The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 53 points to 11,493.88 (-0.46%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 2 points (-0.07%) to 2,521.28, and the S&P 500 fell about -0.41% or nearly 5 points to 1,188.05.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) started as ‘hold’ at ThinkEquity. Other ratings actions included Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) raised to ‘outperform’ at BMO and raised to buy at Citigroup; Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) re-initiated as ‘sell’ with a $60 price target at Canaccord Genuity; Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) cut to ‘market perform’ at BMO; Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) cut to ‘neutral’ at Janney Capital; and Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) maintained as ‘buy’ with $33 target price at Canaccord Genuity.

Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: LDK Solar Co. Inc. (NYSE: LDK) is up nearly 7.5%, at $3.04; Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) is down about -5.6%, at $31.74; Hormel Foods Corp. (NYSE: HRL) is a fraction at $28.82; Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP) is up more than 17%, at $2.62; and Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) is up more than 13%, at $5.08.

Be sure to check our story on the dismal showing of the Chinese solar stocks and then try to figure out why LDK and STP shares are up today. Investors have got to believe the stocks have hit bottom. Perhaps, but LDK is pretty shaky, regardless of investors’ hopes.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

Frontline Ltd. (NYSE: FRO) is down nearly -41%, at $3.07, after posting a new 52-week low of $2.97 earlier today. The company reported awful earnings and said that it would either need to restructure or go out of business.

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) is down nearly -15%, at $1.59, a penny more than a new 52-week low set earlier today. The company is dogged by liquidity and cash flow concerns.

Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) is down nearly -13.5%, at $20.40, after posting a new post-IPO low of $20.03 earlier today. Apparently investors have figured out that there are other companies competing hard in the same space and that there are few barriers to keep more competitors out.

Focus Media Holding Ltd. (NASDAQ: FMCN) is up more than 15%, at $17.80. The company was torched yesterday by allegations of mis-statements related its reporting. The CEO disputed yesterday’s allegations in a conference call today, and reiterated the company’s intention to continue buying back shares.

Royale Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: ROYL) is up nearly 12%, at $3.27. The company announced a new gas well flowing at 3 million cubic feet/day and said that it would begin selling the gas within 2 weeks.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Here’s a list of other noteworthy events scheduled for tomorrow(all times Eastern):

• 7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
• 8:30 a.m. – Durable goods orders
• 8:30 a.m. – Initial unemployment benefits claims
• 9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas status report (moved up from Thursday)
• 11:00 a.m – EIA weekly petroleum status report

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Paul Ausick

We have been searching for deep value stocks of late now that the market sell-off has taken out a large bite from the value of many major companies.  Some analysts group food differently than beverages, but our screen includes all of the following to identify the best value: Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB); The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO); ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG); Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (NYSE: DPS); General Mills, Inc. (NYSE: GIS); Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL); Kellogg Company (NYSE: K); Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT); Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE: PEP); Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN); and Smithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE: SFD).

We are looking at food and beverages separately today in identifying the best value for investors looking for safe havens in the storm.  This sector is already very defensive in nature, and we found that the defensive sector of consumer products actually has a market premium due to investors seeking safety.  The good news is that the food and beverage sector has a few differences.

Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) recently traded at $30.85 and its market cap is $10 billion.  The stock’s 52-week trading range is $29.69 to $36.99.  The current value is trading at a price-to-book ratio of about 9 to 1.  Its forward price earnings multiple is 12.2 and its return on equity is 78.8%.  The canned soup company currently pays a dividend yield of about 3.8% to investors.  Thomson Reuters has a consensus price target of $34.00, implying roughly 10.2% upside to the most recent price.  Campbell is under a new CEO and undergoing some change.  It is hard to imagine that this is a luxury good or a health food group stock, but the company has been under fire from private-label soups in the past and it is now going to add more salt and flavors to regain some market share.  Due to the correction, there is almost a turnaround element here.

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) recently traded at $69.37 and its market cap is $159 billion.  The stock’s 52-week trading range is $56.01 to $71.77.  The current value is trading at a price-to-book ratio of about 4.5 to 1.  Its forward price earnings multiple is 16.1 and its return on equity is 41.29%.  The beverage giant currently pays a dividend yield of 2.71% to investors.  Thomson Reuters has a consensus price target of $77.86, implying roughly 12.2% upside to the most recent price. What is so interesting about Coca-Cola is that it just the magic 52-week high list right after Labor Day.  Coke and water, you gotta drink!  This is a huge position for Warren Buffett, but chances are that it will be that way in a decade from now (or for his successor).

Ethanol makers Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) and Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRE) also got a boost, but Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX) dropped to a new 52-week low of $0.45/share. Pacific Ethanol faces higher costs for corn than either ADM which grows some of its own and Green Plains which benefits from being located in the Midwest, near the nation’s corn-growing region.

Some analysts are projecting a price for corn at above $8/bushel, busting through the all-time high of just over $7.99/bushel set in June. The impact on food prices is likely to vary as some food makers absorb the price increases and others pass the increases along to consumers.

Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT), J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM), General Mills, Inc. (NYSE: GIS), and Kellogg Co. (NYSE: K) are all trading higher than they were a year ago, but have pulled back from annual highs set earlier this summer. Meat processors Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN), Hormel Foods Corp. (NYSE: HRL), and Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NYSE: SFD) will likely switch at least part of their feed supply to cheaper wheat, helping keep prices down for chicken, beef, and pork.

Corn yields per acre are now expected to be 153 bushels/acre, down from a previous USDA estimate of 159 bushels/acre. But if hot temperatures continue, especially at night, yields could fall below 150 bushels/acre. That’s a 10% decline in the crop, and could push prices even higher.

For the ethanol makers, corn prices above $7.50/bushel make ethanol production unprofitable at the current price of around $2.60/gallon. Some wheat can be substituted for corn, but the price for ethanol will have to rise, to some extent cancelling any relief for consumers from lower oil prices.

Corn futures are trading slightly lower in Chicago this morning, after closing at $7.14/bushel yesterday. Soybeans and wheat also rose after the USDA’s report was released yesterday.

The Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (NYSE: MOO) closed at $49.17 yesterday, up more than 4% on the day, and within a 52-week range of $41.83-$57.93. The PowerShares DB Agriculture Fund (NYSE: DBA) rose about 2.5% yesterday, to close at $32.21, within its 52-week range of $25.63-$35.58.

Paul Ausick

99 Cents Only Stores (NYSE: NDN) reports earnings on Wednesday and Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.26 EPS and $372.76 million revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.27 EPS and $362.19 million revenues.  Shares are trading around $20.20, its consensus analyst price target is $20.28, and the 52-week trading range is $13.12 to $20.59.  As far as an offer for the company, FBR noted in a letter to its Special Committee: “we believe that the Special Committee could not justify accepting an offer below a $21.75 to $23.50 price range, and could potentially achieve a price significantly above this range if it conducts the appropriate sales process.”

American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) is set to have its 300 million share offering from Uncle Sam price Tuesday night for Wednesday trading.  Shares were down around 1.3% at $29.60 late on Tuesday.  We have offered an outlook that is not unfavorable after looking at past big offerings of this sort.  There are actually some good examples to use.

Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS) hosts its “Financial Analyst Track” on Wednesday at the Synergy 2011 conference, and it also hosts its Citrix Systems Annual Stockholder Meeting the following day.  With shares around $82.00, its 52-week range is $40.33 to $86.95.  The company already said it was extending its virtualization efforts by acquiring Kaviza, so we’d expect to hear more there.  With shares so close to 52-week highs and at highs not seen since 2000 to 2001, we’d be expecting “reiterated guidance” or “raised guidance” from the company as a warning would not be welcomed at all.
 
Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE: CSC) reports earnings on Wednesday and Thomson Reuters has estimates of $1.16 EPS and $4.23 billion revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.97 EPS and $4.02 billion revenues.  Shares are trading around $43.83 late on Tuesday, its consensus price target is $49.95 from analysts, and the 52-week trading range is $39.61 to $56.61.  CSC is one which has just remained a serial disappointment and shares are closer to 52-week lows even if this is trading well under 10-times expected earnings. 

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) reports earnings on Wednesday morning. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.77 EPS and $20.07 billion revenues; next quarter estimates are $1.10 EPS and $26.93 billion revenues.  Shares are trading around $81.50 and it just hit the new 52-week high last week.  Analysts have an average price target only $78.95 now and the 52-week trading range is $53.41 to $83.95.  With a premium valuation, our take is that Costco has to beat earnings and it can’t use the high gas prices or the change in gas prices that some of the large discounters and retailers have used as excuses before.

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) reports on Wednesday morning and Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.40 EPS and $1.82 billion revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.35 EPS and $1.81 billion revenues.  Shares are trading around $30.05 and the 52-week trading range is $19.46 to $30.35.  Analyst price targets have already been passed up as the consensus target is $27.45.  Premium value for a food company… It probably has to raise guidance or analysts will have to really raise targets for the selling to not come into play.

NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) reports on Wednesday afternoon. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.53 EPS and $1.39 billion revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.50 EPS and $1.36 billion revenues.  Shares are trading around $51.80, the consensus price target is $61.85, and the 52-week trading range is $31.07 to $61.02.  Be advised, the 50-day moving average is $50.04 and the 200-day moving average is $51.12.

Orbotech Ltd. (NASDAQ: ORBK) is expected to have a secondary offering of 6.7 million shares that will price on Tuesday evening for Wednesday trading.  Shares were up 2.6% at $13.03 latein the day on Tuesday after three straight days of losses.  The 52-week range is $9.15 to $15.62 and shares closed Monday at $12.70.  We would expect the offering to price somewhere close to $12.70.

Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) reports on Wednesday morning. Thomson Reuters has estimates of -$0.04 EPS and $319.6 million revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.04 EPS and $402.37 million revenues.  Shares are trading around $20.25, the average analyst target is $22.71, and the 52-week trading range is $15.57 to $22.42. With the housing data we have seen, we are holding no great expectations here. More homebuilder business model changes or enhancements may be the norm. 

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) hosts its investor day on Wednesday and we just automatically expect angry tones over the latest shenanigans took place over Alibaba.  Yahoo! shares were at $18.65 just over two-weeks ago, and now the stock is down to $16.18.  Yahoo! has its 200-day moving average right below at $16.03 and its 50-day moving average is above at $16.86.

Other companies with earnings news on Wednesday will be (with Thomson Reuters estimates) are American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) with estimates at $0.15 EPS, Guess Inc. (NYSE: GES) with estimates at $0.44 EPS, and Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) at $0.79 EPS expected.  Another event we are expecting is the Spirit Airlines IPO, but that IPO was covered only briefly by us prior to this week.  Active Network Inc. (NASDAQ: ACTV) is set to be public with an IPO of 11 million shares in a price range of $16.00 to $18.00 per share.

Stay tuned for Wednesday!

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

We have compiled detailed earnings reports, showing price activity, Thomson Reuters estimates, and added color if applicable on each.  We also included a Thomson Reuters consensus price target on each to show expected values.

Qihoo 360 Technology Company Limited (NYSE: QIHU) reports on Monday. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.04 EPS and $20.31 million revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.05 EPS and $24.12 million revenues.  Shares are trading around $29.50 and the 52-week trading range is $24.01 to $36.21.  This could influence how some of the post-IPO high-flying Chinese companies trade, but we’ll see.  The consensus price target is $35.00.

Tech Data Corporation (NASDAQ: TECD) reports on Monday. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $1.05 EPS and $6.4 billion revenues; next quarter estimates are $1.01 EPS and $6.23 billion revenues.  Shares are trading around $53.40 and the 52-week trading range is $34.82 to $54.25 and its average price target is $55.93.  Tech Data offers key insight into the number of unit items being shipped around the world and distributed in technology products and consumer electronics.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) reports on Tuesday after the close. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.37 EPS and $2.77 billion revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.39 EPS and $2.82 billion revenues.  Shares are trading around $14.10 with a consensus price target of $17.63 and the 52-week trading range is $10.27 to $16.93.  As the company is in a merger, we expect no nasty surprises from the top chip equipment maker.

Autozone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) reports on Tuesday. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $4.99 EPS and $1.92 billion revenues; next quarter estimates are $6.82 EPS and $2.58 billion revenues.  Shares are trading around $277.00, its consensus price target is $275.63 and the 52-week trading range is $177.66 to $288.50.

Medtronic Inc. (NYSE: MDT) reports on Tuesday. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.93 EPS and $4.29 billion revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.84 EPS and $4.00 billion revenues.  Shares are trading around $42.25. its consensus price target is $42.27, and the 52-week trading range is $30.80 to $43.33.

TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) reports on Tuesday and we expect the main focus to be around its patent and I.P. case that recently drove shares. Thomson Reuters has estimates of -$0.31 EPS and $41.98 million revenues; next quarter estimates are -$0.28 EPS and $47.71 million revenues.  Shares are trading around $9.50, it has a loose consensus price target is $14.82 (treat that as very loose), and the 52-week trading range is $6.92 to $12.65.

99 Cents Only Stores (NYSE: NDN) reports on Wednesday. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.26 EPS and $372.76 million revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.27 EPS and $362.19 million revenues.  Shares are trading around $20.20, its consensus analyst price target is $20.50, and the 52-week trading range is $13.12 to $20.59.

Computer Sciences Corp. (NYSE: CSC) reports on Wednesday. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $1.16 EPS and $4.23 billion revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.97 EPS and $4.02 billion revenues.  Shares are trading around $44.65, its consensus price target is $49.95 from analysts, and the 52-week trading range is $39.61 to $56.61.  CSC is one which has just remained a serial disappointment.

Rising corn prices, now above $7.66/bushel, is almost certain to drive cattle prices higher because ranchers are not increasing their herd sizes as they normally would with rising cattle prices because corn prices are rising faster. The PowerShares DB Agriculture ETF (NYSE: DBA) and the Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (NYSE: MOO) are both trading essentially flat so far today.

Other ag-related stocks are also showing little movement today. Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN), Smithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE: SFD), and Hormel Foods Corp. (NYSE: HRL) are trading essentially flat. Farm equipment makers Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE), CNH Global N.V. (NYSE: CNH), and AGCO Corp. (NYSE: AGCO) are all trading down about -1%. Fertilizer maker Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) reported earnings today, and missed revenue expectations. However, the company sold 2.4 million tons of its phosphate fertilizers at $543/ton, way above last year’s sales price of $336/ton. The company also guided phosphate sales between 2.5 and 2.9 million tons for its fourth fiscal quarter ending in May.

Cocoa prices continue their slide as United Nations and French troops supporting the elected president of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, are negotiating with forces of the outgoing president, Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to relinquish power. Cocoa futures have fallen from a high of $3,775/ton early this month to $2,982, and the drop is expected to continue as hundreds of thousands of tons of cocoa in Ivory Cost warehouses are released into the market.

Chocolate makers Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) shares are up more than 1% today. The world’s largest maker of bulk chocolate, Swiss-based Barry Callebaut AG, said earlier that it would be able to meet its contractual obligations to Hershey, Nestle SA, and Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) without relying on Ivory Coast supplies.

Gold and silver are also continuing to set record highs. Gold is trading above $1,450/ounce, and silver has risen to more than $39/ounce. The SPDR Gold Shares ETF (NYSE: GLD) is up more than 1% today, and the iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV) is up more than 1.5%. Gold miners are faring better, with the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX) up about 3.5% and the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDXJ) up about 3.75%. The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE: SIL) is up about 3% as well.

West Texas Intermediate crude is off slightly, to below $108/barrel, while Brent crude is up to more than $122/barrel. The WTI price could fall further as the United States Oil ETF (NYSE: USO) begins to rollover its contracts tomorrow. WTI is priced at delivery at the storage facility in Cushing, Oklahoma, which is absolutely full to the top. Because the USO rolls its contracts forward every month, more oil that could presumably flow into the tanks at Cushing have to go somewhere else. Either refiners have to take the barrels or the barrels have to be exported. In either event, WTI prices are almost certain to fall. The question, of course, is by how much.

Paul Ausick

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) has so far not really pulled back at all since we named it as one of ten stocks to own for the next decade.  Investors want to own the shares but it hasn’t given an opportunity as the $26.62 price is against the 52-week range of $19.41 to $26.88. The company meets investors this coming Tuesday.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was a part of the Barron’s cover story as #1 for “The Most Respected Companies.”  The companies behind it, Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A).  Speaking of Amazon, Alan Abelson gave the bearish side of the stock of the ecommerce giant.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is losing customers to Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) probably worse than expected due to the new iPhone launch this last Thursday.   Workers at two different stores locally this weekend during my attempt to upgrade said that over half of the iPhone buys were actually AT&T customer defections who were moving to Verizon.  If that continues, the risks for AT&T may remain higher than some have considered.

Speaking of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A), it has its latest holdings due this week.  The latest portfolio had many big changes from the prior quarter and this will set what Buffett holds for 2011.

Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) was up almost 2% on Friday on expectations that a buyer would emerge as early as this coming week.  Shares went from $34 to $39 on the news that it was up for grabs, and closed out the week at $41.57 with a new 52-week range of $27.82 to $41.59.

S&P reported that the Dividend Aristocrats posted an annualized dividend yield of 2.9% in 2009, compared with a yield of 2.01% for the S&P 500 Index. But MarketWatch notes that the Dividend Aristocrats gained an average of just $0.02 from late Monday to Wednesday’s close. That’s a gain of just 0.004%, compared with a gain of 0.4% in the S&P 500.

The proposed tax bill agreed to by President Obama and Republican legislators on Monday extends the 15% tax rate on dividends, but apparently that wasn’t enough to light a fire under the Aristocrats.

The performance of individual companies gets part of the blame for the weak showing. The other part of the blame goes to the temporary nature of the tax deal. In two years, the dividend tax rate could change again. Uncertainty is the bane of a dividend investor’s life.

Yet with all the cash available on corporate balance sheets, and no good place to spend it, the outlook for dividend hikes is promising. US consumers are not spending enough to convince companies to invest in new capacity or new hiring. Until that changes, dividend hikes and even special dividends are far more enticing to shareholders than stock buybacks.

MarketWatch notes that both US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) and Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK) are among the financial sector stocks that could increase dividends in 2011. US Bancorp got bumped from the Dividend Aristocrats for 2010, as did General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) and Pfizer, Inc. (NYSE: PFE).

Perhaps a larger problem for the Aristocrats than either uncertainty or weak performance by some companies is that as stocks move up, dividend investing looks pretty pokey and old-fashioned. There’s a lot more to be gained that a paltry 2.9%, and the risk is not too great as long as Uncle Sam keeps pumping out new dollars.

Paul Ausick

Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU) Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) Cut to Equal-Weight at Barclays Capital.
Dynegy Inc. (NYSE: DYN) Cut to Sell at S&P Equity Research (late Tuesday call).
Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ: ELON) Started as Outperform at Baird.
Fair Isaac Corp. (NYSE: FIC) Reiterated Sell at Argus.
Hormel Foods Corp. (NYSE: HRL) Cut to Sell at Soleil.
Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) Raised to Neutral at Macquarie.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) Reiterated Buy and $58 Target at Argus.
Millicom International (NASDAQ: MICC) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) Started as Market Perform at BMO.
OmniVision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI) Reiterated Buy and Raise Target to $36 at Gleacher & Co.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) Reiterated Buy at BofA/ML.
Shanda Interactive Entertainment (NASDAQ: SNDA) Cut to Sell at Roth Capital.
Synopsys Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) Reiterated Buy and $38 target at Auriga.

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

With the DJIA down 1.8%, we wanted to see which stocks of our investable defensive stock universe were either up or were down less than the broad market.  Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) was the only stock higher on the day and that was after earnings and on its share buyback acceleration. Coke was also only one of two DJIA components up on the day in late-day trading. Other defensive stocks that were trying to hold their own by being down less than the overall market are Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT), ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG), Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB), Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL), McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD), American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK), Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO), Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE: VGR), Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), and Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL).   Of our traditional 20 go-to defensive stocks, that makes 13 that are doing better than the market on a relative basis.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was also down less than the market, but that was after its earnings report this morning.  Shares were down 1.1% at $63.15 and its 52-week range is $56.86 to $66.20.  J&J posted a 2% gain in profits, but sales are under pressure in some areas.  Joint replacement is weak and recalls in its consumer products continue.  This was recently one of three picks as a defensive stock for a down market.

Food was the larger safety net today: Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) is down 0.7% at $31.44; ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) is down ‘only’ 0.27% at $22.54; Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB) is down just over 1% at $36.02; Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) is down 0.75% at $44.53; and McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is down 0.5% at $76.95 after recent all-time highs.

Water, the source of life… American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) is also proving that water is the place to be as the water utility has been the place to be.  This was recently our top of the list of go-to defensive picks for water investors as well.  With a steady business plan and a rising dividend, it is nor surprise that American Water Works is only down 0.21% at $23.60 on the day.

Tobacco is looking like they are smoking it up.  Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO) has pulled back from its recent highs of $25.00, but shares are still down ‘only’ 0.8% at $24.70.  Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE: VGR) is down 0.85% at $18.43 and Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) is down the least of the three with a drop of 0.7% at $61.87.  This is what happens when you are too stressed to quit smoking.  Surprisingly, beer companies were worse off.

Consumer products are living up to their defensive posture as well.  Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is down 0.3% at $63.17 while Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL) is down by 0.8% at $76.10.  Deodorant, tooth and hygiene products are needed in all markets.

So, if you can eat it, drink it, smoke it, or if you have to apply it to your body, those are the stocks outperforming (performing less badly) the broad market.  Defensive stocks are doing their job today.

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