Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day Highlights: Entergy, H&R Block, SABESP and Intuit

Business Wire, June 4, 2007

CHICAGO -- Zacks Equity Research highlights Entergy Corp. (NYSE: ETR) as the Bull of the Day and H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on SABESP (NYSE: SBS) and Intuit, Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU). Full analysis of all four stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2676.

Here is a synopsis of all four stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Our Bull of the Day recommendation is for Entergy Corp. (NYSE: ETR). On the official first day of the 2007 hurricane season, Entergy appears to have nearly fully recovered from two back-to-back destructive hurricanes in 2005. Entergy remains a fundamentally strong diversified energy utility with strong earnings growth and cash flow generation, favorable regulatory rate hikes, a reasonable valuation and steady recovery from widespread hurricane damage. Additionally, the nuclear business continues to perform well. Furthermore, the company's share repurchase program continues to boost EPS. Based on strongly increasing projected EPS we expect easily sustainable sub-40% dividend payouts through 2008.

Bear of the Day:

Our Bear of the Day recommendation is for H&R Block (NYSE: HRB). The company has signed an agreement to sell its Option One Mortgage business. The transaction is expected to close during the quarter ended October 31, 2007. While we view the pending disposal of Option One to be a long-term positive, we note that the ultimate terms of the deal are still unknown. In the near-term, we expect that the stock should to continue to trade near the lower half its historical multiple range, and we do not believe that significant price appreciation is warranted at this time.

Analyst Blog:

We are keeping our Buy recommendation on Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo, or SABESP (NYSE: SBS). The company posted solid results for the first quarter of 2007, the short-term outlook remains positive and the stock still trades at an attractive price. Additionally, the company should benefit from the new regulatory framework approved in the Brazilian Congress and the positive business environment in Brazil, including declining domestic interest rates.

In Q3, total revenue for Intuit, Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU) was $1.15 billion, up 21% year over year and above our estimate of $1.11 billion. GAAP EPS [generally accepted accounting principles earnings per share] was $1.04. Including the impact of stock-based compensation, non-GAAP earnings per share was $1.09, five cents above our estimate. The quarter was driven by a solid tax season and QuickBooks. For fiscal 2007, revenue is expected to range from $2.69 billion to $2.70 billion, above prior guidance of $2.63 billion to $2.68 billion. Non-GAAP EPS is expected to be between $1.38 and $1.40, above prior guidance of $1.33 to $1.37, below prior guidance. Still, we think the stock is close to fair value. Accordingly, we continue to rate the stock a Hold and maintain our target price of $32.

Get the full analysis of all four stocks by going to http://at.zacks.com/?id=2649.

About the Bull and Bear of the Day

Every day, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research select two stocks that are likely to outperform (Bull) or underperform (Bear) the markets over the next 3-6 months.

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