which was formed in1978 by Leonard Zacks

Department of Defense (DoD),including electronic systems, information technology, submarines and surfaceships, aircraft, space technology, and systems integration services. Northrop Grumman offers a strong program portfolio positioned to take advantageof growth areas in the defense budget, an improving balance sheet, and anongoing share repurchase program. Strayer Education Remains a BuyStrayer Education (NASDAQ: STRA) offers undergraduate and graduate degreeprograms in accounting, business administration, education, informationtechnology (IT), and public administration through Strayer University andStrayer University Online. Strayer University is committed to providingpost-secondary education to working adult students so that they can advance intheir careers and professional lives. The company benefits from positive pricing through annual 5 tuitionincreases.

The 2009 tuition increase was announced concurrent with the thirdquarter earnings report. Oil Drop Weighs on MarathonEarlier today, Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) provided aweaker-than-expected fourth quarter 2008 interim update (covering the first twomonths of the quarter). While weak commodity-price realizations were built intoestimates and were expected to be the primary reason for negative comparisonswith previous results, Marathon's results will also be affected by upstreamproduction shortfalls. We expect that today's guidance will prompt downwardearnings revisions.

The company reports fourth-quarter 2008 results on February3, 2009. Marathon expects fourth-quarter production of oil and natural gas to average415,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day (BOE/d), which is below the company'sguidance for the quarter. Approximately two-thirds of Marathon's productioncomes from outside the U.S. Want more from Zacks Equity Research Subscribe to the free Profit from the Prosnewsletter: About Zacks Equity ResearchZacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysisto help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term. Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks.Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights todevelopments that affect company profits and stock performance.

Recommendationsand target prices are six-month time horizons. Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latestanalysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today: ZacksZacks is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in1978 by Leonard Zacks. As a PhD in mathematics Len knew he could find patternsin stock market data that would lead to superior investment results. Amongst hismany accomplishments was the formation of his proprietary stock picking system;the Zacks Rank, which continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1margin. Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors shouldalways research companies and securities before making any investments.