The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights The Home Depot, Elevance Health, BP, Gilead Sciences and ServiceNow

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 27, 2022 – 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: The Home Depot, Inc. HD, Elevance Health Inc. ELV and BP p.l.c. BP, Gilead Sciences, Inc. GILD and ServiceNow, Inc. NOW.

Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:

Top Stock Reports for Home Depot, Elevance Health and BP

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 The Home Depot, Inc., Elevance Health Inc. and BP p.l.c.. 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 >>>

The Home Depot shares have underperformed the Zacks Building Products - Retail industry over the past year (-21.4% vs. -18.6%). The company reported soft gross margin in the fiscal second quarter driven by higher supply chain investments. Higher inventory levels and interest expense also remain concerning.

However, The Home Depot has reported its ninth straight quarter of earnings and sales beats in the fiscal second quarter. Results gained from strong demand for home-improvement projects, robust housing market trends and ongoing investments.

The company also benefited from continued strength in both Pro and DIY categories, as well as digital momentum. Its interconnected retail strategy and underlying technology infrastructure have helped consistently boost web traffic for the past few quarters, aiding digital sales.

(You can read the full research report on The Home Depot here >>>)

Shares of Elevance Health have outperformed the Zacks Medical Services industry over the past year (+20.1% vs. -36.4%). The company's improving top-line can be attributed to premium rate increases and higher memberships. Acquisitions and collaborations have enabled the company to strengthen its business portfolio.

Its well-performing Medicare and Medicaid businesses, coupled with several contract wins, are expected to drive its membership going ahead. Adjusted net income is anticipated to be more than $28.95 per share, higher than the prior outlook of greater than $28.70.

However, the company's escalating costs continue to put pressure on margins. Declining cash flows are also concerning. Its balance sheet with a massive debt of more than $21 billion can affect financial flexibility. As such, the stock warrants a cautious stance.

(You can read the full research report on Elevance Health here >>>)

BP's shares have gained +8.2% over the past year against the Zacks Oil and Gas - Integrated - International industry's gain of +34.3%. The company has a strong portfolio of upstream projects, backing impressive production growth. The company boasted that the target of adding a net production of 900 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2021 from key projects has been met successfully.

BP has set an aggressive energy transition plan to capitalize on the mounting demand for clean energy. Currently, high oil prices are aiding the company's upstream operations. Notably, BP announced plans to execute a $3.5-billion share buyback, which is expected to be completed before reporting the third-quarter results.

However, the company's balance sheet is considerably more levered than most peers, thereby limiting its financial flexibility. Also, increasing costs and expenses has been adversely affecting the energy giant's income. As such, the stock warrants a cautious stance.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Gilead Sciences, Inc. and ServiceNow, Inc..

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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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BP p.l.c. (BP) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Elevance Health, Inc. (ELV) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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