Zacks Sell List Highlights: AMERIGROUP Corp., PrivateBancorp, Inc., Vulcan Materials Co. and Baldor Electric Co.

Since inception in 1988, the S&P 500 has outperformed the Zacks #5 Rank List of Stocks to Sell Now by 80% annually (+2% vs. +10%). While the rest of Wall Street continued to tout stocks during the market declines of the last few years, Zacks told investors which stocks to sell or avoid.

Here is a synopsis of why AGP and PVTB have a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell) and should most likely be sold or avoided for the next one to three months. Note that a #5 Strong Sell rating is applied to 5% of all the stocks in the Zacks Rank universe:

AMERIGROUP Corp. (NYSE: AGP) reported a 42% year-over-year slump in third-quarter profit to 43 cents per share last month on the back of higher medical costs related to the H1N1 virus. Quarterly earnings per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3 cents. The full-year average forecast fell by a penny over the past month to $1.96 per share as 12 out of 14 covering analysts revised downward.

PrivateBancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: PVTB) posted a third-quarter loss of 68 cents per share on Oct 26, compared to analysts’ expectations of a profit of 8 cents. This was wider than last year’s loss of 23 cents per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2009 is now pegged at a loss of 71 cents per share that dropped from a month-ago projection of a profit of 37 cents. Thirteen out of 15 analysts pulled back on expectations during that time.

Here is a synopsis of why VMC and BEZ have a Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) and should also most likely be sold or avoided for the next one to three months. Note that a #4 Sell rating is applied to 15% of all the stocks ranked by Zacks;

Vulcan Materials Co. (NYSE: VMC) announced third-quarter earnings of 38 cents per share on Nov 2, reflecting a 29% year-over-year decrease. Sales dropped to $738.6 million from $958.8 million in the prior-year period. The last week has seen reductions by 11 out of 14 covering analysts, pushing the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year down to 31 cents from 46 cents per share.

Baldor Electric Co. (NYSE: BEZ) projects a 20% to 25% fall in fourth-quarter sales as it sees the current weak trends in orders to continue till the year end. On Oct 29, the company posted a 25% decline in third-quarter sales to $380.4 million while earnings per share of 22 cents dropped 60% year over year. Earnings also missed the average forecast by 24%. For 2009, the Zacks Consensus Estimate is 99 cents per share, a decrease from $1.01 over the past 2 months, reflecting cuts by 6 out of 8 analysts.

Truly taking advantage of the Zacks Rank requires the understanding of how it works. The free special report; “Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions” is available to provide this insightful background. Download a free copy now to prosper in the years to come at http://at.zacks.com/?id=93.

About the Zacks Rank

Since 1988, the Zacks Rank has proven that "Earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices." Since inception in 1988, #1 Rank Stocks have generated an average annual return of +27%. During the 2000-2002 bear market, Zacks #1 Rank stocks gained +43.8%, while the S&P 500 tumbled -37.6%. Also note that the Zacks Rank system has just as many Strong Sell recommendations (Rank #5) as Strong Buy recommendations (Rank #1). Since 1988, Zacks Rank #5 stocks have significantly underperformed the S&P 500 (-0.9% versus +9%). Thus, the Zacks Rank system allows investors to truly manage portfolio trading effectively.

Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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