For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – July 16, 2015– Zacks Equity Research highlights Aaron's (AAN) as the Bull of the Day and Franklin Electric ( FELE) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Netflix (NFLX),Intel (INTC) and Altera ( ALTR).

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Aaron's (AAN) is a retailer of consumer electronics, but the majority of what they are known for is furniture rental. With the unemployment rate falling and new home purchases rising, this company has seen an increase in business lately. Analysts have increased their earnings estimates and that has helped push the stock to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and today it is the Bull of the Day.

The company says that 43.6M US households have an income of $15K-$50K and that is 83% of the customer base for AAN. They also try to maintain quality brands for the furniture (40%), electronic (26%) and appliances (24%) of their rental mix.

Aaron's is a specialty retailer of furniture, consumer electronics, computers, appliances, and household accessories. As of February 27, 2015, the company had 2,100 company-operated and franchised stores in 48 states and Canada, as well as provided lease-purchase solutions through approximately 15,000 retail locations in 46 states. The company was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

One look at the earnings history and I was pleased with what I saw. The company has topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate in 6 of the last five quarters and the one time it didn't beat, it met the number. That is a good history, and add to that we have seen sequential revenue growth in each of the last 5 quarters.

This coming quarter will be reported on or about July 24, so it is right around the corner. The sequential revenue growth streak is on the line, as the company reported $822M last quarter and is looking to get $770M this quarter. In other words, they need a rather large beat to keep the streak alive.

Bear of the Day :

Franklin Electric (FELE) is seeing earnings estimate slide after the company recently revised guidance lower. It is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) and it is the Bear of the Day.

Franklin Electric makes water and fuel pumping systems. It operates in two segments, Water Systems and Fueling Systems. The Water Systems segment offers motors, pumps, electronic controls, and related parts and equipment. The Fueling Systems segment provides pumps, pipes, sumps, fittings, vapor recovery components and electronic controls. Franklin Electric was founded in 1944 and is headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

FELE has beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate once in the last five quarters. The other four reports came in below the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The most recent quarter also a big miss on the top line too.

Estimates have been falling all year, but the recent guide lower is what took this stock to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). The 2015 Zacks Consensus Estimate was $2.04 at the start of the year, but slipped to $1.81 by April and is now at $1.65.

The 2016 number has also been beat up, falling from a high of $2.39 in January to the current level of $1.86.

Additional content:

Netflix, Intel Post Twin Q2 Home Runs

Both Netflix (NFLX) and Intel ( INTC) posted impressive Q2 earnings statements after the bell Wednesday, demonstrating strength in both 20th century and 21st century tech firms. Netflix posted earnings of 6 cents per share (after the 7-1 stock split) on sales of $1.64 billion in the quarter (a tad under the Zacks consensus estimate), whereas Intel beat solidly on the top and bottom lines with $13.2 billion in revenues and 55 cents per share, respectively. Both companies are flying high in after-hours trading, as well.

Intel's 10 percent positive surprise for the quarter is notable, especially amid reports of falling PC shipments and Microsoft issuing Windows 10 upgrades for free (lessening the need for consumers to purchase new PCs). In fact, Intel's PC business performed better than expected with $7.5 billion in sales topping the $7.4 billion expected.

While Netflix is currently trading at all-time highs, its Q2 numbers -- particularly its guidance -- continue to stoke investors. Streaming net additions in the U.S. and internationally keep coming in better than expected, and guidance continues to rise as well. A total of 3.28 million new net adds in the quarter include 2.37 million from overseas markets, with rollouts continuing throughout Europe and "exploring options" in China. The company cites its original programming such as "Daredevil" for capturing -- and keeping -- its subscribers numbers high.

Intel, while a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), had been getting clubbed hard throughout the quarter, especially following its announced acquisition of Altera ( ALTR) this past spring, which caused a slew of negative estimate revisions. This then raised Value prospects for Intel, of course, with INTC shares down over 18 percent year to date before the 8 percent jump in initial after-market trading (this jump has cooled off to the 5.25 percent range since). Intel had managed to keep its Zacks Rank #3 status intact largely by posting consistent positive earnings surprises, keeping competitive even as the aging chip market sees its share of headwinds.

Netflix, for its part, has done an admiral job surpassing earnings expectations itself, averaging an average 21.2 percent beat over the previous 4 quarters prior to the 25 percent beat after the bell today. The 7-for-1 stock split will now put the company's valuation in more of a palatable range than its previous 240 times forward earnings, but with shares up another 10 percent after hours, we're not currently seeing a downward shift in sentiment anytime soon for this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company.

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About the Bull and Bear of the Day

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