Analyst Upgrades

• Netflix (NFLX) and Zions Bancorp (ZION) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Akamai (AKAM) to buy from neutral at Merriman.
• CSX (CSX) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Nordstrom (JWN) to buy from neutral, WellCare (WCG) to conviction buy from buy and Humana (HUM) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• E-Commerce China Dangdang (DANG) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• VMware (VMW) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Celanese (CE) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ADM, AKAM, ALL, CP, CSX, HRL, HUM, JWN, NFLX, NSRGY ...

Analyst Calls: ADM, AKAM, ALL, CP, CSX, HRL, HUM, JWN, NFLX, NSRGY ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Raw commodities like grains, sugar and cotton are skyrocketing in price. These raw foods are then processed for consumption. Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is one of the world largest food processors. It processes corn into corn oil syrups, sweeteners, citric and lactic acid and ethanol. Soybeans are crushed into soybean oil and meal, Wheat is processed into flour and pasta. Cocoa is turned into chocolate and confections. It provides animal feed for farmers and meal for brewers. It has one of the largest distribution networks in the world.

Continue reading Food Processor Archer Daniels Midland to Profit from Inflation

Food Processor Archer Daniels Midland to Profit from Inflation originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Despite the turmoil in the Middle East, the market powered to a 30-month high, closing above 12,000 Tuesday. The key driver was a slew of strong earnings reports. The last time we saw Dow 12,000 was on June 19, 2008. Across the board, the major averages were strong. The Dow climbed 148.23 to 12,040.16, S & P 500 rose 21.47 to 1307.59, and the NASDAQ surged 51.11 to 2751.19, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

Here are just a few stocks that moved the Dow higher:

• Pfizer (PFE) rose $1.00 to $19.22. Fourth-quarter profit tripled from a year ago.

Continue reading Dow Closes Above 12,000

Dow Closes Above 12,000 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Archer Daniels Midland's (ADM) stock, first discussed here on March 25, 2009, at a price of $28.78, has pulled back slightly after testing the $35 level, but the outlook remains good for additional gains.

Archer should record a 3% to 5% revenue increase in FY2011, as global demand for food continues to rise. Further, long-term, the company remains well-positioned to capitalize on the development of emerging markets, and population growth. Oilseed performance will be a star performer, followed by agricultural services.

Continue reading Archer Daniels: Emerging Markets Food Play

Archer Daniels: Emerging Markets Food Play originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

All in all, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) posted a stellar second-quarter earnings report. Net income came to $732 million or $1.14 per share. This compares to $567 million, or $0.88 per share in the same period a year ago. The Street was looking for $0.78 per share.

Revenues rose by 32% to $20.93 billion. The consensus estimate called for $17.5 billion.

Continue reading Investors Feast on ADM Following Earnings Report

Investors Feast on ADM Following Earnings Report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Last year, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) was included in my stock picks for 2010 and it lost 4.9%. I gave some consideration to keeping it in the mix this year but thought more highly of other stocks in 2011, so I cast it off.

The turning of a calendar page is arbitrary and investments have only modest correlation to it in most instances. However, two weeks into the year ADM is already up, closing Wednesday at $32.56.

Corn prices have been rising and when last I checked futures were up another 1.47% in early morning trading.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Corn Soaring, ADM Boring, Investors Snoring

Chasing Value: Corn Soaring, ADM Boring, Investors Snoring originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Cargill's Profits Triple on Strong Harvests, Mosaic Stake

Cargill's Profits Triple on Strong Harvests, Mosaic Stake originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are the next four of my 2011 picks. I am behind schedule, after publishing the first 5 earlier in the week (see: Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- 5 of 11). This year instead of starting completely anew, I am adjusting my 2010 picks. There is no sense in abandoning good ideas just because the calendar turned a page.

You will actually find support of running themes I have been writing about over the past few months. One of these is the idea of making a contrarian investment in a basket of stocks that have been both scalded and scolded in the headlines. Six stocks were included in such a group that I called the "toxic stocks" (see: Chasing Value: Toxic Stock Update #3 -- BAC, BP, C, GE, GS, RIG).

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- 6, 7, 8, 9

Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- 6, 7, 8, 9 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This is the fifth year that I am posting my stock picks for the year. There is a lot of foolishness in doing so because each year that I have made such suggestions, including 2009 when I owned all of the picks, it is assumed that I would hold all of the positions without responding to market conditions, or changes in the specific company. No adding to, or cutting a position. This is not the real world.

It is not possible for everything to remain static. For example, you might find that you hold a stock that made a great run through three quarters, beyond your wildest expectations, and decide it has passed a point where the metrics cannot support anything close to the price. Under normal circumstances you might sell it, except you cannot. By the end of the year the profit you might have realized fades away and you end up reporting on something that is not a true measure of your objective strategy. Nevertheless, once again I will stick with this approach because this seems to be how its done in every publication's annual picks. This year there are eleven.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- 5 of 11

Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- 5 of 11 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The year 2010 has come and gone and my results are in. This is my fourth annual stock results to be reported on BlogginStocks, so something of a track record is starting to form. This past year ended with a modest improvement over the unmanaged Standard & Poors 500 index

The original story, Chasing Value: 10 Stock Picks for 2010, took readers through a review of many candidates, concluding with the ten picks, using prices from Dec. 28, 2009.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2010 Final Review -- Winners and Losers

Chasing Value: 2010 Final Review -- Winners and Losers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Leave it to our representatives in Washington to make a compromise that ignores most of their previously stated beliefs -- of only a few days ago. This just reinforces again the old joke "How do you know when a politician is lying?..."

Monday the Obama administration and congressional Republicans came to an agreement to extend both unemployment benefits by 13 months, and the Bush-era tax cuts for all by two years. What happened to the Republican and Democratic noise about fiscal responsibility and reducing the debt?

A few days ago Republicans were not going to vote for an extension of the unemployment funding if there was not an associated revenue offset to pay for it. That's gone, so the deficit is going up. The Democrats claimed they would not back an extension of the tax cuts for people that earned over $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for joint returns claiming this would add $900 billion toward debt reduction. That's gone so the deficit is going up.

Continue reading Serious Money: Washington Compromise Stinks, but Here Are Some Stocks to Look At

Serious Money: Washington Compromise Stinks, but Here Are Some Stocks to Look At originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you persevered and maintained your position with Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), first discussed here on March 25, 2009, at a price of $28.78, during its bear hug earlier this year, you're being rewarded.

ADM found support near $24, and soared to more than $34, before a recent correction to about $31.

Archer should record a 5% to 7% revenue increase in FY2011, as global demand for food continues to rise with the global economic recovery, which should post GDP growth of 4.2% next year, according to International Monetary Fund research. Long term, the company remains well-positioned to capitalize on the development of emerging markets, and population growth. Oilseed performance will be a star performer, followed by agricultural services.

Continue reading Archer Daniels Midland: Perseverance Is Paying Off

Archer Daniels Midland: Perseverance Is Paying Off originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Nov 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Archer Daniels Midland Sells Off: Buy the Weakness?

Archer Daniels Midland Sells Off: Buy the Weakness? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 02 Nov 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (MOO) offers a great opportunity to capitalize on the move in the sector; the fund focuses on the 40 most actively traded companies in the agriculture chemical and product business," says Jim Farrish.

The exchange-traded fund specialist and editor of SectorExchange.com explains, "Below, we review the ETF as well as some individual agriculture-based stocks poised to break out on the upside.

"The agriculture stocks have been moving up aggressively since the end of June. The initial push came on the drought issues in Russia and wheat production.

Continue reading Agribusinesses ETF (MOO): Farming Favorites

Agribusinesses ETF (MOO): Farming Favorites originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 Oct 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2010 Picks Q3 Update -- ADM, BRK, EZPW, GE, HD

Chasing Value: 2010 Picks Q3 Update -- ADM, BRK, EZPW, GE, HD originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you're a stock trader, then this post is not for you because these stock picks are long-term bets for people looking to beat the traders using the best time-tested strategies. We have been in a very volatile market as of late. It has knocked down many quality companies creating opportunities.

Today I ran a stock screen using six value metrics to find big companies with low stock prices. I found a few dozen, but selected the household names.

Continue reading Chasing Value: ADM, CVX, RTN and TAP for Investors, Not Traders

Chasing Value: ADM, CVX, RTN and TAP for Investors, Not Traders originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The first quarter of 2010 is closed and the results are in. My picks surpassed the primary indices by a large margin. The original story, Chasing Value: 10 Stock Picks for 2010 , was the culmination of a process presented to our readers and finally narrowed down to the select group using final prices from Monday, December 28, 2009.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2010 Picks Triple Market Returns

Chasing Value: 2010 Picks Triple Market Returns originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Apr 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

During my tenure at BloggingStocks I have expressed my opinion often about the contribution that dividends make to your overall return. Most shrewd investors, and especially "my pal Warren," know this and understand why I re-emphasize the point when I make my annual selections.

By now I hope you have had a chance to peruse my picks for 2010. If not the links below will give you another opportunity.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2010 Dividends for Ten Stock Picks

Chasing Value: 2010 Dividends for Ten Stock Picks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

How hungry are you? The world is becoming hungrier all the time and Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) seeks to fill that need.

It is one of the world's largest processors of oilseeds, corn, and wheat. It turns corn into syrups, sweeteners, citric and lactic acids, and ethanol to fill your tank too. ADM also produces wheat flour for bakeries and pasta makers; cocoa and chocolate products for confectioners; animal-feed ingredients for farmers, and malt for brewers. It operates one of the world's largest crop origination and transportation networks, through which it connects crops and their markets across the globe.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2010 -- #7 Archer Daniels Midland

Chasing Value: 2010 -- #7 Archer Daniels Midland originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The 5 data points were price-to-sales (P/S), price-to-book (P/B), price-to-cash flow (P/CF), dividend yield and return-on-equity (ROE). I did look at other things but these were the subject of my initial focus.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 10 Stock Picks for 2010

Chasing Value: 10 Stock Picks for 2010 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.