(Source: Business Wire)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: LM Ericsson Telephone Company (NASDAQ: ERIC), Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTH), Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE: NBR), The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE) and Ingersoll-Rand Company Limited (NYSE: IR).

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Here are highlights from Wednesday's Analyst Blog:

Ericsson Feeling Margin Pressure

Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, LM Ericsson Telephone Company (NASDAQ: ERIC) is a multinational company engaged in manufacturing and selling wireless infrastructure equipment for the telecom sector. It is a total network solutions provider, serving wireless and wireline operators, enterprises and consumers.

Ericsson reported slightly higher revenues but lower-than-expected earnings for 3Q08. The company experienced operator consolidation and delays in mobile telecom roll-outs across Western & Eastern Europe, Australia and Japan, which caused its product mix to be more-heavily weighted towards lower-margined products and services.

Hilltop Holdings Restructures

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTH), formerly known as Affordable Residential Communities (ARC), operates as a property and casualty insurance company providing fire and homeowners insurance through its subsidiary, NLASCO, for low-value dwellings and manufactured homes.

ARC was engaged in manufactured housing and related activities, but sold off all its businesses except NLASCO in July 2007. The company incurred a net loss of $0.11 per share in 3Q08 primarily due to higher loss and loss adjustment expense of $14.0 million and $8.2 million in reinstatement premium.

Nabors Inds Highly Exposed

Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE: NBR) conducts oil, gas, and geothermal land drilling operations and is the largest land-drilling contractor in the world. It is also one of the largest land well servicing companies and workover contractors in the U.S.

Nabors' third-quarter 2008 results topped our estimates, reflecting strong gains on the back of improvement in every significant business line, except Canada. The company's Contract Drilling segment drove the year-over-year increase with sales of $1.31 billion, buoyed by strength in the international segment.