Read America’s Favorite Beers

The beer brands with the greatest strength — a measure of familiarity, quality, purchase consideration, trust and the ability to generate buzz — are largely more expensive brews. Nine of the 10 are among the most expensive beers out of the country’s 20 best-selling beers. The beer that is not one of the most expensive, Yuengling, is not far behind in price.

American consumers also are spending more on these beers. Dollar sales of every beer on the list has increased from one year prior. Yuengling, Blue Moon and Modelo Especial have had the largest increases among all popular beer brands. Meanwhile, many other brands, including Budweiser by Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD), Keystone Light and Natural Light, experienced decreases over this same period. Sales of Bud Light Lime dropped nearly 7% over this period.

The beers with the most powerful brands are just as varied as beer drinkers’ tastes. They differ greatly in style and originate from five different countries. They also have a range of founding dates, extending from 1759 to 1995. This illustrates that an established brand does not necessarily mean a strong brand.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend Rankings to identify the most popular beers, which quantifies brand strength among consumers. We included dollar sales, change in dollar sales from one year ago and case sales. We also included the average price per case over the latest 52-week period in the United States provided by SymphonyIRI Group, a Chicago-based market research firm. The group looked at sales at supermarkets, drugstores, gas/convenience stores and mass market retailers, but excluding Walmart (NYSE: WMT) club stores, and liquor stores.

These are America’s favorite beers.

Obama jobs plan geared toward Democrat voters. (Reuters)

Greece must take more austerity measures to get bailout money. (Reuters)

Moody’s bias on state and local government remains negative. (Reuters)

Samsung files counter claims against Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) in Australia. (Reuters)

Private equity firms turn attention from Aol (NYSE: AOL) to Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO). (Reuters)

Federal Reserve may set employment and inflation targets. (WSJ)

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) to split streaming and DVD operations, with the latter called Qwikster. (WSJ)

Ford (NYSE: F) and Chrysler must battle unions now that the UAW has settled with GM (NYSE: GM). (WSJ)

U.S. cattle numbers fall. (WSJ)

United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) may buy Goodrich (NYSE: GR). (WSJ)

World Bank chief says troubled economies cannot count on help from China. (WSJ)

Bank for International Settlements: Risk premium attached to developed nations to remain high. (WSJ)

New home prices gain less in China. (WSJ)

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) faces antitrust questions from Congress and the FTC. (WSJ)

Sales of Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Kinect are slow in China. (WSJ)

Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) to add smaller bottle sizes with lower prices. (WSJ)

“The Detrimental Effects of Power on Confidence, Advice Taking and Accuracy” study shows managers disregard employee comments. (WSJ)

Legal problems with mortgage foreclosures continue. (WSJ)

EBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) may set new auction plans to challenge Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Groupon. (WSJ)

News sites like the Huffington Post begin to publish books, a move that challenges e-publishers. (NYT)

India and China have success selling biotech drugs around the world. (NYT)

Facebook to offer new features that allow users to conveniently share music and other media. (NYT)

Facebook sets a deal with Diageo (NYSE: DEO) to market liquor overseas. (FT)

China considers $728 billion stimulus if the global economy falters. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) Reiterated Buy with $79 target at Argus.
Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVNR) Reiterated Buy with $6 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Cascade Corporation (NASDAQ: CASC) maintained strong buy as value at Zacks.
Diageo plc (NYSE: DEO) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) Added to Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: IART) Reiterated Buy and $61 target at Canaccord Genuity.
LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan; Started as Buy at BofA/ML.
McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) Cut to Underperform at BMO.
OmniVision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI) Raised to Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
Sunoco, Inc. (NYSE: SUN) maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC) Reiterated Hold at Argus.

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JON C. OGG

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) is hard to really reference in a direct comparison because many pot smokers are not cigarette smokers.  The company does own an interest in SAB/Miller.  Shares are indicated up around $25.65 after closing at $25.57 yesterday.  Keep in mind that Altria shares are at multi-year highs.

Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD) is now global, so one market might not have mattered anyway.  Shares are down 2.6% at $61.82.

Brown-Forman Corporation (NYSE: BF-B) is indicated flat after a $61.22 close and its market cap is nearly $9 billion.  Some of its brands are Jack Daniel’s, Southern Comfort, Herradura, Finlandia, Jekel Vineyards, Gentleman Jack, Korbel California Champagnes, Michel Picard Wines, New Mix Ready-to-Drinks brands, and many more.

Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) is indicated flat after a $19.52 close and its market cap is roughly $4.1 billion.  Brands are Mondavi, Franciscan and others for wine; it imports imports, markets, and sells Corona Extra, Corona Light, Coronita, Modelo Especial, Pacifico, Negra Modelo, St. Pauli Girl, and Tsingtao for beer; and Svedka, Black Velvet, and others in spirits.

Diageo plc (NYSE: DEO) is also an ADR and its market cap is north of $46 billion, although its shares are up 1% at $75.36.  Its brands are Crown Royal, Seagrams, Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Baileys Irish Cream, Captain Morgan, Jose Cuervo, Tanqueray, Guinness, and more.

Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP) reported earnings of more than $256 million; shares are up 2.2% at $48.25 this morning.

The interesting issue here is that the news of a failure to pass revolves more around a low voter turnout from the young and those who would have been for PROP 19.  The Economist recently showed a chart with damage by sins in the United Kingdom, and alcohol was shown to be far damaging in a United Kingdom study conducted by The Lancet:

JON C. OGG

AutoNavi Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: AMAP) Started as Outperform at Pacific Crest.
Avago Technologies Limited (NASDAQ: AVGO) Maintained Buy and Raised Target to $30 at Gleacher.
Blue Coat Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: BCSI) Started at Market Perform at William Blair.
Brookfield Properties Corporation (NYSE: BPO) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Diageo plc (NYSE: DEO) Raised to Neutral at Barclays.
Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) Cut to Neutral at Wedbush.
Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ: MOSY) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Myriad Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN) Cut to Neutral at Global Hunter.
Inergy, L.P. (NYSE: NRGY) Raised To Buy From Hold By Wunderlich; Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) raised debt rating to BBB+ at S&P (late Tuesday call).
Xilinx Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) Raised to Buy at S&P Equity Research (late Tuesday call).

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

The Nikkei fell 1.6% to 10,474. Toyota (TM) fell.

The Hang Seng was down 1% to 20,243. China Unicom (CHU) moved on word of a relationship with Apple (AAPL).

The Shanghai Composite was down .7% to 2,946.

At the open in Europe, the FTSE was down .1% to 4,885. The Dax was off .3% to 5,505. The CAC 40 was flat at 3,668. Diageo (DEO) fell sharply

Douglas A. McIntyre

Athenahealth (ATHN) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Aruba Networks (ARUN) Raised to Buy at Jefferies; Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Chico’s FAS (FAS) Raised to Buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
CommVault Systems (CVLT) Cut to Hold at KeyBanc.
Diageo plc (DEO) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Noble Corp. (NE) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Rowan Cos. (RDC) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Zumiez (ZUMZ) Cut to Neutral at Baird.

JON C. OGG
MAY 22, 2009

Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) Started as Buy at Janney Montgomery.
Diageo (DEO) Raised to Neutral at UBS.
Emeritus Corp. (ESC) Raised to Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
Home Depot (HD) Started as Buy at Janney Montgomery.
Lowe’s (LOW) Started as Buy at Janney Montgomery.
Target (TGT) Started as Buy at Janney Montgomery.
VeriSign (VRSN) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Wal-Mart (WMT) Started as Buy at Janney Montgomery.

JON C. OGG

1. Sell your dogs. No matter how much an investor loves a stock, firms in the second or third tier of their industries are going to get hurt more. They will get hit by both a falling market and a recession. Some good examples are AMD (AMD), which runs a distant second to Intel (INTC). Yahoo! (YHOO), which is well behind Google (GOOG) in search is another company which will find the going especially tough. Palm (PALM) runs behind Apple (AAPL) and RIM (RIMM) in the smart phone industry. In an awful market, being in second place means being in last place.

2. Get out of stock with big debt loads. These companies may have been growth prospects in industries that do well in a good economy. In a financial system with zero credit, refinancing big debt loads is going to be nearly impossible. The troubled firms which can do it will have to wipe out shareholders to get cash. Some of the really well-known operations in this category are Level 3 (LVLT), Sirius (SIRI), and big cable TV company Charter Communications (CHTR). If they stay in business it will be because the debt-holders take all of the equity.

3. Look for companies which have five years worth of cash, even if they don’t make a dime. Most people look at enterprise storage leader EMC (EMC) as boring. That may be right. Last year, the firm’s operating margin was not much better than 10%. It made $1.7 billion on more than $13 billion in revenue. If IT spending gets cut to the bone, EMC might even start to show modest losses. With $5 billion in the bank, that may not matter.

4. Look for companies which can do well in a recession. Consumers have to buy necessities even if things get very, very bad. Wal-Mart (WMT) said its same-store sales rose 2.2% last month. In a recession, that is impressive. Bargain hunters are still going there. Procter & Gamble (PG) will keep doing well. People will continue to buy razors and soap. Pfizer (PFE) will keep selling drugs to sick people.

5. Get into companies with dividends that are unlikely to be cut. AT&T (T) yields 6% and Verizon 6.1%. Both firms are out of favor but make a lot of money and have solid balance sheets. As much as the market likes GE (GE), with its balance sheet, its dividend is safe.

6. Buy shares that sell products to addicts. Liquor and cigarettes do well in almost all economies. Many of the customers these companies have can’t stop consuming even if the economy is bad. First on that list would be tobacco giant Altria (MO). The firm also has a 6.6% yield and tremendous earnings and cash flow. Brown-Foreman makes hard booze and wine. Diageo (DEO) is probably the most diversified booze company in the world.

7. The world is still full or warmongers. Shares in defense companies will be okay. Whether it is the US in Iraq, Russia in Georgia, or rebels trying to overthrow the Nigerian government, weapons sell. Northrop Grumman (NOC) is the leader among this group which also includes General Dynamics (GD), and Lockheed Martin (LMT). War will always be with us and certain American companies mean to profit from that.

8. Look for stocks which are likely to fall much less that the market. These would tend to include market leaders in their industries, companies with strong balance sheets, and operators who sell products or services which will retain modest demand. Microsoft (MSFT) would have to be near the top of this list. Intel (INTC) falls into this category. So does McDonald’s (MCD).

9. You can never lose with oil stocks. Crude may still go down a bit, although The Department of Energy says oil prices will be back over $110 next year. Oil remains a limited commodity and demand in places like China and India may slow, but these countries can’t pick up their rapid growth without a ready stream of black gold. OPEC is unlikely to let prices fall much further. The cartel’s members like the payout too much. Exxon (XOM), Conoco (COP), and Chevron (CVX) still have large dividends, bullet-proof balance sheets, and outstanding cash flows. They may take some damage as crude falls, but the dynamics of oil make the long-term trend up.

10. Sell financial stocks at all costs. Forget the government bailout. As long as housing prices keep falling and mortgage defaults stay high, the toxic paper problems at banks and brokerages will get worse. It is not accident that Bear Stearns and Lehman are gone and that Fannie Mae (FNM), Freddie Mac (FRE), and AIG (AIG) were seized by the government. It could happen again with other companies in the industry and probably will.

Douglas A. McIntyre

The top 10 individual analysts calls 24/7 Wall St. is looking at today:

• AbitibiBowater (ABH) started as Sell at Banc of America.
• Alkermes (ALKS) started as Overweight at J.P.Morgan.
• Applied Materials (AMAT) raised to Overweight at J.P.Morgan; raised to Buy at Citigroup; positive notes from Banc of America; stock up 3.5% pre-market.
• Diageo plc (DEO) started as Underweight at J.P.Morgan.
• eBay (EBAY) raised to Outperform at Piper Jaffray.
• Kanexa (KNXA) raised to Buy at Cantor Fitzgerald after major downgrades yesterday; stock indicated up 2% after yesterday’s mammoth drop.
• 3M (MMM) cut to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs; stock indicated down 4%.
• Powerwave (PWAV) raised to Outperform at Piper Jaffray.
• Turkcell (TKC) cut to Neutral from Buy at UBS; stock indicated down 0.75% pre-market.

Jon C. Ogg
November 9, 2007