Posts for Ticker ‘GCI’

The More Focused, and More Opaque, Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B, BNI, UNP, NSC, GS, GE, TIF, HOG, WMT, COP, XOM, WFC, RSG, DOW, ETN, WBC, MCO, WLP, UNH, GSK, SNY, GCI, WPO)

This was an important week for investment guru and billionaire watchers to see which gurus were holding which stocks.  The full public equity holdings of Warren Buffett via Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) were particularly of note, particularly with those B shares under “BRK-B” soon to split and giving a chance for even the less astute ranks of Joe Public to own a piece of the Berkshire dream.  Obviously the huge change is via the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (NYSE: BNI) buyout.  As part of this deal, Buffett is exiting Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) and exiting Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) stakes of about $600 million and $100 million, respectively, to avoid duplication and internal competition.  The rail transport play now accounts for about one-quarter of the total Berkshire Hathaway entity upon closing. But the less obvious position in that Warren Buffett in 2009 has made it clear that there will be a simpler and probably less “stock-hound” version of Berkshire Hathaway ahead.

Buffett has gone higher up the food chain and is likely to be a creditor now inside or to large institutions.  We have seen this during the crisis.  Buffett negotiated a better deal for Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) than the US Government was able to get.  Buffett’s preferred stock in Goldman Sachs has a dividend of 10% and is callable at any time at a 10% premium; but Buffett also got warrants to purchase $5 billion of common stock with a strike price of $115.00 per share, exercisable for a five-year term (4 years now), and Buffett would effectively get to pocket $61 per share if he exercised those all today at the market (and with a $2.6 billion warrant profit alone).

The General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) stake was listed only as 7.77 million shares of common stock (about $125 million now), the same as it has been for quarters.  Yet last year Buffett came to the rescue with a $3 billion of perpetual preferred stock in a private offering with a dividend of 10% and warrants to purchase $3 billion of common stock.  The preferred is callable after 3-years (2 years now) at a 10% premium; the warrants have a strike price of $22.25 and are exercisable for a five-year term (4 years now).
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Posted on: November 19, 2009 – 8:59 am in Activist Investor, Bonds, Buffett, Conglomerates, Dividend, Editor's Picks, Infrastructure, Large Cap Stocks, Mergers and Buy Outs, Oil & Gas, Private Equity, Transports, Value Investing, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Q3-2009 Holdings (BRK-A, BRK-B, GCI, GE, GSK, HD, IR, IRM, JNJ, KFT, LOW, MCO, NLC, NKE, NSC, NRG)

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A)(BRK-B) has its Q3-2009 public equity holdings as of September 30, 2009.  In our group “A to F” we noted some interim changes in the lot.  Here are Warren Buffett’s holdings and accompanying notes for the group ‘G to O.’

  • Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) 3.447 million shares, same as before.
  • General Electric Corp. (NYSE: GE) 7.777 million shares is the same as before, but does not include the huge preferred investment from late 2008.
  • GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) 1.51 million shares, same as before.
  • Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) 2.757 million, same as last quarter.
  • Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR) 636,600 shares; WAY DOWN from the 7.78 million listed last quarter.
  • Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) 3.3722 million shares, same as before.
  • Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was just over 36.91 million shares; Same as last quarter and still well under the 62 million shares at one point in 2008.
  • Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) over 138 million; same as last quarter.
  • Lowe’s Companies (NYSE: LOW) 6.5 million shares, same as last quarter.
  • M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) 6.71 million shares, same as before.
  • Moody’s (NYSE: MCO) was listed as over 39.2 million shares, but that is WAY DOWN from the 48 million last quarter.  Be advised that he has noted sales and hinted at more sales here.
  • Nalco Holding (NYSE: NLC) 9.0 million shares, same as last quarter.
  • Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) 7.641 million shares, same as before.
  • Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) 1.933 million shares, same as before, but we already know Buffett has or is selling out of non-BNSF shares in rail companies.
  • NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) 7.2 million, same as before.

BUFFETT HOLDINGS A to F

BUFFETT HOLDINGS P to Z

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JON C. OGG

Posted on: November 16, 2009 – 4:48 pm in Activist Investor, Buffett, Conglomerates, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (MT, BMRN, ELN, FITB, FSLR, GCI, GT, HAL, PVTB, URBN)

These are this Thursday morning’s top 10 analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations we have seen in early research calls from Wall Street:

ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) Raised to Buy at Societe Generale.
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: BMRN) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Elan Corp. plc (NYSE: ELN) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Fifth Third Bancorp Raised To Outperform From Neutral By Baird
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Cut to Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) Cut to Underperform at Wells Fargo.
Goodyear Tire (NYSE: GT) Cut to Underperform at BofA/Merrill.
Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
PrivateBancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: PVTB) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates on top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: October 29, 2009 – 7:45 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Newspapers Cut To Black

newspaperNot too many years ago, one senior newspaper executive said that there was nothing wrong with cutting costs but that, eventually, a company could cut so much that it would disappear up its own arse. The Audit Bureau of Circulations yesterday reported that the average American newspaper lost 10% of its circulation in the six months ending September 30, based on the 379 papers that filed data with the firm. All of the country’s largest newspapers do so. Some of the most well-known newspapers in the industry reduced their circulations much more than 10%. USA Today, the Gannett (NYSE:GCI) flagship, had a drop of over 17% to 1,900,116. The Boston Globe, which is owned by The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT), had a fall of more than 18% to 264,105. Read More »

Posted on: October 27, 2009 – 5:41 am in Internet, Old Media, ,

New York Times (NYT) Loses Over 7% Of Circulation, Washington Post (WPO) Down 6%

Daily circulation at the nation’s newspapers dropped 10% for the six months ending September 30 according to industry measurement service Audit Bureau of Circulations.

newspaperIt is not clear whether newspapers are helping themselves by shrinking both the size of the pages they are printed on and the number of daily subscribers that they have. The industry’s theory is that if it charges more for newsstand copies and home delivery that marginal readers will fall away and profit-per-reader will rise.

The only problem with a shrinking reader base is that advertising rates have to come down as well. Fewer readers, and advertisers want a better deal. Read More »

Posted on: October 26, 2009 – 10:37 am in Internet, Media, Old Media, , , ,

52-Week High Club

CF Industries Holdings Inc (NYSE: CF) rallied over 4% to a yearly high of $95.06 after Agrium Inc. announced that it had extened its offer to acquire CF Industries holding for $40 in cash and a share of Agrium per share of CF Industries Holdings.

Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI) hit a yearly high of $14.02 after the company’s earnings beat analyst estimates.

iPCS Inc. (NASDAQ: IPCS) rallied over 30% to a yearly high of $23.95 after Sprint Nextel announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire the company for roughly $831 million, with the shares valued at $24.

Garrett W. McIntyre

Posted on: October 19, 2009 – 4:17 pm in Agriculture, Media, Old Media, Telecom, , , , ,

Media Digest (10/15/2009) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is having trouble justifying its huge bonuses.

Reuters:   Bruce Wasserstein, M&A giant and head of Lazard (NYSE:LAZ), died.

Reuters:   Congress will probe compensation at AIG (NYSE:AIG).

Reuters:   US foreclosures fell for a second month but stayed high. Read More »

Posted on: October 15, 2009 – 4:04 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The New York Times (NYT) Will Keep The Boston Globe

houseThe newspaper industry must be looking up. Recently, Gannett (NYSE:GCI) said its last quarter was better than expected. Today, The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT) said it would keep The Boston Globe which has been for sale for several months.

The Times said earlier this year that The Globe would loss $85 million in 2009, but was able to get Globe unions to knuckle under and agree to large cuts in staff and compensation. A former publisher of the Globe, Stephen Taylor, and Platinum Equity both submitted bids which a New York Times reporter says were for about $35 million in cash and pension obligations. Read More »

Posted on: October 14, 2009 – 8:26 pm in Old Media, ,

Big Stock Moves Of The Day (9/29/2009)

Aocording to Volume Spike Investor, several stocks are making significant moves before the open.

Including in the list are Gannett (GCI) (details), BSD Medical (BSDM) (details), Walgreen (WAG) (details), Sequenom (SQMN) (details), and MBIA (MBI) (details).

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: September 29, 2009 – 8:28 am in Pre-Market Activity, , , , ,

Twitter Moves Into Top 50 US Websites

twitterIt may not be clear how Twitterwill ever make money, but its growth is not in doubt. The microblogging website is now among the 50 largest internet properties in the US according to new data from comScore covering August web traffic.

Twitter took the N0. 46 place with an extraordinary audience of 20.8 million unique visitors. That makes it roughly the same size as all the sites of Gannett (GCI), the country’s largest newspaper chain, combined. Read More »

Posted on: September 22, 2009 – 6:07 am in Internet, ,

Berkshire Hathaway & Buffett Q2-2009 Holdings G to O (BRK-A, GCI, GE, GSK, HD, IR, IRM, JNJ, KFT, LOW, MTB, MCO, NLC, NKE, NSC, NRG)

Buffett ImageBerkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A)(BRK-B) has released its Q2-2009  public equity holdings as of June 30, 2009.  There are some portfolio changes that have been seen here from the end of Q1 and we have broken these down into 3 groups of ‘A to F’ and  ‘G to O’ and ‘P to Z’ so these are easier to see on one page.  Here are Warren Buffett’s holdings and accompanying notes for the group ‘G to O.’

  • Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) 3.447 million shares, same as before.
  • General Electric Corp. (NYSE: GE) 7.777 million shares is the same as before, but does not include the preferred investment from late 2008.
  • GlaxoSmithkline (NYSE: GSK) 1.51 million shares, same as before.
  • Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) 2.757 million, actually less than the 3.7 million shares in Q1.
  • Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR) 7.78 million, same as last quarter.
  • Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) 3.3722 million shares, same as before.
  • Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was just over 36.91 million shares; ABOVE the 32.5 million last quarter and above the 28.6 million in Q4.  This is still well under the huge 62 million shares last year.
  • Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) over 138 million; looks roughly the same as before.
  • Lowe’s Companies (NYSE: LOW) 6.5 million shares, same as before unlike at Home Depot.
  • M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) 6.71 million shares, same as before.
  • Moody’s (NYSE: MCO) 48 million shares are listed as the same as before, however we already know that Buffett CUT THIS SINCE JUNE 30 and may cut it further.
  • Nalco Holding (NYSE: NLC) 9.0 million shares, same as Q1 after the Q1 position had been raised.
  • Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) 7.641 million shares, same as before.
  • Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) 1.933 million shares, same as before.
  • NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) 7.2 million, same as before.

BUFFETT HOLDINGS ‘A to F’

BUFFETT HOLDINGS ‘P to Z’

JON C. OGG
AUGUST 14, 2009

Posted on: August 14, 2009 – 5:02 pm in Buffett, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Which Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Stocks Bounced The Most? (BRK-A, BAC, WFC, KMX, GE, GCI, IR, USG)

Buffett ImageWe recently gave a list of companies which we thought Warren Buffett might want to consider selling or lightening up on after Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) disclosed that it had finally decided to lighten up on its giant stake in Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO).  But an interesting question was brought up as a result of this.  Whether Buffett decides to unload stocks or not…. Which Buffett holdings have actually managed to bounce the most from their lows?  With today being month-end, we wanted to run some numbers here.  We already noted yesterday that if and when we see a 1,000 close on the S&P 500 Index it marks a 50% gain from the market lows in March.  There has been a huge bounce in his banking stocks, with Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) bouncing some 466% from the lows and a 214% bounce in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC).
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Posted on: July 31, 2009 – 3:19 pm in Buffett, Conglomerates, , , , , , , ,

More Stocks For Buffett To Unload (BRK-A, MCO, COP, CEG, GCI, WPO, MTB, WBC)

Buffett ImageHow frequently has Warren Buffett  been bashed by the media over Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s  (NYSE: BRK-A) lackluster performance ?  What was interesting to see is his stake being lowered in Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO).  The only thing that was surprising to us was that it took the Oracle of Omaha this long to begin selling these shares.  Because Buffett is such a large stakeholder, we do expect that he’ll always hold some shares.  Conversely, we think he’ll continue to lighten up his stake in Moody’s.  Along those lines, we reviewed Buffett’s holdings and found several more stocks that he might want to consider selling some or all of his stake.

Some of these positions could include ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Constellation Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE: CEG), Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI), Washington Post Co. (NYSE: WPO), M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) and WABCO Holdings (NYSE: WBC).  There are others, such as his stakes in drug and health care sectors that could have been mentioned, but those big directional bets may have to wait until after health care reform is enacted.   As you will see, we listed the reasons that Buffett should or could cut the stakes.
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Posted on: July 27, 2009 – 11:48 am in Activist Investor, Buffett, Insider Activity, Value Investing, , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 7/27/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NY Times, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   Airline on-board entertainment systems face competition from handheld devices like the Apple (AAPL) iPod.

Reuters:   Bernanke will be on PBS to take his message about Fed plans to a broader audience.

Reuters:   Some Democrats oppose the current healthcare plan. Read More »

Posted on: July 27, 2009 – 3:02 am in Press Digest, , , , , ,

The Best Short-Selling Opportunities Of The Year (C)(GE)(F)(SBUX)(SIRI)

angrybearThere is still some conversation about the federal government restricting short-selling activity in certain stocks. The counterargument to these restrictions is that short selling plays an important role in the valuation of securities by efficiently allowing investors to bet that a stock will fall as readily as they can bet that it will rise. Short sellers have the reputation, whether deserved or not, for trying to manipulate information about public companies with the hope of driving their prices down. That may be true.

24/7 Wall St. has come up with a list of the best short-selling opportunities between now and the end of the year. The list was chosen based on: 1) trading volume, 2) the total short position in the stock over the first half of the year, 3) a history of the short position in these stocks rising or falling rapidly, and 4) stocks in companies that tend to move on news throughout the year and not just on earnings information. Read More »

Posted on: July 5, 2009 – 5:54 pm in Airlines, Analyst Calls, Autos, Banking, Biotech, Casinos, Conglomerates, Consumer Electronics, Dividend, Drug companies, Editor's Picks, FDA, Green Biz, Hardware, Healthcare, Infrastructure, Internet, Large Cap Stocks, Medical, PC Companies, Pharmaceuticals, Private Equity, Retail, Short Interest, Software, Technology, Turnarounds, Wireless, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 7/1/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   California raced to approve a state budget its cutting deficit.

Reuters:   Ten more people may face charges in Madoff case.

Reuters:   Gannett (GCI) is laying off 1,000 more people.

Reuters:   China will delay a web filter for PCs sold in the country.

Reuters:   B of A’s (BAC) asset management unit got low bids.

Reuters:   Monster’s June job index fell.

Read More »

Posted on: July 1, 2009 – 2:54 am in Autos, Banking, Biotech, China, Commodities, Compensation, Conglomerates, Drug companies, Entertainment, FDA, Internet, Management Change, Metals, Pharmaceuticals, Press Digest, Turnarounds, , ,

Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Disclose Holdings G to O (BRK-A, GCI, GE, GSK, HD, IR, IRM, JNJ, KFT, LOW, MTB, MCO, NLC, NKE, NSC, NRG)

Buffett ImageThe first quarter of 2009 Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A)(BRK-B) holdings are now out for the cut off date here of March 31, 2009.  There are some changes from the end of Q4.  We have broken these down into 3 groups A to F, G to O, and P to Z so these fit on one page easier.  Here is the list ‘G to O.’

  • Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) 3.447 million shares, the same as before.
  • General Electric Corp. (NYSE: GE) 7.777 million shares is the same as before, but does not include the 10% preferred from last year.
  • GlaxoSmithkline (NYSE: GSK) 1.51 million shares, same as before.
  • Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) 3.7 million shares; same as before.
  • Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR) 7.78 million, same as last quarter.
  • Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) 3.3722 million shares, same as before.
  • Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) about 32.5 million, ABOVE the prior 28.6 million shares but still down from the 62 million last year.
  • Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) over 138 million; looks roughly the same as before.
  • Lowe’s Companies (NYSE: LOW) 6.5 million shares, same as before.
  • M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) 6.71 million shares, same as before.
  • Moody’s (NYSE: MCO) 48 million shares, same as before.
  • Nalco Holding (NYSE: NLC) 9.0 million shares; ABOVE our report of 8.730 million last quarter.
  • Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) 7.641 million shares, same as before.
  • Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) 1.933 million shares, same as before.
  • NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) 7.2 million, same as before.

Here is the full list of Buffett holdings “A to F”

Here is the full list of Buffett holdings “P to Z”

Jon C. Ogg
May 15, 2009

Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 4:04 pm in Activist Investor, Buffett, Buffett Holdings, Conglomerates, Insider Activity, Mutual Funds, Value Investing, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Eleven Of Twenty-Five Largest US Newpapers Lost More Than 10% Of Circulation

newspaper25At one point, three or four years ago, for a major metropolitan newspaper to lose 4% or 5% of it daily circulation would have been considered bad news. For the six month period ending in March, ten of the top twenty-five largest dailies in the US lost over 10% of theirs, according to circulation audit firm The Audit Bureau of Circulations.

The circulation of The New York Post, owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp (NWS) was down more than 20% to 558,140. It is the 7th largest newspaper in America. Read More »

Posted on: April 27, 2009 – 12:36 pm in Old Media, , , , ,

The Top Ten Stocks For Short Sellers (MSFT)(INTC)(SIRI)(F)(AIG)(C)

sad_clown

Short selling is among the most controversial investment practices and has been blamed for sharp sell-offs in the stocks of a number of large companies, especially financial firms. Governments in both the US and other developed countries are considering banning or seriously restricting the practice of short selling. When financial stocks were dropping rapidly late last year, taking short positions in some banks and brokerage stocks was actually forbidden.

There are a limited number of stocks which consistently have short interests above 50 million shares. They are the shares in companies that short sellers move in and out of the most often.

The reasons that theses stocks are so heavily shorted is a combination of their trading volume, their numbers of shares outstanding, and their susceptibility to big price swings caused by news and rumors.

The ten favorite stocks for short sellers are a combination of financial, tech, conglomerate, auto, and big pharma companies–a sign that when Wall St. bets against companies it has no favorite sectors.

The top ten stocks for short sellers: Read More »

Posted on: April 26, 2009 – 1:12 pm in Conglomerates, Financial Stocks, Hardware, Old Media, Pharmaceuticals, Short Interest, Software, Technology, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 4/17/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaper16According to Reuters, banks may be hard hit by the bankruptcy of General Growth (GGP) and future commercial real estate defaults.

Reuters reports that VW may overtake Toyota (TM) as the No.1 car company in the world in Q1.

Reuters writes that Google (GOOG) profits beat expectations.

Reuters reports that Fed official see signs of improvement in the economy.

Reuters reports that US businesses are worried that the China stimulus package favors local companies. Read More »

Posted on: April 17, 2009 – 2:57 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,