Archive for June, 2011
(PTR) PetroChina Cut to Neutral
We have downgraded PetroChina Co. Ltd. (PTR) ADRs to Neutral from Outperform, particularly driven by the high-priced gas imports in the face of low domestic gas sale prices. As more high-priced gas import is being brought in, there is an urgent need for PetroChina to press the...
26Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(HBAN) Huntington Bancshares Upgraded
We have upgraded our recommendation on Huntington Bancshares Inc. (HBAN) to Neutral from Underperform on the back of fundamentals, better-than-expected first quarter 2011 results, current economic environment and the recent credit trends. Huntington Bancshares reported first...
26Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(WMT) Walmart Stores Re-zones in Milwaukee
Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) has received re-zoning approval from the Village Board to construct a supermarket store on the former U.S. Bowling Congress office across Southridge Mall in Greendale. Walmart plans to dismantle the former U.S. Bowling Congress office and...
26Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(FLR) Fluor Wins Dow Contract
Fluor Corporation (FLR) has won a contract from The Dow Chemical Company (DOW) for providing basic engineering and design services on its propane dehydrogenation (‘PDH’) expansion project in Freeport, Texas. The contract value is yet to be disclosed and is expected to be...
26Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(HAIN) Hain Celestial Stays Neutral
Being a leader in natural food and personal care products categories with an extensive portfolio of well-known brands, The Hain Celestial Group Inc. (HAIN) offers investors one of the strongest growth profiles in the industry. The stock is poised to rise as the economy gradually...
26Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(APA) Apache Secures Exploration Rights
As per market sources, Apache Corporation (APA) has won oil and gas exploration rights in the vast acreage of Alaska’s Cook Inlet. The company was the sole bidder for the three-lease package offered by the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas. Apache submitted the bid at $613,690,...
26Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(XOM) ExxonMobil Builds Australian Terminal
A subsidiary of ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM) plans to initiate the construction of a new 9 million liter diesel fuel tank at the Birkenhead fuel terminal in Adelaide, Australia. Mobil Oil Australia Pty Ltd (Mobil), a subsidiary of ExxonMobil Australia Pty Ltd, owns the Birkenhead fuel...
26Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ALL) Allstate Claims $1 Million for Fraud
In an effort to recoup over $1 million paid in personal injury protection benefits, Allstate Corp. (ALL) has filed a lawsuit against 10 New York area defendants. According to the complaint filed by Allstate under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and...
26Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CIG) Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais Guides for 2011-2015
Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais (CIG), also known as CEMIG, recently announced its financial guidance for the period 2011-2015. The company’s distribution unit, CEMIG D is expected to post healthy results in the years ahead. Energy distribution in the retail market...
26Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(EDR) Education Realty Trust Hikes Dividend
Education Realty Trust, Inc. (EDR) recently hiked its quarterly cash dividend by 2 cents to 7 cents per share. This translates into a massive 40% increase from the prior dividend. The increased dividend will be paid on August 16, 2011, to stockholders of record as on June 29,...
26Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(VIV) Telecomunicacoes de Sao Paulo S.A.-Telesp Upgraded on Vivo Merger
We are upgrading our long-term recommendation on Telecomunicacoes de Sao Paulo S.A.-Telesp (VIV) to Outperform from Neutral following its merger with the mobile phone service provider Vivo Participacoes. The stock retains a Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank for the short term. The Spanish...
26Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(HOT) Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Enters Azerbaijan
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT) has signed an agreement with Silk Way Airlines LLC to open a Sheraton hotel in Azerbaijan. This marks Starwood’s debut in that country. Starwood plans to open more than 60 Sheraton hotels around the world over the next three...
26Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(HST) Pebblebrook Hotel Trust Invests in Manhattan
Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (PEB) recently invested $152.0 million for a 49.0% stake in a joint venture that owns six luxury hotels in Manhattan with affiliates of the Denihan Hospitality Group. The deal values the six hotels for approximately $910 million. The hotels are currently...
26Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(LMT) Lockheed Martin to Help Analyze Data
Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) said it has received a $13 million two-year contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop an automated system for intelligence analysts. Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology Laboratories (ATL) will build...
26Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MDT) Medtronic Announces Increase in Dividend
Recently, Medtronic’s (MDT) Board approved a hike in the company’s quarterly dividend to 24.25 cents per share from the current payout of 22.50 cents. This will result in an 8% increase in the company’s annual dividend to 97 cents. The revised dividend is payable on July...
26Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(TE) TECO Energy Still Neutral
Despite TECO Energy Inc. (TE) missing our expectation for both the top and bottom lines in the most recent quarter, we reiterate our Neutral recommendation for TECO shares as we believe the long-term fundamentals of the company remain sound helped by a reviving Florida economy. TECO’s...
26Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AMAG) AMAG Pharmaceuticals Gets Label Update for Feraheme
AMAG Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AMAG) recently announced a label update for its lead drug Feraheme. Feraheme is an injectable drug for intravenous use as an iron replacement therapy for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in adult patients suffering from chronic kidney disease...
26Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CCC) Calgon Carbon Wins Two Contracts
Calgon Carbon Corporation (CCC) has won two new contracts to supply Sentinel Ultraviolet (UV) Disinfection Systems at drinking water production plants in the cities of Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Indianapolis will use 12 Sentinel Ultraviolet Disinfection Systems at...
26Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(JWN) Nordstrom’s New Credit Facility
One of the leading fashion specialty retailers in the U.S., Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) has entered into a new five-year unsecured revolving credit agreement with a consortium of world’s leading investment bankers for optimizing its capital structure. Bank of America Merrill Lynch...
26Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CSCO) Mobile Operators Revise Data Plans
The demand for smartphones is currently on the rise, leading to a growing requirement for wireless data services. Data usage has more than doubled over the last three years. Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) estimated that mobile traffic would grow 26 folds and total mobile video traffic...
25Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(T) Telecommunications Stock Outlook – June 2011 – Industry Outlook
Telecommunications is one of the very few industries that witnessed massive technological improvement during the recession. An unprecedented growth of high-speed mobile Internet traffic, particularly for wireless data and video, has transformed this industry into the most evolving,...
25Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(WMT) First Quarter GDP Revised Up to 1.9% – Part 2
Part 1: http://www.stockbloghub.com/2011/06/24/pce-first-quarter-gdp-revised-up-to-1-9/77415 Second Quarter Projection Second quarter growth looks like it will probably come in close to the 1.9% level of the first quarter. That means that second-half growth will have to average...
24Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MA) MasterCard Intact at Neutral
We reiterated our Neutral recommendation on MasterCard Inc. (MA) given the current sustainability factor. The company’s first quarter operating earnings per share of $4.29 came in significantly ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.10 and $3.46 in the year-ago quarter. Results...
24Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(PCE) First Quarter GDP Revised Up to 1.9%
This is effectively the same post as I put out when the earlier looks at GDP in the first quarter were released. The numbers from the current release are in italics, while those from the second release are in bold while those from the first release and for previous quarters are...
24Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BA) Airbus Edges Boeing in Paris
The rivalry in commercial aerospace between goliaths The Boeing Company (BA) and EADS, the European owner of aircraft maker Airbus, got hotter at the just concluded 49th Paris Air Show in Le Bourget. Airbus was able to clinch orders and commitments worth $72.2 billion outscoring...
24Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ABT) Abbott Labs Boosts Immunology Pipeline
Abbott Labs (ABT) recently entered into a global agreement with Biotest AG for the development and commercialization of a novel anti-CD4 antibody, BT-061. The Candidate: BT-061 The deal is focused on the development and commercialization of BT-061 for the treatment of rheumatoid...
24Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AAPL) Apple Eyes Nortel Assets
Apple Inc. (AAPL) recently received The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) approval to bid for the intellectual properties of the Canadian telecom equipment manufacturer, Nortel Network. The nod from the antitrust regulators is a positive for Apple as it has been interested to...
24Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(FIS) Fidelity National Information Services Bids for Misys
Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) confirmed its bid for the U.K. based financial software company, Misys. According to analysts, the deal is valued at approximately $2.4 billion. Misys provides financial software to banks, fund managers and traders and has a predominantly...
24Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(PLD) Prologis Prices Equity Offer
Prologis Inc. (PLD) – the erstwhile AMB Property Corp., has priced its equity offer of 30.0 million common shares at $33.50 each. The secondary offering was announced recently as part of its strategic initiative to raise cash and repay debt. The company has also decided to...
24Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(PBR) Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. Evenly Poised
We have maintained our Neutral recommendation on Brazilian state-run energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (PBR), or Petrobras S.A. with a price target of $35. We believe that continued demand growth in Brazil (expected to outperform developed countries in the next few years),...
24Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued