Continue reading Serious Money: Buffett's Next Buys -- You Pick'em

Serious Money: Buffett's Next Buys -- You Pick'em originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 Mar 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"National Grid (NGG), an electricity and natural gas transmission and distribution utility, is a low-risk, income-generating idea," suggests income expert Carla Pasternak.

The editor of High Yield International explains, "Based in London, the company's largest market is still the UK, and it holds a virtual monopoly on the electricity transmission grid in England and Wales.

"Its primary business is to balance the supply and demand of electricity and natural gas and transmit that power from producers to customers across its network of high-voltage transmission wires and natural gas pipelines.

Continue reading National Grid (NGG): Defensive Income

National Grid (NGG): Defensive Income originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• DuPont (DD) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• UBS upgraded Deere (DE) to buy from neutral and AGCO (AGCO) to neutral from sell.
• Canadian Solar (CSIQ) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Thoratec (THOR) and DTE Energy (DTE) were upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• NICE Systems (NICE) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at HSBC.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Copa Holdings (CPA) to buy from hold.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Nu Skin (NUS) to buy from neutral.
• Continental Resources (CLR) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: CLR, CSIQ, DD, DE, DECK, EMC, EMN, WFMI, WWW ...

Analyst Calls: CLR, CSIQ, DD, DE, DECK, EMC, EMN, WFMI, WWW ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

During the second quarter I wrote a series of stories about stocks that might interest "my pal Warren" in the global market. One such stock in the June 24 post was National Grid PLC (NGG), which closed Friday October 8 at $45.43.

At the time of the recommendation, the stock was at $37.81. It was 33% off its high and, besides strong fundamentals, is a company that resembles Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.A) Mid-American utility holdings. I thought it would be a good fit for further integration and growth of this division, given that both also have British and U.S. enterprises.

Continue reading Chasing Value: National Grid -- Maybe Warren Did

Chasing Value: National Grid -- Maybe Warren Did originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• RBC Capital upgraded Syniverse (SVR) to outperform from sector perform based on strong secular growth in mobile data and roaming. The firm raised its price target to $28 from $23.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded PG&E (PCG) to buy from hold with a $49 price target due to valuation.
• Jefferies assumed coverage on Sierra Wireless (SWIR) with a buy from a hold and raised its price target to $12 from $9. The analyst expects the M2M market to experience 25% growth over the next two years.
• Affiliated Managers (AMG) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• EastGroup Properties (EGP) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Gammon Gold (GRS) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Credit Suisse.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AAPL, BLK, BTU, CL, MOT, MSFT, PCG, RIMM, SVR, SWIR ...

Analyst Calls: AAPL, BLK, BTU, CL, MOT, MSFT, PCG, RIMM, SVR, SWIR ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• BMO Capital upgraded Church & Dwight (CHD) to outperform from market perform with a $75 price target, citing valuation.
• JPMorgan upgraded Men's Wearhouse (MW) to overweight from neutral with a $25 price target. The firm cites valuation and expectations for margin expansion for the upgrade.
• Longbow upgraded Greenbrier (GBX) to buy from neutral and has a $15 target on the stock. The firm's checks indicate demand is tightening for intermodal railcars.
• Sunpower (SPWRA) was upgraded to buy from hold at Soleil.
• Tesoro (TSO) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: CHD, COLB, GBX, GD, GSIC, HME, MW, SPWR, VSAT ...

Analyst Calls: CHD, COLB, GBX, GD, GSIC, HME, MW, SPWR, VSAT ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"National Grid (NGG) is Britain's largest utility, and is also a major player in the Northeast U.S. as the result of its 2007 acquisition of Keyspan," says Gerald Appel, an advisor and technician who is best known for developing the well-known MACD indicator.

The editor of Systems & Forecasts explains, "Much of its business is in regulated markets, offering stability in sales and profits. The company more than earns its current dividend, and is expected to continue to do so.

"National Grid issued new shares this year to fund capital expenditures. This diluted future earnings, and contributed to this year's 26% sell-off in the stock.

Continue reading National Grid (NGG): High Yield, Stable Growth

National Grid (NGG): High Yield, Stable Growth originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: NGG, Buffett, Barron's and Me

Chasing Value: NGG, Buffett, Barron's and Me originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Serious Money: Buffett Going Global -- Part 4

Serious Money: Buffett Going Global -- Part 4 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Oppenheimer upgraded Genzyme (NASDAQ: GENZ) to Outperform from Perform on expectations that upcoming regulatory events, mainly approvals of Mozobil and 2,000L Myozyme, will serve as positive catalysts.
  
• Ladenburg analyst Dick Bove raised Bank of New York (NYSE: BK) to Buy from Neutral as he now believes the Russian lawsuit is turning in the bank's favor and is no longer a significant risk.
  
• Societe Generale upgraded UBS (NYSE: UBS) to Buy from Hold on valuation and the company's deal with the Swiss government.
  
• Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ :BBBY) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Friedman Billings.
  
• RC2 Corp (NASDAQ: RCRC) was lifted at Wachovia to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• Cintas (NASDAQ: CTAS) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Citigroup.

Analyst downgrades:

Continue reading Analyst calls: GENZ, UBS, RIMM, BBBY, WYNN, RTP . . .

Analyst calls: GENZ, UBS, RIMM, BBBY, WYNN, RTP . . . originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded shares of British Sky Broadcasting (NYSE: BSY) to Buy from Neutral and added the company to the Conviction Buy List as they find the stock oversold at current levels.
  
• Goldman also added Publicis (OTC: PUBGY) to the Conviction Buy List and upgraded shares to Buy from Neutral as they find the stock cheap at current levels.
• Oneok (NYSE: OKE) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Lehman.
  
• UBS raised Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods (NYSE: WBD) to Buy from Neutral.

Analyst downgrades:

• Baird downgraded Amylin Pharma (NASDAQ: AMLN) to Neutral from Outperform and said they are incrementally more cautious on the commercial performance of Amylin's Byetta following the yesterday's update. Amylin's target was lowered to $27 from $37. Soleil recommends investors avoid Amylin with the disclosure last night of four additional cases of mortality associated with pancreatitis in patients who were on Byetta. The firm cut shares to Sell from Hold and lowered their target to $20 from $25.
  
• Citigroup downgraded shares of AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) to Sell from Hold on valuation as they find the stock expensive following the recent run-up. The firm raised their target to $9 from $6.70 to reflect the drop in crude prices.
  
• J Crew (NYSE: JCG) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Brean Murray following the weak Q2 report and guidance.
• JMP Securities downgraded Quality Systems (NASDAQ: QSII) to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• National Grid (NYSE: NGG) was lowered to Equal Weight from Overweight at Lehman.

Analyst initiations:

Continue reading Analyst calls: AMR, JCG, AMLN, NGG . . .

Analyst calls: AMR, JCG, AMLN, NGG . . . originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Alcoa, Publicis Groupe and Fresenius were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• JP Morgan downgraded shares of Alcoa (NYSE: AA) to Neutral from Overweight as they do not believe the company is a takeover target. The firm thinks investors could be disappointed with the new CEO's strategic direction as well as near-term earnings.
  
• Societe Generale cut Publicis (OTC: PUBGY) to Sell from Buy on valuation following the recent rally and macroeconomic concerns.
  
• UBS downgraded Fresenius (NYSE: FMS) to Neutral from Buy citing valuation, but added shares to its Short-Term Buy list citing potential upward EPS revisions when the company reports on July 3.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Annaly Capital (NYSE: NLY) and Microchip (NASDAQ: MCHP) were lowered to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
  
• Soleil downgraded Steris (NYSE: STE) to Sell from Hold.
  
• Goldman added National Grid (NYSE: NGG) and Marshall & Ilsley (NYSE: MI) to its Conviction Sell List and removed Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) from the Conviction Buy List.

Analyst downgrades: Alcoa, Publicis Groupe, Fresenius originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of National Grid (NYSE: NGG) to Buy from Hold as they believe the Keyspan deal will be positive for shareholders.
• Goldman upgraded shares of Shire Plc (NASDAQ: SHPGY) to Buy from Neutral and added the stock to their Conviction Buy List on valuation and expected gains in the ADHD market.
  
• On Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia on valuation.
  
• Enbridge Inc (NYSE: ENB) was raised to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC World Markets, as the firm sees an attractive 3-year return potential as new projects come into service and expects the stock's relative underperformance to come to an end.

• Visteon Corporation (NYSE: VC) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs.
  
• RSC Holdings (NYSE: RRR) and Greenfield Online Inc (NASDAQ: SRVY) were upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Lehman Brothers.
  
• Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
  
• Stifel upgraded Health Care REITs, including Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE: HR), LTC Properties Inc (NYSE: LTC) and Ventas Inc (NYSE: VTR), to Buy from Hold.

Analyst upgrades: NGG, SHPGY, ONNN and ENB originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 18 Sep 2007 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.