24/7 Wall St. » HST

Expedia Sails, Lifts All Boats (EXPE, HOT, HST, WYN, MAR, OWW, PCLN, TRIP)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:00:35 +0000

Internet travel company Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) absolutely pasted revenue and EPS expectations last night, sending the stock on a 25%+ express ride. The company posted revenue of $816.5 million, significantly higher than the consensus estimate of $790.1 million. Adjusted EPS came in at $0.26 versus an estimate of $0.14.

The profit driver was the company’s hotels.com site, which should raise expectations for hotel and resort players like Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT), Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: HST), Wyndham Worldwide Corp. (NYSE: WYN), and Marriott International Inc. (NYSE: MAR). All these companies have already reported March quarter results, so we have to wait until June.

Other online travel sites aren’t waiting to move though. Orbitz Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: OWW), priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN), and TripAdvisor Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) have all posted nice gains today.

Orbitz reports results next Thursday and is expected to post an EPS loss of -$0.08 on revenue of $190.3 million. priceline.com reports the following week and is expected to deliver EPS of $3.94 on revenue of $1.04 billion. TripAdvisor is expected to post EPS of $0.34 when it reports next week.

The boost in travel and hotel stocks shouldn’t be too big a surprise, given the higher traffic numbers put up by many US airlines. All those people have to book those flights someplace and stay somewhere once they get to their destinations. These symbiotic relationships could be worth watching as we roll toward the next quarter.

Expedia’s shares are up 26.5% at $41.28 in a 52-week range of $27.28-$65.78. Orbitz is up 7.7% at $3.65 in a 52-week range of $1.57-$4.49, priceline.com is up 4.5% at $766.00 in a 52-week range of $411.26-$774.96, and TripAdvisor is up 8.8% at $37.39 after posting a new 52-week high earlier today of $37.85.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Earnings, Internet Tagged: EXPE, HOT, HST, MAR, OWW, PCLN, TRIP, WYN

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (APOL, CHTR, COST, DNDN, RAIL, GPC, GMCR, HST, INFY, NEM, NOK, PCLN, TTM, USG, WSH)

Administrator — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:15:06 +0000

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

Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR) Maintained Outperform but raised target to $74 from $60 at Credit Suisse.
Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) Started as Perform at Oppenheimer.
Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) Maintained Neutral but cut target to $13 at Credit Suisse.
FreightCar America, Inc. (NASDAQ: RAIL) named as Value Stock of the Day at Zacks.
Genuine Parts Co. (NYSE: GPC) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ: GMCR) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: HST) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Infosys Limited (NASDAQ: INFY) Cut to Neutral at Janney.
Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) Cut to Hold at TD.
Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) Cut to Underperform at Oppenheimer.
priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) Reiterated Outperform and raised target to $790 from $710 at Credit Suisse.
Tata Motors Ltd. (NYSE: TTM) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
USG Corporation (NYSE: USG) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Willis Group Holdings, Plc (NYSE: WSH) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

If you enjoyed the top analyst calls of the week, you can join our free email newsletter that includes analyst summaries each morning sent right to your inbox. We also cover top issues such as IPOs, special financial exclusives, mergers and more. Sign up in the box below.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: APOL, CHTR, COST, DNDN, GMCR, GPC, HST, INFY, NEM, NOK, PCLN, RAIL, TTM, USG, WSH

Earnings Season Arrives, Top Earnings Previews For The Week Ahead (NVLS, AA, ADTN, HST, PEP, GOOG, JBHT, JPM, SWY, MAT)

Administrator — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 17:15:40 +0000

They’re Here! Next week will launch the corporate earnings season for the third quarter. The media is going to tell you that this is the most important earnings season in quite some time. The media always says that, but this time it is true because investors want to know whether to still model in growth or whether they need to dig in for a recessionary climate.

24/7 Wall St. has compiled detailed earnings previews for the following companies: Novellus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS); Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA); ADTRAN Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTN); Host Hotels and Resorts Inc. (NYSE: HST); Pepsico Inc. (NYSE: PEP); Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG); J. B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT); J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM); Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY); and Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT).

Some of these companies will not really seem on the surface to be sector-movers or market-moving companies, but these have been selected because they are the first ones of their peer groups to be reporting earnings.

We have created a detailed earnings preview for each with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters and added color in on each for investors to see what exactly is worth consideration this earnings season. We have also added in recent price history and named where to look for additonal action (or fallout).

Monday, October 10

Novellus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS) is the first chip equipment player to report for this earnings season. it has been a few weeks since we have had earnings reports or guidance in the sector so we will be paying close attention since so many companies that are chip equipment customers have talked down their numbers in recent weeks. Our belief is that expectations are very low for the quarter ahead. Estimates are $0.68 EPS and $311.9 million in revenue; next quarter estimates are $0.50 EPS and $278.5 million in revenue. With shares hovering around $30.00 on Friday, the 52-week range is $25.26 to $41.82 and shares were above $36 in early July. After Novellus reports, we would be watching the following: Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC), and Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX).

Tuesday, October 11

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) has already talked down aluminum prices and we have already seen slowing demand out of China talked about by many sectors. Alcoa keeps maintaining that it can double its business by 2020 and we do not expect that to be changed by management even if it guides lower expectations ahead. Estimates are $0.23 EPS and $6.24 billion in revenue; next quarter estimates are $0.23 EPS and $6.11 billion in revenue. At $9.80 on Friday, the 52-week range is $8.45 to $19.47 and this one was above $16 at the start of July. There are many metals stocks to watch, some in aluminum and some in other metals: Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX), Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS); Kaiser Aluminum Corporation (NASDAQ: KALU); Titanium Metals Corporation (NYSE: TIE); and Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE).

Filed under: Calendar, Corporate Governance, Earnings, Earnings Warning, Economy, Editor's Picks Tagged: AA, ADTN, AMAT, BAC, C, CENX, CHH, CIEN, GOOG, HAS, HST, JBHT, JPM, KALU, KLAC, KO, KR, LRCX, LSTR, MAR, MAT, NUE, NVLS, PEP, RS, SWY, TIE, TLAB, WFC

The Great Overlooked Dividend Hikes During the Panic (COV, CXS, DISCA, FITB, F, HST, LVS, LMT, MCD, MSFT, NEM, O)

Administrator — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:20:45 +0000

This was no good week for stocks even if the markets have bounced off the lows numerous times on Friday. The low of the DJIA on Friday morning of 10,638 was down about 7.5% from the prior Friday’s close of $11,509.09. Ugly no matter how you cut it. What is so interesting is that companies are still making strides in increasing their payouts in dividends to shareholders as a clear message that their businesses are not at all imploding. Maybe things in China are slowing and maybe the Europeans have us fearing another 2008 to 2009 panic, but these companies are raising dividends in an effort to tell you that they believe that they have clarity in their earnings ahead.

The following companies either announced dividend hikes or hinted at dividend hikes soon: Covidien plc (NYSE: COV); CreXus Investment Corp. (NYSE: CXS); Discovery Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA); Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB); Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F); Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: HST); Las Vegas Sands Corporation (NYSE: LVS); Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT); McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD); Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT); Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM); and Realty Income Corporation (NYSE: O). These are not even all of the hikes as there were many dividend announcements from smaller companies during the week.

Covidien plc (NYSE: COV) is showing that healthcare products aren’t so worrisome after all. The company announced on the evening of September 22 that it increased its quarterly dividend by 12.5% from $0.20 to $0.225 per ordinary share. The new $0.90 anualized payout now generates a dividend yield of roughly 1.97%.

CreXus Investment Corp. (NYSE: CXS) declared on September 20 a bump to its third quarter dividend of $0.30 per share, a 25% gain from the prior $0.25 payout. As with all entities of this sort, it is hard to know whether or not this payout can be continued as income from quarter to quarter can fluctuate substantially. To prove the point, this annualized dividend would be approximately 13% and around $9.15 its 52-week range is $8.26 to $13.51. The company did note, ” We believe our shareholders will continue to see the benefits of the breadth and diversity of our platform in the quarters and years ahead.”

Discovery Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) is not a dividend payer, but early this week came word from the Goldman Sachs Media conference that its CEO is pushing for a stock buyback and has said that a dividend initiation is possible. For a media company with no dividend, that could be a coup. The stock is close to $40 per share and its estimates for earnings from Thomson Reuters are $2.36 EPS for 2011 and $2.81 EPS for 2012.

Filed under: Dividend, Shareholder Issues Tagged: COV, CXS, DISCA, F, FITB, HST, LMT, LVS, MCD, MSFT, NEM, O

Media Digest 1/15/2010 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

247wallst — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 08:53:46 +0000

Reuters: China says there are ways to resolve problems with Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), but the US is uncertain.

Reuters: Oil fell to $79 over concerns about the US economy.

Reuters: Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) earnings beat expectations.

Reuters: Citigroup (NYSE:C) bonuses were similar to 2008

Reuters: The Google hack was based on using Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Internet Explorer.

Reuters: Geithner says he was not involved in the AIG (NYSE:AIG) bailout.

WSJ: US banks paid out $145 billion in bonuses for 2009, up sharply from the previous year.

WSJ: Starwood made new accusations about Hilton using stolen data.

WSJ: Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD) is making a big effort online to replace lost traffic to its aging stores.

WSJ: Refining margins are squeezing oil company profits.

WSJ: The break-up of Motorola (NYSE:MOT) has been put on hold.

WSJ: The CFTC voted to curb some oil futures trading.

WSJ: Holiday spending was up modestly from 2008.

WSJ: The US opened an antitrust probe of Monsanto (NYSE:MON)

WSJ: Kodak (NYSE:EK) sued Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and RIM (NASDAQ:RIMM) over patent violations.

WSJ: Juniper (NASDAQ:JNPR) was hit by cyber attacks

WSJ: Obama launched a proposal to tax banks by $90 billion.

WSJ: Rio Tinto’s (NYSE:RTP) ore output topped forecasts.

WSJ: Retail investors may not move back into stocks even if Q4 earnings are good.

NYT: Google (NASDAQ:GGOG) has little at stake in terms of Chinese revenue.

NYT: The FBI is looking into a number of cases of mortgage fraud.

NYT: Bernanke defended the Fed’s oversight role.

FT: Citigroup (NYSE:C) will cap cash bonuses.

FT: The FDIC chief blamed the Fed for the crisis.

FT: Inflation is a threat in China and India.

Bloomberg: Hershey (NYSE:HSY) is accelerating its bid for Cadbury (NYSE:CBY).

Bloomberg: Debt ratings are rising the fastest since 2007.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted in Press Digest Tagged: AAPL, AIG, C, CBY, EK, GOOG, HST, INTC, JNPR, MON, MOT, MSFT, RIMM, RTP, SHLD

Hershey (HSY) May Be Too Small To Win Cadbury (CBY)

247wallst — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 10:27:19 +0000

Hershey (HSY) is once again mentioned frequently as a buyer of Cadbury (CBY). To win a competition it would have to top the $16.6 billion offer from Kraft (KFT) Cadbury shares already trade above the Kraft offer in the anticipation of a second bidder or a higher offer from Kraft.

Hershey has a problem in completing a takeover of Cadbury. It is smaller than both the UK company and Kraft by both sales and market cap.

Cadbury’s market cap is $18 billion and it had sales of $7.8 billion last year. Hershey’s market cap is just over $8 billion and its sales last year were just over $5 billion. By contrast, Kraft has a market cap of $42 billion and 2008 sales of $42 billion.

The trust that controls Hershey and the company’s board have apparently given a go ahead to a bid for Cadbury. Hershey is in the process of getting private equity support for the deal and the Hershey trust would make a $1.25 billion investment according to MarketWatch.

The deal would almost certainly have to look like a merger of equals than a takeover which might allow Hershey to put very little cash into the deal. Otherwise, the US company is forced with diluting its current shareholders by a large amount and taking on a mammoth debt load.

Hershey’s bid may not be successful because it involves leverage that large Cadbury investors would like to avoid in a combined busiess.The cash flow from a Hershey combination with Cadbury would probably make debt service a threat to the future of the new firm. The Kraft offer at least has a large cash component.

Hershey’s hurdle to winning a fight for the UK company may simply come down to David not being able to slay Goliath.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted in Mergers and Buy Outs Tagged: CBY, HST, KFT

Host Joins REITs Raising Cash (HST)

247wallst — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:34:40 +0000

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: HST) has completed a secondary offering that raised some needed cash for the company. The hotel-REIT priced a secondary offering of 66,000,000 shares of common stock at a price of $6.60 per share. This is actually a substantial discount to the $7.10 close on Thursday, but it will also raise some $435 million before accounting for fees and commissions.

Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and J.P. Morgan acted as joint book-running managers for the secondary offering. Co-managers were listed as ABN AMRO, Barclays Capital, BNY Mellon Capital Markets, Calyon Securities, Citi, Raymond James, Scotia Capital, UBS, and Wachovia Securities. The underwriters will be granted a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 9,750,000 shares of common stock

Host intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes and the repayment of indebtedness. As far as how this sizes up, the company’s market cap is listed as just under $4 billion without considering the effects of this secondary offering.

Interestingly enough, shares are up over 6% at $7.55 right at the open and its 52-week trading range is $3.08 to $18.81.

JON C. OGG

Posted in REIT, Secondary Offering Tagged: HST

The 52-Week Low Club (SIRI)(MOD)(GXP)(HST)(DVN)

247wallst — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:13:36 +0000

Modine Manufacturing (MOD) Losing money and problems with debt covenants. Drops to $.93 from 52-week high of $19.60.

Great Plains Energy (GXP) Bad quarterly results. Very bad. Shares plunge to $14.53 from 52-week high of $27.50.

Devon Energy (DVN) Rise in crude stockpiles. Down to $51.53 from 52-week high of $127.43.

Host Hotels & Resorts (HST) Wall St. starting to cut estimates on hotel earnings. Sells off to $4.37 from 52-week high of $18.81.

Sirius Xm Radio (SIRI) Chapter 11 rumors. Drops to $.052 from 52-week high of $3.89.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted in HI/LOW Tagged: DVN, GXP, HST, MOD, SIRI

Top Pre-Market Analyst Downgrades (AUTH, DD, HST, RNWK, RLH)

247wallst — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 06:34:58 +0000

These are some of the top individual analyst downgrades we are seeing very early this Wednesday morning:

AuthenTec (AUTH) Cut To Neutral at JPMorgan
DuPont (DD) Cut to Hold at BB&T Capital
Host Hotels (HST) Cut To Market Perform at KBW
RealNetworks (RNWK) Cut to Sell at Piper Jaffray
Red Lions Hotels (RLH) Cut to Neutral at Baird

Jon C. Ogg
October 8, 2008

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: AUTH, DD, HST, RLH, RNWK

52-Week Low Club (WTR, BMY, CELL, DDS, EK, EXPE, GCI, GE, HST, NOK, PFE, Q, VLO, WY, WGO)

247wallst — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:21:00 +0000

If you thought this was a bad day for the market with the DJIA trading well under that 12,000 psychological level, there were some 400 stocks that hit 52-week lows today when you include the closed end funds, preferred stocks, and ETF’s. Today was ugly enough that we won’t even add our little personal prodding on these. Here is just a partial list of fifteen active stocks on this list today that aren’t airlines, autos, or financials:

AQUA AMERICA INC (NYSE: WTR)
BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB (NYSE: BMY)
BRIGHTPOINT INC (NASDAQ: CELL)
DILLARD’S INC (NYSE: DDS)
EASTMAN KODAK CO (NYSE: EK)
EXPEDIA INC. (NASDAQ: EXPE)
GANNETT CO INC (NYSE: GCI)
GENERAL ELECTRIC CO (NYSE: GE)
HOST HOTELS & RESORT (NYSE: HST)
NOKIA (NYSE: NOK)
PFIZER INC. (NYSE: PFE)
QWEST COMMUNICATIONS (NYSE: Q)
VALERO ENERGY (NYSE: VLO)
WEYERHAEUSER CO (NYSE: WY)
WINNEBAGO IND INC (NYSE: WGO)

Jon C. Ogg
June 21, 2008