For Immediate Release Chicago, IL – May 13, 2016– Zacks Equity Research highlights Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. (TAST) as the Bull of the Day and G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. (GIII) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Toyota Motor Corporation (TM), Ford Motor Co. (F) and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (HMC). Here is a synopsis of all five stocks: Bull of the Day : Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. (TAST) continues to see hot sales as Burger King's marketing builds momentum. This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) is expected to see double digit earnings growth this year and next. Carrols is the largest Burger King franchisee in the United States with 717 restaurants, as of the beginning of Apr 3, 2016, and has operated Burger King restaurants since 1976. Most of its restaurants are located in the Northeast, the Ohio Valley and the Mid-Atlantic states. Another Big Beat in the First Quarter On May 10, Carrols reported its first quarter results and blew by the Zacks Consensus for the second quarter in a row. Earnings were $0.05 compared to the Zacks Consensus which was looking for a loss of $0.08. That's a 13 cent beat. That's coming on the heals of last quarter's big 15 cent beat. Total restaurant sales rose 15.2% to $222.5 million from $193.2 million in the year ago quarter, but that included $53.4 million in sales from an extra 190 Burger Kings acquired from 2014 to 2016. Comparable restaurant sales jumped 5.7% compared to an 8.4% increase in the first quarter of last year. That was a strong comp so it's impressive that it was able to lap it. Burger King's promotions are working to boost sales, additionally lower beef costs helped increase overall profitability. Raised Full Year Guidance Carrols is still optimistic about the rest of the year. It moderately raised full year sales guidance to a range of $935 million to $960 million from previous guidance of $930 million to $955 million. It kept its comparable restaurant sales guidance unchanged at 2% to 4%. Bear of the Day: G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. (GIII) is in the wrong place at the wrong time. This Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) provides apparel and accessories to the big department stores. G-III makes and distributes apparel and accessories under licensed brands and its own brands. It has fashion licenses for some of the biggest names in fashion including Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Karl Lagerfeld, Kenneth Cole, Cole Haan, Guess, Jones New York, Jessica Simpson, Vince Camuto, Ivanka Trump, Ellen Tracy, Kensie, Levi's and Dockers. It actually owns its own brands including Vilebrequin, Andrew Marc, Marc New York, Bass, G.H. Bass, Weejuns, Eliza J, Black Rivet and Jessica Howard. It also operates retail stores under the Wilsons Leather, Bass, G.H. Bass & Co, Vilebrequin and Calvin Klein Performance names. Warm Weather Hit Q4 of Fiscal 2016 On Mar 22, G-III reported fiscal fourth quarter results ended Jan 31, 2016 and it missed by $0.25 as warm weather crushed its large coat business. G-III is one of the biggest suppliers of winter coats to the department stores. But the warm winter meant coat sales didn't materialize. However, its non-outerwear Calvin Klein businesses as well as its dress and team sport businesses did well in the quarter. It has partnered with Karl Lagerfeld in what the company is hoping is a long partnership in North America and it has expanded its relationship with Tommy Hilfiger. Estimates Cut Despite some of the positives, including positive comps at G.H. Bass, the department store business is being hit. The analysts have cut estimates since the March report. 5 estimates have been lowered in the last 2 months, pushing the Zacks Consensus down to $2.59 from $3.12 in that time. Additional content: Auto Stock Roundup The first-quarter earnings season is nearing its end with very few auto companies left to report. Over the last week, Toyota Motor Corporation ( TM) was the only major company to report earnings. The Japanese automaker reported weak net income and revenues for the quarter ended Mar 31, 2016. It also issued weak guidance for fiscal 2017. Meanwhile, Ford Motor Co. (F) announced a new investment, and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (HMC) started the production of the 2017 Ridgeline pickup. (Read the previous roundup here: Auto Stock Roundup for May 5, 2016 ) Recap of the Week’s Most Important Stories 1. Toyota posted consolidated net income of ¥426.6 billion ($3.71 billion) in fourth-quarter fiscal 2016 (ended Mar 31, 2016), lower than ¥446.4 billion ($3.75 billion) reported in the year-ago quarter. Consolidated revenues decreased 2.1% year over year to ¥6.97 trillion ($60.6 billion) and missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $63.1 billion. Toyota revealed its consolidated revenue guidance of ¥26.5 trillion ($252.4 billion) for fiscal 2017. The revenue guidance reflects a 6.7% decline from fiscal 2016. Operating income for the full fiscal is guided at ¥1.7 trillion ($16.2 billion). The guidance reflects a 40.4% year-over-year decrease. Net earnings are expected at around ¥1.5 trillion ($14.3 billion), reflecting a 35.1% decline over fiscal 2016 (read more: Toyota Misses FY16 Earnings, Posts Weak FY17 View ). 2. Ford announced a $182.2 million investment in the cloud-based software platform company Pivotal. The investment is aimed at improving Ford’s software development capabilities and expediting innovations for customers. 3. Honda started mass production of the new 2017 Honda Ridgeline pickup truck at Honda Manufacturing of Alabama (HMA). The truck will be exclusively manufactured at HMA and will soon go on sale in the U.S. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >> About the Bull and Bear of the Day Every day, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research select two stocks that are likely to outperform (Bull) or underperform (Bear) the markets over the next 3-6 months. About the Analyst Blog Updated throughout every trading day, the Analyst Blog provides analysis from Zacks Equity Research about the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. About Zacks Equity Research Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term. Continuous analyst coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons. Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today. Find out What is happening in the stock market today on zacks.com. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report CARROLS RESTRNT (TAST): Free Stock Analysis Report SPDR-F/M GI100 (GII): ETF Research Reports TOYOTA MOTOR CP (TM): Free Stock Analysis Report FORD MOTOR CO (F): Free Stock Analysis Report HONDA MOTOR (HMC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research