Posts for Ticker ‘AM’

The 100 Hardest Working Brands In The World

hersheyThere are a number of ways to rank brand values. One of the most important is the level at which a brand contributes to the market value of a public company.

24/7 Wall St. asked Corebrand, the brand research and consulting firm, to look at the top 100 brands based their contribution to market capitalizaton. Using this method, the hardest working brand was Hershey (NYSE:HSY), followed  by Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG)

Corebrand described the process briefly to 24/7 Wall. St.

24/7 Wall St.: Corebard often refers to the brands on this list as the”hardest working brands”. How did you come to that description?

Corebrand: There are a lot of people measuring and examining the “strongest brands” or the “most valuable brands”.  Our opinion is that examining one without the other is somewhat meaningless.  How “strong” a brand is nice to know but not very relevant unless you understand how that strength benefits business.  Similarly, “value” is little more than a measure of corporate size unless you understand the drivers of that value and how to influence it. By examining the strength of the brand and it’s contribution to total market value, we can help companies and their leadership manage that strength and value over time.

24/7 Wall St.: Is there any advantage or disadvantage to having a brand value be a very large percentage of market cap in the present and as an indication of a company’s future performance?

Corebrand: The brand will need to be in balance with the rest of the company’s assets.  A company should strive to have it’s brand strong enough to fend off competitors or changing market conditions but not so strong that it becomes overly dependent on the brand as a single driver of value.  If a company can achieve and maintain its appropriate maximum strength without becoming over-dependent, it will see greater returns in bull markets and retain greater value in bear markets.

The list: Read More »

The 52-Week Low Club (UNG)(AM)(BNI)(CPHD)

SunsetUnited States Natl Gas Fund (UNG) Falling gas prices. That’s all. Drops to $21.37 from 52-week high of $63.89.

American Greetings (AM) New share buy-back does not seem to be helping. Down to $5.35 from 52-week high of $21.81.

Burlington Northern (BNI) Rival CSX posts weak figures. Sell off to $66.55 from 52-week high of $114.58.

Cepheid (CPHD) Posts poor financial outlook. Moves down to $6.66 from 52-week high of $33.36.

Douglas A. McIntyre

The 52-Week Low Club (KVA)(AM)(MNI)(BRY)(SSCC)

Sad_clown K-V Pharmaceutical (KVA) Suspends shipments of tablet-form drugs and expects earnings hit. Stock falls to $2.50 from 52-week high of $29.02.

American Greetings (AM) Says it lost money. Drops to $6.20 from 52-week high of $22.17.

McClatchy (MNI) Newspaper shares keep plunging. Someone may know something the general public has missed. Off to $.65 from 52-week high of $13.31.

Berry Petroleum (BRY) No news. Bad oil prices. Sells down to $6.15 from 52-week high of $62.15.

Smurfit-Stone Container (SSCC) Deutsche Bank downgrades shares. Drops to $.23 from 52-week high of $10.90.

Douglas A. McIntyre

The 52-Week Low Club (BA)(AM)(ROK)(HON)(SONC)(LCAV)

Boeing (BA) Hit by broker downgrade on fears of order cuts from troubled airlines. Down to $69.16 from 52-week high of $107.83.

American Greetings (AM) Happy card company gets beat up on poor earnings. Sells down to $13.93 from 52-week high of $29.10. Have a nice day.

Rockwell International (ROK) Weak guidances sends stock diving. Moves off to $44.89 from 52-week high of $75.60.

Honeywell (HON) Hit by downgrades in defense stocks and Boeing. Sells off to $51.20 from 52-week high of $62.99.

Sonic (SONC) Fast food. Bad earnings. Falls to $14.40 from 52-week high of $26.19.

LCA-Vision (LCAV) Says number of procedures the company does will be down this quarter. Drops like a rock to $4.54 from 52-week high of $50.69.

Douglas A. McIntyre

52-Week Low Club (December 28, 2007)

Some of these stocks hit 52-week lows and recovered off of lows so they won’t have a low close.  But these did all touch or breach the 52-week lows.  At the end we also broke out retail stocks, financial stocks, airlines & transports, and hotels.  A separate report could have been compiled for REIT’s as well, but many of those were left off because of room or volume. There were enough 52-week lows today that you might even wonder if there had been a mini-crash in the markets.  Here are the 52-week lows for December 28, 2007:

  • Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD)… imagine if the company got Hector Ruiz to leave.
  • American Greetings (NYSE: AM)…again.
  • AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN)… new entrant.
  • Carmike Cinemas (NASDAQ:CKEC)
  • ChipMOS (NASDAQ:IMOS)
  • Corp. Office Property (NYSE: OFC)
  • Cryptologic (NASDAQ: CRYP)
  • Diebold (NYSE:DBD)
  • Fortune Brands (NYSE:FO)
  • Group 1 Auto (NYSE: GPI)
  • Infinera Corp. (NASDAQ: INFN)
  • Introgen (NASDAQ:INGN)
  • Japan Smaller Cap Fund (NYSE: JOF)
  • Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ: LAMR)
  • Legget & Platt (NYSE: LEG)
  • Martha Stewart (NYSE: MSO)
  • Marvell Tech (NASDAQ:MRVL)
  • Mattel (NYSE:MAT)
  • McClatchy (NYSE:MNI)
  • Micron Tech (NYSE:MU)
  • NGAS Resources (NASDAQ:NGAS)
  • Nortel Networks (NYSE:NT)
  • Owens Corning (NYSE:OC)
  • Omnicare (NYSE:OCR)
  • Prestige Brand (NYSE: PBH)
  • PC-Tel (NASDAQ:PCTI)
  • Ruth’s Chris (NASDAQ:RUTH)
  • SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK)
  • Theravance (NASDAQ:THRX)
  • Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)
  • Wendy’s (NYSE: WEN)
  • World Fuel Services (NYSE:INT)
  • U-Store-It (NYSE:YSI)

Retail Stocks on 52-week lows: Ann Taylor (NYSE:ANN), Big Lots (NYSE:BIG), Borders Group (NYSE:BGP), Bon Ton Stores (NASDAQ:BONT), Chico’s FAS (NYSE:CHS), Finish Line (NASDAQ:FINL), Liz Claiborne (NYSE: LIZ), Macy’s (NYSE: M), Office Max (NYSE:OMX), Petsmart (NASDAQ:PETM), Stage Stores (NYSE:SSI)

Financial stocks on 52-week lows: Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC), Citigroup (NYSE:C), Canseco (NYSE: CNO), Discover Financial (NYSE: DFS), Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB), Fortress Investment (NYSE: FIG), MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI), Washington Mutual (NYSE:WM)… urgh!  When does it stop?

Airlines/Transports on 52-week lows:  Airtran Holdings (NYSE: AAI)…again.  Did they launch a Friends Die Free rewards plan?  Continental Airlines (NYSE:CAL), Fedex (NYSE:FDX), Mesa Air (NASDAQ:MESA), Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA)… near $100 oil is a real pain.

Hotels Hitting 52-week lows: Host Hotels (NYSE: HST), Lasalle Hotel (NYSE: LHO), Starwood Hotels (NYSE:HOT), Sunstone Hotel (NYSE: SHO), Wydham Worldwide (NYSE:WYN).  Maybe these all wish they could get the private equity buyers back in the sector.  If only they could still borrow.

These CEO’s new year’s resolutions are all the same: "In 2008 I want to keep my stock off the 52-week low lists."

Jon C. Ogg
December 28, 2007

52-Week Low Club (AAI, ANN, AM, BIG, BJRI, CHS, CC, LIZ, M, OMX, MSO, RL, HOT, WM, WEN, ZLC)

Today’s list of 52-week lows was still dominated by retail and consumer spending stocks, although a surprise surge from several key semiconductor names made today’s list.  Some of these did end up recovering back above their respective 52-week lows.  Here’s your list for today:

  • Airtran (AAI)…down from a $13.09 high.  $95+ Oil is a pain. Stock broke significant support at $8.00 two weeks ago so it’s in no-man’s land.
  • Ann Taylor (ANN)… Is the growth story gone? If so and IF it can hit its earnings estimates then it is a hidden value stock.  But with women spending less on clothes over the holidays it may just be a value trap.
  • American Greeting (AM)… I started complaining about the cost of greeting cards LONG BEFORE the economy softened, and I’m not alone.
  • Big Lots (BIG)…again…should say "habitual offender" on it.
  • BJ’s Restaurants (BJRI)…cool brewpub, although still expensive on earnings measurement.
  • Chico’s FAS (CHS)…again.
  • Circuit City (CC)…needs to fire that CEO immediately.
  • Liz Claiborne (LIZ)…again.
  • Macy’s (M)….again.
  • Marvell Tech (MRVL).. see chip stocks on 52-week lows.
  • Martha Stewart Living (MSO)… Is it changing its name to "DYING"? Maybe a weak ad environment and magazine environment is even worse than we thought?
  • Micron Tech (MU) turnaround still can’t turn around… see chip stocks on 52-week lows.
  • Office Max (OMX)…again.
  • Ralph Lauren Polo (RL)…recovered above that 52-week low but this was a surprise to see even in a weak consumer. Stock is now over $40.00 under highs.
  • Sandisk (SNDK).. see chip stocks in 52-week lows.
  • Starwood Hotels (HOT)… givin’ all the inheritance away may not keep young Paris happy.
  • STMicro (STM)…see chip stocks on 52-week lows.
  • Washington Mutual (WM)… when WA-MU changes its name to UH-OH!
  • Wendy’s International (WEN)… just an expensive burger chain with a "hoped for buyout" allowing a premium, otherwise would be even lower.
  • Zale Corp. (ZLC)….. I didn’t get my wife diamonds for Christmas either.

All these CEO’s have a fairly easy new year’s resolution for 2008: "I want to keep my stock from hitting 52-week lows"…….

Jon C. Ogg
December 27, 2007