Posted Jun 27th 2009 9:40AM by Trey Thoelcke
Filed under: Earnings reports, Walgreen Co (WAG), Bed Bath and Beyond (BBBY), Kroger Co (KR), ConAgra Foods (CAG), Darden Restaurants (DRI), NIKE, Inc'B' (NKE), KB HOME (KBH), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Oracle Corp (ORCL), Red Hat Inc (RHT), CKE Restaurants (CKR), Rite Aid Corp (RAD), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT)
Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:
Continue reading Earnings highlights: Nike, Oracle, Kroger, Walgreen, Monsanto, KB Home ...
Posted Jun 24th 2009 5:30PM by Michael Fowlkes
Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, Products and services, Industry, Competitive strategy, Market matters, Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Housing, Recession, Financial Crisis

We will get a little better idea of just what is happening with the real estate market tomorrow when home builder
Lennar Corporation (NYSE:
LEN)
reports its second quarter results.
Headed into tomorrow's earnings announcement, analysts are expecting another loss, but a much smaller loss than the company reported for its first quarter. Last quarter we saw a loss of
98 cents per share. This quarter analysts are predicting a loss of "only" 63 cents per share.
Continue reading Lennar second quarter earnings preview
Posted Jun 3rd 2009 8:20AM by Steven Mallas
Filed under: Earnings reports, D.R.Horton (DHI), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Toll Brothers (TOL)
Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV), a home builder whose related companies include Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL), Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN), and D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI), reported Q2 results on Tuesday after the bell. The company reported a loss of $1.50 per share (the results included a gain related to debt extinguishment). That unfortunately did not meet analyst expectations according to Trey Thoelcke's earnings preview. Analysts were looking for a loss of $1.26 per share.
However, things do look better. Last year at this time, the loss recorded by Hovnanian was a whopping $5.29 per share. Revenues, however, plummeted to $398 million from over $770 million. Analysts were expecting only $348 million according to the preview.
Continue reading Hovnanian's Q1 shows an improvement
Posted Feb 13th 2009 9:45AM by Jim Cramer
Filed under: China, Market matters, Caterpillar (CAT), Centex Corp (CTX), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), U.S. Steel (X), Freep't McMoRan Copper (FCX), Stocks to Buy, Union Pacific Corporation (UNP), Cramer on BloggingStocks
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says stocks you'd sell on America alone are buys when you consider that great engine in Asia. Here's some real tension. The best stocks to play China with may be the worst stocks to own here. Look at
Freeport (NYSE:
FCX) (
Cramer's Take) yesterday, which did that giant and hugely successful secondary. There is no doubt in my mind that housing starts won't even get to 600,000 this year, not after that travesty of a stimulus bill -- or when considering the reaction expressed by the stocks of
Lennar (NYSE:
LEN) (
Cramer's Take) and
Pulte (NYSE:
PHM) (
Cramer's Take) and, perhaps most hobbled,
Centex (NYSE:
CTX) (
Cramer's Take).
There is also no doubt that China's stock market being up 35% means that Freeport's Asian arm, the biggest, will soon be getting huge orders.
Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: In the great tug of war, China wins
Posted Feb 9th 2009 8:18AM by Melly Alazraki
Filed under: Earnings reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Apple Inc (AAPL), Pfizer (PFE), Amazon.com (AMZN), General Motors (GM), Adobe Systems (ADBE), Corning Inc (GLW), NYSE Euronext (NYX), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Hasbro Inc (HAS), Analyst initiations, Barclays plc ADS (BCS), Trina Solar ADS (TSL), Nissan Motors (NSANY)
Nissan Motor Co. (NASDAQ: NSANY) reported a $904 million quarterly loss and said it expects this year to be its first annual loss in nine years. Nissan is
cutting 20,000 jobs, or 8.5% of its workforce. NSANY shares declined over 6.5% in premarket trade.
Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) reported Monday that its
net profit for 2008 fell just 1% after several major one-off gains helped compensate for over 8 billion pounds ($11.8 billion) of write-downs. The bank's balance sheet, meanwhile, ballooned 67% to 2.05 trillion pounds. Pretax profit for the year dropped 14% to 6.08 billion pounds, well ahead of analyst estimates. Barclays said it will resume dividend payments in the second half of the year. Shares in Barclays soared over 12% in premarket trade.
Continue reading Stocks in the news: NSANY, BCS, GM, NYX, AMZN, HAS, ADBE, PFE, LDK ...
Posted Jan 26th 2009 12:55PM by Eric Buscemi
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Bed Bath and Beyond (BBBY), Chevron Corp (CVX), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Analyst initiations
Analyst upgrades:
- Citigroup upgraded shares of Lennar (NYSE:LEN) to Buy from Hold on valuation as they believe the recent sell-off on concerns of fraud is overdone. The firm thinks the allegations made by Barry Minkow/Fraud Discovery Institute are unfounded and has an $11 target on shares.
- Merriman upgraded Nautilus Group (NYSE:NLS) to Neutral from Sell after meeting with management to reflect increased optimism on the company's turnaround.
- Baird upgraded Leap Wireless (NYSE:LEAP) to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation and strong subscriber trends.
- Transocean (NYSE:RIG) was added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
- Pearson PLC (NYSE:PSO) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.
- Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN) was lifted to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Analyst downgrades:
- JP Morgan downgraded Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) to Underweight from Neutral and lowered their target to $20 from $26 as they believe potential benefits from the Linens' N Things closing are being overstated and that the risk/reward is unfavorable at current levels.
- Keefe Bruyette downgraded Citizens Republic (NASDAQ:CRBC) to Market Perform from Outperform and cut their target to $3 from $7 to reflect the company's lower capital position.
- UBS downgraded Energizer (NYSE:ENR) to Sell from Neutral and lowered their target to $40 from $48 citing signs of a battery price war, Wal-Mart's (NYSE:WMT) reduction in space allocation, and the company's cuts in investment.
- Chevron (NYSE:CVX) was removed from Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
- MetroPCS (NYSE:PCS) was lowered to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital.
- Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) was cut to Sell from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
Analyst initiations:
- Global Hunter believes Pep Boys (NYSE:PBY) is well-positioned to benefit from increased demand for replacement parts and maintenance services as new car purchases are deferred. Shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $5.50 target.
- Jefferies started Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE:SNY) with an Underperform rating and sees downside risk to the stock from the potential introduction of Lovenox generics in the U.S.
- Merriman assumed Alter Nrg (NYSE:ANRGF) with a Neutral rating and recommends waiting on the sidelines pending increased visibility on the company's gasification projects.
- JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) was re-initiated with a Buy rating at Goldman. Shares were also added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
- Hudson City Bancorp (NYSE:HCBK) was assumed with an Overweight rating and $15 target at Barclays.
- DG FastChannel (NASDAQ:DGIT) was initiated at BWS Financial with a Strong Buy rating and $30 target.
Posted Jan 14th 2009 4:41PM by Elizabeth Harrow
Filed under: Rumors, Scandals, Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Options, Housing
Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) saw its shares plummet nearly 20% last Friday after Barry Minkow's Fraud Discovery Institute alleged that the homebuilder was improperly inflating its balance sheet, but the company isn't taking his inflammatory claims lying down. The beleaguered housing issue announced today that Minkow and his Fraud Discovery firm have been named as defendants in "a lawsuit alleging libel, extortion, and various criminal acts."
The official company statement reveals that Minkow & Co. are being added to a pre-existing lawsuit filed againt Nicolas Marsch III, who is accused of "hiring Minkow and his company to use any means available, including fraud, identity theft and manipulation of securities markets, to wrongfully and falsely harm Lennar's business and reputation because Lennar refuses to accede to Marsch's demands for tens of millions of dollars."
Unfortunately for Lennar, its dramatic rejection of Minkow's allegations isn't doing anything to boost its share price. The equity lost 8.8% today, easily outpacing the decline in the broader equities market. LEN has now shed roughly 31% since last Friday.
Meanwhile, in the options arena, put volume continues to dominate -- during the past 10 days, traders on the International Securities Exchange have bought to open 2.6 puts for every call. This ratio is hovering just 15 percentage points from an annual bearish peak.
Elizabeth Harrow is an analyst and financial writer in the research department at Schaeffer's Investment Research. She is featured in the video series Schaeffer's Daily Q&A on SchaeffersResearch.com.
Posted Jan 8th 2009 11:26AM by Eric Buscemi
Filed under: Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Marriott Intl'A' (MAR), Analyst initiations, Deere and Co (DE)
Analyst upgrades:
- KeyBanc upgraded Epicor (NASDAQ: EPIC) to Buy from Hold based on several near-term catalysts that include possible convertible debt repurchases, reasonable Q4 results, a proxy fight, and a boost from the Epicor 9 product cycle in 2H09.
- KeyBanc also upgraded AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) to Buy from Hold based on relative valuation and said the company could benefit from lower iron ore, scrap natural gas, and labor inputs.
- JP Morgan upgraded Lennar (NYSE: LEN) to Overweight from Neutral based on relative valuation.
- Marriott (NYSE: MAR) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
- Raymond James (NYSE: RJF) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Wachovia.
- Deere (NYSE: DE) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.
Analyst downgrades:Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AKS, LEN, MAR, DE, KLAC, VIVEF ...
Posted Dec 18th 2008 8:25AM by Melly Alazraki
Filed under: Earnings reports, Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Deals, Apple Inc (AAPL), General Electric (GE), Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), FedEx Corp (FDX), Research in Motion (RIMM), NIKE, Inc'B' (NKE), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Oracle Corp (ORCL), Palm Inc (PALM)
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) and Chrysler have
re-opened merger talks, according to the
Wall Street Journal. Cerberus, Chrysler's owner, signaled it was wiling to give up part of its ownership stake in the auto maker. Meanwhile, Chrysler on Wednesday said it is
closing all its North American manufacturing plants -- 30 plants -- for at least a month, the most ominous move yet by any carmaker. It is trying to bring output closer in line to plunging demand for new cares and trucks.
GM shares decline 5% after The Detroit News said GM denied any merger talks.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) also said it would
shut down most of its North American assembly plants -- 10 of them -- for an extra week in January because of sluggish sales.
Ford shares decline 3.8% about an hour after the open.FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) today
reported earnings of $1.58 per share, inline with estimates. It also reaffirmed its outlook and said it has already taken actions to reduce over $1 billion of expenses for all of fiscal 2009 including salary cuts for executives. Shares traded over 3% higher in premarket action.
FDX shares traded 1.4% higher around 10:25 am. Continue reading Stocks in the news: GM, F, FDX, ORCL, RIMM, TTWO, LEN, AAPL, GE
Posted Dec 15th 2008 6:50PM by Mitch Tuchman
Filed under: Home Depot (HD), Centex Corp (CTX), Lowe's Cos (LOW), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Toll Brothers (TOL), ETF Investing, Housing, Financial Crisis
The homebuilder's market has been hit pretty hard in the last 2 years by the resounding pop of the housing market, but at some point, they're due for a turn of fortune. If you're a strong believer in the recovery of the housing market and feel that the future for homebuilders appears bright, or at least brighter than it's been in the last few years, then here's an easy and efficient way to invest in the homebuilder's market.
SPDR S&P Homebuilders (NYSE:
XHB) is an exchange traded fund (
ETF) that seeks to replicate the performance of an index derived from the homebuilding segment of the U.S. total market composite index before expenses. Meaning, it's a way for you to invest in homebuilders and companies that support home building, across the board rather than trying to pick and choose a single company to hedge your bets with.
With an investment in XHB you'll get shares of noted representatives from that field such as
Home Depot (NYSE:
HD) and
Lowes (NYSE:
LOW), two well-known leaders in the home improvement retail field,
Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (NYSE:
ETH) a home furnishing staple,
Centex Corporation (NYSE:
CTX) a homebuilding giant, and
Leggett & Platt Inc. (NYSE:
LEG) who produces components and products used worldwide in the creation of homes and furnishings. An obvious reach into every area of the homebuilding market, using some of the most trusted companies around.
Its anyone's guess when XHB will rise, but since the beginning of 2007, XHB has lost about 67% of its value.
For only a 0.35% fee the fund tracks the total return and performance of the S&P Homebuilders Select Industry index and derives the strongest basket of holdings. You'd pay up about 3-5 times that amount to have a money manager at a mutual fund provide the same results. Review the incredible diversity of XHP by examining its top 10 holdings listed below.
Continue reading Sector ETFs: Build a Strong Foundation with XHB
Posted Dec 15th 2008 8:15AM by Melly Alazraki
Filed under: Earnings reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Apple Inc (AAPL), Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Altria Group (MO), Best Buy (BBY), Centex Corp (CTX), Kroger Co (KR), Federal Natl Mtge (FNM), D.R.Horton (DHI), Goldman Sachs Group (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS), KB HOME (KBH), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Alcatel-LucentADS (ALU), Honeywell Intl (HON)
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) and
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) may get
help from the Bush administration. President Bush said in an interview today that "an abrupt bankruptcy for the autos could be devastating for the economy." He signaled he may use TARP funds for that, but didn't provide a timeline or other details. GM shares are up 4.8% in premarket, Ford's shares are up 2%.
Shares of both opened about 3% higher. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) and
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) probably will report fourth-quarter losses this week on shrinking asset values and a decline in fees for businesses. But even the deep cost cutting measures the investment firms -- now turned banks --
may not help help shareholders enough as the companies face another year of slumping revenue. The demand for their services is and will continue to be limited in what is the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. GS shares are down 2% in premarket trade.
Banco Santander (NYSE: STD),
Nomura (NYSE: NMR) and
Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE: RBS) are among the victims ex-Nasdaq Chairman Bernard Madoff' $50 billion Ponzi scheme. Santander said its customers had an exposure of around $3.1 billion, while Japan's Nomura has an exposure of around $302 million. STD shares are down 1.5% and RBS shares up 1.7% in premarket trade.
[Update 10:00 am:Huntsman Corp. (NYSE: HUN) shares were down about 35% a little after the open after it has ended its $6.5 billion agreement to be taken over by Hexion Specialty Chemicals Inc. and agreed to a $1 billion legal settlement.Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares were down about 4% a little after the open on a downgrade. Goldman Sachs downgraded the iPhone and Mac maker to Neutral from Buy due to deteriorating consumer spending.JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) shares slumped nearly 6% after a Merrill Lynch analyst downgraded JPM to Underperform from Neutral.Honeywell (NYSE: HON) shares gained nearly 7.5% after the manufacturer affirmed a lower 2009 outlook and said it expects profits to fall 6% to 16% as the deepening global recession hits markets it serves.] Continue reading Stocks in the news: GM, F, JPM, KBH, TM, FNM, MO, HUN, AAPL, HON ... (update)
Posted Nov 27th 2008 9:00AM by Jim Cramer
Filed under: Exxon Mobil (XOM), Market matters, Citigroup Inc. (C), Centex Corp (CTX), Federal Natl Mtge (FNM), D.R.Horton (DHI), KB HOME (KBH), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Toll Brothers (TOL), Economic data, Housing, Cramer on BloggingStocks
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says you just can't be as negative as you were before the latest actions. It's been right to be more than the average bear for months now. But if you believe that housing played some role in the downturn, then you have to believe that the latest moves are very meaningful for that trashed market.
We have had two major problems in housing: affordability and the ease and cost of mortgage money. We got news this week that ameliorated both difficulties, and we cannot sniff at them as much as it has paid to sniff at everything else that has been done.
First, the government's buy of GSE paper revives a moribund market and ends a lot of federal indecision. If you recall when the government confiscated the
Fannie (NYSE:
FNM) (
Cramer's Take) and
Freddie (NYSE:
FRE) (
Cramer's Take) preferreds and therefore made FNM paper more dangerous, the government at the same time said that it would make mortgage rates come down, presumably by buying a ton of Fannie/Freddie paper. Instead it made a half-hearted effort by buying about $25 billion in paper and then disappeared!
Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Recent moves finally address housing
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