With the end of the year fast approaching, it's time to start putting together "best of" and "worst of" lists for 2008. This entry is a little bit of both, but it's admittedly heavy on the "worst of." Among the current members of the S&P 500 Index (SPX), just 11 were sitting on a year-to-date gain as of the close of trading on Monday, November 24. Since Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) is unchanged, that means we have a whopping 488 securities sitting on a loss for the year.
Let's start with the bad news first. Among the worst-performing stocks on the SPX, the six top spots are claimed by stocks in the Insurance and Real Estate sectors. General Growth Properties (NYSE: GGP) has the dubious honor of dropping nearly 98% on the year, and -- not surprisingly -- American International Group (NYSE: AIG) isn't far behind.
This morning, BIG opened at $32.56. So far today the stock has hit a low of $30.21 and a high of $32.60. As of 12:45, BIG is trading at $31.69, down $1.37 (-4.1%). The chart for BIG looks neutral and S&P gives BIG a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.
For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a September bear-call credit spread above the $35 range. A bear-call credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of call options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make an 8.7% return in 4 weeks as long as BIG is below $35 at September expiration. Big Lots would have to rise by more than 11% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.
Results for the tech stocks in last week's preview were a mixed bag, some beats, some misses, some in line. By and large, expectations for tech companies reporting results this week remain high, though. Here's what analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are anticipating in the way of earnings, as compared to the same period of the previous year.
Given that it's the end of the quarter, as well as the U.S. Independence Day holiday on Friday, next week looks to be pretty quiet as far as earnings go. But there are a few things of note.
Tax preparation company H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) is scheduled to report its fiscal fourth-quarter results Monday after market close. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial on average expect the company to report net income of $2.03 per share on revenue of $2.5 billion. That's an increase of more than 10% over EPS a year ago. H&R Block has tended to fall short of estimates recently, and rival Jackson Hewitt (NYSE: JTX) missed its EPS estimates earlier this month. Still, analysts recommend buying HRB. Shares have risen 12.1% year to date, and the long-term EPS growth forecast is 11.7%.
Alcoholic beverage maker and distributor Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) is scheduled to report its fiscal first-quarter results Tuesday morning. Analysts are looking for earnings of 31 cents per share, up 32.3% from the same period of the previous year, on revenue of $906.1 million. Constellation has tended toward positive surprises recently, by 8 cents, or 33.8%, in the previous quarter. However, analysts recommend holding STZ and have for more than 90 days., even though the long-term EPS growth forecast is 12.3%. Although shares have risen 9.0% in the past three months, they are down 16.8% year to date.
Phoenix-based education company Apollo Group (NASDAQ: APOL) is scheduled to report its fiscal third-quarter results late Tuesday. Analysts on average are expecting the company to report net income of 78 cents per share -- the same as in the year ago period -- on revenue of $806.9 million. When it comes to meeting expectations, lately Apollo has a mixed record -- it fell short by 11 cents, or more than 20%, in the previous quarter. Analysts recommend buying APOL and have for more than 90 days. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 14.0%. Though shares have risen 4.2% in the past three months, they are down 31.6% year to date.
Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) is the largest broadline closeout retailer in the United States. Stores offer such staples as food, health and beauty products, plastics, furniture, toys, lawn tools, electronics, apparel and small appliances. The goods are generally products that have been overproduced, or discontinued, and are typically offered at 20-40 percent below discounters' prices. The company currently operates 1,354 stores in 47 states. Wholesale operations are conducted through Big Lots Wholesale outlets.
The firm pleased investors last week, when it reported Q1 EPS of 42 cents and revenues of $1.15 billion. Analysts had been expecting 36 cents and $1.14 billion. Management also guided Q2 EPS to 21-25 cents (23 cent consensus) and FY08 EPS to $1.80-$1.90 ($1.78 consensus). Wedbush Morgan subsequently reiterated its "strong buy" rating on the shares and Piper Jaffray upped its recommendation to "buy".
MOST NOTEWORTHY: AnnTaylor, FNB Corp and MFA Mortgage were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Friedman Billings upgraded AnnTaylor (NYSE:ANN) to Outperform from Market Perform based on better management of the business by management, stabilizing fundamentals, and strong balance sheet and cash flow.
B. Riley raised FNB Corp (NYSE:FNB) to Buy from Neutral as they feel more bullish about the company's prospects after meeting with management. The firm raised their target price to $16 from $15.50.
Keefe Bruyette upgraded MFA Mortgage (NYSE:MFA) to Outperform from Market Perform following the company's 40M share equity offering, which they believe will add 2.5c a quarter to EPS.
OTHER UPGRADES:
Dell (NASADAQ:DELL) was raised at Merrill to Buy from Neutral.
Lehman upgraded Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) to Overweight from Equal Weight.
Big Lots (NYSE:BIG) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Piper.
Cash-strapped bargain hunters have made it possible for discount retailers Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) and Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) to report healthy profit increases on Thursday.
Big Lots reported that its first-quarter profit rose 20% to $34.5 million, or 42 cents per share, from the same period in the prior year. Quarterly sales grew 2% to $1.15 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had predicted a first-quarter profit of 36 cents per share on revenue of $1.14 billion.
The Columbus, Ohio-based company said that same-store sales increased 3.4% during the quarter, and also said that results were helped by having about 30 million fewer shares outstanding.
Shares of Big Lots closed up $2.18, or 7.6%, to $30.71. Shares have risen 92.1% since the beginning of the year.
While the earnings season is beginning to wind down for the current quarter, there are still plenty of results to come. Here's a peek at what analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are expecting from companies scheduled to report results in the final week of May 2008.
These companies are expected to post earnings growth, compared to the same period in the previous year:
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) down 2.9% to 33 cents per share, on $15.66 billion in revenue
TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) is expected to swing to a loss of a penny per share, compared to a penny profit a year ago, and report $55.62 million in revenue. And analysts expect Borders Group Inc. (NYSE: BGP) to narrow its loss 7.8% to 47 cents per share, on $801.11 million in revenue.
It has been a rocky year for Wall Street, but even amid the uncertain market conditions there are some companies that are playing with a lot of cash. In addition, they know how to wisely use their funds, which makes them strong enough to beat any challenge.
One important factor that determines the stability of a company is its corporate cash flow. CNNMoney is looking at stocks with both healthy cash flow and a surplus of cash, which helps them avoid tough situations where they may need to raise their capital (check out its slideshow of these five picks). Another element that CNNMoney takes into account when picking companies is their ability to reinvest cash in ways that assure them a nice profitability.
Let's look at some of the companies that CNNMoney likes:
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Credit Suisse, Masimo and Marvell Tech were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Bear upgraded Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) to Peer Perform from Underperform as they believe the company's balance sheet will stabilize and the company's Private Banking business is holding up well in difficult conditions. Goldman, which raised shares to Neutral from Sell, believes the worst is over regarding the market downturn.
Citigroup upgraded Masimo Corporation (NASDAQ: MASI) to Buy from Hold citing expectations of a strong Q1 report, expected FDA approval for hemoglobin monitoring in 2H08, and valuation.
Marvell Technology Group Ltd (NASDAQ: MRVL) was raised at Friedman Billings to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation and improved business conditions.
Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) is the largest broadline closeout retailer in the United States. Stores offer such staples as food, health and beauty products, plastics, furniture, toys, lawn tools, electronics, apparel and small appliances. The goods are generally products that have been overproduced, or discontinued, and are typically offered at 20-40 percent below discounters' prices. The company currently operates 1,353 stores in 47 states. Wholesale operations are conducted through Big Lots Wholesale, Consolidated International and Wisconsin Toy outlets. Target (NYSE: TGT) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) are major competitors.
The firm pleased investors last week, when it reported Q4 EPS of 93 cents and revenues of $1.41 billion. Analysts had been looking for 84 cents and $1.41 billion. Management also guided Q1 EPS to 30-35 cents (26 cent consensus) and FY09 EPS to $1.70-$1.80 ($1.53 consensus). Wedbush Morgan and Soleil subsequently declared the issue a "buy" and issued price targets of $26 (W) and $32 (S).
With the end of the year fast approaching, it's time to start putting together "best of" and "worst of" lists for 2008. This entry is a little bit of both, but it's admittedly heavy on the "worst of." Among the current members of the S&P 500 Index (SPX), just 11 were sitting on a year-to-date gain as of the close of trading on Monday, November 24. Since Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) is unchanged, that means we have a whopping 488 securities sitting on a loss for the year.
Results for the tech stocks in 
.gif){kind=logo}
It has been a rocky year for Wall Street, but even amid the uncertain market conditions there are some companies that are playing with a lot of cash. In addition, they know how to wisely use their funds, which makes them strong enough to beat any challenge..gif){kind=logo}
Big 3 CEOs drive to Washington to suck up to Congress
GM and Ford ready weak pitches for taxpayer bucks
Cramer on BloggingStocks: A troika of opportunity and trouble 
