Paul Sakuma/AP NEW YORK -- Hillshire Brands says it will hold separate talks with Pilgrim's Pride and Tyson Foods, as the two meat processing heavyweights engage in a bidding war for the maker of Jimmy Dean sausages and Ball Park hot dogs. The announcement by Hillshire (HSH) comes a day after Pilgrim's Pride raised its bid to $55 a share, or $6.8 billion, from $45 a share. That tops Tyson's offer of $50 a share, or $6.2 billion, made last week. Those values are based on Hillshire's 123 million shares outstanding. Pilgrim's Pride puts the total value of its new bid at $7.7 billion. Tyson Foods values its proposal at $6.8 billion, including debt. The takeover bids by Pilgrim's Pride (PPC) and Tyson Foods (TSN) are being driven by the desirability of brand-name, convenience products like Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches. Those types of products are more profitable than fresh meat, such as chicken breasts, where there isn't as much wiggle room to pad prices. While Pilgrim's Pride and Tyson both sell such products, their businesses have been more focused on supplying supermarkets and restaurant chains. Both offers are contingent on Hillshire abandoning its plan to acquire Pinnacle Foods (PF), which makes Birds Eye frozen vegetables and Wish-Bone salad dressings. Some investors had questioned the wisdom of that deal, given the outdated image of some of Pinnacle's brands and the differences in the two companies' product portfolios. In its statement issued Tuesday, Hillshire noted that it can't just scrap its deal with Pinnacle. But a term in Hillshire's deal with Pinnacle allows it to consider alternative proposals that would be superior for stockholders. Pilgrim's Pride has said it would pay the $163 million breakup fee to call off the deal between Hillshire and Pinnacle. Hillshire, based in Chicago, had been trying to diversify its own portfolio by moving into other areas of the supermarket with the $4.23 billion acquisition of Pinnacle. Based in Greeley, Colorado, Pilgrim's Pride is owned by Brazilian meat giant JBS. Tyson Foods, the biggest U.S. meat processor, is based in Springdale, Arkansas.
Hot Value Companies To Own For 2015: Altra Holdings Inc.(AIMC)
Altra Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiary, Altra Industrial Motion, Inc., designs, produces, and markets a range of mechanical power transmission and motion control products worldwide. The company provides industrial clutches and brakes for elevators, forklifts, lawn mowers, oil well draw works, punch presses, and conveyors; open and enclosed gearing products for conveyors, ethanol mixers, packaging machinery, and metal processing equipment; and engineered couplings for extruders, turbines, steel strip mills, and pumps. It also offers engineered bearing assemblies for cargo rollers, seat storage systems, and conveyors; power transmission components for conveyors, lawn mowers, and machine tools; and engineered belted drives for pumps, sand and gravel conveyors, and industrial fans. The company sells its products under the Warner Electric, Boston Gear, TB Wood?s, Kilian, Nuttall Gear, Ameridrives, Wichita Clutch, Formsprag Clutch, Bibby Transmissions, Stieber, Matrix, In ertia Dynamics, Twiflex, Industrial Clutch, Huco Dynatork, Marland Clutch, Delroyd, Warner Linear, and Bauer Gear Motor brands through its sales force, industrial distributors, and independent sales representatives. It serves aerospace, energy, food processing, general industrial, material handling, mining, petrochemical, transportation, and turf and garden markets. The company is headquartered in Braintree, Massachusetts.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
When judging a company's prospects, how quickly it turns cash outflows into cash inflows can be just as important as how much profit it's booking in the accounting fantasy world we call "earnings." This is one of the first metrics I check when I'm hunting for the market's best stocks. Today, we'll see how it applies to Altra Holdings (Nasdaq: AIMC ) .
- [By Brian Pacampara]
What: Shares of power transmission products maker Altra Holdings (NASDAQ: AIMC ) plummeted 17% today after its quarterly results and outlook disappointed Wall Street.�
Top Supermarket Companies To Own For 2014: Cellular Dynamics International Inc (ICEL)
Cellular Dynamics International, Inc., incorporated on November 16, 2007, develops and manufactures fully functioning human cells in industrial quantities to precise specifications. The Company�� iCell Operating System (iCell O/S) includes true human cells in multiple cell types (iCell products), human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and custom iPSCs and iCell products (MyCell products). Customers use its iCell O/S products, among other purposes, for drug discovery and screening; to test the safety and efficacy of their small molecule and biologic drug candidates; for stem cell banking; and in researching cellular therapeutics. The Company�� iCell product line includes four different cell types: cardiomyocytes, neurons, hepatocytes and endothelial cells. The Company is actively developing an additional seven different cell types. iCell products are a consumable designed to be used once and then reordered.
The Company manufactures its iCell products from its iPSCs. An iPSC is a cell that has the ability both to replicate indefinitely and to be transformed into any cell type in the human body. The Company�� iCell O/S consists of six products, which include iCell Cardiomyocytes, iCell Neurons, iCell Endothelial Cells, iCell Hepatocytes and MyCell.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
Stem cells may not be in the news much�as the sector has moved beyond the use of embryotic�ones, but small cap stem cell stocks Cellular Dynamics International Inc (NASDAQ: ICEL), International Stem Cell Corp (OTCMKTS: ISCO) and BioRestorative Therapies (OTCBB: BRTX) have been fairly active over the past several trading days as ICEL went public, ISCO raised additional funding and BRTX grabbed more attention:
Top Supermarket Companies To Own For 2014: Acadia Realty Trust (AKR)
Acadia Realty Trust (the Trust), incorporated on March 04, 1993, is a real estate investment trust (REIT). The Trust is focused on the ownership, acquisition, redevelopment, and management of retail properties and urban/infill mixed-use properties with a retail component located primarily in barrier-to-entry, supply constrained, densely-populated metropolitan areas in the United States along the East Coast and in Chicago. Its primary objective is to acquire and manage commercial retail properties. It operates in four segments: Core Portfolio, Opportunity Funds, Notes Receivable and Other. The Trust also has private equity investments in other retail real estate related opportunities, in which it has a minority interest. As of December 31, 2012, the Trust controlled 99% of the Operating Partnership as the sole general partner. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company sold 12 of the 14 self-storage properties with two properties remaining under contract.
The Company owns a 22.2% interest in an approximately one million square foot retail portfolio (the Brandywine Portfolio) located in Wilmington, Delaware, a 49% interest in a 311,000 square foot shopping center located in White Plains, New York (Crossroads) and a 50% interest in an approximately 28,000 square foot retail portfolio located in Georgetown, Washington D.C. (the Georgetown Portfolio). These investments are accounted for under the equity method. Through Mervyns I and Mervyns II, the Company invested in a consortium to acquire Mervyns, consisting of 262 stores (REALCO) and its retail operations (OPCO), from Target Corporation.
As of December 31, 2012, the Company operated 100 properties, which the Company owns or has an ownership interest in, within its Core Portfolio or within its Opportunity Funds. Its Core Portfolio consists of those properties either 100% owned by, or partially owned through joint venture interests by the Operating Partnership, or subsidiaries thereof, not including those properties ow! ned through its Opportunity Funds. These 100 properties primarily consist of urban/street retail, dense suburban neighborhood and community shopping centers and mixed-use properties with a retail component. The properties the Company operates are located primarily in barrier-to-entry, densely-populated metropolitan areas in the United States along the East Coast and in Chicago. There are 72 properties in its Core Portfolio totaling approximately 5.3 million square feet. Fund I has three remaining properties comprising approximately 0.1 million square feet. Fund II has six properties, four of which (representing 0.6 million square feet) are operating, one is under construction, and one is in the design phase. Fund III has 14 properties, nine of which (representing 1.7 million square feet) are operating and five of which are in the design phase. Fund IV has five properties, four of which are operating with one under design. The majority of its operating income is derived from rental revenues from these 100 properties, including recoveries from tenants, offset by operating and overhead expenses.
The Company�� Core Portfolio consists primarily of urban/street retail properties and neighborhood and community shopping centers located in barrier-to-entry supply constrained markets. As of December 31, 2012, there are 72 operating properties in Its Core Portfolio totaling approximately 5.3 million square feet of gross leasable area (GLA). The Core Portfolio properties are located in 12 states and the District of Columbia and primarily consist of urban/street retail, dense suburban neighborhood and community shopping centers and mixed-use properties with a retail component. Its shopping centers are predominately anchored by supermarkets or value-oriented retail. The properties are diverse in size, ranging from approximately 3,000 to 875,000 square feet and as of December 31, 2012, were, in total, 94% occupied. As of December 31, 2012, the Company owned and operated 20 properties totaling approximat! ely 2.5 m! illion square feet of GLA in its Opportunity Funds, excluding eight properties under redevelopment. In addition to shopping centers, the Opportunity Funds have invested in mixed-use properties, which generally include retail activities. The Opportunity Fund properties are located in eight states and the District of Columbia and as of December 31, 2012, were, in total, 88% occupied.
As of December 31, 2012, within its Core Portfolio and Opportunity Funds, the Company had approximately 650 leases. A majority of its rental revenues were from national retailers and consist of rents received under long-term leases. These leases generally provide for the monthly payment of fixed minimum rent and the tenants' pro-rata share of the real estate taxes, insurance, utilities and common area maintenance of the shopping centers. During the year ended December 31, 2012, certain of its leases also provide for the payment of rent based on a percentage of a tenant's gross sales in excess of a stipulated annual amount, either in addition to, or in place of, minimum rents. Minimum rents, percentage rents and expense reimbursements accounted for approximately 92% of its total revenues.
Three of its Core Portfolio properties and five of its Opportunity Fund properties are subject to long-term ground leases in which a third party owns and has leased the underlying land to the Company. The Company pays rent for the use of the land and is responsible for all costs and expenses associated with the building and improvements at all eight locations. During 2012, no individual property contributed in excess of 10% of its total revenues.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Marc Bastow]
Retail properties real estate investment trust Acadia (AKR) raised its quarterly dividend 9.5% to 23 cents per share, payable on Jan. 15 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 15.
AKR Dividend Yield: 3.51%
Top Supermarket Companies To Own For 2014: TAM S.A.(TAM)
TAM S.A. provides passengers and cargo air transportation services in Brazil and internationally. It also engages in the aircraft acquisition, financing, and debt issuance activities. In addition, the company offers travel and tourism agency services, as well as is involved in the development and management of customer loyalty programs. It operates a fleet of approximately 156 aircrafts. The company was founded in 1961 and is based in S� Paulo, Brazil. TAM S.A. is a subsidiary of TAM-Empreendimentos e Participa珲es S.A.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Taminco (NYSE: TAM) shares tumbled 7.53 percent to $19.30 after the company priced secondary offering of 10 million shares of common stock at $20 per share.
- [By Jeremy Bowman]
What: Shares of Taminco (NYSE: TAM) were looking brighter today, gaining as much 13% after a promising quarterly earnings report, its first as a public company.
Top Supermarket Companies To Own For 2014: BlackRock Kelso Capital Corporation(BKCC)
BlackRock Kelso Capital Corporation is a private equity firm specializing in investments in middle market companies. The firm invests in all industries. It prefers to invest between $10 million and $50 million and can invest more or less in companies with EBITDA or operating cash flow between $10 million and $50 million. The firm invests in the form of senior and junior secured, unsecured, and subordinated debt securities and loans including cash flow, asset backed, and junior lien facilities and equity securities. It's equity investments can be structured in the form of warrants, preferred stock, common equity co-investments, and direct investments in common stock. The firm debt investments are principally structured to provide for current cash interest and to a lesser extent non-cash interest, particularly with subordinated debt investments, through a pay-in-kind (PIK) feature. It can also make non-control investments. Blackrock Kelso Capital Corporation was founded in 2 005 and is based in New York, New York with an additional office in Chicago, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sally Jones]
Highlight: BlackRock Kelso Capital Corporation (BKCC)
The share price is currently $9.62 or 11.1% off the 52-week high of $10.82. Its yield is 10.80%.
Top Supermarket Companies To Own For 2014: Responsys Inc.(MKTG)
Responsys, Inc. provides on-demand software and professional services primarily in North America, the Asia Pacific, and Europe. The company offers Responsys Interact suite, a software-as-a-service platform that provides marketers with a set of integrated applications to create, execute, optimize, and automate marketing campaigns in various channels, including email, mobile, social, and the Web. Its platform also leverages third-party applications and data from real-time sources allowing customers to deliver targeted content to its customers and known prospects as part of their interactive marketing campaigns. In addition, it provides professional services, such as strategic, creative, deliverability, campaign, and education services. The company offers its on-demand software and professional services to retail and consumer, travel, financial services, and technology industries through a direct sales force. Responsys, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in San Bru no, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Responsys (Nasdaq: MKTG ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below. - [By The GeoTeam]
Our recent 2013 articles on SaaS companies Selectica (SLTC), E2open (EOPN), Responsys (MKTG), Vocus (VOCS), and ExactTarget (ET) highlighted such opportunities. The average return since the inception of our coverage currently stands at around 34% (55% at their highs).
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