Stockholders of publicly traded companies, as well as the general public, have recently become outraged with executive compensation and their hefty bonuses, especially in light of the mounting losses at some companies. It seems that no matter what happens or what they do, executives somehow always win. They win big during their employment, and sometimes even more as they retire. With all that money, you'd think that haggling over some perks in their package would be beneath them . . . but it isn't.
The recent outrageous perk award goes to Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) CFO Jeffrey Misner who asked for and was granted a free lifetime parking spot at Jacksonville International Airport. As long as the 54-year-old retiree lives within 200 miles of Jacksonville Airport, and providing Continental has operations at the airport, Misner will have a free parking place. Of course, that's just a perk that goes with a $2,997,000 retirement pay.
At the beginning of the year, many were shocked to hear that Countrywide Financial Corp. -- the poster child of the subprime mortgage meltdown, which has been bought by Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) -- CEO Angelo Mozilo was going to receive a $36.4 million cash severance payments, $400,000 per year for consulting services, and perks including the use of a private airplane. He walked away from most of these after a public outcry. Don't feel bad though, he still left with at least $23.8 million.
It just doesn't cease to amaze me how some people have the nerve to ask for certain perks in addition to their very fine salaries and severance pays. Here are some more examples:
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, YRC Worldwide and Syniverse were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Soleil upgraded shares of Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) to Buy from Hold on improving fundamentals, as they believe the economic stimulus package should drive consumer demand in 2H08.
Stephens upgraded shares of YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW) to Overweight from Underweight as they believe management is making meaningful changes.
Syniverse (NYSE: SVR) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan. The firm upgraded shares based on accelerating organic growth from consumer wireless data usage.
OTHER UPGRADES:
Deutsche Bank upgraded NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) to Buy from Hold.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Novartis AG (NVS), Intel (INTC), Total S.A. (TOT), Syniverse Holdings, Inc (SVR) and Kindred Healthcare (KND) were today's noteworthy downgrades:
Merrill cut Novartis (NYSE: NVS) to Neutral from Buy based on a lack of near-term catalysts. Credit Suisse downgraded shares of the company to Underperform from Neutral on expectations of slowing sales growth in 2H07.
JMP Securities downgraded Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) to Market Perform from Outperform based on valuation and lower estimates.
JP Morgan cut Total S.A. (NYSE: TOT) to Neutral from Overweight on valuation.
Syniverse (NYSE: SVR) was cut to Strong Sell from Sell at Matrix USA as competition in North America is creating a cut in Network Services and Number Portability Services revenue.
Kindred Healthcare (NYSE: KND) was cut to Underperform from Market Perform at Wachovia based on valuation...
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
DaVita (NYSE: DVA) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Dominion Resources (D), Syniverse Holdings (SVR), Research in Motion (RIMM), Verizon Communications (VZ) and Comcast (CMCSA) were the noteworthy upgrades today:
Jefferies upgraded shares of Dominion Resources (NYSE: D) and raised their target to $90 from $68 as the firm believes shares are fairly valued based on assumed higher spark spreads in New England.
Syniverse Holdings (NYSE: SVR) was raised to Peer Perform from Underperform at Bear Stearns after its Q1 report.
Credit Suisse upgraded Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) and raised their target to $145 from $100 as the firm believes the company will benefit from smart phone market growth and improving international traction. However, FBCO still believes RIMM's increasing exposure to the consumer market will continue to pressure margins.
Prudential said Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) is showing signs of improving revenue growth and accelerating FiOS TV subscriber additions, as well as continued dominance in wireless, and upgraded shares to Neutral from Underweight.
Matrix USA raised Comcast Corp's (NASDAQ: CMCSA) rating to Hold from Sell on valuation...
OTHER UPGRADES:
Goldman upgraded Danaher Corp (NYSE: DHR) to Buy from Neutral with an $81 target.
NTT DoCoMo (NYSE: DCM) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Bear Stearns raised Ingersoll-Rand's (NYSE: IR) rating to Peer Perform from Underperform.
Needham upgraded Sigma Designs (NASDAQ: SIGM) to Buy from Hold with a $28 target.
Wachovia raised Innkeepers USA Trust (NYSE: KPA) rating to Market Perform from Underperform.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (TTWO), Circuit City Stores Inc (CC) and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM) are today's more notable downgrades:
Both Soleil and Citigroup downgraded Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (NASDAQ: TTWO) to Sell from Hold following the company's earnings shortfall and reduced guidance.
Piper Jaffray downgraded Circuit City Stores Inc (NYSE: CC) to Market Perform from Outperform and a $20 target, based on checks that indicate weak sales trends following Christmas.
AG Edwards removed Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE: XOM) from its Focus Portfolio, believing the company offers less upside potential than other companies in the energy sector...
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
Harrah's Entertainment Inc (NYSE: HET) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Buckingham Research.
Sasol Limited ADR (NYSE: SSL) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Citigroup based on the persistent regulator risk.
ThinkEquity cut Syniverse Holdings Inc (NYSE: SVR) to Source of Funds from Accumulate citing expectations for increased competition and price pressures.
Citigroup downgraded Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc (NYSE: BRL) to Hold from buy.
First Albany cut Shuffle Master Inc (NASDAQ: SHFL) to Neutral from Buy.
Jefferies downgraded Omnicare Inc (NYSE: OCR) to Hold from Buy with a $44 target.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT), Harrah's Entertainment Inc (HET) and Avaya Inc (AV) were some of today's most notable downgrades:
JP Morgan downgraded Lockheed Martin Corp (NYSE: LMT) to Underweight from Neutral, citing Lockheed's outperformance as well as expectations for a more challenging environment for defense stocks.
Harrah's Entertainment (NYSE: HET) was downgraded to Neutral from Add at Calyon based on the expected buyout.
Thomas Weisel downgraded Avaya Inc (NYSE: AV) to Underweight from Market Weight based on increased concerns that shares are not sufficiently discounting transition risks associated with AV's strategic shift from telephony hardware to software and applications, driven by the shift towards VoIP from TDM technology.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
JP Morgan removed Dover Corp (NYSE: DOV) from its Focus List.
Baird downgraded PRA International (NASDAQ: PRAI) to Underperform from Neutral following a disappointing Q4 report.
Syniverse Holdings Inc (NYSE: SVR) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James and Avondale Partners; Kaufman Bros cut Syniverse to Hold from Buy, while Bear Stearns downgraded Syniverse to Underperform from Peer Perform.
Roth Capital downgraded Shuffle Master (NASDAQ: SHFL) to Hold from Buy.
Lazard cut Overseas Shipholding Group (NYSE: OSG) to Hold from Buy.
Stockholders of publicly traded companies, as well as the general public, have recently become outraged with executive compensation and their hefty bonuses, especially in light of the mounting losses at some companies. It seems that no matter what happens or what they do, executives somehow always win. They win big during their employment, and sometimes even more as they retire. With all that money, you'd think that haggling over some perks in their package would be beneath them . . . but it isn't.
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