24/7 Wall St. » MHP

Lowered Forecast Hammers D&B (DNB, EFX, FICO, MCO, MHP)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:50:08 +0000

Dun & Bradstreet Corp. (NYSE: DNB), one of the venerable names in business and credit data, is taking some lumps this morning following lowered fiscal year forecast and the closure of one of the company’s Chinese units that is currently being investigated by the Chinese government.

Along with Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX), Fair Isaac Corp. (NYSE: FICO), Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO), and the Standard & Poor’s division of The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. (NYSE: MHP), D&B provides the information many lenders use to make credit decisions. Unlike the other companies, D&B has not been able to hit an EPS estimate for several quarters in a row now. Revenue estimates have fared just as badly.

Perhaps as an effort to reset expectations, D&B revised its revenue growth estimate from a range of 3% to 5% to a new range of 0-3% when it reported quarterly results last night. The downward change likely recognizes the increasing competition from competitors like Equifax and Moody’s.

D&B’s shares are down -13.8% at $65.26 in a 52-week range of $58.50-$86.52.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Business Services, Earnings Tagged: DNB, EFX, FICO, MCO, MHP

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (AAPL, T, XRX, GE, LNKD, BIG, AZO, APD, BHI, COH, ITW, MHP, RSH, RF, HSY, NFLX, IBM, NAT, EGLE)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:11:08 +0000

Markets opened mixed this morning, with the DJIA showing much more strength than the S&P 500, which opened higher, or the Nasdaq, which opened lower. The S&P Case-Shiller house price index showed another decline in home prices (our coverage here), although new home sales rose slightly. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index was lower this month as well (our coverage here). Tech stocks have been weak all day as sentiment about the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) earnings report faltered following comments from AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) related to iPhone connections (our coverage here). The US dollar index fell today, now down -0.25% at 79.220. The GSCI commodity index is down -0.28% at 675.82, with commodities mostly rising on the weaker dollar. WTI crude oil closed up 0.4% at $103.55/barrel, and Brent crude trades down -0.48% at $118.14/barrel. Gold settled up 0.7% today, at $1,643.80/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 74 points to 13,001.56 (0.58%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 9 points (-0.30%) to 2,961.60, and the S&P 500 rose 0.37% or about 5 points to 1,371.97.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX) reiterated ‘buy’ with a target price of $13 at Argus; General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) reiterated ‘buy’ with a target price of $22 at Argus; LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD) started as ‘overweight’ at Piper Jaffray; Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) cut to ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank; and AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) raised to ‘overweight’ at JPMorgan.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: AT&T is up 3.9% at $31.81; Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD) is down -4.3% at $84.91; Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) is up 5.3% at $43.23 (more coverage here); Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) is down -4% at $72.10 (more coverage here); Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW) is up 2.7% at $56.71; McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. (NYSE: MHP) is down -3% at $47.65; RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) is down -10.3% at $5.36 after posting a new 52-week intraday low of $5.27; Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) is up 5.4% at $6.42; The Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) is up 5.7% at $65.86 after posting a new 52-week intraday high of $66.94; and Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is down -14.6% at $87.01.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) is up .0.8% at $200.24. The tech giant raised its dividend today. More coverage here.

North American Tankers Ltd. (NYSE: NAT) is up 1.5% at $14.01. Shipping rates for dry bulk shippers are rising and tanker rates, especially for the smaller (1 million barrels) crude carriers of the Suezmax class. Many other shippers are also getting a boost today, including Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ: EGLE), which is up 6.8% at $1.88.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee wraps up its two-day meeting and Chairman Ben Bernanke will hold a press conference this afternoon. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
8:30 a.m. – Durable goods orders
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
11:30 a.m. – 5-yr note auction
2:00 p.m. – FOMC forecasts

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AAPL, APD, AZO, BHI, BIG, COH, EGLE, GE, HSY, IBM, ITW, LNKD, MHP, NAT, NFLX, RF, RSH, T, XRX

Fitch Booted from Credit Suisse Bond Rating (CS, MHP, MET)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 18:21:51 +0000

Ratings agency Fitch Ratings didn’t like what it saw on a residential mortgage backed securities bond from Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) and it said so. That led the bank to drop the agency’s rating in favor of two ‘AAA’ ratings assigned by Standard & Poor’s, a division of The McGraw Hill Companies Inc. (NYSE: MHP), and DBRS Ltd.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the bond was backed by $746 million in jumbo mortgage loans initiated by MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET) and others. Fitch had been paid for its rating on the deal. The WSJ noted that Fitch published a report critical of S&P’s and DBRS’s rating.

Filed under: Banking, Bonds Tagged: CS, MET, MHP

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (XOM, NKE, POT, TSLA, AMGN, RRC, AXE, ARMH, CE, LLY, HP, LLL, MHP, MAT, PFE, VLO, VRNG, RSH, PAY, REE, FFN)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:06:33 +0000

All three major indexes opened higher this morning, but the strength didn’t last as the Chicago PMI number failed to meet expectations and came in lower even than last month’s reading. The lower reading on consumer confidence also supported sellers this morning. Nothing of note was concluded on the Greek debt swap, so that had little effect on the market one way or the other. Oil major Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) reported earnings in-line with expectations, that wasn’t good enough for investors today (our coverage here). Crude oil is mixed today, with WTI crude down -0.32% at $98.46/barrel and Brent crude higher by 0.31% at $111.09/barrel. Gold closed today at $1,738.10/ounce, having gained 11% this month (our view here).

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 21 points to 12,632.91 (-0.16%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 2 points (0.07%) to 2,813.84, and the S&P 500 fell -0.05% or less than 1 point to 1,312.40.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) raised to ‘buy’ at Argus; Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) cut to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs; Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) started as ‘buy’ at Jefferies; Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) reiterated as ‘buy’ and target price raised to $80 at Argus; and Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC) raised to ‘hold’ from ‘sell’ with a target price of $59 at Canaccord Genuity.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Anixter Inc. (NYSE: AXE) is down -3.7% at $65.25; ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) is up 1.7% at $28.84; Celanese Corp. (NYSE: CE) is down -0.95% at $48.84; Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) is up 1.35% at $39.78; Exxon Mobil is down -1.98% at $83.80; Helmerich & Payne Inc. (NYSE: HP) is up 2.2% at $61.64; L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LLL) is up 1.3% at $70.49; McGraw-Hill Cos. Inc. (NYSE: MHP) is down -0.5% at $46.09; Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT) is up 5.1% at $31.04 after posting a new 52-week high today of $31.49; Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is down -0.8% at $21.42; and Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) is down -0.73% at $24.10.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Vringo Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNG) is up nearly 21% at $1.40. The social media software maker is apparently basking in the glow of the coming IPO of Facebook. See our coverage here.

RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) is down nearly -30% at $7.19 after setting a new 52-week low of $7.15 earlier today. The social media software maker is apparently basking in the glow of the coming IPO of Facebook. See our coverage here.

Verifone Systems Inc. (NYSE: PAY) is up more than 8% at $42.61. The payment systems maker is getting a boost from a plan by Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) to subsidize the installation of new card readers that use a microchip rather than a magnetic stripe to store customer information.

Rare Element Resources Ltd. (AMEX: REE) is up more than 17% at $7.22. The rare earth minerals miner is likely gaining after a ruling from the WTO that China’s restriction on rare earth minerals’ exports violates global trade rules.

FriendFinder Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: FFN) is up about 19% at $1.26. The adult social media company is likely also being bought up on the prospective Facebook IPO.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Automakers will be releasing sales figures for January throughout the day. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
7:30 a.m. – Challenger Job-cut data
8:15 a.m. – ADP employment report
10:00 a.m. – ISM manufacturing index
10:00 a.m. – Construction spending
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: AMGN, ARMH, AXE, CE, FFN, HP, LLL, LLY, MAT, MHP, NKE, PAY, PFE, POT, REE, RRC, RSH, TSLA, VLO, VRNG, XOM

A Slew of Layoffs

247wallst — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:24:11 +0000

Layoffs were part of the business news yesterday. Enough people lost jobs in a series of three “downsizings” to reminds those who believe unemployment continues to fall that the economy still struggles.

Pacific Sunwear of California (NASDAQ: PSUN) said it would close 200 stores. The company faces competition for the sale of glasses and other personal wear items. Not all retailers will benefit from improvements in sales this holiday season. The news follows a recent announcement that the Gap (NYSE: GPS) will close 200 of its own outlets. For all the retailers who boast that the 2011 holiday season will be strong, several have found otherwise.

AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) could not be in a business more different from Pacific Sunwear. But the large pharmaceutical company finds itself in a period of falling sales. It will cut 1,150 jobs in the U.S. Many will be sales staff, which is a sure sign that revenue growth has become troubled. Either the economy has hurt the company or its products have failed in the market. It hardly matters to those who will lose jobs.

On the same day as the other two job actions, McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP) announced it would cut 550 jobs in its education publishing division. Sales of textbooks must have dropped.

The three actions, all in one day, are not directly related to one another. It is open to speculation if they would have happened if the economy was in a substantial recovery. The job cuts do, however, remind those who believe that the employment market has recovered that there are still pockets of trouble large enough to cost thousands of jobs.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Retail Tagged: AZN, GPS, MHP, PSUN

Media Digest (12/8/2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

247wallst — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:23:41 +0000

S&P may downgrade the EU and the largest eurozone banks. (Reuters)

France and Germany continue to press new eurozone treaty measures that would help trigger new financing for the region. (Reuters)

Japan says it is not aware of a $600 billion IMF plan for Europe. (Reuters)

The Department of Health blocks wider distribution of the morning-after birth control pill. (Reuters)

Japan’s government may set a bailout fund from crippled TEPCO. The fund may be as high as $19 billion. (Reuters)

Two large electronics retailers in China increase e-commerce efforts. (Reuters)

Nintendo says its lead game designer, Shigeru Miyamoto, will not leave. (Reuters)

AT&T (NYSE: T) says it will continue its campaign to buy T-Mobile. (Reuters)

A Wall Street Journal analysis shows the SEC allowed 50 money managers to avoid disclosing ownership in corporations. (WSJ)

Natural gas will replace coal as the primary means to generate electricity in the U.S. by 2025. (WSJ)

Regulators may decide U.S. banks do not have to set risk parameters based on credit rating agency opinions. (WSJ)

A deal between Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) faces more regulator scrutiny. (WSJ)

Macy’s (NYSE: M) may try to block a deal between Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO) and JCPenney (NYSE: JCP). (WSJ)

General Motors (NYSE: GM) says Volt fires were cause by welded parts in the cars. (WSJ)

Verizon’s (NYSE: VZ) 4G network not working in some areas. (WSJ)

Some central banks in Europe set plans in the event the eurozone does not survive. (WSJ)

New York State raises a tax on the wealthy. (WSJ)

Avon (NYSE: AVP) has a gap between earnings and free cash flow that limits its operations. (WSJ)

Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA) says its investment in the Oprah network continues to rise. (WSJ)

Pacific Sunware of California (NASDAQ: PSUN) will close 200 stores. (WSJ)

Southwest Air (NYSE: LUV) is close to a transaction to buy 100 Boeing (NYSE: BA) planes. (WSJ)

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) has advanced approval of a new kidney cancer drug. (WSJ)

AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) says it will cut its U.S. workforce by 24%. (WSJ)

LivingSocial will try to raise $400 million and probably put IPO plans on hold. (WSJ)

Developers buy closed auto plants because of cheap property values. (NYT)

Boeing (NYSE: BA) workers approve a new four-year contract. (NYT)

Genetech and Novartis (NYSE: NVS) develop a drug that may slow the advance of breast cancer. (NYT)

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) may sell its luxury operations. (FT)

JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) says it will increase lending in Europe. (FT)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) loses a key trademark case in China. (FT)

McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP) to cuts jobs in its education unit. (FT)

A Bloomberg poll says investors expect a banking crisis in China. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Press Digest Tagged: AVP, BA, DISCA, GM, JCP, JPM, LUV, M, MHP, MSO, NOK, NVS, NYX, PFE, PSUN, T, VZ

Today’s Best Market Rumors (9/30/2011) Facebook Privacy

247wallst — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:21:40 +0000

Updated throughout the day.

McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP) and the CME may combine their DJIA and S&P 500 assets (Reuters)

Facebook faces a privacy investigation in Ireland (FT)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: General, Rumors Tagged: MHP

Media Digest (9/30/2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

247wallst — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 10:17:42 +0000

The federal government begins to probe the accounting of several Chinese companies. (Reuters)

EU markets to decline more this quarter than in any other since 2008. (Reuters)

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) to charge debt card fees. (Reuters)

Amazon’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) new Fire tablet raises worry about profit margins and the supply chain. (Reuters)

Facebook faces more pressure over its privacy policies. (Reuters)

Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) says the CEO of Autonomy shopped his company around, beginning a battle that could harm Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), which plans to buy the smaller company. (Reuters)

The Federal Reserve’s Operation Twist could do more for the financial markets than QE2. (WSJ)

A vote by the German parliament will clear the way for bailout funds the region needs to support weaker economies. (WSJ)

Friendly’s restaurant chain may file Chapter 11. (WSJ)

Leo Apotheker to get $7.2 million severance from HP and Meg Whitman will take $1 salary. (WSJ)

Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) may have trouble breaking with its old target market of companies. (WSJ)

The index of pending home sales falls again. (WSJ)

The FAA to increase co-pilot training. (WSJ)

The IMF may try to expand its lending power to $1.7 trillion. (WSJ)

Ford (NYSE: F) and General Motors (NYSE: GM) may get back their investment grade ratings from S&P. (WSJ)

The DJIA and S&P 500 could become a joint venture between McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP) and CME (NASDAQ: CME). (WSJ)

PIMCO moves out of risky assets and into high-quality investments like emerging-market debt. (WSJ)

The U.S. may sell $22 billion in assets over the next 10 years to raise cash. (NYT)

The inspector general for TARP says that some big banks, like Bank of America and Citigroup (NYSE: C), were pressured to leave the program too soon. (FT)

Toyota (NYSE: TM) and Honda (NYSE: HMC) return to full production for the first time since the Japanese earthquake. (Bloomberg)

IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) market cap rises above Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) for the first time since 1996. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A.McIntyre

Filed under: Press Digest Tagged: AMZN, BAC, C, CME, F, GM, HMC, HPQ, IBM, MHP, MSFT, ORCL, RIMM, TM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ARX, AMSF, AMAT, MT, BP, BTI, CRZO, LFC, DOLE, ITMN, LNKD, MCD, MHP, NCR, ONXX, PTEN, PAA)

Administrator — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:21:01 +0000

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

Aeroflex Holding Corp. (NYSE: ARX) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Amerisafe, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMSF) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
BP PLC (NYSE: BP) Started as Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
British American Tobacco plc (NYSE: BTI) Raised to Overweight at CRedit Suisse.
Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. (NASDAQ: CRZO) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LFC) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Dole Food Company Inc. (NYSE: DOLE) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Intermune, Inc (NASDAQ: ITMN) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD) Started as Hold at Argus.
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) Reiterated Buy with $102 target at Argus.
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (NYSE: MHP) Raised to Buy at Argus.
NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) Started as Buy at Oppenheimer.
Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ONXX) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: PTEN) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (NYSE: PAA) is the Value stock of the day at Zacks.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AMAT, AMSF, ARX, BP, BTI, CRZO, DOLE, ITMN, LFC, LNKD, MCD, MHP, MT, NCR, ONXX, PAA, PTEN

Media Digest (9/13/2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, Bloomberg

247wallst — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 10:11:47 +0000

John Chambers of Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) to preside over the company’s analyst meeting, perhaps for the last time. (Reuters)

Merkel says the euro has no orderly method for a default. (Reuters)

The Nintendo 3DS sells poorly. (Reuters)

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) Offers, meant to compete with Groupon and LivingSocial, struggles. (Reuters)

McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP), under pressure from some shareholders, will split into two pieces. (WSJ)

European banks hit hard by fears of Greek debt. (WSJ)

Republicans reacted poorly to the Obama tax plan meant to pay for his jobs program. (WSJ)

Student loan defaults rise sharply. (WSJ)

Banks ask for new home appraisals in the wake of Hurricane Irene. (WSJ)

China may buy a large number of Italian bonds. (WSJ)

OECD’s composite leading indicators shows a global slowdown. (WSJ)

The Graduate Management Admission Council says fewer people want MBAs. (WSJ)

GE (NYSE: GE) to increase its presence in Germany to press rival Siemens (NYSE: SI). (WSJ)

Ford (NYSE: F) to launch a new three-cylinder engine. (WSJ)

Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM) to buy NetLogic (NASDAQ: NETL) for $3.7 billion. (WSJ)

Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) investors must rely on the company’s cash balance to support its stock for now. (WSJ)

Canadian wheat farmers continue to back the Canadian Wheat Board. (WSJ)

Groupon faces slowing revenue growth. (WSJ)

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) must get app developers to make Windows 8 successful. (NYT)

Merkel is at the center of the Greek default storm. (NYT)

Detroit relies on a two-tier wage system that pays new employees lower salaries. (NYT)

European banks likely to cut more staff. (Bloomberg)

Morgan Stanley says Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) may offer a dividend or share buyback. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Press Digest Tagged: AAPL, BBY, BRCM, CSCO, F, GE, GOOG, MHP, MSFT, NETL, SI