Author Archive
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CR Bard Earns $1.61 Per Share for Q1
Eddy Elfenbein, April 24th, 2012 at 6:16 pmWe’ve had more good earnings news for our Buy List. This time, it came from CR Bard ($BCR). The company had told us to expect Q1 earnings to range between $1.53 and $1.57 per share. As it turns out, they netted $1.61 per share which was four cents more than Wall Street’s consensus.
Sales came in at $730 million which is a 4% increase over last year. Interestingly, sales outside the U.S. were up by 10% while inside the U.S. they were up by just 2%.
Bard’s CEO said, “The results this quarter reflect a good start to the year. While we haven’t seen much change in the U.S. environment, our increased focus and investments in international markets have provided rapid returns and strengthened our growth profile. We remain focused on daily execution of our product leadership strategy to take advantage of current opportunities while positioning ourselves for stronger growth in the future.”
The stock has tried to break $100 per share in the past month but hasn’t been able to. Perhaps today’s earnings report will be the catalyst. This is an excellent stock. I rate it a buy anytime the price is below $102 per share.
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AFLAC Earns $1.74 Per Share for Q1
Eddy Elfenbein, April 24th, 2012 at 5:20 pmIn last week’s CWS Market Review, I said that Wall Street’s consensus for AFLAC’s figure of $1.65 per share was “almost certainly too low.” I said that results would probably be close to $1.70 per share. Even an AFLAC bull like me was too low.
AFLAC ($AFL) just reported Q1 operating earnings of $1.74 per share. (Remember that with insurance companies we always want to look at operating earnings.) That’s up from $1.62 per share one year ago. The yen/dollar exchange rate increased earnings by four cents per share.
CEO Dan Amos said, “We are pleased with our overall results in the first quarter of 2012. Aflac Japan gets high marks for another great quarter. The tremendous sales momentum they again generated this quarter was largely propelled by success in selling through banks. Aflac Japan’s first quarter production set an all-time new annualized premium sales record for the third quarter in a row. More importantly, we believe the first quarter has positioned us for another strong year of sales activities in Japan. As a result, we now expect Aflac Japan’s full year sales to increase 10%, compared with our previous expectation of a sales decline.”
AFLAC also reiterated its full-year earnings forecast of $6.46 to $6.65 per share. The stock is up to $44 per share in the after-hours market.
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Energy Versus Technology
Eddy Elfenbein, April 24th, 2012 at 11:11 amAs I always say, stock-picking is important. Since July 1, 2008 the S&P 500 Tech Sector is up 33% while the Energy Sector is down 21%.
By the way, Apple makes up roughly 21% of the S&P 500 Tech Index.
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Fitch Upgrades Ford
Eddy Elfenbein, April 24th, 2012 at 10:49 amMore good news for Ford ($F):
Fitch Ratings upgraded Ford Motor Co to investment grade on Tuesday, marking a key step that brings the second-largest U.S. automaker closer to reclaiming its Blue Oval trademark.
Fitch upgraded Ford and its captive finance arm to “BBB-” from “BB+” to reflect the improvement in Ford’s finances since its near collapse in 2006. Ford has lowered its break-even point since the last recession and improved its vehicle lineup.
Still, the agency said Ford also faced the risk of slower-than-expected global demand for vehicles, particularly in Europe.
“Fitch believes that the work that has been accomplished has put the company in a solid position to withstand the significant cyclical and secular pressures faced by the global auto industry,” the credit ratings agency said in a release.
Earnings are due out on Friday.
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Reynolds American Earns 63 Cents Per Share
Eddy Elfenbein, April 24th, 2012 at 10:00 amReynolds American ($RAI) reported first-quarter earnings of 63 cents per share, which was two cents below estimates. Quarterly revenues fell 2.9% to $1.93 billion which was below the revenue estimate of $1.97 billion.
I said in CWS Market Review:
I’m not so concerned if the company beats or misses by a few pennies per share. The important thing to watch for is any change in the full-year forecast of $2.91 to $3.01 per share. If Reynolds stays on track to meet its forecast, I think we can expect the tobacco company to bump up the quarterly dividend from 56 cents to 60 cents per share.
Reynolds reiterated its full-year guidance of $2.91 to $3.01 which is the most important thing.
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Morning News: April 24, 2012
Eddy Elfenbein, April 24th, 2012 at 5:49 amIn a Change, Mexico Reins In Its Oil Monopoly
Spain and EU Deficit Calculations Add Up
In an Unlikely Corner of Asia, Strong Promise of Growth
Gold May Decline on Concern Over Slack Physical Demand
Aging workforce Strains Social Security, Medicare
Wal-Mart Stock Falls Nearly 5%
Facebook Reveals Revenue, Profit Slide Ahead of IPO
Netflix Spooks Street With Sputtering User Growth
Barnes & Noble Gains as Activist Investor Discloses Stake
LG Display Optimistic Despite Loss
Shell Agrees to Buy Cove After Raising Bid to $1.8 Billion
Lamborghini, BMW Expect Car Sales Growth in China to Slow
Novartis Quarterly Profit Drops as Diovan, OTC Sales Slump
MetLife to Pay $500 Million to Settle Death-Benefit Probe
Dumb Money: A Few Brief Thoughts On Coke. Er, Hold, Not a Buy
Howard Lindzon: The Stocktwits Social Heatmap – Finding Signal Inside Stocktwits
Roger Nusbaum: Message From the Yield Curve
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S&P 500 Earnings By Sector
Eddy Elfenbein, April 23rd, 2012 at 10:44 am