Baker Hughes (BHI) (EMC) (AXP) (FFIV) (HANS) Price Targets Changed

Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI), EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC), American Express (NYSE: AXP), F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) and Hansen Natural Co. (NASDAQ: HANS) price targets adjusted by analysts.

RBC Capital raised its price target on Baker Hughes (BHI) from $90.00 to $100.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) raised its price target on EMC Corp. (EMC) to $35.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

FBR Capital raised its price target on American Express (AXP) from $50.00 to $60.00. They have a “Market Perform” rating on the company.

RBC Capital lowered its price target on F5 Networks (FFIV) from $150.00 to $140.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) raised its price target on Hansen Natural Co. (HANS) to $90.00.

Newfield (NFX) (TSCO) (AXP) (AAPL) (JCI) Ratings Reiterated

Newfield Exploration (NYSE: NFX), Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ: TSCO), American Express (NYSE: AXP), Apple, Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Johnson Controls, Inc. (NYSE: JCI) had ratings on them reiterated by analysts.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) reiterated its "Buy" rating on Newfield Exploration (NFX).

Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) reiterated a "Buy" rating on Tractor Supply Co. (TSCO).

Piper Jaffray (NYSE: PJC) reiterated its "Overweight" rating on American Express (AXP). They have a price target of $32.00 on the company.

Scotia Capital reiterated its "Sector Perform" rating on Apple, Inc (AAPL).

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) reiterated an "Overweight" rating on Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI).

Intel (INTC) (MO) (AXP) (FFIV) (EBAY) EPS Estimates Changed

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), Altria Group (NYSE: MO), American Express (NYSE: AXP), F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) and eBay, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) EPS estimates changed by analysts.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) boosted its EPS estimate on American Express (AXP). They have a “buy” rating and a price target of $60.00 on the company.

Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) cuts its EPS estimate on eBay, Inc. (EBAY). They have an “outperform” rating and a price target of $64.00 on the company.

UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) cuts its EPS estimate on F5 Networks (FFIV). They have a “neutral” rating and a price target of $110.00 on the company.

Oppenheimer raised its EPS estimate on Intel (INTC). They have a “market perform” rating on the company.

UBS AG cuts its EPS estimate on Altria Group (MO). They have a “buy” rating and a price target of $30.00 on the company.

Cisco (CSCO) (AXP) (BK) (COKE) (HAL) Ratings Reiterated

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), American Express (NYSE: AXP), Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK), Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated (NASDAQ: COKE) and Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) had their ratings reiterated by analysts.

Jefferies maintains a "Hold" rating on Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO).

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) reiterated a "Buy" rating on American Express (AXP).

Goldman Sachs reiterated a "Neutral" rating on Bank of New York Mellon (BK).

Goldman Sachs maintains a "Buy" rating on Coca-Cola Bottling Co. (COKE).

Morgan Keegan reiterated an "Outperform" rating on Halliburton (HAL).

Bank of New York Mellon closed Tuesday at $24.73, gaining $0.09, or 0.37 percent. American Express ended the session at $51.81, jumping $0.48, or 0.94 percent.

Ratings on (AMT) (ARE) (AXP) (BEE) (BPL) Reiterated by Analysts Today

Analysts reiterated their ratings on American Tower Corporation (NYSE: AMT), Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE: ARE), American Express (NYSE: AXP), Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: BEE) and Buckeye Partners (NYSE: BPL) today.

Piper Jaffray reiterated an “overweight” rating on American Tower Corporation (AMT). They have a price target of $57.00 on the company.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc reiterated an “outperform” rating on Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE: ARE).

Citigroup (NYSE:C) reiterated a “buy” rating on American Express (AXP). They have a price target of $60.00 on the company.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc reiterated an “outperform” rating on Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. (BEE). They have a price target of $7.00 on the company.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) reiterated a “buy” rating on Buckeye Partners (BPL). They have a price target $76.00 on the company.

Dividend Yields for (JNS) (STT) (AMP) (AXP) (MCO)

Indicated dividend yields for Standard & Poor's 500 Index companies Janus Capital Group Inc (JNS), State Street Corp (STT), Ameriprise Financial Inc (AMP), American Express (AXP) and Moody's Corp (MCO).

These dividend data indicate dividend yields of companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index as of Saturday, April 30. The yield is determined by taking the latest declared dividend, annualized and divided by the price of the stock. Payout ratios are calculated based on latest quarterly dividend paid divided by earnings.

Janus Capital Group Inc (JNS) has a dividend yield of 1.64 percent on a declared dividend of $0.05. The payout ratio is 24.5 percent.

State Street Corp (JPM) has a dividend yield of 1.55 percent on a declared dividend of $0.25. The payout ratio is 19.0 percent.

Ameriprise Financial Inc (AMP) has a dividend yield of 1.48 percent on a declared dividend of $0.23. The payout ratio is 19.1 percent.

American Express (AXP) has a dividend yield of 1.47 percent on a declared dividend of $0.18. The payout ratio is 18.2 percent.

Moody's Corp (MCO) has a dividend yield of 1.43 percent on a declared dividend of $0.14. The payout ratio is 20.6 percent.

Financials (C) (BAC) (TRV) (JPM) (AXP) (GS) (WFC) All Close Up Wednesday

Shares of the major banks in the U.S. followed their overseas counterparts in getting a boost on Wednesday, as Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC), Travelers Corp. (NYSE:TRV), JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), American Express (NYSE:AXP), Citigroup (NYSE:C), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) all closed up.

Foreign banks jumped on expectations the European central bank will raise rates Thursday.

All four financial components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted gains on Wednesday.

Nasdaq OMX Group (NDAQ) increased 3 percent and NYSE Euronext (NYX) added 1.8 percent.

Also finishing in the positive was the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF), which tracks financial stocks in the S&P 500 index.

American Express (AXP) Offering New Digital Payments Service

Digital payment services are starting to be a lucrative business, and the latest entrant in the field is American Express (NYSE:AXP) with its new "Serve."

Dubbed "Serve," the service allows customers of American Express to make payments from and into one account in a variety of ways, including a charge card, credit card, debit card and bank account.

Users can use their mobile phones, online accounts or any store where American Express is accepted to make payments.

The new service targets customers who do the majority of their business with debit cards, cash or checks.

At this time only American customers can use the service, but the company said it'll roll it out to international customers throughout the next year.

You also don't have to own an American Express card in order to use "Serve," as it will work with any regular bank, debit or credit account, including competitors like Discover (NYSE:DFS) and Mastercard (NYSE:MA).

American Express closed Monday at $45.72, up $0.13, or 0.29 percent.

BofA (BAC) Leads U.S. Stocks Higher

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) is helping push up U.S. stocks today as it hints it my be ready to boost dividends and repurchase shares in the company.

Also driving up U.S. stock prices is the possibility Moammar Gadhafi may attempt to end to the Libya crisis peacefully.

Soaring bank shares led the broader U.S. stock market higher as Bank of America raised hopes that it will increase dividends and share buybacks, while crude-oil prices dropped in response to reports Moammar Gadhafi may be looking for a peaceful end to the Libya crisis, said the Wall Street Journal.

Leading the gains were financial stocks, including Dow components Bank of America, up 4.3%; American Express (NYSE:AXP), up 3.5%; and J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), up 3.1%. Citigroup (NYSE:C) added 2.8%, Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) gained 3.2% and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) increased 1.4%.

AmEx (AXP) Partners With Foursquare

American Express Co. (NYSE:AXP) has entered into a deal with Foursquare Labs Inc. to offer discounts to shoppers.

Foursquare Labs Inc. allows users win prizes and meet people by using their mobile phones to "check in" at their favorite bars, restaurants and stores.

The move reflects the credit card company's drive to win over younger consumers and gives Foursquare a heavyweight partner as Google Inc., AT&T Inc. and others jump into the mobile-commerce game.

"You go where your customers are and they are on places like Foursquare," says Edward Gilligan, vice chairman for AmEx.

Foursquare sees itself as a variant of Facebook or Twitter, but with location thrown in. Its priority is to amass a large base of active users.

The service is built around smartphones, which use GPS and other technologies to keep track of their position. Users who check in frequently can win discounts or recognition. The deal with AmEx opens up another set of incentives for using the service.




Source

American Express (AXP), Bank of America (BAC), Capital One Financial (COF), JPMorgan (JPM) and Credit Card Risks

Consumers still have difficulty understanding the costs and risks of credit cards, despite some improvements made by issuers, a top regulator said Tuesday

“Our next challenge will be about further clarifying price and risk and making it easier for consumers to make direct product comparisons,” said Elizabeth Warren, Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, at the beginning of a credit card conference bringing together regulators, bankers, academics and market research groups.

The conference takes place roughly one year after many provisions of a new credit card law, the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act took effect.The consumer bureau will take responsibility for administering the statute later this summer.

In addition to raising concerns, Warren praised credit card companies for going above and beyond requirements of the statute. She cited data assembled by the consumer bureau and bank regulators that said card issuers have done better than the law requires of them when it comes to curbing opaque interest rate re-pricing and cutting over-limit fees. Read about the findings of credit card studies.

“A number of [credit card] issuers have eliminated some of the practices that can confuse customers and cost them money they reasonably did not expect to pay,” she said.

Research firm Nilson Report lists the top nine credit card issuers as American Express (NYSE:AXP), Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC), Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF), J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS), HSBC (NYSE:HBC), U.S. Bancorp. (NYSE:USB) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC).

Rest of Story...

Why Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Will Lag Competitors

When Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) divested of its total holdings in Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last quarter, it gave investors and analysts pause as to the reasoning, and most gave the company closer scrutiny as a result, and it appears Buffett was right in ridding himself of the giant bank.

Most analysts don't agree with Buffett, seeing the business model of BofA as being healthy.

The question of course is their troubling balance sheet and competitors expanding into their strongest territories, territories they're counting on for growth: Florida, Texas and California.

Bank of America's outlook is the three major markets above are going to bounce back in the near future, which will drive company growth.

But looking at major competitors in those areas, like Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) competing strongly in all those regions, and Toronto-Dominion (TD), which is focusing on southern expansion, Bank of America isn't assured of those markets driving the type of growth they expect them to, and Berkshire and Buffett apparently agree with that assessment.

This has the potential to dramatically effect the retail segment of the company, which could produce less growth in consumer deposits than expected.

Buffett chose to vote with Berkshires' dollars for American Express (AXP), JP Morgan (JPM), Suntrust (STI) and M&T (MTB) in the financial sector, rather than Bank of America, which doesn't look like a growth engine at this time.

Warren Buffett Says Goodbye to Bank of America (NYSE:BAC)

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-A) revealed it totally divested of shares of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) in the last quarter.

Buffett owned 5 million shares of Bank of America valued at around $745 million.

Bank of America had never been part of Berkshire's long-term financial holdings, which include M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB), American Express (NYSE:AXP), and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC).

One of Buffett's favorite companies, he acquired another 6.2 million shares of Wells Fargo in the fourth quarter. Berkshire's stake in Wells Fargo now stands at about 20 percent of the overall $52 billion investment portfolio held by the giant company.

Buffett lowered his stake in Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE:BK).

Non-bank stocks he sold were 6.5 million shares of Lowe's (NYSE:LOW); 6.1 million shares of Nalco Holding Co. (NYSE:NLC); 3.9 million shares of Fiserv Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV); 3.6 million shares of Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE); 3.4 million shares of Nestle ; 1.9 million shares of Becton, Dickinson & Co. (NYSE:BDX); and 187,000 Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) shares.

Freeport (NYSE:FCX), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), General Electric (NYSE:GE), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) All Increasing Capex

Increasing capital expenditures is a growing theme among major companies such as Freeport-McMoran (NYSE:FCX), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), General Electric (NYSE:GE), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), US Bancorp (NYSE:USB), American Express (NYSE:AXP) and Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB), according to Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS).

Goldman's chief U.S. investment strategist, David Kostin, wrote in a note to clients, “Companies expressed more willingness to invest in activities that drive growth compared with prior periods. New capital expenditures in energy, marketing and client services initiatives in financials, hiring engineers in information technology, R&D spending in health care, and re-starting capacity in materials were cited by executives as examples of growth initiatives intended to boost revenues.”

While we can only take anything communicated by executives with a grain of salt, if this is indeed the practice of the companies going forward, it signals they've pretty much cut costs as much as they can, and are now looking at expansion, even in an ongoing weak economic environment.

The good news is the companies do have room for some trial and error in regard to capex, as they are flush with cash after operating in defensive positions for several years.

All of this shouldn't be taken as a blanket reality for most companies though, as some sectors are still struggling, and it's highly unlikely they're going to start splurging in spending at this time.

Companies with strong exposure to commodities, and probably industrials are the major sectors where capex will be strongest, although exceptions in tech, like mentioned above with Google and Intel will be part of company operations in 2011.

Each sector could have a company or two ready for an increase in capex, but overall, those above seem most likely.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) Weighed Down by Durbin, Regulatory Atmosphere

American Express (NYSE:AXP) has been getting more bearish treatment recently, as Durbin and other regulations threaten their earnings.

Canaccord says, "American Express reported consumer spending increased by 15% in Q4/10, pushing the credit card company’s revenue 13% higher over the previous year; however, shares dropped on an EPS miss and regulatory concerns. Recurring EPS came in at $0.88, short of the consensus $0.96, but ahead of Q4/09’s $0.60 per share. The company reported improvements in bad loans, with provisions for losses decreasing by 68% from the prior year, and delinquencies, seeing 2.1% of accounts being more than one month behind as opposed to 3.7% last year. Write-offs decreased to 4.4% from Q4 from 5.2% in Q3 and 7.5% in Q4/09. Concerns surrounding the 'Durbin amendment' also weighed heavy on investors’ minds. The amendment proposes that fees charged to retailers for debit transactions are reduced; and while American Express does not offer debit cards, there are concerns that merchants may direct customers to use their debit cards as opposed to their credit cards. Credit Suisse held their bearish stance on the company, reiterating that it believes American Express will experience pressure on its discount rate in the more adverse regulatory environment. The brokerage notes that the credit card company has the highest discount rate among the four major card networks, something which is likely to garner additional attention in the next 12-18 months as the 'Durbin amendment” comes into play.'

American Express closed Wednesday at $44.46, losing $0.34, or 0.76 percent.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) Boosted on Higher Net Interest Income Outlook

Even with a preannouncement of higher expenses, FBR believes American Express (NYSE:AXP) will generate improved earnings on an increasing net interest income.

FBR says, "We are increasing our FY11 EPS estimate to $3.70 from $3.65 and increasing our FY12 EPS estimate to $3.85 from $3.70 based on our expectations for improved net interest income (primarily higher loan balances) and lower provision expense, which we expect to be offset by upward trending operating expenses led by marketing and reward expense as management continues to reinvest "excess" profitability into the business. Our FY12 EPS estimate also assumes higher net interest income, again driven by higher projected loan balances, while provision expense is revised lower reflecting projected stronger credit performance."

FBR Capital maintains a "Market Perform" rating on American Express (AXP), which closed Tuesday at $44.80, losing $0.99, or 2.16 percent. FBR has a price target on American Express of $50, raising it from from $45.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) EPS Estimates Cut by Meredith Whitney, Amex (NYSE:AXP) Boosted

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) had its EPS estimates slashed by Meredith Whitney, while Amex had their EPS increased by the analyst.

For Bank of America, Whitney lowered its full year 2011 EPS estimate from $1.47 to $1.10, and full year 2012 EPS estimate from $1.62 to $1.50.

American Express was increased for full year 2011 from $3.72 to $4.15, and for full year 2012 from $4.14 to $4.95.

Bank of America was trading at $13.45, down $0.47, or 3.38 percent, as of 3:01 PM EST. American Express was trading at $44.38, down $1.41, or 3.08 percent, as of 3:02 PM EST.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) EPS Boosted on Interest Income, Lower Provision Expense

American Express (NYSE:AXP) had their full year 2011 EPS estimate raised by FBR, citing improving net interest income and lower provision expense.

FBR says, "We are increasing our FY11 EPS estimate to $3.70 from $3.65 and increasing our FY12 EPS estimate to $3.85 from $3.70 based on our expectations for improved net interest income (primarily higher loan balances) and lower provision expense, which we expect to be offset by upward trending operating expenses led by marketing and reward expense as management continues to reinvest "excess" profitability into the business. Our FY12 EPS estimate also assumes higher net interest income, again driven by higher projected loan balances, while provision expense is revised lower reflecting projected stronger credit performance."

FBR Capital maintains a "Market Perform" on American Express (AXP), which was trading at $44.46, losing $1.33, or 2.90 percent, as of 1:14 PM EST. FBR raised their price target on American Express from $45 to $50.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) Falls Short on Earnings

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) failed to meet earnings expectation in their latest quarter, although profits surged by 48 percent.

EPS for the quarter reached $0.94, down from the $0.95 analysts were looking for. Revenue came in at $7.32 billion, down from the consensus of $.33 billion.

After a charge of $74 million, American Express earned $0.88 a share on $1.1 billion, up from $716 million, or 60 cents a share in the same quarter last year.

The charge was in connection with job cuts in their service network.

Uncollectible loans written off in the quarter dropped to 4.1 percent, down from 7. percent last year during the same period.

American Express closed Monday at $45.79, losing $0.21, or 0.46 percent.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) May Return Capital to Shareholders Soon

Based upon the Federal Reserve clarifying bank divident policies, Barclays (NYSE:BCS) sees the probability of American Express (NYSE:AXP) being able to return capital to shareholders in the near future.

Barclays says, "With credit costs already approaching normalized, we expect the focus will continue to shift more toward spend levels, balance sheet growth, and use of excess capital. Increasingly difficult comps could limit spend growth in the coming months, but Fed clarification on bank dividend policies could enable AXP to return excess capital to shareholders soon, which could be a positive catalyst for the stock. We view valuation as attractive at only 12.2x our 2011 EPS estimate and reiterate our rating."

Barclays maintains an "Overweight" rating on American Express (AXP), which was trading at $45.15, losing $1.22, or 2.63 percent, as of 1:31 PM EST. Barclays has a price target of $55 on American Express.