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The following are today's upgrades for Validea's Book/Market Investor model based on the published strategy of Joseph Piotroski. This value-quant strategy screens for high book-to-market stocks, and then separates out financially sound firms by looking at a host of improving financial criteria.

SOCIETE GENERALE SA (ADR) (SCGLY) is a large-cap value stock in the Money Center Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Joseph Piotroski changed from 70% to 80% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.

Company Description: Societe Generale SA is a France-based financial services group. The Group offers a wide range of advisory services and tailored financial solutions to secure transactions, protect and manage assets and savings, and help its clients finance their projects. It operates through three segments: French Retail Banking, International Retail Banking & Financial Services and Global Banking and Investor Solutions. French Retail Banking includes the domestic networks Societe Generale, Credit du Nord and Boursorama. International Retail Banking & Financial Services consists of International Retail Banking (consumer finance activities), Financial Services to Corporates (operational vehicle leasing and fleet management, equipment and vendor finance) and Insurance Activities. Global Banking and Investor Solutions comprises Global Markets and Investors Services, Financing and Advisory, Asset and Wealth Management. The Group is active globally.

The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.

Detailed Analysis of SOCIETE GENERALE SA (ADR)

PRECISION DRILLING CORP (USA) (PDS) is a small-cap value stock in the Oil Well Services & Equipment industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Joseph Piotroski changed from 70% to 90% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.

Company Description: Precision Drilling Corporation is a Canada-based provider of well service, contract drilling and completion and production services primarily to oil and natural gas and geothermal exploration and production companies in Canada, the United States and certain international locations. It operates through two segments: Contract Drilling Services, and Completion and Production Services. Its Contract Drilling Services segment includes drilling rigs, procurement and distribution of oilfield supplies, and manufacture, sale and repair of drilling equipment. The Completion and Production Services segment includes service rigs, oilfield equipment rental and camp and catering services. It provides services primarily in Canada, the United States and certain international locations. Its technologies include AlphaAutomation, AlphaApps, AlphaAnalytics and EverGreen. It has over 72 active service rigs in Canada, 73 active drilling rigs in Canada and 51 active drilling rigs in the United States.

The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.

Detailed Analysis of PRECISION DRILLING CORP (USA)

About Joseph Piotroski: Piotroski isn't your typical Wall Street big shot. In fact, he's not even a professional investor. He's a good old numbers-crunching accountant and college professor. But in 2000, shortly after he started teaching at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business, Piotroski published a groundbreaking paper in the Journal of Accounting Research entitled "Value Investing: The Use of Historical Financial Statement Information to Separate Winners from Losers". In it, Piotroski laid out an accounting-based stock-selection/shorting method that produced a 23 percent average annual back-tested return from 1976 through 1996 -- more than double the S&P 500's gain during that time. Piotroski's findings were reported in major financial publiations like SmartMoney. Today, he teaches accounting at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.

About Validea: Validea is aninvestment researchservice that follows the published strategies of investment legends. Validea offers both stock analysis and model portfolios based on gurus who have outperformed the market over the long-term, including Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch and Martin Zweig. For more information about Validea, click here

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.