24/7 Wall St. » CB

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (GOOG, JDSU, DRI, CB, LNKD, SAI, VRA, MTN, VLGEA, MW, TLB, MNI, MSO, FSLR, JAG, GBG)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 21:06:59 +0000

Equities fell sharply after this morning’s opening. Futures were soft prior to the opening bell due largely to continue to worry about Europe and a forecast cut to the European Central Bank’s lending rate from 1.25% to 1%. The mid-morning report on US crude oil stocks put a halt to any thought of a crude price rise, with US inventories growing by 1.3 million barrels following a 3.9 million barrel increase the week before. WTI is trading down almost $1, at $100.30/barrel late in the day, and Brent is trading at $109.45/barrel, down more than $1.35. Gold is up nearly 0.75%, at $1,744.60.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 45 points to 12,195.61 (0.37%), the NASDAQ fell less than 1 point (-0.01%) to 2,649.21, and the S&P 500 rose 0.20% or more than 2 points to 1,261.02.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) started as ‘buy’ with a $725 target price at Canaccord Genuity. Other ratings actions today include JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU) started as ‘buy’ with a $14.75 target price at Jefferies; Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) cut to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ at Argus; Chubb Corp. (NYSE: CB) started as ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; and LinkedIn Corp. (NASDAQ: LNKD) started as ‘buy’ with an $85 target price at Canaccord Genuity.

Here are today’s post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: SAIC Inc. (NYSE: SAI) is up 6.5% at $12.95; Vera Bradley Inc. (NASDAQ: VRA) is down about -1.5% at $36.62; Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) is up slightly less than -1% at $45.48; Village Super Market Inc. (NASDAQ: VLGEA) is down more than -3.8% at $30.49; and The Men’s Wearhouse, Inc. (NYSE: MW) is up more than 20% at $32.68.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

The Talbots Inc. (NYSE: TLB) is up about 65% at $2.58. The women’s clothing store has received a takeover offer from private equity firm Sycamore Partners for $3.00/share, a 92% premium to the stock’s closing price yesterday.

The McClatchy Co. (NYSE: MNI) is up more than 52%, at $1.80. The newspaper company said that advertising rates have not fallen as badly in the first two months of the current quarter. For the first nine months of this year ad revenue declined -10%, compared with a decline of -5.6% in October and November.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (NYSE: MSO) is up more than 32%, to $4.12. Retailer J.C. Penney Co. (NYSE: JCP) acquired a 16.6% stake in the lifestyle and media company today for $3.50/share, or $38.5 million. More coverage here.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is up more than 4.6%, at 48.26. The company sold its 550-megawatt Topaz solar PV plant to a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) for an undisclosed sum. The plant had previously been valued at more than $2 billion. More coverage here.

Jaguar Mining Inc. (NYSE: JAG) is down -9.6%, at $6.55. The junior gold miner said yesterday that its founding CEO had resigned.

Great Basin Gold Ltd. (AMEX: GBG) is up about 17.8%, at $1.19. Another junior gold miner, Great Basin has finalized a $150 million term credit facility for 5 years at a rate 4% above LIBOR.

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

8:30 a.m. – New US unemployment claims report
10:00 a.m. – Wholesale trade report
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas status report
4:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet
4:30 p.m. – Money supply report

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: CB, DRI, FSLR, GBG, GOOG, JAG, JDSU, LNKD, MNI, MSO, MTN, MW, SAI, TLB, VLGEA, VRA

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ALL, AMZN, BX, CTL, CB, DRI, FSL, GEOI, GOOG, JDSU, LNKD, BTU, PEG, DGX, TLB, TRV, UIS, UNH, URBN, WSH)

Administrator — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:25:40 +0000

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

Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Started as Hold with $225.00 price target “due to low margins through 2012″ at Canaccord Genuity.
The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) Raised to Buy with $20.00 price target at Argus.
CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.
Chubb Corporation (NYSE: CB) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) Cut to Hold from Buy at Argus.
Freescale Semiconductor Inc. (NYSE: FSL) Reinstated as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
GeoResources, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEOI) Started as Buy with $43 price target “on a concentrated Eagle Ford/Bakken exposure” by Canaccord Genuity.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) was initiated with a ‘Buy’ rating and $725.00 price target “on robust growth and great value” by Canaccord Genuity.
JDS Uniphase Corporation (NASDAQ: JDSU) Started in new coverage as Buy with a $14.75 price target at Jefferies.
LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD) Started as Buy with $85 price target as “growth trumps valuation” by Canaccord Genuity.
Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE: BTU) Downgraded to Neutral from Buy with $43 price target by Goldman Sachs.
Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (NYSE: PEG) Downgraded to Neutral from Buy with $33 price target at Goldman Sachs.
Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX) Started as Hold with $51 target at Auriga.
The Talbots, Inc. (NYSE: TLB) maintained Neutral with $3.00 fair value by Janney Capital Markets.
Travelers Cos. Inc. (NYSE: TRV) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) added to the US Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Maintained Neutral with $23.00 price target at Janney Capital Markets.
Willis Group Holdings, PLC (NYSE: WSH) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ALL, AMZN, BTU, BX, CB, CTL, DGX, DRI, FSL, GEOI, GOOG, JDSU, LNKD, PEG, TLB, TRV, UIS, UNH, URBN, WSH

After Hurricane Irene, Tropical Storm Katia Poses Next Threat (ALL, TRV, CB, ALL, BRK-B, RE, PRE, CRD-B, LOW, HD)

Administrator — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:50:06 +0000

The worst part about hurricane season is that one bad hurricane has no impact on whether or not another hurricane, or series of hurricanes, can be coming back down the pipe. If you track the NOAA satellite images daily, you might have noticed a large cloud formation coming off the west coast of Africa even before Hurricane Irene hit the Eastern Seaboard in recent days. That large cloud formation has evolved and it is now Tropical Storm Katia.

Our intent is not to overhype the news like much of the media appears to have done. Still, it is hard to not notice that this storm system has already developed into a formally named system while it is still located closer to Africa than it is to the Caribbean. The media will probably play this one up on the “K” angle as it was Katrina that was such a hard lesson for the U.S. before. Insurers will undoubtedly be watching this system in the days ahead regardless of which letter of the alphabet it has. What makes this system unique is that the current trajectory is actually heading to what could be some of the same storm-damaged areas as Irene. That would not be a welcoming event and we would only hope that the trajectory changes to send this up north to just dissipate in the colder waters of the North Atlantic.

Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) and The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV) have exposure in the areas around North Carolina as well as exposure further up the coast. The Chubb Corporation (NYSE: CB) has exposure in New York and on north throughout southern New England. Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG) was on CNBC this week almost talking down some of the damages from the storm, which is a relief to everyone.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) has insurance and/or reinsurance exposure, and Everest Re Group Ltd. (NYSE: RE) and PartnerRe Ltd. (NYSE: PRE) were also up on Monday after the damages were lower than the reinsurance threshold even while they are all set to raise rates.

The wild card in hurricane season is a small company called Crawford & Company (NYSE: CRD-B). This outfit provides claims management solutions to insurance companies and self-insured entities. Think of Crawford, well its associates, as army of individuals as insurance claims adjusters.

Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) and The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD) have slid after a poor confidence number, but they are obvious potential beneficiaries if any real hurricane damage comes.

A new update will be made around 11:00 AM or 2:00 PM EST, but as of now the National Hurricane Center issued advisories on the newly named storm. This one is still quite a ways out at 535 miles from the Cape Verde islands. Current maximum sustained winds are 35 knots (40 MPH) and it is moving West-Northwest at 15 knots (17 MPH). If the storm does not peter-out and continues at the same pace, this looks like it would be an issue for the Eastern Seaboard again the weekend after Labor Day.

Again, this is a storm which could change its path or it could just fizzle out all on its own. We certainly hope it does that or even that it drifts north and just fizzles out in the colder North Atlantic. We’ll be keeping an eye on Katia in the days ahead.

JON C. OGG

Here is the current NOAA image with a projected path (updated link path here):

Filed under: Economy, Editor's Picks, Financial Stocks, Housing, Infrastructure Tagged: ALL, BRK-B, CB, CRD-B, HD, LOW, PRE, RE, TRV

Counter-Intuitive: Insurance Stocks Rising After Hurricane (ALL, TRV, CB, HIG, BRK-B, RE, PRE, CRD-B)

Administrator — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:56:23 +0000

Any time a hurricane hits, it can cause billions of dollars in damage to homes, cars, businesses, and other properties. The estimates for Hurricane Irene were growing higher and higher last week for what the total economic damage was going to be as the Hurricane strafed the Eastern Seaboard. As you know by now, Hurricane Irene hit North Carolina the hardest but it failed to regain enough strength to cause the damage to New York City and other areas up the coast that many were bracing for. We have seen too many estimates of damages from Irene, but even the highest is far lower than the consensus was expecting before the storm hit.

What was bad news for insurance and reinsurance stocks last week is suddenly good news this week. The insurance losses also appear to be low enough that most of the big reinsurance players appear to be escaping Irene’s liabilities either unscathed or only with a small amount.

Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) and The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV) have exposure in the areas around North Carolina, where the brunt of the hurricane force hit. They both also had exposure further up the coast. Travelers is now up 3.4% at $49.97 and Allstate is up 4.5% at $25.32.

The Chubb Corporation (NYSE: CB) has exposure in New York and on north throughout southern New England and its shares are up 3.7% at $61.62 on the day. Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG) is also up over 4% at $18.00 this morning.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) would have had exposure from insurance and/or reinsurance losses… This is being treated as lower now in liabilities and shares are up 2.5% at $71.72 so far on the news. Everest Re Group Ltd. (NYSE: RE) is up 3.6% at $79.96 and PartnerRe Ltd. (NYSE: PRE) is up 3.7% at $56.40.

The surprise is actually in Crawford & Company (NYSE: CRD-B). The company had a near-40% gain last week as it provides claims management solutions to insurance companies and self-insured entities. Think of this as an employment clearing house for insurance claims adjusters. This one is up again by more than 2% at $7.08, but after last week’s huge gain it would be one we would view a bit more cautiously.

This is one of those situations where less-bad news is good news.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Business Services, Economy, Financial Stocks Tagged: ALL, BRK-B, CB, CRD-B, HIG, PRE, RE, TRV

Company Winners & Losers Expected From Hurricane Irene (ALL, TRV, CB, BRK-A, DUK, D, ETR, AWK, VZ, HD, LOW, URI, PPG, BECN, IBI, BGG, GNRC, CRD-B, CLH, NYX, NDAQ)

Administrator — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 16:24:57 +0000

Will Hurricane Irene cost the United States $10 billion? $15 billion? Or even more? It really depends upon whom you speak with on this front. The expected damage count is growing now that the hurricane path looks far more definite since it is closer and closer to landfall. One thing is almost certain… The damage is expected to be big and it is going to hit areas of the country which usually are not as badly affected by summer weather. This will be one weekend to remember on the Eastern Seaboard. We have pulled some economic data and put together some of the likely winners and losers as far as companies are concerned from this storm and its aftermath.

UBS has issued a brief report that hurricanes tend to have little impact on GDP and on Federal Reserve policy, but one notion that they do influence is employment. The observation is that companies in hurricane areas tend to push out their new hiring decisions by about a month.

We wanted to take a look at just some of the companies in each sector that would win and lose from the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. You can imagine that insurance companies are going to be hit by damage claims, but what about power, water, and telecom? And imagine the construction and rebuilding business. And the building supplies and service providers.

Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) and The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV) have exposure in the areas around North Carolina. That is where the landfall is expected first. Perhaps more worrisome is the upper Eastern Seaboard where Hurricane Irene is expected to strafe this weekend. The Chubb Corporation (NYSE: CB) has exposure in New York and on north throughout southern New England, as does Allstate and Travelers. Chubb noted on its site, “Hurricane Irene Alert: Chubb is helping its customers prepare for the storm.” Allstate also has a claim and preparedness site.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) is also likely not immune as Mr. Buffett has joked in the past that he was lucky enough to avoid hurricanes for two straight years.

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK) spoke on CNBC this morning saying that while they do expect damage that they have their staff ready to go to assist in the region. Power lines and power equipments tend to not do well in floods, 100 mile an hour wind, lightning, and with flying debris. Dominion Resources Inc. (NYSE: D) saw a brief outage at a nuclear plant this week due to the earthquake, but it has already said that its Virginia and North Caroline units are preparing for the aftermath. Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) has the often controversial Indian Point nuclear power plant located about 35 miles the middle of Manhattan.

This could have an impact on American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) as well, even though this company is very diversified throughout parts of America. The New Jersey based water utility has operations at risk in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) is also diversified all over the United States, particularly on wireless. That being said, it has real land line and phone line exposure throughout much of the projected areas in New York and the Northeast as the former Bell Atlantic.

Filed under: Economy, Housing, Infrastructure, Retail, Utilities Tagged: ALL, AWK, BECN, BGG, BRK-A, CB, CLH, CRD-B, D, DUK, ETR, GNRC, HD, IBI, LOW, NDAQ, NYX, PPG, TRV, URI, VZ

December’s $30B+ Buybacks Set Stage for 2011 Bonanza (BBBY, PRE, T, BAX, CB, CSC, BEN, HD, BEN, HD, INTC, TEVA, GE, CSCO)

Administrator — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 12:30:59 +0000

Share repurchase programs, or stock buybacks, have been and may always be a more questionable method of returning capital to shareholders than dividends. Many even disagree with the effect of buybacks. Still, many boards inside corporate America prefer the buyback method. December almost felt like an all-time record for additional share buyback announcements. The tally came to well over $30 billion in updated buyback announcements from a couple dozen companies. The long and short of the matter is that this trend will set the tone for a steady flow of corporate spending to retire outstanding shares.

At the end of December came a $2 billion buyback update from Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) versus a market cap of more than $12 billion. PartnerRe Ltd. (NYSE: PRE) announced a 7 million share repurchase plan that comes to more than $550 million at the current prices versus a market cap of about $6 billion. Some other key buybacks announced were as follows:

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) announced that it would repurchase as many as 300 million shares, worth some $8.7 billion at the time. That was about 5% of its shares against a $171 billion market cap at the time.

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) in the middle of the month approved a share repurchase authorization of up to $2.5 billion in common stock; it had approximately $600 million remaining under its July-2009 $2.0 billion share repurchase program. Baxter’s market cap was $29 billion at the time.

Chubb Corporation (NYSE: CB) added an additional 30 million shares for buybacks for nearly $1.8 billion against a market cap of nearly $18 billion at the time.

Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE: CSC) had announced a buyback plan of up to $1 billion compared to a market cap of close to $7.5 billion at the time.

Franklin Resources Inc. (NYSE: BEN) added to its prior plan saying it would buy back up to 10 million shares, over $1 billion if fully allocated, against a market cap of roughly $25 billion.

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD) targeted some $2.5 billion in share buybacks ahead in 2011 versus a market cap of roughly $56 billion at the time.

Franklin Resources Inc. (NYSE: BEN) last week added to its prior plan and announced that it would buy back up to 10 million shares. With shares over $100 a piece, that is over $1 billion if fully allocated and that is against a market cap of roughly $25 billion.

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD) said earlier that the home improvement supply giant is targeting some $2.5 billion in share buybacks ahead in 2011 versus a market cap of roughly $56 billion.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) CEO Paul Otellini announced that it resumed repurchasing common stock after having previously suspended buybacks during the Great Recession. Intel had roughly $5.7 billion remaining under an existing $25 billion buyback plan. Intel’s market cap was more than $120 billion at the time.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NASDAQ: TEVA) announced in early December that it would spend up to $1 billion to repurchase shares against a market cap of roughly $47 billion.

Two large restarted buyback plans right before December were General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) starting to buy shares again and a promise for more share repurchases in 2011 and another giant plan from Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) adding some $10 billion to its buyback plan.

The full list of December buybacks can be seen here with many more plans being in the hundreds of millions of dollars or even higher.

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

Filed under: Dividend, Shareholder Issues, Stock Buybacks Tagged: BAX, BBBY, BEN, CB, CSC, CSCO, GE, HD, INTC, PRE, T, TEVA

December Buybacks Near $30 Billion Already, More For 2011 (T, AET, AZO, ADSK, CB, CAG, CCK, ECA, ENZN, HD, INTC, MAN, MKL, SWY, SYK, TEVA, TIBX, PKW, CSCO, GE, BAC, WFC, JPM)

Administrator — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17:38:33 +0000

There is a long-standing debate over the effect and impact of share buyback plans. What is not up for debate is that many companies have given big updates or announced new buyback plans in the month of December. In less than two weeks we had some $15 billion in updated buybacks, but through December 22 we actually have a much larger number: almost $29 billion tracked in just these buybacks! The number is likely over $30 billion already.

We have updates for AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET), AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO), Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK), Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX), Chubb Corporation (NYSE: CB), ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG), Encana Corp. (NYSE: ECA), Enzon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ENZN), Franklin Resources Inc. (NYSE: BEN), The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), Markel Corp. (NYSE: MKL), Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY), Stryker Corp. (NYSE: SYK) and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NASDAQ: TEVA), TIBCO Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TIBX), and Trinity Industries Inc. (NYSE: TRN).

The buyback ETF is PowerShares Buyback Achiever Portfolio (NYSE: PKW), and we have highlighted that herein as well. We also took a look at the continuing situations in General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) and Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO). For buybacks in 2011, there is already evidence that Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC), and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) could begin significant buyback programs.

There is a long-standing debate over whether or not stock buybacks are an effective return of cash to shareholders. It’s a simple theory by lowering the number of outstanding shares to boosts the price of the stock. That does not always work, but many companies are willing to spend billions upon billions for this effort. Investors need to know that many new buyback plans are coming. We wanted to track December’s big buybacks now that we are likely over some $30 billion if you include the many smaller buybacks we either missed or eliminated due to size and the length of this already.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) announced last week that it plans to repurchase as many as 300 million shares. This would represent some $8.7 billion worth of stock at the time, or about 5% of its shares. The current market cap is close to $171 billion.

Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) approved the repurchase of $750 million of stock, which is actually in addition to roughly $257 million left in prior approvals. We’ll call it $1 billion for short, and that compares to a market cap of just over $12 billion at the time.

AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) added some $500 million into its buyback plan. The company noted, “Since the inception of the repurchase program in 1998, and including the above amount, AutoZone’s Board of Directors has authorized $9.9 billion.” Its market cap is currently just shy of $12 billion.

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Banking, Corporate Governance, Dividend, Economy, Editor's Picks, Large Cap Stocks, Mergers and Buy Outs, Shareholder Issues, Stock Buybacks, Trading Alert, Value Investing Tagged: ADSK, AET, AZO, BAC, CAG, CB, CCK, CSCO, ECA, ENZN, GE, HD, INTC, JPM, MAN, MKL, PKW, SWY, SYK, T, TEVA, TIBX, WFC

December Buybacks Over $15 Billion, More For 2011 (AET, CB, CAG, ECA, HD, INTC, MKL, SWY, SYK, TEVA, CSCO, BAC, WFC, JPM)

Administrator — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 12:55:00 +0000

There have always been questions about whether stock buybacks are an effective return of cash to shareholders. The theory is a simple one: reducing the number of shares outstanding boosts the price of the stock. It does not always work out that way. Still, some companies are willing to spend billions of dollars on themselves and many new buyback plans are coming. We wanted to track the big buybacks so far which have just been announced or updated since the start of December. While not all the programs are new, the total came to a sum of more than $15 billion. That $15+ billion does not even count many of the smaller or less obvious buyback updates.

The companies which we have updates on are Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET), Chubb Corporation (NYSE: CB), ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG), Encana Corp. (NYSE: ECA), The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), Markel Corp. (NYSE: MKL), Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY), Stryker Corp. (NYSE: SYK) and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NASDAQ: TEVA).

We also took a look at the ongoing example of Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO). For buybacks in 2011, there is already evidence that Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC), and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) could begin significant buyback programs.

We have two insurance buyback announcements. Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) approved the repurchase of $750 million of stock, which is actually in addition to roughly $257 million left in prior approvals. We’ll call it $1 billion for short, and that compares to a market cap of just over $12 billion. Chubb Corporation (NYSE: CB) has now authorized an additional 30 million shares for buybacks, and that appears to be the second buyback expansion in the year. That is nearly $1.8 billion at current share prices against a market cap of nearly $18 billion.

ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) lowered its guidance for growth in 2011, but it did expand its buyback ambitions by the $554 million received as an early repayment of notes it was owed. ConAgra’s plan is now close to $750 million against a market cap of $9.7 billion.

Encana Corp. (NYSE: ECA) announced that it received renewed approval for a Normal Course Issuer Bid from the Toronto Stock Exchange and it may repurchase and cancel up to 36.8 million shares. That is roughly 5% of its outstanding and issued shares. Its market cap is close to $21 billion.

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD) is targeting some $2.5 billion in share buybacks ahead in 2011 versus a market cap of roughly $56 billion.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) CEO Paul Otellini announced that the company has recently begun repurchasing shares of its common stock after having suspended buybacks for some time. Intel had roughly $5.7 billion remaining under an existing $25 billion buyback plan. Intel’s market cap is more than $120 billion.

Filed under: Stock Buybacks Tagged: AET, BAC, CAG, CB, CSCO, ECA, HD, INTC, JPM, MKL, SWY, SYK, TEVA, WFC

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (AXP, BBY, CCL, SCHW, CB, EIX, BEN, RCL, TROW, X)

247wallst — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:57:31 +0000

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

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Best Buy Co. (NYSE: BBY) Cut to Sell at Societe Generale.
Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Charles Schwab (NASDAQ: SCHW) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Chubb Corp. (NYSE: CB) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer; Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Edison International (NYSE: EIX) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Royal Caribbean Cruise (NYSE: RCL) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ: TROW) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
US Steel (NYSE: X) Raised to Buy at KeyBanc.

You can sign up for our free daily email 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 in Analyst Calls, Financial Stocks Tagged: AXP, BBY, BEN, CB, CCL, EIX, RCL, SCHW, TROW, X

Top Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (AMZN, CB, CXW, GSK, ITRI, LEAP, LM, PNC, POT, VLO)

247wallst — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:16:54 +0000

These are this Friday morning’s top 10 analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations we have seen from Wall Street’s research calls:

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) Raised to Outperform at FBR Capital (new target $130); Raised to Overweight at Barclays; Raised to Buy at Jefferies; Raised to Buy at Janney Montgomery.
Chubb (NYSE: CB) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Corrections Corp (NYSE: CXW) Started as Buy at Sun Trust Robinson Humphrey
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Itron (NASDAQ: ITRI) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Leap Wireless (NASDAQ: LEAP) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Legg Mason (NYSE: LM) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse. Credit Suisse
PNC Financial Services (NYSE: PNC) Raised to Overweight at Wells Fargo.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT) Cut to Sector Perform at CIBC; targets raised to $125 at RBC and raised to $135 at Canaccord.
Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.

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

JON C. OGG
OCTOBER 23, 2009

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: AMZN, CB, CXW, GSK, ITRI, LEAP, LM, PNC, POT, VLO