Zacks' High Rank Value Strategy Highlights: AEGON NV, FelCor Lodging Trust Inc., MDU Resources Group and Mission West Properties

Business Wire, June 8, 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 AEGON NV (NYSE:AEG), FelCor Lodging Trust Inc. (NYSE:FCH), MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) and Mission West Properties, Inc. (AMEX:MSW). 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:

AEGON NV (NYSE:AEG) is an international insurance group which writes life and health insurance and offers related pension, savings and investment products in Europe, North America and the Caribbean. The company released its report for the first quarter in early May, stating that it experienced a good quarter with promising sales growth across the company while at the same time making progress in expanding sales and distribution within its developing markets. AEG offers an attractive valuation as evidenced by its price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 8.64 and a price-to-book (P/B) multiple of 1.14.

FelCor Lodging Trust Inc. (NYSE:FCH), a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) company, is one of the nation's largest hotel real estate investment trusts (REITs). In early May, FCH announced first-quarter results, noting that its renewed focus on asset management, its portfolio repositioning program and capital improvements are showing up in strong operating results. FelCor's price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple is 12.85 and its price-to-book (P/B) multiple is 2.28.

MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) satisfies the criteria for this Profit Track with a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 14.63 and price-to-book (P/B) multiple of 2.21. In late April, the diversified natural resources company posted first-quarter record earnings of 44 cents per share, improving on the previous year's 29 cents and exceeding the consensus estimate by almost 5%.

Mission West Properties, Inc. (AMEX:MSW) has a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 12.44 and a price-to-book (P/B) multiple of 1.73. The company reported first-quarter Funds From Operations ("FFO") of 33 cents per share in early May. The result was ahead of last year's 19 cents and topped the consensus estimate of 21 cents. MSW operates as a self-managed, self-administered and fully integrated REIT engaged in the management, leasing, marketing, development and acquisition of commercial R&D properties, primarily located in the Silicon Valley portion of the San Francisco Bay Area.

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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