Kevin Shult
Flushing, New York - http://www.bloggingstocks.com/bloggers/kevin-shult

Kevin Shult has been involved in finance for over seven years. As an independent retail broker in New York City, he kept his clients afloat during one of the worst market recessions in history. In late-2004, Kevin headed for the calmer waters of financial journalism, to work for the online news site Theflyonthewall.com. Kevin continues to keep his finger on the market teaching Business and Economics to some of the brightest young minds in New York.

This post is part of our Big Company, Small Town series, featuring large companies and the small towns in which they are headquartered.

In a remote section of Louisiana, nearly 140 miles west of New Orleans, lies the land of Tabasco. Avery Island is home to McIlhenny Co., the family owned and operated makers of Tabasco since 1868. The island is home to only 160 residents, mainly McIlhenny workers, as well as the McIlhenny family. Paul McIlhenny, the current president, is the sixth McIlhenny to continue the Tabasco legacy of its founder, Edmund McIlhenny.

McIlhenny Co. is a leader in hot sauce products, labeled in 22 languages and dialects, and is sold in more than 160 nations. According to Jeffrey Rothfeder, author of McIlhenny's Gold: How a Louisiana Family Built the Tabasco Empire, the private company earns nearly $250 million in annual revenues. In addition to Tabasco, McIlhenny also co-brands and produces various forms of products, from salsas and Tabasco lollipops to cookbooks and clothing. They even make a 1-gallon glass jug of Tabasco for all of those who can't get enough of the hot sauce. This spicy condiment can be found in millions of restaurants around the globe, in soldiers' rations overseas, and is proudly used in my kitchen.

Two of the three main ingredients of Tabasco -- Avery Island salt and Capsicum frutescens peppers -- are found on the island. The pepper sauce is still made practically the same way it was 140 years ago, except the aging process has been extended to three years, not 60 days.

This post is part of our Big Company, Small Town series, featuring large companies and the small towns in which they are headquartered.

Cabela's Inc. (NYSE: CAB) has come a long way since the husband and wife team of Dick and Mary Cabela sold outdoor gear from their kitchen in 1961. Today, Cabela's has become the largest mail-order, retail, and internet outdoor outfitter in the world, with record revenues of $2.3 billion in 2007. The company sponsors dozens of outdoor events, from the Cornhusker State Games to the Iditarod, and was named one of the Top 100 Companies to Work For in the Forbes January 2000 issue.

The company's world headquarters is located just off Route 80 in a small town called Sidney, Nebraska. Sidney has also come a long way since being called the "wickedest town in the west" back in 1868. The frontier town now holds more than 6,000 residents and was named one of the Top 100 Rural Communities in America in Boom Town, USA by Jack Schultz. Cabela's is by far the largest employer in Sidney, with more than 2,000 employees. The town's Memorial Health Center is a distant second, employing 300 people.

According to Cabela's, the Sidney store sees millions of visitors each year. In addition to all the fishing, hunting, climbing, and camping gear your heart can desire, the store is outfitted with museum-quality animal displays, huge aquariums, and the largest of trophy animals scattered around the store. They have a delicatessen-style restaurant with selections that would make your mouth water, including elk, wild boar, ostrich, and bison sandwiches. Cabela's even has a large campground and RV park outside its store where visitors can put their newly purchased equipment to good use.

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

When you need to ship a package, which company first comes to mind? According to last year's Battle of the Brands non-scientific poll, an overwhelming majority said they favored United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) over FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX). Higher fuel surcharges, a weak economy, reduced domestic package volume, and a recent push from the U.S. Postal Service have impacted both of these international shipping companies in the past year, but Americans still want the same quality service at a discount price.

Let's take a look at a few changes since last year:

The US Postal Service Tries To Gain Ground

The largest player in the U.S. overnight package delivery business is attempting to increase its market share in the fast-delivery business next month. USPS is barely holding on to its 32% market share in the business, as FedEx and UPS continue to push the envelope at 31% and 25% market share, respectively. For the first time, shippers using Express Mail, Priority Mail, and several other parcel services will be able to get lower rates for large- and medium-volume contracts, according to the agency. Will UPS and FedEx need to cut their prices further to compete with the USPS?

In an effort to fight back against shifting consumer trends to spirits and wine, the Wall Street Journal reported that Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE: TAP) has created a new subsidiary to "introduce above-premium beers to the marketplace," according to an email sent to beer wholesalers last week.

The move comes at a time when the American beer business is facing considerable headwinds, including slower growth due to upscale "craft" beers and a strong push for market share by imports. Anheuser-Busch Cos. (NYSE: BUD), the largest American beer maker, and SABMiller PLC's (NYSE: SAB) Miller Brewing Co., the second-largest, have already introduced new beverages to combat these headwinds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Kaufman initiated Popular (NASDAQ: BPOP) with a Hold rating and $13 target, citing the company's direct exposure to nearly $2B of Alt A residential mortgage loans originated by its U.S. operations and approximately $250M of exposure to another $4B of collateralized, securitized mortgage pools.

• MRU Holdings (NADSAQ: UNCL) was initiated with a Buy rating and $8.50 target at Roth Capital. Roth Capital believes MRU Holdings is on the threshold of potentially explosive growth in the fast growing segment of the education lending market, that of private loans.

• JMP Securities said CDC Corp. (NASDAQ: CHINA) , with its resources and connections in China, has excellent deal flow and has been a disciplined, value oriented buyer, and started shares with a Market Outperform and $10.50 target.

• Piper believes Oscient Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: OSCI) experienced management team and PCP sales force are competitive advantages and will lead to attractive partners. Piper initiated Oscient Pharmaceuticals with an Outperform rating and $5 target...

• Raymond James started SAIC (NYSE: SAI) with a Market Perform rating.

• Morgan Keegan initiated Hilltop Holdings (NYSE: HTH) with an Outperform rating.

• Dice Holdings (NYSE: DHX) was initiated with an Overweight rating and $15 target at Morgan Stanley.

• RBC Capital initiated VMware (NYSE: VMW) with a Sector Perform rating and $75 target.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Merrill downgraded Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) to Sell from Neutral citing expectations of margin erosion.

• Brean Murray cut Coldwater Creek (NASDAQ: CWTR) to Hold from Buy following their disappointing Q2 report and outlook.

• Select Comfort (NASDAQ: SCSS) was cut to Strong Sell from Hold at Matrix based on weak performance and high risk characteristics.

• Anadys Pharma (NASDAQ: ANDS) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Cowen, citing pipeline setbacks over the last 12 months, and lack of near-term catalysts...

• Collective Brands (NYSE: PSS) was cut to Hold from Aggressive Buy.

• Sigma Designs (NASDAQ: SIGM) was cut to Hold from Buy at Needham.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Merriman upgraded shares of Taser Int'l (NASDAQ: TASR) to Buy from Hold on valuation following the 25% decline in price since late July, accelerating law enforcement demand and upside potential from the recently launched personal TASER C2.

• Lehman upgraded shares of Motorola (NYSE: MOT) to Overweight from Equal Weight as they believe increased production and opex progress in Q3 could signal a turnaround at the company's phone unit.

• Jefferies upgraded Advantest (NYSE: ATE) to Hold from Underperform on valuation.

• STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform on valuation at Bernstein.

• Stifel upgraded shares of Joy Global (NASDAQ: JOYG) to Buy from Hold following the in line Q3 report as they believe bad news is reflected in valuation...

• Idacorp (NYSE: IDA) was upgraded to Market Perform from Under Perform at Wachovia.

• UBS upgraded TDK Corp (NYSE: TDK) to Neutral from Sell.

• Wedbush raised Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) to Buy from Hold, with a $35 target, and DSW Inc. (NYSE: DSW) to Hold from Sell, with a $29 target.

• LabCorp (NYSE: LH) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Cowen.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE: OWW) was initiated by a host of firms today:
  
• Thomas Weisel and Morgan Stanley started Orbitz with an Overweight rating.
  
• Pacific Crest and Piper Jaffray started shares with Overweight ratings, and $18 and $16 targets, respectively.
  
• Stifel initiated Orbitz with a Buy rating and $16 target, while JP Morgan started shares with a Neutral rating.

• Citigroup finds the valuation of Agilent (NYSE: A) attractive at current levels and started shares with a Buy rating, They expect a recovery in the company's Electronic Measurement business to drive shares to $43.

• Citigroup initiated National Instruments (NASDAQ: NATI) with a Hold rating and $40 target, saying that shares could suffer if PMI decelerates in 3Q07 or negatively inflects in 1Q08.

• Ametek (NYSE: AME) is is CIBC's top pick in the mid-cap Industrial Diversified area, due to the company's attractive asset portfolio and growth opportunities. CIBC initiated Ametek with a Sector Outperformer rating and $45 target...

• Jefferies initiated WNS Holdings (NYSE: WNS) with a Hold rating.

• Cuisine Solutions (AMEX: FZN) was initiated with a Buy rating at BB&T.

• Gabelli initiated Interpublic Group (AMEX: IPG) with a Buy rating and $19 target.

• Ferris Baker Watts initiated DirecTV (NYSE: DTV) with a Buy rating and $29.50 target.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Matrix downgraded shares of Papa John's (NASDAQ: PZZA) to Hold from Strong Buy to reflect minimal improvement to fundamentals and negative free cash flow trends.

• Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN) was downgraded to Peer Perform from Outperform based on valuation as the firm believes shares fully reflect solid Las Vegas & Macau fundamentals and the company's development pipeline.

• SourceForge (NASDAQ: LNUX) was cut to Underperform from Market perform at JMP Securities, with a $3 target, following the disappointing results.

• Merrill Lynch downgraded Cathay Pacific (OTC: CPCAY) to Sell from Buy on valuation.

• Arthur J. Gallagher (NYSE: AJG) was cut to Underperform from Peer Perform at Bear Stearns as they believe margin expansion will be lower than expected, softening insurance pricing will impact organic growth, and cites managements acquisition desires over aggressive repurchases...

• PolyMedica (NASDAQ: PLMD) was downgraded to Hold from Buy.

• Merrill downgraded Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL) to Neutral from Buy.

• Morgan Stanley cut Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) to Underwieght from Overweight.

• JP Morgan downgraded Sonic (NASDAQ: SONC) to Neutral from Overweight.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Matrix upgraded Marvel Entertainment (NYSE: MVL) to Buy from Hold as they don't think the company's improving performance is reflected in its falling stock price. They think Marvel represents a good entry point at current levels.

• Kevin Dann upgraded shares of AutoZone (NYSE: AZO) to Buy from Hold on valuation and highlighted their belief that AutoZone may not be seeing as much sales weakness as investors expect. They recommend taking advantage of the recent share weakness and raised their target to $135 from $125.

• Gabelli recommends Home Depot (NYSE: HD) as a long-term buy with a $43 target, upgraded shares from Hold, with the Supply division uncertainty now eliminated. They view the sale positively, even at the lower price.

• JP Morgan upgraded Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP) to Overweight from Neutral, and believes Molson will monetize its solid balance sheet and free-cash flow yield to benefit the shareholders. They also consider valuation to be attractive.

• Semtech (NASDAQ: SMTC) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at William Blair following the strong Q2 report and outlook...

• Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) was upgraded to Market Outperform from Market Perform at Avondale.

• Longbow raised TTM Technologies (NASDAQ: TTMI) to Buy from Neutral.

• Breen Murray raised to Intevac (NASDAQ: IVAC) to Hold from Sell.

• Stifel upgraded Arch Capital (NASDAQ: ACGL) to Buy from Hold.

At least seven research firms initiated coverage of MF Global Ltd. (NYSE: MF) this morning, with the majority of the ratings favorable, based on expectations for the company to benefit from the havoc in the financial markets.

MF Global, which had a disappointing trading debut last month at $30, is a broker of exchange-listed futures and options for over 130,000 clients. Shares now trade at $26.55 in late-day trading today.

JP Morgan, who initiated MF Global with an Overweight rating, expects volume and volatility in the current market will to create earnings growth in the longer-term. However, some analysts are concerned with MF Global's competition. Deutsche Bank initiated shares of MF with a Hold rating, citing concerns over falling commission rates in a falling interest rate environment, which could pressure the company's growth. Analysts from Wachovia initiated coverage of the derivatives brokerage firm with a Market Perform rating, while Citigroup started coverage with a Hold rating.