Posts for Ticker ‘LOW’

Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Q3-2009 Holdings (BRK-A, BRK-B, GCI, GE, GSK, HD, IR, IRM, JNJ, KFT, LOW, MCO, NLC, NKE, NSC, NRG)

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A)(BRK-B) has its Q3-2009 public equity holdings as of September 30, 2009.  In our group “A to F” we noted some interim changes in the lot.  Here are Warren Buffett’s holdings and accompanying notes for the group ‘G to O.’

  • Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) 3.447 million shares, same as before.
  • General Electric Corp. (NYSE: GE) 7.777 million shares is the same as before, but does not include the huge preferred investment from late 2008.
  • GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) 1.51 million shares, same as before.
  • Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) 2.757 million, same as last quarter.
  • Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR) 636,600 shares; WAY DOWN from the 7.78 million listed last quarter.
  • Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) 3.3722 million shares, same as before.
  • Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was just over 36.91 million shares; Same as last quarter and still well under the 62 million shares at one point in 2008.
  • Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) over 138 million; same as last quarter.
  • Lowe’s Companies (NYSE: LOW) 6.5 million shares, same as last quarter.
  • M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) 6.71 million shares, same as before.
  • Moody’s (NYSE: MCO) was listed as over 39.2 million shares, but that is WAY DOWN from the 48 million last quarter.  Be advised that he has noted sales and hinted at more sales here.
  • Nalco Holding (NYSE: NLC) 9.0 million shares, same as last quarter.
  • Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) 7.641 million shares, same as before.
  • Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) 1.933 million shares, same as before, but we already know Buffett has or is selling out of non-BNSF shares in rail companies.
  • NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) 7.2 million, same as before.

BUFFETT HOLDINGS A to F

BUFFETT HOLDINGS P to Z

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JON C. OGG

Posted on: November 16, 2009 – 4:48 pm in Activist Investor, Buffett, Conglomerates, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lowe’s (LOW): Hope Gets In Your Eyes

bearOne word from a CEO can obscure an entire earnings reports. Home improvement giant Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) reported lackluster earnings. However, its chief Robert A. Niblock said, “We are beginning to see signs of improved performance in some of the hardest-hit housing markets including California, Florida and areas of the desert Southwest.” Those areas were crushed so flat that it would require a massive turnaround the regions to do much to help the prospects of Lowe’s or Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Read More »

Posted on: November 16, 2009 – 9:45 am in Earnings, Housing, ,

Earnings Duel on Deck: Lowe’s vs. Home Depot (LOW, HD)

Money Stack PicThis week’s earnings calendar is going to be dominated by retail earnings.  Early in the week you have the home improvement and building material wars with earnings first out of Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) on Monday and then Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) on Tuesday.

We have compiled estimates from Thomson Reuters, made some key comments on what to look for in each report, shown past performance, and given some added color on what to look for ahead.  We have some concerns here about how these stocks are valued.  We also showed the relative performance for 2009, the gains since March 9 that traders use as the official end of the death spiral, and we are also showing performance since July 31.
Read More »

Posted on: November 15, 2009 – 10:46 am in Calendar, Earnings, Housing, Retail, ,

The 100 Hardest Working Brands In The World

hersheyThere 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 »

Posted on: October 20, 2009 – 5:06 pm in Research, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades (BLK, KMX, CTL, INET, LOW, STX, LUV, WWWW)

These are the top pre-market early bird analyst upgrades and positive research calls seen from Wall Street early this Wednesday morning:

Blackrock (BLK) upgraded to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
CarMax (KMX) upgraded to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
CenturyTel (CTL) upgraded to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Internet Brands (INET) Started as Buy at Canaccord.
Lowe’s (LOW) upgraded to Outperform at FBR.
Seagate (STX) upgraded to Buy at Deutsche Bank; upgraded to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Soutwest Air (LUV) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Web.com (WWWW) upgraded to Outperform at FBR Capital.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: September 23, 2009 – 8:06 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 9/23/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   A dispute over tires is making trade talks among G20 nations difficult.

Reuters:   Bank of America (BAC) will give Congress documents about Merrill.

Reuters:   Th G20 is looking at ways to rebalance the world’s economy.

Reuters:   China and the US are trying to improve UN climate talks. Read More »

Posted on: September 23, 2009 – 4:02 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Buffett Gets Deeper Into Housing and Real Estate (BRK-A, LUK, GS, CIT, HD, LOW, USG)

Buffett ImageWarren Buffett is positioning Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) to profit when the housing and property market returns to more normal levels.  Now, he is teaming up with what many investors consider a “Buffett rival.”  Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) is teaming up with Leucadia National Corp. (NYSE: LUK) to acquire the North American mortgage and servicing operations of Capmark Financial Group Inc.  Interestingly enough, a company affiliated with Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway called HomeServices of America made a real estate firm acquisition in Chicago earlier this week.
Read More »

Posted on: September 3, 2009 – 11:19 am in Buffett, Conglomerates, Editor's Picks, Housing, Mergers and Buy Outs, , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades (CSTR, COST, GOL, GOOG, HAR, LOW, MA, TWX, V, WCRX)

These are the early morning analyst upgrades and positive research calls we have seen from Wall Street analysts this Tuesday morning:

Coinstar (CSTR) Started as Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Costco (COST) raised to Market Perform at William Blair.
GOL Linhas Areas Inteligentes S.A. (GOL) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Google (GOOG) Raised to Buy at ThinkEquity.
Harman (HAR) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
Lowe’s (LOW) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Mastercard (MA) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Time Warner (TWX) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Visa (V) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Warner Chilcott (WCRX) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: August 25, 2009 – 8:07 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 8/19/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   HP (HP) issued optimistic guidance.

Reuters:   China is investing in the private housing sector.

Reuters:   Buffett says the US is on a slow path to recovery.

Reuters:   US regulators urged Citigroup (C) to push out its former CFO. Read More »

Posted on: August 19, 2009 – 4:00 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top Day Trader Alerts (HD, LOW, CIT, GERN, TSL, NVAX, HURN, RIMM)

These are this Tuesday’s top day trader and active stock alerts.  We have more detailed data on volume and price analysis with links through to VSInvestor.com on each stock:

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD) managed to do better than rival Lowe’s Companies (NYSE: LOW) and shares were up 4%.

CIT Group, Inc. (NYSE: CIT) has pulled an about-face and is now higher after its big loss.

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ: GERN) is down sharply on its IND application delay.

Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) is trading up over 3% after the Chinese solar player managed to beat earnings estimates.

Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) is soaring 10% on swine flu vaccine news.

Huron Consulting Group Inc. (NASDAQ: HURN) is surging over 25% on a partial redemption of its accounting woes.

Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) is up 2.5% but may be more active after an analyst is calling for a double.

JON C. OGG
AUGUST 18, 2009

Posted on: August 18, 2009 – 9:06 am in Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert, , , , , , , ,

Home Depot’s Earnings Bar Lowered After Lowe’s (HD, LOW)

home-depot-logo_leftThe Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD) is set to report earnings tomorrow morning and it may have just caught a break now that Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) missed its earnings and has seen its shares drop from the report.  Today’s weak stock market is not helping matters either.

Lowe’s said that its profit fell about 19% to $759 million, or $0.51 EPS, while revenue fell 5% from last year to $13.84 billion.  We had Thomson Reuters showing a $0.54 EPS and $14.35 billion as consensus expectations.
Read More »

Posted on: August 17, 2009 – 2:20 pm in Earnings, Housing, Retail, ,

Top Day Trader Alerts (BDX, BRK-A, BPAX, FSLR, GFG, IDCC, LOW, HD, RST)

These are this Monday’s top day trader and active stock alerts.  We have more detailed data on volume and price analysis with links through to VSInvestor.com on each stock:

Becton Dickinson & Company (NYSE: BDX) is trading higher as a new position for none other than Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A).

BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BPAX) is one of this morning’s few big winners on a presentation of H1N1 vaccine results.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is getting clipped by almost 5% on a Barron’s report.

Guaranty Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: GFG) looks busted.

InterDigital, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDCC) is down by almost one-third on active volume this morning (and Friday evening too) on a patent ruling.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE: LOW) is down about 10% after the home improvement and hardware giant posted light earnings.  This one is enough that it is affecting Home Depot (NYSE: HD) as well.

Rosetta Stone Inc. (NYSE: RST) was down over 10% after warning of higher operating expenses.

-The 24/7 Wall Street Team

August 17, 2009

Posted on: August 17, 2009 – 9:16 am in Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert, , , , , , , , ,

Berkshire Hathaway & Buffett Q2-2009 Holdings G to O (BRK-A, GCI, GE, GSK, HD, IR, IRM, JNJ, KFT, LOW, MTB, MCO, NLC, NKE, NSC, NRG)

Buffett ImageBerkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A)(BRK-B) has released its Q2-2009  public equity holdings as of June 30, 2009.  There are some portfolio changes that have been seen here from the end of Q1 and we have broken these down into 3 groups of ‘A to F’ and  ‘G to O’ and ‘P to Z’ so these are easier to see on one page.  Here are Warren Buffett’s holdings and accompanying notes for the group ‘G to O.’

  • Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) 3.447 million shares, same as before.
  • General Electric Corp. (NYSE: GE) 7.777 million shares is the same as before, but does not include the preferred investment from late 2008.
  • GlaxoSmithkline (NYSE: GSK) 1.51 million shares, same as before.
  • Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) 2.757 million, actually less than the 3.7 million shares in Q1.
  • Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR) 7.78 million, same as last quarter.
  • Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) 3.3722 million shares, same as before.
  • Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was just over 36.91 million shares; ABOVE the 32.5 million last quarter and above the 28.6 million in Q4.  This is still well under the huge 62 million shares last year.
  • Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) over 138 million; looks roughly the same as before.
  • Lowe’s Companies (NYSE: LOW) 6.5 million shares, same as before unlike at Home Depot.
  • M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) 6.71 million shares, same as before.
  • Moody’s (NYSE: MCO) 48 million shares are listed as the same as before, however we already know that Buffett CUT THIS SINCE JUNE 30 and may cut it further.
  • Nalco Holding (NYSE: NLC) 9.0 million shares, same as Q1 after the Q1 position had been raised.
  • Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) 7.641 million shares, same as before.
  • Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) 1.933 million shares, same as before.
  • NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) 7.2 million, same as before.

BUFFETT HOLDINGS ‘A to F’

BUFFETT HOLDINGS ‘P to Z’

JON C. OGG
AUGUST 14, 2009

Posted on: August 14, 2009 – 5:02 pm in Buffett, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Short Seller Rush Out Of Financial Stocks, Tech, And Retail

bearShort sellers moved out of financial shares in great numbers.

As of August 11, the short interest in Citigroup (C) fell 71% to 343 million shares. Share sold short in GE (GE) fell 15% to 143 million. The short interest in Wells Fargo (WFC) was down by 9% to 99 million. Shares sold short in American Express (AXP) dropped 20% to 36 million. The short interest in Capitol One (COF) dropped 19% to 30 million. Shares sold short in Visa (V) dropped 22% to 15 million. Read More »

Posted on: August 12, 2009 – 4:14 am in Short Interest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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

newspaperReuters:   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). Read More »

Posted on: June 16, 2009 – 3:01 am in Autos, Banking, Drug companies, Healthcare, Housing, Labor & Unions, Management Change, Media, PC Companies, Pharmaceuticals, Press Digest, Technology, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades (BBT, CMA, FEIC, GOOG, HBI, HD, LOW, NEM, PLT, ROP, TGT, TSCO, WMT)

These are top pre-market analyst upgrades and positive research notes we have seen from Wall Street early this Wednesday morning:

BB&T (BBT) Raised to Market Perform at KBW.
Comerica (CMA) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
FEI Co. (FEIC) Raised to Buy at Janney Montgomery Scott.
Google (GOOG) Target Raised to $486 from $414 at Goldman Sachs.
Hanesbrands (HBI) Started as Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Home Depot (HD) Started as Outperform at Baird.
Lowe’s (LOW) Started as Outperform at Baird.
Newmont Mining (NEM) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Plantronics (PLT) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Roper Industries (ROP) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Target (TGT) Started as Outperform at Baird.
Tractor Supply (TSCO) Started as Outperform at Baird.
Wal-Mart (WMT) Started as Outperform at Baird.

Jon C. Ogg

Posted on: June 3, 2009 – 6:43 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 5/18/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTime, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   Small businesses are having trouble finding financing.

Reuters:   VW has stopped tie-up talks with Porsche.

Reuters:   The US budget chief says there are signs the economic free fall is over.

Reuters:   Central banks may need more power to maintain stability. Read More »

Posted on: May 18, 2009 – 2:54 am in Analyst Calls, Autos, Banking, China, Conglomerates, IPOs, Labor & Unions, Media, Oil & Gas, Press Digest, Research, auto, , , , , , , , , ,

Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Disclose Holdings G to O (BRK-A, GCI, GE, GSK, HD, IR, IRM, JNJ, KFT, LOW, MTB, MCO, NLC, NKE, NSC, NRG)

Buffett ImageThe first quarter of 2009 Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A)(BRK-B) holdings are now out for the cut off date here of March 31, 2009.  There are some changes from the end of Q4.  We have broken these down into 3 groups A to F, G to O, and P to Z so these fit on one page easier.  Here is the list ‘G to O.’

  • Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) 3.447 million shares, the same as before.
  • General Electric Corp. (NYSE: GE) 7.777 million shares is the same as before, but does not include the 10% preferred from last year.
  • GlaxoSmithkline (NYSE: GSK) 1.51 million shares, same as before.
  • Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) 3.7 million shares; same as before.
  • Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR) 7.78 million, same as last quarter.
  • Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) 3.3722 million shares, same as before.
  • Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) about 32.5 million, ABOVE the prior 28.6 million shares but still down from the 62 million last year.
  • Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) over 138 million; looks roughly the same as before.
  • Lowe’s Companies (NYSE: LOW) 6.5 million shares, same as before.
  • M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) 6.71 million shares, same as before.
  • Moody’s (NYSE: MCO) 48 million shares, same as before.
  • Nalco Holding (NYSE: NLC) 9.0 million shares; ABOVE our report of 8.730 million last quarter.
  • Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) 7.641 million shares, same as before.
  • Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) 1.933 million shares, same as before.
  • NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) 7.2 million, same as before.

Here is the full list of Buffett holdings “A to F”

Here is the full list of Buffett holdings “P to Z”

Jon C. Ogg
May 15, 2009

Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 4:04 pm in Activist Investor, Buffett, Buffett Holdings, Conglomerates, Insider Activity, Mutual Funds, Value Investing, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades (COST, DEO, ESC, HD, LOW, TGT, VRSN, WMT)

These are some of the top pre-market analyst upgrades we have seen with about two and a half hours until the market opens this Friday morning:

Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) Started as Buy at Janney Montgomery.
Diageo (DEO) Raised to Neutral at UBS.
Emeritus Corp. (ESC) Raised to Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
Home Depot (HD) Started as Buy at Janney Montgomery.
Lowe’s (LOW) Started as Buy at Janney Montgomery.
Target (TGT) Started as Buy at Janney Montgomery.
VeriSign (VRSN) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Wal-Mart (WMT) Started as Buy at Janney Montgomery.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: May 8, 2009 – 6:01 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Calls (ABB, ABX, BBY, COST, HD, KSS, LOW, PAAS, UNH)

money-stack-image35These are some of the broad upgrades and positive research calls from Wall Street analysts that we have seen this Tuesday morning:

  • ABB (ABB) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
  • Barrick Gold (ABX) Raised to Outperform at CIBC.
  • Best Buy (BBY) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
  • Costco (COST) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
  • Home Depot (HD) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
  • Kohl’s (KSS) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
  • Lowe’s (LOW) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
  • Pan American (PAAS) Raised to Outperform at CIBC.
  • UnitedHealth (UNH) Raised to Outperform at Bernstein.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: March 17, 2009 – 6:44 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , ,