Continue reading Before the bell: Investors' caution reigns amid earnings season

Before the bell: Investors' caution reigns amid earnings season originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chubb is finally getting noticed

Chubb is finally getting noticed originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

From TheStreet.com Network

• JPMorgan's Exposure to GM: What You Don't Know
• Under-the-Radar Insurance Stocks for Today

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Travelers is a fitting pick

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Travelers is a fitting pick originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chubb is undervalued

Chubb is undervalued originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 29 May 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Banc of America/Merrill upgraded DPL Inc (NYSE: DPL) to Neutral from Underperform following the settlement agreement with staff of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio on Electric Security Plan.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded SeaBright Insurance (NYSE: SBX) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation as they believe shares are oversold at current levels. Despite upgrading, the firm lowered its target price to $14 from $16.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded AT&T (T) to Overweight from Neutral as it believes upside earnings revisions are likely in 2009 due to the company's conservative wireline margin outlook. The firm finds the stock's valuation attractive at current levels and raised their target on shares to $28 from $24.
• Chubb (NYSE: CB) was upgraded to buy from Neutral at UBS.
  
• Cascal B.V. (NYSE: HOO) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  
• Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE: HR) was upgraded at Keefe Bruyette to Outperform from Market Perform.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: T, FSLR, CEPH, CB ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: T, FSLR, CEPH, CB ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Citigroup upgraded shares of Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM) to Buy from Hold following the company's Q4 results as they believe fundamentals are stabilizing. The firm raised their target price to $22 from $12.
  
• Baird upgraded Theravance (NASDAQ: THRX) to Outperform from Neutral. The firm said the company looks poised to realize the two-product success necessary to drive profitability, and Horizon will likely play a role in succeeding $7B+ Advair. Note that last night Theravance/Glaxo (GSK) reported positive results for Horizon.
  
• RBC Capital said Aeterna Zentaris (NASDAQ: AEZS) is on the cusp of a Cetrorelix deal and has turned more positive on shares. Shares were upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform.
  
• Marvell Tech (NASDAQ: MRVL) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman and added to the firm's Conviction Buy List.
  
• Sangamo BioSciences (NASDAQ: SGMO) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merriman.
  
• Arthur J. Gallagher (NYSE: AJG) was upgraded at Piper Jaffray to Buy from Neutral.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AKAM, MRVL, THRX, DELL, CRNT, TRV, AEIS ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AKAM, MRVL, THRX, DELL, CRNT, TRV, AEIS ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The index for comparison is the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, which closed on June 30, 2008 at 1,280.00. The S&P closed Friday at 1,099.23 , down 14.12%.

Each of my five picks is beating the market and three of the five are actually up despite crushing news in the financial sector, unemployment and housing. Congress did pass a Wall Street backstop/bailout bill that President Bush has signed, but only after adding another 450 pages and $130 billion to the amount. Although the five stocks have averaged a 0.75% loss, as intended, they easily beat the S&P by 13.37%.

Here are the five stocks that I still think are worth considering. For my original rationale see the linked story above.

1) Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) -- when recommended, the stock closed at $64.34 and paid a 2.89% dividend yield. It closed Friday at $66.16 -- up 2.75%. JNJ was featured in Barron's this month as the most respected from the top 100 companies in the world.

Continue reading Serious Money: Stable stocks beating S&P 500 - CB, DIS, JNJ, TEVA, XEL

Serious Money: Stable stocks beating S&P 500 - CB, DIS, JNJ, TEVA, XEL originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The standard for comparison is the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, which closed on June 30, 2008 at 1,280.00. The S&P closed yesterday at 1,213.59, down 5.47%. The percentage gains for the stable stocks do not include dividends. They are up 4% for a 9.47% advantage. The volatility in the market today may alter some of the data points so expect an after market update. Update: the following five stocks remain ahead of the market but they did turn down in the last hour.

1) Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) -- when recommended, the stock closed at $64.34 and paid a 2.89% dividend yield. It finished at $69.80 -- up 8.48% -- and is trading up this morning. JNJ was featured in Barron's this week as the most respected from the top 100 companies in the world. Final Update: down $-0.29 to $69.51

2) Teva Pharmaceuticals ADR (NASDAQ: TEVA) -- when recommended, the stock closed at $45.80 and paid a 1% dividend yield. It finished at $45.96 -- no change -- and is trading slightly down this morning. Teva is the largest generic drug company in the world and just got bigger throught the acquisition of Barr Pharmaceuticals. Final Update: down $-1.25 to $44.11

Continue reading Serious Money: Good news in crushing market - CB, DIS, JNJ, TEVA & XEL

Serious Money: Good news in crushing market - CB, DIS, JNJ, TEVA & XEL originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Merrill upgraded shares of General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Ford (NYSE: F) to Neutral from Underperform on expectations for fundamentals to improve in 2009.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Chubb (NYSE: CB) and Travelers Group (NYSE: TRV) to Buy from Hold as they expect the company to benefit from the AIG (NYSE: AIG) fallout. The firm raised Chubb's target to $57 from $56 and Travelers Group's target to $51.50 from $49.50.
  
• Credit Suisse upgraded shares of SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) to Outperform from Neutral as they believe margin expansion can drive higher profitability.
• JetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Argus.
• Goldman raised Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) to Neutral from Sell.
  
• NetLogic (NASDAQ: NETL) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Piper.

• JP Morgan downgraded Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) to Underweight from Neutral citing the company's early stage pipeline and generic competition.
  
• Merrill downgraded Unilever (NYSE: UL) to Neutral from Buy as they believe the incoming CEO is unlikely to bring a major restructuring or split up the company.

Continue reading Analyst calls: GM, F, CB, MER, LLY, UL, BRCM, AAPL, PALM ...

Analyst calls: GM, F, CB, MER, LLY, UL, BRCM, AAPL, PALM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I was out all morning and returned to my desk to find employment and retail numbers sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling down 345 points today. That made me think it was important to check out how stable my stable stocks -- stocks with the ability to ride out this bearish run -- were doing in bad times.

This update is a spot-check of my earlier post Serious Money: Five stable stocks for troubled times, to see how my picks are holding up so far. Closing prices are for today.

The standard for comparison is the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, which closed on June 30, 2008 at 1,280.00. The S&P closed today at 1,236.82, down 3.37%. The percentage gains do not include dividends. Four out of five of my picks beat all the indices; CB was close.

1) Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) -- when recommended the stock closed at $64.34 and paid a 2.89% dividend yield. It finished at $70.45 -- up 9.5%

2) Teva Pharmaceuticals ADR (NASDAQ: TEVA) -- when recommended the stock closed at $45.80 and paid a 1% dividend yield. It finished at $47.92 -- up 4.63%.

Continue reading Serious Money: How 'Stable' after 345 DJIA drop? -- CB, DIS, JNJ, TEVA & XEL

Serious Money: How 'Stable' after 345 DJIA drop? -- CB, DIS, JNJ, TEVA & XEL originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Well, the market was in the dumps yesterday and is even worse today. So this may be a good time to check on my list of stocks for those looking for equities that are stable enough to ride out this bearish storm.

This update is a spot-check of my earlier post Serious Money: Five stable stocks for troubled times, to see how my picks are holding up so far. Closing prices are for August 12, 2008.

The standard for comparison will be the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, which closed on June 30, 2008 at 1,280.00. The following are the five stocks with closing prices from July 1.

1) Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) -- when recommended the stock closed at $64.34 and paid a 2.89% dividend yield. It finished at $71.70 -- up 11.44%

2) Teva Pharmaceuticals ADR (NASDAQ: TEVA) -- when recommended the stock closed at $45.80 and paid a 1% dividend yield. It finished at $46.41-- up 1.3%.

3) Chubb Corp. (NYSE: CB) -- when recommended the stock closed at $49.01 and paid a 2.64% dividend yield. It finished at $48.39 -- down 1.26%.

Continue reading Serious Money: 'Stable stocks' update - CB, DIS, JNJ, TEVA & XEL

Serious Money: 'Stable stocks' update - CB, DIS, JNJ, TEVA & XEL originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Updating the story with the final numbers heading into the week end.

1) Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) closed at $64.34 and pays a 2.89% dividend yield. (NOW $66.53 -- up 3.4%) finished at $66.26 -- up 2.98%.

2) Teva Pharmaceuticals ADR (NASDAQ: TEVA) closed at $45.80 and pays a 1% dividend yield.( NOW 42.58 -- down 7%) finished at $41.78 -- down 8.78%.

3) Chubb Corp (NYSE: CB) closed at $49.01 and pays a 2.64% dividend yield. (NOW $47.51 -- down 3%) finished at $47.56 -- down 2.96%.

Continue reading Serious Money: Spot-checking 'stable stocks'

Serious Money: Spot-checking 'stable stocks' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

After seeing the interest in yesterday's Serious Money: Five stable stocks for troubled times, I decided to track the stocks on a quarterly basis to see how they hold up over time (otherwise, what would be the purpose of discussing them in the first place?).

I said that all five have shrewd, conservative management teams and have been in the right place, at the right time -- and prepared. The standard for comparison will be the Standard & Poors 500 Index which closed on June 30, 2008 at 1,280.00. Although my original story was published yesterday, I will be using the second quarter end point for my five stocks as well.

1) Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) closed at $64.34 and pays a 2.89% dividend yield.

2) Teva Pharmaceuticals ADR (NASDAQ: TEVA) closed at $45.80 and pays a 1% dividend yield.

3) Chubb Corp (NYSE: CB) closed at $49.01 and pays a 2.64% dividend yield.

Continue reading Serious Money: Tracking five stable stocks

Serious Money: Tracking five stable stocks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Six months of 2008 are now behind us and the stock market has not been a friendly place to most investors. Stability that was once found in household names that were industry giants is gone, and they have now been brought to their knees.

Many of them were the stocks we might have looked to in the past for stability, so you can be sure I put forward my five candidates with a little trepidation, but forward I go anyway. First a little review is in order.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) dropped from around $53 per share last year to around $30 in January and we can buy it today for around $17. Even at that price Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) has downgraded it to a sell and thinks there is more bad news to come. Citigroup was the largest bank in the world. Not any more.

General Motors (NYSE: GM) was the largest car maker in the world. That was before the stock tumbled from $43 to its current $11 range. A crushing blow to long time investors hoping that someone in the company could stop the ship from sinking.

Continue reading Serious Money: Five stable stocks for troubled times

Serious Money: Five stable stocks for troubled times originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Concur Technologies (NASDAQ: CNQR) provides software applications that automate corporate travel and expense management. Its flagship program provides the process and information for management to reduce manual checking, improve internal controls, increase business policy compliance, speed up reimbursement, and increase expense report accuracy. The software features Web-based modules for tracking, submitting, and processing reports. Other offerings manage employee requests for vendor payments, manage the planning of corporate meetings and group travel, and search for fraud. Customers include Chubb (NYSE: CB), J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN). Compuware (NASDAQ: CPWR) and Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) are competitors.

The company pleased investors last week, when it reported fiscal Q4 EPS of 15 cents (ex-items) and revenues of $35.75 million. Analysts had been expecting 9 cents and $34.29 million. Management also guided Q1 EPS to 13 cents (8 cent consensus), Q1 revenues to $46.0 million ($43.3M consensus), FY08 EPS to 70 cents (62 cent consensus) and FY08 revenues to $200.0 million ($194.5M consensus). Canaccord Adams and Broadpoint Capital subsequently declared the stock a "buy" and established $40 price targets.

Continue reading Concur Technologies (CNQR) shares forming bullish pennant

Concur Technologies (CNQR) shares forming bullish pennant originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 Nov 2007 14:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you have ever been in charge of reviewing expense accounts, you known that uniformity and good organization are factors that can make the job go a lot easier. There is an outfit in Redmond, Washington that has help for the weary executive along that line. It has the whole business reduced to a science ... a computer science.

Concur Technologies (NASDAQ: CNQR) provides software applications that automate corporate travel and expense management. Its flagship program provides the process and information for management to reduce manual processing, improve internal controls, increase business policy compliance, speed up reimbursement, and increase expense report accuracy. The software features Web-based modules for tracking, submitting, and processing reports. Other offerings manage employee requests for vendor payments, manage the planning of group travel, and search for fraud. Customers include Chubb (NYSE: CB), J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN). Compuware (NASDAQ: CPWR) and Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) are competitors.

The company pleased investors last week when it reported fiscal Q3 EPS of 15 cents and revenues of $33.3 million. Analysts had been expecting 8 cents and $31.9 million. Management also guided Q4 EPS to 13 cents (8 cent consensus) and Q4 revenues to $33.6 million ($33.46M consensus). Cantor Fitzgerald, RBC Capital Markets and McAdams, Wright, Ragen subsequently reiterated "buy" ratings on the issue. The share price popped on the news and has since been consolidating the gain in a bullish "flag" pattern. Prices frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling when they entered them. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend the shares with three "strong buys," four "buys" and four "holds." Analysts see a 30% growth rate through the next year. The CNQR Sales Growth rate (23.93%), EPS Growth rate (87.50%), Net Profit Margin (30.50%), Return on Assets (21.59%), Return on Investment (27.59%) and Return on Equity (34.28%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutional investors hold about 95% of the outstanding shares. The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 600 SmallCap Index. Over the past 52 weeks, it has traded between $14.20 and $28.18. A stop-loss of $22.35 looks good here.

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

Concur Technologies (CNQR): Organizing those expense reports originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Aug 2007 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Insurance giant Chubb Corporation (NYSE: CB) last month reported solid first-quarter 2007 earnings of $710 million in net income, $1.71 EPS, compared to $672 million, $1.58 EPS in 1Q 2006. Operating income increased a respectable 5% to $634 million, with operating income per share increasing 8% to a record $1.53. Loss and expense ratio was slightly higher in 1Q 2007 than in 1Q 2006. Chubb was able to post profits despite the fact that net written premiums declined 2% to $2.9 billion for the quarter. The 1% decrease in US-based premiums was more than offset by a 7% increase in premiums outside the US. Chubb's catastrophic reinsurrance business declined by 69% but that was due to Chubb's decision to sell its Re-Harbor Point unit. Income after taxes from property and casualty investments increased 9% to $305 million.

The Chubb personal insurance segment grew 6% to $840 million for 1Q 2007 in terms of the value of premiums with higher catastrophic losses in 2007 than 2006. Despite the major slow down in the home building industry, Chubb's homeowner insurance unit grew 7% while consumer automobile premiums declined 5%. Chubb's commercial insurance declined slightly to $1.3 billion for the quarter, with a renewal rate of 84% for US premiums. Chubb specialty insurance, including professional liability insurance, was flat at $681 million.

Chubb has plenty of money and used $605 million to repurchase almost 12 million shares of its stock. There are still 28 million shares available on the open market. In order to expand its repurchasing program, Chubb offered $1 billion of subordinated capital securities during 1Q 2007 to raise funds for accelerated repurchases. For the time being, Chubb is sticking with FY 2007 operating income per share of $5.00-$5.40. The stock recently closed at $55.64, up $0.38.

Chubb insures profitable quarter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 May 2007 11:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In searching for value stocks in today's market I have run some stock screens, scanned the web, read various opinions in business periodicals and spoken to people in the insurance business. My conclusion is that insurance companies are approaching bargain prices. I have outlined various criteria that are important to me in stock selection and ranked six well respected companies in each. There are many more companies that might be included, but the point is clearly made with these.

Dividend Yield: The top four all exceed the S&P average of 1.85%

• Old Republic International Corp. (NYSE: ORI): 2.70%
• The Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL): 2.52%
• The Chubb Corp. (NYSE: CB) 2.24%
• The Hartford Investment Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG): 2.09%
• American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) : 0.98%
• MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET): 0.93%

Continue reading Serious Money: AIG, ALL, CB, HIG, MET, ORI - cheap insurance

Serious Money: AIG, ALL, CB, HIG, MET, ORI - cheap insurance originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 Mar 2007 10:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is written as part of AOL Money & Finance's Best & Worst 2006. Cast your vote for the most overused buzzword.

The housing bubble has hit close to home for me, literally. Someone has been trying to sell a house down the street from me for about five months. That's a sea change from two or three years ago when properties in my neighborhood seemed to get snapped up the minute someone slapped a for-sale sign on their lawns. Often we suburbanites would gasp in amazement at the prices that people got for homes similar to ours. Even with this market uncertainty, I bet I could get double the price I paid for my house -- which is hardly a McMansion -- if I wanted to sell. The flip side is that I would have to pay a high price for a new house. But even though I have seen the phenomena first hand, I hate the phrase "housing bubble." Much like Web 2.0, it has evolved this year into a vague buzzword that probably confuses most average investors. The National Association of Realtors argues that there's no bubble. "We've never seen a housing bubble, which -- if we compare to stock bubbles -- would be a prolonged double-digit collapse from unsustainable prices," said Walter Molony, an NAR spokesman, in an email interview. "What we have is a deflating balloon."

Economists including Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, disagree. Executives at Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL) and other home builders have spoken of a slowdown, even though they seem to be privately more optimistic, according to the AP. So what's going on? I wish I knew. There is no doubt that homes aren't fetching the prices that they did and that people like my neighbor are having more difficulty selling. Prices for existing homes fell at a record rate in October, their third straight monthly decline. I tried and failed to come up with a better catch phrase than housing bubble. "Those people had to be idiots to pay THAT much for THAT house" and "Do you believe how much our house is worth today?" just don't have the same ring to them.

Jonathan Berr is the editor of the blog http://www.desperateinvestors.com.

Best & Worst: 'Real Estate Bubble' or 'Housing Slowdown' -- this buzzword hits too close to home originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 10 Dec 2006 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Best Cell Phones and Cell Phone Deals
Cell phones and the plans that power them have become more complicated than ever. Consumer Reports advice will help you cut through the increasing static.
Cell phone ratings
How to buy cell phones: Ripoffs, Contracts, Where to buy

Avoid These 10 Cell Phone Rip-Offs and Gotchas
The phones may be wireless, but that doesn't mean there aren't strings attached. Here are 10 all-too-common ones and how to deal with them.
ConsumerReports.org - How to buy cell phones, Ten rip-offs and gotchas 1/07


Best Cell Service Rankings
Tired of dropped calls, "service not available" messages, busy signals, and kkkrrrrrcchhhhhh! static in your ear? Then listen up. Consumer Reports annual survey can show you where to get significantly better cell service. Verizon was tops in all major markets except Cleveland, Denver, Phoenix, Seattle, St. Louis and Tampa. ConsumerReports.org - Cell service 01/07: Reader survey


Rebounding Brands: Can Mel Gibson's Brand Bounce Back?
Can Mel Gibson, with the upcoming release of 'Apocalypto', make a comeback? If history is any indicator he can if he makes the right moves. These eight brands all rebounded from scandal. They include Tylenol, McDonald's, Martha Stewart, Wendy's Exxon, Boeing, Bridgestone Tire and Ford.
Can Mel Gibson Bounce Back? l 8 Rebounding Brands


Medicare in 2007: What You Need to Know
In year two of the Part D drug plan for seniors, you'll find more choices and, possibly, bigger savings.
Medicare in 2007: What you need to


Consumer Holding Out for Better Holiday Shopping Deals
Despite heavy discounts, holiday shoppers want even better deals. They are prepared to wait 'till the last minute for better deals; Wal-Mart top destination this weekend.
Despite heavy discounts, holiday shoppers want better deals


My Boss Stole My Identity!
I.D. theft in the workplace is becoming more common, but workers are still forced to trust their employers with sensitive information.
Identity theft in the workplace is becoming more common


Will Diamond Demand Be Hurt This Holiday Thanks To Leo DiCaprio?
Sorry honey, I didn't get you that diamond you wanted this holiday? But I had a good reason. "Blood Diamond," the Warner Bros. thriller that hits movie theaters on Friday, could spark public concern about illicit "conflict diamonds" and hurt demand during the key holiday shopping season, analysts said on Monday.
DiCaprio film may hurt diamond demand: analysts


Dirty Birds
Uncooked chicken purchased at supermarkets may suddenly be suspect - but just how safe is the cooked chicken you buy at a restaurant? There will be plenty of consumers asking that question following release of a Consumer Reports study that shows 83% of the fresh, broiler chickens it bought at supermarkets of all types last spring were tainted with salmonella or campylobacter bacteria.
ConsumerReports.org - Chicken safety

Restaurants say cooking makes their chicken safe - USATODAY.com

Today in Money & Finance - 12/5 - Best cell phones and service, Medicare in 2007 & Rebounding brands originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Dec 2006 08:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.