Posts for Ticker ‘BDK’

The Hardest Working Brands for 2009: The Year Of The Dog

A look at the “hardest working” major brands for 2009 shows that a number of them belong to companies which have done poorly and, in at least one case, may file Chapter 11. This is due to the definition of a hard-working brand, which is based on the ratio of its value to the market capitalization of its parent company.

CoreBrand reviewed the top 100 hardest working brands for the final quarter of 2009.  Their researchers point out that “the food industry moves to the top of the list, reflecting the economy and the general improvement of consumer staples businesses. Hershey’s (HSY), Campbell Soup (CPB), and Kellogg (K) make it into the top 5.” On the other hand “troubled industries like financial services and auto manufacturers have seen dramatic decline.”

Harley-Davidson (HOG) is in the top 10 among the hardest working brands. Before rumors of a buy-out, the motorcycle firm’s stock languished at $25, down from $42 less than two years ago. Harley’s stock trades for a low 1.2 times sales. Also near the top of the list is crippled book retailer Barnes & Noble (BKS), which trades for .3 times sales. Blockbuster (BBI) is in the top 25, with a ratio of .1x sales. The firm said in its 10-K that it is at risk for filing Chapter 11.

Read More »

52-Week High Club

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp (NYSE: BNI) surged close to 30% to a yearly high of $97.59 following news that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) will be buying the freight rail operator for $100 per share, which places the value of the company at $44 billion.

The Black & Decker Corporation (NYSE: BDK) rallied close to 30% to a yearly high of $61.79  following news that the tool makers has agreed to be purchased by Stanley Works (NYSE: SWK) in an all stock deal valued at $4.5 billion.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (NASDAQ: CTSH) rose over 8% to a yearly high of $42.40.  The computer services and technology consulting company announced that its 3Q 09 profit rose roughly 21%, beating analyst estimates.  The company also raised its 2009 profit estimate to $1.88 per share from $1.78 per share.

Landry’s Restaurants (NYSE: LNY) rose over 25% to a yearly high of $13.99.  The restaurant, hospitality and entertainment company following rose on news that the company’s chief executive, Timothy J. Fertitta has agreed to purchase the company for $14.75 per share, or $1.2 billion.

Garrett W. McIntyre

Media Digest 11/3/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   The value of the yuan could cause a trade war between the US and China.

Reuters:   Executive pensions rose despite drops in stock prices.

Reuters:   Lloyds will make a large stock offering.

Reuters:   Stanley Works (NYSE:SWK) bought Black & Decker (NYSE:BDK) for $3.46 billion.

Reuters:   CIT’s (NYSE:CIT) exit from bankruptcy is not clear.

Reuters:   UBS (NYSE:UBS) posted a loss and wealth management clients continued to leave.

Reuters:   Ford (NYSE:F) posted a surprise profit.

Reuters:   Manufacturing and pending home sales both rose.

Reuters:   Volker said the economy could not rely on consumer spending.

Reuters:   The commercial real estate business is still in deep trouble.

WSJ:   Toyota (NYSE:TM) expects a monthly sales decline.

WSJ:   IllyCaffè SpA will work with local coffee shops to compete with Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX).

WSJ:   The head of the IMF says financial firms are going back to old practices.

WSJ:   Blu-ray makers are becoming more involved with web video.

WSJ:   Research-in-Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) is the focus of a number of bearish comments.

WSJ:   Schwab (NASDAQ:SCHW) is making a push into ETFs.

WSJ:   GM’s board will revisit the Opel sale.

WSJ:   Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Office faces inexpensive versions of similar software.

WSJ:   Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD) may need to get cash from its Canadian operation which presents challenges.

WSJ:   Problems are beginning to appear in the financials of Chinese banks.

WSJ:   Business bankruptcies rose 7% in October.

NYT:   The US will allow GM to use federal money to put into Delphi.

NYT:   The Supreme Court is looking at fees advisors charge mutual funds.

NYT:   The Senate is pushing insurance companies on the amount of premiums they actually spend on care.

NYT:   Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) may buy tax credits from Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM)

FT:   The Fed has asked banks to adopt it new pay rules early to cover 2009 compensation.

FT:   Ebay’s (NASDAQ:EBAY) PayPal has opened doors to outside developers.

Bloomberg:   The next head of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) may be based in NYC.

Douglas A. McIntyre

 

Stanley Wants Bigger Tool Works (SWK, BDK, SNA)

Money ImageThe tool sector for builders and home repair is about to get a lot smaller for investors looking for diversification of company choices to invest in.  The Stanley Works (NYSE: SWK) and The Black & Decker Corporation (NYSE: BDK) have proposed a merger which would unite the brands.  The companies see accretion to earnings per share of about $1.00 per share by year three with some $350 million in cost synergies.  This deal is a stock for stock merger where Black & Decker shareholders would receive a fixed shares ratio of 1.275 shares Of Stanley common stock per 1 share held of Black & Decker common stock.
Read More »

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 »

Top Day Trader Alerts (BDK, DRIV, DNDN, DEPO, KBH, ONXX, V)

These are this morning’s top day trader and active alert stocks moving on volume.  We have provided links through to each stock with more detailed analysis and data at VSInvestor.com:

Black & Decker (NYSE: BDK) is running on significantly higher guidance.

Digital River, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRIV) is one of the biggest losers after Symantec is terminating a contract.

Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) is surging over 5% on new solid board member additions to help it transition.

DepoMed, Inc. (NASDAQ: DEPO) is down over 30% after missing some hot flash trial endpoints.

KB Home (NYSE: KBH) is being hit by 5% on an SEC inquiry disclose.

ONYX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ONXX) is trading up despite it acquiring a private company.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is set to challenge 52-week highs on an upgrade.

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

Top Analyst Upgrades (AMD, AMGN, BDK, BMY, CTXS, KR, MA, PCG, SYMC, V, VMW)

These are the top early-bird analyst upgrades and positive research calls which we have seen from Wall Street early this Monday morning:

Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Black & Decker (NYSE: BDK) Started as Overweight at Barclays.
Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) Added to Goldman Sachs Top M&A List.
Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS) Raised to Hold at Jefferies.
Kroger (NYSE: KR) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Mastercard (NYSE: MA) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
PG&E (NYSE: PCG) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Polaris (NYSE: PII) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Visa (NYSE: V) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
VMware (NYSE: VMW) Raised to Hold at Jefferies.

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

Top Analyst Downgrades (ABB, MT, BDK, BWA, GR, KR, MHS, SNDA)

These are this Thursday morning’s top pre-market analyst downgrades and cautious research calls from Wall Street firms:

ABB (ABB) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
ArcelorMittal (MT) Cut to Hold at Societe Generale,
Black & Decker (BDK) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Borg Warner (BWA) Cut to Neutral at KeyBanc.
Goodrich (GR) Cut to Buy from Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Kroger (KR) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Medco Health (MHS) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Shanda (SNDA) Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank.

JON C. OGG

Top Analyst Downgrades (AAP, AMZN, AZO, BDK, LAZ, MS, TXN)

These are some of the top pre-market analyst downgrades and negative research calls we have seen from Wall Street early this Thursday morning with about two hours until the market opens:

Advance Auto Parts (AAP) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Amazon.com (AMZN) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays.
AutoZone (AZO) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Black & Decker (BDK) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
Lazard (LAZ) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Morgan Stanley (MS) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Texas Instruments (TXN) Started as Sell at Auriga.

JON C. OGG

The 52-Week Low Club (TXT)(EK)(DOW)(BDK)(WBSN)

Sad_clownTextron (TXT) Weak earnings outlook. Drops to $8.83 from 52-week high of $65.52.

Eastman Kodak (EK) Poor earnings and layoffs. Down to $5.01 from 52-week high of $20.91.

Black & Decker (BDK) Cuts jobs. Cuts outlooks. Sells off to $31.02 from 52-week high of $74.24.

Dow Chemical Company (DOW) More concerns about finances and Rohm & Haas (ROH) buyout.

Websense (WBSN) Poor fourth quarter results. Dips to $11.38 from 52-week high of $24.60.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (AWK, BDK, ERII, FRED, LEN, PSA, WMT)

Money_stack_picThese are some of the positive analyst calls and upgrades we are seeing early this Tuesday morning:

  • American Water Works (AWK) Started as Buy at Societe General.
  • Black & Decker (BDK) Raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Energy Recovery (ERII) Started as Buy at Piper Jaffray.
  • Fred’s (FRED) Raised to Outperform at William Blair.
  • Lennar (LEN) Raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Public Storage (PSA) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
  • Wal-Mart (WMT) Raised to Outperform at William Blair.

Jon C. Ogg
November 25, 2008

Pre-Market Stock News (January 28, 2008)

Alliance Data Systems (ADS) was informed by Blackstone that conditions likely won’t be satisfied to complete the merger; stock trading down close to 40%.
American Express (AXP) reports earnings today with estimates at $0.71 EPS.
Biogen Idec (BIIB) said that Carl Icahn has given notice that he wants to nominate 3 directors to the board.
Black & Decker (BDK) $1.06 EPS vs. $1.03 estimate; lowered guidance for 2008 to $5.40 to 5.90 vs. $6.10+ estimates.
Bluelinx (BXC) now sees wider losses than expected.
Corning (GLW) $0.40 EPS vs. $0.39 estimate; Revenue $1.58B vs. $1.55B est.
eBay (EBAY) announced that PayPal has agreed to acquire Fraud Sciences Ltd. in Israeli for roughly $169 million.
FPL Group (FPL) $0.71 EPS vs. $0.67 estimates.
Halliburton (HAL) $0.74 EPS vs. $0.69 estimates.
Matria Healthcare (MATR) is being acquired by Inverness Medical (IMA) for $39.00 per share, with a breakdown of $6.50 per share in cash and $32.50 per share in convertible preferred stock.
McDonalds (MCD) set to report earnings, estimate $0.71.
Napster (NAPS) announced the launch of the Napster Mobile music service with Ericsson phones at Telecom Italia through its mobile brand TIM.
Sallie Mae (SLM) received commitments for $31 Billion from a consortium of banks led by Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, and The Royal Bank of Scotland, and from UBS; new financing will replace the $30 billion interim financing put in place; will drop suit related to past failed merger.
Sears Holdings (SHLD) Aylwin Lewis is stepping down as CEO of Sears.
Stanley Works (SWK) $1.11 EPS vs. $1.10 estimate; reaffirmed 2008 EPS at $4.20 to $4.40 versus $4.37 estimate.
Superior Offshore (DEEP) announced E. Donald Terry will be Interim President/CEO effectively immediately.
Synta (SNTA) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced elesclomol for metastatic melanoma was granted orphan drug designation by FDA; SNTA trading up 17%.
Ultralife Batteries (ULBI) received $4.4 million in military battery orders from the U.S. Defense Department.
Verizon (VZ) $0.62 EPS vs $0.62 estimate; added 2 million total net wireless customers; now has over 1 million FiOS TV customers.

Jon C. Ogg
January 28, 2008

Backward & Forward, Cramer In 2007 To 2008

2007 was one volatile year and for now it appears that will be the norm for at least the start of 2008.  Everyone’s favorite market pundit or least liked pundit is obviously Jim Cramer.  If you love Cramer or can’t stand him it really doesn’t matter.  He signed a new multi-year deal with CNBC recently.  Here are some of his major calls this year that will still be referred to in 2008:

Here were Cramer’s TOP 9 STOCKS FOR 2007, with a call broken down for each one.  Borat would say HI FIVE on some and NOT SO NICE on others, as would be expected.  Cramer’s 14,582 year-end DJIA target…..Friday’s close was 13,365.87……although we did hit 14,279.96 on OCT11, 2007.  Cramer also gave a batch of price targets on most of theDJIA components:

Cramer’s Stock Picks FOR 5-YEARS OUT:

SOME LISTS: His list of recession proof stocks compared to ours.  We are updating our
Defensive Stocks For The First Half Of 2008" currently.  Cramer gave a huge list of companies he expects to benefit from the alternative energy traders (SGR, FWLT, BWA, OMG, FSLR, FTEK, WFR, TTEK, ZOLT, BP, SPWR, CY, CPST, ITRI)… Jim Cramer pondered which US companies China would want to acquire, about 3 months before sovereign funds started buying into US companies.  Cramer’s mortgage winners and losers…… Here were his MAJOR BULL MARKET STOCK PICKS(MHS, CVS, AGN, CELG, GENZ, CEPH, RIG, HAL, EMR, CAT, CMI, UTX, KO,PEP, CL, GS, SKS, VFC, UNP, CSX, BA), some of which are DJIAcomponents.  Cramer produced a "MUST OWN" list of stocks, many of whichare up significantly and some are down (WHR, BDK, ATI, BGC, HON, ASD, JCI, MDR, FWLT, CAT, TEX, DE, QCOM)

Cramer spent lots of time on International stocks that most US investors might not cover on their own.  He made a big call on Mercadolibre (MELI) (also BIDU, GOOG) with some emphasis on buying immediately, right before it made a huge run up.  Cramer’s Hidden Video Game Investment Perfect World (PWRD, ATVI, ERTS, VIA) was one he said could run more than 50% for 2008.  Cramer made 5 TOP CHINESE PICKS (CEO, CHL, SSW, FMCN, BIDU, GMR).  We’ll see in 2008 if any of his Canadian OIL TRUSTS get acquired in 2008 (BTE, CNE, PGH, PVX, PWE, AAV, GDI).  Cramer also went over his top picks from Europe for American investors (TOT, SI, ABB, PHG, BF)

ON TECHNOLOGY:  Cramer’s NEW HORSEMEN OF TECH…. will the list change in 2008???  Did Cramer Say $1,000.00 on Google, Or Is It $600.00? That was in May 2007.  Cramer Gave Monster Price targets to Baidu.com (BIDU, GOOG).. will these targets change in 2008? Cramer was very positive on all the GPS stocks,although we’d expect that Cramer will change his tune in 2008 now thatthe holiday madness is behind us (GRMN, UA, CROX, NVT, TRMB, SIRF).

Would it be fair not to include the Barron’s attack on Cramer from summer for those of you that criticize his every word?

ON WARREN BUFFETT…. Cramer noted that BROOKFIELD ASSET MANAGEMENT in Canada may be the next Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK/A) NYSE: BAM). Cramer reviewed 10 Warren Buffett stocks for analysis and then reviewed 10 More Warren Buffett stocks:

Will his buyout of ALCOA (AA) prediction come true in 2008??? Cramer gave a list of stocks that had bought back so much stock that they might be taking themselves private.

Join our free email distribution list for other Cramer calls or for updates we send out regarding IPO’s, spin-offs, restructuring, reorganization, activist investors and more.

Happy New Years from the 247WallSt.com team!

Jon C. Ogg
December 31, 2007

The 52-Week Low Club (FNSR)(CNXT)

CDC Corp (CHINA) Ugly earnings. Falls to $4.15 from 52-week high of $11.45.

Finisar ((FNSR) No recent news. Fiber optic equipment maker falls to $1.38 from 52-week high of $4.21.

Conexant (CNXT) Second day of sell-off. Down to $.92 from 52-week high of $2.20

Retail Ventures (RVI) Bad quarter. Sells off to $4.15 from 52-week high of $23.30.

Quiksilver (ZQK) Apparel company drops outlook. Drops to $8.87 from 52-week high of $16.08.

Black & Decker (BDK) Housing hurts financial results. Down to $71.95 from 52-week high of $97.01.

Marriott (MAR) Travel stocks continue to sell off. Down to $31.34 from 52-week high of $52.

Starwood Hotels (HOT) Ditto. Weekly hotel room revenue numbers weak. Drops to $46.22 from 52-week high of $75.45.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Cramer’s ‘Must Own’ List

Stock Tickers: WHR, BDK, ATI, BGC, HON, ASD, JCI, MDR, FWLT, CAT, TEX, DE, QCOM

On tonight’s MAD MONEY on CNBC Jim Cramer addressed the opportunity created by the big down day.  He thinks some stocks are so loved that hedge funds and mutual funds just keep buying.  These funds can’t buy what they want all at once any longer, so they just keep buying and then the smaller funds jump on board.  The other change is that the companies are shrinking because of buybacks.  On days like today they sold off and that’s an opportunity for you to buy.  The floats on these are small enough that they almost trade like small cap stocks.  He has a dozen of these stocks:

Whirlpool (WHR), Black & Decker (BDK), Allegheny Tech (ATI), General Cable (BGC), Honeywell (HON), American Standard (ASD), Johnson Controls (JCI), McDermott (MDR), Foster Wheeler (FWLT), Caterpillar (CAT) and Terex (TEX), and Deere (DE).

This follows up on yesterday’s feature by Cramer where he sort of touted this as a scam on Wall Street in Qualcomm (QCOM).

Jon C. Ogg
May 10, 2007

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