The company beat earnings at $1.13 EPS and sales rose almost 4% to $16.25 billion; estimates were $1.09 EPS and $16.28 billion in sales from Thomson Reuters.  The company noted that operational sales were up 4.0% and its negative currency impact was only 0.1% as domestic sales fell by 3.4% and international sales rose by just over 10% in the quarter.

For the Fiscal Year 2012, J&J sees earnings of $5.05 to $5.15 EPS and that is a bit shy of the $5.21 consensus target based upon operational growth of down slightly to as high as 5.5% and based upon a negative currency impact of around 2.5%.

J&J’s guidance is weighing on the stock.  Shares are indicated down 0.75% at $64.50 against a 52-week trading range of $57.50 to $68.05 and versus a Thomson Reuters consensus price target of $73.00.

The report has remained better than many may have guessed considering all of the product problems before.  Unfortunately, there is little driving force here that stands out as great opportunity.

JON C. OGG

Tuesday: E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD); Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ); McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD); Travelers Cos. Inc. (NYSE: TRV); and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ)

Wednesday: Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) and United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX)

Thursday: AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT)

Friday: Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) and Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG).

We have compiled Thomson Reuters estimates, when the earnings are due, and what the share pricing has been on each, and added in additional color if applicable.

TUESDAY

E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD), or just DuPont, just declared its normal dividend but it reports on Tuesday morning.  The chemicals giant is expected to have earnings of $0.33 EPS and $8.53 billion in revenues. Shares are just under $50.00 and the 52-week range is $37.10 to $57.00.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) has news of a patent loss ahead of its earnings report due Tuesday morning.  The drug, medical products, and consumer products giant is expected to report earnings of $1.10 EPS and $16.28 billion in sales.  With shares close to $65.00, the 52-week range is $57.50 to $68.05.

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) reports on Tuesday morning and the Golden Arches’ estimates for the fast food giant are $1.29 EPS and $6.80 billion in sales.  Shares are within yet another hair of another all-time high and it has recently talked up sales and has already raised its dividend.

Travelers Cos. Inc. (NYSE: TRV) is still probably the most forgotten financial stock of the DJIA components.  The insurer is expected to report earnings of $1.52 EPS and $5.47 billion in sales.  With shares above $61.00, the 52-week trading range is $45.97 to $64.17.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) is due to lead of the telecom sector on Tuesday morning and earnings are expected to be $0.53 EPS on $28.4 billion in revenues.  With shares around $39.00, the 52-week range is $32.28 to $40.48.

WEDNESDAY

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) may have a boost from the rival A380 having cracks in its wings, if the rationale is not one that “all super-jumbos ar scary.”  Boeing reports Wednesday morning and the aerospace and defense giant is expected to report $1.00 EPS and $19.4 billion in revenues. With shares around $75.50, the 52-week range is $56.01 to $80.65.

United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX) still appears to be the conglomerate with the most upside in 2012 according to analysts and GE’s recent earnings reaction has not done much to really amp-up expectations.  The earnings are due Wednesday morning and the consensus targets are $1.46 EPS and $15.07 billion in revenues.  With shares under $77.00, the 52-week range is $66.87 to $91.83 and the consensus price target is $89.44.

THURSDAY

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is due on Thursday morning and estimates are $0.45 EPS and $31.94 billion in sales.  Shares are back above $30 around $30.40 and the 52-week range is $27.20 to $31.94.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) is expected to report Thursday morning and estimates are $1.73 EPS and $16.04 billion in sales.  With shares back above $105.00, the 52-week range is $67.54 to $116.55 and the consensus price target is now $115.28.

FRIDAY

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) is due with earnings Friday morning and the oil giant’s consensus estimates are $2.93 EPS and $71.08 billion in sales.  With shares around $106.40, the 52-week range is $86.68 to $110.99 and the consensus price target is $124.95.  Keep in mind that Chevron is the second highest weighting in the DJIA due to its high share price.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) is due to post the consumer product giant earnings report Friday morning.  The consensus estimates are $1.08 EPS and $22.2 billion in sales.  Shares are trading around $66.10 and the 52-week range is $57.56 to $67.72 and the consensus target is $72.37.

We will be releasing more detailed previews on each of these the day ahead of each earnings report this week.  Additional data will be around forward earnings estimates for guidance, what the implied valuations are, color on what to look for in addition to earnings, as well as opinions from analysts, what the charts are showing, and what the options traders are expecting for a price move.

JON C. OGG

We have compiled Thomson Reuters estimates, when the earnings are due, and what the share pricing has been on each, and added in additional color if applicable.  There are a few additional themes we would watch: dividend coverage, how a strong dollar is impacting earnings and competitiveness, making earnings on cost monitoring while revenues may be soft, and exposure to Europe.

TUESDAY

E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD), or just DuPont, reports on Tuesday morning.  The chemicals giant is expected to have earnings of $0.33 EPS and $8.53 billion in revenues. Shares are just under $50.00 and the 52-week range is $37.10 to $57.00.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is due Tuesday morning.  The drug, medical products, and consumer products giant is expected to report earnings of $1.10 EPS and $16.28 billion in sales.  With shares close to $65.00, the 52-week range is $57.50 to $68.05.

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is due to report on Tuesday morning and estimates for the fast food giant are $1.29 EPS and $6.80 billion in sales.  Shares are within yet another hair of another all-time high and it has recently talked up sales and has already raised its dividend.

Travelers Cos. Inc. (NYSE: TRV), the most forgotten financial stock of the DJIA, is expected to report earnings of $1.52 EPS and $5.47 billion in sales.  With shares above $61.00, the 52-week trading range is $45.97 to $64.17.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) is due to lead of the telecom sector on Tuesday morning and earnings are expected to be $0.53 EPS on $28.4 billion in revenues.  With shares around $39.00, the 52-week range is $32.28 to $40.48.

WEDNESDAY

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) is due Wednesday morning and the aerospace and defense giant is expected to report $1.00 EPS and $19.4 billion in revenues. With shares around $75.50, the 52-week range is $56.01 to $80.65.

United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX) may be the conglomerate with the most upside in 2012 according to analysts.  The earnings are due Wednesday morning and the consensus targets are $1.46 EPS and $15.07 billion in revenues.  With shares under $77.00, the 52-week range is $66.87 to $91.83 and the consensus price target is $89.44.

Read Also: Why The DJIA Could Peak Up 12% at 13,678 in 2012

THURSDAY

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is due on Thursday morning and estimates are $0.45 EPS and $31.94 billion in sales.  Shares are back above $30 around $30.40 and the 52-week range is $27.20 to $31.94.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) is expected to report Thursday morning and estimates are $1.73 EPS and $16.04 billion in sales.  With shares back above $105.00, the 52-week range is $67.54 to $116.55 and the consensus price target is now $115.28.

FRIDAY

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) is due with earnings Friday morning and the oil giant’s consensus estimates are $2.93 EPS and $71.08 billion in sales.  With shares around $106.40, the 52-week range is $86.68 to $110.99 and the consensus price target is $124.95.  Keep in mind that Chevron is the second highest weighting in the DJIA due to its high share price.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) is due to post the consumer product giant earnings report Friday morning.  The consensus estimates are $1.08 EPS and $22.2 billion in sales.  Shares are trading around $66.10 and the 52-week range is $57.56 to $67.72 and the consensus target is $72.37.

We will be releasing more detailed previews the day ahead of each DJIA earnings report this coming week.  Additional data will be around forward earnings estimates for guidance, what the implied valuations are, color on what to look for in addition to earnings, as well as opinions from analysts, what the charts are showing, and what the options traders are expecting for a price move.

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Read the ten most hated companies in America

Research about companies comes in two sets. One is public research about consumer satisfaction, customer care, pricing of products and services, and brand impressions. Wall St. research takes into account another set of factors, which include present earnings, profit forecasts, product development and quality, and brand valuations.

Some of the companies on this list are widely despised because of the businesses that they are in. In an economic environment where resources are stretched, an airline or retail operation that has millions of customers is likely to make a lot of enemies. Similarly, banks and other corporations with a large number of retail outlets are at a disadvantage compared with businesses with few customers. Some of the corporations on this list also have had to fire significant numbers of employees due to the recession. Downsizing causes poor morale, increases the workload of the remaining staff and affects customer satisfaction when service is poorer.

We examined each company based on several criteria. We considered total return to shareholders in comparison to the broader market and other companies in the same sector during the last year. We reviewed financial analyst opinions on those companies that are public. We analyzed data from a broad array of sources, including Consumer Reports, JD Power, the MSN/Zogby Poll, ForeSee and the University of Michigan American Customer Satisfaction Index. We also considered negative press based on 24/7 Wall St.’s analysis of media coverage and the Flame Index, which uses a proprietary algorithm to review more than 12,000 websites and ranks companies based on the frequency of negative words. Finally, we considered the views of taxpayers, Congress and the White House — where applicable.

Several companies that should have been on the list based on performance and public perception during the financial crisis did not make it. For example, it would be easy to argue that mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be here. The bankruptcy and maintenance of the two by the federal government will cost taxpayers between $224 billion and $360 billion, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). But, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are no longer stand-alone companies in any normal sense. Their shares have been delisted. Each is in effect a ward of the U.S. government with no ability to control its own fate through the actions of management or public shareholders.

The U.S. Postal Service could also be a candidate for the list. It has cost taxpayers billions of dollars, and it lost $5.1 billion in its last fiscal year alone. However, the Postmaster General and his staff have little or no control over the eventual fate of the USPS. Congress decides how and to what extent it will be funded. That means Congress essentially controls how many workers and offices will exist, and even, based on funding, how often the mail will be delivered.

It is worth noting that some of the companies on the list may have done very poorly by some measures, and well by others. A few of the most hated companies have had good stock performances. Others may have satisfied customers. All of this was taken into account when the decisions for the final list were made.

The following are 24/7 Wall St.’s 10 Most Hated Companies for 2011, in no particular order.

Most of the largest companies in the U.S. will not have large earnings swings from last year, with the notable exception of financial firms. The majority of banks and investment houses will suffer earnings declines because of poor trading results and bad loans, notwithstanding the fact that JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), arguably the best-run bank in America, is on this list, as is Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) . Corporations like IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) have such huge customer bases worldwide that they can hardly outperform the global economy. What differentiates them is their ability to manage their operations better than peers as they keep expenses low and take all the advantages they can of their significant market shares.

24/7 Wall St. looked at the top 200 companies in the Fortune 500 based on the revenue in the past reported year. We then reviewed earnings and earnings forecast from Thomson/First Call. There were some cases in which earnings appeared to be too low or too high because of events in the past month. We took those into account when we produced the final numbers.

This is 24/7 Wall St.’s 10 Most Profitable Companies for 2012.

The nearly certain nine Dogs of the Dow are as follows: AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T); Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ); Merck & Company, Inc. (NYSE: MRK); Pfizer, Inc. (NYSE: PFE); General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE); E.I. du Pont de Nemours (NYSE: DD); Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ); Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC); and The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG).  The horserace for the tenth spot on the Dogs is taking place among three DJIA components, with a distant fourth in the running: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT); Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT); Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX); and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM).

Here is the current expected order of the 2012 Dogs of the Dow, with dividend yields included:

• AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) 5.9%
• Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) 5.2%
• Merck & Company, Inc. (NYSE: MRK) 4.5%
• Pfizer, Inc. (NYSE: PFE) 3.7%… After the most recent dividend hike which has not been paid out, the new yield will be 4.06% rather than a rounded off 3.7%.
• General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) 3.6%
• E.I. du Pont de Nemours (NYSE: DD), or DuPont, 3.6%
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) 3.5%
• Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) 3.4%
• The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) 3.14%

The four DJIA stocks competing for the tenth-spot:

• Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) 3.07%
• Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) 3.08%
• Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) 3.03%
• J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) 2.98%

What is so interesting about this list is that Microsoft is entering the Dogs for what may be the first time ever.  McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is actually not in the list this year.  Those which have recently raised dividends outside of Microsoft are AT&T, Merck, Pfizer, and G.E.

If you average the top nine DJIA yields, investors get an average of about 4.06%.  If you include a 3.05% average for the competing four to go into the tenth spot, then the average dividend yield comes to 3.96%. As far as how this compares to the 2011 list, the lowest yield a year ago was roughly 3.1% as well.

Is it any coincidence that the average yield last year among the ten Dogs was 4.01%?  Here is the 2011 Dogs of the Dow review from a year ago for comparison.

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JON C. OGG

The yuan hits a high against the dollar and may gain 4% this year. (Reuters)

Amazon.com’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) program to sell Kindle devices may help it increase its lead in e-commerce just as online shopping surges. (Reuters)

The International Monetary Fund’s Lagarde says the global expansion is still under threat from sovereign debt problems and slow growth in developed nations. (Reuters)

France Telecom (NYSE: FTE) to sell its Swiss operations to Apax for 1.6 billion euros. (Reuters)

Banks begin to install systems to trade individual currencies of euro-area nations. (WSJ)

Japan and China reach agreements to increase economic ties. (WSJ)

Shareholders of NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) lose some of their taste for a merger with Deutsche Boerse. (WSJ)

The release of more supplies of Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE: JNJ) cancer drug Doxil may be delayed until the middle of next year. (WSJ)

Long-term UK bond yields hit multidecade lows. (FT)

Japan approves a $1.16 trillion budget. (FT)

Toyota (NYSE: TM) to build a new, smaller version of the Prius. (Bloomberg)

China may start its own credit rating agency. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) offered a surprise dividend hike that we would have expected perhaps next year, but it came anyhow. General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) was one we have been calling on for a higher dividend down the pipe and it jumped in far sooner than expected. Those that hiked their dividends exactly as we expected are the Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) with a much higher jump than the market was expecting, followed by AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE).

Those from whichwe are still looking for dividend hikes after the first of the year and just beyond the first quarter of 2012: Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), the Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM), International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), 3M Company (NYSE: MMM), and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT).

For those investors who love dividends, we would focus also in 2012 on some of the key ETFs, like the iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index (NYSE: DVY), Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSE: VIG), PowerShares Dividend Achievers (NYSE: PFM) and the iShares High Dividend Equity (NYSE: HDV) ETF products.

We have broken out some summaries of each DJIA component from which we still expect to see dividend hikes from soon.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) has recently kept is low dividend static, and we would look for a 2012 announcement of a higher payout. It could boost the payout, but it needs its restructuring a bit further in the rear-view mirror to avoid bad PR. Look for Cisco to boost its payout in 2012 for its March or July payment. Even with its silly share buybacks, Cisco’s payout ratio is only about 14% of its expected 2012 earnings and the company has a mountain of cash.

The full report had more detailed data on most of these DJIA components, but these are some of the DJIA stocks we expect to hear from with a dividend hike in the coming weeks or early in 2012: AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM), International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), 3M Company (NYSE: MMM), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT).

Some of these are also weighted in key dividend ETFs like the iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index (NYSE: DVY), Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSE: VIG), PowerShares Dividend Achievers (NYSE: PFM) and the iShares High Dividend Equity (NYSE: HDV) ETF products.

We have broken out some summaries of each in here, although more detailed data on each may be found in the larger stock-by-stock review.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) has some problems now that it has the multibillion dollar huge break-up fee as a designated charge. This could interrupt its dividend hike history, but Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) has a higher dividend payout ratio and it recently continued its practice of raising the payouts.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) has already hinted at higher payouts and we would look for a 21012 announcement of a higher payout after its recent restructuring is farther behind it. Look for Cisco to boost its payout in 2012 for its March or July payment after its layoffs and restructuring are further behind it. Even with its silly share buybacks, Cisco’s payout ratio is only about 14% of its expected 2012 earnings and the company has a mountain of cash.

Large pharmaceutical companies like Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), AstraZeneca plc (NYSE: AZN), Bristol Meyers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY), and Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) are also spending less in developing new drugs and there have been calls within the industry to share more information, especially on drugs that have failed trials. High development costs join pricing pressure in Europe, a lack of urgency on this year’s flu season, lower rates of prescription writing, and more competition from generics to weigh on drug company revenue and profits.

We’ve looked at the price targets for J&J, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Bristol Meyers, and Merck with an eye toward trying to detect value opportunities. All data from Yahoo! Finance, with current prices gathered about noon today.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) has a median price target of $72.00 from 13 brokers. The current price is $63.03, for a potential upside of $8.97, or 14.2%. The company pays a dividend yield of 3.6% and its forward P/E is 12.02. J&J’s share price has fallen about -2% since our last look at these companies. The company’s list of missteps and mishaps in the past year or so is long enough to have mortally wounded just about any other company. The company has been found liable for some $750 million in health care fraud claims, it has paid a $70 million fee to settle a foreign bribery case, the factory that makes many of its popular over-the-counter brands has been shut down, and it is being sued for selling a faulty hip-replacement device. Despite all that, J&J continues to make a profit, and its median target price rose from its October level of $70.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) has a median price target of $23.00 from 17 brokers. The current share price is $19.02, for a potential upside of $3.98, or 21%. The company pays a dividend yield of 4.1% and its forward P/E is 8.24. Pfizer announced today that it would pay $60 million in the same foreign bribery investigation that cost J&J $70 million last Spring. The company recently got some good news when UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) announced that it would charge a lower co-payment for the Pfizer’s Lipitor than it would for generic equivalents. Pfizer lost patent protection on the drug this month, jeopardizing $10.7 billion in revenue from sales of Lipitor. Trying to buy market share by lowering the price of Lipitor might make up some of the loss, but it’s hard to see all the revenue being replaced this way.

AstraZeneca plc (NYSE: AZN) has a median price target of $52.25 from just 4 brokers. The current share price is $44.05, for a potential upside of $8.20, or 18.6%. The company pays a dividend yield of 3.8% and its forward P/E is 7.03. The company’s Crestor drug competes with Pfizer’s Lipitor, but has patent protection until 2016. Crestor also recently bested Lipitor in a trial at the Cleveland Clinic. While Crestor did better at lowering cholesterol levels, the two drugs performed equally on reducing atherosclerosis and clinical events like strokes and heart attacks. Whether that will be enough to justify the hefty cost premium for Crestor over Lipitor and its generics remains to be seen. Adding to the company’s challenges, an anti-depressant jointly developed by AstraZeneca and Targacept also recently failed a late-stage trial.

Bristol Meyers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) has a median price target of $33.50 from 18 brokers. The current share price is $30.29, for a potential upside of $3.21, or 10.6%. The company pays a dividend yield of 4.3% and its forward P/E ratio is 15.08. A diabetes drug jointly developed by Bristol Meyers and AstraZeneca was denied US FDA approval due to increased cancer risk among those involved in the trial. If the FDA doesn’t reverse itself, the fallout from this decision would also likely hit Pfizer, J&J, and other companies working on a similar diabetes drug. The global market for diabetes treatment will nearly triple, to $114.3 billion in the next five years, so there is a lot at stake here.

Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) has a median price target of $40.25 from 16 brokers. The current share price is $34.11, for a potential upside of $6.14, or 18%. The company pays a dividend yield of 4.3% and its forward P/E is 8.91. Merck received 5 approvals for new drugs in 2011, has hopes for 8 further approvals in 2012 and 2013, and claims to have 19 more in late-stage testing. The company already has the best-selling diabetes drug and it continues to work on more diabetes combination drugs as well. The company is still hampered by claims against it for its Vioxx painkiller, which was found to cause heart attacks.

Big pharma faces some big issues, but chief among those is reining in the development costs for news drugs. The company that appears to have done the best job of that, to date, is Merck. Provided that Merck can steer its new drugs through the approvals process, then those efforts at cost control could pay off nicely for investors.

Paul Ausick