BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com/media/feedlogo.gif BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Ackman readies more cash for Target (TGT) investmenthttp://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/07/16/ackman-readies-more-cash-for-target-investment/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/07/16/ackman-readies-more-cash-for-target-investment/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/07/16/ackman-readies-more-cash-for-target-investment/#commentsFiled under:

While William Ackman's investment in Target (NYSE: TGT) has been a poor performer since he first disclosed a stake in July of 2007, he isn't backing down.

Bloomberg reports that Ackman has added at least $100 million to the $2 billion fund he established for the sole purpose of investing in shares of the Minneapolis-based big box retailer. The shares are down 38% in the last year but, according to Bloomberg, "The Target fund's loss may exceed the drop in the Minneapolis-based company's stock because it uses derivatives, which can amplify gains and losses."

Ackman has pushed for share buybacks, real estate sales, and the divestiture of the company's credit card operation. The company has said it will repurchase $10 billion in stock by the end of the year, and sold a 47% stale in its credit card business earlier this year.

Some experts, including one quoted in the Bloomberg piece, are criticizing Ackman for throwing good money after bad, but in my opinion that completely misses the point. Ackman invested in Target because it was undervalued and he felt he could help unlock value. Now the stock has become more undervalued and he still thinks he can unlock value. Why the heck wouldn't he buy more?

Ackman has demonstrated -- most recently with his aggressive short sales of financial and bond insurers -- that he's one of the investment world's great minds. The fact that shares of Target have gone down over the past year doesn't mean he's wrong, any more than the fact that shares of MBIA stayed high for years after he initially shorted meant he was wrong there. He was extremely right there. If anything, investors may want to consider taking advantage of the bear market to piggyback of Ackman's research at a much lower price.

 

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]]>AckmanfeaturedTargetTGTZac Bissonnette2008-07-16T12:24:00+00:00Helen of Troy (HELE): Price cycling in bullish 'pennant' formationhttp://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/07/14/helen-of-troy-hele-price-cycling-in-bullish-pennant-formati/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/07/14/helen-of-troy-hele-price-cycling-in-bullish-pennant-formati/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/07/14/helen-of-troy-hele-price-cycling-in-bullish-pennant-formati/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ: HELE) sells personal care and household consumer products. The personal care goods include such items as hair dryers, curling irons, hair setters, women's shavers and skin care products. The firm offers its own lines (e.g: Helen of Troy, Hot Tools and Hot Spa), as well as licensed merchandise (e.g: Vidal Sassoon, Revlon and Dr. Scholl's). On the household side, offerings include kitchen tools, household cleaning items, gardening tools and rechargeable lighting devices. Products are sold through beauty supply distributors and such mass merchandisers as Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) and Target (NYSE: TGT). Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a major competitor.

The company pleased investors last week, when it reported fiscal Q1 EPS of 42 cents and revenues of $145 million. Analysts had been looking for 30 cents and $142.8 million. The sales figure was a company first quarter record.

The stock popped into a bullish "pennant" consolidation pattern on the news. Equities frequently leave a pennant with a move in the same direction they were traveling on entry. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend the shares with one "strong buy", one "buy", one "hold" and one "sell". The HELE P/E ratio (8.36), PEG ratio (0.84), Price to Sales ratio (0.75), Price to Book ratio (0.87), Price to Cash Flow ratio (6.50), Price to Free Cash Flow ratio (4.78) and EPS Growth rate (31.25%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutional investors hold about 80% of the outstanding shares. Over the past fifty-two weeks, the stock has traded between $14.56 and $28.18. A stop-loss of $16.10 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com. He does not hold positions in any of the stocks mentioned above.

 

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]]>fundamental analysisFundamentalAnalysisHELEHelen of TroyHelenOfTroymomentumpennanttechnical analysisTechnicalAnalysisLarry Schutts2008-07-14T12:50:00+00:00Wal-Mart might help your portfolio during the recessionhttp://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/07/08/wal-mart-might-help-your-portfolio-during-the-recession/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/07/08/wal-mart-might-help-your-portfolio-during-the-recession/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/07/08/wal-mart-might-help-your-portfolio-during-the-recession/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

An article over at MSNBC.com talks about Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and its potential to thrive during the economic downturn. It got me thinking that maybe I should dump some of my underperforming financial stocks and invest in the controversial retailer.

Indeed, the article's thesis is almost undeniable. Whether you like Wal-Mart or not, it has an ironclad reputation for having low prices. Does it actually have the lowest prices around all the time? That I couldn't tell you. But a lot of items are pretty reasonably priced in any given store, and more importantly, people at least perceive that they are getting great deals when they shop there. In fact, in the latest Wal-Mart Weekly, Brian White analyzes the impact of Wal-Mart's initiative to purchase locally-grown produce to reduce the cost of doing business. This is a competitive move designed to help the company and its shoppers weather the financial storms pounding the markets and wreaking havoc on consumer-confidence levels. Wal-Mart is all about keeping things cheap, and this is going to resonate with the consumer so long as the bear market remains and the negative-wealth effect casts a pall over the nation.

Okay, that's the thesis in a nutshell. But what about the stock? How has it been performing? If you take a look at the AOL Finance snapshot for Wal-Mart, you'll see that the stock has performed rather well for most timeframes. It's dipped 3% in the last month, but it's only a few bucks away from its 52-week high (unlike my financial stocks, which seem to be making new 52-week-lows a daily habit!). That shows strength in my opinion. Compare Wal-Mart to competitors Target (NYSE: TGT) and Sears (NASDAQ: SHLD) and you'll see that the stock is doing reasonably well.

Wal-Mart's stock should be put on the proverbial watch list. The bad economy and the bear market may be here for a while, so if Wal-Mart's stock breaks the 52-week high, Wall Street may be telling you something.

However, as I've been saying in some of my last posts, think carefully before buying anything now, especially in terms of your personal time horizon, since equities are in chaos mode.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

 

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]]>featuredrecessionSearsSHLDTargetTGTWal-MartWMTSteven Mallas2008-07-08T15:04:00+00:00Bed Bath & Beyond doesn't make my investment listhttp://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/26/bed-bath-and-beyond-doesnt-make-my-investment-list/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/26/bed-bath-and-beyond-doesnt-make-my-investment-list/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/26/bed-bath-and-beyond-doesnt-make-my-investment-list/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) reported Q1 earnings on Wednesday, and Trey Thoelcke highlighted the numbers in this earnings-recap piece. Shares rose substantially in the after-hours trading session yesterday, jumping over 8%, and as I reviewed various earnings reports last night, I found myself drawn to the retailer's stock performance. I haven't been a huge fan of Bed Bath & Beyond as of late, so I figured I should take a look at the earnings release to see if there's anything here that would change my opinion.

Unfortunately, there isn't. Sales may have grown 6%, and expectations may have been beaten by $0.03, but net income still dropped over 20% to $0.30 per diluted share. Cash flow from operations declined 44% to $65.8 million. And same-store sales were very anemic, rising only 0.8%.

I choose, in this case, to focus on those figures. I also consider the fact that Bed Bath & Beyond does not pay a dividend, and that we are in an awful economic environment, both from a consumer and stock-market standpoint. This is not the stock I'd want to face the recession with, and I don't necessarily find it to be a big value right now. When it comes to retail, I am more likely to look at Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Target (NYSE: TGT). I'd even consider a Home Depot (NYSE: HD) or a Lowe's (NYSE: LOW). All of these stocks pay dividends and have better brand equities and more attractive prospects. Bed Bath & Beyond certainly didn't deliver an earnings bomb, but I'm still not inclined to put money here.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

 

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]]>BBBYBed Bath and BeyondBedBathAndBeyondHDHome DepotHomeDepotinthenewsLOWLowesretailTargetTGTTrey ThoelckeTreyThoelckeWal-MartWMTSteven Mallas2008-06-26T10:35:00+00:00Another reason why the economy may not benefit from stimulus checkshttp://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/25/another-reason-why-economy-may-not-benefit-from-stimulus-checks/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/25/another-reason-why-economy-may-not-benefit-from-stimulus-checks/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/25/another-reason-why-economy-may-not-benefit-from-stimulus-checks/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Some people waiting for their economic stimulus checks may be in for a shock.

According to USA Today, about $2 billion in payments from 1.8 million checks are being confiscated from people who owe child support, student loans and back taxes. Taxpayers get letters from the government explaining why their bank accounts are not being stimulated and so far few have complained, according to a Treasury Department official quoted by the newspaper.

I am all for making sure that children get the financial support they deserve. People also should not be able to dodge student loan payments or tax bills. The government, though, cannot impose a one-size-fits-all solution. For instance, what if someone is laid off and is already behind in their bills? The economic stimulus is supposed to help people in need, right?

Though the economic stimulus checks have helped boost retail sales, investors should keep their expectations in check. Many of the people I know are using their stimulus checks to pay bills, not buy big-screen televisions. A good portion of my stimulus is going right back to Uncle Sam for taxes I need to pay for being self-employed. That's another rant for another time.

Interestingly, makers of luxury goods are responding to economic pressures.

BusinessWeek recently reported that designers such as Stella McCartney and Roberto Cavalli are producing goods for the mass market and Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) has a stable of designers including Isaac Mizrahi, Cynthia Rowley and Liz Lange. Indeed, Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) is even offering handbags for as low as $148 and key chains starting at $28 compared with the $1,200 higher-end hand bags. Maybe a fashion-conscious reader can explain to me how a $1,200 bag holds your stuff better than a $148 one.

Perhaps, the name "economic stimulus" is misleading. These payments are giving the economy a tickle when it needs a shock.

 

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]]>cohcynthia rowleyCynthiaRowleyeconomic stimulusEconomicStimuluseconomyinthenewsisaac mizrahiIsaacMizrahiLiz LangeLizLangeretail salesRetailSalesRoberto CavalliRobertoCavallistella mccartneyStellaMccartneytgtJonathan Berr2008-06-25T10:44:00+00:00Wal-Mart Stores (WMT): Shares advance through a positive trading channelhttp://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/24/wal-mart-stores-wmt-shares-advance-through-a-positive-trading/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/24/wal-mart-stores-wmt-shares-advance-through-a-positive-trading/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/24/wal-mart-stores-wmt-shares-advance-through-a-positive-trading/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) is the world's largest retailer, offering a vast array of general merchandise through some 7,350 stores. That total includes nearly 1,000 discount stores, over 2,800 combination discount and grocery stores and about 600 warehouse outlets. More than half of Wal-Mart's facilities are in the United States, but the firm has a widespread and growing international presence. It is the biggest retailer in Canada and Mexico, has a 95% stake in Japan's Seiyu and has developing operations in Europe, South America and Asia. The company employs more than two million associates and serves more than 200 million customers per year. Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) and Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) are competitors.

The stock has been a steady Q2 gainer, advancing on word of solid Q1 results, better than expected same-store sales figures, an expanding discount drug program, international development, and favorable analyst commentary.

The news has kept WMT shares cycling through a positive three-month trading channel. The price is currently consolidating at the base of that channel, where oversold CCI, MACD and Stochastic technical parameters suggest the potential for a rise back toward the top.

Brokers recommend the issue with eight "strong buys", eleven "buys", five "holds" and one "underperform". Analysts expect a 12% average annual growth rate, through the next five years. The WMT P/E ratio (17.77), Price to Sales ratio (0.59), Return on Assets (8.37%), Return on Investment (13.31%) and Return on Equity (21.24%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutions hold about 40% of the outstanding shares. The stock is one of those used to calculate the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Dow Jones Composite, the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 100 Index. Over the past 52 weeks, it has traded between $42.09 and $59.95. A stop-loss of $49.75 looks good here. Note that the firm is expected to report fiscal Q2 results in mid-August.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com. He does not hold positions in any of the stocks mentioned above.

 

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]]>featuredfundamental analysisFundamentalAnalysistechnical analysisTechnicalAnalysistrading channelTradingChannelWal-Mart StoresWal-martStoresWMTLarry Schutts2008-06-24T10:35:00+00:00Short sellers increase shorting in Target and Wal-Marthttp://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/06/short-sellers-increase-shorting-in-target-and-wal-mart/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/06/short-sellers-increase-shorting-in-target-and-wal-mart/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/06/short-sellers-increase-shorting-in-target-and-wal-mart/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Short sellers have increased their activity in Wal-Mart Stores inc. (NYSE: WMT) and in Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), although it seems that Wal-Mart is looking less targeted, compared to the prior short sale reports.

At the end of May, its short interest was 51,073,300 shares versus 49,535,900 in the reading before.

Elsewhere, short sellers also raised their efforts against Target, as its new short reading is 49,754,100 shares versus 44,418,500.

So it seems that the 3.1% increase in Wal-Mart short selling versus the 12% gain in short selling at Target puts the recession-winner in the lead again as far as which company is the place to hide out in during a recession.

Wal-Mart has definitely been the beneficiary of the "trading down" environment in consumers right now and shares are only about 1% under their 52-week highs.

 

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]]>shart sellingshort interestShortInterestTGTWMTJon Ogg2008-06-06T12:50:00+00:00About 3 million rebate checks spent at Wal-Mart and Costcohttp://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/05/about-3-million-rebate-checks-spent-at-wal-mart-and-costco/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/05/about-3-million-rebate-checks-spent-at-wal-mart-and-costco/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/05/about-3-million-rebate-checks-spent-at-wal-mart-and-costco/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Where are Americans spending their rebate checks? Apparently Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST). Both reported fantastic sales for May. Wal-Mart explicitly tied their success to the checks. "We're seeing some benefits from the stimulus checks," Wal-Mart Chief Executive Eduardo Castro-Wright said in a company press release. Wal-Mart same store sales were up 3.9% (4.4% if you include gas).

Costco sales were even better, up 5% from last year (7% if you count gas). Costco saw sales of $5.77 billion, up about $600 million. The theory is that people are turning to Wal-Mart and Costco because we're broke and because we're so freaked out by gas prices, we'd rather just drive to one big store. Nice theory, but Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) is in the same business and saw sales drop 0.7%.

How many of us have spent our rebate checks at Wal-Mart and Costco? About 73% of Costco's stores are in the U.S. (The foreign stores got a big boost from the weak U.S. dollar). So, let's say very roughly 73% of Costco's $600 million sales increase was in the U.S. Or, Costco took in an extra $438 million thanks to the rebate checks. (Yeah, I know, the sales probably would've been up anyway, if only for inflation). At Wal-Mart domestic stores saw a $1.4 billion increase. Assuming we all spent our $600 in one place (just to make the math simpler), that would mean a little over 3 million of us (3,063,333) spent our rebated checks at Wal-Mart and Costco in May.

 

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]]>checkeconomicrebatestimulusstimuluspackageCarol Vinzant2008-06-05T17:03:00+00:00Yahoo! and Wal-Mart join forceshttp://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/05/yahoo-and-wal-mart-join-forces/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/05/yahoo-and-wal-mart-join-forces/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/05/yahoo-and-wal-mart-join-forces/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) will soon be selling display advertising and even video advertising on the website of the world's largest retailer, www.walmart.com. The companies announced the partnership Wednesday, although terms of the multi-year deal weren't announced.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) indicated that advertisers would be able to buy ad space alongside walmart.com's product and information pages, which brings up the question: will Wal-Mart allow competitive ads to sit alongside its website pages? Display ads are graphic ads, unlike most Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) ads that are text based.

Imagine this: a customer is looking at a Black & Decker weed trimmer at walmart.com and a full display ad from Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) or The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) pops up with a competitive model and a link to where it can be purchased. This scenario sounds like it could easily happen here.

It will be quite interesting to see how this partnership is launched and how Yahoo!'s display ads are implemented into walmart.com's website -- and if any advertiser can buy ad space on one of the largest e-commerce sites on the web. Perhaps Yahoo! will financially make it worth Walmart.com's while.

 

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]]>featuredhdtgtWal-MartWalMart.comWMTYahoo AdsYahooAdsYHOOBrian White2008-06-05T10:36:00+00:00Sears Holdings and its huge miss = stay away!http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/30/sears-holdings-and-its-huge-miss-stay-away/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/30/sears-holdings-and-its-huge-miss-stay-away/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/30/sears-holdings-and-its-huge-miss-stay-away/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD) really blew its earnings numbers. According to Briefing.com, Sears' Q1 adjusted earnings missed by 68 cents. Nope, no beating by the proverbial penny here, folks. Sears was expected to report an adjusted profit closer to 15 cents per share; instead, not the 53 cent loss booked by the retailer. Man, that's bad. Wall Street also expected a better top-line performance. But Sears couldn't come through on that count, either. Net sales for the quarter declined almost 6% to a little more than $11 billion.

But wait, there's more bad news. Same-store sales at Sears took a turn for the worse, diving almost 10%! Comps at Kmart decreased 7%! The gross margin went down! Want more, or is that enough? The Sears story is not a good one. What's going on here? Well, the release does say something about a bad economy, but that isn't a worthwhile excuse. Sears simply needs to apply itself and get traffic into its stores. Use some thinking-outside-of-the-box marketing campaigns to reignite the brand's fire.


Management seems confident in the future of Sears and Kmart, since it highlighted plans to repurchase shares. That's all well and good, and certainly you might as well buy low, but I'm not going to join management in its investment. The stock is at the low end of a wild 52-week range. The low, according to AOL Finance, is $84.72. The high is $183.25. Is Sears a value at its current price of $86.14 (this is as of Thursday's close)? Who knows? But, fellow investors, I'm not stepping in.

Sears and its brand is hurting. There are better ideas out there, such as Target (NYSE: TGT) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT). The release did indicate that Sears would have positive free cash flow for 2008, which is a positive (I do love free cash generation), but it's not enough to sway me; call me bearish on the leadership skills of Eddie Lampert.

Disclosure: I don't own shares in any company mentioned here; positions can change at any time.

 

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]]>Eddie LampertEddieLampertfeaturedretailersSears HoldingsSearsHoldingsSHLDTargetTGTWal-MartWMTSteven Mallas2008-05-30T11:00:00+00:00Earnings highlights: Hewlett-Packard, Target, Barnes & Noble, Campbell, Staples and othershttp://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/24/earnings-highlights-hewlett-packard-target-barnes-and-noble/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/24/earnings-highlights-hewlett-packard-target-barnes-and-noble/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/24/earnings-highlights-hewlett-packard-target-barnes-and-noble/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

Additional earnings highlights:
Home Depot, Gap, Lenovo, Air France, Activision, Suntech and others
Ford, Hormel, Limited Brands, Intuitive Surgical, PetSmart and others

Upcoming results to watch for include Borders (NYSE: BGP), Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL), TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO), Big Lots (NYSE: BIG), Costco (NASDAQ: COST), Dell (NASDAQ: DELL), HJ Heinz (NYSE: HNZ), Sears (NASDAQ: SHLD), Lions Gate (NYSE: LGF), and Tiffany (NYSE: TIF).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

 

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]]>AgilentBarnes and NobleBKSCampbell SoupCPBearningsearnings reportsEPSFLRFluorGamestopGMEGodivaHewlett-PackardHot TopicHOTTHPHPQKenexaKNXAMDTMedtronicNAPSNapsterRoss StoresROSTSPLSStaplesTargetTGTTWBTween BrandsTrey Thoelcke2008-05-24T14:40:00+00:00Western Digital Corporation (WDC): Share price cycles in bullish 'flag'http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/22/western-digital-corporation-wdc-share-price-cycles-in-bullish/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/22/western-digital-corporation-wdc-share-price-cycles-in-bullish/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/22/western-digital-corporation-wdc-share-price-cycles-in-bullish/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC) designs, develops, manufactures and markets hard drives. Its devices are used for non-volatile data storage in personal computers, servers, network storage, video game consoles, digital video recording devices and TV set-top boxes. The firm sells its products worldwide to manufacturers, distributors and such retailers as Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) and Target (NYSE: TGT).

Shareholders were pleased last week, when Robert Baird issued positive remarks regarding Western Digital's prospects. Baird noted healthy overall trends in the hard disk drive industry and believed that Western's recent acquisition of Komag gave it a strategic advantage over many competitors. Also last week, Caris boosted its Western Digital unit estimates.

WDC shares popped on the news and then moved into a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern. Prices frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling on entry. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend the shares with two "strong buys", five "buys", ten "holds" and one "underperform". The WDC P/E ratio (9.08), PEG ratio (0.68), Price to Sales ratio (1.04), Price to Cash Flow ratio (6.28), Price to Free Cash Flow ratio (10.04), Sales Growth rate (49.72%), EPS Growth rate (130.38%), Return on Assets (24.07%), Return on Investment (37.34%) and Return on Equity (43.81%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutions own about 92% of the outstanding shares. The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 400 MidCap Index. Over the past 52 weeks, it has traded between $17.31 and $35.94. A stop-loss of $30.00 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com. He does not hold positions in any of the stocks mentioned above.

 

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]]>flagfundamental analysisFundamentalAnalysismomentumtechnical analysisTechnicalAnalysisWDCWestern Digital CorporationWesternDigitalCorporationLarry Schutts2008-05-22T15:15:00+00:00Home Depot vs. Lowe's, reverse mortgage come-ons & high cost of green dream - Today in Money 5/21http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/21/home-depot-vs-lowes-reverse-mortgage-come-ons-and-high-cost-of/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/21/home-depot-vs-lowes-reverse-mortgage-come-ons-and-high-cost-of/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/21/home-depot-vs-lowes-reverse-mortgage-come-ons-and-high-cost-of/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

In the News:
· Oil Prices Rise Above $130/Barrel for First Time
· Strong Demand Boosts Hewlett-Packard Profits
· Time Warner, Time Warner Cable Agree to Separate
· Intuit Earnings Top Estimates
· Target is a Victim of Its Own Success
· Merck Agrees to $58M Settlement Over Vioxx Ads
· Barnes & Noble May Bid to Buy Borders Books
· 'Wall Street Journal' Gets New Managing Editor
· Honda to Sell New Gas-Electric Hybrid in 2009
· Paper Money Discriminating Against Blind?
· Cell Phone Users May Get Break on Fees
· Only in NYC: $175 Hamburger Sold at Restaurant
· Hungarian Student Hurls Eggs at Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer

Home Depot vs. Lowe's
One is expanding rapidly and the other is shutting stores. Which strategy will work?
Fast-Growing Lowe's May Have Edge Over Home Depot - SmartMoney.com
Also: Home Depot and Lowe's Get Hammered

Reverse Mortgages: Beware the Come-Ons
The loans can help you tap the equity in your house. Just don't get tripped up by greedy salespeople.
Reverse mortgages: Beware the come-ons - MONEY


The High Cost of a Green Dream
It seemed like a fantasy project to renovate their new home in an environmentally sensitive way. Reality is costing them more green than they could have imagined.
The high cost of a green dream - CNNmoney

Diners Will See More Creative Menus as Costs Squeeze Restaurants
On the bill of fare are dishes that swap beef and chicken for pork, offer beef medallions rather than steaks and squeeze in surcharges for bread and butter. Chew on this: Consumers may not recognize their favorite restaurant's menus as the eateries take creative steps to cope with rising commodity and energy prices without compromising the appetizing nature of their offerings.
Diners will see more-creative menus as costs squeeze eateries - MarketWatch

 

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]]>Allan Halprin2008-05-21T08:19:00+00:00Closing Bell: Oil ghosts and inflation weigh on stockshttp://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/20/closing-bell-oil-ghosts-and-inflation-weigh-on-stocks/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/20/closing-bell-oil-ghosts-and-inflation-weigh-on-stocks/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/20/closing-bell-oil-ghosts-and-inflation-weigh-on-stocks/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

The markets saw a hard day, and you can thank oil and the Fed if you were bullish this morning. Oil magnate T. Boone Pickens issued a $150 oil prediction for 2008, and oil went over $129 for the first time today. The Federal Reserve governors are also getting the markets more and more used to no rate cuts ahead, and producer prices still showed excessive inflation on the wholesale side of the economy. These are unofficial closing prices:
  • DJIA 12,834.95 (-193.21; -1.48%)
  • S&P500 1,413.87 (-12.76; -0.89%)
  • NASDAQ 2,492.26 (-23.83; -0.95%)
  • 10YR-TBond 3.776% (-0.0630)
  • 52-WEEK LOWS
  • TOP 10 ANALYST CALLS.
Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) saw shares down almost 4% at $22.11 at the end of the day on more cautious banking comments out of Oppenheimer's Meredith Whitney.

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD) saw a miserable report as you'd expect, and this sent shares down over 5% to $27.25 by the end of the day.

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) was up over 1% at the end of the day at $31.40, but shares had been much higher on an upgrade this morning.

Despite having somewhat in-line earnings compared to lowered estimates, Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) saw shares fall 1% to $54.29.

 

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]]>Jon Ogg2008-05-20T16:09:00+00:00Target (TGT) reports weak Q1 earnings, but still beats estimateshttp://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/20/target-tgt-reports-weak-q1-earnings-but-still-beats-out-analy/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/20/target-tgt-reports-weak-q1-earnings-but-still-beats-out-analy/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/20/target-tgt-reports-weak-q1-earnings-but-still-beats-out-analy/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Retailer Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) joined the earnings parade this morning when it reported its first quarter numbers. Despite a 7.5% drop in net income, the company was still able to come in above Wall Street estimates.

Going into today's earnings report, analysts had been looking for earnings for the quarter of 71 cents per share, and the company actually was able to post earnings of 74 cents a share, on net income of $602 million. During the same period last year, the company was able to show net income of $651 million.

Revenues came in slightly under analyst estimates, with a reported $14.8 billion, compared to Wall Street's expectations for $14.92 billion. Same store sales were down by 0.7% in the quarter, but revenue was actually higher by 5.4% as the company's new stores were able to overshadow the decrease in revenue that the company witnessed in its stores open more than a year.

In a statement, Target's Chief Executive, Gregg Steinhafel, stated that "the current economic environment remains challenging" and that Target will continue "to generate long-term value for our shareholders by remaining focused on the disciplined execution of our strategy."

Target is the second largest retailer in the U.S. behind Wal Mart (NYSE: WMT). Over the past several years Target has carved out a decent chunk of retail market share with its inexpensive but chic clothing line and home accessories. The current market is tough on Target as shoppers have been cutting back on clothing and home furnishings and focusing on necessities.

Early in the trading day the stock was able to stay slightly in the green, but over the past couple of hours the stock has moved into the red. As of 12:30, the stock is trading at $54.80, down $0.12.

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last four years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.

 

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]]>earningsgregg steinhafelGreggSteinhafelinthenewsrecessionretailTargetTGTWal MartWalMartWMTMichael Fowlkes2008-05-20T13:40:00+00:00Before the bell: Futures lower ahead of PPI, after HD earningshttp://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/20/before-the-bell-futures-lower-ahead-of-ppi-after-hd-earnings/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/20/before-the-bell-futures-lower-ahead-of-ppi-after-hd-earnings/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/20/before-the-bell-futures-lower-ahead-of-ppi-after-hd-earnings/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , ,

Stock futures fell early Tuesday morning, ahead of an inflation reading at the wholesale level. It is rising prices, as well as the worse housing slump in over a century that caused Home Depot's profit to decline 66% when it reported this morning. Other retailers are scheduled to report earnings today, and the concern is many will show they face similar problems.

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Monday despite rising quite steadily until 1:30 p.m. EDT. While leading economic indicators alleviated some concerns over the economy, record crude oil prices, once again, dampened the mood on the Street and the Dow industrials rose 41 points, or 0.32%, the S&P 500 added a point, or 0.09%, but the Nasdaq Composite dropped 12 points, or 0.50%.

Producer price index, a gauge of inflation at the wholesale level, is due out in about an hour, at 8:30 a.m. EDT. The data is expected to show a 0.4% rise in April. Excluding food and energy, core-PPI is expected to show a rise of 0.2% in April.

In focus at the moment are Home Depot (NYSE: HD) earnings. The home improvement retailer reported a 66% drop in first-quarter profit Tuesday due to a large one-time charge and continued weakness in the housing market. Excluding the charge, though, the results -- 41 cents a share -- beat expectations of 37 cents a share. Home Depot also said revenue in the quarter fell 3.4% and same-store sales fell 6.5% in the first quarter.

Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) posted a slim 1.5% increase in its first-quarter profit, for the first time in two quarters. The results matched analysts expectations. Sales rose 6%, beating estimates, and the company reaffirmed its profit and sales forecast for the full year.
On Monday afternoon Staples brought its $2.5 billion hostile takeover bid for Corporate Express NV directly to the Dutch office products firm's shareholders.

Among other retailers also due to report before the bell Tuesday is Target (NYSE: TGT).

Also, the Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) - Yahoo ( NASDAQ: YHOO) saga is far from over with reports now that Microsoft wants to buy Yahoo's search business.

 

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]]>featuredhdmsftplstgtyhooMelly Alazraki2008-05-20T07:39:00+00:00Macy's Q1 beats analysts, but don't expect me to buy the stockhttp://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/15/macys-q1-beats-analysts-but-dont-expect-me-to-buy-the-stock/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/15/macys-q1-beats-analysts-but-dont-expect-me-to-buy-the-stock/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/15/macys-q1-beats-analysts-but-dont-expect-me-to-buy-the-stock/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Retailer Macy's (NYSE: M) first fiscal quarter wasn't that bad, at least in terms of the analyst game. The company, which competes with mall colleagues such as J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) and Sears (NASDAQ: SHLD), reported net income of 2 cents per diluted share from continuing operations. The denizens of Wall Street thought the company would lose 2 cents, so management came ahead in this regard by four pennies. Bravo!

However, does this news excite me? Not necessarily. Macy's needs a little help in its sales department. First, the overall top line declined almost 3%, coming in at $5.7 billion. Second, and perhaps even more telling, same-store sales were weak during the quarter, decreasing by 2.6%. And then there's the issue of cash flow. Operational cash flow from continuing operations was excellent compared with last year's quarter since $21 million was generated this time around as opposed to $370 million being used last time around. Nevertheless, when you take into account capital spending, no free cash flow was left over in the first quarter. And cash has been decreasing on the balance sheet. Oh, and gross margin went down, too.

I wasn't too taken by Macy's current earnings report, and I'm not putting the company on my list of investment ideas right now, even though the stock closed up yesterday on the news (heck, the company didn't repurchase any shares last quarter and stated that it didn't see any more share repurchases coming for the rest of the year, so apparently the stock isn't on management's ideas list, either). I think there might be better retail investments out there, such as Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) or Target (NYSE: TGT). Yes, the retailer may have strong associations with Donald Trump and Martha Stewart, but I will not be blinded by such celebrity value.

Disclosure: I don't own shares in any company mentioned here; positions can change at any time.

 

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]]>Donald TrumpDonaldTrumpinthenewsMacysMartha StewartMarthaStewartretail industryretail stocksRetailIndustryRetailStocksTargetTGTWal-MartWMTSteven Mallas2008-05-15T09:33:00+00:00Liz Claiborne, Wal-Mart beat - time to buy retail?http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/13/liz-claiborne-wal-mart-beat-time-to-buy-retail/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/13/liz-claiborne-wal-mart-beat-time-to-buy-retail/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/13/liz-claiborne-wal-mart-beat-time-to-buy-retail/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

In economics, inferior goods are defined as goods that are less in demand as consumers get richer but more in demand as consumers get poorer -- which of course happens when the economy slows down. Inferior goods are often the basic goods and services such as bus rides, potatoes, instant noodles and so on. And with increased demand, the price of such goods, unless regulated, can actually increase in bad times. A recent example of this is the increase in the price of rice (although other forces were at work there as well).

Well, recently we've seen a trend in retail that showcases this clearly -- discount retailers have been performing well relative to most other retailers. When retailers reported same-store sales for the month of April, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) and Costco (NASDAQ: COST) outdid their less fortunate counterparts as they have likely taken customers away from other retailers.

The trend that started a few months ago, with car sales (definitely a normal, not an inferior good) in the U.S. softening overall, has continued and even deepened as consumers have less disposable income after inflation and gas money is taken into account. With credit hard to come by, they have turned to cheaper alternatives. To wit, today Wal-Mart -- my "inferior retailer" -- reported that first-quarter profits rose 6.9%. Conversely, Liz Claiborne (NYSE: LIZ) -- the "normal retailer" -- swung to a first-quarter net loss.

To be fair though, it's the top line that matters if I'm looking at consumers' changing habits and there WMT saw a net 10.2% sales increase while LIZ's sales grew by much less during the quarter, 4.9% -- actually, not that bad. Even AnnTaylor Stores Corp. (NYSE: ANN) raised its forecast Monday. Indeed, somehow retail -- excluding auto sales of course -- has managed to hold up quite well recently despite market conditions as today's report indicates. Including autos, though, retail sales declined in April.

The question for investors is whether any retail stocks merit our attention right now. Some analysts actually believe so, saying that not only discount retailers like Wal-Mart stand to gain from a weakening economy, but even some department stores like J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) which generally have lower prices could do well in the current climate.

I don't know about that. Call me skeptical or careful -- either way, I wouldn't jump on any retail at the moment, not the discount retailers and definitely not the higher-end stuff. I mean, even Wal-Mart had a cautious outlook when reporting today, saying that as consumers wrestle with higher energy and food costs they will likely have even less money for other items. That sent WMT stock over 2% lower. And Liz? Liz has actually posted some improvements, such as a 28% jump in sales of its four "direct" brands, but it's still in the midst of a massive restructuring. LIZ shares are gaining over 1.5% today as the results handily beat expectations. But I still wouldn't touch either stock.

At some point, of course, the economy will rebound and so will retail. The time to get back into this sector will be when the first signs of a recovery appear. But right now, no one is sure when that will happen and the expectation is for at least two more quarters of weak results. I might be missing the boat a little by waiting, but tell you the truth, I'm just a little more risk averse these days.

 

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]]>anncostfeaturedjcplizretailtgtwmtMelly Alazraki2008-05-13T14:48:00+00:00Target matches Wal-Mart's new prescription drug price cutshttp://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/08/target-matches-wal-marts-new-prescription-drug-price-cuts/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/08/target-matches-wal-marts-new-prescription-drug-price-cuts/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/08/target-matches-wal-marts-new-prescription-drug-price-cuts/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) implemented another phase of its low-price prescription drug program this week, and as usual competitor Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) followed suit with price reductions of its own. In addition to offering a 30-day supply of many popular generic prescription drugs for $4, Wal-Mart is now offering a 90-day supply for $10. And so is Target.

Is Target just trying to keep up, or does it see a benefit in matching drug price cuts by its larger competitor? In response to the price cuts, Target said that it "understands the challenges guests are facing in the current economic environment." It probably planned to make these price cuts as soon as Wal-Mart did and gain the same kind of free PR that comes with such a drastic price reduction in something that millions of Americans now depend on.

But Target does not position itself as the "low price" leader like Wal-Mart does. Its marketing is more upscale, and so is the appearance of its stores -- even while carrying much of the same merchandise. So why is Target matching these prescription drug price cuts? Is it trying to take customers from Wal-Mart? Of course -- the two are fierce competitors even though marketing and merchandise presentation strategies are what I'd consider to be worlds apart. Sometimes, price is everything.

 

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]]>inthenewsPrescription drug pricesPrescriptionDrugPricesTarget Corp.TargetCorp.TGTWal-MartWal-Mart drugsWal-martDrugsWMTBrian White2008-05-08T13:45:00+00:00Battle of the Brands: Wal-Mart vs. Targethttp://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/07/battle-of-the-brands-wal-mart-vs-target/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/07/battle-of-the-brands-wal-mart-vs-target/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/05/07/battle-of-the-brands-wal-mart-vs-target/#commentsFiled under: , ,

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

In the suburban landscape littered with big-box retailers, it is no secret which are the favorites of the Friday morning housewives, the Saturday afternoon family shoppers. These are the stores so formidable that families can often be spotted pushing two carts to haul their weekly stock of everything from boxed wine and board books to T-shirts and toilet paper. And Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) are the very exemplification of our Battle of the Brands showdown: for most of you, it's either one or the other, never both. In the world of bargain retail megastores, loyalties run deep.

And naturally, both Wal-Mart and Target are forever trying to move in on each others' turf. While Target has always been known for its partnerships with cutting-edge fashion icons (regular shoppers often call it "Tar-jay," with a French accent, though the corporation is firmly rooted in the American Midwest), Wal-Mart has been known for tripping over its own fashion foot. Wal-Mart has emphasized its ability to deliver every single last thing to its customers (from banking to bebop to "green" coffee).

This year has marked a few nuances to the two companies' strategies. Target has been wooing upper-middle-income shoppers who are now looking for better values, with a rumored experiment with high-end cosmetics, a refinement of its furniture offerings, and a focus on labeling foods so consumers will feel more secure purchasing its fresh groceries.

As for Wal-Mart's part, the company is struggling to overcome its fashion deficit (and taking a page right out of Tar-jay's book) by working to become more fashionable, attracting recognized brands, and convincing celebrities to license their names on blue jeans and sheet sets. Lately the company's saccharin self-congratulatory commercials (in which yoga-pants-clad women wonder rhapsodically what the world would be like if everyone bought a bag of Sun Chips or organic cotton pajamas) demonstrate Wal-Mart's attempt to position itself as the ultimate green company. Is anyone buying this?

I'm not. And while I'm attempting to buy less of everything given the current recession and my family's commitment to lessen our footprint (and be kind to our bank account), I'll always have a soft place in my heart for Target. When I need a new digital camera or a couple sets of rubber boots for the kids, that will be my destination. Wal-Mart's environmental commitment won't win me over; I'm still too overwhelmed by the chaos of simply walking in my local Wal-Mart's doors. Until the chain does something to address its deserved reputation for poor customer service, badly-treated employees, and the carnival-madhouse atmosphere of its stores, I think Target will continue to win the Brand Showdown.

Vote in our poll for Target or Wal-Mart as your preferred brand, and let us know in the comments why you love it.

 

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]]>Sarah Gilbert2008-05-07T11:00:00+00:00