We have compiled earnings preview on each company using Thomson Reuters consensus estimates and added color on each if applicable.  Some of these are market moving, some are sector moving, and some are just interesting for traders to watch around the earnings reports.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) estimates are $0.56 EPS and $2.2 billion in revenues. At $12.55, the maker of World of Warcraft has been very range bound.

Bunge Ltd. (NYSE: BG) estimates are $1.57 EPS and $13.73 billion in revenues.

Carbonite Inc. (NASDAQ: CARB) estimates are -$0.23 EPS and $16.78 million in revenues. This will be a first real look of a full quarter and unfortunately this one has been cut in half as investors have tempered expectations for the personal data backup service provider.

Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) Reiterated Buy and raised price target to $63 from $55 at Argus.
ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) Raised target at Credit Suisse.
AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN) Started as Neutral at Stern Agee.
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) Cut to Underperform from Neutral at Zacks (late Monday call).
Choice Hotels (NYSE: CHH) Cut to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Gulfmark Offshore, Inc. (NYSE: GLF) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
HSN, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSNI) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
ICICI Bank Ltd. (NYSE: IBN) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) maintained as the top tech/semi pick for 2012 from Credit Suisse.
Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) Reiterated Outperform and raised target to $36 from $32 at Credit Suisse.
Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (NYSE: MMI) Maintained Sell at Argus.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Cut to Underperform from Neutral at BofA/ML.
Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. (NYSE: OSG) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE: R) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.
SM Energy Co. (NYSE: SM) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) Reiterated Buy and raised estimates at Argus.
Tidewater Inc. (NYSE: TDW) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) Cut to Equal-weight at Barclays.
Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) Cut to Equal-weight at Barclays.

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JON C. OGG

We would normally group these alphabetically, but not today.  We grouped these in order of size and then we used an alphabetic order when it came to the same size of a buyback announcement.  The first group is the billions of dollars.

We then grouped the stocks by size again from the under $1 billion down to $500 million, and then we grouped the buybacks of under $500 million down to $200 million.  Usually we would cut the list off at buybacks of the $100 million and higher but the list was already too big so we cut the Buyback Kings off at $200 million for August.  Lastly, we have a chart at the very end tallying it all up…. Some $28.7 billion for just the $200 million and higher in new or expanded buyback announcements.  There were literally dozens of other buybacks that were closer to the $100 million mark and many more that were less than that.

The $1 billion and higher alone which were announced in August were as follows: Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW); CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS); Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG); Covidien plc (NYSE: COV); Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU); Discovery Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA); Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS); and Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT).

Some of the larger and more impacting buyback announcements have been made by the following companies: Principal Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: PFG); Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. (NYSE: BIN); Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF); Life Time Fitness Inc. (NYSE: LTM); AECOM Technology Corp. (NYSE: ACM); Forest Laboratories Inc. (NYSE: FRX); Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE: IPG);  Myriad Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN); Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG); Lorillard, Inc. (NYSE: LO); Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NYSE: NWL); and TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO).

By now you already know that the attitude of 24/7 Wall St. is that dividends offer better long-term value than buybacks.  We have shown what the dividend yield is for each here, or we have shown that there is no dividend.

Principal Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: PFG) announced that its board of directors has authorized a share buyback plan for up to $200 million in common stock.  This represents about 8.5 million shares at current prices when average daily volume is 2.7 million shares.  Its market cap is about $7.4 billion.  The dividend yield is roughly 2.3% as of today.

Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. (NYSE: BIN), also referred to as BFI Canada, announced a buyback of up to 4 million shares of common stock.  That is about $80 million at today’s price.  The market cap is $2.5 billion and the average daily volume is about 428,000 shares.  The dividend yield is listed as being about 2.5%.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) has announced the authorization to buy back up to 4 million shares, close to $300 million in total per today’s dollars.  The market cap is nearly $11 billion and the average volume is 3.7 million shares.  The company’s dividend yield is only 1.5%.

Before just considering book value, we always look for more.  We looked for companies which are still expected to have respectable earnings growth.   Analysts expect next year earnings expansion ranging from Raytheon’s 12.8% to Kennametal’s 23.5% growth.  We have also considered a consensus price target from analysts for those companies which have implied upside for investors, and this group ranges from 16% to 33% upside.  We also only consider liquid issues, and the floor for this group was average daily trading volume exceeding 750,000 shares. Except where otherwise noted, the source for all performance and financial data is Finviz.com.

Eaton Corporation (NYSE: ETN) has a price to book value of 2.1  to 1.  Eaton’s market cap is almost $17 billion, ranking it second among these companies.  Its forward PE is about 10.5, placing it in the top-tier of these companies.  With a consensus target price of $60.96 from Thomson Reuters, Eaton has an implied upside exceeding 24%.  In Thursday trading Eaton’s shares closed at $48.85 and the 52-week price range is $30.65 to $56.12.  The power management company is now larger than what we would expect as an acquisition target as its market cap is north of $16 billion, so if you like Eaton it better be for its own merits. If analysts are right, that $60.96 would be an all-time high.  Our caveat in Eaton is that a substantial portion of its “value” in equity is tied to intangible assets and goodwill.

Kennametal Inc. (NYSE: KMT) posts a 2.2 to 1 price to book value.  This is sometimes a bit high by our count, but the specialty materials and metalworking outfit is one that has the right size and the right angle for many value investors.   Its market cap is $3.3 billion, making it the smallest company discussed here.  Its forward PE is less than 12.  With a consensus target price of $48.45, Kennametal has an implied upside of 19%.  In Thursday trading Kennametal shares closed at $40.63 and the 52-week trading range is $23.75 to $43.84.

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG) boasts a 1.5 to 1 price to book value, best among these companies.  Imagine, value in garbage.  Its market cap is almost $12 billion.  Its forward PE is slightly less than 14.5 With a consensus target price of $36.17, Republic has an implied upside of 16%.  In yesterday’s trading Republic’s shares closed at $31.1, down 0.06%.  The 52-week price range is $27.33 to $33.10.  What is interesting about Republic is that its screened criteria made this one a stock which we said was one of our Ten Stocks To Own For The Next Decade.  Its rival Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM) is often in the same boat and much of the value analysis is relative between the two companies.  This was also formerly a Warren Buffett stock, but it was still a Bill Gates holding when we last looked.

Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN)  sports a 1.7 to 1 price to book value. Its market cap exceeds $17 billion, largest among these companies.  Its forward PE is lower than 9, ranking it first among this list of companies.  With a consensus target price of $56.41, Raytheon has an implied upside of 16%. In Thursday trading Raytheon shares closed at $48.39, down 1.49%.  The 52-week price range is $41.60 to $52.67.  This defense stock was one of our higher-yield dividend defense stocks reviewed as the fighting in Libya escalated.  The maker of the Patriot Missile system and many other defense and war technologies also carries a large amount of goodwill and the reason it has low earnings multiples is because the Department of Defense is under significant budget pressure which is not going to go away.

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE: SWK) posts a 1.7 to 1 price to book value, placing it in the top-tier of these companies.  We do want to make the reminder that this tool-maker for builders and carpenters (and for you around your house) is now the “newly amalgamated” Stanley and Black & Decker after the merger.  The company is also still considered by many investors to be searching for acquisitions as well.  Its market cap is almost $12 billion and it carries a forward P/E ratio of less than 12.  With a consensus target price of $86.13, Stanley Black & Decker has an implied upside of 21%. In trading yesterday the company’s shares closed at $71.06 and the 52-week trading range is $47.64 to $77.75.

Timken Co. (NYSE: TKR)  posts a 2.3 to 1 price to book value. Its market cap is less than $5 billion, ranking it one of the smaller companies listed here.  The company is part of America’s core manufacturing as it makes bearings, seals, and many other internal components for machines and machinery.  Its forward PE is slightly greater than 10, placing it in the top-tier of these companies.  With a consensus target price of $64.86, the machine tool manufacturer has an implied upside of 33%.  In Thursday trading Timken’s shares closed at $48.65, and the 52-week price range is $24.45 to $57.60.  If the target price is realized by analysts, that will mark an all-time high.

While many companies have high balances of goodwill and intangible assets, we are currently looking for value among peers.  We are not considering liquidation values and therefore are not using the analogy that “You can’t pay your rent with goodwill.”

Warren Buffett was quoted back in the 1990s saying, “Your goal as an investor should simply be to purchase, at a rational price, a part interest in an easily-understandable business whose earnings are virtually certain to be materially higher five, ten and twenty years from now.”  We don’t go along with the Buffett model of forever any longer, but you get the idea.

This is also not a value review digging through the garbage heap.  As one investment manager said at The Value Investing Congress when asked about how she starts her screens for finding value stocks, “Actually, I usually start my screens by seeing which stocks have been hitting 52-week lows for a while.”  There would not be a value category of the growth trajectory was never interrupted and if problems had not arisen.

Elsewhere in recent value picks looking for book value discounts:

• Looking for Deep Value in Basic Materials
• Banks, Tech, and Others close-to or under book value

JON C. OGG & JIM BERDOU

The Houston-based garbage and waste management giant will pay the dividend in March with a formal date to be announced soon.  This marks the 7th consecutive year of a dividend hike.

The move follows a similar dividend hike from Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG) a quarter ago after it hiked its quarterly payout to $0.20 from $0.19.  The rival dividend from Republic probably has a lot more room to rise as that rate is 2.66% per year.  Rival Republic was also listed recently as one of our ten stocks to hold for the next decade, and that pick was very very close to being Waste Management.

So far, there has been no pre-market boost to Waste Management shares.

JON C. OGG

Women, who  make up about 40% of the students at elite business schools,  have an especially difficult time moving into the ranks of senior management at America’s largest public companies. New data from the research from the nonprofit Catalyst shows that 60 of the Fortune 500 corporations have no female directors. Out of the same group, 136 companies have no women among their top five executives.  Moreover, there are 26 Fortune 500 firms which have neither a female board member nor a woman in executive management. The data came from proxy statements filed as of June 30, 2010.  24/7 Wall St. research found that four companies have added a female director since then: Philip Morris, Blockbuster, Virgin Media, and Synnex.

After we reviewed the Catalyst data, the companies were categorized by industry, and 24/7 Wall St. examined their corporate websites to see whether they had any women in top management at all. When we did find someone, they were usually in human resources, public relations, investor relations, or accounting.

The figures are outrageous and point to lingering misogyny in the board rooms and executive suites of a number of America’s largest companies. It is incomprehensible how public companies in the 21st Century can manage to exclude women from such critical roles.

1) Autoliv (ALV)
Autoliv makes and distributes automotive safety products, such as airbags and seat belts.
-Company lists no women on management team.

2) Cameron International (CAM)
Cameron International is a global provider of flow equipment products, systems, and services to oil, gas, and process industries.
-Rozlin Larkey – Vice President of Human Resources
-Grace B. Holmes – Corporate Secretary

3.) CC Media Holdings (CCMO.PK)
CC Media Holdings, the parent company of Clear Channel Communications, is a media company that works in radio and advertising.
-Company lists no women on management team.

4.) CHS (CHSCP)
CHS, which occupies the 91st position on the Fortune 500, is a diversified energy, grains, and food company.
-Company lists no women on management team.

5.) Emcor Group (EME)
Emcor group designs and constructs electrical and mechanical systems, including transformers, generators, and power cables.
-Mava K. Heffler – Vice President of Marketing and Communications

6.) Energy Transfer Equity (ETE)
Energy Transfer Equity, which owns the general partner of Energy Transfer Partners, transports natural gas throughout the United States.
-Company lists no women on management team.

7.) EOG Resources (EOG)
EOG Resources is one of the largest independent natural gas and oil companies in the United States.  As of the end of 2009, it employed approximately 2,100 people.
-Maire Baldwin – Vice President of Investor Relations
-Patricia Edwards – Vice President of Human Resources
-Ann Janssen – Vice President of Accounting

Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR) 636,600 shares, WAY DOWN YET AGAIN… was over 5.6 million before and was 7.78 million over a year ago.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is a HIGHER POSITION listed as over 42.62 million shares; that is another increase in J&J even though well under the 62 million at the peak.
Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) is 105.21 million, SAME AS BEFORE after having been cut and down from the 138+ million before he was critical of the Cadbury deal.
Lowe’s Companies (NYSE: LOW) 6.5 million shares, SAME AS BEFORE.
M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) is 5.363 million, SAME AS BEFORE after having been cut before then.
Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO) is a LOWER POSITION AGAIN at 28.87+ million shares; down from 30.783 million before after several prior decreased positions.
Nalco Holding (NYSE: NLC) 6,142,300 shares; DOWN FROM PRIOR 9.15 million shares.
Nestle ADR is 3.4 million shares, SAME AS BEFORE.
Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) is a DECREASED POSITION of 3,642,929 shares; down from 7.641 million.
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is an DECREASED POSITION at over 76.7 million shares; versus just over 78 million the quarter before.  That is still well under the peak in recent times of 96.3 million shares.

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG) is not listed but was a not common stock so is not included in these filings; Buffett still likely holds the preferred shares and warrants.

Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) HAS BEEEN ELIMINATED; previous holdings showed 2.757 million.

Republic Services Inc. (NYSE: RSG) HAS BEEN ELIMINATED after having been 10.827 million.

NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE: NRG) HAS BEEN ELIMINATED as it was 6 million shares before.

Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) had been increasing in the prior quarters but IT IS GONE and not listed as a holding any longer versus 8 million before.

BUFFETT HOLDINGS A to G

BUFFETT HOLDINGS S to Z

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JON C. OGG

Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) Started as Hold at Jefferies.
Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) Started as Neutral at Robert W. Baird.
Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.
Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR) Raised to Neutral at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) Started At Hold By Jefferies
Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL) Raised to Buy at Daiwa.
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) Cut to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) Raised to Buy at Needham.
Quiksilver Inc. (NYSE: ZQK) Cut to Underperform at FBR.
Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG) Started as Outperform at William Blair.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) Started as Neutral at Janney.
UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH) Started as Hold at Jefferies.
Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM) Started as Outperform at William Blair.
Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM) Started as Outperform at Robert W. Baird.

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JON C. OGG

Investors looking over that long a time horizon will need to analyze loads of data on everything from consumer spending to capital expenditures to potential changes in regulations. This list is not trying to pick the next 10-bagger.  In fact, many of these stocks for the next decade are not high growers. The intent here is to show winners which can offer the most upside for long-term investors over the next decade.

In the world of utilities, there is American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) in electricity and American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) as the best water company.  Almost a utility is garbage collection, highlighted by Republic Services Inc. (NYSE: RSG).  Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the sole tech for the next decade, and Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) is the sole retailer.  In other stocks for the next decade, we have selected are Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) in energy, Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB) in consumer products, General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) in conglomerates opportunities, Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: TEVA)  in drugs, and The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) in media and entertainment.

There are some key takeaways here when you consider a one decade outlook.  The list has no food companies.  America’s battle of the bulge will come to a head over the next decade and many food producers may wind up losing.  Most technology companies didn’t make the cut because the flavor of a decade is not always the flavor of the next decade: Microsoft was the 1990′s and Apple was the 2000′s.  Many things can change from patent suits to interoperability issues. Consumers are also fickle.  No internet stocks were considered since business models in the sector often change.  Major pharmaceutical and biotech companies face significant challenges from D.C. and from patents and competition, and how well those are overcome remains to be seen.  Most retail and apparel companies did not make the cut because they are effectively new companies with new products two or three times a year.  Also missing is banking and finance, although GE may make up for that inside its conglomerate.  There are also many runner-ups that could have been considered for the list, and perhaps a runner-up list will follow soon.

All of these companies are highly established companies with solid histories and solid outlooks for secular trends.  None have business models which the new-normal or post-new-normal will act as a rapid move against the companies mentioned.

This list should be the novice investor’s watch list of go-to stocks to consider adding to their portfolios when a buying opportunity presents itself. The “buy and hold” strategy of yesteryear did not work in the previous decade and the idea for the decade ahead is to find a diversified portfolio of investments to protect yourself regardless of the market’s direction.

1. American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) is one of the largest publicly held electric utilities in America.  The company provides power generation, transmission and distribution services to more than 5 million customers in nearly a dozen states.  It also has diverse sources of generation including coal,  natural gas, along with hydro, wind and solar.  The company is very dividend-friendly with years of rising payouts and close to a 5% yield.  We consider it among the safest dividends in the sector. AEP has promoted the “Defend My Dividend” campaign that’s fighting against potential tax increases at the end of the year.

2. American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) is another defensive core holding for long-term investment portfolios and is our  best pure-play water stock pick.  It is “American again” after the RWE spin-off and is the largest public U.S. water and waste water utility with about 16 million customers in 35 states and two Canadian provinces.   American Water offers investors a near-monopoly in its local markets with opportunities for growth through acquisitions.  While cap-ex concerns may be there, there is plenty of room for water utilities to raise prices.  The 3.6% dividend yield will almost certainly grow over time.  The downside for opportunistic value investors is that it rarely goes on sale via stock price drops.