The holiday-shortened week ended with the major stock averages about where they were at the end of the previous week. Yes, it was a holiday Monday, the relatively unexciting President’s Day observance. Considering the Presidents we have had lately, it is no wonder that people don’t get into much of a festive mood. The economic readings were likewise none too exciting, indicating that housing is slowing a little, and prices, at least officially, are not rising much. The most noteworthy event of the week was testimony before Congress from Janet Yellen, the new Fed Chief, which seemed to confirm that she is a policy “dove”, at least at the moment.    

It was another slow week for upgrades / downgrades on my stocks, with just a few of note:

JM Smuckers (SJM) was upgraded from Equal Weight to OverWeight at Stephens.

Darden Restaurants (DRI) was upgraded from Market Perform to OutPerform at Raymond James.

Waste Management (WM) was downgraded from Buy to Hold at Wunderlich.

Pan American Silver (PAAS) was upgraded from UnderPerform to Market Perform at BMO Capital.

Wal-Mart (WMT) was downgraded from Buy to Hold at Stifel.

Phillip Morris (PM) was downgraded from OutPerform to Market Perform at First Global.

Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG) was downgraded from Buy to Hold at Jeffries.

Total S A (TOT) was upgraded from Sell to Neutral at Goldman.

Wal-Mart (WMT) was downgraded from But to Neutral at Gifford Securities.

 Earnings reports from my stocks continued to roll in last week:

The Coca-Cola Company (KO) reported Q4 EPS of $0.46, in-line. Revenue of $11.04B, down 3.6% Y/Y, missed by $270M. Forward guidance was also disappointing. The shares dropped after the report, then flat-lined the rest of the week.

Waste Management, Inc. (WM) reported Q4 EPS of $0.56. Revenue of $3.5B, up 2.0% Y/Y, missed by $80M. The stock performed similarly to KO after the report.

Medtronic Inc. (MDT) reported FQ3 EPS of $0.91, in-line. Revenue of $4.16B, up 3.2% Y/Y, beat by $10M. With a sub-2% yield, I may be dropping this firm from my lists soon.

National Health Investors Inc. (NHI) reported Q4 FFO of $0.90, beating by two cents. Revenue of $32.79M, up 22.3% Y/Y, beat by $1.07M.

Nestle's (NSRGF) 2013 net profit dropped slightly, to 10.02B Swiss francs ($11.12B), and missed consensus of 10.69B francs, dragged down by the costs of portfolio restructuring and currency fluctuations. Sales rose 2.7% to 92.2B Swiss francs and undershot forecasts of 93.1B francs, with organic growth up 4.6%. Revenue was kept down by price pressures in Europe. The annual dividend will be coming along in April.

Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (ETE) reported Q4 EPS of a negative 31 cents. Revenue of $12.6B, up 11.4% Y/Y, beat by $660M.

Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (ETP) reported Q4 EPS of a negative $1.87. Revenue of $12.03B, up 9.6% Y/Y, beat by $910M.

Neither of the Energy Transfer MLPs declined by much after the reports. The Energy Transfer family continues to become more and more complex, with a new natural-gas focused MLP being proposed, and support of another MLP in the group, Regency Energy Partners (RGP), which is expanding via acquisition of pipeline assets from Eagle Rock (EROC).  

Health Care REIT, Inc. (HCN) reported Q4 FFO of $0.99, beating by two cents. Revenue of $788.57M, up 57.5% Y/Y, missed by $2.58M. How can revenue be up 57% and still miss analysts’ estimates? HCN has rebounded partially from the REIT sell off of the past few months, but is still available at a reasonable price, unlike most stocks at the moment.

Williams Partners (WPZ) reported Q4 EPS of $0.12, missing by twenty-eight cents. WPZ is down a bit from the highs of mid-January, and with a yield over 7%, is a value. The BoardWalk (BWP) implosion, noted in last week’s post, has cast a pall over the midstream energy MLP sector.

Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. (CLMT) reported Q4 EPS of a negative twenty-seven cents. Revenue of $1.24B, up 1.6% Y/Y, missed by $20M. The MLP is down from nearly $40 to $27 and change in the last year. Yielding over 10%, it may be a good time to buy, or maybe not, if the slide continues.

Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG) reported Q4 EPS of $0.49, beating by four cents. Q4 earnings fell 11% on mark-to-market and storm-related impacts, but adjusted profit improved and exceeded expectations.

SCANA Corporation (SCG) reported Q4 EPS of $0.73, missing by four cents. Revenue of $1.12B, flat Y/Y, missed by $80M.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT) reported Q4 EPS of $1.60, beating by a penny. Revenue of $129.7B, up 2.0% Y/Y, still missed by $740M. Management didn't duck discussing the headwinds the firm faces on a variety of fronts during the earnings call. Uneven consumer confidence, higher health care costs, and currency challenges are all immediate factors which will affect Q1 and 2014 results. The net result is that operating income is expected to grow slower than sales. Say it ain’t so, Joe. If WMT is struggling, where does that leave the rest of retail?

Newmont Mining (NEM) dropped 8% premarket on Friday after reporting adjusted Q4 earnings of $0.33/share, eleven cents shy of analyst consensus, and a 12% Y/Y drop in revenues, to $2.17B. Even as the mining sector has been recovering, if only slightly, NEM has faltered. The gold-price pegged dividend, down to $0.15 per quarter from $0.45 a year ago, may be reduced further going forward. I own NEM, and in hindsight, what I thought was an excellent entry point was the first leg of a serious decline. I still believe it will eventually rebound, along with gold, but not soon.

Pan American Silver Corp. (PAAS) reported Q4 EPS of -$1.94. Revenue of $192.4M, down 22.2% Y/Y, missed by $4.08M. In spite of these dismal numbers, PAAS has been seen as weathering the precious metals decline admirable, and the stock has advanced from $10.00 a couple of months ago to over $15 at Friday’s close. PAAS has performed like I thought NEM would. I also bought PAAS at the same time as NEM, but took an early profit, too early, in hindsight.

Stocks on my lists going ex-dividend this week, by date, are:

2/26/2014

NextEra Energy (NEE), yield 3.13%.

Novartis A G (NVS), yield 2.94%. This is an annual dividend.

Molson Coors (TAP), yield 2.61%.

Prospect Capital (PSEC), yield 11.68%. PSEC pays monthly.

2/27/2014

McDonalds (MCD), yield 3.36%.

Northrop Grumman (NOC), yield 2.03%.

Realty Income (O), yield 5.04%. O pays monthly.

Safety Insurance Group (SAFT), yield 4.29%.

Pan American Silver (PAAS), yield 3.30%.

Earnings season continues, with another full plate of earnings reports on tap for stocks on my lists:

2/24/2014

Digital Realty (DLR), ONEOK Partners L P (OKS), and Frontier Communications (FTR), all before the open, and Greif (GEF, GEF.B), after the close. 

2/25/2014

Alliant Energy (LNT), Exterran Partners L P (EXLP), before the open, Annaly Capital (NLY), after the close, and Solar Capital (SLRC), no time specified.

2/26/2014

Ares Capital (ARCC), Enerplus (ERF), before the open, Westar Energy (WR), Triangle Capital (TCAP), after the close, and Crestwood Midstream Partners L P (CMLP), Martin Midstream Partners L P (MMLP), no time specified.

2/27/2014

Consolidated Communications (CNSL), Windstream Holdings (WIN), Breitburn Energy Partners L P (BBEP), before the open, Hercules Technology Growth Capital (HTGC), after the close, Linn Energy L P (LINE), during market hours, and Main Street Capital (MAIN), no time specified.

It will be another busy week, with lots of earnings reporting to digest. Right now, I see very few buy opportunities, as the market continues higher and higher, defying the bears, as well as value investors awaiting a pullback. The market, as always, continues to frustrate mere mortals, attempting to make sense of the endless nonsensical gyrations. Once you accept that reality, then it begins to make sense after all.

JT

So much for the correction. The stock advance, which began the week before, continued last week, such that the major averages are nearly back up to the end-of-year highs. The perma-bears and doom-and-gloomers were wrong once again. The most note-worthy happening regarding my stocks was the implosion of Boardwalk Pipeline Partners (BWP), a midstream energy MLP that posted a huge drop in earnings, slashed the dividend drastically, and presented a discouraging outlook going forwarded. Not surprisingly, the stock sold off, with the share price dropping from the mid-twenties to barely $13. I did not see this coming. Neither did Josh Peters, editor of the Morningstar Dividend Investor, and the research analysts at Morningstar backing him up. Generally, pipeline MLPs are regarded as the safest MLP category, being mere toll-takes, not directly exposed to commodity price risk. It turns out that BWP, a relatively small operator, is seeing the value of their pipeline assets eroded by new shale discoveries in the Marcellus shale region, such that the demand for transportation, and thus renewing contract rates, is down. The dividend cut seemed way overdone, considering the current numbers, and is indicative that management sees the situation worsening. One lesson that Josh reiterated in his weekly update, as he commented on the BWP situation, is that sometimes the best predictor, often the only predictor, of an implosion like this, is that a firm stops increasing the dividend after years of steady increases. Josh Peters and his Dividend Investor newsletter remains my most highly recommended advisory newsletter, and I want to note that BWP was NOT in any of his recommended portfolios, but was merely on his list of decent-yielding stocks that were not attractive enough to make the cut to get onto his recommended lists. Mostly, these are stocks that might be ok, but in his view, are not compelling enough to consider further as of the listing date. I’m sure BWP will be going off even this list when the next issue of the newsletter comes out, and it certainly is going off of mine.

It was a slow week for upgrades / downgrades on my stocks, with just a few of note:

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP (BWP) was downgraded from Neutral to UnderWeight at Credit Suisse. Thanks for the heads-up, CS.

Senior Housing Properties Trust (SNH) was downgraded from Neutral to Sell at UBS.

AT&T (T) was initiated at Buy at Drexel Hamilton.

Buckeye Pipeline Partners LP (BPL) was upgraded from Neutral to Buy at Citigroup.

CenturyLink (CTL) was upgraded from Neutral to OutPerform at Macquarie.

ONEOK Partners LP (OKS) was upgraded from Neutral to Buy at Citigroup.

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP (BWP) was downgraded from Buy to Neutral at Janney Capital, and was, as a contrarian recommendation, upgraded from Neutral to Buy at Citigroup. Sometimes, if a sell-off is overdone, it can be a good time to buy, but I don’t see this as that type of situation. 

Wal-Mart (WMT) was initiated at Buy at Nomura.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) was upgraded from Neutral to Buy at ISI Group.

It was not, however, a slow week for earnings reports from my stocks, as tallied below:

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP (BWP) reported Q4 EPS of $0.08, and revenue of $312.9M, down 3.9% Y/Y, which missed by $7.38M. The firm declared a $0.10/unit quarterly dividend, which was an 81% decrease the prior dividend.

Total S A reported that Q4 net profit 19% to €2.47B ($3.37B) and missed consensus of €2.59B, hurt by a slight fall in output, the weaker dollar, poor results at the oil company's refining operations, and delays at important oil fields such as Kazakhstan's Kashagan. Revenue was down 4% to €47.75B.

Statoil (STO) reported that Q4 net operating profit dropped 4% to 43.9B kroner ($7.1B), just below consensus of 44.3B kroner. Net income was14.8B kroner vs 13B kroner a year earlier. Statoil has cut its investment plans for the next three years by over $5B and pushed back its 2020 targets by 3-4 years. Statoil intends to increase investment to $20B in 2014 from $19B in 2013 and then keep that level steady. The firm is proposing to increase its dividend to 7 kroner for 2013 from NOK 6.75 in 2012, and also plans to introduce quarterly dividends, subject to shareholder approval.

Entergy Corporation (ETR) reported Q4 EPS of $1.00, beating by eighteen cents. Revenue of $2.69B, up 10.2% Y/Y, beat by $200M.

HCP, Inc. (HCP) reported FQ1 FFO of $0.76, beating by two cents. Revenue of $530.29M, up 4.3% Y/Y, beat by $19.9M.

Reynolds American, Inc. (RAI) reported Q4 EPS of $0.77, missing by four cents. Revenue of $2.04B, down 1.9% Y/Y, missed by $30M.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) reported FQ2 EPS of $0.47, beating by a penny. Revenue of $11.2B, down 7.4% Y/Y, beat by $170M. The firm announced a $0.02/share increase in its quarterly dividend, to $0.19/share.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (DPS) reported Q4 EPS of $0.97, beating by thirteen cents. Revenue of $1.46B, down 1.4% Y/Y, missed by $10M.

Realty Income Corporation (O) reported Q4 AFFO of $0.62, beating by a penny. Revenue of $215.7M, up 65.8% Y/Y, beat by $12.9M.

Kraft Foods Group, Inc. (KRFT) reported Q4 EPS of $1.54. Revenue of $4.59B, up 2.2% Y/Y, missed by $40M.

PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) reported Q4 EPS of $1.05, beating by four cents. Revenue of $20.12B, up 0.9% Y/Y, missed by $40M.

Diebold Inc. (DBD) reported Q4 EPS of $0.57, missing by two cents. Revenue of $811.4M, down 3.4% Y/Y, beat by $14.69M.

Molson Coors Brewing Company (TAP) reported Q4 NI of $239.9M. Net Revenue of $1.8B, up 21.6% Y/Y, beat by $790M.

J. M. Smucker Company (SJM) reported FQ3 EPS of $1.66, missing by two cents. Revenue of $1.47B, down 5.8% Y/Y, missed by $60M.

Ventas (VTR) reported Q4 FFO of $1.06, in-line. Revenue of $732.85M, up 11% Y/Y, beat by $26.46M.

Stocks on my lists going ex-dividend this week are:

MicroSoft (MSFT), 2/18/2014, yield 2.98%.

Main Street Capital (MAIN), 2/18/2014, yield 5.71%. MAIN pays monthly.

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP (BWP), 2/18/2014, yield 2.99%. As noted, BWP is off my lists, and will not be reported on after this week. The reduced dividend of ten cents is definitely not worth the risk of this MLP going forward, in my opinion.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), 2/19/2014, yield 4.42%.

General Electric (GE), 2/20/2014, yield 3.42%.

Diebold (DBD), 2/20/2014, yield 3.11%.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), 2/21/2014, yield 2.85%.

Earnings season continues this week, although it is winding down. Stocks on my lists reporting this week, by date, are as follows:

2/18/2014

Coca Cola (KO), Waste Management (WM), Medtronic (MDT), National Health Investors (NHI), and Nestle S A (NSRGY).

2/19/2014

Health Care REIT (HCN), Energy Transfer Equity LP (ETE), Energy Transfer Partners L P (ETR), Williams Partners LP (WPZ), and Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP (CLMT).

2/20/2014

Wal-Mart (WMT), Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG), SCANA (SCG), Newmont Mining (NEM), and Pan American Silver (PAAS).

The week ahead will see several readings on the state of the housing market, plus readings on Producer Prices (PPI) and Consumer Prices (CPI), and more earnings reports. Unless some significant unexpected event materializes, it should be a quiet week. With the recovery of the past seven trading days, stocks trading at attractive buy prices are few and far between. As quoted from the trading classic Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, “there is a time to go long, there is a time to go short, and there is a time to go fishing”.  This week may be a time to go fishing.

JT

Stocks began the prior week with a major sell off on Monday, and it looked like a deeper pullback than any we have seen for a couple of years was in store, with the S&P down about 5% from the peak at that point. Then, a funny thing happened. Stocks proceeded to gain back the lost ground, with the recovery accelerating Thursday and Friday. By the end of the day Friday, the market had notched a gain for the week. The gain on Friday was particularly noteworthy, considering the tepid Monthly Jobs Report, with two months in a row of disappointing jobs numbers now having been posted. The dampening effect of Obamacare on jobs is now being recognized, and if changes are not made, it will only get worse, as the law continues to phase in.

There were only a few upgrades / downgrades last week on my stocks:

Prospect Capital (PSEC) was upgraded from Hold to Buy at Wunderlich.

Eaton Corp (ETN) was downgraded from Buy to Neutral at MKM-Partners.

American Capital Agency (AGNC) was upgraded from Neutral to OverWeight at JP Morgan.

Statoil (STO) was upgraded from Sector OutPerform to Focus Stock at Howard Weil.

Walgreen was initiated at OutPerform at Leerink Swann.

Kellogg (K) was upgraded from UnderWeight to Neutral at JP Morgan.

Magellan Midstream Partners LP was upgraded from Market Perform to OutPerform at Wells Fargo.

As expected, it was a big week for earnings news on my stocks. Results, by date, were as follows:

02/03/2014  

AmeriGas Partners LP (APU) reported FQ1 EPS of $1.14, in-line. Revenue of $1.05B, up 19.8% Y/Y, beat by $80.44M. The cold weather has likely helped the propane MLP’s performance.

Mercury General (MCY) reported Q3 EPS of $0.72, beating by eight cents. Revenue of $728.67M beat by $17.97M.

Prospect Capital (PSEC) reported FQ1 NII of $0.32, in-line. Revenue of $178.09M, up 7.3% Y/Y, beat by $7.55M.

American Capital Agency (AGNC) reported Q4 EPS of a minus twenty-eight cents. Net spread and dollar roll income was $0.75 per share. Net interest spread of 1.39% was up two basis points from Q3. Estimated taxable income of $0.65 per share covers the dividend. Book value per share of $23.93 is off $1.34, or 5% from the end of Q3.

SYSCO Corporation (SYY) reported Q2 EPS of $0.40, in-line. Revenue of $11.2B, up 3.7% Y/Y, missed by $150M.

02/04/2014

Emerson Electric Co. (EMR) reported Q4 EPS of $0.67, in-line. Revenue of $5.61B, up 1.1% Y/Y, beat by $60M.

Eaton Corp. plc (ETN) reported Q4 EPS of $1.08, beating by two cents. Revenue of $5.52B, up 27.2% Y/Y, missed by $30M.

Spectra Energy Corp (SE) reported Q4 EPS of $0.41, beating by three cents. Revenue of $1.57B, up 16.3% Y/Y, beat by $110M.

Spectra Energy Partners, LP (SEP) reported Q4 Adj. Net Income of $193M. Revenue of $520M, up 17.9% Y/Y, beat by $49.26M.

02/05/2014

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Q4 EPS of £0.30, in-line. Revenue of £6.91B was up 1.6% Y/Y.

Merck & Co Inc. (MRK) reported Q4 EPS of $0.88, missing by a penny. Revenue of $11.32B, down 3.5% Y/Y, missed by $70M.

Unilever (UL) reported 2013 net profit up 9% to €5.3B, core EPS up 3% to €1.58, revenue down 3% to €49.78B, and operating profit up 8% to €7.5B.

Kimco Realty Corporation (KIM) reported Q4 FFO of thirty-three cents, in-line. Revenue of $247.62M, up 11.1% Y/Y, beat by 49.6M.

Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. (MMP) reported Q4 EPS of $0.88, beating by seven cents. Revenue of $577.43M, up 14.8% Y/Y, beat by $24.48M.

NuStar Energy L.P. (NS) reported Q4 adj. EPS of $0.21, missing by fifteen cents. Revenue of $785.4M, down 20.1% Y/Y, missed by $57.1M. In spite of the misses, NS gained after the report, possibly on the news that the remaining 50% of the asphalt business interest had been sold, ending the ill-fated venture into that sector.

Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (PAA) reported Q4 EPS of $0.76, beating by five cents. Revenue of $10.63B, up 12.6% Y/Y, missed by $600M.

PennantPark Investment (PNNT) reported FQ1 NII of $0.27, in-line. Revenue of $34.43M, up 4.5% Y/Y, beat by $0.95M.

Annaly Capital (NLY) was erroneously listed as reporting on 2/5/2014. NLY is now scheduled to report on 2/25/2014.

02/06/2014

Kellogg Company (K) reported Q4 EPS of $0.83, beating by a penny. Revenue of $3.5B, down 1.8% Y/Y, missed by $20M.

Phillip Morris (PM) reported Q4 EPS of $1.24, sees FY EPS in range $5.02 - $5.12.

Sanofi (SNY) reported Q4 adjusted, or “business net profit”, rose 17% to €1.81B, coming in slightly below consensus of €1.82B. Net sales dropped 0.8% to €8.46B. Net profit jumped to €1.06B ($1.43B) from €388M a year earlier.

Exelon Corporation (EXC) reported Q4 EPS of $0.50, missing by three cents. Adj. revenue of $6.25B, down 2.5% Y/Y, beat by $620M.

Universal Corporation (UVV) reported Q3 EPS (diluted) of $1.36, up 9%. Revenues were up 13% to $768M.

Fifth Street Finance (FSC) reported FQ1 NII of $0.26, beating by a penny. Revenue of $71.33M beat by $2.95M.

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (MPW) reported Q4 FFO of $0.26, in-line. Revenue of $67.68M, up 17.9% Y/Y, missed by $1.05M.

02/07/2014

Buckeye Partners L.P. (BPL) reported Q4 EPS of $0.75, missing by a penny. Revenue of $1.65B, up 43.5% Y/Y, beat by $500M.

Stocks on my lists going ex-dividend this week, by date, are:

2/11/2014

Entergy (ETR), yield 5.22%.

2/12/2014

Chevron (CVX), yield 3.57%.

Emerson Electric (EMR), yield 2.64%.

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.B), yield 4.92%.

JM Smuckers (SJM), yield 2.48%.

Exelon (EXC), yield 4.21%.

Spectra Energy (SE), yield 3.64%.

Spectra Energy Partners LP (SEP), yield 4.88%.

Fifth Street Financial (FSC), yield 10.40%. FSC pays monthly.

2/13/2014

ConocoPhillips (COP), yield 4.25%.

Walgreen (WAG), yield 2.07%.

2/14/2014

Gladstone Investment (GAIN), yield 9.72%. GAIN pays monthly.

As earnings season continues, a number of my stocks are scheduled to report this week, as shown below, by date:

02/10/2014

Total S A (TOT), no time specified, to be reported from France, so probably in the wee hours before the open. Statoil (STO), reporting from Norway, will also likely be in the early morning here. Finally, before the open, Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP (BWP) will report.

 02/11/2014

Entergy (ETR), HCP Inc (HCP), and Reynolds American (RAI), all before the open.

 02/12/2014

DrPepper Snapple (DPS), before the open, and Cisco (CSCO), after the close.

 02/13/2014

Realty Income (O), Pepsico (PEP), Diebold (DBD), and Molson Coors (TAP), all before market hours. Kraft Foods (KRFT) will report after the close. 

02/14/2014

JM Smuckers (SJM) and Ventas (VTR) will both report before the open.

The overriding question this week will be whether or not the correction is over. If it is over, it will turn out to be another false alarm, leaving investors wondering when the real correction will materialize. I picked up shares of ConocoPhillips (COP) and Chevron (CVX) at very advantageous prices if the correction is over. If not, the prices I paid may not seem so advantageous as the market continues down. That possibility is why, in spite of paying much less than would have been required during recent months, I did not go “all in”. Today’s bargain might not seem so great as time moves on, if the downturn continues.     

JT

Stocks gyrated last week, with up days and down days roughly balancing out, until Friday, which was a substantial down day, ensuring that the final week of January, and for that matter, the entire month of January, will go into the record books as a down week and a down month. Even so, we are still a fair distance away from being able to call this a significant correction, which would require being down 10% or more, but we are heading that way, if the slide continues. January ended up with a 3.5% decline on the S&P 500 index. The primary catalysts for the slide have been concerns about earnings and also overseas economics, and the effect on overseas markets, particularly China, which may be slowing down.

A number of my stocks experienced upgrades / downgrades last week:

ConocoPhillips (COP) was downgraded from Buy to Neutral at Guggenheim.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) was downgraded from Neutral to UnderWeight at JP Mprgan.

Digital Realty (DLR) was downgraded from Neutral to UnderPerform at Macquarie.

Wal-Mart (WMT) was upgraded from Neutral to OutPerform at Credit Suisse.

Potlatch (PCH) was upgraded from Neutral to Buy at Buckingham.

Southern Company (SO) was downgraded from Buy to Neutral at Citigroup.

Kimberly Clark (KMB) was initiated at Neutral at BTIG.

Molson Coors (TAP) was initiated at Buy at BTIG.

Colgate Palmolive (CL) was initiated at Buy at BTIG.

Procter & Gamble (PG) was initiated at Buy at BTIG. 

Spectra Energy (SE) was upgraded from Market Perform to OutPerform at BMO Capital.

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) was downgraded from Focus Stock to Sector OutPerform at Howard Weil.

Several of my stocks reported last week:

Monday, 1/27/2014

American Electric Power Company Inc (AEP) reported Q4 EPS of $0.60, beating by three cents. Revenue of $3.8B, up 5.6% Y/Y, beat by $270M.

Tuesday, 1/28/2014

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE) reported EPS of $0.95, missing by two cents. Revenue of $3.63B, up 7.4% Y/Y, missed by $200M.

Nucor Corporation (NUE) reported Q4 EPS of $0.53. Revenue was $4.89B, up 9.9% Y/Y, beating by $110M.

Pfizer Inc. (PFE) reported Q4 EPS of $0.56, beating by three cents. Revenue of $13.6B, down 2.2% Y/Y, beat by $250M.

Potlatch Corporation (PCH) reported Q4 EPS of $0.34, missing by two cents. Revenue of $139.95M, down 2.3% Y/Y, missed by $.73M.

AT&T Inc. (T) reported Q4 EPS of $0.53, beating by three cents. Revenue of $33.16B beat by $100M.

Wednesday, 1/29/2014

Southern Company (SO) reported Q4 EPS of $0.48, beating by two cents. Revenue of $3.92B, up 5.9% Y/Y, beat by $50M.

Novartis (NVS) reported that Q4 adjusted EPS dropped 3% to $1.20, missing consensus by $0.08, as results were affected by currency fluctuations. Net income increased to $2.06B from $2.02B, and also fell short of forecasts of $2.4B. Sales rose 2% to $15.08B, almost meeting expectations of $15.09B, with revenue lifted by recently-launched products and strong sales in China and Russia.

Thursday, 1/30/2014

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) reported that Q4 net-profit equivalent slumped 71% to $2.2B, hurt by higher depreciation, increased exploration expenses, lower upstream volumes and weak industry conditions in downstream oil products. Revenue dropped to $109.24B from $116.51B.

3M Company (MMM) reported Q4 EPS of $1.62, in-line. Revenue of $7.6B, up 2.7% Y/Y, missed by $100M.

Altria Group, Inc. (MO) reported Q4 EPS of $0.57m missing by a penny. Revenue of $6.08B, down 2.6% Y/Y, beat by $1.6B.

Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL) reported Q4 EPS of $0.75, beating by a penny. Revenue of $4.36B, up 1.6% Y/Y, missed by $40M.

ConocoPhillips (COP) reported Q4 EPS of $1.40, beating by seven cents.

Enterprise Products Partners L.P (EPD) reported Q4 EPS of $0.75, beating by four cents. Revenue was $13.1B, up 18.2% Y/Y.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) reported Q4 EPS of $1.91, missing by a penny.

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) reported Q4 EPS of $2.12, beating by eighteen cents. Revenue of $6.16B, down 4.8% Y/Y, beat by 150M.

Raytheon Company (RTN) reported Q4 EPS of $1.58, beating by twenty-three cents. Revenue of $5.87B, down 8.7% Y/Y, missed by $80M.

United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) reported Q4 EPS of $1.25, in-line. Revenue of $14.97B, up 2.7% Y/Y, missed by $230M.

Xcel Energy Inc (XEL) reported Q4 EPS of $0.30, beating by a penny. Revenue of $2.73B, up 7.1% Y/Y, beat by $30M.

Friday, 1/31/2014

Chevron Corporation (CVX) reported Q4 EPS of $2.57, missing by a penny. Revenue of $56.15B, down 7.2% Y/Y, missed by $9.01B.

One of my stocks went ex-dividend last week that I overlooked. ONEOK Partners LP (OKS) went ex-dividend 1/29/2014. OKS yields 5.63%.

Stocks on my lists going ex-dividend this week, by date, are:

2/03/2014

Sysco (SYY), yield 3.31%.

Enerplus (ERF), yield 6.0%. ERF pays monthly.

2/04/2014

Williams Partners LP (WPZ), yield 7.13%.

Memorial Production Partners LP (MEMP, yield 10.03%.

2/05/2014

Intel (INTC), yield 3.67%.

Pfizer (PFE), yield 3.42%.

Energy Transfer Equity LP (ETE), yield 3.32%.

Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP), yield 6.63%.

Magellan Midstream Partners LP (MMP), yield 3.52%.

Norfolk Southern (NSC), yield 2.33%.

NuStar Energy LP (NS), yield 8.85%.

Martin Midstream Partners LP (MMLP), yield 7.23%.

Crestwood Midstream Partners LP (CMLP), yield 7.10%.

2/06/2014

American Electric Power (AEP), yield 4.10%.

Amerigas Partners LP (APU), yield 7.84%.

HCP Inc (HCP), yield 5.57%.

Health Care REIT (HCN), yield 5.49%.

Linn Energy LP (LINE), yield 8.84%. LINE now pays monthly.

BreitBurn Energy Partners LP (BBEP), yield 9.59%. BBEP is another MLP that recently switched from paying quarterly to monthly.

Exterran Partners LP (EXLP), yield 7.12%.

QR Energy LP (QRE), yield 10.97%.

As earnings season continues, a number of my stocks are scheduled to report this week, as shown below, by date:

02/03/2014

Mercury General (MCY) before market hours, then after the close, Amerigas Partners LP (APU), Prospect Capital (PSEC), and American Capital Agency (AGNC).

2/04/2014

Emerson Electric (EMR), Eaton Corp (ETN), Spectra Energy (SE), and Spectra Energy Partners (SEP), all before market hours.

2/05/2014

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Merck & Co (MRK), Unilever (UN, UL), Magellan Midstream PartnersLP (MMP), and NuStar Energy LP, all before market hours. Then, after the close, we have Kimco Realty (KIM), Plains All American Pipeline LP (PAA), Annaly Capital (NLY), and Pennantpark Investment Corp (PNNT).

2/06/2014

Kellogg (K), Philip Morris (PM), Sanofi (SNY), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Exelon (EXC), and Medical Properties Trust (MPW), all before market hours. Also, with no time specified, Fifth Street Finance (FSC) will report.

2/07/2014

Buckeye Partners LP (BPL) is the only stock on my lists reporting on this date.

It will be a busy week, as we enter the peak of earnings season. Plus, the first Friday of a month always (excepting government shutdowns) brings the Monthly Employment Report, the most closely watched economic report of all, which can definitely move the market. 

It will be interesting to see if the sell off continues this week, which could mean that the decline will be on the verge of being considered a meaningful decline, approaching 10%, the generally accepted definition of a correction. With the sell off, some names are moving towards buy territory. I mentioned ConocoPhillips (COP) in last Monday’s post, and this week I am adding Chevron (CVX) to that list. CVX has dropped to levels not seen since early in 2013, and similar to COP, will be going ex-dividend soon, on 2/12/2014. With a yield of 3.6% currently, and a possible increase later on this year, it may be a good time to start a position. I sure hope so, since I did just that last week. As always, if you take the plunge, start small, and reserve funds to add more shares if the stock declines further, which is a definite possibility, with a possible market correction in progress.

JT