Zacks Sell List Highlights: Old Republic International, TCF Financial, WD-40 Company and Abaxis

CHICAGO, Feb. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- 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): Old Republic International Corporation (NYSE: ORI) and TCF Financial Corporation (NYSE: TCB). Further, Zacks announced #4 Rankings (Sell) on two other widely held stocks: WD-40 Company (Nasdaq: WDFC) and Abaxis, Inc. (Nasdaq: ABAX). To see the full Zacks #5 Rank List - Stocks to Sell Now visit: http://at.zacks.com/?id=92

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Since inception in 1988, the S&P 500 has outperformed the Zacks #5 Rank List of Stocks to Sell Now by 80% annually (+2% vs. +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 ORI and TCB 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:

Old Republic International Corporation's (NYSE: ORI) fourth-quarter loss of 13 cents per share, announced last month, lagged analysts' expectations by 15 cents. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2011 slid 10 cents to 81 cents per share over the past month as 2 out of the 5 covering analysts lowered projections. The following year's forecast dropped 5 cents to $1.32 per share in the same period.

TCF Financial Corporation (NYSE: TCB) reported a profit of 22 cents per share in its fourth quarter on Jan 20, which was a penny less than the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Forecasts for 2011 fell 15 cents to 91 cents per share in a span of 30 days as 16 out of the 20 covering analysts lowered estimates reduced forecasts. Next year's average forecast fell 14 cents to a profit $1.24 per share in the same time span.

Here is a synopsis of why WDFC and ABAX 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;

WD-40 Company (Nasdaq: WDFC) announced first-quarter earnings of 53 cents per share on Jan10, which missed analysts' projections by 13%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the full year slipped 4 cents to a profit of $2.31 per share over the past month, reflecting downward revisions by 4 out of 5 covering analysts.

Abaxis, Inc. (Nasdaq: ABAX) posted a third-quarter earnings of 17 cents per share on Jan 27, which was a penny less than the average forecast. For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimate fell 6 cents to 65 cents per share in the last month as all the 6 covering analysts pulled back on expectations. Next year's estimate moved down to a profit of 82 cents per share from profit of 94 cents during that time span.

Truly taking advantage of the Zacks Rank requires the understanding of how it works. The free special report; "Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions" is available to provide this insightful background. Download a free copy now to prosper in the years to come at http://at.zacks.com/?id=93

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 +27%. 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 significantly underperformed the S&P 500 (-0.9% versus +9%). 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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