Posts for Ticker ‘DFS’

Major Earnings on Deck This Coming Week (ADBE, BBY, KR, ORCL, DFS, FDX, PALM, PIR, JAVA)

bull-and-bear-image2We have a little flurry of key earnings coming this week.  We have provided detailed earnings estimates with Thomson Reuters consensus figures, with our own color for the recent performance, the charts, options, and other critical data when and where it stood out.  The companies covered are Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE), Best Buy Co. (NYSE: BBY), The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL), Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS), FedEx (NYSE: FDX), Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM), and Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE: PIR).
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Posted on: September 12, 2009 – 12:29 pm in Calendar, Consumer Electronics, Consumer Goods, Earnings, Food, Retail, Technology Companies, , , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades (AMD, AXP, ACI, ASH, STD, BRCD, COF, DFS, HIBB, MSCC, RCL, ZMH)

There were quite a few analyst upgrades and positive research calls this Monday morning.  These are the calls we have seen from Wall Street firms early this morning with about two hours until the market opens:

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
American Express (AXP) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Arch Coal (ACI) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Ashland (ASH) Raised to Buy at KeyBanc.
Banco Santander (STD) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Brocade (BRCD) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Capital One (COF) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Discover Financial (DFS) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Hibbett Sports (HIBB) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Microsemi (MSCC) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Royal Caribbean (RCL) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Zimmer Holdings (ZMH) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.

If you wish to be reminded of daily upgrades and downgrades as well as other key market issues like mergers and top stories, you can join our open email distribution list to receive updates several times per week.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: August 24, 2009 – 7:58 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Morgan Stanley’s Credit Analyst Lends Weight To Equity Fears (MS, DFS, RGS, KLIC, AAI)

Money Stack ImageAn appetite for risky assets that has sent small-cap and emerging market stocks and junk bonds flying since March now is getting more scrutiny from a market heavyweight.  Greg Peters, head of credit strategy at Morgan Stanley, (NYSE: MS) is the latest to question the rallying assets of debt-laden companies. In an interview with Bloomberg, he calls the market incredibly dangerous, noting that average debt relative to earnings among high-yield offerings is at an 11-year high. And the strong rally is happening despite rising default rates. How long can any rally last when it’s being driven by the worst assets?
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Posted on: July 7, 2009 – 3:49 pm in Analyst Calls, Bonds, Secondary Offering, , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AA, BBBY, BRK.A, DFS, LYG, SNY, SWI, TRW, ZBRA)

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations of new coverage which we have see from Wall Street this Monday morning:

  • ALCOA (AA) Cut to Underperform at FBR.
  • Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) Started as Buy at Wedbush Morgan.
  • Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) Started as Outperform at KBW.
  • Discover Financial (DFS) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
  • Lloyds Banking Group plc (LYG) Raised to Conviction By List at Goldman Sachs.
  • Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • SolarWinds (SWI) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan; Started as Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
  • TRW (TRW) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) Raised to Outperform at Baird.

Jon C. Ogg
June 29, 2009

Posted on: June 29, 2009 – 6:46 am in Analyst Calls, Buffett, , , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ADSK, AVY, CAT, DFS, FEIC, BEN, JWN, PMTC, SLB, VECO)

These are some of the top pre-market analyst calls with upgrades and downgrades from Wall Street firms this Thursday morning with more than two hours until the market opens:

AutoDesk  (ADSK) Started as Neutral at Janney Montgomery Scott.
Avery Dennison (AVY) Started as Underperform at Baird.
Caterpillar (CAT) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Discover Financial (DFS) Started as Outperform at FBR.
FEI Co. (FEIC) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Franklin Resources (BEN) Started as Outperform at Wachovia.
Nordstrom (JWN) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Parametric Technology (PMTC) Started as Buy at Janney Montgomery Scott.
Schlumberger (SLB) Started as Neutral at HSBC.
Veeco Instruments (VECO) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: May 28, 2009 – 6:35 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades (EAT, DFS, KWK, UHS, TPX, VPHM)

These are some of the top pre-market analyst upgrades and positive research calls we have seen from Wall Street early this Tuesday morning:

Brinker International (EAT) Raised to Buy at Argus Research.
Discover Financial Services (DFS) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Quicksilver Resources (KWK) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Universal Health (UHS) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Tempur-Pedic (TPX) Raised to Buy at KeyBanc.
ViroPharma (VPHM) Started as Buy at ThinkEquity.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: April 28, 2009 – 6:54 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades (BIG, COF, DFS, HPQ, JBLU, MS, MOT, TSN, USB)

These are the top analyst upgrades and positive calls we have seen from Wall Street this Wednesday morning:

  • Big Lots (BIG) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • Capital One (COF) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
  • Discover Financial (DFS) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
  • Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) Raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Jetblue (JBLU) Raised to Buy at B of A Merrill.
  • Morgan Stanley (MS) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
  • Motorola (MOT) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
  • Tyson Foods (TSN) Raised to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.
  • US Bancorp (USB) Raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: March 11, 2009 – 6:47 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 10/28/2008 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

NewspaperAccording to Reuters, GM (GM) and Chrysler have asked the government for $10 billion to close their merger.

Reuters reports that  Boeing (BA) and its machinists have entered into a tentative labor agreement.

Reuters reports that Honda (HMC) cuts its sales forecasts due to the financial crisis.

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Posted on: October 28, 2008 – 2:46 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Upgrades Come to Financials (AXP, COF, CMA, DFS, LEH, PRSP)

These are some of the top analyst calls for the financial services group we have seen in the early hours of trading this Tuesday morning:

  • American Express (NYSE: AXP) raised to Neutral at UBS.
  • Capital One (NYSE: COF) raised to Neutral at UBS.
  • Comerica (NYSE: CMA) raised to Outperform at KBW.
  • Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) raised to Neutral at UBS
  • Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) raised to Overweight with $31 target at Morgan Stanley, although this was technically a late-Monday call.
  • Prosperity Bancshares (NASDAQ: PRSP) raised to Outperform at BMO Capital Markets.

Jon C. Ogg
July 1, 2008

Posted on: July 1, 2008 – 7:14 am in Analyst Calls, Banking, Financial Stocks, , , , , ,

Visa IPO: Traders Use Member Banks & Owners As Back Door Plays (V, AXP, MA, DFS, JPM, BAC, NCC, WFC, C, USB)

Tonight we are going to get the highly awaited VISA, Inc. initial public offering.  This one has been on the books since November 2007 and we have previously noted that this was going to be one of the largest IPO’s ever.  Visa will trade under the ticker "V" on the New York Stock Exchange.

Visa_logoInvestors have been comparing this directly to MasterCard (NYSE: MA), although they are not comparing it at all to Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS).  Many have sent inquiries to us over this one and we’ve seen many stated opinions on this.  A common belief is that many investors have been hiding out in MasterCard shares as the beneficiary, mainly because so many feel this stock has been held up higher by Wall Street so that the Visa valuations don’t get battered.  MasterCard shares are up over 3% today ahead of the close at $208.18, and its 52-week trading range is $105.52 to $227.18.  MasterCard is also one that Jim Cramer has been behind since the start.

The IPO subscriptions are also said to be coming in rather well.  We sent this out to our open email distribution list earlier, but below are the percentage of Class B shares held by member banks.  These appear to be being used as a back door trade on the Visa IPO as they own significant shares in Visa.   Here are the percentages owned of the Class B shares:

  • JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM): Class B 23.3%, selling 29 million shares;
  • Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC): Class B 11.5%, selling 14 million shares;
  • National City Corporation (NYSE: NCC): Class B 8%, selling about 10 million shares;
  • Citigroup (NYSE: C): Class B 5.5%, selling 6.8 million shares;
  • U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB): Class B 5.1%;
  • Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC): Class B 5.0%.

Here you can see the basics from its year-end numbers.  Lead underwriters include JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs.  The syndicate is actually huge.  Others listed are Banc of America, Citigroup, HSBC, Merrill lynch, UBS, Wachovia, CIBC, Daiwa Securities, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, Piper Jaffray, RBC Capital, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, and Wells Fargo.  One interesting note is that about $3 Billion is being put into an escrow account after the IPO as a reserve for litigation settlements in its law suits against American Express (NYSE: AXP) and Discover.

We have heard numerous levels issued, but so far the gray-market pricing is said to be $2.00 or more over the high end of the $37.00 to $42.00 price range for 406 million shares.  That number may change before the pricing. If you take the over-allotment of 41 million shares and just use the $42 price at the high-end of the range you get a total gross IPO of $Barring any market or institution blow-ups, this IPO will be the most discussed topic out there Wednesday.

Jon C. Ogg
March 18, 2008

Join our open email distribution list.  Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: March 18, 2008 – 2:36 pm in Banking, Financial Stocks, IPOs, , , , , , , , , ,

Is Bigger Better In VISA IPO? (V, MA, DFS, AXP)

Visa Inc. submitted another amendment to their IPO filing this morning. The IPO could now be the largest in history, with a proposed maximum aggregate amount in securities listed as more than $18.7 Billion. 

The offering consists of 406 million shares of class A common stock with an expected initial public offering price of $37.00 and $42.00 per share.  This pricing range has to get more finite before it is a done deal and before any determinations can be made about the market chatter ahead of the IPO. 

Visa has applied to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol, "V." Be advised, that used to be the ticker for Vivendi.  Lead underwriters include JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs.  The syndicate is actually huge.  Others listed are Banc of America, Citigroup, HSBC, Merrill lynch, UBS, Wachovia, CIBC, Daiwa Securities, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, Piper Jaffray, RBC Capital, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, and Wells Fargo.

The world’s largest retail electronic payments network generated unaudited pro forma operating revenues of $5.2 billion and $3.9 billion for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2007 and 2006, respectively. Global card purchase transactions are forecast to grow at an 11% CAGR from 2006 to 2012, based on The Nilson Report.

We would note that Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) has been public almost 8-months, and it is down 50% from highs.  American Express (NYSE: AXP) has seen shares lose one-third of their value and the malaise in the rest of the sector is widely known. Many have ventured that the success of the MasterCard (NYSE: MA) IPO will be a hard one to duplicate, with its shares being down 10% from highs and still a double over the last year.  Because Visa has essentially new team and was an amalgamation after the success was seen at Mastercard, that belief may continue regardless of the IPO.  As this gets closer with more finite pricing data we will make more calls of that "consensus." 

Regardless of any pre-IPO data and any bias in the sector still being quite negative, it is hard to imagine that money managers and investors would turn away from this one and not try to get shares.  Many may turn in orders just in hopes that they are getting shares on the cheap because of the woes in the entire financial services sector.  Stay tuned.

Jon C. Ogg
February 25, 2008

Posted on: February 25, 2008 – 9:53 am in Financial Stocks, IPOs, , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (AXP, COF, DFS, ADBL, RATE, BRCM, CVC, CRL, CVD, GME, HAL, PALM, STI)

These are not the only upgrades and downgrades affecting shares in pre-market trading today, but these are the initial calls that 247WallSt.com is focusing on:

  • American Express (NYSE: AXP), Capital One (NYSE: COF), and Discover Financial (NYSE: DFS) downgraded to Sell at UBS.
  • Audible (NASDAQ: ADBL) downgraded to Market Perform at JMP Securities; downgraded to Hold at Jefferies.
  • Bankrate (NASDAQ: RATE) downgraded to Hold at Citigroup; downgraded to Neutral at Merriman Curhan Ford.
  • Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
  • Charles River (NYSE: CRL) and Covance (NYSE: CVD) raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  • Gamestop (NYSE: GME) raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
  • Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) raised to Overweight from Underweight at JPMorgan.
  • SunTrust (NYSE: STI) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird.

Jon C. Ogg
February 4, 2008

Posted on: February 4, 2008 – 7:16 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

52-Week Low Club (December 28, 2007)

Some of these stocks hit 52-week lows and recovered off of lows so they won’t have a low close.  But these did all touch or breach the 52-week lows.  At the end we also broke out retail stocks, financial stocks, airlines & transports, and hotels.  A separate report could have been compiled for REIT’s as well, but many of those were left off because of room or volume. There were enough 52-week lows today that you might even wonder if there had been a mini-crash in the markets.  Here are the 52-week lows for December 28, 2007:

  • Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD)… imagine if the company got Hector Ruiz to leave.
  • American Greetings (NYSE: AM)…again.
  • AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN)… new entrant.
  • Carmike Cinemas (NASDAQ:CKEC)
  • ChipMOS (NASDAQ:IMOS)
  • Corp. Office Property (NYSE: OFC)
  • Cryptologic (NASDAQ: CRYP)
  • Diebold (NYSE:DBD)
  • Fortune Brands (NYSE:FO)
  • Group 1 Auto (NYSE: GPI)
  • Infinera Corp. (NASDAQ: INFN)
  • Introgen (NASDAQ:INGN)
  • Japan Smaller Cap Fund (NYSE: JOF)
  • Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ: LAMR)
  • Legget & Platt (NYSE: LEG)
  • Martha Stewart (NYSE: MSO)
  • Marvell Tech (NASDAQ:MRVL)
  • Mattel (NYSE:MAT)
  • McClatchy (NYSE:MNI)
  • Micron Tech (NYSE:MU)
  • NGAS Resources (NASDAQ:NGAS)
  • Nortel Networks (NYSE:NT)
  • Owens Corning (NYSE:OC)
  • Omnicare (NYSE:OCR)
  • Prestige Brand (NYSE: PBH)
  • PC-Tel (NASDAQ:PCTI)
  • Ruth’s Chris (NASDAQ:RUTH)
  • SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK)
  • Theravance (NASDAQ:THRX)
  • Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)
  • Wendy’s (NYSE: WEN)
  • World Fuel Services (NYSE:INT)
  • U-Store-It (NYSE:YSI)

Retail Stocks on 52-week lows: Ann Taylor (NYSE:ANN), Big Lots (NYSE:BIG), Borders Group (NYSE:BGP), Bon Ton Stores (NASDAQ:BONT), Chico’s FAS (NYSE:CHS), Finish Line (NASDAQ:FINL), Liz Claiborne (NYSE: LIZ), Macy’s (NYSE: M), Office Max (NYSE:OMX), Petsmart (NASDAQ:PETM), Stage Stores (NYSE:SSI)

Financial stocks on 52-week lows: Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC), Citigroup (NYSE:C), Canseco (NYSE: CNO), Discover Financial (NYSE: DFS), Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB), Fortress Investment (NYSE: FIG), MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI), Washington Mutual (NYSE:WM)… urgh!  When does it stop?

Airlines/Transports on 52-week lows:  Airtran Holdings (NYSE: AAI)…again.  Did they launch a Friends Die Free rewards plan?  Continental Airlines (NYSE:CAL), Fedex (NYSE:FDX), Mesa Air (NASDAQ:MESA), Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA)… near $100 oil is a real pain.

Hotels Hitting 52-week lows: Host Hotels (NYSE: HST), Lasalle Hotel (NYSE: LHO), Starwood Hotels (NYSE:HOT), Sunstone Hotel (NYSE: SHO), Wydham Worldwide (NYSE:WYN).  Maybe these all wish they could get the private equity buyers back in the sector.  If only they could still borrow.

These CEO’s new year’s resolutions are all the same: "In 2008 I want to keep my stock off the 52-week low lists."

Jon C. Ogg
December 28, 2007

Posted on: December 28, 2007 – 3:01 pm in HI/LOW, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (AXP, COF, DFS, ATVI, HANS, JCP, LEN, MFE, SWHC, TGT, YGE)

These aren’t the only analyst calls we are watching, but these are the top ten that 247wallst.com is reviewing:

  • Activision (NASDAQ: ATVI) raised to Buy from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
  • Hansen Natural (NASDAQ: HANS) started as Buy with $58 target at UBS.
  • JC Penney (NYSE: JCP) raised to Overweight from equal weight at Lehman.
  • Lennar (NYSE: LEN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.
  • McAfee (NYSE: MFE) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at FBR.
  • Smith & Wesson (NASDAQ: SWHC) downgraded to Neutral at Cowen & Co, and downgraded to Underperform at Rodman & Renshaw.
  • Sunpower (NASDAQ: SPWR) raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
  • Target (NYSE: TGT) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Banc of America.
  • Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) raised to Buy from Neutral at Banc of America.
  • CREDIT CARD DOWNGRADES: Merrill Lynch downgrades American Express (NYSE: AXP), Capital One (NYSE: COF), and Discover Financial (NYSE: DFS).  Capital One (NYSE: COF) also downgraded to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.

Jon C. Ogg
December 7, 2007

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

Posted on: December 7, 2007 – 8:13 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , ,

The Day In Stock Buybacks (SMTC, ASI, EQR, DFS, LCUT, IBM, CPT)

Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) has purchased a total of 9,836,066 shares of its common stock for an aggregate price of $169.4 million under an accelerated buyback plan; it intends to resume purchasing shares of its common stock under its existing stock repurchase program, under which approximately $50.3 million of remaining authority exists.

CMGI Inc. (NASDAQ:CMGI) noted along with its earnings that it had spent $8 million over the last quarter of its $50 million share buyback plan.

American Safety Insurance Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:ASI) has approved a buyback program for up to 500,000 shares of common stock.  This is only about $9.5 million at current prices, and the company’s market cap is $204 million.

Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) has authorized an additional $500 million to be used in its share repurchase program. Since the beginning of 2007, the company has repurchased and retired 26,694,346 of its common shares at an average price of $44.88 per share for an aggregate purchase of approximately $1.2 billion. Approximately $3.8 million currently remains available under the $500 million program previously announced.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) will record a non-cash impairment charge related to its Goldfish MasterCard and Visa credit card business in the United Kingdom in the quarter ending Nov. 30, 2007 estimated as approximated $422 million in goodwill writedowns.  Separately, the company has approved a share repurchase program for up to $1 billion of its common stock through November 30, 2010.

Lifetime Brands, Inc. (Nasdaq: LCUT) will close 30 underperforming outlet stores and its Board of Directors authorized an increase in the amount of its stock repurchase program to $40 million from $20 million.  Its market cap is $164 million.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced that it plans to repurchase up to $1 billion of its outstanding common stock in open market transactions by the end of February 2008 rather than its original plans for March and April of 2008, are in addition to a $12.5 billion accelerated share repurchase announced earlier this year.

Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT) updated progress made on its stock repurchase program: During November 2007, Camden repurchased 1.6 million common shares at an average price per share of $52.03, for a total of $81.9 million. Year-to-date, Camden has now repurchased 2.9 million shares of common stock at an average price per share of $57.60, for a total of $168.4 million.

Jon C. Ogg
December 3, 2007

Posted on: December 3, 2007 – 5:59 pm in Stock Buybacks, , , , , , ,

The 52-Week Low Club: Merrill Lynch (MER)

AMBAC (ABK) Bond insurance company in a bad periiod for bonds.Earnings move to a loss. Drops to $49.05 from 52-week high of $96.01.

Merrill Lynch (MER) Pitiful earnings. Drops to $61.40 from 52-week high of $98.68.

Discover Financial Services (DFS) Second-rate credit card company. Downgraded by Lehman. Falls to $17.79 from 52-week high of $32.17.

Freddie Mac (FRE) Mortgages, plain and simple. Down to $49.47 from 52-week high of $71.92.

Inphonic (INPC) Still trying to find a buyer in troubled times. Down to $.33 from 52-week high of $14.49.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: October 24, 2007 – 5:03 pm in HI/LOW, , , , ,

American Express Earnings, Perhaps Immune From Credit Concerns (AXP, MA, DFS)

Monday will be an interesting day for American Express (NYSE:AXP), or so it would seem.  The solid banks, brokers, and credit issuers have all been revealing increases in defaults and in loan losses.  American Express has perhaps the highest credit quality in its client-base out of the entire lending and credit sector. First Call is looking for results to be $0.86 EPS and $7.49 Billion in revenues.  The actual numbers Monday should take the backseat to the general credit issues of its customer base.

If you believe in the perfect market theory or efficient market theory, the market has said that credit erosion or loan losses at Am-ex are not a problem.  Otherwise the stock wouldn’t be within 2% of an all-time high when every other lender has seen share prices come in from deteriorating credit conditions.  But it seems hard to imagine they would be immune.  The likely ‘tell’ on the situation is that the company will note a somewhat similar situation as all the other lenders but not enough to harm the company. If that is not the case, then it seems Goldman Sachs’ recent upgrade last week would have consequences.  Any unknown problems could also spill over into competitors MasterCard (NYSE:MA) and Discover (NYSE:DFS).

The average ‘buy’ price target from analysts is still north of $70.00, and as noted the shares are within 2% of highs.  The company rarely has any shocks during its earnings, so be sure to pay extra attention to its verbage on credit conditions for its customer base.  If the company is perceived to be entering the same round of credit quality concerns from its clients, the hurt might not just be limited to American Express.  Wealth doesn’t always trickle down when times are good for the wealthy, but if the rich are under pressure that will not bode well for everyone else.

American Express no longer has its conference call during the trading day, as it has now gone to an after-hours review, with official results shortly after the market close.  The company used to release earnings unofficially through media during the trading day around 1:00 PM EST.

Jon C. Ogg
July 22, 2007

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

Posted on: July 22, 2007 – 2:41 pm in Banking, Earnings, Financial Stocks, , ,

Top 10 Stock Issues Review of This Week (July 6, 2007)

Stock Tickers: CME, BOT, DFS, RIMM, AAPL, AA, RTP, AL, AMD, MOT, ALU, MPEL, GM, TM, BIDU, INTC, DELL, MSFT

If the CME (CME) and CBOT (BOT) doesn’t get approved next week, then what will it take?

What price do investors like the Discover Card (DFS) owner at?

The whole darn world in the palm of your hand: Is a cheaper iPhone already on the way? Research-in-Motion (RIMM), finally headed to China…..

Alcoa (AA), Rio Tinto (RTP), Alcan (AL)…..who is buying whom?

Cramer makes a new list of 3 CEO’s to go (AMD, MOT, ALU).

Did Melco PBL Ent. (MPEL) really find a bottom?

Detroit is shivering…..When GM (GM) loses to Toyota (TM) on trucks, what’s in its future?  Maybe they should head to China like Chrysler.

Baidu.com (BIDU) is entering a time warp back to 1999/2000 Web 1.0 valuations.  Calling a stock too high just because of valuations can be painful sometimes, but when these parachutes catch fire there is no reserve chute.

PC’s aint dead! Here’s the evidence: Intel (INTC) hits another 52-week high, and a high close on Friday.  Dell (DELL) even hit a new 52-week high Friday, although the shares didn’t hold it.  Microsoft (MSFT) Vista sales are about to be smoking hot, or so some think; if they weren’t, the Xbox 360 $1 Billion PLUS charge would have hurt the stock more than the whole $0.02 it lost the day after that announcement.

Jon C. Ogg
July 6, 2007

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

Posted on: July 6, 2007 – 4:49 pm in The Week, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Will Investors Discover the Discover Card? (DFS, MS, AXP, MA)

Discover Financial Services (DFS-NYSE) has been trading for one trading week now, albeit it is technically a 3 and a half day week.   Now that the distribution of these shares is complete from Morgan Stanley (MS-NYSE), there are approximately 477 million shares of Discover stock outstanding and Discover’s capital base is approximately $5.5 Billion.

Shares have seen a ho-hum reaction, and unfortunately are trading down another 1.6% at $25.53 today.  These spin-offs often come under profit taking and a ’sell the event’ trading pattern, and that has happened here.  Shares opened close to $28.50 on Monday and have closed lower each day. 

The problem with Discover is that they are not at all an American Express (AXP-NYSE) and are not even comparable to Mastercard (MA-NYSE).  It isn’t that all the Discover credit card holders are sub-prime, but the stigma on the street is that it is a lower brand of credit card (no offense) and that the credit quality of card holders is lower.  Shares of Mastercard opened on Monday at $165.50 and have traded down to $161.00 or so today.  American Express shares opened Monday at $61.31 (adjusted for $0.15 dividend) and are at $61.40 today.

So it isn’t really as though Discover has had a great peer group to debut trading in, but its performance has been pretty poor so far.  This one will ultimately find its own place, it’s just a question of at what price.

Jon C. Ogg
July 6, 2007

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

Posted on: July 6, 2007 – 11:45 am in Financial Stocks, , , ,