24/7 Wall St. » LVS

Republican Party Gets Major Backing from Walmart and Walton Family

Paul Ausick — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:55:56 +0000

A group that has been critical of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and the way it deals with employees today released a report on political contributions made by Walmart and the family of founder Sam Walton over the past two decades or so. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the report finds that the Waltons and Walmart overwhelmingly supported the Republican party in all national elections since 2000.

The report claims that since the 2000 election, 69% of the political contributions (more than $11.6 million) made by the family and the Walmart PAC were directed to Republican candidates and committees. Some 83% of the Walton family’s contributions were directed to support Republican candidates and causes.

Walmart recently hired a former senior advisor to President George W. Bush, Dan Bartlett, as the company’s EVP for corporate affairs to replace former Clinton administration aide Leslie Dach. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was member of Walmart’s board of directors for six years, from 1986 to 1992, while her husband was governor of Arkansas.

The report places the Walton family fortune at $115 billion and claims that individual family members own more than half of Walmart’s common stock. According to its most recent Form 10-K and proxy statement, as of March 22nd Walmart reported more than 3.29 billion shares outstanding, of which about 1.61 billion shares are held by a family company and another 65 million or so are held by individual family members.

The group behind today’s report, Making Change at Walmart, claims to have “no intent to have Walmart recognize or bargain with [the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW)] or OUR Walmart as a representative of Walmart employees.” The group’s purpose, it says, is to help Walmart employees in dealing with the company over labor rights and standards.

A couple of observations. First, compared with Sheldon Adelson, CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS), who coughed up $100 million in 2012 alone, the Walmart/Walton family contributions look positively miserly. Second, with more than 50% of Walmart’s stock under family control, it seems that shareholders might be more concerned that so much of the company’s net income is going to stock buybacks.

Filed under: Politics Tagged: LVS, WMT

UBS Alpha Preferences List of the Best Stocks to Buy

Lee Jackson — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:05:38 +0000

Alpha is one of those confusing terms used in the financial industry, but rarely defined. It is basically a performance measurement on a risk-adjusted basis. Alpha takes the volatility or price risk of an investment vehicle like a mutual fund, and compares its risk-adjusted return to a benchmark index like the S&P 500. If the fund is up 15% and the S&P 500 is up 10%, the 5% difference is the alpha.

The UBS Alpha Preferences is not a rating system, it is a list of “most” and “least” preferred stock selections on a sector relative basis for 41 of the major industries the analysts cover in North America. The duration of the expected relative out- or underperformance is generally expected to be 60 to 90 days.

We screened their list for names that have the best fundamental and technical characteristics. Here are some of the most preferred alpha preference stocks to buy.

Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST) produces a line of energy beverages like Monster Energy, Java Monster and Muscle Monster. First-quarter net sales were recently up 6.5%, which boosted market share a point to 32.7%, just behind Red Bull’s 35% share. The Thomson/First Call estimate for the stock is $62.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has taken a beating over the past year. With iPhone 6, Apple streaming music, new iPads and PCs and other innovation on the way, the stock has a ton of value. The consensus price objective for the iconic name is $535. Investors are paid a 2.8% dividend.

IntercontinentalExchange Inc.‘s (NYSE: ICE) debt-to-equity ratio is very low at 0.24 and is currently below that of the industry average, implying that there has been very successful management of debt levels. The company operates regulated global markets and clearing houses primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Brazil. The consensus price objective for this top name is $182.50

Ingersoll-Rand PLC (NYSE: IR) is benefitting from the U.S housing boom. Climate solutions and residential solutions accounted for 53% and 14% of total 2012 revenue, respectively. That number should grow if the housing market stays strong. The consensus price target for the stock is $50. Investors receive a 1.8% dividend.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) operates some of the most well-known Vegas casinos, including the Venetian, Sands and Palazzo. It also has ventured into Asia, with the Venetian Macau, Sands Macau and Four Seasons Macau. The consensus price target for this top gaming name is $65. Investors are also paid a tidy 2.4% dividend.

Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE: BZH) builds quality single-family homes in 16 states across the country. Like other home builders, low mortgage rates and pent-up demand have fueled earnings growth. The consensus price target is $21.

Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) provides travel products and services to leisure and corporate travelers, offline retail travel agents and travel service providers through a portfolio of brands, including Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, Expedia Affiliate Network, Classic Vacations, Expedia Local Expert, Egencia, Expedia CruiseShipCenters, eLong and Venere.com. The consensus price objective for the stock is $71.

CareFusion Corp. (NYSE: CFN) was just added to the most preferred list at UBS. CareFusion has run higher in the past week, and traders are looking for even more gains in the health care products and services company. The consensus target for the stock is $37.

The UBS alpha methodology provides an alternative and differentiated view of how the analysts evaluate investment opportunities, and it complements their absolute-return based research rating system (which includes ratings and 12-month price targets). For investors, it is important to remember that, in most cases, the time horizon for these names is shorter than the standard 12 to 18 month window. It may make sense to appropriate trading or speculative capital toward these stock.

Filed under: Investing Tagged: AAPL, BZH, CFN, EXPE, ICE, IR, LVS, MNST, UBS

Top New Institutional Portfolio Strategy Stocks to Buy from Oppenheimer

Lee Jackson — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:20:51 +0000

The institutional portfolio team at Oppenheimer is not the only group of analysts looking to technology as one of the best values on Wall Street today. Just yesterday we ran a story about the cheap secular growth stocks to buy in technology. The Oppenheimer team used a combination of technical factors and trading data with earnings to come up with names that have similar favorable characteristics. While not all of the names are technology stocks, they all share the same positive characteristics from the data combination.

Here are the top Institutional Portfolio Strategy stocks to buy at Oppenheimer.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM) fits the bill at Oppenheimer. The company is a leading provider of content delivery and cloud infrastructure services. Akamai’s Intelligent Platform, which helps to manage complicated online businesses, including applications, network security, performance and reliability issues, has been tremendously successful. The Thomson/First Call price target for the stock is $50.

FleetCor Technologies Inc. (NYSE: FLT) has been on fire for almost a year. FleetCor provides fuel-payment cards to fleet operators, offering several product options and a vast network of gas stations and repair shops. The payment-card company’s stock has more than doubled since it broke out of a base in August. The consensus price target for this top name is $85.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) is a silicon valley icon that makes the list at Oppenheimer. Meg Whitman appears to be slowly turning the ship around after a disastrous past five years. The consensus price target for the stock is at $24. The company pays a 2.4% dividend.

NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) may be number two in the in the realm of enterprise data storage, but a continued build out of their storage and cloud capabilities is expected to lead to tremendous gains in earnings. The consensus price objective for the stock is $42. Investors are paid a 1.60% dividend.

Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) recently surpassed a significant milestone in shipping over two million GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMT) for cellular telecommunications and is providing game-changing benefits over traditional silicon-based technologies, including higher power, higher efficiency and wider bandwidth. The consensus estimate for this very volatile name is $60.

Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL) is an engineering-driven fabless semiconductor firm that offers a wide variety of products into a number of end markets including networking, storage and mobile/wireless products. With three strong business segments, the stock may be ready to rebound. The consensus price target is $12. Shareholders receive a 2.2% dividend.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) makes the Oppenheimer list of stocks to buy. The company has improved earnings per share by 13.1% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has also demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past two years. The consensus for this red-hot name is $65. Investors are paid a 2.4% dividend.

MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is another gaming name to make the cut. With a strong Las Vegas presence, and a growing business in Macau, the stock has solid potential. The consensus price objective is at $17.

Oppenheimer says to consider backing up these stock suggestions with additional research. We have suggested for some time now that investors carefully wade in to new names. Scaling in capital or buying partial positions makes sense as the market still appears overbought.

Filed under: Investing Tagged: AKAM, CREE, FLT, HPQ, LVS, MGM, MRVL, NTAP

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — Thursday: Markets Open Higher, S&P Posts Another All-time High

Paul Ausick — Thu, 02 May 2013 20:09:28 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning, buoyed by a smaller-than-expected total of new claims for unemployment benefits in the U.S. (more coverage here). The U.S. trade deficit also fell while unit labor costs rose by less than analysts expected and productivity rose by less than expected. In Europe, the European Central Bank cut its key interest rate by 0.25% to 0.50% (more coverage here) and eurozone PMI rose slightly (more coverage here). In Asia, China’s final manufacturing PMI reading declined where a small increase was expected. Shares traded higher all day, with the S&P 500 index posting a new all-time high earlier in the day and closing within a few ticks of 1,600.

The U.S. dollar index is trading up 0.91% today, now at 82.226. The GSCI commodity index is down 2.1% at 611.06. WTI crude oil closed up 3.2%, at $93.99 a barrel. Brent crude trades up 2.9% at $102.83 a barrel. Natural gas is down 6.4% today at about $4.05 per million BTUs on a larger-than-expected build in U.S. inventories (more coverage here). Gold settled up 1.5% today at $1,467.60 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 131 points to 14,831.58 (0.89%), the NASDAQ rose about 41 points (1.26%) to 3,340.62, and the S&P 500 rose 0.94% or nearly 15 points to 1,597.59.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP) raised to ‘market perform’ at Northland Securities; Invesco Ltd. (NYSE: IVZ) raised to ‘buy’ at Sterne Agee; Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) raised to ‘equal weight’ at Morgan Stanley; Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd. (NYSE: GNK) cut to ‘underperform’ at Credit Suisse; and SolarCity Corp. (NASDAQ: SCTY) cut to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) is down fractionally at $33.58; Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CAR) is up 1.4% at $28.85; CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) is up 2.6% at $47.62 after posting a new 52-week high of $48.30 earlier today; Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) is up 5.6% at $28.97 (more coverage here); JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU) is up 4% at $13.02; Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) is up 1.5% at $57.09 after posting a new 52-week high of $57.88 earlier today (more coverage here); Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) is up 7.5% at $39.71 after posting a new 52-week high of $39.92 earlier today; Tesoro Corp. (NYSE: TSO) is up 5.8% at $53.83; Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is up 5.7% at $175.44 after posting a new 52-week high of $179.66 earlier today; Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR) is down 4.2% at $7.16 (more coverage here); Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI) is up 4.2% at $68.10 after posting a new 52-week high of $68.87 earlier today; Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) is down 0.6% at $28.67(more coverage here); and Monster Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: MWW) is up 8.3% at $4.64.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings reports from American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG), Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD), Kraft Foods Group Inc. (NASDAQ: KRFT), LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD), SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR), Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NYSE: ADT), and Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is up 6.7% at $14.73 after posting a new 52-week high of $14.90 earlier today. The hotel and casino operator posted a surprise profit on the strength of its Macau business.

Halcon Resources Corp. (NYSE: HK) is down 9% at $5.72. The independent energy company reported poor earnings this morning.

ING U.S. Inc. (NYSE: VOYA) is up 5.7% at $20.62. The U.S. insurance arm of Dutch giant ING held its IPO today. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Friday. Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo and Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker are giving speeches. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Non-farm payrolls and employment situation
10:00 a.m. – Factory orders
10:00 a.m. – ISM non-manufacturing index

Filed under: Investing Tagged: ACI, ADM, ADP,, AIG, ANR, CAR, CBS, CI, DUK, FB, GG, GILD, GNK, HK, IVZ, JDSU, KRFT, LNKD, LVS, MGM, MWW, SCTY, SPWR, STX, TSO, V, VOYA, Yelp

The Games Are Still Hot at Las Vegas Sands

Paul Ausick — Wed, 01 May 2013 20:38:28 +0000

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) reported first-quarter 2013 results after markets closed today. For the quarter, the casino and resort operator posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.71 on revenues of $3.3 billion. In the same period a year ago, the company reported EPS of $0.70 on revenues of $2.76 billion. First-quarter results compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $0.67 and $3.27 billion in revenues.

On a GAAP basis, Sands reported quarterly diluted EPS of $0.69.

Competitor Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) posted quarterly EPS of $2.03 on revenues of $1.38 billion last week. Both Sands and Wynn got a real shot in the arm from their Macau properties. Casino revenues from Sands’ Venetian Macao rose 15.5% in the quarter. Sands revenues from its Asian casinos and resorts totaled $2.02 billion in the quarter.

The company’s CEO said:

In Macao, we delivered record financial results, with outstanding growth and strong operating momentum reflected in every segment of our business. We welcomed a record fourteen million visits to our Cotai Strip properties during the quarter, and delivered a record $630.2 million of adjusted property EBITDA from our Macao property portfolio. … The prudent management of our cash flow, including the ability to both invest in future growth and to increase the return of capital to our shareholders, remains a cornerstone of our strategy.

Once again, CEO Sheldon Adelson did not refer to the company’s Las Vegas properties in his remarks. Adjusted property EBITDA in Las Vegas fell just 2.1% year-over-year for the quarter, much better than the previous quarter’s drop of nearly 35%. Casino revenue was up less than 1% and the Las Vegas convention business picked up by about 14%. Las Vegas operations totaled $411.5 million in revenue, up 7% compared with the same quarter last year.

The Sands did not offer guidance in its earnings release, but the consensus estimate for the second quarter calls for EPS of $0.63 on revenues of $3.19 billion. For the full year the consensus estimate calls for EPS of $2.72 on revenues of $13.23 billion.

Shares are trading up about 1% at $56.85 in after-hours trading today, in a 52-week range of $34.72 to $57.11. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $59.00 before today’s report.

Filed under: Casinos & Hotels Tagged: LVS, WYNN

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — Wednesday: Markets Cannot Shake-off Low Open and Sink to Close

Paul Ausick — Wed, 01 May 2013 20:08:40 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened lower this morning following a weaker-than-expected employment report from ADP and concern that Friday’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics will follow the ADP lead (more coverage here). In other U.S. data out today, the April ISM manufacturing index ready came in lower than expected and the March report on construction spending was substantially weaker than forecast (more coverage here). In Asia, China’s PMI was lower than expected and raised worries that the Asian growth is slowing down (more coverage here). Markets in China and Hong Kong were closed today for the May Day holiday. The FOMC announcement in mid-afternoon offered a slightly different view on how the Fed’s asset buying may proceed (more coverage here).

The U.S. dollar index is trading down 0.28% today, now at 81.521. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.9% at 624.44. WTI crude oil closed down 2.6%, at $91.03 a barrel, following a massive increase in commercial inventories (more coverage here). Brent crude trades down 2.4% at $99.89 a barrel, as the spread between WTI and Brent now falls below $10 a barrel (more coverage here). Natural gas is down 0.4% today at about $4.32 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 1.8% today at $1,446.20 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 139 points to 14,700.95 (-0.94%), the NASDAQ about 30 points (-0.89%) to 3,299.13, and the S&P 500 fell -0.93% or nearly 15 points to 1,582.70.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) removed from “Conviction Buy” list and cut to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs; Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) raised to ‘buy’ at Nomura; Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) raised to ‘buy’ at Nomura; Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) added to “Conviction Buy” list at Goldman Sachs; and Oil States International Inc. (NYSE: OIS) cut to ‘underperform’ at BMO Capital Markets and cut to ‘market perform’ at Raymond James.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Affymetrix Inc. (NASDAQ: AFFX) is down 8% at $3.35; Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE) is up 14.7% at $15.46; Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) is down 3.2% at $5.54; Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SPB) is down 4.6% at $53.44; Trulia Inc. (NYSE: TRLA) is up 13.1% at $32.86; Vanguard Health Systems Inc. (NYSE: VHS) is down 8.3% at $13.41; ADT Corp. (NYSE: ADT) is down 6.9% at $40.65; Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) is down 2.1% at $19.14 (more coverage here); Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is up 1.2% at $41.81 (more coverage here); Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is up 4.4% at $77.38; James River Coal Co. (NASDAQ: JRCC) is up 32.8% at $2.19; Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) is down 2.3% at $540.47; Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) is down 2.1% at $59.68 (more coverage here); and Viacom Corp. (NASDAQ: VIAB) is up 3.2% at $66.01 after posting a new 52-week high of $69.00 earlier today.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings reports from Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM), Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CAR), CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS), Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU), Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS), Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX), Tesoro Corp. (NYSE: TSO), Visa Inc. (NYSE: V), Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR), Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI), Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG), and Monster Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: MWW).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) is up 13.1% at $3.19. The chipmaker had no big news today, although it did introduce two new microprocessors and made some pricing changes that indicate that the company’s pricing may have stabilized.

Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) is up 3.4% at $3.36 after posting a new 52-week (and 5-year) high of $3.39 earlier today. The satellite radio company posted a second consecutive high today, continuing to feast off yesterday’s earnings report.

Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) is down 2.8% at $45.67. The drug maker slid on its lackluster earnings results and took a slice out of its sales and earnings targets for the rest of the year.

Stay tuned for Thursday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:30 a.m. – Challenger job-cut report
8:30 a.m. – International trade
8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
8:30 a.m. – Productivity and costs
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

Filed under: Investing Tagged: ADM, ADT, AFFX, AMD, AMGN, ANR, BIIB, BRK-A, CAR, CBS, CHK, CI, CMCSA, FB, FCX, GG, HUM, IOS, JDSU, JRCC, LEAP, LVS, MA, MRK, MWW, PSX, RATE, SIRI, SPB, STX, TRLA, TSO, V, VHS, VIA-B

Deutsche Bank Says the Time to Buy Macau Gaming Stocks Is Now (WYNN, MPEL, MGM, LVS)

Lee Jackson — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 12:05:30 +0000

The journey to any gambling and entertainment mecca is an experience that even non-gamblers often want to put in their travel bucket list. Located off the Chinese coast on the South China Sea, the Asian version of Las Vegas is no different. For gambling, shopping, dining, entertainment and more, Macau is the place to be.

This former Portuguese colony is one of the two special administrative regions of the Peoples Republic of China, the other being Hong Kong, which is just 37 miles to the northwest. In 2002, the Macau government ended the former monopoly gambling system and six casino operating concessions were granted.

The gaming analysts at Deutsche Bank A.G. (NYSE: DB) feel that high-speed rail is changing Macau’s visitor profile. The new visitor is more likely to have come from further away, spend a night in a hotel and spend more on shopping. The biggest data point for investors is Macau casinos’ total revenue soared 29.5% in March through Sunday, compared to a year ago. Backing the Deutsche Bank opinion, RBC Capital Markets raised its 2013 revenue growth forecast for Macau casinos to 10.5%, up from 10%.

Given those positive data points and share prices that have fallen as much as 14% from their peaks, the Deutsche Bank team says the time to buy the gaming stocks with exposure to Macau is now. The stocks to buy on their list trade Asian shares on the Hong Kong exchange. Here we focus on the American-traded counterparts. The following are the Macau gaming stocks to buy now.

With more than 1,000 rooms and almost 500 gaming tables in Macau, Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) is a top name to buy. The Thomson/First Call price target for this Wall St. favorite is $141.

Based in Hong Kong, Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL) owns and operates three successful resorts in Macau with more than 600 combined gaming tables. The Wall St. consensus price target for the stock is $24.60.

Long-time Las Vegas operator MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM), through its subsidiary MGM China, makes the list of stocks to buy. The consensus estimate for this venerable gambling name is $14.

Another Hong Kong-based gaming company, Galaxy Entertainment Group makes the list of stocks to buy now. Currently only traded on the over-the-counter pink sheets, investors may want to keep an eye on Galaxy to see if it gets Nasdaq listing.

The final name on the list to buy, for investors looking to take advantage of the staggering growth in Macau, is Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS). This premiere gaming company owns and operates the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, the Four Seasons Hotel Macao, the Plaza Casino and the Sands Macao and Sands Cotai Central in Macau. This gives it a commanding presence in this high-growth region. It is widely owned by portfolio managers, and the consensus price objective for the stock is $60.

With multiple new ways to quickly travel to this “Las Vegas of China,” more and more visitors will be attracted to Macau. It is important for investors to remember that some of these companies have powerful domestic franchises to complement their Asian properties. Plus the fact remains that the largest part of the revenue stream is from gambling. Never forget the old adage, “They don’t build those big casinos because the house loses.”

Filed under: Media Tagged: DB, LVS, MGM, MPEL, WYNN

UBS Identifies Six Value Stocks Where Cut Estimates Bring Near-Term Upside (UBS, BHI, APC, NAV, LVS, FCX, CY)

Lee Jackson — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:30:34 +0000

2012 earnings season is wrapping up in the United States, and corporate America is set to log its third consecutive quarter of lackluster earnings growth, issuing guidance that is on average below consensus estimates.

As valuations approach the top end of UBS A.G. (NYSE: UBS) Chief U.S. Equity Strategist Jonathan Golub’s proposed range, earnings expectations could become more important drivers of stock prices in 2013. With the stock market closing in on the fourth year anniversary of the subprime mortgage debacle lows, stocks that lower estimates and reward the street by hitting or exceeding those estimates in future quarters may be winners.

In a report released today, the analysts at UBS identified six specific stocks that had lowered consensus earnings expectations for the first quarter of 2013 and beyond. They then looked at the core business of each stock, and the severity of the earnings estimate cut. Their research showed that despite the earnings estimate cuts, the stocks still showed promise for near-term gains. In short, this is a list for value investors. The six stocks are as follows:

Oil field services leader Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) has a Wall St. consensus estimate of $49.50. It closed yesterday at $46.13.

Independent oil exploration and production company Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) has a consensus price target of $99.50. It closed yesterday at $84.13

Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV), manufactures and sells commercial and military trucks, buses, diesel engines and recreational vehicles, as well as provides service parts for trucks and trailers worldwide. The stock closed yesterday at $26.97, and the Thomson/First call estimate is $24.

Gaming leader Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) made the list. The stock closed yesterday at $53.60, and the consensus target is $60.

Mining giant Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) closed at $35.64, and the consensus target is $40.

Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: CY) rounds out the list. Shares closed yesterday at $9.94, and the consensus estimate is $12.

All but one of these stocks selected is trading lower than Wall St.’s current and revamped expectations. Given the tremendous winter rally, it may not be a bad idea for investors to sell some high-flying winners and look at these six very solid companies as good names to move capital to.

Filed under: Investing Tagged: APC, BHI, CY, FCX, LVS, NAV, UBS

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — February 12, 2013: Markets Close Mixed in Another Yawner (CHK, FB, LVS, RGLD, DD, LGF, AVP, CPLA, FOSL, HERO, LVLT, KORS, RAI, KO, MHP, TRP, RATE, BWLD, CLWR, RAX, CMCSA, DF, DE, TOT, ZNGA, LDK)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 21:03:47 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened about flat this morning on another day devoid of significant data releases. In Asia, markets in China and Hong Kong remain closed for the holiday, but Japan’s Nikkei closed higher. In Europe, U.K. CPI data was mixed and France reported a higher-than-expected current account deficit. In Italy, a new corruption scandal broke out related to the head of the country’s largest defense contractor. U.S. markets took their cue from earnings reports and from a speech by Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) that weighed on tech stocks (more coverage here). The Treasury budget showed a surplus of $2.88 billion, but did little to sway markets.

The U.S. dollar index fell 0.26% today, now at 80.098. The GSCI commodity index is down fractionally at 677.66, with commodities prices mostly lower today. WTI crude oil closed up 0.5% today, at $97.51 a barrel after the U.S. EIA released its monthly outlook (more coverage here). Brent crude trades up 0.5% at $118.65 a barrel. Natural gas is down 1.3% today at about $3.24 per million BTUs. Gold settled down fractionally today at $1,649.60 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 48 points to 14,019.24 (0.34%), the NASDAQ fell more than 5 points (-0.17%) to 3,186.49, and the S&P 500 rose 0.16% or more than 2 points to 1,519.42.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) started as ‘equal weight’ at Barclays; Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) cut to ‘market perform’ at Bernstein; Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) raised to ‘buy’ with a price target of $25 at Argus; Royal Gold Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) raised to ‘buy’ at UBS; and E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD) started as ‘equal weight’ at Barclays.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in several price moves today, including these: Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: LGF) is down 0.7% at $19.61 (more coverage here); Capella Education Co. (NASDAQ: CPLA) is down 1.2% at $31.63; Fossil Inc. (NASDAQ: FOSL) is up 3.1% at $110.83; Hercules Offshore Inc. (NASDAQ: HERO) is up 1.4% at $7.12 after posting a new 52-week high of $7.40 earlier today; Level 3 Communications Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) is down 13.5% at $21.34; Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: KORS) is up 8.4% at $61.79 after posting an all-time high of $64.55 earlier today (more coverage here); Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) is down 0.8% at $43.87; The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) is down 3% at $37.46 (more coverage here); The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is down 0.9% at $43.89 (more coverage here); and TransCanada Corp. (NYSE: TRP) is down 1.5% at $47.45.

After markets close today and before they open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE), Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD), Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR), Rackspace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX), Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA), Dean Foods Inc. (NYSE: DF), Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE), and Total SA (NYSE: TOT).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) is up 20.8% at $20.87. The cosmetics firm posted results for the fourth quarter that looked outstanding compared with so many previous quarters. The company has begun to stabilize sales and expects to pay down some debt early this year.

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) is down 10.9% at $3.27. The social games company is losing steam following a downgrade to Facebook stock after a couple of days of nice gains.

LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) is up 14.3% at $1.84. The solar maker is getting a boost from reports that demand is catching up with supply and prices are strengthening. More coverage on solar short interest here.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
8:30 a.m. – Retail sales
8:30 a.m. – Import and export prices
10:00 a.m. – Business inventories
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
1:00 p.m. – 10-year note auction

Filed under: Investing Tagged: AVP, BWLD, CHK, CLWR, CMCSA, CPLA, DD, DE, DF, FB, FOSL, HERO, KO, KORS, LDK, LGF, LVLT, LVS, MHP, RAI, RATE, RAX, RGLD, TOT, TRP, ZNGA

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (CMO, CHK, CBB, DD, FB, GG, GFI, KIM, LVS, MANU, QCOM, RGLD, TSN, URI)

Jon C. Ogg — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 13:40:08 +0000

These are some of this Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from Wall St. research calls.

Capstead Mortgage Corp. (NYSE: CMO) cut to Market Perform at JMP Securities.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) started as Equal Weight at Barclays.

Cincinnati Bell Inc. (NYSE: CBB) started as Underperform at BofA/Merrill Lynch and started as Hold at Deutsche Bank.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD) started as Equal Weight at Barclays.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.

Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) named Bear of the Day based on weak gold prices lowering earnings estimates by Zacks Investment Research.

Gold Fields Ltd. (NYSE: GFI) raised to Neutral at Citigroup.

Kimco Realty Corp. (NYSE: KIM) reiterated Buy and raising target by $2 to $25 at Argus.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) raised to Buy with target of $66 at Argus.

Manchester United PLC (NYSE: MANU) started as Outperform at Raymond James.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) cut to Neutral at J.P. Morgan.

Royal Gold Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) raised to Buy at UBS.

Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) named Bull of the Day and said to take a closer look at this top-ranked poultry producer that has a strong earnings, by Zacks Investment Research.

United Rentals Inc. (NYSE: URI) started as Buy at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

Filed under: Investing Tagged: CBB, CHK, CMO, DD, FB, GFI, GG, KIM, LVS, MANU, QCOM, RGLD, TSN, URI