Stock Market News & Stocks to Watch from StraightStocks » Louisiana

American Electric to Buy Assets – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:05:10 +0000

American Electric Power Co. Inc.’s (AEP) subsidiary Southwestern Electric Power Co. signed a letter of intent to buy transmission and distribution assets worth $94 million from the Valley Electric Membership Corp. Southwestern Electric’s acquisition of the cooperative will double its presence in Louisiana.

Valley Electric Membership Corp. is a Louisiana cooperative with more than 7,000 miles of distribution lines, 90 miles of transmission lines and 29 substations. Southwestern Electric expects to shell out $124 million overall for the deal. Although this is over the value of the assets, the company would be adding 30,000 customers of the cooperative.

A deal is expected to be formalized by the end of fiscal 2009, with a formal vote on the dissolution of the cooperative expected by February 2010. However, a number of regulatory approvals are required, as well as approval from the board of American Electric Power.

Southwestern Electric currently serves more than 473,500 customers in three states, including 180,000 in Northwest Louisiana, 113,500 in western Arkansas, and 180,000 in East and North Texas. The subsidiary is based in Shreveport, Louisiana.

The parent company, American Electric, is one of the largest public utility holding companies catering to approximately 5.2 million customers spread over 11 states. Increasing the headcount of customers will boost the dwindling fortunes of the utility.

In the recently reported quarter of fiscal 2009, American Electric’s revenues fell 17% to $3.5 billion from $4.2 billion in the year-ago quarter. A tepid economy, coupled with a summer cooler than average, affected electricity demand. The downturn affected demand for industrial customers most. Industrial retail sales fell 16.9% year-over-year. Commercial retail sales also fell 1.2%. However, residential retail sales remain stagnant.

We maintain our cautious Neutral recommendation on the stock.

Read the full analyst report on "AEP"
Zacks Investment Research

CNP & FPL Ink Pipeline Deal – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:36:00 +0000

A subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy Inc. (CNP) and NextEra US Gas Assets LLC, an affiliate of FPL Group Inc. (FPL) signed an agreement to explore the construction of a pipeline in north Louisiana. The new pipeline will transport natural gas from the Haynesville Shale area.

The expected capacity of the potential new pipeline is up to 2.0 billion cubic feet per day. The pipeline would connect Haynesville Shale natural gas production to markets in north Louisiana and CenterPoint Energy's Perryville Hub.

The companies announced that an open season will be held to gauge market interest in the proposed new pipeline.

With the development of the new pipeline, CenterPoint and FPL Group expect to enhance the existing infrastructure in the rapidly expanding Haynesville Shale area. Gas production in north Louisiana, including the rapidly developing Haynesville Shale, remains robust. The new pipeline would assist producers with Haynesville and north Louisiana acreage, creating another option for their production.

Assuming adequate expressions of interest are received and management approval from both companies, a joint venture entity will be formed that would execute binding precedent agreements and seek necessary regulatory approvals to place the pipeline into service as quickly as possible. Each company would own an equal equity interest in the new pipeline. CenterPoint Energy's pipeline group would design and oversee construction, and ultimately operate the new pipeline.
Read the full analyst report on "CNP"
Read the full analyst report on "FPL"
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Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: JPMorgan Chase, Fifth Third Bancorp, Zions Bancorp, SunTrust Banks and PNC Financial – Press Releases

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:45:23 +0000

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 17, 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: JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), Zions Bancorp (ZION), SunTrust Banks (STI) and PNC Financial (PNC).

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Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

Bank Failures Rise to 123

The failed banks were -- Century Bank, FSB of Sarasota, Florida with $728 million in assets and $631 million in deposits, Orion Bank of Naples, Florida with about $2.7 billion in assets and $2.1 billion in deposits and Pacific Coast National Bank of San Clemente, California with $134.4 million in assets and $130.9 million in deposits.

These bank failures represent another sizable impact on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) fund for protecting customer accounts, as it has been appointed receiver for these banks. The failure of Century Bank is expected to cost the deposit insurance fund about $344 million, Orion Bank’s failure will cost about $615 million and the failure of Pacific Coast National Bank is expected to cost about $27.4 million.

The FDIC insures deposits at 8,195 institutions with roughly $13.5 trillion in assets. When a bank fails, it reimburses customers for deposits of up to $250,000 per account. The outbreak of bank failures has significantly stretched the regulator’s deposit insurance fund. At Jun 30, 2009, the fund corpus fell to $10.4 billion, the lowest since 1993, from $13.0 billion in the prior quarter.

IberiaBank, based in Lafayette, Louisiana will assume both Florida-based banks' $2.731 billion in deposits. Iberiabank also entered into a loss-share agreement with the FDIC on $656 million of Century Bank's assets and on $1.9 billion of Orion Bank's assets.

Tustin, California-based Sunwest Bank will assume all of Pacific Coast National Bank's deposits and essentially all of its assets.

In the second quarter of 2009, the number of banks on the FDIC's list of problem institutions grew to 416 from 305 in the first quarter. This is the highest since the savings and loan crisis in 1994.   Increasing loan losses on commercial real estate are expected to cause hundreds more bank failures in the next few years. The FDIC anticipates the bank failures to cost about $100 billion over the next four years.

In order to replenish the declining fund, the FDIC board recently mandated the U.S. banks to pay fees for three years in advance. Also, the regulators are considering requesting the healthy banks to bail out the government soon as it is necessary to replenish the deposit insurance fund, which has slipped to 0.22% of insured deposits, below the mandated minimum of 1.15%. The FDIC also has access to the Treasury Department credit line of up to $500 billion.

The failure of Washington Mutual last year was the largest in U.S. banking history. It was acquired by JPMorgan Chase (JPM). The other major acquirers of failed institutions since 2008 include Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), Zions Bancorp (ZION), SunTrust Banks (STI) and PNC Financial (PNC).

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Zacks Investment Research

Bank Failures Rise to 123 – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:01:28 +0000

Regulators shut down 2 banks in Florida and 1 in California; U.S. bank failures reach 123 this year.

U.S. regulators on Friday shuttered two more banks in Florida and one in California. Though there are some early signs of economic recovery, bank failures continue unabated. This takes the total number of bank failures to 123, compared to 25 in 2008 and 3 in 2007.

The weak economy continues to weigh heavily on banks with a stream of loan defaults. As the industry has to tolerate bad loans that were made during the credit explosion, the trouble in the banking system goes even deeper, increasing the possibility of more bank failures. However, the regulators are trying to avoid panic by seizing banks slowly. Also, the slow seizing could be a strategy as it is hard to get buyers for so many failed banks.

The failed banks were -- Century Bank, FSB of Sarasota, Florida with $728 million in assets and $631 million in deposits, Orion Bank of Naples, Florida with about $2.7 billion in assets and $2.1 billion in deposits and Pacific Coast National Bank of San Clemente, California with $134.4 million in assets and $130.9 million in deposits.

These bank failures represent another sizable impact on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) fund for protecting customer accounts, as it has been appointed receiver for these banks. The failure of Century Bank is expected to cost the deposit insurance fund about $344 million, Orion Bank’s failure will cost about $615 million and the failure of Pacific Coast National Bank is expected to cost about $27.4 million.

The FDIC insures deposits at 8,195 institutions with roughly $13.5 trillion in assets. When a bank fails, it reimburses customers for deposits of up to $250,000 per account. The outbreak of bank failures has significantly stretched the regulator’s deposit insurance fund. At Jun 30, 2009, the fund corpus fell to $10.4 billion, the lowest since 1993, from $13.0 billion in the prior quarter.

IberiaBank, based in Lafayette, Louisiana will assume both Florida-based banks' $2.731 billion in deposits. Iberiabank also entered into a loss-share agreement with the FDIC on $656 million of Century Bank's assets and on $1.9 billion of Orion Bank's assets.

Tustin, California-based Sunwest Bank will assume all of Pacific Coast National Bank's deposits and essentially all of its assets.

In the second quarter of 2009, the number of banks on the FDIC's list of problem institutions grew to 416 from 305 in the first quarter. This is the highest since the savings and loan crisis in 1994.   Increasing loan losses on commercial real estate are expected to cause hundreds more bank failures in the next few years. The FDIC anticipates the bank failures to cost about $100 billion over the next four years.

In order to replenish the declining fund, the FDIC board recently mandated the U.S. banks to pay fees for three years in advance. Also, the regulators are considering requesting the healthy banks to bail out the government soon as it is necessary to replenish the deposit insurance fund, which has slipped to 0.22% of insured deposits, below the mandated minimum of 1.15%. The FDIC also has access to the Treasury Department credit line of up to $500 billion.

The failure of Washington Mutual last year was the largest in U.S. banking history. It was acquired by JPMorgan Chase (JPM). The other major acquirers of failed institutions since 2008 include Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), U.S. Bancorp, Zions Bancorp (ZION), SunTrust Banks (STI), PNC Financial (PNC), BB&T Corporation (BBT) and Regions Financial (RF).

The failed banks are victims of recession and rising loan losses. As a result of the ongoing market turmoil, these institutions experienced massive capital erosion stemming from losses due to a significant exposure to collateralized mortgage obligations, commercial real estate loans and other commercial and industrial loans. All these factors were responsible for a drag on profitability and write-downs.  

According to the FDIC, the bank failures have cost the federal deposit insurance fund more than $28 billion so far this year. Though current signals indicate that the economy may stabilize, we expect loan losses on commercial real estate portfolio to remain high for banks that hold large amounts of high-risk loans.
Read the full analyst report on "JPM"
Read the full analyst report on "FITB"
Read the full analyst report on "ZION"
Read the full analyst report on "STI"
Read the full analyst report on "PNC"
Read the full analyst report on "BBT"
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Zacks Investment Research

PWRM, CELG, DrStockPick.com Stock Report! Power 3 Medical Products Inc. and Celgene Corporation

Dr. Stock Pick — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:34:19 +0000

Dr Stock Pick HOT News & Alerts! _________________________________________ FREE Daily Stock Alerts From DrStockPick.com _________________________________________ Wednesday November 11, 2009 DrStockPick.com Stock Report! PWRM, CELG ************************************************************** PWRM, Power 3 Medical Products Inc, PWRM.OB Power3 Medical Products, Inc. is a leading bio-medical company engaged in the commercialization of neurodegenerative disease and cancer biomarkers, pathways, and mechanisms of diseases through the development of diagnostic tests and drug [...]

TrinityCare Senior Living, Inc. (TCSR.OB) Plans to Triple Size of Operations

QualityStocks — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:27:40 +0000

TrinityCare Senior Living, Inc., the developer and manager of quality senior-living facilities focusing on enriching the faith of the residents and providing state-of-the-art independent living, assisted living, memory care and adult day care services, recently announced the company’s aggressive expansion strategy for 2010. TrinityCare Senior Living expects to triple the number of residential units currently [...]

Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: AT&T Inc, Centennial Communications Corp, Verizon, JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. and AutoNation – Press Releases

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:30:32 +0000

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 11, 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: AT&T Inc (T), Centennial Communications Corp (CYCL), Verizon (VZ), JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (JASO) and AutoNation (AN).

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:

AT&T Completes CYCL Acquisition

As per the agreement terms, shareholders of Centennial will receive $8.50 in cash for every share they own, equating to approximately $944 million. Including net debt, the aggregate value of the deal is $2.7 billion. AT&T will take appropriate steps to redeem all of Centennial’s outstanding debts. AT&T expects minimal dilution to earnings and cash flow in 2009 given the upfront integration costs.

The acquisition has expanded AT&T’s wireless coverage to include the rural areas of the Midwest and Southeast regions of the US as well as Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, adding 893,000 new subscribers. The acquisition will also offer operational synergies and improve the service quality of AT&T’s wireless network in specific markets.

As per the demand of the US regulators, AT&T will divest certain Centennial assets in eight markets across Louisiana (central and southern) and southwestern Mississippi as the acquisition may potentially hurt consumer interest in these regions. As part of this requirement, AT&T will sell wireless assets in five of the eight markets to its rival operator Verizon (VZ) for $240 million. Moreover, AT&T has committed to continue Centennial's existing roaming agreements with other carriers for at least four years.

JA Solar Gains Strength in Q3

JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (JASO) announced adjusted earnings per American Depositary Share (EPADS) of RMB 0.66 (10 cents) in its fiscal third quarter, which exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7 cents. The performance improvement came from higher shipments along with growing margins.

In the reported quarter, revenues rose 119.6% to RMB 1.3 billion ($193.3 million), as compared to RMB 600.7 million ($88.0 million) reported in the previous quarter. However, revenues fell 37.8% when compared to year-ago quarterly revenue of RMB 2.1 billion ($310.7 million).

JA Solar’s shipments were a company record of 177MW in the quarter. In the prior quarter, shipments were only 77MW, representing a sequential growth of 129.9%. In the year-ago quarter also, shipments were only 99MW, representing shipment growth of 78.8%.

AutoNation Predicts Gloomy 2010

AutoNation (AN) has sketched its industry outlook, revealing a gloomy 2010 preceding an improvement in the years following. The company stated that it anticipates a marginal rise in industry sales to 11 million cars and trucks from the current-year rate of 10 million vehicles. This was in stark contrast to an annual rate of more than 16 million vehicles ticked earlier this decade.

AutoNation blamed tight credit for pulling down sales this year. However, sales will hit bottom in 2009. Many banks have kept their credit standards extremely high for car loans, which is depressing the industry sales despite continuous efforts taken by the government to ease credit standards.

Further, job loss and stability in housing prices are also an issue. Thus, the Richmond, Virginia-based automotive retailer -- the largest in the U.S. -- expects the industry to recoup sales gradually by 2011 and beyond.

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Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5517

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Fluor Matches Estimates – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:36:45 +0000

Fluor Corporation (FLR) reported third quarter earnings per share of 89 cents, matching the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Revenue declined by 4% to $5.4 billion, which compares with $5.7 billion in the third quarter of 2008. This change was driven primarily by decreases in the Oil & Gas and Power segments. Revenue in both Industrial & Infrastructure and Government segments was up from last year.

While three of the five business segments reported earnings growth over 2008, the Oil & Gas segment profit declined by 8% and the Global Services segment profit was impacted by a $45 million provision relating to a collection issue on a completed paper mill revamp project.

New project awards for the quarter were $2.9 billion, compared with record awards of $8.8 billion a year ago. Consolidated backlog at the end of the quarter was $28 billion. This represents a $2.9 billion increase from the last quarter and a 23% decrease from a year ago. During the quarter, it removed approximately $1.2 billion from backlog for gas processing expansion project in Russia, which has been delayed indefinitely by the client. Including this project, the cancellations and scope reductions for this year now stand at an accumulative $5.3 billion.

Fluor’s Oil & Gas segment reported quarterly revenue of $2.9 billion, down 11% from the third quarter of 2008, while segment profit declined 8% to $189 million. Declines in both revenue and segment profits reflect declining new award and backlog levels in the recent quarters.

Fluor’s Industrial & Infrastructure segment reported a 26% revenue increase to $1.1 billion and a 49% rise in segment profit to $42 million, reflecting increases in both the infrastructure and mining and metals business lines. Segment profit in the third quarter of 2008 included the impact of a $16 million provision relating to the London Connect infrastructure project.

Revenue for the Government segment rose by 47% to $544 million for the reported quarter. Segment profit for the quarter increased 34% to $24 million, compared to $18 million a year ago. Growth in results can primarily be attributed to contributions from the Savannah River project and LOGCAP IV task orders in Afghanistan.

The Global Services segment reported revenue of $529 million, down 11% from the third quarter of last year. Segment profit was $0.5 million compared with $49 million a year ago, with the majority of the decline attributable to a $45 million provision for the collection issue on the completed paper mill revamp project in Louisiana.

Fluor’s Power segment reported revenue of $317 million, down 40% from the third quarter of 2008. While the segment has continued to replenish backlog throughout the year, revenue declined as a large coal-fired project in Texas progressed closer to completion.

Due to collection issue and recent order cancellations, Fluor has lowered its 2009 earnings guidance to a range of $3.75 to $3.90 per share. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate is $3.85.

Cash and equivalents were $2.3 billion, with negligible long-term debt and shareowners’ equity at $3.1 billion.

Fluor Corporation also announced that its board elected David Seaton to the newly created position of chief operating officer, effective immediately. Seaton, 48, will oversee all five of the company's operating business groups, along with Project Operations, a unit formed earlier this year. He joined Fluor in 1984.

Fluor Corporation through its subsidiaries provides engineering, procurement, construction management, and project management services worldwide. Fluor Corporation was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas. Major competitors include ABB Ltd (ABB) and Foster Wheeler AG (FWLT).
Read the full analyst report on "FLR"
Read the full analyst report on "ABB"
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Zacks Investment Research

AT&T Completes CYCL Acquisition – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:45:17 +0000

AT&T Inc (T) has reportedly completed its much anticipated acquisition of Centennial Communications Corp (CYCL), the eighth largest US wireless carrier by subscribers. This follows the recent approvals of the transaction by the US Department of Justice and US telecom regulator Federal Communications Commission (“FCC"). The transaction, which was originally set to complete in second-quarter 2009, is now officially closed.

As per the agreement terms, shareholders of Centennial will receive $8.50 in cash for every share they own, equating to approximately $944 million. Including net debt, the aggregate value of the deal is $2.7 billion. AT&T will take appropriate steps to redeem all of Centennial’s outstanding debts. AT&T expects minimal dilution to earnings and cash flow in 2009 given the upfront integration costs.

The acquisition has expanded AT&T’s wireless coverage to include the rural areas of the Midwest and Southeast regions of the US as well as Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, adding 893,000 new subscribers. The acquisition will also offer operational synergies and improve the service quality of AT&T’s wireless network in specific markets.

As per the demand of the US regulators, AT&T will divest certain Centennial assets in eight markets across Louisiana (central and southern) and southwestern Mississippi as the acquisition may potentially hurt consumer interest in these regions. As part of this requirement, AT&T will sell wireless assets in five of the eight markets to its rival operator Verizon (VZ) for $240 million. Moreover, AT&T has committed to continue Centennial's existing roaming agreements with other carriers for at least four years.

Top-tier US carriers are increasingly focused on acquisitions in order to expand subscriber base and coverage zones as the US subscriber population reaches maturity. AT&T was dethroned by Verizon as the largest wireless carrier in North America in early 2009 with the latter’s acquisition of Alltel Corp. Centennial acquisition brings AT&T on the level playing field, allowing it to more effectively compete with its archrival Verizon.

AT&T plans to launch its products and services in January 2010 in Centennial’s more than 100 retail locations across the US . Existing Centennial customers have the option to keep their current wireless service plans or they can switch to AT&T’s rate plans by paying applicable charges. AT&T will continue Centennial brand in Puerto Rico till mid-2010 and will launch its own products/services during third-quarter 2010. Moreover, AT&T plans to roll out 3G services in more than 200 sites in Centennial’s markets.

However, AT&T is expected to face integration problems as Centennial’s CDMA technology based wireless operations in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are not yet compatible with AT&T’s GSM wireless architecture. This may result in added costs for migrating cellular users to a uniform network platform.
Read the full analyst report on "T"
Read the full analyst report on "CYCL"
Read the full analyst report on "VZ"
Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: JP Morgan Chase, U.S. Bancorp, Zions Bancorp, SunTrust Banks and PNC Financial – Press Releases

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:45:35 +0000

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 10, 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: JP Morgan Chase (JPM), U.S. Bancorp (USB), Zions Bancorp (ZION), SunTrust Banks (STI) and PNC Financial (PNC).

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 Monday’s Analyst Blog:

Bank Failure Tally Reaches 120

The FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Ameris Bank, Moultrie, Georgia, to assume all of the deposits of United Security Bank; Liberty Bank and Trust Company, New Orleans, Louisiana, to assume all of the deposits of Home Federal Savings Bank; Alerus Financial, National Association, Grand Forks, North Dakota, to assume all of the deposits of Prosperan Bank; Central Bank of Kansas City to assume all of the deposits of Gateway Bank of St. Louis; and East West Bank, Pasadena, California, to assume all of the deposits of United Commercial Bank.

In order to replenish the declining fund, the FDIC board recently proposed that approximately 8,100 insured U.S. banks and savings institutions should pay fees for three years in advance. Also, the regulators are considering requesting the healthy banks to bail out the government as soon as it is necessary to replenish the deposit insurance fund, which has slipped to 0.22% of insured deposits, below the mandated minimum of 1.15%.  

In the second quarter of 2009, the number of banks on the FDIC's list of problem institutions grew to 416 from 305 in the first quarter. This is the highest since the savings and loan crisis in 1994. Increasing loan losses on commercial real estate are expected to cause hundreds more bank failures in the next few years. The FDIC anticipates the bank failures to cost about $100 billion over the next four years.  

The failure of Washington Mutual last year was the largest in U.S. history. It was acquired by JP Morgan Chase (JPM). Other major acquirers of failed institutions since 2008 include U.S. Bancorp (USB), Zions Bancorp (ZION), SunTrust Banks (STI), PNC Financial (PNC), to name a few.

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About Zacks Equity Research

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5517

About Zacks

Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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Zacks Investment Research

Bank Failure Tally Reaches 120 – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:00:26 +0000

Regulators shut down 5 more banks in Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and California; tally hits 120 so far this year

U.S. regulators on Friday shuttered five more institutions in Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and California , as the recession continues to take its toll on banks. This takes the total number to 120, compared to 25 in 2008 and 3 in 2007.

As the industry has to tolerate bad loans that were made during the credit explosion, the trouble in the banking system goes even deeper, increasing the possibility of more failures. However, the regulators are trying to avoid panic by seizing banks slowly. Also, the slow pace of seizing could be a strategy as it is hard to get buyers for so many failed banks.

The failed banks were -- Georgia-based United Security Bank of Sparta with total assets of $157 million and total deposits of approximately $150 million, Michigan-based Home Federal Savings Bank of Detroit with total assets of $14.9 million and total deposits of approximately $12.8 million, Minnesota-based Prosperan Bank of Oakdale with total assets of $199.5 million and total deposits of approximately $175.6 million, Missouri-based Gateway Bank of St. Louis with total assets of $27.7 million and total deposits of approximately $27.9 million and California-based United Commercial Bank of San Francisco with total assets of $11.2 billion and total deposits of approximately $7.5 billion.

Failure of these institutions represents another sizable impact on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) fund for protecting customer accounts, as it has been appointed receiver for these banks. The failure of United Commercial Bank alone is expected to cost the federal deposit insurance fund approximately $1.4 billion. The other failures are expected to cost the deposit insurance fund a combined $132.7 million.  

The FDIC insures deposits at 8,195 institutions with roughly $13.5 trillion in assets. When a bank fails, it reimburses customers for deposits of up to $250,000 per account. The outbreak of financial institutions failing has significantly stretched the regulator’s deposit insurance fund.

At Jun 30, 2009, the fund corpus fell to $10.4 billion, the lowest since 1993, from $13.0 billion in the prior quarter. However, the FDIC has billions of loss reserves apart from the insurance fund and it can access a Treasury credit line of up to $500 billion.

The FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Ameris Bank, Moultrie, Georgia, to assume all of the deposits of United Security Bank; Liberty Bank and Trust Company, New Orleans, Louisiana, to assume all of the deposits of Home Federal Savings Bank; Alerus Financial, National Association, Grand Forks, North Dakota, to assume all of the deposits of Prosperan Bank; Central Bank of Kansas City to assume all of the deposits of Gateway Bank of St. Louis; and East West Bank, Pasadena, California, to assume all of the deposits of United Commercial Bank.

In order to replenish the declining fund, the FDIC board recently proposed that approximately 8,100 insured U.S. banks and savings institutions should pay fees for three years in advance. Also, the regulators are considering requesting the healthy banks to bail out the government as soon as it is necessary to replenish the deposit insurance fund, which has slipped to 0.22% of insured deposits, below the mandated minimum of 1.15%.  

In the second quarter of 2009, the number of banks on the FDIC's list of problem institutions grew to 416 from 305 in the first quarter. This is the highest since the savings and loan crisis in 1994. Increasing loan losses on commercial real estate are expected to cause hundreds more bank failures in the next few years. The FDIC anticipates the bank failures to cost about $100 billion over the next four years.  

The failure of Washington Mutual last year was the largest in U.S. history. It was acquired by JP Morgan Chase (JPM). The other major acquirers of failed institutions since 2008 include Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), U.S. Bancorp (USB), Zions Bancorp (ZION), SunTrust Banks (STI), PNC Financial (PNC), BB&T Corporation (BBT) and Regions Financial (RF).  

The failed banks are victims of recession and rising loan losses. As a result of the ongoing market turmoil, these institutions experienced massive capital erosion stemming from losses due to a significant exposure to collateralized mortgage obligations, commercial real estate loans and other commercial and industrial loans. All these factors were responsible for a drag on profitability and write-downs.

According to the FDIC, the U.S. banks overall lost $3.7 billion in the second quarter of 2009, compared to a profit of $7.6 billion in the prior quarter. Though there are some signs of economic recovery, we expect loan losses on commercial real estate portfolio to remain high for banks that hold large amounts of high-risk loans.
Read the full analyst report on "JPM"
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Zacks Investment Research

11-6-09 Daily Small Cap Market News and Stock Highlights from SmallCapVoice.com

Stuart T. Smith — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:37:34 +0000

Stocks rise on GE upgrade despite weak employment data U.S. stocks rose on Friday as investors took heart after the government said monthly payroll losses slowed, even as unemployment rose above 10 percent. General Electric Co shares jumped more than 5 percent after a brokerage upgrade, and helped lead the industrial sector higher. The market had opened lower [...]

TIE Technologies Announces Award of Smart Levee Project

Stuart T. Smith — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:43:57 +0000

NEW YORK, Nov. 5, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TIE Technologies, Inc. (Pink Sheets:TTCS) today announces its participation in the Intelligent Flood Protection Monitoring, Warning and Response System (IFPRMWRS) DNR RSIQ No. 2503-09-21 project awarded by the State of Louisiana to Geocomp and their ‘I-Levee Team’ associates. TIE Technologies, as a named sub contractor under Geocomp in [...]

AKAM, CPE, DTCT, DrStockPick.com Watch List! for Thursday October 29, 2009, Akamai Technologies Inc., Callon Petroleum Co. and Diatect International Corp., DTCT.OB

Dr. Stock Pick — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:29:26 +0000

Dr Stock Pick HOT News & Alerts! _________________________________________ FREE Daily Stock Alerts From DrStockPick.com _________________________________________ DrStockPick.com Watch List! My Picks for Thursday October 29, 2009, are: ************************************************************** AKAM, Akamai Technologies Inc. AKAM provides market-leading managed services for powering video, dynamic transactions, and enterprise applications online. AKAM’s Revenue for the third quarter 2009 was $206.5 million, a 5 percent increase over third quarter 2008 [...]

Kinder Morgan Raises Distribution – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:15:30 +0000

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP) reported its third quarter results of 40 cents per limited partner unit versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 38 cents and year-earlier earnings of 54 cents. All the business segments experienced year over year growth except for the CO2 business, which was negatively impacted by significantly lower crude oil prices.

Importantly, the partnership increased its quarterly distribution by 3% to $1.05 per unit ($4.20 annualized) from $1.02 per unit ($4.08 annualized) in the year-ago quarter. The new distribution is payable on Nov 13 to unitholders of record on Oct 30, 2009.

Kinder Morgan’s distributable cash flow for the quarter before one-time items was $320 million, up 14% year over year. Distributable cash flow per unit was $1.12, up nearly 3% year over year.

The Product Pipeline segment registered earnings before depreciation, depletion and amortization (DD&A) of $166.7 million, up 19% from the year-ago period, mainly driven by improved warehousing margins at West Coast terminal facilities, higher tariffs on the Pacific system and higher ethanol revenues on the Central Florida Pipeline as well as at Southeast Terminals.

Earnings before DD&A in the Natural Gas Pipelines segment were up 10% from the year-earlier level to $194.8 million, primarily driven by the outstanding performance of new pipeline projects. In the Carbon Dioxide segment, earnings before DD&A decreased more than 2% from the year-earlier level to $198.6 million, due to significantly lower crude oil prices.

The Terminals segment’s earnings before DD&A were $144 million, up 9% year-over-year, with higher liquids capacity at Houston Ship Channel operations and contributions from its Geismar , Louisiana , drumming facility which came online in the first quarter of 2009. The Kinder Morgan Canada segment produced earnings before DD&A of $47.7 million, up 20% year over year. This growth was mainly driven by higher throughput on the Trans Mountain pipeline system.

We believe Kinder Morgan’s stable, fee-based, well-diversified asset base is likely to continue leading to additional growth opportunities and also provide earnings and cash flow visibility. We expect a sound cash flow growth in the next year from full-year contribution of three large natural gas pipeline projects such as REX, MEP and Louisiana . In addition, the partnership’s recent acquisition of natural gas treating facilities of Crosstex possesses significant growth potential to add numbers to the bottom line.
Read the full analyst report on "KMP"
Zacks Investment Research

Monsanto Wins New Contract – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:09:13 +0000

Monsanto Company (MON) has signed a long-term supply contract with Air Products (APD), the leading global hydrogen provider. According to the contract, Air Products will build a new world-scale hydrogen production plant to be located at Monsanto's Luling, Louisiana, Roundup facility. The new hydrogen plant is scheduled to be on-stream in Jan 2012.

Air Products will build a steam methane reformer (SMR) producing over 100 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of hydrogen. The SMR will be connected to Air Products' East Gulf Coast pipeline network, which supplies refineries with hydrogen needed to make cleaner burning transportation fuels, in addition to meeting the hydrogen needs of the local petrochemical industry. In addition, the facility will produce additional hydrogen via a clean-up of a hydrogen-rich off-gas feed coming from Monsanto. Monsanto will use steam from Air Products' SMR process to benefit its Roundup production plant.

This agreement is a win-win for Monsanto as it will help reduce natural gas usage to make steam, which will in turn help serve its farmer customers in a more environmentally sustainable manner.

Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains focused on enabling both small-holding and large-scale farmers to maximize production from their land while conserving more of our world's natural resources such as water and energy. The company’s direct competitor is Syngenta AG (SYT).
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Zacks Investment Research

Arrayit Corp. (ARYC.OB) and the USDA Join Forces to Combat Honeybee Extinction

QualityStocks — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:14:17 +0000

Arrayit Corp., a proprietary life science technology leader for disease prevention, treatment and cure, recently announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana has purchased the company’s proprietary technology to protect America’s crop plants by combating honeybee extinction. The USDA is utilizing Arrayit’s proprietary SpotLight microarray scanning technology and high-speed BioBlue [...]

Dune Energy, Inc. (DNE) Provides Operations Update

QualityStocks — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:39:27 +0000

Dune Energy provided an exploration and development operations update on its leased acreage in Texas and Louisiana. The update reported successful wells at several locations. On its Texas acreage, the Wieting #32 well was drilled to a total depth of 12,750 feet, and hit 50 feet of gas bearing sands. The well is [...]

GMX to Sell Stake to Kinder Morgan – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:49:03 +0000

GMX Resources Inc. (GMXR) recently agreed to sell a 40% interest in its gas gathering and compression business to Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P. (KMP) for $36 million. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to conclude in early November.

This transaction will fund GMX’s addition of a second rig to the Haynesville/Bossier Shale horizontal drilling program. The salt water disposal assets and other poly pipelines will not be part of the transaction and will continue to be wholly owned by Endeavor Pipeline Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of GMX Resources.

The gas gathering and compression business provides gathering services to the company in its Cotton Valley Sands and Haynesville/Bossier Shale horizontal developments in East Texas. It will provide funding for future infrastructure needs to support GMX's anticipated production growth.

Separately, GMX said its second FlexRig 3 rig from Helmerich & Payne Inc. is in transit and will start the company's eleventh horizontal well in the Haynesville/Bossier Shale.

GMX said that partnering with Kinder Morgan in the midstream business will also give it access to additional capital for midstream growth.

GMX Resources Inc is a 'pure play' exploration and production (E&P) company with one of the most leveraged Haynesville/Bossier Horizontal Shale Operations in East Texas. The company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development and production of properties for the production of crude oil and natural gas in Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P. is a leading pipeline transportation and energy storage company in North America. One of the largest publicly traded pipeline limited partnerships in America, Kinder Morgan has an enterprise value of approximately $25 billion.
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Zacks Investment Research

Entergy Trims Third Quarter Outlook – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:15:44 +0000

Entergy Corporation (ETR) earlier today announced that it expects GAAP earnings and operational earnings to be approximately $2.31 per share and $2.39 per share, respectively, in the third quarter of 2009. This is low compared to the year-ago GAAP numbers of $2.41 per share and operational results of $2.50 per share.

The anticipated decrease in the quarter’s operational earnings is due primarily to lower results at the Utility, Parent and Other segment, partially offset by increased earnings at Non-nuclear Wholesale Assets segment. Utility, Parent & Other is expected to clock lower year-over-year operational earnings in third quarter 2009, primarily due to the absence of the 2008 adjustment reducing income tax expense and higher operation and maintenance expense. Entergy's Non-nuclear Wholesale Assets quarterly operational results are expected to improve due to the absence of the 2008 adjustment increasing income tax expense on account of the redemption of an investment.

Entergy however re-affirmed its earnings guidance ranges, with 2009 GAAP earnings guidance to be in the range of $6.00 to $6.60 per share and 2009 operational earnings guidance to be in the range of $6.20 to $6.80 per share.

New Orleans-based Entergy is primarily engaged in electric power production and retail distribution. With 30,000MW of generating capacity, it distributes electricity to 2.6 million customers in Arkansas , Louisiana , Mississippi and Texas . Of this, 14,631MW are gas/oil based, 2,259MW coal based, 70MW hydro based and the rest nuclear based. With around 13,000MW of nuclear-based energy, the company is the second largest nuclear power generator in the U.S. The company also distributes natural gas to 240,000 customers in Louisiana .

Entergy is focusing on its traditional electric utility business with a planned separation of its nuclear business. The company has shown strong resilience during two back-to-back destructive hurricanes in 2008. Going forward, stable earnings from regulated utilities and significant free cash flow available for share repurchases, dividend hikes and/or debt retirement collectively support management’s focus on creating shareholder value. However, higher outages, an expected slide in power prices and pending regulatory approvals in New York and Vermont for the proposed spin-off of its nuclear business are areas of concern. We maintain our Neutral recommendation on the shares.
Read the full analyst report on "ETR"
Zacks Investment Research

Antitrust OKs AT&T-CYCL Merger – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:15:00 +0000

AT&T Inc’s (T) much anticipated acquisition of regional wireless and wireline service provider Centennial Communications Corp (CYCL), has progressed a step further as the US wireless giant has reportedly received a conditional approval of the US Department of Justice (“DOJ").

The acquisition is now subject to the approval of the US telecom regulator Federal Communications Commission. The US antitrust approval is based on fulfillment of specific conditions which requires AT&T to divest certain Centennial assets in eight markets across Louisiana (central and southern) and southwestern Mississippi .

This is due to the fact that the acquisition may potentially hurt consumer interest in these regions. As part of this requirement, AT&T has already committed to sell wireless assets in five of the eight markets to its rival operator Verizon (VZ) for $240 million. AT&T announced its acquisition of Centennial for approximately $2.8 billion (including net debt) in November 2008.

As per the agreement term, shareholders of Centennial are expected to receive $8.50 in cash for every share they own, equating to approximately $944 million. The transaction, which was originally set to close by second-quarter 2009, is now expected to conclude in fourth-quarter 2009.

AT&T is increasingly focused on acquisitions in order to expand its subscriber base and coverage zones as the US subscriber population reaches maturity. The company was dethroned by Verizon as the largest wireless carrier in North America in early 2009 with the latter’s acquisition of Alltel Corp.

Consolidation binge among the top-tier US carrier continues as Deutsche Telekom (DT) is reportedly considering the merger of T-mobile USA , its US subsidiary, with Sprint Nextel (S). As such, the Centennial deal represents an ideal opportunity for AT&T to stay in competition.

Successful acquisition of Centennial will expand AT&T’s wireless coverage to include the rural areas of the Midwest and Southeast regions of the US as well as Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, providing 1.1 million new subscribers. Additionally, the acquisition will offer operational synergies and improve the service quality of AT&T’s wireless network in specific markets.

However, AT&T is expected to face integration problems as Centennial’s CDMA technology based wireless operation in Puerto Rico is not yet compatible with AT&T’s GSM wireless architecture which may result in added costs for migrating cellular users to a uniform network platform.
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Zacks Investment Research

DrStockPick.com Stock Report! 10/08/09, LUV, KMP, BBOX, SPDE, STM, BDGR

Dr. Stock Pick — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:10:09 +0000

Dr Stock Pick HOT News & Alerts! _______________________________________ FREE Daily Stock Alerts From DrStockPick.com _______________________________________ Thursday October 8, 2009 DrStockPick.com Stock Report! ************************************************************** Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) and ITA Software, Inc., the leader in developing innovative solutions for the travel industry, today announced advanced capabilities that support Southwest’s website enhancements and allows the airline to further extend the [...]

Enbridge Signs GoM Pipeline Deal – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:33:15 +0000

Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. (ENB) recently announced that it reached an agreement with subsidiaries of U.S. oil major Chevron Corp. (CVX), Norway’s StatoilHydro ASA (STO) and Japan’s Marubeni Corp. to construct and operate a 40-mile, 20-inch oil pipeline from the proposed Big Foot ultra deepwater development in the Gulf of Mexico.

The planned conduit is estimated to cost approximately $250 million and will transport about 100,000 barrels of oil per day to a subsea connection on existing deepwater pipeline infrastructure. It will be located approximately 170 miles south of the Louisiana coast and reach depths of up to 5,900 feet below water.

The proposed Big Foot pipeline will complement Enbridge’s previously announced plans to build the Walker Ridge offshore natural gas pipeline in the area for $500 million. Thus the company has committed a total of $750 million in pipelines to service oil and gas exploration from the Gulf. Enbridge said that the equity component of the projects will be financed through internally generated cash flow and surplus balance-sheet equity.

We believe the Big Foot deal will further strengthen Enbridge’s position as the leading pipeline services provider in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico region, which has substantial production growth potential. Together with the Walker Ridge development, this will also ensure the extension of the company’s 10 percent-plus average growth rate well beyond 2013.

Enbridge, a Canadian company, is a leader in energy transportation and distribution in North America and internationally. As a transporter of energy, Enbridge operates, in Canada and the U.S., the world's longest crude oil and liquids pipeline system. The company also has international operations and a growing involvement in the natural gas transmission and midstream businesses. As a distributor of energy, Enbridge owns and operates Canada's largest natural gas distribution company, and provides distribution services in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and New York State.

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Zacks Investment Research

KMP Completes Crosstex Buy – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:00:13 +0000

Late last week, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP) closed the previously announced acquisition of natural gas treating business from Dallas-based Crosstex Energy LP (XTEX) and its general partner Crosstex Energy Inc. (XTXI) for approximately $266 million.

As part of the transaction, Kinder Morgan purchased approximately 290 amine-treating and dew-point control plants from natural gas company Crosstex. These plants are primarily located in Texas and Louisiana , with additional facilities in Mississippi , Oklahoma , Arkansas and Kansas.

Kinder Morgan will use these natural gas treatment plants in servicing its Texas Intrastate customers and to other producers in various supply basins, including the fast growing shale plays. Following the deal, Kinder Morgan has become the largest provider of contracted natural gas treating services in the country.

The Crosstex asset acquisition will allow the partnership to expand its natural gas business through the inclusion of additional fee-based assets that produce stable cash flows. Kinder Morgan expects the transaction to be immediately accretive and to add value to its business.

Houston-based Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P. is the largest independent owner and operator of petroleum product pipelines in the U.S. , transporting nearly 2 million barrels per day of gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel, and natural gas liquids. The partnership also has capacity to transport 7 billion cubic feet/day (Bcf/d) of natural gas. It owns or operates more than 26,000 miles of pipeline and approximately 170 terminals. The terminals store petroleum products and chemicals, besides handling bulk materials like coal and petroleum coke. Kinder Morgan is also the largest carbon dioxide marketer and transporter in the country.

We currently rate Kinder Morgan units as Neutral.
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Zacks Investment Research

ConAgra Foods Raises Dividend – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:50:38 +0000

Last week, ConAgra Foods Inc. (CAG) raised its regular quarterly dividend by a 1 cent to 20 cents based on encouraging results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2010. The company has decided to pay the dividend on Dec. 1 to shareholders of record Oct. 30.

During the quarter, earnings excluding one-time items were 38 cents compared to 27 cents in the year-ago quarter. This was the above Zacks Consensus Estimate of 33 cents. Total revenue was $2,961 million from $3,052 million in the year-ago quarter.

The Consumer Foods segment posted sales of $1,860 million, up 1% year over year. Operating profit came to $250 million, up from $186 million in the last-year quarter. This segment accounted for 63% of total revenue in the first quarter.

Sales in the Commercial Foods segment were $1,101 million, down 9% from the first quarter of fiscal year 2009. The sales decline was the result of lower flour prices resulting from lower underlying wheat costs. Segment operating profit was $141 million, 5% above the same period in fiscal 2009. The segment was responsible for the remaining 37% of total revenue.

For the quarter, capital expenditure from continuing operations for property, plant and equipment was $119 million, compared with $106 million in the year-ago period. Depreciation and amortization expense from continuing operations was approximately $82 million for the quarter compared to a total of $76 million in the year-ago period.

During the quarter, ConAgra announced plans to build a state-of-the-art sweet potato processing plant in Delhi, Louisiana, which is expected to be fully operational by the end of calendar 2010. Management believes that the plant will significantly expand its presence in the sweet potato fries market and enable additional significant sales and profit growth opportunities for the Lamb Weston specialty potato operations over time.

ConAgra expects fiscal 2010 full-year diluted EPS from continuing operations, excluding items impacting comparability, to approach $1.70, based on the expectations for continued progress in the consumer foods segment throughout the remainder of the fiscal year.
Read the full analyst report on "CAG"
Zacks Investment Research

DrStockPick.com Stock Report! 9/30/09, SALN, CCNI, ZHNE, ADPT, TRR, AEP

Dr. Stock Pick — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:09:02 +0000

Dr Stock Pick HOT News & Alerts! _______________________________________ FREE Daily Stock Alerts From DrStockPick.com _______________________________________ Wednesday September 30, 2009 DrStockPick.com Stock Report! ************************************************************** Salon City, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: SALN) announced today that 3rd quarter sales resulting from new media offerings and August’s launch of Beauty Entertainment (BE!) Magazine has helped to contribute to the Company’s overall revenue increases as compared to [...]

Duncan Energy Partners L.P. – Value – Zacks Rank Buy

Tracey Ryniec — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Duncan Energy Partners L.P. (DEP) recently rewarded unitholders by raising its distribution 3.6%. The partnership already pays a hefty yield of 9.00%. It has surprised on the Zacks Consensus Estimate three quarters in a row.

Company Description

Duncan Energy is a partnership which transports and stores natural gas, provides NGL fractionation (or separation) and transportation and petrochemical storage and transportation.

The partnership has assets primarily in Texas and Louisiana, including 9,200 miles of natural gas pipelines and 1,600 miles of NGL and petrochemical pipelines.

Duncan Energy is managed by its general partner, DEP Holdings, LLC, which is wholly-owned by Enterprise Products Partners. Enterprise owns about 74% of the limited partner interests of Duncan Energy.

Duncan Surprised by 37.93% in the Second Quarter

On July 27, the partnership reported second quarter results that easily beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 11 cents. Earnings per unit were 40 cents compared with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 29 cents.

The partnership acquired interests in midstream businesses in December 2008 (the "DEP II Midstream Businesses") from Enterprise which resulted in an additional $15.3 million in earnings in the quarter compared to the year ago period.

"Our priority return in the cash flows of the DEP II Midstream Business, together with our share of the cash flows of the midstream businesses acquired by the partnership from Enterprise in February 2007, provides our partnership with a solid base of free cash flow to invest in growth capital projects that enhance our current group of businesses, reduce debt and support future increases in quarterly cash distribution payments to our partners," said Richard H. Bachmann, president and CEO.

Distribution Raised by 3.6%

On July 15, the partnership raised the quarterly cash distribution payable to partners to 43.5 cents per unit, or $1.74 per unit annually. This is an increase of 3.6% over the 42 cents per unit the partnership paid in the second quarter of 2008.

Zacks Consensus Estimates Rise

Both the third quarter and the full year Zacks Consensus Estimates are moving higher.

The third quarter Zacks Consensus Estimate rose 1 penny in just the last week to 32 cents per unit.

The full year Zacks Consensus Estimate climbed 2 cents to $1.38 per unit in the last 7 days with 1 out of 9 covering analysts raising during that time. Analysts expect year over year earnings growth in 2009 of 13.21%.

Value Fundamentals

Duncan Energy Partners is a Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) stock. It has a price-to-book ratio of just 0.28 which is well under the industry average of 1.22. The partnership trades with a forward P/E of 14.2.

Zacks Investment Research

DrStockPick.com Stock Report! 9/29/09, OSK, PAYX, CAXG, BDGR, HTDS, BFSB

Dr. Stock Pick — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:59:39 +0000

Dr Stock Pick HOT News & Alerts! _______________________________________ FREE Daily Stock Alerts From DrStockPick.com _______________________________________ Tuesday September 29, 2009 DrStockPick.com Stock Report! ************************************************************** Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK), announced today that its Defense division has received a delivery order valued at $801 million from the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command Life Cycle Management Command (TACOM LCMC) for more than 2,450 [...]

Entergy Spin-Off Delayed – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:49:11 +0000

Entergy Corp.’s (ETR) proposed spin-off of its Non-utility Nuclear power business has been relegated to fiscal 2010.

Recently, the New York Public Service Commission’s two administrative law judges in a ruling stated their apprehension regarding the new company having the financial viability to operate three units located in the state of New York. Of this, two units are located in the Indian Point Energy Center in Westchester County and a reactor at the James A. Fitzpatrick station in Oswego County.

The New York Public Service Commission expressed its apprehension that the $3.5 billion worth of long-term unsecured bonds that Entergy plans to issue for the spin-off will drag down the bond rating of the new company, affecting its financial capacity. The Commission has also relegated its next hearing to December 2009 followed by a final decision on the spin-off in January 2010.

Entergy has been contemplating the spin-off since fiscal 2007 to separate its regulated utilities and open-market generation units. The new company – Enexus Energy Corp. will take over nuclear plants located in Pilgrim in Plymouth, MA; Vermont Yankee in Vernon, VT; Indian Point in Westchester County, NY; Fitzpatrick in Oswego County, NY; and the Palisades plant in Covert, MI.

New Orleans-based Entergy is primarily engaged in electric power production and retail distribution operations. The company owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000MW of electricity generating capacity. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy Nuclear is the second largest nuclear generator in the U.S., with interests in six nuclear plants. We maintain our market Neutral recommendation on the shares.
Read the full analyst report on "ETR"
Zacks Investment Research

ConAgra Beats Zacks Consensus – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:21:22 +0000

Today before the market opened, ConAgra Foods, Inc. (CAG) reported encouraging results for the first quarter FY2010 ended August 30, 2009.

Earnings excluding one-time items were 38 cents per share, compared to 27 cents in the year-ago quarter. It was the above Zacks Consensus Estimate of 33 cents. Total revenue was $2,961 million from $3,052 million in the year-ago quarter.

The consumer foods segment posted sales of $1,860 million, up 1% year over year and operating profit of $250 million, up from $186 million in the last year quarter. It accounts for 63% of the total revenue in the first quarter.

Sales for the commercial foods segment were $1,101 million, down 9% from the first quarter of FY2009. The sales decline was the result of lower flour prices resulting from lower underlying wheat costs. The segment's operating profit was $141 million, 5% above the same period in FY2009. The segment is responsible for the remaining 37% of total revenue.

For the quarter, capital expenditures from continuing operations for property, plant and equipment were $119 million, compared with $106 million in the year-ago period. Depreciation and amortization expense from continuing operations was approximately $82 million for the quarter, compared to a total of $76 million in the year-ago period.

During the quarter, the company announced plans to build a state-of-the-art sweet potato processing plant in Delhi, Louisiana, which is expected to be fully operational by the end of calendar 2010. Management believes that the plant will enable additional significant sales and profit growth opportunities for the Lamb Weston specialty potato operations over time.

The company expects fiscal 2010 full-year diluted EPS from continuing operations, excluding items impacting comparability, to approach $1.70, based on the expectations for continued progress in the consumer foods segment throughout the remainder of the fiscal year.
Read the full analyst report on "CAG"
Zacks Investment Research

SGDH, DPTR, COT, EXXI Stock-PR’s Thursday September 10, 2009 Watch List!

Stock-PR — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:46:46 +0000

Stock-PR Thursday September 10, 2009 Watch List! SGD Holdings Ltd., Prior to Reverse Merger with Ecopaper, Inc. (SGDH.PK) SGDH is a holding company which owns and operates through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ecopaper, Inc. SGDH’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Ecopaper, Inc., is the first company in the history of the paper industry to create and market treeless paper of a [...]

Verenium Corporation (VRNM) Does a 12 for 1 Reverse Stock Split

QualityStocks — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:36:30 +0000

Verenium Corporation is conducting a 1 for 12 reverse stock split to be effective on September 9, 2009. The stock split will reduce the number of shares outstanding from 111.3 million to 9.3 million. Verenium Corporation reported revenues of $16.3 million and a net loss of $19.9 million in the second quarter of 2009. The [...]

Entergy Arkansas Wants Rate Hike – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:48:59 +0000

Entergy Corporation’s (ETR) utility subsidiary Entergy Arkansas has requested from the Arkansas Public Service Commission a $223 million hike in the base rate late last week.

Entergy Arkansas supplies electricity to 684,000 customers spread across 63 counties in the state of Arkansas. The requested hike was to cover the cost of purchase of the Ouachita plant and restoration costs associated with the January 2009 ice storm in northern Arkansas. As per company estimations, this would raise the bill of an average residential customer with a monthly consumption of 1,000 kilowatt-hours by $7.86.

Entergy Arkansas officials, however, feel that the actual burden would be much less. The improvement is expected to stem from lower fuel costs, which would improve on account of a decrease in natural gas prices.

New Orleans-based Entergy is primarily engaged in electric power production and retail distribution of power. With 30,000MW of generating capacity, it distributes electricity to 2.6 million customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Of this, 14,631MW are gas/oil based, 2,259MW coal based, 70MW hydro-based and the rest nuclear based. With around 13,000MW of nuclear-based energy, the company is the second largest nuclear power generator in the U.S. The company also distributes natural gas to 240,000 customers in Louisiana.

Entergy is focusing on its traditional electric utility business with a planned separation of its nuclear business. The company has shown strong resilience during two back-to-back destructive hurricanes in 2008. Going forward, stable earnings from regulated utilities and significant free cash flow available for share repurchases, dividend hikes and/or debt retirement collectively support management’s focus on creating shareholder value.

However, higher outages, an expected slide in power prices and pending regulatory approvals in New York and Vermont for the proposed spin-off of its nuclear business are areas of concern. We maintain our Neutral recommendation on the shares.
Read the full analyst report on "ETR"
Zacks Investment Research

APD Buys New Hydrogen Plant – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:00:26 +0000

Air Products (APD) acquired a new steam methane reformer (SMR) hydrogen facility from MarkWest Energy Partners L.P. (MWE). The facility, which is under construction, is in Corpus Christi, Texas. The company did not disclose the financial details of the transaction.

This acquisition further reinforces Air Products’ position as a leading hydrogen provider in the U.S. Gulf Coast. The company said that the new facility, which is expected to be operational in March 2010, will produce over 30 million standard cubic feet per day. It will be owned and operated by Air Products.

The companies also signed a separate long-term supply agreement whereby Air Products will provide hydrogen and steam to MarkWest.

Earlier this year, Air Products strengthened its U.S. Gulf Coast hydrogen pipeline network with the successful completion of a pipeline connection across Lake Pontchartrain. The company said that this enhances the supply reliability and efficiency to its own liquid hydrogen production plant in New Orleans, which is the largest liquid hydrogen facility in the world. In addition, Air Products is in the process of building two new steam methane reformers in the Louisiana portion of its Gulf Coast system.

Air Products has hydrogen pipeline networks operating around the world, including in Southern California, U.S., in Sarnia, Ontario, and Edmonton, Alberta in Canada, and in Rotterdam in The Netherlands.

During the second quarter conference call, the company said that the refinery hydrogen volumes continued to increase. Further, the company expects these volumes to increase modestly from the current levels across most of its pipeline franchises, due to higher demand and fewer customer outages.
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Zacks Investment Research

ORN, PGNE, PennyOmega.com Watch List ! for Wednesday September 2nd, 2009, Orion Marine Group Inc. and PrimeGen Energy Corp, PGNE.PK

PennyOmega.com — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:37:40 +0000

ORN, Orion Marine Group Inc. PGNE, PrimeGen Energy Corp, PGNE.PK PennyOmega.com Watch List! PennyOmega.com Watch List ! for Wednesday September 2nd, 2009 Our Picks at PennyOmega.com for Wednesday September 2nd, 2009 are: ************************************************************** ORN, Orion Marine Group Inc. ORN provides a broad range of marine construction and specialty services on, over and under the water along the Gulf Coast, the Atlantic Seaboard [...]

Best Buy to Open 22 Stores – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:45:38 +0000

Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) recently announced its plan to open 22 new U.S. stores in its fiscal third quarter. The stores will be opened in Virginia, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, California, Wisconsin, Puerto Rico, Arkansas, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Louisiana.

Currently, Best Buy operates 1,044 U.S. stores in 50 states and Puerto Rico. The company added 21 stores in the first six months of the fiscal year 2010. It opened 9 stores in the first quarter and another 12 stores in the second quarter.

Best Buy’s pace of opening new stores in the current fiscal year is substantially low compared to prior year quarters. Amid the challenging global economy and tough retail environment, we believe that the company has taken prudent steps to move steadily, rather than aggressively.

In fiscal year 2009, Best Buy opened 26 stores in the first quarter, 24 in the second quarter, and 37 stores in the third quarter.

The company will report its fiscal second quarter results on Sept 15.

During the first quarter, the company’s revenues jumped 12% year over year to $10,095 million primarily due to the addition of Best Buy Europe’s revenues and net addition of 185 new stores in the past 12 months, partially offset by a 6.2% decline in comparable store sales. Earnings per share fell 2.3% to 42 cents per share.

Best Buy is a global retailer of technology and entertainment products with operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, China and Mexico.
Read the full analyst report on "BBY"
Zacks Investment Research

Energy Transfer Settles Dispute – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:37:32 +0000

Last week, Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (ETP) informed that it has entered into a settlement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which had accused the natural gas and propane gas distributor of unfair trading activities during Hurricane Rita in 2005. However, the partnership did not disclose the terms of the agreement as it is still subject to approval by the federal agency.

The FERC had earlier alleged that Energy Transfer employed a complicated scheme to artificially suppress the price of physical natural gas at the Houston Ship Channel in September and November 2005, and then report the manipulated prices to a widely circulated trade magazine.

The FERC is claiming $69.9 million in disgorgement of profits, as well as interest, and $82 million in civil penalties associated with these market manipulation claims. At the time, Energy Transfer denied any wrongdoing.

We welcome the news of the settlement as we believe that prompt resolution of the issue is in the best interest of Energy Transfer’s customers and unitholders.

Dallas, Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners L.P. is a master limited partnership owning and operating a diversified portfolio of energy assets. The partnership's natural gas operations includes miles of natural gas gathering and transportation pipelines, natural gas treating and processing assets located in Texas and Louisiana, and three natural gas storage facilities located in Texas.

We currently rate Energy Transfer units as Underperform.
Read the full analyst report on "ETR"
Zacks Investment Research

Evolution Petroleum Corp. (EPM) Readies for Revenue from Louisiana Project

QualityStocks — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:18:44 +0000

In today’s economic times, finding a company that has kept at it and done well is the real challenge. For a savvy investor, finding a company that has got right down into the muck and mud and gotten it done is one of the best ways to succeed and profit. Finding these gems can be [...]

DrStockPick.com Stock Report! 8/31/09, DCTH, TSEM, VSEC, KMP, XTEX, RBA

Dr. Stock Pick — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:34:16 +0000

DrStockPick.com Stock Report! Monday August 31, 2009 ************************************************************** Delcath Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: DCTH), a medical technology company testing its proprietary treatment method for primary and metastatic cancers to the liver, announced that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration granted Delcath’s request for orphan drug designation for doxorubicin for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma [...]

Winn-Dixie Turnaround Continues – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:12:57 +0000

Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. (WINN) reported fiscal fourth-quarter results earlier this week. The company swung to a net profit of $9.4 million from a net loss of $5.5 million in the year-ago quarter. Earnings per share came in at 17 cents, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny.

Winn-Dixie is one of the leading food retailers in the U.S. and currently operates 515 grocery locations, including more than 400 in-store pharmacies, across Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi. The Jacksonville, FL-based company’s sales posted a slight growth of 1.4% year over year to $1.72 billion. This was driven by a 1.6% rise in identical-store sales, mainly due to a favorable shift in the timing of Easter holidays, partially offset by higher sales of generic drugs compared to branded ones.

The company, which emerged from bankruptcy protection in November 2006, is remodeling its stores in the midst of its turnaround strategy, an effort which seems to be paying off. By July 15, the company had completed remodeling all 51 stores in Jacksonville, taking the total number of stores remodeled to 170 at the end of fiscal 2009. The company intends to remodel about half of its stores by the end of fiscal 2010 and almost the entire chain by fiscal 2013.

Winn-Dixie’s gross profit grew 10% year over year to $500.4 million, while margin expanded 230 basis points (bps) to 29.2%, primarily due to favorable product mix and reduced promotional activities. However, operating and administrative expenses, as a percentage of sales, rose 60 bps year over year to 27.9% mainly on account of higher payroll, advertising expenses and utility rates.

Nevertheless, driven by improved gross margins, operating income came in at $18.9 million, compared to an operating loss of $6.4 million in the same period last year, while operating margin improved to 1.1% from negative 0.4%. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) more than doubled to $44.5 million from $17.2 million in the year-ago quarter.

Cash and equivalents at the end of the quarter was $182.8 million, compared to $201.3 million in the year-ago period. The company generated $199.6 million of cash from operations during fiscal 2009 and deployed about $216.9 million towards capital expenditure.

Earlier this month, rival Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFMI) posted fiscal third-quarter earnings of 24 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 26.3%, or 5 cents. The company recorded a 2% year-over-year growth in sales to $1.9 billion despite a 3.8% decline in identical-store sales.

Meanwhile, Winn-Dixie continues to expect identical-store sales for the year ending June 2010 to grow by 1% to 2%, and EBITDA to range between $150 million and $160 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate (derived from 4 covering analysts) on the company’s earnings for this fiscal year is currently pegged at 44 cents per share, which has climbed 5 cents over the past 2 months.
Read the full analyst report on "WINN"
Read the full analyst report on "WFMI"
Zacks Investment Research

BofA to Resolve Merrill Lawsuit – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:00:43 +0000

Bank of America Corp. (BAC) agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit against Merrill Lynch & Co. for $150 million. The lawsuit accused Merrill Lynch for misleading investors with respect to the sale of bonds and preferred stock.

The preliminary approval of the settlement, granted by US District Judge Jed Rakoff on Aug. 21, was made public yesterday.

Two Louisiana pension funds were the major applicants for the lawsuit. About 20 former Merrill executives and directors were named as defendants. The company was accused of issuing false and misleading prospectuses and registration statements in the offerings between 2006 and 2008.

Bank of America acquired Merrill Lynch on Jan. 1, creating the largest U.S. bank by assets.

We think that Bank of America is in relatively good shape from a capital perspective. During this delicate period of market stress, the availability of significant private-sector capital is very limited. As a result, management remains focused on managing asset-levels efficiently, ensuring the deployment of TARP funds in core lending businesses and trimming other assets in non-core businesses.

We also think that the management is quite confident about its capital position as it has recently indicated that it is in discussion with regulators for paying back a material amount of TARP funds.

We anticipate continued synergies from the company’s large-scale operation and balance sheet restructuring. However, higher credit costs and worsening credit quality will be a drag on upcoming results.

Read the full analyst report on "BAC"
Zacks Investment Research

Biofuels Power Corporation (BFLS.OB) ‏is “One to Watch”

QualityStocks — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:44:42 +0000

Headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, Biofuels Power Corp.’s mission is to introduce renewable fuels for North America power and reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. Trading on the OTCBB, the company is the first in the biofuels power sector. This involves generating grid power from biodiesel and renewable gas. Incorporated in 2004, Biofuels Power [...]

Some Entergy Rates Lowering – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:22:54 +0000

Entergy Corporation’s (ETR) utility subsidiary Entergy Arkansas announced yesterday that it will reduce its retail electricity rates from September 1, 2009.

New Orleans-based Entergy is primarily engaged in electric power production and retail distribution operations. The company owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000MW of electricity generating capacity. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. With a cumulative capacity of 8,000MW, the company is the second largest nuclear power generator in the U.S.

The curtailment in rates is for passing on the benefits of recent fall in natural gas prices to its customers. The company filed with the Arkansas Public Service Commission notifying the reduction of 0.346 cents per kilowatt-hour usage in the fuel-cost portion of electric bills to 1.206 cents.

As per company estimates this will reduce the average monthly bill of a typical residential customer with monthly consumption of 1,000 kilowatt-hours from $110.17 to $106.71, a decrease of $3.46 per month.

Natural Gas Spot Prices have witnessed a steep fall from $5.41 per Million British Thermal Units (mmBtu) at the inception of the fiscal to only $3.61 per mmBtu as on August 5, 2009, at the Henry Hub market center in Southern Louisiana. Natural gas prices are expected to slide further in the remainder of the year.

We currently rate Entergy shares as Neutral, expecting the stock to perform in-line with the broader market.
Read the full analyst report on "ETR"
Zacks Investment Research

Affirmative Results Disappointing – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 22:00:22 +0000

Affirmative Insurance Holdings Inc.’s (AFFM) second quarter results were disappointing. The company reported a loss from continuing operations of $8.0 million or 52 cents per share. This compares with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a profit of 20 cents per share. The income from continuing operations was $2.9 million in the prior-year quarter.

Results were significantly impacted by increased losses from unfavorable reserve development for prior accident years related to Florida, Michigan and Louisiana businesses.

Affirmative has also sold all of its retail stores and its franchise business in Florida. Including the impact of this discontinued operation, the net loss for the quarter was $9.0 million, compared with net income of $2.3 million in the last year's second quarter. However, the company expects its pretax income to benefit by $1.0 to $1.5 million annually from the sale.

Gross premiums written were down 9.8% year-over-year to $82.3 million, driven by soft market conditions and stressed economy. However, Affirmative posted a 0.7% increase in premiums earned as the company has reduced its dependence on reinsurance in 2009.

Commission income and fees were up 2.7% year-over-year, primarily stemming from increases in premium finance revenue and commissions and fees generated from third-party products, partially offset by the decline in policyholder fees.

Net investment income for the current quarter decreased 30.4% from the prior-year period. The decrease was primarily due to a reduction in yields and a 13.0% year-over-year decrease in total average invested assets.

Losses and loss adjustment expenses were up 16.6% year-over-year. Affirmative reported a loss ratio (losses and loss adjustment expenses expressed as a percentage of premiums earned) of 86.9% compared with a loss ratio of 75.1% in the second quarter of 2008, reflecting unfavorable reserve development of $11.0 million for prior accident years.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were up 10.4%, stemming from a reduction in ceding commission income, contingent commission expense related to prior-period development and management severance charges. These were partially offset by the cost reduction initiatives.

The disruptions in the overall economy and financial markets have adversely affected consumers’ ability to purchase automobile insurance policies. As a result, the balance sheets of other auto insurance providers such as Progressive Corp. (PGR), Infinity Property and Casualty Corp. (IPCC) and State Auto Financial Corp. (STFC) have also been hurt.

In the beginning of July, the company announced a number of restructuring initiatives and cost-containment measures. We believe that though the top-line growth may be restricted during the ensuing quarters due to economic stress coupled with intensified competition, the expense management initiatives bode well going forward.
Read the full analyst report on "AFFM"
Zacks Investment Research

Strategic American Oil Corp. (SGCA.OB) Leases Additional Acreage in Illinois Basin which may have Major Impact on Productivity

QualityStocks — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:57:43 +0000

Strategic American Oil Corporation is an up and coming young exploration and production company that made a major splash in the financial sector on August 6 when it announced that it has leased additional acreage in the Illinois Basin, which has the potential to recover approximately 4 billion barrels of oil according to the Illinois [...]

Entergy Misses by a Sliver – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 20:15:27 +0000

Entergy Corporation (ETR) announced fiscal second-quarter EPS of $1.23 that was just a cent short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.24. However year-over-year EPS fell 23 cents, the pain came from higher refueling and outages (both planned and unplanned) at its nuclear power plants.

New Orleans-based Entergy is primarily engaged in electric power production and retail distribution operations. The company owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000MW of electricity generating capacity. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

The company with a cumulative capacity of 8,000MW is the second largest nuclear power generator in the U.S. Entergy operates through five subsidiaries: Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Gulf States, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi and Entergy New Orleans.

Entergy’s revenues fell 22.8% year over year to $2.5 billion in the quarter with Electricity (down 24%), Natural Gas (down 46.6%), and Competitive businesses (down 16.4%). Electricity revenue of Entergy in-line with the industry trend was affected most with the industrial customers. Entergy’s volume sales to industrial customers fell 9.7%, while overall volume loss was 5.9% in the quarter.

However, the company was able to improve upon the overall headcount of customers year over year by 0.7%, barring the industrial customers, which shrunk by 3.4%. With the economy in doldrums, Entergy’s industry peers reporting on Tuesday – Allegheny Energy (AYE) and Duke Energy Company (DUK) also shared the industrial customer downslide.

Entergy revised its fiscal 2009 EPS guidance on account of an expected slide in power prices and charges related to the planned spin-off of its non-utility nuclear business into a separate company, Enexus Energy Corporation. GAAP EPS estimate for the fiscal now stands at $6.00 – $6.60 and operational EPS estimate at $6.20 – $6.80. This is in-line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.57 for the fiscal year.

We currently rate Entergy shares as Neutral, expecting the stock to perform in-line with the broader market.

Read the full analyst report on "ETR"
Read the full analyst report on "AYE"
Read the full analyst report on "DUK"
Zacks Investment Research

GRMN, WRI, DrStockPick Watch List! for Friday July 31, 2009, Garmin Ltd. and Weingarten Realty Investors

Dr. Stock Pick — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:55:53 +0000

GRMN, Garmin Ltd. WRI, Weingarten Realty Investors DrStockPick Watch List! DrStockPick Watch List! for Friday July 31, 2009 My Picks for Friday July 31, 2009 are: ************************************************************** GRMN, Garmin Ltd. Garmin International Inc. is a subsidiary of GRMN, the global leader in satellite navigation. Since 1989, this group of companies has designed, manufactured, marketed and sold navigation, communication and information devices [...]

Is Natural Gas Cheap?

Trading School — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:00:46 +0000

Today’s guest is David Galland, the managing director of Casey Research. David’s going to give us a look through the trained eyes of the Casey Researchers at the energy sector, more specifically, natural gas. So take a look and see why David thinks cheap doesn’t always mean buy. As always, be sure to leave us [...]

A Breather for Entergy – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:34:07 +0000

Entergy Corp. (ETR) recently got a breather as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a pending half-yearly extension on its spin-off effort. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has given Entergy an additional six months to get the pending regulatory approvals in New York and Vermont and procure the required financing to spin off five nuclear plants. Earlier in May, Entergy had requested a six-month extension to tide over the hurdles.

Entergy wants to spin off the nuclear plants as a new company – Enexus Energy Corp. The nuclear plants are Pilgrim in Plymouth, Massachusetts; Vermont Yankee in Vernon, Vermont; Indian Point in Westchester County, New York; Fitzpatrick in Oswego County, New York and the Palisades plant in Covert, Michigan.

Entergy plans to finish the spin-off of its non-utility nuclear power business by end of 2009. The spin-off will leave the company with five regulated utilities and other assets in the Gulf States region.

This news could not have come at a better time for Entergy. The company recently lowered its guidance for both the second quarter and the full year. It will release earnings for the quarter on August 4, 2009.

New Orleans-based Entergy is primarily engaged in electric power production and retail distribution operations. The company owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000MW of electricity generating capacity. It delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy Nuclear is the second-largest nuclear generator in the U.S., with interests in six nuclear plants. We maintain our speculative BUY recommendation on ETR.

Read the full analyst report on "ETR"
Zacks Investment Research

Is Natural Gas Cheap?

Contrarian Profits — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:17:17 +0000

h4 class="red"At the height of its late 2005 rally, natural gas in the U.S. was selling for just over $16/MMBtu, 350% higher than today’s price of $3.56. The oil/gas ratio, now over 18, is an all-time high… suggesting that natural gas is dirt cheap. So, it’s a buy, right? /h4 pIn a phrase, not exactly./p pAccording to a recent report by emNatural Gas Intelligence/em, U.S. natural gas available for production “has jumped 58% in the past four years, driven by improved drilling techniques and the discovery of huge shale fields in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Pennsylvania, according to a report issued Thursday by the nonprofit Potential Gas Committee (PGC).”/p pAccording to the report, the increase in gas discoveries and production improvements means that North America#8230;/p

SGCA, OOIL, CBIS, NECO Stock-PR OTC.OB Stock Report

Stock-PR — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:26:46 +0000

Today’s announcement by Strategic American Oil Corporation (OTCBB:SGCA) — an exploration and production company with operations in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Illinois, continues the company’s dynamic exploration plans for the lucrative oil fields of Illinois The CEO Radio Network is pleased to announce that it has posted an interview with Riggs Eckleberry, Chief Executive Officer of [...]

STDF Steadfast Holdings Group, Inc. Hires Builder and Contracts for First Nine Residential Units (DrStockPick News Report!)

Dr. Stock Pick — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:04:23 +0000

STDF, Steadfast Holdings Group Inc, STDF.PK DrStockPick Stock Report! DrStockPick News Report! STDF, Steadfast Holdings Group Inc, STDF.PK “Steadfast Holdings Group, Inc. Hires Builder and Contracts for First Nine Residential Units“ DrStockPick Stock Report! Tuesday July 21, 2009 “Steadfast Holdings Group, Inc. Hires Builder and Contracts for First Nine Residential Units“ East Haven, CT - (WORLD STOCK WIRE) - July 20, [...]

STDF.PK Stock-PR Press Release for Steadfast Holdings Group, Inc.

Stock-PR — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:29:36 +0000

CRWENewswire - Steadfast Holdings Group, Inc. (OTC Pink Sheets: STDF) through its Banx and Green Group, Inc. subsidiary has completed an agreement with Peter Waxman to build homes using environmentally, energy efficient structurally insulated panels (SIPS). The Company has been offered an option to purchase PeterBuilt Homes LLC. Mr. Waxman is a licensed contractor active in [...]

Natural gas and oil prices

James Hamilton — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:35:19 +0000

Since the start of the year, the price of crude oil has risen about 40% while the price of natural gas has fallen by about 40%. Can that divergence be maintained?

A barrel of oil has about six times the energy content of a thousand cubic feet of natural gas. The graph below compares the dollar price of a barrel of oil with the oil-equivalent cost of natural gas, calculated by multiplying the price (in $/1000 cu ft) by six. The two prices tended to move together in the early part of the decade, but have diverged significantly over the last few years, with natural gas today selling for 1/3 the price of oil in terms of BTU content.

**Black line**. Jan 1998 to Jun 2009: average price over the month of West Texas Intermediate, in dollars per barrel (from FRED). Jul 2009 entry is spot price on July 17 (from WSJ). **Blue line**. Jan 1998 to April 2009: six times the U.S. natural gas wellhead price (from EIA). May to Jul 2009: six times estimated Henry Hub spot price (from WTRG).
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Does this mean that oil prices will go down, natural gas prices will go up, or both? Let &#916o_t denote the monthly percent change in in oil prices (technically, the change in the natural logarithm) and z_t the percentage gap in cost (technically, z_t = ln(o_t/6g_t)). If you use a regression to try to predict oil prices from their own lagged values and the lagged oil-gas cost gap, a positive gap such as we have at the moment does tend to tug down future oil prices slightly, though the coefficient is not statistically significant. Here are the regression coefficients, with standard errors in parentheses:

On the other hand, the cost gap does seem to help significantly to predict where natural gas prices might go. With the gap currently at z_t = 1.13, the historical regression below might lead you to expect natural gas prices to climb by 10% a month (0.103 x 1.13 = 0.116) until the gap is closed.

But it's hard to see that happening in the face of news like this:

Natural gas prices have been pummeled by over-supply and weak demand, cutting the national drill rig count in half in the past year. Meanwhile, monstrous initial production rates in non-traditional shale plays have added to price pressure, as producers fight to hold the terms of their expensive leases in boomtowns....

Now, British Columbia's Horn River Basin might be added to the list, with the help of behemoth ExxonMobil (XOM) reportedly coming up with initial rates on early test wells to the tune of 16- to 18-million cubic feet a day.... That is double the rate of a really good well and in line with the Haynesville, in Louisiana, which may hold some 250 trillion cubic feet of recoverable national gas, enough to satisfy domestic demand for a decade.

So maybe that negative coefficient in the first regression will do some work after all, tugging oil prices down. In the mean time, trends like this are worth encouraging:

Mass transit buses have operated on natural gas for years and in other countries for decades. According to NGVAmerica, some 125 transit agencies are now operating over 10,000 natural gas transit buses on American highways. This trend is expanding, with over 20 percent of all new bus orders offering natural gas propulsion.

Clayton Williams Energy Inc. (CWEI) is Focused on Producing Oil Domestically

QualityStocks — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:50:22 +0000

Clayton Williams Energy, Inc. is an independent exploration and production company focused on developing and producing oil and natural gas. The company operates primarily in Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico, and has extensive experience utilizing 3-D seismic and horizontal drilling. President and CEO Clayton W. Williams leads the company with more than a half a century [...]

Forest Oil Makes Progress – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:14:19 +0000

Denver-based Forest Oil Corp. (FST) – an independent oil and gas company – started production from its second horizontal Haynesville Shale well early today. Forest owns 100% stake in the Driver 13 – 1H well, located in Red River Parish, Louisiana. The initial production rate is 20.3 million cubic feet equivalent per day (MMcfe/d).

Forest Oil described this as a tremendous success as the initial production from this second well is significantly higher than the first well. Besides, the well was drilled and completed for a total cost of $9 million, which we believe is not too high a price to pay for such a prolific horizontal well.

Forest had announced its first horizontal Haynesville Shale well in February 2009. Located in the East Texas/North Louisiana region, the well had an initial production rate of 14 MMcfe/d only.

Though Forest wants to maintain a single-rig drilling program in 2009 in the Red River Parish area, it intends to allocate another rig in future to exploit its acreage position. The company holds nearly 11,050 net acres in the Louisiana prospective for the Haynesville Shale and has identified additional 110 potential horizontal locations on this acreage.

In addition, Forest also released its projected net sales volume for the second quarter. The company expects sales volume to be approximately 520 MMcfe/d in the quarter, up from 505 MMcfe/d in the year-ago period but down from 550 MMcfe/d sequentially. A significantly lower rig count was the main reason behind the quarter-over-quarter negative comparison.

Forest Oil shares have been the worst performers in our coverage universe in the current macro environment primarily due to the company’s relatively weak financial profile. It has the most debt-heavy balance sheet in our coverage, reflecting its debt-funded asset acquisitions in this cycle.

Moreover, organic production growth and drill-bit reserve growth continue to remain weak areas for the company, although recent numbers reflect some signs of improvement. However, we prefer to stay on the sidelines for now and keep our Hold recommendation unchanged.

Read the full analyst report on "FST"
Zacks Investment Research

Saturday Success Story – Tommy, Louisiana

Trading School — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 12:00:58 +0000

At MarketClub, our mission is to help you become a better trader. Our passion is creating superior trading tools to help you achieve your goals—no matter which way the markets move—we promise objective and unbiased recommendations not available from brokers. Here’s great news from a member… “For years, I struggled with how to determine the trend. MarketClub [...]

Avalon Oil Gas, Inc. (AOGN.OB) Positioned to Benefit From Rising Oil Prices

QualityStocks — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:13:11 +0000

Avalon Oil & Gas Inc. is a domestic oil and natural gas producer with leases currently in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. The company’s strategy is to use efficient reservoir maintenance and innovative oil recovery technologies on previously abandoned wells in order to produce much-needed hydrocarbon energy. Avalon believes that global conditions in the energy market [...]

eDOORWAYS Corp. (EDWY.PK) Names Senior Financial Accounting Specialist

QualityStocks — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:14:21 +0000

eDOORWAYS Corporation (PINKSHEETS: EDWY) seems tirelessly at work furthering its agenda. With the addition of a Brand Marketing and Site Monetization Strategist, setting the launch date, supporting that launch with the acquisition of a Lead Technology Architect and engaging an award winning New York PR firm to convey the company’s message to the masses, eDOORWAYS [...]

Avalon Oil Gas, Inc. (AOGN.OB) Acquiring Oil Production Enhancing Technologies

QualityStocks — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:06:55 +0000

Avalon Oil & Gas Inc. is an independent domestic oil and natural gas producer. The company has acquired a portfolio of leases in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. Avalon’s strategy is to use efficient reservoir maintenance and innovative technology to generate stable cash flows for the company. Avalon’s technology subsidiary acquires and develops oil production [...]

Weyerhaeuser Slashes Dividend by 80% – Zacks Tale of the Tape

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:59:51 +0000

Weyerhaeuser Co. (WY) slashed its quarterly dividend by 80% as it continues to reel under the impact of the housing market slump.

The forest products major declared a dividend of 5 cents per share, down from 25 cents earlier. In December, the company had cut dividend to 25 cents per share from 60 cents.

"Although our guidance for the recently completed quarter remains unchanged, the economic outlook for our businesses continues to be challenged and uncertain," said CEO Dan Fulton.

Analysts, on average, expect the company to post a loss of 69 cents per share in the second quarter, which has worsened by a penny over the past 2 months.

Weyerhaeuser, which suffered losses in recent quarters amid recessionary conditions, has taken initiatives such as deferring timber harvest, as well as shutting and curtailing facilities, in an effort to save costs.

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, the company announced the closure of its lumber mill near Taylor, Louisiana, with immediate effect. The mill employs about 39 employees.

WY, a Zacks #3 Rank ("Hold") stock, has declined about 5% today on volume of almost 2.1 million, which is close to the average daily volume.

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

MMR Finds Thrill on Blueberry Hill – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:18:45 +0000

McMoRan Exploration declares positive drilling outcome at Blueberry Hill

On Monday, McMoRan Exploration (MMR) reported positive drilling results at Blueberry Hill well in Louisiana. This deep gas exploratory well has been drilled to a true vertical depth of 21,900 feet. McMoRan intends to deepen the well to a proposed total depth of 24,000 feet once a mechanical problem is sorted out.

McMoRan presumes the Blueberry Hill well to be a large structure with substantial reserve potential and additional development and exploration possibilities. The company holds 150,000 gross acres in the Tiger Shoal/Mound Point area in Louisiana. McMoRan has made several breakthroughs in this region – including Flatrock, Hurricane, Hurricane Deep, JB Mountain and Mound Point – prior to the Blueberry Hill finding.

McMoRan is integrating the new findings from Blueberry Hill discovery into its existing database for this extremely prospective acreage position for future exploration opportunities.

McMoRan owns a 42.9% working interest and a 29.7% net revenue interest in the Blueberry Hill well. Plains Exploration and Production (PXP) holds 47.9% working interest in the same. On Monday, PXP and McMoRan closed at $25.42 and $5.04, respectively. We continue to maintain our Buy recommendation for PXP.

Read the full analyst report on "MMR"
Read the full analyst report on "PXP"
Zacks Investment Research

ESP Resources Inc. (ESPI.OB) is “One to Watch”

QualityStocks — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:35:09 +0000

ESP Resources, Inc. is an oil and gas company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2006, the company, through their wholly owned subsidiary, ESP Petrochemicals, Inc., is a manufacturer, blender, distributor, and marketer of specialty chemicals to the oil and gas industry. Trading on NASDAQ’s OTCBB, they have operations in Scott, Louisiana, and Pecos County, [...]

State Budgets Are Anti-Stimulus – Analyst Blog

Dirk Van Dijk — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:54:00 +0000

Today is the end of the 2009 fiscal year, and many states are still scrambling to get budgets in place for the 2010 fiscal year.

It is not easy since when the economy turns south, so do tax revenues, and states are not allowed to run deficits or borrow for operating needs. Some states have managed to cut costs or raise taxes enough to close their deficits for the upcoming year. The only two states without a budget problem are Montana and North Dakota.

As shown in the table below (from http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=711), the total spending cuts or revenue increase needs to be $166 billion or 24% of the projected budget. To some extent states have used "rainy day funds" and the money from the Federal Stimulus bill to close some of the gap. Still the problem is very severe with 5 states (CA, AZ, NV, IL, NY) facing shortfalls of greater than 30%. California is in the worst shape with a gap of 58.2%.

STATES WITH PROJECTED FY2010 BUDGET GAPS
State	FY2010 pre-budget	FY2010 mid-year gap	FY2010 Total	FY2010 Total % of Budget
Alabama	$1.2 billion	0	$1.2 billion	16.70%
Alaska	$1.3 billion	0	$1.3 billion	30.00%
Arizona	$4.0 billion	0	$4.0 billion	41.10%
Arkansas	$146 million	0	$146 million	3.20%
California*	$34.2 billion	$19.5 billion	$53.7 billion	58.20%
Colorado	$1.0 billion	$384 million	$1.4 billion	18.60%
Connecticut	$4.1 billion	0	$4.1 billion	23.20%
Delaware	$557 million	0	$557 million	17.60%
District of Columbia	$650 million	$150 million	$800 million	12.70%
Florida	$5.9 billion	0	$5.9 billion	22.80%
Georgia	$3.1 billion	$750 million	$3.9 billion	22.30%
Hawaii	$682 million	$297 million	$978 million	19.10%
Idaho	$411 million	0	$411 million	16.40%
Illinois	$9.2 billion	0	$9.2 billion	33.00%
Indiana	$1.1 billion	0	$1.1 billion	7.50%
Iowa	$779 million	0	$779 million	13.20%
Kansas	$1.4 billion	Yes, DK size	$1.4 billion	22.60%
Kentucky	0	$1.1 billion	$1.1 billion	11.30%
Louisiana	$1.8 billion	0	$1.8 billion	21.60%
Maine	$640 million	0	$640 million	21.40%
Maryland	$1.9 billion	Yes, DK size	$1.9 billion	13.60%
Massachusetts	$5.0 billion	0	$5.0 billion	17.90%
Michigan	$2.4 billion	0	$2.4 billion	12.00%
Minnesota	$3.2 billion	0	$3.2 billion	21.00%
Mississippi	$480 million	0	$480 million	9.60%
Missouri	$923 million	0	$923 million	10.30%
Nebraska	$150 million	0	$150 million	4.30%
Nevada	$1.2 billion	0	$1.2 billion	37.80%
New Hampshire	$250 million	0	$250 million	16.20%
New Jersey	$8.8 billion	0	$8.8 billion	29.90%
New Mexico	$345 million	0	$345 million	6.30%
New York	$17.9 billion	0	$17.9 billion	32.30%
North Carolina	$4.6 billion	0	$4.6 billion	21.90%
Ohio	$3.3 billion	0	$3.3 billion	12.30%
Oklahoma	$600 million	0	$600 million	10.50%
Oregon*	0	0	0	0.00%
Pennsylvania	$4.8 billion	0	$4.8 billion	18.00%
Rhode Island	$590 million	0	$590 million	19.20%
South Carolina	$725 million	0	$725 million	12.50%
South Dakota	$32 million	0	$32 million	2.90%
Tennessee	$1.0 billion	0	$1.0 billion	9.70%
Texas	$3.5 billion	0	$3.5 billion	9.50%
Utah	$721 million	$279 million	$1.0 billion	19.80%
Vermont	$278 million	0	$278 million	24.80%
Virginia	$1.8 billion	Yes, DK size	$1.8 billion	10.90%
Washington	$3.4 billion	$195 million	$3.6 billion	23.30%
West Virginia	$200 million	0	$200 million	5.30%
Wisconsin	$3.2 billion	0	$3.2 billion	23.20%
Wyoming	0	$32 million	$32 million	1.70%
Total	$143.2 billion	$22.7 billion	$165.9 billion	24.40%

This will lead to very drastic cuts in state budgets. Access to medical care by the poor will likely be one of the first things to be cut.

Education budgets will also probably be pared. This could be decreased spending on new textbooks, which would not be good news for publishers like McGraw-Hill (MHP) and Scholastic (SCHL).

Another area that is likely to be hit is new equipment at the municipal level. For example, I would not expect Oshkosh (OSK) to have a very good year selling new fire engines and snow removal equipment to municipalities.

Layoffs of state and municipal workers will simply add to the already high and rising unemployment rate. In short, a big part of the federal stimulus spending is being offset by (legally mandated) anti-stimulus actions at the state level.

As the graph shows, state fiscal problems tend to persist well after the recession is officially over. Indeed the problem is usually worse in the second or third year since by then the "rainy day funds" have already been used up.

Following the last recession, states collectively had their worst year in 2004 with a shortfall of $80 billion (or less than half what they face for fiscal 2010), which was well after the recession officially ended. Thus 2011, and possibly even 2012, will be a very lean year at the state level as well.

Read the full analyst report on "MHP"
Read the full analyst report on "SCHL"
Read the full analyst report on "OSK"
Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Masimo Corporation, Gentiva Health Services, Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc., Palm, Inc. and NIKE, Inc. – Press Releases

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:43:00 +0000

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - June 29, 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: Masimo Corporation (MASI), Gentiva Health Services (GTIV), Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (BBBY), Palm, Inc. (PALM) and NIKE, Inc. (NKE).

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Here are highlights from Friday's Analyst Blog:

Masimo Trades Near Fair Levels

Masimo Corporation (MASI) Q109 results were strong, with solid revenue and EPS growth. In our recent report on the company, we note the current price trades at a P/E/G multiple of 1.3x for 2009, greater than both the industry mean and the comparables' mean P/E/G multiple of 1.2x.

The company's stock deserves to trade at a 15% premium to the comparables' mean P/E/G multiple. This equates to a P/E of 28.7x and a target price of approximately $25.55. We reiterated our 'Hold' rating for this stock.

Gentiva's New Healthy Acquisition

On June 24, 2009, Gentiva Health Services (GTIV) announced it had acquired Mid-State Home Health, one of central Louisiana's top-three home healthcare providers.

Established in 1991, Mid-State covers a 50-mile radius from its base in Alexandria that extends across 11 parishes in central Louisiana. Gentiva does not currently operate in this coverage area, but does provide services in an adjacent area.

Bed Bath & Beyond Beats

On June 24, Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (BBBY) released earnings results for the first quarter ended May 30, 2009.

The company performed above expectations. It reported a net income of $87.2 million or $0.34 per share, compared to $76.8 million or $0.30 per share the same quarter a year ago, thus beating the consensus EPS estimate by 9 cents. The company has beaten consensus estimates in each of the last three quarters.

Palm Posts Upbeat 4Q Results

Palm, Inc. (PALM) fourth quarter 2009 results beat Wall Street's expectations as well as ours. The company reported fiscal fourth quarter (May 31) revenue of $86.8 million, down 4.2% from the third quarter of 2009 and a sharp decline of 70.7% from the fourth quarter of 2008.

Although revenue fell sharply in the quarter it exceeded our expectation of $75.0 million as well as consensus estimates of $80.3 million. This was due to strong demand for its recently unveiled Palm Pre. Revenue performance in the quarter was also positively impacted by the strong domestic and international carrier interest in the Web OS platform and ramp up of Treo Pro shipment.

NIKE Ties Ends, Keeps Running

NIKE, Inc. (NKE) reported mixed financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended May 31, 2009. Fourth quarter results affected both top and bottom lines, mainly on account of the global economic slowdown leading to lower consumer spending and foreign exchange volatility.

At the same time, NKE displayed prudent inventory management (inventory is down 3% year-over-year), and cornered another incremental slice of the market.

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Zacks Investment Research

Gentiva’s New Healthy Acquisition – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:16:07 +0000

On June 24, 2009, Gentiva Health Services (GTIV) announced it had acquired Mid-State Home Health, one of central Louisiana's top-three home healthcare providers.

Established in 1991, Mid-State covers a 50-mile radius from its base in Alexandria that extends across 11 parishes in central Louisiana. Gentiva does not currently operate in this coverage area, but does provide services in an adjacent area.

The transaction is being funded from GTIV's existing cash reserves. The acquisition is not expected to have a material impact on GTIV's financial position or results of operations in 2009.

GTIV reported better than expected 1Q09 adjusted net income of $12.7M, or adjusted EPS of $0.43 (compared with consensus of $0.42). Cash on the balance sheet as at March 31, 2009, was $79.6M versus long-term debt of $237M.

Notwithstanding reimbursement risk related to current healthcare reform initiatives in Washington, we believe the growth of specialty program and hospice revenues during the quarter bodes well for margin expansion over the short term and rate the stock a Buy at current levels.
Read the full analyst report on "GTIV"
Zacks Investment Research

Filing Proposes 12-Month Natural Gas ETF

IndexUniverse Staff — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:00:00 +0000

Natural gas is trading in contango right now, but a proposed fund could offer a solution.

There’s another commodity fund in the works from the same firm that has brought to market such controversial funds as the U.S. Oil Fund (NYSE Arca: USO), the U.S. Gasoline Fund (NYSE Arca: UGA), the United States Natural Gas Fund (NYSE Arca: UNG) and the U.S. 12-Month Oil Fund (NYSE Arca: USL).

This time around, United States Commodity Funds LLC—formerly Victoria Bay Asset Management—is seeking approval for its second “12-month” commodities fund, except this one will invest in natural gas—or rather, the futures contracts that promise delivery of natural gas to Louisiana’s Henry Hub.

As with USL, the most recent filing indicates that the fund generally will hold a complete basket of the next 12 months’ futures contracts (as opposed to UNG, which simply holds the upcoming month—August 2009 at the moment.)

Two weeks before the expiration of the nearest-month contract, the fund will roll forward another month, picking up the then-12-months-out contract.

The investment purpose of such a strategy is to protect against contango, the bane of every futures investor.

When a commodity is in contango (which natural gas currently is), the cost of a near-month contract is cheaper than a far-month contract. That means every time an investor (or a fund in this case) has to roll forward a month, they take a hit—tomorrow is more expensive than today.

As such, contango can really eat into the returns of a fund investing exclusively in near-month contracts, even when the price of oil is rising, because it rolls forward into more-expensive contracts—essentially paying up again every month just to keep the holdings the same.

Contango had such an effect on USO, United States Commodity Funds’ first fund that the firm eventually followed it up with USL in December 2007.

Currently, natural gas is trading in contango, hurting the returns of UNG. Of course, the contango could disappear at any moment—as it did in oil not too long ago. (See more on UNG here and a recent IU.com blog about the challenges presented by contango here.)

But even if it does disappear before the proposed fund launches, investors will have a viable alternative to UNG for the next time.

The proposed fund will trade on the NYSE Arca and carry an expense ratio of 0.60%, according to the filing.

You can read the filing here.

-- This report was submitted by IndexUniverse.com's Heather Bell.

Avalon Oil & Gas, Inc.’s (AOGN.OB) Strong Leadership Team

QualityStocks — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:43:59 +0000

Avalon Oil & Gas Inc. is an independent domestic oil and natural gas producer. The company’s strategy is to use efficient reservoir maintenance and innovative technology to generate stable cash flows and production from a portfolio of oil and gas leases. Avalon currently has leases in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Avalon Oil & Gas [...]

What is Holding Back Natural Gas?

Michael E. Brisky — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:56:00 +0000

Natural Gas has been a hot trade as the whole commodity complex has be semi-re-inflated (the cause is still up for debate). But while crude oil prices have moved significantly off their earlier lows, Natural Gas prices haven't done much. Everyone knows the positives: 1) Its domestic; 2) Its cleaner than many other fossil fuels; and for traders 3)Its still relatively cheap and could spike due to an uptick in demand and/or a strong storm season.br /br /While Natural Gas (and when I speak of natural gas, assume I'm talking about UNG the vehicle most use to trade gas) has been a popular trade and has seen massive volume, it hasn't really gone anywhere. The a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124527293718124619.html?mod=googlenews_wsj"problem is supply/a. br /br /blockquoteThe amount of natural gas available for production in the U.S. has soared 58% in the past four years, driven by a drilling boom and the discovery of huge new gas fields in Texas, Louisiana and Pennsylvania, a new study says. pThe report, due to be released Thursday by the nonprofit Potential Gas Committee, concludes that the U.S. has 2,074 trillion cubic feet of natural gas still in the ground, or nearly a century's worth of production at current rates. That's a 35.4% jump over the committee's previous estimate, in 2007, of 1,532 trillion cubic feet, the biggest increase in the committee's 44-year history./p/blockquotep/ppGas drillers have been shutting off wells at a swift pace after a record amount in 2008, but it still hasn't done enough to slow supply enough./ppLong term, this is good for our energy plan though. Natural gas can be used to generate electricity and power vehicles. Our current means of doing this are much dirtier and will likely come under scrutiny from Washington./ppFor investors, it means that demand is likely going to rise, but not until the economy is stronger. Other countries are relying on natural gas and learning how to find it as well, which has only added to the increased supply. I keep hearing how people want to be "loading up" on UNG because its going much higher soon. I don't disagree, but the timing is the key. It may take a couple of years before prices move much higher. Even though your investment will likely be in good shape, it could be "dead money" for awhile. br //ppThat's my take on this debate. I do want to own UNG as I believe in the whole thesis, but this is why I haven't been rushing into it. For now, I'm content to pick up shares when they trade on the low end of their current range, and sell when they appreciate a few percent. br //ppDisclosure: nonebr //pdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/819581243324579563-388133736866039794?l=briskycapital.blogspot.com'//div

Shale Gas to the Rescue – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:22:22 +0000

The Potential Gas Committee (PGC), a respected panel of academics and experts supported by the Colorado School of Mines, has painted an optimistic picture of the nation's long-term natural gas supply situation. In its latest biennial report released today, the committee pegs the nation's total natural gas resource potential at 2,074 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), up 35% from their last estimate in 2006.

A minor explanation is in order to correct reporting by the mainstream press about PGC's estimate of the nation's natural gas `reserves' at 2,074 Tcf. These are not proved reserves as are declared by E&P players every year, but a much broader classification that includes proved, probable, possible and speculative reserves. The proved reserves tally for the U.S., according to the Energy Information Administration as of year-end 2007, was around 237 billion cubic feet.

As such, it is far from certain that all or most of the estimated resource potential will actually get produced. But the bigger point here is that the U.S. has plenty of natural gas resources, much more than was previously estimated.

The 35% jump in the PGC's estimate primarily reflects greater appreciation of the resource potential of new prolific shale gas fields in Texas, Louisiana and Pennsylvania. These are not new discoveries in the sense of exploration success, but more in the sense of evolutionary improvements that have enabled the industry to tap the enormous resource potential of natural gas trapped inside shale rock.

The Barnett Shale field in Texas is the most developed of these shale plays, while the Haynesville Shale play in East Texas/North Louisiana is currently being developed. Another very prospective shale play at a very early stage is Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania. The massive resource potential and lack of exploration risk in these shale plays make them very attractive assets for exploration and production companies.

In the current low natural gas price environment, largely a result of recession-hit and plentiful supplies, we have favored E&P players that have access to such plentiful resource-rich assets, such as the shale plays, and have attractive hedges in place. Chesapeake Energy (CHK) and EnCana (ECA) are the second and third largest acreage holders in the Haynesville shale, while EOG Resources (EOG) and XTO Energy (XTO) also have significant presence in this major play.
Read the full analyst report on "CHK"
Read the full analyst report on "ECA"
Read the full analyst report on "EOG"
Read the full analyst report on "XTO"
Zacks Investment Research

Avalon Oil Oil & Gas, Inc. (AOGN.OB) Revenues Climb with First Check From Scissortail

QualityStocks — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:37:32 +0000

Avalon Oil & Gas, Inc., an independent domestic producer/investor of oil and natural gas, announced last month that it has received its first check for gas revenues from Scissortail Energy, an Oklahoma based provider of natural gas midstream services. The payment is for natural gas produced in the East Chandler Field in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, [...]

Eagle Rock Energy Partners, L.P. (EROC) Featured by TinyGems

QualityStocks — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:58:50 +0000

Eagle Rock Energy Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: EROC), together with its subsidiaries, gathers, compresses, treats, processes, transports, and sells natural gas. The company also acquires, develops and produces oil and natural gas working interests in Alabama and Texas; in addition to acquiring and managing fee minerals and royalty interests. Eagle Rock has natural gas gathering and [...]

ERF Wireless (ERFW.OB) Acquires Frontier Internet LLC and iTexas.net

QualityStocks — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:34:51 +0000

ERF Wireless, a leading provider of enterprise-class wireless broadband products and services, announced this morning that it acquired the assets and operations of Frontier Internet LLC and iTexas.net, both headquartered in Granbury, Texas. These transactions, which closed on the first of the month, are the fourteenth and fifteenth such acquisitions by ERF Wireless of Texas-based [...]

Avalon Oil & Gas, Inc. (AOGN.OB) Has Numerous Oil & Gas Properties – Part 3

QualityStocks — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:45:10 +0000

Avalon Oil & Gas Inc. is an independent domestic oil and natural gas producer. The company’s strategy is to use efficient reservoir maintenance and innovative technology to generate stable cash flows and production from a portfolio of oil and gas lease properties in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. Here is a brief overview of the rest [...]

Avalon Oil & Gas, Inc. (AOGN.OB) Has Numerous Oil & Gas Properties – Part 2

QualityStocks — Fri, 29 May 2009 17:45:54 +0000

Avalon Oil & Gas Inc. is an independent domestic oil and natural gas producer. The company’s strategy is to use efficient reservoir maintenance and innovative technology to generate stable cash flows and production from a portfolio of oil and gas lease properties in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. Here is a brief overview of a few [...]

The Outlook Bodes Well For Natural Gas ETF Beyond 2009

ETF Daily News — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:30:34 +0000

Natural gas prices have shown some strength recently, piggy-backing on higher oil prices. Although last week’s higher than expected gas storage update is bearish in the short-term for natural gas prices, the longer term outlook bodes well for significantly higher natural gas prices. Although oil prices will also probably pull-back from the recent run-up with the [...]

Avalon Oil & Gas, Inc. (AOGN.OB) Has Numerous Oil & Gas Properties

QualityStocks — Wed, 27 May 2009 17:22:55 +0000

Avalon Oil & Gas Inc. is an independent domestic oil and natural gas producer. The company’s strategy is to use efficient reservoir maintenance and innovative technology to generate stable cash flows and production from a portfolio of oil and gas lease properties in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. Here is a brief overview of some of [...]

Keep Avalon Oil and Gas, Inc. (AOGN.OB) on Radar

QualityStocks — Fri, 22 May 2009 20:01:30 +0000

Avalon Oil & Gas, Inc. is an independent domestic oil and natural gas producer focused on leveraging efficient reservoir maintenance and innovative technologies to generate stable cash flows and production. By acquiring a portfolio of oil and gas leases to generate asset growth, the company aims to deliver a sustainable rate of return for their [...]

TrinityCare Senior Living, Inc. (TCSR.OB) Reports Operating Results for First Quarter of 2009

QualityStocks — Wed, 20 May 2009 14:29:08 +0000

TrinityCare Senior Living, Inc. today reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2009. Revenues for the quarter totaled $1,547,001, up 19% from the $1,305,624 generated in the first quarter of 2008. Gross profit rose approximately 51% to $813,707 (52.6% of revenues) in the most recent quarter, compared with $539,551 (41.3% of revenues) in [...]

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation – Value – Zacks Rank Buy

Tracey Ryniec — Wed, 20 May 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (GLDD), which operates dredging projects around the world, saw revenue surge 32% to a first quarter record. It also has its eyes on possible stimulus projects. GLDD surprised on estimates by 550%.

Company Description

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock is the largest provider of dredging services in the United States. Founded in Chicago in 1890, the company has been involved in some of the largest dredging projects in the country including the creation of Lower Wacker Drive in Chicago.

The company's fleet consists of 13 Cutter Suction Dredges, 8 Hopper Dredges, 6 Bucket Dredges, 2 Drill boats, 1 Unloader, 7 Booster Pumps and 184 support vessels.

Great Lakes' vessels deepen shipping channels, reclaim land from the ocean and assist with beach restoration for storm-damaged coastlines.

About 25% of the company's operation is outside of the United States, with a large portion of the international business located in the Middle East.

Additionally, Great Lakes also has a 50% interest in a marine sand mining operation located in New Jersey which supplies sand and aggregate used for road and building construction.

First Quarter Sees Record Revenue

Great Lakes is operating on all cylinders as it reported record revenue for the first quarter and maintains a solid year-end backlog. The company will also likely be able to nab a portion of the $350 million to $400 million allocated in the stimulus bill to dredging projects that must be awarded in the next 18 months.

Revenue jumped 32% to $179.2 million from $135.7 million in the year ago quarter. Dredging revenue climbed 66% over a year ago as fleet utilization was improved across all sectors. The prior year quarter was also negatively affected by temporary loss of the dredge New York and downtime of several vessels.

The company continued its projects in the Ports of New York, New Jersey, and Tampa, along the Columbia River in Oregon and its coastal restoration work in Louisiana. Internationally, it continued work on the Diyar project in Bahrain.

Net income was $7.3 million, or 13 cents, compared to a loss of $1.2 million, or a loss of 2 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2008. Analysts expected just 2 cents in the quarter.

Backlog

As of Mar 31, the backlog was $344 million compared to $418 million at the end of December 2008. Included in the first quarter backlog is about $57 million remaining on the Diyar land reclamation project in Bahrain which was reclassified from backlog to options pending status so the customer could control the timing of the completion of the project.

Consensus Estimates Rise

Given the results of the first quarter and the prospects for possible stimulus projects going forward, covering analysts have been raising estimates for the second quarter and the full year.

Second-quarter consensus estimates rose 2 cents to 6 cents from 4 cents in the last 30 days.

Full year estimates jumped 81% to 29 cents from 16 cents per share in the last month with all 3 covering analysts raising during that time.

Value Fundamentals

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock is a Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) stock. It has a P/E of 13.6x forward earnings. The company's price-to-book is 1.12. GLDD also pays a dividend, with a current yield of 1.70%.

Zacks Investment Research

Entergy Results Disappoint – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:30:23 +0000

Entergy Generates Disappointing Q1'09 Results

Entergy Corp. (ETR) released financial results for the 1st quarter of 2009 in which the company reported a 23.8% decrease in earnings of $235.3 million, or $1.20 per diluted share ($1.22 basic), compared to $308.7 million, or $1.56 per diluted share ($1.60 basic), in the year-ago quarter.

Ongoing operating earnings were reported at $252.6 million, or $1.29 per share, compared with $308.7 million, or $1.56 per share, in the comparable prior-year quarter.

Operating revenues in the reported quarter decreased 2.6% to $2.79 billion from $2.86 billion in the prior-year quarter.

Cash flow provided by operating activities decreased in the 1st quarter of 2009 as compared to the year-ago period due to lower net income, and changes in other regulatory assets.

Outlook: Entergy reaffirmed its fiscal 2009 outlook and expects EPS in the range of $6.70 - $7.30. As-reported guidance ranges from $6.56 to $7.16 and reflects $0.14 per share of projected dis-synergies associated with the expected spin-off of Entergy's non-utility nuclear business and plan to enter into a nuclear services joint venture.

Entergy is focusing on its traditional electric utility business with the imminent separation of its nuclear business.

However, destruction from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in September 2008 affected the performance of the company. According to company estimates, total restoration costs are estimated to be within the range of $1.295 billion to $1.360 billion. Previously, the company showed strong resilience during two back-to-back destructive hurricanes in 2005.

Going forward, improving credit markets, a reasonable valuation, and steady recovery from hurricane damage, should continue to deliver strong earnings and cash-flow growth.

However, pending regulatory approvals in New York and Vermont for the proposed spin-off of its nuclear business is likely to further delay the spin-off transaction.

Looking ahead, the company's ability to achieve management's targeted earnings growth will depend primarily upon intrinsic growth, the recovery of hurricane-related restoration costs, and the return of customers. In addition, the implementation of a formula rate plan, and significant free cash flow generation available for capital deployment for share repurchases, dividend hikes and/or debt retirement should collectively support management's focus on creating shareholder value.

Over the past year, ETR traded within a P/E range of 9.2x to 18.7x then current-year EPS estimates. ETR shares currently trade at 11.2x and 10.6x, respectively, our 2009 and 2010 earnings per share estimates, or at a discount to the median and mean multiples for the diversified energy utility industry. Meanwhile, ETR trades at the upper-end of the range of its industry peers based upon relative multiples of book value yet in-line with its utility industry peers based on relative multiples of sales cash flow.

Therefore, with above industry average earnings growth expectations and a bullish outlook, we reiterate our BUY recommendation on ETR with a six-month target price of $78.00, or 11.9x our 2009 EPS forecast and 11.3x our forward 2010 EPS estimate. Price appreciation to our near-term valuation target, coupled with the $0.75 per share quarterly cash dividend - which appears sustainable and secure based on reasonable projected earnings payouts of 45.7% and 43.5%, respectively, of our 2009 and 2010 EPS estimates - represents annualized total return potential of 17.2%.

New Orleans-based Entergy Corporation is primarily engaged in electric power production and retail distribution operations. With 30,000 MW of generating capacity, it distributes electricity to 2.6 million customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The company also distributes natural gas to 240,000 customers in Louisiana.
Read the full analyst report on "ETR"
Zacks Investment Research

U.S. Continues to Import Nearly 70% of Foreign Oil

Dawn Van Zant — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Chatham, Louisiana - May 8, 2009 - Speaking at the unveiling of a newly constructed EXCO compressed natural gas vehicle fueling facility, today energy expert T. Boone Pickens provided his fifth consecutive monthly update on the level of United States' imports of foreign oil.

Natural Gas – Energy Strategist 04/22/2009

The Energy Report — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:36:02 +0000

“I don’t buy the extreme arguments on either side of the where-is-natural-gas-headed debate. I do see signs, however, that support my out-of-consensus view. Views on the natural gas market tend to extremes. Some analysts believe natural gas will continue to trade under USD4 per MMBtu for a prolonged period, while others will tell you it’s [...]

Attitude Drinks Announces Latest Research Supporting Claims Behind just! ‘Metabolic Health’

Stuart T. Smith — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:53:53 +0000

Studies Show Key Ingredient Burns 300 Calories Per Day PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Attitude Drinks Incorporated (OTCBB: ATTD) announced today the recent presentation of the latest scientific study validating health claims behind just! ‘Metabolic Health’TM, Attitude Drinks’ functional milk drink set to launch in Spring, 2009. Leading researcher, Dr. Michael Zemel, responsible for the development of [...]

Terra Industries Inc. – Value – Zacks Rank Buy

Tracey Ryniec — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Terra Industries Inc. (TRA), the nitrogen products manufacturer, posted record earnings in 2008 as nitrogen prices soared.

The company has surprised on estimates 4 quarters in a row by an average of 53.27%. First-quarter estimates are rising as spring planting season begins. TRA has a PEG ratio of 0.97.

Company Description

Terra Industries produces nitrogen products for various markets including agriculture, industrial and environmental customers.

The company operates 6 North American nitrogen products manufacturing plants and a a 50% interest in joint ventures in the UK and The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

For the last few months, Terra has been subject to an offer of acquisition by CF Industries Holdings (CF).

The first offer was rejected by Terra's Board of Directors. On Mar 23, CF said it was prepared to raise its offer by 11% to $30.50 for each Terra share.

On Mar 24, Terra's Board also rejected the higher offer stating, "this most recent version of your proposal continues to run counter to Terra's strategic objectives, substantially undervalues Terra both absolutely and relative to CF, and would deliver less value to our shareholders than would owning Terra on a stand-alone basis."

CF has not indicated that it's going away anytime soon even though it is also subject to an acquisition offer itself from Agrium (AGU).

Stay tuned for further developments. It's getting interesting.

Record 2008 Results

Business continues on, as usual, for Terra despite the CF acquisition offer. On Feb 10, the company reported record 2008 results as revenue jumped 26% to $2.9 billion from $2.3 billion in 2007.

The increase was fueled primarily by higher selling prices as prices of Ammonia, UAN and AN rose 64%, 48% and 38%, respectively, compared to the year ago period. Sales volume declined for ammonia and UAN, by 5% and 4%, while AN sales increased by 2% compared to 2007.

Net income was a company record as it more than doubled in 2008 to $6.20 per share up from $1.90 per share in 2007.

Fourth quarter earnings beat estimates by 53.27% as the company reported an adjusted $1.64 per share. Analysts had expected only $1.07.

Revenue for the fourth quarter jumped 20% to $683.5 million from $569 million in the fourth quarter of 2007 mainly due to higher nitrogen product selling prices.

Sales volumes declined sharply, however, due to the global slowdown. Terra recorded $49.8 million in charges related to derivative and inventory valuation. It also idled its Donaldsonville, LA and Woodward, OK manufacturing plants due to slow December demand.

Cash Rich

As of Dec 31, 2008, Terra Industries had cash balances, including approximately $37 million in derivative margin deposits, of $1.003 billion.

Outlook for 2009

The company expects spring nitrogen demand to be strong as those growers who deferred applications in the fall must buy in the spring.

Terra also forecasts nitrogen selling prices to improve as demand increases. The company also sees industrial ammonia demand staying weak.

Consensus Estimates Rise for 2009

Analysts have been all over the place on Terra's earnings estimates. Estimates have fallen sharply from 90 days ago before the global recession deepened. But in the last 30 days, estimates have turned higher.

First quarter consensus estimates are up 2 cents to 37 cents in the last 30 days. Full-year 2009 consensus estimates rose 5 cents to $3.19 in the last month.

Value Fundamentals

Terra Industries is a Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) stock. It has a forward P/E of 7.7. Its price-to-book is 2.76. The company also has an outstanding 5-year return on equity (ROE) of 23.12%.

Additionally, Terra rewards shareholders with a dividend that is currently yielding 1.50%.

Zacks Investment Research

LAMR a Value Buy – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:56:25 +0000

Headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Lamar Advertising Co. (LAMR) is one of the largest owners and operators of outdoor advertising structures in the U.S. The company is a beneficiary of any increase in demand for local advertising.

However, short-term, free cash flow is being pressured by lower revenue due to economic weakness, increased capital expenditures in the effort to digitize signs, and higher expenses related to the recently acquired outdoor advertising assets.

Interestingly, beneficial owner SPO Advisory Corp. acquired additional shares in 2008, bringing its total holdings to 20.4% in the company. The Buy rating is maintained due to attractive valuation.

Read the full analyst report on "LAMR"
Zacks Investment Research

Conn’s Inc. – Value – Zacks Rank Buy

Tracey Ryniec — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Conn's, Inc. (CONN), the consumer electronics and home products retailer, is one of the few retail success stories after sales soared in the fourth quarter by 22.3% as the Texas economy stayed hot. The company recently raised fourth quarter guidance. It reports earnings on Mar 26. CONN is trading at 8.8x forward earnings.

Company Description

Conn's is a specialty retailer that operates 76 locations in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. The bulk of the company's stores are in Texas, with only 6 operating in Louisiana and 3 in Oklahoma.

The company sells home appliances, including refrigerators, dishwashers, washers, and dryers, consumer electronics, including LCD and plasma televisions, digital cameras and computers, lawn and garden products, furniture and mattresses, and other home products.

A hallmark of the company is its flexible in-house credit options which, over the prior 3 years, has allowed Conn's to finance, on average, about 61% of its retail sales.

Fourth Quarter Sales Jumped 22.3%

As many retailers struggle, Conn's bucked the trend with strong sales growth for the quarter ending Jan 31, 2009.

Net sales increased 22.3%, or $44.8 million, to $245.4 million compared to sales for the quarter ending Jan 31, 2008.

Same store sales climbed 12.5% for the quarter, with a gain of 21.7% in just the month of January compared to the year ago period. The company said same store sales were strong during every month of the quarter, driven by the company's focus on increasing its market share.

Consumer electronics was the hot category, growing 43.8% year over year. Consumers continued to buy flat-panel televisions, especially LCD televisions, and home theater systems.

Fourth Quarter Guidance Raised

On Feb 19, Conn's raised its previously issued guidance for the quarter ended Jan 31, 2009 due to strong sales and improved margins in the quarter. The new forecast calls for earnings per share in the range of 66 cents to 68 cents, well above previous guidance of 53 cents to 58 cents per share. Earnings per share in the fourth quarter of 2008 were 57 cents per share.

Conn's is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings on Mar 26.

Consensus Estimates Rise

Given the company's increased guidance, it's not surprising that consensus estimates for the fourth-quarter 2009 and full-year 2009 have been rising. Fourth quarter estimates jumped 50% to 60 cents in the last 90 days, still well below the company's forecasted range.

Full-year guidance is up 3 cents to $1.20 per share in the last 3 months, with 3 out of 4 covering analysts raising in the last 30 days.

Value Fundamentals

Conn's is a Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) stock. It has surprised on estimates 3 out of the last 4 quarters.

The company is trading with a forward P/E of 8.8. It has a price-to-book of 0.83. It also has a PEG ratio of only 0.61. The company's has a solid 5-year average return on equity (ROE) of 15.41%.

Zacks Investment Research

Pullback underway, but may be brief

Alex Stanczyk — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:17:58 +0000

By: Gene Arensberg HOUSTON — As expected gold paused just after attempting a second assault at the big round number target with three zeros, US$1,000 this past week. We could all feel a pullback or correction coming.Apparently sensing that the market for gold had moved too far or too fast, the very large commercial futures traders [...]

Genesis Energy, L. P. – Value – Zacks Rank Buy

Tracey Ryniec — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Genesis Energy, L. P. (GEL) just announced its 14th consecutive quarterly dividend increase as the energy transporter continues to see increased profits. The stock is cheap. GEL trades at only 7x forward earnings and has a current dividend yield of 11.80%.

Company Description

Genesis Energy operates as an energy master limited partnership ("MLP") which transports energy and refines products throughout Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Its customers include the integrated oil companies as well as independent oil producers.

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The company has 4 business segments:

Pipeline Transportation Division which transports crude oil, carbon dioxide and natural gas
Refinery Services Division which processes sour gas streams to remove sulfur
Supply and Logistics Division which transports, stores and supplies energy products to customers
Industrial Gases Division which produces and supplies industrial gases like carbon dioxide and syngas.

14th Consecutive Quarterly Dividend Increase

As a MLP, Genesis Energy distributes a large portion of its income to unit holders. On Jan 8, the company announced a distribution payment for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2008 which rose 16% over the fourth quarter 2007. The 33 cents per common unit distribution is payable on Feb 13 for unitholders of record as of Feb 3.

Surprised on Third-Quarter Estimates by 19.05%

On Nov 6, Genesis Energy reported third-quarter 2008 earnings that beat analysts' estimates by 4 cents a share.

Net income jumped 535.29% to $10.8 million, or 25 cents per unit, from $1.7 million, or 7 cents, in the prior year. Analysts expected 21 cents. Third quarter 2007 only saw the impact of the Davison businesses for 2 months of that quarter.

The company saw no lasting effects from the 2 Gulf hurricanes during the quarter.

Solid Cash Position

Even with its large distributions, Genesis still has a strong cash position. At the end of the third quarter, the company had $170 million in cash and debt commitments.

Consensus Estimates Rise for 2008

Given the company's recent solid track record, covering analysts are fairly optimistic about the fourth-quarter 2008 and full-year 2008. Fourth-quarter estimates are up a penny in the last 30 days to 23 cents. 2008 consensus estimates rose 2 cents to 69 cents in the last 90 days.

For 2009, analysts are projecting 51.44% year-over-year earnings growth, with consensus estimates of $1.05 per unit.

Analysts are also bullish on long term growth, forecasting 20% earnings growth over the next 5 years.

GEL is scheduled to report fourth-quarter and full-year earnings on Feb 25.

Value Fundamentals

Genesis Energy is a Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) stock. It has surprised on estimates 3 out of the last 4 quarters.

GEL is trading at only 7.4x forward earnings. It has a price-to-book of 0.71. Its PEG ratio is only 0.60. As an MLP, Genesis pays a quarterly distribution with a current spectacular yield of 11.80%.

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

CenturyTel (CTL): Cash In On America’s Digital Revolution

Irwin Greenstein — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 11:10:17 +0000

pA significant piece of legislation that is part of President Obama’s stimulus package could open parts of the U.S. to new high-speed Internet services – giving local economies a boost. If so, we’ve identified one company that investors should consider buying in anticipation of a key piece of legislation that was passed last week./p pHigh-speed Internet can exert a profound impact on how local businesses and consumers improve their own personal productivity and expand their entertainment venues. Our thinking here is very much along the lines of our “Cell Phone Indicator” that we use in emerging markets – improved communications boost the local economy./p pThe House Energy and Commerce Committee approved $6 billion in rules for billions in government funds to spur#8230;/p

The Woes of Fannie and Freddie

Bill Bonner — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:30:26 +0000

pFreddie Mac and Fannie Mae are to America’s great empire what the East India Company was to the British Empire in the 19th century…and the Louisiana Company was to France in the 18th. Huge, stupid, and probably fatal./p pFreddie and Fannie are huge government-chartered mortgage lenders. In 18th century France, speculators bet on the riches of Louisiana, through the government-chartered Louisiana Company. In the 19th century, they wagered their money on the riches of India, through the government-chartered Eastn India Company. And in the 20th century, they gambled on rising housing prices through Fannie and Freddie./p pThe immediate problem is that the mortgage lenders are running out of money. They need to raise $75 billion. A few years ago, that would have#8230;/p

Avalon Oil & Gas, Inc. (AOGN.OB) is “One to Watch”

QualityStocks — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 22:42:52 +0000

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Avalon Oil & Gas, Inc. is an oil and gas company engaged in the acquisition of producing oil and gas properties. Trading on the OTCBB, the Company is doing this in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Their corporate strategy is to use efficient reservoir maintenance and innovative technology to obtain [...]

Stocks Which Benefit from Low Oil Prices Part 2: Utilities

Fred Fuld — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 05:18:00 +0000

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_T9VXVyuEITg/STtlkEBkX0I/AAAAAAAAAmM/1FYndgjniZU/s1600-h/oilderrick.jpg"img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_T9VXVyuEITg/STtlkEBkX0I/AAAAAAAAAmM/1FYndgjniZU/s320/oilderrick.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276923058624683842" //abr /Oil may break through $40 a barrel, since it is skirting very close to that price and has traded as low as $40.81. Recently, I wrote about the trucking and package delivery a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/stocks-which-benefit-from-low-oil.html"stocks which could benefit from lower gasoline prices/a.br /br /With the price of oil and natural gas tanking, investors are now looking closely at the utility stocks that use oil and gas as a major fuel source of their electrical generation. Hopefully, the cost savings for these companies will pass through to the bottom line long before the Utilities Commissions implement rate reductions. br /br /Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (PNW) has one of the heaviest exposures, with 24% of their electric energy coming from oil and natural gas. About 35% comes from coal and 21.5% from nuclear. This Phoenix, Arizona based company has a PE of 11, a PEG of 2.62 and a yield of 7.2%.br /br /Westar Energy Inc. (WR) generates about 34% of its energy from natural gas, with 56% from coal and 9% from nuclear. This utility which serves Kansas has a PE of 12, a PEG of 3.11 and a yield of 6.2%.br /br /Entergy Corp. (ETR) has about 18% of its fuel sources coming from oil and natural gas. 12% is from coal and 33% from nuclear, with the rest purchased. Entergy serves Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, and Louisiana, including the City of New Orleans, where it is based. The stock has a PE of 13, a PEG of 1.17 and a yield of 3.7%.br /br /OGE Energy Corp. (OGE) has 29% of its energy coming from natural gas, with 51% from coal. They serve the south central United States. The stock has a PE of 9, a PEG of 2.32 and a yield of 6%.br /br /Alliant Energy Corp. (LNT) has 28% of its electricity generated from natural gas and 6% from oil. The company serves Iowa and southern Minnesota. The stock has a PE of 8, a PEG of 1.78 and a yield of 4.9%.br /br /Cleco Corp. (CNL), another Louisiana based company, with 14% exposure to natural gas. The stock has a PE of 13, a PEG of 0.99 and a yield of 4.2%.br /br /If you like utility stocks, you should take a look at a href=" http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/highest-yielding-electric-utilities-for.html"Highest Yielding Electric Utilities/a and a href=" http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/highest-yielding-natural-gas-utilities.html"Highest Yielding Natural Gas Utilities/a. You can also find an Excel database of utility stocks, which you can download, add to and sort, at a href="http://WallStreetNewsNetwork.com"WallStreetNewsNetwork.com/abr /br /emAuthor does not own any of the above./embr /br /By Fred Fuld at a href="http://Stockerblog.com"Stockerblog.com/adiv class="blogger-post-footer"div class='adsense' style='text-align:center; padding: 0px 3px 0.5em 3px;' script type="text/javascript"!-- google_ad_client="ca-pub-2427831169011625"; google_ad_width=300; google_ad_height=250; google_ad_format="300x250_as"; google_ad_type="text"; google_ad_channel ="8681602088"; google_color_border="FFF3DB"; google_color_bg="FFF3DB"; google_color_link="1B0431"; google_color_url="1B0431"; google_color_text="29303B"; //--/script script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" /script /div

Guess Which 4 Currencies Are on the Chopping Block in 2009?

Contrarian Profits — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:36:19 +0000

tr HIDDEN VALUE /tr tr pDear Value Seeker,/p pYesterday, the “Big Three” automakers came to Washington with a plan: ask for even more money./p pGM wants $18 billion, with $4 billion for December’s bills./p pChrysler says it needs $7 billion in the next few months./p pFord is after $9 billion#8230;but only as a precaution. It feels pretty confident it can make it without help./p pAfter all, Ford’s sales fell only 31% year-over-year in November. GM and Chrysler both saw sales for the same period tumble by over 40%./p pIn exchange for $34 billion in taxpayer money, the automakers promised major restructuring, reduced labor costs (that’s right, it’s promising to fire employees in return for taxpayer backing) and the sale of some product lines./p pThe CEOs even said they would even#8230;/p/tr

Fingerprint Identification Firm Has A Lot Of Growth In A Slowing Economy

Joshua Hayes — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:39:26 +0000

Very few stocks out there can say that they are sporting growth in earnings, sales, and its stock price right now. However, COGT can do that, as this automated fingerprinting identification systems firm to Government, Law Enforcement, and other organizations not only has demand for its products but demand for its stock. When it comes to [...]

Tennessee Stocks

Fred Fuld — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 05:29:00 +0000

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_T9VXVyuEITg/SSzhuXNGTuI/AAAAAAAAAl8/tRtxMxNVyqA/s1600-h/Memphis.jpg"img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_T9VXVyuEITg/SSzhuXNGTuI/AAAAAAAAAl8/tRtxMxNVyqA/s320/Memphis.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272837450363195106" //abr /If there is half as much future as there is history for Tennessee, then it is a bright future. And according to several independent organizations, Tennessee is one of the best states in the country to do business. The future is looking bright! Here are some interesting facts about the state:br /br /1. The state offers several incentives for new businesses and businesses relocating to Tennessee. They include, tax credits and tax exemptions.br /2. 80% of the state land is used for agricultural and forestry purposes.br /3. Tennessee most important crops are tobacco, soybeans, and cotton.br /4. The agricultural industry produces more than $2.5 billion in cash receipts.br /5. In a report issued by the American Legislative Exchange Council Tennessee is the 5th best economy in the country.br /6. Tennessee mining industry employs 4,200 workers and it generates income in excess of $800 million.br /7. Currently oil, coal and natural gas mined in the state account for 10% of total mineral mining income in Tennessee.br /8. The tourism industry economic impact is $14.2 billion.br /9. Tennessee’s retail industry employs 315,000 workers and is a $70 billion industry.br /10. The state’s manufacturing industry is dominated by the processed foods sector (grain products, cereals and breads).br /br /The following companies are headquartered in Tennessee:br /br /FedEx Corporation (FDX) provides business services worldwide; its services include freight, ground and express shipping. The stock has a market cap of $19.47 billion, a PE of 21, a PEG of 1.00, and it pays a yield of 0.7%.br /br /International Paper Company (IP) makes papers for writing and printing, market pulp, and other paper products. The stock has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a PE of 6, a PEG of 0.99 and it pays a yield of 9%.br /br /Unum Group (UNM) operates in the United States, and the United Kingdom as a provider of disability products, and other insurance products. The stock has a market cap of $5.49 billion, a PE of 8, a PEG 0.65, and it pays a yield of 1.7%.br /br /AutoZone Inc. (AZO) is a distributor and retailer of parts and accessories for automobiles. The stock has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a PE of 11, and a PEG of 0.79.br /br /Eastman Chemical Company (EMN) makes and markets chemicals, plastics and other products. The stock has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a PE of 9, a PEG of 1.22, and it pays a dividend of 4.3%.br /br /First Horizon National Corporation (FHN) is a holding company for First Tennessee Bank. The stock has a market cap of $2.26 billion, and it pays a dividend of 6.9%.br /br /Regal Entertainment Group (RGC) manages movie theaters in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a PE of 23, a PEG of 2.01, and it pays a yield of 8.6%.br /br /Corrections Corporation of America (CXW) owns and manages prisons. It provides transportation services for inmates, healthcare, and other services. The stock has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a PE of 16, and a PEG of 0.81.br /br /King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (KG) supplies pharmaceutical products in the United States and internationally. The stock has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a PE of 15, and a PEG of 0.71.br /br /Community Health Systems, Inc. (CYH) renders healthcare services in the United States. The company owns and operates hospitals. The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a PE of 56, and a PEG of 0.55.br /br /Don't forget to check out the stocks from the states of a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/wisconsin-stocks.html"Wisconsin/a, a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/louisiana-stocks.html"Louisiana/a, a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/michigan-stocks.html"Michigan/a, and a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/kentucky-stocks.html"Kentucky/a. br /br /iAuthor does not own any of the above./ibr /br /By a href="http://Stockerblog.com"Stockerblog.com/adiv class="blogger-post-footer"div class='adsense' style='text-align:center; padding: 0px 3px 0.5em 3px;' script type="text/javascript"!-- google_ad_client="ca-pub-2427831169011625"; google_ad_width=300; google_ad_height=250; google_ad_format="300x250_as"; google_ad_type="text"; google_ad_channel ="8681602088"; google_color_border="FFF3DB"; google_color_bg="FFF3DB"; google_color_link="1B0431"; google_color_url="1B0431"; google_color_text="29303B"; //--/script script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" /script /div

Ohio Stocks

Fred Fuld — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:56:00 +0000

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_T9VXVyuEITg/SSpYq8j_wfI/AAAAAAAAAl0/9kY9DN2tjic/s1600-h/ohio.jpg"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 125px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_T9VXVyuEITg/SSpYq8j_wfI/AAAAAAAAAl0/9kY9DN2tjic/s320/ohio.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272123808625443314" //abr /Long gone are the days when the French system of trading furs in Ohio was synonymous of wealth. Today Ohio’s economy is one of the most dynamic in America. These are some interesting facts about Ohio:br /br /1. Ohio is one of the top consumers of energy in the country.br /2. The state has a biomass energy program aimed to increase development and production of alternative biomass fuels in the state.br /3. In 2007 Ohio’s gross domestic product was $466 billion.br /4. The state’s manufacturing industries are the top producers in the U.S. of plastics and rubber, and electrical equipment and appliances.br /5. Walmart is Ohio’s largest employer, employing over 50,000 workers.br /6. The state’s top exports are automobiles and machinery.br /7. Ohio’s exports account for 4% of the total U.S. export with total export receipts in 2007 of $42.4 billion.br /8. The main mined mineral in Ohio is coal. The state has reserves of 23.7 billion short tons and it ranks number 7 nationally.br /9. The manufacturing industry produces 20% of the state’s total output in 2007.br /10. The bioscience industry accounts for 17% of the state’s total output.br /br /The following companies are headquartered in Ohio:br /br /Procter Gamble Company (PG) provides beauty, health products and household care products worldwide. The stock has a market cap of $188 billion, a PE of 17, a PEG of 1.47, and it pays a yield of 2.5%.br /br /The Kroger Co. (KR) is a supermarket retailer in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $17 billion, a PE of 14, a PEG of 1.48, and it pays a yield of 1.4%.br /br /FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) is an electric utilities service company in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $15 billion, a PE of 13, a PEG of 1.29, and it pays a yield of 4.6%.br /br /Cardinal Health (CAH) is a provider of products and services to hospitals and clinics in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $14 billion, a PE of 11, a PEG of 0.80, and it pays a yield of 1.5%.br /br /American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP) is a producer and marketer of electric power in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $ 12 billion, a PE of 8, a PEG of 1.64, and it pays a yield of 5.6%.br /br /The Progressive Corporation (PGR) is an automobile insurance company. It also provides other property and casualty insurance products. The stock has a market cap of $9 billion, a PE of 1354, a PEG of 1.22, and it pays a yield of 1.1%.br /br /Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) is a financial services institution. It offers banking services and cash management among others. The stock has a market cap of $7 billion, a PE of 15, a PEG of 2.85, and it pays a dividend of 4.7%.br /br /Eaton Corporation (ETN) is a producer and distributor of electrical components. The stock has a market cap of $7 billion, a PE of 6, a PEG of 0.48, and it pays a yield of 4.6%.br /br /Nationwide Financial Services, Inc. (NFS) offers savings and retirement accounts in the United States. The company has a market cap of $6.7 billion, a forward PE of 20, a PEG of 1.13, and it pays a yield of 2.4%.br /br /National City Corporation (NCC) is a financial institution providing banking services in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $2.2 billion, and it pays a yield of 1.3%.br / br /Don't forget to check out the stocks from the states of a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/wisconsin-stocks.html"Wisconsin/a, a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/louisiana-stocks.html"Louisiana/a, a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/michigan-stocks.html"Michigan/a, and a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/kentucky-stocks.html"Kentucky/a. br /br /iAuthor does not own any of the above./ibr /br /By Stockerblog.comdiv class="blogger-post-footer"div class='adsense' style='text-align:center; padding: 0px 3px 0.5em 3px;' script type="text/javascript"!-- google_ad_client="ca-pub-2427831169011625"; google_ad_width=300; google_ad_height=250; google_ad_format="300x250_as"; google_ad_type="text"; google_ad_channel ="8681602088"; google_color_border="FFF3DB"; google_color_bg="FFF3DB"; google_color_link="1B0431"; google_color_url="1B0431"; google_color_text="29303B"; //--/script script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" /script /div

South Carolina Stocks

Fred Fuld — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 09:09:00 +0000

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T9VXVyuEITg/SSfQXZfpwKI/AAAAAAAAAls/Lj1wys_5L-Y/s1600-h/southcarolina.jpg"img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T9VXVyuEITg/SSfQXZfpwKI/AAAAAAAAAls/Lj1wys_5L-Y/s320/southcarolina.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271410989259669666" //abr /A state of white sand beaches, mountain trails, and historic sites… And it is not Hawaii; we are talking about South Carolina. Some other facts that you may not know about South Carolina follow:br /br /1. South Carolina’s GSP ranks 28th nationally, with a total of $152 billion.br /2. The state offers low corporate income taxes and no state property tax as a way to attract new business to the state.br /3. Tourism industry produces $16.7 billion each year.br /4. The top agricultural commodities are broilers, greenhouse and floriculture products, turkeys and cattle and calves.br /5. South Carolina’s agribusiness provides employment for 200,000 workers.br /6. Forests cover 2/3 of South Carolina’s surface and they provide for one of the state’s most valuable crops: timber, which produces $835 million annually.br /7. Mined minerals within the state have a value of $480 million.br /8. South Carolina is the top of producer of cement, and second in the production of kaolin.br /9. The state exports transportation equipment, chemical manufactures, and machinery manufactures, for a total of $9.8 billion.br /10. The top destination for South Carolina’s export is Germany, Canada, and Mexico.br /br /The following companies are headquartered in South Carolina:br /br /Scana Corporation (SCG) produces transports and sells electricity to customers in South Carolina. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE of 11, a PEG of 2.22, and it pays a yield of 5.8%.br /br /Sonoco Products Company, (SON) produces consumer packaging products, and provides packaging services to the industrial sector in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a PE of 12, a PEG of 1.15, and it pays a yield of 5.1%.br /br /AVX Corporation (AVX) produces, markets and distributes passive electronic components in the United States and internationally. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a PE of 10, a PEG of 0.94, and it pays a dividend of 1.8%.br /br /Blackbaud, Inc. (BLKB) designs and offers software to nonprofit organizations. The stock has a market cap of $666.22 million, a PE of 20, a PEG of 1.15, and it pays a yield of 2.8%.br /br /ScanSource, Inc. (SCSC) is a wholesaler of technology products. The stock has a market cap of $542.53 million, a PE of 10, and a PEG of 0.66.br /br /The South Financial Group, Inc. (TSFG) acts as the holding company for Carolina First Bank and Mercantile Bank. The stock has a market cap of $473.38 million, and it pays a yield of 0.5%.br /br /First Citizens Bancorporation, Inc. (FCBN) is the holding company for First Citizen Bank and Trust Company. The stock has a market cap of $361.68 million, a PE of 6, and it pays a yield of 0.3%.br /br /World Acceptance Corporation (WRLD) is a finance company. Its services include small loans and credit insurance products. The stock has a market cap of $438.39 million; it has a PE of 8, and a PEG of 0.53.br /br /SCBT Financial (SCBT) renders retails services and commercial banking services through its subsidiaries. The stock has a market cap of $340.64 million, a PE of 14, a PEG of 1.38, and it pays a dividend of 2.1%.br /br /First Financials Holdings, Inc. (FFCH) is the holding company of First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Charleston. The stock has a market cap of $244.29 million, a PE of 11, a PEG of 1.18, and it pays a yield of 5.1%.br /br /Don't forget to check out the stocks from the states of a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/wisconsin-stocks.html"Wisconsin/a, a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/louisiana-stocks.html"Louisiana/a, a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/michigan-stocks.html"Michigan/a, and a href="http://stockerblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/kentucky-stocks.html"Kentucky/a. br /br /iAuthor does not own any of the above./ibr /br /By a href="http://Stockerblog.com"Stockerblog.com/adiv class="blogger-post-footer"div class='adsense' style='text-align:center; padding: 0px 3px 0.5em 3px;' script type="text/javascript"!-- google_ad_client="ca-pub-2427831169011625"; google_ad_width=300; google_ad_height=250; google_ad_format="300x250_as"; google_ad_type="text"; google_ad_channel ="8681602088"; google_color_border="FFF3DB"; google_color_bg="FFF3DB"; google_color_link="1B0431"; google_color_url="1B0431"; google_color_text="29303B"; //--/script script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" /script /div

Mississippi Stocks

Fred Fuld — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:26:00 +0000

Until 1990, gambling in Mississippi was not permitted. Now it is a major source of revenue for the state and an attractive tourist attraction. Following are some interesting facts about Mississippi:
1. 25% of total employment is generated by the agriculture industry.
2. Mississippi most important agricultural products are poultry and eggs, forestry, soybeans and corn.
3. The state offers different business incentives to new businesses and businesses relocating to Mississippi. They include tax credits, and tax exemptions.
4. The top manufactured products are processed foods, beverages, dairy and grain products.
5. Between 2004 and 2005 Mississippi’s export increased by 26% to achieve a record $4 billion.
6. Mississippi’s top export are chemical products.
7. Manufacturing firms employ 172,000 workers in the state.
8. Mississippi’s oil reserves rank it number 13 out of 50 states, with 167 million barrels of oil.
9. Mississippi has the lowest cost of living of all states.
10. In 2006 the total state product was $84 billion.

The following companies are headquartered in Mississippi:

BacorpSouth, Inc. (BX) is a financial institution, providing services to individuals and businesses in several states. The stock has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a PE of 15, a PEG of 1.93, and it pays a yield of 3.6%.

Hancock Holding Company (HBHC) is a financial institution. It services include banking, and lending. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a PE of 20, a PEG of 1.78, and it pays a yield of 2.1%.

Trustmark Corporation (TRMK) is a financial company. Its services include banking and financial services for individuals, institutions and corporations. The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE of 12, a PEG of 1.33, and it pays a yield of 4.4%.

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (EGP) is a real estate company. It purchases and develops properties throughout the United States. The stock has a market cap of $905.92 million, a PE of 27, a PEG of 1.17 and it pays a yield of 5.9%.

Sanderson Farms, Inc. (SAFM) is a poultry processing company. The stock has a market cap of $672.82 million, a PE of 21, a PEG of 9.13, and it pays a yield of 1.6%.

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (CALM) is in the business of producing and packaging shell eggs. The stock has a market cap of $668.23 million, a PE of 5, and it pays a yield of 2.5%.

Renasant Corporation (RNST) is a financial and insurance company. Its clients are retail and commercial businesses. The stock has a market cap of $416.98 million, a PE of 13, a PEG of 1.56, and it pays a yield of 3.4%.

Parkway Properties, Inc. (PKY) is a real estate company, it purchases, manages and rents office space. The stock has a market cap of $312.90 million, a PEG of 1.25, and it pays a yield of 12.4%.

Callon Petroleum Company (CPE) is an oil and gas exploration company. The stock has a market cap of $237.19 million, a PE of 12, and a PEG of 0.77.

Peoples Financial Corporation (PFBX) is a financial institution providing banking services in the United States. The stock has a market cap of $103.78 million, a PE of 17, and it pays a yield of 2.8%.

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

Author does not own any of the above.

By Stockerblog.com

N-Viro International Corp. (NVIC.OB) Reports 56% Rise in Third Quarter Revenue

QualityStocks — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:06:27 +0000

N-Viro International Corp., which handles biodegradable materials and waste and converts it to biofuel, showed a financially stronger company overall in its third quarter report. Revenues and gross profits are up and operating expenses are down for the company that has facilities in 10 states east of the Mississippi and another in Louisiana. Gross profits [...]