Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day Highlights: XTO Energy, Patriot Capital, Colgate Palmolive, Johnson & Johnson and Exxon Mobil.

Business Wire, June 05, 2009

CHICAGO -- Zacks Equity Research highlights XTO Energy (NYSE: XTO) as the Bull of the Day and Patriot Capital (Nasdaq: PCAP) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Colgate Palmolive (NYSE: CL), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2676.

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

XTO Energy (NYSE: XTO) remains well positioned to provide another record performance in 2009 on the back of its impressive portfolio of producing assets and industry-leading cost metrics. The company is expected to post 16% volume growth this year and generate free cash flow in excess of $2 billion, of which at least $1.25 billion will go towards debt reduction.

Also, having already locked in nearly 80% of 2009 production at very attractive prices, the company has smoothed out the commodity-price risk. As such, we are maintaining our Buy recommendation on XTO shares.

Our new $60 price objective, raised from $45 before, reflects 2009 P/CF and EV/EBITDA multiples of 7.0x and 5.0x, respectively, well within historical trading ranges.

Bear of the Day:

Patriot Capital's (Nasdaq: PCAP) 1Q09 NOI of $0.24 per share was a penny short of consensus. Net loss for the quarter came in at $0.50 per share, primarily due to $11.6 million of realized loss on investments.

Though the overall credit quality remained stable, four of the portfolio companies were on non-accrual status. Further, the company has not been able to renew its revolving credit facility as yet, and is currently in negotiations with its lenders. As a result, the auditors have expressed doubt about PCAP as a going concern.

The company has also postponed its dividend payment decision and, we do not expect any dividend declaration in FY09. Based on the uncertainty and concerns surrounding the credit facility, we are maintaining our Sell recommendation on the shares.

Latest Posts on the Zacks Analyst Blog:

Jobless Claim Data Mixed

Old-time recessions had a tendency to see both new and continuing claims rise quickly when the economy headed south, but then fall just as fast. The last two recessions followed a much different path -- remaining elevated for well over a year after the economy started to recover. I would expect the "mesa" to be even broader this time around.

The economy is likely to stay very sluggish for an extended period of time. It is no longer crashing, but not being in a freefall is not the same thing as rebounding. I think that this environment should favor solid well capitalized "Steady Eddie"-type firms. The additional benefit of such companies is that they have not run up too much in the rally since early March and thus still have very attractive valuations. Some names to consider would be Colgate Palmolive (NYSE: CL), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM).

Get the full analysis of all these 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.

About the Analyst Blog

Updated throughout every trading day, the Analyst Blog provides analysis from Zacks Equity Research about the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets.

About Zacks Equity Research

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today by visiting http://at.zacks.com/?id=2677.

About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Leonard Zacks. As a PhD in mathematics Len knew he could find patterns in stock market data that would lead to superior investment results. Amongst his many accomplishments was the formation of his proprietary stock picking system; the Zacks Rank, which continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros.