24/7 Wall St. » EMR

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (XOM, WDC, RAX, NLY, EMR, BBX, CAG, GME, IHS, LULU, PERY, SONC, NCTY, DG, DISCA, RGR, SWHC, BTFG, DMND)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 20:06:33 +0000

Markets opened sharply this morning and remained in negative territory all day. Purchasing managers’ indexes in the eurozone and in China came in lower than expected this morning, weighing European and Asian shares. The US dollar index rose slightly today, now up 0.10% at 79.733. Commodities were mixed on the dollar strength, with grains and sugar higher, and most other commodities lower. The US EIA weekly natural gas storage report showed a gain of 11 billion cubic feet in US inventories, sending natural gas prices tumbling nearly -4%. (our coverage here). WTI crude oil closed down -1.8% at $105.35/barrel, and Brent crude trades down -0.88% at $123.11/barrel. Gold settled down -0.5% today, at $1,642.50/ounce, a nine-week low.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 78 points to 13,046.14 (-0.60%), the NASDAQ fell 12 points (-0.39%) to 3,063,32, and the S&P 500 fell -0.72% or about 10 points to 1,392,79.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) raised to ‘neutral’ with a $92 target price at JPMorgan; Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) raised to ‘strong buy’ at Needham; Rackspace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX) cut to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs; Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY) cut to ‘underperform’ at Sterne Agee; and Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) raised to ‘buy’ at Nomura.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc. (NYSE: BBX) is down -1.7% at $3.97; ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) is down -0.6% at $26.21; Gamestop Corp. (NYSE: GME) is down -6% at $23.17; IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS) is down -4.9% at $92.89; Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) is up 2.9% at $76.20 after posting a new 52-week high of $76.66 earlier today; Perry Ellis International Inc. (NASDAQ: PERY) is up 3% at $18.42; Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC) is down -6.8% at $7.50; and The9 Ltd. (NASDAQ: NCTY) is down -5% at $7.01.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) is up 3.33% at $46.24 after posting a new 52-week high of $46.95 earlier today. The discount retailer posted better than expected earnings results. More coverage here.

Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) is down -0.35% at $48.16. The cable network may take a big loss its investment in the Oprah Winfrey Network. More coverage here.

Sturm, Ruger & Co. (NYSE: RGR) is up 13.4% at $47.95 after posting a new 52-week high today of $48.24. Smith & Wesson Holdings Co. (NASDAQ: SWHC) is up nearly 14% at $7.84 after posting a new 52-week high of $8.00. The gunmakers are rising on Ruger’s announcement that it will not be accepting any new orders until May because it is fully booked. More coverage here.

Banc Trust Financial Group Inc. (NASDAQ: BTFG) is down more than -18% at $1.22. The bank holding company warned on earnings this morning. More coverage here.

Diamond Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND) is down -8% at $23.59. The snack food maker is suspending its dividend. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Friday. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart, and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard are giving speeches. We have also noted the following event on the schedule (all times Eastern):

10:00 a.m. – New home sales

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close, The Day Tagged: BBX, BTFG, CAG, DG, DISCA, DMND, EMR, GME, IHS, LULU, NCTY, NLY, PERY, RAX, RGR, SONC, SWHC, WDC, XOM

Upside Potential in Basic Industrial Stocks (CAT, DD, DOW, DE, APD, EMR)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 17:09:30 +0000

While global GDP growth is expected to be slower this year, there are a couple of areas where investment will probably continue at relatively high levels. These are mining and agriculture. New mines continue to be developed — at great cost — and the global demand for food leads to a greater demand for the machinery and chemicals that are used to produce that food.

With that in mind, we’ve looked at several companies involved in basic industries like heavy equipment, chemicals, and electrical components to try to determine if there are any value plays available to investors. The companies we examined were Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD), The Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW), Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE), Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD), and Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR).

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) has a consensus target price of $131.61. At a current price this morning of $116.00, the company’s implied gain is 13.5%. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has gained more than 28%, with a 12-month share price gain of nearly 15.5%. The company’s forward P/E ratio is 10.23 and Caterpillar pays a dividend yield of 1.6%. The world’s largest maker of construction and farming machinery expects to grow EPS by 25% year-over-year in 2012 to about $9.25 and to double to as much as $20/share by 2015. Given Cat’s past success, none of this is out of reach.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD), or DuPont, has a consensus price target of $56.47. At its current price of $51.29, Dupont’s implied gain is 10%. Year-to-date shares are up about 12%, but for the preceding 12 months, the company’s stock is down more than -3%. The company’s forward P/E ratio is 10.68 and DuPont pays a dividend yield of 3.2%. DuPont is auctioning its car paint business and could reap as much as $4 billion at the time of sale. The company has struck some recent deals with Chinese solar panel makers and DuPont expects to continue increasing its sales in the agriculture, alternative energy, and other high-value markets.

The Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) has a consensus target price of $36.92. At a current price of $34.07, the potential upside is 8.4%. Dow shares have lost about -4% in the past 12 months, though since January shares have risen more than 18%. The company’s forward P/E ratio is 9.96 and Dow pays a dividend yield of 3.0%. Like other chemical companies, Dow is getting a nice benefit from low natural gas prices. The company expects 2012 growth in all its operating divisions, with agriculture and plastics leading the gains.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) has a consensus target price of $94.59. At the current price of $83.84, the implied gain is 12.8%. For the past 12 months, the stock has dropped -5.6% though shares are up about 8.5% in the new year. The company’s forward P/E ratio is 10.01 and Deere pays a dividend yield of 1.90%. In the company’s most recent quarter, EPS beat estimates, but sales were a little slower than investors had hoped for. At less than half the market cap of Caterpillar, Deere’s long-term debt is also less than half Cat’s. That gives it some flexibility, and allowed the company to offer $1 billion in 5- and 10-year notes earlier this week at coupons of 1.4% and 2.75%, respectively.

Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD) has a consensus target price of $100.60. At the current share price of $92.20, the potential upside is 9%. The company’s shares posted a slight gain of 1.4% in the past 12 months, and are up more than 8% since the beginning of the year. The company’s forward P/E ratio is 13.68 and Air Products pays a dividend yield of 2.60%. One of S&P’s Dividend Aristocrats, Air Products had only a so-so quarter and doesn’t expect a lot of improvement until the second half of this year.

Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) has a consensus target price of $56.42. At the current share price of $50.90, the potential upside for the stock is 10.8%. Emerson’s shares have lost about -14% in the past 12 months, but are up more than 9% year-to-date. The company’s forward P/E ratio is 12.80 and Emerson pays a dividend yield of 3.10%. Another of S&P’s Dividend Aristocrats, Emerson had a sub-par first fiscal quarter, but is expecting to resume sales growth both in its networking and its climate products business as bandwidth demand grows in the US and new housing construction ticks up.

Between the two equipment makers, Caterpillar has performed better over the past year and really shows no signs of pulling back. Among the chemical companies, there is no clear choice and all are pretty fully valued at this point. The make-or-break for these companies will be natural gas prices, which should rise as production of gas is cut back. Emerson is counting on a continued buildout of wireless networks and a rise in home and office building construction. Overall, Caterpillar seems to be the best choice.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Economy, Industry, International Markets Tagged: APD, CAT, DD, DE, DOW, EMR

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (SIRI, IBM, AZN, URBN, ZOLT, YUM, MT, BP, KO, EMR, LPX, MNI, CSTR, SPF, NSU, BPAX)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:06:42 +0000

US equity markets opened lower this morning, but after the first hour or so of trading, the three major indexes moved to positive territory where they remained for the rest of the day. There was talk that a deal was forthcoming on the Greek debt swap deal, but that did not materialize. Maybe tomorrow? Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke didn’t have anything new to say to the US Senate committee this morning, and today’s earnings reports didn’t impress traders much either. A late day report on a big jump in December levels of consumer credit has given the market a small jolt in the last hour of trading. Crude oil is up today, with WTI crude up sharply by 1.82% at $98.67/barrel and Brent crude up 0.23% at $116.20/barrel. Gold closed up 1.4% at $1,748.40/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 33 points to 12,878.43 (0.26%), the NASDAQ rose more than 2 points (0.07%) to 2,904.08, and the S&P 500 rose 0.20% or nearly 3 points to 1,347.05.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) started as ‘underweight’ at Barclays; IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) started as ‘buy’ with a $230 target price at Sterne Agee (our coverage here); AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) cut to ‘underperform’ at BofA/ML; Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) cut to ‘sell’ at Brean Murray; and Zoltek Cos. Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT) cut to ‘underperform’ at Needham (our coverage here).

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) is up 2.67% at $64.88 after posting a new 52-week high of $65.79 earlier today; ArcelorMittal AS (NYSE: MT) is up 3.5% at $22.19; BP plc (NYSE: BP) is down -0.41% at $46.68; Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) is up 1% at $68.71 (our coverage here); Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) is down -2.6% at $51.99; and Louisiana-Pacific Corp. (NYSE: LPX) is down -6.5% at $8.31 (our coverage here).

Our preview of tomorrow’s earnings releases is here.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

The McClatchy Co. (NYSE: MNI) is up 21% at $2.71. The newspaper company reported stronger-than-expected earnings today on cost-cutting.

Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) is up 16.5% at $58.90 after posting a new 52-week high of $60.81 earlier today. The video rental company will join with Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) to offer a streaming video service to compete with Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) and others. More coverage here and here.

Standard Pacific Corp. (NYSE: SPF) is up 15.8% at $4.69 after posting a new 52-week high of $4.85 earlier today. The homebuilder posted good earnings today and reported that orders are up 8% in January.

Nevsun Resources Ltd. (AMEX: NSU) is down more than -30% at $4.43. The junior gold miner issued a preliminary 2012 outlook that included a sharp drop in production and in its reserves estimates.

BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: BPAX) is down more than -18% at $0.86. The company is the target of a new lawsuit charging it with misrepresentation. We have more coverage of BioSante here.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. San Francisco Federal Reserve president John Williams is giving a speech. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications report
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
1:00 p.m. – Treasury 10-year note auction

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: AZN, BP, BPAX, CSTR, EMR, IBM, KO, LPX, MNI, MT, NSU, SIRI, SPF, URBN, YUM, ZOLT

Top Earnings Previews For Tuesday (NLY, BP, BWLD, CERN, CHD, KO, EMR, HIG, JIVE, NTGR, OPEN, PNRA, SNCR, TM, DIS)

Administrator — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:24:07 +0000

We are getting into the last of the normalized quarterly earnings reports and into the first waves of the companies with off-normal quarter-ends. Tuesday is going to be another busy day with many earnings. The earnings previews are for the following: Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY); Bp Plc (NYSE: BP); Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD); Cerner Corporation (NASDAQ: CERN); Church & Dwight Co. (NYSE: CHD); Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO); Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR); Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG); Jive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: JIVE); NETGEAR Inc. (NASDAQ: NTGR); OpenTable Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN); Panera Bread Co. (NASDAQ: PNRA); Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNCR); Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM); and The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS).

We have compiled previews using Thomson Reuters consensus data and have added color on each if applicable.

Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY) is going to be closely watched by the dividend investors because of that 13% implied dividend yield. The mortgage REIT is expected to report $0.56 per share.

Bp Plc (NYSE: BP) has recovered handily from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. This is an ADR so its earnings will be converted from U.K. Pounds… The estimate is $1.57 per share and the stock is up well over 50% from when its shares sold off so much in 2010. Keep in mind that this was a $60 stock before the Gulf of Mexico disaster.

Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD) is not so hot after the Super Bowl and we are six weeks from the next mega-event in sports. Estimates are $0.67 EPS and $210.25 million. This one remains expensive at almost 22-times full 2012 earnings expectations and it is only about $2.00 shy of a 52-week and all-time high.

Cerner Corporation (NASDAQ: CERN) is expected to report $0.53 EPS and $586.86 million in sales. At $63.20, the 52-week trading range for the healthcare information technology and support company is $53.93 to $74.39.

Church & Dwight Co. (NYSE: CHD) is expected to report $0.51 EPS and $694.32 million. At $45.50, the 52-week range is $33.83 to $47.00. This consumer products company remains at a large valuation premium to its larger consumer products rivals and it also has a much lower dividend yield.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Calendar, Earnings Tagged: BP, BWLD, CERN, CHD, DIS, EMR, HIG, JIVE, KO, NLY, NTGR, OPEN, PNRA, SNCR, TM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AIXG, ALU, AZN, CXW, EMR, GSK, HON, HUM, KEX, MCHP, OVTI, PAA, RAX, STJ, TEVA, TRMB, VRTX, WFM)

Administrator — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 13:10:26 +0000

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

Aixtron SE (NASDAQ: AIXG) Raised to Equalweight at Morgan Stanley.
Alcatel-Lucent SA (NYSE: ALU) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
Corrections Corporation of America (NYSE:CXW) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE: GSK) Raised to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Honeywell International (NYSE: HON) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $95 at Argus.
Kirby Corporation (NYSE: KEX) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Microchip Technology (NASDAQ: MCHP) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
OmniVision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (NYSE: PAA) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Rackspace Hosting, Inc. (NYSE: RAX) Raised to Buy at Kaufman Bros.
St. Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ: TEVA) Reinstated as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Trimble Navigation Limited (NASDAQ: TRMB) Started as Buy at Janney.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: VRTX) Cut to Neutral at R. W. Baird.
Whole Foods Market Inc. (NYSE: WFM) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AIXG, ALU, AZN, CXW, EMR, GSK, HON, HUM, KEX, MCHP, OVTI, PAA, RAX, STJ, TEVA, TRMB, VRTX, WFM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (CAB, EMR, HTGC, MU, MSM, NFLX, LUV, S, THO, THS)

Administrator — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:44:55 +0000

These are some of this Monday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen having an impact from Wall Street research calls.

Cabela’s Inc. (NYSE: CAB) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Hercules Tech Growth Capital (NASDAQ: HTGC) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Micron Technology Inc. (NYSE: MU) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc. (NYSE: MSM) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Raised to Neutral at Janney.
Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan; Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Thor Industries, Inc. (NYSE: THO) named Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Treehouse Foods Inc. (NYSE: THS) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: CAB, EMR, HTGC, LUV, MSM, MU, NFLX, S, THO, THS

Top Active Trader Alert Stocks (BAC, DG, EMR, LDK, NOK, PATH)

247wallst — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:45:38 +0000

Active traders and day traders have many stocks to choose from this Tuesday morning. We are tracking news and moves in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC), Dollar General Corp. (NYSE:DG), Emerson Electric Company (NYSE:EMR), LDK Solar Co., Ltd (NYSE:LDK), Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK), and NuPathe Inc (NASDAQ:PATH).

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) is down more than 2% premarket to $8.22, relative to a 52-week range of $6.01 – $15.31. Wells Fargo kept the investment bank’s shares at “market perform.”

Dollar General Corp. (NYSE:DG) is up 3.15% premarket to $34.85, relative to a 52-week range of $26.64 – $35.09. The company reported positive 2Q profit.

Emerson Electric Company (NYSE:EMR) is down 1.6% premarket to $46.13, relative to a 52-week range of $41.37 – $62.24. The company was downgraded to “hold” by Argus.

LDK Solar Co., Ltd (NYSE:LDK) is down more than 5.5% premarket to $5.83, relative to a 52-week range of $4.65 – $15.10. The company was cut to “underperform”at Wells Fargo.

Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) is down 2.4% premarket to $6.03, relative to a 52-week range of $4.82 – $11.75.

NuPathe Inc (NASDAQ:PATH) is down by more than 50% to $2.01, relative to a 52-week range of $3.30 – $9.74. The company’s migraine drug has not been approved by the FDA.

Filed under: General, Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: BAC, DG, EMR, LDK, NOK, PATH

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (MDRX, ANR, AMCX, AEO, BAC, CBRL, EMR, JNY, LDK, PERY, PCLN, R, HOT, SXC, VPRT)

Administrator — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:08:36 +0000

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

Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: MDRX) Reiterated Buy with $27 target at Argus.
Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE: ANR) Started as Neutral at JPMorgan.
AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: AMCX) Started as Buy with $42 target at BofA/ML.
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE: AEO) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) Maintained Outperform with $14 target at Credit Suisse.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRL) Cut to Neutral at SunTrust.
Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) Cut to Hold at Argus.
The Jones Group Inc. (NYSE: JNY) Raised to Buy with $14 target at BofA/ML.
LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) Cut to Underperform at Wells Fargo.
Perry Ellis International (NASDAQ: PERY) Raised to Buy with $26 target at BofA/ML.
Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) Reiterated Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE: R) named Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) Maintained Outperform but cut target to $64 at Credit Suisse.
SunCoke Energy Inc. (NYSE: SXC) Started as Outperform with $19 target at Credit Suisse.
VistaPrint NV (NASDAQ: VPRT) Cut to Neutral as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AEO, AMCX, ANR, BAC, CBRL, EMR, HOT, JNY, LDK, MDRX, PCLN, PERY, R, SXC, VPRT

Playing Defensive With Industrial and Defense Dividend Players (LMT, EMR, GD, MMM, HON)

Administrator — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 11:45:02 +0000

When economic softness spooks high-flying stocks, solid companies with good histories, solid return on equity, and above average dividends are a handy remedy. We screened five companies in the industrial sector, three of them in Aerospace/Defense, that may suit the investor seeking current income and a tad more safety. The dividends for all five of the companies range from about 2.3% to 3.9%. All have good liquidity, attractive fundamentals and positive annual earnings growth. The current P/E’s for all five companies range from 10.2 to 20.09. Forward P/E’s range 9.0 to 13.3. The lowest return on equity (ROE) is a very attractive 19.86%.

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) is the leading dividend payer on this list with almost 3.9% dividend payout and a payout ratio of 37.5%. Lockheed boasts a whopping return on equity of 68%, easily the highest on this list per our screening criteria. With shares currently trading around $77.50, the 52-week range is $67.68 to $82.43.

Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) pays a dividend of 2.7%. Emerson’s quarter-over-quarter earnings growth is 36.25%, second only to Honeywell (HON) in this group of companies that were screened. With shares trading near $51.50, the 52-week range is $42.69 to $62.24.

General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) pays a 2.6% dividend. With a payout ratio of 24.5%, the company boasts the best dividend coverage in this group. Its year-over-year earnings growth of 9.9% is the lowest among these five companies. Its forward P/E of about 9.2 is also near the lowest. With shares currently trading around $71, the 52-week range is $55.46 to $78.27.

3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) pays a dividend of 2.4% and the company’s return on equity is above 28%. Its year-over-year earnings growth is 24.6%. With shares trading around $91.50, the 52-week range is $72.72 to $97.95.

Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) pays a dividend of 2.3%. Honeywell’s annual earnings growth is 26.4% and quarterly earnings growth of almost 39.5% leads this group of companies. With shares currently near $57, the 52-week range is $37.68 to $62.28.

Investors generally tend to migrate to dividend stocks and there is good news on all of these. These companies have all raised dividends recently or are anticipated to raise their dividends this year or next.

Jim Berdou

Filed under: Corporate Governance, Defense, Defensive Stocks, Dividend, Shareholder Issues Tagged: EMR, GD, HON, LMT, MMM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AMZN, ACAS, AINV, ACI, BMRN, COF, CSCO, EMR, FSLR, IACI, IBM, JOYG, LXK, PNRA, SWC, TSM, WYNN)

Administrator — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:23:24 +0000

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

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Reiterated Outperform and raised target to $220 at Oppenheimer; Reiterated Buy with $198 target at BofA/ML; Maintained Buy with $220 target at Canaccord Genuity.
American Capital, Ltd. (NASDAQ: ACAS) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Apollo Investment Corporation (NASDAQ: AINV) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) Cut to Sell at S&P Equity Research (late-Tuesday call).
BioMarin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: BMRN) Cut to Neutral as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) Maintained Buy but raised target to $65 at BofA/ML.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Maintained Neutral but cut target to $22 at BofA/ML.
Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Raised to Buy at Kaufman Bros.
IAC/InterActiveCorp. (NASDAQ: IACI) Raised to Buy at Citigroup; Raised target to $39 at BofA/ML.
International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) Reiterated Buy and Raised target to $190 at Argus.
Joy Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: JOYG) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Lexmark International Inc. (NYSE: LXK) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Panera Bread Company (NASDAQ: PNRA) Maintained Neutral but raised target to $135 at BofA/ML
Stillwater Mining Company (NYSE: SWC) Reiterated Outperform and $28 target at Credit Suisse.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE: TSM) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) Maintained Buy at Zacks.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ACAS, ACI, AINV, AMZN, BMRN, COF, CSCO, EMR, FSLR, IACI, IBM, JOYG, LXK, PNRA, SWC, TSM, WYNN