After breaking up and down on differing jobs reports, stocks surged today as investors got the news they were hoping for from the Department of Labor. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) �finished up 1%, with the S&P finally cracking 1,600, and the blue chips topping 15,000 before receding slightly to finish at 14,974.
The Labor Department said the country added 176,000 jobs in April, just 10,000 more than economists projected, but it also sharply revised up numbers from the previous two months. March's official figure was boosted from 88,000, to 138,000, while February's numbers jumped to 332,000, from 268,000. The drop from February to March may be, in part, an effect of sequestration. The unemployment dropped to 7.5%, from 7.6%, though the Labor Department said the number of unemployed was roughly the same.
Investors shrugged off some negative data points from other reports, as factory orders in March dropped 4%, and the ISM Services Index came in 0.9 points below expectations. Still, the employment report seems to indicate that the economy is continuing to grow at a reasonable pace.
Top Performing Stocks To Watch Right Now: Colgate-Palmolive Company(CL)
Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets consumer products worldwide. It offers oral care products, including toothpaste, toothbrushes, and mouth rinses, as well as dental floss and pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals; personal care products, such as liquid hand soap, shower gels, bar soaps, deodorants, antiperspirants, shampoos, and conditioners; and home care products comprising laundry and dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, bleaches, dishwashing liquids, and oil soaps. The company offers its oral, personal, and home care products under the Colgate Total, Colgate Max Fresh, Colgate 360 Advisors' Opinion:
- [By James Well]
Analysts��Consensus Position on Pfizer
Thirteen analysts including those at TheStreet, Thomson Reuters/Verus, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Barclays Capital, Morgan Stanley and Argus Research are optimistic about the performance of Pfizer going forward and, hence, reiterated a consensus buy recommendation at an average target price of $31.78 per share. Last Wednesday, analysts at Goldman Sachs removed Pfizer from Goldman�� conviction buy list (CL) where Pfizer has been since Aug. 9, 2011, and placed it on the buy list but raised its price target from $34 to $35 per share. Jami Rubin, an analyst with Goldman Sachs, claimed that Pfizer has gone up by 82.5% since being added to the CL as against 53.9% for the S&P 500 during the period and, therefore, there was the need to replace Pfizer with AbbVie at a price target of $60 because they claimed AbbVie has greater upside at this time. - [By Dan Caplinger]
Investors have always been interested in stocks that pay dividends, but lately, low interest rates on bonds and other fixed-income investments have made solid dividend payers even more valuable. Among the most promising dividend stocks in the market is Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL ) , and one big reason is that it is one of the few exclusive companies to make the list of Dividend Aristocrats. In order to become a member of this elite group, a company must have raised its dividend payouts to shareholders every single year for at least a quarter-century. Only a few dozen stocks manage to make the cut, and those that do tend to stay there for a long time.
- [By Dan Caplinger]
One concern, though, is how the company handled news of Venezuela's currency devaluation. Clorox (NYSE: CLX ) and Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL ) also felt the pinch, with Clorox taking about a $0.05 to $0.10 per-share earnings hit and Colgate losing about $0.50 per share. But they also addressed the potential devaluation more proactively than P&G did. Clorox actually�anticipated�the devaluation in its February earnings report, projecting the potential hit if a devaluation took place. Colgate didn't provide specific guidance in advance but clearly saw it as an issue, delivering on a promise to give prompt guidance revisions after the devaluation occurred.
Top 5 Blue Chip Companies To Watch In Right Now: Philip Morris International Inc(PM)
Philip Morris International Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in markets outside of the United States. Its international product brand line comprises Marlboro, Merit, Parliament, Virginia Slims, L&M, Chesterfield, Bond Street, Lark, Muratti, Next, Philip Morris, and Red & White. The company also offers its products under the A Mild, Dji Sam Soe, and A Hijau in Indonesia; Diana in Italy; Optima and Apollo-Soyuz in the Russian Federation; Morven Gold in Pakistan; Boston in Colombia; Belmont, Canadian Classics, and Number 7 in Canada; Best and Classic in Serbia; f6 in Germany; Delicados in Mexico; Assos in Greece; and Petra in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It operates primarily in the European Union, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. The company is based in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sean Williams]
The end result of these multiple actions has been an ongoing reduction in smoking rates over the past four decades and tougher times for U.S. tobacco producers such as Altria (NYSE: MO ) and Reynolds American (NYSE: RAI ) . In fact, a tough domestic sales climate was one reason Altria decided to spin off its overseas operations into Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM ) in 2008. By separating its business, the hope was that investors would have a better understanding of the fundamental forces driving Altria and Philip Morris.
- [By Maxx Chatsko]
However, you would be hard-pressed to find any connection between falling smoking prevalence and share performance at Reynolds American (NYSE: RAI ) , Lorriland (NYSE: LO ) , Phillip Morris (NYSE: PM ) , and Altria (NYSE: MO ) . These companies are some of the best performers in the past decade. In fact, Altria is the best-performing stock of the last half-century!
- [By GuruFocus]
Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) Reached the 52-Week Low of $80.78
The prices of Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) shares have declined to close to the 52-week low of $80.78, which is 16.5% off the 52-week high of $96.73. Philip Morris International Inc. is owned by 33 Gurus we are tracking. Among them, 17 have added to their positions during the past quarter. Seven reduced their positions. Philip Morris International Inc. is a Virginia holding company first incorporated in 1987. Philip Morris International Inc. has a market cap of $129.42 billion; its shares were traded at around $80.78 with a P/E ratio of 15.20 and P/S ratio of 1.70. The dividend yield of Philip Morris International Inc. stocks is 4.40%. Philip Morris International Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 14.50% over the past five years.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Philip Morris International (PM) has risen the most in five months after reporting earnings that easily topped analyst forecasts.
Bloomberg NewsPhilip Morris International reported a profit $1.41 a share, beating forecasts for $1.24, on revenue of $7.8 billion, topping the Street consensus for $7.52 billion. Morgan Stanley’s David Adelman and team explain why investors are so enthusiastic about�Philip Morris International’s results:
Our key take-away is that Q2 was considerably stronger than expected and given the absence of any new issues results in less risk to the company�� full-year outlook…Although F/X was less onerous than our forecast ($0.06 of EPS favorability), the $0.18 quarterly EPS beat was predominantly driven by improved profitability in EEMA and Europe. While elevated spending and a difficult 4Q comparison should result in more moderate second half EPS growth, we continue to expect full-year results to be within PM�� 6-8% currency neutral range…
Despite the same core issues remaining an ongoing concern ��Japan, the Philippines, Australia, and Indonesia ��we were encouraged by the lack of any emerging issues, following the recent pattern of disappointing guidance.
Shares of�Philip Morris International has gained 1.7% to $86 at 1:08 p.m., while Altria Group (MO) has advanced 1.2% to $42.07, Lorillard (LO) has risen 2.1% to $61.25 and Reynolds American (RAI) is up 1.1% at $58.40.
Top 5 Blue Chip Companies To Watch In Right Now: McDonald's Corporation(MCD)
McDonald?s Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a worldwide foodservice retailer. It franchises and operates McDonald?s restaurants that offer various food items, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries, of which 26,216 were operated by franchisees; and 6,262 were operated by the company. McDonald?s Corporation was founded in 1948 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By DAILYFINANCE]
Paul Sakuma/AP NEW YORK -- What has two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions on a sesame bun? Burger King's latest sandwich. The Miami-based chain says it's bringing back its "Big King" sandwich, which looks a lot like the popular Big Mac made by its bigger rival McDonald's. Burger King says it's an addition to the permanent menu rolling out this week. Burger King says it previously offered the Big King as a limited-time offer. But back then, it didn't have the middle bun -- a Big Mac hallmark -- like it does now. It's just the latest move by Burger King that seems to pay more than a little homage to the Golden Arches. Last spring, Burger King also unveiled a revamped menu that looked a lot like the food McDonald's (MCD) had added in recent years, such as fruit shakes, chicken snack wraps and specialty coffee drinks. Since then, Burger King has also rolled out a rib sandwich to compete with the popular McRib, as well as chicken nuggets (Burger King is better known for its chicken tenders). As the New York Post wrote at the time, "They look like McNuggets. They're as nutritious as McNuggets. Just don't call them McNuggets." What does McDonald's think of all this? "We're focused on our business and our customers," spokeswoman Lisa McComb said in an email. Scott Hume, editor of BurgerBusiness.com, notes that imitation is common in the fast-food industry. "McDonald's clones make sense if they're popular in the marketplace," Hume said. He noted that Burger King has also rolled out more differentiated products, such as a pulled pork sandwich. AP
Top 5 Blue Chip Companies To Watch In Right Now: Visa Inc.(V)
Visa Inc., a payments technology company, engages in the operation of retail electronic payments network worldwide. It facilitates commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company owns and operates VisaNet, a global processing platform that provides transaction processing services. It also offers a range of payments platforms, which enable credit, charge, deferred debit, debit, and prepaid payments, as well as cash access for consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company provides its payment platforms under the Visa, Visa Electron, PLUS, and Interlink brand names. In addition, it offers value-added services, including risk management, issuer processing, loyalty, dispute management, value-added information, and CyberSource-branded services. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Yesterday, the bulls nearly erased a big early-day loss. Today, they’ve returned in force, as better economic data and earnings results helped boost the likes of General Electric (GE), American Express (AXP), Visa (V), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) and Walt Disney (DIS).
- [By Chris Hill]
Visa (NYSE: V ) and Under Armour (NYSE: UA ) hit new all-time highs. General Motors (NYSE: GM ) appears to be turning the corner in Europe. And second-quarter profits for Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX ) fell a whopping 43%. In this installment of Investor Beat, Motley Fool analysts David Hanson and Jason Moser discuss four stocks making moves on Thursday.
- [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]
Getty Images If you've spent any time at all here on DailyFinance, you know that we're actually fans of credit cards -- when they're used correctly. The reasons are legion. Credit cards offer their holders rewards for shopping with them, ranging from airline miles to cash to points redeemable for cash back, account credits, merchandise and gift cards. Credit cards also let you float your debt for as much as a month at a time, before having to pay for your purchases -- rather than having these payments deducted from your account immediately. And as long as that debt is floating, and unpaid, you collect interest on the cash. Just so long as you pay in full every month (and yes, we know that's a big caveat) you get all those benefits at little cost, and build up your credit history and credit score, which can save you an enormous amount of money over a lifetime. But there are other benefits in a credit card that many of us never bother to use -- perhaps because we never know about them. Kiplinger's magazine recently dug up a treasure trove of often-overlooked credit card perks. Here are just three of the biggest: 1. Double the Warranty, Double the Fun When shopping online, it's common to come across products that come with a manufacturer's warranty of 90, 180 or even 365 days. Buy an iPhone 6, for example, and Apple (AAPL) will cover the product for hardware repairs for one full year. Buy a refurbished piece of Apple gear, though, and chances are it'll come with only a 90-day warranty. Meanwhile, an extended-life battery for a competing Samsung (SSNLF) Galaxy SIII can be purchased with 180 days of warranty coverage on Amazon.com (AMZN). But did you know that when paying for these purchases with a credit card, you can often get your warranty period doubled, at no extra charge? As Kiplinger's reveals, all four of the major credit card companies -- Visa (V), MasterCard (MA), American Express (AXP), and even Discover (DFS) -- offer cards that, among their fringe
- [By Victor Reklaitis]
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose 71 points, or 0.5%, to 15,067. Visa Inc. (V) �showed the largest gain among blue chips with its 1% advance, while Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) � and Merck & Co. (MRK) �were the biggest losers as they each fell 0.6%.
No comments:
Post a Comment