dividend investing posts
FeedPosted Nov 2nd 2009 5:15PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Clorox Co (CLX), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Procter and Gamble (PG)
Clorox (NYSE: CLX), a consumer-products business that counts Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) and Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL) as related stocks, may have seen a sales drop of 1% in its fiscal first quarter, but that didn't stop it from posting a nice bottom-line growth rate. Clorox made $1.11 per share in Q1, and that represents a 23% increase. What a way to start a new corporate year!
According to Reuters, expectations were for 95 cents per share. That's a wonderful beat. Plus, sales volume went up 1%. Helping to drive things along was a healthy gross margin, as well as the dreaded H1N1 virus. Clorox has done well over the years associating its brand with sanitizing effectiveness, so when a pandemic rears its ugly head, the trademark is prepared to leverage such reputation to drive value.
Continue reading Clorox starts its new year off right
Posted Oct 29th 2009 6:00PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Kellogg Co (K), General Mills (GIS), Kraft Foods'A' (KFT)
Kellogg Company (NYSE: K) didn't need a hearty breakfast to get its stock going today (although I'm sure it had one anyway). All it needed was a reasonably healthy earnings report. Judging by how the stock is performing, I think the company got one.
For the third quarter, Kellogg saw flat sales growth. However, take out currency effects and acquisitions, and you've got a 3% expansion rate on the top line. Well, that isn't so robust, either, but let's head to the bottom line. Earnings per share came in at 94 cents, representative of a 6% increase. Not so bad, and according to Mark Fightmaster's preview, that was a dime better than what analysts wanted to see.
Continue reading Kellogg's Q3 top line not great, but bottom line beats projections
Posted Oct 27th 2009 5:00PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Google (GOOG), Apple Inc (AAPL), AT and T (T), Verizon Communications (VZ)
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) issued Q3 data on Monday. According to the press release, the telecommunications entity made, on an adjusted basis, 60 cents per share. Disappointing, since that's six pennies less than last year's comparable number. However, it was a penny ahead of analyst expectations, according to Reuters.
Of course, when discussing Verizon, what tends to receive focus is cash flow. As we all know, the company is a famous dividend play. Many investors consider this angle to be not only valuable, but an added safety element as well.
Continue reading Verizon tops Q3 profit estimate, but it's all about the dividend
Posted Oct 22nd 2009 5:00PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), Procter and Gamble (PG), Kimberly-Clark (KMB)
Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB), a consumer products entity whose colleagues include Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), is up today on third-quarter results. At the time of this writing, my screen was showing shares of Kimberly-Clark higher by a little under 6%.
According to the corporate press release, sales declined 1.7%. Not a great start, but Kimberly-Clark highlighted a better metric: organic sales increased 3%, helped along by price increases. Luckily, sales volume didn't fare too badly; they were essentially flat.
Continue reading Kimberly-Clark high on Q3 data
Posted Oct 21st 2009 9:00AM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Industry, Caterpillar (CAT)
Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) is doing great. The stock is hot, and even though the company is still reporting sales and earnings declines, you just know that the fundamentals will eventually get better. In the meantime, management is doing its best to beat earnings expectations.
Yesterday, management succeeded. For the third quarter, according to our Closing Bell post, Caterpillar said it made 64 cents per share. Analysts were expecting only 6 cents per share. Well, something was off there, huh? Anyway, according to the actual press release, sales decreased over 40%, and per-share profit was off by 15%, but really, it didn't matter to the market. Shares of the heavy equipment maker closed higher by 3%, on heavy volume.
Continue reading Caterpillar exceeds expectations: Too late to buy?
Posted Sep 24th 2009 1:30PM by Steven Halpern (RSS feed)
"All across America, college town populations are rising much faster than practically any other real estate market; that's because enrollments on a national basis are on a steady rise," says income expert Bryan Perry.
In his The Cash Machine, he looks to Education Realty Trust (NYSE: EDR), a real estate investment trust that provides high-quality student housing throughout the U.S.
Perry explains, "While it's still early to call a bottom for real estate in a number of regions -- especially in commercial properties -- one thing is for sure: Parents will give their right arms to send their kids to great colleges.
"There is a stealth bull market for apartment growth in major college towns, and rents are only going to rise in the years to come as the broader economy rebounds.
Continue reading Education Realty (EDR): Ivy league income
Posted Sep 23rd 2009 8:30AM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Campbell Soup (CPB), ConAgra Foods (CAG), Kraft Foods'A' (KFT)
ConAgra Foods (NYSE: CAG) issued Q1 numbers on Tuesday. The market wasn't too impressed by them, but they weren't bad, actually. Net sales were lackluster, I'll admit. They dropped about 3%. Earnings per share from continuing operations, on the other hand, really shined. They increased well over 60% to 38 cents. Net income from continuing operations on a dollar basis soared over 50%.
Even better, that 38-cents-per-share statistic was firmly ahead of Wall Street expectations. According to our earnings preview, analysts were looking for 34 cents per share.
Continue reading ConAgra increases profit in the first quarter
Posted Sep 12th 2009 12:10PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Campbell Soup (CPB), Kellogg Co (K), Procter and Gamble (PG), Kraft Foods'A' (KFT)
Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB), a familiar name at the supermarket, reported Q4 earnings on Friday. The top line wasn't so hot as sales declined 11%. There were a few factors to consider with that decline, including currency translation and the issue of there being an extra week in the previous year's comparable quarter. I'm pretty satisfied with the context management provided for the challenged revenue. Also, sales essentially matched expectations, according to our earnings preview, which isn't so bad. The bottom line, however, deserves more than a passing grade. Adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations increased 15% to 30 cents, beating estimates by four pennies.
I like it. Furthermore, I enjoyed that adjusted per-share profit for the full fiscal year also beat forecasts. And you should take a look at the adjusted gross margin for both the quarter and the 12-month period. Campbell's management was able to expand the metric, a feat indicative of efficiencies and pricing strategies, according to the press release.
Continue reading Campbell Soup ends the fiscal year with market-beating earnings
Posted Sep 3rd 2009 3:00PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, ConAgra Foods (CAG), Kraft Foods'A' (KFT)
Del Monte Foods (NYSE: DLM), a supermarket brand whose colleagues include ConAgra (NYSE: CAG) and Kraft (NYSE: KFT), was way up in afternoon trading. When a stock like Del Monte gains 9% on great volume, you know something big must have happened. Well, it was the company's fiscal Q1 results that made investors want to buy today. After checking over the news, I can honestly say that I see the market's point.
Sales increased 12% during the quarter, and earnings from continuing operations calculated out to 30 cents per share, a huge improvement over the loss observed in the comparable period. According to Earnings.com, Wall Street was only looking for a measly four pennies for the bottom line.
Continue reading Del Monte up big on Q1 data
Posted Aug 20th 2009 5:30PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Campbell Soup (CPB), ConAgra Foods (CAG), Kraft Foods'A' (KFT)
H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE: HNZ), a food company that shares space at the supermarket with products from Kraft Foods, Inc. (NYSE: KFT), ConAgra (NYSE: CAG), and Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB), issued first-quarter data on Thursday. Even though the effect of currency translations continues to put a cloud over the top-line performance, management did end up beating earnings expectations.
Net sales came in flat, and net income was 67 cents per share. Analysts were expecting 5 cents less, according to Earnings.com. Shareholders should be happy about that. When I covered Heinz's last quarter, I noted that expectations were essentially beat by a penny.
Continue reading Heinz wins analyst game in Q1, generates higher level of cash
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