RSS Updates
Email Updates
McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) spends a great deal of its test kitchen time trying to beat the clock. It has occurred to the fast food chain that a customer who expects to wait 30 seconds for a meal may leave after a minute if his food is not ready. The world’s largest restaurant operator has its own Innovation Center where management works out the kinks of serving food hot and on time. Read More
Posts for Ticker ‘K’
24/7 Wall St. TV: McDonald’s (MCD) Consumer Service Lesson: Seconds Count
Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (COH, ITG, K, LYG, WFR, STI, TWX, TOL, VMW, ZUMZ)
These are this Friday mornings top ten analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations of coverage from Wall Street firms:
Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Investment Technology Group (NYSE: ITG) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Kellogg Company (NYSE: K) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE: LYG) ADR upgraded at both BNP Paribas and Credit Suisse.
MEMC Electronics (NYSE: WFR) Raised to Buy at Soleil.
SunTrust Banks (NYSE: STI) Raised to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
VVMware (NYSE: VMW) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Zumiez (NYSE: ZUMZ) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
You can join our open email distribution list to get updates on top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.
JON C. OGG
The 100 Hardest Working Brands In The World
There are a number of ways to rank brand values. One of the most important is the level at which a brand contributes to the market value of a public company.
24/7 Wall St. asked Corebrand, the brand research and consulting firm, to look at the top 100 brands based their contribution to market capitalizaton. Using this method, the hardest working brand was Hershey (NYSE:HSY), followed by Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG)
Corebrand described the process briefly to 24/7 Wall. St.
24/7 Wall St.: Corebard often refers to the brands on this list as the”hardest working brands”. How did you come to that description?
Corebrand: There are a lot of people measuring and examining the “strongest brands” or the “most valuable brands”. Our opinion is that examining one without the other is somewhat meaningless. How “strong” a brand is nice to know but not very relevant unless you understand how that strength benefits business. Similarly, “value” is little more than a measure of corporate size unless you understand the drivers of that value and how to influence it. By examining the strength of the brand and it’s contribution to total market value, we can help companies and their leadership manage that strength and value over time.
24/7 Wall St.: Is there any advantage or disadvantage to having a brand value be a very large percentage of market cap in the present and as an indication of a company’s future performance?
Corebrand: The brand will need to be in balance with the rest of the company’s assets. A company should strive to have it’s brand strong enough to fend off competitors or changing market conditions but not so strong that it becomes overly dependent on the brand as a single driver of value. If a company can achieve and maintain its appropriate maximum strength without becoming over-dependent, it will see greater returns in bull markets and retain greater value in bear markets.
The list: Read More
Predicting The Value Of The World’s Most Valuable Brands For 2009
Once a year, Interbrand publishes a list of the “Best Global Brands”. The 2008 list was released last September. The next list will probably be out in about two months.
The change in value is some of the top brands is predictable, at least based on the Interbrand calculations. The firm says its “methodology evaluates brand value in the same way any other corporate asset is valued—on the basis of how much it is likely to earn for the company in the future. Interbrand uses a combination of analysts’ projections, company financial documents, and its own qualitative and quantitative analysis to arrive at a net present value of those earnings.” While that formula cannot be entirely recreated, using the same rules, it is possible to look ahead at 2009 values. It is also worth noting that the worth of the top brands on the Interbrand list moves very little. Last year, Citigroup’s (C) valuation dropped only 14%. The average movement in the top twenty brands was in a range of +/-6%.
The Interbrand survey is also subject to “brand inflation”. Even though 2008 was a hard year for most companies, of the leading 100 brands, only eighteen dropped in value with a large number of these being financial services firms.
Top Analyst Upgrades (CSIQ, EXPE, FCX, JNPR, K, LNC, OWW, TLEO, THS)
These are some of the top analyst upgrades and positive research calls which we have seen from Wall Street early this Thursday morning:
Canadian Solar (CSIQ) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Expedia (EXPE) Started as Buy at Soleil.
Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Juniper Networks (JNPR) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Kellogg (K) Started as Outperform at RBC.
Lincoln National (LNC) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Orbitz Worldwide (OWW) Started as Buy at Soleil.
Taleo (TLEO) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Treehouse Foods (THS) Started as Outperform at William Blair.
JON C. OGG
Top Pre-Market Analyst Downgrades (APD, AA, CENX, CERN, BOOM, ECLP, EE, FCX, K, LOGI, WYE)
These are some of the top pre-market analyst downgrades we have seen this Thursday morning with more than two hours until the market opens:
- Air Products (APD) Cut to Hold at KeyBanc.
- Alcoa (AA) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
- Century Aluminum (CENX) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
- Cerner (CERN) Cut to Hold at Jefferies; Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
- Dynamic Materials (BOOM) Cut to Hold at KeyBanc.
- Eclipsys (ECLP) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.
- El Paso Electric (EE) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
- Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley; Cut to Underperform at FBR.
- Kellogg (K) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
- Logitech (LOGI) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
- Wyeth (WYE) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Jon C. Ogg
January 22, 2009
Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (BKS, BCO, K, NAV, OCR, SONS, TKC)
These are some of the top pre-market analyst upgrades we have seen early this Friday morning:
- Barnes & Noble (BKS) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
- Brink’s (BCO) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
- Kellogg (K) Raised to Buy at UBS.
- Navistar (NAV) Started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.
- Omnicare (OCR) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
- Sonus Networks (SONS) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
- Turkcell (TKC) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Jon C. Ogg
January 16, 2009
CEO Of The Year Nominees: 10) Irene B. Rosenfeld Of Kraft (KFT)
24/7 Wall St. will name its annual CEO of the Year later this week. The executive will be picked from a field of ten which we will profiled over the last ten days.
The CEOs are chosen on the basis of their company’s stock market and financial performances compared with their own industry groups and all large companies traded on US markets. Only firms with market caps of more than $5 billion were considered. 24/7 reviewed revenue growth, operating margins, balance sheets, return on assets, and return on equity.
Early Bird Analyst Downgrades (ASTI, KO, DT, ESLR, K, PEP, TSL)
These are some of the top early bird downgrades or negative calls we have seen from analysts on Wall Street this Tuesday morning:
- Ascent Solar (ASTI) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
- Coca-Cola (KO) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
- Deutsche Telekom (DT) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
- Evergreen Solar (ESLR) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
- Kellogg (K) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
- PepsiCo (PEP) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
- Trina Solar (TSL) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Jon C. Ogg
November 18, 2008
Box Of Cereal Headed To $100 (KFT)(K)(SLE)(CAG)(TSN)
No one should be surprised that food companies are passing along tremendous increases in the prices of commodities. Consumers will be paying more for everything from hot dogs to corn flakes. Even the prices of Velveeta and Spam are going up.
According to the FT, "Kraft Foods (KFT), which has said it will push up its prices by 12-13 per cent this year, said some of its cheese categories could rise 25 per cent."
Sara Lee (SLE), Tyson (TSN), Kellogg’s (K), and ConAgra (CAG) are all planning similar increases.
Douglas A. McIntyre
Bunge (BG) Bets The Farm, Doubles Down On Corn
Bunge (BG), which has a big business in finished corn products, is buying Corn Products International (CPO) for $4.4 billion. CPO’s name pretty much says how it makes its money.
The price is a 25% premium to the Corn Product’s recent share price, which is an awful risk for Bunge. According to The Wall Street Journal, "Buying Corn Products will give Bunge a presence in nearly every step of the so-called corn value chain."
The fact that the price of corn and other agricultural commodities is rising could be viewed as good for Bunge. It could also be viewed as very, very bad.
Bunge and its peers are operating in a market where corn price have spiked up 20% in recent weeks due to flooding in the Midwest. The rise in the commodity may allow Bunge to increase revenue, but it may quickly lose the opportunity to pass along the costs of raw goods to its customers. As the price of corn flakes and bread moves up, consumers may simply buy less. Bunge and Corn Products customers like Kellogg (K) and Coca-Cola (KO) may not be able to increase sales as expensive corn bread drives people to find food alternatives which as not as expensive.
Wall St. has started to catch on to the substantial gross margin risks at Bunge. Its shares are only up about 5% so far this year. Bunge is getting caught in the food inflation cycle and its earnings could be damaged as the second half of the year comes around. The CPO deal may end up as an example of how a fool and his money are soon parted.
Douglas A. McIntyre
Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (ARM, BTUI, ELY, KO, INTC, JASO, K, LEH, OCR, OXPS)
These are some of the top analyst calls we are looking at this Tuesday morning:
- ArvinMeritor (NYSE: ARM) Raised to Buy From Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
- BTU International (NASDAQ: BTUI) Started as Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
- Callaway Golf (NYSE: ELY) Started as Outperform at Raymond James.
- Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) Raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
- Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) Started as Buy at ThinkPanmure.
- JA Solar (NASDAQ: JASO) Started as Buy at Broadpoint.
- Kellogg (NYSE: K) Raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.
- Lehman (NYSE: LEH) Cut to Market Perform from Outperform as Wachovia.
- Omnicare (NYSE: OCR) Raised to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer.
- optionsXpress (NASDAQ: OXPS) Raised to Neutral from Sell at Merriman Curhan Ford.
Jon C. Ogg
June 10, 2008
Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (CAT, EMN, GIS, K, GNTX, MEDX, MRK, N, NE, PLT, WAG)
These are not the only analyst calls impacting stocks pre-market, but these are the top calls that 247WallSt.com is focusing on:
Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) raised to Outperform at Bear Stearns.
Eastman Chemical (NYSE: EMN) raised to Buy at UBS.
General Mills (NYSE: GIS) & Kellogg (NYSE: K) raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Gentex (NASDAQ: GNTX)raised to Neutral at UBS.
Medarex (NASDAQ: MEDX) raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Merck (NYSE: MRK) raised to Buy at UBS.
Netsuite (NYSE: N) initiated as Outperform at JMP Securities.
Noble Corp. (NYSE: NE) downgraded to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) downgraded to Sell at Citigroup.
Jon C. Ogg
Januar 28, 2008
Kraft (KFT) Buckles To Peltz Pressure
Kraft (KFT) is in the late stages of a deal to sell its Post cereal division to private label cereal company Ralcorp for $2.8 billion. The unit was considered a poor performer at Kraft. Perhaps its sales is the sacrifice that the company’s management must make to keep activist Nelson Peltz, who has a piece of the company, happy. Peltz does not think much of the executives running the company and wants them to up the value of the shares though a higher dividend of buy-backs. Selling a few units could finance such moves.
Of course, the sale of Post assumes that the cereal business is a bad one, at least for shareholders. Over the last five years, shares in Kellogg (K) are up about 70%. And, the company pays a 2.4% dividend. Peltz might not be happy with that either. Some people just can’t be satisfied.
Douglas A. McIntyre
Coca-Cola (KO) Shown Disrespect For Desani Water
Consumers International give out annual prizes for the world’s worst products. Perhaps someone from Coca-Cola (KO) showed up a the award dinner to collect its prize.
According to the AFP news agency, one award went to drinks giant Coca-Cola for pushing marketing "into the realms of the ridiculous" in the United States and South America with its Desani bottled warter which is sourced from the same reservoirs as local tap water.
Kellogg’s (K) did equally well. "Kellogg’s are one of a number of international food companies that make money by selling products high in fat, sugar and/or salt," Consumers International said.
And, we can’t forget Chinese toys. Toymaker Mattel (MAT) was also named over the global recall of more than 19 million products made in China because of high lead levels and small magnets.
Let’s hope they display the awards in their HQ lobbies with pride.
Douglas A. McIntyre
Nestle Raises A Warning Flag
The head of Nestle told the FT that long-term food prices were going up, perhaps sharply. He indicated that demand in China and India were one component this trend, and the need for corn in biofuels was the other.
Someone ought to tell Nelson Peltz about this. He has just put a bunch of money up to buy 3% of Kraft (KFT). Kellogg (K) and General Mills (GIS) should feel the pinch as well.
It should have occurred to the good companies that their investors long ago that the same supply pressure that are hitting oil and metals are coming to the food business as well. It may not be as easy to get consumers to pay a "China premium" on food as it has been on gasoline. They can always turn to Spam and Velveeta.
General Mills trades near its 52-week high. So does Kellogg (K).
That may not last.
Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at douglasamcintyre@247wallst.com.
Kraft (KFT): Never Give A Sucker An Even Break
"Never give a sucker an even break and never wise up a chump" — P.T. Barnum
Krafts’s (KFT) shares are up 7% on a rumor that Nelso Peltz has bought 3% of the company and wants to have talks about focusing on the firm’s more profitable products. A couple of months ago, the stock got boiling on a rumor that Warren Buffett liked the company.
Kraft is not in a great set of businesses. In the last quarter, revenue rose about 5% to $8.6 billion. Earnings dropped 30%. The company’s costs for the commodities it buys to make its products are rising. Increasing prices to consumers is tough. Companies like ConAgra (CAG), General Mills (GIS), and Kellogg (K) want those customers, too.
Altria (MO), Kraft’s former parent, tried to get the company to perform better for years. They found out that selling cigarettes beats peddling food hands down.
Maybe Peltz will buy a piece of the company. But, he may face the same resistance that Carl Icahn faced at Motorola (MOT). Kraft’s fairly new CEO, Irene Rosenfeld, thinks she knows what she is doing. Her board is likely to give her some time.
But food is not a great business, no matter who wants to own the company.
Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at douglasamcintyre@247wallst.com. He does not own securities in companies that he writes about.
Pre-Market Stock News (June 14, 2007)
(APPAD) AP Pharmaceuticals announces the pricing of its underwritten public offering of 21.2 million shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $1.65 per share.
(BBND) Bigband Networks announced order for its routers by Korean cable operator.
(BIDU) Baidu.com noted as positive speculative play in China by Cramer on Mad Money.
(BIOF) BioFuel priced its IPO at$10.50 per share.
(BOT) CBOT may get a sweetened bid from CME according to WSJ.
(CEO) CNOOC noted as one of the solid and stable companies in China by Cramer on Mad Money.
(CHL) China Mobile noted as one of the solid and stable companies in China by Cramer on Mad Money.
(FMCN) Focus Media noted as positive speculative play in China by Cramer on Mad Money.
(GIVN) Given Imaging receives FDA marketing clearance for PillCam ESO 2.
(HOKU) Hoku Scientific traded up over 60% after a $678 million order from Suntech power.
(IRBT) iRobot received Lockheed Martin order to be the provider of the Centralized Controller Device for the U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems program.
(IVZ) INVESCO announced a $500 million share buyback plan.
(K) Kellogg is trying to create healthier recipes for sugary cereals.
(SNY) Sanofi-Aventis traded down 3% after an FDA review panel voted 14-0 against its diet drug over lack of safety concerns.
(SRZ) Sunrise Assisted Living received activist shareholder complaints for management change by Millennium Partners.
(SSW) Seaspan noted as one of the solid and stable companies in China by Cramer on Mad Money.
(SYT) Sygenta announced that its CEO will retire at the end of 2007.
(TASR) Taser announced an extended range electronic projectile.
(TGEN) Targeted Genetics reported Phase I/II swelling reduction in inflammatory arthritis clinical data.
(WMT) Wal-Mart reportedly has theft rising at stores.
(ZILA) Zila’s CEO has resigned effective immediately to pursue other interests.
Jon C. Ogg
June 14, 2007
Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.
Market Trades For Super-Bulls, Chicken-Bulls, and Outright Bears
Stock Tickers: AAPL, GOOG, RIMM, BA, UTX, ATI, RTP, RIO, FLR, SGR, PEP, KO, BUD, CAG, HNZ, CPB, HRL, K, GIS, KFT, MCD, MRK, PFE, ALO, PYX, HME, WTR, SNH, SRZ, PG, CL, MO, RAI, CLX, NVO, BRK/A, FLO, DLM, PSQ, DOG, SSO, SH, BIL, IEI, TLT, TLH
There is more than enough bantering back and forth out there about the week’s sell-off in reaction to long-term interest rates and the Bill Gross predictions for potentially higher rates longer-term. So, if you are a super-bull then you’d want to use the leadership stocks to pile surplus cash into thinking the world didn’t really change. If you are a chicken-bull (want to buy but not overly aggressive and still cautious) then you want to buy defensive stocks. If you’re a bear, well at least you get the 5% interest. We wanted to provide at least a partial list of the bull and bear go-to picks ahead of the weekend when many will be doing extra amounts of reading.
Aggressive Bullish Picks
IF this was just an unwarranted sell-off that came because of a rate spook and if Mr. Gross is wrong, then you go hard and fast into what has been working before. Aerospace, Infrastructure, Metals & Mining, very selective Tech. So out of selective tech the two most obvious names are Apple (AAPL) and either Google (GOOG) or Research-in-Motion (RIMM). In Aerospace the go-to names are Boeing (BA) and United Tech (UTX). In metals its Allegheny Tech (ATI), Rio Tinto (RTP), and Companhia Vale do Rio Doce ‘CVRD’ (RIO). In infrastructure the go-to names are Fluor (FLR), Shaw Group (SGR). This week Jim Cramer gave his New Four Horsemen of Technology and booted the old ones.
Defensive Stock Plays For Chicken-Bull
Because this sell-off is for a different reason, we have eliminated the power companies because of the tie being so geared toward higher rates. We’ve also pulled out the debt collection companies because they ran so much after the last sub-prime scare. Here was the first line of 20 defensive stocks back in February from the mini-Asian meltdown and here was the list of second-line defensive names. This still leaves plenty of options, and we added in a few more.
First Line Defensive Stocks: Coca-Cola (KO), PepsiCo (PEP), Anheuser-Busch (BUD), ConAgra (CAG), Heinz (HNZ), Campbell Soup (CPB), Hormel (HRL), Kellogg (K), General Mills (GIS), Kraft (KFT), McDonalds (MCD), Merck (MRK), Pfizer (PFE), P & G (PG), Colgate-Polmolive (CL), Altria (MO), Reynolds American (RAI), and Clorox (CLX).
Second-Line Defensive Stocks: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/a), Flowers Foods (FLO), Del Monte Foods (DLM), Novo Nordisk (NVO), Alpharma (ALO), Playtex (PYX), Home Properties (HME), Aqua America (WTR), and Senior Housing (SNH), Sunrise Senior Living (SRZ).
The Bearish Trades
If you are still bearish or are completely bearish, then you’ve got Treasuries and all of the inverse ETF funds. Some of the negative market ETF trades that move invesrely are the SHORT QQQ PROSHARES (PSQ), SHORT DOW30 PROSHARES (DOG), ULTRA S&P500 PROSHARES (SSO), SHORT S&P500 PROSHARES (SH), and more. For short-term rate ETF’s you have the fairly new STREETTRACKS SERIES TRUST Lehman 1-3 MO T-BILL (BIL). The more liquid interest rate ETF’s that actually trade are the iShares Lehman 20+ Year Treas Bond (TLT), iShares Lehman 10-20 Year Treas Bond (TLH), iShares Lehman 3-7 Year T-Note (IEI), and more.
As a reminder, defensive stocks still tend to get hit when the market gets so bad that they throw out the baby with the bath water, but they usually start to fall less and less and are usually the first stocks that traders commit money to at the turns. Defensive doesn’t mean immune. Also, all of these are merely part of a partial list and the list could have easily been 3-times the size.
Jon C. Ogg
June 8, 2007
Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.
-
Today’s top tickerspy Indexes Home Furnishing R... +14.1% Ethanol and Biofu... +5.1% Electronics Retai... +2.1% Diabetes Stocks +2.0% Memory Chip Stock... +2.0% 
-
-
- Iran Oil Min Blames Non-OPEC Producers For Lower Prices
- Iran Says In Talks With Kuwait On Possible Gas Supply
- Koor Industries Closes Deal To Buy HSBC Building In New York
- Dalai Lama Says President Obama Not Soft On China-AP
- Indian Prime Minister Says No Substitute For US Dollar-Reuters
- UPDATE:Reliance Shows Global Ambition With LyondellBasell Offer
-
-
- paidContent - Nielsen Biz Selling Print, Online But Not Until December; Lachlan Murdoch Considering Investing
- paidContent - Jason Goldberg Leaving Xing After A Year; New Startup & Investments
- paidContent - ESPN.com's Bill Simmons Gets A Twitter Time Out, Sort Of
- paidContent - Finally, MySpace Music Licenses 'Fifth Label' Merlin; Reins in Fiercest Critic
- paidContent - Why Sony's Planned Music Store Won't Start Out As A Serious iTunes Challenger
- paidContent - paidContent Quick Hits 11.20.09
-
©2009 24/7 Wall St.
Powered by WordPress.com VIP
Designed by SlipFire
