On Thursday, Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (NYSE: DPS), which spun off from Cadbury Schweppes (OTC: CSGWF) last month, and canned foods manufacturer Del Monte Foods Co. (NYSE: DLM) both reported double-digit profit growth for their fourth quarters, but still missed analysts' expectations. Smithfield Foods Corp. (NYSE: SFD), the U.S.'s largest hog producer and pork processor, said its first-quarter profits tumbled, hurt by rising grain costs and falling hog prices.

Plano, Texas-based Dr Pepper reported that its first-quarter earnings surged 38% from a year ago to $95 million, or 38 cents per share, as the company raised prices to offset lower volume and rising commodity costs. Adjusted for a restructuring charge, earnings were 36 cents per share. Sales for the three months ended March 31 grew 3% to $1.31 billion.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had expected earnings of 41 cents per share on revenue of $1.27 billion.

Dr Pepper shares rose more than a dollar, or 4%, in morning trading to $25.00, just shy of the price at which the stock began trading last month.

Continue reading Dr Pepper, Del Monte and Smithfield miss earnings estimates

Dr Pepper, Del Monte and Smithfield miss earnings estimates originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Jun 2008 13:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Will Wrigley deal push Hershey into the arms of Cadbury? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Citigroup upgraded shares of Potash (NYSE: POT) to Buy from Hold and raised its target to $178 from $141 to reflect their expectation for a more bullish outcome from the ongoing China Potash contract negotiations.
• Cadbury Schweppes (NYSE: CSG) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan to reflect the company's takeout potential and cash returns.
• Oppenheimer raised its rating on Zoran (NASDAQ: ZRAN) to Outperform from Perform on valuation, as they believe the recent weakness is overdone.

• Pep Boys (NYSE: PBY) was upgraded to Market Weight from Underweight at Thomas Weisel.
• JMP Securities upgraded Actuate (NASDAQ: ACTU) to Strong Buy from Outperform.
• Goldman raised Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM) to Buy from Neutral.

Analyst upgrades: POT, CSG and ZRAN originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Feb 2008 09:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Cadbury Schweppes (CSG) to spin off U.S. beverage unit after no buyers emerge originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Cadbury Schweppes PLC (NYSE: CSG) was downgraded to Equal-Weight from Overweight at Lehman Brothers to reflect lower-than-expected value from Cadbury's American Beverages sale or demerger.
• Friedman Billings removed Parker Hannifin Corporation (NYSE: PH) from its Top Picks List, citing valuation.
• Christopher & Banks Corporation (NYSE: CBK) was downgraded to Sector Performer from Outperformer at CIBC World Markets following the unexpected departure of CEO Matthew Dillon. Suntrust downgraded shares of the stock to Neutral from Buy citing pressure in the retail sector.
• KeyBanc lowered shares of Benihana Inc (NASDAQ: BNHNA) to Buy from Aggressive Buy following the company's Q2 results.
• Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD) was downgraded to Peer Perform from Outperform at Bear Stearns citing a continued deterioration in fundamentals and challenging outlook...

• Brocade Communications Systems Inc (NASDAQ: BRCD) was removed from JP Morgan's Focus List; the firm maintained its Outperform rating.
• Goldman Sachs downgraded Renovis Inc (NASDAQ: RNVS) to Sell from Neutral.
• Raymond James downgraded shares of Amedisys Inc (NASDAQ: AMED) to Outperform from Strong Buy and shares of Restoration Hardware Inc (NASDAQ: RSTO) to Underperform from Market Perform.
• Biogen Idec Incorporated (NASDAQ: BIIB) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at BWS Financial.

Analyst downgrades 8-31-07: CSG, PH, CBK, BNHNA and SHLD originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 31 Aug 2007 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When BloggingStocks contributor Georges Yared recently took a look at lenders that could rise up out of the recent subprime-related credit mess, he focused on Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), and US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) as strong contenders.

Well, the European markets have been struggling with many of the same credit concerns as in the U.S. Morningstar (NASDAQ: MORN) has gone looking for investment opportunities in European markets, and found such contenders as Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU), France Telecom (NYSE: FTE), and Cadbury Schweppes (NYSE: CSG). However, like Mr. Yared, Morningstar analysts found themselves focusing on a pair of wide-moat lenders that had been unfairly punished by reactions to the current problems.

Continue reading Morningstar finds strength in European lenders

Morningstar finds strength in European lenders originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 28 Aug 2007 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that The ServiceMaster Company (NYSE: SVM) has shelved its $1.15B sale of junk bonds that would help to pay for the LBO of the company due to "investor nervousness."
• The Wall Street Journal reported that eBay Inc (NASDAQ: EBAY) has quietly opened a classified ad site in the U.S., which would rival Craigslist.
• According to people familiar with the situation, The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) has approached several private-equity firms that are involved in the bidding for Cadbury Schweppes plc's (NYSE: CSG) U.S. drinks business, reported the Wall Street Journal.

• Research in Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) has been given clearance to sell its BlackBerry device in China, reported the New York Times.
• Big names like International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM), Infosys Technologies Limited (NASDAQ: INFY), TCS and The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) are opting out of the bidding race for Citigroup Incorporated's (NYSE: C) BPO arm, reported the Times of India.

Newspaper wrap-up 7-05-07: Research in Motion to sell BlackBerries in China originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Jul 2007 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Conveniently buried in the release, which quickly became the headline, was the 15% job reduction -- or about 7,500 layoffs. The company added that it would look to close 15% of its confectionery factories by 2011 as part of an austerity plan. These steep cuts are expected to save the company up to an estimated GBP300M.
• Also of note, after receiving "expressions of interest," the company said it would most likely sell its American business unit rather than demerge it.

An update on Cadbury originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 19 Jun 2007 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Sale of U.S. drinks business: The company is expected to announce a sale of its U.S. drinks business, which includes 7-Up and Snapple. The New York Times reported that it is currently unclear which bidder is in the lead for the unit - bids came from a group led by Cott, a consortium that included Thomas H. Lee Partners and TPG and a third consortium led by Blackstone Group and KKR. Other possible candidates for the unit could include The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) or Tootsie Roll Industries Inc (NYSE: TR), in a deal that could value the unit as high as $16B. Other sources believe Kraft Foods Inc (NYSE: KFT) and Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company (NYSE: WWY) could be potential bidders; Kraft, JP Morgan believes, would have an edge over Wrigley due to greater funding, flexibility and synergies.

Continue reading Cadbury to update investors tomorrow

Cadbury to update investors tomorrow originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 18 Jun 2007 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that the Bancroft family, which controls 64% of Dow Jones & Company Inc's (NYSE: DJ) voting power, said that it would meet with News Corporation (NYSE: NWS) to discuss its $5B bid for the company, but would also consider other bidders and options.
• The Wall Street Journal reported that The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is attacking their sluggish performance by focusing on their bottler network in 200 countries, a move executives believe is important to the company's long-term health.
• Cadbury Schweppes ADS (NYSE: CSG) may soon announce a cost-cutting exercise worth nearly GBP300M that could feature closure of factories and job cuts, the Financial Times reported.
• Barron's Online's "Inside Scoop" column reported that Michael E. Marks, the chairman of Flextronics International Ltd (NASDAQ: FLEX), a director at SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) and a new director of Sun Microsystems Inc (NASDAQ: SUNW), has made a $1M investment in Sun, the largest by an insider since August 2004.

• Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT), which has been on an "expansion craze" for decades, has decided to make a gradual slowdown in U.S. store expansion, and may embark on an initiative to return to more basic apparel offerings and an emphasis on low prices, the New York Post reported.

Newspaper wrap-up 6-1-07: Bancroft family to meet with News Corp originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Jun 2007 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) and online services company Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE: CRM) may form a partnership to better compete with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), reported the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
  

• The U.K. Times reported that Warner Music Group Corporation (NYSE: WMG) is expected to offer EMI Group (OTC: EMIPY) a "£100 million sweetener" to try and keep the company from accepting an offer from private equity.
• According to The Observer, Royal Bank of Scotland (OTC: RBSPY), along with its partners Fortis and Banco Santander Central Hispano (NYSE: STD), hope to "table" a £47 billion offer for ABN Amro Holdings (NYSE: ABN) this week.
• The Observer reported that a private equity consortium is considering a $15 billion offer for Virgin Media Inc (NASDAQ: VMED).
• Cadbury Schweppes ADS (NYSE: CSG) is planning to return £5 billion to shareholders through a special dividend or share buyback, according to The Observer.
• The Sunday Telegraph reported that UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) will offer to buy out the pension schemes of some of the leading FTSE100 companies next week.
• Yahoo! Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) may be looking to acquire British social networking site Bebo, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
• The Bollywood film producer, Eros International, is expected to announce a partnership with Google Inc's (NASDAQ: GOOG) YouTube, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
• Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited's (NASDAQ: TEVA) Copaxone will face generic competition for the first time, but will not see an impact immediately, Ha'aretz reported.

• The Orange County Register blog looked at a transcript from IndyMac Bancorp Inc's (NYSE: IMB) first quarter conference call, where the CEO Michael Perry said: "When you see that delinquency number in the press of 13% subprime delinquencies, it's hugely understated. It is absolutely hugely understated. And the prime delinquencies are overstated. The subprime delinquencies are more like 18, 20, 22% delinquencies and that's where I think you're going to see the problems."

Newspaper wrap-up 5-21-07: Google may form partnership with Salesforce.com originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 May 2007 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The idea of packing a house with incandescent personalities and recording their meltdowns is tired fare for television, the most notable being CBS' Big Brother. Rock stars are well-mined too, as witnessed by Kiss frontman Gene Simmon's Family Jewels and Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne's The Osbournes. What we haven't seen before is a group of artists working in harmony to produce sterling music. That's probably the Doctor's biggest worry, though -- harmony makes poor television. There's a reason Anna Nicole Smith had her own TV show and Jamie Lee Curtis didn't.

The concept comes from the Mediaedge:cia agency. The five-person group is from Atlanta, and best known for their song "Honestly" (see below). I'd give you odds of 10 to 4 that it's no coincidence that their guitarist's name is Joseph Pepper.

Dr. Pepper's Public Head-bang Band: oddvertising at its best originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Apr 2007 11:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nelson Peltz is an old school corporate raider, who got his stripes during the giddy 1980s. He's back again and using some of his trusty tools to shake things up in the boardroom.

He is now chewing on Cadbury Schweppes plc ADR (NYSE:CSG). That is, Peltz owns about 3% of the company. This is according to a report in the Wall Street Journal [a paid service]. Well, when Peltz comes along it's a good idea to listen. And, in the case of Cadbury Schweppes, it got the message -- and fast. The company is now going to take some serious action - separating its business into confections and soft drinks.

That should help unlock value. It may also mean the prelude to a buyout of both companies. Of course, there certainly enough private equity capital sloshing around to buy solid, branded companies. There may also be interest from strategic players, like The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO).

Apparently, Cadbury Schweppes had been drawing-up plans for this move for some time. But, with Peltz, it found a good reason to pull the trigger.

Yes, candy and soft drinks can make a nice meal.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Cadbury gets Petlz originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Mar 2007 16:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Stock futures are higher

Before the bell 3-15-07: Futures point higher ahead of PPI originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Mar 2007 07:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.