The stock of airline giant United Continental Holdings (NYSE:UAL) is up around 50% from lows seen last fall, but a share can still be had for less than the cost of checking a bag on one of its flights. The earnings valuation is equally reasonable, and industry conditions are far improved from years past.
Read the rest of this entry »
Hanesbrands (NYSE:HBI) is one of the largest sellers of basic apparel, including socks, underwear and undershirts. Demand for its products is relatively consistent and predictable. Lately though, cotton input costs have been erratic, and the company has a hefty debt load, which it was saddled with when spun off back in 2006.
Read the rest of this entry »
Based on sales, Delta Airlines (NYSE:DAL) will be the second largest airline in the United States. A recent share price run has pushed Delta’s stock to its highs over the past year, but the valuation is still quite reasonable.
Read the rest of this entry »
The stock of coffeehouse and coffee brand retailer Caribou Coffee Company (Nasdaq:CBOU) was on a tear earlier this year, but it has cooled considerably so far in May. Slowing trends from a key customer and negative overall stock market sentiment have pushed the share price into more reasonable territory.
Office supply giant Staples (Nasdaq:SPLS) is perhaps the strongest operator in a competitive and crowded industry. Staples competes with some very successful rivals online, and though it goes up against weaker rivals in the physical store realm, the space is probably too crowded. Exposure to Europe also remains a concern and likely will for some time. Overall, the stock’s valuation is low enough to leave substantial upside going forward.
Read the rest of this entry »
Auto giant General Motors (NYSE:GM) is performing splendidly operationally, but investors continue to price it as it will soon go out of business. Its recent quarter demonstrated many pockets of strength in its core markets and more recently a very successful investor established a position in the stock.
Global banking giant Citigroup (NYSE:C) started off the year on a strong note and its stock showed gains of around 40% toward the end of March 2012. Those gains have since evaporated, and the stock is back below $30 per share. It appears again that the market has become too pessimistic about Citigroup’s future, as well as financials in general. At this point, the stock has become too cheap to ignore.
Read the rest of this entry »
Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU), not to be confused with Prudential plc (NYSE:PUK) of the U.K., is one of the largest life insurers in the world. Negative overall sentiment on any financial company has sent its stock toward its lowest levels over the past year. An appealing valuation and decent growth prospects overseas bode well for future shareholder returns.
Read the rest of this entry »
Dell Inc (Nasdaq:DELL) continues on a path to evolve into an “end-to-end IT provider.” The service side of the equation is already proving successful, but legacy hardware businesses are proving difficult to offset. Dell’s first quarter suggested that the latter category has become an even bigger drag than previously thought. However, the stock has become too cheap to ignore.
Read the rest of this entry »
Read the rest of this entry »
Liberty Interactive Corporation’s (Nasdaq:LINTA)primary assets consist of fully consolidated subsidiaries, including QVC, as well as sizable stakes in other listed media companies. This includes home shopping network HSN Inc. (Nasdaq:HSNI), Tree.com (Nasdaq:TREE), Interval (Nasdaq:IILG) and Expedia (Nasdaq:EXPE). The web of operations makes it challenging to grasp the underlying economics of each business, but most are growing robustly and solidly profitable.
Read the rest of this entry »
Back in June 2011, Cablevision (NYSE:CVC) spun out AMC Networks (Nasdaq:AMCX) to its shareholders. AMC’s stock is around 12% since it started trading on its own, but is already outpacing the market and other media peers. Based off its past growth trends and for expectations that critically-acclaimed shows including “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead” continue to pick up viewers, the stock looks poised to continue its strong run.
Read the rest of this entry »
Below are some still relevant investment considerations now that the stock has officially gone public, despite the reactionary movements that occurred in the market earlier this week.
Read the rest of this entry »
Discovery Communications (Nasdaq:DISCA) (Nasdaq:DISCB) owns some of the most appealing and impressively growing channels in cable. Over the past several years, it has been able to report steady sales growth and very impressive annual profit gains. With a few more years of similar trends, the stock could continue to keep pace with the underlying business growth.
Read the rest of this entry »
Molson Coors (NYSE:TAP) counts itself as the second largest brewer in the U.S. and Canada. As a result of its geographic exposure and tough industry conditions, organic sales growth has been hard to come by. A recent acquisition should help move the top-line needle slightly, while other corporate moves could result in slightly higher profit growth over time.
Read the rest of this entry »
By Ryan Fuhrmann
Quite often in the stock market [1], the share price of a hot company can suddenly fall out of favor, causing investors to dump the stock. The trick is to find out whether the negative sentiment is in fact warranted. If not, then this oversold stock can represent a compelling buying opportunity.
Back in January, I highlighted [1] that state and local governments were starting to turn to legalizing gambling to shore up their tax bases. Since then, the activity has only increased. Massachusetts recently held a forum to hear arguments on why it should develop casinos, and Maryland set up a commission [2] to investigate whether it should expand its gaming operations.
Read the rest of this entry »
By Ryan Fuhrmann
One of my all-time favorite investing articles talks about how important growth is when buying a stock. The author goes back in time and demonstrates that, by buying into leading growth companies, investors could garner incredible annual returns. A key takeaway is that even when you buy in when these stocks trade at sky-high price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios, they still make a killing — if you’ve picked the right stock.
Read the rest of this entry »
When it comes to financial markets, investors can be sure of three things: that markets will rise, fall and at times remain the same. Everything else is essentially up to chance, though investors can employ a mix of strategies to attempt to prudently navigate the ups and downs in the markets. When it comes to investing in fixed income or bond markets, portfolios can sustain quite a bit of damage when interest rates are rising. They can even lose if expectations are that interest rates will increase in the future.
Pharma giant Merck (NYSE:MRK) isn’t a standout in the industry, but is biding its time by holding profits steady while it works through a steady wave of patent expirations. Its first quarter results reflected this predicament, though investors are getting paid to wait for an improvement down the road.
Read the rest of this entry »
Medical supply and device firm Covidien (NYSE:COV) reported second quarter results late in April 2012 and modest sales growth. It hopes that by spinning off a stodgier division to investors it will be able to boost its total growth trends going forward, and this could help it bridge its current valuation discount with a number of purer-play rivals.
Read the rest of this entry »
Read the rest of this entry »
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) reported decent first quarter results late in April 2012. Sales and earnings both fell, but investors have come to expect operational declines at Lilly and most of its key rivals. The above-average dividend yields have been the saving grace, and could be relied on for some time, until new drugs starting boosting industry prospects again.
Caterpillar reported solid first quarter results in late April 2012. Its operations remain a global bellwether for overall construction and industrial activity, and are quite reasonably valued right now.
Read the rest of this entry »
Defense giant Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) kicked off its first quarter with decent sales growth, but stellar profit growth. The magnitude of the bottom-line improvement isn’t likely to be repeated steadily going forward, but the company should have no problem logging solid returns for shareholders going forward.
Specialty chemicals firm NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) reported another solid quarter of sales growth late in April 2012. Profit growth was above 30%, in line with the company’s trends over the past half-decade. These growth levels aren’t likely sustainable, but there is still appeal to considering investing in the stock.
Ball Corp (NYSE:BLL) makes cans, bottles and related metal containers for the beverage, food and personal care industries. This stable underlying demand has allowed Ball to grow steadily for more than a decade, and growth in emerging markets should allow it to continue to post visible, consistent growth going forward.
Direct-selling firm Tupperware (NYSE:TUP) reported anemic sales growth during its first quarter, but a very solid earnings increase. Its business model of going direct to consumers continues to have huge potential in emerging markets. It also believes the developed countries will increasingly embrace its direct focus.
Casual footwear provider Crocs (NYSE:CROX) reported first quarter results on Thursday and provided another indication that its namesake shoes and related accessories are more than a passing fad. The stock is also reasonably valued on and earning basis, and leaves room for upside surprises going forward.
For-profit educator DeVry (NYSE:DV) operates some nursing and healthcare education programs that are seeing steady trends, as enrollment at its more general schools experiences falling numbers. Brazil is also growing nicely, but the stock is unlikely to move much until domestic trends turn positive.
Medical device and technologies product provider C.R. Bard (NYSE:BCR) has posted steady, albeit modest growth trends over the last decade or so. Its founding goes back more than a century and provides sales and profit stability with a certain amount of downside protection. However, the richer valuation could handicap future upside potential.
Financial services and educational publishing firm McGraw-Hill (NYSE:MHP) finally decided to split its operations into two separately-traded public companies. The move was announced late last year. The market has awarded the stock with strong performance and calls into question how each new stock might trade once the split occurs.
Southeast regional bank SunTrust (NYSE:STI) reported an impressive rise in its first quarter earnings on April 23, 2012. There is likely further room for profit improvements, but the firm is not a very appealing operator in the industry.
Cleaning product firm Zep (NYSE:ZEP) continues to see tepid demand from its core customer base, but is laying the groundwork for what could be solid and sustainable growth going forward. The stock is trending back towards its low levels over the past year, which has put the valuation in more reasonable territory.
Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) (NYSE:STZ-B) recently closed out its fiscal year by reporting plummeting sales and a slight drop in profits. This masks a corporate reimaging program that has now left a number of higher-end wine and alcohol brands, as well as a very appealing joint venture with Mexican beer giant Grupo Model. With just a minimal level of growth going forward, the stock could move upward.
April 25, 2012 | Filed Under » Stock Analysis, Stocks
In recent years, Xerox (NYSE:XRX), traditionally known as a purveyor of copiers, printers and other related services, has been aggressively expanding its business process outsourcing activities. Given the growth that rivals have found in the space, Xerox appears to be on the right track. But for this year, trends look anemic.
The vast majority of investing consists of buying, or going long on a security with the intention of seeing it rise in price, after which it can be sold for a profit. A more specialized strategy is to do just the opposite, or sell a security “short” with the intent to have it fall in price so that it can be bought back later at a lower price.
Fast-food giant McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) kicked off its first quarter in fine fashion. Sales and profits grew steadily, which has been the norm at the company for some time now. These consistent trends should continue indefinitely, and though the valuation isn’t compelling, the mix of predictability, growth, and income potential should appeal to investors.
Industrial conglomerate Honeywell (NYSE:HON) kicked off its first quarter in 2012 and reported steady sales and profit growth. Its operations have spent a few years in recovery mode, but it appears they are set for a sustained period of respectable top line expansion that management should be able to leverage into double-digit annual profit growth. Combined with a reasonable valuation, the stock is worth a close look.
Industrial conglomerate and financial services powerhouse General Electric (NYSE:GE) reported first quarter results on April 20, 2012 that consisted of many moving parts. On a reported basis, sales and profits fell, but by management’s estimations of its core operations, the trends were firmly in the double digits. The key consideration for investors is what GE’s growth will look like in future years, and given its size, it could prove difficult to move the needle on its top line.
Basic materials giant DuPont (NYSE:DD) reported first quarter results in mid-April 2012, that sales rose in the double digits but profits grew much more modestly. In the coming few years, the company plans to leverage similarly strong sales into even stronger profit growth. Combined with the reasonable valuation and solid dividend, investors should take note.
LabCorp (NYSE:LH), along with a main rival, control a high percentage of the domestic lab testing market. One would think this dominance would translate into solid growth potential, but challenging industry conditions could keep overall growth constrained going forward.
April 23, 2012 | Filed Under » Investing Basics, Investment, Portfolio Management
A figurative sacred cow usually refers to an individual, organization, institution or any other entity that is exempt from being criticized or questioned. A belief also qualifies in this category. In investing, a number of sacred cow conceptions exist, but they should be questioned as they qualify as misconceptions that could end up costing investors’ money. Below are five misconceptions in the industry today.
Medical device firm Stryker (NYSE:SYK) reported first quarter results earlier on the week that proved its underlying businesses remain sound and steady. It isn’t growing like it used to, but its stock has been unduly punished for the more modest trends.
It wasn’t that long ago that diversified healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) could be relied on for double-digit sales and earnings growth. Patent expirations in its drug portfolio and a steady stream of product recalls have resulted in stagnant trends for roughly five years now. There is potential for a turnaround, but right now investors are favoring companies that are breaking into separate companies.
Want to Subscribe?
Stock Quote
HD 78.71 0.00
LOW 42.45 0.00
NKE 65.23 0.00
PFE 28.78 0.00
SBUX 64.25 0.00
CAKE 40.72 0.00
MSFT 34.85 0.00
CSCO 24.01 0.00
IBM 208.65 0.00
MHP 0.00 N/A
BAX 73.04 0.00
BR 26.95 0.00
CB 88.63 0.00
DEO 123.09 0.00
DFS 48.86 0.00
DGX 61.39 0.00
DNB 98.63 0.00
GD 77.98 0.00
GE 23.66 0.00
HON 80.15 0.00
HRS 50.17 0.00
IR 58.14 0.00
JCOM 40.61 0.00
LH 100.63 0.00
MCD 102.14 0.00
MCO 68.62 0.00
MTB 106.25 0.00
SMG 48.54 0.00
SONC 13.21 0.00
SYY 35.08 0.00
TAP 52.57 0.00
WFC 40.68 0.00
ZMH 81.01 0.00
WAG 50.11 0.00
CAH 47.96 0.00
PETM 69.80 0.00
NOK 3.74 0.00
TSCO 114.36 0.00
WU 16.61 0.00
AMGN 104.24 0.00
2013-05-21 16:00
