Analyst Upgrades

• Tyco Electronics (TEL) and Weight Watchers (WTW) to buy from neutral, and Smithfield Foods (SFD) to buy from underperform, at BofA/Merrill.
• Red Hat (RHT) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Gold Fields (GFI) to overweight from neutral at HSBC.
• Novartis (NVS) to outperform from neutral and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to neutral from underperform at Credit Suisse.
• Dollar General (DG) to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.
• Eagle Rock Energy (EROC) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AZN, DG, GSK, NBS, NRGY, NVS, RHT, SFD, STX, TYC ...

Analyst Calls: AZN, DG, GSK, NBS, NRGY, NVS, RHT, SFD, STX, TYC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Weeden upgraded Nabors Industries (NBR) to buy from hold on expectations that U.S. land drillers will likely benefit from a more restrictive deepwater Gulf of Mexico drilling environment.
• Macquarie upgraded Cinemark (CNK) to outperform from neutral and has a $20 price target on the stock. The firm cites valuation, market share stabilization and Latin American pricing power.
• RBC Capital upgraded Edison International (EIX) to outperform from sector perform with a $43 target. The firm cited valuation and its belief that the company's unregulated businesses are well-positioned to accelerate as reasons for the upgrade.
• Canadian Pacific (CP) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• FirstEnergy (FE) was upgraded to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Joy Global (JOYG) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Longbow.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: CNK, CP, EIX, FL, MCD, NBR, NE, NLC, STP, X, YUM ...

Analyst Calls: CNK, CP, EIX, FL, MCD, NBR, NE, NLC, STP, X, YUM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 Jun 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup upgraded Blackrock (BLK) to hold from sell and removed the stock from its Top Picks Live list as a sell. The firm upped its target for shares to $198 from $190.
• Jesup & Lamont upgraded Starbucks (SBUX) to buy from hold following the company's Q2 results. The firm raised its target for shares to $32 from $25.
• CLSA upgraded Nabors Industries (NBR) to outperform from underperform. The firm said the Q1 report was in-line with their estimate and they expect U.S. land drilling to continue to improve. The firm has a $24 price target on the stock.
• Alcoa (AA) was upgraded to neutral from underweight at HSBC.
• Boeing (BA) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AA, BA, BLK, DCTH, EBAY, NBR, SBUX, STI, TWX ...

Analyst Calls: AA, BA, BLK, DCTH, EBAY, NBR, SBUX, STI, TWX ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 Apr 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There's a difference between a CEO that's paid well and one that's raking in loot he clearly doesn't deserve. The former may invoke a bit of ire in this economic climate, but when cooler heads prevail, the cash laid out is usually but a rounding error on the increases in market cap he's driven. An overpaid CEO, on the other hand ... well, it's a bit harder to justify the inflated package.

Kerri Chyka over at CNN Money reports that the Corporate Library sifted through the bloated and legit packages out there to let us know which top dogs are rolling in dough that should probably be left in the company coffers.

1. Michael Jeffries, Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF)
Last year, Michael Jeffries made $71.8 million in total, with a base salary of $1.5 million, according to corporate governance research firm, the Corporate Library. It even included a $6 million retention bonus ... because you want to hang on to a guy who the research firm calls one of the five "Highest Paid Worst Performers" of 2008. If that stings, Jeffries can hop on the Abercrombie corporate jet instead of running away. He's paid better than 75% of rival CEOs, while the share price generally underperformed them.

2. James W. Stewart, BJ Services Company (NYSE: BJS)
James Stewart had a good year in 2008, as it outperformed most of its peers, and he nailed a $34.6 million package. In all fairness, $30 million came from the value realized on stock options. The four years that preceded Stewart's strong performance, on the other hand, were lackluster. The future, it seems, is immaterial, as Baker Hughes picked up BJ Services last month, and Stewart will probably be out the door at the end of the year, when the deal closes.

Continue reading Five overpaid CEOs to make you jealous

Five overpaid CEOs to make you jealous originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"The US natural gas storage cycle is fairly straightforward: More gas is consumed in winter than in summer because natural gas is a key source of heat," explains Elliott Gue.

In his industry-leading The Energy Strategist, the energy sector specialist makes a bullish case for natural gas as well as contract driller Nabor's Industries (NYSE: NBR).

"The year started off with gas storage levels falling in line with the average. In late February or early March that all changed: Storage levels jumped and eventually broke to a new five-year high.

Continue reading Gas gains with Nabor's (NBR)

Gas gains with Nabor's (NBR) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Faced with a tanking stock price and angry shareholders, Nabors Industries (NYSE: NBR) has taken radical action to preserve shareholder value and mollify concerns about bad corporate governance: Longtime CEO Eugene Isenberg has agreed to accept a bonus of just $100 million in the event of his death.

Before, the death bonus had been pegged at an astounding $264 million. I've complained about this in the past.

While the reduction of ridiculous perks is a good start, it doesn't answer the fundamental problem: Why should a guy who "earned" a $70.8 million bonus in 2008 also receive $100 million in the event of his death, if it comes before March 30, 2013. Mr. Isenberg is 79 years old.

Continue reading Nabors CEO agrees to smaller bonus for dying

Nabors CEO agrees to smaller bonus for dying originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 May 2009 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading 'Golden coffins' getting a second look

'Golden coffins' getting a second look originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Barclays upgraded Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE) to Overweight from Equal Weight. The firm believes Spectra's valuation is attractive and that the dividend is secure.
• Soleil upgraded Sunoco (NYSE: SUN) to Buy from Hold on valuation following the recent pullback and maintains a $45 target on the stock.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded O'Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ: ORLY) to Outperform from Underperform on valuation and the company's better than expected sales and earnings acceleration. The firm has a $38 target on the stock.
• Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) was removed from Goldman's Conviction Sell List.
  
• Intercontinental Hotels (NYSE: IHG) was raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
  
• Valspar (NYSE: VAL) was lifted to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: SUN, DAI, BDX, ITRN ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: SUN, DAI, BDX, ITRN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Since August 2007, the Fed has cut its Fed funds rate from 5.25% to 0.25%. So shouldn't the cost of borrowing be down 5% as well? At first glance you might think that the cost of corporate borrowing would be down right along with the Fed funds rate. But rather than dropping 95%, the cost of borrowing for even the most credit worthy companies has nearly doubled. That matters because companies are likely to try to borrow $700 billion in 2009. And therein lies the reason that the Fed has no power to fix what ails us.

Here are two examples:

• Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) , the only investment grade rated airline, raised $400 million in bonds in December 2008 to cover its losses from betting that fuel costs would stay high. Rather than paying the roughly 6% it had paid in 2004 to raise $350 million when the Fed funds rate ranged between 1.25% and 2.25%, Southwest had to put up 17 of its Boeing (NYSE: BA) jets as collateral and pay interest of 10.5% percent, nearly double the rate it had paid in 2004.
• Nabors Industries (NYSE: NBR), an oil services company, issued $1.1 billion in 10-year bonds in early January 2009, agreeing to a 9.25% -- in January 2008 when oil prices were rising, Nabors paid a mere 6.15% to borrow $975 million.

Why are companies paying more to borrow even though the Fed has slashed its short-term rate to near zero?

Continue reading With 0.25% Fed funds rate, why are companies paying 10% to borrow?

With 0.25% Fed funds rate, why are companies paying 10% to borrow? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 19 Jan 2009 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Cowen upgraded Aaron Rents (NYSE: RNT) to Outperform from Neutral and believes the company's business model is gaining momentum despite the difficult environment. The firm views valuation as attractive.
  
• Citigroup upgraded shares of MedCath (NASDAQ: MDTH) to Hold from Sell on valuation following the recent sell-off. The company's target was lowered to $9 from $19.
  
• Stanford upgraded AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV) to Buy from Hold based on valuation and because they believe its visibility over the next year has improved.
• Chiquita Brands (NYSE: CQB) was lifted to Buy from Hold at BB&T.
  
• Chico's FAS (NYSE: CHS) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS.
  
• FCStone (NASDAQ: FCSX) was raised to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James.

• RBC Capital downgraded Clearwire (NASDAQ: CLWR) to Sector Perform from Outperform based on reduced valuation parameters and lack of catalysts. The company's target was lowered to $9 from $15.
• Kellogg (NYSE: K) and Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) were cut to Neutral from Buy at UBS.
  
• Evergreen Solar (NASDAQ: ESLR) was downgraded at JP Morgan to Underweight from Neutral.
• Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman and to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.

Continue reading Analyst calls: CHS, CQB, CLWR, KO, K, ESLR, DT, FSLR, NBR

Analyst calls: CHS, CQB, CLWR, KO, K, ESLR, DT, FSLR, NBR originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"In recoveries from panic selloffs in the past, the energy patch has tended to outperform the S&P 500," notes energy sector specialist Elliott Gue.

In his The Energy Strategist, the advisor offers his outlook for the sector as well as a package of five favorite energy-related stocks, including ideas in the drilling, infrastructure. oil services and exploration areas.

"This has undoubtedly been the most challenging and unsettled market in recent history for the stock, bond, currency and credit markets. Not surprisingly, the energy sector hasn't been immune to the selling pressure.

"However, I would note that the selloff in most energy stocks I cover has little or nothing to do with fundamentals and everything to do with market sentiment and a pervasive sense of panic.

"Institutions are dumping stocks to raise cash and the primary fear infecting the energy markets is that a dramatic global economic slowdown coupled with a seizing up of credit markets will destroy demand for energy commodities..

Continue reading Best stocks for a rebound in energy

Best stocks for a rebound in energy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) earnings prospects may suffer if holiday sales are poor.
• Circuit City Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: CC) disappointing results were followed by a restructuring announcement.
• Conexant Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CNXT) raised its guidance, send shares up sharply.
• Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) posted a Q2 loss due in part to restructuring Australian operations.
• Con-Way Inc. (NYSE: CNW) reduced Q3 guidance resulted in an analyst downgrade.
• Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) reported better-than-expected Q4 earnings, sending shares higher.
• Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) Q3 earnings prospects led to an analyst's upgrade.
• International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) fell on rumors it would miss earnings estimates.
• Marriott International Inc. (NYSE: MAR) Q3 profits fell and it warned of challenges through 2009.
• Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) fell short of expectations and warned of a production slowdown.
• Nabors Industrial Ltd. (NYSE: NBR) warning about earnings led shares near a new low.
• Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. (NYSE: PBG) beat Q3 expectations despite struggling with economic woes.
• Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG) earnings prospects led to an analyst's downgrade.
• UBS (NYSE: UBS) said it expects to return to profitability after four straight quarterly losses.
• Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) Q4 earnings fell short of expectations, though sales increased.

Also, Jim Cramer reminds us that earnings still matter. Changing accounting rules may affect the earnings of big banks.

Upcoming quarterly reports include Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA), Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY), Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM), Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST), Monsanto Co. (NASDAQ: MON), General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Earnings highlights: Circuit City, Marriott, Walgreen, Pepsi Bottling, UBS and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Closing Bell: Market slides on grim economic news, bailout jitters; GE, IBM, PBR, MOS, NBR all down originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

CEOs get big paydays for dying -- why? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 10 Jun 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Scotland and Prestige Brands were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Wachovia upgraded Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) to Outperform from Market Perform as they expect the retail brokerage unit to be valued higher due to its recurring revenue streams, shrinking competition in prime brokerage, deleveraging and continued strength in commodities.
  
• Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE: RBS) to Overweight from Underweight following the company's rights offer and higher bad-debt provisions to reflect less concerns about its U.S. operations.
  
• Oppenheimer raised Prestige Brands (NYSE: PBH) to Perform from Underperform on valuation and the early turnaround progress made by the new CEO.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• TranSwitch (NASDAQ: TXCC) was upgraded at Thomas Weisel to Market Weight from Underweight.
  
• Goldman raised Nabors Industries (NYSE: NBR) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Koppers Holdings (NYSE: KOP) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Analyst upgrades: Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Scotland, Prestige Brands originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Nabors is the driller next door, and nearly everywhere in the world

Nabors is the driller next door, and nearly everywhere in the world originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 May 2008 17:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Oil's not the widespread tax it used to be

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Oil's not the widespread tax it used to be originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 19 May 2008 09:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Nat gas dip was profit-taking, nothing more

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Nat gas dip was profit-taking, nothing more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Apr 2008 09:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE: NBR), an owner & operator of approximately 650 land drilling rigs, approximately 805 land workover/well-servicing rigs and 41 offshore platform rigs worldwide, closed at $27.92. WTI Crude oil up 0.64% to $91.75. NBR has a market cap of $7.9 billion. NBR option volume was heavy on November 13, with 39,294 call contracts trading compared to put volume of 5,408 contracts. NBR November 27.5 straddle is priced at $1.15. NBR December option implied volatility of 45 is above its 26-week average of 33 according to Track Data, suggesting larger fluctuations.

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

Option update: Nabors volatility up on heavy call volume originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 14 Nov 2007 10:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Merriman initiated shares of Suntech Power (NYSE: STP) with a Buy rating and believes the company is benefiting from strong worldwide demand for solar PV technology. The firm suggests a potential 12-month stock price range of $56-$64.
  
• Merriman also started shares of First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) with a Sell rating, as they believe the company's market is limited to ground-based systems because of its cadmium-based technology, which they feel could lead to environment concerns over time.
  
• Deutsche Bank resumed coverage of Banco Santander (NYSE: STD) with a Buy rating. The firm is positive on the bank's agreement with ABN Amro (NYSE: ABN) and feels the company has a lack of exposure to risky assets.
  
• Jefferies believes Internap (NASDAQ: INAP) is well-positioned with its suite of services to address a rapidly growing market, starting shares off with a Buy rating and $20 target.
  
• Nollenberger believes NetGear (NASDAQ: NTGR) provides a pure-play opportunity to capitalize on the global penetration of broadband connectivity. The firm resumed coverage with a Buy rating and $36 target.

• ThinkEquity initiated Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) with a Buy rating and $800 target and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) with an Accumulate rating.
  
• Banc of America initiated U.S. land drillers, including Grey Wolf (AMEX: GW), Nabors Industries (NYSE: NBR) and Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ: PTEN) with Neutral ratings and Parker Drilling (NYSE: PKD) with a Buy rating.

Analyst initiations: STP, FSLR, STD, INAP and NTGR originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.