Proctor & Gamble (PG) competes with Unilever Group (UN), Revlon (REV) and L'Oreal (LRLCY) in the male grooming market. P&G's share in the global grooming market has risen steadily since its acquisition of Gillette in 2005 to a whopping $57 billion in 2005. We expect this positive trend to continue, driven by growth in emerging markets like India and China, expansion of product lines, and acquisition of newer brands.

Continue reading Positive Outlook for P&G's Share of Grooming Market

Positive Outlook for P&G's Share of Grooming Market originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Consumer-goods behemoth Unilever (UN) was among the stocks making headway Tuesday morning. The British firm received an upgrade to overweight from underweight by brokerage firm Morgan Stanley, which stated, "We double upgrade Unilever to overweight, as we see the risk/reward profile for the shares as more attractive now than at any point in the past three years."

I am not going to agree or disagree with the decision for the upgrade right now; I want to take a look at the equity's chances to further this rally (at more than 3% as of this writing). There is evidence for both the continuation and the stall of the rally

Continue reading Unilever Receives a Double Upgrade

Unilever Receives a Double Upgrade originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Credit Suisse upgraded Alliant Techsystems (ATK) to outperform from neutral following the company's increased FY11 guidance. The firm has an $85 target on the stock.
• FBR Capital upgraded Hyatt Hotels (H) to market perform from underperform following the company's Q2 results. The firm raised its target for shares to $44 from $38.
• BB&T upgraded to Smithfield Foods (SFD) to buy from hold, citing tighter supplies, strong pork prices and improving export demand. The firm has a $19 target on the stock.
• Holly (HOC) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• Cogent Communications (CCOI) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Cowen.
• Catalyst Health (CHSI) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at First Analysis.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ADSK, ATK, BCS, GENZ, H, ROCK, SFD, UL, VIA ...

Analyst Calls: ADSK, ATK, BCS, GENZ, H, ROCK, SFD, UL, VIA ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE) closed at $10.54. Unilever (NYSE: UN) agreed to buy SLE's personal-care and European detergent unit for $1.88 billion. SLE's board of directors authorized a $1 billion share repurchase program. SLE October option implied volatility is at 39, November is at 38; near its 26-week average of 38 according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

MSCI Brazil Index (NYSE: EWZ) is recently up 37 cents to $65.04 in pre-open trading. Brazil Bovespa Stock Index is up 0.1%. EWZ call option volume of 14,379 contracts compares to put volume of 22,765 contracts. EWZ October option implied volatility is at 37, October and January is at 38; below its 26-week average of 45, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

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

Options Update: Sara Lee January volatility flat into personal care sale originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

From TheStreet.com Network

• Spec Stocks: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
• U.S. States Push Into Retirement Planning

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Freeport-McMoRan must come to the market

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Freeport-McMoRan must come to the market originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

From TheStreet.com Network

• Coming Week: The Earnings Storm Hits
• Obama to Address Credit Card Abuses

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: The seductive pull of the early cycle

Cramer on BloggingStocks: The seductive pull of the early cycle originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The G 20 countries wrapped up their ground breaking summit with amazing cooperation among members. The tackled a wide range of problems and were able to agree on just about every key issue.

Let's look at some specific policies that the G 20 members agreed upon:

• Regarding the matter of stimulus, they agreed to boost the International Monetary Fund's lending power to around $750 billion.
• They also unveiled a $250 billion expansion of the IMF's reserve currency, referred to as "special drawing rights." This will boost liquidity in the global financial system by expanding member countries' foreign exchange reserves.
• They agreed to selling gold to help poor countries.

Continue reading G-20 members agree on a $1 trillion stimulus and other reforms

G-20 members agree on a $1 trillion stimulus and other reforms originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

From TheStreet.com Network

• Why Falling Prices Squeezed Refiners
• Crude Oil Drops to January 2007 Levels

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Lower oil will be a boon -- next year

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Lower oil will be a boon -- next year originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Shanda Interactive (NASDAQ: SNDA) to Outperform from Perform following the company's better-than-expected quarter to reflect its growth acceleration in the casual games platform and margin improvements.
  
• SAIC (NYSE: SAI) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform following the solid Q2 report and guidance.
  
• Susquehanna upgraded Zumiez (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) to Positive from Neutral citing positive August comps, revised merchandising, easier comps, and solid financial position.
• Goldman Sachs upgraded Pharm Product Development (NASDAQ: PPDI) and Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ: STLD) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Novellus (NASDAQ: NVLS) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

• Morgan Stanley downgraded the Semiconductor Capital Equipment sector to In-Line from Attractive citing optimistic expectations for Q4 orders following the recent bounce in stocks. The firm downgraded Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX) to Underweight from Overweight and KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC) KLAC to Equal Weight from Overweight.

Continue reading Analyst calls: SAI, KLAC, QCOM, MRVL, UL, CMG, HPQ, AAPL, DELL ...

Analyst calls: SAI, KLAC, QCOM, MRVL, UL, CMG, HPQ, AAPL, DELL ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: General Mills will kill with lower costs

Cramer on BloggingStocks: General Mills will kill with lower costs originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) is expected to report second-quarter earnings before the open. If ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) and BP (NYSE: BP) results are any indication, XOM will likely post massive profits thanks to oil's skyrocketing prices and even break the record it has set for largest profit by a U.S. company. Analyst on average expect Exxon Mobil to earn $2.52 a share on revenue of $144 billion, according to a survey by Thomson Financial.
• MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) is expected to report earnings of $2.02 per share.
• Kellog (NYSE: K) is expected to post earnings of 81 cents per shares.

Continue reading Before the bell: Undecided ahead of GDP: XOM, FSLR, MOT, MO, GM, GOOG ...

Before the bell: Undecided ahead of GDP: XOM, FSLR, MOT, MO, GM, GOOG ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Unilever washes away dirty laundry

Unilever washes away dirty laundry originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Before the bell: KFT, VZ, AMGN, UL, MOT, SIRI, RYAAY, LEH ...

Before the bell: KFT, VZ, AMGN, UL, MOT, SIRI, RYAAY, LEH ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Jul 2008 08:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of our Big Company, Small Town series, featuring large companies and the small towns in which they are headquartered.

This entry in the Big Company, Small Town series features one of the great recent American business success stories, as this powerhouse brand came from very humble beginnings only 30 years ago.

Ben & Jerry's was started in 1978, when Long Island, N.Y., natives Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield used a $12,000 investment to open up a homemade ice cream scoop shop in Burlington, Vermont. The Ben & Jerry's shop grew rapidly in popularity, and by 1980 they began packing pints to sell in grocery stores. By 1985, the company's sales were more than $9 million, and it began building its manufacturing plant in nearby Waterbury, Vermont. The plant in Waterbury was then opened to the public for tours of Ben & Jerry's ice cream making operations, creating a tourist attraction for the town, which has a population of around 1,700.

Although Ben & Jerry's was bought in 2000 by Unilever (NYSE: UN) for $326 million, the company still maintains its local roots, with its headquarters in South Burlington and its factory still open for tours in Waterbury. The founders of Ben & Jerry's, while no longer holding any positions within the company, have worked with Unilever to make sure it remains as socially conscious as when they ran it, keeping that small-town, grassroots feel that made it such a success worldwide.

To this day, Ben & Jerry's maintains its Free Cone Day, which Ben & Jerry started to honor the first anniversary of their ice cream shop.

Be sure to check out more Big Company, Small Town posts.

Big company, small town: Ben & Jerry's, Waterbury, Vermont originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• UBS downgraded Large Cap Oilfield Services stocks citing a "more sober 2008 outlook." The firm downgraded Smith International (NYSE: SII) and Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI) to Neutral from Buy, citing delays in offshore growth for the Smith downgrade and execution issues for Baker Hughes.
  
• Banc of America downgraded shares of Andersons (NASDAQ: ANDE) to Neutral from Buy following the company's Q4 results to reflect a lack of visibility on FY08 growth.
  
• Citigroup downgraded shares of Unilever (NYSE: UN/UL) to Hold from Buy to reflect an increase in commodity costs.

• Lehman lowered PNM Resources (NYSE: PNM) to Equal Weight from Overweight; shares were also downgraded to Hold from Buy at Citigroup.
  
• Friedman Billings downgraded Thomas & Betts (NYSE: TNB) to Market Perform from Outperform.

Analyst downgrades: Large cap oilfield services, ANDE, UN/UL originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 12 Feb 2008 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) to Buy from Hold on valuation and the potential for protein complex improvement.
  
• Goldman upgraded shares of Unilever (NYSE: UN) to Neutral from Sell to reflect the company's diversified product range and growing exposure to developing and emerging markets.
  
• Bear Stearns raised its rating on Brooks Automation (NASDAQ: BRKS) to Outperform from Peer Perform. The firm cited the company's compelling valuation and growth drivers.
  
• Akzo Nobel (OTC: AKZOY) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at SNS Securities, as they see absolute total return greater than 20%.
  
• CIBC upgraded Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer on valuation following the recent pullback and their analysis of Yahoo's non-operating assets. They believe Yahoo's stake in Alibaba Group is now worth about $4/share and raised their target to $31 from $28.

• First Analysis upgraded Spss Inc (NASDAQ: SPSS) to Overweight from Equal Weight.
  
• UBS upgraded Yamana Gold (NYSE: AUY) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• WestLB upgraded Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) to Hold from Reduce.
  
• HSBC upgraded Posco (NYSE: PKX) to Overweight from Neutral.

Analyst upgrades: TSN, UN, BRKS, AKZOY and YHOO originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Nov 2007 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The conventional wisdom used to be that shoppers went looking for their favorite brands and that consistency of product packaging assured customer loyalty. Apparently marketers now have decided that good old reliable product packaging is making those products invisible to consumers. According to the New York Times, Pepsico (NYSE: PEP), known for its resistance to label design changes throughout its long history, is now changing some label designs every few weeks.

The problem is that, with the internet and hundreds of television channels, it's becoming increasingly harder for marketers to get their messages out to customers. Product packaging now has to do more than simply identify the goods within, but actually reach out and grab your attention. Hence, Mountain Dew bottles that appear to have been tagged by graffitti artists, or Unilever's (NYSE: UN) shampoo bottles shaped like video game joysticks. Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) has been in the forefront of bringing eye-catching advertising to its themed store aisles.

There are other motives for this experimentation with product packaging as well. Some companies are searching for ways to reduce container sizes and to have less environmental impact. Some household product manufacturers are looking to make their once utlitarian packaging so pleasing that people may be willing to display it in their homes.

And it looks like things are only going to get weirder. Pepsi has a plan in the works for cans that spray a pleasing scent when opened. And you know that product packaging that talks to you can't be that far down the road. If you thought pop-up ads and TV commercials were annoying, just wait for the day you go into the shop and all the products are screaming for your attention.

Product packaging works harder, gets weirder originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 11 Aug 2007 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Citigroup downgraded RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) to Sell from Hold on valuation as they believe shares have priced in a more aggressive top-line recovery than the company can deliver over the next 12 months and that margin improvement is likely to slow.

• Merrill downgraded Weyerhauser (NYSE: WY) to Neutral from Buy based on the tighter credit environment and the impact on a potential containerboard divestiture or merger.

• Matrix downgraded shares of Goodyear Tire (NYSE: GT) to Sell from Hold to reflect rising oil prices and negative fundamental trends.

• AG Edwards downgraded Hot Topic (NASDAQ: HOTT) to Sell from Hold to reflect negative performance momentum and a lack of back-to-school prospects.

• Credit Suisse downgraded Unilever (NYSE: UN, UL) to Underperform from Neutral as their analysis suggests the company continues to lose market share...

• Baird cut Franklin Electric (NASDAQ: FELE) to Underperform from Neutral.

• Bear Stearns downgraded Kyphon (NASDAQ: KYPH) to Peer Perform from Outperform.

• Jarden (NYSE: JAH) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Goldman.

• Citigroup downgraded PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) to Hold from Buy.

• Alacatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman.

Analyst downgrades 7-31-07: GT, PTR, RSH and UL originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 31 Jul 2007 10:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Many investors are concerned with corporate social responsibility, the precise meaning of which is ambiguous as are methods to analyze and evaluate such responsibilities. The late Milton Friedman and his followers have argued that the term "corporate social responsibility" is meaningless. Businesses are profit making entities, no more, no less. They are responsible only to their shareholders. Such a position is increasingly hard to defend. Today most companies want to be considered good corporate citizens concerned for the environment, for their workers, and for the communities in which they operate.

Concerned investors will want to read Kate O'Sullivan's article "Virtue Rewarded" in the October issue of CFO (www.cfo.com). O'Sullivan interviews CFOs from various companies, all of whom are concerned about minimizing risk, staying ahead of negative publicity, and maintaining a positive reputation while not sacrificing bottom line profitability.

After reading this article, investors may want to read "Strategy and Society: The Link between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility" by Michael Porter and Mark Kramer in Harvard Business Review, December 2006 (www.hbr.org -- subscription required). Porter and Kramer argue that the attitude of CFOs reflected in O'Sullivan's article is exactly what is WRONG with current thinking of corporate social responsibility. Company executives set up a business vs. society model in which long-term sustainability is sacrificed to quarterly profit figures. Companies waste literally millions of dollars each year supporting feel-good, positive publicity projects of dubious long-term benefit that have nothing to do with the strategic mission of the companies. Companies need to consider their social responsibilities from an operational and strategic standpoint, as a vital component of their value chain. What does a company already produce? Where in its operational structure are negative social impacts generated? What can the company do to reduce or even eliminate those negative social impacts? When a company ceases to react defensively to perceived negative publicity or activist shareholder proposals and integrates social responsibility into its operational processes, that company generates an enormous competitive advantage because it integrates the health of the business into the health of the society in which it operates.

Porter and Kramer argue that strategic corporate social responsibility responses must create shared value for both the company and society simultaneously. A company must focus on a small number of large impact initiatives integral to its own core operations. Management must measure potential social rather than stakeholder satisfaction. Generic social do-good programs do not have a measurable long-term impact on either the company's competitive position or the health of the society. One company that practices strategic corporate social responsibility as part of their operational structure is Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFMI), which not only sells high-quality organic foods, but also uses environmentally safe cleaning products, recycled materials in store construction, wind energy credits equal to 100% of its electrical use, and biofuels in its trucks. Other companies mentioned are Toyota (NYSE: TM), due to its concentration on hybrid auto technology; Sysco (NYSE: SYY), which supports family farms and locally grown produce in its stores; General Electric (NYSE:GE) for "ecomagination" that focuses on water-purification technology; and Unilever (NYSE: UN), which is concentrating on products to serve the needs of the poorest populations. Corporate social responsibility is an idea that will only grow in importance. Investors may wish to consider it as an integral part of their due diligence investigation.

Corporate social responsibility: Two views originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Feb 2007 12:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Verisign (VRSN) and Entergy (ETR) led a light upgrade list Monday morning as the Dow and Nasdaq moved higher in early trading.

• Lehman upgraded VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) to Overweight from Equal Weight, saying it expects the company's upcoming restructuring and pending sale of the Jamba ringtone business to result in improving prospects for 2007 and investor sentiment.
• BMO Capital upgraded Entergy Corp. (NYSE:ETR) to Outperform from Market Perform, target to $110, indicating that its earnings will accelerate over the next four years.
• Wachovia upgraded Express Scripts, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESRX) to Outperform from Market Perform, citing the recent sell-off, which the firm believes is overdone; it has a $74-$82 valuation range for ESRX.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Merrill Lynch upgraded Unilver (NYSE:UN) to Neutral from Sell, saying the recent quarter represented the first signs of recovery.
• Finally, First Albany upgraded Lionbridge Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LIOX) to Strong Buy from Buy, target to $10, citing Q3 results and price weakness.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Analyst upgrades 11-6-06: Lehman upgrades VeriSign, BMO upgrades Entergy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 06 Nov 2006 10:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.