Archive for July, 2015

  • Earnings from AFLAC and Express Scripts
    , July 28th, 2015 at 8:16 pm

    After the closing bell, we had two more Buy List earnings reports. AFLAC (AFL) reported Q2 operating earnings of $1.50 per share. That was two cents below expectations. The weak yen knocked off 14 cents per share.

    For Q3, AFLAC sees earnings ranging between $1.40 and $1.53 per share. For the full year, AFLAC’s projects earnings of $5.88 to $6.17 per share. Wall Street had been expecting $1.48 and $5.97 per share. That assumes the yen averages 120 to 125 per dollar.

    Express Scripts (ESRX) made $1.44 per share which beat by four cents. For Q3, they offered guidance of $1.41 to $1.45 per share. Wall Street was at $1.43.

    ESRX also raised their full-year range to $5.46 to $5.54. The old range was $5.37 to $5.47 per share. This is the second time this year, they’ve revised full-year guidance. In April, they narrowed the range by two cents at both ends.

  • Ford’s Best Profit in 15 Years
    , July 28th, 2015 at 2:14 pm

  • Public Storage Continues to Rally
    , July 28th, 2015 at 10:41 am

    Four years ago, I highlighted Public Storage (PSA). The stock has continued to rally. Here’s a description:

    If the attic or garage are packed, Public Storage can help. The real estate investment trust (REIT), is one of the largest self-storage companies in the US. It operates more than 2,250 storage facilities comprising some 146 million sq. ft. of storage space in the US and more than 190 facilities in Europe (through its Shurgard Europe affiliate). The firm’s self-storage properties, located in densely populated areas, generate more than 90% of the company’s sales. Public Storage, which was founded in 1980, also rents trucks, and sells moving supplies such as locks, boxes, and packing supplies. It also owns about 42% of publicly traded PS Business Parks, an office building REIT.

    The stock reached a low of $6.25 per share in 1990. Today, it’s at $203 per share. But that doesn’t include the quarterly dividend which has risen from 20 cents in 1990 to $1.70 per share today. That means PSA was yielding 12.8% at its 1990 low. With dividends, the stock is up 100-fold in 25 years.

    So many people waste their time trying to find the “next Apple” or “next Google.” Few people think about the “next Public Storage.”

    Or the current one for that matter.

  • Ford Beat by 10 Cents per Share
    , July 28th, 2015 at 7:13 am

    Good news from Ford Motor (F) this morning. The automaker beat Q2 estimates by 10 cents per share.

    Ford Motor Co second-quarter earnings widely beat Wall Street expectations, based on the continued strength of its North American sales.

    Ford maintained its full-year 2015 forecast of an operating profit of between $8.5 billion to $9.5 billion.

    Ford made a net profit of $1.89 billion, or $0.47 per share. There were no one-time items and the 47 cents per share beat analyst expectations of 37 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

    Ford’s quarterly revenue of $37.3 billion also beat expectations of $35.34 billion.

    The stock is up near $15 this morning which is a 3% rise.

  • Morning News: July 28, 2015
    , July 28th, 2015 at 7:04 am

    British Economy Bounces Back Due to Rebounding Services Activity, Industrial Output

    China Shares Fall Again as Beijing Scrambles to Calm Markets

    Analyst Who Predicted Bottom for Shanghai Stocks Sees Further 14% Plunge

    Ford Posts 44% Jump in Profit

    Toyota’s Global Sales Dip 1.5% in First-Half of Year

    U.S. Forces Fiat Chrysler to Buy Back Trucks in Rarely Used Move

    BP Reports Second-Quarter Loss as Oil Spill Settlement Takes Toll

    DuPont Cuts Full-Year Outlook on Weak Farm Sales

    Pfizer Revenue Falls 7%

    Sanofi to Join Regeneron in Quest to Unleash Immune System on Cancer

    Hikma Pharmaceuticals to Buy Generic Drug Maker Roxane

    How David Taylor Should Manage His Own Onboarding As Procter & Gamble’s New CEO

    Honeywell to Buy Elster for $5.1 Billion

    Roger Nusbaum: Markets Wilt in Summer Heat

    Cullen Roche: The MV=Py Myth

    Be sure to follow me on Twitter.

  • Five Down Days in a Row
    , July 27th, 2015 at 5:05 pm

    The S&P 500 fell for the fifth day in a row. The index hasn’t had a six-day losing streak in three years (via Ryan Detrick).

    Thanks to Wabtec (WAB), our Buy List beat the S&P 500 for the fourth day in a row. We’re now at a relative strength high for the year. We’re 361 basis points ahead of the S&P 500 (4.03% to 0.42%).

  • DirecTV and AT&T Close the Deal
    , July 27th, 2015 at 1:25 pm

    Last May, I sent out a special CWS Market Review on the news of AT&T making a bid for DirecTV, one of our Buy List stocks.

    The announced deal was for $95 per share, but since it involved cash and stock, it might not be closed at that price.

    Ultimately, DTV shareholders got $28.50 in cash plus 1.892 shares of AT&T. That works out to $93.38 per share. Before there was chatter of this deal, DTV was around $77 per share. We did very well with DTV.

    At the end of last year, I decided to ditch DTV from the Buy List because I didn’t want AT&T. I have nothing against AT&T — it’s a fine company. If you just received your shares of AT&T along with your cash, there’s no reason to sell out now.

    The stock pays a good dividend, but I wouldn’t expect to see shares of T wander too far from $34.

  • Wabtec Rises on Acquisition
    , July 27th, 2015 at 10:01 am

    No earnings reports today for our Buy List but shares of Wabtec (WAB) have been up as much as 8.7% this morning. The company is buying Faiveley Transport SA, a French company for $1.8 billion.

    The transaction includes cash and stock and the assumption of Faiveley debt, Wabtec said Monday in a statement. Wilmerding, Pennsylvania-based Wabtec traces its roots to Westinghouse Air Brake, which was founded in 1869.

  • The FANG Stocks
    , July 27th, 2015 at 9:16 am

    I can’t verify this but with the S&P 500 up just 1% this year, I would imagine that taking out Amazon and Google, the index would be down for the year. Lately, there’s been talk of the FANG stocks; Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google.

    That isn’t quite accurate since Google wasn’t that strong a performer until its recent earnings report. Here’s a look at the growth of the FANG stocks over the last five years.

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  • Chinese Stocks Crash
    , July 27th, 2015 at 8:08 am

    The Shanghai Composite just had its biggest one-day fall in eight years. The index lost 8.48%.

    big07272015

    Analysts say investors fearful the government would curb its purchases of blue-chip stocks sparked Monday’s selling. Others said officials could be testing whether the market can support itself.

    Authorities may want to “test whether the market has recovered its resilience,” said Fu Xuejun, a strategist at Huarong Securities. “The government wants to use state funds to stabilize the market, not to prop it back to 5000 points overnight.”

    Earlier this month, 21 brokerages pledged to support the Shanghai index as long as it stayed below the 4500 level. Before Monday, China’s main stock market had rallied for three-straight weeks.