Build Your Nest Egg With Home Depot, Raytheon Says TIAA-CREF Manager

Home Depot (HD) hammered Wall Street’s consensus sales and earnings estimates in its third quarter results Tuesday. Susan Kempler, portfolio manager for the TIAA-CREF Growth & Income Fund (TIIRX), predicted this won’t be the last stellar report for the retailer. 'They’ve got great growth in residential and commercial so this growth can continue,' said Kempler. 'They are expanding margins because they are cutting back on costs, while at the same time they are growing revenue and buying back a lot of stock.' Quarterly net income at the company jumped over 12% to $1.73 billion, or $1.35 per share, from the same period a year ago. Excluding one-time items like currency fluctuations, Home Depot earned $1.36 per share, topping Wall Street’s average estimate of $1.32. Shares of Home Depot are up 21% year-to-date. Kempler is also bullish Electronic Arts (EA), saying the video game-maker’s stock has more room to run even though it has surged over 50% thus far in 2015. She said mixed to negative reviews of its Star Wars themed game will not drag the stock down to earth. 'They have a pipeline that they have not had in years,' said Kempler. 'They have four to five big releases next year that could be blockbusters for them.'