Continue reading FDA Menthol Report Good News for Lorillard

FDA Menthol Report Good News for Lorillard originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is one in a series in which more than 60 newsletter advisors share their Top Stock Picks for 2011. This special report is courtesy of TheStockAdvisors.com.

"Altria (MO) -- our top investment idea for the coming year -- is an extremely simple business; the company provides a specific product, tobacco, to a specific consumer niche, tobacco users," says dividend expert Kelley Wright.

The editor Investment Quality Trends explains, "While distasteful, if not outright abhorrent to much of the population, tobacco is the poster-child of 'sinful' indulgences, which makes Altria Group the poster-child of 'sin' stocks.

Continue reading Top Picks 2011: Altria (MO)

Top Picks 2011: Altria (MO) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Looking for a shopping list of new stock ideas for 2011?

Each year for 28 years, TheStockAdvisors.com has turned to the nation's most respected and well-known newsletter advisors and asked them for their favorite investment ideas for the coming 12 months.

With 65 advisors participating in this year's survey, there's something for every type of investor, from high-quality blue chips to speculative home runs.

Continue reading Top Picks 2011: Favorite Stocks from 60+ Advisors

Top Picks 2011: Favorite Stocks from 60+ Advisors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"We will leave the debate over the relative morality of the cigarette business to others," says Geoffrey Seiler, adding "Our view is simple: it is a legal product and Philip Morris International (PM) is one of the best operators in the segment."

The editor of BullMarket.com explains, "The Philip Morris value creation model is easy to understand. While organic volumes are still slipping, the tobacco industry continues to have great pricing power.

"Thus the simple formula for the company is to raise prices, use its prolific cash flow to buy back shares, make some accretive acquisitions, increase the dividend, and repeat.

Continue reading Philip Morris International (PM): A Simple Formula for Success

Philip Morris International (PM): A Simple Formula for Success originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Goldman upgraded Eaton (ETN) to conviction buy from neutral.
• AECOM Technology (ACM) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Hologic (HOLX), Gen-Probe (GPRO) and Qiagen (QGEN) to overweight from neutral.
• GeoMet (GMET) was upgraded to accumulate from neutral at Global Hunter.
• Accretive Health (AH) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Reinsurance Group (RGA) to overweight from equal weight.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Clearwire (CLWR) to neutral from underperform.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BA, BBBY, CI, CLWR, DFS, DLTR, ETN, MET, MO, WSM ...

Analyst Calls: BA, BBBY, CI, CLWR, DFS, DLTR, ETN, MET, MO, WSM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Nov 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Altria Shoots to New 52-Week High

Altria Shoots to New 52-Week High originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When you write about Apple (AAPL), you inevitably hear from some naive person informing you that, "You just don't get it; Apple is different."

There are certainly many things about Apple that are very different, but in the context of the "you just don't get it" crowd, it is absolutely not. The same was said about Google (GOOG) only a short while ago, Xerox (XRX) three decades ago and Winchester -- now part of Olin Corp. (OLN) -- rifles 125 years ago.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Apple's Cash Is Different

Chasing Value: Apple's Cash Is Different originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Best Buy (BBY) was upgraded to top pick from outperform at RBC Capital, as the firm thinks the company's valuation is inexpensive while it will perform well during the holiday season.
• Credit Suisse upgraded CF Industries (CF) to outperform from neutral, citing favorable fundamentals in nitrogen and phosphate markets.
• Canadian Solar (CSIQ) was raised to buy from hold by Jefferies, which cited expectations for higher selling prices next year and cost savings from sourcing more components internally.
• BMO Capital upgraded RC2 Corp. (RCRC) to outperform from market perform as the firm believes that RC2's baby products are performing better than previously expected.
• Ericsson (ERIC) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merril.
• ProLogis (PLD) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• Constellation Energy (CEG) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ABC, BBY, CF, CSIQ, ERIC, MO, N, NAV, ORLY, PCAR, RCRC, SYY ...

Analyst Calls: ABC, BBY, CF, CSIQ, ERIC, MO, N, NAV, ORLY, PCAR, RCRC, SYY ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Piper Jaffray upgraded Edwards Lifesciences (EW) to overweight from neutral and raised its target price for shares to $77 from $53 after The New England Journal of Medicine reported the company's PARTNER Trial met primary endpoints.
• UBS upgraded Endo Pharmaceuticals (ENDP) to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $36 from $25. UBS is positive on Endo's creative strategic deals and believes the switch to Opana TRF from Opana ER will be easy. Additionally, the analyst believes pipeline expectations are very low.
• BMO Capital upgraded Nvidia (NVDA) to outperform from market perform based on expectations that share loss in the core GPU business will stop, Tegra momentum and valuation. The firm raised its price target to $16 from $9.
• FirstEnergy (FE) and Allegheny Energy (AYE) were upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Mylan (MYL) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman. Warner
• Chilcott (WCRX) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: CALM, CWT, DD, DYN, ENDP, EW, MO, MOS, NVDA, OXPS, PPL ...

Analyst Calls: CALM, CWT, DD, DYN, ENDP, EW, MO, MOS, NVDA, OXPS, PPL ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here is a common sentiment about the stock market: "No fun at all. As I have said before, I believe it has turned into one big casino largely divorced from its original goal of providing capital to companies who produce something of value."

There's a lot of truth to what "granny" recently said to me in an e-mail. Fortunately she also noted "FYI Granny's up 5.86% + dividends." That would give her a gain of about 10% in the past ten months since I posted Where should granny put $50,000, suggesting a very conservative portfolio for an uncertain time.

Not only has she earned a very nice return, surpassing her CD account by 9.5% (20 fold), but she was able to do so with a great deal less volatility than the overall market most of us have lived through.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Granny Said, 'It Has Turned into One Big Casino'

Chasing Value: Granny Said, 'It Has Turned into One Big Casino' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Great dividend picks are easier to find than you think. Retirees looking for safe places to stash their cash are already familiar with many blue chips that have hefty yields. It's just that when investors stop at the grocery store or pay their phone bill, they aren't thinking about how the big brands they're doing business with are actually good dividend payers.

Here are three of America's best know public corporations with yields that are about twice what 10-year Treasuries pay. These low-risk blue chips are some of the most famous high-yield dividend stocks out there.

Continue reading Three Famous Dividend All-Stars

Three Famous Dividend All-Stars originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Option traders are pushing up call option prices in the Processed & Packaged Goods industry and are pushing up put option prices in the Packaging & Containers industry.

Any time the volatility skews above 1.00, it is an indication that calls are more expensive than puts. Typically, when calls are more expensive than puts, it means the demand for calls is greater than the demand for puts because investors believe the stock is going to rise in the future and they want to take advantage of that movement by buying calls.

The opposite is also true. Any time a volatility skews below 1.00, it is an indication that puts are more expensive than calls.

Continue reading McCormick Tops Bullish Volatility Skews, Bemis Tops the Bearish Ones

McCormick Tops Bullish Volatility Skews, Bemis Tops the Bearish Ones originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 14 May 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Serious Money: Greek Bonds or High Yield Stocks?

Serious Money: Greek Bonds or High Yield Stocks? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The editor of the Money Map Report explains, "Altria Group (MO) is a dividend machine. Right now, the stock yields 6.9%. And there's more than enough business to sustain such a high payout rate."

Continue reading Altria (MO): A 'Dividend Machine'

Altria (MO): A 'Dividend Machine' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from last week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) Q3 earnings beat by a penny but sales fell short of expectations; shares fell.
• AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) reported a Q3 net loss and plunging revenue but also raised $4 billion in cash.
• BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT) topped Q3 earnings expectations but said bad-loan provisions nearly doubled.
• Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) missed estimates and posted a Q3 loss due to delays for a couple of jet products.
• Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) shares rose after it reported better-than-expected Q3 numbers.
• Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) posted a better-than-expected Q3 profit but sales fell short, and shares fell.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Boeing, Coca-Cola, eBay, Microsoft, Pfizer, UAL, Yahoo! ...

Earnings highlights: Boeing, Coca-Cola, eBay, Microsoft, Pfizer, UAL, Yahoo! ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Altria (MO) lower as 3Q revenue disappoints

Altria (MO) lower as 3Q revenue disappoints originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

One of my wonderful friends, Ms. P, asked me for some guidance on how she might allocate $50,000 currently earning peanuts in a money market account. Though she is decades from becoming a grandmother, after a brief discussion about her financial parameters, it became clear to me that she was looking for a "granny fund."

In reality, my recommendations would be suitable, and perhaps desirable, for many passive investors as well.

The $50,000 is a portion of money Ms. P has set aside to purchase a home, which might happen in six months, but could also be pushed out further, depending on the economy and her situation. Basically, she wants to cover all her bases because she might need the money at any time and does not want to be caught short, while at the same time she would like to generate some revenue without taking any big risks.

Continue reading Where should granny put $50,000?

Where should granny put $50,000? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As of Tuesday, you'll have to cross a border to buy a clove. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's ban on flavored cigarettes went into effect and prohibits the sale of candy and fruit-flavored cigarettes. Authorized under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, the measure is intended to reduce the number of children who take up the habit.

Under the new ban, cigarettes that include "an artificial or natural flavor (other than menthol) or an herb or spice" cannot be sold in the United States. The long, but not exhaustive list of flavors, consists of strawberry, grape, orange, clove, cinnamon, pineapple, vanilla, coconut, licorice, cocoa, chocolate, cherry and coffee.

Continue reading Flavored cigarettes off the shelves

Flavored cigarettes off the shelves originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Serious Money: Six stocks paying over 6% yields: VZ, DUK, MO, KMP, BWP, NLY

Serious Money: Six stocks paying over 6% yields: VZ, DUK, MO, KMP, BWP, NLY originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) Q1 profit blew away estimates, sending shares soaring.
• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) topped analysts expectations and offered conservative guidance.
• Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) reported better-than-expected results but warned that if faced challenges.
• Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) topped Q3 profit estimates and announced the start of quarterly dividends.
• Continental Airlines Inc. (NYSE: CAL) widened is net loss in Q1 but still beat low Wall Street estimates.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Apple, Ford, Microsoft, Wells Fargo, Boeing, American Express and more

Earnings highlights: Apple, Ford, Microsoft, Wells Fargo, Boeing, American Express and more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 25 Apr 2009 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.