"Our goal is helping investors grow their capital and income base from which to derive cash for their current and future needs," notes dividend expert Kelley Wright.

The editor of Investment Quality Trends explains, "To that end we believe that high-quality stocks purchased at historically low-price-to-high-yield offers the best potential for downside protection and upside appreciation. Our Timely Ten list represents our current top ideas.

Continue reading The Timely Ten: Blue Chip Dividends

The Timely Ten: Blue Chip Dividends originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Nvidia (NVDA) to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.
• Verizon (VZ), AT&T (T), Leap Wireless (LEAP) and MetroPCS (PCS) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Illumina (ILMN) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Sun Bancorp (SNBC) to neutral from sell at Janney Capital.
• American Tower (AMT), SBA Communications (SBAC) and Freeport McMoRan (FCX) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ALU, BTU, FCX, LEAP, MAR, NTRS, NVDA, PCS, T, VZ ...

Analyst Calls: ALU, BTU, FCX, LEAP, MAR, NTRS, NVDA, PCS, T, VZ ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The shares of dependable AT&T (T), which I first wrote about here on February 11, 2009, at a price of $25.89, have meandered near $28 for the past six months, save one probe of the $30 level. But the business model is still preferred at this juncture. Here's why.

AT&T's proposed acquisition of 34-million-subscriber T-Mobile USA for $34 billion will face intense regulatory scrutiny, and I think there's a better than 50% chance the deal will be negated on market concentration grounds.

Continue reading AT&T Is Still Ringing True

AT&T Is Still Ringing True originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AT&T (T) recently announced its proposed acquisition of T-Mobile in a cash and stock offer valued at roughly $39 billion. This is a significant announcement given the size of the two companies and since there was speculation that Sprint (S) might look to acquire T-Mobile. Sprint's shares were down 14% on this news. AT&T's move pits it firmly against Verizon (VZ) as both operators continue to build out their 4G networks.

Our price estimate for AT&T's stock stands at $35.80 which is around 40% ahead of the market price.

Continue reading The Race for 4G: AT&T Buys T-Mobile

The Race for 4G: AT&T Buys T-Mobile originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A great three day rally went from news and excitement to what was really just a dull quiet day for the market as a whole. Earnings and analysts drove some shares but the news of a downed airplane in Libya and more unrest growing in the Middle East region just failed to make markets move so much.

Here were the unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 12,018.63 -17.90 (-0.15%)
S&P 500 1,293.77 -4.61 (-0.36%)
Nasdaq 2,683.87 -8.22 (-0.31%)

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades

Continue reading Closing Bell: Bulls Take a Breather (DG, EE, EWJ, NFLX, PRAN, S, T)

Closing Bell: Bulls Take a Breather (DG, EE, EWJ, NFLX, PRAN, S, T) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday's announcement of the AT&T (T) and T-Mobile deal gives both companies a clear "win" in the telecommunications sector. Who are the "losers"?

The tower companies have experienced downward pressure today, with American Tower (AMT) currently trading down over 8%, SBA Communications (SBAC) currently down over 10%, and Crown Castle International (CCI) currently hovering down almost 5%.

Continue reading Losers of the AT&T T-Mobile Deal

Losers of the AT&T T-Mobile Deal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A relief rally recovery is how you would describe Monday. The no-fly zone success of Libya over the weekend and the 'no more bad news' out of Japan were the two major contributors today. The US even announced that it would begin selling off the Treasury's $142 billion mortgage-backed securities portfolio.

Here were the unofficial closing bell levels today:

Dow Jones 12,036.53 +178.01 (1.50%)
S&P 500 1,298.38 +19.18 (1.50%)
Nasdaq 2,692.09 +48.42 (1.83%)

Top Analyst Upgrades/Downgrades

Continue reading Closing Bell: How Do You Spell Relief? (T, SCHW, OXPS, C, GE, EWJ, TIF)

Closing Bell: How Do You Spell Relief? (T, SCHW, OXPS, C, GE, EWJ, TIF) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Stock Futures Higher on AT&T-T Mobile Deal

Stock Futures Higher on AT&T-T Mobile Deal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Pay-by-phone technology may be making big moves with Google Inc. (GOOG).

According to rumors, Google plans to begin testing its new mobile phone-based payment service in New York and San Francisco in the next four months. The system, developed by VeriFone Systems (PAY), will allow mobile phones equipped with near-field-communication (NFC) technology to simply tap the phone against the register to complete the transaction.

Continue reading Google: Mobile Payment Service

Google: Mobile Payment Service originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Mar 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tomorrow is a big day for Verizon (VZ) customers who have been waiting to get their chance to join the iPhone revolution, and we now learn that Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) will also be carrying the Verizon iPhone 4 at 600 retail stores across the nation.

As of today, when you visit Apple's (AAPL) website you are given the option to order an iPhone for use on either AT&T (T) or Verizon, with the price being the same for either option.

Continue reading Walmart Joins the iPhone Party

Walmart Joins the iPhone Party originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Calls

• Medtronic (MDT) to buy from neutral and 1-800-Flowers.com (FLWS) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• CarMax (KMX) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Points International (PTSEF) to buy from neutral at Merriman.
• Nokia (NOK) to market perform from underperform at Morgan Keegan.
• Amdocs (DOX) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Western Alliance (WAL) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Carbo Ceramics (CRR) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• Rackspace (RAX) to buy from hold at Benchmark Co.
• Brinker (EAT) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BP, EAT, JBLU, KMX, MDT, MYGN, NOK, NTRS, RAX, RDS.A, T ...

Analyst Calls: BP, EAT, JBLU, KMX, MDT, MYGN, NOK, NTRS, RAX, RDS.A, T ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Dominion (D) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Corinthian Colleges (COCO) to outperform from underperform at RBC Capital.
• Canadian National (CNI) to sector outperformer from sector performer at CIBC.
• DragonWave (DRWI) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Infosys (INFY) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• SL Green Realty (SLG), Lexington Realty (LXP) and Taubman Centers (TCO) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Sunstone Hotel (SHO) to buy from neutral and Extra Space Storage (EXR) to buy from hold at KeyBanc.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AEP, CCL, CNI, D, FDX, HAS, INFY, MAT, RCL, S, T, UPS, VZ ...

Analyst Calls: AEP, CCL, CNI, D, FDX, HAS, INFY, MAT, RCL, S, T, UPS, VZ ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Verizon (VZ), FEMSA (FMX), Vornado (VNO), Duke Realty (DRE) and AvalonBay (AVB) to buy from neutral, as well as Carnival (CCL) to conviction buy from buy, at Goldman.
• Symantec (SYMC) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Copano Energy (CPNO), DCP Midstream (DPM) and Inergy (NRGY) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• SYNNEX (SNX) to strong buy from buy at Needham.
• Eli Lilly (LLY) to hold from sell at Hapoalim.
• World Wrestling (WWE) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AKS, CCL, EOG, GE, GS, LLY, SNDK, T, TLB, TUP, VZ, WWE ...

Analyst Calls: AKS, CCL, EOG, GE, GS, LLY, SNDK, T, TLB, TUP, VZ, WWE ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Google to Take a Hit from Verizon's iPhone?

Google to Take a Hit from Verizon's iPhone? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: The Return... (ATHR, QCOM, T, FDO, MOS, NVDA, TRID)

Closing Bell: The Return... (ATHR, QCOM, T, FDO, MOS, NVDA, TRID) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: New Years Quick Takes

Chasing Value: New Years Quick Takes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The stock of AT&T (T), first written about here on February 11, 2009, at a price of $25.89, recently pushed $30, after meandered near $26 for the better part of a year, and I obviously still like the shares here.

AT&T remains well-positioned to remain a force in the Internet/communications revolution in the years ahead. Look for AT&T's revenue to grow about 2% to 4% in 2011, led by an impressive increase in cell phone customers (which numbered about 93 million as of June 2010) and wireless data service customers. In 2010, revenue should rise 1% to 3%.

Continue reading AT&T: Old Reliable

AT&T: Old Reliable originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 Oct 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Clearwire (CLWR - option chain) shares are rising today on reports that the company will auction some of its wireless spectrum in order to raise $2.5 billion to $5 billion. According to Bloomberg, potential bidders for the spectrum include AT&T (T), Verizon (VZ), Deutsche Telekom, Time Warner Cable (TWC) and Sprint (S). If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on CLWR.

Continue reading Clearwire May Auction Parts of Wireless Spectrum

Clearwire May Auction Parts of Wireless Spectrum originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Oct 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Credit Suisse upgraded AT&T (T) to outperform from neutral and has a $35 target on the stock. Credit Suisse believes the impact from AT&T's loss of iPhone exclusivity will be less than expected and that the stock should benefit from its earnings growth and dividend yield.
• Goldman upgraded Freeport McMoRan (FCX) to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $94 from $79 based on improving copper fundamentals.
• Benchmark Co. upgraded Valueclick (VCLK) to vuy from hold on expectations Google Instant (GOOG) could drive marketing traffic. The firm raised its target price for Valueclick shares to $15 from $11.
• Best Buy (BBY) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Research In Motion (RIMM) was upgraded to buy from sell at Societe Generale.
• CarMax (KMX) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BBY, FCX, KMX, NUE, PRGS, RIMM, T, USG, VCLK, X ...

Analyst Calls: BBY, FCX, KMX, NUE, PRGS, RIMM, T, USG, VCLK, X ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

You win some you lose some. This story is about one of my less successful investments, which I acquired and sold many years ago. Over the past four years, I have written many times about Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), by far my best stock investment, up 4,500%, give or take, over a ten-year period. I bought in at the bottom and held on for the ride, until last year when the market tanked and took Intuitive Surgical with it.

The other company was Superconductor Technologies (SCON), the makers of high-temperature devices that improve communications transmission quality.

Continue reading Chasing Value™: Tale of Two Tech Stocks (ISRG and SCON)

Chasing Value™: Tale of Two Tech Stocks (ISRG and SCON) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.