Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Aegon NV, Crown Castle International Corp., Hudson City Bancorp, AMERCO Inc. and 3D Systems Corp.

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Aegon NV (NYSE: AEG), Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE: CCI), Hudson City Bancorp (Nasdaq: HCBK), AMERCO Inc. (Nasdaq: UHAL) and 3D Systems Corp. (Nasdaq: TDSC).

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Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Aegon NV an Exceptional Value

We are maintaining our Buy recommendation on Aegon NV (NYSE: AEG) after its third quarter results. While the current environment will be challenging for investment portfolios, we think that, at its current multiple, the stock trades at a significant discount to its peers.

Our six-month target price is $7.00. Aegon stock has declined significantly along with the recent market sell-off. At current multiple of 4.8x our current 2008 EPS and 0.3x book value, fundamentally we think that there will be potential gain for stock in the near term.

Crown Castle's High Outlook

Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE: CCI), a leading operator of wireless communications towers in the U.S.A and Australia, declared third quarter 2008 financial results in line with our estimates.

The company performed well with respect to several parameters, including site rental revenue, gross margin, adjusted EBITDA, and recurring cash flow. Financial results are expected to be driven by substantial demand for more tower space to facilitate high-speed 3G mobile technologies. On the other hand, the level of outstanding debt remains a concern and we believe the recent stock valuation weakness may be attributed to the leveraged balance sheet.

Hudson City a Sell Post-Report

Prior to market open on October 15, 2008, Hudson City Bancorp (Nasdaq: HCBK) reported its earnings for 3Q08 (a week ahead of schedule). For the quarter, the company earned $0.25 per share, in-line with our expectations.

Results again experienced strong lending revenues from enhanced net interest margin, even though provisioning levels increased and other credit quality metrics expanded. Despite positive EPS trends, we remain concerned as to the relationship of provisions and non-performing assets as well as the adverse trends with respect to credit quality metrics and regulatory capital ratios.

UHAL Carries Thru Bear Market

AMERCO Inc. (Nasdaq: UHAL) is the parent company of U-HAUL International, the largest consumer truck rental company in the world. It is also the second largest self-storage company in North America.

Second quarter results were in line with our forecasts. Moving and storage revenue are still under some pricing pressure, which is expected to continue. The stock has usually been valued on EBITDAL (EBITDA plus lease expense) per share, selling between two and three times EBITDAL.

3D Systems Staying Confined

3D Systems Corporation (Nasdaq: TDSC) is a provider of rapid 3-D printing, prototyping, and manufacturing solutions. Rapid prototyping is the automatic construction of physical objects using solid freeform fabrication.

In the third quarter, 3D Systems Corporation’s revenue was $35.6 million, down 6.9% from $38.2 million reported in the year-ago quarter as well as below our expectation of $38.6 million in revenue.

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