24/7 Wall St. » AIZ

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (CHK, COP, RSH, STM, AIZ, ABX, MRO, MA, AGN, AUY, TWX, CLX, RDC, RRD, MSO, IACI, FSLR, DSX, COCO, APA, OWW, WNR, CMCSA, SVNT)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 02 May 2012 20:09:45 +0000

The major US stock indexes opened lower this morning following dismal reports from Europe on manufacturing (our coverage here) and unemployment (more coverage here). The ADP report on US unemployment provided more gloomy news ahead of Friday’s official unemployment numbers (more coverage here). The US EIA petroleum inventory report helped push oil prices down (more coverage here), but the weak economic news ruled the day. Only the Nasdaq index has managed to pull into positive territory at all today, and that by less than 0.2% about an hour before closing. The US dollar index rose today, now up 0.39% at 79.130. The GSCI commodity index is up fractionally at 687.61, with commodities mostly lower on the rising dollar. Chicago wheat fell more than -4.5% to post the biggest loss of the day. WTI crude oil closed down -0.9% at $105.22/barrel, and Brent crude trades down -1.23% at $1118.19/barrel. Gold settled down -0.5% today, at $1,654.00/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 11 points to 13,268.65 (-0.08%), the NASDAQ rose more than 9 points (0.31%) to 3,059.85, and the S&P 500 fell -0.25% or more than 3 points to 1,402.31.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) cut to ‘neutral’ at R.W. Baird; ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) cut to ‘underperform’ at BofA/ML and started as ‘overweight’ at JPMorgan; RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) raised to ‘buy’ at Auriga; STMicroelectronics NV (NYSE: STM) raised to ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs and raised to ‘neutral’ at Citigroup; and Assurant Inc. (NYSE: AIZ) cut to ‘underperform’ at BofA/ML.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) is down -2.8% at $39.30 (more coverage here); Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) is down -4.4% at $28.85; Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) is down -0.8% at $452.14; Allergan Inc. (NYSE: AGN) is down -4.3% at $92.29; Yamana Gold Inc. (NYSE: AUY) is down -2.6% at $14.36; Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) is down -1.6% at $37.30; The Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) is down -3.3% at $67.74; Rowan Companies Inc. (NYSE: RDC) is up 1.3% at $34.97; R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. (NASDAQ: RRD) is down -7% at $11.79; Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (NYSE: MSO) is down -1.2% at $3.41; and IAC/InterActiveCorp. (NASDAQ: IACI) is up 3.3% at $50.34 after posting a new 52-week high of $52.77 earlier today.

Tomorrow we get earnings from First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX), Corinthian Colleges Inc. (NASDAQ: COCO), Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA), Orbitz Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: OWW), and Western Refining Inc. (NYSE: WNR) among many others.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Chesapeake Energy is down -13.5% at $16.95 after posting a new 52-week low of $15.86 earlier today. The natural gas producer reported weak results and more troubles for CEO Aubrey McClendon. More coverage here.

Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is down -1% at $30.29. The cable company reported good earnings this morning. More coverage here.

Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: SVNT) is down -18.8% at $1.51. An analyst has said that the company insolvent. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart, and San Francisco Fed President John Williams are speaking at a conference. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:30 a.m. – Challenger job cut report
8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
8:30 a.m. – Productivity and costs report
10:00 a.m. – ISM non-manufacturing index
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
4:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet and money supply

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ABX, AGN, AIZ, APA, AUY, CHK, CLX, CMCSA, COCO, COP, DSX, FSLR, IACI, MA, MRO, MSO, OWW, RDC, RRD, RSH, STM, SVNT, TWX, WNR

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AIZ, CERN, CHK, LFC, COP, FLEX, GNW, HLF, RSH, STM, TEX)

Administrator — Wed, 02 May 2012 12:10:29 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls this Wednesday.

Assurant Inc. (NYSE: AIZ) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.

Cerner Corporation (NASDAQ: CERN) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) Cut to Neutral at R.W. Baird.

China Life Insurance (NYSE: LFC) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML; Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.

Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX) Raised to Neutral at BofA/ML.

Genworth Financial (NYSE: GNW) Raised to Neutral at BofA/ML.

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) Raised to Buy at Auriga.

RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.

STMicroelectronics NV (NYSE: STM) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs; Raised to Neutral at Citigroup.

Terex Corporation (NYSE: TEX) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

If you enjoyed the top analyst upgrades and downgrades, you can join our free email newsletter that includes analyst summaries each morning sent right to your inbox. We also cover top issues such as IPOs, special financial exclusives, mergers and more. Sign up in the box below.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AIZ, CERN, CHK, COP, FLEX, GNW, HLF, LFC, RSH, STM, TEX

New Regulations Could Limit Health Insurers’ Profits (UNH, AET, HUM, WLP, CI, ANAT, AIZ)

247wallst — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 18:53:20 +0000

The next major change coming to the US health-care industry is due to take effect on January 1, 2011. The health care reform act includes a restriction on how much an insurer can spend on non-medical costs. Insurers are required to use 85% of premium payments from large employers to pay medical costs and 80% of premiums from individuals and small businesses. If the non-medical costs exceed these limits, premiums must be rebated.

The effects of this change will have an impact on large insurers like UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH), Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET), Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM), Wellpoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP), and Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI), as well as smaller insurers like American National Insurance Co. (NASDAQ: ANAT) and Assurant Inc. (NYSE: AIZ).

Regulations on what constitutes a medical cost as opposed to an administrative cost are scheduled to be submitted to the US Department of Health and Human Services by the end of July. A further issue is whether companies can average their costs over all their subsidiaries or whether they will have to treat each subsidiary separately.

Individual policies are the chief drag on non-medical costs, with some companies having aggregate medical loss ratios, as the costs are now, below 70%. According to The Wall Street Journal, UnitedHealth, with nearly 400 subsidiaries, could have to pay $280 million in rebates in 2012 for premiums collected in 2011. That amount represents about 7% of 2009 net income. Humana could owe up to $63 million in rebates for the same period.

To ward off the sting of the new regulation, insurers are trying to include items that are now classified as non-medical costs as medical expenditures. These items include nurse hot-lines, smoking cessation and anti-obesity programs, and other similar programs. If the insurers get their way, the re-classifications could help prevent rebate payments.

Some also cite another reason for granting the re-classifications. Without them, insurers will just hike premiums until the medical loss ratios meet specified limits. Keeping the ratios low will tend to keep premium costs down over time. If the high ratios are maintained, insurers will simply raise premiums until fixed administrative costs, like executive salaries, decline as a percentage of premiums.

Smaller insurers, like American National and Assurant, have either already stopped offering individual policies or are considering doing so. The effects of the ratio change could even force some small companies out of business.

This is only the latest of the many changes we’ll see in health insurance and health care over the next few years. Fasten your seatbelts.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Regulation Tagged: AET, AIZ, ANAT, CI, health nsurance, health-care reform, healthcare refomr, HUM, insurance, insurance policy, UNH, WLP

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AFL, AAPL, AIZ, BBT, BUCY, DWA, HANS, BEE, TK, TXT, USB)

Administrator — Tue, 18 May 2010 12:26:26 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Tuesday morning:

Aflac Inc. (NYSE: AFL) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Started as Buy at Stern Agee (late Monday call).
Assurant Inc. (NYSE: AIZ) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Bucyrus International (NASDAQ: BUCY) Maintained Buy but removed from Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
DreamWorks Animation SKG (NYSE: DWA) Cut to Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.
Hansen Natural Corporation (NYSE: HANS) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Strategic Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: BEE) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
Teekay Corp. (NYSE: TK) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Sponsor: 26 Cheap Stocks to Sell – Cheap stocks have been on a tear recently, but nine out of ten stocks are circling the drain!

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, AFL, AIZ, BBT, BEE, BUCY, DWA, HANS, TK, TXT, USB

Top Analyst Downgrades (ARO, AKAM, AIZ, EP, HOT, SVU)

247wallst — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:41:28 +0000

These are the top Wall Street analyst downgrades and cautious research calls seen early this Friday morning:

Aeropostale (ARO) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Akamai (AKAM) Cut to Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.
Assurant (AIZ) Cut to Neutral at SunTrust.
El Paso (EP) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Starwood Hotels (HOT) Cut to Hold at Soleil.
SuperValu (SVU) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates each morning on analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s and secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG
October 9, 2009

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: AIZ, AKAM, ARO, EP, HOT, SVU

Pre-Market Stock News (July 17, 2007)

247wallst — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 07:02:25 +0000

(ADTN) Adtran $0.28 EPS versus $0.28 estimate.
(AIZ) Assurant CEO and CFO received SEC WELLS NOTICE.
(ASD) American Standard noted as a positive ahead of split-up by Cramer on MAD MONEY.
(CVO) Cenveo is acquiring Commercial Envelope.
(DJ) Dow Jones has reportedly reached some terms with News Corp. over the merger according to WSJ reports; actual status varies from source to source so consider this still an outstanding issue until formal statements are made from one or both companies.
(ELS) Equity Lifestyle $0.59 EPS vs $0.58 estimate.
(ENCY) Encysive retained Morgan Stanley to assist in strategic review.
(FCFS) First Cash Financial $0.27 EPS vs $0.26 estimate.
(JNJ) J&J $1.05 EPS vs $1.00 estimate.
(KEY) KeyCorp $0.86 EPS vs $0.70e; raised guidance as well, but unsure if comparable.
(KO) Coca-Cola $0.85 EPS vs. $0.82 estimate.
(LYO) Lyondell is being acquired by Basell for $48.00 per share.
(MDT) Medtronic received approval for artificial disc for the neck.
(MER) Merrill Lynch $2.24 EPS vs $2.02 estimate.
(NLS) Nautilus traded down 12% after earnings.
(PHTN) Photon Dynamics sees results under plan for Q3.
(PHG) Philips Electronics noted positively as European play by Cramer on MAD MONEY.
(RF) Regions Financial $0.69 EPS vs $0.69 estimate.
(STT) State Street $1.07 EPS vs $1.01 estimate.
(WFC) Wells Fargo unveiled a money transfer program.
(WGOV) Woodward Governor noted positively by Cramer on MAD MONEY.
(XLNX) Xilinx’s Spartan-3E and MicroBlaze soft processor selected for Samsung Electronics’ latest digital video surveillance system.

Jon C. Ogg
July 17, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.