Zacks Sell List Highlights: BancorpSouth, Inc., Aetna Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc and Airgas, Inc.

Zacks.com releases details on a group of stocks that are currently members of the exclusive Zacks #5 Rank List – Stocks to Sell Now. These stocks are currently rated as a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell): BancorpSouth, Inc. (NYSE: BXS) and Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET). Further, Zacks announced #4 Rankings (Sell) on two other widely held stocks: GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE: GSK) and Airgas, Inc. (NYSE: ARG). To see the full Zacks #5 Rank List - Stocks to Sell Now visit: http://at.zacks.com/?id=92

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 BXS and AET 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:

BancorpSouth, Inc.’s (NYSE: BXS) fourth-quarter earnings of 23 cents per share, reported on Jan 21, came in 17% short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The full-year average forecast is pegged at a profit of $1.19 per share, down from $1.28 over the past month, reflecting cuts by 8 out of 11 analysts. Next year’s estimate dipped 7 cents to a profit of $1.45 per share during that time.

Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) saw a 58% year-over-year decline in fourth-quarter profit due to rising costs. Earlier this month, Aetna posted quarterly earnings of 40 cents per share, which missed analysts’ expectations by 2 cents. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year dropped 22 cents to $2.64 per share over the past week as 3 out of 7 analysts lowered estimates.

Here is a synopsis of why GSK and ARG 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;

GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE: GSK) posted a fourth-quarter profit of 93 cents per share on Feb 4, which came in 3 cents behind analysts’ expectations. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the full year is pegged at a profit of $3.84 per share, which fell by a penny in the last 7 days and 6 cents over the past month. Analysts expect the company to earn $3.90 per share for the following year, down 6 cents in the last week.

Airgas, Inc. (NYSE: ARG) announced third-quarter earnings per share of 65 cents on Jan 28, which missed analysts’ projections by nearly 6%. The company saw a 14% year-over-year drop in quarterly profit. For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimate decreased 9 cents to a profit of $2.68 per share in the last 30 days as all the 10 covering analysts cut back on projections.

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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