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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights IBM, WMB, HLT and EML
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For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – October 2, 2025 – 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: International Business Machines Corp. (IBM - Free Report) , The Williams Companies, Inc. (WMB - Free Report) , Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (HLT - Free Report) and The Eastern Company (EML - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:
Top Analyst Reports for IBM, Williams Cos & Hilton
The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 12 major stocks, including International Business Machines Corp., The Williams Companies, Inc. and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc., as well as a micro-cap stock The Eastern Company. The Zacks microcap research is unique as our research content on these small and under-the-radar companies is the only research of its type in the country.
These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.
The daily 'Ahead of Wall Street' article is a must-read for all investors who would like to be ready for that day's trading action. The article comes out before the market opens, attempting to make sense of that morning's economic releases and how they will affect that day's market action. You can read this article for free on our home page and can actually sign up there to get an email notification as this article comes out each morning.
IBM’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Computer - Integrated Systems industry over the past year (+32.1% vs. +29.1%). The company is benefiting from a surge in demand for heterogeneous, dynamic and complex infrastructure strategies, which have led firms to undertake a cloud-agnostic and interoperable approach to highly secure multi-cloud management.
The integration of HashiCorp’s cloud software capabilities has further bolstered IBM’s hybrid multi-cloud approach. The company is betting big on the Watsonx platform, which is likely to be its core technology platform for AI capabilities. In addition, IBM continues to push the boundaries of quantum technology to explore solutions to complex problems beyond the reach of classical computing.
However, declining net sales in the Consulting segment, owing to soft demand in some end markets, are straining margins. Macroeconomic headwinds are worrisome. IBM’s acquisition spree has also escalated integration risks.
Shares of WilliamsCos have outperformed the Zacks Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry over the past year (+37.6% vs. +25.6%). The company reported consistent earnings growth, with second quarter 2025 adjusted EBITDA of $1.8 billion and major Transco expansions driving long-term contracted revenues.
Strategic acquisitions like Saber Midstream and ventures into power innovation projects broaden its footprint and diversify growth. Its fee-based model, with 90% of EBITDA insulated from commodity swings, underpins stable cash flows. However, risks persist: a high 63.4% debt-to-capitalization pressures the balance sheet, while elevated valuation multiples limit upside.
Heavy reliance on regulatory approvals for large-scale projects adds uncertainty, and rising operating and capex requirements could erode margins and constrain free cash flow in weaker cycles. Consequently, the energy infrastructure provider warrants a cautious stance from investors.
Hilton Worldwide’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Hotels and Motels industry over the year-to-date period (+5.1% vs. -14%). The company is benefiting from strong net unit growth, hotel conversions, and recovery across international markets. Hilton Worldwide’s focus on expanding its luxury portfolio, along with growth in Hilton Honors membership, remains a key positive.
Also, its focus on a capital-light model and disciplined capital return strategy bodes well. Management highlighted growing momentum in corporate group bookings, with forward-looking group position for 2026 and 2027 up in the high single digits.
However, its dismal China performance and broader economic uncertainty remain a concern. Earnings estimates for 2025 have remained unchanged in the past 30 days, limiting the upside potential of the stock.
Shares of Eastern Co. have underperformed the Zacks Security and Safety Services industry over the past year (-26.4% vs. +29.6%). This microcap company with a market capitalization of $143.06 million has top-line pressures from backlog contraction, margin erosion due to rising input costs and weak cash flows. Elevated customer concentration adds risk. Shares are undervalued at 0.64x EV/sales and 7.34x EV/EBITDA vs. industry averages.
Nevertheless, Eastern Co. is undergoing a strategic transformation aimed at operational efficiency and financial discipline. The closure of its Dearborn facility and shift to a leaner site, along with a 60-person headcount reduction, is set to yield $4 million in annualized savings.
A disciplined capital allocation approach — marked by $2.1 million in share buybacks, $4 million net debt reduction, and a 1.23x senior leverage ratio — underscores its balance sheet strength. The divestiture of low-margin ISBM assets has sharpened focus on high-margin growth areas. A 340-quarter dividend streak reinforces income appeal.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights IBM, WMB, HLT and EML
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – October 2, 2025 – 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: International Business Machines Corp. (IBM - Free Report) , The Williams Companies, Inc. (WMB - Free Report) , Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (HLT - Free Report) and The Eastern Company (EML - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:
Top Analyst Reports for IBM, Williams Cos & Hilton
The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 12 major stocks, including International Business Machines Corp., The Williams Companies, Inc. and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc., as well as a micro-cap stock The Eastern Company. The Zacks microcap research is unique as our research content on these small and under-the-radar companies is the only research of its type in the country.
These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.
You can see all of today’s research reports here >>>
Ahead of Wall Street
The daily 'Ahead of Wall Street' article is a must-read for all investors who would like to be ready for that day's trading action. The article comes out before the market opens, attempting to make sense of that morning's economic releases and how they will affect that day's market action. You can read this article for free on our home page and can actually sign up there to get an email notification as this article comes out each morning.
You can read today's AWS here >>> ADP Sees Negative -32K Jobs in September
Today's Featured Research Reports
IBM’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Computer - Integrated Systems industry over the past year (+32.1% vs. +29.1%). The company is benefiting from a surge in demand for heterogeneous, dynamic and complex infrastructure strategies, which have led firms to undertake a cloud-agnostic and interoperable approach to highly secure multi-cloud management.
The integration of HashiCorp’s cloud software capabilities has further bolstered IBM’s hybrid multi-cloud approach. The company is betting big on the Watsonx platform, which is likely to be its core technology platform for AI capabilities. In addition, IBM continues to push the boundaries of quantum technology to explore solutions to complex problems beyond the reach of classical computing.
However, declining net sales in the Consulting segment, owing to soft demand in some end markets, are straining margins. Macroeconomic headwinds are worrisome. IBM’s acquisition spree has also escalated integration risks.
(You can read the full research report on IBM here >>>)
Shares of Williams Cos have outperformed the Zacks Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry over the past year (+37.6% vs. +25.6%). The company reported consistent earnings growth, with second quarter 2025 adjusted EBITDA of $1.8 billion and major Transco expansions driving long-term contracted revenues.
Strategic acquisitions like Saber Midstream and ventures into power innovation projects broaden its footprint and diversify growth. Its fee-based model, with 90% of EBITDA insulated from commodity swings, underpins stable cash flows. However, risks persist: a high 63.4% debt-to-capitalization pressures the balance sheet, while elevated valuation multiples limit upside.
Heavy reliance on regulatory approvals for large-scale projects adds uncertainty, and rising operating and capex requirements could erode margins and constrain free cash flow in weaker cycles. Consequently, the energy infrastructure provider warrants a cautious stance from investors.
(You can read the full research report on Williams here >>>)
Hilton Worldwide’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Hotels and Motels industry over the year-to-date period (+5.1% vs. -14%). The company is benefiting from strong net unit growth, hotel conversions, and recovery across international markets. Hilton Worldwide’s focus on expanding its luxury portfolio, along with growth in Hilton Honors membership, remains a key positive.
Also, its focus on a capital-light model and disciplined capital return strategy bodes well. Management highlighted growing momentum in corporate group bookings, with forward-looking group position for 2026 and 2027 up in the high single digits.
However, its dismal China performance and broader economic uncertainty remain a concern. Earnings estimates for 2025 have remained unchanged in the past 30 days, limiting the upside potential of the stock.
(You can read the full research report on Hilton Worldwide here >>>)
Shares of Eastern Co. have underperformed the Zacks Security and Safety Services industry over the past year (-26.4% vs. +29.6%). This microcap company with a market capitalization of $143.06 million has top-line pressures from backlog contraction, margin erosion due to rising input costs and weak cash flows. Elevated customer concentration adds risk. Shares are undervalued at 0.64x EV/sales and 7.34x EV/EBITDA vs. industry averages.
Nevertheless, Eastern Co. is undergoing a strategic transformation aimed at operational efficiency and financial discipline. The closure of its Dearborn facility and shift to a leaner site, along with a 60-person headcount reduction, is set to yield $4 million in annualized savings.
A disciplined capital allocation approach — marked by $2.1 million in share buybacks, $4 million net debt reduction, and a 1.23x senior leverage ratio — underscores its balance sheet strength. The divestiture of low-margin ISBM assets has sharpened focus on high-margin growth areas. A 340-quarter dividend streak reinforces income appeal.
(You can read the full research report on Eastern Company here >>>)
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.