples 25/50 Index. The product charges a low fee of 12 bps per year from investors. Again here, Coca-Cola is the second firm with 8.0% allocation and PepsiCo is the third firm holding 6.7%. The product is widely spread across various sectors out of which soft drinks have a 17.1% allocation. VDC added about 1.6% (as of February 11) within the last two days. VDC currently has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 with a ‘Medium’ risk outlook. IYK in Focus This ETF tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Consumer Goods Index, giving investors exposure to the broad consumer staples space. The fund holds about 115 stocks in its basket with AUM of $516 million, while charging a slightly higher fee of 43 bps per year from investors. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo occupy the second and third positions respectively in the basket with 7.87% and 6.91% of assets. The fund was up 1.63% (As of February 11) post the duo’s earnings. The product has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 with a ‘Medium’ risk outlook. Bottom Line Though the beverage giants ended 2014 with an overall beat and started off 2015 on a refreshing note, currency concerns might surface this year. Plus, the industry fundamentals are also not great as it falls in the bottom 29% section of Zacks Industry Ranks. So, investors having high hopes on the duo might bet on these beverage giants through a basket approach as it partly shields the risk of single-stock investing.