I would think that all of the diapers the latest FightBaby goes through may have helped Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) a bit, but that was not the case.

The home of Kleenex and Huggies announced yesterday that it will cut 1,600 jobs, roughly 3% of its total workforce. A majority of the cuts will come from salaried and nonproduction workers; the company does not plan to close any plants. The company believes that these cuts will save roughly $150 million a year, or 25 cents per share. These results will be reflected the most in the second quarter, when the company will record $110 million of the costs.

Continue reading Kimberly-Clark cuts 3% of its staff

Kimberly-Clark cuts 3% of its staff originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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.

In the world of diapers, try as other brands might to gain a foothold, it is really a Pampers vs. Huggies world.

Pampers, made by Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) has been the market share winner for decades and is P&G's top global brand. But Huggies, made by Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) has made significant inroads thanks to frequent discounts.

Consumer Reports estimates parents will spend between $1,500 and $2,000 on disposable diapers before their child is potty trained. With that kind of investment, many parents have strong views about which brand is best. Leakage control and rash prevention are the main criteria. Consumer reports rates Pampers (both its Cruisers and Baby Dry brands) higher than Huggies, mainly due to Pampers' superior leakage prevention.

Baby blogs also seem to favor Pampers over Huggies. And in my experience, I do think of Pampers as the "premium" and was surprised that when I actually checked price tags in my local drug store this week, found that they were priced exactly the same.

For my diaper dollar, I don't see much of a difference between the two. I'm all for changing the baby more often and buying a cheaper diaper. If you really put the diapers to the test with, say an eight-hour day at the playground without a change, you might find a difference. But my priority is to spend as little time and money diaper shopping as possible. Costco stocks Huggies in bulk, so that's what we have now.

Continue reading Battle of the Brands: Pampers vs. Huggies

Battle of the Brands: Pampers vs. Huggies originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 08 May 2008 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) implied volatility up on gas price movement and expected fund raising.

CHK is the largest independent and third largest overall producer of natural gas in the U.S. Bloomberg reports Natural Gas Futures are up .88% to 5.63. CHK has a market cap of $15 billion with long-term debt of $8.3 billion. CHK announced on 8/8/07 a $500 million issuance of convertible senior notes (convertible debts increases volatility). CHK filed to sell EUR $525 million in senior notes on 11/27/06. CHK filed to sell $792 million in senior notes on 12/1/06. CHK filed to sell 30 million shares in a secondary on 12/7/06. CHK October option implied volatility of 33 was above its 26-week average of 28 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risk.

Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB) implied volatility flat; KMB has low debt to equity ratio.

1.3 billion people, nearly a quarter of the world's population, use KMB brands every day. KMB is recently down 98 cents to $68.42. KMB has a market cap of $29 billion with long term debt of $3 billion. KMB reported 2006 revenue of $16.7 billion. KMB has been frequently mentioned as an LBO candidate in 2006. KMB option implied volatility of 18 was near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional risks.

Daily options update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Option update 8-30-07: Chesapeake Energy (CHK) volatility up originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.