Brown Shoe (BWS) (JWN) (MDT) (SFL) (SWY) Declare Dividends

The Board of Directors of Brown Shoe Company Inc. (NYSE:BWS) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.07 per share payable 10/3/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 9/16/11.

The Board of Directors of Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE:JWN) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.23 per share payable 9/15/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 9/6/11.

The Board of Directors of Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT) declared a second quarter common stock dividend of $0.2425 per share payable 10/28/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 10/7/11.

The Board of Directors of Ship Finance International (NYSE:SFL) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.39 per share payable 9/29/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 9/9/11.

The Board of Directors of Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.145 per share payable 10/13/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 9/22/11.

CIBC (CM) (UBSH) (ASBC) (BWS) (SWFT) (CBOE) Upgraded by Analysts

CIBC (NYSE: CM), Union First Market Bankshares Corp (NASDAQ: UBSH), Associated Banc-Corp (NASDAQ: ASBC), Brown Shoe Company, Inc. (NYSE: BWS), Swift Transportation (NASDAQ: SWFT) and CBOE Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: CBOE) upgraded by analysts.

CIBC (NYSE: CM) was upgraded by analysts at to a “Buy” rating.

Union First Market Bankshares (UBSH) was upgraded by Stifel Nicolaus from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $15.00 on the company.

Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC) was upgraded by Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Brown Shoe Company, Inc. (BWS) was upgraded by BB&T from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Swift Transportation (SWFT) was upgraded by Capstone from a “Sell” rating to a “Hold” rating. They have a price target of $10.50 on the company.

CBOE Holdings, Inc (CBOE) was upgraded by Stifel Nicolaus from a “Sell” rating to a “Hold” rating.

Brown Shoe (BWS) Plunges on Big Earnings Miss

Shares of Brown Shoe Co. (NYSE:BWS) got hammered Tuesday as the company reported earnings of 8 cents a share, far below the 15 cents a share analysts had looked for.

Brown Shoe operates the Naturalizer and Famous Footwear shoe-store chains.

The company said it had resolved most of the issues with a new IT system that had disrupted wholesale deliveries and led to a lower-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, which knocked its shares down 28 percent to a 6-month low.

Brown Shoe said the IT system problems had pushed up delivery costs and hit its on-time deliveries.

"(This) meant less selling time on the floor and greater markdown, chargeback and liquidation pressure," Chief Operating Officer Diane Sullivan said.

Brown Shoe closed at $11.56, falling $2.77, or 19.33 percent.




Source

Brown Shoe (NYSE:BWS) Could Use Stronger Profitability in Core Business

Susquehanna maintains their "Neutral" rating on Brown Shoe Co. (NYSE:BWS), while also raising their earnings and price target estimates.

Even so, to improve their rating Susquehanna said they would need to see better profits in their core business.

"Solid FY10 guidance with FY11 EPS of $1.31-$1.43 vs. consensus of $1.14, with most of the delta from non-recurrence of one-time step-up in incentive compensation and anomalous freight costs. We would like to see greater improvement in the profitability of the core businesses, given that FY10 operating margins remain 170 bps below pre-recession level," said Susquehanna.

EPS estimates for full year 2010 were raised to $0.92 from $0.85 and to $1.35 from $1.05 for full year 2011.

Susquehanna has a price target of $16 on them, raising it from $13.