24/7 Wall St. » SHAW

The 11 Companies That Will Rebuild America’s Aging Infrastructure

Jon C. Ogg — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 16:01:57 +0000

A report this week from the American Society of Civil Engineers shows just how bad the state of infrastructure in the United States is and how much spending is needed in the next decade to get it back up to par. According to the report, $2.75 trillion needs to be invested in America’s infrastructure by 2020. The ASCE believes that the spending shortfall in this period will come to $1.1 trillion, and will have dire consequences: some $3.1 trillion in lost gross domestic product; about $3,100 annually lost in disposable income per household; some $1.1 trillion lost in total trade; about $2.4 trillion lost in consumer spending; and, worst of all, a loss of about 3.5 million jobs.

24/7 Wall St. wants to know which American companies could stand to benefit if a real infrastructure investment were made. The ASCE says that the spending gap will only get worse over time, with a $4.7 trillion shortfall by 2040. This leaves a massive opportunity for U.S. and North American infrastructure firms for capital investments in airports, seaports and waterways, road and rail, and electricity. The ASCE projected that, unless we invest another $157 billion per year for the next seven years, the cost to U.S. GDP over that period will be $3.1 trillion. That total opportunity would generate close to a 3:1 return on investments, versus expenses using simple math.

While members of ASCE, which represents 140,000 engineers, would benefit from an increase in infrastructure spending, that does not change the fact that the U.S. infrastructure is crumbling. A review of the country’s roads, bridges, highways, water systems, power grids makes that clear. Whether or not the ASCE is fluffing its feathers, it is obvious that America’s infrastructure is nowhere near where it needs to be.

As far as which companies will win, there are many. It has been almost two years since our last review of this issue and much has changed. The old Build America Bonds program from 2009 to 2010 has effectively come and gone. But what if a new program could somehow be kicked off? Printing money has not exactly added millions of jobs, but spending on infrastructure projects surely would.

With close to a 3:1 ratio in gains versus expenses, these existing infrastructure giants could reap huge rewards if any of this investment shortfall is targeted. We do question how much can be spent in the age of austerity, and when the U.S. debt clock now stands at $16.5 trillion, but political math is often very different from the real economic math you may have learned in college. Our outlook on key infrastructure players has ranked 11 companies in alphabetical order. Revenue projections have been taken from Thomson Reuters for the calendar or fiscal year 2013. We have also included notable projects and shown whether these companies pay a dividend for income investors.

If investors are looking for an infrastructure play, these are the American companies that could benefit most from rebuilidng America. While there are many more companies in the industry, they are either too diversified or too focused for the scope of a broad infrastructure review.

These are the 11 companies that will rebuild America’s aging infrastructure.

1. AECOM Technology Corp. (NYSE: ACM)
> Notable Project: part of rebuilding World Trade Center NYC
> 2013 Revenue: $8.3 billion
> Employees: 45,000
> Dividend Yield: N/A

AECOM offers architecture and engineering design services. It services the transportation, environmental and energy sectors, and it also serves key infrastructure projects such as highways, airports, bridges, wastewater facilities and power transmission and distribution. AECOM has a market value of about $2.7 billion, which is lower than the $3.5 billion featured in 2011. Its expected 2013 revenues are about $8.3 billion and it has roughly 45,000 employees around the world.

2. The Babcock & Wilcox Co. (NYSE: BWC)
> Notable Project: DOE Small Modular Reactor Licensing Technical Support Program
> 2013 Revenue: $3.5 billion
> Employees: 13,000
> Dividend Yield: 1.2%

B&W is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, has close to 13,000 employees, and designs, engineers and offers other services to power generation and environmental control systems for large utility and industrial customers. It also manufactures and supplies nuclear components and fuels for government and commercial uses and supplies services for building and maintaining power facilities. B&W is worth $3.1 billion in market capitalization, and its revenue is expected to be about $3.5 billion this year.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Aerospace & Defense, Alternative Energy, Austerity, Banking & Finance, Conglomerates, Corporate Governance, Economy, Editor's Picks, Emerging Markets, Infrastructure, International Markets, Politics, Utilities Tagged: ACM, BWC, CBI, EMR, featured, FLR, GLDD, JEC, KBR, MDR, SHAW, TTEK, URS

Today’s Market Winners and Losers

247sam — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 14:36:10 +0000

Stocks are up slightly Monday ahead of a week of economic data, central bank talk and more earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.34%, the Nasdaq is up 0.25% and the S&P 500 is up 0.33%. One of today’s winners is being bought out by one of today’s losers. Meanwhile, a deal with Honda helped boost another winner, while the other loser today could have been a victim of fraud.

Here are Monday’s market winners and losers.

Biggest Winners

Shares of Shaw Group, Inc. (NYSE: SHAW) are up 57.81% to $42.12 on trading volume of 14.9 million shares. Shaw announced it was being acquired by Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. (NYSE: CBI) for $46 a share in cash and stock, or roughly $3 billion. Before Monday, the 52-week high was $32.49.

Shares of Clean Diesel Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDTI) are up 40.47% to $2.95 on trading volume of 1.6 million shares. The company announced Monday it is supplying catalysts for upcoming Honda Accords. The 52-week high is $5.80.

Biggest Losers

Shares of Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) are down 15.92% to $1.32 on trading volume of 1.4 million shares. The company said it may have been the victim of a fraud involving a $680 million guarantee in extended in 2010, according to Bloomberg. Before Monday, the 52-week low was $1.50.

Shares of Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. (NYSE: CBI) are down 13.39% to $35.25 on trading volume of 5.8 million shares. As mentioned previously, the company is acquiring the Shaw Group, Inc. (NYSE: SHAW) for $46 a share, or approximately $3 billion. The 52-week low is $23.88.

Samuel Weigley

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: CBI, CDTI, SHAW, STP

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — July 10, 2012: Market Declines on Weak Profits, More Warnings

Paul Ausick — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 20:08:53 +0000

The three major US stock indexes opened higher this morning on reports of a new bailout for Spanish banks and a 24-basis point drop on 10-year Spanish bond yields (our coverage here). The dollar strengthened throughout the day, but it could be that early earnings results were simply not encouraging looking forward. Commodities prices dropped as did crude prices on the rising dollar. The news from China on falling imports was out early this morning and likely contributed something to the overall weakness in the market today (our coverage here).

The US dollar index rose today, now up 0.31% at 83.416. The GSCI commodity index also rose, up about 1.8% at 615.94, with commodities prices mostly lower today. WTI crude oil fell -0.9% today, closing at $85.25/barrel. Brent crude trades down -2.4% at $97.91/barrel, as a lockout in Norway’s North Sea fields was averted (our coverage here). Natural gas is down -4.8% today to $2.744/thousand cubic feet. Gold settled down -0.6%, at $1,579.80/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 83 points to 12,653.12 (-0.65%), the NASDAQ fell more than 29 points (-1.00%) to 2,902.33, and the S&P 500 fell -0.81% or nearly 11 points to 1,341.47.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) raised to ‘buy’ at Nomura; J.C. Penney Company Inc. (NYSE: JCP) maintained as ‘neutral’ but estimates cut at Credit Suisse; Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD) cut to ‘hold’ at Argus; Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) raised to ‘buy’ at Sterne Agee; and Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) cut to ‘neutral’ at JPMorgan.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) is down -4.6% at $8.36; WD-40 Co. (NASDAQ: WDFC) is down -4.2% at $48.33; Helen of Troy Ltd. (NASDAQ: HELE) is down -13.1% at $29.59; Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SHAW) is down -9.9% at $25.59; Wolverine World Wide Inc. (NYSE: WWW) is up 6.6% at $40.86; and SemiLEDS Corp. (NASDAQ: LEDS) is down -5% at $2.64 after posting a new 52-week low of $2.50 earlier today.

Tomorrow we are scheduled to get earnings results from Adtran Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTN), Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI), Marriott International Inc. (NYSE: MAR), and Texas Industries Inc. (NYSE: TXI).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

James River Coal Co. (NASDAQ: JRCC) is down -27.5% at $2.08. The coal miner is suffering the confirmation this morning of the bankruptcy filing by Patriot Coal Corp. (NYSE: PCX). More coverage here.

MAKO Surgical Corp. (NASDAQ: MAKO) is down -43.1% at $14.01 after posting a new 52-week low of $14.00 earlier today. The medical device maker cut its estimate on sales of its orthopedic robotic arm system.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) is down -11.5% at $4.97. The semiconductor maker lowered its quarterly earnings forecast. More coverage here.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) is down -7.4% at $18.50. The natural gas producer’s shares went ex-dividend today in advance of the company’s dividend payment of $0.0875 on July 31st.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications

8:30 a.m. – International trade data

10:00 a.m. – Wholesale trade data

10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report

1:00 p.m. – 10-year note auction

2:00 p.m. – FOMC minutes released

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Filed under: Active Trader, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AA, ADTN, AMD, AXP, CHK, HELE, ITRI, JCP, JRCC, LEDS, LTD, LUV, MAKO, MAR, PCX, SHAW, TSN, TXI, WDFC, WWW

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (AMZN, APOL, HFC, LVS, VZ, MOS, RHT, SN, SHAW, BBY, MY, RIMM, FINL, PHM, CHTP, MM)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 20:05:55 +0000

Markets opened lower this morning but fought back on the day. This morning’s report new unemployment benefits claims tamped down enthusiasm among investors (our coverage here). US natural gas inventories rose much more than expected (our coverage here) and a promise from the IEA to be ready with another release from national strategic oil reserves hit energy stocks hard (more coverage here). The US dollar index rose today, now up 0.08% at 79.186. Commodities were virtually all lower on the stronger dollar. WTI crude oil closed down about -2.5% at $102.78/barrel, and Brent crude trades down -1.51% at $122.28/barrel. Gold settled down -0.3% today, at $1,652.20/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 20 points to 13,145.51, the NASDAQ fell by 9.6 points to 3,095.36, and the S&P 500 fell 2.29 to 1,403.26.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) started as ‘buy’ at ThinkEquity; Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) cut to ‘hold’ at Argus; HollyFrontier Corp. (NYSE: HFC) cut to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse; Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) reiterated as ‘buy’ and price target raised to $65-$67 at BofA/ML; and Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) cut to ‘neutral’ at Baird.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) is down -4.7% at $55.49; Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT) is up 18.7% at $61.02 after posting a new 52-week high of $61.37 earlier today (more coverage here); Sanchez Energy Corp. (NYSE: SN) is down -2.5% at $22.01; Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SHAW) is up 3.9% at 32.05; and Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is down -6.6% at $24.86 (more coverage here). After markets close today China Ming Yang Power Group Ltd. (NYSE: MY), Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) (our coverage here), and Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) will report earnings.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE: PHM) is down -2.5% at $9.24. The homebuilder was downgraded to ‘strong sell’ at S&P Capital IQ. More coverage here.

Chelsea Therapeutics International Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHTP) is down more than -28% at $2.63. The FDA rejected the company’s low blood pressure drug. More coverage here.

Millennial Media Inc. (NYSE: MM) concluded its IPO today at $24.74, up from the initial price of $13/share. Shares traded as high as $27.90 earlier in the day. More coverage of the recent IPO market here.

Stay tuned for Friday. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Personal income and spending report

9:45 a.m. – Chicago purchasing managers’ index

9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index

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Paul Ausick

Filed under: Active Trader, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AMZN, APOL, BBY, CHTP, FINL, HFC, LVS, MM, MOS, MY, PHM, RHT, RIMM, SHAW, SN, VZ

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (DTV, KMI, VZ, WTW, NVDA, CBK, SNX, FDO, JOSB, MOS, RHT, SN, BBY, SHAW, CMC, AMLN, VRML)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:04:46 +0000

Markets opened nearly flat this morning but took a dive early and have muddled along the rest of the day in negative territory. This morning’s report on falling durable goods orders got things off on the wrong foot (our coverage here). The US crude oil commercial inventory grew by a larger-than-expected amount, pushing crude prices down significantly (our coverage here). The US dollar index rose today, now up 0.12% at 79.140. Commodities were mostly lower on the stronger dollar. WTI crude oil closed down about -1.9% at $105.41/barrel, and Brent crude trades down -1.09% at $124.17/barrel. Gold settled down -1.6% today, at $1,657.90/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 72 points to 13,126.06 (-0.54%), the NASDAQ fell more than 15 points (-0.49%) to 3,104.96, and the S&P 500 fell -0.49% or nearly 7 points to 1,405.54.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including DirecTV Inc. (NASDAQ: DTV) raised to ‘buy’ at Citigroup and reiterated as ‘buy’ at Canaccord Genuity; Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI) started as ‘equal weight’ at Morgan Stanley; Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) cut to ‘sector perform’ at RBC; Weight Watchers International Inc. (NYSE: WTW) started as ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; and Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) raised to ‘market perform’ at JMP Securities.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Christopher & Banks Corp. (NYSE: CBK) is down -13% at $2.05 after posting a new 52-week low of $1.85 earlier today; Synnex Corp. (NYSE: SNX) is down -13% at $37.94 (more coverage here); Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) is up 0.6% at $58.58 (more coverage here); and Jos. A. Banks Clothiers Inc. (NASDAQ: JOSB) is down -8.7% at $49.77 (more coverage here). After markets close today the Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS), Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT), and Sanchez Energy Corp. (NYSE: SN) will report earnings. Before the markets open in the morning, we’ll get earnings from Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) and Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SHAW).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Commercial Metals Corp. (NYSE: CMC) is up 0.49%. The steel and metal fabricator posted better-than-expected earnings this morning. More coverage here.

Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) is up more than 53%. The drug maker rejected a takeover bid. More coverage here.

Vermillion Inc. (NASDAQ: VRML) is up 19%. The drug maker received a patent approval today. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart, Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser, and Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker are giving speeches. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – New unemployment benefits claims

8:30 a.m. – Corporate profits

10:30 a.m. – EIA natural gas storage report

11:00 a.m. – Kansas City Fed manufacturing index

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Paul Ausick

Filed under: Active Trader, Analyst Calls, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AMLN, BBY, CBK, CMC, DTV, FDO, JOSB, KMI, MOS, NVDA, RHT, SHAW, SN, SNX, VRML, VZ, WTW

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (F, GS, RIMM, HON, ORCL, NKE, ATU, KMX, KBH, SHAW, WAG, DFG, CMFB, WWAY, AMPE, VMW, CVLT)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:11:35 +0000

Markets opened lower this morning on mixed reaction to the $641 billion borrowing spree from the European Central Bank. Technology stocks were weighed down by poor earnings report and uninspired guidance from one of the industry’s biggest players. The DJIA and the S&P 500 finally reached positive territory about half an hour before closing, but the Nasdaq never touched the line. A very large drawdown on US crude oil inventories helped energy stocks post some gains. One hour before trading closes for the day only a half billion shares have traded hands on the NYSE today. The US dollar is slightly stronger against the euro and the Japanese yen, but down slightly against the British pound. WTI crude oil is up more than 1.5% at $98.79/barrel, and Brent crude is up about 1% at $107.78. Gold was down -0.25% at $1,613.50.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 4 points to 12,107.74 (0.03%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 26 points (-0.99%) to 2,577.97, and the S&P 500 rose 0.19% or more than 2 points to 1,243.72.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) started as ‘buy’ at Sterne Agee. Other ratings actions today include Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) started as ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo; Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) raised from ‘hold’ to ‘buy’ with a $16 target price at ThinkEquity; Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a $70 target price at Argus; and Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) cut from ‘buy’ to ‘hold’ at Canaccord Genuity and maintained as ‘buy’ with a lowered target price of $40 at Credit Suisse.

Here are today’s post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Oracle Corp. is down nearly -11% at $25.98; Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) is up nearly 3% at $96.40; Actuant Corp. (NYSE: ATU) is up nearly 9% at $22.61; CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) is down nearly -6% at $29.22; KB Home (NYSE: KBH) is down more than -5% at $7.33; Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SHAW) is up nearly 17% at $26.45; and Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) is down about -0.5% at $33.34. For more on the ripple effects of Oracle’s weak earnings, see our coverage here.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Delphi Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: DFG) is up almost 73% at $43.99 after posting a new 52-week high of $44.00. The insurance and financial services company has agreed to be acquired by Japan’s Tokio Marine for $2.66 billion.

Commercefirst Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: CMFB) is up nearly 71% at $13.25 after posting a new 52-week high of $13.99 earlier today. The Maryland bank holding company is being acquired by Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: SASR) for $24.5 million in stock and cash, or about $13.50/share.

Westway Group Inc. (NASDAQ: WWAY) is up nearly 23% at $5.50 after posting a new 52-week high of $6.60 earlier today. The bulk liquid storage provider has rejected a $6/share unsolicited takeover offer from an unidentified infrastructure investment fund.

Ampio Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMPE) is down more than -17% at $4.38. The drug company announced the sale of 2.2 million shares in private sale to investors at $4.25/share.

VMWare Inc. (NYSE: VMW) is down more than -10% at $76.65. The virtual software company is suffering from Oracle’s weak earnings and guidance.

CommVault Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CVLT) is down more than -15% at $39.22. The software company is another of Oracle’s victims.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Here are other noteworthy events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – US Commerce Department GDP report

8:30 a.m. – Initial unemployment benefits claims report

8:30 a.m. – Chicago Federal Reserve national activity index

8:30 a.m. – Bureaus of Economic Analysis corporate profits report

9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index

10:00 a.m. – Federal Housing Finance Agency house price index

10:00 a.m. – Conference Board leading economic indicators

10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas inventory report

4:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet and money supply reports

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Paul Ausick

Filed under: Active Trader, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AMPE, ATU, CMFB, CVLT, DFG, F, GS, HON, KBH, KMX, NKE, ORCL, RIMM, SHAW, VMW, WAG, WWAY

Expected Price Gains in Uranium Mining and Nuclear Energy (CCJ, DNN, URRE, URZ, UEC, URG, USU, GE, SHAW, ARVCF, TOSBF)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 18:34:35 +0000

The outlook for uranium miners and nuclear power plant builders has dimmed considerably following the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi power plant last spring. The Japanese government is considering building non-nuclear plants to replace the ruined reactors, and Germany has begun the process of de-commissioning all its nuclear generation by 2022. The US has not adopted a no-nukes plan yet, but when old plants come up for license renewal or a new plant gets approval to begin construction, it’s not a stretch to think that opposition will appear as if by magic.

The impact on uranium mining companies large and small could be dramatic if more countries follow Germany’s lead and reject nuclear generation completely. Even China has adopted a more ‘slow-go’ approach to nuclear generation. Mining companies include Cameco Corp. (NYSE: CCJ), Denison Mines Corp. (AMEX: DNN), Uranium Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: URRE), Uranerz Energy Corp. (AMEX: URZ), Uranium Energy Corp. (AMEX: UEC), UR-Energy, Inc. and (AMEX: URG). USEC Inc. (NYSE: USU) processes uranium into a low-enriched form, and General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) and Shaw Group, Inc. (NYSE: SHAW) are leading builders and servicers of nuclear power plants. France’s Areva (OTC: ARVCY), and Japan’s Toshiba Corp. (OTC: TOSBF) are also among the world’s leading builders of nuclear power plants but are excluded because comparable information for the companies is not available.

One interesting sideshow that could impact all the uranium miners is the current bidding war between Cameco and Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RIO) for Canadian junior mining company Hathor Exploration Ltd. Hathor is expected to take the Rio Tinto offer, leaving Cameco to shop for other uranium assets, most likely among the small miners we’re looked at here.

All data from Yahoo! Finance and MarketWatch, and current price quotes were gathered just before noon today.

Cameco Corp. (NYSE: CCJ) has a median target price of $31.10 from 8 brokers. Shares are trading today at $20.34, for an implied gain of $10.76, or 53%. Cameco’s forward P/E is 14.97 and the company pays a dividend yield of 1.8%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $16.68-$44.81, and at today’s price that’s about 22% above its 52-week low and 55% below the 52-week high. Cameco is the world’s largest uranium miner, and falling uranium prices have hit the company hard since prices hit a peak in January of around $72/pound. Uranium now sells for about $52/pound, a drop of -28%, and that drop has been exacerbated by lower demand. Falling demand and price have had even harsher impacts on the smaller uranium miners. At this time, Cameco does not expect the rest of the world to follow the Japanese and German governments’ restrictions on nuclear energy.

Denison Mines Corp. (AMEX: DNN) has a median target price of $2.21 from 7 brokers. Shares are trading today at $1.49, for an implied gain of $0.72, or 48%. Denison’s forward P/E is negative and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $0.81-$4.52, and at today’s price that’s about 84% above its 52-week low and 67% below the 52-week high. Denison sold just 167,000 pounds of uranium in the third quarter, compared with 706,000 pounds in the same period a year ago. That cost the company nearly $3 million in revenues, and total revenues were less than half those of a year ago.

Uranium Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: URRE) has a median target price of $5.00 from a single broker. Shares are trading today at $1.10, for an implied gain of $3.90, or 355%. Uranium Resources’ forward P/E is negative and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $0.52-$3.98, and at today’s price that’s about 112% above its 52-week low and 72% below the 52-week high. The company reports earnings on Monday, but even the single broker with a target price can’t be bothered to offer estimated results for the company. The implied gains here are strictly fantasy.

Uranerz Energy Corp. (AMEX: URZ) has a median target price of $5.49 from 3 brokers. Shares are trading today at $2.04, for an implied gain of $3.45, or 169%. Uranerz’s forward P/E is 12.22 and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $1.17-$5.93, and at today’s price that’s about 74% above its 52-week low and 66% below the 52-week high. Uranerz, like Uranium Resources, sports a stupendously high implied gain because it is so weak. These two might be prime candidates for the loser in the bidding war over Hathor.

Uranium Energy Corp. (AMEX: UEC) has a median target price of $4.98 from 6 brokers. Shares are trading today at $3.14, for an implied gain of $1.84, or 59%. Uranium Energy’s forward P/E is 2.78 and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $2.20-$7.48, and at today’s price that’s about 43% above its 52-week low and 58% below the 52-week high. Uranium Energy just committed to pay about $85,000 in cash and about $940,000 in restricted stock at today’s price for a uranium mining project in Arizona. That sent the share price down slightly, which is probably less than should have happened.

UR-Energy, Inc. and (AMEX: URG) has a median target price of $2.37 from a single broker. Shares are trading today at $1.10, for an implied gain of $1.27, or 115%. UR-Energy’s forward P/E is negative and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $0.75-$3.37, and at today’s price that’s about 47% above its 52-week low and 67% below the 52-week high. UR-Energy does not yet produce anything, as its Wyoming mine is still in development. The company has spent a total of about $116 million since 2004, and is looking to begin production in the second quarter of 2013. It’s anyone’s guess what the price of uranium will be then.

USEC Inc. (NYSE: USU) has a median target price of $3.38 from 2 brokers. Shares are trading today at $1.91, for an implied gain of $1.47, or 77%. USEC’s forward P/E is 10.11 and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $1.17-$6.35, and at today’s price that’s about 63% above its 52-week low and 70% below the 52-week high. USEC mailed notices to its 450 centrifuge workers in late October informing them that the company may begin laying off workers in the first two weeks of November. When it released third-quarter earnings last week, the company posted a smaller-than-expected EPS loss, but missed revenues by a mile.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) has a median target price of $20.00 from 14 brokers. Shares are trading today at $16.32, for an implied gain of $3.68, or 23%. GE’s forward P/E is 10.39 and the company pays a dividend yield of 3.7%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $14.02-$21.65, and at today’s price that’s about 16% above its 52-week low and 25% below the 52-week high. GE doesn’t specify exactly what part of its revenues come from nuclear plants, but it maintains partnerships with Japan’s Hitachi and Toshiba for building and servicing nuclear plants around the world.

Shaw Group, Inc. (NYSE: SHAW) has a median target price of $27.00 from 13 brokers. Shares are trading today at $24.21, for an implied gain of $2.79, or 12%. Shaw’s forward P/E is 9.46 and the company does not pay a dividend. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $18.98-$41.62, and at today’s price that’s about 28% above its 52-week low and 42% below the 52-week high. Known primarily as a heavy construction company, Shaw owns a piece of Toshiba’s nuclear operations in both the US and the UK, as well as a 20% stake in Toshiba’s Westinghouse nuclear operations. The company is building four nuclear units in the US and holds a services contract on four more new plants in China. For the fiscal year ended in October, Shaw’s nuclear work helped cover revenue shortfalls in coal plants.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Commodities, Commodities & Metals, Nuclear, Utilities Tagged: ARVCF, CCJ, DNN, GE, SHAW, TOSBF, UEC, URG, URRE, URZ, USU

24/7 Closing Bell (AET, AGP, JBHT, SNDK, WY, CRM, SWY, SHAW, L, INVE, HUM, MNTA, PATH, NPSP, YGE, TSL, GEVO)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:17:38 +0000

Markets opened lower this morning, and continued to fall before holding at around -150 points for most of the day on the DJIA. Japan’s yen sale pushed the dollar sharply higher and pushed down commodity prices, virtually all of which are priced in dollars. There might also have been some profit-taking, but Japan’s intervention in the currency market set the tone. The Chicago PMI index came in a bit lower than expected and had no visible impact on equity prices. Crude oil has recovered to be nearly flat, but gold is down about -1.3%, at $1,724/ounce in the last hour of trading. Silver, copper, platinum, and palladium are all down as well. The DJIA fell almost -50 points in the final half hour of trading.The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than -276 points to 11,955.70 (-2.25%), the NASDAQ fell more than -52 points (-1.93%) to 2,684.41, and the S&P 500 fell -2.48% or nearly -32 points to 1,253.29.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including the addition of Aetna, Inc. (NYSE: AET) to Goldman Sachs’ Conviction Buy list. Goldman also raised Amerigroup Corp. (NYSE: AGP) to ‘buy’. JB Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) cut to ‘hold’ at Stifel Nicolaus; Sandisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) cut to ‘neutral’ at Sterne Agee; Weyerhaeuser Corp. (NYSE: WY) raised to ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank; Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) cut to ‘equal-weight’ at Global Equities Research; and Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) started at ‘neutral’ by JP Morgan.Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Shaw Group (NYSE: SHAW) up nearly 5.5%, at $23.39; Loews Corp. (NYSE: L) is down about -3%, at $40.07; Identive Group Inc. (NASDAQ: INVE) is down more than -6.5%, at $2.37; and Humana, Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is up more than 6.5%, at $85.68.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTA) is up more than 22%, at $14.96. The shares jumped following a court ruling that will hamper the introduction of competing drugs.

NuPath Inc. (NASDAQ: PATH) is up more than 15%, at $2.68. The company reported positive results on tests of its patch treatment for migraine headaches.

NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: NPSP) is down more than 33%, at $5.18. The company said that two patients for its new bowel drug died and another developed cancer.

Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE) is down more than -15%, at $4.06. This could well be caused by bit of profit-taking on solar stocks that posted sharp gains on Friday.

Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL), another solar maker, is also down about -14%, at $8.04. Just another day in the solar whirlwind.

Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO) is down about -16%, at $7.31. The biofuel maker was refused a re-examination of a patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. A two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve board of governors begins tomorrow. The first data on auto sales in October is expected tomorrow as well. We have noted the following events (all times Eastern):

10:00 a.m. — ISM Manufacturing index released
10:00 a.m. — US construction spending for September 2011

Filed under: Active Trader, Market Close Tagged: AET, AGP, CRM, GEVO, HUM, INVE, JBHT, L, MNTA, NPSP, PATH, SHAW, SNDK, SWY, TSL, WY, YGE

Alternative Energy Watch: Solar to Reach Grid Parity in 2013; Nuclear Plant to Close in Japan, New Licenses on Track in US; UN Report Predicts Renewable Surge (SPWRA, JASO, AONE, CLNE, SO, SHAW)

Jon C. Ogg — Mon, 09 May 2011 17:01:16 +0000

Today’s alternative energy news reports on a prediction that the cost of solar power generation will reach parity with other fuels by 2013. A nuclear power plant in Japan will close while two new nuclear plants in the US could get licensed by the end of this year. Finally, a United Nations panel report suggests that renewable sources could expand by 3 to 20 times by 2050.

Check out our earnings preview on alt-energy companies that are reporting earnings this week. These include SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWRA), JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO), A123 Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE), and Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE), among others.

The chairman of Taiwanese solar wafer maker Eversol acknowledges that the market for solar PV will be challenging for the next couple of years, but he also believes that solar will achieve grid parity in six countries by 2013. He also believes that no subsidies will be needed to reach this goal, but that national renewable portfolio standards will do the trick. Grid parity means that the cost of solar generation will equal the cost of coal- or gas-fired generation or even hydropower generation.

That seems awfully aggressive. Right now solar PV generation costs about $0.22/kWh, compared with traditional generation costs of about $0.08/kWh. About half the cost of solar PV is attributed to what are called “balance of systems” cost, that is all the hardware, labor, and assembly needed to get the solar PV module installed. While competition and improved technology will ultimately drive down the solar PV module cost, much greater savings are possible by wringing out the balance of systems costs. A report from the Rocky Mountain Institute notes that the downward trajectory of module costs is greater than that of balance of systems costs, and that needs to change in order for small-scale solar projects to compete with grid electricity.

Japanese electricity company Chubu Electric Power has announced that it plans to close two of its reactors because they are especially vulnerable to major earthquakes. The two plants generate about 2,500 megawatts. A third reactor at the same location is already off-line for maintenance. Following these shutdowns, just 37% of Japan’s nuclear generation capacity will be available of the nearly 50,000 megawatts of the country’s capacity.

In the US, four new nuclear reactors are in line for permits and licenses by the end of 2011. Southern Co. (NYSE: SO) and Scana Corp. (NYSE: SCG) are both in line for combined construction permits and operating licenses from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The companies want to install new 1,150-megawatt reactors at Southern’s site in Georgia and Scana’s plant in South Carolina. The reactors will be a design from Westinghouse, which is owned by Toshiba Corp. and Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SHAW).

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has issued a summary of a report on renewable energy and climate change which examines 164 scenarios. Of the 12.9% of energy currently generated by renewable fuels, some 80% of that is wood burning for cooking and heat. Wind power generates about 0.2% of global electricity, and solar energy generates about 0.1%. Hydropower generates 2.3%.

The IPCC believes about 20% of global electricity could be generated by renewable fuels by 2050, and, in the best case, up to 80% could be generated by renewable fuels. The potential is greatest for solar and nuclear generation.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Alternative Energy, Green Biz, Infrastructure, Utilities Tagged: AONE, CLNE, JASO, SHAW, SO, SPWRA

Shaw Group Confession, Trouble for Nuclear Power Players (SHAW, URS, BWC, FLR, ES)

Jon C. Ogg — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 15:20:03 +0000

It’s not likely that earnings and revenues for The Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SHAW) took too great a hit from the nuclear disaster in Japan, but what happens for the rest of this year could well be tied to Japan’s success at controlling the damaged nuclear plants. Shaw posted diluted EPS of $0.40 on $1.4 billion in revenues, compared with an EPS estimate of $0.47 on $1.54 billion in revenues, not including the company’s stake in Westinghouse. Including Westinghouse, EPS was a scant $0.01, compared with $0.72 in the same period a year ago.

Shaw also lowered its revenue estimates for the full year from analysts’ expectations of $6.55 billion to $6.3 billion, while raising full-year EPS estimates from expectations of $1.77 to $1.86-$1.91, excluding its stake in Westinghouse. Shaw’s P/E ratio for the trailing twelve months is around 31, while its forward P/E for the fiscal year ending in August 2012 is 13.50. The company is the first of its sector to report, and this downward trend could put some weight on competitors URS Corp. (NYSE: URS), The Babcock & Wilcox Co. (NYSE: BWC), Fluor Corp. (NYSE: FLR), EnergySolutions Inc. (NYSE: ES). The big fear remains what happens to nuclear policy in many nations going forward.

URS Corp. reports quarterly earnings on May 9th, and analysts are expecting EPS of $0.85 on revenue of $2.43 billion. A year ago, URS posted EPS of $1.17 on revenue of $2.21 billion. For the full year, analysts expect EPS of $3.67 on $9.93 billion, a rise of about 4% in EPS while revenue rises from $9.18 billion to $9.93 billion. The company’s trailing P/E ratio is 12.79, and its forward P/E is 11.31, for the year ending December 2012.

Babcock & Wilcox is scheduled to release quarterly earnings on June 10th, and analysts are expecting EPS of $0.39 on revenue of $731.3 million. For the full year, EPS is expected to be $1.67 on $2.99 billon in revenue. In 2010, Babcock & Wilcox posted EPS of $1.30 on revenue of $2.69 billion. The company’s trailing P/E ratio is 24.49 and its forward P/E is 16 for the year ending in December 2012.

Fluor is set to announce quarterly earnings on May 5th, with analysts expecting EPS of $0.76 on revenue of $5.59 billion. EPS expectations are flat with the same period a year ago, but revenue is projected to be 14% higher. That’s not a good sign for margins. For the full year, EPS is forecast at $3.28 on $23.9 billion in revenue, substantially better than a year ago’s EPS of $2.30 on $20.9 billion in revenue. The company’s trailing P/E ratio is 35.63 and its forward P/E is 18.09 for the year ending in December 2012.

EnergySolutions reported its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings about 10 days ago, and the company posted a quarterly EPS loss of -$0.25 on revenue of $1.75 billion. For 2010, the company posted EPS of $0.07 on revenue of $450 million. For the first quarter of 2011, the company is expected to post EPS of $0.04 on revenue of $483.43 million, both lower than the same period last year. The company’s trailing P/E ratio is non-existent, and its forward P/E is 16.

Of the five companies, Fluor and EnergySolutions have the highest P/E ratios going forward. Fluor’s trailing P/E is the highest in the group as well, probably indicating that investors think that Fluor is doing something right and will continue to do so. EnergySolutions, given its tepid performance, could be valued the same as Fluor going forward because investors believe that it is a likely takeover target. There’s certainly not much else for the company to look forward to.

In it’s outlook for 2011, EnergySolutions noted that it expects EBITDA in the range of $130-$140 million. For 2010, the company reported EBITDA of $153 million, and EBITDA in 2009 was $143.5 million. A potential buyout is about the only thing investors can be looking forward to.

Shaw stock is down more than -2%, to $34.64, after opening down more than -5%. The 52-week range is $27.61-$41.62.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Earnings, Earnings Warning, Infrastructure, Nuclear, Utilities Tagged: BWC, ES, FLR, SHAW, URS