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Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AIG, BV, BIIB, BX, CIEN, IBM, MCD, NVO, SNDK, SON, LUV, SBUX, SYY, TLAB, UAL)

Administrator — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:24:39 +0000

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

American International Group (NYSE: AIG) Raised to Outperform at Bernstein.

Bazaarvoice Inc. (NASDAQ: BV) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse; Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley; Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank..

Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE: BX) added to Top Pick list at Citigroup.

Ciena Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) removed from Conviction Buy List but maintained as Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO) Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank.

SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) Cut to Outperform at RBC.

Sonoco Products Co. (NYSE: SON) Started as Equal-weight at Barclays.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) Added to Conviction Buy List as Goldman Sachs.

Sysco Corporation (NYSE: SYY) Started as Sell at Goldman Sachs.

Tellabs Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.

United Continental Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: UAL) Cut to Equal-weight at Barclays.

If you enjoyed the top analyst upgrades and downgrades, you can join our free email newsletter that includes analyst summaries each morning sent right to your inbox. We also cover top issues such as IPOs, special financial exclusives, mergers and more. Sign up in the box below.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AIG, BIIB, BV, BX, CIEN, IBM, LUV, MCD, NVO, SBUX, SNDK, SON, SYY, TLAB, UAL

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (FDX, WY, CMA, GLW, RDS-A, IDTI, MCK, PCL, CYOU, HUM, LAZ, L, SYY, SURW, CHUX, SOHU, GBG, DNDN)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:07:48 +0000

US equity markets opened lower this morning and never moved into positive territory all day. Greek debt swap negotiations made no discernible progress today and there was no scheduled data on tap to move the market one way or the other. The dollar picked up strength against the euro today, but faltered against the British pound and the Japanese yen. The dollar index rose 0.1385 to 79.051. Crude oil was mixed with WTI crude down -0.76% at $97.10/barrel and Brent crude up 1.39% at $116.17/barrel. Gold closed down -0.9% at $1,724.90/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 17 points to 12,845.20 (-0.13%), the NASDAQ fell almost 4 points (-0.13%) to 2,901.99, and the S&P 500 fell -0.04% or less than 1 point to 1,344.33.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) raised to ‘buy’ at BofA/ML; Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY) cut to ‘sell’ at UBS; Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) raised to ‘outperform’ at RBS; Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) raised to ‘outperform’ at Piper Jaffray; and Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A) cut to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse.

Earnings reports since markets closed last week have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Integrated Device Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: IDTI) is down -0.98% at $6.60; McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK) is up 1.71% at $82.18; Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. (NYSE: PCL) is up 0.32% at $39.81; Changyou.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: CYOU) is down -12.43% at $25.50; Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is down -5.8% at $84.90; Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is down -4.3% at $27.65; Loews Corp. (NYSE: L) is down -0.85% at $38.28; and Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY) is down -4% at $29.66.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

SureWest Communications (NASDAQ: SURW) is up more than 44% at $22.50 after posting a new 52-week high of $22.69 earlier. The telecom provider has agreed to be acquired by Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSL) for about $341 million, or $23/share.

O’Charley’s Inc. (NASDAQ: CHUX) is up nearly 42% at $9.81 after posting a new 52-week high of $9.88. The company has agreed to be acquired by Fidelity National Financial Inc. (NYSE: FNF) for $221 million, about $9.85/share.

Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) is down nearly -15% at $53.61. The Chinese internet company posted solid earnings, but its Q1 forecast was below expectations.

Great Basin Gold Ltd. (AMEX: GBG) is down -11% at $1.05. The junior gold miner reported preliminary results today that were worse than expected and lowered first quarter production estimates.

Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN) is up about 17.6% at $16.66. The drug maker is getting a boost from a negative report on a prostate cancer drug treatment that would compete with Dendreon’s Provenge.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before Senate Budget Committee. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

11:30 a.m. – 4- and 52-week Treasury bill auction
3:00 p.m. – Consumer credit report

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: CHUX, CMA, CYOU, DNDN, FDX, GBG, GLW, HUM, IDTI, L, LAZ, MCK, PCL, RDS-A, SOHU, SURW, SYY, WY

November Share Buybacks Already Nearing $30 Billion (ALL, AIG, CBS, FIS, PFE, RAI, SBUX, SYY, TMO, VIA, VRX, PKW)

Administrator — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:57:30 +0000

Some companies just want to keep bringing on new share buybacks whether they work or not. Some are to stop dilution from acquisitions or employee stock options, while others are to reduce the float and to boost earnings per share. Many investors (and companies) consider buybacks an alternative (or replacement) to dividends.

We have tracked only the large buyback announcements made this month in the following companies: The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL); American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG); CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS); Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (NYSE: FIS); Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE); Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI); Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX); Sysco Corporation (NYSE: SYY); Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (NYSE: TMO); Viacom, Inc. (NYSE: VIA-B); and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE: VRX).

As far as how share buybacks in general matter for stocks, you can always play the buyback leaders via the PowerShares Buyback Achievers (NYSE: PKW), and it is almost exactly in the middle of its 52-week trading range. Those buybacks outlined below do not include the many $150 million, $100 million, and lower buybacks. The tally all said and done here so far in just the first half of November of 2011: over $27 billion!!!

The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is trying to tell shareholders they are in good hands because the announcement over the next 18 months is that it would repurchase up to $1 billion in common stock. The market cap today is just over $13 billion.

How can American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) have a share buyback program? It announced in early November that it would buy back up to $1 billion in stock. The $43 billion in market cap is one thing, but the amount of shares still owned by Uncle Sam (or taxpayers) is huge. Actually, maybe this supports the stock value for us all!

CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS) added to its prior plan and has authorized the repurchase of up to $1.5 billion in stock. The current market cap is $16.5 billion, so we’ll leave it up to you to decide if this buyout matters or not.

Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (NYSE: FIS) announced on November 1 that it was approving for up to $500 million in share buybacks over the next two years. This compares to $7.4 billion in market capitalization.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) recently expanded its buyback program and it is now authorized to repurchase up to $7 billion worth of common stock. This is a huge amount but it sounds small when you consider a $151 billion market cap.

Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) this week announced a $2.5 billion share buyback plan which is good for the next two and a half years. This is more than 10% of the company’s stock as the market cap is $23 billion. Institutions own 46% of Reynolds.

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) recently added to its prior buyback plan with up to 20 million shares. This is more than $850 million at current prices, which compares to a market cap of $32.5 billion.

Sysco Corporation (NYSE: SYY) recently boosted its dividend but it also announced that it would repurchase up to 20 million shares of common stock. This represents about $550 million today and its market cap is just over $16 billion.

Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (NYSE: TMO) recently added $750 million to its prior buyback plan and its market capitalization is $18.5 billion. The company had only $25 million remaining under a prior buyback and the new buyback is over the course of a year because it expires on November 9, 2012.

Viacom, Inc. (NYSE: VIA-B) must want to try to take itself private. The market cap is just under $25 billion, but the company recently announced with its positive earnings report that it is expanding its buyback to $10 billion. While this was an expansion of a prior plan, $10 billion is a massive sum.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE: VRX) is a bit odd. While it announced that it would spend up to $1.5 billion repurchasing securities, this was listed as a buyback of stock and/or debt. Its market cap is $13.25 billion today.

Company	$ (Millions)
Allstate	$1,000
AIG	$1,000
CBS	$1,500
FNIS	$500
Pfizer	$7,000
Reynolds	$2,500
Starbucks	$850
Sysco	$550
Thermo Fisher	$750
Viacom	$10,000
Valeant	$1,500
November’s Tally	$27,150

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Activist Investor, Compensation, Corporate Governance, Dividend, Economy, Editor's Picks, Insider Activity, Large Cap Stocks, Mergers and Buy Outs, Stock Buybacks Tagged: AIG, ALL, CBS, FIS, PFE, PKW, RAI, SBUX, SYY, TMO, VIA, VRX

The Top Stock Gainers Of The Week (SYY, DF, M, NFLX)

247wallst — Sat, 14 May 2011 12:32:18 +0000

Sysco’s (NYSE: SYY) earnings, which were announced last Monday, drove the stock higher by nearly 13%. Goldman Sachs commented that Dean Foods (NYSE: DF) share price could double in two years. Macy’s NYSE: M) surged on strong earnings. Shareholders pushed into Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) as the movie rental company said it would move more of its business to wireless portable devices.

S&P 500 WEEK TOP 10 (6 MAY – 12 MAY)	Ticker	Weekly Price Change (%)	Close Price 12May11	Close Price 6May11	Market Cap ($Mil)
Sysco Corp	SYY	12.6	32.09	28.51	18699.1
Dean Foods Co	DF	11.9	12.28	10.97	2249.3
Macy’s Inc	M	9.7	28.62	26.08	12186.6
Harman International Industries Inc.	HAR	7.5	49.63	46.17	3457.7
Adobe Systems Inc	ADBE	7.4	35.86	33.40	18089.9
BMC Software Inc	BMC	7.2	54.70	51.02	9770.6
Juniper Networks Inc	JNPR	7.2	39.81	37.14	21264.8
Netflix Inc	NFLX	7.1	245.77	229.47	12900.7
Apollo Group Inc	APOL	6.9	42.79	40.01	6038.9
Kohl’s Corp	KSS	6.6	55.68	52.22	16170.5
Source: Capital IQ

Filed under: Research Tagged: ADBE, APOL, BMC, DF, HAR, JNPR, KSS, NFLX, SYY

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AA, CP, ENDP, GE, GS, MS, PBR, SYY, AAPL)

Administrator — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 13:21:54 +0000

The research calls are running light this week with many firms still on skeleton crews. These are some of this Thursday’s key analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls.

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) Reiterated Buy and $18 target at Argus.
Canadian Pacific Railway (NYSE: CP) Maintained Neutral but cut estimates at BofA/ML.
Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ENDP) Reiterated Buy and Raised target to $43 at BofA/ML.
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Maintained Neutral at Zacks.
Goldman Sachs Group. Inc. (NYSE: GS) Maintained Outperform with $190 target but cut estimates at Credit Suisse.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) Maintained Outperform with $35 target but cut estimates at Credit Suisse.
Petroleo Brasileiro (NYSE: PBR) Maintained Neutral and $43 target at Credit Suisse.
SYSCO Corporation (NYSE: SYY) Maintained Hold but raised 2011-2012 estimates at Argus.

This week we began the year-end crunch over future valuations for 2011 and expectations ahead. We took a look at the full 360-degree review for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) to evaluate whether it can live up to expectations as a stock in 2011 and beyond. We also made a biotech review for the big biotechs with the most upside in 2011 based upon analyst expectations and more.

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

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AA, AAPL, CP, ENDP, GE, GS, MS, PBR, SYY

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ALKS, MO, BBY, FDO, N, PRX, PCLN, PLD, SYY, TLAB)

Administrator — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:08:10 +0000

These are some of this Thursday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research notes:

Alkermes, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS) Started as Buy at UBS.
Altria Group Inc.(NYSE: MO) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) Raised to Top Pick at RBC.
Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (NYSE: FDO) Raised to Buy at S&P Equity Research (late Weds call).
NetSuite Inc. (NYSE: N) Cut to Hold at Needham.
Par Pharmaceutical Companies inc. (NYSE: PRX) Started as Buy at UBS.
Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) Target raised to $413 at JPMorgan.
ProLogis Trust (NYSE: PLD) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Sysco Corporation (NYSE: SYY) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Tellabs Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB) Cut to Market Perform at Morgan Keegan.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ALKS, BBY, FDO, MO, N, PCLN, PLD, PRX, SYY, TLAB

Top Dividends From Food and Your Belly (ARKR, EAT, WMK, SVU, SYY, CAG, KO, HNZ, KFT)

Administrator — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 12:05:58 +0000

Dividends and income from your belly… We have decided to start taking some high-yield reviews of key sectors this week now that earnings season is past the half-way mark. Dividends in food via restaurants, grocery chains, producers and even distributors and wholesalers are all easily obtainable for the income investor. If the highest dividends were from large-cap stocks then it was left there. If there was a small micro-cap then we included the outfits down to the closest mid-cap or large-cap or actively traded stocks.

Ark Restaurants Corp. (NASDAQ: ARKR) is a thin volume restaurant trade, with a micro-cap level and one with an active dividend that is very high with a 7.35% yield. This $0.25 per quarter payout is also lower than it was paid from July 2007 to October 2008. At $13.60, the 52-week range is $12.43 to $19.00 and the market cap here is only just shy of $50 million.

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE: EAT) is the next on the list in public chain restaurants with a yield of 3.50%. The owner of Chili’s and other chains has a $1.6 billion market cap after its $15.72 close on Friday, it trades almost 1.8 million shares, and its 52-week range is $12.39 to $21.12. This new highest sector dividend is based upon a recently hiked payout from $0.11 to $0.14 per quarter after having a static dividend since December 2007. The $0.56 annualized payout compares to Fiscal June-2011 earnings estimates of $1.41 EPS from Thomson Reuters, so it has ample dividend coverage.

Weis Markets, Inc. (NYSE: WMK) is an unknown grocery store chain to most, but that is because it is a regional chain in and around Pennsylvania. Its $0.29 per share dividend has been in place since early 2006 and gives off a dividend yield of 3.30%. The $35.85 share price stock trades about 66,000 shares a day and it has a market cap of $964 million and a 52-week range of $30.51 to $38.32.

SUPERVALU Inc. (NYSE: SVU) is the highest payout of the larger grocery chains with a 3.20% dividend yield. The owner of Albertson’s, Jewel-Osco, and other grocery chains at $0.088 per quarter has a lower payout than it used to, recently saw a large drop in net income and said its CFO was leaving. At $11.28, its trades over 4 million shares a day and has a market cap of about $2.4 billion; its 52-week range is $10.40 to $17.89.

Sysco Corporation (NYSE: SYY) leads the food distribution and wholesale companies with a 3.20% dividend yield. At $30.97 and an $18+ billion market cap it has a 52-week trading range of $23.41 to $31.99. The $0.25 dividend has been the same for each of the last three quarters and the company has a habit of hiking its payouts each four quarters. Earnings estimates for Fiscal June-2011 are $2.03 EPS from Thomson Reuters.

ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) is classified as a packaged food player but in many cases is also considered a large wholesaler per its stock classification. Its market cap is $10.4 billion and the $23.48 share price generates a yield of about 3.4% Its 52-week range is $19.00 to $26.32.

In soft drinks, water, and beverages, The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) takes the lead as having the highest dividend yield at 3.20%. The DJIA component trades at $55.11 and has a 52-week range of $47.42 to $59.45. It’s Coke! What more needs to be said?

Of the large diversified food producers, there was a virtual tie between H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE: HNZ) and Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT). Heinz is the one that recently raised its dividend to $0.45 from $0.42 per quarter and the stock trades with a yield of 4.04% based upon a price of $44.48; its 52-week trading range is $37.30 to $47.84. Kraft Foods has recently changed its business with the Cadbury deal and its $0.29 dividend has been static since Summer-2008. At $29.21, its yield comes to 3.97% and its 52-week range is $25.72 to $31.09.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Dividend, Food, Retail Tagged: ARKR, CAG, EAT, HNZ, KFT, KO, SVU, SYY, WMK

Top Stocks from Top Managers (BAC, CMCSA, RF, CIT, C, AFL, NWS, KO, SYY, BCR)

Administrator — Wed, 05 May 2010 14:31:53 +0000

Many investors chase famous and well-known portfolio managers’ newest stock picks. After all, if you can piggyback on Warren Buffett, Bruce Berkowitz, and others… why not? Morningstar has shown some of its top managers as Fairholme, Yacktman, Columbia Value & Restructuring, Dodge & Cox, and Hartford Capital Appreciation. More importantly, it has shown some of their “highest conviction purchases” with a current share price compared to what each feels is a fair value for the stock. These are Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) at 0.71-times fair value; Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) at 0.82-times fair value; Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) at 0.88-times fair value; CIT Group, Inc. (NYSE: CIT); Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) at 0.67-times fair value; AFLAC Inc. (NYSE: AFL) at 1.04-times fair value; News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS) at 1.1-times fair value; The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) at 0.94-times fair value; Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY) at 0.9-times fair value; and CR Bard Inc. (NYSE: BCR) at 1.03-times fair value.

Read the full article and detailed analysis from The Morningstar Ultimate Stock-Pickers Team.

Filed under: Activist Investor, Analyst Calls, Banking, Editor's Picks, Financial Stocks, Mutual Funds, Research Tagged: AFL, BAC, BCR, C, CIT, CMCSA, KO, NWS, RF, SYY

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (BIDU, EQR, FTR, JASO, ERIC, MOT, S, STP, SYY, TWC)

247wallst — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:54:17 +0000

These are this Tuesday’s top ten analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen early this morning from Wall Street research calls:

Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) Started as Hold at Kaufman Bros.
Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
Frontier Communications (NYSEL FTR) Cut to Underperform at D.A.Davidson.
JA Solar Holdings Co. (NASDAQ: JASO) Raised to Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.
L.M. Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) Raised to Overweight at HSBC.
Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) STarted as Outperform at Bernstein.
Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) Cut to Neutral at Pali Research.
Suntech Power (NYSE: STP) Raised to Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.
Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) Started as Buy at Needham.

You can join our open email distribution list to hear more news on key analyst calls, top day trader alerts, mergers and acquisitions, Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: BIDU, EQR, ERIC, FTR, JASO, MOT, S, STP, SYY, TWC

Top 10 Analyst Calls (CMG, FTO, GS, NTAP, OSG, SBUX, SYY, TK, WRI, YUM)

247wallst — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 11:58:57 +0000

These are the top 10 analyst calls we have seen early this Wednesday morning from Wall Street:

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) Raised to Outperform at William Blair.
Frontier Oil (FTO) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Goldman Sachs (GS) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Network Appliance (NTAP) Raised to Buy at Merriman Curhan Ford.
Overseas Shuipholding (OSG) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Starbucks (SBUX) Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank.
Sysco (SYY) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Teekay (TK) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Weingarten Realty (WRI) Raised to Market Perform at Wachovia.
YUM Brands (YUM) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: CMG, FTO, GS, NTAP, OSG, SBUX, SYY, TK, WRI, YUM