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Utilities Earnings Hit by Weather (DUK, SE, AES, AEE, LNT)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:36:36 +0000

US demand for natural gas dropped this winter leading to near-record levels of storage and historically low prices. For natural gas utilities, this was not such good news. For power generators that were able to convert to natural gas, the lower prices were good news indeed.

Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK), Spectra Energy Corp. (NYSE: SE), The AES Corp. (NYSE: AES), Ameren Corp. (NYSE: AEE), and Alliant Energy Corp. (NYSE: LNT) reported first quarter earnings this morning, and the results are mixed to say the the least.

Duke reported first quarter adjusted EPS of $0.38, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37. Revenue came in at $3.63 billion, better than the estimate of $3.6 billion. In the company’s announcement, it had this to say about the weather: “On an adjusted basis, the effects of mild weather during the quarter were largely offset by the implementation of new customer rates in the Carolinas and reduced operation and maintenance costs at the regulated utilities.” The company also said that it expects to get regulatory approval for its purchase of Progress Energy Inc. (NYSE: PGN).

Spectra reported EPS of $0.51, one penny below the consensus estimate. Revenues totaled $1.54 billion, down -4% from the same period a year ago and well below estimates of $1.62 billion. Spectra, too, blamed the weather, and low natural gas prices: “First quarter 2012 earnings in line with expectations, except for the effects of lower commodity prices and warmer-than-normal weather.” Spectra primarily operates natural gas transmission and distribution lines.

AES reported adjusted EPS of $0.37, significantly better than the consensus estimate of $0.27. Revenues totaled $4.74 billion, again well above the estimate of $4.5 billion. AES did not blame the weather or complain about low prices. The company’s Latin American operations provided the boost. The company reaffirmed guidance with a caveat that cash flow from operations and free cash flow would be at the lower end of their respective ranges. AES also lowered its expected earnings from continuing operations by $0.06 for the year.

Ameren reported adjusted EPS of $0.22 versus a consensus estimate of $0.23. Revenues totaled $1.66 billion, again a slight miss compared with the estimate of $1.7 billion. Ameren did blame the weather for lower natural gas sales and low electricity prices for reducing demand. The company did reaffirm full-year EPS guidance of $2.20-$2.50 versus the consensus estimate of $2.33.

Alliant reported adjusted EPS of $0.50, well down from the consensus estimate of $0.63. Revenue totaled $765.7 million, sharply lower than the estimate of $822.1 million. Warm weather cost the company 22 heating days, with an negative impact of -$0.12 on adjusted EPS. The company reaffirmed full-year EPS guidance of $2.75-$3.05 versus a consensus estimate of $2.93. Alliant also said that full-year EPS would be near the lower end of the range.

Duke and AES, both of which derive a good portion of their revenues and profits from power generation, were able to overcome the effects of warm weather and low natural gas prices even though both companies complained about the weather. The gas companies had a tougher time, but only Alliant really got battered by warm weather effects.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Earnings, Oil & Gas, Utilities Tagged: AEE, AES, DUK, LNT, SE

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (MT, AVNR, CTRN, ETH,INTC, IGT, KALU, LVS, MA, MGM, MNTA, NOR, SFD, SO, SE, URBN, V, WYNN)

Administrator — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:35:40 +0000

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

Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) Started as Equal Weight at Barclays.
Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVNR) Reiterate as “Buy” with a $6 price target by Canaccord Genuity.
Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRN) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (NYSE: ETH) Started as Hold at Argus.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) Maintained Outperform but cut estimates at Credit Suisse; maintained Hold with $24 price target objective at Canaccord Genuity.
International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) resumed with “Outperform” rating at Wells Fargo.
Kaiser Aluminum Corporation (NASDAQ: KALU) Started as Buy at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
Las Vegas Sands Corporation (NYSE: LVS) resumed with “Outperform” rating at Wells Fargo.
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) Started as Buy at Nomura.
MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) resumed with “Outperform” rating at Wells Fargo.
Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTA) reiterate as Buy with a $23 price target objective by Canaccord Genuity.
Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. (NYSE: NOR) Started as Buy at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
Smithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE: SFD) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks Investment Research.
Southern Co. (NYSE: SO) Cut to Hold from Buy for short-term coverage but maintained a Buy for long-term at Argus.
Spectra Energy Corporation (NYSE: SE) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Maintained Neutral and lowered estimates at Credit Suisse; Maintained Underperform with $17 price target objective by Jefferies.
Visa, Inc. (NYSE: V) Started as Buy at Nomura.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) resumed with “Market Perform” at Wells Fargo.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AVNR, CTRN, ETH, IGT, INTC, KALU, LVS, MA, MGM, MNTA, MT, NOR, SE, SFD, SO, URBN, V, WYNN

New Upside Energy Targets (SE, RRC, DVN, XOM)

Administrator — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 18:00:49 +0000

By Eric Chenoweth of Morningstar

The energy sector has some key players trading at a discount to a longer-term fair value. Morningstar highlights this with new updated price targets in the energy patch, and some of the highlighted stocks are Spectra Energy Corp. (NYSE: SE), Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC), Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE: DVN), and ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM). The targets are quoted:

While the current outlook for supply/demand fundamentals favors oil, we believe that higher full-cycle shale gas extraction costs and potential fuel price arbitrage will better balance the scales with gas in the longer term.
However, in the near term, we are cautious on smaller E&P firms with high operating/financial leverage as they may struggle to weather temporarily depressed gas prices and/or potentially higher interest rates during the next 12-24 months

Read Full Story

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Oil & Gas Tagged: DVN, RRC, SE, XOM

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (COG, COCO, INTC, RSH, SOHU, SE, TXN, HTM, VZ, WSH)

247wallst — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:54:30 +0000

These are the top ten analyst calls for upgrades, downgrades, and initiations we have seen early this Tuesday morning from Wall Street:

Cabot Oil & Gas (NYSE: COG) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Corinthian Colleges (NASDAQ: COCO) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) Started as Buy at Kaufman Bros.
RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) Raised to Hold (from Underweight) at KeyBanc.
Sohu.com (NASDAQ: SOHU) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets.
Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) Raised to Outperform at FBR Capital Markets; Started as Hold at Kaufman Bros.
US Geothermal Inc. (AMEX: HTM) Started as Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Willis Group (NYSE: WSH) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.

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

Jon C. Ogg
October 27, 2009

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: COCO, COG, HTM, INTC, RSH, SE, SOHU, TXN, VZ, WSH

Top Analyst Upgrades (AKS, BMY, CREE, JPM, LRCX, MAR, RIMM, SVNT, SE, VIA)

247wallst — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:43:38 +0000

These are this Friday morning’s top Wall Street analyst upgrades and positive research calls:

AK Steel (AKS) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Bristol-Myers (BMY) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Cree (CREE) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan
J.P. Morgan (JPM) Started as Strong Buy at Raymond James.
Lam Research (LRCX) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Marriott (MAR) Raised to buy at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
Research in Motion (RIMM) Raised to Outperform at R.W. Baird.
Savient Pharma (SVNT) Raised to Outperformat Oppenheimer.
Spectra Energy (SE) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Viacom (VIA) Raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.

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 9, 2009

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: AKS, BMY, CREE, JPM, LRCX, MAR, RIMM, SE, SVNT, VIA

Early Bird Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AZ, CEO, DAI, BEN, GRMN, SE, TEF)

247wallst — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:54:22 +0000

These are the early bird analyst calls from Wall Street that we have seen early this Wednesday morning with about 3 hours until the market opens:

Allianz (NYSE: AZ) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
CNOOC (NYSE: CEO) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Daimler (NYSE: DAI) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.
Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE) Cut to Market Perform at Wachovia.
Telefonica (NYSE: TEF) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: AZ, BEN, CEO, DAI, GRMN, SE, TEF

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (CAVM, COST, EVVV, MET, SE, TOT)

247wallst — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:27:39 +0000

These are some of the top pre-market analyst upgrades and downgrades we are seeing from Wall Street this Friday morning with more than two hours until the open:

Cavium Networks (CAVM) Started as Buy at Piper Jaffray.
CostCo Wholesale (COST) Raised to Buy at UBS.
EV3 (EVVV) Started as Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
MetLife (MET) Raised to Buy at B of A Merrill Lynch.
Spectra Energy (SE) Raised to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies.
Total S.A. (TOT) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.

Jon C. Ogg
February 6, 2009

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: CAVM, COST, EVVV, MET, SE, TOT

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (AKAM, AIV, AMGN, CNX, KND, MCO, NEU, PH, SE)

247wallst — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 06:30:17 +0000

These are some of the key analyst upgrades and positive calls we have seen early this Monday morning with over 2 hours to open:

Akamai Tech (AKAM) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Amgen (AMGN) Started as Buy at Banc of America.
Apartment Investment & Management (AIV) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Kindred Healthcare (KND) Raised to Outperform at Wachovia.
Moody’s (MCO) Raised to Overweight at Lehman.
NewMarket (NEU) Raised to Outperform at Oppenhemer.
Parker Hannifen (PH) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Spectra Energy (SE) Raised to Outperform at Wachovia.

Jon C. Ogg
August 4, 2008

Upgrades & Downgrades in Oil & Gas (BHI, SII, HAL, NOV, SLB, WFT, BJS, SE, TTES, NBF)

247wallst — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:38:47 +0000

These are some of the top analyst calls in oil and gas stocks we have seen in the early hours of trading this Tuesday morning.

Citigroup picked up new coverage on many stocks today. Its new HOLD rated positions are as follows: Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI) and Smith Intl (NYSE: SII). Its new BUY rated stocks are as follows: Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV), and Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB). Citi also made two downgrades as both Weatherford (NYSE: WFT) and BJ Services (NYSE: BJS) were downgrades to HOLD from BUY ratings.

UBS has also made a select call on Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE) as it was started as a BUY rating.

Jefferies started coverage on T-3 Energy Services Inc. (NASDAQ: TTES) as a BUY rated stock. Jefferies also downgraded Nova Biosource Fuels (AMEX: NBF) to HOLD from BUY.

Jon C. Ogg
July 1, 2008