Analyst Upgrades

• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Fluor (FLR) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Macy's (M) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Canadian Solar (CSIQ), JA Solar (JASO) and HeartWare (HTWR) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Ashford Hospitality (AHT) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• RenaissanceRe (RNR) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• DCT Industrial (DCT) to market perform from underperform at Wells Fargo.
• Coeur d'Alene Mines (CDE) and Silver Standard (SSRI) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Weatherford (WFT), Hercules (HERO), GulfMark Offshore (GLF), Tidewater (TDW) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to buy from hold, and Diamond Offshore (DO) to hold from underperform, at Jefferies.
• Ritchie Bros. (RBA) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• AstraZeneca (AZN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AA, AMD, AMR, AZN, CIT, GSK, HPQ, M, NVDA, PCX, SPWRA ...

Analyst Calls: AA, AMD, AMR, AZN, CIT, GSK, HPQ, M, NVDA, PCX, SPWRA ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In his Validea newsletter, John Reese assesses stocks using specialized screens based on the stated criteria of legendary stock market investors.

One such screen -- which has resulted in his best-performing model portfolio -- is based on the value-oriented investment strategy of Benjamin Graham.

Here, he looks at oil services firm Tidewater (TDW), which scores 100% on his Graham-style model.

Continue reading Tidewater (TDW): A Ben Graham-style buy

Tidewater (TDW): A Ben Graham-style buy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

The week in preview: Focus on oil and energy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 26 Oct 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Piper upgraded Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) to Buy from Neutral to reflect the company's strong competitive position and low valuation. The firm does not expect Intel to miss Q3 estimates.
  
• Goldman upgraded shares of Deutsche Telecom (NYSE: DT) to Buy from Neutral and added the stock to the Conviction Buy List as they believe the dividend is well covered.
  
• Wachovia upgraded Landstar System (NASDAQ: LSTR) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation and potential near-term catalysts from hurricane-related activities.
• Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Friedman Billings.
  
• Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) was upgraded at JMP Securities to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• Baird lifted Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) to Neutral from Underperform.

• Jefferies downgraded VCA Antech (NASDAQ: WOOF) to Underperform from Buy as they believe reduced consumer spending and rising unemployment levels will hurt the company's hospital and lab volumes in FY09. The company's target was lowered to $25 from $35.
  
• Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Total System (NYSE: TSS) to Perform from Outperform to reflect the challenging macro environment and the customer portfolio risk from bank consolidation.

Continue reading Analyst calls: INTC, DT, ANF, RIMM, WFC, FITB, TDW, ROK ...

Analyst calls: INTC, DT, ANF, RIMM, WFC, FITB, TDW, ROK ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 30 Sep 2008 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Oil stocks + dividends = good times

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Oil stocks + dividends = good times originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Banc of America upgraded shares of Deere (NYSE: DE) to Buy from Neutral and raised their target to $186 from $130 as they expect upside in 2008 from favorable global agriculture fundamentals.
  
• Wachovia raised its rating on Boeing (NYSE: BA) to Outperform from Market Perform citing favorable risk/reward as domestic economic concerns and 787 development risks are discounted in valuation.
  
• Air France (NYSE: AKH) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup, as they believe the company's joint venture with Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) will boost margins.

• Baird upgraded OmniVision (NASDAQ: OVTI) to Neutral from Underperform.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG) to Buy from Hold.
  
• Tidewater (NYSE: TDW) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
  
• Lehman raised Kimberly Clark (NYSE: KMB) to Equal Weight from Underweight.

Analyst upgrades: DE, BA and AKH originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 26 Nov 2007 11:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.