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One-Time Dividends Today Versus Past (GRMN, LTD, MSFT, AXE, INSP)

Administrator — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:09:42 +0000

Dividends reward shareholders through time. One-time dividends are often thought of as windfall events, although in today’s world it may be getting the dividend payments out to shareholders in the most tax efficient way in case the tax rates end up reverting back to higher rates after 2010. This morning we have seen a one-time dividend announcement from Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) on the heels of a special one-time dividend from Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD). We wanted to compare these two to the likes of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Anixter International Inc. (NYSE: AXE), and InfoSpace Inc. (NASDAQ: INSP) for some added color.

Some do not like one-time dividends. A steadily higher dividend and a promise to hike dividends down the road offers shareholders a benefit today and a benefit tomorrow from the higher income. But the one-time dividend only helps holders at the record and payout dates. One-time dividends can sometimes be bad for future shareholders who have to value a company with less cash. We wanted to look at one-time dividends of the past and see if these new one-time dividends are good or bad for shareholders on an ongoing basis.

Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) announced this morning that it will pay a one-time increase to $1.50 in its annual payment rather than $0.75 to holders of record on April 15. The company is also moving its domicile of incorporation to Switzerland from the Cayman Islands to Switzerland if and after the shareholder vote on May 20. Garmin has almost $1.8 billion in cash and long-term investments as of the end of 2009, and with roughly 200 million shares, this will take out about $300 million from the company coffers rather than the usual $150 million.

The vote from Wall Street is that this one-time dividend hike, as the company said was due to its strong results and cash position, is good. If you bought shares yesterday around $35.30, the yield is 4.2%. If you buy today at $36.65 the yield is about 4.08%. So far the reaction is a very favorable one. Shares are up 3.8% at $36.60 but the stock is up on thin volume.

Filed under: Dividend, Shareholder Issues, Technology Companies Tagged: AXE, GRMN, INSP, LTD, MSFT

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AA, AXP, AMLN, AMAT, NILE, CSCO, ETN, HBAN, HSY, JCI, JNPR, KEY, LXK, LTD, PNC, TXN)

247wallst — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:31:24 +0000

These are this Tuesday’s analyst upgrades and downgrades seen from Wall Street research calls:

Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) Raised to Market Perform from Underperform at BMO Capital.
American Express (NYSE: AXP) Raised to Neutral from Sell at Ladenberg Thalmann.
Amylin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AMLN) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Blue Nile (NASDAQ: NILE) Started as Hold at Benchmark.
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) Reiterated Hold at Auriga.
Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) Raised to Buy at KeyBanc.
Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ: HBAN) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) Reinstated as Conviction Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR) Reiterated Sell at Auriga.
KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Lexmark International (NYSE: LXK) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD) Raised to Outperform at BMO Capital.
PNC Financial (NYSE: PNC) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) Reiterated Sell at Auriga; yet Maintained Buy at Broadpoint AmTech.

You are invited to join our free daily email distribution list to hear about top analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPOs and secondary offerings, ongoing day trader and options trader alerts, stock and market rumors, Buffett and guru investor news, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: AA, AMAT, AMLN, AXP, CSCO, ETN, HBAN, HSY, JCI, JNPR, KEY, LTD, LXK, NILE, PNC, TXN

Shorts Tear Into Tech With a Vengeance (CSCO)(DELL)(NVDA)(MSFT)(ADBE)(ORCL)(QCOM)(BRCM)(NOK)(HPQ)(TXN)(EMC)(JPM)(C)(BAC)(WFC)(GM)(F)(M)(JWN)(HD)(LTD)(WAG)

247wallst — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 01:26:31 +0000

Short sellers placed large bets against the stock of tech companies for the period ending on January 15, taking a series of positions to gamble that firms like Microsoft (MSFT) and Cisco (CSCO) would be the next sector hit hard by selling.

Shares short in Microsoft rose 18% to 92.4 million. Share sold short in Cisco were up 17% to 61.3 million. The short interest in Dell (DELL) rose 15% to 60.1 million. Shares sold short in Nvidia (NVDA) were up 67% to 43 million.

Shares short in Adobe (ADBE) rose 63% to 12.4 million. The short position in Oracle (ORCL) was up 10% to 49.6 million. Share sold short in Qualcomm (QCOM) rose 12% to 41.8 million, and shares short in competitor Broadcom (BRCM) were up 22% to 23.3 million.

Among tech companies traded on the NYSE, shares short in Nokia (NOK) rose 74% to 38.3 million. The Short interest in Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) rose 29% to 37.2 million. Shares sold short in Texas Instrument (TXN) were up 22% to 39.6 million. The short interest in EMC (EMC) was up 15% to 63.4 million.

Short interest in most big banks was relatively stable. Shares short in Citigroup (C) moved up only 9% to 167.8 million. Shares short in Wells Fargo (WFC) were down 12% to 125.9 million. The short interest in JPMorgan (JPM) was off 3% to 66 million. Shares short in Bank of America (BAC) fell 16% to 96.1 million.

There was no major change in the short interest in the two big car companies. Shares short in GM (GM) were down 10% to 97.3 million. The short interest in Ford (F) rose less than 1% to 270.5 million.

Short sellers increased bets on major retailers. Shares short in Macy’s (M) were up 15% to 36.4 million. Shares short in Nordstrom (JWN) were up 26% to 27.4 million. Shares sold short in Home Depot (HD) rose by 10% to 65.1 million. The short position in Limited Brands (LTD) rose 32% to 16.3 million. Shares sold short in Walgreen (WAG) were up 16% to 27.1 million.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted in Short Interest Tagged: ADBE, BAC, BRCM, C, CSCO, DELL, EMC, F, GM, HD, HPQ, JPM, JWN, LTD, M, MSFT, NOK, NVDA, ORCL, QCOM, TXN, WAG, WFC

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (ARMH, BMRN, CYBX, FFIV, GPS, JNPR, LTD, MSFT, MYGN, NVTL, CRM)

247wallst — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:33:49 +0000

These are the top pre-market analyst upgrades and positive calls we are seeing from Wall Street firms this Friday morning with more than two hours until the open.

Arm Holdings (ARMH) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Biomarin Pharma (BMRN) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Cyberonics (CYBX) Raised to Buy at PiperJaffray
F5 Networks (FFIV) Started as Outperform at William Blair.
Gap Inc. (GPS) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Juniper Networks (JNPR) Started as Outperform at William Blair.
Limited (LTD) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Microsoft (MSFT) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Myriad Genetics (MYGN) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Novatel Wireless (NVTL) Raised to Neutral from Sell at Piper Jaffray.
Salesforce.com (CRM) Raised to Outperform at Baird.

Jon C. Ogg
November 21, 2008

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: ARMH, BMRN, CRM, CYBX, FFIV, GPS, JNPR, LTD, MSFT, MYGN, NVTL

As Market Plunges, Major Stocks Fall Under $10 (Part 2) (LTD, OMTR, RSH, RGS, SCOR, LUV, SBUX, WFMI)

247wallst — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:53:33 +0000

It has been almost impossible for most stocks to avoid the carnageand mayhem of late. It is interesting just how many widely held stocks have broken under the $10.00 share price level today. This can screw up optionstrading and begins to genuinely worry investors who were alreadyworried. Shares never dip under $10.00 because things are great.

Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD) broke $10.00 Monday, and it keeps looking farther and farther away at $8.80. Candles, body products, and undies… not recession-proof.

Omniture (NASDAQ: OMTR) re-broke the $10.00 barrier this week. Business optimization must not be good when the recession is there whether you optimize or not.

Radio Shack (NYSE: RSH), same boat as Best Buy sales even if CircuitCity died. Consumer electronics aren’t doing so hot, and PC’s under$500 just can’t be that profitable.

Regis Corp. (NYSE: RGS) broker under $10.00 today for the first timethis entire decade. Hair hasn’t stopped growing but in a financialpinch maybe less costly cuts and less product buying is being used.

comsScore Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) broke under $10.00 today for the firsttime since its IPO in late-2006. Paying for web metrics in a recessionmay be used, but the answer to the survey is the same as elsewhere:"The numbers suck, big time!"

Southwest Air (NYSE: LUV) just broke under 410.00 today, prior 52-weeklow of $10.26. The best fuel hedger in the world, now in the same boatas other carriers.

Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) broke the $10.00 barrier briefly ahead ofearnings on Monday. I did my part to support it this morning andyesterday by buying its coffee, but shares are around $9.50 now.This is basically a decade-low.

Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI) traded under $10.00 last week ahead of andafter earnings, but now "Whole Paycheck" is well under $10.00 at$9.15. The new acronym for the stock is now officially what tradersabbreviate the ticker as: "Whiff Me!"…

The only good news in this is that our weekly "10 Stocks Under $10"newsletter is getting more and more widely held stocks as candidates tobe covered.

Here is a link for the first list of major stocks breaking under $10.00 today or this week.

Jon C. Ogg
November 12, 2008

Posted in HI/LOW, Trading Alert Tagged: LTD, LUV, OMTR, RGS, RSH, SBUX, SCOR, WFMI

Pre-Market Stock News (December 6, 2007)

247wallst — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 08:06:49 +0000

Below is some of the top pre-market news affecting individual shares that 247WallSt.com is reviewing:

AMERCO (NASDAQ: UHAL) announce a $50 million share buyback plan.
Children’s Place Retail Stores (NASDAQ: PLCE) NOV s-s-s were +3%.
Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) announced its CEO succession plan, Kent will replace Isdell in July 2008.
Costco (NASDAQ: COST) same-store sales rose 9%. Analysts had expected 6.6%.
Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) put 2008 EPS guidance at $3.85-4.00, slightly above consensus.
Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO) issued downside guidance with same-store-sales.
Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) was noted as Cramer’s Top Mining & Minerals stock on MAD MONEY.
GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) will replace Dow Jones (NYSE:DJ) in the S&P 500 Index on date TBA.
Hoku Scientific (NASDAQ: HOKU) shares trading up 35% after it signed a term sheet for financing its Polysilicon Plant in Idaho with $185 million.
Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD) NOV s-s-s -7%.
Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN) NOV s-s-s +2.3%.
Rambus (NASDAQ: RMBS) rose 1.7% to $20.19 as SEC dropped options investigation with no action recommended.
Sierra Pacific (NYSE: SRP) filed to sell 12 million shares in a secondary.
Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) reported its first quarterly loss in two decades; EPS were -$0.52 versus -$0.47 estimates.
VF Corp. (NYSE: VFC) noted as Buy by Cramer on MAD MONEY.

Jon C. Ogg
December 6, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Pre-Market Stock News (June 7, 2007)

247wallst — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 07:20:54 +0000

(A) Agilent reiterated guidance after completing Stratagene buyout.
(ADCT) ADC Telecom trading up 3% after posting $0.35 EPS vs $0.24 estimates.
(ANN) Ann Taylor May s-s-s -4.6% versus -3.1% estimate.
(ATVI) Activision will take $66.7 million non-cash and pre-tax charge for options back-dating.
(BEBE) Bebe Stroes May s-s-s -3% versus -2.8% estimate.
(BHI) Baker Hughes rig count rose 23 to 1,007 versus April and up from 920 in May 2006.
(BMET) Biomet’s private equity buyout raised to $46.00.
(CALL) CallWave announced the ‘industry’s first’ Visual Voicemail gadget for Google Personalized Homepage.
(CHINA) CDC Corp. appointed two new directors.
(COST) CostCo s-s-s were +7% in May, above 5.5% estimates.
(DJ) Dow Jones may have some interest from owner of Philadelphia Inquirer.
(DSCO) Discovery Laboratories initiated a Phase II clinical trial evaluating the use of Surfaxin in children up to two years of age suffering from Acute Respiratory Failure.
(ESLT) Elbit Systems awarded $110 million order by Thales UK to provide ISTAR capability for UK armed forces.
(FINL) Finish Line guided Q1 earnings below estimates and now sees a loss.
(HGSI) Human Genome Sciences shows positive final results Of Phase 2b trial of Albuferon
(IDEV) Indevus Pharmaceuticals reports positive data from Phase III NEBIDO trial for development for the treatment of male hypogonadism.
(INFN) Infinera Corp. IPO priced 14M shares at $13.00, above the 410.00 to $12.00 range.
(IMMC) Immunicon has released highlights from podium presentations made at ASCO meeting.
(JOSB) Jos. A. Banks may s-s-s +13.5% versus +4% estimate.
(JCP) JC Penney May s-s-s -2% vs +0.3% estimates.
(JWN) JW Nordstrom’s May s-s-s +6.3% versus +2.6% estimate.
(LTD) Limited Brands May s-s-s _2% vs -1% estimate.
(MSFT) Microsoft has entered a cross license pact with LG Electronics for further development of current and future product lines.
(OPTT) Ocean Power Tech awarded a $1.7 million Navy order for its PowerBuoys.
(SFD) Smithfield Foods $0.34 EPS vs $0.34e; named new CFO.
(SHRP) Sharper Image May s-s-s -8% vs -13% estimate.
(UTIW) UTI Worldwide $0.18 EPS vs $0.16e.
(WMT) Wal-Mart s-s-s +1.1% vs 1.2% estimate; sales were +1.3% after fuel.
(YANB) Yardville National gets $35.00 buyout from PNC.

Jon C. Ogg
June 7, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Cramer Spoke Too Soon on Limited

247wallst — Tue, 15 May 2007 14:43:13 +0000

On today’s STOP TRADING on CNBC, Jim Cramer said that Limited (LTD-NYSE) will go up. The CEO doesn’t rest on his laurels and that could be a $30.00 play. He thinks there is value to unlock. He spoke before he got to really look at the news. Shares are down 5% at $26.00 on the day. The company is unlocking shareholder value, but it also issued a warning.

Limited has re-opened after announcing its news: The company is selling 67% of the ownership in its Express brand for some $548 million, with total after tax cash proceeds coming in at $425 million. It is exploring strategic alternatives for its Limited Stores business. These bits of news would have been welcomed on their own, but the company warned on earnings as well: The Company stated that it now expects 2007 first quarter earnings to be $0.12 to $0.14, versus its initial guidance of $0.25 to $0.28, and $0.25 last year and therefore estimates 2007 second quarter earnings per share to be $0.20 to $0.24 compared to $0.28 per share last year. For the full year 2007, the Company now expects earnings per share of $1.55 to $1.65, versus its initial guidance of $1.75 to $1.90. Most of this is being blamed on weakness at Victoria’s Secret.

Cramer might be right longer-term, but he didn’t anticipate that earnings warning. Making a call before you know what the news is just proved yet again to be a dangerous game. The good news is that shares were halted so there was no way those comments could have impacted traders. This is part of the problem in believing that all "unlocking value" is without risks.

Jon C. Ogg
May 15, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.