Stocks edged up slightly last week, gaining four out of five days, with no major moves occurring. Crude oil prices found a bottom in the $75 range, although it remains to be seen if that floor will hold. The major averages are all near all-time highs, so of course there have been several articles on the major financial websites warning of an imminent stock crash. The cry of “wolf, wolf”, or should I say “bear, bear”, has been repeated so much over the last couple of years that no one is paying any heed to it. But some day, the bear will make an appearance, but when, no one knows.

Now, as for stocks on my lists going ex-dividend this week, I have a few:

Molson Coors (TAP), 11/24/2014, yield 1.96%. TAP is extremely over-valued, in my opinion.

NextEra Energy (NEE), 11/25/2014, yield 2.80%.

Coca Cola (KO), 11/26/2014, yield 2.74%.

McDonalds (MCD), 11/26/2014, yield 3.52%.

Kellogg (K), 11/26/2014, yield 2.99%.

Northrop Grumman (NOC), 11/26/2014, yield 2.01%.

Safety Insurance Group (SAFT), 11/26/2014, yield 4.63%.

Realty Income (O), 11/26/2014, yield 4.78%. O pays monthly.

Upgrades / downgrades on my stocks last week were minimal. Here they are:

Procter & Gamble (PG) was downgraded from Buy to Hold at Canaccord Genuity.

Transocean LTD (RIG) was downgraded from OutPerform to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Transocean Partners LLC (RIGP) was initiated at Buy at Citigroup. RIGP is RIG’s new MLP. Both RIG and RIGP are “bargains” at the current prices. That is definitely the case if a recovery in oil prices comes along in a year or so.

Alliant Energy (LNT) was downgraded from Buy to Hold at Wunderlich.

Two of my stocks reported last week. First, on 11/18/2014, Medtronic (MDT) reported FQ2 EPS of $0.96, in-line. Revenue was $4.37B, up 4.3% Y/Y, also in-line. Then, on 11/19/2014, J. M. Smucker (SJM) reported FQ2 EPS of $1.53, in-line. Revenue of $1.48B, down 5.1% Y/Y, missed by $10M.

This week, only one of my stocks is scheduled to report: Seadrill (SDRL) will report before the open on Wednesday, 11/26/2014. Current quarter earnings will probably be just fine. It’s the next couple of years and beyond that has investors worried. Guidance, if offered, will be carefully scrutinized, to put it mildly.

Nothing much has changed, really for several weeks now, since the correction that never was occurred last fall. I bought a few stocks then, and ended up wishing I had bought more. But for a while there, it looked like a serious selloff was brewing, so I mostly held off, keeping my “powder dry”. It’s still dry as can be, earning effectively nothing.

JT

Stocks did not move much in either direction last week, with the six major averages I follow diverging slightly. Specifically, the blue-chip indexes, the Dow Industrials and the S&P 500, eked out small gains, the New York Composite, more energy-weighted, performed slightly behind the blue-chips, the Apple-weighted NASDAQ outperformed, gaining a little each day, and the small-cap Russell 2000 ended the week almost exactly where it began. The news flow focused more on politics and less on earnings, as the election post-mortems and political posturing took center stage.

Turning my focus towards dividends, a much cheerier topic, I see in my review that one miss from last week was Buckeye Partners LP (BLP), going ex-dividend 11/14/2014, yielding 5.67%. As far as I know, BPL has no relation to Ohio State University (the Buckeyes most commonly referenced in the news, at least the sports news).

Now, as for stocks on my lists going ex-dividend this week, I have a few:

MicroSoft (MSFT), 11/18/2014, yield 2.50%.

Main Street Capital (MAIN), 11/18/2014, yield 6.29%. MAIN pays monthly.

3M Co (MMM), 11/19/2014, yield 2.15%.

CenturyLink (CTL), 11/20/2014, yield 5.30%.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), 11/21/2014, yield 2.59%.

Pan American Silver (PAAS), 11/21/2014, yield 4.94%.     

Upgrades / downgrades of interest from last week were:

General Mills (GIS) was downgraded from OutPerform to Sector Perform at RBC Capital.

Kimco Realty (KIM) was initiated at OutPerform at Credit Suisse.

HPC Inc. (HCP) was upgraded from Equal Weight to OverWeight at Morgan Stanley.

Wal-Mart (WMT) was downgraded from Market Perform to UnderPerform at BMO Capital.

Raytheon (RTN) was upgraded from Market Perform to OutPerform at Cowen & Company.

Moving on to earnings, a few additional reports came out last week of interest, as earnings season winds down:

AmeriGas Partners (APU) reported FQ4 EPS of -$0.58, missing by three cents. Revenue of $560.25M, up 5.3% Y/Y, missed by $23.03M.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) reported FQ1 EPS of $0.54, beating by a penny. Revenue of $12.24B, up 1.3% Y/Y, beat by $80M. The stock gained on the week even after reduced guidance was announced on the conference call, with management adopting a conservative outlook.

PennantPark Investment (PNNT) reported FQ4 NII of $0.34, beating by six cents. Revenue of $40.1M, up 27.5% Y/Y, beat by $3.33M. BDCs and MReits continue to perform and pay out high yields in this market. Investors are evidently aware of the risks, as their share prices don’t reflect their current performance, in most cases.

Pan American Silver (PAAS) reported Q3 EPS of -$0.09, missing by eleven cents. Revenue of $178.3M, down 16.5% Y/Y, missed by $13.12M. The report was not surprising, considering what has happened with precious metals prices lately. Still, PAAS declared a dividend at the current payout, with ex-dividend date 11/25/2014, which gives a yield of 4.8%, considering the current depressed share price. I bought back into PAAS over the past two weeks, with an average cost under $10/share. Metals prices will recover someday, and the 4% yield will be great, while it lasts.

 Wal-Mart (WMT) reported Q3 EPS of $1.15, beating by three cents. Revenue of $119B, up 2.9% Y/Y, beat by $650M. After a down period, the retailing giant seems to be regaining its mojo. Don’t count WMT out. Management stated that they expect this holiday season to be “competitive”, which has to be scary for their competitors to hear.

Only two of my stocks are scheduled to report next week, both before the open. Medtronic (MDT) is scheduled to report on Tuesday, 11/18/2014, and JM Smuckers (SJM) is set for Wednesday, 11/19/2014.

While some market pundits have suggested a “Santa Claus Rally” is likely, or has actually begun, I’m not too sure about that. The level of acrimony in Washington is definitely increasing, with no end in sight, and either consciously or unconsciously, it can weigh on the markets. The status right now is that blue-chips (the “safe haven” stocks) are bid up to extreme levels, with many former “high-yielders” barely yielding 2%, energy stocks are “in the tank”, with oil prices at lows not seen in several years, and natural gas not much better, BDCs and Mortgage REITS still paying out high yields, but the risk is keeping prices down, and precious metals miners, reflecting the huge drop in gold and silver prices, are “buried below the tank”, they are down so low. If one is not already well-allocated to energy, now is a good time for entry into the sector. Some pundits have indicated that oil prices may have bottomed already. I am not too sure about that. I would advise sticking with firms with a strong balance sheet able to ride out an extended spell of low prices, if buying in. As for gold and silver miners, only buy in with risk capital, limit allocation to the sector, and be prepared for a long wait for recovery. Value investing is not easy. You have to accept that you will be on the wrong side of the market for much of the time, and be prepared to hold on until vindication occurs, if it ever does. But at least, by taking a contrary stance, you a have a chance of making money.     

JT

Stocks advanced four out of five days last week, at least when you consider the main blue-chip averages, which was all the more notable considering a major sector, energy, did not participate. Most sectors other than energy and gold and silver miners are seeing new highs.      

Each week-end I review all of my stocks to determine those going ex-dividend in the upcoming week. Companies announce ex-dividend dates anywhere from months in advance to as late as the ex-dividend date or even later. Some companies shout it from the mountain tops weeks before, while others treat it as a deep, dark secret. At any rate, what I’m getting at is that sometimes the last-minute announcements can cause an ex-dividend date to not be posted in advance on this website. Four from last week are:

Exxon Mobil (XOM), ex-dividend 11/7/2014, yield 2.86%.

Breitburn Energy Partners LP (BBEP), ex-dividend 11/6/2014, yield 12.10%. BBEP pays monthly.

Linn Energy LLC (LINE), ex-dividend 11/6/2014, yield 11.98%. LINE also pays monthly.

NuStar Energy LP (NS), ex-dividend 11/6/2014. Yield 7.28%.

Now, moving on to stocks on my lists going ex-dividend this week, per my just-completed review, by date:

11/10/2014

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP (BWP), yield 2.35%. While still on my list as a former recommendation, an MLP yielding 2% is not a stock I could recommend. Since the distribution cut and corresponding fall from grace, BWP as a business has recovered somewhat, and seems to be on a slow road to recovery, but the dividend has not recovered at all.

Entergy (ETR), yield 4.02%.

11/12/2014

Emerson Electric (EMR), yield 2.90%.

Eaton (ETN), yield 2.83%.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDS.B), yield 5.05%.

Smucker J M (SJM), yield 2.44%.

Diebold (DBD), yield 3.19%.

Exelon (EXC), yield 3.28%.

Fifth Street Finance (FSC), yield 12.34%. FSC pays monthly.

Transocean LTD (RIG), yield 10.10%. RIG announced a $2.8B write-down and delayed the Q3 quarterly report from 11/3/2014 to 11/10/2014. But the dividend is still intact, for the moment.

11/13/2014

United Parcel Service (UPS), yield 2.47%.

Walgreen (WAG) yield 2.02%.

Spectra Energy (SE), yield 3.73%.

Spectra Energy Partners LP (SEP), yield 4.09%.

Gladstone Investment (GAIN) yield 9.82%. GAIN pays monthly.

Hercules Technology Growth Capital (HTGC), yield 7.69%.

11/14/2014

Chevron (CVX), yield 3.60%.

A number of my stocks reported earnings last week. I will provide a brief summary, by date. As always, a wealth of detail on each report is available from Seeking Alpha, including in most cases a detailed transcript of the earnings conference call.

11/3/2014

Sysco (SYY) reported FQ1 EPS of $0.52, beating by a penny. Revenue of $12.45B, up 6.3% Y/Y, beat by $100M.

National Health Investors (NHI) reported Q3 FFO of $1.05, missing by a penny. Revenue of $44.48M, up 44.2% Y/Y, beat by $0.6M.

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP (BWP) reported Q3 EPS of $0.12, in-line. Revenue of $278.9M, up 1.2% Y/Y, beat by $25.7M.

Frontier Communications (FTR) reported Q3 EPS of $0.05, beating by a penny. Revenue of $1.14B, down 4.2% Y/Y, was in-line.

QR Energy LP (QRE) reported Q3 EPS of $1.52, which may not be comparable to consensus of $0.30. Revenue of $130.2M, up 3.3% Y/Y, missed by $4.63M. QRE will be disappearing soon, scheduled to be acquired by BBEP.

11/4/2014

Emerson Electric (EMR) reported FQ4 EPS of $1.30, beating by seven cents. Revenue of $6.81B was in-line, and was flat Y/Y.

Entergy (ETR) reported Q3 EPS of $1.68, missing by $0.18. Revenue of $3.45B, up 3.0% Y/Y, beating by $50M.

HCP (HCP) reported Q3 FFO of $0.75, beating y ten cents. Revenue of $596.6M, up 9.2% Y/Y, beat by $62M.

Health Care REIT (HCN) reported Q3 FFO of $1.04, beating by a penny. Revenue of $847.52M, up 8.1% Y/Y, beat by $13.42M.

ONEOK Partners LP (OKS) reported Q3 EPS of $0.63, in-line. Revenue of $3.12B, down 0.3% Y/Y, missed by $600M.

Ares Capital (ARCC) reported Q3 EPS of $0.40, beating by two cents. Total Investment Income of $253.39M, up 2.7% Y/Y, beat by $10.38M.

Solar Capital (SLRC) reported Q3 EPS of $0.39, in-line. Revenue of $28.35M, down 34.1% Y/Y, missed by $1M.

TICC Capital (TICC) reported Q3 NII of $0.28, in-line. Total Investment Income of $30.17M, up 9.9% Y/Y, missed by $0.36M.

MFA Financial (MFA) reported Q3 EPS of $0.20, beating by a penny. Revenue of $89.29M, up 8.8% Y/Y, beat by $6.76M.

Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP (CLMT) reported Q2 EPS of -$0.17, which may not be comparable to consensus of $0.18. Revenue of $1.43B, up 5.9% Y/Y, beat by $200M.

Exterran Partners LP (EXLP) reported Q2 EPS of $0.30, beating by ten cents. Revenue of $145.69M, up 16.1% Y/Y, beat by $7.04M.

Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (SAFT) reported Q3 EPS of $1.03. Revenue was $196.1M.

11/05/2014 

Westar Energy (WR) reported Q3 EPS of $1.10, beating by three cents. Revenue of $764.04M, up 9.9% Y/Y, beat by $25.33M.

Energy Transfer Equity LP (ETE) reported Q3 EPS of $0.35, beating by a penny. Revenue of $14.99B, up 20.0% Y/Y, beat by $60M.

Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP) reported Q3 EPS of $0.44, missing by a penny. Revenue of $13.62B, up 14.5% Y/Y, beat by $190M.

Plains All American Pipeline LP (PAA) reported Q3 EPS of $0.53, beating by a penny. Revenue of $11.13B, up 4.0% Y/Y, missed by $340M.

Spectra Energy (SE) reported Q3 EPS of $0.31, beating by four cents. Revenue of $1.21B, up 6.1% Y/Y, missed by $50M.

Spectra Energy Partners LP (SEP) reported Q3 Net Income of $264M. Revenue of $558M, up 13.0% Y/Y, beat by $3.88M.

Triangle Capital (TCAP) reported Q3 EPS of $0.51, missing by three cents. Revenue of $24.9M, down 8.9% Y/Y, missed by $1.58M.

Annaly Capital Management (NLY) reported Q3 EPS of $0.31, in-line. Book value per share was $12.87 vs. $13.23 at the end of Q2.

CenturyLink (CTL) reported Q3 EPS of $0.63, beating by a penny. Revenue of $4.51B, down 0.2% Y/Y, beats by $10M.

BreitBurn Energy Partners LP (BBEP) reported Q3 EPS of $1.03, which may not be comparable to consensus of $0.13. Revenue of $363.9M, up 153.8% Y/Y, beat by $142.3M.

Crestwood Midstream Partners LP (CMLP) reported Q3 EPS of $0, missing by seven cents. Revenue of $738.4M, up 427.1% Y/Y, beat by $44M.

Memorial Production Partners LP (MEMP) reported Q3 EPS of $1.39, which may not be comparable to consensus of $0.57. Revenue of $147.23M, up 57.9% Y/Y, missed by 20.79M.

11/06/2014 

Alliant Energy (LNT) reported Q2 EPS of $0.56, missing by four cents. Revenue of $750.3M, up 4.5% Y/Y, beat by $32.88M.

Molson Coors Brewing (TAP) reported Q3 adjusted Net income of $376.7M, up 3.5% Y/Y. Revenue of $2.07B was up 1.0% Y/Y.

BlackRock Kelso Capital (BKCC) reported Q3 NII of $0.26, beating by four cents. Revenue of $33.16M, up 5.7% Y/Y, beat by $2.43M.

Hercules Technology Growth Capital (HTGC) reported Q3 NII of $0.32, beating by two cents. Revenue of $37.02M, down 9.8% Y/Y, beat by $1.43M.

Prospect Capital (PSEC) reported FQ1 NII of $0.28, in-line. Revenue of $202.02M, up 25.5% Y/Y, missed by $1.51M.

Windstream (WIN) reported Q3 EPS of $0.03, missing by a penny. Revenue of $1.46B, down 2.7% Y/Y, was in-line.

11/07/2014 

Buckeye Partners LP (BPL) reported Q3 EPS of $0.89, beating by a penny. Revenue of $1.57B, up 46.7% Y/Y, beat by $160M.

Enerplus (ERF) reported Q3 EPS of $0.32, beating by seven cents.

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

Digital Realty (DLR) was downgraded from Hold to Sell at Cantor Fitzgerald.

Safety Insurance Group (SAFT) was downgraded from Buy to Neutral at Compass Point.

Intel (INTC) was downgraded from Market Perform to UnderPerform at Bernstein.

MFA Financial (MFA) was downgraded from OutPerform to Market Perform at Keefebruyette & Woods.

MFA Financial was also downgraded from OutPerform to Market Perform at Sterne Agee.

Verizon (VZ) was initiated at Neutral at Sarason.

Crestwood Midstream Partners LP (CMLP) was upgraded from Hold to Buy at Stifel.

Triangle Capital (TCAP) was downgraded from Buy to Hold at BB&T Capital Markets.

American Electric Power (AEP) was downgraded from OutPerform to Market Perform at WEII.

Transocean (RIG) was initiated at Sell at Canaccord Genuity.

Windstream (WIN) was reiterated at Neutral at DA Davidson.

Earnings season will drop off significantly next week, as the majority of firms have reported. Reports expected are, by date:

11/12/2014

Amerigas Partners LP (APU), Cisco Systems (CSCO), and PennantPark Investment (PNNT), all after the close.

11/13/2014

Wal-Mart (WMT), before the open, and Pan American Silver (PAAS), after the bell.

Well, the election managed to surprise just about all of the pundits, including myself. As to what the changed landscape portends, as far as stocks are concerned, I can’t really say. Hopefully there will be some movement towards solving some of our deep-rooted economic and other problems, which will be good for stocks, and everything else too, in the long run.

JT

Stocks advanced three out of five days last week, including a couple of sizeable up days on Tuesday and Friday. The S&P 500 has now effectively regained all of the decline from the September highs that occurred in September and October. The only laggards are energy, especially the contract drillers, and precious metals mining firms.

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

11/03/2014  

Memorial Production Partners LP (MEMP), yield 10.51%.

11/05/2014 

GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK), yield 5.83%.

Intel (INTC), yield 2.65%.

Pfizer (PFE), yield 3.47%.

Unilever (UL), yield 3.75%.

Magellan Midstream Partners LP (MMP), 3.26%.

Norfolk Southern (NSC), yield2.06%.

Exterran Partners LP (EXLP), yield 7.95%.

QR Energy LP (QRE), yield 11.89%.

11/06/2014 

American Electric Power (AEP), yield 3.63%.

Amerigas Partners LP (APU), yield 7.63%.

HCP Inc (HCP), yield 4.96%.

Health Care REIT (HCN), yield 4.47%.

A number of my stocks reported earnings last week. I will provide a brief summary, by date. As always, a wealth of detail on each report is available from Seeking Alpha, including in most cases a detailed transcript of the earnings conference call.

10/27/2014

American Capital Agency (AGNC) reported Q3 EPS of $0.85, beating by $0.10. Net book value per share was $25.54, down 2.7% from the end of Q2.

Merck (MRK) reported Q3 EPS of $0.90, beating by two cents. Revenue of $10.56B, down 4.3% Y/Y, missed by $110M.

10/28/2014

Novartis (NVS) repored Q3 EPS of $1.33, beating by four cents. Revenue of $14.7B, up 2.5% Y/Y, beat by $360M.

Pfizer (PFE) reported Q3 EPS of $0.57, beating by two cents. Revenue of $12.36B, down 1.7% Y/Y, beat by $120M.

Digital Realty Trust (DLR) reported Q3 FFO of $1.22, beating by a penny. Revenue of $412M, up 8.6% Y/Y, beat by $2.82M.

Kimco Realty (KIM) reported Q3 FFO of $0.36, beating by a penny. Revenue of $262.04M, up 18.3% Y/Y, beat by $10.99M.

Gladstone Investment (GAIN) reported FQ2 NII of $0.16, missing by two cents. Total Investment Income of $9.07M, down 20.2% Y/Y, missed by $0.7M.

Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) reported Q3 EPS of $0.64, beating by three cents. Revenue of $5.67B, down 8.0% Y/Y, beat by $20M.

10/29/2014

Eaton (ETN) reported Q3 EPS of $1.29, beating by six cents. Revenue of $5.73B, up 2.1% Y/Y, missed by $70M.

Kraft Foods (KRFT) reported Q3 EPS of $0.74, in-line. Revenue of $4.4B, up 0.2% Y/Y, missed by $70M.

Realty Income (O) reported Q3 FFO of $0.64, missing by a penny. Revenue of $235.7M, up 16.6% Y/Y, beat by $3.61M.

Southern (SO) reported Q3 EPS of $1.09, beating by two cents. Revenue of $5.34B, up 6.4% Y/Y, beat by $40M. “Cost overruns, what cost overruns? We don’t care about no stinkin’ cost overruns.” Apparently not, SO hit a new 52 week high last week.

Statoil (STO) reported Q3 adjusted net income of NOK 30.90B vs. NOK 40.4B prior. Revenue of NOK 146.6B was down 10.9% Y/Y. STO is becoming attractive based on valuation and yield, with the latter being further advanced by a switch from an annual payout to a quarterly payout. I missed the initial announcement of this change some months ago. The next quarterly dividend should be announced soon.

Waste Management (WM) reported Q3 EPS of $0.72, beating by four cents. Revenue of $3.6B, down 0.6% Y/Y, missed by $60M.

Exelon (EXC) reported Q3 EPS of $0.78, beating by five cents. Revenue of $6.66B, up 3.9% Y/Y, beating by $460M.

Total S.A. (TOT) reported Q3 EPS of $1.56, beating by fifteen cents. Revenue of $60.36B, down 2.4% Y/Y, missed by $8.4B.

Williams Partners (WPZ) reported Q3 EPS of $0.07, which may not be comparable to consensus of $0.39. Williams Cos. (NYSE:WMB) reported soaring Q3 earnings, but the result was attributed mostly to a gain related to its interest in Access Midstream Partners (ACMP), which recently agreed to merge with affiliate Williams Partners (NYSE:WPZ). Adjusted for the gain, EPS from continuing operations fell to $0.15 from $0.19. WPZ says its Q3 earnings fell 24% amid weaker natural gas liquids margins and higher maintenance costs. CEO Alan Armstrong says the results were as expected and mostly the result of the outage at its Geismar olefins plant.

Martin Midstream Partners (MMLP) reported Q3 EPS of -$0.82, which may not be comparable to consensus of $0.16. Revenue of $390M, up 8.4% Y/Y, missed by $75.44M.

10/30/2014

ConocoPhillips (COP) reported Q3 EPS of $1.29, beating by nine cents.

Kellogg (K) reported Q3 EPS of $0.94, beating by two cents. Revenue of $3.64B, down -2.2% Y/Y, missed by $50M.

Altria (MO) reported Q3 EPS of $0.69, beating by a penny. Revenue of $4.75B, down 0.2% Y/Y, beat by $20M.

Public Service (PEG) reported Q3 EPS of $0.77, beating by two cents.

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.B) reported Q3 adjusted CCS EPS of $0.92, with revenue of $109.8B, down 7.2% Y/Y.

SCANA (SCG) reported Q3 EPS of $1.01, beating by three cents. Revenue of $1.12B, up 6.7% Y/Y, missed by $10M.

Sanofi (SNY) reported Q3 results (€M): Total Revenues: 8,781 (+4.1%); Diabetes: 1,799 (+8.3%); Vaccines: 1,451 (+11.2%); Consumer Healthcare: 819 (+12.9%); Genzyme: 649 (+24.6%); Animal Health: 515 (+12.7); Gross Profit: 6,004 (+6.3%); R&D Expense: 1,146 (-3.0%); SG&A Expense: 2,309 (+14.8%); Operating Income: 1,784 (+9.8%); Net Income: 1,190 (+7.8%); EPS: 0.91 (-1.1%). 2014 guidance was unchanged, EPS growth between 6% and 8%.

Diebold (DBD) reported Q3 EPS of $0.54, beating by five cents. Revenue of $768M, up 8.9% Y/Y, beat by $27.81M.

Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD) reported Q3 EPS of $0.37, in-line. Revenue of $12.33B, up 2.0% Y/Y, missed by $640M.

Consolidated Communications (CNSL) reported Q3 EPS of $0.22, missing by a penny. Revenue of $149.04M, down 1.1% Y/Y, missed by $1.48M.

Newmont Mining (NEM) reported Q3 EPS of $0.50, beating by thirty-four cents. Expectations were very low, apparently. Revenue of $1.7B, down 14.1% Y/Y, was in-line. Not a bad report, considering gold prices these days, but not good enough to prevent a swoon on Friday to a three-year low.

Ensco (ESV) reported Q3 EPS of $1.87, beating by twenty-six cents. Revenue of $1.26B, up 8.6% Y/Y, beat by $30M. The concern with ESV, as well as with all of its peers, is not the next quarter or two, but the next year or two as contract expirations occur and renewals are at much lower rates, if they can be secured at all.

10/31/2014

Chevron (CVX) reported Q3 EPS of $2.95, beating by thirty-nine cents. Revenue of $54.68B, down 6.5% Y/Y, beat by $1.71B.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) reported Q3 EPS of $1.89 beating by eighteen cents. Revenue of $107.49B, down 4.3% Y/Y, beating by $1.98B.

Magellan Midstream Partners LP (MMP) reported Q3 EPS of $0.71, beating by five cents. Revenue of $521.6M, up 17.5% Y/Y, beat by $37.28M.

NuStar Energy LP (NS) reported Q3 EPS of $0.64, beating by four cents. Revenue of $794.42M, up 2.1% Y/Y, beat by $50.39M.

Two more of my stocks reported last week, which I missed in my roundup of expected reports last Monday:

Eni SpA (E) reported on 10/30/2014 that Q3 earnings that beat analyst estimates, as a lower tax rate offset falling crude prices and a weaker performance in its E&P business. Q3 adjusted net income rose 2.5% Y/Y to €1.17B ($2.15B), easily beating the €896M analyst consensus estimate. However, revenues fell 11%, to €26.6B. Q3 adjusted net profit at Eni’s E&P unit, which accounts for the vast majority of the company’s earnings, fell 26%. Operating cash flow was €3.98B, which the company says was its best Q3 result in five years.

Medical Properties (MPW) reported on10/31/2014 that Q3 FFO was $0.27, in-line. Revenue of $80.8M, up 33.6% Y/Y, beat by $1.28M.

It was a slow week for upgrades / downgrades on my stocks last week, with just one that I noticed – Medical Properties Trust (MPW) was upgraded from Market Perform to Market OutPerform at JMP Securities. I rely on Etrade and MarketWatch for upgrades / downgrades, and I may have missed one here and there, or one may have been issued that was not reported at either of these two sites. I suspect there was more than just one last week, but one was all I found.

We will hit a peak this week on earnings for Q3. Reports (on my stocks) expected are as follows, by date. All reports are before the open, unless otherwise indicated.

11/03/2014

Sysco (SYY), Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP (BWP), and QR Energy LP (QRE), then after the close, Frontier Communications (FTR) and Transocean (RIG. Further, with no time specified, we have National Health Investors (NHI) and Kayne Anderson Energy Development (KED).

11/04/2014

Emerson Electric (EMR), Entergy (ETR), HCP Inc (HCP), Health Care REIT (HCN), Ares Capital (ARCC), TICC Capital, MFA Financial (MFA), Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP (CLMT), and Exterran Partners LP (EXLP). After the close, ONEOK Partners LP (OKS), and with no time specified, Safety Insurance Group (SAFT) and Solar Capital (SLRC).

11/05/2014

Spectra Energy (SE), Spectra Energy Partners LP (SEP), Breitburn Energy Partners LP (BBEP), Crestwood Midstream Partners LP (CMLP), and Memorial Production Partners LP (MEMP). After the close, Westar Energy (WR), Energy Transfer Equity LP (ETE), Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP), Plains All American Pipeline LP (PAA), Triangle Capital (TCAP), Annaly Capital Management (NLY), and CenturyLink (CTL).

11/06/2014

Molson Coors (TAP), BlackRock Kelso Capital (BKCC), and Windstream (WIN), then after the close, Alliant Energy (LNT), Hercules Technology Growth Capital (HTGC), and Prospect Capital (PSEC).

11/07/2014

Buckeye Partners LP (BPL) and Enerplus (ERF) will report Friday morning, to close out a busy week, as far as earnings are concerned.,  

Most stock bargains evaporated a couple or three weeks ago, as what looked like might be the big one, expected for so long, turned out to be just another little one. That’s a stock market decline I’m referring to. Of course, most people, even stock junkies like me, will be focused more on the election and less on the market this week. I’m inclined to agree with one theme I’ve heard mentioned that makes some sense to me, and that theme is that the Repugnants have wasted a grand opportunity to present a comprehensive alternative to Obama and the Demoncraps, to really cash in on the over-reach, missteps, and probably some bad luck as well, that the latter have presented. The GOP establishment is banking on the Demos continuing to self-destruct (deservedly so for their disastrous policies), and winning by avoiding errors, doing as little as possible. They may still win, but it won’t give America the boost that could have been achieved.

JT