Zacks Sell List Highlights: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., CBS Corp., Philip Morris International Inc. and Nisource Inc.

Business Wire, March 06, 2009

CHICAGO -- 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): Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) and CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS). Further, Zacks announced #4 Rankings (Sell) on two other widely held stocks: Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) and Nisource Inc. (NYSE: NI). 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 — Stocks to Sell Now by 80% annually ( 2% versus 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 RCL and CBS 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:

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) reported a 98% slump in quarterly profit and warned of a worse 2009 as it slashed ticket prices to stimulate demand. Its fourth-quarter earnings of $1.48 million, or 1 cent a share, missed the average forecast of 10 cents. The company saw earnings of $1.40 a share in 2009 compared with the $2.68 it earned last year. The consensus estimate has dropped by 2 cents to $1.18 a share in the last week.

CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) saw its quarterly profit reduced by more than a half due to weaker advertising sales and cut its dividend payout by 81%. In the fourth quarter, the company earned $136 million, or 20 cents a share, down from $286 million, or 42 cents, last year. CBS also slashed its quarterly dividend to 5 cents from 27 cents a share.

Here is a synopsis of why PM and NI 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;

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) reported an 8% drop in fourth-quarter profit on currency fluctuations and said it expects earnings to remain under pressure through this year. In the quarter, the company earned $1.45 billion, or 71 cents a share. The consensus estimate on its 2009 profit has dropped 50 cents to $2.95 per share in the last month.

Nisource Inc. (NYSE: NI) recently provided a lower outlook for 2009 after abandoning its prior guidance extending into 2010 due to the uncertain economy. The company now sees operating earnings between $1 and $1.10 per share. It had previously guided to annual operating earnings of $1.25 to $1.35 a share for 2008 through 2010.

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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 28%. 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 underperformed the S&P 500 by 80% annually ( 2% versus 10%). 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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