24/7 Wall St. » ATU

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (F, GS, RIMM, HON, ORCL, NKE, ATU, KMX, KBH, SHAW, WAG, DFG, CMFB, WWAY, AMPE, VMW, CVLT)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:11:35 +0000

Markets opened lower this morning on mixed reaction to the $641 billion borrowing spree from the European Central Bank. Technology stocks were weighed down by poor earnings report and uninspired guidance from one of the industry’s biggest players. The DJIA and the S&P 500 finally reached positive territory about half an hour before closing, but the Nasdaq never touched the line. A very large drawdown on US crude oil inventories helped energy stocks post some gains. One hour before trading closes for the day only a half billion shares have traded hands on the NYSE today. The US dollar is slightly stronger against the euro and the Japanese yen, but down slightly against the British pound. WTI crude oil is up more than 1.5% at $98.79/barrel, and Brent crude is up about 1% at $107.78. Gold was down -0.25% at $1,613.50.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 4 points to 12,107.74 (0.03%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 26 points (-0.99%) to 2,577.97, and the S&P 500 rose 0.19% or more than 2 points to 1,243.72.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) started as ‘buy’ at Sterne Agee. Other ratings actions today include Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) started as ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo; Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) raised from ‘hold’ to ‘buy’ with a $16 target price at ThinkEquity; Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a $70 target price at Argus; and Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) cut from ‘buy’ to ‘hold’ at Canaccord Genuity and maintained as ‘buy’ with a lowered target price of $40 at Credit Suisse.

Here are today’s post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Oracle Corp. is down nearly -11% at $25.98; Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) is up nearly 3% at $96.40; Actuant Corp. (NYSE: ATU) is up nearly 9% at $22.61; CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) is down nearly -6% at $29.22; KB Home (NYSE: KBH) is down more than -5% at $7.33; Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SHAW) is up nearly 17% at $26.45; and Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) is down about -0.5% at $33.34. For more on the ripple effects of Oracle’s weak earnings, see our coverage here.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Delphi Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: DFG) is up almost 73% at $43.99 after posting a new 52-week high of $44.00. The insurance and financial services company has agreed to be acquired by Japan’s Tokio Marine for $2.66 billion.

Commercefirst Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: CMFB) is up nearly 71% at $13.25 after posting a new 52-week high of $13.99 earlier today. The Maryland bank holding company is being acquired by Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: SASR) for $24.5 million in stock and cash, or about $13.50/share.

Westway Group Inc. (NASDAQ: WWAY) is up nearly 23% at $5.50 after posting a new 52-week high of $6.60 earlier today. The bulk liquid storage provider has rejected a $6/share unsolicited takeover offer from an unidentified infrastructure investment fund.

Ampio Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMPE) is down more than -17% at $4.38. The drug company announced the sale of 2.2 million shares in private sale to investors at $4.25/share.

VMWare Inc. (NYSE: VMW) is down more than -10% at $76.65. The virtual software company is suffering from Oracle’s weak earnings and guidance.

CommVault Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CVLT) is down more than -15% at $39.22. The software company is another of Oracle’s victims.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Here are other noteworthy events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – US Commerce Department GDP report
8:30 a.m. – Initial unemployment benefits claims report
8:30 a.m. – Chicago Federal Reserve national activity index
8:30 a.m. – Bureaus of Economic Analysis corporate profits report
9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index
10:00 a.m. – Federal Housing Finance Agency house price index
10:00 a.m. – Conference Board leading economic indicators
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas inventory report
4:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet and money supply reports

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AMPE, ATU, CMFB, CVLT, DFG, F, GS, HON, KBH, KMX, NKE, ORCL, RIMM, SHAW, VMW, WAG, WWAY

Searching for Value in the Cyclical Machinery & Equipment Sector (ATU, AVY, DOV, ETN, ITT, ITW, PH)

Administrator — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 14:36:13 +0000

Machinery stocks rank very high as far as “cyclicality”…. If there is a sector that is dependent upon the broad economy and global growth it is the machinery sector. Machinery also includes many related sectors in tools and services as well. After we began dissecting this sector it turns out that there is some rather attractive value for investors who are not so sensitive to the broader dips and pops of the markets on a weekly basis. Value investors often do not know when their shares will eventually move up but they are getting to get into the shares at levels that offer attractive entry points for the long-term.

After going through our screening process, we identified shares of the following tooling and machinery companies as offering value: Actuant Corporation (NYSE: ATU); Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE: AVY); Dover Corp. (NYSE: DOV); Eaton Corporation (NYSE: ETN); ITT Corporation (NYSE: ITT); Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW); and Parker Hannifin Corporation (NYSE: PH).

All of these companies sport attractive valuations in a fairly narrow range. Avery Dennison posts the best forward PE multiple with 10.9. Actuant Corporation posts the highest forward PE with a 14.1 multiple. Every one of these companies boasts an attractive return on equity (ROE) exceeding 14.5%. Avery Dennison, Illinois Tool Works and Parker Hannifin all boast a ROE higher than 19%. Analysts’ estimates for next-year earnings growth range from ITT’s 8% to Actuant’s 19.6%.

Market caps among these companies range from Actuant Corporation’s $1.9 billion to Illinois Tool Works’ $29.5 billion. Price to book ratios range from Actuant’s low of 2.15 to Illinois Tool Works’ high of 2.85. Most of these have above average upside to their consensus price targets from analysts and most are off from recent highs by more than the broader market. Except where otherwise noted our source for all financial and performance data is Finviz.

Actuant Corporation (NYSE: ATU) posts a forward PE of just under 14 and its market cap is rather small for this group at about $1.8 billion. Even at this relatively modest level, this is the richest price to earnings multiple among these companies. Actuant posts a price to book ratio of 2.15 to 1, best among these companies. Analysts estimate next-year earnings growth at 19.6%, best of this lot. With a consensus target price of $32.00 the shares have an implied upside of 18%. Actuant’s shares recently traded at $27.00. The 52-week price range is $17.71 to $30.41. This one has also paid an annual dividend of $0.04 for several years in a row and that 0.1% yield is so much lower than the rest of this group that you have to wonder if a dividend policy adjustment is necessary. Shares peaked just over $35 at the peak before the recession took hold.

Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE: AVY) boasts a forward PE of 10.9 and a return on equity (ROE) of 19.69%. Both of these figures are first place numbers among these companies. Analysts estimate next-year earnings growth at 19.3%, second highest among this lot. With a consensus target price of $46.71 the shares have an implied upside of 20%. Avery Dennison’s shares recently traded at $38.70 and the 52-week price range is $30.92 to $43.26. This one is diversified and some of its operations might be considered more office products than the rest of its operations. The $4 billion company in market cap offers a dividend yield of 2.6%. More important than its 52-week range is that this one peaked around $70 back in 2000 and then again back before the great recession.

Dover Corp. (NYSE: DOV) has a 13.8 forward price to earnings multiple, second richest of this lot. Analysts estimate next-year earnings growth at 14.3%, lowest of these companies. With a consensus target price of $74.67 the shares have an implied upside of roughly 8.2%, the smallest upside among these companies. Dover’s shares recently traded at $68.20 and the 52-week price range is $41.41 to $70.15. Dover specializes in industrial products and components and it offers a lower dividend for this group of about 1.6%. Unlike some others in this group, its shares have recently hit all-time highs and this one is down only about 4% from highs.

Eaton Corporation (NYSE: ETN) posts a forward PE of 11.3, second best among these companies. The company’s $18 billion market cap makes it second largest in this lot. Analysts estimate next-year earnings growth at 18.6%. With a consensus target price of $60.70 the shares have an implied upside greater than 16%. Eaton’s shares recently traded at $51.70 and the 52-week price range is $31.87 to $56.12. Eaton is involved in power management and it makes electrical components and systems, as well as components and systems in hydraulics, aerospace, and more. The company also sports a common stock dividend of roughly 2.6%.

ITT Corporation (NYSE: ITT): Analysts estimate next-year earnings growth at less than 8%, ranking it seventh of these seven companies. With a consensus target price of $64.62 the shares have an implied upside of almost 10%. ITT’s shares recently traded at $58.50. The 52-week price range is $41.46 to $63.44. ITT is worth $10 billion in market capitalization and pays a dividend of about 1.7% to investors. ITT is almost a conglomerate as far as how many segments it services in equipment, tools, and machinery for water, transportation, defense, and more. This one traded at nearly $70 per share at the peak before the recession.

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW) posts a $29.5 billion market cap, largest of these companies. The company posts one of the better ROE numbers with a return on equity of 19.4%. With a consensus target price of $67.36 the shares have an implied upside greater than 15%. The company’s shares recently traded at $58.20. The 52-week price range is $39.29 to $59.27. ITW pays investors a dividend of roughly 2.3%. This one is very cyclical as it is involved in industrial products and equipment in a myriad of areas.

Parker Hannifin Corporation (NYSE: PH) posts one of the better ROE numbers with a return on equity of 19.4%. The shares’ consensus target price of $107.46 imply an upside of almost 21%, best of this lot. Parker Hannifin’s shares recently traded at $87.75 and the 52-week price range is $54.79 to $98.99. The maker of fluid power systems and electromechanical controls and components seems to have lost favor of late with analysts. If it lives up to its 10% earnings growth for fiscal 2012 (June-end), then it trades at only 11.7-times forward earnings. It has a dividend yield of about 1.7%.

Using the term “value” certainly does not imply a search for immediate gains and many cheap stocks often get cheaper until a catalyst arises. This group of value stocks is also not really anywhere close to 52-week lows, which is often a break-down feature that certain value fund managers use in screening value candidates from time to time for bargain bin prices of beaten up stocks.

Jon Ogg and Jim Berdou

Filed under: Industry, Infrastructure, Value Investing Tagged: ATU, AVY, DOV, ETN, ITT, ITW, PH

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ATU, BP, GLW, ENOC, HLS, ITMN, MU, NWS, SNDK, RIG)

Administrator — Thu, 06 May 2010 11:44:32 +0000

These are some of this Thursday morning’s top analyst research calls seen in upgrades, downgrades, and initiations:

Actuant Corp. (NYSE: ATU) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
BP plc (NYSE: BP) Called as Buy at NCB Stockbrokers (UK) on recent weakness.
Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) Started as Buy at Stern Agee.
EnerNOC (NASDAQ: ENOC) Raised to Buy at Janney.
HealthSouth Corp. (NYSE: HLS) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
InterMune Inc. (NASDAQ: ITMN) Downgraded to Market Perform at Wells Fargo, although this may be a yesterday call as most cuts came yesterday.
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) Started as Buy at Stern Agee.
News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan late Wednesday.
SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) Started as Buy at Stern Agee.
Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) Cut to Hold at Weeden & Co.

You can join our open email distribution list to hear more about analyst calls, day trader alerts, stock rumors, Buffett developments, IPOs, M&A, secondary offerings and more.

JON C. OGG

Sponsor: 3 Recovery Stocks to Own Now – Get the names of the best cheap stocks to rebuild your wealth in 2010 and beyond.

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ATU, BP, ENOC, GLW, HLS, ITMN, MU, NWS, RIG, SNDK

Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ADSK, CVA, SFD, MMM, ATU, BLK, CBEY, ITW, RFMD, ROP, UPS)

247wallst — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 07:40:50 +0000

These are some of the top pre-market analyst upgrades and downgrades we are seeing this Tuesday morning:

AutoDesk (ADSK) Started as Buy at KeyBanc.
Covanta (CVA) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Smithfield Foods (SFD) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
3M (MMM) Cut to Underweight at Barclays.
Actuant (ATU) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
BlackRock (BLK) Cut to Market Perform at Wachovia.
Cbeyond (CBEY) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.
Illinois Tool Works (ITW) Cut to Underweight at Barclays.
RF Micro Devices (RFMD) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Roper (ROP) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
UPS (UPS) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.

Jon C. Ogg
December 9, 2008

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: ADSK, ATU, BLK, CBEY, CVA, ITW, MMM, RFMD, ROP, SFD, UPS

The 52-Week Low Club 10/1/1008 (GNTX)(SLM)(ATU)(XTXI)

247wallst — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:40:10 +0000

Crosstex Energy (XTXI) Downgraded by Goldman. Drops to $19.92 from 52-week high of $40.39.

Gentex Corportion (GNTX) Cuts revenue outlook, downgraded by Baird. Drops to $12.36 from 52-week high of $22.60.

SLM (SLM) Student loan business exposed to credit crisis. Drops to $8.63 from 52-week high of $53.65.

Actuant Corp (ATU) Weak sales and outlook. Drops to $21.58 from 52-week high of $37.15.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted in HI/LOW Tagged: ATU, GNTX, SLM, XTXI

Pre-Market Stock News (DECEMBER 19, 2007) (ATU, ADCT, CEM, CSUN, DGIT, ETFC, AMTD, FITB, FRPT, GIS, GOOG, HOV, JOYG, LMC, MS, PALM, PHG, S, VIA, MSFT)

247wallst — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 08:15:06 +0000

Below is a summary of many of the top headlines and news bits from individual stocks affecting share prices in pre-market trading this Wednesday:

Actuant (ATU) $0.52 EPS vs $0.48 estimate.
ADC Telecom (ADCT) traded down 4% after-hours. It filed a $400 million convertible note offering, and Cramer said it was a safe stock to play for Verizon and AT&T network build-outs.
Chemtura (CEM) said it will review Strategic Alternatives, including a possible sale of the company.
China Sunergy (CSUN) named Kenneth Luk as its Chief Financial Officer.
DG FastChannel (DGIT) shares are up 5% after it raised its 2007 and 2008 guidance.
E*Trade (ETFC) rose almost 4% in conjunction with
Fifth Third (FITB) warned of more credit losses but increased its dividend.
Force Protection (FRPT) traded down over 20% again after lower portion of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles for U.S. Marines.
General Mills (GIS) $1.14 EPS vs $1.13 estimates.
Google (GOOG) said its application to bid for spectrum was accepted by the FCC.
Hovnanian (HOV) losses reached $7.42 on lower sales and added charges and write-downs.
Joy Global (JOYG) $0.80 EPS vs $0.75 estimates.
Lundin Mining (LMC) stock indicated up almost 2% after it said it will repurchase up to 19.6 million shares of common stock.
Morgan Stanley (MS) posted -$3.61 net but had $5.7 Billion in mortgage write-downs totaling roughly $9 Billion in charges now; it is also in pact with China Investment for $5 billion investment.
Nike (NKE) reports earnings after the close today.
Oracle (ORCL) posts earnings after the close today.
Palm (PALM) lost 9% after wider losses than expected and even lower guidance ahead.
Philips (PHG) plans a $7.2 Billion share buyback.
Sprint (S) named Hesse from Embarq as its new CEO.
TD Ameritrade (AMTD) rose 4% after it raised guidance.
Viacom (VIA) in long-term digital content and advertising pact with Microsoft.

Jon C. Ogg
December 19, 2007