24/7 Wall St. » GG

Why Value Investors Must at Least Start to Look at Mining and Metals Stocks

Paul Ausick — Wed, 29 May 2013 14:25:11 +0000

There are a variety of ways to invest in precious metals. Buying gold or silver bars and coins is one. Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are another. A third way is by investing in mining stocks. The past year has not been kind to either the price of gold nor to the miners. The steep losses in the mining sector stocks have become so sharp that value investors have to at least take a look at this down-and-out mining sector.

24/7 Wall St. has taken a look at the actual metals and other methods of investing in or around this theme. It leaves room for gold and silver miners, exchange traded funds and products, and even directly holding the metals.

Commodities

Direct investment in commodities metals is not for the faint of heart. Gold, for example, has dropped more than $200 an ounce since the beginning of the year, a loss of about 13%. Silver has fared even worse, dropping around $8 an ounce, for a loss of around 26%. Platinum is down about 10% and palladium, bucking the trend, is up around 6%.

Gold bar and coin demand rose 10% in the first quarter of the year, while ETFs experienced a drop of more than 7% in the quarter. Some analysts attribute that switch to a loss of faith by investors in paper money and in the banks and financial institutions that back all that paper. Gold demand from central banks also fell by 5% in the quarter

Lower gold (and silver) prices in the first quarter also drove demand from jewelry buyers, which rose by 12%. Because this demand was driven by price, when the price begins to rise again, we can expect this demand to fall.

Exchange Traded Funds

The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEMKT: GLD) and the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEMKT: SLV) are perhaps the best-known of the precious metal funds. In the past 12 months, shares of the former have dropped more than 11% and shares of the latter have lost nearly 7%. Neither of these can ever really be considered a value play, but that is not why people invest in precious metals ETFs in the first place.

Mining ETFs include Market Vectors Gold Minters ETF (NYSEMKT: GDX), Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSEMKT: GDXJ) and Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSEMKT: SIL). Over the past 12 months, shares are down from about 26% at SIL to more than 42% at the junior miners ETF. Whether now is the time to “buy the dip” in these funds is left as an exercise for the reader. To help with that exercise, we have looked at a number of precious and base metals mining stocks with an eye toward spotting a hidden value or two.

Precious Metals Mining Companies

The issues facing the world’s mining companies are well known: rising costs, labor troubles and diminishing ore quality get most of the blame for the mining industry’s poor showing in 2012. Add to that a several-years effort by mining executives to add to reserves by paying top prices for new resources. That buying spree cost several top CEOs their jobs. Now the mining industry has turned almost 180 degrees and is focusing on creating value for shareholders with a tighter grip on capital spending and better returns on investment. Call it the financialization of mining.

Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) recently traded at $19.16 after news of Chilean mining woes took some steam out of this miner. In early February, shares closed at around $32.75, marking a drop of about 41%. Barrick now has a market value of about $19.2 billion. The consensus target price from Thomson Reuters is $32.30, and the 52-week range is $17.51 to $43.30. Barrick has a dividend yield of 4.3%, up from 2.4% in February. The upside implied by the consensus target is nearly 69%.

Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) recently traded at $26.83, versus $36.20 back in February, meaning the shares have fallen more than 25%. Goldcorp has a current market value of about $21.8 billion. The consensus target price is $39.30, and the 52-week range is $25.54 to $47.42. Goldcorp has a dividend yield of 2.3%, compared with 1.7% in February. The upside implied by the consensus target is about 46%.

Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE: KGC) recently traded at $5.80, versus $8.30 in February, for a drop of about 30%. Kinross has a current market value of about $6.6 billion. The consensus target price is $8.50, and the 52-week range is $4.97 to $11.20. Kinross has boosted its dividend yield to 3% from 1.9%. The upside implied by the consensus price target is about 47%.

Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) recently traded at $32, versus $45 in February, making the loss almost one-third. Newmont has a market value of about $15.9 billion. The consensus target price is $42.45, and the 52-week range is $30.30 to $57.93. Newmont has a dividend yield of 4.6%, although the company did tie its dividend payouts to the price of gold in the past. The upside implied by the consensus target is about 33%.

Filed under: Commodities & Metals Tagged: ABX, AUY, BHP, CDE, DBP, FCX, GDX, GDXJ, GG, GLD, GLTR, KGC, NEM, PAAS, PALL, RIO, SIL, SLV, SLW, SWC, VALE

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — Thursday: Markets Open Higher, S&P Posts Another All-time High

Paul Ausick — Thu, 02 May 2013 20:09:28 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning, buoyed by a smaller-than-expected total of new claims for unemployment benefits in the U.S. (more coverage here). The U.S. trade deficit also fell while unit labor costs rose by less than analysts expected and productivity rose by less than expected. In Europe, the European Central Bank cut its key interest rate by 0.25% to 0.50% (more coverage here) and eurozone PMI rose slightly (more coverage here). In Asia, China’s final manufacturing PMI reading declined where a small increase was expected. Shares traded higher all day, with the S&P 500 index posting a new all-time high earlier in the day and closing within a few ticks of 1,600.

The U.S. dollar index is trading up 0.91% today, now at 82.226. The GSCI commodity index is down 2.1% at 611.06. WTI crude oil closed up 3.2%, at $93.99 a barrel. Brent crude trades up 2.9% at $102.83 a barrel. Natural gas is down 6.4% today at about $4.05 per million BTUs on a larger-than-expected build in U.S. inventories (more coverage here). Gold settled up 1.5% today at $1,467.60 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 131 points to 14,831.58 (0.89%), the NASDAQ rose about 41 points (1.26%) to 3,340.62, and the S&P 500 rose 0.94% or nearly 15 points to 1,597.59.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP) raised to ‘market perform’ at Northland Securities; Invesco Ltd. (NYSE: IVZ) raised to ‘buy’ at Sterne Agee; Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) raised to ‘equal weight’ at Morgan Stanley; Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd. (NYSE: GNK) cut to ‘underperform’ at Credit Suisse; and SolarCity Corp. (NASDAQ: SCTY) cut to ‘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: Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) is down fractionally at $33.58; Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CAR) is up 1.4% at $28.85; CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) is up 2.6% at $47.62 after posting a new 52-week high of $48.30 earlier today; Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) is up 5.6% at $28.97 (more coverage here); JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU) is up 4% at $13.02; Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) is up 1.5% at $57.09 after posting a new 52-week high of $57.88 earlier today (more coverage here); Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) is up 7.5% at $39.71 after posting a new 52-week high of $39.92 earlier today; Tesoro Corp. (NYSE: TSO) is up 5.8% at $53.83; Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is up 5.7% at $175.44 after posting a new 52-week high of $179.66 earlier today; Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR) is down 4.2% at $7.16 (more coverage here); Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI) is up 4.2% at $68.10 after posting a new 52-week high of $68.87 earlier today; Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) is down 0.6% at $28.67(more coverage here); and Monster Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: MWW) is up 8.3% at $4.64.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings reports from American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG), Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD), Kraft Foods Group Inc. (NASDAQ: KRFT), LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD), SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR), Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NYSE: ADT), and Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is up 6.7% at $14.73 after posting a new 52-week high of $14.90 earlier today. The hotel and casino operator posted a surprise profit on the strength of its Macau business.

Halcon Resources Corp. (NYSE: HK) is down 9% at $5.72. The independent energy company reported poor earnings this morning.

ING U.S. Inc. (NYSE: VOYA) is up 5.7% at $20.62. The U.S. insurance arm of Dutch giant ING held its IPO today. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Friday. Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo and Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker are giving speeches. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Non-farm payrolls and employment situation
10:00 a.m. – Factory orders
10:00 a.m. – ISM non-manufacturing index

Filed under: Investing Tagged: ACI, ADM, ADP,, AIG, ANR, CAR, CBS, CI, DUK, FB, GG, GILD, GNK, HK, IVZ, JDSU, KRFT, LNKD, LVS, MGM, MWW, SCTY, SPWR, STX, TSO, V, VOYA, Yelp

Goldcorp Earnings Fall Short; Company Reaffirms Annual Guidance

Paul Ausick — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:00:40 +0000

Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) reported first-quarter 2013 earnings before markets opened this morning. The gold miner posted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.31 on revenues of $1.02 billion. In the same period a year ago, the company reported EPS of $0.50 on revenues of $1.21 billion. First-quarter results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $0.39 and $1.32 billion in revenues.

On GAAP basis, the company posted EPS of $0.38. Adjusted EPS excludes the positive impact of currency exchange rates and mark-to-market gains on the conversion of convertible senior notes. However, adjusted EPS does include a negative impact of $0.02 per share for noncash stock-based compensation.

The company’s CEO, said:

I believe the long term fundamentals supporting a strong gold price remain firmly in place, but in light of recent volatility in gold and other metals prices we have completed a review of capital spending, exploration and general and administrative costs. A contingency plan is now in place that would defer spending should market conditions warrant …

Goldcorp reaffirmed its guidance for the full year, calling for production in a range of 2.55 million to 2.8 million ounces of gold at a total cash costs of $1,000 to $1,100 per ounce on an all-in sustaining cost basis.

Shares of Goldcorp are down about 1% in pr-market trading this morning, at $28.58 in a 52-week range of $27.11 to $47.42. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $442.05 before today’s report.

Filed under: Commodities & Metals Tagged: GG

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — Wednesday: Markets Cannot Shake-off Low Open and Sink to Close

Paul Ausick — Wed, 01 May 2013 20:08:40 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened lower this morning following a weaker-than-expected employment report from ADP and concern that Friday’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics will follow the ADP lead (more coverage here). In other U.S. data out today, the April ISM manufacturing index ready came in lower than expected and the March report on construction spending was substantially weaker than forecast (more coverage here). In Asia, China’s PMI was lower than expected and raised worries that the Asian growth is slowing down (more coverage here). Markets in China and Hong Kong were closed today for the May Day holiday. The FOMC announcement in mid-afternoon offered a slightly different view on how the Fed’s asset buying may proceed (more coverage here).

The U.S. dollar index is trading down 0.28% today, now at 81.521. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.9% at 624.44. WTI crude oil closed down 2.6%, at $91.03 a barrel, following a massive increase in commercial inventories (more coverage here). Brent crude trades down 2.4% at $99.89 a barrel, as the spread between WTI and Brent now falls below $10 a barrel (more coverage here). Natural gas is down 0.4% today at about $4.32 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 1.8% today at $1,446.20 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 139 points to 14,700.95 (-0.94%), the NASDAQ about 30 points (-0.89%) to 3,299.13, and the S&P 500 fell -0.93% or nearly 15 points to 1,582.70.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) removed from “Conviction Buy” list and cut to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs; Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) raised to ‘buy’ at Nomura; Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) raised to ‘buy’ at Nomura; Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) added to “Conviction Buy” list at Goldman Sachs; and Oil States International Inc. (NYSE: OIS) cut to ‘underperform’ at BMO Capital Markets and cut to ‘market perform’ at Raymond James.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Affymetrix Inc. (NASDAQ: AFFX) is down 8% at $3.35; Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE) is up 14.7% at $15.46; Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) is down 3.2% at $5.54; Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SPB) is down 4.6% at $53.44; Trulia Inc. (NYSE: TRLA) is up 13.1% at $32.86; Vanguard Health Systems Inc. (NYSE: VHS) is down 8.3% at $13.41; ADT Corp. (NYSE: ADT) is down 6.9% at $40.65; Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) is down 2.1% at $19.14 (more coverage here); Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is up 1.2% at $41.81 (more coverage here); Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is up 4.4% at $77.38; James River Coal Co. (NASDAQ: JRCC) is up 32.8% at $2.19; Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) is down 2.3% at $540.47; Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) is down 2.1% at $59.68 (more coverage here); and Viacom Corp. (NASDAQ: VIAB) is up 3.2% at $66.01 after posting a new 52-week high of $69.00 earlier today.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings reports from Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM), Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CAR), CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS), Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU), Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS), Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX), Tesoro Corp. (NYSE: TSO), Visa Inc. (NYSE: V), Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR), Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI), Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG), and Monster Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: MWW).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) is up 13.1% at $3.19. The chipmaker had no big news today, although it did introduce two new microprocessors and made some pricing changes that indicate that the company’s pricing may have stabilized.

Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) is up 3.4% at $3.36 after posting a new 52-week (and 5-year) high of $3.39 earlier today. The satellite radio company posted a second consecutive high today, continuing to feast off yesterday’s earnings report.

Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) is down 2.8% at $45.67. The drug maker slid on its lackluster earnings results and took a slice out of its sales and earnings targets for the rest of the year.

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

7:30 a.m. – Challenger job-cut report
8:30 a.m. – International trade
8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
8:30 a.m. – Productivity and costs
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

Filed under: Investing Tagged: ADM, ADT, AFFX, AMD, AMGN, ANR, BIIB, BRK-A, CAR, CBS, CHK, CI, CMCSA, FB, FCX, GG, HUM, IOS, JDSU, JRCC, LEAP, LVS, MA, MRK, MWW, PSX, RATE, SIRI, SPB, STX, TRLA, TSO, V, VHS, VIA-B

Major Gold Miners Strike New 52-Week Lows (GDX, NEM, AU, ABX, GG)

Jon C. Ogg — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:35:38 +0000

This will not sound nice, but it isn’t meant to: It really sucks to be a gold miner right now.

Gold prices have lost the wind at their back, gold production prices are higher and demand for the shiny yellow metal is not being juiced up by industries and consumers. Labor issues in many parts of the developing world have also turned what had been a risk into an actual higher cost event. We recently gave an update with a muted outlook after taking World Gold Council data into consideration.

To show just how bad thing shave been: the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEMKT: GDX) hit a new 52-week low of $36.47 on Monday against a prior 52-week range of $37.02 to $55.25. But wait, it gets worse. The ETF tracks the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index. This index appears to be at a three-year low.

Here is what we are seeing in other gold majors:

Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) is down 1.6% at $38.95, under the prior low of the past year as the 52-week range is $39.56 to $59.03, and it is now under $20 billion in market cap. This is the lowest price back to August of 2009, if you do not pay attention to dividends.

AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (NYSE: AU) is at $23.77, versus a prior 52-week range of $23.88 to $41.20. This is the lowest going back to February of 2009.

Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) is at a new 52-week low of $28.89, versus a prior 52-week range of $29.33 to $47.24. This $29 billion value compares to a low back in December of 2008 if you do not count dividend payments.

Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) is still worth $26 billion, and at $32.05 after a 1.5% drop, it still has 2% to go before hitting a new 52-week low.

What is interesting is that gold itself is at $1,574 per ounce. That is still more than $30 above the 52-week low from May of 2012. The World Gold Council noted that gold was up about 8% in dollar terms in 2012, and that was the 12th consecutive annual gain.

Filed under: Commodities & Metals Tagged: ABX, AU, GDX, GG, NEM

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — February 15, 2013: Markets Continue to Limp Along (CSCO, GOLD, RIG, KGC, JCP, CBS, GG, AEP, BKW, CPB, SJM, TOWR, CRMT, ESRX, NI, WIN, XOOM, TRLA, END)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 21:05:56 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened slightly higher this morning on better economic news out of Europe and basically good data in the U.S. In Europe, the eurozone trade balance came in better than expected, but U.K. retail sales declined by 0.6% compared an expected rise of 0.4%. Spain’s CPI dropped 1.3% in January, just a bit less than an expected drop of 1.4%. In Asia, the Shanghai exchange remained closed and Japan’s Nikkei got bogged down as the G20 central bankers meet to talk about currency manipulation. In the U.S. the Empire State manufacturing index jumped to a reading of +10, its first positive reading since last July (more coverage here). The consumer sentiment index also came in better than expected.

U.S. markets are closed Monday in observance of the Presidents’ Day holiday.

The U.S. dollar index rose 0.03% today, now at 80.482. The GSCI commodity index is up fractionally at 679.20, with commodities prices mixed again today. WTI crude oil closed down 1.5% today, at $95.86, up about 0.2% for the week. Brent crude trades down 0.4% at $117.50 a barrel. Natural gas is down 0.3% today at about $3.16 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 1.6% today at $1,609.50 an ounce, finishing the week down 3.4%.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 6 points to 13,979.61 (0.04%), the NASDAQ fell more than 6 points (-0.21%) to 3,192.03, and the S&P 500 fell -0.10% or less than 2 points to 1,519.79.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) reiterated as ‘buy’ and price target raised to $26 at Argus; Randgold Resources Ltd. (NASDAQ: GOLD) cut to ‘sell’ at Citigroup; Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) cut to ‘sell’ at Deutsche Bank; Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE: KGC) raised to ‘outperform’ with a price target of $11.50 at Credit Suisse; and J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) maintained as ‘underperform’ with a price target of $15 at Credit Suisse.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in several price moves today, including these: CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) is up 3.3% at $44.34 after posting a new 52-week high of $45.87 earlier today; Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) is down 2.5% at $33.80; American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NYSE: AEP) is up 0.4% at $44.96; Burger King Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: BKW) is up 4.1% at $17.26 (more coverage here); Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) is up 1.5% at $39.31; J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) is up 0.2% at $92.37 after posting a new 52-week high of $94.99 earlier today; and Tower International Inc. (NYSE: TOWR) is up 13.6% at $11.17.

After markets close today and before they open Tuesday morning we are scheduled to hear from America’s Car-Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT), Express Scripts Holding Co. (NASDAQ: ESRX), NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI), and Windstream Corp. (NASDAQ: WIN).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Xoom Corp. (NASDAQ: XOOM) is up 43.2% at $22.91. The international money transfer firm held its IPO today. More coverage here.

Trulia Inc. (NYSE: TRLA) is up 17.6% at $35.88 after posting a new 52-week high of $38.22 earlier today. The Internet real estate site reported solid earnings earlier this week and is getting a big bounce again today, likely based on Zillow Inc.’s (NASDAQ: Z) strong results last night.

Endeavour International Corp. (NYSE: END) is down 13.2% at $3.08 after posting a new 52-week low of $3.06 earlier today. The oil & gas company said yesterday it would explore “strategic alternatives.” More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. U.S. markets are closed on Monday. We have noted the following events on Tuesday’s schedule (all times Eastern):

10:00 a.m. – Housing market index
11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month Treasury bill auctions

Have a great weekend!

Filed under: Investing Tagged: AEP, BKW, CBS, CPB, CRMT, CSCO, END, ESRX, GG, gold, JCP, KGC, NI, RIG, SJM, TOWR, TRLA, WIN, XOOM

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — February 14, 2013: Markets Punt Again Today (CL, NVDA, LMT, DELL, VZ, AMAT, CAR, CTL, CSCO, CLD, IPI, KGC, MET, NTAP, PXD, TRIP, Z, ANR, ABX, DTV, GM, PEP, CBS, GG, AEP, BKW, CPB, SJM, TOWR, HNZ, ANGI)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 20:59:26 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened lower this morning, dragged down by weak economic data from Europe. Germany, France, Italy, and Greece all reported worse-than-expected GDP contraction for the fourth quarter of 2012, and the eurozone as whole experienced GDP contraction of 0.6% (more coverage here). In Asia, Japan reported a second consecutive quarter of GDP contraction, officially placing the country in recession (more coverage here). In the U.S., new jobless claims fell more than expected, but the data is suspect because two large states — Illinois and Connecticut — provided only estimates (more coverage here). Revisions will almost certainly affect next week’s report. The good news is that continuing claims fell by 130,000. Indexes drifted around the break-even line most of the day before finishing mixed.

The U.S. dollar index rose 0.47% today, now at 80.462. The GSCI commodity index is up fractionally at 679.20, with commodities prices mixed again today. WTI crude oil closed up 0.3% today, at $97.31. Brent crude trades up 0.1% at $117.94 a barrel. Natural gas is down 4.1% today at about $3.17 per million BTUs following a smaller-than-expected draw on inventories (more coverage here). Gold settled down 0.6% today at $1,635.50 an ounce, its lowest settlement since August 20th.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 9 points to13,974.31 (-0.06%), the NASDAQ rose about 2 points (0.06%) to 3,198.67, and the S&P 500 rose 0.07% or about 1 point to 1,521.41.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) started as ‘sell’ at Canaccord Genuity; Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) cut to ‘hold’ at Needham; Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) cut to ‘neutral’ at Cowen; Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) cut to ‘market perform’ at Raymond James; and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) raised to ‘outperform’ at Raymond James.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in several price moves today, including these: Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) is up 1.1% at $13.93 after posting a new 52-week high of $13.99 earlier today (more coverage here); Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CAR) is up 5.8% at $24.39 after posting a new 52-week high of $24.90 earlier today; Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is down 0.9% at $20.96 (more coverage here); Cloud Peak Energy Inc. (NYSE: CLD) is down 1.4% at $16.72; Intrepid Potash Inc. (NYSE: IPI) is down 6% at $22.10; Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE: KGC) is up 6.2% at $8.38; Metlife Inc. (NYSE: MET) is down 1.8% at $36.84 (more coverage here); NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) is down 0.3% at $35.72; Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD) is up 2.8% at $130.26 after posting a new 52-week high of $133.68 earlier today; TripAdvisor Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) is down 7.3% at $43.50; Zillow Inc. (NASDAQ: Z) is up 9.3% at $42.59 after posting a new 52-week high of $47.85 earlier today; Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR) is up 13.8% at $9.66 (more coal coverage here); Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) is up 3% at $32.54 (more coverage here); DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is down 3.2% at $50.00; General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is 3.4% at $27.71 (more coverage here); and PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is up 1.2% at $72.34 (more coverage here).

After markets close today and before they open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS), Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG), American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NYSE: AEP), Burger King Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: BKW), Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB), J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM), and Tower International Inc. (NYSE: TOWR).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

H.J. Heinz Co.(NYSE: HNZ) is up 19.7% at $72.39 after posting a new 52-week high of $72.61 earlier today. The food products maker is being acquired by Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) and a private equity firm for $28 billion. More coverage here.

CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL) is down 22.6% at $32.26 after posting a new 52-week low of $32.05 earlier today. The communications company cut its dividend after a poor quarter. More coverage here.

Angie’s List Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI) is up 24.6% at $16.97. The Internet firm soared on results and guidance. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Friday. Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Empire State manufacturing survey
9:00 a.m. – Treasury International Capital (TIC) data
9:15 a.m. – Industrial production
9:55 a.m. – University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters consumer sentiment index
10:00 a.m. – E-commerce retail sales

Filed under: Investing Tagged: ABX, AEP, AMAT, ANGI, ANR, BKW, CAR, CBS, CL, CLD, CPB, CSCO, CTL, DELL, DTV, GG, GM, HNZ, IPI, KGC, LMT, MET, NTAP, NVDA, PEP, PXD, SJM, TOWR, TRIP, VZ, Z

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (CMO, CHK, CBB, DD, FB, GG, GFI, KIM, LVS, MANU, QCOM, RGLD, TSN, URI)

Jon C. Ogg — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 13:40:08 +0000

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

Capstead Mortgage Corp. (NYSE: CMO) cut to Market Perform at JMP Securities.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) started as Equal Weight at Barclays.

Cincinnati Bell Inc. (NYSE: CBB) started as Underperform at BofA/Merrill Lynch and started as Hold at Deutsche Bank.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD) started as Equal Weight at Barclays.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.

Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) named Bear of the Day based on weak gold prices lowering earnings estimates by Zacks Investment Research.

Gold Fields Ltd. (NYSE: GFI) raised to Neutral at Citigroup.

Kimco Realty Corp. (NYSE: KIM) reiterated Buy and raising target by $2 to $25 at Argus.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) raised to Buy with target of $66 at Argus.

Manchester United PLC (NYSE: MANU) started as Outperform at Raymond James.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) cut to Neutral at J.P. Morgan.

Royal Gold Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) raised to Buy at UBS.

Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) named Bull of the Day and said to take a closer look at this top-ranked poultry producer that has a strong earnings, by Zacks Investment Research.

United Rentals Inc. (NYSE: URI) started as Buy at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

Filed under: Investing Tagged: CBB, CHK, CMO, DD, FB, GFI, GG, KIM, LVS, MANU, QCOM, RGLD, TSN, URI

Metals Stocks: Questionable Value for Rest of 2013 (GLD, SLV, GDX, GDXJ, SIL, ABX, GG, KGC, NEM, AUY, FCX, SLW, CDE, SWC)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 14:05:19 +0000

There are a variety of ways to invest in precious metals. Buying gold or silver bars and coins is one, exchange traded products (ETFs) are another, and a third is investing in mining stocks. Last year was not kind either to the precious metals ETFs nor to the miners. This year could be just a repeat.

Exchange Traded Funds

The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEMKT: GLD) and the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEMKT: SLV) are perhaps the best-known of the precious metal funds. In the past 12 months, GLD shares have dropped 3.5% and shares of SLV have lost 7%. Central bank gold purchases and purchases by ETFs are driving the gold price, whereas silver gets more attention for its role as poor’s man gold and its industrial uses. Neither of these can ever really be considered a value play, but that is not why people invest in precious metals in the first place.

Mining Companies

Rising costs, labor troubles and diminishing ore quality get the blame for the mining industry’s poor showing in 2012. None of these issues is anywhere near a solution. One miner is getting back into the energy business to try to boost its profits, but except for the very largest mining firms that is not a widespread option.

Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) closed at $32.73 last night and has a market value of about $32.75 billion. The consensus target price from Thomson Reuters is $49.10, and the 52-week range is $31.00 to $50.02. Barrick has a dividend yield of 2.4%. The implied upside to the consensus target is 50%.

Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) closed at $36.13 last night and has a market value of about $29.3 billion. The consensus target price is $49.20, and the 52-week range is $31.54 to $50.74. Goldcorp has a dividend yield of 1.7%. The implied upside to the consensus target is 36%.

Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE: KGC) closed at $8.27 last night and has a market value of about $9.43 billion. The consensus target price is $12.90, and the 52-week range is $7.11 to $11.68. Kinross has a dividend yield of 1.9%. The implied upside to the consensus target is 56%.

Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) closed at $45.25 last night and has a market value of about $22.46 billion. The consensus target price is $57.50, and the 52-week range is $42.55 to $64.43. Newmont has a dividend yield of 3.1%. The implied upside to the consensus target is 27%.

Yamana Gold Inc. (NYSE: AUY) closed at $16.76 last night and has a market value of about $12.6 billion. The consensus target price is $22.90, and the 52-week range is $12.68 to $20.59. Yamana has a dividend yield of 1.6%. The implied upside to the consensus target is 37%.

Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) closed at $35.69 last night and has a market value of about $33.87 billion. The consensus target price is $40.15, and the 52-week range is $30.54 to $45.55. Freeport has a dividend yield of 3.5%. The implied upside to the consensus target is 12%.

Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW) closed at $37.18 last night and has a market value of about $13.17 billion. The consensus target price is $46.80, and the 52-week range is $22.94 to $41.30. Silver Wheaton has a dividend yield of 0.8%. The implied upside to the consensus target is 26%.

Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. (NYSE: CDE) closed at $22.93 last night and has a market value of about $2.05 billion. The consensus target price is $30.60, and the 52-week range is $15.15 to $31.97. Coeur d’Alene does not pay a dividend. The implied upside to the consensus target is 33%.

Stillwater Mining Corp. (NYSE: SWC) closed at $14.41 last night and has a market value of about $1.68 billion. The consensus target price is $15.40, and the 52-week range is $7.47 to $15.24. Stillwater does not pay a dividend. The implied upside to the consensus target is 7%.

Implied gains on most of these stocks are too large to be anything but value traps. Freeport and, perhaps, Silver Wheaton are exceptions. Stillwater, the only platinum and palladium producer in the United States, is too small to have much impact on the expected global shortfall of platinum in the next couple of years, but the company obviously benefits if it can maintain and even grow its production.

Filed under: Commodities & Metals Tagged: ABX, AUY, CDE, FCX, GDX, GDXJ, GG, GLD, KGC, NEM, SIL, SLV, SLW, SWC

Miners Get Boost on Rising Gold Price

Paul Ausick — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 18:08:08 +0000

The Comex April gold price has risen more than $5 today and is currently trading at $1,676.00 an ounce. Last week’s poor showing for fourth quarter U.S. GDP growth has pushed the yellow metal higher as it gets back some of its luster as a safe haven asset. A stronger dollar weighed on gold prices somewhat, but today’s rise is reflected in the stocks of many of the gold mining companies.

Randgold Resources Ltd. (NASDAQ: GOLD) reported earnings this morning and the company’s performance was better than expected and it forecast was also positive. Shares are up about 3.8% in the early afternoon, and share of Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. (NYSE: CDE) are tagging along, up nearly 3%. Other shares getting traction today are Iamgold Corp. (NYSE: IAG), up 2.4%; Aurico Gold Inc. (NYSE: AUQ), up 1.8%, and Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM), up 1.5%. Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX), Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG), and Gold Fields Ltd. (NYSE: GFI) are all up around 1%.

One thing to keep an eye on is the action on gold trading from central banks. One analyst thinks central banks will take about 280 tons of gold in the first half of this year, about the same as the last half of last year. The Fed’s assertion last week that inflation is under control has helped hold gold prices down, too. But if the global economy is picking up some strength, the inflation hawks start to appear and gold begins to glow again. That could be what’s happening today.

For the miners to prosper though, they need to control costs and hope for rising gold prices. That combination has been elusive.

Filed under: Commodities & Metals Tagged: ABX, AUQ, CDE, GFI, GG, gold, IAG, NEM