Zacks Sell List Highlights: Capitol Federal Financial, Sotheby's, Foot Locker, Inc. and Clinical Data, Inc.

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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): Capitol Federal Financial (Nasdaq: CFFN) and Sotheby's (NYSE: BID). Further, Zacks announced #4 Rankings (Sell) on two other widely held stocks: Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL) and Clinical Data, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLDA). To see the full Zacks #5 Rank List - Stocks to Sell Now visit: http://at.zacks.com/?id=92

“Earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices.”

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 CFFN and BID 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:

Capitol Federal Financial (Nasdaq: CFFN) reported fourth-quarter earnings of 23 cents per share on Nov 9, which came in a penny shy of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The full-year average forecast fell to 88 cents per share from 97 cents in the last 30 days as all of the 3 covering analysts pulled back on projections. During that time, estimate for the following year dipped 6 cents to 91 cents per share.

Sotheby's (NYSE: BID) announced a third-quarter loss of 89 cents per share on Nov 5 while analysts expected a loss of 31 cents. This marked a 25% decrease, compared to last year’s loss of 71 cents per share. Revenues fell 41% to $44.9 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2009 widened to a loss of 50 cents per share from a loss of 1 cent over the past month, reflecting cuts by all of the 3 covering analysts.

Here is a synopsis of why FL and CLDA 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;

Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL) posted a third-quarter profit of 10 cents per share on Nov 19, which reflected a 44% decrease from last year’s earnings of 18 cents. Earnings missed analysts’ projections by 23%. Revenues slumped 7.3% to $1.21 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the full year declined 7 cents to 53 cents per share cents over the past month. Nine out of 13 analysts reduced on estimates in that time period.

Clinical Data, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: CLDA) second-quarter loss of 71 cents per share, reported last month, was a penny wider than analysts’ expectations. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year widened to a loss of $2.74 per share from $2.58 in the last 30 days as both covering analysts lowered estimates. Next year’s estimate is pegged at a loss of $2.91 per share, 30 cents worse than last month’s projection.

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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