Zacks Sell List Highlights: Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., American Ecology Corp., Churchill Downs, Inc. and Central European Distribution Corp.

CHICAGO, Nov 05, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Zacks.com releases details on a group of stocks that are currently members of the exclusive Zacks #5 Rank List -- Stocks to Sell Now. These stocks are currently rated as a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell): Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. (Nasdaq: WINN) and American Ecology Corp.

(Nasdaq: ECOL). Further, Zacks announced #4 Rankings (Sell) on two other widely held stocks: Churchill Downs, Inc. (Nasdaq: CHDN) and Central European Distribution Corp. (Nasdaq: CEDC). To see the full Zacks #5 Rank List - Stocks to Sell Now visit: http://at.zacks.com/?id=92 Since inception in 1988, the S&P 500 has outperformed the Zacks #5 Rank List of Stocks to Sell Now by 80% annually (+2% vs. +10%). While the rest of Wall Street continued to tout stocks during the market declines of the last few years, Zacks told investors which stocks to sell or avoid.

Here is a synopsis of why WINN and ECOL have a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell) and should most likely be sold or avoided for the next one to three months. Note that a #5 Strong Sell rating is applied to 5% of all the stocks in the Zacks Rank universe: Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. (Nasdaq: WINN) recently cuts its view for fiscal 2010 adjusted EBITDA to between $140 million and $160 million, down from its earlier forecast of $170 million to $180 million. Analysts expect EPS of 24 cents for the full year, a decrease of 14 cents over the last 30 days. On Oct 26, the grocery-store operator posted a first-quarter loss of 9 cents per share, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 2 cents.

American Ecology Corp. (Nasdaq: ECOL) revised its full-year earnings forecast downward to between 77 cents and 83 cents per share. It had previously guided earnings of 85 cents to $1. Analysts on average, polled by Zacks, currently expect earnings of 80 cents per share. On Oct 27, the company recorded an 8.5% decline in third-quarter revenues to $37.5 million.

Here is a synopsis of why CHDN and CEDC have a Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) and should also most likely be sold or avoided for the next one to three months. Note that a #4 Sell rating is applied to 15% of all the stocks ranked by Zacks; Churchill Downs, Inc.'s (Nasdaq: CHDN) third-quarter profit of 8 cents per share, reported last month, came in 68% behind analysts' expectations. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the full year is $1.68 cents per share, a decline from $1.96 over the past 7 days as 2 out 3 analysts revised downward. Estimate for the following year declined to $2.05 from $2.12 per share in the same period.

Central European Distribution Corp. (Nasdaq: CEDC) announced third-quarter earnings per share of 46 cents earlier this week, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4 cents. Net sales dipped to $390.1 million from $452.4 million in the prior-year quarter. The last month has seen cuts by 1 analyst out of 3, sending the full-year average forecast lower by 4 cents to $2.42 per share.

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About the Zacks Rank Since 1988, the Zacks Rank has proven that "Earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices." Since inception in 1988, #1 Rank Stocks have generated an average annual return of +27%. During the 2000-2002 bear market, Zacks #1 Rank stocks gained +43.8%, while the S&P 500 tumbled -37.6%. Also note that the Zacks Rank system has just as many Strong Sell recommendations (Rank #5) as Strong Buy recommendations (Rank #1). Since 1988, Zacks Rank #5 stocks have significantly underperformed the S&P 500 (-0.9% versus +9%). Thus, the Zacks Rank system allows investors to truly manage portfolio trading effectively.

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