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Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AEM, AVL, BRCD, CSTR, EV, ERTS, FINL, GILD, GOOG, GDOT, MRH, RIMM, SLXP, WEN, WYNN)

Administrator — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 13:21:05 +0000

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

Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. (NYSE: AEM) Cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity.
Avalon Rare Metals Inc. (AMEX: AVL) Started as Buy at Citigroup.
Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
Coinstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Eaton Vance Corporation (NYSE: EV) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
The Finish Line, Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) named Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Green Dot Corporation (NYSE: GDOT) Started as Outperform at KBW.
Montpelier Re Holdings (NYSE: MRH) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Cut to Neutral at Stern Agee.
Salix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SLXP) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
The Wendy’s Co. (NYSE: WEN) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) Raised to Buy at KeyBanc.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AEM, AVL, BRCD, CSTR, ERTS, EV, FINL, GDOT, GILD, GOOG, MRH, RIMM, SLXP, WEN, WYNN

The Great Dividend Hikes Of 2011 Are Underway (CCL, OKE, FINL, JPM, WFC, BAC, CSCO, AAPL, GE, UTX, MMM, WPO)

Administrator — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:58:56 +0000

The rising dividend theme of 2010 is already continuing in 2011 and this looks to be another great year for investors seeking higher dividends. We have seen three fresh dividend hikes from Carnival Corporation plc (NYSE: CCL), Oneok Inc. (NYSE: OKE), and Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL). While those are all good, the more important consideration is about the possible waves of newer and larger dividends from key market players ahead.

We already gave The Dogs of The Dow for 2011. We are looking at key dividend expectations in key sectors for investors in other sectors. In the money center banks, we are keeping a keen eye on J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC), and Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC). Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is overdue for its technology dividend and now Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) may be back in play in the dividend circles again after the Steve Jobs health news. In conglomerates we are expecting news from General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), and 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) in 2011.

We have outlined the expectations and an outlook on each stock individually. That compares yields to projected dividend hikes ahead, and we have added additional historical data and additional color on each as well.

Filed under: Banking, Conglomerates, Dividend, Shareholder Issues, Stock Buybacks, Technology Companies, Value Investing Tagged: AAPL, BAC, CCL, CSCO, FINL, GE, JPM, MMM, OKE, UTX, WFC

Active Stock Trader Alerts 9/24/2010

247wallst — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 12:19:34 +0000

AMD (NYSE: AMD) is up 2% after lowering its earnings forecasts

Vical (NASDAQ: VICL) down 14% on late stage drug trial failure.

ARM Holdings (ARMH) up 7% on buyout rumors.

Sirius XM (NASDAQ: SIRI) is up 2% on positive analyst calls.

NetFlix (NASDAQ: NFLX) is up 3% on an expanded relationship with NBC.

Tibco (NASDAQ: TIBX) is up 6% on strong earnings and takeover rumors.

The Finish Line (NASDAQ: FINL) is down 11% on bad earnings.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Most Actives Tagged: AMD, ARMH, FINL, NFLX, SIRI, TIBX, VICL

This Week’s Top Earnings on Deck (LEN, ADBE, AZO, CCL, DRI, BBBY, KMX, RHT, FINL, NKE, RAD, KBH)

Administrator — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 10:49:26 +0000

We have several large earnings reports this week. While none are DJIA components nor broad market movers, they can impact stocks in their related sectors. Some of the top earnings this week are from Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN), Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE), AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO), Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL), Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI), Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY), CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX), Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE: RHT), Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL), Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE), Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD), and KB Home (NYSE: KBH). We have compiled Thomson Reuters estimates for earnings and revenues.

Monday, September 20
Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) $0.05 EPS and $765.19 million in revenues.

Tuesday, September 21
Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) $0.49 EPS and $984.07 million in revenues.

AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) $5.42 EPS and $2.39 billion in revenues.
Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) $1.47 EPS and $4.42 billion in revenues.
Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) $0.38 EPS and $914.95 million in revenues. Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) $0.77 EPS and $1.82 billion in revenues.

Wednesday, September 22
Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) $0.63 EPS and $2.10 billion in revenues.
CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) $0.40 and $2.26 billion in revenues.
General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) $0.63 EPS and $3.60 billion in revenues.
Jefferies Group Inc. (NYSE: JEF) $0.39 EPS and $573.92 million in revenues.
Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE: RHT) $0.18 EPS and $211.24 million in revenues.

Thursday, September 23
Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) $0.36 EPS and $316.00 million in revenues.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) $1.00 EPS and $5.22 billion in revenues.
Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD) -$0.17 EPS and $6.21 billion in revenues.

Friday, September 24
KB Home (NYSE: KBH) -$0.15 EPS and $491.21 million in revenues.

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

Filed under: Calendar, Earnings Tagged: ADBE, AZO, BBBY, CCL, DRI, FINL, KBH, KMX, LEN, NKE, RAD, RHT

Select Retail Short Squeezes? (PSUN, FINL, TRLG)

247wallst — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:22:50 +0000

Short sellers could be on the run here in several retailers. Each day our software tracks stocks that have high short interest and are either short squeezes or potential short squeezes in a real time.

After the FOMC announcement, several stocks in the retail space are shaping up nicely as potential short squeezes. Noteworthy moves today include Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN) up 4.13%, Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) up 3.22% and True Religion Apparel Inc. (NASDAQ: TRLG) up 2.00%.

Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN) has 3,356,015 shares in the short interest with a short ratio of 2.62. Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) has 2,592,396 shares in the short interest with a short ratio of 3.58

True Religion has 5,413,732 shares short with a short ratio of 8.75. The stock has recently pulled back from $28.90 to $18.84. Estimates are for $1.88 this year and $2.10 for next year which hardly makes this an expensive name.

What are the short sellers thinking?

Geoffrey A. Garbacz, GoodMorningWallSt.com

Posted in Apparel, Retail, Short Interest Tagged: FINL, PSUN, TRLG

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ANF, FRED, FDO, FINL, SEPR, VMED, WTNY, ZUMZ)

247wallst — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:32:19 +0000

It is looking pretty thin in analyst calls ahead of the 3-day weekend, but these are some of the top research upgrades, downgrades, and initiations we have seen this Friday morning:

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) cut to Sell from Hold at Citi.
Fred’s Inc. (FRED) Cut to Market Perform at William Blair.
Family Dollar Stores (FDO) Cut to Market Perform at William Blair.

Finish Line (FINL) Started as Outperform at Wedbush Morgan.
Sepracor (SEPR) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Virgin Media (VMED) Started as Outperform by Credit Suisse.
Whitney Holding (WTNY) Raised to Buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
Zumiez (ZUMZ) Cut to Hold at KeyBanc.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: ANF, FDO, FINL, FRED, SEPR, VMED, WTNY, ZUMZ

Mini Earnings Season on Deck Thursday (PALM, ACN, MU, LEN, CAG, FINL, JTX, TIBX)

247wallst — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:34:51 +0000

Thursday is shaping up to be a miniature one-day version earnings season this week. This is likely the last of the major earnings reports we’ll see for another three or four weeks until the real earnings season for Q2-2009 kicks off. On deck are the likes of Palm Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM), Accenture Ltd. (NYSE: ACN), Micron Tech Inc. (NYSE: MU), Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN), ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG), Finish Line (NASDAQ: FINL), Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. (NYSE: JTX), and TIBCO Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TIBX). Below are preview summaries for each company’s expectations and supporting notes.

Palm Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) is perhaps the single largest standout stock of the group and this report will mark the end of its Fiscal 2009 year. Be advised that the Palm Pre launch is NOT going to be a part of the report for the past quarter as the launch date with Sprint was after the end of the reporting period. We do expect Palm to disclose how many units it has either sold or shipped to date. Analysts are looking for -$0.62 EPS on $80.6 million in revenue. If Palm offers guidance for the current quarter, those estimates are -$0.30 EPS and $279 million in revenue. The key may hinge on when Palm intends to get back to profitability as analysts are looking for losses through the end of Fiscal 2010 (May-end). With much more than a tenfold rise and a whopping short interest, Palm will be the ultimate trader battleground stock to watch.

Accenture Ltd. (NYSE: ACN), the IT and management consulting and outsourcing operation, is expected to post $0.64 EPS on $5.2 billion in revenue. While that will be close to a 20% drop in revenues, analysts are looking for growth to resume in 2010. With shares having closed at $31.43 and being in the middle of their 52-week trading range, this one has room to swing either way.

Micron Tech Inc. (NYSE: MU), the largest U.S. DRAM maker, is expected to post -$0.42 EPS on $1.18 billion in revenue. If the company gives guidance, it is expected to post -$0.29 EPS and $1.33 billion in revenues for the next quarter. Shares have recovered more than 200% from the lows, and they could rally another 50% before hitting a new 52-week high. This stock still has traders and investors alike stumped due to the serial disappointments from the company. As noted in the world of DRAM, it has all the same characteristics of all other commodities with the sole exception that prices never really goes up very much. Analysts are still looking for losses out through 2010.

Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) is on deck as another homebuilder reports earnings. Shares did close up over 4.5% as investors decided to take a dismal new home sales number for May as a positive because of hopes that the summer could be strong. Analysts are looking for -$0.64 EPS on $597.5 million in revenue. The next quarter is the most important as it includes the summer selling season and estimates are -$0.56 EPS and $700.6 million in revenue. At $7.82, its 52-week trading range is $3.42 to $16.90.

ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) is likely to have a large impact on other food distribution giants. Estimates are $0.42 EPS and $3.33 billion in revenue. With shares close to $20.00, its 52-week trading range is $13.52 to $23.12.

Finish Line (NASDAQ: FINL) continues to be a huge dilemma: a poor economy, yet everyone needs their athletic shoes. The question is the buyers go to the company or to co its mpetitors, or even to discounters. Analysts are expecting $0.01 EPS on $273.1 million in revenue. After a 4% drop to $7.36 on Wednesday, the 52-week range is $3.42 to $12.43.

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. (NYSE: JTX) has bounced over 100% from the lows, but many still consider it a troubled stock. We have estimates at $1.68 EPS and $144.5 million in revenue. Be advised that the coming quarter is the throwaway quarter because of the way the tax season falls. With shares at $5.96, its 52-week range is $2.80 to $17.83.

TIBCO Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TIBX), the infrastructure software player, is on deck to report and shares have been trading above-average trading volume in the last 5-day period into earnings. Estimates are $0.09 EPS and $139.35 million in revenues, and next quarter estimates are $0.10 EPS and $146.3 million in revenues. At $6.45, this stock is between its 52-week range of $3.45 to $8.78.

All estimates are from Thomson Reuters and may be slightly different by the time Thursday morning gets there due to last minute estimate changes from analysts.

Jon C. Ogg
June 24, 2009

Posted in Earnings, Housing, Technology Companies Tagged: ACN, CAG, FINL, JTX, LEN, MU, PALM, TIBX

Top Analyst Upgrades (FINL, FTI, FL, BEN, GS, KEY, NDAQ, NOK, NRG, VIP)

247wallst — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 11:18:10 +0000

These are the top pre-market analyst upgrades and positive research calls we have seen from Wall Street firms early this Thursday morning with more than two hours until the market opens:

Finish Line (FINL) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
FMC Technologies (FTI) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
Foot Locker (FL) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Franklin Resources (BEN) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Goldman Sachs (GS) Raised to Outperform at Bernstein.
KeyCorp (KEY) Raised to TopPick at RBC.
NASDAQ (NDAQ) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Nokia (NOK) Started as Outperform at Baird.
NRG Energy (NRG) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Vimpel Communications (VIP) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: BEN, FINL, FL, FTI, GS, KEY, NDAQ, NOK, NRG, VIP

Thankfully, Cohen Stepping Down As CEO of Finish Line (FINL, GCO)

247wallst — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:52:36 +0000

Another one of 24/7 Wall St. CEO’s that need to go has come to fruition. This morning Finish Line (NASDAQ: FINL) announced a management succession plan to replace co-founder Alan H. Cohen. Unfortunately for shareholders, this is not a full replacement and he will still be involved in the company. Glenn S. Lyon has been named successor to Cohen as CEO with effective December 1. Cohen is going to remain Chairman of the Board of Directors.

In addition, there is another change in the hierarchy. Lyon iscurrently President of Finish Line. He was replaced by Steven J. Schneider, the company’s chief operating officer. If youlook at our reasons cited for calling for this CEO to go last December, you willunderstand why Cohen needed to go.

The only reason we haven’t pounded the table was thatthis stock actually made its way back up from the depths of hell. Itwas actually one of the best NASDAQ performers this year until the lastsell-off. But the failed Genesco (NYSE: GCO) merger was one whichcould have killed Finish Line. Cohen took an unreasonable gamble thatluckily didn’t leave shareholders holding a goose egg. His dual classof stocks also gives him ultimate control over the common stock withouthaving to own so much stock. Shareholders will do much better with himout of the daily grind.

This actually marks the 7th of our 10 CEO’s To Go For 2008. Technically, that marks the 7th of 9, as Symantec’s John Thompson was more of a possibility rather than a prediction (and he is well liked).

Jon C. Ogg
October 3, 2008

Posted in Apparel, Management Change Tagged: FINL, GCO

Goldman Sachs Drops Specialty Apparel Names (COLM, NKE, UA, LULU, FL, GCO, FINL, KSWS)

247wallst — Tue, 20 May 2008 06:49:48 +0000

Goldman Sachs has noted that an analyst named Brad Cragin has left the firm, and his former targets and ratings in specialty apparel names are no longer in effect. These are some of the specialty apparel names that have been dropped from coverage:

Columbia Sportswear Co. (NASDAQ: COLM),
Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE),
Under Armour (NYSE: UA),
lululemon athletica inc. (NASDAQ: LULU),

There were also many names in footwear and shoe retailing that were dropped:

Foot Locker (NYSE: FL)
Genesco (NYSE: GCO)
Finish Line (NASDAQ: FINL)
K-Swiss Inc. (NASDAQ: KSWS).

As a reminder, these are not true downgrades. This coverage was dropped as the analyst has left the firm and it appears to be in a rapid enough manner that Goldman Sachs was not able to transition coverage away to another analyst.

Jon C. Ogg
May 20, 2008

Jon Ogg produces and edits the "10 Stocks Under $10" weekly newsletter and he does not own securities in the companies he covers.