Posts for Ticker ‘ACI’

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (ADI, ACI, ISRG, BTU, PHM, RIMM, STX, SPWRA, TGT, WDC)

These are this Wednesday’s top ten analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls:

Analog Devices (NYSE: ADI) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) Started as Overweight at HSBC.
Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) Started as Market Perform at Morgan Keegan.
Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) Started as Overweight at HSBC.
Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Research-in-Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) Cut to Market Perform at BMO.
Seagate Technology (NASDAQ: STX) Cut to Underperform at BofA Merrill Lynch.
Sunpower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA) Cut to Neutral at Janney Montgomery Scott.
Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) Cut to Underperform at BofA Merrill Lynch.

You can join our open email distribution list to hear more news on key analyst calls, top day trader alerts, mergers and acquisitions, Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: November 18, 2009 – 7:53 am in Analyst Calls, Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert, , , , , , , , , ,

Coal IPO Hikes Planned Sale (CLD, RTP, ACI)

Coal ImageIt seems that there is no caution in all the pending Initial Public Offerings coming to market.  Cloud Peak Energy, Inc. is raising the amount targeted for its capital raise of up to $650 million from an initial target of $500 million when the filing was first made in August 2009.  This one will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CLD”  and the listed underwriters in the amended prospectus are Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, and RBC Capital Markets.
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Posted on: November 2, 2009 – 2:03 pm in Commodities, IPOs, , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades (AMD, AXP, ACI, ASH, STD, BRCD, COF, DFS, HIBB, MSCC, RCL, ZMH)

There were quite a few analyst upgrades and positive research calls this Monday morning.  These are the calls we have seen from Wall Street firms early this morning with about two hours until the market opens:

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
American Express (AXP) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Arch Coal (ACI) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Ashland (ASH) Raised to Buy at KeyBanc.
Banco Santander (STD) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Brocade (BRCD) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Capital One (COF) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Discover Financial (DFS) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Hibbett Sports (HIBB) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Microsemi (MSCC) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Royal Caribbean (RCL) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Zimmer Holdings (ZMH) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.

If you wish to be reminded of daily upgrades and downgrades as well as other key market issues like mergers and top stories, you can join our open email distribution list to receive updates several times per week.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: August 24, 2009 – 7:58 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Cramer Outlines The Obama Target List (COF, ACI, MEE, X, SO)

Obama ImageCramer ImageTonight on CNBC’s MAD MONEY, Jim Cramer came out with several sectors that he thinks that President Obama will be trying to change, and noted Nancy Pelosi is in the fold as well.  He thinks they will be targets for change and these businesses can be hurt by government action more than by any competition.  He thinks credit cards, anything carbon, and healthcare are all at-risk sectors that could be hurt by Obama’s actions.

Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF) is the one he is worried about even though the stock was one of his favorites.  He thinks that the big issuers are at risk here and now thinks Capital One is a SELL.  Anything carbon-related is at risk.  Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) and Massey Energy Co. (NYSE: MEE) are at risk, but Cramer thinks China can keep their businesses from rotting.  This hurts the steel producers as well and he would sell US Steel (NYSEL: X) on this notion that they are tied to it.  He would also sell Southern Company (NYSE: SO) because it has 71% of its energy from fossil fuels.

In healthcare, he knows pharma and anything that makes a profit in that sector is a target.  He thinks this can drive down anything tied to healthcare as investors have to move to the sidelines to figure it out.

JON C. OGG
May 21, 2009

Posted on: May 21, 2009 – 5:17 pm in Cramer, Metals, Pharmaceuticals, Politics, Utilities, , , , ,

Coal for Sale (ACI, RTP)

coal-imageArch Coal, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) plans to buy a coal mine in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin from Rio Tinto plc (NYSE:RTP) for $761 million. The Jacobs Ranch mine includes 381 million tons of coal reserves and produced 42.1 million tons in 2008. It lies adjacent to another mine, Black Thunder, already owned by Arch.
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Posted on: March 9, 2009 – 8:29 am in Commodities, Mergers and Buy Outs, ,

Patriot Beats Low Expectations (PCX, BTU, ACI, CNX)

coal_imagePatriot Coal Corp. (NYSE:PCX) reported fourth quarter and full year numbers this morning. Patriot’s report follows the trail blazed earlier this year by Peabody Energy Corp. and Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE:ACI) and CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX).

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Posted on: February 10, 2009 – 9:55 am in Commodities, Earnings, , , , , , ,

Coal is Hot (ACI, CNX, BTU)

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This morning’s quarterly and annual results from Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) have kept the coal fires burning. Arch reported EPS of $2.45 on net income of $354.3 million for the year. Annual revenues hit $2.98 billion. Analysts had been anticipating $2.42 EPS on $2.97 billion in revenues.

The quarterly results were also stirring. Revenues hit $729.9 million and EPS was $0.44. Analysts expected EPS of $0.39 and revenues of $713.9 million. However, compared with 2007, EPS was off by $0.12/share, and that was disappointing. The stock is down almost 5% in early trading.

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Posted on: January 30, 2009 – 12:52 pm in Alternative Energy, , ,

Less Demand, Less Coal, Less Profit (BTU, ACI, CNX, MEE)

Coal_image Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) yesterday reduced its production estimates for Wyoming’s Powder River Basin and for its Australian coal mining. The company said it has produced "in excess of 200 million tons" of coal in 2008, but expects [CORRECTION] US production in 2009 in the range of 190-195 million tons.

  • When you graph the share prices of four leading coal companies, Peabody, Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE:ACI), CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX), and Massey Energy Company (NYSE:MEE), the lines look like exact copies of one another.

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Posted on: January 8, 2009 – 11:43 am in Commodities, Earnings, , , ,

CO2 Restriction Easing on Coal-fired Power Plants? (BTU, ACI, MEE, CNX, FTEK)

Carbon_emissions_imageLast August, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ruled that a proposed coal-fired power plant in Utah did not need to file for a clean-air permit because the emissions from the plant were not regulated pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Carbon dioxide, which all of us expel every time we exhale, is not a pollutant under the EPA regulations. Thus, if a power plant is going to emit carbon dioxide, it’s just breathing.

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Posted on: December 22, 2008 – 10:04 am in Alternative Energy, Oil & Gas, Utilities, , , , ,

Ups and Downs in the Coal Mines (ACI, FCL, BTU)

Coal_imageArch Coal (NYSE:ACI) reported solid earnings for the third quarter today, but its share price has fallen more than 4% since the market opened this morning. Arch reported EPS of $0.68, compared with $0.19 in the year-ago quarter. Revenue totaled $769.46 million, up from $599.15 million a year ago. Analysts expected EPS of $0.59 and revenues of $764.09 million, so Arch exceeded in both categories.

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Posted on: October 27, 2008 – 10:05 am in Commodities, Earnings, , ,

Coal and Steel Play Follow the Leader (IIIN, RS, ACI, BTU, MEE, NUE)

Two small-cap steel companies reported earnings before the market opened today. Insteel Industries (NASDAQ:IIIN) beat analysts’ estimates of $0.60 EPS on $101 million in revenue, posting EPS of $0.89 on revenues of $106 million. Reliance Steel (NYSE:RS) posted EPS of $2.07 on revenue of $2.57 billion, easily outpacing estimates of $1.95 EPS and revenue of $2.37 billion. Insteel is up more than 3% and Reliance is up more than 11% in early trading today.

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Posted on: October 16, 2008 – 2:48 pm in Commodities, Earnings, Metals, , , , , ,

CONSOL Guidance, A Canary In The Coal Sector (CNX, MEE, FCL, ACI, BTU, JRCC)

Coal_imageCONSOL Energy (NYSE:CNX) announced a dramatic change in its guidance for the third quarter. Production is expected reach just 15 million tons, well below even the low estimate of 16.4 million tons in previous guidance. Operating costs are also expected to rise 8%-10% from second quarter levels of $41.60/ton. Essentially, the company attributed lower production to poor execution and more frequent safety inspections. CONSOL did reaffirm production guidance for the fourth quarter of 17.8-19.8 million tons.

Just over a month ago, we noted the declines in coal stocks, and the situation has not improved. The biggest loser since then has been Massey (NYSE:MEE), down 40%, followed by Foundation Coal (NYSE:FCL), off 37%. Arch Coal (NYSE:ACI), Peabody (NYSE:BTU), James River (NASDAQ:JRCC), and CONSOL are down 22%-28%.

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Posted on: September 24, 2008 – 9:25 am in Commodities, Earnings Warning, , , , , ,

Coal Stocks Above 2007, But Valuation Risks Remain (ACI, BTU, CNX, FCL, MEE, KOL)

Coal_image_2In the past 52-weeks, the stock price of five large coal companies has risen anywhere from 50% to nearly 250%. But that’s still between 27% and 42% below annual highs that the companies reached in June. Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) has fallen 27% from its 52-week high, Arch Coal (NYSE:ACI) and Massey Energy (NYSE:MEE) have both dropped 32%, Foundation Coal (NYSE:FCL) has dropped 34%, and CONSOL Energy has lost 42%. In late June, Massey was up nearly 400% and CONSOL was up more than 200%.  These numbers may be slightly different based upon UBS’s upgrade to coal stocks this morning, but you will see the general idea below.

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Posted on: August 21, 2008 – 10:36 am in Commodities, ETF, Utilities, , , , , ,

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (AAUK, ACI, BBT, CETV, FCL, JKHY, MEE, WCG)

These are some of the top upgrades or positive calls we are seeing from analysts this Thursday morning:

  • Anglo American (AAUK) Raised to Strong Buy at S&P (late Weds. call).
  • Arch Coal (ACI) Raised to Buy at UBS.
  • BB&T Corp. (BBT) Raised to Buy at S&P.
  • Central European Media (CETV) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
  • Foundation Coal (FCL) Raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Jack Henry (JKHY) Cut to Hold at Needham; Cut to Neutral at D.A. Davidson.
  • Massee Energy (MEE) Raised to Buy at UBS.
  • WellCare Group (WCG) Started as Buy at B of A.

Jon C. Ogg
August 21, 2008

Posted on: August 21, 2008 – 6:36 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

Coal Stocks Key Off Arch Report (ACI, FCL, BTU, CNX)

This morning we saw Arch Coal (NYSE:ACI) report a tripling of earnings for the second quarter, $113 million compared with $37.6 million for the same period a year ago. The company reported EPS of $0.78, also up three-fold from $0.26 EPS last year. The stock was up more than 3% in pre-open trading and is up 9% mid-day. Arch’s report is also boosting Foundation Coal (NYSE:FCL) by about 8% and Peabody (NYSE:BTU) by more than 2.5%. Last week, Foundation posted a loss of $4.4 million for the second quarter, and Peabody posted a 143% gain in earnings. CONSOL Energy inc. (NYSE:CNX), which is scheduled to report next week, is up almost 5% in early trading.

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Posted on: July 25, 2008 – 12:04 pm in Commodities, Earnings, , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (AET, AA, ACI, JEC, GEOY, LLL, NUE, NVDA, BTU, UNH)

These are ten of the individual analyst calls seen out there this Thursday morning ahead of a 3-day weekend:

  • Aetna (NYSE: AET) cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
  • Alcoa (NYSE: AA) Raised from Sell to Hold at Soleil.
  • Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) Raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
  • Jacobs (NYSE: JEC) raised to Buy from Hold at Morgan Joseph.
  • GeoEye (NASDAQ: GEOY) started as Buy at Soeil.
  • L3 Communications (NYSE: LLL) Raised to Outperform from Neutral at Cowen.
  • Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE) Raised to Sector Perform from Sector Underperform at CIBC.
  • NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) Cut to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • Peabody (NYSE: BTU) Raised to Buy from Hold at Citi.
  • UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) cut to Neutral at UBS.

We also saw RBC raise the Communication Towers Sector.

Jon C. Ogg
July 3, 2008

Posted on: July 3, 2008 – 7:16 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Foundation Coal Reverses Coal Sector Gains (FCL, BTU, ACI, KOL)

On Monday, Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) announced strong first quarter results: 15% increase in revenue to a record $1.28 billion and EPS from continuing operations of $0.26. Peabody raised its full-year target by $500 million, and its EPS from continuing operations to $2.20 – $3.00. This boosted the whole coal industry by about 4%.

On Tuesday, Arch Coal (NYSE:ACI) announced a 22% increase over 2007 in first quarter revenue to $699.4 million, and EPS of $0.56, compared with $0.20 in 2007. The company raised its guidance for 2008 EBITDA to $745 – $845 million, and its EPS expectations to $2.40 – $2.80. That gave back the industry’s previous day’s gain.

But… Maybe not all good things run in three’s.  Today, Foundation Coal (NYSE:FCL) announced a clear miss on its report of $0.13 EPS, and excluding items the number was $0.19 EPS. While this was down from $0.53 last year, First Call estimates were $0.32 EPS. Revenue of $406.9 million exceeded estimates averaging $403.49 million, and improved on 2007 first quarter revenue of $386.2 million. The company did not change its guidance for the remainder of 2008.

Foundation’s net income for the first quarter of 2008 totaled $6.1 million, compared with $24.6 million a year ago. What happened? Higher diesel fuel costs, higher royalty payments, and higher labor costs accounted for a $17 million increase in the cost of sales. Another $14 million was attributed to a botched arbitrage transaction in which FCL had to buy about 300,000 tons of coal to meet existing commitments, expecting to sell new production on the spot market at a higher price. It didn’t work out that way.

FCL stock was down $1.64 in pre-open trading, and shares are down slightly more at $61.91 after 45 minutes of trading. Peabody has fallen by 3.7% to $66.01, and Arch (ACI) is down 1.5% at $58.15 so far. What goes up doesn’t always stay up.

What is evident is that the coal industry is not necessarily a series of unified parts.  Transportation costs can impact results, equipment shortages and accidents can impair companies, and we’ve even seen inability to transport materials out of the line affect coal shares in recent years.

To show how the overall sector is doing, the key ETF for the group is the Market Vectors Market Vectors Coal ETF (NYSE: KOL).  It has many international components in it, with five of the top ten components being outside the U.S.  To prove that, this ETF is actually UP by 0.5% at $45.50 on somewhat thin trading volume.  This ETF has just not yet caught on with investors.

Paul Ausick
April 23, 2008

Posted on: April 23, 2008 – 9:28 am in Commodities, , , ,

Goldman Sachs Shovels Coal (ACI, CNX, KOL)

Goldman Sachs is panning the coal sector again this morning.  It sees downside to coal stocks after a run since the start of 2008 as coal production will come online faster than many bulls believe.  The firm also thinks that the incentive of profits at current spot coal prices will win over the barriers to entry.  It particularly wants to sell Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI)and it noted Consolidated Energy (NYSE: CNX) as well.

Back on February 15, Goldman Sachs downgraded the sector based on valuations, and you can see the individual calls on ACI, FCL, ICO, BTU, MEE, and CNX.

As a reminder, there is also the Market Vectors Coal ETF (NYSE: KOL) that just launched in mid-January.

Jon C. Ogg
March 12, 2008

Posted on: March 12, 2008 – 7:07 am in Uncategorized, , ,

Goldman Sachs Pans Coal (ACI, FCL, ICO, BTU, MEE, CNX)

Goldman Sachs has downgraded its coverage in Coal Stocks this morning.   Goldman Sachs is basing this partly on the 30% gains seen, and valuations are stretched.

There were several downgraded from a Neutral rating down to SELL: Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI), Foundation Coal (NYSE: FCL), International Coal Group (NYSE: ICO), and Massey Energy (NYSE: MEE).  Two others escaped with a little more dignity, but these were still downgraded to Neutral ratings from Buy: Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) and Consolidated Energy (NYSE: CNX).

Jon C. Ogg
February 15, 2008

Posted on: February 15, 2008 – 7:45 am in Analyst Calls, Oil & Gas, , , , , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (ACI, RATE, BKS, GS, HAS, MOS, OXPS, POT, SIRF, YHOO)

These are not the only analyst calls impacting stocks this morning, but these are the key calls that 247WallSt.com is focusing on this morning:

  • Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • Bankrate (NASDAQ: RATE) downgraded to Hold at Jefferies.
  • Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) downgraded to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) downgraded to Market Perform at Oppenheimer.
  • Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) raised to Buy at Banc of America.
  • Mosaic (NYSE: MOS) raised to Buy at Citigroup.
  • OptionsXpress (NASDAQ: OXPS) started as Sell at Merriman Curhan Ford.
  • Potash (NYSE: POT) raised to Buy at Citigroup
  • SiRF Tech (NASDAQ: SIRF) downgraded across the board: Jefferies, Lehman, Oppenheimer.
  • Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) raised to Buy at Canaccord Adams; downgraded to Neutral at Banc of America.

Jon C. Ogg
February 5, 2008

Posted on: February 5, 2008 – 7:24 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,