Deutsche Telekom (NYSE:DT) was upgraded to "overweight" from "neutral" at JP Morgan, according toMarketWatch. The financial news site also reports that France Telecom (NYSE:FTE) was upped to "buy" from "neutral" at Merrill Lynch.
Stifel Nicolaus & Co reiterated its "hold" rating on Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) ahead of the company annual meeting according to the AP.
Merrill Lynch resumed coverage of Home Depot (NYSE:HD) with an "underperform" rating, according toBriefing.com. The news service also reports that JP Morgan initiated Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) with an "overweight" rating.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) reported Q1 earnings on Wednesday, and Trey Thoelcke highlighted the numbers in this earnings-recap piece. Shares rose substantially in the after-hours trading session yesterday, jumping over 8%, and as I reviewed various earnings reports last night, I found myself drawn to the retailer's stock performance. I haven't been a huge fan of Bed Bath & Beyond as of late, so I figured I should take a look at the earnings release to see if there's anything here that would change my opinion.
Unfortunately, there isn't. Sales may have grown 6%, and expectations may have been beaten by $0.03, but net income still dropped over 20% to $0.30 per diluted share. Cash flow from operations declined 44% to $65.8 million. And same-store sales were very anemic, rising only 0.8%.
I choose, in this case, to focus on those figures. I also consider the fact that Bed Bath & Beyond does not pay a dividend, and that we are in an awful economic environment, both from a consumer and stock-market standpoint. This is not the stock I'd want to face the recession with, and I don't necessarily find it to be a big value right now. When it comes to retail, I am more likely to look at Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Target (NYSE: TGT). I'd even consider a Home Depot (NYSE: HD) or a Lowe's (NYSE: LOW). All of these stocks pay dividends and have better brand equities and more attractive prospects. Bed Bath & Beyond certainly didn't deliver an earnings bomb, but I'm still not inclined to put money here.
Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.
Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) will soon be selling display advertising and even video advertising on the website of the world's largest retailer, www.walmart.com. The companies announced the partnership Wednesday, although terms of the multi-year deal weren't announced.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) indicated that advertisers would be able to buy ad space alongside walmart.com's product and information pages, which brings up the question: will Wal-Mart allow competitive ads to sit alongside its website pages? Display ads are graphic ads, unlike most Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) ads that are text based.
Imagine this: a customer is looking at a Black & Decker weed trimmer at walmart.com and a full display ad from Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) or The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) pops up with a competitive model and a link to where it can be purchased. This scenario sounds like it could easily happen here.
It will be quite interesting to see how this partnership is launched and how Yahoo!'s display ads are implemented into walmart.com's website -- and if any advertiser can buy ad space on one of the largest e-commerce sites on the web. Perhaps Yahoo! will financially make it worth Walmart.com's while.
Because a long, holiday weekend can be a great time to pause and reflect -- to take a step back and look at the bigger picture -- here are some highlights from BloggingStocks a year ago today: May 25, 2007.
In his Wall Street Strategies, the leading advisor -- and well-known panelist for Fox Business News -- explains, "The debate on which is a better investment, Home Depot or Lowe's, is now at a crossroads following the release of 1Q08 earnings results from each firm.
"As expected, both companies reported year on year earnings decreases as slowing home remodeling spend weighed on comparable store sales.
"Back in 2005-2007, Lowe's was hot the investment choice relative to Home Depot, with many citing its stronger operating margins and friendlier store shopping environment. Although Lowe's is still attracting higher income customers as a result of solid merchandise offerings and customer service, in our view one should crunch the numbers.
"When they do, it will become prevalent that Home Depot is the stronger investment in the niche at this time. The company has been ahead of the game with respect to Lowe's in drastically reducing capital expenditures and store operating outlays.
"Moreover, it has taken the fight back to its smaller rival in the area of customer service and product presentation. In our opinion, play the underdog card and look to invest in Home Depot in upcoming months given more attractive valuation."
Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.
Sometimes one company cannot be discussed without another entering the conversation. The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) reported a 66% drop in first-quarter profit Tuesday, largely due to a one-time charge and continued weakness in the housing market. Only a few days ago, Lowe's Co. (NYSE: LOW) reported sizable losses too.
"Weakness in the housing market" -- in many places that is a gross understatement, since there is no market and they are giving houses away. There are places where home sales have stabilized, and based on April figures it appears that home construction was up when including apartment development. But there are still millions of single family homes and condominiums available at fire sale prices.
Atlanta-based Home Depot said it earned $356 million, or 21 cents a share, in the three months ending May 4, compared to a profit of $1.05 billion, or 53 cents a share, a year earlier. It announced earlier this month that it was putting the brakes on some of its expansion plans and said it would do what was previously unthinkable -- close 15 of its flagship stores. The move, to be completed by July, affects 1,300 employees
Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) reported Q1 earnings on Monday, and I'm sure a lot of investors looked to this report to see if it indicated how the economy was doing. I hope not too many people were looking to link the economy with the company's numbers, however, because they weren't the greatest.
Top-line sales declined about 1% to $12 billion. Net income dropped 15% to 41 cents per share. Perhaps worst of all, same-store sales plummeted 8.4%. So, with flat revenues and a declining bottom line, was there anything positive about the earnings release? Yes. According to Briefing.com, Lowe's beat expectations by a penny (it did miss on the net-sales number, though). Also, the cash-flow statement shows that the retailer is doing fine in terms of the green. Lowe's generated $2.5 billion from operations this quarter versus $2.1 billion in last year's comparable period. So all is not lost.
But make no mistake, this is a tough environment for Lowe's and its enemy, Home Depot (NYSE: HD). However, if you think you want to get in Lowe's at some point, now could be the time, assuming you are a long-term thinker. The company's shares have bounced off their lows of the year and are still off from their highs. As we all know, the economy will get better at some point, and Lowe's will ultimately benefit. Both Lowe's and Home Depot are not that expensive, in my opinion, and both are probably worth some due diligence.
Disclosure: I don't own shares in any of the companies mentioned here; positions can change at any time.
Stock futures fell early Tuesday morning, ahead of an inflation reading at the wholesale level. It is rising prices, as well as the worse housing slump in over a century that caused Home Depot's profit to decline 66% when it reported this morning. Other retailers are scheduled to report earnings today, and the concern is many will show they face similar problems.
U.S. stocks ended mixed on Monday despite rising quite steadily until 1:30 p.m. EDT. While leading economic indicators alleviated some concerns over the economy, record crude oil prices, once again, dampened the mood on the Street and the Dow industrials rose 41 points, or 0.32%, the S&P 500 added a point, or 0.09%, but the Nasdaq Composite dropped 12 points, or 0.50%.
Producer price index, a gauge of inflation at the wholesale level, is due out in about an hour, at 8:30 a.m. EDT. The data is expected to show a 0.4% rise in April. Excluding food and energy, core-PPI is expected to show a rise of 0.2% in April.
Earlier this week, Jim Cramer pondered whether the U.S. economy had reached bottom, given such recent signs as stronger-than-expected retail sales and investor interest in homebuilders. In particular, he said he's looking at next week's quarterly results from Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) and Home Depot (NYSE: HD) as a sign for the housing sector and for the potential market rally.
Lowe's is expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial to report second-quarter earnings of 39 cents per share, down 18.8% from 48 cents per share in the same period in 2007, but up 28.2% from 28 cents per share in the previous quarter. The company has provided positive surprises in four of the past five quarters.
North Carolina-based Lowe's is the second-largest U.S. home improvement chain, behind rival Home Depot, and the second-largest appliance retailer after Sears (NYSE: SHLD). In the past year, the company's revenues were $48.2 billion and its net income totaled $2.8 billion. Its long-term EPS growth forecast is 12.7%, which is better than its industry average. The consensus recommendation of analysts remains to buy Lowe's.
The stock is up 9.9% since the beginning of the year, but has fallen 20.5% from a year ago. It trades at a P/E ratio of 13.38. Shares closed Friday at $24.89.
Lowe's (NYSE:LOW) is expected to report Q1 EPS before the open on May 19. LOW June option implied volatility of 35 is below its 26-week average of 39 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.
Home Depot (NYSE:HD) is expected to report Q1 before the market open on May 20. HD June option implied volatility of 32 is below its 26-week average of 36 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.
Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the homebuilders won't quit, and that's making the early-cycle plays work.
Have we really bottomed? The stubborn lack of decline in the homebuilders, coupled with the better-than-expected retail sales, the strong transports, and the conclusion of a deal like Clear Channel (NYSE: CCU) (Cramer's Take), has created an environment where you are hard-pressed, if you rely on stocks as forecasters, to ignore the possibility of a bottom.
I watch the HGX like a hawk, the homebuilding aggregation, and it simply won't come down. That's despite the awful numbers, the covenant violations (Standard Pacific (NYSE: SPF) (Cramer's Take)) the bad loans, the lack of mortgage money, the insistence of a down payment and an abysmal spring traffic season.
So, why are people buying the group that signaled the downturn? I think it comes down to price. If you force the homebuilders to sell, as Toll (NYSE: TOL) (Cramer's Take) did this quarter, taking no gains on homes, you clean up inventory. If you clean up inventory, which is what happened in western Florida, you stabilize pricing. When you stabilize pricing, you bring out buyers. It is a virtuous circle.
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.
There are many contrasts between The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Lowe's (NYSE: LOW), both of which sell a broad range of tools, fixtures, fittings, garden supplies, and construction materials to do-it-your selfers and professional contractors alike. Home Depot is the original big-box category killer of a hardware store that displaced many a mom-and-pop shop, as well as its predecessors, like Builders Emporium. Lowe's, the new kid on the block has been growing like mad with Home Depot's business in it's cross-hairs.
Both companies have been suffering mightily in the face of the housing slump and the crushing financial markets. Eventually, recession or not, both companies will see their revenues improve as the economy works through it's nightmarish problems.
UBS initiated Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) and Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC) with Buy ratings and an $11 target and $62 target, respectively. The firm views valuation as attractive.
"Which is the better buy among the leading home retailing stocks -- 
Sometimes one company cannot be discussed without another entering the conversation. 
Stock futures fell early Tuesday morning, ahead of an inflation reading at the wholesale level. It is rising prices, as well as the worse housing slump in over a century that caused Home Depot's profit to decline 66% when it reported this morning. Other retailers are scheduled to report earnings today, and the concern is many will show they face similar problems.
Lowe's is expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial to report second-quarter earnings of 39 cents per share, down 18.8% from 48 cents per share in the same period in 2007, but up 28.2% from 28 cents per share in the previous quarter. The company has provided 
Lowe's
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