Caterpillar (CAT) (TDC) (TIBX) (BMTC) (BSX) (CNP) Get New Coverage

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), Teradata Co. (NYSE: TDC), TIBCO Software (NASDAQ: TIBX), Bryn Mawr Bank Corp. (NASDAQ: BMTC), Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) and CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) getting new coverage from analysts.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) initiated coverage on Caterpillar Inc. (CAT). They placed an “Overweight” rating and a price target of $125.00 on the company. They cited valuation as the catalyst behind the call.

JMP Securities initiated coverage on Teradata Co. (TDC). They placed an “Outperform” rating and a price target of $63.00 on the company.

JMP Securities initiated coverage on TIBCO Software (TIBX). They placed an “Outperform” rating and a price target of $33.00 on the company.

Sterne Agee initiated coverage on Bryn Mawr Bank Corp. (BMTC). They placed a “Buy” rating and a price target of $21.00 on the company.

Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) initiated coverage on Boston Scientific (BSX). They placed an “Outperform” rating and a price target of $7.50 on the company.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) initiated coverage on CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (CNP). They placed an “Equal Weight” rating and a price target of $22.00 on the company.

Caterpillar (CAT) (OMG) (P) (SPIL) (ASX) (BLTI) (CMP) Get New Coverage

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), OM Group Inc (NYSE: OMG), Pandora Media (NYSE: P), Siliconware Precision (NASDAQ: SPIL), Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. (NYSE: ASX), Biolase Technology (NASDAQ: BLTI) and Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE: CMP) getting new coverage from analysts.

KeyBanc initiated coverage on OM Group Inc. (OMG). They placed a “Hold” rating on the company.

BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Pandora Media (P). They placed an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) initiated coverage on Siliconware Precision (SPIL). They placed an “Underperform” rating on the company.

Jefferies initiated coverage on Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. (ASX). They placed a “Hold” rating on the company.

Ascendiant Capital Markets initiated coverage on Biolase Technology (BLTI). They placed a “Neutral” rating on the company.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) initiated coverage on Caterpillar Inc. (CAT). They placed an “Overweight” rating and a price target of $125.00 on the company. They cited valuation as the catalyst behind the call.

KeyBanc initiated coverage on Compass Minerals International, Inc. (CMP). They placed a “Hold” rating on the company.

Alcoa (AA), Caterpillar (CAT) Push Dow Up

After solid reports from the Chicago purchasing managers' index and factory orders, shares of Alcoa (NYSE:AA) and Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) helped push the Dow up, as it moved slightly into positive territory on the year.

In early trading the S&P 500 (SPX) climbed 10 points, or 0.9%; and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) was up 21 points, or 0.8%.

On Friday the August report for jobs will be released, with expectations of the economy adding about 80,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate should remain at 9.1 percent.

It also appears there will be another round of quantitative easing, with the question apparently only what form it'll take, not if it'll be implemented. That will put downward pressure on the U.S. dollar and push gold and other commodities up.

Alcoa was trading at $12.77, up $0.41, or 3.32 percent, as of 11:59 AM EDT. Caterpillar was at $91.70, jumping $1.87, or 2.08 percent.

Goodrich (GR) (CAT) (ALK) (APD) (ALB) (SFG) Price Targets Changed

Goodrich Co. (NYSE: GR), Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), Alaska Air (NYSE: ALK), Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE: APD), Albemarle Co. (NYSE: ALB) and StanCorp Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: SFG) price targets adjusted by analysts.

Barclays Capital raised its price target on Goodrich Co. (GR) to $120.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) raised its price target on Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) to $158.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Ticonderoga cut its price target on Alaska Air (ALK) from $83.00 to $81.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) raised its price target on Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (APD) to $109.00.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) raised its price target on Albemarle Co. (ALB) to $81.00.

McAdams Wright Ragen slashed its price target on StanCorp Financial Group, Inc. (SFG) from $52.00 to $41.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

GE (GE) (CAT) (QLIK) (BWLD) (PNRA) (SMG) Ratings Reiterated

General Electric (NYSE: GE), Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), Qlik Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: QLIK), Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD), Panera Bread Company (NASDAQ: PNRA) and Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE: SMG) had ratings reiterated by analysts.

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) reiterated a "Buy" rating on Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD).

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) reiterated an "Overweight" rating on Caterpillar Inc. (CAT).

Citigroup (NYSE:C) reiterated a "Buy" rating on General Electric (GE).

Sterne Agee reiterated a "Buy" rating on Panera Bread Company (PNRA). They have a price target of $134.00 on the company.

Citigroup reiterated a "Hold" rating on Qlik Technologies Inc (QLIK).

Oppenheimer reiterated a "Market Perform" rating on Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG).

Caterpillar (CAT) (AMZN) (KR) (COL) (HON) (MCD) Price Targets Changed

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Kroger (NYSE: KR), Rockwell Collins (NYSE: COL), Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) and McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) have price targets adjusted by analysts.

Kroger (KR) had its price target raised by Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) to $30.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) had its price target raised by ThinkEquity to $250.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) had its price target raised by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) from $104.00 to $114.00. They have a “Neutral” rating on the company.

Rockwell Collins (COL) had its price target lowered by Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) to $70.00.

Honeywell International Inc. (HON) had its price target raised by FBR Capital from $64.00 to $66.00. They have a “Market Perform” rating on the company.

McDonald’s (MCD) had its price target raised by Credit Suisse to $97.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Agnico-Eagle (AEM) (CAT) (DE) (JOYG) (INTC) Getting New Coverage

Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE: AEM), Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), Deere & Company (NYSE: DE), Joy Global Inc. (NASDAQ: JOYG) and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) get new coverage from analysts.

RBC Capital has initiated coverage on Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (AEM). They placed a “sector perform” rating on the company.

William Blair launched coverage on Caterpillar Inc. (CAT). They placed an “outperform” rating and a price target of $135.00 on the company.

William Blair initiated coverage on Deere & Company (DE). They placed a “market perform” rating and a price target of $86.00 on the company.

William Blair started coverage on Joy Global Inc. (JOYG). They placed a “market perform” rating and a price target of $99.00 on the company.

Wedbush launched coverage on Intel (INTC). They placed a “neutral” rating and a price target of $25.00 on the company.

Price Targets on (BKS) (BP) (CAT) (CBS) Updated by Analysts

Barnes & Noble Inc (NYSE: BKS), BP PLC (NYSE: BP), Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) and CBS (NYSE: CBS) get price targets Updated today by analysts.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) cut their price target on Barnes & Noble Inc (BKS) from $17.00 to $14.00.

The Benchmark Company raised their price target on BP PLC (BP) from $65.00 to $70.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

RBC Capital raised their price target on Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) from $120.00 to $140.00. They have an “outperform” rating on the company.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) raised their price target on Caterpillar Inc. from $120.00 to $127.00.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) raised their price target on CBS (CBS) from $24.00 to $26.00. They have a “hold” rating on the company.

Price Targets on (AGP) (BMY) (CAT) (CELL) (CVX) Raised by Analysts

AMERIGROUP Co. (NYSE: AGP), Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY), Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), Brightpoint Inc (NASDAQ: CELL) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX) get price targets raised today by analysts.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) raised their price target on AMERIGROUP Co. (AGP) to $67.00. They now have a “sell” rating on the company.

BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) to $26.00. They have a “market perform” rating on the company.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) raised their price target on Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) from $108.00 to $124.00. They have a “hold” rating on the company.

Citigroup raised their price target on Brightpoint Inc (CELL) from $11.00 to $12.50. They have a “hold” rating on the company.

UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) raised their price target on Chevron (CVX) to $127.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

Dividend Yields for (DOV) (ROK) (PH) (CAT) (COL)

Indicated dividend yields for Standard & Poor's 500 Index companies Dover Corp (DOV), Rockwell Automation Inc (ROK), Parker Hannifin Corp (PH), Caterpillar Inc (CAT) and Rockwell Collins Inc (COL).

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.

Dover Corp (DOV) has a dividend yield of 1.62 percent on a declared dividend of $0.28. The payout ratio is 28.0 percent.

Rockwell Automation Inc (ROK) has a dividend yield of 1.61 percent on a declared dividend of $0.35. The payout ratio is 30.8 percent.

Parker Hannifin Corp (PH) has a dividend yield of 1.57 percent on a declared dividend of $0.37. The payout ratio is 18.6 percent.

Caterpillar Inc (CAT) has a dividend yield of 1.52 percent on a declared dividend of $0.44. The payout ratio is 57.9 percent.

Rockwell Collins Inc (COL) has a dividend yield of 1.52 percent on a declared dividend of $0.24. The payout ratio is 24.7 percent.

Caterpillar (CAT) Raises Guidance after Blowout Quarter

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) revenue and earnings is being driven by the exploding demand for mining equipment as base and precious metals have been soaring in demand and price.

Going forward, Caterpillar boosted its guidance for the remainder of the year to a range of $6.25 to $6.75 a share and sales and revenues in a range of $52 billion to $54 billion. The prior estimate was for profit to be close to $6.00 a share and sales and revenues to surpass $50 billion.

Analysts see earnings of $6.25 a share on revenues of $52.20 billion for the full year.

The revised guidance doesn't include the recent acquisitions of MWM Holding GmbH or Bucyrus International, Inc. because they haven't closed yet.

According to Caterpillar, the improved forecast "would have been greater if not for the impact of the disaster in Japan."

Suppliers from Japan are experiencing unpredictable production disruptions, which have a negative impact on sales, factory efficiency and costs — especially in the second quarter, Caterpillar said.

Caterpillar closed Friday at $155.41, gaining $2.77, or 2.46 percent.

Ratings on (ACOM) (AET) (BMRN) (CALX) (CAT) Reiterated

Analysts reiterate ratings on Ancestry.com Inc (NASDAQ: ACOM), Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET), Biomarin Pharm (NASDAQ: BMRN), Calix Networks (NASDAQ: CALX) and Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT).

Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC) reiterated an “overweight” rating on Ancestry.com Inc (ACOM).

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) reiterated an “overweight” rating on Aetna Inc. (AET). They have a price target of $46.00 on the company, up from $43.00.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating on Biomarin Pharm (BMRN).

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) reiterated a “buy” rating on Calix Networks (CALX).

Jefferies reiterated a “buy” rating on Caterpillar Inc. (CAT). They now have a $125.00 price target on the company.

Caterpillar (CAT) (AGCO) (DE) (MON) Jump on Rising Wheat Prices

Shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) and AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) Deere (NYSE:DE) and Monsanto (NYSE:MON) are all trading up today on news wheat is helping farmers generate profits which should boost the bottom line of the Ag companies.

Wheat is now trading at about $8 a bushel, the highest level in three years. Poor weather conditions should help wheat to continue to rise in price over the next month or so.

Wheat exports from America are also estimated to rise by 18 percent over last year, according to a Bloomberg report.

Jefferies analyst Stephen Volkmann wrote, “Going into the winter, the US winter wheat crop condition was already well below last year, with only 47% in good/excellent condition and 17% in poor/very poor condition, compared to 63% good/excellent and 6% poor/very poor last year. With the spring thaw, this has now declined to only 36% in good/excellent condition, and 38% in poor or very poor condition. At the same time, most of the poor crops are concentrated in prime wheat producing states – Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and to a lesser extent, Nebraska – suggesting that the impact on yields could be larger.”

Higher crop prices provide more confidence and capital for farmers to spend on a variety of needed inputs.

Caterpillar was trading at $107.89, gaining $2.22, or 2.11 percent, as of 2:44 PM EDT. AGCO was at $53.17, up $1.35, or 2.61 percent. Deere was trading at $93.71, rising $1.33, or 2.11 percent. Monsanto was trading at $67.48, increasing $0.63, or 0.94 percent.

Can (CAT) (TXT) (UTX) (ETN) (HON) (GE) Meet Expectations?

As evidenced by the recent 6 percent plunge in share price of Alcoa (NYSE:AA), even after beating expectations, U.S. manufacturers such as General Electric Co (NYSE:GE), Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) and Textron Inc (NYSE:TXT), United Technologies Corp (NYSE:UTX), Eaton Corp (NYSE:ETN) and Honeywell International Inc (NYSE:HON) will be under pressure to perform as investors remain jittery about the economy.

Growth has been decent over the last year, but the artificial stimulation coming from quantitative easing is about to end, and questions of whether or not the companies can sustain themselves are already on the periphery of the minds of investors.

There is uncertainty about the sustainability of the so-called recovery around the world, and with so many negative catalysts creating economic pressure, it's no a surety by any means manufacturers will continue to grow at the level they recently have.

Manufacturers will also have to deal with recent success as well, which appears to be slowing in growth, which will weigh on the stocks if there aren't positive catalysts to balance off the negative.

In other words, it's going to be hard to impress shareholders going forward, and that will probably pressure many manufacturer share prices.

Post QE2 Trading with (MSFT) (DELL) (HPQ) (WMT) (PG)

As QE2 winds down plays that look the best continue to be commodity-based companies and blue chips stocks with low valuations.

The latter group would include companies such as Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Dell (NASDAQ:DELL), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ), Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) and Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG).

Some companies, to give an example, which wouldn't fit into that scenario wold be Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) and Deere (NYSE:DE). It's not that they're not great companies to hold, just that they have most of the optimism already priced into them. The assumption for some investors with them is they believe the profit margins will remain strong at the two companies, which isn't a surety in any way. They've become risky at these levels.

The reason blue chip stocks like those listed above are a solid bet, is as mentioned, the current valuations, but also the ability of the larger companies to be able to pass on higher costs of inputs.

Caterpillar (CAT) (GE) (DHR) May Buy More with Tax Holiday

With the obvious benefits of a tax holiday in connection to large corporations like Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) General Electric (NYSE:GE) and Danaher (NYSE:DHR), which have recently made some major acquisitions, the idea refuses to go away, as bankers continue to push the idea, as well as others.

Andy Lipsky, head of M&A for the Americas at Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS), noted, "A lot of cash is offshore. A tax holiday or some other kind of reprieve on repatriation I think would be useful."

Better yet, the entire tax needs to be taken off the books, as the idea of billions being confiscated by the government just because its transferred from one country to the United States is ridiculous, especially in light of the out-of-control government spending that will completely waste the capital which businesses would put to much better use.

The U.S. government needs to focus on cutting spending and cutting the outrageous programs that the country can't afford to keep in place.

As to mergers and acquisitions, the companies will just keep the money overseas and use it to make acquisitions there rather than dump it into the wasteful lap of greedy politicians.

Caterpillar (CAT) CEO May Move Out of Illinois' Hostile Business Environment

The heavy taxes of Illinois, which were recently increased and signed into law by Democrat Pat Quinn, the governor of the state, may be the last straw for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman, who sent a letter to the governor saying he may pull the company out of the state.

Oberhelman wrote in the letter, "I want to stay here. But as the leader of this business, I have to do what's right for Caterpillar when making decisions about where to invest. The direction that this state is headed in is not favorable to business and I'd like to work with you to change that."

"I have been called, 'cornered' in meetings and 'wined and dined' -- the heat is on," Oberhelman said. "Before, I never really considered living anywhere else and certainly never considered the possibility of Caterpillar relocating. But I have to admit, the policymakers in Springfield seem to make it harder by the day."

Oberhelman said at least four other states have approached him about relocating to their states after the tax increase.

Other concerns in the state is that if Caterpillar is being wooed, how many others are as well.

Caterpillar closed Friday at $109.09, up $0.72, or 0.66 percent.

Caterpillar (CAT) Reinforces Long-Term Profit Outlook

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) CEO Doug Oberhelman affirmed his outlook for the company for 2011, adding he also sees strong demand for company products for years into the future.

Oberhelman said, "With the opportunities we see around the world, we have a very bright future. We also have a strong financial position and a strategy that focuses on helping our customers win."

Mining equipment division head Steve Wunning added at the ConExpo-ConAgg trade show for the construction industry in Las Vegas, that he believes Caterpillar is in as good as a business as you can be in at this time, citing demographic trends; noting population growth and the need for additional infrastructure as a result.

Caterpillar executives said the company's success over the next several years will be determined by its ability to develop enough capacity in order to meet growing demand, while at the same time efficiently managing costs.

The company has two new plants they're planning to build in the U.S., with plans to expand at several other ones.

Projection by Caterpillar for 2011 profit are for close to $6 a share on over $50 billion in sales. They are in line to meet its goals for 2012 of $8 to $10 a share in profits on revenue of $55 billion to $60 billion.

Caterpillar closed Wednesday at $106.76, down $0.03, or 0.03 percent.

Ken Fishers Best Picks: (BIDU) (NOV) (EMC) (CAT)

Among the best performers of Billionaire investor Ken Fisher via his Fisher Investments, are his holdings in BAIDU INC (NASDAQ: BIDU), National Oilwell Varco INC (NYSE: NOV), EMC CORP (NYSE:EMC), Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) and Banco Santander S.A. (NYSE: STD), as of the end of December.

Baidu was by far the top performer of the companies he has significant investment in, up 31.7 percent during that period of time.

Following far behind, but still performing strong is National Oilwell Varco, which is up 17.0 percent.

Next is EMC Corp, generating 15.1 percent since December, followed closely by Caterpillar with 14.6 percent and Banco Santander with 14.4 percent gains.

After those, the next two best performers were Boeing (NYSE: BA) at 10.7 percent and Dover Corp. (NYSE: DOV) with 10.5 percent.

Fisher appears to have positioned the fund to benefit from a decline in the U.S. dollar, which would generate billions for him when looking at the overall portfolio.

Ford (F) Beats Apple (AAPL) as Top March Stock Pick of March

Voting by readers of CNNMoney ended with their top stock pick in March being Ford Motor (NYSE:F), pushing the company handily past its nearest competitor Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) by a margin of 57 percent to 43 percent for the month.

Other competitors they easily beat included Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), AT&T (NYSE:T) and Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU).

The voting was participated in in rounds, with Ford winning in all rounds by a range of 60 percent to 80 percent.

As for Apple, they did well in all rounds with the exception of the one in direct competition with Ford, winning against formidable opponents like Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI), with 94 percent of the votes in the first round, 82 percent versus Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) in round two, and more than 70 percent of the votes against Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) in round three. In the Final Four, 66 percent of voter chose Apple over manufacturing company Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT).

Ford was trading at $14.59, up $0.10, or 0.66 percent, as of 2:42 PM EDT. Apple was trading at $339.01, gaining $8.33, or 2.52 percent.




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