Posts for Ticker ‘FO’

Top Analyst Upgrades (AET, AMZN, AMX, BJ, CAL, ERTS, FO, FPIC, HUM, MAR, HOT)

These are this Wednesday morning’s top analyst upgrades and positive research calls that we have seen from Wall Street:

Aetna (AET) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Amazon.com (AMZN) Raised to Buy at BofA Merrill Lynch.
America Movil (AMX) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
BJ’s Wholesale (BJ) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Continental (CAL) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Electronic Arts (ERTS) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
Fortune Brands (FO) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
FPIC Insurance (FPIC) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Humana (HUM) STarted as Buy at Collins-Stewart.
Marriott Hotels (MAR) Started as Buy at Citigroup.
Starwood Hotels (HOT) Started as Buy at Citigroup.

You can join our open email distribution list which goes out several times per week for top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, key secondary offerings, guru investor data on Buffett and others, mergers, and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: September 16, 2009 – 8:22 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , ,

The 52-Week Low Club (CAR)(AMR)(UAUA)(CC)(FO)

Avis Budget (CAR) Part of the collapse of the travel industry. Down to $6.93.

Fortune Brands (FO) Poor results dog the stock. Down to $51.59 from 52-week high of $90.80.

AMR Corporation (AMR) Another brutal day for airlines. Sells down to $4.58 from 52-week high of $29.32.

UAL (UAUA) Ditto. Down to $4.44 from 52-week high of $51.60

Circuit City (CC) Weak retailer in weak retail market. Drops to $2.47 from 52-week high of $15.33.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: July 1, 2008 – 2:56 pm in HI/LOW, , , , ,

Fortune Brands… When Even Booze Spending Is Down (FO)

Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE: FO) has come clean with a lowered earnings guidance for the current quarter and full year of 2008.  The company noted that a weakening consumer sentiment in the U.S., the ongoing correction in the U.S. housing market, and a large and unexpected Australian tax increase on ready to drink spirits products have all culminated together to create a more challenging environment for the company’s products.

The company now expects pre-charge/gain earnings to be down at a high-teens-to-mid-20’s percentage rate compared to diluted EPS of $1.51 before charges/gains for continuing operations in the year-ago quarter. This is worse than its previous forecasts of being down at a high-single-digit-to-mid-teens percentage rate.  If we maximized the warning and took a mid-20’s percentage rate, this could generate an effective EPS report of $1.13.  First Call has estimates at $1.32 currently.

It does expect that results in the second half of 2008 will be better than the first half because of company-wide productivity initiatives and increased brand-building investments. For the full year 2008, the company now expects to generate diluted EPS before charges/gains that is down at a high single-digit to high-teens percentage rate compared to $5.06 in 2007. The company’s previous full-year target was for diluted EPS before charges/gains to be flat to down at a high-single-digit percentage rate versus 2007’s results. 

If we interpolate that earnings, this could be anywhere from around $4.10 to $4.60 depending on where your starting point is.  Current First Call estimates are $4,79 EPS, so either way this is a big shortage. 

Fortune closed up marginally by $0.04 in regular trading at $62.41 today.  Shares are now down almost 5.5% at $59.00 in after-hours trading.  Go ahead and chalk that up as another 52-week low.  The prior range was $62.01 to $90.80.  So much for good old fashioned booze as being a defensive sector.

Jon C. Ogg
June 30, 2008

Posted on: June 30, 2008 – 3:49 pm in Earnings Warning, Food,

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, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pre-Market Earnings Movers (October 26, 2007)

(BEAS) BEA Systems trading down almost 4% ahead of Oracle rejected BEA Systems’ $21 indication.
(CFC) Countrywide -$2.85 EPS vs -$1.28 est., but shares indicated up over 10% on writedowns.
(COLM) Columbia Sportswear indicated down marginally after slightly beating earnings.
(DELL) Dell trading up 2% after strong Microsoft numbers.
(FDRY) Foundry Networks trading up 8% after beating earnings estimates.
(FMD) First Marblehead trading up almost 5% after earnings.
(FO) Fortune Brands $1.35 EPS vs $1.29 est.
(MSFT) Microsoft traded up to over $35 after beating earnings and raising guidance.
(PANC) Panacos trading up 20% on HIV trials meeting endpoints.
(SWIR) Sierra Wireless trading up 12% after beating earnings and raised guidance.
(TRID) Trident Micro trading down almost 30% on earnings outlook and on downgrades.
(VG) Vonage Settled with Verizon.
(VSEA) Varian Semiconductor trading down 14%; earnings were strong but guidance was weak.
(WB) Wachovia was reportedly approached about a merger by Merrill Lynch.

Jon C. Ogg
October 26, 2007

Posted on: October 26, 2007 – 7:27 am in Earnings, Pre-Market Activity, , , , , , , , , ,

Norm Wesley Transitions Out of CEO Role at Fortune Brands (FO)

Fortune Brands (NYSE:FO) is doing something we didn’t expect to see, at least not any time soon.  Its CEO & Chairman, Norm Wesley, is transitioning out of the CEO role effective January 1, 2008.  The company’s COO & President, Bruce Carbonari was elected CEO effective January 1, 2008.  What is odd is that Norm Wesley is only 57 years old, and we had just named him one of the entrenched CEO’s early this year.

Wesley is continuing to evaluate strategic initiatives, including the interest in and sale of Absolut Vodka.  Carbonari has been with Fortune Brands for 17 years and he’s been an officer since 1999, so it isn’t as though this is a newbie taking the helm from an industry leader. 

This has to make you wonder if the millions being thrown around out there in private equity didn’t lure Mr. Wesley away as a contract CEO or CEO advisor.  Carbonari has to know that Wesley has had a good reputation, and following in his footsteps will be some tough shoes to fill.

Jon C. Ogg
August 20, 2007

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

Posted on: August 20, 2007 – 3:29 pm in Management Change, ,