Dividend Hike And Stock Split For This Defense Company
Stock
are lower
on concerns of rising oil prices and geopolitical concerns. Nasdaq
breadth is negative by 11-to-1; the index is lower by 2.37%. The US trade
deficit grew by 9.1% to a record $46 billion with high import prices widening
the gap. US exports rose 2.6% to $94.7 billion; the trade deficit with OPEC
countries rose to $5.6 billion. US import prices rose by 0.2%, the seventh
consecutive monthly rise with export prices up 0.6%, the largest increase since
1995.
Bank of America lowered price
targets on many retailers, citing rising interest rates. B of A also lowered its
target multiples down to 5-10%. Some companies affected include: Federated
Department Stores
(
FD |
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PowerRating), bebe stores
(
BEBE |
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News |
PowerRating),
American Eagle Outfitters
(
AEOS |
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Chart |
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PowerRating), and Target
(
TGT |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating).
Qualcomm
(
QCOM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
raised its third-quarter earnings forecast, citing great-than-anticipated
royalties and higher demand for its CDMA chips. It now expects to earn 50 cents
for next quarter, with shipments to reach 34 million. For Y04, it expects an EPS
of $1.65 with revenue increasing 29%.
| Dow | -140.10 | 9878.50 |
| S&P 500 | -15.26 | 1079.45 |
| Nasdaq | -45.02 | 1885.71 |
Strong today: Oil Services
(
OSX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +0.11%.
Weak today are Semis
(
SOX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
-4.57%, Disk Drives
(
DDX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -3.67%, Networking
(
NWX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
-3.48%.
Economic news releases today: A
rising trade deficit at $46 billion with export prices that rose by 0.6% and
import prices that excluded energy costs that rose by 0.3%.
10-year Notes are +10 at
108 210
The dollar
is -0.44 at 91.40
Gold is +2.80 at 380.00
Crude Oil is +0.53 at
40.50
Volume is 699,000,000 on
the NYSE, and 816,000,000 on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth is negative.
| NYSE | Issues | |
| Advancing | 801 | Up Vol 72 |
| Declining | 2410 | Down Vol 600 |
| Ratio | 3.01 | 8.33 |
| Nasdaq |
||
| Advancing | 480 | Up Vol 62 |
| Declining | 2528 | Down Vol 731 |
| Ratio | 5.27 | 11.79 |
Top Dow stocks are:
Exxon Mobil
(
XOM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
+0.07% at 42.60, 3M
(
MMM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), +0.03% at 84.18.
Stocks in the news:
Northrop
(
NOC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) raised its dividend by 15% — the
first time in a decade — and announced its first stock split in nearly 20
years. The company stood by previous 2004 earnings forecasts and expects sales
to reach $30 billion for FY 2005
Citigroup
(
C |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) will acquire Principal Financial
Group’s
(
PCG |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) mortgage banking business for $1.3 billion and is expected
to close the deal in the third -quarter.
General Electric
(
GE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) completed
its merger with Universal
today. GE will own 80% of NBC with Vivendi owning the remaining 20%.
Federated Department Stores
(
FD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reported earnings of $96 million, 4 cents
ahead of consensus estimates, with revenue $3.52 billion.
Brice Wightman
bricew@tradingmarkets.com