Amgen (AMGN) (HP) (SWN) (WY) (NWL) (OI) EPS Estimates Changed

Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN), Helmerich & Payne (NYSE: HP), Southwestern Energy (NYSE: SWN), Weyerhaeuser (NYSE: WY), Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE: NWL) and Owens-Illinois (NYSE: OI) EPS estimated adjusted.

Oppenheimer lowered its EPS estimates on Amgen, Inc. (AMGN). They have an “Outperform” rating and a price target of $66.00 on the company.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) boosted its EPS estimates on Helmerich & Payne (HP). They have a “Neutral” rating and a price target of $80.00 on the company.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) raised its EPS estimates on Southwestern Energy (SWN). They have a “Neutral” rating and a price target of $51.00 on the company.

UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) cuts its EPS estimates Weyerhaeuser (WY). They have a “Sell” rating and a price target of $18.00 on the company.

Morgan Stanley cut its EPS estimates on Newell Rubbermaid (NWL). They have an “Overweight” rating and a price target of $20.00 on the company.

Goldman Sachs cut its EPS estimates on Owens-Illinois (OI). They have a “Neutral” rating and a price target of $28.00 on the company.

Thomson Reuters (TRI) (PRE) (GNK) (HP) (CNP) (NAT) Downgraded

Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE: TRI), PartnerRe (NYSE: PRE), Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd (NYSE: GNK), Helmerich & Payne (NYSE: HP), CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) and Nordic American Tanker Shipping (NYSE: NAT) downgraded by analysts.

Thomson Reuters Co. (TRI) was downgraded by RBC Capital from an “Outperform” rating to a “Sector Perform” rating. They have a price target of $42.00 on the company, down from $46.00.

PartnerRe (PRE) was downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) from an “Overweight” rating to a “Neutral” rating. They have a price target of $76.00 on the company.

Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd (GNK) was downgraded by Cantor Fitzgerald from a “Hold” rating to a “Sell” rating.

Helmerich & Payne (HP) was downgraded by Duncan Williams from a “Buy” rating to a “Reduce” rating. They have a price target of $72.00 on the company. They cited valuation as the catalyst behind the call.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (CNP) was downgraded by Argus from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.

Nordic American Tanker Shipping (NAT) was downgraded by Cantor Fitzgerald from a “Hold” rating to a “Sell” rating. They have a price target of $16.00 on the company.

Ratings on (HP) (INFI) (LUV) (MAIN) (MLR) Upgraded

Analysts upgraded their ratings on Helmerich & Payne (NYSE: HP), Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: INFI), Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV), Main Street Capital Co. (NASDAQ: MAIN) and Miller Industries, Inc. (NYSE: MLR) today.

Duncan Williams upgraded Helmerich & Payne (HP) from a “reduce” rating to a “strong buy” rating. They have a price target of of $72.00 on the company. They cited valuation as the catalyst behind the call.

Piper Jaffray upgraded Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc (INFI) from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating. They have a price target of $9.00 on the company, up from $6.00.

Dahlman Rose upgraded Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $15.00 on the company.

Ladenburg Thalmann upgraded Main Street Capital Co. (MAIN) from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $19.50 on the company, up from $17.75.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) upgraded Miller Industries, Inc. (MLR). They have a price target of $53.00 on the company, up from $46.00.

Biggest Losers (HP) (CCL) (IRBT) (HMC) (IPXL) on May 6

Among the big, negative movers on Friday, May 6, were Helmerich & Payne (HP), Carnival Corp. (CCL), IRobot Corp. (IRBT), Honda Motor Company (HMC) and Impax Laboratories (IPXL).

Helmerich & Payne (HP) was down $0.76, to close at $57.67, a loss of 1.30 percent.

Carnival Corp. (CCL) fell $0.76 on the day to close at $40.18, a loss of 1.86 percent.

IRobot Corp. (IRBT) dropped $0.75 to close at $33.47, a loss of 2.19 percent.

Honda Motor Company (HMC) declined $0.75 to close the session at $38.05, a loss of 1.93 percent.

Impax Laboratories (IPXL) plunged $0.74 to end the day at $27.40, a loss of 2.63 percent.

Dividend Yields for (HP) (MEE) (RRC) (COG) (EP)

Indicated dividend yields for Standard & Poor's 500 Index companies Helmerich & Payne Inc (HP), Massey Energy Co (MEE), Range Resources Corp (RRC), Cabot Oil & Gas Corp (COG) and El Paso Corp (EP).

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.

Helmerich & Payne Inc (HP) has a dividend yield of 0.36 percent on a declared dividend of $0.06. The payout ratio is 6.5 percent.

Massey Energy Co (MEE) has a dividend yield of 0.35 percent on a declared dividend of $0.06. The payout ratio is na.

Range Resources Corp (RRC) has a dividend yield of 0.28 percent on a declared dividend of $0.04. The payout ratio is 69.3 percent.

Cabot Oil & Gas Corp (COG) has a dividend yield of 0.21 percent on a declared dividend of $0.03. The payout ratio is 24.2 percent.

El Paso Corp (EP) has a dividend yield of 0.21 percent on a declared dividend of $0.01. The payout ratio is 11.3 percent.

Ratings of (DAL) (ENDP) (FLEX) (GPRO) (HP) Downgraded

Analysts downgraded ratings of Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), Endo Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ENDP), Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX), Gen-Probe Incorporated (NASDAQ: GPRO) and Helmerich & Payne (NYSE: HP) today.

Capstone downgraded Delta Air Lines (DAL) from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating.

Duncan Williams downgraded Endo Pharmaceuticals (ENDP) to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $51.00 on the company.

Argus analysts downgraded Flextronics International Ltd. (FLEX) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.

Gleacher & Co. downgraded Gen-Probe Incorporated (GPRO) from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating.

Canaccord Genuity downgraded Helmerich & Payne (HP) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.

Move Into Pioneer (PDC) (UDRL), Out of Bronco (BRNC) Says Global

Global Hunter Securities downgraded Bronco Drilling (NYSE:BRNC) from "Accumulate" to "Neutral" after receiving a takeover bid from Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK).

Global says, "Last Friday, BRNC announced Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) is acquiring it for $315 million, or $11 per share. The valuation metrics work out to 1.02x BV, 6.9x and 5.1x our 2011 and 2012 EBITDA estimates, respectively, and -$14.3 million per rig, which implies zero value for Bronco MX or Challenger Ltd. CHK is currently BRNC’s second largest customer, operating three rigs. CHK intends to integrate the 22 rigs into its subsidiary, Nomac Drilling, for which CHK operates 90 of its 95 rigs. We believe that many of these rigs will likely be working for CHK in the Powder River and DJ Basins, after completing their current term contracts, where the company recently inked a joint venture with CNOOC (NYSE:CEO) and in the Mississippian horizontal oil play in the northern Anadarko Basin."

"We do not expect a third party to come in with a higher bid for BRNC. We believe that Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) has no interest in running a rig outside of a FlexRig, and Nabors (NYSE:NBR) and Patterson-UTI (Nasdaq:PTEN) are more likely to spend the incremental $4-5 million to build a rig rather than pay the implied $14.3 million per unit CHK is spending for BRNC. We feel the same way for the smaller-cap drillers and do not believe any other operators have an interest in spending over $300 million to guarantee they have rigs to meet anticipated drilling programs and hedge against rate increases."

"Rotate into Pioneer (NYSE:PDC) and Union (Nasdaq:UDRL). Up nearly 70% and 64% YTD, we think these stocks still have plenty of room to run."

Global Hunter Securities lowered its price target on Bronco from $13.50 to $11.

Nabors (NBR) (HP) (PTEN) (COP) As Oil Prices Break $111

The soaring price of oil, which topped $111 a barrel today, is pushing up the share price of Nabors Industries (NYSE:NBR), Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP), Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP).

Crude futures for West Texas Intermediate crude (CLK11) jumped to break $111 a barrel, up about $5 over the past week.

“U.S. land drilling contractors should be a major beneficiary of the forecast increase in horizontal drilling,” Macquarie analysts said in a note to clients, which raised its outlook on Nabors Industries (NYSE:NBR), Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) and Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN).

The NYSE Arca Oil Index (XOI) rose by 0.7% to 1,394. That’s the index’s highest level since the record run of oil prices fueled an all-time record of 1,570 almost three years ago.

Nabors Industries was trading at $31.82, gaining $1.32, or 4.33 percent, as of 2:00 PM EDT. Helmerich & Payne was trading at $69.54, gaining $2.04, or 3.02 percent. Patterson-UTI Energy was at $29.30, up $1.27, or 4.55 percent. ConocoPhillips was trading at $81.02, rising $0.62, or 0.77 percent.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) EPS Raised Far Above Consensus

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) and other land drillers are being viewed as negative by a number of investors, but Global Hunter says they're wrong, and have boosted their EPS estimates for 2011/2012 far above consensus.

Global says, "Negative investor sentiment towards the land drillers has proven to be incorrect, yet again, with the group outperforming the OSX by 500 bps and the overall market by 455 bps yesterday. We think this trend continues, similar to the run in Q4 2010, believing the consensus sell-side estimate to be short 20-30% in most cases for the group. Momentum in the high service intensive plays is unlikely to cease in 2011 or 2012 and the major public drillers should continue to take share as legacy equipment is displaced. No driller is in better position to capitalize on this than HP given its fiscally sound operator base (highest in the group at ~85% of active rig count), under-levered balance sheet and strong cash flows. Ramping up production to three rigs per month suggests it likely delivers more than 50 rigs through 2012. Annualizing last quarter's results and the 2c per share each newbuild adds suggests greater than $5 in earnings power. Despite yesterday's 9.5% move we think the stock has another 20%+ to go."

"We are increasing our fiscal 2011 and 2012 EPS estimates to $4.09 and $5.15 from $3.45 and $4.05, respectively (note consensus as of yesterday was $3.33 and $3.55)."

Global reiterates an "Accumulate" on Helmerich & Payne (HP), which closed Friday at $56.37, down $0.37, or 0.65 percent. Global raised their price target on Helmerich from $62 to $70.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) EPS Should Rise in 2011

Liking how Helmerich & Payne's (NYSE:HP) FlexRigs are driving U.S. land results, Canaccord Genuity reiterated their "Buy" rating on the company, while also increasing their earnings per share estimate for 2011.

Canaccord said, "company’s modern, efficient and high performance FlexRigs continues to drive US Land results, with increased utilization (82% vs industry avg. 60%) and higher average dayrates (-$24,000). The company also announced another four newbuilds, bringing the total under construction to 12. We are increasing our F2011 EPS from $2.70 to $3.40 and reiterate our rating."

Helmerich & Payne closed Friday at $46.56, losing $0.82, or 1.73 percent. Volume was close to the 3-month daily average.

Canaccord Genuity has a price target of $60 on Helmerich & Payne.