Analyst Upgrades

• Walgreen (WAG) and Triumph Group (TGI) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Focus Media (FMCN) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Home Depot (HD) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Arbitron (ARB) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Waddell & Reed (WDR) and Legg Mason (LM) to overweight from equal weight, and Janus Capital (JNS) to overweight from underweight, at Barclays.
• Central Euro Media (CETV) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• GenOn Energy (GEN) and Ntelos (NTLS) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Cooper Tire (CTB) to buy from neutral and Goodyear Tire (GT) to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AOL, FMCN, GT, HD, JNJ, JNS, LOW, QCOM, RY, UA, WAG ...

Analyst Calls: AOL, FMCN, GT, HD, JNJ, JNS, LOW, QCOM, RY, UA, WAG ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Ten stocks for 2010 -- Part 10

Chasing Value: Ten stocks for 2010 -- Part 10 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Short City Update: McGraw-Hill, hold short; Paychex, cover short

Short City Update: McGraw-Hill, hold short; Paychex, cover short originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Short City: McGraw-Hill, Paychex

Short City: McGraw-Hill, Paychex originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 May 2009 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Accenture Ltd. (NYSE: ACN) said revenues and bookings both declined in the most recent quarter.
• Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) reported strong Q4 results in the wake of Circuit City's demise.
• Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) sailed past analysts' Q1 projections, sending shares higher.
• ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) Q3 results topped analysts expectations and drove shares higher.
• DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) swung to a larger-than-expected Q4 loss and revenue slipped.
• DSW Inc. (NYSE: DSW) reported a bigger-than-expected Q4 loss as same-store sales declined.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Best Buy, Walgreen, Tiffany, Research in Motion, KB Home and more

Earnings highlights: Best Buy, Walgreen, Tiffany, Research in Motion, KB Home and more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 28 Mar 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday, payroll specialist Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX) reported that its third-quarter profit dropped 8%. The company saw investment losses offset gains in other areas, resulting in earnings of 36 cents per share.

A year earlier, PAYX raked in 39 cents per share. Quarterly revenue checked in at $528.6 million, 1% lower than a year ago. Analysts expected earnings of 36 cents, but revenue was forecast to total $536.9 million.

Continue reading Paychex sees quarterly revenue slip 8%

Paychex sees quarterly revenue slip 8% originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Earnings reports continue to dribble in as the quarter winds down. Much of the attention this week will be on homebuilders KB Home (NYSE: KBH) and Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) as investors look for any sign that the housing sector has bottomed (home sales numbers are also due out this week; see below). Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial anticipate that both companies will report that they narrowed their losses in the most recent quarter.

KB Home's expected $1.25 per share loss, on revenue of $725.5 million, compares to the previous quarter loss of $3.30 and to a year-ago loss of $6.19. However, KB Home's losses in the past few quarters have been deeper than expected. The Los Angeles-based homebuilder's long-range earnings growth forecast is 10.5%, less than the S&P 500. Analysts continue to recommend holding KB Home, and have for at least 120 days. Shares, however, reached a new 52-week high of $31.69 on Friday, and they are up 10.5% year to date.

Lennar is expected to post a loss of 52 cents per share, on revenue of $1.1 billion. That compares to the previous quarter's per-share loss of 76 cents and to a year-ago loss of $3.25. While Lennar also has tended in the past few quarters to miss expectations, the Miami-based company managed a positive surprise in the first quarter of 2008. Lennar's long-range earnings growth forecast is 10.3%, about the same as KB Home's. Analysts also recommend holding Lennar. Friday, shares of Lennar also reached a 52-week high, $27.75, but they are down 6.4% year to date.

Continue reading The week in preview: A bottom for the housing sector?

The week in preview: A bottom for the housing sector? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 21 Sep 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) is no longer relegated to a tiny corner of the investment landscape; indeed, according to the Social Investment Forum, SRI now accounts for $2.7 trillion, up more than 18% since 2005," says Chuck Carlson.

Here, the editor of The DRIP Investor offers five stock that both rank high for their social responsibility and also stand out based on more traditional earnings and valuation analysis.

"The Social Investment Forum estimates that more than one in every 10 dollars under professional management in the U.S. is involved in SRI investing. What is driving the growth in SRI?

"One factor is the increasing numbers of women and younger investors among the investor populace have fueled demand for SRI investments.

"In addition, we see an increased focus on environment, social, and corporate governance issues. Further, widely publicized stories concerning global warming as well as various corporate governance issues, have caused many investors to reconsider how they deploy their investment capital.

Continue reading Socially responsible favorites

Socially responsible favorites originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 May 2008 10:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As one quarter rolls over into the next, here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) beat fourth-quarter expectations and offered a positive outlook for fiscal 2009.
• CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) beat Wall Street earnings estimates for the fourth quarter.
• Citi Trends Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRN) beat fourth-quarter estimates and offered a rosy outlook for fiscal 2009.
• Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) swung to a fourth-quarter loss but beat estimates.
• Family Dollar Stores (NYSE: FDO) beat second-quarter estimates but slashed its full-year outlook.
• Immucor Inc. (NASDAQ: BLUD) beat third-quarter expectations and offered a positive full-year outlook.
• Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) beat second-quarter expectations but the full-year outlook disappointed.
• Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) third-quarter earnings surged on strong demand and higher crop prices.
• Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX) results on path to continue an 18-year earnings/revenue growth streak.
• Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT) posted solid fourth-quarter results on strength of JBoss and other offerings.
• Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) fourth-quarter earnings and revenue more than doubled.
• Ruby Tuesday Inc. (NYSE: RT) third-quarter earnings beat low expectations; full-year outlook is bleak.
• Scholastic Corp. (NASDAQ: SCHL) announced disappointing third-quarter results post-Harry Potter.
• UBS (NYSE: UBS) writes off $19 million for the first quarter and shows chairman the door.

Also, prospects look grim for some newspapers. The financial crisis in the U.S. prompted the IMF to cut its global growth forecast.

Upcoming results to watch for include Alcoa (NYSE: AA), Circuit City Stores (NYSE: CC), Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY), and General Electric (NYSE: GE).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Earnings highlights: UBS, Best Buy, RIM, Monsanto, Family Dollar and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 05 Apr 2008 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Since August, the shares of Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX) have dropped from $45 to $33.45. For the most part, the company provides a variety of payroll and human resource services for small and medium size businesses. However, with the slowing economy, investors are getting jittery.

Despite this, Paychex had a reasonable Q3. Revenues increased 9.7% to $532.2 million and earnings were up 13% to $142.5 million, or $0.39 per share.

While its customers are experiencing pain, the fact remains that they still need the kinds of services that Paychex provides. Simply put, the company has built a solid recurring revenue generator based on a competitive offering, which has kept up with players like ADP (NYSE: ADP). Keep in mind that Paychex has achieved its 18th consecutive year of record revenue and earnings growth.

Yes, Paychex admits that things are tougher (that is, with the macroeconomic environment). For example, the selling season has been difficult and there's been an uptick in business failures, especially in the construction and mortgage sectors.

Although, Paychex still has a fairly diversified customer base, which counts about 570,000 clients. And based on prior economic downturns, the company has been able to deal with the problems and grow through them.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

Paychex tries to cash in originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• B. Riley downgraded shares of World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE) to Neutral from Buy on valuation with the stock only 1% below their target price. However, B. Riley admits shares may move higher during the next 30-35 days, due to the upcoming WrestleMania event in Orlando, FL.
  
• Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill on valuation and a lack of near-term catalysts; shares were also lowered to Peer Perform from Outperform at Bear Stearns.
  
• ING lowered Nestle (OTC: NSRGY) to Hold from Buy as they expect organic growth to slow in 2008.

• Banc of America downgraded Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• HSBC downgraded Repsol SA (NYSE: REP) to Neutral from Overweight.
  
• Del Monte Foods (NYSE: DLM) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia.

Analyst downgrades: WWE, NVO and NSRGY originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 Feb 2008 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Monday September 24

• Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) to report monthly sales at 4:30pm.
• PDUFA date for Anesiva Inc Com's (NASDAQ: ANSV) Zingo, a a fast-acting, local anesthetic.

Tuesday September 25

• Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 11am.

Wednesday September 26

• Bed, Bath and Beyond Inc (NASDAQ: BBBY) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 5pm.
• Paychex Inc (NASDAQ: PAYX) to report Q1 earnings after market close; conference call Thursday at 10:30am.

Thursday September 27

• Home Solutions of America Inc (NASDAQ: HSOA) to give business news update at 10am.
• Radian Group Inc (NYSE: RDN) to give update on the company's financial guarantee business at 11am.
• KB Home (NYSE: KBH) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 12pm.

Friday September 28

• Par Pharmaceutical Companies Inc (NYSE: PRX) to hold Analyst Meeting at 8am.
• Celebrate Express Inc (NASDAQ: BDAY) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 8:30am.

Market highlights for next week: TGT to report monthly sales, BBBY to report Q2 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 21 Sep 2007 16:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• JP Morgan upgrade shares of Brocade Communications Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: BRCD) to Overweight from Neutral, citing positive trends in networked storage; shares were also added to the firm's Focus List.

• Matrix believes improving product mix and demand for new products is driving strong fundamental trends in AT&T (NYSE: T). Matrix upgraded T shares to Strong Buy from Buy and sees upside to their intrinsic value of $56.

• Bernstein believes the divestiture of Chrysler from DaimlerChrysler AG (NYSE: DCX) is a positive for the company and upgraded shares to Outperform from Market Perform.

• Soleil upgraded shares of AMR Corp (NYSE: AMR) to Buy from Hold on valuation and Continental Air Lines Inc (NYSE: CAL) to Hold from Sell based on a more constructive industry outlook...

• Morgan Stanley upgraded NTT DoCoMo, Inc (NYSE: DCM) to Overweight from Equal-Weight.

• Bear Stearns upgraded TiVo Inc (NASDAQ: TIVO) and Paychex, Inc (NASDAQ: PAYX) to Outperform from Peer Perform.

• Goldman upgraded Forest Oil Corp (NYSE: FST) and CommVault Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: CVLT) to Buy from Neutral.

Analyst upgrades 5-16-07: AMR, BRCD, DCX, T and TIVO originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 May 2007 11:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Payroll accounting firm Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX) last week released third-quarter earnings of $0.35 per share, exactly what analysts had estimated. Revenue increased 12.7% to $485.3 million, due mainly to a 25% increase in human resource services revenue. Profits rose 11% to over $126 million, or $0.33 per share, as compared to 3Q last year of $114.5 million, or $0.30 per share. Paychex's earnings, to the tune of $0.02 per share, were hit by a $13 million litigation set-aside that the company stated would not need to be repeated.

With earnings coming in around what analysts had expected and HR services forecast to grow by at least double digits, why then are analysts evenly divided about this stock? Why has it lost 4% of its value in the last month? The stock lost even more ground on this earnings report and yesterday it closed at $37.89, down an additional $0.02 per share. Paychex currently has over half a million clients, second only to ADP in payroll processing services.

For more, you can see Joseph Lazzaro's analysis.

Paychex not bouncing any checks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Apr 2007 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Canaccord Adams downgraded shares of Insituform Technologies (NASDAQ: INSU) to Underweight from Neutral following the company's reduced outlook and announcement to exit the tunneling business.

• Prudential downgraded shares of Ameristar Casinos (NASDAQ: ASCA) to Underweight from Neutral on valuation following the recent run-up due to speculation the company will be sold; based on management statements, Prudential believes a company sale is unlikely.

• Buckingham cut Christopher & Banks (NYSE: CBK) to Underperform from Neutral.

• ABN AMRO downgraded shares of British Airways plc (NYSE: BAB) to Sell from Hold as the firm believes profits on trans-Atlantic routes may drop from increased competition due to the "open skies" agreement between the European Union and the U.S.

• JP Morgan downgraded China Unicom Limited (NYSE: CHU) to Underweight from Neutral.

• RBC cut Paychex, Inc (NASDAQ: PAYX) to Sector Perform from Outperform.

• Matrix USA downgraded EarthLink, Inc (NASDAQ: ELNK) to Sell from Hold and WCI Communities, Inc (NYSE: WCI) to Strong Sell from Hold on valuation.

Analyst downgrades 3-30-07: Ameristar Casinos, Paychex & Earthlink downgraded today originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 30 Mar 2007 11:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Steady-as-she-goes for Paychex, and the economy

Steady-as-she-goes for Paychex, and the economy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 Mar 2007 18:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) has been ordered to pay $1.52B to Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) for infringing patents on a fundamental technology for digital music.
• According to the Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street" column, shares of India's two largest private sector banking companies, Icici Bank Ltd. (NYSE: IBN) and HDFC Bank (NYSE: HDB), have tripled over the past three years. However, some investors are getting cautious on the stocks as India's central bank has taken tougher steps to rein in lending growth and stanch inflation.
• Barron's Online's (subscription required) "Weekday Trader" suggested investing in companies with modest dividend yields, but a strong cash position and business model, such as outsourcing player Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX), fast-food giant McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) and insurer Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU).

• According to German website Heise Online, Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) will exhibit at CeBIT, the European version of the CES expo, from March 15 through the 21. Apple will be exhibiting the iPhone, said the site. However, according to German website Computerwoche, Apple has denied that it is participating in CeBIT. (Both links in German)
  
• Business Week's "Inside Wall Street" column mentioned UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH), Epix (NASDAQ: EPIX) and LJ International (NASDAQ: JADE) positively.
  
• Warren Buffet has stirred up interest in UnitedHealth by reportedly buying one million shares in the company.
• Small biotech Epix, which recently signed a deal with GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), could double within a year, believe some experts.
• LJ International, which has already risen from slightly over $4 to over $11 since December, may still have room to rise, according to Albert Lee of Maxim Group, who has a $12 price target on the stock.
• Investor's Business Daily's "New America" column highlighted Spartan Stores (NASDAQ: SPTN), the 10th largest grocery distributor in the U.S., which has seen earnings growth in double and triple digits for nine of the past ten quarters.

Newspaper wrap-up 2-23-07: Apple at CeBIT? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 23 Feb 2007 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) provides payroll and human resource outsourcing solutions to small and midsized businesses. The company processes such data for more than 540,000 clients.

The firm pleased Wall Street late last month when it announced solid Q2 results and reaffirmed Y07 numbers. The CEO cited particularly growth in human resource service revenues for success. Lehman Brothers subsequently reiterated its "overweight" rating on the stock and boosted its price target to $46.

The news kept PAYX shares cycling through a positive three-month trading channel. The price is currently consolidating near the base of that channel, where stochastic and MACD technical parameters suggest the potential for a rise back toward the top. The approximate correspondence of the stock's 50-day moving average to the base of the channel backs the rebound notion.

Altogether, brokers recommend the issue with six "strong buys", six "buys" and thirteen "holds". Analysts see a fifteen percent average annual growth rate, through the next five years. The PAYX Sales Growth rate (13.79%), Operating Margin (39.03%), Net Profit Margin (28.29%), Return on Assets (10.11%), Return on Investment (29.16%) and Return on Equity (30.16%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages.

PAYX is one of the issues used to calculate the S&P 500 Index. Institutional investors hold about 64 percent of the outstanding shares. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $32.98 and $42.37. A stop-loss of $34.60 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com.

Paychex shares ready to rebound originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Jan 2007 11:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.