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Top Wall Street Analyst Upgrades: Amgen, Buffett, Dunkin and More

Jon C. Ogg — Wed, 01 May 2013 12:15:53 +0000

Investors and traders are always on the lookout for fresh research ideas from Wall Street that will lead to higher income or more profits. 24/7 Wall St. reviews many fresh research calls to find great ideas from value stocks to growth stocks to dividend stocks. We are breaking out the positive analyst calls as far as stocks to buy and positive research calls today. These are some of this Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades, initiations and positive analyst research calls seen from Wall Street today.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) was raised to the Conviction Buy List after having been at a Neutral rating by Goldman Sachs.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) was initiated with a Buy rating at Nomura.

Citrix Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS) was raised to Hold from Sell by S&P Capital IQ after the close on Tuesday.

Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DFRG) was raised to Strong Buy from an already positive Outperform rating at Raymond James.

Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN) was reiterated Buy and the price target was raised to $46 from $42 at Argus.

Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc. (NASDAQ: FRGI) saw its quiet period end and the analyst initiations have so far been positive: Buy at Jefferies, Overweight at Stephens and Overweight at Piper Jaffray.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Nomura.

Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LL) was named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Southern Copper Corp. (NYSE: SCCO) was upgraded to Hold from Underweight by BB&T Capital Markets.

West Corp. (NASDAQ: WSTC) saw its quiet period end and analysts were largely positive with their coverage initiations: Outperform at Wells Fargo, Overweight at Barclays, Buy at Citigroup, Buy at Goldman Sachs and Buy at Deutsche Bank.

Merrill Lynch gave a list of stocks expected to breakout even if the “Sell in May and Go Away” theme arises this year. Jefferies also has its top buy ratings for the tech, media, and telecom (TMT) sectors ahead of next week’s Jefferies Annual 2013 TMT Conference.

Filed under: Active Trader, Analyst Calls, Value Investing Tagged: AMGN, BRK-A, CTXS, DFRG, DNKN, FCX, FRGI, LL, SCCO, WSTC

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — January 31, 2013: Markets Slip Again (HES, STX, QCOMM, FIO, CMA, CTXS, COP, EA, FB, JDSU, LVS, AET, MO, AN, CL, DNKN, MA, PHM, TWC, UPS, BYI, GDOT, WYNN, CVX, XOM, MAT, MRK, NOV, TSN, RIMM, WMS, SGMS, STZ)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 21:17:51 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened lower this morning following a mixed bag of data on the U.S. economy and mixed earnings results out this morning. In Europe, Germany’s retail sales fell sharply this month, but the unemployment rate improved to 6.8% (more coverage here). U.K. housing prices rose 0.5% in the month, while French consumer spending was unchanged and the country’s producer price index fell. In Asia, Japanese PMI rose. In the U.S., new claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected, as did personal income and employment costs (more coverage here). Yesterday’s sell-off really got global markets off on the wrong today.

The U.S. dollar index fell 0.1% today, now at 79.208. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.8% at 675.95, with commodities prices mixed today. WTI crude oil closed down 0.5% today, at $97.49 a barrel, but up 6.1% for the best January since 2006 (if you’re an oil trader). Brent crude trades up 0.5% at $115.52 a barrel. Natural gas is up 0.2% today at about $3.34 per million BTUs following a smaller-than-expected draw on stocks (more coverage here). Gold settled down 1.2% today at $1,662.00 an ounce, down 0.8% for the month of January and the fourth consecutive monthly loss for the yellow metal (more gold coverage here).

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 50 points to 13,860.58 (-0.36%), the NASDAQ fell less than 1 point (-0.01%) to 3,142.13, and the S&P 500 fel -0.26% or nearly 4 points to 1,498.11.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) cut to ‘neutral’ at UBS and cut to ‘hold’ at SocGen; Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) cut to ‘underweight’ at Barclays; Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) reiterated as ‘buy’ and price target raised to $83 at Canaccord Genuity; Fusion-io Inc. (NYSE: FIO) raised to ‘buy’ at Lazard, cut to ‘neutral’ at J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse; and Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) cut to ‘underperform’ at Bernstein.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in several price moves today, including these: Citrix Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS) is up 9.8% at $73.54; ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is down 4.7% at $58.21 (more oil company coverage here); Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) is up 4.3% at $15.74; Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) is up 0.4% at $31.37 (more coverage here); JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU) is up 17.7% at $14.59; Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) is up 6.7% at $54.99 (more coverage here); Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) is down 1.3% at $48.31; Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) is up 0.1% at $33.72 (more coverage here); AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN) is up 8.3% at $48.46; Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) is down 2.9% at $107.63; Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN) is up 2% at $36.51 after posting a new 52-week high of $40.00 earlier today; Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) is up 0.3% at $517.41 after posting a new 52-week high of $535.35 earlier today; PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE: PHM) is down 1.9% at $20.66 (more coverage here); Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) is down 12.1% at $88.55; and United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) is down 2% at $79.57 (more coverage here).

After markets close today and before they open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from Bally Technologies Inc. (NYSE: BYI), Green Dot Corp. (NASDAQ: GDOT), Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN), Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT), Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK), National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV), and Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) is down 5.1% at $13.08. The smartphone maker changed its name to BlackBerry and launched two new smartphones yesterday, and got a slew of analysts’ downgrades this morning. More coverage here.

WMS Industries Inc. (NYSE: WMS) is up 51.3% at $24.77 after posting a new 52-week high of $25.30 earlier today. The gambling machine maker is being acquired by Scientific Games Corp. (NASDAQ: SGMS) for about $1.5 billion, or $26 a share, in cash.

Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) is down 19.1% at $31.68. The alcoholic beverage maker is collateral damage in a DoJ decision to axe Anheuser-Busch InBev SA’s (NYSE: BUD) acquisition of Mexico’s Grupo Modelo. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Friday. Auto sales will be reported throughout the day. New York Fed President William Dudley is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Employment situation
8:58 a.m. – PMI manufacturing index
9:55 a.m. – University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters consumer sentiment index
10:00 a.m. – Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index
10:00 a.m. – Construction spending

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AET, AN, BYI, CL, CMA, COP, CTXS, CVX, DNKN, EA, FB, featured, FIO, GDOT, HES, JDSU, LVS, MA, MAT, MO, MRK, NOV, PHM, QCOMM, RIMM, SGMS, STX, STZ, TSN, TWC, UPS, WMS, WYNN, XOM

Raymond James More Cautious on Restaurant Stocks (RJF, DIN, IRG, RRGB, DFRG, DNKN, MCD, RUTH, TAST, TXRH)

Lee Jackson — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:52:07 +0000

The sheer amount of competition in the casual dining sector over that past 20 years has been great for the American consumer. The copycat strategies employed by competitors have made it possible for a couple to go to any number of reasonably good restaurants and get two complete meals for as low as $20. However, rising prices and taxes may begin to put a crimp in some of the companies’ earnings.

The analysts at Tampa-based Raymond James Financial Inc. (NYSE: RJF) are reasonably positive on the fourth-quarter results for most of the restaurants on which they have research coverage. In the casual dining arena, they expect comparable sales to be slightly positive and cost pressures to remain modest. With changes coming in the first quarter of 2013, they are starting to temper their expectations.

The first quarter of 2013 begins a period of rising uncertainty for both sales and costs, and elevated uncertainty seems likely to remain in place for some time. The same period last year saw the strongest restaurant sales growth of the entire year, helped by very favorable weather. This fact, when combined with the demand destruction they expect from the recently enacted payroll tax increase, could put first-quarter 2013 comparable sales into the red for some companies they cover. When combined with the rising food inflation outlook for 2013, the potential for negative earnings per share (EPS) revisions is high and continuing to rise.

These factors could result in unusually cautious management commentary and/or disappointing quarter-to-date sales disclosures during the upcoming conference call season. The Raymond James analysts would not be surprised to see consensus sales and EPS forecasts lowered for both the first quarter and the rest of 2013 for the majority of their universe, as a result of conference call commentary over the next four to six weeks. So as a result, they are taking a generally cautious investment stance. The Buy and Outperform ratings are generally characterized by attractive valuations and strong underlying business models.

Buy-rated stocks at Raymond James include DineEquity Inc. (NYSE: DIN), best known for its Applebees and International House of Pancakes restaurants. The Wall St. consensus price target is $68. Ignite Restaurant Group Inc. (NASDAQ: IRG) is known for its Joe’s Crab Shack chain. The consensus target for this name is $18. The third Buy-rated stock is Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. (NASDAQ: RRGB), which has a consensus price target of $40.

Stocks rated Outperform include popular upscale steakhouse operator Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DFRG); iconic doughnut and coffee shop operator Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN); fast-food giant McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD); Ruby Tuesday Inc. (NYSE: RT); steakhouse chain operator Ruth’s Hospitality Group Inc. (NASDAQ: RUTH), which operates the Ruth’s Chris chain; and Carrols Restaurant Group Inc. (NASDAQ: TAST), which owns and operates Burger King, Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana restaurants. The list is rounded out by Texas Roadhouse Inc. (NASDAQ: TXRH).

The numerous popular names mentioned tend to highlight the tremendous competition in the restaurant industry. With outside factors possibly lowering margins and profits, it may make sense for investors to cautiously take a seat at the restaurant stock table.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls, Consumer Goods, Consumer Product, Food, Retail Tagged: DFRG, DIN, DNKN, featured, IRG, MCD, RJF, RRGB, RUTH, TAST, TXRH

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — January 30, 2013: Markets Slide on GDP, Fed Stimulus (WBSN, JBLU, KBH, YUM, CSCO, AMZN, BRCM, RYL, RHI, BA, ADT, LLL, PSX, NOC, SO, CTXS, COP, EA, FB, JDSU, LVS, AET, MO, AN, CL, DNKN, MA, PHM, TWC, UPS, RIMM, CHK, VTUS)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 21:06:34 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened mixed this morning following a depressing report on U.S. GDP growth, which turned out to be negative (more coverage here). Even a good jobs report from ADP couldn’t overcome the story on GDP. In Europe, Spain’s prime minister said that changing the country’s deficit targets would send the wrong message, as if the country’s decline in GDP growth and record high unemployment hasn’t already telegraphed the message (more coverage here). In Asia markets rose when a Japan expert suggested that the country’s central bank could double its asset purchase program to reach the 2% inflation target. Afternoon trading slid to new lows following the FOMC announcement that interest rates would remain unchanged (more coverage here).

The U.S. dollar index fell 0.4% today, now at 79.235. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.8% at 670.51, with commodities prices mostly higher again today. WTI crude oil closed up 0.4% today, at $97.94 a barrel following a sharp increase in crude oil inventories today (more coverage here). Brent crude trades up 0.5% at $114.93 a barrel. Natural gas is up 2.3% today at about $3.23 per million BTUs. Gold settled up 0.5% today at $1,681.60 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down 44 points to 13,910.42 (-0.32%), the NASDAQ fell more than 11 points (-0.36%) to 3,142.31, and the S&P 500 fell -0.39% or nearly 6 points to 1,501.96.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Websense Inc. (NASDAQ: WBSN) cut to ‘sell’ at Topeka Capital; JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU) cut to ‘underperform’ at Raymond James; KB Home (NYSE: KBH) raised to ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) cut to ‘market perform’ at Bernstein; and Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) raised to ‘outperform’ at Baird.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in several price moves today, including these: Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is up 4.4% at $271.84 after posting a new 52-week high of $284.79 earlier today (more coverage here); Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) is up 0.2% at $33.76 (more coverage here); Ryland Group Inc. (NYSE: RYL) is down 2.6% at $40.24 after putting up a new 52-week high of $42.79 earlier today; Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE: RHI) is up 5.7% at $35.45 after posting a new 52-week high of $35.72 earlier today; The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) is up 1.1% at $74.42 (more coverage here); The ADT Corp. (NYSE: ADT) is up 3.6% at $48.17 after posting a new 52-week high of $49.16 earlier today; L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LLL) is up 0.1% at $77.96; Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) is up 1.6% at $60.83 after posting a second consecutive 52-week high of $62.91 earlier today (more coverage here); Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC) is down 0.5% at $66.43 (more coverage here); and Southern Co. (NYSE: SO) is down 0.1% at $44.56.

After markets close today and before they open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from Citrix Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA), Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU), Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS), Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET), Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO), AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN), Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL), Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN), Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA), PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE: PHM), Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC), and United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) is down 10.3% at $14.04. The smartphone maker changed its name to BlackBerry and launched two new smartphones today. More coverage here.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) is up 6.5% at $20.20. The natural gas producer lost its CEO last night — or did the board fire him? More coverage here.

Ventrus Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: VTUS) is down 22.9% at $2.53. The development stage pharmaceutical firm priced a secondary offering of 5.8 million shares at $2.50 a share, a discount of 24% to last night’s closing price.

Stay tuned for Thursday. We have noted the following event on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:30 a.m. – Challenger job-cut report
8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
8:30 a.m. – Personal income and outlays
8:30 a.m. – Employment cost index
9:45 a.m. – Chicago PMI
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
3:00 p.m. – Farm prices
4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ADT, AET, AMZN, AN, BA, BRCM, CHK, CL, COP, CSCO, CTXS, DNKN, EA, FB, JBLU, JDSU, KBH, LLL, LVS, MA, MO, NOC, PHM, PSX, RHI, RIMM, RYL, SO, TWC, UPS, VTUS, WBSN, YUM

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (MO, AIG, BA, CIT, KO, CS, DMND, DNKN, EMC, FSLR, FMS, LULU, MGM, MSFT, R, TYC, WWAV, WYNN)

Jon C. Ogg — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 13:28:43 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from Wall St. research firms this Thursday.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.

American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) cut to Market Perform on lack of near-term catalysts by Wells Fargo.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) reiterated Buy and raised estimates at Argus.

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) cut to Neutral at Janney.

Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) cut to Hold at Argus.

Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) raised to Buy at Nomura.

Diamond Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND) cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Dunkin’ Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN) cut to Market Perform at Raymond James.

EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) cut to Equal Weight at Bernstein.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) reiterated Hold as fully valued at Argus.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGAA (NYSE: FMS) cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) reiterated Buy with $91 target at Canaccord Genuity.

MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) cut to Neutral at Nomura.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Ryder System Inc. (NYSE: R) raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks; raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC) started as Market Perform at William Blair.

Whitewave Foods Co. (NYSE: WWAV) started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) raised to Buy at Lazard.

Here are 5 Stocks To Buy from the Conviction List for 2013 from Cantor Fitzgerald.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: AIG, BA, CIT, CS, DMND, DNKN, EMC, FMS, FSLR, KO, LULU, MGM, MO, MSFT, R, TYC, WWAV, WYNN

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — January 9, 2013: Markets Open Higher, Reverse Two-day Slide (AA, MON, DNKN, NFLX, RL, SYY, APOL, STZ, GBX, HELE, RT, TXI, SVU, CSIQ, NOK, CLWR, DISH, S, HLF)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 21:04:18 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning following a better-than-expected quarterly earnings report from Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA). There was not a lot of economic data out today, so corporate earnings had to push share prices higher. In Europe, the data was decidedly mixed: German industrial production was lower than forecast; the U.K. trade deficit was a bit larger than expected; and ;the eurozone’s final third quarter GDP reading showed the expected 0.1% contraction. In Asia, the Bank of Japan is reportedly going to adopt a 2% inflation target and double its asset purchase program. South Korea’s unemployment rate is unchanged at 3%.

The U.S. dollar index rose 0.23% today, now at 80.538. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.2% at 650.18, with commodities prices mixed again today. WTI crude oil closed essentially unchanged today, at $93.10 a barrel, following today’s report of a 1.3 million barrel increase in crude stocks (more coverage here). Brent crude trades down about 0.3% at $111.67 a barrel. Natural gas is down 3.2% today at about $3.12 per million BTUs. Gold settled dow 0.4% today at $1,655.50 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 2 points to 13,390.90 (0.47%), the NASDAQ rose about 14 points (0.45%) to 3,105.81, and the S&P 500 rose 0.26% or nearly 4 points to 1,461.01.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades of note today, including Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) raised to ‘buy’ with a price target of $114 at Argus; Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN) raised to ‘buy’ at Janney; Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) maintained as ‘underperform’ but price target raised to $68 at BofA/Merrill Lynch; Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) raised to ‘outperform’ at Macquarie; and Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY) cut to ‘underweight’ at Morgan Stanley.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) is unchanged at $9.10 (more coverage here); Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) is down 7.4% at $19.39 (more coverage here); Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) is down 0.6% at $35.84 (more coverage here); Greenbrier Companies Inc. (NYSE: GBX) is up 3.6% at $17.89 (more coverage here); and Helen of Troy Ltd. (NASDAQ: HELE) is up 2.7% at $34.44.

After markets close today and before they open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from Ruby Tuesday Inc. (NYSE: RT), Texas Industries Inc. (NYSE: TXI), and Supervalu Inc. (NYSE: SVU).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) is up 18.6% at $4.39. The Chinese solar panel maker is leading solar stocks higher today, following a Chinese government announcement that the country will install 10,000 megawatts of solar power generation this year. More coverage here.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) is down 7.9% at $3.73. The mobile phone maker had no news today, but chatter about a cheap iPhone can’t be helping the stock price.

Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR) is up 7.7% at $3.15. The wireless carrier received a counter-bid from Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) to the offer from majority owner Sprint Nextel Inc. (NYSE: S). More coverage here.

Herbalife Inc. (NYSE: HLF) is up 3.8% at $39.82. The weight loss and nutritional supplement seller picked up a supporter today, with a large purchase of its stock by private equity firm Third Point LLC. Reuters reported late today that the SEC has opened an inquiry into the company. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Kansas City Fed President Esther George, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, and Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota are giving speeches. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefit
10:00 a.m. – Wholesale trade
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
1:00 p.m. – 30-year note auction
4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AA, APOL, CLWR, CSIQ, DISH, DNKN, GBX, HELE, HLF, MON, NFLX, NOK, RL, RT, S, STZ, SVU, SYY, TXI

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AFL, BAC, CMA, DNKN, JCP, KEY, LYG, M, MET, MON, NFLX, PCG, RL, RYAAY, SON, SYY, TTM, URBN, DG, FDO)

Jon C. Ogg — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 13:33:41 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from Wall St. research firms this Wednesday.

AFLAC Inc. (NYSE: AFL) started as Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse on valuation in favor of other top banks (FULL RESEARCH SUMMARY).

Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.

Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN) raised to Buy at Janney.

J.C. Penney Company Inc. (NYSE: JCP) cut to Neutral at Macquarie.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (NYSE: LYG) raised to Buy at UBS.

Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) cut to Neutral at Macquarie.

MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET) started as Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) reiterated Buy and raised target to $114 at Argus.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) maintained Underperform but raised target to $68 from $60 at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG) raised to Buy at Jefferies.

Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) raised to Outperform at Macquarie.

Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: RYAAY) reiterated Buy and raised target (to 6.50 euro local currency) at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

Sonoco Products Co. (NYSE: SON) cut to Underweight at J.P. Morgan.

Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY) cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.

Tata Motors Ltd. (NYSE: TTM) raised to Outperform with about 25% upside in local currency terms by Credit Suisse.

Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) raised to Neutral at Macquarie.

Dividend (or payout) investors look out: Credit Suisse made major changes to its master limited partnership sector outlook for 2013 with key upgrades and downgrades (FULL RESEARCH SUMMARY).

RBC Downgrades the dollar stores: Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) and Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) were both downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: AFL, BAC, CMA, DG, DNKN, FDO, JCP, KEY, LYG, M, MET, MON, NFLX, PCG, RL, RYAAY, SON, SYY, TTM, URBN

Dept. of Good Tries: Dunkin’ Fails to Win “Best” Trademark

Paul Ausick — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 17:31:29 +0000

In a ruling that should really be no big surprise, Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN) has lost its bid with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to trademark the phrase “Best Coffee in America.” In its denial, the PTO said that the phrase is “merely laudatory and descriptive” and that Dunkin’ did not provide any proof that it is the best coffee in the nation.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) and Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) must be breathing a bit easier following last week’s ruling, even though a claim as subjective as which coffee is best was never really a threat to be awarded. The Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM) once tried to get a trademark for “Best Beer in America” and the PTO didn’t buy that claim either.

A Dunkin’ spokesperson said:

As a company with a more than 60-year heritage that is proud to be an American icon, Dunkin’ Donuts sells more than 1.5 billion cups of hot and iced coffee globally every year. We are simply going through the trademark process.

That sounds like the company will keep trying to trademark its claim.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Food, Law, Retail Tagged: DNKN, MCD, SAM, SBUX

Smucker’s Results Inline, Raises Guidance to Match Estimates

Paul Ausick — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 13:10:13 +0000

The J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) reported second-quarter fiscal 2013 adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.45 and $1.63 billion in revenues before markets opened this morning. In the same period a year ago, the food processor reported EPS of $1.29 on revenue of $1.51 billion. Today’s results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $1.45 and $1.63 billion in revenue.

On a GAAP basis, Smucker posted EPS of $1.36 compared with $1.12 a year ago. The excluded items include restructuring and merger-related items associated with the company’s acquisition of the Sara Lee foodservice business last year.

The company’s COO said:

Overall consumer spending appears to be on the upswing which is welcome news for the industry. The tactical adjustments we made to address market conditions are working. We have optimized price points, closed price gaps, and strengthened merchandising.

The company guided full-year adjusted EPS from a range of $5.00 to $5.10 to a new range of $5.12 to $5.22. The company also expects net sales to rise by 7% in the 2013 fiscal year. The current consensus estimate for full-year EPS is $5.19.

The company’s largest division, U.S. retail coffee, boosted sales by 1% year-over-year, but profits improved 13% and profit margin increased from 22.7% to 25.4%. The Sara Lee foodservice business created a 49% profit jump in Smucker’s international, foodservice and natural foods division. Sales in U.S. consumer foods were up 1%, but profits fell 4%.

Overall, gross margins fell by 40 basis points, from 33.8% to 33.4% year-over-year. Lower commodity costs, especially for coffee, were offset by lower realized prices. The profit growth in the coffee business due to more single-cup sales and strong sales of Folgers brand coffee and Dunkin’ Donuts packaged coffee, which the company sells under license from Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN).

The rather flat quarterly results and noninspirational guidance is not likely to move Smucker’s stock price much today.

Shares are up about 0.1% in premarket trading, at $85.50 in a 52-week range of $70.50 to $87.81. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $88.25 before today’s results were announced.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Earnings, Food Tagged: DNKN, SJM

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — October 25, 2012: Markets Off to Good Start, But Lose Steam (CBST, ISIL, FB, BA, BP, ANGI, CLF, CROX, FFV, RRC, RYL, AET, ALK, AN, BG, CL, DNKN, NOV, POT, UAL, AAPL, AMZN, BYI, CLWR, CSTR, DV, HLS, ACI, CMCSA, KKR, MRK, OSK, WY, ZNGA, PSSI, MCK, NYT)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 20:05:29 +0000

The three major U.S. stock indexes opened higher this morning following the report on new jobless claims, which rose by 369,000, less than the expected 375,000 (our coverage here). In Europe, GDP in the U.K. rose by 1%, well above an expected contraction of 0.5%. In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose for the tenth straight day, the longest streak in seven years. In Japan, a rumored stimulus program lifted equities, but the Shanghai exchange closed lower on weaker real estate stocks. U.S. pending home sales rose slightly, but not nearly as much as expected (more coverage here). Share prices trickled downward most of the day from those early morning highs to finish with small gains.

The U.S. dollar index rose slightly today, now up 0.15% at 80.033. The GSCI commodity index is down about 0.3% at 636.75, with commodities prices mostly lower today. WTI crude oil closed up 0.4% today, at $86.05 a barrel. Brent crude trades up 0.6% at $108.53 a barrel. Natural gas is down 0.5% today at about $3.43 per thousand cubic feet following an inventory build of 67 billion cubic feet (more coverage here). Gold closed at $1,713.00 an ounce, up 0.7% for the day.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 26 points to 13,103.91 (0.20%), the NASDAQ rose about 4 points (0.15%) to 2,986.12, and the S&P 500 0.30% or about 4 points to 1,412.98.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CBST) started as ‘sell’ at Cantor Fitzgerald; Intersil Corp. (NASDAQ: ISIL) cut to ‘sell’ at Citigroup; Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) maintained as ‘hold’ with a view in the high-$20s at Argus; Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) maintained as ‘outperform’ but target price cut to $86 at Credit Suisse; and BP plc (NYSE: BP) started as ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Angie’s List Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI) is up 24.9% at $11.35; Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) is down 10.2% at $38.32; Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) is down 21% at $12.79 after posting a new 52-week low of $12.61 earlier today (more coverage here); F5 Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) is down 11.1% at $83.00 after posting a new 52-week low of $81.07 earlier today; Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC) is down 0.7% at $66.23; Ryland Group Inc. (NYSE: RYL) is up 3.1% at $33.79 after posting a new 52-week high of $35.40 earlier today; Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) is up 0.8% at $44.31; Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE: ALK) is down 0.7% at $38.08; AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN) is down 4.5% at $45.88; Bunge Ltd. (NYSE: BG) is up 2.8% at $70.21 after posting a new 52-week high of $72.20 earlier today; Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) is down 1.9% at $104.50; Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN) is up 1.8% at $31.36; National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) is down 2.6% at $74.81; Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT) is down 0.5% at $40.40 (more coverage here); and United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL) is down 5.1% at $19.25 (more coverage here).

Before markets open tomorrow we are scheduled to hear from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Bally Technologies Inc. (NYSE: BYI), Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR), Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR), DeVry Inc. (NYSE: DV), Healthsouth Corp. (NYSE: HLS), Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI), Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA), KKR & Co. LP (NYSE: KKR), Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK), Oshkosh Corp. (NYSE: OSK), and Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) is up 12.7% at $2.40. The social media game maker beat earnings expectations last night, announced a $200 million share buyback, and said it would fire 5% of its staff. More coverage here.

PSS World Medical Inc. (NASDAQ: PSSI) is up 32.3% at $28.58 after posting a new 52-week high of $28.72 earlier today. The medical equipment supplier is being acquired by drug wholesaler McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK) for $1.46 billion.

The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) is down 23.2% at $8.18. The newspaper and media company posted an unexpected net loss in the third quarter.

Stay tuned for Friday. We have noted the following event on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – GDP
9:55 a.m. – University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters consumer sentiment index

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AAPL, ACI, AET, ALK, AMZN, AN, ANGI, BA, BG, BP, BYI, CBST, CL, CLF, CLWR, CMCSA, CROX, CSTR, DNKN, DV, FB, FFV, HLS, ISIL, KKR, MCK, MRK, NOV, NYT, OSK, POT, PSSI, RRC, RYL, UAL, WY, ZNGA