Precima, part of Alliance Data Systems Corporation’s ADS LoyaltyOne business, recently inked a new long-term agreement with Loblaw Companies Limited. The deal will help Alliance Data to boost its service portfolio.

Details of the New Agreement

Per the agreement, Precima will be working with Loblaw to develop a single access retail analytics portal, which will help the clients understand customer, marketing and merchandising insights better with regard to grocery and pharmacy retail. This latest platform is expected to launch in 2018.

Benefits of the Latest Transaction

The new portal will allow Precima to offer substantial data that will provide support to merchandising and marketing strategy development as well as aid promotional effectiveness, assortment decisions, supplier alliance and consultation across the company's retail network. Also, this new deal will strengthen the equation between Precima and Loblaw, which first came into effect in June 2014.

Interestingly, Precima boasts a unique capability to convert customer insights into innovative and compelling marketing, trading and supplier solutions, driving favorable results in the process. Hence, the association with Loblaw will help create a robust collaboration of loyalty, analytics and retail industry expertise, resulting in higher sales, improved profitability and enhanced customer loyalty.

The new portal will help Loblaw’s clients further access data that in turn will assist the company to provide product assortment and services to its customer base, thus translating to a hassle-free and smooth shopping experience. Therefore, the new deal will boost Loblaw to accelerate its business and serve its clients better.

The latest transaction will add stimulus to Alliance Data’s service portfolio, raising its performance level to deliver better operating results and accelerate the company’s overall growth in the end.

Zacks Rank and Share Price Movement

Alliance Data carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Shares of Alliance Data have lost 2.9% year to date against the industry’s rally of 34.6%. However, we expect higher revenues, improving segmental performance and a solid financial position to turn the stock around in the near term.

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks from the same space include The Western Union Company WU, Total System Services, Inc. TSS and Visa Inc. V, each holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Western Union provides money movement and payment services worldwide. The company delivered positive surprises in three of the last four quarters with an average beat of 9.08%.

Total System provides payment processing, merchant and related payment services to financial and nonfinancial institutions in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico and internationally. The company pulled off positive surprises in the last four quarters with an average beat of 5.70%.

Visa Inc. operates as a payments technology company worldwide. The company came up with positive surprises in the trailing four quarters with an average beat of 8.13%.

Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest Strategies

It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +18.8% from 2016 - Q1 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +157.0%, +128.0%, +97.8%, +94.7%, and +90.2% respectively.

And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - Q1 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 11X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.

See Them Free>>

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
 
Visa Inc. (V) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Total System Services, Inc. (TSS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Alliance Data Systems Corporation (ADS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Western Union Company (The) (WU) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research