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The Best Performing S&P Stocks of 2011 (SPY, OKE, AN, ROST, LTD, GR, TSO, EQT, ERTS, WFM, RL, TDC, RRC, MA, HUM, CMG, VFC, ISRG, BIIB, EP, COG)

Administrator — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:08:23 +0000

October may have been one of the best months of many of our lives in equities. The SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY) rose by 10.9%. in October, but the year-to-date gain has been a mere 1.2% from the December 31, 2010 close to the close on October 31, 2011. 24/7 Wall St. wanted to see which stocks are up the most in percentage gains so far in 2011 in data provided by Capital IQ. This is a year-to-date move through the close of October 31, 2011. We have shown the S&P 500 Index gainers in order from lowest to highest. Another representation is how much implied upside there is to the Thomson Reuters consensus analyst price target as well. Those which are trading above their consensus price target have been given a “caution” ahead of the pricing data.

ONEOK Inc. (NYSE: OKE) 37.1% year-to-date; at $76.05 the consensus price target is $76.60.

AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN) 38.1% year-to-date; caution: at $38.94 the consensus price target is $31.28.

Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) 38.7% year-to-date; caution: at $87.73 the consensus price target is $85.00.

Limited Brands, Inc. (NYSE: LTD) 39.0% year-to-date; at $42.71 the consensus price target is $44.71.

Goodrich Corporation (NYSE: GR) 39.2% year-to-date; This is being acquired, so no color.

Tesoro Corporation (NYSE:TSO) 39.9% year-to-date; at $25.94 the consensus price target is $20.31.

EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) 41.6% year-to-date; at $63.50 the consensus price target is $72.28.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) 42.6% year-to-date; at $23.35 the consensus price target is $25.63. This was previously listed as our top pick for the best video game stock for 2011.

Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) 42.6% year-to-date; at $72.12 the consensus price target is $74.47.

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) 43.2% year-to-date; caution: at $158.79 the consensus price target is $150.00.

Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC) 44.9% year-to-date; at $59.66 the consensus price target is $60.56.

Range Resources Corporation (NYSE: RRC) 53.0% year-to-date; at $68.84 the consensus price target is $76.50.

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) 54.9% year-to-date; at $347.24 the consensus price target is $374.82. It seems odd to see one financial stock here.

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) 55.1% year-to-date; at $84.89 the consensus price target is $88.71. Health insurance has not been as bad of a business as the administration was looking for.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) 58.1% year-to-date; caution: at $336.12 the consensus price target is $328.45. The growth continues, but it is at or close to being fully valued.

V.F. Corporation (NYSE: VFC) 60.4% year-to-date; at $138.22 the consensus price target is $144.33.

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) 68.3% year-to-date; caution: at $433.86 the consensus price target is $419.27. DaVinci sales remain robust as more surgeons are looking for robotic surgery capabilities.

Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) 73.5% year-to-date; caution: at $116.36 the consensus priced target is $115.22. Here is how this compared to the rest of its peers before earnings season.

El Paso Corp. (NYSE: EP) 81.8% year-to-date; being acquired so no color.

Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE: COG) 105.3% year-to-date; ; at $77.72 the consensus price target is $91.32.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: HI/LOW, Index, Trading Alert Tagged: AN, BIIB, CMG, COG, EP, EQT, ERTS, GR, HUM, ISRG, LTD, MA, OKE, RL, ROST, RRC, SPY, TDC, TSO, VFC, WFM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (NLY, BHP, CELL, FTE, FIO, IVR, MDT, OKE, TLB, THOR, WOOF, WBMD)

Administrator — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 12:35:35 +0000

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

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE: NLY) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
BHP Billiton Limited (NYSE: BHP) Reiterated Strong Buy as Value at Zacks.
Brightpoint Inc. (NASDAQ: CELL) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
France Telecom (NYSE: FTE) Raised to Neutral at UBS.
Fusion-io Inc. (NYSE: FIO) Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs; Started as Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; Started as Neutral at JPMorgan; Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc. (NYSE: IVR) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
ONEOK Inc. (NYSE: OKE) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
The Talbots Inc. (NYSE: TLB) Raised to Neutral at Janney Capital.
Thoratec Corporation (NASDAQ: THOR) Started as Outperform with $43 target at Credit Suisse.
VCA Antech Inc. (NASDAQ: WOOF) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ: WBMD) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup; maintained Buy but cut target to $44 at Canaccord Genuity.

You are invited to join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: BHP, CELL, FIO, FTE, IVR, MDT, NLY, OKE, THOR, TLB, WBMD, WOOF

More Waves of Stock Splits Heading This Way (LULU, OKS, TGI, SNHY, CLH, OKE)

Administrator — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 16:55:01 +0000

No money was injured while filming

The mania of stock splits is not quite as fast and furious as it was earlier in June on the split calendar, but we are still seeing some key splits on the docket which are set to take effect. The splits featured are only in the true splits rather than including the myriad of companies forced to enter into reverse stock splits in order to maintain listing requirements. These are all challenging all-time highs or multi-year highs as you would expect.

During the month of July, we still have stock splits coming from the following:

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU);
ONEOK Partners, L.P. (NYSE: OKS);
Triumph Group, Inc. (NYSE: TGI);
Sun Hydraulics Corp. (NASDAQ: SNHY);
and Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE: CLH).

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) is one phenomenal stock and is fastly becoming a yoga-monopoly along with being a sports apparel winner. It is also one that we expected the split to take effect in June before it updated its calendar at the end of last month. This will also mark the first split for Little-Lulu. We now have an ex-date of July 12 to reflect its 2-for-1 stock split. Shares just hit a new all-time high yet again of $123.50 on Thursday. Here is some food for thought: LULU has risen so much since it announced its split that the company should have considered announcing a 3-for-1 split rather than just a 2-for-1 split.

ONEOK Partners, L.P. (NYSE: OKS) is also set to go ex-split next week. This 2-for-1 split, rare considering it is a limited partnership, will have an ex-date of July 13. This was announced on June 7. Shares just hit another all-time high of $87.00 on Thursday. This one carries a market-premium as far as what is an implied dividend yield (capital distribution) compared to common stocks. Its general partner is a wholly owned subsidiary of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE: OKE) and it owns 42.8% of the overall partnership interest. As a reminder, that is pronounced as “One-Oak” rather than “On-ee-okk” as many call it.

Triumph Group, Inc. (NYSE: TGI) is the aircraft components player rather than the maker of old unreliable cars and it certainly isn’t an old rock group. Its 2-for-1 split is set to reflect the early June announced split with an ex-date of July 15.

Sun Hydraulics Corp. (NASDAQ: SNHY) is thinly traded enough and now high-priced enough for a stock of its sort that many investors may have forgotten all about it. Those who stuck with this hydraulic systems player are glad they stayed. With shares close to $50.00, this one has been a screaming stock in the last year and in the year before that. This recently hit all-time highs. Its ex-date to reflect its 3-for-2 split is July 18.

Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE: CLH) is a $100+ environmental remediation player and it has also performed well with shares hitting an all-time high of $110.30 just this Thursday. This appears to be the company’s first stock split ever and that 2-for-1 split will have an ex-date late in the month on July 27.

Stock splits usually occur when company shares are at all-time highs or at least at multi-year highs. What is interesting is that many companies today are refusing to embrace the old stock split game. There are literally about 15 or 20 high-profile splits that could come down the pipe in the future if those companies decide to loosen up on having that mystique of a higher share price.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Calendar, Dividend, Shareholder Issues, Stock Splits Tagged: CLH, LULU, OKE, OKS, SNHY, TGI

The Serious Return of Stock Splits (CLH, OKS, OKE, ALXN, CERN, PLCM, CWT, OII, CSX, SIX, IIVI, FLO, CHD, PEIXD, C, AAPL, GOOG, NFLX)

Administrator — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:36:31 +0000

No money was injured while filming

Stock splits usually bring back memories of the old tech bubble and dot-com bubble. Fundamentally, nothing changes at the company other than that smaller investors get to invest in shares at a lower nominal share price. Now that the markets have recovered so much, with the recent weeks as an exception, we are seeing many companies with higher share prices starting to announce stock splits. There may even be more current stock splits pending and freshly affected than we can remember seeing in years.

We have seen major stock split announcements from the likes of many companies. Some of the larger splits are from the following: Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE: CLH); Oneok Partners LP (NYSE: OKS); Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN); Cerner Corporation (NASDAQ: CERN); Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM); California Water Service Group (NYSE: CWT); Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE: OII); CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX); Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: SIX); II-VI Inc. (NASDAQ: IIVI); Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO); and Church & Dwight Co. Inc. (NYSE: CHD). We even have a fresh reverse stock split from Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIXD). You might think it learned from Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) but Pacific Ethanol did not have a choice if it wanted to keep its listing.

There is also no way to have an article about stock splits without pondering when or what it would take for great companies like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) or Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) to consider splitting their shares.

The road to stock splits has really become more common. We have not seen this many pending splits in years. These are not presented in any significant order.

Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE: CLH) announced a two-for-one stock split in the form of a dividend payable on July 26, 2011 to holders of record at the close on July 6, 2011.

On Tuesday came word from Oneok Partners LP (NYSE: OKS) that it planned to conduct a two-for-one split of its common and class-B units. This was its first split and you rarely see “units” split. It is 43% owned by its general partner, Oneok Inc. (NYSE: OKE).

In May came a biotech stock split from Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN). It previously approved a 2-for-1 stock split and shares began trading on a split-adjusted basis on May 23. Shares went from almost $100 to under $50…

Also in May came word from Cerner Corporation (NASDAQ: CERN) that its board of directors had approved a 2-for-1 stock split in the form of a dividend for holders of record on June 15, 2011. The distribution date for the new shares is June 24, 2011.

Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) announced last month after its pact with H-P that its board of directors approved a two-for-one split of its stock in the form of a stock dividend for holders of record at the close of business on June 15.

Filed under: Dividend, Shareholder Issues, Stock Splits Tagged: AAPL, ALXN, C, CERN, CHD, CLH, CSX, CWT, FLO, GOOG, IIVI, NFLX, OII, OKE, OKS, PEIXD, PLCM, SIX

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ADS, BSBR, BGFV, C, COST, DK, FSLR, IBKR, JDSU, JNJ, OKE, ORCL, PEP, PCLN, SPR, SBUX, V)

Administrator — Fri, 06 May 2011 12:17:44 +0000

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

Alliance Data Systems Corporation (NYSE: ADS) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A. (NYSE: BSBR) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Big Five Sporting Goods (NASDAQ: BGFV) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $88 at Argus.
Delek US Holdings Inc. (NYSE: DK) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Reiterated Buy with $180 target at Argus.
Interactive Brokers Group (NASDAQ: IBKR) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
JDS Uniphase Corporation (NASDAQ: JDSU) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) Maintained Neutral at Zacks.
ONEOK Inc. (NYSE: OKE) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) Reiterated Outperform and $42 target at Credit Suisse.
Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
priceline.com Incorporated (NASDAQ: PCLN) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs; raised estimates and target at BofA/ML.
Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc (NYSE: SPR) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) Reiterated Outperform and $44 target at Credit Suisse.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) Reiterated Underperform with $70 target at BofA/ML.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ADS, BGFV, BSBR, C, COST, DK, FSLR, IBKR, JDSU, JNJ, OKE, ORCL, PCLN, PEP, SBUX, SPR, V

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AGU, CCJ, CHK, ETR, IGT, JDSU, LVS, LINE, NE, OKE, OPEN, SBUX, TXN, TOL)

Administrator — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:22:43 +0000

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

Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU) Raised to Buy at TD.
Cameco Corp. (NYSE: CCJ) Cut to Hold at TD.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) Reiterated Outperform at Credit Suisse.
JDS Uniphase Corporation (NASDAQ: JDSU) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Linn Energy, LLC (NASDAQ: LINE) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Noble Corp. (NYSE: NE) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
ONEOK Inc. (NYSE: OKE) Cut to Hold at Argus.
OpenTable, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN) Cut to Neutral at Merriman.
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) Reiterated Outperform and raised target to $41 at Credit Suisse.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) Raised to Positive at Susquehanna.
Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) Cut to Sell at Stifel Nicolaus.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AGU, CCJ, CHK, ETR, IGT, JDSU, LINE, LVS, NE, OKE, OPEN, SBUX, TOL, TXN

The Great Dividend Hikes Of 2011 Are Underway (CCL, OKE, FINL, JPM, WFC, BAC, CSCO, AAPL, GE, UTX, MMM, WPO)

Administrator — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:58:56 +0000

The rising dividend theme of 2010 is already continuing in 2011 and this looks to be another great year for investors seeking higher dividends. We have seen three fresh dividend hikes from Carnival Corporation plc (NYSE: CCL), Oneok Inc. (NYSE: OKE), and Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL). While those are all good, the more important consideration is about the possible waves of newer and larger dividends from key market players ahead.

We already gave The Dogs of The Dow for 2011. We are looking at key dividend expectations in key sectors for investors in other sectors. In the money center banks, we are keeping a keen eye on J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC), and Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC). Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is overdue for its technology dividend and now Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) may be back in play in the dividend circles again after the Steve Jobs health news. In conglomerates we are expecting news from General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), and 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) in 2011.

We have outlined the expectations and an outlook on each stock individually. That compares yields to projected dividend hikes ahead, and we have added additional historical data and additional color on each as well.

Filed under: Banking, Conglomerates, Dividend, Shareholder Issues, Stock Buybacks, Technology Companies, Value Investing Tagged: AAPL, BAC, CCL, CSCO, FINL, GE, JPM, MMM, OKE, UTX, WFC

October’s Largest Buybacks (PPG, OKE, CY, EBAY, WTW, EMC, KO, VAL, WAG, IRM, FDO, CVX)

Administrator — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 15:37:15 +0000

Despite the rise of the stock market, many companies are continuing to repurchase their shares in the open market. Many investors prefer dividends over buybacks, but asking which is a better reward for shareholders depends solely upon whom you ask. While these are not all of the buybacks throughout October, we have tracked some key buybacks from the likes of PPG Industries Inc. (NYSE: PPG), ONEOK Inc. (NYSE: OKE), Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE: CY), eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE: WTW), EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC), Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), Valspar Corporation (NYSE: VAL), Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG), Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (NYSE: FDO), and Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX).

We have offered color on each with applicable data on how each compares to size and volume, along with other statistical reference.

PPG Industries Inc. (NYSE: PPG) approved an additional 10 million shares of outstanding common stock, effective immediately and without an expiration. Back in December 2009, PPG authorized 5 million shares in a buyback and approximately 3.1 million shares of that plan are still available for repurchase. Average volume here is 1.2 million shares and the market cap is $12.65 billion. This is large in dollar terms, but not a massive game-changer on its float if it buys shares back at roughly the same rate it has. At $76.60, the 52-week range is $55.89 to $77.95.

Natural gas distributor ONEOK Inc. (NYSE: OKE) has approved $750 million over a three year period. The market cap here is $5.33 billion and with shares at $50.05 the 52-week trading range is $29.56 to $50.85. This buyback is large in size and large in scope as the current share price would retire 14% of the stock based on today’s prices and the buyback represents over 22 days worth of trading volume.

Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE: CY) may have found an alternative to M&A. After announcing a buyback plan of up to $600 million, the market cap today is only about $2.15 billion. At $13.35, the 52-week trading range is $8.05 to $13.89. This won’t happen overnight as the cash and equivalents on the books come in at about $279 million.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) rose after earnings, but the buyback and leveraging of the books may have contributed more than anything here along with $300 million spent buying back stock in the last quarter. eBay said that the company authorized up to $2 billion for additional share buybacks. It also authorized a commercial paper program of up to $1 billion and has approved the sale of up to $1.5 billion in term-debt financing under an existing shelf registration.

Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE: WTW) approved a buyback plan of up to $250 million, which is a combination and add-on to a prior share buyback plan. This represents 10% of the implied shares that could be bought back and at current prices it represents almost 29-days worth of volume.

Filed under: Dividend, Stock Buybacks Tagged: CVX, CY, EBAY, EMC, FDO, IRM, KO, OKE, PPG, VAL, WAG, WTW

Pipeline Company Predicts Weaker 2009 (OKE, OKS)

247wallst — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 19:46:24 +0000

ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) and its pipeline partnership ONEOK Partners, L.P. (NYSE:OKS) have issued guidance for 2008 and 2009. ONEOK has affirmed 2008 EPS "at the low end" of the $2.95-$3.05 range it had previously announced. ONEOK Partners expects to end up in the "lower half" of earlier 2008 guidance of $5.95-$6.15 per common unit, and distributable cash flow of $625-$655 million.

For 2009, ONEOK expects EPS of $2.25-$2.75, while ONEOKPartners is looking at net income of $3.15-$3.75 per common unit anddistributable cash flow of $490 million to $550 million. In the first nine monthsof 2008, ONEOK Partners contributed $512 million to ONEOK’s operatingincome. The 2009 guidance is nowhere near that figure.

It’s not often that master limited partnerships like ONEOK Partnersproject lower income and less distributable cash. But ONEOK Partners isexposed to substantial commodity price risk and the company expects "asignificantly lower commodity price environment" in 2009. Thepartnership expects to offset some of this weakness with new fee-basedrevenue, but as the guidance shows, the difference is just too great.

ONEOK shares are off more than 2% in early trading this morning. ONEOK Partners’ common units are down about 2.5%.

Paul Ausick
February 6, 2009

Posted in Earnings, Oil & Gas Tagged: OKE, OKS

Top Pre-Market Analyst Downgrades (ADM, CPX, DLTR, NOC, OKE, SQNM, STI, WINN, WYNN)

247wallst — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:57:16 +0000

These are some of the top analyst downgrades and negative calls we are seeing from Wall Street this Wednesday morning:

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Complete Production (CPX) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Dollar Tree (DLTR) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Northrup Grumman (NOC) Cut to Hold at Societe Generale.
ONEOK (OKE) Cut to Underperform at RBC.
Sequenom (SQNM) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
SunTrust (STI) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
Winn-Dixie Stores (WINN) Started as Underperform at Jefferies.
Wynn Resorts (WYNN) Cut to Underweight at KeyBanc.

Jon C. Ogg
February 4, 2009

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: ADM, CPX, DLTR, NOC, OKE, SQNM, STI, WINN, WYNN