Zacks' High Rank Value strategy highlights: Cincinnati Financial Corp., Equity Inns, Inc., KeyCorp and Laclede Group, Inc

Business Wire, Feb 17, 2006

CHICAGO -- Many value investors look for stocks trading at Price/Earnings multiples below 15 and Price/Book multiples below 3. Combining these valuation measures with a Zacks Rank of #1 ("Strong Buy") or #2 ("Buy") helps to ensure that a stock is truly undervalued. The High Rank Value Profit Track strategy finds such bargains. This screen generated a 13.7% return in 2005. Four stocks meeting this strategy's exclusive criteria are Cincinnati Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:CINF), Equity Inns, Inc. (NYSE:ENN), KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) and Laclede Group, Inc. (NYSE:LG). View the entire list of stocks for the High Rank Value Profit Track at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2136.

Here are details about four companies currently identified by the High Rank Value Profit Track:

Cincinnati Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:CINF) offers property and casualty insurance, through The Cincinnati Insurance Company, The Cincinnati Indemnity Company and The Cincinnati Casualty Company. The company has a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 13.97 and price-to-book (P/B) multiple of 1.27. CINF recently reported fourth-quarter earnings of 94 cents per share. The result topped the consensus estimate by almost 11%.

Equity Inns, Inc. (NYSE:ENN), the third largest hotel real estate investment trust (REIT), has an appealing valuation as indicated by its price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 13.59 and price-to-book (P/B) multiple of 2.53. The company recently posted fourth-quarter adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) of 24 cents, beating last year's 18 cents and exceeding the consensus estimate by about 4%. The company said it expects continued growth through at least the next couple of years.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY), an integrated multi-line financial services company, is another good value play as evidenced by its price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 13.53 and price-to-book (P/B) multiple of 1.98. In mid-January, the company announced fourth-quarter earnings of 72 cents per share, eclipsing the consensus estimate by approximately 7% and outperforming the previous year's result. The company mentioned that its solid fourth quarter results reflect its success in growing revenue, improving its business mix and strengthening its credit risk profile.

Laclede Group, Inc. (NYSE:LG), a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) company, is a public utility engaged in the retail distribution and transportation of natural gas. LG recently released its fiscal first-quarter financial results. Earnings per share of $1.23 were ahead of analysts' expectations by 48% and improved on last year's 79 cents. The company offers a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 13.87 and a price-to-book (P/B) multiple of 1.76.

Discover all the current stocks currently on the High Rank Value Profit Track at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2137.

About Profit Tracks

What is a "Profit Track"? Each Profit Track is a successful stock picking strategy with proven results through the Bear Market of 2001-2002 and the Bull run started in 2003. On Zacks.com we have created these nine unique screens to offer investors great strategies to potentially outperform the market in the years ahead. In 2005, the Low Price Stocks strategy was the top performing Profit Track with a return of 51.9% followed by the Recent Price Strength screen with a 35.5% return. To see all nine strategies along with philosophy, past performance, and current stocks, go to http://at.zacks.com/?id=1838

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