The Gap, Qwest, Clorox Hit Highs
BOSTON (TheStreet) -- U.S. stocks gained Monday as investors weighed the implications of the health care bill passed by the House of Representatives. These stocks hit highs.
3. Qwest Communications
(Q)
rose 3% to $5.17, recording a high of $5.22. Shares of the telecom company have gained 17% in the past month.
Quarter
: Fourth-quarter profit tumbled 39% to $108 million, or 6 cents a share, as revenue fell 9.7% to $3 billion. The operating margin narrowed from 17% to 15%. Qwest Communications holds $2.4 billion of cash and $14 billion of debt.
Stock
: Qwest Communications has appreciated 52% in the past year, matching the
S&P 500 Index
. The stock trades at a price-to-projected-earnings ratio of 15, a 16% premium to its peer-group average. It's cheap based on sales and cash flow.
Consensus
: Of analysts covering Qwest, 11, or 44%, advise purchasing its shares, 12 recommend holding and two suggest selling them.
Citigroup
(C) - Get Report
,
Barclays
(BCS) - Get Report
and
Bank of America
(BAC) - Get Report
expect the stock to advance 15% to $6.
2. Clorox
(CLX) - Get Report
ascended 0.8% to $64.92, hitting a high of $64.98. Shares of the consumer products company have returned 6.4% in the past four weeks.
Quarter
: Fiscal second-quarter profit increased 28% to $110 million, or 77 cents, as revenue grew 5.2% to $1.3 billion. Clorox's operating margin extended from 15% to 17%. Its balance sheet contains $154 million of cash and $3 billion of debt.
Stock
: Clorox has returned 31% during the past year, less than major benchmarks. The stock sells for a price-to-projected-earnings ratio of 14, a 10% discount to the industry average. It's also cheap based on trailing earnings and sales.
Consensus
: Of researchers following Clorox, eight rate its stock "buy", 10 rate it "hold" and one ranks it "sell."
UBS
(UBS) - Get Report
expects the shares to rise 17% to $76.
Jefferies
is also bullish on the stock.
TheStreet's
model expects it to hit $77.77.
1. The Gap
(GPS) - Get Report
climbed 0.8% to $23.40, achieving a high of $23.51. Shares of the clothing retailer have jumped 18% in the past month.
Quarter
: Fourth-quarter profit increased 45% to $352 million, or 51 cents, as revenue increased 3.8% to $4.2 billion. The Gap's operating margin extended from 9.8% to 14%. Its balance sheet stores $2.6 billion of cash and no debt.
Stock
: The Gap has nearly doubled during the past year, outperforming U.S. indices. The stock trades at a price-to-projected-earnings ratio of 13, a 27% discount to its peer-group average. It's also cheap based on trailing earnings and cash flow.
Consensus
: Of analysts covering The Gap, 14, or 45%, advocate purchasing its shares, 14 counsel holding and three say to sell.
Caris
,
Credit Suisse
(CS) - Get Report
and
Societe Generale
expect the stock to hit $28, a potential 19% gain.
