24/7 Wall St. » SRE

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (CHK, LVLT, QCOM, CRM, DSX, COCO, APA, WNR, YRCW, SHOO, SRE, SLE, RGLD, OWW, GM, MGM, AES, LNG, DUK, EL, PGR, WPO, GMCR, KNSY, HLF)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 03 May 2012 20:08:03 +0000

The major US stock indexes opened mostly flat this morning following a softer-than-expected report from the Institute for Supply Management on non-manufacturing growth (our coverage here). The report on new unemployment benefits claims came in better than expected, but not enough to overcome the ISM numbers (more coverage here). Retail sales reports were also weak, with growth of just 0.8% compared with an estimate of 1.5% (more coverage here). The energy sector has been particularly hard hit today on reports that supply is keeping up with demand, some weak earnings reports, and a comment from OPEC that it would like to see Brent crude at $100/barrel, not $120 or more (our coverage here).

The US dollar index rose today, now up 0.11% at 79.221. The GSCI commodity index is down about -1.3% at 678.65, with commodities mixed on the small gains in the dollar. WTI crude oil closed down -2.6% at $102.54/barrel, and Brent crude trades down -1.84% at $116.02/barrel. Gold settled down -1.2% today, at $1,634.80/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 62 points to 13,206.59 (-0.47%), the NASDAQ fell more than 35 points (-01.16%) to 3,024.30, and the S&P 500 fell -0.77% or nearly 11 points to 1,391.57.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) maintained as ‘buy’ but target price cut to $31 at BofA/ML and raised to ‘outperform’ at Bernstein; Level 3 Communications Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) reiterated ‘buy’ at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and cut to ‘neutral’ at Piper Jaffary; Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) reiterated as ‘buy’ at BofA/ML; and Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) raised to ‘outperform’ with a $185 target price at Credit Suisse.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX) is down -4.4% at $7.63; Corinthian Colleges Inc. (NASDAQ: COCO) is down -21.6% at $3.05; Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) is down -3.7% at $91.99; Western Refining Inc. (NYSE: WNR) is down -2.6% at $18.42; YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW) is down -8% at $6.79; Steve Madden Ltd. (NASDAQ: SHOO) is down -1.7% at $43.54; Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) is up 0.6% at $64.29 after posting a new 52-week high of $65.37 earlier today; Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE) is down -1% at $22.10; Royal Gold Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) is down -2.6% at $59.43 (more coverage here); Orbitz Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: OWW) is up 4.9% at $4.09; General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is down -2.3% at $22.42 (more coverage here); and MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is down -4.4% at $12.95.

Tomorrow we get earnings from AES Corp. (NYSE: AES), Cheniere Energy Inc. (AMEX: LNG), Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK), Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL), Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR), and The Washington Post Co. (NYSE: WPO).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) is down -47.3% at $26.11. The company reported earnings last night, and lowered guidance. More coverage here and here.

Kensey Nash Corp. (NASDAQ: KNSY) is up 32.2% at $38.35. The company is being acquired by a Dutch firm for $360 million. More coverage here.

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) is down -12.7% at $46.02. The nutrition products company flubbed some questions at last night’s conference call. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Friday. San Francisco Fed President John Williams is giving a speech. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Non-farm payrolls
3:00 p.m. – Treasury STRIPS

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AES, APA, CHK, COCO, CRM, DSX, DUK, EL, GM, GMCR, HLF, KNSY, LNG, LVLT, MGM, OWW, PGR, QCOM, RGLD, SHOO, SLE, SRE, WNR, WPO, YRCW

The Strongest Charts In The S&P 500 (AZO, CMG, HD, INTC, ISRG, PM, RHT, SRE, UNH, WFM)

Administrator — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 14:24:25 +0000

24/7 Wall St. has partnered with The Chart Lab to feature the standout names in the S&P 500 over the last week. This weekend’s chart represents the strongest names in the S&P 500 as the close of Friday April the 13th based on the www.chartlabpro.com proprietary statistical and technical algorithm.

The following stocks have exhibited the strongest chart patterns: AutoZone Inc. (AZO); Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG); The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD); Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC); Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG); Philip Morris International, Inc. (NYSE: PM); Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE: RHT); Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE); Unitedhealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH); and Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM).

These names year to date have outperformed the S&P 500 by 12.92%. During the month of April these particular stocks have risen an average of 0.66% while the S&P 500 has actually fallen by a rate of -3.31%.

As always, past performance is not indicative of future results. These results for the strongest names are updated daily and stronger names do rotate daily into the composite of the top 10.

Currently the 10 stocks featured this week are not technically overbought, but they are approaching a overbought condition according to the methodology used by the Chartlabpro.com model.

The methodology from chartlabpro.com shows that a 5 rating is considered a Strong Buy and conversely a 1 is a Strong Sell. As a reminder, Chipotle, Intel, Philip Morris International, and Unitedhealth Group are due to report quarterly earnings in the coming days.

Featured exclusively for 24/7 Wall St. by ChartLabPro.com.

Filed under: Charts, Technical Analysis, The Week Tagged: AZO, CMG, HD, INTC, ISRG, PM, RHT, SRE, UNH, WFM

Most Ethical Companies List Published (GE, F, INTC, ADBE, MSFT, XRX, SRE, AXP, DE, CSCO)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 15:19:48 +0000

International think-tank Ethisphere Institute has just announce the 143 global companies that made the Institute’s 2012 list of Most Ethical Companies. Of the total, 102 are US-based companies, and 23 of the 143 have made the list for all six years of its publication.

Among US companies included are General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX), Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP), Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE), and Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO)

Notable exclusions include Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), all of the supermajor oil companies, and the largest financial firms both in the US and the rest of the world.

The full list is available here.

Filed under: General Tagged: AAPL, ADBE, AXP, CSCO, DE, F, GE, GOOG, INTC, MSFT, SRE, XRX

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (VMW, YHOO, SNE, EA, SRE, DLPH, CALM, DMAN, SHLD, CSC, PARL, WHR, MHR)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:04:38 +0000

US equity markets rose rather steeply in the first hour of trading this morning, but weren’t able to sustain the momentum for long. Consumer confidence indexes rose this month, but home prices fell according to the Case-Shiller index report this morning. The lower housing prices combined with a weaker dollar index held down equities but boosted most commodities. A renewed threat from Iran to close the critical Strait of Hormuz helped push up crude oil prices. WTI crude rose 1.61% to $101.28 and Brent crude is up 0.93% at $108.96. Gold prices fell again today, to $1,594.80, off -0.70%. Last minute selling appears to have pushed the DJIA to a lower close today.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 2 points to 12,291.73 (-0.02%), the NASDAQ rose more than 6 points (0.25%) to 2,625.20, and the S&P 500 rose 0.01% or less than 1 point to 1,265.47.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including VMWare Inc. (NYSE: VMW) raised to ‘outperform’ at Oppenheimer; Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) maintained ‘buy’ with a price target of $18 at BofA/Merrill Lynch; Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) Japanese target price cut by Barclays; Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) maintained ‘buy’ with a $28 price target at BofA/Merrill Lynch; and Sempra Energy Inc. (NYSE: SRE) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a $61 target price at Argus. Delphi Automotive (NYSE: DLPH) received four ratings this morning: initiated as ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; started as ‘buy’ at BofA/Merrill Lynch; started as ‘overweight’ at JPMorgan; and started as ‘outperform’ at R.W. Baird.

Here are today’s post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Cal-Maine Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: CALM) is up nearly 5% at $35.84; and DemandTec, Inc. (NASDAQ: DMAN), which is being acquired by IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM), is down about -0.04% at $13.13. This is the beginning of a very light week for earnings.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Sears Holding Co. (NASDAQ: SHLD) is down about -26% at $33.95, a new 52-week low. The department store has announced that it will miss its previous earnings forecast by at least 50% and that it will close another 100-120 stores. See more coverage here and here.

Computer Sciences Corp. (NYSE: CSC) is down more than -9% at $24.06. The technology and IT services company has said it may have to take a $1.5 billion writedown on a UK contract. More coverage here.

Parlux Fragrances Inc. (NASDAQ: PARL) is up more than 72% at $5.98, after posting a new 52-week high this morning of $6.60. The perfume maker is being acquired by Perfumania Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PERF) for about $170 million.

Whirlpool Corp. (NYSE: WHR) is down more than -8% at $46.95. The appliance maker, which makes products for Sears, is caught in that company’s dismal announcement.

Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. (NYSE: MHR) is up nearly 19% at $5.54. The oil & gas producer has raised its production estimate from 10,000 barrels/day of oil equivalent to 12,500 barrels/day.

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

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
11:30 a.m. – Four-week T-bill auction

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: CALM, CSC, DLPH, DMAN, EA, MHR, PARL, SHLD, SNE, SRE, VMW, WHR, YHOO

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (CF, DLPH, EA, EL, MCK, RSH, SRE, SNE, TDC, VMW, YHOO)

Administrator — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:29:02 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Tuesday morning. It is generally light in analyst coverage the week between Christmas and New Years, but there are also some great hidden gems during this time.

CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CF) named as value stock of the day by Zacks Investment Research.
Delphi Automotive (NYSE: DLPH) Initiated as Outperform at Credit Suisse; Started as Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Started as Overweight at J.P.Morgan; Started as Outperform at R.W. Baird.
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) Maintained Neutral with $28.00 price target at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE: EL) raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day by Zacks Investment Research.
McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day by Zacks Investment Research.
Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) Reiterated Buy with $61 price target objective at Argus.
Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) target cut in Japan by Barclays.
Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC) added to US 1 focus list at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) Maintained Buy with $18.00 price target objective at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: CF, DLPH, EA, EL, MCK, RSH, SNE, SRE, TDC, VMW, YHOO

Solar Prices Continue to Batter Industry (JKS, FSLR, TSL, JASO, STP, LDK, SPWRA, WFR, SRE)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 14:36:17 +0000

China’s JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS) has from its beginnings been viewed as a low-cost provider of solar PV panels. Unfortunately, competition in the sector has brought every other solar maker down into that space and JinkoSolar is feeling the pinch. The 40% slide in solar panel prices so far this year does the company no favors, and it highlights the importance of the trade case brought against Chinese solar makers by Germany’s SolarWorld and six other US solar makers.JinkoSolar has revised its third quarter shipments and revenue estimates down sharply. The company lowered its estimate of shipments from 230-250 megawatts to 210-220 megawatts. Revenues have been sliced from $310-$330 million to $270-$280 million. A simple-minded calculation indicates that JinkoSolar is selling panels for about $1.27/watt. That number is probably too simple-minded — and too high. Solar industry research firm Solarbuzz reports mono-crystalline retail prices of $1.28/watt and $1.31/watt for multi-crystalline panels. Thin-film panels, such as those made by First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) are reported to be selling for $1.25/watt.

Falling prices have been punishing the industry, and other low-cost Chinese providers like Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL), JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO), Suntech Powsr Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP), and LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) have taken a beating. Higher priced makers like SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWRA) are getting even more punishment. Solyndra is in bankruptcy now because it could not get its cost structure in line with the collapse in panel pricing.

The lower prices have had the expected effect though. Even as countries have lowered solar subsidies, falling panel prices have kept demand reasonably high because the cost of installing solar is reaching a point where it is price-competitive. Firms like First Solar, SunPower, MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) that have acquired project development companies are able to cope better with the decline in panel prices because they have both a captive and growing market.

There’s little argument that the falling price of modules have extended the market for solar PV, which is why the trade case filed by SolarWorld and the unnamed US solar panel makers is getting no support from firms like First Solar, SunPower, or MEMC. In fact, a rival group, called CASE, the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy, has been quickly put together to fight against the SolarWorld-led trade case.

Their argument is that falling prices for solar modules have brought solar generation prices down to near grid parity with coal and natural gas generation. Slapping a tariff on solar panels will essentially kill the gains made by the industry. In fact, a Chinese solar project developer has said that a 30% tariff on imported solar panels will make uneconomic $500 million in new solar developments the company has planned in the US.

US energy company Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) is building a 700-megawatt solar farm project near Phoenix that will use 200 megawatts of panels from Suntech. If the trade case is decided in favor of SolarWorld, panels from US makers like First Solar could be substituted, but the entire cost of the project would rise, changing the power purchase agreement that is the basis for the project and, ultimately perhaps, making the project uneconomic. The loss of the installation jobs would cost the US economy more than it would gain from having a US maker supply the panels. US makers build most of their panels overseas anyway.

SolarWorld is the largest maker of solar panels in the US, and employs about 1,300 workers at its plant near Portland, Oregon. A grand total of all US workers involved in making solar panels for distribution and sale could not exceed 3,000, while more than 52,000 US jobs are supported by solar installers. In terms of US job creation, the numbers support low-cost modules and high installation counts.

That JinkoSolar or some of the other solar makers may go bust is a near certainty. There are too many makers with too much capacity all angling for too few projects. But as module prices continue their decline, it becomes unnecessary for governments to subsidize more solar installations and more solar projects are very likely to make it off the drawing board.

One solar industry official (from a project installer) has likened the fight over dumping to a circular firing squad, where everyone is going to take some hits. The survivors will be those who bleed the least.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Alternative Energy, Green Biz Tagged: FSLR, JASO, JKS, LDK, SPWRA, SRE, STP, TSL, WFR

Beyond Solar Death… More Federal Loan Guarantees For Solar (UTX, SRE, STP, FSLR, NVE, PLD, BAC)

Administrator — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:02:20 +0000

Despite the debacle with a $535 million loan guarantee to now-bankrupt Solyndra, the US Department of Energy is pressing ahead with loan guarantees to solar projects ahead of tomorrow’s deadline. Two guarantees were announced yesterday and six more remain in the hopper. Some Republican congressmen have accused the Obama administration of rushing the loan guarantees to beat the looming deadline.

The loans approved yesterday include a $737 million guarantee to privately held SolarReserve LLC, a joint venture between United Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UTX) and private equity firm US Renewables Group. The second approval, for $337 million, was awarded to Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), which plans to use solar panels manufactured in Arizona by China’s Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP).

To date the US DoE has invested some $40 billion in 40 clean energy projects, including solar PV and solar thermal, geothermal, wind, and a new nuclear power plant. First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) lost a $1.9 billion federal guarantee for its Topaz project when it apparently let its application lapse as it negotiates a deal for private capital.

SolarReserve’s Crescent Dunes project is a 110-megawatt concentrating solar power tower that will use molten salt as its heat transfer and storage medium. The molten salt allows the plant to store heat generated by the sun during the day and then use the heat at night to generate steam to produce electricity. The project is expected to employ 600 people during construction and 45 people in permanent positions once the plant is operational. The project is located near Tonopah, Nevada. SolarReserve has a power purchase agreement with NV Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NVE).

Sempra’s Mesquite Solar project is a 150-megawatt solar PV farm located near Phoenix, Arizona. It is expected to provide about 300 construction jobs and will purchase at least a portion of the required panels from the recently opened Suntech manufacturing plant. Sempra has a 20-year power purchase agreement with Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

Of the projects awaiting decisions from the DoE, SolarCity’s $344 million project to install rooftop solar panels on military base housing will not meet tomorrow’s deadline. Two more projects from First Solar remain in the running. Both the 230-megawatt Antelope Valley project, with a conditional guarantee of $680 million, and the 550-megawatt Desert Sunlight project, with a partial guarantee of $1.88 billion, are still in the running. Sunpower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWRA) is seeking a guarantee of nearly $1.2 billion for its 250-megawatt California Valley Solar Ranch project.

Perhaps the most interesting project remaining in play is Project Amp, a $2.6 billion project to finance solar installations on US commercial and industrial rooftops. The project is owned by ProLogis (NYSE: PLD), and is seeking a guarantee of up to 80% on $1.4 billion in debt financing that is being underwritten by Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC).

It’s also worth noting that tomorrow’s deadline for federal action applies only to so-called Section 1705 projects. Newer technologies like concentrating solar PV fall under Section 1703 of the law and will still be eligible for consideration.

The barometer for solar is often in the Guggenheim Solar (NYSE: TAN) ETF and it is more of an agnostic solar player that wins only if the whole sector (or its largest components) have share gains. Its shares are up 0.6% at $3.45 today, but shares also hit a new 52-week low of $3.40 and are down from over $9.00. This has been brutal so far, and things aren’t getting better for the solar makers.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Alternative Energy, Green Biz, Politics, Regulation, Utilities Tagged: BAC, FSLR, NVE, PLD, SRE, STP, UTX

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (CAR, COO, GE, MPEL, TAP, NOK, RJET, RIMM, SRE, SINA, SPLS, SRCL, RIG)

Administrator — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 12:29:53 +0000

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

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NYSE: CAR) Reiterated Strong Buy at Zacks.
The Cooper Companies (NYSE: COO) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Reiterated Neutral and $21 target at BofA/ML.
Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL) Reiterated Overweight but raised target to $14.50 at Morgan Stanley.
Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) Cut to Hold at Wunderlich.
Republic Airways Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: RJET) Raised to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Maintained Hold but cut target to $40 at Canaccord Genuity.
Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Sina Corporation (NASDAQ: SINA) Maintained Outperform but cut target to $128 at Credit Suisse.
Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) called Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Stericycle, Inc. (NASDAQ: SRCL) Raised to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Transocean Ltd. Co. (NYSE: RIG) Raised to Buy at Argus.

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: CAR, COO, GE, MPEL, NOK, RIG, RIMM, RJET, SINA, SPLS, SRCL, SRE, TAP

Why Fund & Income Investors Are Drawn to Utilities (XLU, SO, EXC, D, IDU, RYU, CEG, NRG, NI, PCS, VZ, UPW, NEE, UTF, UTG, DNP, FSTUX, CMS, POR, RYAUX, FE, FKUTX, SRE)

Administrator — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:15:06 +0000

When the going gets tough, the tough often play defense — out of risky assets and into those assets that offer more security and some dividend upside. One choice is utilities, where investments are protected and dividend income is steady. We’ve taken a look at several utilities ETFs, closed-end funds, and mutual funds that answer the call both for defensive purposes and for yields.

The ETFs include Utilities Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLU), iShares Dow Jones US Utilities (NYSE: IDU), Rydex S&P Equal Weight Utilities (NYSE: RYU), and Ulta Utilities ProShares (NYSE: UPW). The closed-end funds we looked at include Cohen & Steers Utility Fund Inc. (NYSE: UTF), Reaves Utility Income Fund (AMEX: UTG), Wells Fargo Advantage Utilities and High Income Fund (AMEX: ERH), and DNP Select Income Fund, Inc. (NYSE: DNP). The mutual funds we looked included Invesco Utilities Investor (FSTUX), Rydex Utilities (RYAUX), and Franklin Utilities A (FKUTX).

The utilities sector posts a price/earnings ratio of 18.50, higher than the tech, financial, conglomerates, and materials sectors. The sector’s return on equity is the lowest of all but the financial sector, but its dividend yield of 3.94% is higher than any other sector.

Utilities Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLU) holds net assets of $4.33 billion and it’s year-to-date return is 6.81%, while its yield is 3.94%. XLU’s three largest holdings are Southern Company (NYSE: SO) at 8.32.% of assets, Exelon Corp. (NYSE: EXC), and Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE: D). The fund’s 52-week range is $27.92-$34.30, and it closed last week at $33.19. Shares are up about 18% in the past 12 months and about 19% from the annual low.

iShares Dow Jones US Utilities (NYSE: IDU) claims net assets of $511 million and its year-to-date return is 7.94%, while its yield is 3.57%. It’s three largest holdings are also Southern Company (6.39%), Exelon, and Dominion. The fund’s 52-week range is $67.94-$84.54, and it closed last week at $81.85. Shares are up nearly 20% in the past 12 months, and about the same from the annual low.

Rydex S&P Equal Weight Utilities (NYSE: RYU) has net assets of $24.5 million, and its year-to-date return is 7.48%, while its yield is 3.27%. Its top three holdings are Constellation Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE: CEG), which is being acquired by Exelon, at 2.7% of total assets, NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG), and NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI). RYU also includes some communications stocks, such as MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE: PCS) and Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ). As its name would lead you to believe, its tenth-largest holding accounts for 2.54% of total assets. The fund’s 52-week range is $43.51-$56.28, and it closed last week at $54.47. Shares are up about 24% in the past 12 months and about 25% from the annual low.

ProShares Ultra Utilities (NYSE: UPW) has net assets of $14.45 million, and its year-to-date return is 15.65%, while its yield is 2.32%. Its top three holdings are Southern Company at 5.62%, Exelon, and NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE). The fund’s 52-week range is $32.19-$50.52, and it closed last week at $47.37. Shares are up about 45% in the past 12 months and about 47% from the annual low.

Filed under: Corporate Governance, Defensive Stocks, Dividend, ETF, Mutual Funds Tagged: CEG, CMS, D, DNP, EXC, FE, FKUTX, FSTUX, IDU, NEE, NI, NRG, PCS, POR, RYAUX, RYU, SO, SRE, UPW, UTF, UTG, VZ, XLU

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ALEX, BIDU, CNP, DPM, FSYS, GS, LVS, MS, MOS, RHT, SRE, SFG, STRI, TSCO, URBN, WFMI)

Administrator — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 12:27:52 +0000

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

Alexander & Baldwin (NASDAQ: ALEX) Raised to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) Cut to Neutral at Mizuho (overseas).
CenterPoint Energy Inc. (NYSE: CNP) Reiterated Buy with $20 target at Argus.
DCP Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE: DPM) Started as Outperform and $45 target at Credit Suisse.
Fuel Systems Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSYS) Reiterated Underperform at BofA/ML.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) lowered estimates but maintained $190 price target by Credit Suisse.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) Added to Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) Cut to Sector Perform at Scotia.
Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT) Reiterated Buy and target raised to $57 at BofA/ML.
Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) Reiterated Buy with $61 target at Argus.
StanCorp Financial (NYSE: SFG) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
STR Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: STRI) Cut to Sell at Auriga.
Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ: TSCO) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $65 at BofA/ML.
Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Maintained Buy with $40 target at BofA/ML.
Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI) Reiterated Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

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

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ALEX, BIDU, CNP, DPM, FSYS, GS, LVS, MOS, MS, RHT, SFG, SRE, STRI, TSCO, URBN, WFMI