Monday, April 17, 2017

Can GE Hit its Target of $2 in EPS by 2018?

General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) set to abandon its target of $2 in operating EPS (earnings per share) by 2018? It surely wouldn't be a welcome event: Just ask investors in International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) after the IT giant abandoned, in late 2014, its target of EPS of $20 by 2015. IBM's decision followed its coming to terms with fundamental declines in its legacy businesses; the stock is still below the level it traded at before the announcement was made. Is GE experiencing the same problems?

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Rockwell Automation's Lucky Quarter?

Rockwell Automation's (NYSE:ROK) recent first-quarter earnings report had more than its fair share of bullish signals to encourage investors in the stock. Indeed, Rockwell looks well-placed in an environment in which most forecasters are predicting a pickup in North American industrial production. So is it time to pile into the stock? Let's look at the cases for and against.

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Ingersoll-Rand is a Buy

Given the market's exuberance about the prospect of an industrial renaissance following President Donald Trump's election victory, it's becoming harder and harder to find industrial stocks at a good value. However, Ingersoll-Rand Plc (NYSE:IR) trades at a discount to its peers and offers investors a compelling mix of near- and long-term value creation prospects. In short, it's a smart buy for investors. Here's why.

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Monday, April 10, 2017

FedEx Corporation Earnings Analysis

The third-quarter results from FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) look horrible on a superficial basis, but the devil is in the details, and a deeper analysis shows them to be solid. Moreover, management's outlook contained a number of positive points that should encourage investors. Let's take a look at the numbers from the earnings report and what they mean.

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Is Caterpillar Stock a Buy?

The stock market and Caterpillar Inc.  management appear to be taking a different tone with regard to the construction machinery giant's outlook for 2017. The stock is up nearly 60% since the start of 2016 and now trades at a forward P/E ratio of 30. Clearly, the market is expecting a strong recovery in the coming years, but management's recent commentary has been somewhat more cautionary. What's going on, and who is right?

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General Electric's Capital Arm

It's well known that General Electric Company  is shifting back to its industrial roots with CEO Jeff Immelt planning to generate 90% of the company's earnings from its digital industrial businesses by 2018. As such, GE Capital assets have been sold off to banks like Wells Fargo & Co and Capital One Financial Corp., while the highly successful Synchrony Financial spinoff also saw General Electric jettisoning financial businesses. With all of this going on, it's easy to forget that the company still has a capital arm, and it happens to be a key part of its future. Here's how and why.

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Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Oil Stock Crisis in the 1970s: The Key Lessons

The shocks to oil prices created by the Arab oil embargo in 1973 and the revolution in Iran in 1979 had far reaching consequences that still affect investor thinking today. Analyzing the aftermath of the ensuing energy crisis and stagflation (high inflation with stagnant growth) leads to one key conclusion oil stock pickers need to be aware of: the demand for oil is not price inelastic.

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Time to Buy Owens Corning Stock?

Buying a stock at an all-time high naturally invokes a kind of fear, but how about adopting Oscar Wilde's advice: believing that the cynics know the price of everything but the value of nothing? Despite its stock being at an all-time high, roofing and insulation materials company Owens Corning looks like a good value, and a great stock to play the housing recovery.

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What United Technologies Management Wants You to Know

Anyone following or invested in United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX) knows that it faces near-term headwinds as the management team engages in positioning the company for long-term growth. So, it's important to monitor how well management is achieving their strategic aims, and how what they said might have a direct relevance to peers Ingersoll-Rand Plc (NYSE:IR) and Watsco Inc. (NYSE:WSO). With this in mind, let's take a look at five key takeaways from the recent investor and analyst meeting.

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