The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: General Dynamics, Verizon Communications, American International Group, Humana and eBay

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – April 16, 2018 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include General Dynamics GD, Verizon Communications VZ, American International Group AIG, Humana HUM and eBay EBAY.

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Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Top Research Reports from General Dynamics, Verizon and AIG

The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including General Dynamics, Verizon Communications and American International Group. These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.

You can see all of today’s research reports here >>>

General Dynamics's shares underperformed the Zacks Aerospace – Defense industry in the last year (+16.9% vs. +49.2%). The company operates in a highly competitive market and has to rely on other companies to provide materials, components and subsystems for its products. The company’s dependence on international sales for a major portion of its revenues exposes it to the risk of currency fluctuations and other geo-political risks.

However, General Dynamics remains one of the only two contractors in the world equipped to build nuclear-powered submarines and its diverse portfolio of products and services. Moreover its wide customer base provides it with an opportunity to generate solid revenues from different sources.

The company will likely see solid growth momentum, following the introduction of the G600 in 2018. General Dynamics is committed to R&D activities that facilitate the introduction of new products and first-to-market enhancements.

(You can read the full research report on General Dynamics here >>>).

Shares of Verizon have declined -0.8% over the last six months, outperforming the Zacks Wireless National industry’s loss of -3.4% during the same period.Verizon’s unlimited data plans have heated up the wireless industry and helped it gain additional postpaid customers. The company’s plan to launch 5G wireless broadband services in select U.S. cities in 2018, in order to boost its market presence, remains well on track. The company expects growth in 2018 on the back of the expected savings from tax reform.

However, Verizon continues to struggle in a highly competitive and saturated wireless market. Losses in wireline access lines, higher marketing costs of promotional plans and competitive video market remain major impediments. Verizon’s wireline division is struggling with persistent losses in access lines owing to competitive pressure from VoIP service providers and aggressive triple-play offerings by cable companies. All these are likely to weigh on the company’s revenues and margins.

(You can read the full research report on Verizon here >>>).

AIG’s shares underperformed the Zacks Multi-Line Insurance industry year to date, losing -10.2% vs. -6.2%. The company has been suffering from tough market conditions and its massive size with numerous uncorrelated businesses creating little or no synergy. Weakness in its General Insurance segment and an exposure to catastrophes continue to bother.

However, AIG’s strategic divestitures have streamlined the company’s core operations. Strong performance of its Life and Retirement Segment remain major positives. Recently, the insurance giant appointed Brian Duperreault as its new CEO with expectations of improving operations by completing ongoing restructuring initiatives and making additional changes. Moreover, its strong fundamentals should support its share performance going forward.

(You can read the full research report on AIG here >>>).

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Humana and eBay.

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About Zacks Equity Research

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News

Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015. Its average gain has been a stellar +26% per year.See these high-potential stocks free >>.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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eBay Inc. (EBAY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
General Dynamics Corporation (GD) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
American International Group, Inc. (AIG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Humana Inc. (HUM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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