24/7 Wall St. » LVS

Caesars, A Sham Of An IPO… Beware The Ides of March (CZR, APO, GS, WYNN, LVS)

Administrator — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:41:08 +0000

Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ: CZR) is beyond weird when it comes to initial public offerings. This was one of our TOP 17 IPOS TO WATCH IN 2012. We also make no secret of the belief that we think this is a poor model of conducting an IPO. By our take, this is almost a sham and feels a bit like a television advertisement to buy stock at 3 AM. Effectively, it even feels like the ‘tracking stock’ IPO model of the late 1990s. Caesars even stooped to having a three-letter stock ticker and listing on NASDAQ.

The casino and resort giant sold 1,811,313 shares of its common stock at $9.00 per share to raise gross proceeds of about $16 million before fees and discounts. Keep in mind that this is the Harrah’s-Caesars deal which was a $15 billion buyout back at the peak of private equity.

$16 million… $15 billion… $28 billion. Whatever it boils down to… The figure we were counting on was up to $223.4 million in additional stock, the overwhelming majority of which would be coming from private equity owners. Apollo Global Management, LLC (NYSE: APO) is not even reacting positively to the news with a 0.8% drop down to $14.97 so far today, probably because it is not selling shares. Paulson & Co. has the right to sell along with affiliated groups of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS).

Even a $500 million offering could have set the pace for up to a decade for all of the backers to exit their positions.

The reason that the company chose this model is likely to keep an initial higher value for a limited share float. That establishes a fair market value that is probably higher than if the firms all sold shares in a huge offering for the market to absorb. It allows private equity firms to liquidate in batches and it also gives those private equity firms an ability to peg a true market value to the shares rather than a theoretical value of the shares based solely upon other casino stock values.

Our take: The private equity firms should dismantled the assets into separate companies and sold them off or brought them public as smaller casino properties.

In some manner of speaking, this is far less transparent than exactly the ‘unlocking of Singapore and Macau’ values from Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ: WYNN) and Las Vegas Sands Corporation (NYSE: LVS).

Does us calling it a sham of an IPO mean that it will flop? Not at all. As we are publishing this, the value is up 50% from the $9.00 pricing at $13.70 on almost 3.9 million shares. With such a low float, who knows how high it could go. Still, if you are a ‘widows and orphans’ investor you probably better look elsewhere.

At least this IPO did not launch on the Ides of March.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Accounting, Activist Investor, Brokerage Firms, Casinos, Entertainment, IPOs, Luxury, Mergers and Buy Outs, Private Equity Tagged: APO, CZR, GS, LVS, WYNN

Media Digest (2/6/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg

247wallst — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:43:47 +0000

General Motors (NYSE: GM) will target a 10% profit margin over the next several years. (Reuters)

Glencore offers an 8% deal to close a buyout of Xstrata. (Reuters)

HTC has trouble demonstrating that its stock is worth its premium. (Reuters)

The head of Deutsche Boerse says there will be industry consolidation despite the failure of a deal with NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX). (Reuters)

U.S. corporate profits for the past quarter were choppy. (WSJ)

Greek leaders still have not settled disagreements to close a round of financing. (WSJ)

Federal and state prosecutors are set to settle a mortgage fraud deal with five banks. (WSJ)

A JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) banker will be named head of the FDIC. (WSJ)

Chinese leaders offer aid to the EU but try to make certain it is understood they do not want to “takeover” European finances. (WSJ)

The International Monetary Fund cuts its target for China GDP growth. (WSJ)

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) and Malaysia’s Genting continue to press for casinos in Florida. (WSJ)

The National Automobile Dealers Association says used car prices could rise 1.2% in 2012. (WSJ)

Activists get Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) to agree to a deal that would make it easier for shareholders to push out board members. (WSJ)

Individual investors take on more risk because of low bond yields. (WSJ)

Retail shoppers likely will cut activity. (WSJ)

High Chinese export prices help Mexico. (WSJ)

An increasing number of print and online media turn to video content. (NYT)

Facebook has not found a way to make money on its mobile users. (NYT)

Greece says it would cut its budget further to get a rescue package. (NYT)

The European Central Bank will challenge capital structures of a number of the region’s banks. (FT)

Iran may not cut oil supplies to Europe as it said it would. (FT)

Global sales of junk bonds hit record levels. (FT)

The IMF says China’s growth could drop 4% from the current projection of 8.2% if global economic problems persist. (Bloomberg)

Many hedge funds will be hurt badly if their bets on Greece go wrong. (Bloomberg)

Indonesia’s economy hits its best growth rate since 1996. (Bloomberg)

The ECB may drop some sovereign debt demands for the region’s banks. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Press Digest Tagged: GM, HPQ, JPM, LVS, NYX

11 Major Earnings Previews For Wednesday (AET, ALL, AOL, BMC, CMO, CMG, GMCR, JDSU, LVS, NDAQ, QCOM)

Administrator — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:45:34 +0000

Earnings season is still going strong and Wednesday will have many big earnings reports to watch. These are not the only earnings reports coming from big companies, but these are the ones we will be watching closely: Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET); The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL); AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL); BMC Software Inc. (NASDAQ: BMC); Capstead Mortgage Corp. (NYSE: CMO); Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG); Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR); JDS Uniphase Corporation (NASDAQ: JDSU); Las Vegas Sands Corporation (NYSE: LVS); NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ); and QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM).

We have provided estimates from Thomson Reuters on each and offered commentary and guidance on some of these companies. More detailed previews will be available Tuesday morning for the reports due after the closing bell:

Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) estimates are $0.98 EPS and $8.49 billion. Watch the medical loss ratio here as it seems to be in quarters past that insurance outfits have been making more money than they were supposed to be making once the new healthcare laws go into effect. With shares around $44, the year high is $46.01.

The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) will prove if it has everyone in good hands or not. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.97 EPS. With shares around $29, its 52-week range is $22.27 to $34.40.

AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) has now seen shares bounce 60% off of the bottom and that is despite the recent news that Facebook is taking much of the new advertising market share. Estimates are $0.16 EPS per Thomson Reuters data but we just saw $0.28 noted in a Dow Jones preview yesterday. That being said, we are staying out of this one.

BMC Software Inc. (NASDAQ: BMC) is expected to post $0.82 EPS on almost $556 million in sales.

Capstead Mortgage Corp. (NYSE: CMO) is not a market moving stock, but investors who are into the world of high-yielding mortgage REITs will be watching. The estimate is $0.41 EPS (actually FFO) and the next dividend will be likely dependent upon that report. Its dividend yield screens north of 13% today.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) is a cult stock if there every was one and now its valuation is close to $11.5 billion and the stock is within 2% of its all-time high. Thomson Reuters has a consensus of $1.83 EPS and $591.1 million in sales. For 2012, the estimates are $8.68 EPS and 2.7 billion in revenues.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) is another huge cult stock down on its luck from recent highs. The stock is still down by more than half. Thomson Reuters has estimate at $0.36 EPS and $1.06 billion in sales.

JDS Uniphase Corporation (NASDAQ: JDSU) still has a huge shareholder base that got buried in the first big tech bubble. At $12.75, the 52-week range is $8.59 to $29.12. Thomson Reuters has a consensus of $0.10 EPS and $390.9 million.

Las Vegas Sands Corporation (NYSE: LVS) is also within striking distance of a near-term high as shares are currently around $49.00 against a 52-week range of $36.05 to $50.68. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters are $0.57 EPS and $2.46 billion in sales.

NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) is a value stock when it comes to the exchanges and it is not supposedly trying to do any crazy merger right now. At $25.00 the 52-week range is $20.32 to $29.71. The consensus estimate is $0.62 EPS and $417.8 million.

QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM)is within striking distance of its yearly high as shares are around $58.80 and the 52-week range is $45.98 to $59.84. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.90 EPS on $4.57 billion in revenues. Next quarter estimates are $0.89 EPS and $4.49 billion in sales. Keep in mind that if it rallies much more than the current $98.8 billion market cap will be $100 billion.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Calendar, Earnings Tagged: AET, ALL, AOL, BMC, CMG, CMO, GMCR, JDSU, LVS, NDAQ, QCOM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (MT, AVNR, CTRN, ETH,INTC, IGT, KALU, LVS, MA, MGM, MNTA, NOR, SFD, SO, SE, URBN, V, WYNN)

Administrator — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:35:40 +0000

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

Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) Started as Equal Weight at Barclays.
Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVNR) Reiterate as “Buy” with a $6 price target by Canaccord Genuity.
Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRN) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (NYSE: ETH) Started as Hold at Argus.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) Maintained Outperform but cut estimates at Credit Suisse; maintained Hold with $24 price target objective at Canaccord Genuity.
International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) resumed with “Outperform” rating at Wells Fargo.
Kaiser Aluminum Corporation (NASDAQ: KALU) Started as Buy at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
Las Vegas Sands Corporation (NYSE: LVS) resumed with “Outperform” rating at Wells Fargo.
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) Started as Buy at Nomura.
MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) resumed with “Outperform” rating at Wells Fargo.
Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTA) reiterate as Buy with a $23 price target objective by Canaccord Genuity.
Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. (NYSE: NOR) Started as Buy at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
Smithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE: SFD) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks Investment Research.
Southern Co. (NYSE: SO) Cut to Hold from Buy for short-term coverage but maintained a Buy for long-term at Argus.
Spectra Energy Corporation (NYSE: SE) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Maintained Neutral and lowered estimates at Credit Suisse; Maintained Underperform with $17 price target objective by Jefferies.
Visa, Inc. (NYSE: V) Started as Buy at Nomura.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) resumed with “Market Perform” at Wells Fargo.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AVNR, CTRN, ETH, IGT, INTC, KALU, LVS, MA, MGM, MNTA, MT, NOR, SE, SFD, SO, URBN, V, WYNN

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (CSCO, DO, LVS, LULU, PM, SLB, CIEN, COST, SFD, LAYN, KFY, DMAN, AFFY, DANG, IVC, PNCL, TSLA)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 21:08:15 +0000

Stocks opened lower this morning and trailed mostly lower throughout the day. Today’s wholesale inventory reported showed a gain of 1.6% and the initial jobless claims were substantially lower than expectations of 395,000, at 381,000. The two reports probably cancelled each other out as word hit the street that Europe is forecasting weaker growth and that today’s expected interest rate reduction was agreed with less than a unanimous vote by the ECB. The stress test results for European banks were released today, causing shares in some European banks to fall. WTI crude has fallen by more than $2 to $98.33/barrel and Brent crude is also down by about $1.65 at $107.86. Gold is down nearly -2%, at $1,710.40.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 198 points to 11,997.93 (-1.63%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 53 points (-1.99%) to 2,596.38, and the S&P 500 fell -2.11% or nearly 27 points to 1,234.35.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a price target of $24 at Argus. Other ratings actions today include Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (NYSE: DO) started as ‘sell’ with a target price of $70 at Goldman Sachs; Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) cut to ‘neutral’ at Janney; Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) restarted as ‘buy’ at Sterne Agee; Philip Morris International, Inc. (NYSE: PM) cut from ‘buy’ to ‘neutral’ at Nomura; and Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) started as ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs.

Here are today’s post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) is up 2.7% at $12.23; Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) is down -1.3% at $86.33; Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NYSE: SFD) is down -2.6% at $24.29; Layne Christensen Co. (NASDAQ: LAYN) is down -4.1% at $23.61; and Korn/Ferry International (NYSE: KFY) is down -8% at $15.77.

Other standouts from today include the following shares:

DemandTec, Inc. (NASDAQ: DMAN) is up nearly 56% at $13.15. The cloud-software company has accepted a takeover bid from IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) of $13.50/share, a 57% premium over yesterday’s closing price.

Affymax, Inc. (NASDAQ: AFFY) is up more than 38% at $8.10. The US FDA has approved the company’s anemia drug for dialysis patients suffering from chronic kidney failure.

E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NYSE: DANG) is up nearly 24% at $5.76. The Chinese e-commerce company has announced that it will issue an e-reader later this month and split content revenue with producers, keeping 40% for itself.

Invacare Corp. (NYSE: IVC) is down more than -25% at $15.39, after posting a new 52-week low earlier today. The medical supplies maker is in danger of having the US FDA close down some of its operations because Invacare has failed to comply with quality standards.

Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (NASDAQ: PNCL) is down about -23% at $1.47, after posting a new 52-week low of $1.40 earlier today. The regional airlines has initiated a program to cut costs and raise liquidity.

Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) is down nearly -3.5% at $30.75. The electric car maker’s stock was downgraded by Morgan Stanley from ‘overweight’ to ‘underweight’ and the target price was slashed from $70 to $44.

Stay tuned for Friday. Here are some noteworthy events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – International trade report for October
9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment report

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AFFY, CIEN, COST, CSCO, DANG, DMAN, DO, IVC, KFY, LAYN, LULU, LVS, PM, PNCL, SFD, SLB, TSLA

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (CELL, CSCO, DECK, DO, FTE, HTS, HWAY, HERO, LVS, LULU, MPEL, NRG, PM, SLB, SAH, STFC, VE, VRSN, WFT, YUM)

Administrator — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:21:30 +0000

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

Brightpoint Inc. (NASDAQ: CELL) Reiterate as Buy with a $14 price target objective at Canaccord Genuity.
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Reiterated as Buy with $24 price target objective at Argus.
Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NASDAQ: DECK) Reiterated as Buy with a $122 price target objective at Canaccord Genuity.
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (NYSE: DO) Started as Sell with a $70 target price objective at Goldman Sachs.
France Telecom (NYSE: FTE) Cut to Underperform and named as Bear of the Day by Zacks Investment Research.
Hatteras Financial Corporation (NYSE: HTS) Cut to Neutral at Stern Agee.
Healthways Inc. (NASDAQ: HWAY) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Hercules Offshore, Inc. (NASDAQ: HERO) Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) Cut to Neutral at Janney Capital Markets.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) Reinitiated as Buy at Stern Agee.
Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL) Raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) Cut to Neutral from Buy at UBS.
Philip Morris International, Inc. (NYSE: PM) Cut to Neutral from Buy at Nomura.
Schlumberger Limited (NYSE: SLB) Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE: SAH) named as value stock of the day by Zacks Investment Research.
State Auto Financial (NASDAQ: STFC) Raised to Buy from Neutral at Janney Capital Markets.
Veolia Environnement S.A. (NYSE: VE) Cut to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) Raised to Outperform and featured as the Bull of the Day by Zacks Investment Research.
Weatherford International Ltd. (NYSE: WFT) Started as Buy with a $22 price target objective at Goldman Sachs.
Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) Reiterated Buy with $65 fair value target at Janney Capital Markets.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: CELL, CSCO, DECK, DO, FTE, HERO, HTS, HWAY, LULU, LVS, MPEL, NRG, PM, SAH, SLB, STFC, VE, VRSN, WFT, YUM

Media Digest (10/3/2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

247wallst — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 10:14:17 +0000

The only way to fix the U.S. economy may be massive debt reductions for individuals and governments. (Reuters)

Greece misses GDP targets. (Reuters)

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) buys mobile navigation company Telmap. (Reuters)

Alibaba’s CEO says he wanted his company to buy Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO). (Reuters)

Warren Buffett buys more shares in Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) in a show of support. (Reuters)

Obama to send trade deals with South Korea, Panama and Columbia to Congress to resolve their fates. (WSJ)

Citigroup (NYSE: C) may shake up Tokyo management after problems with the government. (WSJ)

Global investors set a move to safety as a primary goal. (WSJ)

IMF’s concerns grow about any global expansion. (WSJ)

Daimler’s CEO says truck sales strengthen. (WSJ)

Many well-educated Americans lack skills to be employed. (WSJ)

Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) new iPhone faces the risk that there are not many phones like it. (WSJ)

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) expects strong results from China. (WSJ)

Companies with large numbers of Facebook fans try to figure out how to use them. (WSJ)

Long-term Treasuries were one of the best investments of recent quarters. (WSJ)

IPO numbers have fallen sharply. (WSJ)

Mashable, a site about online culture, draws many advertisers. (NYT)

Bob Pittman named CEO of Clear Channel. (NYT)

Hong Kong stocks hit their lowest level since May 2009 on EU worries. (FT)

Some in the Congress push for legislation on China currency manipulation. (FT)

Drought batters Texas cattle industry. (FT)

Greece to cut another $8.8 billion to bring its budget closer to 2012 goals. (Bloomberg)

Euro hits a multimonth low against the dollar. (Bloomberg)

So far, Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) beats Apple in India’s smartphone market. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Press Digest Tagged: AAPL, BAC, C, INTC, LVS, RIMM, YHOO

24/7 Wall St. Top Analyst Calls of the Week (CARB, GLW, DG, INTC, LOGI, LULU, MAKO, MCD, MCP, NFLX, NBG, P, RENN, YHOO, YNDX, YOKU, LVS, WYNN, BAC, WFC)

Administrator — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 11:45:48 +0000

Each morning we review our top upgrades, downgrades and initiations from Wall St. research notes. We then look back over these at the end of the week to more closely review calls that highlight underlying catalysts or developments that go far beyond just a one-day impact. Many calls turn out to offer keen insight, but some get a failing grade.

This last week’s top analyst calls of the week were in the following: Carbonite Inc. (NASDAQ: CARB); Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW); Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG); Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC); Logitech International SA (NASDAQ: LOGI); Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU); MAKO Surgical Corp. (NASDAQ: MAKO); McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD); Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP); Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX); National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE: NBG); Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P); Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN); Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO); Yandex NV (NASDAQ: YNDX); Youku.com Inc. (NYSE: YOKU); Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS); Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN); Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC); and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC).

Carbonite (NASDAQ: CARB) was one of the most mispriced IPOs for 2011, but to the downside by our take due to poor market conditions. The cloud storage player saw its quiet period end and the firms were mostly positive on the stock:

Started as Buy with a $16 target at Canaccord Genuity;
Started as Outperform with a $17 target at Oppenheimer;
Started as Outperform at William Blair;
Started as Overweight at JP Morgan;
Started as Buy with a $16 target at BofA/ML.

Corning (NYSE: GLW) is truly a tech value stock. Unfortunately, it is going to have a crummy Christmas in TVs and monitors unless can be massively offset and overcome by smartphones. The company already talked down its numbers a week or so earlier. On Friday it was named as the dubious Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Research, The Week Tagged: BAC, CARB, DG, GLW, INTC, LOGI, LULU, LVS, MAKO, MCD, MCP, NBG, NFLX, P, RENN, WFC, WYNN, YHOO, YNDX, YOKU

The Great Overlooked Dividend Hikes During the Panic (COV, CXS, DISCA, FITB, F, HST, LVS, LMT, MCD, MSFT, NEM, O)

Administrator — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:20:45 +0000

This was no good week for stocks even if the markets have bounced off the lows numerous times on Friday. The low of the DJIA on Friday morning of 10,638 was down about 7.5% from the prior Friday’s close of $11,509.09. Ugly no matter how you cut it. What is so interesting is that companies are still making strides in increasing their payouts in dividends to shareholders as a clear message that their businesses are not at all imploding. Maybe things in China are slowing and maybe the Europeans have us fearing another 2008 to 2009 panic, but these companies are raising dividends in an effort to tell you that they believe that they have clarity in their earnings ahead.

The following companies either announced dividend hikes or hinted at dividend hikes soon: Covidien plc (NYSE: COV); CreXus Investment Corp. (NYSE: CXS); Discovery Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA); Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB); Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F); Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: HST); Las Vegas Sands Corporation (NYSE: LVS); Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT); McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD); Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT); Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM); and Realty Income Corporation (NYSE: O). These are not even all of the hikes as there were many dividend announcements from smaller companies during the week.

Covidien plc (NYSE: COV) is showing that healthcare products aren’t so worrisome after all. The company announced on the evening of September 22 that it increased its quarterly dividend by 12.5% from $0.20 to $0.225 per ordinary share. The new $0.90 anualized payout now generates a dividend yield of roughly 1.97%.

CreXus Investment Corp. (NYSE: CXS) declared on September 20 a bump to its third quarter dividend of $0.30 per share, a 25% gain from the prior $0.25 payout. As with all entities of this sort, it is hard to know whether or not this payout can be continued as income from quarter to quarter can fluctuate substantially. To prove the point, this annualized dividend would be approximately 13% and around $9.15 its 52-week range is $8.26 to $13.51. The company did note, ” We believe our shareholders will continue to see the benefits of the breadth and diversity of our platform in the quarters and years ahead.”

Discovery Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) is not a dividend payer, but early this week came word from the Goldman Sachs Media conference that its CEO is pushing for a stock buyback and has said that a dividend initiation is possible. For a media company with no dividend, that could be a coup. The stock is close to $40 per share and its estimates for earnings from Thomson Reuters are $2.36 EPS for 2011 and $2.81 EPS for 2012.

Filed under: Dividend, Shareholder Issues Tagged: COV, CXS, DISCA, F, FITB, HST, LMT, LVS, MCD, MSFT, NEM, O

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ADSK, DG, GTIV, HUM, JEF, LVS, ORCL, OREX, HOT, TOT, VRSN, WYNN, YNDX)

Administrator — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:18:36 +0000

These are some of this Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen having an impact from Wall Street research calls.

Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) Started as Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Gentiva Health Services Inc. (NASDAQ: GTIV) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Humana, Inc. (NYSE: HUM) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Jefferies Group Inc. (NYSE: JEF) Cut to Neutral at Ticonderoga.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) Reiterated Buy with $32 target at BofA/ML; maintained Buy with $38 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OREX) Raised to Outperform at Leerink Swann; Maintained Neutral but target raised to $4 from $2 at BofA/ML.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Total SA (NYSE: TOT) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
VeriSign Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Yandex N. V. (NASDAQ: YNDX) Started as Buy at Jefferies.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ADSK, DG, GTIV, HOT, HUM, JEF, LVS, ORCL, OREX, TOT, VRSN, WYNN, YNDX