Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Marriott, Starwood andBB&T.

CHICAGO -- Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Marriott (NYSE: MAR), Starwood (NYSE: HOT) and

See the latest posts to the Analyst Blog by visiting: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2673

Here are highlights from Monday's Analyst Blog:

Wait a Bit Longer on Marriott

We continue to rate the shares of Marriott (NYSE: MAR) a Hold. Although we find Marriott's current valuation significantly more intriguing following the pullback of approximately 30% from the highs reached in the spring of 2007, we do not anticipate significant share price appreciation in the near-term. Given the current uncertainty regarding the state of the economy, and its potential impact on Marriott's lodging and timeshare businesses, we prefer to remain cautious on the shares at this time.

For the fourth quarter of 2007, Marriott issued EPS guidance of $0.61 to $0.63 per share, slightly below our previous estimate of $0.64 per share. The Street consensus estimate was $0.68 per share. For full-year 2008, the company guided to EPS on the range of $2.10 to $2.25. While our previous estimate of $2.21 fell within this range, the guidance was below the Street consensus estimate of $2.30 per share.

We believe that the shares of Marriott International are appropriately valued, relative to other large cap lodging companies and given the lodging environment. Marriott International currently trades at 9.5x our 2008 EBITDA estimate and at a premium to Starwood (NYSE: HOT), which currently trades at 8.9x our 2008 EBITDA estimate. Our $37.00 six-month target price equates to an EBITDA multiple of approximately 10.2x our 2008 EBITDA estimate.

Assessing BB&T's Bad News

Non-interest income in BB&T's (NYSE: BBT) last quarter decreased by 8.28% sequentially, mainly due to a 10% decline in the insurance commissions, stemming from soft pricing conditions in its P&C business. Credit metrics deteriorated with nonperforming assets rising to 0.42% of total assets. We have moderated our FY07 and FY08 estimates and our six-month target price (down to $32 per share) but are keeping our rating unchanged at Hold.

Relative pricing now looks attractive on a P/E-to-growth (PEG) basis, using the consensus forward estimate and the consensus long-term growth rate. BBT's PEG ratio is 1.16, a 13% discount to the 1.33 median for the peer group (versus 6% premium previously). On a price-to-book basis, the premium of 8% looks fair, given an ROE 17% above median.

Our six-month price target of $32 per share equates to 1.42 times our projected book value six months out (now March 2008) or 9.8 times our 2008 EPS estimate. We continue to view the new $1.84 per share annual dividend as secure, implying about 5.7% expected total return over the period. We are thus keeping our rating unchanged at Hold.

The quantitative Zacks Rank for BBT is currently 4 (down from 3), indicating some downward directional pressure on the shares in the near term. Short interest is currently 1.68 days.

See the latest posts to the Analyst Blog by visiting http://at.zacks.com/?id=2645

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