hes posts
FeedPosted Nov 6th 2009 5:30PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: Stocks to Buy

So far, institutional investors (IIs) have not noticed that
Hess Corp.'s (NYSE:
HES) upstream operations (exploration and production) should benefit from high oil prices in the $80 per barrel range. But the argument here is that eventually they will, preferably starting in early 2010, which is why I'm reiterating my Buy rating for the company, first recommended
on April 22, 2009 at a price of $50.41.
Right now, IIs are fixated on the lower margins of downstream operations, which Hess and other refiners are coping with, as a result of recession-induced sluggish U.S. gasoline sales. The First Call FY2009/FY2010 EPS estimates for HES
are $1.63 to $3.66.
Continue reading Despite stock's sluggishness, Hess remains a buy
Posted Oct 15th 2009 11:30AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Analyst initiations
Analyst upgrades:
- Citigroup upgraded Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) to Buy from Hold on valuation and the company's exposure to a potential upturn in international drilling. The firm raised its target on shares to $80 from $56.
- UBS upgraded Allegheny Tech (NYSE: ATI) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $43 from $31 and believes the end of jet engine and other destocking will result in an initial recovery into 2010, even before an order ramp into 2011.
- Merriman upgraded Acorda Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ACOR) to Buy from Neutral based on the favorable FDA panel outcome and set a $30-$33 target range on the stock. Baird upgraded Acorda to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $28 from $24. Following the panel review, Baird expects Amaya to be approved in 1H10 and would be buyers into the mid/high $20s.
- Chicago Bridge & Iron (NYSE: CBI) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
- PG&E (NYSE: PCG) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
- Newfield Exploration (NYSE: NFX) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ACOR, BHI, HAL, LAZ, SLB, TRV ...
Posted Jan 27th 2009 12:10PM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: International markets, Exxon Mobil (XOM), Brazil, Oil
Petrobras, Brazil's state-owned oil company has decided to invest in oil fields recently discovered under several kilometers of sea water. To obtain the oil it must drill into a hard-to-penetrate layer of salt. So far, no estimate of the size of the find has been made, however some say that the reserve may contain as much as 100 billion barrels. At present, Brazil has proven reserves of 14.4 billion barrels.
Petrobras plans to invest $174.4 billion over the next four years, including $28 billion on the new fields.
Last week Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) and Hess (NYSE: HES) announced the discovery of oil in a pre-salt field. Exxon Mobil and Hess each own 40% of the partnership and Petrobras owns 20%. Petrobras also owns two nearby fields at Tupi with estimates of 5 billion barrels and 8 billion barrels respectively.
Continue reading Brazil's Petrobras is developing new oil finds
Posted Jan 23rd 2009 3:45PM by Todd Harrison (RSS feed)
Filed under: Research in Motion (RIMM), Stocks to Buy
This post was written by Minyanville contributor Jeffrey Cooper.Institutions may not be chasing stock but there certainly seems to be a bid for select names when they gaped lower this week.
Names on my radar that have seen opening prices scooped up include
Hess (NYSE:
HES) and
Research in Motion (Nasdaq:
RIMM) and
VMWare (NYSE:
VMW) this morning.
Often times institutions will sell 10,000 shares or so when they want to buy 500,000 to test the waters. They are complacent and feel they have time to accumulate, than there is no rush. When this 'complacency' as to buying reverses course it will show up in a more persistent steadier rally phase -- a change in character in the advance when it comes.
In other words, often times institutions will sell a small block of 10,000 shares when they actually want to buy size in order to bring the price down; i.e., bang 'em to buy 'em. They bang em to bring the price down to a more attractive level to keep momentum players away in order to actually buy quantity at a preferred level. Once we observe that they do not take the time to do this (which shows up in backing and filling action) it will show up in more sustained buying pressure and equate with a lack of buyside complacency.
Posted Oct 26th 2008 12:30PM by Trey Thoelcke (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron Corp (CVX), ConocoPhillips (COP), BP p.l.c. ADS (BP), Valero Energy (VLO), Oil
While other earnings may have disappointed last week, the news was good for oil giant ConocoPhilips (NYSE: COP). In what some took as a good sign for big oil, the Houston-based company reported that third quarter net income surged 41% year over year to $3.39 per share, and that revenue also surged 52% to $70 billion. We'll see whether the good news extends to other petroleum giants scheduled to report quarterly results this week.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are looking for BP (NYSE: BP) profits to have grown 43.2% in the most recent quarter to $2.34 per share on revenue of $109.7 billion, and Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) to post earnings up 39.4% to $3.25 per share on revenue of $86.8 billion. Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO), ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), and Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) likewise are expected to report higher net income of $2.33 per share (sales of $23.4 billion), $2.40 per share (sales of $131.4 billion), and $2.65 per share, respectively. Even Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) is expected to post earnings slightly higher to $1.46 per share (sales of $36.4 billion), despite the effects of Hurricane Ike. Among these companies, only BP and Valero beat earnings expectations in the previous quarter. Not surprisingly, analysts on average recommend buying all except Valero, and shares of all of these companies have recently hit 52-week lows.
Continue reading The week in preview: Focus on oil and energy
Posted Oct 20th 2008 11:40AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Pfizer (PFE), Intel (INTC), Daimler (DAI), Applied Materials (AMAT), ConocoPhillips (COP), Monster Worldwide (MNST), Analyst initiations
Analyst upgrades:
- Goldman upgraded Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) to Buy from Sell and added shares to its Conviction Buy List citing valuation. The firm also upgraded the Semiconductor Capital Equipment Sector to Attractive.
- Morgan Keegan believes Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) will emerge from the slowdown as a stronger company with greater market share and expansion into adjacent markets. Shares were upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform.
- Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
- Daimler (NYSE: DAI) was upgraded at UBS to Neutral from Sell.
- Friedman Billings upgraded Mariner Energy (NYSE: ME) to Market Perform from Underperform on valuation and the company's upcoming catalysts in the deepwater GOM.
- Swiss Reinsurance (OTC: SWCEY) was raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
Analyst downgrades:
- Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman.
- Deutsche Bank cut Hess Corp (NYSE: HES) and Marathon Oil (NYSE: MRO) to Hold from Buy and Suncor (NYSE: SU) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) to Sell from Hold after cutting their oil price forecast for 2009 to $60/bbl and 2010 to $58/bbl.
- Merrill downgraded Akzo Nobel (OTC: AKZOY) to Neutral from Buy on expectations the company's coatings end markets will worsen and chemicals division will see pressure next year.
- Monster (NASDAQ: MNST) was lowered at Citigroup to Hold from Buy.
Continue reading Analyst calls: AMAT, CSCO, PFE, DAI, INTC, COP, MNST, SGP ...
Posted Jun 9th 2008 12:12PM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Eaton Corp (ETN)
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Webster Financial, Eaton and Macrovision were today's noteworthy upgrades:
- Keefe Bruyette upgraded shares of Webster Financial (NYSE: WBS) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation as they feel the company is adequately capitalized and in a position to withstand the weakening credit markets.
- JP Morgan upgraded Eaton (NYSE: ETN) to Overweight from Neutral citing bullish management comments at its conference last week.
- Piper upgraded Macrovision (NASDAQ: MVSN) to Buy from Neutral citing the closure of the Gemstar deal.
OTHER UPGRADES:
- Lehman upgraded U.S. stocks to Overweight from Underweight.
- Goldman added Hess Corp (NYSE: HES) and Mosaic (NYSE: MOS) to its Conviction Buy List.
- Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) was raised at HSBC to Neutral from Underweight.
- Jefferies upgraded ASM International (NASDAQ: ASMI) to Hold from Underperform.
Posted May 30th 2008 11:24AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst initiations
MOST NOTEWORTHY: California Pizza, Lawson Software and Bare Escentuals were today's noteworthy initiations:
- Oppenheimer initiated California Pizza (NASDAQ:CPKI) with a Perform rating. The firm is neutral on the stock given the company's exposure to California and diminishing returns in new markets.
- KeyBanc initiated Lawson Software (NASDAQ:LWSN) with a Hold based on expectations that 1H09 will be challenged by a TTM sales headcount decline and the difficult IT spending environment.
- William Blair assumed Bare Escentuals (NASDAQ:BARE) with an Outperform rating. The firm estimates the company owns only a modest single-digit share of the nearly $9B U.S. cosmetics market, making its market opportunity attractive.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
- Citigroup initiated Hess Corp (NYSE:HES) with a Hold rating and $133 target.
- NetSuite (NYSE:N) was started with a Sell rating and $14 target at Piper.
- Morgan Keegan initiated Berry Petroleum (NYSE:BRY) with an Outperform rating.
Posted May 6th 2008 11:18AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, SLM Corp (SLM)
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Citizens Republic Bancorp, Hess Corp and Sanderson Farms were today's noteworthy upgrades:
- Keefe Bruyette upgraded shares of Citizens Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ: CRBC) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation following yesterday's sell-off, which they attribute in part to its removal from the Dow Jones Select Dividend Index. Shares were also raised to OUtperform from Perform at Oppenheimer following the sell-off.
- Goldman upgraded Hess (NYSE: HES) to Buy from Neutral citing the company's leverage to higher oil prices. The firm said oil is likely to hit $150-$200/bbl in the next 6-24 months.
- Stephens upgraded shares of Sanderson Farms (NASDAQ: SAFM) to Overweight from Equal Weight as they expect industry fundamentals to improve in FY09.
OTHER UPGRADES:
- Baird raised Stellent (NASDAQ: STEL) to OUtperform from Neutral.
- Friedman Billings upgraded Preferred Bank (NASDAQ: PFBC) to Market Perform from Underperform.
- Agco (NYSE: AG) was upgraded at Goldman to Buy from Neutral.
- Lehman upgraded SLM Corp (NYSE: SLM) to Overweight from Equal Weight.
Posted Apr 22nd 2008 11:33AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Apple Inc (AAPL), Dell (DELL), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Exxon Mobil (XOM), International Business Machines (IBM), Chevron Corp (CVX), Sun Microsystems (JAVA), Analyst initiations, Garmin Ltd (GRMN)
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Garmin, Thomson Reuters and Heritage-Crystal Clean were today's noteworthy initiations:
- Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN) was initiated with a Neutral rating at JP Morgan. The firm sees risk to 2008 Street estimates given the consumer slowdown in the U.S. and potential ASP and margin pressure as channel inventory is worked down.
- Morgan Stanley assumed Thomson Reuters (NASDAQ: TRIN) with an Underweight rating and expects revenue growth in the company's financial business to slow sharply into 2009.
- William Blair believes Heritage-Crystal Clean (NASDAQ: HCCI) has the opportunity to gain market share over the next several years as a result of its differentiated parts-cleaning programs, strong sales organization, and experienced management team. Shares were assumed with an Outperform rating.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
- Lehman initiated Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) and Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) with Equal Weight ratings and targets of $20 and $17 and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), IBM Corp (NYSE: IBM) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) with Overweight ratings and targets of $195, $144 and $59, respectively.
- Pacific Growth started Spectranetics (NASDAQ: SPNC) with a Neutral rating.
- Merrill reinstated Chevron (NYSE: CVX), ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) and Hess Corp (NYSE: HES) with Buy ratings and price targets of $110, $105 and $125, respectively.
Posted Apr 13th 2008 4:10PM by Zack Miller (RSS feed)
Filed under: Mutual funds, U.S. Steel (X), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT)
This market is tough. Pros and novices alike are having a tough time. Particularly in a down market, a market commentators like to call a ""stock picker's market," I find it illustrative to dig deeper into the holdings of those special professional money managers that have found a way to make a go of it.
Take the CGM Focus (CGMFX) fund. This fund consistently shows up at the top of 1-year, 3-year, and multi-year best performers. CGM Focus has returned on average 37% per year for the past five years. While this is absolutely no guarantee that it will continue to perform like this, fund manager Chuck Heebner seems to have the special sauce -- at least for now.
So, what has been so successful for the fund?
Commodity picks like fertilizer plays Potash (NYSE: POT) and Mosaic (NYSE: MOS) have been big positions and have been big winners. Steel plays like US Steel (NYSE: X) have performed very nicely for CGM as well.
Looking at what worked is somewhat like looking into a rear-view mirror. These gains were in the past. What's Heebner and team buying now?
Continue reading Piggybacking the pros: CGM Focus Fund
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