As always, there is a volume of speculation after the much anticipated release of the quarterly changes in holdings report from Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A). While leaving all the deep analytical number crunching for greater minds than my own, I'd like to take a look at what Warren Buffett could be telling us through his company's latest form 13F.

Why has Warren Buffett swallowed Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI) while letting go of Norfolk Southern (NSC) and Union Pacific (UNP)? Being the master of due diligence, Mr. Buffett has most likely determined that BNI is the most attractive of the three. The future of rail transport is all but guaranteed to shine, and I believe that Mr. Buffett has exited the other two rail companies simply to avoid conflict of interest issues.

Continue reading What Is Warren Buffett Telling You?

What Is Warren Buffett Telling You? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Berkshire Hathaway Expected to Spilt Shares 50 for 1

Berkshire Hathaway Expected to Spilt Shares 50 for 1 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Kaufman Bros. upgraded Yahoo! (YHOO) to buy from hold after channel checks indicated display advertising is seeing continued improvement in pricing and demand. The firm finds the risk/reward profile on Yahoo! shares attractive at current levels and raised its price target on the stock to $20 from $19.
• Citigroup upgraded Edwards Lifesciences (EW) to buy from hold following the company's investor meeting as it believes new product launches will serve as catalysts in 2010. Citi raised its target on shares to $101 from $72.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded BWAY Holding (BWY) to buy from hold following the company's Q4 results and raised its target on shares to $22 from $17.
• Clearwire (CLWR) was upgraded to buy from sell at Soleil.
• Nokia (NOK) was raised to hold from sell at Societe Generale.
• NCR Corp. (NCR) was upgraded at JPMorgan to overweight from neutral.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: YHOO, EW, BWY, BRO, BNI, FFIV, AOL, CYPB, ATML ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: YHOO, EW, BWY, BRO, BNI, FFIV, AOL, CYPB, ATML ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The clock is ticking away the time before the year ends and I have only begun to sort out the possibilities. In Part 1 of this series, I discussed breaking up my potential picks into three categories: contender, on the fence, and out of the running until the 10 stocks have been identified.

Four contenders have been considered so far: American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), Anadarko Petroleum (APC), Anglo American ADR (AAUKY) and Diageo plc (DEO).

Six more are included in today's review: EZCorp Inc. (EZPW), General Electric Company (GE), Wells Fargo & Company (WFC), Annaly Capital Management ( NLY), Intuitive Surgical Inc (ISRG) plus Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B). These include the remaining five from 2009 and one more familiar to most investors.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Ten stocks for 2010 -- Part 2

Chasing Value: Ten stocks for 2010 -- Part 2 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded Aeropostale (ARO) to neutral from sell. The firm, which has a $34 target on the stock, cites the recent sell-off in shares for the upgrade.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Consolidated Water (CWCO) to buy from neutral on valuation and on expectations the company's earnings will recover in 2010. The firm has a $15 target on the stock.
• Wunderlich upgraded Transmontaigne Partners (TLP) to buy from hold on valuation as it believes the sell-off on the company's Q3 results is overdone. The firm keeps a $26.50 price target on the stock.
• Mobile TeleSystems (MBT) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• HSBC (HBC) was raised to buy from hold at Societe Generale.
• Redwood Trust (RWT) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ARO, AZN, BNI, BRCD, HBC, MRK, TIF ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ARO, AZN, BNI, BRCD, HBC, MRK, TIF ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Buffett's railroad move: A win for BNI shareholders

Buffett's railroad move: A win for BNI shareholders originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Serious Money: Questions as Buffett's money & mouth converge on BNI

Serious Money: Questions as Buffett's money & mouth converge on BNI originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Oppenheimer upgraded Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B) to Outperform from Perform following the better-than-expected Q3 results to reflect an improving outlook for all the company's segments. The firm raised its target on shares to $36.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded C.R. Bard (NYSE: BCR) to Buy from Hold on expectations the company's underlying growth trends will improve. The firm raised its target on shares to $88 from $78.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) to Outperform from Market Perform. The firm upgraded the stock after Cognizant reported better-than-expected Q3 results.
• Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG) was upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital.
• Digital River (NASDAQ: DRIV) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Collins Stewart and to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Steris (NYSE: STE) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: BKC, BDK, BNI, DEO, GAME, VIA, YUM ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: BKC, BDK, BNI, DEO, GAME, VIA, YUM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Berkshire Hathaway buying Burlinton Northern Santa Fe

Berkshire Hathaway buying Burlinton Northern Santa Fe originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) announced the acquisition of Burlington Northern (NYSE: BNI) for $100 per share in cash and stock for a deal worth $34 billion. BRK.A is purchasing the remaining 77.4% of outstanding BNI stock its does not own. BNI November option implied volatility is flat at 36, December is at 35; verses its 26-week average of 37 according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price fluctuations.

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

Options Update: Berkshire Hathaway buys Burlington Northern -- volatility flat originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

CSX (NYSE: CSX), a railway entity similar to companies such as Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (NYSE: BNI), Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC), and Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP), saw a nice bid during Tuesday's after-hours session. The market enjoyed CSX's Q3 earnings report so much it sent shares of the company higher by 2.6%.

What was so good about the data? According to TheStreet.com, CSX made 74 cents per share from continuing operations. The analyst community was counting on 71 cents per share. Perhaps more importantly, management seemed pretty upbeat on the state of the economy. Like a lot of other pundits, CEO Michael Ward thinks that the recession will eventually start to wane, and that we may have already experienced the bottom of the cycle.

Continue reading CSX experiences a drop in Q3 income, but are better times ahead?

CSX experiences a drop in Q3 income, but are better times ahead? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Blackrock (NYSE: BLK) to Buy from Hold as it believes the BGI acquisition is becoming more accretive with the market rally and that the company's core trends are healthy. The firm raised its target on shares to $230 from $180.
• Citigroup upgraded Burlington Northern (NYSE: BNI) to Hold from Sell as it believes the risk/reward on shares is balanced based on 2010 estimates. Citi raised its target on shares to $89 from $75.
• Auriga upgraded Eclipsys (NASDAQ: ECLP) to Buy from Hold on expectations the company's margin expansion initiatives will drive benefits in 2010 and 2011. The firm raised its target on shares to $24 from $16.
• Seagate (NASDAQ: STX) was upgraded to Overweight from Market Weight at Thomas Weisel and to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Web.com (NASDAQ: WWWW) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at FBR Capital.
• CenturyTel (NYSE: CTL) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AMZN, BLK, BNI, CCL, JPM, PNC, UTX ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AMZN, BLK, BNI, CCL, JPM, PNC, UTX ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Barclays upgraded Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR) to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised its target to $64 from $48 following the better-than-expected Q2 report.
• Cowen upgraded Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR) to Outperform from Neutral. The firm cites stabilizing demand trends and recovering margins for the upgrade.
• Susquehanna upgraded Isle of Capri (NASDAQ: ISLE) citing weakness following the weak quarter. The firm, which has a $13 target on shares, expects regional operators to benefit from improving macro trends quicker than destination markets.
• Senior Housing (NYSE: SNH) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
• Barclays (NYSE: BCS) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• CGI Group (NYSE: GIB) was upgraded to Buy from Speculative Buy at Canaccord.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: BBBY, DLTR, ISLE, SEAC, WHR ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: BBBY, DLTR, ISLE, SEAC, WHR ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

CSX (NYSE: CSX), a railway company whose peers include Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI), Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP) and Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC), reported earnings for the second quarter on Monday after the bell. Net sales declined 25%, and earnings from continuing operations declined 24% to 72 cents per share.

Declines are never nice, but for a company like CSX, it's only to be expected. The recession continues to have an impact on operations. Management said that volumes decreased; it also mentioned how CSX is doing its best to run as efficiently as possible to combat the dropping top line. Maybe it's working out, because according to Reuters, the company beat Wall Street estimates by 10 cents.

Continue reading CSX: Buy now, or wait for a better price?

CSX: Buy now, or wait for a better price? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In running a very tight stock screen recently for value plays Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI) showed up on a list of 14 stocks. Interestingly all the large railroad stocks did. This reminded me of several stories I have done on the subject, the most recent being Chasing Value: Watch BNI -- the heck with Citigroup.

To summarize, about six weeks ago a Citigroup (NYSE: C) analyst declared it was time to sell the stock when BNI was trading in the mid $60s -- I said investors should do the opposite, it was a great value. Friday the stock closed at $76.98. Even at this price it is a value and ever more so with oil prices steadly creeping up.

Continue reading Sunday Funnies: Economics -- art or science

Sunday Funnies: Economics -- art or science originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Burlington Northern is my preferred choice in the railroad industry. At first glance, Burlington Northern had a particularly bad first quarter.

"Profit was $0.86 a share, down sharply from $1.30 a share the year before. However, when unusual items such as an unfavourable coal rate decision are excluded, operating earnings amounted to a much more acceptable $1.13 a share, well above the 96c analysts were looking for.

Continue reading Burlington Northern (BNI): On the right track

Burlington Northern (BNI): On the right track originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 May 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Keep pace with Burlington Northern, keep pace with the railroad rebound

Keep pace with Burlington Northern, keep pace with the railroad rebound originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Watch BNI -- the heck with Citigroup

Chasing Value: Watch BNI -- the heck with Citigroup originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

CSX (NYSE: CSX), a railway company whose colleagues include Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI), Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) and Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP), issued its Q1 report on Tuesday after the bell. As one might imagine, there was a drop in both sales and net income. The top line declined by 17%. The bottom line, on an adjusted basis (taking into account an item from last year's similar quarter), dropped 23% to $0.62 per share.

The economy is still taking its toll, obviously. Volumes were down during the quarter. However, the market sometimes cares about only one thing: beating expectations. CSX actually beat the analyst expectations of $0.51 per share. This significant difference led traders to push shares of CSX higher by 6.5% during Tuesday's after-hours session.

Continue reading CSX's earnings engine was powerful in Q1

CSX's earnings engine was powerful in Q1 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 15 Apr 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Royal Bank of Scotland upgraded shares of Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) to Buy from Hold to reflect the company's dividend yield.
  
• JMP Securities expects HFF Inc. (NYSE: HF) to benefit from increased U.S. commercial real estate sales and mortgage volumes. Shares were upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform. The firm has a $5 target on shares.
  
• Oppenheimer upgraded Church & Dwight (NYSE: CHD) to Outperform from Perform as it believes Church & Dwight's value-oriented portfolio should continue to benefit from the consumer trade-down and that concerns over distribution are overblown. The firm set a $62 price on shares.
• Regeneron (NASDAQ: REGN) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
  
• Burlington Northern (NYSE: BNI) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• AMB Property (NYSE: AMB) was lifted to Neutral from Underperform at Banc of America/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: VOD, CBS, BCS, MS, ICE, AU ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: VOD, CBS, BCS, MS, ICE, AU ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.