24/7 Wall St. » TIN

Paper & Pulp Earnings… Changing M&A Opportunities In the Sector? (WY, IP, TIN, BZ, LL, PCL, RYN, POPE, CUT)

Administrator — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 16:16:50 +0000

Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY) reported a -29% decline in profits this morning. The company’s EPS came in at $0.02, compared with estimates of $0.19. Weyerhaeuser also missed on revenue, posting a number of $1.61 billion compared to estimates of $1.76 billion. Excluding items, the company’s EPS came in at $0.06 on revenue of $1.77 billion.

The company is selling its hardwoods and shipping lines businesses as it tries to deal with continuing problems with demand for lumber in the US housing market. And while Weyerhauser is shedding assets, other companies in the forest products industry are trying to acquire some. The most noticeable is International Paper Co. (NYSE: IP), which has taken an already rejected offer of $3.3 billion for Temple-Inland Inc. (NYSE: TIN) directly to Temple-Inland shareholders. Rock-Tenn Co. (NYSE: RKT) recently completed its acquisition of Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. and Boise Inc. (NYSE: BZ) has also picked up another packaging firm.

In a recent report, Standard & Poor’s showed that strong balance sheets and attractive financing terms will increase M&A over the next several quarters in the forest products industry in North America. S&P believes that all of the action will occur in the paperboard and packing sectors, but that consolidation in the wood products sector is unlikely due to the weak recovery in the housing market.

That sounds about right. Weyerhaeuser isn’t the only lumber company that’s having earnings troubles. Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LL) recently cut its forecast and the stock got pounded. Weyerhaeuser, Plum Creek Timber Co. (NYSE: PCL), and Rayonier Inc. (NYSE: RYN) are all trading below 52-week highs. Pope Resources LP (NASDAQ: POPE) has posted a share price gain of around 80% in the past twelve months, but its market cap is still only about $205 million, far smaller than any of the others.

Rayonier missed estimates yesterday and Plum Creek missed estimates earlier this week.

S&P suggests that “[a]cquisitions that result in further industry consolidation could potentially improve our business risk assessments” in the forest products sector. But with the possible exception of Pope, with its low market cap, it doesn’t appear that any large-scale deals are on tap for the lumber business.

Weyerhaeuser shares are trading up fractionally just before noon today, at $20.06, within a 52-week range of $15.06-$25.33. The Guggenheim Timber ETF (NYSE: CUT) is trading down fractionally, at $19.62, within a 52-week range of $17.26-$23.56.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Commodities, Earnings, Mergers and Buy Outs Tagged: BZ, CUT, IP, LL, PCL, POPE, RYN, TIN, WY

The 24/7 Wall St./Flame Index: The Companies With The Most Negative Press (6/7)

247wallst — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 13:41:36 +0000

Halliburton coverage moved negative after courts approved a class action suit by shareholders. GE and Capital One were hurt because of plans to buy ING Direct. An Airbus move to increase competition with Boeing drive negative press.

The Flame Index started as a research tool in 2008 at the NY Innovation Design Lab (nyidlab). It was used as a general metric to evaluate companies and their risk in the media. Publicly traded Fortune 500 companies are used as a measure to calculate an overall market of negative news and the companies are ranked within that market.

Rank	Company	Ticker	Score	Change in Rank	Comments
1	Massey Energy	MEE	70.907	0	Finally sold, mine safety still issue
2	Halliburton	HAL	62.453	+214	Shareholder class action suit gets green light
3	Alpha Natural Resources	ANR	55.709	-1	Closes deal to buy troubled Massey
4	Sony Corporation	SNE	49.423	+6	Playstation network still under attack
5	Google	GOOG	42.846	+2	Chinese hack Gmail?
6	Boeing	BA	37.216	+33	Rival Airbus may launch improved A350
7	Bank of America Corp.	BOA	35.629	+16	Concerns about mortgage portfolio
8	Goldman Sachs Group	GS	35.4	+9	Federal government probe
9	Temple-Inland	TIN	35.186	+556	International Paper takeover bid
10	Office Depot	ODP	31.448	+4	May sales poor
2	Halliburton	HAL	62.453	+214	Lawsuit worries
9	Temple-Inland	TIN	35.186	+556	Rejects IP takeover bid
15	Capital One Financial	COF	25.009	+290	May bid for ING Direct
16	American Eagle Outfitters	AEO	24.81	+211	Worries about solvency
19	General Electric	GE	24.612	+607	May join bid for ING Direct

Data and ranking provided by the Flame Index.

Filed under: General, Research Tagged: AEO, ANR, BA, BOA, COF, GE, GOOG, GS, HAL, SNE, TIN

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AMGN, AZN, BIIB, CELG, GSK, GFI, HGSI, LDK, MWV, NVS, RHT, RIMM, STX, SFD, STP, TIN, TSL, WDC)

Administrator — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 13:08:15 +0000

These are some of this Tuesday’s key analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE: GSK) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Gold Fields Ltd. (NYSE: GFI) Raised to Overweight at HSBC.
Human Genome Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
MeadWestvaco Corporation (NYSE: MWV) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Novartis (NYSE: NVS) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Cut to Neutral at Gleacher & Co.
Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) Started as Buy at Citigroup.
Smithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE: SFD) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs; Reiterated Buy and Raised target to $12 at Auriga.
Temple-Inland Inc. (NYSE: TIN) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC) Started as Buy at Citigroup.

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JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AMGN, AZN, BIIB, CELG, GFI, GSK, HGSI, LDK, MWV, NVS, RHT, RIMM, SFD, STP, STX, TIN, TSL, WDC

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AKAM, AEO, BA, KO, DE, EBAY, FDX, FSLR, LDK, NTSP, SQM, SSCC, SHO, SPWRA, TIN, TSO, YUM)

Administrator — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 13:17:34 +0000

These are some of this Monday’s key analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls.

Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) Raised to Buy w/ $60 target at Lazard.
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE: AEO) Raised to Buy at Janney.
Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) Cut 2011 estimates at RBC and JPMorgan.
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) Reiterated Buy but raised target to $72 from $66 at BofA/ML.
Deere & Co (NYSE: DE) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) Raised to Outperform and $111 price target at Credit Suisse.
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Raised to Buy and $148 target at ThinkEquity.
LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) Raised to Buy and $15 target at ThinkEquity.
NetSpend Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTSP) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo; Started as Buy at BofA/ML; Started as Buy at SunTrust.
Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Inc. (NYSE: SQM) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. (NASDAQ: SSCC) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE: SHO) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA) Raised to Buy and $20 target at ThinkEquity.
Temple-Inland Inc. (NYSE: TIN) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Tesoro Corporation (NYSE: TSO) Raised to Outperform at Macquerie.
YUM! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) Raised target to $58 from $54 at Credit Suisse.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AEO, AKAM, BA, DE, EBAY, FDX, FSLR, KO, LDK, NTSP, SHO, SPWRA, SQM, SSCC, TIN, TSO, YUM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ARMH, ADCT, BIDU, BHP, C, PRGO, PLD, RIMM, SSYS, TIN, YHOO)

Administrator — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:42:46 +0000

These are some of this Monday’s top analyst research summaries of upgrades and downgrades from Wall Street firms:

ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH) Cut to Sell at Benchmark.
ADC Telecommunications (NASDAQ: ADCT) Cut to Hold at Auriga.
Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) Maintained Hold but raised targets by Auriga.
BHP Billiton plc (NYSE: BHP) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse; Raised to Overweight at HSBC.
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) Maintained Market Perform at KBW; Maintained Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Perrigo Company (NASDAQ: PRGO) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
ProLogis (NYSE: PLD) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Started as Buy at Dundee
Stratasys (MASDAQ: SSYS) Raised to Buy at Needham.
Temple-Inland (NYSE: TIN) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) Raised to Buy at ThinkEquity.

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ADCT, ARMH, BHP, BIDU, C, PLD, PRGO, RIMM, SSYS, TIN, YHOO

Top Analyst Downgrades (ATHN, CNQR, NOA, TIN, UNH, VPRT)

247wallst — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:34:21 +0000

These are the top pre-market analyst downgrades or cautious calls we are seeing from Wall Street firms early this Thursday morning with more than two hours until the market opens:

Athenahealth (ATHN) Started as Hold at Auriga.
Concur Tech (CNQR) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
North American Energy (NOA) Cut to Market Perform at Raymond James.
Temple-Inland (TIN) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
UnitedHealth (UNH) Cut to Underperform at Oppenheimer.
Vistaprint (VPRT) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: ATHN, CNQR, NOA, TIN, UNH, VPRT

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AMAT, CMG, HGSI, IACI, JTX, NKE, NFLX, SYNA, TIN, UAUA)

247wallst — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:58:21 +0000

These are ten of the top research calls from Wall Street’s analyst wave of daily upgrades, downgrades, and initiations this Friday morning:

Applied Materials (AMAT) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) Cut to Underperform at Oppenheimer.
Human Genome Science (HGSI) Cut to “Source of Funds” at ThinkEquity.
IAC/InterActive (IACI) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Jackson-Hewitt (JTX) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Nike (NKE) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
Netflix (NFLX) Started as Underperform at Credit Suisse.
Synaptics (SYNA) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Temple-Inland (TIN) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
UAL Corp. (UAUA) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.

Jon C. Ogg
June 5, 2009

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: AMAT, CMG, HGSI, IACI, JTX, NFLX, NKE, SYNA, TIN, UAUA

Top Analyst Downgrades (AXP, BKE, CIEN, ENER, IP, LINTA, RBS, STO, TSM, TIN, VSAT)

247wallst — Tue, 12 May 2009 11:39:26 +0000

These are some of the top analyst downgrades and cautious research calls we have seen from Wall Street early this Tuesday morning:

American Express (AXP) Started as Underperform at RBC.
Buckle (BKE) Cut to Underweight at KeyBanc.
Ciena (CIEN) Cut to Underperform at JMP Securities.
Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) Cut to Hold at Citi; Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
International Paper (IP) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Liberty Media (LINTA) Cut to Sell at Citi.
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
StatoilHydro (STO) Cut to Hold at Societe Generale.
Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) Cut To Market Perform at FBR.
Temple-Inland (TIN) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
ViaSat (VSAT) Cut to Hold at Collins Stewart.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: AXP, BKE, CIEN, ENER, IP, LINTA, RBS, STO, TIN, TSM, VSAT

Carl Icahn Holdings Show No Immunity To Market (IEP, BIIB, AMLN, MOT, YHOO, WMB, APC, TWX, TWC, AMD, TELK, QRCP, LEA, TIN, JCP)

247wallst — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 19:16:13 +0000

Billionaire and activist investor Carl Icahn has made some large changes to his portfolio holdings. He and Icahn Capital, L.P. have not been immune to the market sell-off as you have seen in his Icahn Enterprises, L.P. (NYSE: IEP) share performance. Here we have commented on some of his larger stakes and larger changes or exits in positions.

Stock Tickers noted as IEP, BIIB, AMLN, MOT, YHOO, WMB, APC, TWX, TWC, AMD, TELK, QRCP, LEA, TIN, and JCP.

His largest position in biotech is Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) where Icahn Capital owns 12.8 million shares worth about $612 million. With all the calls for mergers in biotechs and speculation rampant that this one could be bought, this is no surprise. But Icahn is betting on more than just the MS treatment TYSABRI here. Also worth noting is his almost-$124 million stake of 11.42+ million shares of Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN), which some have also hoped could get past its troubles and get acquired.

Icahn has two huge disappointments in technology. His 119+ million share stake in Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) was listed as being worth $530.672 million. At current market prices, that would be worth about $460 million. And he is in much much higher than the year-end price and today’s price. This appears lower because Motorola listed him as holding 144.1 million shares before this. The other thorn is the Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) stake listed as 60.45+ million shares worth some $737.5 million at the 12/31 filing. The good news is that would be worth around $777 million today. But Icahn has been buried by this. He is very long and very wrong so far, and he probably wished he never thought he could force Jerry Yang into a moment of intelligence.

In energy is where this also gets interesting. Icahn really juiced up his position in Williams Cos. Inc. (NYSE: WMB) where his 17.475 million shares were listed as being worth over $253 million. That was a large increase. His other big holding is Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC), with over 7.6 million shares being listed as worth more than $293 million.

Icahn Capital is out of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) and also holds no Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC). He had greatly pared down his stake there already, but that is now history. Jeff Bewkes has to answer one less unpleasant telephone call. Others he has dropped entirely are Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), Telik (NASDAQ: TELK), Quest Resources (NASDAQ: QRCP), Lear Corp. (NYSE: LEA), Temple-Inland (NYSE: TIN), and J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP).

Again, these are not the only position he listed. The list would be double the size if you included his positions worth a few million. But as you can tell, billionaires and activists can have deep pockets yet no immunity from the market. Icahn Enterprises, L.P. (NYSE: IEP) trades at $34.78, and its 52-week trading range is $19.95 to $111.53.

Jon C. Ogg
Febbruary 14, 2009

Posted in Activist Investor, Insider Activity, Value Investing Tagged: AMD, AMLN, APC, BIIB, Carl Icahn, IEP, JCP, LEA, MOT, QRCP, TELK, TIN, TWC, TWX, WMB, YHOO

Top Pre-Market Analyst Downgrades (AKAM, AVP, CPKI, CBG, FDX, GGP, HOLX, JLL, TIN, THQI, TBL, TROW, USNA)

247wallst — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 06:31:58 +0000

These are the early bird Downgrades and negative calls from analysts we are seeing this Thursday morning:

Akamai (AKAM) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
Avon (AVP) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
California Pizza Kitchen (CPKI) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
CB Richard Ellis (CBG) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
FedEx (FDX) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
General Growth Properties (GGP) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
Hologic (HOLX) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Temple-Inland (TIN) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
THQ (THQI) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Timberland (TBL) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
T.Rowe Price (TROW) Cut to Market Perform at Wachovia.
USANA (USNA) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.

Jon C. Ogg
July 31, 2008