Analyst Upgrades

• Ryder (R) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• HCP (HCP) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Hertz Global (HTZ) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Lincoln National (LNC) to buy from neutral and T. Rowe Price (TROW) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Protective Life (PL) and Janus Capital (JNS) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• Newell Rubbermaid (NWL) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• National Instruments (NATI) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Team Health (TMH) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BBT, BBY, EV, GDP, HTZ, JNS, LZB, NWL, R, TMK, TROW ...

Analyst Calls: BBT, BBY, EV, GDP, HTZ, JNS, LZB, NWL, R, TMK, TROW ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Before the Bell: Futures Higher on Earnings, Deals

Before the Bell: Futures Higher on Earnings, Deals originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 08:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday, several of America's largest and most well-know companies cut people at an alarming rate. The liquidation of Circuit City could put a total of 30,000 employees onto the street. Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) cut 2,400 sales people. AMD (NYSE: AMD) cut more than 1,000 people. Hertz (NYSE: HTZ) said it will let 4,000 people go, and Wellpoint (NYSE: WLP) will fire more than 1,000 people.

Bloomberg reported that GE (NYSE: GE) might fire up to 11,000 people in its financial unit.

So, in one day, as many as 60,000 people were out of work. A look at the activity shows why it will be so hard to arrest the drop in jobs. The companies involved in downsizing yesterday range from big pharma to transportation to tech to retail. The 24 hours were, in essence, a cross-section of the entire American economy suffering under the weight of the recession.

Economists say there cannot be a recovery with a reversal of the fall in unemployment. Unfortunately, addressing the cause of joblessness is has moved well beyond saving the retail industry and Detroit. Industry by industry, the entire system has become diseased.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

An unimaginable day of layoffs originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 17 Jan 2009 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a special annual report -- Top Stock Picks '09 -- in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked 75 leading newsletter advisors to select their favorite investment for the new year.

"My top pick for 2009, Hertz Global Holdings (NYSE: HTZ) is a very contrarian idea in one of the most beaten down sectors," states Glenn Cutler.

In his Stock Market Blog and Special Situations Report, the advisor says, "Hertz Global -- the world's largest car rental brand -- has over 8,000 locations in 144 countries.

"They are #1 at airports with corporate and licensee locations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand and additional licensee operations in cities and airports in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

"Through Hertz Equipment Rental Corporation unit, the company operates one of the largest equipment rental businesses for a diverse line of customers ranging from major industrial companies to local contractors to consumers with over 350 branch locations in the U.S., Canada, China, France, and Spain.

Continue reading Top Stock Picks '09: Hertz (HTZ)

Top Stock Picks '09: Hertz (HTZ) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Jan 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hertz finds a new revenue stream ... not a moment too soon! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Wachovia upgraded Progressive (NYSE: PGR) to Market Perform from Underperform based on modest signs of improvement in underwriting trends.
  
• Lehman upgraded Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) to Overweight from Equal Weight based on strong core trends and a potential announcement of digital service partners into its May 28 investor day.
  
• Credit Suisse upgraded Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE: PEG) to Outperform from Neutral based on earnings growth through utility investment, valuation, upside from U.S. CO2 policy.

• Precision Drilling (NYSE: PDS) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital.
  
• Hertz Global (NYSE: HTZ) was upgraded at Soleil to Buy from Hold.
  
• Calyon upgraded Foundation Coal (NYSE: FCL) and Arch Coal (ACI) to Add from Neutral.

Analyst upgrades: PGR, NFLX, PDS, HTZ, FCL and PEG originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 20 May 2008 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While Scotts Miracle Gro Co. (NYSE: SMG) Monday blamed a slow start to spring and recalls for a drop in second-quarter profits, Pilgrims Pride Corp. (NYSE: PPC) said its second-quarter loss widened due to rising feed costs and a restructuring charge. And analysts expect lower consumer spending on leisure travel and a drop in business travel to drag on Avis Budget Group Inc. (NYSE: CAR) first-quarter results when it reports on Tuesday.

Discounting charges, Marysville, Ohio-based Scotts reported it made $77.7 million, or $1.19 per share for the quarter ended March 29, two cents better than the forecast of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Revenue fell 4% to $958 million. The company also warned that profits would likely fall below Wall Street forecasts for the year.

Pilgrim's Pride, the nation's largest chicken producer, lost $111.5 million, or $1.67 per share, in the three months ended March 29 compared with a loss of $40.1 million, or 60 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose to $2.10 billion. Analysts had expected a loss of 81 cents per share on $2.09 billion in sales. The company said feed costs would probably push the company to another loss in the current quarter as well.

Analysts expect Parsippany, New Jersey-based Avis to break even on a per share basis, on $1.37 billion revenue. In last year's first quarter, the company posted profit of 12 cents per share. It's unclear how much of an effect the current economic conditions will have on Avis's full-year 2008 results, but in April, rival Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) managed to post an adjusted quarterly profit that beat Wall Street predictions.

Shares of Scotts ended the day up 1.2%, but fell nearly 12% in after-hours trading to $30.00. Pilgrim's Pride fell less than 1% during the day, then another 1.1% after hours to $23.59. Avis also continued its slide into after-hours trading, down to $13.49.

Scotts, Pilgrim's Pride and Avis slide on tough conditions originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 May 2008 18:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Citigroup upgraded shares of Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) to Buy from Hold as they believe Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is unlikely to walk away from Yahoo! and that there is potential Microsoft could bid $34/share.
  
• Credit Suisse upgraded Cigna (NYSE: CI) to Outperform from Neutral citing the company's favorable business mix.
  
• Stephens upgraded shares of Aegean Marine (NYSE: ANW) to Overweight from Equal Weight on valuation as they see an attractive entry point at current levels.

• JMP Securities raised D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI) to Strong Buy from Outperform and Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• Goldman added Hertz Global (NYSE: HTZ) and Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) to its Conviction Buy List.

Analyst upgrades: YHOO, CI, DHI, HTZ and ERTS originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Merrill Lynch cut shares of Citigroup (NYSE: C), Wachovia (NYSE: WB), and JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) from "hold" to "sell." The report indicated a consumer recession and more write-offs would hurt the banks, according to MarketWatch.

Morgan Stanley cut Boeing (NYSE: BA) to "equal weight" from "overweight." Concerns over the launch of the 787 were given as the reason.

Hertz (NYSE: HTZ) was downgraded at Bank of America going from "buy" to "neutral" and with a price target falling from $27 to $20. The move was made based on "earnings sensitivity from a decline in used vehicle and equipment prices," according to Briefing.com.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Big analyst calls: JPM, C, BA originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Dec 2007 07:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Lots more quarterly reports rolled out this past week, and here are some highlights of earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) reported more losses and more job cuts.
• Alvarion Ltd.'s (NASDAQ: ALVR) record quarter fuels speculation of a Cisco (NYSE: CSCO) buyout.
• Avon Products Inc.'s (NYSE: AVP) profit rose 61%, buoyed by strength in emerging markets.
• Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) fell short of expectations due to tighter margins.
• CIGNA Corp. (NYSE: CI) had a solid quarter but warned about 2008 earnings.
• Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) blamed profit loss on materals costs, and announced acquistion of Burt's Bees.
• Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) beat estimates by a penny and had strong sales overseas.
• Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) beat earnings estimates and revised its full-year forecast.
• Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) announced it would restate revenues, ahead of its November quarterly report.
• Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) missed expectations, also due to tighter margins.
• Given Imaging Ltd. (NASDAQ: GIVN) cited FDA approval delays for disappointing results.
• Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) posted record revenues and appointed a new CFO.
• Humana Inc.'s (NYSE: HUM) positive surprise lifted the share price to a new all-time high.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Crocs, Exxon, Kraft, P&G, Sirius, and others

Earnings highlights: Crocs, Exxon, Kraft, P&G, Sirius, and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 03 Nov 2007 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Worldwide car and equipment rental company Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) posted record 3Q revenues and named Elyse Douglas as its new CFO. Not bad for a day's work. Unfortunately, such good news does not seem to have helped the stock, which dropped almost 7% of its value today, closing at $21.40, down $1.58. Despite the good 3Q numbers, continued weak demand for rental equipment in the transportation and construction industries means Hertz will have to try harder simply not to fall behind.

For 3Q 2007, worldwide revenue was up 9.3% to $2.45 billion. Revenue from worldwide car rentals increased 11%, due partly to an increase in the number of transaction days, as well as the average rental price per day. Airport rental rates increased around 5%, while off airport rental revenues shot up over 13%.

On the one hand, Hertz is growing its revenue stream, but on the other, it still carries a mountain of debt, $4.5 billion at the end of 3Q 2007. Hertz managed to reduce the debt load by a paltry $354 million during the quarter. Perhaps the new CFO Elyse Douglas can get the company's debt load under control so that more top line growth translates into bottom line growth.

Hertz revving its engine in record third quarter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 31 Oct 2007 18:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• American Technology downgraded both AVX Corp (NYSE: AVX) and Vishay Intertechnology Inc (NYSE: VSH) to Sell from Buy after channel checks suggested weaker than expected demand for the June quarter from Europe, EMS, and distribution.

• Sanders Morris believes investors should take profits in Buffalo Wild Wings Inc (NASDAQ: BWLD), cutting shares to Sell from Buy, and sees limited catalysts on the horizon that could drive shares higher.

• Morgan Stanley downgraded car rental companies Avis Budget Group (NYSE: CAR), Dollar Thrifty Automotive (NYSE: DTG) and Hertz Global Holdings (NYSE: HTZ) to Underweight from Equal-Weight to reflect weak Q2 rental prices.

• Lehman downgraded Amgen Inc(NASDAQ: AMGN) to EqualWeight from Overweight.

• Caris cut Limited Inc (NYSE: LTD) to Below Average from Average.

• Goldman downgraded Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) to Neutral from Buy.

• Soleil downgraded Cinemark Holdings Inc (NYSE: CNK) to Hold from Buy.

Analyst downgrades 6-25-07: AMGN, BWLD, LTD and NVDA originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 25 Jun 2007 11:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

America is a "sue-happy" country. Where else can you sue the dry cleaners for $54 million because they lost your Hickey Freeman pants. You think I am joking; but this is a case of life being stranger than fiction. A Washington DC judge (who in my opinion should know better) is suing a dry cleaners that lost his pair of pants.

For a moment last week my trust in the American legal system began to fail as Paris Hilton, heiress of Hilton Hotels (NYSE: HLT) fortune, spent a heart-wrenching three days in jail before being released by the sheriff for "medical reasons." Then suddenly my faith was restored as the judge sent her back to jail.

Well it didn't last long. It seems this week a pair of lost pants is worth crying over -- and $54 million. I guess America is land of the free and home of too many lawyers. Maybe this is why I respect Vice President Cheney: I mean, we all talk about the problem with lawyers, but at least he shot one.

Continue reading Lawyers and the $54 million pants

Lawyers and the $54 million pants originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Jun 2007 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Day Undetermined:
  • The Blackstone Group (BX), a 133.3M-share IPO. Morgan Stanley and Citigroup are the lead managers. Filing range: $29.00-$31.00.
• Tuesday
  • Biofuel Energy (BIOF), a 9.5M-share IPO for this ethanol company. JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, and AG Edwards are the lead managers. Filing range: $16.00-$18.00.
• Wednesday
  • Bway (BWY), an 11.765M-share IPO for this container company. Goldman Sachs and the Bank of America are the lead managers. Filing range: $16.00-$18.00.
  • GeoVera Insurance (GEOV), a 5.99M-share IPO for this residential insurance company. JP Morgan Chase and Merrill Lynch are the lead managers.
• Thursday
  • Aegerion Pharmaceuticals (AEGR), a 5M-share IPO for this cardiovascular medicines company. Lehman Brothers is the lead manager. Filing range: $12.00-$14.00.

Continue reading IPO & secondary weekly preview: Blackstone Group, Hertz, Omniture

IPO & secondary weekly preview: Blackstone Group, Hertz, Omniture originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 11 Jun 2007 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• ROO Group (OTCBB: RGRP) was initiated with a Buy rating and $3.50 target at Cantor. The firm believes the company is one of the few pure-play online video public investment opportunities for investors today.
• Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and Circuit City Stores (NYSE: CC) were initiated at FTN Midwest with a Buy rating and Neutral rating, respectively.
• LifePoint Hospitals (NASDAQ: LPNT), Community Health Systems (NYSE: CYH), Tenet Healthcare (NYSE: THC) and MedCath Corp. (NASDAQ: MDTH) were all initiated with Hold ratings at AG Edwards. AG Edwards also initiated shares of Universal Health Services (NYSE: UHS) with a Buy rating and $72 target, citing the company's strong patient volume growth and favorable reimbursement trends.

• Famous Dave's of America (NASDAQ: DAVE) was initiated with a Buy rating at Feltl & Co.
• Needham initiated shares of RadiSys Corp. (NASDAQ: RSYS) with a Buy rating and $17 target, as it expects the company to benefit from the development of standards-based embedded solutions.
• Atmel Corp. (NASDAQ: ATML) was initiated with a Buy rating and $7.50 target at American Technology.
• Genomic Health (NASDAQ: GHDX) was initiated with an Outperform rating at Leerink Swann.
• Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) was initiated with a Buy rating and $24 target at Soleil.
• Banc of America initiated shares of Hertz Global Holdings (NYSE: HTZ) with a Buy rating and $27 target.

Analyst initiations 5-31-07: Best Buy, Circuit City initiated originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 31 May 2007 12:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) posted record 4Q revenues just shy of $2 billion, an 8% increase over 4Q 2005. Numbers were good across the board. 4Q adjusted pre-tax income was $132.5 million, up 142.2%. No, that's not a typo. Adjusted pre-tax income more than doubled for the period. Net corporate debt decreased $388 million in 4Q alone. Car rental revenues were up 7.3% to $1.55 billion. Equipment rental revenue was up 10.6% to $436 million. Net income for 4Q 2006 was $39.8 million, $0.14 per fully diluted share.

For the full year, worldwide revenue was up 7.9% and adjusted pre-tax income was up 47.1% while net corporate debt for the year decreased $284 million.

To what should we attribute this very positive numbers? Remember that 4Q 2005 was the time of the Gulf Coast hurricanes that depressed business earnings across the board, so it is easy to post impressive quarter-to-quarter gains. But Hertz's numbers are more than that. Hertz management has been steadfast in cutting operating expenses, yet at the same time increasing the advertising budget by more than $6 million. Rental prices per day increased total rental rate revenue 3% in the US. Hertz also signed a multi-year deal to be the car rental agency of choice for AAA. Hertz has been developing and promoting its own-way car rentals anywhere in the US. Hertz has also combined with Ryanair, a budget European airline to provide ground transportation at key destination points. Beginning in January 2007, Hertz and United Airlines have a preferred partnership deal. Lastly, Hertz.com, the online reservation and booking site, hit over $1 billion in rental revenue.

Looking forward, Hertz forecasts mid single-digit demand growth for rental cars in the US and Europe. Full-year 2007 revenues are forecast at $8.5-$8.6 billion. Adjusted net income is forecast in the $372-395 million range, approximately $1.15-1.22 per share.

Hertz posts impressive 4Q and full year results originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 02 Apr 2007 09:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rental car market ready to roll originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Jan 2007 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Deutsche Bank initiated shares of Constellation Energy Group (NYSE: CEG) with a Buy rating and $78 target; the firm said valuation is compelling as the market has barely priced in the valued of BED, the merchant plants and the PV of the current backlog.

• Wachovia started shares of Hertz Global Holding (NYSE: HTZ) with a Market Perform rating. They see limited upside to shares due to broader economic concerns.

• Merrill Lynch initiated shares of Winnebago (NYSE: WGO) with a Neutral rating, saying shares are fairly valued.

• UBS initiated shares of KBR, Inc. (NYSE: KBR) with a Neutral and $26 target.

Analyst initiations 1-8-07: Constellation Energy & Hertz take top honors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Jan 2007 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Cramer already endorsed the NYMEX (NMX) IPO and the KBR (KBR) IPO, but he panned the Hertz (HTZ) IPO.

Cramer said the IPO to avoid this week is Hertz (HTZ). He thinks this one can burn you. This is where the sellers of the IPO make a lot of money, but the new buyers can be left holding the bag. He thinks it can end up being just like the Seally Corp. (NYSE:ZZ) IPO and he won't touch it with a pole.

He said the first thing is to do no harm. He won't use the Vonage Holdings (NYSE:VG) or the Burger King Holdings (NYSE:BKC) deal, but he thinks it will be a disappointment.

This was sold to a private equity group for $15 Billion and the new sale is 27% being sold. They have increased the debt and knocked down earnings. The $16 Billion of the IPO, but over $900 million of the IPO is funding a special dividend and another $400 million is essentially another dividend. The 3 firms also have 7 of 9 board seats and this is one that you need to avoid.

He thinks it won't go above $20.00 after the IPO any time soon and the downside is just too hard to calculate.

Cramer: The Hertz IPO could hurt you! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 15 Nov 2006 09:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.