Posts related to ‘Agriculture’

52-Week High Club (AMD, ASMI, ALV, CHS, GGWPQ, LFT, DE)

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) rose over 10% to a yearly high of $7.33 after the computer processor maker announced today that it would offer $500 million in senior notes, the cash from which will be used to purchase its 5.75 percent convertible notes due in 2012.

ASM International N.V. (NASDAQ:ASMI) rose over 5% to a yearly high of $24.69 after the semiconductor equipment maker was upgraded by Fortis Bank Nederland NV.

Autoliv Inc. (NYSE: ALV) rose over 3% to a yearly high of $41.84 after the airbag manufacturer said that production is holding up well in the fourth quarter.

Chico’s FAS Inc. (NYSE: CHS) rose over 14% to a yearly high of $15.43 after the women’s clothes retailer announced 3Q earnings of $0.13 per share, nearly doubling analysts expectations.  

General Growth Properties Inc. (OTC: GGWPQ) rose over 35% to a yearly high of $6.19 after Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE: SPG) announced that it had hired Lazard Ltd to lookk into buying assets from General Growth.  

Longtop Financial Technologies Limited (NYSE: LFT) rose nearly 10% to a yearly high of $35.30 after the Chinese software developer said that it had added 3.7 million additional American depositary receipts priced at $31.25.

Deer & Company (NYSE: DE) rose over 6% to a yearly high of $52.28 after Jim Cramer recommended buying shares in the tractor maker, arguing that the company would benefit from increased agricultural activity.  

Garrett W. McIntyre

Posted on: November 18, 2009 – 4:15 pm in Agriculture, Autos, Mergers and Buy Outs, Retail, Semiconductor, Technology Companies, , , , , , , ,

When Special Dividends Don’t Deliver (MOS, MOO)

Mosaic LogoSometimes special dividends make sense, and sometimes they do not.  Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) traded lower most of the trading day after the fertilizer and potash giant declared a special cash dividend of $1.30 per share.  The company also reaffirmed its 2010 capital spending guidance, but the special dividend failed to excite many investors.  With a prior close of $51.79, that is a 2.5% special return.  Generally speaking, special dividends have a higher return than this.  They also tend to come when an entity feels that it has no better use of its capital.  Yet the reaction today was an unfavorable one, and there are reasons why.
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Posted on: October 26, 2009 – 4:27 pm in Agriculture, Dividend, ETF, ,

52-Week High Club

CF Industries Holdings Inc (NYSE: CF) rallied over 4% to a yearly high of $95.06 after Agrium Inc. announced that it had extened its offer to acquire CF Industries holding for $40 in cash and a share of Agrium per share of CF Industries Holdings.

Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI) hit a yearly high of $14.02 after the company’s earnings beat analyst estimates.

iPCS Inc. (NASDAQ: IPCS) rallied over 30% to a yearly high of $23.95 after Sprint Nextel announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire the company for roughly $831 million, with the shares valued at $24.

Garrett W. McIntyre

Posted on: October 19, 2009 – 4:17 pm in Agriculture, Media, Old Media, Telecom, , , , ,

Mosaic Misses A Low Bar, Yet Holds Up (MOS)

The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS) was one stock where we noted that the bar for earnings expectations was  very low.  The fertilizer and potash player came even lower.  It posted $0.23 EPS rather than $2.65 EPS a year ago and under the $0.35 EPS target.  Quarterly revenues were down 66% to $1.5 billion, versus $2.9 billion a year ago and versus estimates of $1.54 billion.  It ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $2.6 billion as of August 31, 2009, but the business metrics are soft despite it trying to talk up long-term demand.
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Posted on: October 5, 2009 – 4:43 pm in Agriculture, Earnings,

The Unusual Suspects (AA, MOS, YUM, CVC, CIT, LOCM, RVSN, WFC)

bull-and-bear-image2It is the weekend and that means a review of last week’s unusual suspects and a review for key stocks in the week ahead.  Technically earnings season gets its first earnings report from a DJIA component in ACLOA Inc. (NYSE: AA) this week, as well as earnings from The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS) and from Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM).  Other key stocks to watch will be Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC), CIT Group, Inc. (NYSE: CIT) on the ropes, the real or unreal takeover chances for Local.com Corp. (NASDAQ: LOCM), and the unusual trading in Radvision Ltd. (NASDAQ: RVSN) and Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC).  We have provided more detailed information and analysis on each story below.
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Posted on: October 4, 2009 – 10:34 am in Agriculture, Banking, Buffett, Cable Companies, Calendar, Commodities, Dividend, Earnings, Editor's Picks, Food, Internet, Mergers and Buy Outs, Options, Private Equity, Rumors, The Week, Trading Alert, , , , , , , ,

Fertilizer Wars Heat Up Again (CF, TRA, AGU, MOO)

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Fertilizer maker CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) said it has purchased 7% of the shares of competitor Terra Industries Inc. (NYSE:TRA) on the open market. CF has also renewed its offer to purchase the remaining shares of Terra, this time for about $4 billion. The latest offer values Terra at about $40/share and includes a $7.50/share adjustment to pay for a special dividend that Terra proposes to issue to its shareholders.

CF Industries is itself trying to resist a buyout from Canadian fertilizer maker Agrium Inc. (NYSE:AGU), which last week extended its exchange offer for CF until October 22nd. That offer includes $40/share in cash plus one share of Agrium stock for each share of CF stock. Read More »

Posted on: September 29, 2009 – 10:16 am in Agriculture, , , ,

Analyst Dumps Agriculture & Fertilizers (MOS, POT, MOO)

Bull and Bear ImageThis morning is looking a little rough for some of the farming, agriculture, fertilizer, and potash stocks.  We have seen a downgrade in the sector from UBS this morning.  Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT) and Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) were both downgraded to Neutral from Buy by the analyst team at UBS today.  This broad call is also going to have an impact on Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (NYSE: MOO).
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Posted on: August 28, 2009 – 8:14 am in Agriculture, Analyst Calls, , ,

Mosaic Secures Larger Credit Facility (MOS)

Money Stack ImageThe Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS) has just announced a new unsecured credit facility with a syndicate of banks.  While credit has been tight for many companies, this new three-year $500 million unsecured facility replaces a secured credit agreement that included a $450 million revolving credit facility scheduled to mature in February 2010.  In short, this is a larger credit facility that may be at more flexible terms to the company considering how the sector and environment have been.
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Posted on: July 29, 2009 – 4:26 pm in Agriculture,

Unusual Options Trading in Mosaic, Options Price Predicting (MOS, VALE)

Mosaic LogoWe saw very unusual options trading late today during the last hour of trading in shares of Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS).  This is the day after reports that Brazil’s Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE) was interested in the company as one of the possible acquisitions in the potash and agri-business.  We also saw a late-day sudden move of over $2.00 to the downside.

This highly unusual options trading in Mosaic had all the characteristics of last minute options rolls as today is the expiration date for the July 2009 stock options.  Interestingly enough, the same sort of late-day dip was seen in shares of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT) and even in Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE: IPI).  Potash Corp. also saw some obvious options roll trading that looked like a mini volume spike, but not in Intrepid.

Unless told differently, we will attribute all of the late-day action to the options roll.  Either way, we wanted to dig down and try to use options as a prediction tool to see just what price is expected to come if Vale does make a play for Mosaic.  This movement was quick enough and violent enough that we would not be surprised if this ends up being one of those classical trading patterns where large options trading triggered a big move and caused the rumor mongers to start barking.
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Posted on: July 17, 2009 – 4:06 pm in Agriculture, Mergers and Buy Outs, Options, Rumors, Trading Alert, , , ,

New Fertilizer Dump, India and USDA (POT, MOS, AGU, CF, TRA, TNH, IPI, MOO)

Broken Money Merger ImageFertilizer stocks just can’t catch a break.  If it isn’t an official earnings warning to watch out for or the stock market and economic growth concerns, then it government data.  New data reported from the U.S. Department of Agriculture has raised concerns that farmers are going without fertilizer.  Add in a report of another price drop in potash in India and you have the double whammy.  Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT), Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS), Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU), CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF), Terra Industries Inc. (NYSE: TRA), Terra Nitrogen Company, L.P. (NYSE: TNH), and Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE: IPI) are all seeing some action today.  Just not good action.  Even the Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (NYSE: MOO) is getting hit.

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Posted on: July 10, 2009 – 1:19 pm in Agriculture, Economy, Trading Alert, , , , , , , ,

Potash Earnings Issues Now Credibility Issues (POT, MOS, AGU, CF, TRA, TNH, IPI, MOO)

Burning Money PicPotash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT) did last night what most traders already feared was coming. The Canadian potash supply giant said that weak demand for its products and lower prices were going to take earnings for the quarter down to about $0.70 EPS versus a previous forecast of $1.10 to $1.50 EPS.  This is hitting other potash and fertilizer companies including Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS), Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU), CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF), Terra Industries Inc. (NYSE: TRA), Terra Nitrogen Company, L.P. (NYSE: TNH), and Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE: IPI).  Even the Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (NYSE: MOO) is indicated to open lower this morning.
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Posted on: June 26, 2009 – 6:48 am in Agriculture, Earnings Warning, , , , , , , ,

Giving Ag, Potash, and Fertilizers A Second Chance (MON, POT, MOS, IPI, AGU, CF, MOO)

money-stack-imageMonsanto Co. (NYSE: MON), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT), Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) and Intrepid Potash,Inc. (NYSE: IPI) are all recovering at least some from yesterday’s major drops.  While Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU) and CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF) are lower again, the declines are minuscule compared to yesterday’s reaction to the news.  Even the Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (NYSE: MOO) is trading up marginally.  These stocks were crushed yesterday by word of lower demand and lower prices over at K+S in Europe.

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Posted on: June 18, 2009 – 11:53 am in Agriculture, Technical Analysis, Trading Alert, , , , , , ,

Potash and Fertilizer Stocks Skunked By News From Germany (POT, MOS, MON, AGU, CF, IPI, MOO, SYT)

burning-money-picIf you thought European stock news from companies doesn’t matter, this morning is proof against that notion.  A German company called K+S warned of weak potash demand and announced price cuts and a drop in sales expectations.  It is calling Q2 demand very weak ahead of the fall fertilization.  This news has not yet been issued by US and Canadian fertilizer and potash players, but shares of Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT), Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON), Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU), CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF), and Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE: IPI) are getting hammered.  Even the agriculture ETF  such as the Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (NYSE: MOO) is getting hit along with Syngenta AG (NYSE: SYT).
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Posted on: June 17, 2009 – 11:45 am in Agriculture, Earnings Warning, Trading Alert, , , , , , ,

At $62 Oil & $900 Gold, ETF’s Compete In Reflation Trade (DBA, GLD, SLV, JJC, USO, DBC)

Gold ImageOil Well ImageMoney Stack ImageWhile the Fed has noted nothing about inflationary pressures, we have started seeing yet another return to the reflation trade as the economy seems to be bottoming out and all the new printed money comes  into the systems in the months (and years) ahead.  With gold back over $900 and oil back over $60, that is of little to no surprise.  The easiest way for the public to participate in this is via the active exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded notes.  We track the base funds which are liquid and are not leveraged such as PowerShares DB Agriculture (NYSE: DBA), SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD), iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV), iPath DJ AIG Copper TR Sub-Index ETN (NYSE: JJC), United States Oil (NYSE: USO), and the PowerShares DB Commodity Index Tracking (NYSE: DBC).
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Posted on: May 20, 2009 – 1:42 pm in Agriculture, Commodities, ETF, Economy, Metals, Trading Alert, , , , , ,

Mosaic’s BMO Ag Conference Presentation Summary (MOS)

Fertilizer maker, The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS), outlined its strategy for the coming months at the BMO Capital Markets 2009 Agricultural, Protein & Fertilizer Conference today.  We decided to prepare a quick-hit look at the highlights of Mosaic’s presentation to get a better post-earnings season feel for what to expect this summer from at least one of the top potash players for agriculture:

* Potash sales volumes will decline significantly in 2009 due to weak demand…. Long-term demand for potash will increase. (More to follow)
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Posted on: May 14, 2009 – 8:43 am in Agriculture,

A Movement For Even More Ethanol Use

Burning Money PicThe US Environmental Protection Agency has proposed increasing the maximum amount of ethanol blended in gasoline from 10% (E10) to 15% (E15). An ethanol industry group called Growth Energy and 54 ethanol makers back this increase.  This begs a legitimate question for the rest of us.  Should anyone else back any increase in the use of ethanol?
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Posted on: May 12, 2009 – 12:06 pm in Agriculture, Alternative Energy, Oil & Gas, Politics, Regulation

FDA Attacks Cheerios Over Claims as a Drug (GIS)

Cheerios LogoGeneral Mills, Inc. (NYSE: GIS) maybe facing the same types of battles many supplement and diet product companies have seen  with the FDA over advertising claims.  The good news is that this is not a direct safety issue, but it is an issue over the claims of the long-lasting Cheerios whole-grain oat cereal.
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Posted on: May 12, 2009 – 9:54 am in Agriculture, FDA, Food, Regulation,

ADM Misses on Big Charges (ADM)

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Agricultural giant Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) reporated earnings of a paltry $8 million (EPS of $0.01) on sales of $14.8 billion for its 2009 third quarter which ended on March 31st. Analysts had been expecting EPS of $0.49 on revenues of $16.94 billion.

The earnings hit came from a $132 million non-cash after-tax charge on currency losses sustained by an equity investor in ADM and a $97 million income tax charge related to an ADM investment. Okay, so before the unusual items earnings would have been $232 million. That’s still 36% lower than earnings for the same period last year. And revenue fell 21% year-over-year. Read More »

Posted on: May 5, 2009 – 8:19 am in Agriculture, Earnings,

Fertilizer Maker Makes Final Plea for Merger (AGU, CF, TRA)

money-stack-image41Tomorrow’s the day that fertilizer maker Agrium Inc. (NYSE:AGU) will find out if its offer for competitor CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) is too good for shareholders to refuse. Agrium has mailed yet another letter to CF shareholders today, urging them to withhold votes for three CF-nominated directors. There’s nothing new in the letter, just another encouraging word to shareholders to throw the bums out.
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Posted on: April 20, 2009 – 9:07 am in Agriculture, Mergers and Buy Outs, , ,

Fertilizer Merger Wars Heating Up (TRA, CF, AGU, MOO)

money-stack-image30The president and CEO of Terra Industries Inc. (NYSE:TRA) has apparently purchased 100 shares of stock in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) and requested CF to provide him with a list of all CF shareholders so that he can get in touch with them. CF’s CEO is not amused. In his reply, he asked why Terra’s chief appears to be more interested in communicating with stockholders than in negotiating a merger agreement with the company.

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Posted on: April 15, 2009 – 9:23 am in Agriculture, ETF, Insider Activity, Mergers and Buy Outs, , , ,