Continue reading Dividend Aristrocrats: Four Income Favorites

Dividend Aristrocrats: Four Income Favorites originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 Mar 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Procter & Gamble (PG) isn't in the green. At the time of this writing, shares of the consumer concern were flat. They were off by a mere nine pennies to $60.31. Perhaps they'll end up in the green by the end of the day, who knows, but one thing's for sure: if you own shares of this one, you're having one heck of a boring Monday.

And you might be bored by something else. According to TheFly, guidance for the full fiscal year hasn't been changed. Management continues to expect the bottom line to come in somewhere between $3.91 per share and $4.01 per share.

Continue reading Procter & Gamble's Dull Price Action

Procter & Gamble's Dull Price Action originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 13 Sep 2010 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Clorox Flat on Earnings News

Clorox Flat on Earnings News originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

ConAgra Foods (CAG), a company that produces packaged edibles for supermarkets and whose colleagues include Campbell Soup (CPB) and Kraft (KFT), didn't have the kind of quarter you look at and say, "Way to go, management!" It was a boring, steady kind of reporting period.

For the fiscal third quarter, total sales were kind of flat, down a minuscule 0.9%. Earnings from continuing operations on an adjusted basis rose 10% to 44 cents per diluted share. Compared to estimates, that 44-cent stat came in as expected, nothing more, nothing less.

Continue reading ConAgra Produces an Acceptable Quarter

ConAgra Produces an Acceptable Quarter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

General Mills (GIS), whose colleagues at the food markets include Kellogg (K), Kraft Foods (KFT), and Campbell Soup (CPB), performed well in the fiscal third quarter. On an adjusted basis, net income increased 23% to 97 cents per diluted share. This beat estimates by four pennies.

General Mills was able to expand the gross margin by keeping an eye on efficiency opportunities and optimizing the overall quality of the inventory mix. Of course, there was a little luck involved, too, as commodity costs weren't as expensive as they previously had been. It's always good when that happens.

Continue reading General Mills Reports Impressive Income Increase in Q3

General Mills Reports Impressive Income Increase in Q3 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 25 Mar 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Serious Money: Greek Bonds or High Yield Stocks?

Serious Money: Greek Bonds or High Yield Stocks? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Just last week General Electric (GE) surged on news that it will likely boost its dividend by some time in 2011. Coupled with the resumption of General Electric's buyback plan, shares set a new 52-week high.

But before you set off the fireworks and jump back into GE with the rest of the lemmings on Wall Street, take a closer look at the stock's fundamentals. My analysis of this company shows some serious flaws in profits and sales growth. Wall Street has forecast negative revenue growth for each of the next four quarters, and though earnings have topped the Street's low expectations recently, they have been relatively flat. That means GE isn't sinking, but it sure isn't going anywhere.

Continue reading GE vs. H.J. Heinz: Which Is the Tastier Dividend Play?

GE vs. H.J. Heinz: Which Is the Tastier Dividend Play? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Besides owning a long-term position, I tried trading the company during the economic crisis. I didn't succeed; I eventually sold the short-term position at a loss, as I mentioned in this piece. But I still hold my long-term shares. And if you haven't been reading the financial news lately, you've missed all the articles about the industrial conglomerate. Looks like everyone is talking about GE, specifically about its potential to come back in the next year or so.

Continue reading Everyone's Talking About GE

Everyone's Talking About GE originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In his Half-Priced Stocks, he explains, "Potlatch (PCH) owns plenty of them, with a portfolio of 1.6 million acres spread throughout Arkansas, Idaho, Minnesota and Wisconsin. That forestland produces a steady harvest year in and year out. Timber production has been rising at a healthy +9% annual pace, reaching 4.4 million tons before last year's slowdown

Continue reading Potlatch (PCH): Timber!

Potlatch (PCH): Timber! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) story hasn't changed too much, in my opinion. It's holding up pretty well with its business model, but as far as unambiguous growth is concerned, management remains in a challenged position.

WWE released Q4 earnings to the market on Thursday, and the results were rather mediocre for the most part. Per-share profit dropped three pennies to 15 cents. Revenues saw a modest decline. Excluding items, adjusted operating income increased 9% on a dollar basis.

Continue reading World Wrestling Entertainment's Q4: Lower GAAP Profit, Higher Cash Flow

World Wrestling Entertainment's Q4: Lower GAAP Profit, Higher Cash Flow originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

3M Company (MMM) delivered a fourth quarter that its shareholders can look upon with enthusiasm. Sales increased 11%. On an adjusted basis (taking into account special items seen in last year's comparable reporting period), earnings per share went up over 30% to $1.30. Earnings.com indicates that $1.21 per share was on the market's radar.

Good show. And let's not forget about the cash flow, because that's an important component of this company's success. Free cash flow jumped 16% in Q4. It was better by more than 30% over the full fiscal year.

Continue reading 3M Posts Notable Fourth Quarter

3M Posts Notable Fourth Quarter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2010 -- #4 Home Depot

Chasing Value: 2010 -- #4 Home Depot originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

General Mills, Inc. (GIS), a food company that competes in the cereal aisles with Kellogg Company (K), performed well in the second quarter. The top line didn't budge too much, but the bottom line moved up 13% to $1.54 on an adjusted basis. Cash from operations really stood out. For the six-month period, over $980 million was generated from business activities. In the comparable frame, over $360 million was booked.

According to our earnings preview, the market was expecting $1.44 per share in net income. What drove the very positive results? I think you can definitely allocate a fair amount of praise to execution. But you can also credit brand power and a more favorable commodity environment as fiscal drivers.

Continue reading General Mills Increases Profit and Operating Cash Flow in Q2

General Mills Increases Profit and Operating Cash Flow in Q2 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

On an adjusted basis, Deere posted a profit of 23 cents per share. This number easily beat the analysts, as they believed Q4 was only worth about 3 cents per share, according to our earnings preview.

Continue reading Deere up on Q4 earnings performance

Deere up on Q4 earnings performance originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE)'s stock jumped Thursday after the market took a look at the company's Q3 data. Overall revenues didn't see much of an increase, but earnings per share rose over 70% to 12 cents. Driving this incredible growth rate was a cut in gross costs. Analysts were betting on 10 cents in per-share profit, according to Earnings.com.

Did WWE deserve a pop of 7% during yesterday's trading session? Some of the excitement was certainly justified. It's obviously a positive thing to see management acting so diligently when it comes to costs. Of course, there was an increase in selling, general, and administrative expenses during the quarter, so there is still room for improvement (the nine-month table did show a decrease in this line, to be fair).

Continue reading World Wrestling Entertainment Q3 results exceed expectations

World Wrestling Entertainment Q3 results exceed expectations originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

Kellogg's Q3 top line not great, but bottom line beats projections originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

Verizon tops Q3 profit estimate, but it's all about the dividend originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

Kimberly-Clark high on Q3 data originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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?

Caterpillar exceeds expectations: Too late to buy? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"It's time to take some profits and play defense for a while," says Glenn Rogers, adding, "Fortunately, we can hedge our bets by taking some profits and building cash reserves and reinvesting in more defensive securities."

In The Internet Wealh Builder, the advisor suggests, a trio of conservative dividend-focused exchange-traded funds.

He explains, "Everybody I talk to these days is nervous, although for different reasons. Some are nervous because they feel left behind. They sat on the sidelines and missed the incredible rally we've had since March. Now they're afraid they won't have a chance to participate because the market has been refusing to correct.

"Others are nervous because they made a pot of money in the rebound and they're afraid they could lose it all in a replay of last year's meltdown. Meanwhile, there some relatively low-risk ETFs where you could park some money while we see how all this plays out.

Continue reading Defensive bets: A trio of dividend funds

Defensive bets: A trio of dividend funds originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.