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Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (NLY, CSH, DDS, HBC, IPG, LVS, WFR, MRH, PRSP, SI, SOHU, TEVA, TA, VOD, WMT)

Administrator — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 12:15:57 +0000

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

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE: NLY) Reiterated Outperform but Raised estimates at Credit Suisse.
Cash America International Inc. (NYSE: CSH) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.
Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE: DDS) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE: HBC) Cut to Hold at RBS.
The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE: IPG) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) Raised to Buy at Argus.
MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) Maintained Outperform but cut target to $11 at Credit Suisse.
Montpelier Re Holdings (NYSE: MRH) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Prosperity Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: PRSP) Raised to Buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) Removed from Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy List.
Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NASDAQ: TEVA) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
TravelCenters of America LLC (AMEX: TA) Started as Buy at Citigroup.
Vodafone Group plc (NYSE: VOD) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.

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: CSH, DDS, HBC, IPG, LVS, MRH, NLY, PRSP, SI, SOHU, TA, TEVA, VOD, WFR, WMT

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (DELL, FNGN, HEW, NWL, NKE, NOK, PRSP, HOT, TMO, ZMH)

Administrator — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 12:25:06 +0000

These are ten of the top analyst calls seen so far this Monday morning from the upgrades, downgrades, and initiations from Wall Street firms:

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) Cut to Hold at Standpoint Research.
Financial Engines, Inc. (NASDAQ: FNGN) Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs; Started as Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
Hewitt Associates Inc. (NYSE: HEW) Raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NYSE: NWL) Cut to Market Perform at BMO Capital.
Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) Reiterated Buy and Raised target to $85 at Goldman Sachs.
Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Prosperity Bancshares (NASDAQ: PRSP) Cut to Neutral at SunTrust Robinson Humphreys.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Zimmer Holdings (NYSE: ZMH) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

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

JON C. OGG

Sponsor: 26 Cheap Stocks to Sell - Cheap stocks have been on a tear recently, but nine out of 10 cheap stocks are circling the drain!

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: DELL, FNGN, HEW, HOT, NKE, NOK, NWL, PRSP, TMO, ZMH

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (CIEN, DRYS, ICE, IM, NAT, ORLY, RAX, PRSP, RF, STI, SLB, TMH, TIF)

247wallst — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:31:19 +0000

These are this Monday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls:

Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) Started as Buy at Auriga.
DryShips (NASDAQ: DRYS) Raised to Buy at Cantor Fitzgerald.
Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Imgram Micro (NYSE: IM) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Nordic American Tanker (NYSE: NAT) Raised to Hold at Cantor Fitzgerald.
O’Reilly Auto (NASDAQ: ORLY) Raised to Outperform at FBR Capital.
Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX) Started as Buy at Merriman Curhan Ford.
Prosperity Bancshares (NASDAQ: PRSP) Cut to Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets.
Regions Financial (NYSE: RF) Cut to Market Perform at FBR Capital.
SunTrust Banks (NYSE: STI) Cut to Sell at Stifel Nicolaus; Raised to Outperform at FBR Capital.
Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) Raised to Outperform at FBR Capital.
Team Health Holdings (NYSE: TMH) Started as Buy at Citigroup; Started as Overweight at Barclays; Started as Outperform at Morgan Keegan; Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs; Started as Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) Raised to Overweight at HSBC.

You are invited to join our free daily email distribution list to hear about top analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPOs and secondary offerings, ongoing day trader and options trader alerts, stock and market rumors, Buffett and guru investor news, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: CIEN, DRYS, ICE, IM, NAT, ORLY, PRSP, RAX, RF, SLB, STI, TIF, TMH

Top Financial Earnings on Deck (JPM, GS, C, BAC, PRSP, FAS, FAZ)

247wallst — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:03:15 +0000

This week is the week we have 6 DJIA components reporting earnings as the first real week of earnings season, but the big financial stocks reporting will set the tone for how the rest of the financial sector’s earnings are going to be received. In banking we have the cleanest bank in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) reporting and the cleanest brokerage firm, ergo bank holding company with no bank, in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS). We also have Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) on Thursday and Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC). While Prosperity Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: PRSP) is far from any national leadership bank, it is deemed by the investment community as one of the cleanest regional banks out there and its earnings are due Friday morning.

These earnings also going to have a direct impact each day in the trading of the highly volatile Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (NYSE: FAS) and Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (NYSE: FAZ). Be advised that Direxion has been making its own disclosures that these triple-leverage ETFs target effective moves during the trading session rather than how they trade through time and from closing bell to opening bell the next day. Our take is that you could easily see double-digit percentage moves in these two ETFs on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday because of the sector volatility.

We have compiled details based on Thomson Reuters consensus estimates and provided some more detailed coverage on what to look for and how these stocks have performed since the March 9 close (regarded as the lowest market closing bottom) and since the June 30 close to see how these have done over the last quarter.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) reports earnings on Wednesday morning and is effectively the first of the banking giants on deck. It is also deemed the cleanest of all the money-center banks. Estimates are $0.49 EPS and $24.81 billion. Since the end of June this is up almost 33% and since the March 9 close this is up 186%. With JPMorgan being the cleanest bank and the only major financial stock reporting earnings, this one could easily set the bar for how banks and financial have to report earnings.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) is up for earnings on Thursday morning. We just noticed how traders are using a certain call option as a lotto ticket investment strategy. Estimates were -$0.21 EPS as of Friday, but the consensus is now -$0.23 EPS. We noted over the weekend how this was up 55% since June 30 and up over 300% since the March 9 close. Deutsche Bank just gave it a BUY rating today ahead of earnings. Citi is also still under the TARP.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) is also on deck for earnings this Thursday morning, and the tone has been set for a negative reception now that Meredith Whitney downgraded it before the report. Consensus estimates are about $4.24 EPS on $11.02 billion in revenues. What everyone is used to at Goldman is a significant win over earnings estimates as the last report was almost 40% better than estimates and the March report effectively doubled the estimates. In short, whisper numbers may be demanding closer to $5.00 EPS from the Golden Slacks boys. Shares are up 26% from the June 30 close and are up over 150% from the March 9 close. Either way, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) is up huge on its investment in Goldman Sachs.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) is reporting on Friday morning. The departure of Ken Lewis has not taken the wind out from the shares very much but does pose a wild card for how the quarter will go. Estimates are currently -$0.06 EPS on about $27.7 billion in revenues. As noted over the weekend, this one is up 32% since the end of June and since the March 9 close this is up over 300%. B of A is still under the TARP.

Prosperity Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: PRSP) is far from a major bank on the national or super-regional scale, but it is growing to be a more and more important bank throughout Texas. We would caution that there is a smaller pool of analysts than in the major bank stocks. That being said, the estimates are for Prosperity to come in at $0.61 EPS on $91.8 million in revenues. This bank is ‘only’ up 15% since the June 30 close but is up 51% since the March 9 close.

As a reminder, some of these estimates are likely to change before the earnings based upon each prior report. Ditto for any whisper-number expectations. You can join our open email distribution list to get updates each morning on analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s and secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG
OCTOBER 13, 2009

Posted in Banking, Brokerage Firms, Buffett, Calendar, Earnings, ETF, Financial Stocks Tagged: BAC, C, FAS, FAZ, GS, JPM, PRSP

Very Mixed Analyst Calls in Financial Stocks (GS, MS, BBT, CMA, FITB, PNC, PRSP, STI, WFC)

247wallst — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:30:05 +0000

We are seeing a very mixed picture among the analyst calls this morning over banks and financial stocks. We are seeing some very positive “BUY” calls and we are also seeing some new “SELL” calls.

Goldman Sachs (GS) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Morgan Stanley (MS) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
BB&T (BBT) Started as Sell at UBS.
Comerica (CMA) Started as Sell at UBS
Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) Started as Sell at UBS.
PNC Financial (PNC) Started as Sell at UBS.
Prosperity Bancshares (PRSP) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
SunTrust (STI) Started as Sell at UBS.
Wells Fargo (WFC) Started as Sell at UBS.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates each morning on analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s and secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG

October 8, 2009

Posted in Analyst Calls, Banking, Brokerage Firms, Financial Stocks Tagged: BBT, CMA, FITB, GS, MS, PNC, PRSP, STI, WFC

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (ABC, DLTR, ECL, MOT, PRSP)

247wallst — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 07:42:38 +0000

These are some of the top pre-market analyst upgrades we have seen this Thursday morning with more than two hours until the market opens:

AmerisourceBergen (ABC) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Dollar Tree (DLTR) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Ecolab (ECL) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
Motorola (MOT) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Prosperity Bancshares (PRSP) Raised to Buy at SunTrust.

Jon C. Ogg
January 15, 2009

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: ABC, DLTR, ECL, MOT, PRSP

Regional Banks Refusing TARP Funds (BXS, CFR, FCF, HCBK, PRSP, WFD)

247wallst — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 08:47:00 +0000

Bailouts, handouts, subsidies, and free money be damned. In times when most large financial institutions are lining up for their share of TARP funds, there are many regional banks out there which have decided to refuse the government’s bailout TARP funds. These banks say the are solid, and many of their share prices have held up much better than many of the troubled banks which are taking TARP monies. Some of these regional banks are BancorpSouth, Inc. (NYSE: BXS), Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE: CFR), First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE: FCF), Hudson City Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: HCBK), Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: PRSP), and Westfield Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFD). These are the more actively traded stocks and what gets interesting is the explanation for refusing to accept TARP funds and the ratios of some of these banking institutions.

On November 14, BancorpSouth, Inc. (NYSE: BXS) announced that it wouldnot apply for TARP funds as it is a well-capitalized and strongperforming institution with high quality assets. The company said itsbalance sheet was highlighted by total risk-based capital of 11.82% atSeptember 30, 2008, far above minimum regulatory standards.BancorpSouth, Inc., is a financial holding company headquartered inTupelo, Mississippi, with approximately $13.3 billion in assets whichoperates approximately 300 commercial banking, mortgage, insurance,trust and broker/dealer locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida,Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas.

At the end of October, Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE: CFR) in Texasannounced it will not apply for funds available through the TARP ansthat it will not seek federal CPP funds. The bank said at the timethat it is well capitalized "now and for the foreseeable future withsufficient capital to grow our business and take advantage ofacquisition opportunities."

On November 14, First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE: FCF)announced that it would not apply for TARP funds since it recentlyraised over $100 million through a public offering of common stock.First Commonwealth Financial Corporation is a $6.2 billion bank holdingcompany headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania with 113 retail branchoffices.

On November 17, Hudson City Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: HCBK) announced thatit did not participate in the TARP as it has not been seriouslyaffected by conditions in the marketplace. The company said that whileit is not immune from economic conditions, its average loan-to-valueratio of 61% at time of origination has protected the bank fromsignificant levels of loan losses. It has also accepted more mortgageapplications during the first nine months of 2008 than it did in all of2007 and it originated $4.01 billion of mortgage loans. It alsopurchased $2.55 billion of loans through September 30, 2008 as comparedto $3.06 billion for the same period in 2007. It grew deposits by $2.14billion during the first nine months of 2008 and it had an equity toassets ratio of 9.2% and a total risk based capital ratio of 21.9% atSeptember 30, 2008.

On November 17, Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: PRSP) announcedits decision not to apply for TARP funds. Prosperity said it wasconsidered well capitalized under regulatory guidelines and should beable to continue building its business and take advantage ofopportunities. Prosperity Bancshares is a $10.5 billion Houston, Texasbased regional financial holding company with approximately 170branches throughout Texas.

On November 17, Westfield Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFD) announced thatit decided not to seek TARP funds as its ratio of Tier 1 capital torisk weighted assets was 44.04% and the ratio of Tier 1 capital tototal adjusted assets was 25.65%. Both of these ratios are above theminimums of 6.00% and 5.00%, respectively, to be considered wellcapitalized under prompt corrective action requirements. WestfieldBank is headquartered in Westfield, Massachusetts and operates through11 banking offices.

Jon C. Ogg
November 28, 2008

Posted in Banking, Financial Stocks, Regulation Tagged: BXS, CFR, FCF, HCBK, PRSP, WFD

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BIIB, COWN, MYL, PRX, SMBL, TEVA, CBY, CCL, DLB, JCP, JEF, PRSP)

247wallst — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 06:49:26 +0000

Below are some of the top analyst calls we are seeing from Wall Street firms this Thursday morning:

Biogen Idec (BIIB) Raised to Buy at Lazard.
Cowen (COWN) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
Mylan Labs (MYL) Started as Strong Buy at Needham.
Par Pharmaceuticals (PRX) Started as Strong Buy at Needham.
Smart Balance (SMBL) Started as Buy at Lazrd.
Teva Pharma (TEVA) Started as Strong Buy at Needham.
Cadbury Schwepps (CBY) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
Carnival (CCL) Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank.
Dolby Labs (DLB) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
JCPenney (JCP) Cut to Underperform at Merrill Lynch.
Jefferies (JEF) Cut to Underperform at KBW.
Prosperity Bancshares (PRSP) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.

Jon C. Ogg
September 25, 2008

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: BIIB, CBY, CCL, COWN, DLB, JCP, JEF, MYL, PRSP, PRX, SMBL, TEVA

Upgrades Come to Financials (AXP, COF, CMA, DFS, LEH, PRSP)

247wallst — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:14:52 +0000

These are some of the top analyst calls for the financial services group we have seen in the early hours of trading this Tuesday morning:

American Express (NYSE: AXP) raised to Neutral at UBS.
Capital One (NYSE: COF) raised to Neutral at UBS.
Comerica (NYSE: CMA) raised to Outperform at KBW.
Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) raised to Neutral at UBS
Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) raised to Overweight with $31 target at Morgan Stanley, although this was technically a late-Monday call.
Prosperity Bancshares (NASDAQ: PRSP) raised to Outperform at BMO Capital Markets.

Jon C. Ogg
July 1, 2008

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (AFL, CSCO, DVN, JMBA, KBW, MRO, NCC, PRSP, URBN, VMW)

247wallst — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:08:47 +0000

There are other analyst calls affecting shares this morning, but these are ten of the top calls that we are focusing on this Thursday in pre-market trading:
AFLAC (NYSE: AFL) cut to Neutral from Buy at Banc of America Sec
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) cut to Neutral from Buy at UBS.
Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN) raised to Overweight at JP Morgan.
Jamba (NASDAQ: JMBA) started as Hold at Jefferies.
KBW inc. (NYSE: KBW) started as Sell at Stern Agee.
Marathon Oil (NYSE: MRO) raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
National City (NYSE: NCC) raised to Outperform at Bear Stearns; raised to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Prosperity Bancshares (NASDAQ: PRSP) cut to Neutral at Sun Trust Robinson Humphrey.
Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) cut to Market Perform at Morgan Keegan.
VMware (NYSE: VMW) cut to Hold at Lazard.

Jon C. Ogg
April 3, 2008