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Investors Seeking Defensive Stocks Where 3% to Over 5% Dividends Rule!

Administrator — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:14:54 +0000

A stock market that sells off eight of nine days is not a good market. Even the Facebook IPO is being viewed as a one-off item rather than a systemic item which will make the market stronger. With “Sell in May and go away!” remaining prevalent and with Europe in meltdown as Asia slows, the big question is where to hide. Some investors just refuse to accept the floor-level rates of CDs and Treasury bills and Treasury notes, so they go hide out in the defensive stocks like tobacco, consumer staples, basic level food, utilities, big-pharma, and maybe even those high-yields in telecom. This is a market where defensive stocks should rule the roost.

People are going to buy Coke and Pepsi, most likely, in almost any economy. Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is actually up 0.6% at $67.23 against a 52-week high of $71.89; Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is down 0.6% at $76.95 against a 52-week high of $77.82. With yields of about 3% on average, these pay about the same as the 30-Year Treasury’s long-bond. The beer segment remains uncorrelated to defensive stocks as it did last week (in part due to currencies): Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (NYSE: BUD) is down by 0.7% at $71.43 and Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP) is down 1.2% at $40.81. Even the best water utility in America via American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) is down another 1% $33.99 against a 52-week and all-time high of $34.89.

Food is supposed to be defensive. You gotta eat, right? McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is down almost 0.4% at $91.55 and getting further and further away from that $102.22 all-time high recently seen. The rest of the defensive food segment is up to mixed as food is defensive and with dividends:

Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) is up 0.4% at $39.20 with a 3% yield that challenges the long-bond;
ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) is down 0.2% at $25.67 with a 3.7% yield that beats the long-bond;
Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) is up 0.25% at $34.49 with a 3.4% yield that beats the long-bond;
Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) is down only 0.1% at $29.08 but its 2.1% yield is ‘only’ paying what the 10-year has been paying recently.

Smoking has those nice 5%-plus yields for the defensive tobacco sector: Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) is down only 0.1% at $31.75 against a 52-week high of $32.62; Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE: VGR) is down 0.5% at $16.73; and Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) is down only 0.2% at $40.41 against a high of $42.81.

Diapers, toothpaste, deodorant, and shaving… consumer products are acting defensive: Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) is down only 0.3% at $63.50 with a 3.5% yield; Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB) is up by 0.3% at $79.62 with a 3.7% yield; Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) is down 0.1% at $99.20 but it only pays about 2.5% for a dividend yield.

Drug and medical is mixed to positive: Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) is up by over 0.8% at $38.35 with its 4.4% yield; Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is down only $0.01 at $22.64 with its 3.9% yield; and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is down 0.5% at $64.00 with its 3.8% yield.

Those smartphones and telephones are not acting defensive at all today with Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) down 0.9% at $40.80 with its 5% yield and with AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T) down 0.7% at $33.36 with a 5.4% yield.

Some investors are willing to suffer from the near-zero return of Treasuries, while others are going to try to look for the safest of stocks to seek safe and steady dividends. The DJIA is down 0.7% and the S&P 500 was down 0.6% at last look. Both are actually much better than what we were looking at just two hours or so ago.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Defensive Stocks, Dividend Tagged: AWK, BUD, CAG, CL, CPB, HRL, JNJ, KFT, KMB, KO, MCD, MO, MRK, PEP, PFE, PG, RAI, T, TAP, VGR, VZ

The Market Where Defensive Shares Are Working Again (PEP, KO, BUD, TAP, AWK, MCD, KFT, CAG, CPB, HRL, MO, VGR, RAI, PG, KMB, CL, MRK, PFE, JNJ, T, VZ)

Administrator — Tue, 08 May 2012 16:07:03 +0000

Blame whatever you want. A weaker U.S. economy, a weakening and flailing Europe, a move to socialism in France and Greece, a weaker BRIC and emerging market story, commodity prices and on and on… Commodity prices and their tracking shares are getting hosed today. Why does the “Sell in May and go away!” profile often coincide with sell-offs so well?

After the weakness in the broad market has the DJIA down 140 points (or -1.1%) and the S&P 500 Index down 15 points or 1.1%, it turns out that most of the defensive stock sector leaders are holding up far better than the broad market in our go-to defensive stock portfolio. We have taken a look at each of these with share price snapshots right before Noon EST.

No matter what, you gotta drink! Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is down 0.5% at $66.28 against a 52-week high of $71.89; Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is down 0.4% at $76.97 against a 52-week high of $77.82. With yields of about 3% on average, these are now challenging the 30-Year Treasury yields. The beer segment is not acting defensive as it should, perhaps because they are foreign issues now with more currency risks: Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (NYSE: BUD) and Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP) are not acting very defensive with price corrections of 3% and 2$ respectively.

Perhaps the most defensive you can get is water, and the top water utility is American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) with a premium valuation. This water leader is down 0.8% at $33.73 against a 52-week and all-time high of $34.89.

Food is supposed to be defensive, although a drop of 1.5% in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) to $94.10 is causing some added stress in what was the darling of the DJIA in 2011. The rest of the defensive food segment seems to be less damaged when you evaluate the moves: Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) is down only 0.4% at $39.11; ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) is down 0.7% at $25.52; Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) is down only 0.3% at $33.97; and Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) is down only 1 penny at $28.92 as the world is getting excited about Spam again.

Smoking is defensive again and the tobacco stocks are holding up much better than the broad market with those 5% and higher dividends: Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) is down only $0.3% at $32.10 against a 52-week high of $32.62; Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE: VGR) is down only 0.2% at $16.88; and Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) is down only 0.2% at $40.18 against a high of $42.81.

Shaving, diapers, toilet paper, and other consumer products are acting defensive with some gains on a weak day. Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) is trading up $0.11 at $64.36 and Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB) is up $0.08 at $79.08 with KMB challenging the 52-week high. Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) is down ‘only’ 0.5% at $99.10 against a 52-week high of $100.81.

Drug and medical is holding up on the consumer end with losses look far less than the broader market: Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) is down 0.35% at $38.40; Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is down 0.3% at $22.38; and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is down the least with a drop of 0.2% at $64.65 against a 52-week high of $68.05.

Those smartphones and telephones are somewhat defensive, and those 5%-plus yields sure shield investors who are worried about chasing the hottest growth stocks. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) is down only 1-penny at $40.52 with a 5% dividend yield and AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T) is actually up 0.2% at $33.08 with a yield of about 5.4%.

When investors want safety and when the Treasury yield is so low on the longer-term Treasury market, many investors turn to the safety of the higher dividends and safer stocks that are defensive. Greece and the rest of PIIGS may fall again, but the logic is that U.S. consumers still have to eat, drink, shave, put on deodorant, and tend to stick with their core vices as best as they can.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Consumer Goods, Defensive Stocks, Dividend, Drug companies, Food, Telecom, Tobacco Tagged: AWK, BUD, CAG, CL, CPB, HRL, JNJ, KFT, KMB, KO, MCD, MO, MRK, PEP, PFE, PG, RAI, T, TAP, VGR, VZ

Budweiser Sales Rise, InBev Shares Falter (BUD, TAP, SAM, SBMRY)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:16:39 +0000

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE: BUD) reported first quarter earnings this morning that beat consensus estimates for EPS and barely missed revenues, but the company’s shares are lower on concerns about US sales, rising costs, rising distribution expenses, and rising marketing costs.

AB InBev posted EPS of $1.06 versus the consensus estimate of $0.91 and revenue of $9.33 billion against a consensus estimate of $9.36 billion. EPS was 75% higher than the same period a year ago. Molson Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE: TAP) is expected to post EPS of $0.42 on revenue of $703.83 million for the first quarter, down a penny from the same period a year ago. Boston Brewing Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM) is expected to post EPS of $0.40, up from $0.28 a year ago, on revenue of $112.13 million. SABMiller PLC (OTC: SBMRY.PK) is expected to haul in EPS of $1.89 on revenue of $19.23 billion for the 2012 fiscal year.

AB InBev’s outlook is weighing on the share price this morning. The company front-loaded US shipments in the first quarter, and anticipates “softer shipments in the US in 2Q12 as a result.” The company also expects a boost in the minimum wage in Brazil, its second largest market, to “accelerate industry beer volumes. The company also forecasts revenue to “grow ahead of inflation.”

The less-good nes is that cost of sales is expected to increase by “mid single digits,” and AB InBev’s distribution expenses are expected to rise “by mid to high single digits.” The company plans to “continue to drive top-line performance by investing behind our brands.” To investors, that all sounds like running hard in order to remain in the same place.

AB InBev’s shares are down about -0.7% this morning at $72.12 in a 52-week range of $49.05-$74.31.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Earnings, Food Tagged: BUD, featured, SAM, SBMRY, TAP

Molson Coors Buys European Brewer (TAP, BUD)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:57:24 +0000

North American brewing giant Molson Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE: TAP) has announced the acquisition of StarBev L.P., a Central and Eastern European brewer based in The Netherlands and the Czech Republic, for $3.54 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2012.

Molson Coors said that it will pay for StarBev with $3 billion in cash and debt and up to $667 million in convertible debt issued to the seller, private equity firm CVC Funds, which bought StarBev from Anheuser Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD) in 2009. Molson Coors also expects the acquisition to boost earnings in its first full year of operation and plans approximately $50 million in operational savings by 2015.

Molson Coors’ shares are down a penny in the pre-market this morning, at $45.65 in a 52-week range of $37.99-$49.58.

Filed under: Food, Mergers and Buy Outs Tagged: BUD, TAP

Light Beers Looking for More Drinkers (TAP, BUD, SBMRY)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 13:02:50 +0000

The light beer revolution that was launched in the mid-1970s has been having a rough time lately. Though the global market for light beet remains around $50 billion annually, beer sales in general and light beer sales in particular have been declining.

A joint venture between Molson Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE: TAP) and SABMiller (OTC: SBMRY.PK), dubbed MillerCoors LLC, is getting ready to spend big on advertising in the next few months to try to convince drinkers to come back to the light stuff. Anheuser Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD), brewers of Bud Light, hasn’t announced a new ad push, but clearly the company also has something to protect. Brewers are losing share, and shelf space, to wines and craft beers and need somehow to halt the slide.

A report at Bloomberg News notes that four of the top five selling beers in the US are light beers, which would seem to be good news. But that’s only part of the story:

Still, as consumers turn to more exciting alternatives, U.S. beer sales volumes have dropped for three straight years, including a 1.5 percent decline in 2011, according to the Beverage Information Group, a Norwalk, Connecticut-based researcher. Coors Light — the only Top 5 U.S. beer still growing — posted a 1 percent increase last year, the same as in 2010.

Advertising made Miller Light and Coors Light the phenomena they became. Now it has to pull off the same trick again, to breathe some new life into a product whose time may be past.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Consumer Goods, Food Tagged: BUD, SBMRY, TAP

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (AMZN, DE, NVDA, LO, WFR, AAP, APA, ABX, DTV, DUK, GM, TAP, STRA, PFCB, JNGW, AEA, HDY, PMFG, CAR)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:05:06 +0000

Stocks opened higher this morning following upbeat reports on unemployment claims and new housing starts. With a little more than a half hour left in today’s session, all three indexes have made solid gains today and remain near daily highs. Volume has been quite light, with less than 500 million shares traded today. Lack of news from Europe is probably keeping many investors on the sidelines. The dollar has lost all the gains it started today with. The dollar index is down -0.42% at 79.394, after starting the day up over 80. Crude oil is higher today, with WTI crude up 0.51% at $102.32 and Brent up 1.13% at $120.27. We have more coverage of the jump in Brent prices here and the impact of rising gasoline prices here.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 123 points to 12,904.01 (0.96%), the NASDAQ rose more than 44 points (1.51%) to 2,959.85, and the S&P 500 rose 1.1% or nearly 15 points to 1,358.05.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) cut to ‘equal-weight’ at Morgan Stanley; Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) cut to ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo; Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) cut to ‘neutral’ at BofA/ML; Lorillard Inc. (NYSE: LO) started as ‘buy’ at Jefferies; and MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) raised to ‘hold’ at Jefferies.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP) is up 7.3% at $85.20 after posting a new 52-week high of $86.30; Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) is up 0.14% at $107.82; Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) is up 1.24% at $48.02; DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is down -1.9% at $45.41; Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) is up 1.53% at $21.19; General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is up 9% at $27.17; Molson Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE: TAP) is up 3% at $45.18; Strayer Education Inc. (NASDAQ: STRA) is down -8% at $105.81; and PF Chang’s China Bistro Inc. (NASDAQ: PFCB) is up 2% at $35.35.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Jingwei International Ltd. (NASDAQ: JNGW) is up more than 43% at $2.08. The Chinese software company is being taken private.

Advance America, Cash Advance Centers Inc. (NYSE: AEA) is up more than 32% at $10.46 after posting a new 52-week high of $10.55 early this morning. The cash advance provider is being acquired by Mexico’s Grupo Elektra for $10.50/share, for a total price of about $655 million.

HyperDynamics Corp. (NYSE: HDY) is down nearly -30% at $1.42 after posting a new 52-week low of $1.01 earlier this morning. The independent oil & gas exploration and production company reported only non-commercial quantities of hydrocarbons at its offshore West African field.

PMFG Inc. (NASDAQ: PMFG) is down nearly -20% at $16.85. The machinery maker has announced a secondary offering of 2.6 million shares at $16/share.

Avis Budget Group Inc. (NYSE: CAR) is down nearly -16% at $12.28. The car rental company posted an unexpected loss in the fourth quarter.

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

8:30 a.m. – Consumer price index
10:00 a.m. – Leading economic indicators

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: AAP, ABX, AEA, AMZN, APA, CAR, DE, DTV, DUK, GM, HDY, JNGW, LO, NVDA, PFCB, PMFG, STRA, TAP, WFR

Top Earnings & Economic Previews For The Day Ahead (AAP, APA, AMAT, BIDU, ABX, DTV, DVA, DUK, ELNK, GM, LEAP, TAP, JWN, SPWR, WM, WWWW)

Administrator — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:50:00 +0000

Thursday is a fairly busy day for earnings expectations. We are expecting the following reports: Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP); Apache Corporation (NYSE: APA); Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT); Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU); Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE: ABX); DIRECTV, Inc. (NASDAQ: DTV); DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA); Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK); EarthLink Inc. (NASDAQ: ELNK); General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM); Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP); Molson Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE: TAP); Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN); SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR); Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM); and Web.com Group Inc. (NASDAQ: WWWW). We have compiled some basic previews on each along with estimates from Thomson Reuters.

Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP) shares almost hit a 52-week high on Wednesday. Estimates are $0.75 EPS and $1.32 billion in sales.

Apache Corporation (NYSE: APA) $2.87 EPS on $4.3 billion in revenue; watch for news on northern Africa operations.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) $0.12 EPS on $1.97 billion in sales; next quarter estimates are $0.16 EPS on $2.08 billion in sales. This report will have every chip cap-ex stock elsewhere looking closely.

Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) is the “Google of China’ by many investors… estimates are $0.91 EPS and $700.75 million in sales. Next quarter estimates are $0.83 EPS and $665.9 million in sales. Around $138 it is back in the middle of its 52-week trading range.

Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE: ABX) $1.27 EPS and shares are in the lower half of the 52-week range.

DIRECTV, Inc. (NASDAQ: DTV) $0.92 EPS on $7.4 billion in sales; Team Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway added shares to the position.

DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) $1.48 EPS on $1.85 billion in sales; Team Buffett added this as a new position for the Berkshire Hathaway holdings.

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK) $0.21 EPS on $3.37 billion in revenue

EarthLink Inc. (NASDAQ: ELNK) is still around and acting as a business broadband provider rather than just a dial-up ISP of the days past. Estimates are $0.04 EPS and $349.23 million in sales.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) $0.41 EPS and $38.2 billion in sales; GM is still a busted IPO but is trading down under 7-times 2012 expected earnings. Value, or value trap?

Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) -$1.11 EPS on $808 million in sales. Watch shares of MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE: PCS).

Molson Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE: TAP) $0.70 EPS

Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) $1.10 EPS on $3.18 billion in sales

SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR) was the ‘solar buyout that only got partly acquired’ and shares have been bashed. At $7.36, the 52-week range is $4.94 to $23.36. Earnings estimates are -$0.05 EPS on $669 million in sales.

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM) $0.60 EPS on $3.35 billion in revenue. The 3.8% yield may make more interest than in rival Republic Services.

Web.com Group Inc. (NASDAQ: WWWW) is expected to post $0.23 EPS and $93.95 million in sales. If all goes well, this one trades at less than 10-times expected 2012 earnings. It has been hard to not notice a high degree of advertising out of Web.com of late.

Thursday’s Economic Data:

8:30 AM EST Weekly Jobless Claims (365K est.)

8:30 AM EST January Housing Starts (677K est.)

8:30 AM EST January PPI (+0.4% es.)

9:00 AM EST Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks on community banking

10:00 AM EST Treasury’s Geithner speaks to Senate Budget Committee

10:00 AM EST February Philly Fed

10:30 AM EST Weekly Natural Gas inventories

4:30 PM EST Feb. 15 Foreign Central Bank Treasury Holdings

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Calendar, Earnings Tagged: AAP, ABX, AMAT, APA, BIDU, DTV, DUK, DVA, ELNK, GM, JWN, LEAP, SPWR, TAP, WM, WWWW

SABMiller & Fosters: A Huge Deal in the Beer Business (BUD, SBMRY, MO, TAP, SAM)

Administrator — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:29:46 +0000

Everything about Australia’s Foster’s Lager seems big — starting with the brew’s over-sized can. Today the beer’s maker, Foster’s Group Ltd., agreed to be acquired by the world’s second largest brewer, SABMiller PLC (OTC: SBMRY) for about $10.2 billion. That’s also big. Only Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD) is larger.

The acquisition should also give a boost to Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO), which owns a 27.1% stake in SABMiller from Altria’s sale of Miller Brewing to SAB in 2002. Molson-Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE: TAP) and Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM) are both much smaller than either InBev or SABMiller, and could be additional targets for the Big Two as the beer business continues to consolidate.

SABMiller derives about 80% of its revenue from emerging markets, with China’s Snow brand the largest seller in the world and China the biggest consuming nation in the world. US consumption was about half that, but still the second-largest beer consumer.

Chinese beer drinkers downed nearly 12 billion gallons of brew last year, topping the world beer rankings. InBev’s Bud Light and Budweiser and Brazilian brew Skol followed.

But the outlook for beer in emerging markets is getting softer, and SABMiller wanted to make an acquisition in a developed market, and Foster’s is the largest brewer in Australia. Foster’s also has a significant presence in Asia, so SABMiller gets to increase its footprint on two continents.

US beer consumption is growing in the craft beer and high-priced beer segments, and imported beers have also seen increases. Import sales remain about -11% below pre-2008 levels. Overall, though, there are some big losers in beer sales.

Beer industry growth has been increasing since the very slow days of 2009, when growth was a meager 0.4%. In 2010 that figure grew to 1.6%, and is expected to reach 2.5% this year. Europe and the US contribute about 1% growth each, and the emerging nations of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East contribute up to 5% of the growth.

Brewers also got a break this year on barley prices. The cold wet spring in North America and some of Europe delayed corn planting long enough that some farmers planted barley because prices at the time were over $350/metric ton and expected to rise. But the strong crop yields have pushed barley prices down below $250/metric ton in Canada, one of the largest barley growing regions in the world.

Foster’s fought off a $9.2 billion offer from SABMiller earlier this year, and the company’s patience paid off to the tune of about $1 billion. The deal looks like a winner for both sides.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: ADR, Defensive Stocks, Food, International Markets, Mergers and Buy Outs Tagged: BUD, MO, SAM, SBMRY, TAP

Beyond Dodd-Frank… Frank-Paul Marijuana Legalization Legislation? (MO, RAI, BUD, TAP, PEP)

Administrator — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 21:20:17 +0000

If Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO), Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI), Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD), and Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP) should keep an eye on efforts to legalize marijuana. The business of sin may about to become much more crowded. Reports are out from CNBC, Dow Jones, and other outlets that Congressmen Barney Frank and Ron Paul are going to propose legislation that would legalize the green, leafy substance and allow states to tax it.

The big winner from “The Munchies” of course would be Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) as it owns Frito-Lay, Ruffles, Doritos, Cheetos, and more. Calls to Frank and Paul’s staff were not returned. How many presidential candidates have co-authored legislation that would effectively legalize pot?

Here are the states which profit the most from taxing sin (and selling it).
Also, there was earlier a move for a marijuana technology company for an IPO, although we have not followed this closely of late and that news may have dated by now.
Also, keep in mind that PROP 19 failed.

The new broad laws covering financial regulation usually fall under the umbrella of what is called “Dodd-Frank” by the public, but this is formally named Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. If this does actually make it to law rather than just legislation, it would seem that the bill might be called “Pot-Frank.”

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Agriculture, Casinos, Commodities, Compensation, Consumer Goods, Corporate Governance, Drug companies, Economy, Editor's Picks, Entertainment, FDA, Food, Healthcare, Housing, Labor & Unions, Law, Media, Medical, Politics, Regulation, Tax, Tobacco Tagged: BUD, MO, PEP, RAI, TAP

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