Posts for Ticker ‘NSC’

The More Focused, and More Opaque, Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B, BNI, UNP, NSC, GS, GE, TIF, HOG, WMT, COP, XOM, WFC, RSG, DOW, ETN, WBC, MCO, WLP, UNH, GSK, SNY, GCI, WPO)

This was an important week for investment guru and billionaire watchers to see which gurus were holding which stocks.  The full public equity holdings of Warren Buffett via Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) were particularly of note, particularly with those B shares under “BRK-B” soon to split and giving a chance for even the less astute ranks of Joe Public to own a piece of the Berkshire dream.  Obviously the huge change is via the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (NYSE: BNI) buyout.  As part of this deal, Buffett is exiting Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) and exiting Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) stakes of about $600 million and $100 million, respectively, to avoid duplication and internal competition.  The rail transport play now accounts for about one-quarter of the total Berkshire Hathaway entity upon closing. But the less obvious position in that Warren Buffett in 2009 has made it clear that there will be a simpler and probably less “stock-hound” version of Berkshire Hathaway ahead.

Buffett has gone higher up the food chain and is likely to be a creditor now inside or to large institutions.  We have seen this during the crisis.  Buffett negotiated a better deal for Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) than the US Government was able to get.  Buffett’s preferred stock in Goldman Sachs has a dividend of 10% and is callable at any time at a 10% premium; but Buffett also got warrants to purchase $5 billion of common stock with a strike price of $115.00 per share, exercisable for a five-year term (4 years now), and Buffett would effectively get to pocket $61 per share if he exercised those all today at the market (and with a $2.6 billion warrant profit alone).

The General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) stake was listed only as 7.77 million shares of common stock (about $125 million now), the same as it has been for quarters.  Yet last year Buffett came to the rescue with a $3 billion of perpetual preferred stock in a private offering with a dividend of 10% and warrants to purchase $3 billion of common stock.  The preferred is callable after 3-years (2 years now) at a 10% premium; the warrants have a strike price of $22.25 and are exercisable for a five-year term (4 years now).
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Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Q3-2009 Holdings (BRK-A, BRK-B, GCI, GE, GSK, HD, IR, IRM, JNJ, KFT, LOW, MCO, NLC, NKE, NSC, NRG)

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

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

BUFFETT HOLDINGS A to F

BUFFETT HOLDINGS P to Z

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JON C. OGG

Transports Seeing Mixed Show on FedEx Guidance Hike (FDX, UPS, UNP, CSX, YRCW, NSC, KSU, BNI, JBHT, CNW, LSTR)

FedEx Logo PicWe just noticed over at our volume spike alert service that FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) was already challenging 150% of its average volume and was triple volume what it normally has traded by this time of the morning. This was really ramping up rival United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS) with a 4% gain, and was taking up lesser players in the space as well.  But interestingly enough, this is not doing anything to boost the trading volume in railroad stocks. Railroad giants like Union Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP) and CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) are even lower on the day.  YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW) is up significantly, and most truckers are up in sympathy.
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Berkshire Hathaway & Buffett Q2-2009 Holdings G to O (BRK-A, GCI, GE, GSK, HD, IR, IRM, JNJ, KFT, LOW, MTB, MCO, NLC, NKE, NSC, NRG)

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

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

BUFFETT HOLDINGS ‘A to F’

BUFFETT HOLDINGS ‘P to Z’

JON C. OGG
AUGUST 14, 2009

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AFL, CPB, ECL, ISIS, MGM, NE, NSC, PERY, TER, WDC)

These are the ten top Wall Street analyst calls with upgrades, downgrades, and initiations we have this Wednesday morning:

Aflac (AFL) Cut to Hold from Buy at Citigroup.
Campbell Soup (CPB) Raised to Sector Perform at RBC.
Ecolab (ECL) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Isis Pharmaceuticals (ISIS) Started as Buy at Cantor Fitzgerald.
MGM Mirage (MGM) Cut to Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
Noble Corporation (NE) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Norfolk Southern (NSC) Cut to Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
Perry Ellis (PERY) Cut to Neutral at SunTrust.
Teradyne (TER) Started as Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
Western Digital (WDC) Cut to Neutral at Baird.

Jon C. Ogg
July 27, 2009

CSX Rises, But Shows Why Warren Buffett Is Worried on Rails (CSX, BNI, NSC, UNP, BRK-A)

Buffett ImageCSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) is showing exactly why Warren Buffett has been so pessimistic lately. Q2 2009 earnings were $308 million or $0.78 EPS.  This is down from $385 million, or $0.93 EPS, a year ago.  If you exclude discontinued operations related to the Greenbrier Resort, the earnings on a comparable basis were $0.72 EPS compared to $0.95 a year ago. While this is not as bad as some expected, there is a continued erosion as CSX said railroad freight volume is expected to fall by double-digit percentage rates in Q3.  The only comfort is that the target is set lower than the 21% decline seen in Q2.  As Warren Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) are huge railroad investors (but not in CSX), and as he uses this rail freight traffic as a leading indicator, this has an impact on Buffett’s other railroad stocks of Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI), Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC), and Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP).
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Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Disclose Holdings G to O (BRK-A, GCI, GE, GSK, HD, IR, IRM, JNJ, KFT, LOW, MTB, MCO, NLC, NKE, NSC, NRG)

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

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

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

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

Jon C. Ogg
May 15, 2009

Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Disclose Holdings H to R (HD, IR, IRM, JNJ, KFT, LOW, MTB, MCO, NLC, NKE, NSC, NRG, PG)

buffett_image4The second group is out, and here are the year-end holdings of Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A).   This filing shows the holdings alphabetically as “H to R” for stocks and the cut off date is December 31, 2008.  We also added in some color for reference to the prior report:

  • Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) 3.7 Million shares; same as before but down from June.
  • Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR) 7.78 million, above the 5.6366 million before.
  • Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) 3.3722 million shares, same as last quarter.
  • Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) 28.6 million shares, down by more than half from about 62 million last quarter.
  • Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) over 138 million.  We had 148 million last time but that could have been a carrying difference we didn’t catch.
  • Lowes Companies (NYSE: LOW) 6.5 million shares, same as last quarter.
  • M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) 6.71 million shares, same as last quarter.
  • Moody’s (NYSE: MCO) about 48 million shares, same as before but may actually be larger since the 12/31 reporting.
  • Nalco Holding (NYSE: NLC) 8.730 million shares; NEW HOLDING from last quarter.
  • Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) 7.641 million shares, same as last quarter.
  • Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) 1.933 million shares, still same.
  • NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) 7.2 million, up from 5 million last quarter.
  • Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) 96.3 million, down from more than 105.8 million last quarter.

BUFFETT HOLDINGS “A to G”
BUFFETT HOLDINGS “S to Z”

Jon C. Ogg
February 17, 2009

The 52-Week Low Club (FNB)(HBC)(UNP)(NCS)(FITB)

Blue_hillsF N B Corporation (FNB) Predicts big loss. Down to $8.89 from 52-week high of $20.70.

HSBC Hldgs (HBC) Concerns bank will take huge write-down. Drops to $41.04 from 52-week high of $88.15.

Norfolk Southern (NSC) Railroad traffic expected to fall. Market also does not seem to like Fitch rating. Sells down to $39.05 from 52-week high of $75.53.

Union Pacific (UNP) Another railroad stock. Moves off to $40.81 from 52-week high of $85.80.

Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) Bad day for banks. Falls down to $6.08 from 52-week high of $28.58.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Biodiesel Refinery Goes on the Block (NSC, BRK-A)

Burning_money_pic_2Bad news doesn’t surprise anyone any more, especially in the bio-refining business. Shareholder value in ethanol companies has all but evaporated. Now, we get news of a biodiesel plant going on the auction block.

A company called Mid-Atlantic Biodiesel Company, LLC, is being forced to auction its five million gallon/year refinery, which went into operation in 2006. The plant only produced B100 (100% biodiesel), and only did so for about six months. Then the cost of feedstock caught up with Mid-Atlantic, and the company closed its doors. Now, according to the auctioneer’s web site, the plant will go under the gavel on January 22, 2009, in a "lender ordered collateral sale."

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New Warren Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Stocks I-S (IR, IRM, JNJ, KFT, LOW, MTB, MCO, NKE, NSC, NRG, PG, SNY, STI)

Buffett_image_3We have outlined the changes we have seen in the holdings of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) and these were put into groups in alphabetical order from I to S for the quarter ended on September 30, 2008:

  • Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR) 5,636,600 shares (same)
  • Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) 3,372,200 shares (same)
  • Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) listed as almost 62 million (roughly same)
  • Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) about 148 million shares
  • Lowes Companies (NYSE: LOW) 6.5 million shares; Down from 7 million in June
  • M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) 6.71 million shares (same)
  • Moody’s (NYSE: MCO) 48 million shares (same)
  • Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) 7.641 million shares (same)
  • Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) 1.933 million shares (same)
  • NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) 5,000,000 shares; UP from 3.238 million in June
  • Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) more than 105.8 million shares (same)
  • Sanofi Aventis (NYSE: SNY) more than 3.9 million shares (same)
  • Sun Trust Bank (NYSE: STI) more than 3.2 million shares (same)

BUFFETT HOLDINGS "A to H"
BUFFETT HOLDINGS "T to Z"

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Jon C. Ogg
November 14, 2008

Tuesday’s Earnings Represent True Economy Strengths & Weakness (MMM, AAPL, CAT, DD, LMT, NSC, YHOO)

Tuesday is going to look like it is a true earnings bogey for the entire economy with major industrials and other companies which are representative of the strength or weakness of the entire economy.  We have earnings from 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), DuPont (NYSE: DD), Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT), Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC), and Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO).  There are others reporting as well, but these below are the ones we have chosen to issue preview over.  Here we have given overall pull-backs from highs, detailed expectations, changes expected from last year, guidance expectations, and other individual metrics.

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Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (BNI, CERN, DECK, EV, HWAY, IPAR, NSC, RF)

There were other upgrades but these are the ones we are seeing having an impact on shares this morning:

  • Burlington Northern (BNI) Raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Cerner (CERN) Started as Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
  • Deckers Outdoor (DECK) Started as Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
  • Eaton Vance (EV) Raised to Buy Goldman Sachs.
  • Healthways (HWAY) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
  • Inter Parfums (IPAR) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
  • Norfolk Southern (NSC) Raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Regions Financial (RF) Raised to Outperform at KBW.

Jon C. Ogg
September 10, 2008

Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Holdings H to S (HD, IR, IRM, JNJ, KFT, LOW, MTB, MCO, NKE, NSC, NRG, PG, SNY, STI)

Buffett_image_3These are more of Warren Buffett’s and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) holdings as of June 30, 2008:

  • Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) 4,181,000 shares
  • Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR) 5,636,600 shares
  • Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) 3,372,200 shares
  • Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) listed about 61.75 million shares in multiple lots
  • Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) listed about 138.3 million shares in multiple lots
  • Lowes Companies (NYSE: LOW) 7 million shares
  • M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) 6.71 million shares
  • Moody’s (NYSE: MCO) 48 million shares
  • Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) 7.641 million shares
  • Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) 1.933 million shares
  • NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) 3.238 million shares
  • Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) more than 105.8 million shares
  • Sanofi Aventis (NYSE: SNY) more than 3.9 million shares
  • Sun Trust Bank (NYSE: STI) more than 3.2 million shares

We have also broken the other Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway holdings in two groups:

 

Jon C. Ogg
August 14, 2008

Top Analyst Upgrades (AMAT, BP, CPST, EGLT, ELON, ITRI, KLAC, NSC, PQ, PCLN)

These are some of the top UPGRADES we are seeing from Wall Street analysts this Thursday morning:

  • Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) Started as Buy at Banc of America.
  • BP plc (NYSE: BP) raised to Overweight from Neutral at HSBC Securities.
  • Eagle Test Systems (NASDAQ: EGLT) started as Buy at Banc of America.
  • KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC) Started as Buy at Banc of America.
  • Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • PetroQuest Energy (NYSE: PQ) Raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  • Priceline.com (NASDAQ: PCLN) started as Buy at Stanford Research.

Jon C. Ogg
July 10, 2008

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (ALU, CHS, LONG, IFX, JNPR, MAR, MFA, NSC, SNDA, VVUS)

These are ten of the analyst calls we are focusing on this Thursday morning:

  • Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) Raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs.
  • Chico’s FAS (NYSE: CHS) cut to Sell at Citigroup.
  • eLong (NASDAQ: LONG) Cut to Sell from Hold at Citigroup.
  • Infineon (NYSE: IFX) Cut to Reduce at Oppenheimer.
  • Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR) cut to Neutral at UBS; started as Hold at Lazard.
  • Marriott International (NYSE: MAR) Cut to Equalweight at Morgan Stanley.
  • MFA Mortgage (NYSE: MFA) raised to Outperform at Keefe Bruyette Woods.
  • Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) Raised To Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
  • Shanda Interactive (NASDAQ: SNDA) Cut to Hold from Buy at Citigroup.
  • Vivus (NASDAQ: VVUS) cut to Market Perform at Wachovia.

Jon C. Ogg
May 29, 2008

Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Holdings I-S (BRK.A, BRK.B, IR, IRM, JNJ, KFT, MTB, MCO, NKE, NSC, PG, SNY, STI)

After today’s close, we saw which stocks Warren Buffett held in Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) as of March 31, 2008.  Buffett’s filing cut off date is longer as he has 45-days to make his filings.  This is a snapshot of his various holdings, and these were broken down.  Some of these have multiple positions because of the various entities that are held.

Ingersoll Rand (NYSE: IR) small position

Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) small position

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)

  • $280M for 4,322,500 shares
  • $1.314 BIL for 20,266,300 shares
  • $1.711 BIL for 26,386,148 shares
  • $21M for 325,300 shares
  • $589M for 9,087,200 shares
  • $51 for 792,000 shares
  • $37M for 575,000 shares

Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) 

  • $2.766 BIL for 89,222,400 shares
  • $954.8M for 30,790,300 shares
  • $310M for 10,000,000 shares
  • $8M for 259,800 shares
  • $248M for 8,000,000 shares

M & T Bank (NYSE: MTB)

  • $483.1M for 6,003,360 shares
  • $43.9M for 546,000 shares
  • $13.3M for 165,700 shares

Moody’s (NYSE: MCO)

  • $1.124 BIL for  32,280,600 shares
  • $547.5M for 15,719,400 shares

Nike (NYSE: NKE)

  • $519.5M for 7,641,000 shares

Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC)

  • $105M for 1,933,000 shares

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG)

  • $4,099 BIL for 58,500,000 shares
  • $1.524 BIL for 21,752,000 shares
  • $437M for 6,240,000 shares
  • $501M for 7,154,500 shares
  • $54,655 for 780,000 shares
  • $109,309 for 1,560,000 shares
  • $384,369 for 5,485,500 shares
  • $306,556 for 4,375,000 shares

Sanofi-Aventis (NSE: SNY)

  • $18.3M for 488,500 shares
  • $96.8M for 2,578,933 shares
  • $6.3M for 169,300 shares
  • $13.1M    350,000 shares

SunTrust Banks (NYSE: STI)

  • $129.2M for 2,344,600 shares
  • $47.4M for 860,000 shares

Very Small Position defined as "under $100 Million."  That may be anempire for the rest of us, but it isn’t worth nothing on Mr. Buffett’sscale.

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Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Holdings A – H

Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Holdings T – W

Jon C. Ogg
May 15, 2008

Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Holdings “H to P” (BRK-A, BRK-B, HD, IR, IRM, JNJ, KFT, MTB, MCO, NKE, NSC, PG)

These are the new combined holdings (alphabetically H-P) from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) for the period ended December 31, 2007:

  • Home Depot (NYSE: HD) 4.181 million shares for $112.6 million.
  • Ingersoll Rand (NYSE: IR) 636,600 shares for some $29.55 million, why even bother….
  • Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) 4.66 million shares for some $172.6 million.
  • Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) 61.75 million shares for some $4.11 Billion.
  • Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) 132.39 million shares for some $4.32 Billion.
  • M & T Bank (NYSE: MTB) 6.7 million shares for some $547 million.
  • Moody’s (NYSE: MCO) about 48 million shares for some $1.71 Billion.
  • Nike (NYSE: NKE) 7.641 million shares for some $490.85 million.
  • Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) 1.933 million shares for some $97.5 million, low for a rail for Buffett.
  • Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) 105.8 million shares for some $7.77 Billion.

Buffett’s Full List of holdings alphabetically A-G
Buffett’s Full List of holdings alphabetically S-Z

Jon C. Ogg
February 14, 2008

Union Pacific Warning, Warren Buffett Can Buy Rails Cheaper (UNP, CSX, BNI, NSC, CNI, BRK/A)

Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE:UNP) has just lowered earnings guidance for its fourth quarter 2007.  It said earnings will be reduced by approximately $0.20 per diluted share.  This warning is two-fold:

  • primarily reflects the rapidly rising diesel fuel costs and the corresponding lag in fuel surcharge recoveries;
  • it has been experiencing softer than anticipated volumes in recent weeks, which are largely related to recent weather events.

Union Pacific is now forecasting fourth quarter earnings in a range of $1.70 to $1.80 per diluted share, down from its prior forecast of $1.90 to $2.00 per diluted share. Full year 2007 earnings expectations are also impacted and are now in the range of $6.76 to $6.86 per diluted share.  UNP is quick to point that this represents more than 14% increase versus 2006 earnings of $5.91 per share.

Fourth quarter 2007 diesel fuel costs should average roughly $2.60 per gallon. This would be a 34% increase from last year’s fourth quarter level. It stated that diesel fuel costs averaged $2.43 per gallon in the month of October, increased to an average of $2.66 per gallon in November and are expected to be over $2.70 per gallon in December.  Fuel costs for the fourth quarter are now expected to be over $200 million higher than the fourth quarter a year ago. In November and December alone, fuel costs will be approximately $65 million higher than originally anticipated.

UNP notes that the fuel surcharges on these higher costs will not be recovered until 2008 as there is roughly a two month lag in the Company’s fuel surcharge programs between diesel fuel expense and surcharge recovery.  Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK/A) had been an aggressive railroad buyer in recent filings although it appears that he had lightened up on these in the recent notes as well. If he is still interested in buying railroad stocks they just got cheaper.

UNP shares are down over 5% at $121.98, down from a $129.43 close on Tuesday, and it has a 52-week trading range of $89.58 to $137.56.  As Union Pacific is the largest of the rails and a harbinger for transportation, you can see this impacting key rail stocks:

  • Burlington Northern Santa Fe C (NYSE: BNI) shares are down almost 2.5% at $81.70 with 52-week trading range $71.51 to $95.47.
  • Canadian National Railway Comp (NYSE: CNI) shares are down 1.4% at $47.65 with a 52-week trading range $41.57 to $58.49.
  • Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) shares are down almost 3% at $48.55 with a 52-week trading range $45.38 to $59.77.
  • CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) shares are down almost 2% at $42.85 with a 52-week trading range $33.50 to $51.88.

It’s pretty hard to imagine that trucking stocks will have that great of an open.  They hog diesel fuel and gasoline too.

Jon C. Ogg
December 19, 2007

Buffett Trims Some Rail Holdings (UNP, NSC, BNI, BRK-A)

It appears Warren Buffett may have cooled a bit toward the railroad sector.  An SEC filing Monday evening showed that Bekshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-A) trimmed a 10.5 million share stake of Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) down to 7.411 million shares.  It also lowered its prior 6.4 million share stake in Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) to 3.757 million shares.  Unfortunately there is no mention of its 17% stake in Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (NYSE:BNI).

Keep in mind that these positions have a longer lookback date.  The "as of" date here was listed as June 30, 2007, so that is quite a long lookback.  Berkshire Hathaway gets an extended filing because of its position and its confidentiality period ended in these reduced positions.

As energy costs rise, the first place you see the impact is usually in the transportation stocks. Union Pacific shares are indicated down slightly by 0.5% and Norfolk Southern shares are indicated down 1% in thin pre-market volume.

Jon C. Ogg
October 16, 2007