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NOTE TO EDITORS: The Following Is an Investment Opinion Being Issued by TheFortuneFinancial.com.

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Financial stocks rise modestly, besting the broader market in early action Wednesday.

The markets pulled off the earlier highs of the day as investors made some moves in the holiday trading session, but we did manage to rally late in the day to make it 6 winning sessions in a row on the Dow. Volume was the lowest it has been this week, finishing at 4.29 Billion shares [...]

T Rowe Price (TROW) was upgraded today by analysts at Credit Suisse and the stock is now at $51.59, up $1.01 (2%) on volume of 1,772,812 shares traded. The stock is moving higher today after Credi...(Click the story link or go to http://www.marketintelligencecenter.com for the full story)

Investment advisor T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (TROW) saw its rating, price target, and earnings estimates all raised on Wednesday by analysts at Credit Suisse. The analyst boosted its rating on TROW to “Outperform” from “Neutral,” after meeting with the company’s management. Suisse called the company a “best-in-class asset manager,” and raised its price target on [...]

Financial Stocks Drift Higher In Slow Trade

BloggingStocks: Analyst upgrades: Citigroup upgraded FPL Group (FPL) to buy from hold on valuation and recommends buying the stock into the staff recommendation. The firm raised its target on shares to $58 from $55. Deutsche Bank upgraded Smithfield Foods ... Read more

Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST) recently posted October sales of $557 million, a 14% year-over-year increase. Same store sales jumped 9%. The company also hiked its third-quarter guidance.

Management said both sales and margins were well ahead of expectations, adding that Shoes, Dresses and Home remained the top-performing categories, while the Southwest, Southeast and California were the strongest regions.

The company upped its third-quarter earnings guidance to a range of 83 to 84 cents per share from a previous range of 75 to 77 cents per share.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate currently stands at 77 cents. With Ross reporting strong sales and hiking its outlook just a couple days ago, analysts polled by Zacks are bound to raise their projections soon.

Results for the third quarter are scheduled for release on November 19.

Checkout the October 22 commentary on ROST.

Last Week's Growth and Income Zacks Rank Buy Stocks

Nu Skin Enterprises (NUS) recently posted record results for the third quarter. Earnings per share of 41 cents topped the previous year's 26 cents and matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Revenue was a record $334.2 million, an increase of 8% year-over-year. Read the full story on NUS.

Perrigo Company (PRGO) recently reported record fiscal first-quarter earnings of 65 cents per share, topping last year's 41 cents and exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 47 cents. Revenue jumped 16% year-over-year. The company hiked its fiscal year guidance to a range of $2.35 - $2.45 per share from a previous range of $2.00 - $2.12. Read the full story on PRGO.

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (TROW) saw a nice spike after announcing third-quarter results. Earnings per share of 50 cents were below last year's 56 cents but topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9%. The company also reported a 16% increase in assets under management, totaling $366.2 billion. Read the full story on TROW.

The TJX Companies, Inc. (TJX) recently upped its earnings guidance. For the fiscal year, the company sees earnings coming in between $2.46 - $2.54 per share. Analysts polled by Zacks are currently calling for earnings of $2.57 per share, an increase from last month's $2.41. Read the full story on TJX. Zacks Investment Research

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (TROW) saw a nice spike after announcing third-quarter results. Earnings per share of 50 cents were below last year’s 56 cents but topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9%. The company also reported a 16% increase in assets under management, totaling $366.2 billion. Company Description T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. is a [...]

(TROW) T. Rowe Price Group – Shares Jump on Third Quarter Results

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 4, 2009 – Four free stock picks are being made available today on Zacks.com. The industry’s leading independent research firm highlights one Zacks #1 Rank Strong Buy or a Zacks #2 Rank Buy stock for each of the four main styles of investing: Aggressive Growth, Growth & Income, Momentum, and Value.

The four highlighted picks are: Compellent Technologies, Inc. (CML), T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (TROW), Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (EEFT) and Travelers Companies Inc. (TRV).
    
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Four daily picks are offered free at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5607

Zacks #1 Rank Stocks have nearly tripled the S&P 500 since 1988, producing an average annual return of +26%. Performance has been notable even during volatile and down times. For example, during the last bear market, 2000-2002, the market tumbled -37.6% – but Zacks #1 Rank stocks gained +43.8%.

Here is a summary of today's selected stocks that are now highly rated by Zacks:          
       
Aggressive Growth – Compellent Technologies, Inc. (CML)
Compellent Technologies, Inc. is at a multi-year high and fresh of an impressive earnings report. Analysts continue to revise estimates to keep up with the company's growth.

Zacks Guide to Aggressive Growth Investing (free!): http://at.zacks.com/?id=4309

Growth & Income – T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (TROW)
T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. saw a nice spike after announcing third-quarter results. Earnings per share of 50 cents were below last year’s 56 cents but topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9%. The company also reported a 16% increase in assets under management, totaling $366.2 billion.

Zacks Guide to Growth & Income Investing (free!): http://at.zacks.com/?id=4310
  
Momentum – Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (EEFT)
Euronet Worldwide, Inc. recently reported better than expected third-quarter results after shares have more than tripled over the last 7 months.

Zacks Guide to Momentum Investing (free!): http://at.zacks.com/?id=4311

Value – Travelers Companies Inc. (TRV)
Travelers Companies Inc. recently raised full year guidance as it surprised on estimates for the third time in the last 4 quarters. The company is trading with a forward P/E of just 8.9.

Zacks Guide to Value Investing (free!): http://at.zacks.com/?id=4312

How to Regularly Access Picks from the Zacks Rank Discovery for Free:  http://at.zacks.com/?id=5607
 
Underlying the four free stock picks is a simple truth that first appeared in a Financial Analysts Journal article published in 1979. Leonard Zacks, a Ph.D. in Mathematics from M.I.T. found that "earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices."  Zacks #1 Rank is awarded to a stock when analysts sharply upgrade their estimates of what the company will earn.

Today, Zacks is promoting its stock recommendations by offering four daily picks free to those who register at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5607 

About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Len Zacks. The company continually processes stock reports issued by 3,000 analysts from 150 brokerage firms.  It monitors more than 200,000 earnings estimates, looking for changes.

Then, when changes are discovered, they’re applied to help assign more than 4,400 stocks into five Zacks Rank categories: #1 Strong Buy, #2 Buy, #3 Hold, #4 Sell, and #5 Strong Sell. This proprietary stock-picking system continues to outperform the market by a nearly 3-to-1 margin. 
  
More Free Stock Picks

Each weekday, new Zacks #1 Rank or Zacks #2 Rank stock picks are released on the free email newsletter, Profit from the Pros. Investors are invited to register for their free subscription at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5642

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Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should always research companies and securities before making any investments. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security.

Zacks.com

Aggressive Growth Stocks:
Contact: Bill Wilton
Phone: 312-265-9277

or

Growth & Income Stocks:
Contact: Alex Kolb
Phone: 312-265-9149

or

Momentum Stocks:
Contact: Michael Vodicka
Phone: 312-265-9226

or

Value Stocks:
Contact: Tracey Ryniec
Phone: 312-265-9232

Email: pr@zacks.com
Visit: www.zacks.com

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

 

Zacks Investment Research

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (TROW) saw a nice spike after announcing third-quarter results. Earnings per share of 50 cents were below last year's 56 cents but topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9%. The company also reported a 16% increase in assets under management, totaling $366.2 billion.

Company Description

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. is a global investment management organization that provides a broad array of mutual funds, subadvisory services and separate account management for individual and institutional investors, retirement plans and financial intermediaries.

The company offers a variety of sophisticated investment planning and guidance tools. T. Rowe Price's disciplined, risk-aware investment approach focuses on diversification, style consistency, and fundamental research.

Shares Jump on Third Quarter Results

T. Rowe Price saw a nice spike after announcing third-quarter results. Earnings per share of 50 cents were below last year's 56 cents but topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9%.

The company also reported a 16% increase in assets under management, totaling $366.2 billion.

Management said the firm's investment advisory results relative to peers remain strong, with 87% of the T. Rowe Price funds across their share classes surpassing their comparable Lipper averages on a total return basis for the 5-year period ended September 30, 2009, 83% outperforming for the 3-year period and at least 79% outperforming for the 1- and 10-year periods.

The company also noted that it remains debt-free with substantial liquidity, including cash and mutual fund investment holdings of $1.4 billion that supports TROW's ability to continue investing for the future.

During the past month, TROW's return has more than doubled that of the major averages.

Bullish Forecasts

Analysts polled by Zacks have been hiking earnings estimates. The current full-year projection of $1.61 per share is up from last month's $1.48. For 2010, the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.36 per share climbed from $2.05 over the past 30 days.

Stellar Fundamentals

In addition to having a balance sheet that shows no debt, TROW offers a solid return on equity (ROE) of 12.7%, which is in line with the industry average. The company's net profit margin of 17.5% soars past the industry average of 8%. This Growth and Income pick also pays an industry-leading dividend yield of 2%. Zacks Investment Research

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