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Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ABB, ABG, BBVA, BGS, CSX, GILD, IMUC, INFY, ITRI, KLAC, LRCX, NEE, NSC, ORCL, WSH)

Administrator — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:28:12 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Tuesday morning:

ABB Limited (NYSE: ABB) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABG) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE: BBVA) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
B&G Foods Inc. (NYSE: BGS) reinstated as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays.
ImmunoCellular (NASDAQ: IMUC) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Infosys Limited (NASDAQ: INFY) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
NextEra Energy Inc. (NYSE: NEE) Reiterated Buy at Argus.
Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) Cut to Market Perform at JMP Securities.
Willis Group Holdings (NYSE: WSH) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: ABB, ABG, BBVA, BGS, CSX, GILD, IMUC, INFY, ITRI, KLAC, LRCX, NEE, NSC, ORCL, WSH

24/7 Wall St. Top Analyst Calls of the Week (T, ADP. BBY, CHK, DNDN, ETFC, JCP, JPM, GS, MS, JEF, KLAC, LIFE, MCD, KORS, NFLX, VPRT, ZNGA)

Administrator — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:19:53 +0000

This last week brought many new analyst calls in key stocks. At the end of each week we review research calls looking for the best gems, the calls that made serious money for investors, and we also look for the duds which were wrong or just stood apart from the crowd.

The 24/7 Wall St. Top Analyst Calls of the Week were in shares of the following: AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T); Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NYSE: ADP); Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY); Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK); Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN); E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC); J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP); J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM); Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS); Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS); Jefferies Group, Inc. (NYSE: JEF); KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC); Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE); McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD); Michael Kors Holdings Limited (NYSE: KORS); Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX); Vistaprint NV (NASDAQ: VPRT); and Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA).

We have covered these in more detailed summaries below and some of these will have links to broader coverage calls.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) has been a bit under pressure and frankly its earnings did not help the situation for the bulls despite some positive metrics. Now there is a bit more caution as the stock was reinstated in coverage on Friday at Credit Suisse: with a NEUTRAL and a mere $30.00 price target. This was one of Jim Cramer’s 4 FAVORITE DJIA PICKS FOR 2012 and it is the highest yield of the DJIA.

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NYSE: ADP) met its second quarter earnings estimates this last week but apparently there are some valuation concerns despite the CFO seeing some continued positive trends in the economy. On Thursday there were two downgrades: Cut to NEUTRAL at Citigroup and Cut to MARKET PERFORM at Wells Fargo. Shares were around $57.oo pre-earnings and ended the week down at $55.34 and that may be another failed break-out attempt on the chart as the year high is $57.10.

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is supposed to be down and out with absolutely nothing going for it. In fact, its real risk is that no one under 30 or so may ever go there again. Not so fast, according to Credit Suisse as the firm reinstated coverage with an OUTPERFORM rating and with a call of almost 30% upside to its $32.00 price target (versus $28.21 target from Thomson Reuters. This drove shares up 1.7% on Friday when the broad market was down.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) is the pure-play when it comes to investing in natural gas. It is no secret that nat-gas is in the tank. Apparently J.P.Morgan just couldn’t take the pressure any longer. The analyst team there cut Chesapeake to UNDERWEIGHT on Thursday… That is just a “Sell” masqueraded by vocabulary.

Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) was given two calls of caution or at least calls with no enthusiasm despite its shares having more than doubled from the lows. Zacks maintained a NEUTRAL rating with a $14.00 target, while the team at Cantor Fitzgerald started it with only a HOLD rating. Both calls came on Wednesday and Wednesday’s was Dendreon’s highest price of the week.

E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) is still supposed to be a buyout target according to the great analyst predictions of 2012, even though the company’s review ended with nothing. Earnings stank up the joint and the promise (or forecast) of exceptionally low rates through 2014 offers no comfort for earnings at online brokers. The stock was cut to NEUTRAL at Goldman Sachs this week. Keep in mind that Goldman Sachs was the firm hired to go find a buyer for E*TRADE. Not promising at all.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls, Editor's Picks, Research, The Week Tagged: ADP,, BBY, CHK, DNDN, ETFC, GS, JCP, JEF, JPM, KLAC, KORS, LIFE, MCD, MS, NFLX, T, VPRT, ZNGA

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (CAL, HAL, HMY, HD, IBI, KLAC, KORS, NFLX, NIHD, NVLS, PAAS, TXN, UNP, ZUMZ)

Administrator — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:14:33 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street brokerage and research firms this Tuesday morning.

Caterpillar, Inc. (NYSE: CAT) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) Reiterated Buy but lowered target to $54 at Argus.
Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMY) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) Reiterated Buy and raised price target to $51 at Argus.
Interline Brands, Inc. (NYSE: IBI) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.
KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Michael Kors Holdings Limited (NYSE: KORS) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley; Started as Outperform at Baird; Started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Maintained Outperform with $100 target at Credit Suisse.
NII Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: NIHD) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Novellus Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) maintained Outperform but lowered estimates at Credit Suisse.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) Reiterated Outperform and raised target to $40 at Credit Suisse; Cut to Hold at Kaufman Bros.
Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $130 at Argus.
Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

If you enjoyed the top analyst calls, you can sign up in the box below to join our morning email list to receive news directly in your inbox each morning. We include major analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPO and M&A news, special situation developments, observations on Warren Buffett and key market gurus, as well as special exclusive feature stories.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: CAL, HAL, HD, HMY, IBI, KLAC, KORS, NFLX, NIHD, NVLS, PAAS, TXN, UNP, ZUMZ

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

Giant Technology Stocks Are Now Too Cheap (AMAT, CSC, GLW, DELL, HPQ, INTC, KLAC, LRCX, MSFT, MU, SNDK, WDC)

Administrator — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 10:25:17 +0000

The sell-off and market volatility have made it difficult for many nervous investors to either stand pat or even to stay interested in the market when they are more interested in vacations, getting ready for back to school, or even looking for career opportunities. Hard times bring great opportunities. It is exactly times like this that new millionaires are made by picking great undervalued investments. The reality is that there are some incredible opportunities for value investors out there waiting for investors right now.

Value for the sake of value may never seem like a true catalyst on the surface. In fact, it usually requires an outside economic event or an internal event that creates that next catalyst. All value investors know two things for long-term picks: first is that the value has to be cheap enough to be worth what may be a very long wait, and second is that when the catalyst arises much of that great opportunity may have already been missed. The town crier may be telling you that many of the great tech stocks are just too cheap today, even if there is a lack of catalysts and even if there is no assurance that the absolute bottom has been seen in the market. One upcoming catalyst could be the calendar: investors have historically preferred to buy technology shares shortly ahead of the fourth quarter.

The old rule of thumb is that stocks should trade at roughly 15-times earnings, with a premium or discount applied to growth and to certain industries. That number may be 12-times or 13-times earnings now. Most value investors also use 3.0-times book value as the basic line for “value.” 24/7 Wall St. has found 12 great technology giants at steep market discounts that are all rather well-known with long histories, they trade at less than 10-times current earnings, they also trade at less than 10-times forward earnings, they have large cash balances, most are at very low multiples of book value, and they are all down considerably from recent highs and highs of the past five years.

The late-summer technology value picks are as follows: Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT); Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE: CSC); Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW); Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL); Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ); Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC); KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC); Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX); Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT); Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU); SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK); and Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC).

Looking for value is usually tricky as there is generally a reason for such a low valuation. Earnings that make up that P/E might not live up to expectations, cash reserves can be chewed up, analysts often change their targets and many fail to trust that the value is reflecting uncertainty in the markets. This will show you the good and the bad in these uncanny technology values.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) is the king of chip cap-ex and it carries a $15 billion market value. The company usually trades with a lower-than-market earnings multiple, but as the leader this one has always managed to come back. The stock trades at only about 9.6-times current earnings and trades at about 8.7-times forward earnings. It also trades at only about 1.8-times book value, it carries little long-term debt, and its cash and investments are listed as being close to $4.6 billion combined. It also carries a 3% dividend yield. At $11.44, the 52-week trading range is $10.27 to $16.93 and this was above $22 back in 2007 and shares went under $9.00 at the selling zeniths of late-2008 and early-2009.

Filed under: Consumer Electronics, PC Companies, Software, Technology Companies, Turnarounds, Value Investing Tagged: AAPL, AMAT, CSC, DELL, GLW, HPQ, INTC, KLAC, LRCX, MSFT, MU, SNDK, STX, WDC

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BRK-A, KO, CCU, DD, EMC, EOG, GDI, AWAY, JBHT, KLAC, NTAP, PG, SBUX, HOT, TSRA, TXN, WTW, YUM)

Administrator — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:57:04 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Tuesday morning.

AECOM Technology Corp. (NYSE: ACM) Reiterated Buy with $33 target at Argus.
American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) Raised to Market Perform at KBW.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) Raised to Buy with $31 target at Argus.
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Maintained Buy but cut target to $140 at Argus.
Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE: PPG) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.
StanCorp Financial Group (NYSE: SFG) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) Raised to Hold at Citigroup.

You are invited to 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

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AWAY, BRK-A, CCU, DD, EMC, EOG, GDI, HOT, JBHT, KLAC, KO, NTAP, PG, SBUX, TSRA, TXN, WTW, YUM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BRK-A, KO, CCU, DD, EMC, EOG, GDI, AWAY, JBHT, KLAC, NTAP, PG, SBUX, HOT, TSRA, TXN, WTW, YUM)

Administrator — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 12:09:21 +0000

You already know about the S&P U.S. credit rating downgrade, but these are some of the top equity analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Monday morning.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Compania Cervecerias Unidas S.A. (NYSE: CCU) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
E.I. DuPont de Nemours (NYSE: DD) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) Raised to Buy at Auriga.
EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE: EOG) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Gardner Denver, Inc. (NYSE: GDI) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.
HomeAway, Inc. (NASDAQ: AWAY) Started as Hold at Stifel Nicolaus; Started as Overweight at JPMorgan; Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
JB Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) Cut to Neutral at Robert W. Baird.
KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) Raised to Buy at Auriga.
Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) Raised to Outperform at Bernstein.
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) Raised to Outperform at Robert W. Baird.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) Raised to Outperform at Bernstein.
Tessera Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: TSRA) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE: WTW) Started as Overweight with $80 target at Credit Suisse.
Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) Raised to Outperform at Robert W. Baird.

You can also see the top analyst calls of last week here, which have a much longer-term impact rather than just a day or two. Stocks noted: BAC, BRCD, DNDN, DG, LNKD, HK, POT, RSH, SNDK, SYMC, MCD, TEVA, TA, WMT, and YHOO.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AWAY, BRK-A, CCU, DD, EMC, EOG, GDI, HOT, JBHT, KLAC, KO, NTAP, PG, SBUX, TSRA, TXN, WTW, YUM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ANDE, AINV, AMAT, BAC, BYD, CSTR, EXH, FSLR, HMA, KLAC, LNKD, MU, POT, HK, RCL, SNDK, CRM, SYMC, VMW)

Administrator — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 12:01:10 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Friday morning.

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANDE) Maintained Buy as Value at Zacks.
Apollo Investment Corporation (NASDAQ: AINV) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) Started as Perform at Oppenheimer.
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE: BYD) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Exterran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EXH) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Cut to Hold at ThinkEquity.
Health Management Associates Inc. (NYSE: HMA) Cut to Hold at Argus.
KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) Started as Perform at Oppenheimer.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) Raised to Outperform at Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Petrohawk Energy Corporation (NYSE: HK) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AINV, AMAT, ANDE, BAC, BYD, CRM, CSTR, EXH, FSLR, HK, HMA, KLAC, LNKD, MU, POT, RCL, SNDK, SYMC, VMW

Despite Woes, New Buybacks & Dividend Hikes Stay Strong (AOS, CLF, CMI, KLAC, NWS)

Administrator — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 13:58:54 +0000

The market is soft, the economy hit a soft patch, and now woes are building about Italy beyond Greece, while China and India keep applying the brakes on growth. This is taking the wind out of many top stocks, but some companies are trying to show the all-clear signal that things are not as bad in all aspects of business. We are getting more and more dividend hikes and even share buyback announcements from companies. The trends continue…

Today’s key dividend hikes and share buybacks are in shares of The A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE: AOS), Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF), Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI), KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC), and News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS). We have added in price data and compared yields and the relative size to share prices if applicable.

The A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE: AOS) approved a 14% dividend hike in its quarterly cash dividend to $0.16 per quarter per share and payable on August 15 to shareholders of record July 29. The new yield is roughly 1.5% with shares currently down 1 cent at $41.87. Here is what is amazing, housing may stink but it appears that the replacement cycle is coming soon… A.O. Smith manufactures and sells water heating equipment to the residential and commercial markets.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) just announced last night that it will increase the quarterly cash dividend by 100% to $0.28 per share per quarter, payable on September 1 to shareholders of record as of the close on August 15. Doubling a dividend is usually a solid message. Still, this is a lower dividend yield of just under 1.2% now that shares are up marginally at $95.00 this morning. The iron ore and metallurgical coal player’s 52-week trading range is $45.18 to $102.48.

Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) is trying to signal that the engine business is fine for years ahead because this is one large dividend hike. Cummins hiked its quarterly dividend by about 50% to $0.40 per quarter per share from a rate of $0.2625 per quarter per share. The new rate is not a major yield but it is larger than most tied to auto or trucks as its new yield is above 1.5%. Shares are up 2% at $106.00 this morning and the 52-week range is $58.91 to $121.49.

KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) has authorized an increase in the quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.35 per share, taking effect in with the quarterly dividend to be declared in August 2011. This is nearly a 40% hike and represents its third dividend increase since initiating its dividend in April 2005. With shares down 2% around $41.30, KLA-Tencor’s new dividend will clock in at close to 3.4%. That is impressive for a technology stock.

News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS) has decided that the recent share weakness around its ‘News of the World’ and around its BSkyB buyout reached the “enough is enough” point. Today Rupert Murdoch and friends announced that a stock repurchase program totaling $5 billion. The new plan increases what was approximately $1.8 billion remaining under the prior buyback plan. What is different about this buyback from the prior buyback is that the company said it intends to buy back “$5 billion of Class A common stock and Class B common stock from time to time over the next 12 months.” We are talking about a $43 billion market cap and a company that has billions in cash on hand. Shares are up 2% at $16.44 and the 52-week range is $13.46 to $19.08. This was at $18.50 just on July 5.

Higher dividends and higher buybacks might not make shares rise if the market remains soft and nervous, but the dividend hiking trend remains the top reward for returning capital to shareholders.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Compensation, Corporate Governance, Dividend, Economy, Shareholder Issues, Stock Buybacks Tagged: AOS, CLF, CMI, KLAC, NWS

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ALTR, MT, ADM, ARBA, BSX, CX, CSCO, FOSL, GOV, HON, KLAC, LRCX, M, PETS, TNK, TJX, WFM)

Administrator — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:11:39 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Monday morning.

Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Archer Daniels Midland Inc. (NYSE: ADM) maintained Outperform but cut target to $35 at Credit Suisse.
Ariba Inc. (NASDAQ: ARBA) Started as Overweight at Barclays.
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) Reiterated Hold but cut estimates at Argus.
CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: CX) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Reiterated Buy with $24 target at Argus.
Fossil, Inc. (NASDAQ: FOSL) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Government Properties Income Trust (NYSE: GOV) Cut to Underperform at Wells Fargo.
Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) Reiterated Buy at BofA/ML.
KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) Raised to Hold at Citigroup.
Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE: M) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.
PetMed Express, Inc. (NASDAQ: PETS) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Teekay Tankers Limited (NYSE: TNK) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TJX) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ADM, ALTR, ARBA, BSX, CSCO, CX, FOSL, GOV, HON, KLAC, LRCX, M, MT, PETS, TJX, TNK, WFM