24/7 Wall St. » LNC

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AGNC, AAPL, ADM, CALM, CAT, DLTR, FDO, HPQ, KIRK, LNC, MON, NAV, TIF, VECO)

Administrator — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:16:50 +0000

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

American Capital Agency (NASDAQ: AGNC) Cut to Market Perform at JMP Securities.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Reiterated Outperform with $500 target at Credit Suisse.
Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) Started as Hold at Argus.
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: CALM) named value stock of the day at Zacks.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) Cut to Equal-Weight at Barclays.
Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (NYSE: FDO) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) Reiterated Buy with $40 target at Argus.
Kirkland’s, Inc. (NASDAQ: KIRK) Cut to Underperform as bear of the day at Zacks.
Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE: LNC) Added to the U.S. 1 List at BofA/ML.
Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) Reiterated Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) Started as Buy at Stern Agee.
Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) Cut to Sell at Canaccord Genuity.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, ADM, AGNC, CALM, CAT, DLTR, FDO, HPQ, KIRK, LNC, MON, NAV, TIF, VECO

Top Analyst Upgrades (ANF, KOF, HTZ, HEW, ING, LNC, VZ)

247wallst — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:41:41 +0000

These are the top analyst upgrades and positive research calls we have seen from Wall Street this Thursday morning with about two hours until the market opens:

Abercombie & Fitch (ANF) Raised to Buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
Coca-Cola FEMSA (KOF) Raised to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Hertz (HTZ) Raised to Outperform at Wachovia.
Hewitt (HEW) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
ING (ING) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Lincoln National (LNC) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Verizon (VZ) Started as Buy at Pali Research.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: ANF, HEW, HTZ, ING, KOF, LNC, VZ

Media Digest 6/16/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

247wallst — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 08:01:14 +0000

Reuters: The US outlined new financial market reforms.

Reuters: Obama lobbied MDs on his new healthcare package.

Reuters: Russia hosted the first BRIC summit.

Reuters: B of A’s (BAC) BlackRock (BLK) stake is more appealing.

Reuters: Samsung and Nokia (NOK) are pushing into smartphones. (MOT)(AAPL)(RIMM).

Reuters: The Boston Globe and unions discussed new proposals (NYT)

Reuters: Citigroup (C) said TARP is hurting its chances of keeping talent.

Reuters: The Madoff judge is being swamped by letters from former customers.

Reuters: RIM (RIMM) plan to cross categories with its Blackberry Tour.

Reuters: The Six Flags bankruptcy could hurt unsecured creditors.

WSJ: Airbus and Boeing (BA) are trying to save orders.

WSJ: A judge set rules of the AIG (AIG) trial.

WSJ: Freddie Mac’s (FRE) temp CEO is trying to move out.

WSJ: The IMF upgraded it view of the US economy.

WSJ: The Senate is reviewing details of the new healthcare bill.

WSJ: Microsoft (MSFT) filed suit against people who allegedly committed click fraud.

WSJ: The ECB says bank write-downs will grow.

WSJ: Chrysler resumed production.

WSJ: The fight over Digital Domain has opened a tech culture clash (NTAP)(EMC).

WSJ: Virgin Media will launch a music service.

WSJ: The IMF urged Sweden’s banks to raise money.

WSJ: Lincoln National (LNC) may raise over $2 billion. (HIG)(PRU).

WSJ: Moody’s dimmed its ratings view of UBS (UBS).

WSJ: Banks may be too big to fail, but their problems may be too big to solve. (C)(WFC)(BAC)(JPM)(GS)(MS).

WSJ: Profits for home improvement retailers may be well into the future (HD)(LOW).

WSJ: GM’s law firms enjoyed a big payday.

WSJ: A GE (GE) unit will offer interim financing for its products to US hospitals.

WSJ: Adobe (ADBE) will charge for Acrobat.com.

WSJ: India topped the rankings of emerging retail markets.

NYT: Credit card issuers are trying to slash customers balances.

NYT: Tobacco regulations may face a free speech challenge.

NYT: The new healthcare plan is raising concerns about costs.

NYT: Rupert Murdoch of News Corp (NWS) and Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s prime minister, are feuding.

NYT: Data on how airlines measure on-time performance may be questionable (LUV)(AMR)(CAL)(DAL)(UAUA)(LCC)

FT: The Treasury plans strict rules for securitization.

FT: The Eurozone may face another $283 billion in writedowns.

FT: GSK (GSK) has entered a generic drug pact.

Bloomberg: Production in the US probably dropped due to the auto industry and housing starts. (F)(HOV)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted in Autos, Banking, Drug companies, Healthcare, Housing, Labor & Unions, Management Change, Media, PC Companies, Pharmaceuticals, Press Digest, Technology Tagged: AAPL, ADBE, AIG, AMR, BA, BAC, BLK, C, CAL, DAL, EMC, F, FRE, GE, GS, GSK, HD, HD LOW, HIG, HOV, JPM, LCC, LNC, LOW, LUV, MOT, MS, MSFT, NOK, NTAP, NWS, NYT, PRU, RIMM, UAUA, UBS, WFC

Top Analyst Upgrades (CSIQ, EXPE, FCX, JNPR, K, LNC, OWW, TLEO, THS)

247wallst — Thu, 21 May 2009 11:42:48 +0000

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

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: CSIQ, EXPE, FCX, JNPR, K, LNC, OWW, THS, TLEO

Top Analyst Upgrades (EAT, DAI, ENR, HS, LEN, LNC, MGM, RTP)

247wallst — Mon, 18 May 2009 11:54:53 +0000

These are some of the top pre-market analyst upgrades we have seen from Wall Street early this Monday morning:

Brinker International (EAT) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Daimler (DAI) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Energizer Holdings (ENR) Raised to Neutral at UBS.
HealthSpring (HS) Raised to Outperform at Wachovia.
Lennar (LEN) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Lincoln National (LNC) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
MGM Mirage (MGM) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Rio Tinto (RTP) Raised to Hold from Sell at RBS.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: DAI, EAT, ENR, HS, LEN, LNC, MGM, RTP

TARP Approved For Insurance Money: More Cash From The Taxpayer’s Pocket (LNC)(PRU)(HIG)(PFG)

247wallst — Thu, 14 May 2009 23:38:08 +0000

The Washington Post is reporting that the Treasury Department has granted approval for insurance companies to have access to TARP funds. It is not clear what that will do to the balance in the TARP “account.” By some estimates it is down to $115 billion. Some of the banks who have received funds plan to pay that money back in the coming months. Other banks may need additional capital from the TARP.

The news does mean that the financial bailout is spreading and that the Treasury must believe that there is some systemic risk to a failure of one or more of the large insurance companies.

Earlier reports are that the Hartford (HIG), Prudential (PRU), Lincoln National (LNC), and Principal Financial Group (PFG) will receive capital.

Now taxpayers can own shares in all of those companies, too.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted in Banking, Financial Stocks Tagged: HIG, LNC, PFG, PRU

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ANF, CE, FLEX, FCL, HD, HMIN, LNC, MRO, OSG, SON)

247wallst — Wed, 13 May 2009 11:27:37 +0000

These are ten of the top analyst upgrades and downgrades from Wall Street we have seen early this Wednesday morning with more than two hours until the market opens for trading:

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Celanese (CE) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Flextronics (FLEX) Cuto Sell at Collins Stewart.
Foundation Coal (FCL) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Home Depot (HD) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Home Inns (HMIN) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Lincoln National (LNC) Raised to Outperform at Wachovia.
Marathon Oil (MRO) Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.
Overseas Shipholding (OSG) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Sonoco Products (SON) Cut to Hold at KeyBanc.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: ANF, CE, FCL, FLEX, HD, HMIN, LNC, MRO, OSG, SON

TARP Revisit: Were Life Insurers On the Brink? (MET, PRU, HIG, LNC, GNW, AIG)

247wallst — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 10:08:28 +0000

There is one question that keeps making the rounds after the news of yesterday’s TARP bailout money inclusion being offered to life insurers. Are these really close to falling into the abyss, all over again? You will see the large gains racked up yesterday, but there is a lot more to this than may meet the eye.

Insurer (Ticker)………… Gain… Mkt Cap.. Comment (year stock drop)
MetLife, Inc. (MET)……… 2.36%.. $20.2B.. down almost 66%
Prudential Financial (PRU).. 7.74%.. $10.1B.. down almost 75%
Hartford Financial (HIG)…. 13.5%.. $3.12B.. down over 80%
Lincoln National (LNC)…… 32.80%. $2.3B… rose on debt repayments
Genworth Financial (GNW)…. 11.48%. $1.0B… down almost 90%

The questions and discussions that came from the financial community to us yesterday about the TARP money were not so much around the “freshness” of the data. Some insurers had been in line for months. The TARP was meant to allow for inclusion of some insurers which had bank holding companies, and some insurers had been complaining that they were being left out or being put at a competitive disadvantage after American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) was receiving so much bailout money. The issue boils down to liquidity, capitalization, and the sheer need of more capital.

In recent months, the once revered and still watched portfolio manager Ken Heebner of CGM Funds had been saying that life insurers were a considerable asset buy. If he loved them then, he’s got to love them now. Assuming he hasn’t had to dump them. And to top it off, insurers had exposure to every sort of scandalous investment out there: CDO’s, derivatives, Bernie Madoff, Auction Rate Securities, and on.

But a rally at this point after some of these have regained handily from lows due solely to TARP eligibility just brings up this serious question… How close are these to failure? Insurance is a trickier business in many cases because they are regulated state by state and for now there is now “systematic risk regulator” that gets to monitor all of these operations. If an insurance company fails, there is the likelihood that a state would have to make good on a policy.

Ratings agencies have been reviewing insurers as well even after many have been downgraded, because many insurers have lost considerable value in investment portfolios due to 50% stock losses and due to owning many now-illiquid debt instruments and derivatives.

Many of these insurers were up much more than what they closed at. The timing and the details of the Treasury inclusion of life insurers is one reason for the lack of closing on highs. But there has to be this pesky notion inside trader and investor minds. Are these guys really 0on the brink of failure? Genworth is out of GE, and they are down even more than the former parent. MetLife used to advertise that they could pay all of their claims in entirety.

These insurance companies have to maintain solid reserves against their policies, because with life insurance policies there are claims every year against a certain percentage of their investments. Many insurers had been granted regulatory approvals to ease certain capital requirements that ultimately boosted their liquidity. This was also to cut the chances that they would need to raise additional capital.

Participating in government bailout programs does not come without a price. Congress was off this week, so it will not be another week or two before the Congressmen get to show their additional outrage in their grand-standing fashion on television networks. Suddenly, management teams can be paraded in front of Congress with questions about executive compensation, travel methods, extravagant lifestyles, and on and on. A quick review of salaries in these companies shows that many executives make mid-single-digit incomes, in million of dollars of course, and many managers have exercised options packages that go into the double-digits, again in millions of dollars.

TARP money may gives these insurers a further cushion. Maybe this cushion is really aimed at protecting states from having to be on the hook if these go into state receivership. The list of maybes can go on and on. Unfortunately, the need for the ailment here, not a cure, only highlights how sick some of the patients in this sector really are.

Maybe the question is not really just “are they on the brink of collapse?”… It sounds more like a situation where we need to ask if these were on the brink of collapse AGAIN.

Jon C. Ogg

Posted in Banking, Financial Stocks, Politics, Regulation Tagged: AIG, GNW, HIG, LNC, MET, PRU

Top Pre-Market Analyst Downgrades (AMP, AAPL, DVAX, FCX, GMT, LNC, PCX, X)

247wallst — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 06:52:08 +0000

These are some of the top pre-market analyst downgrades from Wall Street this Wednesday morning:

Ameriprise Financial (AMP) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.
Apple (AAPL) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Dynavax (DVAX) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Freeport-McMoran (FCX) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
GATX (GMT) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
Lincoln National (LNC) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.
Patriot Coal (PCX) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
US Steel (X) Cut to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Jon C. Ogg
October 22, 2008

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, AMP, DVAX, FCX, GMT, LNC, PCX, X