Zacks Industry Rank Analysis Highlights: Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Kao, Revlon and Helen of Troy

http://www.zacks.com/
CHICAGO--(Business Wire)--
Zacks.com releases the latest Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks featured in this
week`s analysis include Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), Kao (OTC:
KCRPY), Revlon (NYSE: REV) and Helen of Troy (Nasdaq: HELE)

Zacks Industry Rank Analysis is written by Dirk van Dijk, CFA.

This week: Staples Turn to Shine

The Consumer Staples sector has the second-best sector rank and the second-best
revisions ratio for this year, following only the small and incoherent
Conglomerates sector. (Incoherent by their very nature of being conglomerates).

This is largely due to Consumer Staples consistently surprising on the upside in
the third-quarter earnings season so far. Among the S&P 500 firms in the sector,
there have been 16 positive surprises and only 1 disappointment through last
Friday`s close.

Not only that, but the sector is actually producing honest to goodness earnings
growth. Nothing dramatic mind you, but these companies are seeing positive
year-over-year comparisons in distinct contrast to most of the economy. Among
the S&P 500 firms, 12 have reported higher earnings than a year ago, while only
5 are lower. Most of the gains, however, have come from better-than-expected
margin as there have actually been more disappointments on the top line (7 to 9)
than positive surprises. Plus, the majority (5 to 12) have reported lower sales
than last year.

While this has been a very successful earnings season for almost all areas of
the market, the Staples sector is among the best. For the S&P 500 excluding the
Staples, the ratio of positive earnings surprises to disappointments is 5.56:1,
which is very strong, but it trails well behind the 16:1 ratio in the Staples
sector. Actual earnings growth has been hard to come by outside the Staples
sector with a positive growth to negative growth ratio of 0.59, far below the
Staples 2.40:1 ratio. (Medical is an exception and has also done well.)

Among the 206 industry groups we rank, the four groups from the Consumer Staples
sector are in the top 15. The two most important of these are soft drinks, where
all the major players like Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) are
Zacks #2 Rank ("buy") stocks and none of the 17 firms in the industry have ranks
worse than a 3. The firms that are Zacks #3 Rank ("hold") are for the most part
bottling companies located abroad.

The Cosmetics Industry is also looking good with only one firm with a Zacks Rank
worse than 3 and that is a Japanese firm (Kao (OTC: KCRPY)). Revlon (NYSE: REV)
and Helen of Troy (Nasdaq: HELE) are standouts with number 1 rankings.

These steady eddie companies have by and large underperformed in the massive
stock market rally since March, and look relatively inexpensive. Given there
strong estimate momentum they are worth taking a second look at as possible
additions to your portfolio. If the economic recovery were to falter, they would
be a good place to hide as well.

Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter offers continuous coverage of the
industries and the stocks poised to outperform the market. Subscribe to this
free newsletter today by visiting http://at.zacks.com/?id=2564.

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 3:1 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
by going to http://at.zacks.com/?id=2565.

Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance
numbers displayed in this press release.

Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities
(including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in
transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such
affiliates.

Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should
always research companies and securities before making any investments. Nothing
herein should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any
security.

Dirk van Dijk, CFA
Company: Zacks.com
Phone: 312-265-9211
Email: pr@zacks.com
Visit: www.Zacks.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009