zacks research system-custom views - customize the metrics & display that matches your...

Zacks Investment Research - 111 N. Canal Chicago, IL 60606 zackspro.com/zrs5 – support: 866-794-6065

Using

Zacks Research System

Version 5.0

Copyright © Zacks Investment Research, Inc.

Manual Last Revised: 09/13/2011

Zacks Investment Research - 111 N. Canal Chicago, IL 60606 zackspro.com/zrs5 – support: 866-794-6065 2

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................. 6

ZRS 5.0 Overview ................................................................................................................................................................. 6

FULL CONSENSUS STORY ..................................................................................................................................................... 6

Valuation Tools .................................................................................................................................................................... 6

OPENING ZRS 5.0 ............................................................................................................................................... 6

MODULES OF ZRS 5.0 .......................................................................................................................................................... 6

HOME PAGE – KEY METRICS ......................................................................................................................... 8

Components of Home Page ................................................................................................................................................. 8

MARKET MONITOR .......................................................................................................................................... 10

About Market Monitor ...................................................................................................................................................... 10

Market Monitor Appearance ............................................................................................................................................ 10

Market Monitor Toolbars .................................................................................................................................................. 11

NAVIGATING THROUGH ZRS 5.0 ................................................................................................................. 13

Navigation Menu ............................................................................................................................................................... 13

Navigation Menu Bar ......................................................................................................................................................... 14

Navigate through Home Page ........................................................................................................................................... 15

USER WORKFLOW NAVIGATION WINDOW .............................................................................................. 17

Select Ticker ...................................................................................................................................................................... 17

Select Benchmark .............................................................................................................................................................. 17

Ticker List ........................................................................................................................................................................... 17

PITCH BOOK ...................................................................................................................................................... 20

Pitch Book Navigation/User Experience ............................................................................................................................ 20

Pitch Book Matrix Navigation ............................................................................................................................................ 20

PEER GROUP .................................................................................................................................................... 22

CUSTOM VIEWS................................................................................................................................................ 23

CREATE CUSTOM VIEW ..................................................................................................................................................... 23

CUSTOMIZE HOME PAGE .................................................................................................................................................. 25

CUSTOM VIEW MODULE ................................................................................................................................................... 25

OTHER SOFTWARE FEATURES ................................................................................................................... 27

Exporting Data to Excel ..................................................................................................................................................... 27

Copy To Clipboard ............................................................................................................................................................. 27

Print ................................................................................................................................................................................... 28

Page Setup ......................................................................................................................................................................... 28

Alert Preferences ............................................................................................................................................................... 28

Tools- Shared Comments .................................................................................................................................................. 28

Tools- Options ................................................................................................................................................................... 29


General ......................................................................................................................................................................... 30

Colors ........................................................................................................................................................................... 30

Appearance ................................................................................................................................................................. 31

Frequency .................................................................................................................................................................... 31

TOP VIEW ........................................................................................................................................................... 32

Top View Center Key Metrics Table ........................................................................................................................ 32

Navigation System Modules ..................................................................................................................................... 32

RELATIVE AND ABSOLUTE GRAPHS ................................................................................................................................... 33

LINE AND BAR GRAPHS ...................................................................................................................................................... 33

CHARTING .......................................................................................................................................................... 35

OVERVIEW ......................................................................................................................................................................... 35

CHARTING DISPLAY............................................................................................................................................................ 35

INTERACTIVE CHART .......................................................................................................................................................... 35

RELATIVE TIME SERIES ....................................................................................................................................................... 36

COMPOSITES AS A SINGLE ENTITY (CSE) ........................................................................................................................... 37

NEW COMPOSITE WEIGHTING SCHEMES ......................................................................................................................... 39

BETA .................................................................................................................................................................................. 40

Recession Shading ............................................................................................................................................................. 43

OUTLINE ............................................................................................................................................................................ 44

CHARTS .............................................................................................................................................................. 47

CHANGING PRICE CHART FREQUENCY .............................................................................................................................. 47

SET BASE DATE .................................................................................................................................................................. 47

DISPLAY DATA .................................................................................................................................................................... 48

LOG SCALE/LINEAR SCALE ................................................................................................................................................. 48

Local Explorer ........................................................................................................................................................... 48

DISPLAY OPTIONS .............................................................................................................................................................. 49

Absolute ....................................................................................................................................................................... 49

Relative ........................................................................................................................................................................ 50

Line ............................................................................................................................................................................... 50

Bar ................................................................................................................................................................................. 51

CHARTS .............................................................................................................................................................................. 51

Charting- Technical- Beta Coefficient ...................................................................................................................... 52

Charting- Performance ............................................................................................................................................... 52

Charting- Fundamental History- Size- Revenue TTM ........................................................................................... 54

Charting- Valuation History- P/E TTM ..................................................................................................................... 55


Charting- Relative Price/Relative Fundamentals- Size- Revenue TTM ............................................................. 55

ZACKS VALUATION MODEL .......................................................................................................................... 57

Environmental Model Inputs ............................................................................................................................................. 58

Company Specific Model Inputs ........................................................................................................................................ 58

Top Panel – Zacks Valuation Model .................................................................................................................................. 59

Navigation Arrow Tool ...................................................................................................................................................... 59

Bottom Panel - Zacks Valuation Model ............................................................................................................................. 59

Bottom Panel - Zacks Consensus Estimates ...................................................................................................................... 60

Bottom Panel – Model Earnings Tendency ....................................................................................................................... 61

NEWS FEEDS .................................................................................................................................................... 61

REPORTS............................................................................................................................................................ 63

RESEARCH DIGEST REPORTS .............................................................................................................................................. 63

Open Zacks Research Digest Reports .................................................................................................................... 63

ZACKS INDEPENDENT RESEARCH ...................................................................................................................................... 64

PRI REPORT ........................................................................................................................................................................ 65

Open PRI Report ........................................................................................................................................................ 66

VALUATION MAPS ............................................................................................................................................................. 66

Open Valuation Maps................................................................................................................................................. 67

RESEARCH REPORTS .......................................................................................................................................................... 67

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................................... 67

Technical indicators & Overlays ........................................................................................................................................ 67

PEER COMPARISONS ..................................................................................................................................... 69

ZACKS PEER GROUP ........................................................................................................................................................... 70

PEER COMPARISONS COMPONENTS ................................................................................................................................. 70

Peer Comparisons Ratio Categories ....................................................................................................................... 70

Peer Comparisons Information Table ...................................................................................................................... 70

Peer Comparisons Ratio Sets .................................................................................................................................. 70

ESTIMATES ........................................................................................................................................................ 71

OVERVIEW ......................................................................................................................................................................... 71

SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................................................................... 73

CONSENSUS IS FORECAST ...................................................................................................................................... 73

INDUSTRY SALES MODEL ......................................................................................................................................... 74

DETAILS .......................................................................................................................................................................... 74

ZACKS ALL STARS ............................................................................................................................................................... 75

SURPRISES ........................................................................................................................................................ 76

RESEARCH DELIVERY .................................................................................................................................... 77

Zacks Research Delivery .................................................................................................................................................... 77


FINANCIAL STATEMENTS .............................................................................................................................. 77

General Description ........................................................................................................................................................... 77

Detailed ........................................................................................................................................................................ 77

Standardized ............................................................................................................................................................... 77

Timely ........................................................................................................................................................................... 78

Quality .......................................................................................................................................................................... 78

Template Descriptions ...................................................................................................................................................... 79

Industrial ....................................................................................................................................................................... 79

Banking ........................................................................................................................................................................ 79

Insurance ..................................................................................................................................................................... 79

Utility ............................................................................................................................................................................. 79

Brokerage .................................................................................................................................................................... 79

REIT .............................................................................................................................................................................. 80

EVENTS CALENDAR ........................................................................................................................................ 80

SCREENING ....................................................................................................................................................... 82

PORTFOLIO ANALYTICS ................................................................................................................................ 83

PORTFOLIO STATION ..................................................................................................................................... 84

About Portfolio Station ..................................................................................................................................................... 84

ZACKS LINK TO EXCEL ................................................................................................................................... 85

BACKTEST .......................................................................................................................................................... 86

Rank Analysis ..................................................................................................................................................................... 86

Trading Strategy Evaluator ................................................................................................................................................ 86

MARKET .............................................................................................................................................................. 87

Market Statistics ................................................................................................................................................................ 87

Search through spot prices and Quarterly & Annual Estimates ........................................................................................ 88

Estimate Revision Activity ................................................................................................................................................. 88

Market- EPS (and Sales) Surprise Activity ......................................................................................................................... 89

EPS Surprise ............................................................................................................................................................... 89

Sales Surprise ............................................................................................................................................................. 90

DIGEST ................................................................................................................................................................ 91

DIGEST ............................................................................................................................................................................... 91

DIGEST COVERAGE ............................................................................................................................................................ 91

INDUSTRY SALES MODELS ................................................................................................................................................. 92

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS ...................................................................................................................................... 94

Charting- Performance ............................................................................................................................................... 95

Charting- Fundamental History- Size- Revenue TTM ........................................................................................... 95

Charting- Valuation History- P/E TTM ..................................................................................................................... 96

Charting- Relative Price/Relative Fundamentals- Size- Revenue TTM ............................................................. 96


INTRODUCTION

ZRS 5.0 Overview

ZRS 5.0 is a comprehensive, customizable & intuitive equity research system developed to provide the portfolio manager with vital information & tools to accurately analyze key data needed to outperform in the equity markets. Examples included:

1) Is the consensus story accurate? ZRS provides the most comprehensive source of consensus information to allow the portfolio manager to easily & accurately know how the street is valuing a company

2) What price should the company trade at? ZRS provides customizable tools that fit into the portfolio manager’s investment process

ZRS 5.0 provides the most complete source of consensus information on the Street, and the customizable tools necessary to accurately value a company.

FULL CONSENSUS STORY

ZRS 5.0 includes four types of unique consensus information:

1) Digest of Brokerage Research – the qualitative consensus investment story: Understand what sell side analyst key investment issues & opportunities are in one 6-8 page company report

2) Consensus Forecasts of Business Segment Revenue – know company-specific product revenue estimates for hundreds of products in 25 industry groups.

3) Complete Consensus Financial Statement Forecasts – understand the Street expectations on margins, growth, dividend & more using 50+ line item Financial Statements Models.

4) Integration of Valuation Metrics with Consensus Expectations

Valuation Tools

1) Customize to the Portfolio Managers Decision Making Process

OPENING ZRS 5.0 When you open ZRS 5.0, minimize or close all other windows and applications. After clicking on your ZRS icon, you will be directed to the default home page, My Top View.

Note that as the user, you have the flexibility to reset your home page or customize a view to set as the homepage as well. These can be done using the Tools menu bar and will be discussed in later sections of this manual.

MODULES OF ZRS 5.0

-Custom Views - Customize the metrics & display that matches your investment decision process for each company or industry you analyze

-Top View - Analyze & Compare the current market condition of a company to its industry, sector, peer group, or to another company.


-Market Monitor - Real time intraday price changes and volume data for portfolios and ticker lists.

-Charting - Forecast future price & financial metrics with high accuracy & ease of use using the most complete historical & forward-looking estimate data sets available on the market using both technical analysis and fundamental overlays.

-Estimates - Access current financial statement models, segment revenue, & recommendations from 150+ brokerage firms, including accounting alerts, analyst track records, accurate forecasts by star analysts and the Zacks Rank, a proprietary quantitative earnings momentum model that has delivered 37% annualized.

-Surprises - Evaluate price impacts & trends of actual historical EPS & Sales Surprises, including the PRI Score that identifies stocks expected to rise in value in the 3-5 days following the earnings report.

-Research Delivery - Access to Zacks Research Delivery and which features real-time research, earnings estimates, and models in Excel from leading investment banks, along with seamless links to their proprietary websites.

-Zacks Independent Research - Utilize the stellar track record & insight from the analysts behind the 2

nd largest research department among Independent Research

Providers.

-Financial Statements - Develop & analyze financial models using the most complete coverage of historical & estimated financial statements both on a standardized and company specific basis.

-Peer Comparisons - Compare fundamental ratios of a company to its industry group and/or a custom peer group.

-SEC Filings - Access & search SEC filing information.

-Events/Calendar - Events calendar displays scheduled earnings conference calls & federal economic report releases to keep you fully informed of market events.

-Screening - Screen using any investment criteria that can be calculated from current market, estimate and fundamental data with access to over 200 data points updated daily.

-Portfolio Analytics - Evaluate & manage portfolios by comparing the performance and financial characteristics of stocks in client portfolios to benchmarks, including performance attribution.

-Zacks Link to Excel - Enables you to generate Excel-based reports and analytical models using Zacks current and historical databases.

-Backtest - Test your investment model’s historical performance relative to a benchmark over time.

-Market - View market statistics.

-Digest - Access Zacks Research Digest’s consensus research reports, Zacks Independent Research, and 100+ boutique research firms full-text research on thousands of companies directly from ZRS 5.0.


-Aggr (Industry/ETF/Index Analysis) - Evaluate price trends among Industry groups, ETFs, and Indices. Analyze and compare financial metrics of different Sectors, Industries, and Subsector Groups to the market via the S&P 500 Index

-Targeting - Institutional Holdings: 13F, Mutual Fund, 13D, 13G Holdings Data with Activist History.

HOME PAGE – KEY METRICS

Components of Home Page

1) Navigation

Navigate ZRS 5.0 with ease. Clicking on Navigation will display the menu of elements available in ZRS 5.0. If you wish to have a stationary view of the Navigation Menu during your use, click on Navigation to display the menu. Then click on the thumb tack to enable the view. Alternatively, you can navigate from the Navigation menu bar at the top of the page.

2) Ticker, ‘Compare vs.’ options, and Exchange Information Window

• Cursor - Allows you to track previously visited windows and return to the custom home screen.

• Ticker Symbol - Quick access to analyze any stock in your ticker list.

• ‘Compare vs.’ Options - Compares your selected company to different

benchmark options. Select desired benchmark and click GO>, after which the Industry column will reconfigure to the appropriate benchmark. Available benchmark options include Zacks Industry, Zacks Sector, Zacks Sub-industry, Individual Ticker, S&P 500, a custom Peer Group, or none.


• Exchange Information - A recap of the exchange information on the listed stock.

3) Top View Center

Analyze and compare the current state of a company to its industry, sector, market, a custom peer group, or another company. Clicking on any underlined term in the Top View Center will link to historical trend analysis for key metrics relative to the market, its industry group, or another company. These can be accessed through the direct links or through the navigation systems. Top View Center provides the following company information: Industry Classification, Revenue, Net Income, and a Brief Company Description. Top View Center also includes a table consisting of the following sections:

• Valuation Ratios - This section provides a side by side comparison of the following ratios for the company compared to the benchmark group: P/E TTM, P/E F1, P/Cash, P/Book, P/Sales, and EV/EBITDA.

• Margins - This section provides a side by side comparison of the following metrics for the company compared to the benchmark group: Pre Tax TTM, Op BNRI TTM, and Net TTM.

• Leverage - This section shows the Debt/Equity and the LT Debt/Cap ratios for the company and the benchmark.

• ROC - This section provides a side by side comparison of the ROE, ROA, and ROI of the company versus the benchmark group.

• Liquidity- This section shows a side by side comparison of the Current Ratio, Days Sales Out, and Inv. Turnover TTM for the company and its benchmark group.

• Revenue Growth Rates - This part of the table includes most recently reported revenue growth rates and estimates of future period revenue growth rates on a quarterly, annually, and longer term basis.

• EPS Growth Rates - This part of the table beside revenue growth rates includes most recently reported EPS growth rates and estimates of future period EPS growth rates on a quarterly, annually, and longer term basis.

• Revisions/Surprise - This section shows the estimate revision and the surprise for the revenue growth rates and EPS growth rates for the company and the benchmark.

• Broker Recommendations - This feature tallies the analysts granting each recommendation. Also counts the number of upward and downward revisions for the past 4 weeks.

• Custom Metrics -The user can assign up to 4 additional customizable metrics in this section.

• Ownership Information - Displays the insider and institutional shares in the company and the industry.

4) Custom Metrics

These customizable metrics are found on the Key Metrics home page. Zacks has defaulted Dividend EPS Rank, EPS Rank, Zacks Rank, and Short-Interest Ratio. If you would like other metrics customized for your home page, please contact support at 866-794-6065.


5) Chart Action Performance

Compare price performance to user-defined benchmark. Clicking on the Local

Explorer button will allow you to access other charts in the category: S&P 100, S&P 600, Russell 1000, Russell 2000, Russell 3000, Wilshire 5000, DJIA, NYSE, and NASDAQ.

6) Chart Action Relative

Compare absolute or relative price to absolute or relative fundamentals of

benchmark. Clicking on , , and will generate the absolute, benchmark, and relative charts respectively.

MARKET MONITOR

About Market Monitor

Intraday price changes and volume data for portfolios and ticker lists Access for Market Monitor is under the Market Monitor option at the top of the page.

The Market Monitor is a detachable application using BATS 30 second delayed prices and news stories from Comtex in conjunction with using ZRS 5.0. Double click on a ticker in Market Monitor to open ZRS 5.0 home page for that company.

� Net Change and % Change are based on the previous day close price � % Ch(O) is the percent change in price from the open price � % Ch Cust. is based on the closing price of the user defined Start Day that can

be assigned at the bottom of the appearance tool. � Prices and news stories are updated every minute with a 30 second delay � News is on those companies in the monitor at the top, sorted in reverse

chronological order

Market Monitor Appearance

Scroll over the bar in the Market Monitor (located at the top right of the window) to add a portfolio or ticker list, remove a portfolio, or to add or remove columns Columns with a check mark are active, and those unchecked are inactive. Check on a column to make it active or inactive. This menu is in Auto Hide, but you can get a stationary view of the menu by clicking on the thumbtack at the top right of the navigation menu. If you want to revert back to the auto hide mode, click on the thumbtack at the top right of the navigation menu.


Add/Remove/Sort Ticker Lists

Load Ticker List: Click on this icon to load a ticker list. A Ticker List is a text (tab-\delimited) file that contains a column of ticker symbols

Delete Ticker List: Click on this icon to delete a selected ticker list or to delete all ticker lists. Directly below the Load Ticker List icon is the icon to delete the selected ticker list which will appear only if a ticker is selected (highlighted), below that is the icon to delete all lists. Scroll over the icon to verify the correct action.

Reorder Ticker Lists: Click on ticker list and use the up and down arrows to resort that ticker list to a more desired rank.

Create Ticker List and Portfolio: Click to create a ticker list or portfolio. Enter tickers or search for tickers in the Create/Edit Ticker List tool. List Types: Tickers Only, Tickers & Shares, or Tickers & Weights. Both Tickers & Shares and Tickers & Weights will track intraday portfolio changes in addition to the individual company components. Manually type the number of shares or weights into the designated column. Save to C:\Zacks\Ports and Apply to the Market Monitor. Use Load to modify an existing portfolio. To manually create portfolio with shares would require a tab delimited list saved as a .txs file (as in Portfolio Analytics).

Market Monitor Toolbars

Edit: Load ticker list from default Zacks directories or click to load Axys portfolio. View: Organize by Sector, Industry, Subindustry, or None. View as tickers or as aggregates. Aggregate view will show a list of aggregates with price changes in the left column, and the individual company components of that aggregate to the right of Market Monitor. Company Analysis: Return back to the ZRS 5.0 software.


Ticker Box Quick intraday quote for a company

Enter ticker on the top of Market Monitor and select Go to view last trading price, volume, $ change from previous day’s close, and % change from previous day’s close.

Market Monitor - Expanded Quote More intraday information on companies, including bid and ask prices.

Enter a ticker in the ticker box and select Go. Next click on view, then select expanded quote for a detailed company snap shot.

Access Snap Quote by clicking on to Expanded Quote at the top of the Market Monitor page.

Return to the Market Monitor by clicking on the home button to the left of the Ticker lookup tool.

Organize Portfolio by Zacks Sector, Industry or Subindustry Groups Sort companies in portfolios by Industry Groupings

In the Market Monitor window, under the View file menu, select category under the Organize By option.


Aggregate View

In the Market Monitor, Select View As List of Aggregates. In the Appearance Tool, change from Zacks Sector, Zacks Industry, and Zacks Subindustry. Click on a Sector, Industry, or Subindustry name to view the price changes for companies within that aggregate group.

NAVIGATING THROUGH ZRS 5.0

Navigation Menu

Move your cursor over the top left of your screen to temporarily display the Navigation menu. This menu is in Auto Hide, but you can get a stationary view of the menu by clicking on the thumbtack at the top right of the navigation menu. If you want to revert back to the auto hide mode, click on the thumbtack at the top right of the navigation menu.

In the Navigation Menu, when user clicks any module the action will lead to element reports of the selected section. Click on the element report to open.


Navigation Menu Bar

Go to the Navigation menu at the top of the window. As shown below, the Menu option will display the list of modules.

Clicking on the name of the element you wish to use for analysis of a company opens that page.

ZRS 5.0 Explorer Using the ZRS Explorer found under the Navigation menu drop-down is yet another way to navigate through the elements of the program. See ZRS 5.0 Explorer window below. Simply find the item of interest using the menus below and click OK. This will lead you directly to the specified page.

If you remove the Navigation Toolbar from your view, you still have the option to navigate using the ZRS 5.0 Explorer by the ZRS 5.0 Explorer option under Navigation menu in the toolbar.


Navigation Cursor

The left and right arrows let you move through previously viewed pages. The center button will take you to the home page.

Navigate through Home Page

From the home page, clicking on any of the blue hyperlinked item names in the Top View Center Table will lead you to its respective Top View Chart, which shows the historical trend of that metric versus the benchmark, when selected in the Compare Vs. field, which defaults to 10 years of history.

Also, on the home page, you can expand either chart to fill the screen by clicking on the

expand button which is the last icon toward the right of that particular chart. Here, you can open any of the sections from the tabs at the bottom of the chart: Technical, Performance, Fundamental, Valuation, and Relative. The Indices Explorer/Local

Explorer button allows you to move through the different charts in the section. The Indices Explorer is designated for the performance chart located on the top; the Local Explorer is designated for the Relativity Chart located on the bottom.

Local Explorer (Fundamental History):

Interface and Navigation - Refined Navigation and Default Settings Added customizable toolbar on the top, added access to all displays via right click, ticker lookup, user defined chart settings save as default for all charts, and default folder directories for all applications can be set under Tools-Options.


Add or remove modules to the Navigation Menu underneath the file menu, which is

denoted by an upside down triangle on the end of the navigation bar. Checking or deselecting modules as shown in the display below will set your Navigation Menu

Icons can be added (removed) by going to Tools>Options>Appearance, and checking (unselecting) View Image and Text.

To change directories, go to Tools, Options, and click on the button to change directory.


USER WORKFLOW NAVIGATION WINDOW

The User Workflow Navigation Window is a permanent display on your ZRS 5.0 application. Through the ticker list contained in the drop-down ticker menu, you have flexibility to quickly analyze the technicals and fundamentals of the companies within your equities portfolio. ZRS 5.0 allows you to create and actively manage various ticker lists based on your preferred methods of portfolio construction for your comparative analysis.

Standard View

Select Ticker

To open a new active ticker, type the desired ticker in the ticker box or select the ticker from your ticker list by clicking on the arrow to the right of the active ticker symbol to activate the ticker list. Select ticker and click Go>>. After entering your desired active ticker, selecting Go>> will update your current display to the newly selected company information.

Select Benchmark

The user has several benchmark options to choose from when analyzing a company: Zacks Industry, Zacks Sector, Zacks Subindustry, S&P 500 Eq. Wt, S&P 500 Mkt. Wt., Peer Group, another ticker, or select none to remove a benchmark comparison.

Compare vs. Benchmark Options

To change the benchmark, click on the drop-down menu to view the benchmark options. Select your desired benchmark and click Go>> to update with the newly selected benchmark. If you choose to analyze one company to another, choose benchmark option Enter Ticker and manually type the ticker symbol of the other company and click Go>>.

Ticker List

Customize your ticker list from a universe of over 8,000 companies.

Select the Tools menu bar and click on Ticker List.


The Active-Save As Ticker List dialogue box allows you to save your active ticker list (the Active Ticker List is the drop down list of tickers on ZRS 5.0) to the Ports Sub-Folder in your C:\Zacks folder.

The Active-View/Edit Ticker List dialogue box allows you to view and modify your active ticker list.


The Create/Edit Ticker List dialog box will prompt a screen displaying the universe of stocks which enables you to manually select companies to create your ticker list.

To manually create a Ticker List, follow these steps:

1) In the Ticker box, type a ticker symbol.

2) Click Add or press Enter.

3) To view the list of all available companies, use the scroll bar to browse the Full Universe selection. Alternatively, conduct a search by Ticker or by company name. Select a company from the list and click <<Add.

4) After all of your tickers have been entered, click Save As and then Apply to make the newly created Ticker List active.

The Load Ticker List dialogue box allows you to load a previously saved ticker list as your active ticker list. In the Open Ticker List window, the folder Ports will have a list of some sample industry ticker lists and all saved ticker lists. For example, under the Screening tab, Research Wizard allows you to save a ticker list for companies that passed your screening criteria. A Ticker List is a text (tab-delimited) file that contains a column of ticker symbols.

Highlight the list you wish to activate by clicking on its name with your cursor and click on Open. The ticker list will then update in ZRS 5.0.


PITCH BOOK

ZRS Pitch Book capabilities empower user-defined workflows by eliminating the need to continuously navigate user interface menus. user-defined workflows can be stored as collections of views call “Pitch Books”. Combined with composite membership lists, Pitch Books serve as a workflow solution by enabling multidimensional “matrix” navigation and batch printing capabilities. Pitch Books can be stored locally or shared with other users within the same firm to create a collaborative “cloud” research and analysis environment.

Pitch Book Navigation/User Experience

Pitch Book automates workflow processes for viewing and printing user defined charts and tables. This feature allows users to store sequential views as a single ‘Pitch Book’ for research, analytics and presentational purposes. Any number of views can be customized to capture an individual’s desired work flow.

Below are workflow specific solutions that will assist you in your daily analysis and research: 1) Pitch Book automates the workflow process of viewing and printing user defined and

default charts and tables

2) Zacks premier tool for performing top-down analysis

3) Set up work flow specific sequential views for research, analysis, and presentations

4) Store views in one or more Pitch Books for any number of customized work flows

5) Define any number of Pitch Books with any number of views to capture each individual workflow desired.

6) User and network sharing of Pitch Books enables collaborative workflow

7) Certain Pitch Book Charts have not been integrated in batch printing. These include Key Metrics, Quarterly Summary & Estimates, Growth & Margin, Estimate Revision Charts, and 1-4 Panel Charts

Pitch Book Matrix Navigation Navigation has become single click and workflow compatible with Pitch Book integration and new and improved Composites as a single entity presentation

Pitch Book matrix navigation is a single click process by selecting the up or down arrows

. Select the drop-down next to the navigation arrows to scroll through all views in the Pitch Book.


To create a Pitch Book, click on the Pitch Book Management icon on the Navigation Menu. Here you can view any of your user-defined or Zacks default Pitch Books. Click

on any particular Pitch Book’s magnifying glass to add, remove, or move views. Select the Print option, then Print Preview to batch print.

To create a new Pitch Book, click on the new icon from the Pitch Book Management or from the Create/Edit view which is displayed after clicking on a particular Pitch Book’s


PEER GROUP Customize the Peer Group of any company by choosing 2 to 12 companies from a universe of over 8,000 tickers. Each ticker in the Zacks universe comes with a pre-loaded peer group of companies, in which Zacks assigns the six companies within the same industry that are closest in revenues. This peer group, however, is customizable.

Select the Tools menu bar and click on Peer Group.

You have two options:

‘Create From Active Ticker List’ and ‘Create/Edit’.

‘Create From Active Ticker List’ allows you to modify a peer group from a combination of the active ticker list and the default peer group.


It is recommended to use Create/Edit.

Within the Create/Edit Peer Group window, you can add companies from the Universe List to the Peer Group by clicking on the <<Add button. You can also delete companies from the Peer Group by clicking the Remove>> button.

You can View as Universe List: Zacks Industry, Zacks Subindustry, Zacks Sector, S&P 500, and Full Universe List. To know which tickers constitute these Universe Lists, click

on the button to the right of the universe menu where the different groups will be displayed.

CUSTOM VIEWS Customize the metrics & display that matches your investment decision process for each

company or industry you analyze.

CREATE CUSTOM VIEW

To utilize the feature of customizing a view, go to the Tools menu at the top of the

window and click the Design Custom View option.


This action will direct you to the Custom View page as shown on next page.

Create a Custom View Title for your page to be used in the navigation systems of ZRS

5.0. Then Select layout by clicking on the desired format. For Top Left, Top Right,

Bottom Left, and Bottom Right, selecting Add View will direct you to the ZRS 5.0 Explorer

page where you can select any desired chart for that quadrant in your Custom View

Page.

Go to Add View and Select Free Design Elements to add the 4 Panel Chart. You can add up to 4 charts from the chart options available through ZRS 5.0 Charting by clicking

this button and selecting a chart for each Panel. The disable option is available by clicking on the pull down menu in a panel and selecting Hide. Another available feature is setting a chart relative to the comparison group in ZRS 5.0 by checking on the ‘Relative To’ option.

Select the chart which you wish to be displayed and click OK. After designing your

custom view page be sure to save the chart using the second tab on your screen. ZRS

5.0 updates the navigation menu to include your custom view page for easy access. To

open a saved custom view, use the navigation menu to the left of the screen.


CUSTOMIZE HOME PAGE

To customize the home page, in the Custom Views Designer proceed by creating a

Custom View. Select the layout, then select button to change the charts

and save.

Note: To reassign home page, go to Tools, Options, General Tab, and assign Custom

home page.

CUSTOM VIEW MODULE

Zacks default custom views under the Custom Module will display the analytical capabilities that our platform offers while supporting a natural navigational work flow.

Zacks Custom Views Cash Flow View, Commodities – Metals, Commodities – Oil, Commodities – Other, Commodities - Precious Metals, Equity Duration, Equity Risk Premium, Export Duration, Housing Indicators, Liquidity View, Management Efficiency, Margin Analysis Absolute, Margin Analysis Relative, Margin Comparison, Overall Economic Activity I, Overall Economic Activity II, Value View Custom Module – Zacks-Overall Economic Activity II

Charting - Custom View Free Design Elements – 1-4 Panel Charts Arrange up to 4 Company, MF, ETF, Composite, Industry, Indices, or Economic charts vertically to display time series trends.

Open a 4 Panel chart through Custom Views. You can Display Data, Set History, and view as Log Scale by right clicking on the charts.


Custom Home View View EPS Actuals & Estimates Chart in an arrangement with Price Change, Consensus Estimates, and Key Statistics Table. Open this view through the Custom Views Module.

ROC DuPont Analysis View DuPont Analysis Model which breaks down a company’s operating efficiency, asset use efficiency, and financial leverage to explain affects on ROE. Open this view by clicking on any ROC link (i.e. ROE, ROI, or ROA) on Key Metrics home page.


OTHER SOFTWARE FEATURES

Exporting Data to Excel

Exporting data from ZRS 5.0 to Excel is easy. Simply go to Edit at the top of your screen and select Export Data to Excel.

After clicking on Export Data to Excel, an Excel Spreadsheet will materialize with a spreadsheet of the data that was on the active page in ZRS 5.0.

Copy To Clipboard

Under the Edit menu, Copy to Clipboard will copy your current view so it can be pasted

into other applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, etc. as shown below.


Print

In ZRS you can print your current window by going to the Print menu bar and selecting

Print Current View. The current view will print to the source of your default printer.

Page Setup

Under Tools, Options, you can set a Header and Footer for the printed page at the Page

Setup Tab.

Alert Preferences

Under the Tools Toolbar, use the option Alert Preferences to set alerts to your email for Digest, Zacks Independent Research, Estimates, and Brokerage Research for the Full Universe or Selected Industries/Tickers. Receive automatic notification when research is released on specified tickers, analysts, and/or industries

Tools- Shared Comments

Under Tools, go to Shared Comments to create a comment for a company. If a comment

has already been initiated, go to in the Business Overview company description box on the Home Page.


Select Edit to add comments on the company then Save. Clear and Delete will refresh the comments for the selected ticker.

Tools- Options

Under Tools, the Options window has six tabs: General, Colors, Appearance, Page

Setup, Frequency, and Other (additional Functionality tools). General allows you to

assign the Home Page and create a directories list.


The Colors tab allows you to set colors for different series in the charts and platform

palette. Appearance enables you to adjust the settings of the toolbar on a page. Page

Setup allows you to set a header and footer on printed pages from the Print command.

Frequency allows you to change the duration of years, weeks, and months of charts.

Other tab provides options in order to change additional features of charts.

General

Assigning the Home Page:

From Options under Tools, the General tab is where you can assign the Home page. By

default, the home page will be My Top View. The button with the ellipsis to the right of

the section leads you to the ZRS 5.0 Explorer.

Select any view available in ZRS 5.0, including any saved custom views you have

designed, as your home page and customize the color scheme. After you are done, click

OK to apply your changes.

Colors

Click on the button to the right of a series to assign a new color to that series in the

chart.


Appearance

Click on Top to change setting from placing Action’s Toolbar from the right of the page to

the top of the page and click OK.

Frequency

Place your cursor on either the line between Daily/Weekly or Weekly/Monthly

and drag to the time duration that you would like to see the charts place in. Click

Ok when done and this will be applied to all charts.


TOP VIEW There are a couple of different routes you can follow to access the charts of the key

common fundamental metrics in the Top View. You can either click on the blue

underlined terms in the Top View Center Key Metrics Table in My Top View or use the

Top View module in the navigation systems as displayed below.

Top View Center Key Metrics Table

Navigation System Modules

For an example, here is a sample of a chart that is available from Top View in the

Valuation section for P/E – F12.


RELATIVE AND ABSOLUTE GRAPHS

The yellow line represents the company performance and the green line represents the

benchmark performance over time. To get another chart comparing the company relative

to the benchmark, selecting at the top right of the chart will show a line graph with a

single line showing the relative performance only. If you want to revert back to the

absolute graph, as shown above, click on the button that will be at the top right of

your chart.

LINE AND BAR GRAPHS

Charts in the Top View defaults to a line graph. You can change your graph to show as a

bar graph by clicking from the top right of your screen. When you are looking at

absolute charts, the bar graph will show the maximum and minimum absolute values for

the year from the company only. When you are under relative charts, it will show the

maximum and minimum relative values for the year. To revert back to a line graph, click

on the button at the top right of your screen.

Below is an outline of the available ratios and metrics available in Top View.

I. Valuation a. P/E – TTM b. P/E – F1 c. Price/ Cash Flow d. Price/Book e. Price/Sales f. EV/EBITDA

II. Margins a. Pre Tax b. Operation c. Net

III. Leverage a. LT Debt/Equity b. LT Debt/Cap

IV. Return on Capital a. Return on Equity b. Return on Assets c. Return on Investment

V. Liquidity a. Current Ration b. Days Sales Out c. Inv Turnover

VI. Revenue Growth a. Revenue TTM $ b. Revenue Qtr % Change c. Revenue TTM % Change

VII. EPS Growth a. EPS TTM $ b. EPS QTR % Change

VIII. Estimate Revisions IX. Surprise

a. EPS Surprise b. Sales Surprise

X. Ownership a. Insider Trading


b. Institutional Holdings XI. Broker Recommendations

Top View - Charting - Drill Down Functionality Historical Financial Ratio Details Fundamental history charts expanded to include the individual items used in calculated the ratios.

Drill Down Functionality is available on ratio charts in the Top View Section. At the ZRS Home Page, click on the blue hyperlinked ratio names to generate an historical time series chart of the ratios. Right clicking on the chart as selecting more gains access to navigate through the Top View Charting section.

To utilize this feature, right click on a historical chart of financial ratios. Select the ‘Details’ option and compare performance of the numerator versus the performance of the denominator.

Example: For ABT, Price to Book showed a decline over time. From the details chart, the decline can be analyzed by comparing the trend of the increased Book Value (denominator affect) versus the stagnant Price (numerator affect).

On Estimate details, right click to Display Data. Data can be viewed on a performance basis and as values. This feature is available for financial ratios as well as for valuation metrics.


CHARTING Forecast future price & financial metrics with the robust accuracy and ease using the

most complete historical & estimate data set in the marketplace.

OVERVIEW

The Charting feature helps the user analyze how strongly a stock's price reacts to historical events such as EPS surprises, estimate revisions and broker recommendations. Charting compares two or more company prices and fundamental performance data. It also helps analyze company performance versus industry, sector, S&P 500 and any major market index. Charting plots price charts against a wide range of fundamentals (overlays). Overlays display how sensitive a stock or an aggregate is to any given factor.

CHARTING DISPLAY

1) Overlay

• Maps the spread of the stock price over the past decade.

2) Beta Coefficient

• Historical trend line of beta coefficient over time.

3) Volume

• Data on the volume of shares over time.

4) Charting Sections

• Technical- Forecast future price & financial metrics.

• Performance- Compare price performance to user defined benchmark.

• Fundamental- View historical and forecast future fundamental metrics

• Valuation- View historical and predict future valuation metrics.

• Relative- Compare absolute or relative price to absolute or relative

fundamentals of benchmark.

INTERACTIVE CHART

Under the Charting Section, the Interactive Chart has the availability to chart many

different time series against each other.


Steps to add a series to the interactive chart.

Step 1. -Select Category {Company, Industry, Mutual Fund, ETF, Indices, or Economics}

Step 2 -Enter Ticker for Company, MF, or ETF or select Industry, Index, or Economic

Term from the available list. Click on to unveil your list of options. Click

OK to proceed with that item.

Step 3 -If entered a Company, Industry, Sub-industry, or Sector, select Time Series,

data from the following.

• Price: month end price

• Fundamentals: Size, Margins and Common Size, Leverage, Return on Capital,

Liquidity, and Per Share Items

• Valuation: P/E TTM, P/E F1, P/Book TTM, Price to Revenue per Share TTM,

Price to Cash Flow per Share TTM, Enterprise Value to EBITDA TTM, and

Dividend Yield% on a monthly basis

• Price & Volume: month end price with volume of shares traded for that period

Step 4 -Select Display.

• Absolute Value (the actual value of the selected metric) is recommended only

when selecting multiple series in a similar value range.

• Performance (Percentage change from base date) is recommended when

comparing a diverse set of series with differing value ranges.

• % change from prior period

• % change from same period one year ago

• Absolute change from prior period

• Absolute change from same period one year ago

Step 5 -Color: can enter each series using a preferred color.

Step 6 -Click on Add to display the selected time series to the chart. The left navigation

menu should be in hide if you cannot see the Add button.

Step 7 -Delete a series by clicking on that series in the chart making the line appear

bold, then click on Delete Selected to delete. Delete All will clear the chart.

Right click on chart to specify history, set a specific base date (History>Custom), display

data, or show log scale. Also includes capability to export data to excel from Edit file

menu.

RELATIVE TIME SERIES

Chart performance of any time series relative to another.

In the Interactive Chart, click Options. Enter a time series, then under Relative to, select a comparison group then click Add. The example below illustrates a Comparison of the SPY price performance relative to the S&P 500 Index price performance.

Relative groups include the benchmarks available through ZRS 5.0: Company, Mutual Fund, Exchange Traded Fund, Industry, Indices, Economics, and Composites.


COMPOSITES AS A SINGLE ENTITY (CSE)

The legacy composite calculation methodology utilized the ‘average of ratios’ method versus the new and improved ‘ratio of averages’ method. Zacks bottom-up reconstructed composite proxies were grouped for unparallel “top-down” and relative peer group analysis.

The advantages to using a ‘ratio of averages’ method are as follows:

1) A more accurate representation of the “average” metric from a larger overall group of aggregated composite members.

2) Transparent derived metric (i.e. ROE) auditability for line item inputs (NI/Book).

Composite navigation is a single click process where a user can analyze the Composite as a Single Entity or analyze the constituents within that composite by clicking on the

button to disaggregate and selecting the up or down arrows to scroll through the components. Select the drop-down next to the navigation arrows to scroll quickly through the components.

Zacks now features fully integrated S&P 400, 500, 600 index proxies and related sector level composites to further enhance the allocation, selection and overall portfolio management process. To access the Zacks bottom-up reconstructed Composite proxies, click on the magnifying glass next to the Ticker box, click the drop down menu and select Composites. You will now see a list of the included proxies, each with its own unique ticker - all Index and Sector proxies are available in equal or market weighted schemes.


Choose the desired Composite and you can now begin your Top-Down analysis using any of the views in your workflow.

Below are workflow solutions that will assist you in your daily analysis and research:

1) Disaggregate and reaggregate composite groupings on-the-fly

2) Scroll between Pitch Book views and composite members for true matrix

navigation experience

3) Build new library of composites for performing top-down analysis

4) Full relative analysis capabilities

5) Allow for the assignment of a user defined ticker symbol

6) Full system compatibility includes 1-4 Panel valuation charts, Custom views, charts & data tables, Zacks Valuation Model and Zacks fundamentals and consensus

7) Portfolio Uploads from our Portfolio Reporting Application Portfolio Station

CSE View – Supports Relative Analysis


NEW COMPOSITE WEIGHTING SCHEMES

The user defined weighting methodologies that are used in the ‘ratio of averages’ for Equal Share Mean, Equal Share Median, Market, Market Value, Share, Share Value, and Factor are calculated as follows:

Equal Share – Mean: Deriving ratio Input value by taking the Mean value

Equal Share – Median: Deriving Ratio Input value by taking the Median value

Market Value: Deriving Ratio Input value by taking the Market Cap Weighted value

Market: Deriving Ratio Input value by taking the Diluted Shares Weighted value

Equal Dollar: Deriving Ratio Input value by taking the equal dollar value

Share Value: Deriving Ratio Input Value by taking the user defined portfolio value weighted value

Share: Deriving Ratio Input Value by taking the user defined share weighted value

Factor: Deriving Ratio Input Value by taking the user defined factor weighting value.

Depending upon the type of composite file imported; tickers only, tickers and shares and weights, will be keyed to the type of composite a user can choose from. Click on the Tools menu, then composites to populate the Composites Management screen. Click the New icon to create or edit a composite.


BETA

Display relationships in performance and interactive charts

Add time series for Company, Industry, MF, ETF, Index, or Economic Overlay in Interactive Chart.

Click on the icon at the top right of a chart in Charting-Performance or in the Interactive Chart, Through Interactive Chart, Beta will measure relationship of any available series in the interactive chart to another. Select the Y variable and X variable from list of selected overlays.


STATISTICS TABLE; COMPARE VS GLOBAL SECTOR; EXPANDED HISTORY A statistics table has been added to all ZRS 5.0 Charts. Here is a sample from a Revenue Chart.

HI – The high value for the charted period. For Sector, Industry, and Composite benchmarks, this is on a performance basis.

LO – The low value for the charted period. For Sector, Industry, and Composite benchmarks, this is on a performance basis.

ME - The median value for the charted period. For Sector, Industry, and Composite benchmarks, this is on a performance basis.

CU - The current value of the item. For Sector, Industry, and Composite benchmarks, this is on a performance basis.

CR – The current return is the percentage change of the item from the beginning of the period to the current level.*

AR – The annualized return is a calculated measure using the current return annualized on a rate based on the number of years from the Start Date to the End date.*

SD – The start date is the beginning period for which the statistics are gathered.

ED - The end date is the ending period, or current period, for which the statistics are gathered.

*CR and AR columns are not included in Valuation charts or in Relative charts.

Global Sector has been added as a benchmark. Global Sectors are categorized by Energy, Materials, Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Health Care, Financials, Information Technology, Telecomm Services, and Utility. Charting History has been expanded by 10 years from 12 years of history to beyond 22 years of history. Right click on a chart to define the charting history.

EPS – Price to Per Share Scale


. Under Charting, Relative Price/Relative Fundamentals, Per Share Items, under EPS Actuals & Estimates a plot of 10*EPS has been added. This is only displayed for the Actual Chart, click

which will chart only the active ticker (in this Example: MRK), and is shown as the orange dotted line.

To turn off this plot, go to Tools, Options, then the Other tab. Under EPS, uncheck Show “Price To Per Share Scale” and click OK. To add back this feature, you will need to check the box.

In this tab, you can also set Performance Charts to show Price Return data or Total Return Data (Price + Dividends). Under EPS, click to select between the Performance as Price or as Price + Dividends options. Performance Charts can be found under Charting and in the top right quadrant of the default ZRS home page.

Show/Hide EPS Line Customize EPS Actuals & Estimates charts to either display or hide the green EPS indicator line. Click on the Tools menu bar, scroll down to Options, then select the last tab named Other. Check the box next to Show “EPS” in order to display or hide the EPS line as shown below.


The EPS & Estimates Chart can be found at the bottom right hand corner of the home page. When the EPS line has been selected there will be three lines. The yellow line is price, the orange line is 10 times EPS, and the green is EPS. While the green line is on its own axis on the left scale, both price and 10 times EPS are measured on the larger scale to the right.

The EPS & Estimates chart can also be found in the Charts Module under Relative Price/Relative Fundamentals, Per Share Items as shown above.

Recession Shading

In order to display charts representing recessionary periods, click on the Tools menu bar, scroll down to Options, then select the last tab named Other. Check the last box on the page that displays “Recession Shading” as shown below


For economic research statistics, click on the blue link that is displayed next to the Recession Shading option. These reports are generated daily from the National Bureau of Economic Research. Recession Shading can be applied to ALL charts in ZRS 5.0. The lighter shade of blue as depicted below states the periods of time when a recession has occurred.

OUTLINE

The following is an outline of the different ratios and metrics that are available in each of

the Charting Sections.

I. Charting

II. Technical

a. Estimate Revisions

1. EPS Rolling Estimates FTM


2. EPS Estimates

b. Technical Indicators and Overlays

1. Simple Moving Average (2 to 365 day)

2. Exponential Moving Average (2 to 365 day)

3. Bollinger Band

4. Parabolic SAR

5. Linear Regression

6. Hilbert-Trendline

c. Broker Recommendations

d. Beta Coefficient

III. Performance

IV. Fundamental History

a. Size

1. Revenue TTM

2. EBIT TTM

3. EBITDA TTM

4. Cash Flow

5. Free Cash Flow

6. Book Value TTM

7. Total Debt TTM

b. Margins and Common Size

1. Earning Retention TTM

2. EBIT Margin TTM

3. EBITDA Margin TTM

4. Gross Margins TTM

5. Net Profit Margin TTM

6. Operating Margin TTM

7. Pre Tax Margin

8. R&D as % Sales

c. Leverage

1. Assets to Equity

2. LT Debt/Capital %

d. Return on Capital

1. Pretax Return on Assets TTM

2. Reinvestment Rate TTM

3. Return on Assets TTM

4. Return on Capital TTM

5. Return on Equity TTM

e. Liquidity

1. Current Ratio

2. Quick Ratio

3. Av. Days in Receivables TTM

4. Inventory Turnover TTM

f. Per Share Items

1. EPS BNRI

2. EPS GAAP

3. Book Value per Share

4. Free Cash Flow per Share

5. Dividend per Share

6. Enterprise Value per Share

7. EBITDA per Share

8. Revenue per Share

V. Valuation History


a. P/E TTM

1. Daily

2. Weekly

3. Monthly

b. P/E F1

1. Daily

2. Weekly

3. Monthly

c. Price to Book TTM

1. Daily

2. Weekly

3. Monthly

d. Price to Revenue per Share TTM

1. Daily

2. Weekly

3. Monthly

e. Price to Cash Flow per Share TTM

1. Daily

2. Weekly

3. Monthly

f. Enterprise Value to EBITDA TTM

1. Daily

2. Weekly

3. Monthly

g. Dividend Yield %

VI. Relative Price/Relative Fundamentals

a. Size

1. Revenue TTM

2. EBIT TTM

3. EBITDA TTM

4. Cash Flow

5. Free Cash Flow

6. Book Value TTM

7. Total Debt TTM

b. Return on Capital

1. Pretax Return on Assets TTM

2. Reinvestment Rate TTM

3. Return on Assets TTM

4. Return on Capital TTM

5. Return on Equity TTM

6. Free Cash Flows to Equity-Annual

c. Per Share Items

1. EPS Actual & Estimates

2. EPS BNRI Lag 1 yr TTM

3. EPS GAAP

4. Book Value per Share

5. Free Cash Flow per Share

6. Dividend per Share

7. Enterprise Value per Share

8. EBITDA per Share

9. Revenue per Share

VII. Interactive Chart


CHARTS

CHANGING PRICE CHART FREQUENCY

To change the price chart’s frequency, select Chart Frequency by right clicking on the screen, then select a frequency option (daily, weekly, or monthly). *Note that changing the chart frequency option is limited to the following Technical Charts: EPS Rolling Estimates FTM, EPS Estimates, and Beta Coefficient.

SET BASE DATE

Right click on your screen, hover over the History option, and click on Custom to display the Set Base Date dialog box. The Base Date is the date from which price changes are calculated and depends on the Chart Frequency. Enter the new date in the Base Date box or use the scroll bar then click OK. To restore the setting, click the Reset button.


DISPLAY DATA

To examine particular data points in a data series of charts, right click on your screen and select Display Data from the menu. In the Charting Section, under the Technical Analysis there is an option called Overlays. To view the data, right-click on the chart and select ‘Display Data’. You can export the data in table form to Excel by going to the Edit menu at the top of the page and selecting Export Data to Excel

LOG SCALE/LINEAR SCALE

Right Click on charts for the option to convert from Linear Scale to Log scale, and from Log scale to Linear scale.

Local Explorer


The Local Explorer button , located at the top right of your screen is useful in charting specific metrics in the Charting page. The Local Explorer will only show the elements pertinent to the section you are in. To go to another section, see Navigation.

The resulting window will provide an outline of all different available chart options. Select the specific term for analysis and click ok.

DISPLAY OPTIONS

Absolute

By default, ZRS will display charts which are absolute. The key at the bottom of the chart shows that the green line plots the benchmark values while the yellow line plots the company values. In the case that you are viewing a relative chart and wish to revert back

to the absolute chart, at the top right of the chart will be an A button. Click on to revert back to the absolute chart.


Relative

The relative chart shows the ratio of the company value relative to the benchmark value. Therefore it is displayed as a single line. By default ZRS will lead you to the absolute charts. To view the relative chart you simply need to click the R button at the top right of

the chart screen. Clicking on will create the relative chart.

Line

By default, ZRS will show a line chart. If you have changed the view from a line chart to

a bar graph and would like to revert back, click on the button at the top right of the chart screen.


Bar

A bar chart option exists when a button appears at the top right corner. Clicking on the button on the top right of the screen will make a bar graph appear where the bar shows the annual range from the highest to the lowest value.

CHARTS

The Charting module in ZRS 5.0 offers an array of charts mapping historical data for many instrumental financial measurements used in stock analysis. Use the navigation menu at the left of the screen or the tabs at the bottom of the screen, coupled with the local explorer button, to view the different charts.

Charting – Technical - Relative Strength & Stochastic Fast Technical Indicators

Added technical indicators to charting:

1) RSI-Relative Strength Index 2) MACD-Moving Average Convergence/Divergence

3) PPO-Percentage Price Oscillator 4) CCI-Commodity Channel Index

5) ROC-Rate of Change 6) Ultimate Oscillator

7) TRIX- 1-day ROC of a Triple Smooth EMA

8) Stochastic Fast 9) Aroon 10) Aroon Oscillator 11) Williams %R.

12) PMI – Price Momentum Index

To add these Indicators, go to the Technical Chart in ZRS 5.0 Charting, select

the Indicator, and click update.


Charting- Technical- Beta Coefficient

Forecast future price & financial metrics

The blue line of the chart below displays the Beta along with the stock price. Historical volume is also displayed at the bottom of the chart.

In the Technical section, you can access the following metrics and ratios: EPS Rolling

Estimates FTM Estimate Revisions, EPS Estimates Revisions, Technical Indicators &

Overlays, Broker Recommendations, and Beta Coefficient.

Charting- Performance

Compare price performance to user defined benchmark.

Click on the button at the top right of your screen to generate the relative graph.

Click on or on side of chart to switch between price (absolute) and % growth from a base date.


Charting – Performance Charts – Interval Change View price changes for selected time intervals in Performance Chart.

In Performance Charts, Right Click to View Interval Change. Drag the right bar to the start date, and the blue bar to the end date to view price data and price changes for the selected interval and the S&P 500 for the selected time interval.

Go to Performance section of the Aggr Module (Industry/ETF/Index Analysis) to compare to other benchmarks.


Charting- Fundamental History- Size- Revenue TTM

View historical and forecast future fundamental metrics. The Fundamental History Charts provide a dark green line representing the value of that metric over time for the company in the ticker window, a dotted dark green line showing the expected value of that metric in the near future, a light green line representing percentage growth of that metric over time for the company in the ticker window, a blue line representing the percentage growth of that metric over time for the benchmark, and a red line displaying the Model Revenue Trend Line.

Clicking on the button at the top right of your screen will generate the relative graph. Model Revenue Trend

The Model Revenue Trend (MRT) Line is the default slope that corresponds to the least squares annualized growth of Revenues TTM for the time period displayed. Both the slope and placement of Revenues TTM can be overridden to model annualized growth for any sub period within chart. Navigating the Zacks Model Revenue Trend Line – The “Arrow Tool”

Up and Down Arrows – Changes the level of Revenues TTM on the MRT Line. Right and Left Arrows – Changes the slope or annualized growth rate of Revenues TTM on the MRT Line. Clicking the “Home” button on the Arrow Tool will reset the model back to its default settings.

In the Fundamental History section, you can access several different ratios and metrics in the following categories: Size, Margins and Common Size, Leverage, Return on Capital, Liquidity, and Per Share Items.


Charting- Valuation History- P/E TTM

View historical and predict future valuation metrics. The yellow line shows the trailing twelve month price earnings ratio for the company. The green line shows the trailing twelve month price earnings ratio for the benchmark.

Clicking on the button at the top right of your screen will display the relative graph.

Clicking on the button at the top right of your screen will display the bar graph.

In the Valuation History section, you can access P/E TTM, P/E F1, Price to Book TTM, Price to Revenue per Share TTM, Price to Cash Flow per Share TTM, Enterprise Value to EBITDA TTM, and Dividend Yield %.

Charting- Relative Price/Relative Fundamentals- Size- Revenue TTM

Absolute

The yellow line shows the absolute price for the company. The solid green line shows the absolute Revenue TTM for the company. The dotted green line displays the estimates for the company for absolute Revenue TTM.


Benchmark

The yellow line shows the benchmark price. The green line shows the benchmark Revenue TTM.

Relative The yellow line shows the company relative to the benchmark price change. The solid green line shows the company relative to the benchmark change in revenue TTM. The dotted green line shows the estimated relative revenue TTM.

In the Relative Price/ Relative Fundamentals section, you can access several different

metrics and ratios pertaining to Size, Return on Capital, and Per Share Items.

Charting – Fundamentals – Quarterly Actuals and Estimates Quarterly history for size items and per share items in fundamental charts.

Choose between Quarterly Actuals or Trailing Twelve Month values for size items and per share items in fundamental charts. Access to Quarterly Actuals is available in


Charting under Fundamental History. Size Charts and Per Share Items now have the option to define charts on a quarterly basis in addition to a trailing twelve month basis.

Use the and buttons to the top left of the charts to use this feature.

Below is an example of a quarterly revenue chart for IBM.

Below is an example of a trailing twelve month revenue chart for IBM.

ZACKS VALUATION MODEL

The Zacks Valuation Model is a 5 factor interactive present value model that quantifies

theoretical equity valuation in both a current and 1-Year time frame. Model output is

expressed in terms of Model P/E, Model Price, and Model Return rather than the

traditional present value calculation of a predicted dividend stream.

The Zacks Valuation Model can quantify any combination of earnings forecasts, equity

risk premium forecasts, interest rate forecasts or company specific risk issues. The Zacks

Valuation Model is not a “Black Box” value generating tool rather it is an exploratory tool

through which analytical issues should be raised, researched and evaluated.


View the Zacks Valuation Model under the Charts module drop-down on the navigation menu. Enter a user defined composite ticker symbol in the ticker field or click on the

Ticker Look-Up magnifying glass to the left of the ticker field to select from a list of Tickers or Zacks Read-Only Composites under the ‘Universe List As’ drop-down.

In addition to company specific analysis using Zacks Valuation Model, Composites as a single entity can now also be quantified by analyzing Model P/E, Model Return & Model Price, Market Implied EPS Growth Forecasts earnings and growth rate forecasts, and Graphics based, interactive top-down modeling

Environmental Model Inputs

Two of the 5 model inputs are environmental or macro levels factors that impact all companies as follows:

1) RF – AAA Rate – The Corporate AAA Seasoned Issue Bond Rate is used as a proxy

for the risk free rate in the Zacks Valuation Model. The rate is updated weekly, each Friday. Users have the ability to override the rate by clicking the value in the “User” column.

2) EQ Risk – The Equity Risk Premium quantifies the amount of risk investors require

relative to a “risk-free” alternative within the 1-Year forecast period. The EQ Risk series is calculated by Zacks Investment Research and is updated weekly, each Friday. Users have the ability to override the rate by clicking the value in the “User” column.

Company Specific Model Inputs

Three of the 5 model inputs are company specific factors as follows:

1) CS Risk – The Company Specific Risk is a security specific risk adjustment made to the Total Equity Discount Rate. The default is zero for all companies. Users have the ability to override the rate clicking the value in the “User” column. The minimum and maximum rate adjustments are -100bps and +100bps.


2) MET GR – (Company Specific Input) Model Earnings Trend Growth Rate is the slope of the Model Earnings Trend Line. In default it is calculated from the Zacks 3-5 Year Consensus Growth Rate Estimate MINUS the Standard Deviation of the Estimate. Users can model growth rate assumptions with the “Arrow Tool” defined below.

3) Model EPS F12M – (Company Specific Input) Forward 12 and Forward 24 month

EPS numbers along the Model Earnings Trend Line. F12M is the fulcrum of the model and is identified with a green diamond. Users can model earnings expectations with the “Arrow Tool” defined below.

Top Panel – Zacks Valuation Model

The top panel Zacks Valuation Model area presents a visual representation of the interactive present value model. All model inputs and outputs as well as any user overrides are quantified in the interactive modeling space as follows:

1) EPS Lagged 1-Year – By default the Model Earnings Trend Line, EPS BNRI and

Model Price are all lagged 1 year based on the premise that current security pricing is indicative of estimated year forward earnings.

2) Model Price – The 1-Year Model Price associated with the F24M EPS value along the Model Earnings Trend Line.

Navigation Arrow Tool

Within the top panel of the model you will note the presence of the “Arrow Tool” as follows:

Up and Down Arrows – Changes the Fulcrum level of EPS F12M on the MET Line.

Right and Left Arrows – Change the slope or growth rate of EPS along the MET Line.

Clicking the “Home” button on the Arrow Tool will reset the model back to its default

settings.

The corresponding keyboard arrow keys can be held down for faster manipulation of the Model Earnings Trend Line.

Bottom Panel - Zacks Valuation Model

The bottom panel Zacks Valuation Model area displays the model inputs, user overrides and model outputs for both the Current and 1-Year Time frames.


-TED Rate – The Total Equity Discount Rate is the sum of the RF Rate, the EQ Risk and CS Risk rates and represents the rate at which earnings are discounted in the model. Any changes made to the component default values will be reflected in TD Rate. Clicking “Update” will recalculate the model output based on the new user inputs. -Actual PE – 12M The ratio of actual price to Model Forward EPS along the Model Earnings Trend Line. -Model PE – The Model PE based on the Zacks Valuation Model inputs. -Model Price – The Model Price based on the Zacks Valuation Model inputs. -Model Return – The Model Return based on the Zacks Valuation Model inputs. -Model Earnings Tendency – The Fiscally aligned EPS numbers along the Model Earnings Trend Line.

Bottom Panel - Zacks Consensus Estimates

The Bottom Panel Zacks Consensus Estimates area displays the underlying estimate data that is driving the default level of model earnings as well as the F12M fulcrum point.

-Mean Estimate – FY1, FY2 & FY3 consensus EPS estimates from the Zacks consensus database. -Change Y/Y – The percent change in estimates from year to year. In the case of FY1 the change is based on FY0 actual EPS to FY1 consensus EPS.


-High – Is the highest of the individual contributing analyst estimates. -Low – Is the lowest of the individual contributing analyst estimates. -Total – Is the total number of individual contributing analyst estimates. -#Up (4 Weeks) – Number of analysts who raised their contributing estimate within the prior 4 week time period. -#Down (4 Weeks) – Number of analysts who lowered their contributing estimate within the prior 4 week time period. -PE Intraday – Intraday price divided by consensus EPS for each period.

Bottom Panel – Model Earnings Tendency

The Bottom Panel Model Earnings Tendency area displays the fiscally aligned EPS numbers along the Model Earnings Trend Line. The Fiscal Year End (FYE) is displayed at the top of the pane for reference.

NEWS FEEDS News Stories are provided on Daily Performance Charts for companies on days with significant market performance. In order to view the news, right click on the chart and change history setting to be within 3 years of the current date. Historic news is not available past that 3 year period.


When price increases 10% or volume exceeds the average by 100% on a day other than the date of the earnings report or the day following a report, a green N will show up on the chart. Scroll over the N on the chart to open the list of news events related to the company on that day.

Click on the headline link in red to generate the full article.

Click on the “more…” link to view a list of company related news.


REPORTS Through ZRS 5.0 you gain access to Zack’s Research Digest Reports, Zacks

Independent Research Report, and the Price Responsive Indicator (PRI) Report,

RESEARCH DIGEST REPORTS

As the name implies these "Digest" reports summarize the full body of research done by

brokerage firms for the company in question. Zacks’ analysts in these reports present in

consensus form the collective sentiments of Wall Street’s brokers and analysts.

Section by Section Breakdown of the Reports There are several important sections that comprise a Research Digest report. Below is a listing of what you will find in each section.

Front Page/Overview: Here you will receive all the basics.

• Company Name and Ticker • Current Price • Date of the Report • Names of the Zacks Research Associates who wrote the report • Profile of what businesses the company is engaged in

Key Positive Arguments/Key Negative Arguments: Side by side comparison of the main arguments for and against investment in the stock made by various analysts at different brokerages. This makes Research Digest a great first read to understand the current fundamental condition and sentiments of the analysts on the street who cover the firm.

Sales: Detailed discussion of past revenue trends and future estimates. Breakdown of revenue by business segment includes future outlook.

Margins: Past, present and future picture of changes in gross, operating and net margins.

Earnings Per Share: Sales and margin discussion culminate in detailing the earnings per share landscape for the firm.

Long Term Growth: Heavy concentration on the earnings growth outlook for the company as this is generally a main driver of future share prices.

Target Price/Valuation: Analysis of the Target Price assigned by the brokerage firms to the stock to give sense of current premium or discount to fair value. Most importantly has there been movement in the target and why?

Other Discussion: Any other item of note such as cash flow, product updates, management changes etc. are detailed here.

Open Zacks Research Digest Reports

If the company in question has a Digest report available, a link directly to the report will

be visible on the home page inside the company description box.


Click on the ‘Research Digest…’ link to open or save the .doc (Microsoft Word) file.

ZACKS INDEPENDENT RESEARCH

Zacks Equity Research provides full-text fundamental analysis written by our analysts

who cover the particular company to supplement your research process. Here you will

gain full access to all profitable insight available from our team of analysts.

All reports include current and prior recommendation, a six month price target, and a

company outlook, all written by the analyst. Reports for companies carrying a ‘Hold’

recommendation also contain both a Bull and a Bear story, offering perspectives of

owning or selling the security.

In addition to the commentary, all estimates data and price targets are set by the

analysts, not consensus information. Analysts also provide their own valuation, as well

as projected income statement and balance sheet for each security.

Our universe includes approximately 53% of the S&P 500, and is evenly weighted across

the three market caps, comprised roughly of 34% Large Cap, 32% Mid Cap, and 34%

Small Cap.


Open Zacks Independent Research Report

You can find the Zacks Independent Research Report simply by going to the Navigation

menu and selecting Zacks Independent Research.

PRI REPORT

The EPS surprise and Price Response Indicator (PRI) summary screen gives equity

traders and researchers a quick review of quarterly earnings results, including a break

down of the number of positive vs. negative EPS surprises. The ratio of positive to

negative EPS surprises provides a measure of earnings strength for the market, and may

indicate future market valuation trends.

Zacks Price Response indicator (PRI) is proprietary model-driven indicator, which ranks

companies after the company’s earnings announcement based on the quality of the EPS

surprise reported and stock Charting preceding the earnings release. An ‘A’ is a strong

buy, an ‘E’ is a strong sell. Zacks PRI is a short-term indicator with a 3 to 5 day trading

window. The PRI score is shown one to ten days after Earnings Release.

Data includes: number of percent positive, negative, equal EPS Surprises; number of

PRI indications by PRI category (A=strong buy, E=strong sell); average 3 day price

change of stocks following earnings announcement based on PRI category.


Price responses assume positions are taken only in companies with at least 5 quarterly

EPS estimates and where a limit order to open the position is placed with a limit price

equal to the closing price for the day preceding the earnings announcement. Any losses

are assumed to be stopped out.

Open PRI Report

You can find the PRI report under the Surprises section of ZRS.

VALUATION MAPS

Valuation Maps show Portfolio Managers how relative Valuation metrics can be used to predict relative returns within an industry

1. In section 1 of the Valuation map we answer the question " Can you predict PE if you know the value of expected EPS growth , expected ROE, and the future values of some key financial ratios " . Using the equations developed in this section a portfolio manager can convert his/her own prediction of future company ratios into an accurate prediction of the future PE for the company and make a better relative buy/sell decision

2 If you have little confidence in your predictions of the future financial ratios and

consequently little confidence in your prediction of future PE you may still be able to use PE to improve your stock selection within an industry . In this section of the Valuation Maps we evaluate which if any of the standard relative valuation techniques can be used to predict future relative returns within the industry. We use backtesting to answer the following five questions over the period 1993 to 2007


� To what extent did low PE stocks outperform high PE ? � Did low PE relative to their historical values outperform? � Did low PE relative to their industry averages outperform? � Did low relative industry PE relative to its historical value outperform?

Did PEs that were low based on the equations developed in # 1 outperform We do this same analysis for PE 12 , PE F1 , P/Book , P/Cash Flow , EV/EBITDA and PEG

Open Valuation Maps

You can find a list of the Industries covered Valuation Maps under the Industry/ETF/Index

Analysis section of ZRS.

RESEARCH REPORTS

Under Research Delivery, there are additional reports on companies.

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

Technical indicators & Overlays

In Charting, the Technical Section has an element called Technical Indicators & Overlays. You can select up to two of the following overlays to be displayed with the chart: Simple Moving Average (SMA), Exponential Moving Average (EMA), Bollinger Band, Parabolic SAR, Linear Regression, and Hilbert-Trendline. You can specify the number of days for the SMA, EMA, Bollinger Band, and Linear Regression to range from 2 to 365 days. For the Bollinger Band you can also set the number of standard deviation multipliers for upper and lower. The Parabolic SAR lets you set the Maximum value of Acceleration Factor and the Acceleration Factor used up to the Maximum Value from 0.00 to 1.00 (with two decimal places). You can also view Price as Line, Candlesticks, or OHLC Bars. After you select the different Overlays, click the Update button to update the chart.


Since there are too many possible values to show the data can only partially be displayed in Excel. To view the data, you can export the data to Excel by going to the Edit menu at the top of the page and selecting Export Data to Excel. • Simple Moving Average (SMA): A simple, or arithmetic, moving average that is

calculated by adding the closing price of the stock for a number of time periods and then dividing this total by the number of time periods. In other words, this is the average stock price over a certain period of time. Set number of time periods to be used.

• Exponential Moving Average (EMA): Similar to a simple moving average, except that more weight is given to the most recent period. Set number of time periods to be used.

• Bollinger Band: A band plotted two standard deviations away from the moving average. The band widens with more volatility and tightens with less volatility. Set number of periods, number of standard deviations from the moving average, and type of moving average (0:simple; 1:exponential).

• Linear Regression: Linear regression is a form of regression analysis where time series data is modeled by a function which is as a liner combination of the model’s parameters.

• Hilbert Trend Line: A Hilbert series has the interesting property that the correlation between it and its own Hilbert transform is mathematically zero. The Hilbert function generates a Hilbert matrix by generating the Fast Fourier Transform of the data with the FFT function and shifting the first half of the transform products by +90 degrees and the second half by -90 degrees. The constant elements of the transform are not changed

• Parabolic SAR (“stop and reversal”): Sets trailing price stops for long positions

when the dotted lines are below the price and for short positions when the dotted lines are above the price. There are two variable to set. The maximum value of acceleration factor controls the adjustment of the SAR as the price moves; the higher is set, the more sensitive the indicator will be to price changes. The lower the acceleration factor used up to the maximum value is set, the further the trailing stop will be from the price.

Interactive Chart - Technical Overlays; Add technical overlays onto the interactive chart in ZRS 5.0.

Step 1: Go to the Interactive Chart under Charting. Click on Options to add overlays to the

interactive chart. Step 2: Select Company Category and enter a ticker. Add the Price Time Series as an Absolute

Value. Note that a Price Time Series as an Absolute value for each Company, MF, or ETF ticker must be added prior to adding the accompanying Technical Overlay.


Step 3: Click on More in the gray option box. This will open the Technical Overlays as in the

Technical Charting section.

Save Interactive Chart Settings Click Save which is on the right column in the gray option box. Click Open to open a saved Interactive chart setting.

PEER COMPARISONS

ZRS 5.0 allows you to compare fundamental ratios of the company you are analyzing to its peer group of competing companies. Each company has a pre-loaded peer group of up to eight companies that operate in the same industry with the closest revenue figures as the company you are analyzing. This peer group is customizable to allow you to specify a group of up to 8 tickers.

With the Peer Comparisons reports you can graphically compare any active ticker on the current Ticker List (portfolio) with its peers based on historical sales, net income, past and future EPS, brokerage firm recommendations or many other investment criteria. The Peer Comparisons report displays ratios from the ratio sets that can be edited to match your own decision making process and can be customized to match your requirements. By default, Peer Comparisons is using Zacks Peer Group (called Automatic Peer Group). You can use the Custom Peer Group option to view the group of companies that you put together.


ZACKS PEER GROUP

By default, Peer Comparisons will select a Zacks Peer Group for the active ticker on the current Ticker List (portfolio). The Peer Comparisons automatically selects a Peer Group of companies in the same industry as the selected company. The company’s industry assignment is based on Zacks Expanded Industry Classification (200+ industries). A Peer Group can contain up to eight companies. Reported annual sales numbers are basis for selection to Peer Group, i.e., companies in the same industry with the similar sales volumes will be grouped together.

PEER COMPARISONS COMPONENTS

The Peer Comparisons report allows you to display various fundamental ratios and shows the companies in the Peer Group. All the data is displayed in the Information Table and a Fundamental ratios comparison chart.

Peer Comparisons Ratio Categories

Peer Comparisons displays information from the following ratio categories: Size, Valuation, Margins, Leverage Turnover, Return on Capital, Liquidity, Est. Revisions, Surprises, Historical and Future Growth, Price Momentum, and Broker Recommendations. To toggle between these ratio categories, highlight and click the category name you wish to see displayed in a report. Information for the items in the selected category will display in the Information Table in the lower section of the Peer Comparisons report.

Peer Comparisons Information Table

Financial data for the selected ratio category appears in the Information Table in the lower section of the Peer Analysis report. To view a graph of each ratio displayed, click on the ratio to display the graph.

Peer Comparisons Ratio Sets

What ratios are displayed in the report is determined by the special Ratios Set file. By default, Peer Comparisons uses the Value (*.txv) Ratio Set. You can edit or create a Ratio Set file by right clicking on your mouse.


CUSTOMIZE PEER GROUP

Customize your peer group by choosing 2 to 12 companies from a universe of over 8,000

tickers.

Select the Tools menu bar and click on Peer Group or click on the button at the top

right of your window in the Peer Comparisons Section.

At the Create/Edit Peer Group window, you can Add companies from the Universe List to

the Peer Group by clicking on the <<Add button and Remove Companies from the Peer

Group by clicking the Remove>> button.

ESTIMATES Access the most recent forward-looking financial statement models, segment revenue, earnings per share estimates, & recommendations from 150+ brokerage firms, including accounting alerts, analyst track records, most accurate forecasts and the Zacks Rank, which has delivered 37% annualized return.

OVERVIEW

The Estimates reports provide you with the most complete and accurate overview of sell-side analyst earnings estimates and stock recommendations available. The reports display the latest information on individual analyst recommendations, annual and quarterly EPS estimates and revisions, consensus earnings estimates, and Zacks Ratings for over 6,500 companies – showing you the flow of estimate revisions and recommendations from over 300 brokerage firms.

The estimates and recommendations in Estimates reflect the opinions of individual analysts who may have been employed by more than one broker during the period of evaluation. Thus, the ranking indicates the performance of the analyst and not his/her


current employer. The broker name noted for each analyst is that of the firm he/she was employed by as of the date of the last estimate recorded.

Zacks rates analysts over the long term — four years for estimates and over five years for recommendations. Consequently, rankings are a measure of the analyst's track record and are less likely to be affected by random, short-term events.

Zacks introduces objective standards into the decision process by quantitatively evaluating and ranking sell side analysts on two important performance measures: the accuracy of their earnings per share (EPS) forecasts and the utility of their stock ratings. Both these measures reflect only demonstrated performance.

Zacks analyzes data for over 6,500 companies aggregated into over seventy industry groups. This data covers multiple years and includes the EPS and stock ratings of over 2,500 analysts. The data shown in Estimates is associated with an individual analyst and stays with that analyst, regardless if he/she is employed by more than one firm during the period under evaluation.

Estimate reports evaluate the performance of analysts, not stocks. With these reports you have the ability to evaluate the analysts' past performances to better assess the credibility of their current EPS estimates and recommendations.

Estimate Revisions Under Estimates, go to Estimate Revisions. There is a 2 quadrant chart with a bar graphs including EPS F1 (Current Fiscal Year) and F2 (Next Fiscal Year) consensus estimates on a monthly frequency for the past 12 months as well as a similar 2 quadrant chart with EPS Q1 (Current Quarter) and EPS Q2 (Next Quarter) consensus estimates on a weekly frequency for the past 13 weeks.

Estimate Module - Q1/Q2 EPS Estimate Revisions

Quarterly Summary and Estimates Under Estimates, go to Quarterly Summary & Estimates. This table shows quarterly Revenues, Net Income, EPS-BNRI, and Div/Share data organized by Fiscal Quarters with actual data for the past 4 completed fiscal years, the current fiscal year (F1) with reported actual and available estimates, and estimates for the next fiscal year (F2). Estimates are in green font and actual data in black font.


SUMMARY

• Earnings Estimates: Snapshot of estimates of earnings for coming quarter.

• Consensus EPS Earnings Trends: Review of the trends in estimates of the EPS earnings.

• Historical EPS Surprises: Compares historical consensus estimates to the actual reported earnings for the last five quarters.

• Analyst Ratings: Summary of analyst ratings and recommendations.

• Also offers: EPS Revisions and Industry/Sector/S&P 500 Recommendations.

CONSENSUS IS FORECAST


Company models are Excel-based spreadsheets containing a complete consensus income statement, a first in the investment community. Along with the consensus income statement are Balance Sheet, Cash Flow, and GAAP vs. Pro Forma EPS models.

INDUSTRY SALES MODEL Forecasts of Total Revenue broken down by the various business segments for each company. This includes total revenue for past quarters, forecasts by quarter over the next two years, and forecasts by fiscal year for the next three years. Comparative analysis compares peer companies in historical and estimated future net income margin.

DETAILS

View current EPS and sales estimates and recommendations from 150+ brokerage firms, including accounting alerts, analyst records, most accurate forecast, and the Zacks Rank, which has delivered 37% annualized returns.


For further instructions, please refer to Research Edge manual. Contact Dimitra Stamatoukos at [email protected] for these materials.

ZACKS ALL STARS

Access a listing of the top analysts ranked by historical performance and accuracy, organized by their respective industry coverage.

Select an Industry from the pull down list and select .

Click on the Analyst name to access to analyst’s profile and contact sources.


SURPRISES View historical earnings surprises by comparing each quarter’s consensus estimate compared to the actual reported. Historical surprises may be used to predict future performance.

1) EPS Surprise effects on stock price in chart form. Right Click on charts to change frequency, set base date, or display data.

2) EPS Surprise: head to head comparison of estimates and actuals in table form. Est. Consensus The mean consensus estimate for the quarter. Reported Reported EPS Value Surprise $ Reported EPS – Estimated EPS Consensus Surprise % (Reported EPS – Estimated EPS Consensus)/ Estimated EPS Consensus Date Reported Date of Earnings Report Price Impact (Close price of next trading day after report date) - (Close price previous trading day before report date) # Estimates Number of Estimates in consensus

3) Earnings Surprise ($) Bar Graph 4) Earnings Surprise (%) Bar Graph

*Click for EPS Surprise Information or Click for Revenue Surprise information. These icons are used to toggle between sales and earning surprises.


RESEARCH DELIVERY

Zacks Research Delivery

Zacks Research Delivery for access to brokerage house research reports and daily notes from over 3,200 analysts. Features advanced search and alert capabilities.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Develop & analyze financial Models using the most complete quality, depth & coverage of historical & estimated financial statements both on a standardized and company specific basis and standardized templates for the industrials & banks.

General Description

Zacks Investment Research has compiled a database of fundamental financial information on all publicly traded equities traded on North American exchanges. The data includes information reported in each company’s income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement as well as supplemental corporate information.

Detailed

All data is captured “as originally reported” for both annual and quarterly filings. Then all subsequent restatements are captured and archived separately. This provides the ability to deliver true Point-In-Time data for back-testing.

Standardized

Zacks has mapped all As Reported items to a set of six standardized item templates for companies classified as Industrial, Banking, Brokerage, Insurance, Utilities, and REITs. This allows detailed comparisons between companies on an apples-to-apples basis, as well as industry and sector aggregations. It also facilitates more flexible screening applications using a wide variety of fundamental factor combinations.


Timely

Zacks fundamental data is acquired from SEC filings and company issued press releases. The data is captured and databased within a very short period of time from when this information is made public. Most of the time, this process is completed within the same day.

Quality

Zacks employs a rigorous quality control process to make sure all data points are recorded accurately. For each company, a senior analyst sets the data entry blueprint, and a separate highly trained analyst enters the data. Accounts cannot be added or deleted from the data entry blueprint without the approval of a senior analyst. Once the data is entered, a senior analyst signs off on final completion after reviewing all the data. In addition, the data is subjected to a battery of automated checks to verify balancing relationships and flag errors. In summary, all data items are reviewed by multiple sets of trained eyes as well as automated computer checks.

ANNUAL INCOME STATEMENT

1) Annual / Interim Statement View – This feature allows the user to switch the view

between data collected from annual filings and from interim or quarterly filings. In between fiscal year ends, the quarterly data will show more recent trends for each company.

2) Time Period View Adjustment – ZRS has fundamental data going back to 1993.

Here the user can adjust the number of periods of data displayed, either the most recent 1 through 10 periods or any set of years between 1993 and the most current year.

3) Form Type – IS, BS, CF, Segments, General Info

This feature allows the user to switch between the Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement, and a display of general company information such as report dates, corporate address, number of employees, auditor, etc.

4) Report Format – Standardized vs. Company Specific

This feature allows the user to view the data in a standardized format for comparison with other companies, or in a company specific format that corresponds to line items actually used by the company in its SEC filings. To create the standardized view, the line items actually reported are mapped to a standard accounting template that makes it easy to compare different companies on an apples-to-apples basis. The


company specific view allows for a more detailed comparison of a single company’s performance over different time periods.

5) Update Type – Originally Reported vs. Most Recent Restatement

Companies often restate results for prior periods to correct for accounting errors or changes in accounting standards. This feature allows the user to see how those restatements have changed the company’s performance trend as compared to what was originally reported.

6) Export to Excel – This feature allows the user to export each view to an Excel

spreadsheet for further manipulation and analysis in Excel.

Template Descriptions

In order to supply data with the greatest detail, Zacks has created six different expanded industry templates with common and industry specific line items. The expanded industry templates are populated with data back through 2001. Prior to 2001, Zacks standard fundamental data is populated back to 1993 in ZRS using a common industrial template for all companies that includes 81 standard line item fields. Companies are assigned an industry based on the primary source of their revenues as follows:

Industrial

Most companies and industries fall into this familiar industrial template which includes revenue, cost of goods sold, SG&A expenses, both current and long term assets, liabilities, stockholders equity and the three types of cash flow. The expanded Zacks Industrial template displayed in ZRS includes 261 standard line item fields between the three main statements, plus general information and ratios.

Banking

Banks report their financial statements in a very unique manner. Our template for banking reflects this format. For example, some differences which we have captured in the banking template include non-differentiation between current and non-current assets and liabilities and replacing revenues and cost of goods sold on the income statement with interest income and interest expense, respectively. The Zacks Banking template display in ZRS includes 254 standard line item fields between the three main statements, plus general information and ratios.

Insurance

The insurance template is specially formatted to reflect insurance companies’ primary activities involving premiums and investments. The balance sheet dedicates a subsection to investment assets, and revenue line items were created to distinguish between investment income and premium income. The Zacks Insurance template display in ZRS includes 221 standard line item fields between the three main statements, plus general information and ratios.

Utility

Since utility providers are essentially specialized industrial companies, the Zacks financial statement template for utility companies is similar to that of industrial companies. The format is the same used for standard industrial companies, but we have also included many utility specific line items relating to regulatory requirements and revenue sources. The Zacks Utility template display in ZRS includes 276 standard line item fields between the three main statements, plus general information and ratios.

Brokerage

Zacks brokerage template accounts for broker/dealer transactions in a detailed manner by using an array of specific fields specifying the multitude of services and securities that broker/dealers handle, such as investment banking, advisory fees, principal transactions, commissions, etc. The Zacks Brokerage template display in ZRS includes 280 standard line item fields between the three main statements, plus general information and ratios.


REIT

The template for real estate investment trusts includes additional line items for the real estate assets that are the primary operations of Real Estate Investment Trusts, including Funds From Operations which is often used in place of Net Income, and a detailed breakdown of property assets. The Zacks Brokerage template display in ZRS includes 223 standard line item fields between the three main statements, plus general information and ratios.

EVENTS CALENDAR A planning tool containing a schedule of economic events and upcoming earnings reports as well as events for companies in a portfolio. Clicking on a conference call will link you to a page with information on that event.

You can set the calendar for the Month, Week, or Day. You can use your active ticker list (which is in the pull down Ticker List), or recommended to change to all companies. Conference Calls, Economic Events, Transcripts, Earnings Reports, Board Meetings, Conferences are all available listings and can be displayed or hidden by clicking on each individual box.


Economic Item:

Conference Call:

Export Conference Calls and Earnings Reports to Outlook A planning tool for companies in a portfolio or watch list.

To create an iCalendar file in Outlook,

Step 1 – Go to Events Calendar in ZRS 5.0 Application.

Step 2 – Select Universe as either all companies or pare down the universe to a portfolio or ticker list by selecting Ticker List. Note: the ticker list is the active ticker list in the ZRS 5.0 pull down menu on the main page.

Step 3 – Check events to include in iCalendar file.

Step 4 – Hit the Create iCalendar File button. This will generate a blue download hyper link to the right of the Create iCalendar File button.

Step 5 – Download the file. This will download into Microsoft Outlook.


SCREENING Screen using any criteria and/or calculations that can be derived from current market data, estimates data, and fundamental data.

For instructions, please refer to the Research Wizard Manual. http://www.zackspro.com/zrs5/softwareManuals/Full_Manuals/Screening_RW4.pdf


PORTFOLIO ANALYTICS

Compare the performance and financial characteristics of stocks in client portfolios to customized benchmarks or model portfolios.

For instructions, please refer to the Portfolio Analytics Manual.

http://www.zackspro.com/zrs5/softwareManuals/Full_Manuals/Portfolio_Analytics_PA_4.pdf


PORTFOLIO STATION

About Portfolio Station

Click on Portfolio Station in the top toolbar on ZRS 5.0 to launch Portfolio Station. This is a detachable application which combines individual company reports from the Interactive Report Designer and portfolio summary reports from Portfolio Analytics.

Below is a preview of the Portfolio Station interface. The top half of the window is allocated towards managing the tasks of importing, setting up, and grouping company portfolios. The bottom half includes two tabs, Company and Portfolio.

The Company tab includes a preview of all company reports saved in the Interactive Report Designer, and checking any report will print an individual company report for all companies in the selected portfolios in Portfolio Station. The Portfolio Tab includes all portfolio summary reports saved in the Portfolio Analytics module of ZRS 5.0. Click Print to print off Portfolio Station reports.

For the complete Portfolio Station User Manual, please contact Seth R. Dowling, [email protected].


ZACKS LINK TO EXCEL

A powerful Excel-based reporting and financial statement modeling tool that enables you

to export any information from Zacks databases. Create sophisticated custom analytical

models and reports quickly and easily.

For instructions, please refer to Zacks Link Manual.

http://www.zackspro.com/zrs5/softwareManuals/Full_Manuals/Zacks_Link_to_Excel.pdf


BACKTEST View your screens performance relative to a benchmark over time.

Rank Analysis

Perform historical quantitative analysis using multiple variables to test how changes in metrics affect risk and return. Helpful in developing quantitative investment strategies.

For instructions, please refer to the Rank Analysis Manual.

http://www.zackspro.com/zrs5/softwareManuals/Full_Manuals/Backtesting_RA4.pdf

Trading Strategy Evaluator

Simulates the historical performance of realistic, quantitative investment strategies.

For instructions, please refer to the Trading Strategy Evaluator Manual.

http://www.zackspro.com/zrs5/softwareManuals/Full_Manuals/Backtesting_TSE_4.pdf


MARKET View market statistics.

Market Statistics

Compares price information and stock price changes versus market indicators such as the S&P 500, S&P Midcap, S&P 600, DOW JONES INDL, NASDAQ, and RUSSELL 2000.

Shows company volume data for the past 5 days. Also includes quick fundamentals, corporate actions (Last 30 Days), and broker research reports (last 30 days)


Commodity Estimates Quarterly and Annual Estimates for select Energy, Metals, and Agriculture Commodities

Go to Markets, then click on Commodities Estimates. This will open an excel spreadsheet that includes the Spot Price, consensus estimates for the next 4 quarters, and consensus estimates for the next 4 years for select Energy, Metal, and Agricultural commodities. Additional details available are the number of analysts in the consensus, median estimate, the maximum estimate, and the minimum estimate for each commodity.

Click on to expand details for a section or click to expand details for all commodities.

Search through spot prices and Quarterly & Annual Estimates

Estimate Revision Activity

Search through changes in broker ratings and estimates.

Broker earnings estimate revisions play an important role in setting stock trends. If earnings forecasts are being revised upward, the stock price is likely to increase; if earnings estimates are down, the stock price may decline on lower performance. The impact of estimate revisions depends on the direction, magnitude, agreement, and which brokerage analysts are making the forecasts. Zacks Rank, a proprietary 1-5 rating score assigned to stocks, is based on earnings estimates revision factors, as well as earnings surprise. Revision changes found on this screen can be used to confirm Zacks Rating.


Essentially, broker revisions and rating changes are summarized. Data includes:

• Today Highlights-Up/Downward Estimate Revisions

• New/Up/Downward Broker Rating Changes

• Rating Changes/Estimate Revision Search Criteria

Market- EPS (and Sales) Surprise Activity

This section lists the day’s positive and negative EPS (and Sales) surprise stories by company. This section is updated intra-day as Zacks receives earnings report information.

EPS Surprise

Several calculations can be used to determine if the earnings just announced represent good or bad results. The most common calculation is the earnings percent surprise, which his the percent difference between the estimated earnings and the actual reported earnings. A high percentage earnings surprise indicates a company’s performance is exceptional, and a low percentage (typically negative) surprise indicates poor performance.

In addition to percent surprise, it helps to note the dollar amount of the EPS surprise and the number of standard deviations the actual EPS differs from the expected EPS, a measurement known as the standardized unexpected earnings (SUE).

Ranked listing of companies releasing EPS with surprise percentages. Data inclues:

• Company name, ticker

• Estimate EPS, reported EPS, surprise percentage


*EPS ranked surprise news summary stories are updated every 15 minutes.

Sales Surprise

The Sales Surprise is calculated by comparing reported sales (in $) against consensus sell-side analyst projections for sales (in $). An internal Zacks study shows that the sales surprise is an exceptionally valuable predictor of future excess returns. It is not only useful in analyzing the performance of the companies whose valuations are based on revenue multiples, but it serves as an additional tool for old economy companies complementing the earnings surprise. Zacks Sales Surprise allows you to predict future stock price performance.

Alphabetical sales surprise listing. Data includes:

• Company ticker, name, report date, and period

• Number of estimates, standard deviation of estimates, and mean

• Sales consensus estimate ($)

• Sales reported ($)

• Sales Surprise (%)


DIGEST Access Research Digest page directly from ZRS 5.0 for full-text sell-side research reports, including both Zacks proprietary content and boutique research content.

DIGEST

DIGEST COVERAGE

Click on Sector to get a list of company models of that sector. Company models are Excel-based spreadsheets containing a complete consensus income statement, a first in the investment community. Along with the consensus income statement are Balance Sheet, Cash Flow, and GAAP vs. Pro Forma EPS models.


INDUSTRY SALES MODELS

Go to an industry or scroll down to open Industry Sales Model Spreadsheets.

Spreadsheets include Comparative Analysis of the group of Companies composing of the Subindustry, as well as an individual company analysis of each company composing of the Subindustry group. Forecasts Total Revenue broken down by the various business segments for each company. Includes: total revenue for past quarters, forecast by quarter over the next two years, and forecast by fiscal year for the next three years. Comparative analysis compares peer companies in historical and estimated future net income margin.

For instructions, please refer to the Research Digest Manual. To request these materials, contact Dimitra Stamatoukos at [email protected].


Interactive Report Designer

Design and print custom generated reports using ZRS 5.0 charts and tables.

Design and Print an Interactive Report To design a report, go to the Tools menu, and then select the Interactive Report Designer. Below is an image of a report created in the Interactive Report Designer.

• To add an item to a report, click on ‘Add Item’. Data tables and charts in the Top View and Charting sections of ZRS are available for the report, as well as some free design elements. You can also add text to a report and add a page to a report here. To compare a chart to a benchmark group, click on the chart, then click ‘Edit Item’, and set the benchmark group from the ‘Compare To’ item list.

• To size and position items in a report, select the item of interest (the item will have an orange outline around it denoting your selection), drag the item from the top left corner of the object, and resize from the borders of the box.

• To edit an item, select the item, then click on ‘Edit Item’.

• To delete an item, select the item, then click on ‘Delete Item’.

• Save by clicking on the ‘Save’ button and naming the report.

• To make changes to a saved report, click on ‘Open’, then edit.

• To Print a report, go to the Print menu in ZRS, then Print Report and select from the list of saved reports to print a report. Batch printing instructions are outlined on the following page.


Broker Recommendation

. Go to Tools, Report Package, then Create/Edit.

• In the Reports List Section, click on to add a saved report. Multiple reports can be added to the list.

• In the Tickers Lists Section, click on to add a saved ticker list.

• For Advent-Axys users, click on to add a portfolio from Advent.

• Name the process and click to Save.

• Click to delete a report or ticker list in their respective section, to clear the

entire list, and to edit a report or ticker list, click .

• To Print, go to Print, then click Print Report Package. All reports will print to your default

printer.

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS Compare the Performance, Fundamental History, and Valuation History of Sectors, Industries, and Subindustry to another or to the market using the S&P 500.

Click on the button to select a Sector (in bold black font), Industry (in blue font), or Subindustry (scroll over the green arrow next the industry group to get a list of Subindustries). After selecting industry groups, click GO.


Charting- Performance

Compare price performance to user defined benchmark.

Clicking on the button at the top right of your screen will generate the relative graph.

Use the pull down menu to select a category (Industry, Indices, Enter ETF Ticker, or Enter Ticker) to open the list of available price measures.

Charting- Fundamental History- Size- Revenue TTM

View historical and forecast future fundamental metrics. In the Fundamental History section, you can access several different ratios and metrics in the following categories: Size, Margins and Common Size, Leverage, Return on Capital, Liquidity, and Per Share Items. Available through the Local Explorer Button at the top right of the chart.


Charting- Valuation History- P/E TTM

View historical and predict future valuation metrics. In the Valuation History section, you can access P/E TTM, P/E F1, Price to Book TTM, Price to Revenue per Share TTM, Price to Cash Flow per Share TTM, Enterprise Value

to EBITDA TTM, and Dividend Yield %. Available through the Local Explorer Button at the top right of the chart.

Charting- Relative Price/Relative Fundamentals- Size- Revenue TTM

Absolute The yellow line shows the absolute price for the Sector/Industry/Subsector Group. The solid green line shows the absolute Revenue TTM for the Sector/Industry/Subsector Group. The dotted green line displays the estimates for the Sector/Industry/Subsector Group for absolute Revenue TTM.

Benchmark The yellow line shows the market (S&P 500) price. The green line shows the market (S&P 500) Revenue TTM.

Relative The yellow line shows the Sector/Industry/Subsector Group relative to the market (S&P 500) price change. The solid green line shows the Sector/Industry/Subsector Group relative to the market (S&P 500) change in revenue TTM. The dotted green line shows the estimated relative revenue TTM.

In the Relative Price/ Relative Fundamentals section, you can access several different

metrics and ratios pertaining to Size, Return on Capital, and Per Share Items. Available

through the Local Explorer Button at the top right of the chart.

Discounted Cash Flow Model Zacks Live Company DCF Models are easy to use to determine valuations that begin with the consensus forecasts for the next 2 years and extend them far into the future using one, two and three stage assumptions.

As is well known, the intrinsic value, or “fair value”, of a company, and its common shares, is rarely exactly equal to its price in the stock market, especially since the latter fluctuates far more than the former. A company, like its capital investments, can be valued as the sum of all its capital and other projects, which, when the company assesses them, either initially, or as current operations, is generally done using a discounted cash flow analysis, like that of this model. Also called the intrinsic value, this present value of all its future cash flows is discounted to the present by an appropriate rate of expected return, cost of capital, or the rate which could be earned on alternative investments or projects of similar risk profile.


The Zack s DCF Valuation Model values a company of the user’s choice on the above basis. A wide variety of choices for assumptions and projections are provided. The final result is very sensitive to changes in the figures that the user selects and enters in the model.

Where can you access this?

The DCF Model link is located on the ZRS 5.0 Home Page in the company description box. The DCF Model is an Excel file with sophisticated macros. The local security settings on your computer may prevent running DCF model from your browser. To avoid security related issues please save the DCF Model on your computer first, and open it in Excel after.


INDEX

4 Panel Charting, 23 Absolute Chart Display Option, 46 Assign Home Page, 28 Bar Chart Display Option, 48 Beta, 35 Bollinger Band, 68 Change Active Ticker, 17 Change Colors on Charts, 28 Changing Price Chart Frequency, 43 Charting Display, 33 Charting Outline, 41 Charting Overview, 32 Choose Benchmark, 17 Components of Home Page, 8 Consensus IS Forecast, 75 Copy To Clipboard, 25 Create a Ticker List, 17 Create Custom View, 21 Customize Home Page, 23 Customize Peer Group, 20, 71 Digest Coverage, 103 Display Data on Charts, 44 DuPont Analysis Model, 24 EPS Surprise, 101 Estimate Details, 75 Estimate Revision Activity, 100 Estimates Overview, 72 Estimates Summary, 74 Events Calendar, 82 Exponential Moving Average, 68 Export Data to Excel, 25 Financial Statements General Description, 79 Financial Statements Standardized, 79 Financial Statements Template Descriptions, 81 Full Consensus Story, 6, 58 Fundamental History Charts, 52, 107 Hilbert Trend Line, 68 Industry Analysis, 106 Industry Sales Model, 75 Industry Sales Models, 104 Interactive Chart, 33 Line and Bar Graphs, 30 Line Chart Display Option, 48 Linear Regression, 68 Log Scale/Linear Scale, 45 Market- EPS (and Sales) Surprise Activity, 100 Market Monitor, 9 Market Monitor Appearance, 10 Market Monitor Toolbars, 11

Market Statistics, 98, 99 Navigate through Home Page, 15 Navigation Cursor, 15 Navigation Menu, 13 Navigation Menu Bar, 14 Open PRI Report, 66 Open Zacks Independent Research Report, 65 Open Zacks Research Digest Reports, 64 Parabolic SAR, 68 Peer Comparisons Components, 71 Peer Group, 20 Performance Charts, 50, 107 Place Action's Toolbar on a page, 29 Portfolio Analytics, 85 Portfolio Station, 86 PRI Report, 66 Print, 25 Print Page Setup, 26 Rank Analysis, 97 Ratios and metrics available in Top View, 31 Relative and Absolute Graphs, 30 Relative Chart Display Option, 47 Relative Price/Relative Fundamentals, 108 Relative Price/Relative Fundamentals Charts, 54 Reports, 63 Research Delivery, 78 Research Digest Reports, 63 Research Reports, 67 ROC DuPont Analysis Model, 24

Sales Surprise, 101 Screening, 84 Set Base Date on Charts, 44 Simple Moving Average, 68 Surprises, 77 Technical Analysis Overlays, 68 Technical Charts, 49, 50 Ticker Exchange Information Window, 17 TMC, 78 Trading Strategy Evaluator, 97 Valuation History Charts, 53, 108 Valuation Maps, 67 Zacks All Stars, 76 Zacks Independent Research, 64 Zacks Link to Excel, 96 Zacks Peer Group, 70 Zacks Research Delivery, 78 Zacks Valuation Model, 57 ZRS 5.0 Overview, 6

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