Prudential, GE, Williams-Sonoma, Goldman Sachs

Prudential, GE, Williams-Sonoma, Goldman Sachs

 

Auto Insurance Quotes Compare: Prudential, GE, Williams-Sonoma, Goldman Sachs


U.S. stocks traded lower Tuesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.1% to 11741, the Standard & Poor's 500 was off 2.3% to 1267 and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 2.4% to 2636. Among the companies whose shares are actively trading in the session are Prudential Financial Inc. (PRU), General Electric Co. (GE) and Williams-Sonoma Inc. (WSM).

Life insurance analysts have been unanimous in saying claims tied to Japan's quake won't cause outsized losses at global giants like Prudential ($57.13, -$4.13, -6.74%) and MetLife Inc. (MET, $41.90, -$2.84, -6.35%), or companies with large Japan businesses like Aflac Inc. (AFL, $48.62, -$5.28, -9.80%) and Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (HIG, $24.66, -$2.16, -8.05%). But today their stocks are off substantially. Concern now isn't about claims--it's about the markets. Global sell-off is hitting their massive investment portfolios, especially any holdings in Japanese stocks, corporate bonds or government debt. Uncertainty about the yen also playing a role.

General Electric's ($19.11, -$0.81, -4.07%) shares fell even as it defended the design of the now-stricken reactor it supplied to Japan 40 years ago, saying its containment system is safe and reliable. Fukushima-Daiichi's unit 1, the scene of a dramatic explosion Saturday, is equipped with a GE boiling water reactor with a so-called Mark 1 containment system. There have been concerns about that particular design for years, with critics saying it isn't as robust as later models.

Williams-Sonoma's ($37.44, +$2.46, +7.03%) fiscal fourth-quarter profit climbed 28%, topping its upbeat view, as revenue also beat expectations amid particular growth in its direct-to-consumer business and at outlets. The company also said its board authorized a 13% dividend increase.

KBW warns that volatility in the markets could impact investment-banking results, particularly for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS, $155.74, -$2.69, -1.70%), Citigroup Inc. (C, $4.43, -$0.12, -2.53%), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM, $44.13, -$1.17, -2.58%) and Morgan Stanley (MS, $27.16, -$0.75, -2.69%)--all four have significant such operations in Japan.

Brown Shoe Co.'s (BWS, $10.89, -$3.45, -24.04%) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings fell 34%, falling short of analyst estimates, as issues with its new information-technology systems hurt its wholesale division's gross profit.


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Insurer Arch Capital Group Ltd. (ACGL, $90.13, -$1.08, -1.18%) said a devastating earthquake in New Zealand last month would case an estimated $35 million to $70 million, net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums.

Michigan-based BorgWarner Inc. (BWA, $72.41, -$2.20, -2.95%), the auto-parts supplier with the largest exposure to Japan, continued its fall Tuesday as Japan's nuclear crisis deepened and worries escalated over the economic toll of last week's earthquake.

Broadwind Energy Inc.'s (BWEN, $1.50, +$0.25, +20.00%) fourth-quarter loss narrowed sharply as the wind-turbine products and services company posted fewer write-downs and revenue soared amid record production at its tower business and continued industrial sales growth at its gearing segment.

Callon Petroleum Co.'s (CPE, $6.36, -$0.79, -11.05%) fourth-quarter bottom line sank more than expected to a very narrow profit, after the prior-year period included a hefty royalty repayment from the federal government and the latest period suffered from lower output and natural-gas prices.

Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc.'S (CRZO, $29.39, -$4.86, -14.19%) fourth-quarter loss narrowed absent $122.5 million of prior-year write-downs as the hedging gains were partially offset by increased gas prices and production. But the results missed analysts' expectations.

Ticonderoga Securities initiated coverage on Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW, $17.76, -$0.74, -4.00%) with a stock-investment rating of neutral, saying when it becomes clear the Fed will begin raising rates, it will then become more positive on the broker.

Shares of luxury retailers Coach Inc. (COH, $51.03, -$2.08, -3.92%) and Tiffany & Co. (TIF, $57.15, -$2.71, -4.53%) continued their sharp sell-off Tuesday as investors continued to exit companies with significant exposure to Japan following the devastation inflicted by Friday's earthquake and tsunami. In addition to their sales exposure to the country, history suggests that major upheavals such as that being experienced by Japan can mean a sharp decline in consumer confidence.

Curtiss-Wright Corp. (CW, $33.64, -$1.20, -3.44%) was lowered to sector perform from outperform at RBC Capital Markets on Tuesday, which cited the unfolding nuclear emergency in Japan. Curtiss-Wright receives about 20% of its revenue from commercial nuclear power. "Over the last 12 to 18 months, however, some projects and orders have been canceled or delayed as the 'Nuclear Renaissance' has been pushed out by a few years, removing CW's premium valuation," RBC analyst Rama Bondada said. "Given the situation in Japan, and that Asia was to be a big part of commercial nuclear growth over the next 10 years, we think that new builds may witness strong opposition from local entities and citizens."

Uranium mining companies Denison Mines Corp. (DNN, $2.23, -$0.32, -12.55%) and Uranium Energy Corp. (UEC, $3.17, -$0.75, -19.13%) were under pressure once again after Friday's earthquake in Japan.

Dole Food Co. (DOLE, $12.81, -$1.51, -10.54%) swung to a fiscal fourth-quarter loss on a prior-year derivatives gain and poor Latin American winter weather, which drove up banana costs for the fruit and vegetable producer.

DSW Inc.'s (DSW, $38.30, -$2.91, -7.06%) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 34% as the discount footwear retailer continued to see sales improve, though results missed analysts' expectations.

Ferrellgas Partners LP (FGP, $24.96, -$2.20, -8.10%) said its planned offer of at least 4.4 million common units priced at a 3.3% discount to Monday's close. The propane distributor, known for its Blue Rhino tanks used for grilling, recently had 70.7 million units outstanding.

Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings Ltd. (FSR, $8.60, -$0.38, -4.23%) estimated its losses from the February New Zealand earthquake at $60 million to $90 million. The company had already said it expected first-quarter losses of $60 million to $80 million to cover January's severe flooding in Queensland and Victoria, as well as Tropical Storm Yasi, which caused damage in northern Queensland in early February. Flagstone said it's too early to estimate losses from last week's massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ, $40.43, -$1.06, -2.56%) Chief Executive Leo Apotheker, in his first speech outlining his plans for the company, said H-P seeks to be a leader in enabling businesses and consumers to access and manage their stored data. The company also announced a 50% increase in its quarterly dividend and said it aims to increase its dividend by a double-digit percentage every year.

Impax Laboratories Inc. (IPXL, $24.00, +$1.93, +8.74%) said its Parkinson's disease drug significantly improved control of motor symptoms compared with another treatment for the degenerative disorder in a late-stage study.

Intel Corp. (INTC, $20.07, -$0.77, -3.69%) continues to face weak PC demand, which could moderate further in the second half, Nomura says in downgrading the stock. The firm notes every major PC maker missed and provided a weaker forecast for the first quarter. It also says Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD, $8.17, -$0.26, -3.08%), which likely saw a boost from Intel's recent design flaw and is looking more competitive, is also tracking to the low end of its first-quarter forecast.

Kid Brands Inc. (KID, $7.09, -$2.15, -23.27%) expects first-quarter adjusted earnings to be "substantially below what they were for Q1 2010," after an internal investigation revealed incorrect import duties being applied on certain wooden furniture imported by its LaJobi subsidiary. The maker of infant and juvenile branded products estimates $7 million of costs related to customs duty owed, while investigation expenses and a drop in sales will also adversely impact earnings.

Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT, $30.98, -$0.38, -1.21%) Chief Financial Office Timothy R. McLevish will leave the company later this year to pursue opportunities in general management, and will be succeeded internally by operations executive David Brearton.

Network equipment vendor Nokia Siemens Networks is seeking to renegotiate its $1.2 billion acquisition of network equipment assets from Motorola Solutions Inc. (MSI, $40.12, -$0.87, -2.12%), Bloomberg news agency says Tuesday citing "two people close to the situation". Nokia Siemens, a joint venture between Nokia Corp. (NOK, $7.88, -$0.42, -5.05%) and Siemens AG (SI, $120.37, -$6.11, -4.83%), wants to exclude the Global System for Mobile communications, or GSM, unit from the deal and renegotiate the price in order to win antitrust approval from the Chinese government, the news agency cites one of the persons as saying.

Goldman Sachs raised its stock-investment rating on Netflix Inc. (NFLX, $207.38, +$6.18, +3.07%) to buy from neutral, noting that the company has "sufficient scale to make it difficult for new entrants given low price points and expensive content costs."

Benchmark Co. raised its stock-investment rating on specialized electronic systems OSI Systems Inc. (OSIS, $37.60, +$0.57, +1.54%) to buy from hold, citing upside in fiscal year 2012 from a security and healthcare turnaround. The firm said it believes OSI has upside from the new service model for cargo screening needs, including airport baggage, and cargo/border security, and a recovery in the U.S. patient monitoring market in healthcare.

Subaye Inc.'s (SBAY, $4.25, -$1.67, -28.21%) chief financial officer said he will resign from the company effective March 14 "to pursue other professional interests," the video advertising and entertainment media provider disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Sun Bancorp Inc. (SNBC, $3.70, -$0.18, -4.64%), the parent company of Sun National Bank, said it has begun a public offering of $75 million of its common stock.

Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN, $33.45, -$1.11, -3.21%) said it expects to lose some revenue in the first half of its fiscal year after last week's 8.9-magnitude earthquake caused "substantial damage" at its Miho, Japan, manufacturing plant.

-By Dow Jones Newswires; write to hotstocks@dowjones.com 

Posted by Nikkei 225 at 10:18
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