Stock Market News & Stocks to Watch from StraightStocks » Home Depot Inc

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Dr. Stock Pick — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:19:47 +0000

Dr Stock Pick HOT News & Alerts! _________________________________________ FREE Daily Stock Alerts From DrStockPick.com _________________________________________ Friday October 23, 2009 DrStockPick.com Stock Report! PSFT, VZ, PWRM, CSRH, HD, CVAT, MRK, AQNM, SGP ************************************************************** VZ, Verizon Communications Inc. VZ provides communication services in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Wireline and Domestic Wireless. Verizon Wireless, the nation’s largest wireless service provider, today announced [...]

Lowe’s Confirms 2009 Guidance – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:35:52 +0000

This morning, Lowe's Companies Inc. (LOW) backed its fiscal 2009 sales and earnings guidance, provided on August 17. The company maintains its earnings expectations between $1.13 and $1.21 for the fiscal year ending January 29, 2010.

Lowe’s expects total sales to decline about 3% from the previous year, while sales at established stores (same-store sales) are expected to decline between 7% and 9%. The company further stated that it might recognize impairments related to operating stores of up to $100 million during the second half due to uncertainty regarding an economic recovery.

For fiscal 2010, the company expects earnings per share to lie between $1.24 and $1.34. Total sales are expected to increase approximately 3% to 4%, with a comparable-store sales increase of approximately 1%.

As a reminder, Lowe's – the second biggest U.S. home improvement retailer behind Home Depot Inc (HD) – announced last month that it expected the North American market to start recovering in the first quarter of 2010 after a U.S. housing slump compelled homebuilders and consumers to put off major renovations and related purchases.

In central Milwaukee, Lowe's decided to shut down an unprofitable store that has struggled since commencement in 2005, with sales failing to pick up. However, the company intends to open between 62 and 66 stores in 2009. This reflects a growth of approximately 4% in total square footage. Store opening costs are expected to be about $50 million. In fiscal 2010, the company intends to open between 35 and 45 stores. This reflects approximately a 2%-2.5% growth in total square footage. Store opening costs are expected to be approximately $30 million.

We note that the company reported a 19% decrease in second-quarter profit, as sales dropped over 5% due to weak consumer sentiment, unseasonable weather and restrained customer spending. The uncertain economic situation compelled the company to scale back its store expansion plans for 2010. Lowe's stated that growth would be driven by prudent store expansion in underserved markets, both domestic and international.

The recent foray of Lowe's beyond North America came through a joint venture with Woolworths Ltd., the largest retailer in Australia. Lowe's is the second large U.S. retailer to expand into the Australian market this year, after Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) opened its first store in Melbourne.
Read the full analyst report on "LOW"
Read the full analyst report on "HD"
Read the full analyst report on "COST"
Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Synopsys Inc., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Home Depot Inc., Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. and Lowe Co.s Inc. – Press Releases

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:30:49 +0000

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 16, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Synopsys Inc. (SNPS), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSM), Home Depot Inc. (HD), Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (MSO) and Lowe Co.s Inc. (LOW).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

Synopsys Moves On

Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) recently announced the addition of a new major customer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSM). The latter has adopted Synopsys' HSIM hierarchical FastSPICE circuit simulator for its sub-40-nanometer, memory intellectual property characterization flow.

The HSIM technology will be used in TSM's advanced SRAM compilers for improvement in timing and power simulation techniques. It will also facilitate the process of full chip simulation process.

Home Depot Gets Martha's Touch

Home Depot Inc. (HD) recently signed a deal with diversified media and merchandising company Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (MSO) to create a new line of home improvement products.

The strategic move is aimed at outsmarting rival specialty retailers like Lowe Co.s Inc. (LOW). The new product line will primarily feature outdoor living, home organization and home decor items.

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Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

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Zacks Investment Research

In the Race for a U.S. Economic Rebound, Growing Debt and Budget Deficits Remain the Biggest Possible Roadblock

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:33:22 +0000

pEven as investors get more and more bullish about the outlook for the U.S. economy, the economy’s underlying foundation continues to erode./p pIn a report to be released this week, the Obama administration will boost its 10-year projection for the federal budget deficit to about $9 trillion – an increase of roughly $2 trillion, or 29%, from its prior projection, strongemFox News/em/strong reported over the weekend, citing a source from the a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/" target="_blank"Office of Management and Budget/a (OMB)./p pThe new cumulative deficit projection – for 2010-2019 – replaces the a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/21/official-obama-increase-year-deficit-trillion/?test=latestnews#38;test=health" target="_blank"administration’s previous estimate of $7.108 trillion./a Changes in budget projections – whether they result in a surplus or a deficit – are often refined as economic conditions change. This new projection was necessary because the recession has#8230;/p

Investment News Briefs Thursday June 11, 2009

Contrarian Profits — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:58:49 +0000

pFed’s Beige Book Shows Downturn Slowing; Home Depot Says Worst Is Over; ReFi Apps Slowest Since November; Senate Mulls Bigger Home Loan Tax Credit; U.S. Becomes Largest Shareholder in Citi; Rising Energy Costs Could Stunt Global Recovery; Top Economist Considering Senate Run/p ul type="disc" liThe U.S. economic downturn may be slowing, but conditions remained weak in almost half of its regions, the Federal Reserve reported in its a href="http://www.federalreserve.gov/fomc/beigebook/2009/default.htm"Beige Book/a business survey. “a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087#38;sid=aMi0fT35nN.g"Contacts from several districts said that their expectations have improved/a, though they do not see a substantial increase in economic activity through the end of the year,” the central bank said in the report. But the words “stable” or “stabilize” appeared in some form more than 60 times in yesterday’s (Wednesday’s) report,strong/strongaccording tostrongemBloomberg/em/strong. Many#8230;/li/ul

Investment News Briefs Thursday June 11, 2009

Contrarian Profits — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:58:49 +0000

Investment News Briefs Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Contrarian Profits — Wed, 20 May 2009 14:26:23 +0000

pAgricultural Bank of China Raises $7.3 Billion; Banks Applying to Repay TARP; Fiat CEO Confident About Opel Bid; World Bank Prez Sees Year-End Recovery; Derivatives Shrink to $592 Trillion; GE Reaches Debt Funding Goals for 2009; UAW #38; GM Still at Odds on Labor Agreement; Home Depot Beats Street /p ul type="disc" liAgricultural Bank of China raised 50 billion yuan ($7.3 billion) in the nation’s biggest corporate bond sale. The goal of the bond sale was to raise capital and a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601089#38;sid=aYf3CHbfb01Q#38;refer=china" target="_blank"help set up an initial public offering/a, strongemBloomberg /em/strongreported./li /ul ul type="disc" liA handful of banks have a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE54H62120090519" target="_blank"applied to repay the billions/a they borrowed from the U.S. government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Sources told strongemReuters/em/strong that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=gs" target="_blank"GS/a) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=ms" target="_blank"MS/a) are#8230;/li/ul

Home Depot Beats Despite Lackluster Sales – Zacks Tale of the Tape

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:09:13 +0000

Home Depot Inc.'s (HD) first-quarter adjusted earnings came ahead of Wall Street expectations despite lackluster sales.

The home-improvement retailer reported adjusted EPS of 35 cents, which topped the consensus estimate by 6 cents. The company posted adjusted earnings of 41 cents per share in the same period of fiscal 2008.

Home Depot's revenue fell 9.7% to $16.2 billion. Same-store sales were down 10.2%, while US-based same-store sales declined 8.6%.

"Our markets, and the consumer in general, remain under pressure," said CEO Frank Blake.

The Atlanta-based chain also stated that it continues to expect full-year sales to fall 9% and comparable store sales to decline in the high single digit area.

The consensus estimate on Home Depot's full-year earnings has increased by 3 cents over the past 30 days to $1.33 per share.

Yesterday, rival Lowe's Companies Inc. (LOW) also reported better-than-expected first-quarter results and boosted full-year earnings guidance.

Meanwhile, the US Commerce Department said today that new housing starts fell 12.8% to an annual rate of 458,000, a record low since 1959. This coupled with tight credit markets is likely to affect the performance of home-improvement retailers over the next several weeks.

Shares of Home Depot, a Zacks #3 Rank ("Hold") company, have slipped more than 5% to $24.70 in morning trade on volume of approximately 18.1 million, compared to average daily volume of about 18.7 million.

"HD" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

Home Depot CEO Pay Rises – Zacks Tale of the Tape

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:42:37 +0000

Home Depot Inc. (HD) Chief Executive Frank Blake took home a slightly higher annual pay in 2008 even as the retailer braces itself for a drop in per-share profit for the third consecutive year amid slumping sales.

According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Blake's total 2008 compensation was about $8.6 million including stock and option awards. This compares with an all-inclusive $8.3 million he earned in 2007. The home-improvement company said Blake declined a performance bonus of $1.2 million.

For the fiscal year Feb. 1, Home Depot's profit fell 49% to $2.26 billion, or $1.34 a share. The company said it froze 2009 salaries for all executives at year-ago levels even after laying off 7,000 workers. It also purged life insurance program and tax reimbursements for executives.

Home Depot shares fell nearly 4% to $22.66 in New York trading on Monday noon.

"HD" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

Lowe’s Treads Lower – Zacks Tale of the Tape

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 20:07:48 +0000

Lowe's Cos. Inc. (LOW) reported a 60% slump in quarterly earnings on Friday and guided to 2009 profit below market expectations as fewer consumers spent money on home-improvement items in the deepening economic crisis.

In the three-month period ending Jan. 30, Lowe's was forced to make aggressive discounts on seasonal products due to stiff competition. The company's fourth-quarter profit of $162 million, or 11 cents per share, fell a penny shy of the consensus estimate. Its quarterly revenue slipped 4% to $9.98 billion.

Chief Executive Robert Niblock said, "The economic pressures on consumers intensified in the fourth quarter, resulting in a further decline in consumer confidence and dramatic reductions in consumer spending." Lowe's also forecast earnings in the range of $1.04 and $1.20 per share for 2009 while analysts were expecting $1.50.

Though the Mooresville, North Carolina-based retailer said it gained market share from rival Home Depot Inc. (HD) during the latest quarter, investors stayed away from Lowe's and sent its shares down 6% to $15.98. Home Depot, which is scheduled to report quarterly results next week, fell 4% to $19.29 at noon on the New York Stock Exchange.

"LOW" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

Is Washington Replacing Wall Street as the City That Drives America?

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:21:12 +0000

pIs Washington replacing New York – and more specifically, Wall Street – as the city that drives America?/p pThe question, a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE50T6R820090130" target="_blank"raised in a new strongemReuters/em/strong piece/a, is certainly a good one – and a fair one./p pAs the United States suffers through perhaps its worst financial crisis ever – a crisis caused by the combination of rampant greed and some ill-conceived financial engineering – Wall Street’s reputation has been badly tarnished, perhaps forever./p pMoving forward, two results will be a tightening of financial regulation and an increase in government control of the financial markets. We’ll also end up with a federal government that more closely controls – and in some cases owns stakes in – banks and other financial institutions, a move that some#8230;/p

Black Monday Brings Massive Layoffs – Economists Say Some Jobs Could be Gone for Good

Money Morning — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:30:06 +0000

By Don miller Associate Editor Money Morning The unemployment picture took on an even more ominous tone this week as new layoffs emphatically underscored a worsening global economy. Now,... Money Morning is here to help investors profit h...

Global Investing Roundups Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

Contrarian Profits — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:15:45 +0000

HP Beats 4Q Forecasts; Carrefour Milks New CEO From Nestle; InBev Officially Closes Anheuser Buy; Home Depot Beats 3Q Estimate; Gulf Bank Loses $1.4 Billion; Mexican Tycoon Interested in Circuit City; Wholesale Prices Plummet

Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), the world’s largest maker of personal computers, offered a preview of its fiscal fourth-quarter profits – reporting that it will beat market expectations and raise its fiscal 2009 outlook. “HP is gaining market share in an extremely strong competitive position. They’ve got share gains, combined with very aggressive cost reduction,” Shannon Cross of Cross Research told Reuters.

Lars Olofsson, Executive Vice President of Nestle SA, has been named Chief Executive Officer of Carrefour S.A., the world’s second-largest retailer. He’ll join the company in at the Carrefour’s…

U.S. Automakers, Freddie Mac (FRE) and Foreign Exporters Next in Line for Bailout Handouts

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 13:02:19 +0000

This week is shaping up to be another active one on the bailout-and-financing front. First and foremost, Congress returns to work this week to consider a once-unthinkable proposal: Put up billions in taxpayer-backed loans so that Detroit’s “Big Three” can be saved. Expect a fight, however, as the bailout debate finally moves past banks to focus on General Motors Corp. (GM), Ford Motor Co. (F), and Chrysler Corp.

The situation is dire. GM is burning through cash at a pace that could mean bankruptcy, and all three players are struggling with high costs, weak vehicle sales, frozen credit lines and dwindling cash reserves calling into question whether they can survive much longer without government help. The answer, of course, is that…

Georgia Stocks

Fred Fuld — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:24:00 +0000

As one of the states with the largest manufacturing industries in the country, it is no mystery as to why Georgia ranks as one of the top consumers of energy. Some interesting facts on what is the world 28th largest economy follow:

1. The travel industry contributes around $20 billion a year to the state economy.
2. Georgia’s bioscience industry generates 15,000 jobs.
3. Over 250 bioscience companies are headquartered in the state.
4. The Georgia paper industry is second only to Alabama, and it employs 26,000 workers.
5. The state has the largest commercial forest in the country, which produce over $19 billion in revenue and employ more than 150,000 people.
6. The food processing industry generates more than 70,000 jobs, and produces sales receipt of over $16 billion a year.
7. The largest manufacturing employer is the textile-carpet industry which employs over 100,000 workers and produces more than $2.5 billion in revenue annually.
8. There are over 700 textile companies headquartered in Georgia.
9. The mining industry of non fuel minerals produces $1.8 billion in income, and it employs over 9,000 workers.
10. Georgia’s clay production amounts to 24% of total U.S. production

The following companies are headquartered in Georgia:

The Coca-Cola Company (KO) makes, delivers and sells non alcoholic beverages around the globe. The stock has a market cap of $102.17 billion, a PE of 18, a PEG of 1.61, and it pays a yield of 3.4%.

United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) is a parcel delivery firm, and it operates worldwide. The stock has a market cap of $50.95 billion, a PE of 247, a PEG of 1.36, and it pays a yield of 3.5%.

Home Depot, Inc. (HD) is a retailer of home improvement products in North America. The stock has a market cap of $34.33 billion, a PE of 10, a PEG of 1.06, and it pays a yield of 4.5%.

Southern Company (SO) produces and markets electricity in the south. The stock has a market cap of $25.79 billion. A PE of 15, a PEG of 2.74, and it pays a dividend of 5.2%.

Aflac Incorporated (AFL) is a life and health insurance company in the United States and Japan. The stock has a market cap of $20.54 billion, a PE of 12, a PEG of 0.74, and it pays a yield of 2.3%.

SunTrust Banks, Inc (STI) is a financial institution providing services to individuals and businesses in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $14.81 billion, a PE of 12, a PEG of 2.49, and it pays a yield of 7%.

Invesco Ltd. (IVZ) is an investment management company providing management services in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a PE of 9, and it pays a yield of 1.4%.

Oca Cola Enterprises, Inc. (CCE) makes, distributes and sells nonalcoholic drinks. The stock has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a PEG of 1.27 and it pays a yield of 2.5%.

Genuine Parts Company (GPC) is a distributor of industrial and automobile parts in North America. The stock has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a PE of 11, a PEG of 1.30, and it pays a yield of 5.0%.

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) is an online marketplace for the trading of securities and commodities. The stock has a market cap of $5.49 billion, a PE of 19, and a PEG of 0.67.

Don't forget to check out the stocks from the states of Wisconsin, Louisiana, Michigan, and Kentucky.

Author owns UPS.

By Stockerblog.com

Worrisome Stagflation Becomes More Real All the Time

William Patalon lll — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 23:22:47 +0000

By William Patalon III Executive Editor Money Morning/The Money Map Report U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke didn’t use the "S" word - stagflation - but he might as well... Money Morning is here to help investors profit hand...

Home Depot (HD) Insiders buying back in Spades

Frank Lara — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 18:03:18 +0000

Its no secret The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) and Lowe's (NYSE:LOW) stock has taken a huge hit in recent months. But HD officers are laying their money on the line, buying up shares with the utmost confidence in their company. Since May Insider buying of HD shares totals $107.4 million. So should you be buying with them?