k posts
FeedPosted Nov 18th 2009 3:00PM by Beth Gaston Moon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Consumer experience, Kellogg Co (K)

Leggo my Eggo. No, seriously! There's a shortage on the familiar brand of frozen waffles, spurred by problems at Kellogg (
K) bakeries in Atlanta and Rossville, Tennessee. The former plant saw flooding last month and had to halt production, while the Tennessee location needs extensive repairs, which has shut down several lines for the time being.
There will be a shortage of the baked good through 2010, according to reports from the cereal giant. Other Eggo-branded products, such as syrup, pancakes, and other breakfast items, will be impacted as well.
Continue reading Stop the presses: There's a waffle shortage!
Posted Nov 2nd 2009 2:20PM by Sheldon Liber (RSS feed)
Filed under: Major movement, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Rants and raves, Ford Motor (F), CIT Group (CIT), Kellogg Co (K), Serious Money, Headline news, DJIA, Federal Reserve, Vanguard Total Bond Market (BND)

What a week it was and it is starting off with more of the same! The day before Halloween the market gets spooked. The Dow drops 200 one day, rises 200 the next, and falls 250 to close the week. Yes, financial pundits could point to meaningful stories about the dollars rise, consumer spending sagging, the recession ending and so forth to explain market reactions but there is more to it than that.
Even among the 15 positions discussed in
Where should granny put $50,000? only the
Vanguard Total Bond Market exchange-traded fund (NYSE:
BND) and the
Kellogg Co (NYSE:
K) were up last Friday. Good thing I advised "granny" to put half her funds in the ETF.
Continue reading Serious Money: Jumpy stock market but Special 'K' doing fine
Posted Nov 2nd 2009 10:00AM by Jim Cramer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Coca-Cola (KO), PepsiCo (PEP), Market matters, Citigroup Inc. (C), CIT Group (CIT), Kellogg Co (K), General Mills (GIS), Cramer on BloggingStocks
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer wonders whether the big selloff was caused by anxious managers locking in profits. What happens if it is was mostly lock-in action? What if the big themes that everyone so feared weren't so big, and that the selloff -- so ugly, with so much damage -- was just technical and remains that way?
Besides my oft-repeated statement that I don't expect a pullback to exceed 7%, I think this market didn't make a lot of sense last week.
Here were the big themes: dollar getting stronger, causing a decline in minerals and resources; industrials faltering; recession stocks roaring back.
Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Assigning blame after Friday's market plunge
Posted Oct 30th 2009 10:40AM by Trey Thoelcke (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Analyst initiations
Analyst upgrades:
- Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) was upgraded to Buy at Citigroup. The firm views the recent sell-off in home building stocks as a buying opportunity and thinks Toll Brothers offers the best risk/reward in its coverage universe. Citi keeps a $23 price target on the stock.
- Kellogg (NYSE: K) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup following the Q3 results, as it believes the company's reduced spending and share buyback will serve as catalysts. The firm raised its price target on shares to $63 from $50.
- Rogers Communications (NYSE: RCI) and Telus (NYSE: TU) were upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital, which said the CRTC unexpectedly denied Globalive's wireless application. The analyst said Globalive was potentially the biggest of new wireless competitors and the decision removes a big threat to the group. Rogers price target was raised to $40 from $33; Telus to $44 from $36.
- Stanley (NYSE: SXE) was upgraded at Wells Fargo to Outperform from Market Perform after the company reported better-than-expected Q3 results and raised its FY10 guidance.
- Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) was upgraded at Bernstein to Outperform from Market Perform. The analyst believes Texas Instruments' core business earnings power is underappreciated and valuation is attractive. Target raised to $30 from $28.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: JCG, K, MON, TOL, TXN ...
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 9th 2009 3:40PM by Sheldon Liber (RSS feed)
Filed under: Getting started, McDonald's (MCD), Diageo plc (DEO), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), Altria Group (MO), Novartis AG ADS (NVS), Automatic Data Proc (ADP), Kellogg Co (K), Consolidated Edison (ED), General Mills (GIS), Procter and Gamble (PG), Merck and Co (MRK), Duke Energy (DUK), Personal finance, S and P 500, Stocks to Buy, Southern Company (SO), Annaly Capital Management (NLY)
One of my wonderful friends, Ms. P, asked me for some guidance on how she might allocate $50,000 currently earning peanuts in a money market account. Though she is decades from becoming a grandmother, after a brief discussion about her financial parameters, it became clear to me that she was looking for a "granny fund."
In reality, my recommendations would be suitable, and perhaps desirable, for many passive investors as well.
The $50,000 is a portion of money Ms. P has set aside to purchase a home, which might happen in six months, but could also be pushed out further, depending on the economy and her situation. Basically, she wants to cover all her bases because she might need the money at any time and does not want to be caught short, while at the same time she would like to generate some revenue without taking any big risks.
Continue reading Where should granny put $50,000?
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 Jul 31st 2009 11:30AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Motorola (MOT), Walt Disney (DIS), Analyst initiations
Analyst upgrades:
- Morgan Keegan upgraded Motorola (NYSE: MOT) to Outperform from Market Perform due to the increased visibility of Android-based launches, as well as the stock's valuation.
- OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX) was upgraded to Buy from Hold by Citigroup, which cited the company's stabilizing sales trend, accelerating share gains, and valuation.
- Kaufman Bros. upgraded iRobot (NASDAQ: IRBT) to Buy from Hold on valuation.
- Cancaccord upgraded Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) to Buy from Hold citing the turnaround in the aluminum business and its exposure to copper.
- Wells Fargo upgraded Smith & Nephew (NYSE: SNN) to Market Perform from Underperform.
- BT Group (NYSE: BT) was upgraded to Neutral from Reduce by Nomura.
- Societe Generale raised L'Oreal (OTC: LRLCY) to Buy from Sell.
- Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) was upgraded to Buy from Hold by Sandler O'Neill.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DIS, CSCO, K, MOT, OMX, RTP ...
Posted Jun 25th 2009 3:50PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Campbell Soup (CPB), Kellogg Co (K), ConAgra Foods (CAG), Kraft Foods'A' (KFT)

Food processor
ConAgra (NYSE:
CAG), whose products share space at the supermarket with
Kraft (NYSE:
KFT),
Kellogg (NYSE:
K), and
Campbell Soup (NYSE:
CPB), is down in Thursday's afternoon trading by over 6% as I write this. The company released earnings for the fourth quarter earlier this morning. Sales increased 8% according to the
press release. Adjusted earnings from continuing operations came in at 41 cents per diluted share. This result benefited from an extra week.
The per-share profit compared very favorably to the 18 cents earned in last year's similar quarter. However, in terms of analyst expectations, the performance was relatively unimpressive. Earnings.com indicates that 41 cents is what the market was looking for.
Continue reading ConAgra only meets expectations, but is stock cheap?
Posted May 28th 2009 3:20PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Kellogg Co (K), Kraft Foods'A' (KFT)
Heinz (NYSE: HNZ), whose supermarket colleagues include Kraft (NYSE: KFT) and Kellogg (NYSE: K), reported Q4 numbers earlier today. Can't say they were the stuff of a growth investor's dreams. Earnings per share came in at $0.55 versus $0.61 in Q4 of last year. The top line had trouble because of currency effects. Sales dropped over 5%. However, organic revenues increased over 5%. Unfortunately, volume decreased 2%. As can be seen, things aren't totally awesome at Heinz.
The company came in one penny ahead of expectations according to my earnings preview. Other sources say Heinz essentially met expectations. No matter what, management has its work cut it out for it in terms of offsetting currency woes and getting those volume stats on the rise.
Continue reading Heinz has a lackluster Q4
Posted May 27th 2009 3:00PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, Campbell Soup (CPB), Kellogg Co (K), Kraft Foods'A' (KFT)
Heinz (NYSE: HNZ) is set to report Q4 data before the opening bell on Thursday, May 28. How will the company do? And by that I mean, will it beat the earnings expectation?
In general, that's what the market looks for. Sometimes the market cares more about beating the analyst game than it does about profit growth. Might sound strange, but that's what you see from time to time. Of course, even when a company beats, it may not make much of a difference when it comes to price action (I'll get to that in the last paragraph).
I think Heinz will indeed beat on the bottom line. I'm going by recent history here. According to Earnings.com, Heinz is expected to report 54 cents per share tomorrow. The company went beyond the call in the first three quarters of its fiscal year. Why miss on the last quarter of the year? I think the trend is in on this one.
Continue reading Earnings preview: Will Heinz surprise the market?
Posted May 23rd 2009 4:10PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Campbell Soup (CPB), Kellogg Co (K), General Mills (GIS), Kraft Foods'A' (KFT)
Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB) served up a tasty broth of estimate-beating soup this past Friday. According to Trey Thoelcke's earnings preview, the market was looking for $0.42 per share and $1.8 billion in net sales. Well, according to Jon Ogg's coverage, Campbell delivered $0.48 per share and roughly $1.7 billion in net sales. So, revenues came in somewhat soft, but the bottom line was a success as far as Wall Street was concerned.
One thing Campbell investors want to look at is the gross margin. This metric tells you how the company is doing in terms of cost control. The press release stated that gross margin went up to an adjusted 40.3%. Last year at this time, management reported a gross margin of 38.6%. Pricing helped out, as well as efficiency initiatives. It's cool to see that Campbell can leverage price actions to propel its gross margin. It shows the power of its brand equity.
Continue reading Campbell Soup goes beyond expectations in Q3 -- buy/sell?
Posted May 4th 2009 10:00AM by Jim Cramer (RSS feed)
Filed under: PepsiCo (PEP), Market matters, Caterpillar (CAT), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Kellogg Co (K), Clorox Co (CLX), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Hershey Co (HSY), General Mills (GIS), Kimberly-Clark (KMB), Lilly (Eli) (LLY), Freep't McMoRan Copper (FCX), Cramer on BloggingStocks
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer suggests watching certain staples for hints that the flight to riskier plays is losing steam. Will the endless "beta" trade out of slow-moving, "safe" drugs and foods and into companies like
Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:
FCX) (
Cramer's Take) and
Caterpillar (NYSE:
CAT) (
Cramer's Take) ever end?
I think it won't end here, that's for certain, unless your staples stock goes to a 5% yield and the economy's macro data show a further breakdown. If we get some retail sales that are awful and some employment numbers that show a further trashing, then we are going to see a momentary blip up in stocks like
Pepsi (NYSE:
PEP) (
Cramer's Take) and
Clorox (NYSE:
CLX) (
Cramer's Take), but perhaps no more than that.
Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: 'Tells' of the beta trade
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