24/7 Wall St. » CIT

Media Digest (1/12/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg

247wallst — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:27:19 +0000

Olympus may partner with Samsung. (Reuters)

RBS cuts 3,500 investment bank jobs. (Reuters)

RealtyTrac reports that foreclosures reached a four-year low in 2011. (Reuters)

International Monetary Fund senior executive Lipton sees no hard landing in China. (Reuters)

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) will delay it web TV plans. (Reuters)

The FCC may ask TV broadcasters to return unused spectrum so it can be auctioned to wireless carriers. (Reuters)

LG’s handset numbers rise in Q4 and the company says it will continue to invest in its wireless division. (Reuters)

Eastman Kodak (NYSE: EK) faces trouble with pension money it owes in the UK. (Reuters)

Raymond James (NYSE: RJF) will buy Morgan Keegan. (Reuters)

An oversupply of natural gas pushes prices to historic lows. (WSJ)

Carlyle’s three founders earned more than $400 million last year. (WSJ)

More senior bankers leave Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS). (WSJ)

CIT (NYSE: CIT) will no longer finance loans to Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD) suppliers. (WSJ)

Emerging market nations step up their activity as they sell more bonds. (WSJ)

The Environmental Protection Agency releases a list of plants that emit the most greenhouse gases. (WSJ)

Food prices in India fall. (WSJ)

The Fed Beige Book says holiday sales helped the economy at the end of last year. (WSJ)

President Obama to propose tax cuts for companies that bring jobs back from overseas. (WSJ)

Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal say Europe is the greatest threat to U.S. expansion. (WSJ)

Daniel Alegre, Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) chief in Asia, says the company will press for more market share in China. (WSJ)

Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) finds an unapproved fungicide in orange juice products. (WSJ)

Hotels establish a booking site to compete with Priceline (NASDAQ: PCLN). (WSJ)

Industry researchers Gartner and IDC say PC shipments fell in the past quarter. (WSJ)

Chevron (NYSE: CVX) says its fourth-quarter results were weak. (WSJ)

News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) may make a bid for the LA Dodgers. (WSJ)

Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) will cut 1,000 jobs. (WSJ)

Coors Light passes Bud as the number two beer in the U.S. (WSJ)

Ford (NYSE: F) will introduce new models to try to salvage Lincoln. (WSJ)

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission tightens rules for swaps activity. (WSJ)

The eurozone will be challenged again as members refinance billions of dollars of debt early this year. (NYT)

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to announce programs to extend the mortgage payments of the unemployed. (NYT)

EU oil refiners cut ties with Iran. (FT)

China’s consumer inflation falls to 4.1%. (FT)

The head of Fiat says car makers must merge. (FT)

A move to safety cuts Treasury yields below 2%. (FT)

German December inflation slowed. (Bloomberg)

Delhaize Group, which owns Food Lion, will cut 5,000 jobs around the world. (Bloomberg)

Italy and Spain to offer 17 billion euro in debt sales. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Press Digest Tagged: ADM, CIT, CVX, EK, F, GOOG, GS, KO, MSFT, NWS, PCLN, RJF, SHLD

2012 Starts Out As Year of the Banks (JPM, BAC, FAS, WFC, CIT)

Administrator — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:03:31 +0000

Has J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) managed to help further turn banks around in 2012? The sector which had no friends in 2011 is now actually the top bill in the DJIA as Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) is trading around $6.55 and that is now up 18% since the final trading day of 2011. The triple-leveraged Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (NYSE: FAS) has actually underperformed BofA at the start of the year despite being up 14% if you include the 5% gain to $74.00 today.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is up the least of the too big to fail banks because it has been considered the most stable of late as far as how its operations will hold up in the future compared to J.P. Morgan or BofA. Wells Fargo stock is up “only” 7% so far since the close of 2011. Still, we would not put much credence on that research note hoping for a CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) buyout by Wells Fargo even if CIT is up about 6% so far year to date.

News driving the banks is not so much that we named this one an undervalued DJIA component after our own metrics called for a 12% gain to 13,678 in the DJIA as the peak this year. Today’s continued gains are simple and threefold.

First and most recently is that top CEO Jamie Dimon of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) was discussing with CNBC’s Maria Bartoromo in an exclusive interview how banking will survive and that he hopes for fewer strings holding them back. Whether or not that happens is something that is likely a 2013 story.

The ultimate boost is that it appears that all of the money center banks are going to pass the new stress tests. That does not mean that they will have the ability to unilaterally boost dividends and buyback stock, but they might be able to get through the tests today without having to raise new capital.

The other issue helping to drive banking stocks is that the DOJ has been reportedly reaching out to many banks over a master settlement regarding mortgages. That does not mean that other agencies and other judges will not keep up the fight (nor that they will not try to interrupt a settlement). Still, one more effort to put the mortgage crisis behind us is a help. Some additional outliers are as follows:

Large proposed pre-packaged foreclosure sales to funds and buyers as rental properties;
Huge discounts to book value;
Possibility of interest rate help after 2012;
Continued improvements in consumer credit metrics.
Maybe the big help for BofA is that Jim Cramer keeps calling it a “SELL” on his shows.

To try to have a sector wrap in a nutshell still feels misplaced after how dismal 2011 was. BofA was the worst performing DJIA stock by far. That makes it little surprise that it would be the best performing stock in the first week of trading. Still, the company has not issued any real news and it is up nearly 18% from the end of the year during only the sixth trading session of this year. That is an impressive move regardless of how painful 2011 was.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Banking, Brokerage Firms, Compensation, Financial Stocks, Regulation Tagged: BAC, CIT, FAS, JPM, WFC

24/7 Wall St. Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades of the Week (MO, ANGI, AAPL, CIT, GS, GMCR, HUN, KKD, LULU, NOK, SHLD, URBN, VZ, WSM, HOGS)

Administrator — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:35:49 +0000

This was the first week after the holidays and many analyst calls were made this week with updated outlooks for 2012. 24/7 Wall St. saw many influential analyst calls this week with either long term ramifications or which caused big moves in the underlying stocks.

We have covered this in more detailed summaries below, but the following included the top stock upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in this last week: Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO); Angie’s List, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI); Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL); CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT); Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS); Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR); Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN); Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD); Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU); Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK); Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD); Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN); Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ); Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM); and Zhongpin, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOGS).

We have given a summary and notes on each below.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) could be in for a 15% drop now that shares became overvalued per the Barron’s cover story to kick off 2012 and Davenport downgraded the stock also.

Angie’s List, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI) had a rough week after its quiet period ended from its late 2011 IPO. The stock closed out 2011 at $16.10 and ended the week down at $13.23 for a loss of about 18%. Analyst initiation summary as follows:

Neutral with $18 target at BofA/ML;
Sector Perform with $17 target at RBC;
Perform with $16 target at Oppenheimer;
Buy with $22 target at ThinkEquity;
Buy with $21 target at Stifel Nicolaus;
Buy with $19 target at Janney Capital Markets.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) may have just been a reiterated call, but this was the $560 price target call from Canaccord Genuity. Apple’s price target was also lowered to $513 from $530 at Morgan Keegan.

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) was noted as a “if, then” possible takeover candidate in a SunTrust Robinson Humphrey call this week that is frankly hard to agree with.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) was among the banking sector downgrades this week, although shares still managed to close on a positive note if you just compare the price to the prior Friday. Meredith Whitney, Wells Fargo, and Credit Suisse all gave negative calls with downgrades or lower sales and earnings.

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Research, The Week, Trading Alert Tagged: AAPL, ANGI, CIT, GMCR, GS, HOGS, HUN, KKD, LULU, MO, NOK, SHLD, URBN, VZ, WSM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AET, BIG, CIT, FMCN, GILD, JASO, LDK, MDR, MU, SNH, VE, INT)

Administrator — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:02:43 +0000

These are some of Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls.

Aetna, Inc. (NYSE: AET) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) Cut to Equal-Weight at Barclays.
CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) Started as Hold at Jefferies.
Focus Media Holding Ltd. (NASDAQ: FMCN) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) Cut to Hold at Argus.
JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) Cut to Sell at ThinkEquity.
LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) Cut to Sell at ThinkEquity.
McDermott International (NYSE: MDR) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE: SNH) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Veolia Environnement S.A. (NYSE: VE) Raised to Overweight at HSBC.
World Fuel Services Corporation (NYSE: INT) named value stock of the day at Zacks.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AET, BIG, CIT, FMCN, GILD, INT, JASO, LDK, MDR, MU, SNH, VE

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ARG, IRE, BRCM, CPN, CELG, CIT, DRYS, GILD, INTC, LULU, MRVL, NVDA, PG, QCOM, RIMM, TXN)

Administrator — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 13:13:38 +0000

These are some of this Friday’s key analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls.

Airgas Inc. (NYSE: ARG) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) Started as Neutral at Nomura; Raised to Positive at Susquehanna.
Calpine Corporation (NASDAQ: CPN) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
CIT Group, Inc. (NYSE: CIT) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
DryShips, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) Started as Buy at Nomura.
Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ: LULU) Raised to Hold at Jefferies.
Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL) Started as Neutral at Nomura.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) Started as Neutral at Nomura.
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) Started as Neutral at Nomura.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Reiterated Outperform and target raised to $75 at Raymond James.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) Started as Reduce at Nomura.

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JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Semiconductor Tagged: ARG, BRCM, CELG, CIT, CPN, DRYS, GILD, INTC, IRE, LULU, MRVL, NVDA, PG, QCOM, RIMM, TXN

Next Week’s Must See Earnings (AMGN, CIT, DD, X, CMCSA, COP, PG, MMM, DOW, XOM, POT, FSLR, MSFT, CVX, MRK)

Administrator — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 16:56:22 +0000

Earnings season is in full swing and the peak will occur next week. We have several DJIA components reporting earnings along with several other companies which are equally as important to the investment community. We have previews and color on earnings for 15 of the top companies. On deck are Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN), CIT Group, Inc. (NYSE: CIT), EI DuPont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD), United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X), Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM), The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT), First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), and Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK).

We have compiled details from Thomson Reuters, shown relative price data, and added in other color where applicable.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) reports Monday afternoon. The largest pure-biotech has been dead money for some time now. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $1.27 EPS and $3.78 billion in revenues. Estimates for the quarter ahead are $1.18 EPS and $3.84 billion in revenues. With shares at $57.62, shares have gotten in the upper-half of that $51 to $60 trading band.

CIT Group, Inc. (NYSE: CIT) reports earnings on Tuesday morning. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.47 EPS and estimates for the quarter ahead are $0.47 EPS. With shares above $40, the stock is close to the post-bankruptcy highs in 2010. Barron’s recently featured this one positively, and while it is not no longer one of the top companies out there it is still looked at in close detail by many traders and investors alike.

EI DuPont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD), or DuPont, reports earnings on Tuesday morning. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.34 EPS and $6.75 billion in revenues. Estimates for the quarter ahead are $0.30 EPS and $6.7 billion in revenues. With shares at $46.79, the stock is very close to 52-week highs after a 52-week range of $31.02 to $47.50.

US Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) reports Tuesday morning. Thomson Reuters has estimates for the steel giant of $0.24 EPS and $4.53 billion in revenues. Estimates for the quarter ahead are $0.39 EPS and $4.51 billion in revenues. With shares at $42.03, the 52-week trading range is $33.25 to $70.95.

Filed under: Calendar, Earnings, The Week Tagged: AMGN, CIT, CMCSA, COP, CVX, DD, DOW, FSLR, MMM, MRK, MSFT, PG, POT, X, XOM

Top Active Trader Alert Stocks (ALXA, AB, AIB, CSIQ, CHK, BORN, CIT, GNBT, HRBN, IMGN, LDK)

Administrator — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 13:01:53 +0000

Bonds may be closed for Columbus Day, but the U.S. stock market is open and there are many movers to watch. Some of the most active stocks or largest moves seen in shares of Alexza Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXA), AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE: AB), Allied Irish Banks plc (NYSE: AIB), Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ), Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK), China New Borun Corporation (NASDAQ: BORN), CIT Group, Inc. (NYSE: CIT), Generex Biotechnology Corp. (NASDAQ: GNBT), Harbin Electric, Inc. (NASDAQ: HRBN), Immunogen Inc. (NASDAQ: IMGN), and LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LDK).

Alexza Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXA) is getting crushed after the FDA declined approval for its anti-psychotic drug: NDA review cycle is complete and the application is not ready for approval in its present form. Shares are down 47% at $1.60 on over 700,000 shares.

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE: AB) is indicated up less than 1% after Barron’s gave it a cover story as “A Deep Value Play.”

Allied Irish Banks plc (NYSE: AIB) is not seeing news, but the notion that it was up this morning almost seems like a reason for celebration… AIB shares are up 1% at $1.17.

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) is up 0.6% at $15.59 and the indications were higher based upon a new CFO appointment after an SEC inquiry. It backed prior guidance and said shipments would be at the mid-point to higher-end of guidance.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) is trading up after CNOOC from China is investing $2.16 billion in Chesapeake for one of its large shale projects. Shares are up 5% at $24.28.

China New Borun Corporation (NASDAQ: BORN) is trading like ‘born to run’ after being given the #1 position in the IBD 100 this weekend. Shares are up 4.5% at $16.80, a new all-time high above the prior high from last week of $16.14.

CIT Group, Inc. (NYSE: CIT) is trading up about 1.5% at $41.35 after Barron’s reported that Thain is turning it around.

Generex Biotechnology Corp. (NASDAQ: GNBT) is up 20% at $0.52 ahead of key data being presented today.

Harbin Electric, Inc. (NASDAQ: HRBN) received a going-private proposal from its CEO for $24.00 per share in cash. Volume is light but so far shares are up over 27% at $25.50, above the offer.

Immunogen Inc. (NASDAQ: IMGN) is trading up by 9% at $7.75 as a carry-on trade from Friday after it gave new cancer trial data this morning.

LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) raised guidance on revenue and shipment estimates. Shares are up 9.3% at $10.71.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: AB, AIB, ALXA, BORN, CHK, CIT, CSIQ, GNBT, HRBN, IMGN, LDK

The Unusual Suspects for the Week Ahead (ALXA, ALKS, AB, AAPL, VZ, BORN, CIT, CEG, IMGN, JAZZ, MSFT, POT, BHP, RGC, CNK, YHOO)

Administrator — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 15:34:17 +0000

Earnings season is just getting underway and the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit 11,000 on Friday. There are many stocks to watch outside of earnings this week. The cast of characters in The Unusual Suspects includes Alexza Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXA), Alkermes, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS), AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE: AB), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), China New Borun Corporation (NASDAQ: BORN), CIT Group, Inc. (NYSE: CIT), Constellation Energy Group Inc. (NYSE: CEG), Immunogen Inc. (NASDAQ: IMGN), Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAZZ), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT), Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC), Cinemark Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CNK), and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO). We have included a review and preview for each where applicable. This week is more filled with biotech news than others due to a busy FDA calendar.

A full earnings calendar is available here for the week, including INTC, JPM, GE, APOL, SWY, AMD, GOOG, JBHT, INFY, and MAT. Also, gold is getting jittery now and Friday’s $1,345 handle closed right in the middle of Thursday’s more than $30 point swing from high to low as it traded above $1,360 and below $1,330. We took a look at the gold stocks and included a list of gold stocks that appear to be overvalued against peers and a list that appears to be undervalued gold stock against peers.

Alexza Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXA) has an FDA PDUFA date for Monday regarding a decision on its AZ-004 as its lead program for treatment of agitation in schizophrenic or bipolar disorder. patients. At $3.03, its 52-week range is $1.93 to $3.92 and shares traded roughly in a $3.10 to $2.70 range in the last week.

Alkermes, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS) has a decision due Tuesday for the approval of its opioid addiction treatment Vivitrol. The drug is already approved as an injection treatment for alcohol dependence and the company has already had Phase III results showing that Vivitrol helped patients against opioid addiction. A panel has already recommended approval of the drug. At $15.92, it hit a new 52-week high on Friday and the range is $7.54 to $15.98 and it traded in a wide range last week with a low close to $14.60 before it hit a new 52-week high.

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE: AB) was given the cover story from Barron’s this weekend. The article titled “A Deep Value Play” said that it got hit worse than most of its rivals in the financial crisis and it wonders if its new CEO (former Goldman Sachs member) turn it around. Barron’s points out that at $26.59 on October 1, shares were trading 64.7% below a pre-crisis high of $75.35.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has not yet formally announced its decision to sell the CDMA phone via Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ). The latest rumor is the umpteenth time the rumor has been out that a CDMA iPhone is coming to Verizon. We expect formal confirmation on this soon, maybe as soon as this week or next week.

China New Borun Corporation (NASDAQ: BORN) is new as a stock and it produces and distributes corn-based edible alcohol in China. The company probably just got a lot more famous (if it was even known before) after this weekend because it unseated Netflix as the #1 stock in the Investors Business Daily 100. The IBD 100 might not ramp it but it will be more on the map than ever now for many momentum investors. IBD gave it a positive article last week as well and last Monday it was trading under $11.00 per share. At $16.08, it hit a 52-week high on Friday and the post-IPO range this year is $4.80 to $16.14.

CIT Group, Inc. (NYSE: CIT) was given a very positive article in Barron’s called “On the Road to Redemption.” Barron’s noted, “The financial crisis pushed CIT into bankruptcy and John Thain out the door at Merrill Lynch. Together, they seem to be faring a lot better.” At $40.79, its 52-week range is $24.83 to $42.94. Look for a pop on Monday if the market holds up.

Filed under: ADR, Biotech, Calendar, Financial Stocks, Retail, Rumors, Technology Companies, The Week Tagged: AAPL, AB, ALKS, ALXA, BHP, BORN, CEG, CIT, CNK, IMGN, JAZZ, MSFT, POT, RGC, VZ, YHOO

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BHP, BA, SCHW, CHA, CMED, LFC, CIT, CREE, KONG, PAYX, HTM)

Administrator — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 11:59:22 +0000

These are some of this Thursday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls:

BHP Billiton plc (NYSE: BHP) Target raised overseas by UBS.
Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) Maintain Conviction Buy and Raised estimates by Goldman Sachs.
Charles Schwab Corp. (NASDAQ: SCHW) Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.
China Telecom (NYSE: CHA) Upgraded To Overweight From Neutral By HSBC
China Medical Tech (NASDAQ: CMED) Started At Buy; Target US$16 By Deutsche Bank
China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LFC) Cut To Neutral Vs Outperform By Credit Suisse.
CIT Group (NYSE: CIT) Started as Neutral at Buckingham.
Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
KongZhong Corp. (NASDAQ: KONG) Cut to Hold at Roth Capital.
Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX) Raised to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
U.S. Geothermal Inc. (AMEX: HTM) Started as Outperform with $1.25 target at Raymond James.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: BA, BHP, CHA, CIT, CMED, CREE, DPZ, HTM, KONG, LFC, PAYX, SCHW

Top Stocks from Top Managers (BAC, CMCSA, RF, CIT, C, AFL, NWS, KO, SYY, BCR)

Administrator — Wed, 05 May 2010 14:31:53 +0000

Many investors chase famous and well-known portfolio managers’ newest stock picks. After all, if you can piggyback on Warren Buffett, Bruce Berkowitz, and others… why not? Morningstar has shown some of its top managers as Fairholme, Yacktman, Columbia Value & Restructuring, Dodge & Cox, and Hartford Capital Appreciation. More importantly, it has shown some of their “highest conviction purchases” with a current share price compared to what each feels is a fair value for the stock. These are Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) at 0.71-times fair value; Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) at 0.82-times fair value; Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) at 0.88-times fair value; CIT Group, Inc. (NYSE: CIT); Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) at 0.67-times fair value; AFLAC Inc. (NYSE: AFL) at 1.04-times fair value; News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS) at 1.1-times fair value; The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) at 0.94-times fair value; Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY) at 0.9-times fair value; and CR Bard Inc. (NYSE: BCR) at 1.03-times fair value.

Read the full article and detailed analysis from The Morningstar Ultimate Stock-Pickers Team.

Filed under: Activist Investor, Analyst Calls, Banking, Editor's Picks, Financial Stocks, Mutual Funds, Research Tagged: AFL, BAC, BCR, C, CIT, CMCSA, KO, NWS, RF, SYY