Financial Tides -- A Stock Market Investing Newsletter by Jim Van Meerten: 2014-03-23

Friday, March 28, 2014

Helmerich and Payne - Barchart's Chart of the day

Helmerich and Payne (HP) is the Barchart Chart of the Day. The petroleum drilling stock has a Trend Spotter buy signal, a Weighted Alpha of 87.93% and gained 77.43% in the last year.

The Barchart Chart of the Day is Helmerich and Payne (HP). I found the stock by sorting the All Time New High list for new high frequency in the last month, then used the Flipchart feature to review the charts. Since the Trend Spotter signaled a buy on 2/11 the stock gained 22.26%,

HP is primarily engaged in the exploration, production, and sale of crude oil and natural gas and in contract drilling of oil and gas wells for others. These activities account for the major portion of its operating revenues. The company is also engaged in the ownership, development, and operation of commercial real estate.

Barchart's Opinion trading systems are listed below. Please note that the Barchart Opinion indicators are updated live during the session every 10 minutes and can therefore change during the day as the market fluctuates. The indicator numbers shown below therefore may not match what you see live on the Barchart.com web site when you read this report.

Barchart technical indicators:

96% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
13 new highs and up 13.24% in the last month
Relative Strength index 73.39%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 104.85
Recently traded at 107.70 with a 50 day moving average of 94.50

Fundamental factors:

Market Cap $11.54 billion
P/E 18.31
Dividend yield 2.35%
Revenue predicted to grow 7.90% this year and another 9.00% next year
Earnings are estimated to increase by 10.30% this year, an additional 9.20% next year and continue to increase at an annual rate of 14.00% for the next 5 years
Wall Street analysts issued 5 strong buy, 6 buy, 12 hold and 3 under perform recommendations on this stock
Financial strength is A

Solid company with good revenue and earnings growth prospects. Watch the 50 day moving average for signs of momentum weakness and use the 100 day moving average for an exit point.

Pilgrim's Pride Buy Signals

Last week I added Pilgrim's Pride (PPC) to the Barchart Van Meerten New High portfolio for positive technical indicators and charts:

Barchart technical indicators:

64% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
14 new highs and up 11.69% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 64.69%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 18.86
Recently traded at 19.62 with a 50 day moving average of 17.35

BARCHART MORNING CALL 3/28

BARCHART MORNING CALL

Friday, March 28th, 2014View Older Reports

Everything you need to know about the markets in one free daily newsletter.

You will also receive a free subscription to the Barchart family of newsletters.

OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS

June E-mini S&Ps (ESM14 +0.26%) this morning are up +0.27% and European stocks are up +0.84% on speculation that China may boost stimulus to promote economic growth after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that his country has policies in reserve to deal with any economic volatility this year and can't ignore "difficulties and risks" from a slowdown in the economy. Asian stocks closed mixed: Japan +0.50%, Hong Kong +1.06%, China -0.17%, Taiwan -0.06%, Australia +0.31%, Singapore +0.31%, South Korea +0.07%, India +0.57%. Also helping to boost European stocks was the larger-than-expected increase in Eurozone Mar economic confidence to the highest in 2-1/2 years. Commodity prices are mostly higher. May crude oil (CLK14 +0.39%) is up +0.51% at a 2-1/2 week high. May gasoline (RBK14 +0.01%) is up +0.04%. Apr gold (GCJ14 unch) is up +0.16%. May copper (HGK14 +1.24%) is up +1.39% at a 2-week high after weekly Shanghai copper inventories slipped to a 5-week low. Agriculture and livestock prices are mixed, although Apr hogs are up +0.94% at an all-time high. The dollar index (DXY00 +0.10%) is up +0.08%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.03% at a 1-month low. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.19%. June T-note prices (ZNM14 -0.11%) are down -6.5 ticks.
Chicago Fed President Evans said the Fed may wait until the second half of 2015 before raising interest rates as the "current 1% inflation situation calls for extended policy accommodation" and that he's "concerned that inflation will not pick up quickly enough." Evans comments contrast with Fed Chair Yellen's comments on Mar 19 that the Fed may start to raise rates in the first half of 2015.
Eurozone Mar economic confidence rose +1.2 to 102.4, better than expectations of +0.2 to 101.4 and the highest in 2-1/2 years. The Mar business climate indicator rose +0.03 to 0.39, better than expectations of +0.01 to 0.38 and the highest in 2-1/2 years.
UK Mar GfK consumer confidence rose 2 to -5, better than expectations of +1 to -6 and the highest in 6-1/2 years.
The Japan Feb jobless rate unexpectedly fell -0.1 to 3.6%, better than expectations of no change at 3.7% and matched its lowest level in 16-years. The Feb job-to-applicant ratio rose +0.01 to 1.05, right on expectations and the highest in 6-1/2 years.
Japan Feb national CPI rose +1.5% y/y. The Feb national CPI ex-fresh food rose +1.3% y/y and the Feb national CPI ex food & energy rose +0.8% y/y, all right on expectations.
Japan Feb overall household spending unexpectedly fell -2.5% y/y, weaker than expectations of +0.1% y/y. It was also the first decline in 6-months and biggest drop in 2-1/4 years.
Japan Feb retail sales rose +0.3% m/m and +3.6% y/y, better than expectations of -0.1% m/m and +3.5% y/y.

U.S. STOCK PREVIEW

Today’s Feb personal income report is expected to show an increase of +0.3%, matching the +0.3% increase seen in January. Meanwhile, today’s Feb personal spending report is expected to show an increase of +0.3%, slightly below Jan’s report of +0.4%. Today’s Feb PCE deflator is expected to ease to +0.9% y/y from +1.2% y/y in January. That would track with the decline seen in the headline Feb CPI to +1.1% from +1.6% in January. Meanwhile, the Feb PCE core deflator is expected to be unchanged from January at +1.1% y/y, matching the current 3-year low posted in January and in several prior months. Today’s final-March U.S. consumer confidence index from the University of Michigan is expected to show a +0.6 point increase to 80.5 from the early-March level of 79.9. There are none of the Russell 1000 companies that report earnings today. There are no equity conferences today.

OVERNIGHT U.S. STOCK MOVERS

Finish Line (FINL -3.29%) reported Q4 EPS 87 cents ex-items, better than consensus of 85 cents.
BlackBerry (BBRY -1.20%) rose nearly 5% in pre-market trading after it reported a Q4 adjusted EPS loss of -8 cents, a much smaller loss than consensus of -55 cents.
Jefferies keeps its 'Buy' rating on Amgen (AMGN +1.82%) and raises its price target for the stock to $145 from $138.
El Paso Pipeline (EPB +0.62%) was upgraded to 'Buy' from 'Neutral' at Citigroup.
PG&E (PCG -1.45%) was downgraded to 'Hold' from 'Buy' at Deutsche Bank.
Stadium Capital reported a 9.1% stake in Insperity (NSP +0.27%) .
Alcoa (AA +6.16%) was upgraded to 'Neutral' from 'Underperform' at Macquarie.
Netflix (NFLX -2.18%) fell 3% in after-hours trading after the WSJ reported that Amazon will offer a free streaming media service in the coming months.
Gabelli reported a 5.28% stake in Chemtura (CHMT -3.04%) .
Restoration Hardware (RH +0.55%) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 83 cents, right on consensus, although Q4 revenue of $471.7 milion was below consensus of $493.09 million.
Red Hat (RHT +0.27%) reported Q4 EPS of 39 cents, higher than consensus of 37 cents.

MARKET COMMENTS

June E-mini S&Ps (ESM14 +0.26%) this morning are up +5.00 points (+0.27%). The S&P 500 on Thursday slipped to a 1-1/2 week low and closed lower. Negatives for stocks included (1) the smaller-than-expected upward revision to U.S. Q4 GDP to +2.6% from +2.4%, below expectations of +2.7%, and (2) the unexpected -0.8% m/m decline in U.S. Feb pending homes sales, weaker than expectations of a +0.2% m/m increase and the eighth straight monthly decline. A supportive factor was the -10,000 decline in U.S. weekly initial unemployment claims to a 3-3/4 month low. Closes: S&P 500 -0.19%, Dow Jones -0.03%, Nasdaq -0.55%.
Jun 10-year T-notes (ZNM14 -0.11%) this morning are down -6.5 ticks. Jun 10-year T-note futures prices on Thursday closed slightly higher. T-notes were undercut as weekly initial unemployment claims unexpectedly fell to a 3-3/4 month low, but prices bounced back on increased safe-haven demand after stocks faltered. Closes: TYM4 +2.00, FVM4 -0.25.
The dollar index (DXY00 +0.10%) this morning is up +0.068 (+0.08%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.0004 (-0.03%) at a 1-month low. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.19 (+0.19%). The dollar index on Thursday closed slightly higher. EUR/USD fell to a 3-week low on concern the recent rally earlier this month in EUR/USD to a 2-1/3 year high will prod the ECB at next week’s policy meeting into additional stimulus measures to weaken the euro. Closes: Dollar index +0.079 (+0.10%), EUR/USD -0.00407 (-0.30%), USD/JPY +0.145 (+0.14%).
May WTI crude oil (CLK14 +0.39%) this morning is up +52 cents (+0.51%) at a 2-1/2 week high and May gasoline (RBK14 +0.01%) is up +0.0013 (+0.04%). May crude and gasoline prices on Thursday closed higher with May crude at a 2-week high and May gasoline at a 1-week high. Bullish factors included (1) the unexpected fall in U.S. weekly jobless claims to a 3-3/4 month low, and (2) positive carry-over from Wednesday’s EIA data that showed crude oil stockpiles at Cushing, OK, the delivery point for WTI futures, fell for an eighth week to a 2-yr low. Closes: CLK4 +1.02 (+1.02%). RBK4 +0.0331 (+1.14%).

GLOBAL EVENT CALENDAR03/28/2014

US	0830 ET	Feb personal spending expected +0.3%, Jan +0.4%. Feb personal income expected +0.3%, Jan +0.3%. Feb PCE deflator expected +0.1% m/m and +0.9% y/y, Jan +0.1% m/m and +1.2% y/y. Feb PCE core deflator expected +0.1% m/m and +1.1% y/y, Jan +0.1% m/m and +1.1% y/y.
	0955 ET	Final-Mar University of Michigan U.S. consumer confidence expected +0.6 to 80.5, previous -1.7 to 79.9.
	1245 ET	Kansas City Fed President Esther George speaks about the U.S. economic outlook and monetary policy at an event in Kansas City, MO.
	1500 ET	USDA Q1 Hogs & Pigs inventory.
	2130 ET	Chicago Fed President Charles Evans speaks on monetary policy at an Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong.
GER	0300 ET	German Feb import price index expected +0.2% m/m and -2.4% y/y, Jan -0.1% m/m and -2.3% y/y
	0900 ET	German Mar CPI (EU harmonized) expected +0.4% m/m and +0.9% y/y, Feb +0.5% m/m and +1.0% y/y.
UK	0530 ET	Revised UK Q4 GDP, previous +0.7% q/q and +2.7% y/y.
	0530 ET	Revised UK Q4 total business investment, previous +2.4% q/q and +8.5% y/y.
	0530 ET	UK Q4 current account balance, Q3 -20.7 billion pounds.
EUR	0600 ET	Eurozone Mar economic confidence expected +0.2 to 101.4, Feb 101.2. Mar business climate indicator expected +0.01 to +0.38, Feb +0.37.
	0600 ET	Revised Eurozone Mar consumer confidence, previous +3.4 to -9.3.

U.S. STOCK CALENDAR03/28/2014

Company Name	Ticker	Time	Event Description	Period	Estimate
Darden Restaurants Inc	DRI US	8:30	Analyst & Investor Conference	Y 2014
Compuware Corp	CPWR US		Annual General Meeting

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Value Line Arithmetic Index - Barchart's Chart of the Day

The Value Line Arithmetic Index ($VLA) is the Barchart Chart of the Day. The unweighted index is one of the best overall stock market indicators I've found. The Index has a Trend Spotter hold, a Weighted Alpha of 22.42+ and gained 24.48% in the last year.

You might be asking why would I chart an index and why this particular one. Well I really believe that the whole is equal to the sum of its parts. Most of the other indices are market weighted which I think skews the index if it contains large cap stocks. The Value Line Arithmetic Index ($VLA) contains about 1700 stocks, which covers over 95% of the entire US stock market capitalization but weights each stock equally.

If you believe like I do that there is a time to be fully invested and a time to be accumulating some cash then you should follow the Index like you'd follow a stock. I'm accumulating stocks the the Index has positive technical indicators and accumulating cash when the Index's technical indicators are negative.

Let's see where we are today.

0% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter hold signal
Below its 20 day moving average but above its 50 and 100 day moving averages
5 new highs this month but down .87% for the month
Relative Strength Index 44.12%
Barchart computes a technical; support level at 4,342.93
Recently computed at 4,398.95 with a 50 day moving average of 4,379.83

By looking at the Index you can see that earlier in the week there was still a Trend Spotter buy so any stocks I sold were replaced but today the Trend Spotter crossed and signaled a hold so I won't replace any stocks I sell until I see positive momentum from the Index. I always try to be on the right side of the market.

BARCHART MORNING CALL 3/27

BARCHART MORNING CALL

Thursday, March 27th, 2014View Older Reports

Everything you need to know about the markets in one free daily newsletter.

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OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS

June E-mini S&Ps (ESM14 +0.22%) this morning are up +0.24% and European stocks are up +0.03% as Ukraine reached a preliminary deal with the IMF for up to $27 billion of international support to avert default and limit economic damage from the 4-month long political crisis. Another boost to European stocks was the surge in UK Feb retail sales by more than three times expectations. Asian stocks closed mixed: Japan +1.01%, Hong Kong -0.24%, China -0.71%, Taiwan +0.48%, Australia -0.50%, Singapore +0.61%, South Korea +0.85%, India +0.54%. Commodity prices are mixed. May crude oil (CLK14 +0.63%) is up +0.10%. May gasoline (RBK14 +0.50%) is up +0.23%. Apr gold (GCJ14 -0.68%) is down -0.67% at a 1-1/2 month low on long liquidation fueled by expectations for the Fed to continue to taper QE3. May copper (HGK14 +0.93%) is up +0.96%. Agriculture and livestock prices are mixed. The dollar index (DXY00 +0.15%) is up +0.12%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.16% at a 3-week low on speculation the ECB at next week's policy meeting may push ahead with additional stimulus measures to weaken the euro. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.18%. June T-note prices (ZNM14 -0.09%) are down -2 ticks.
Eurozone Feb M3 money supply rose +1.3% y/y and +1.2% 3-mon avg, right on expectations. Eurozone Feb lending to companies and households contracted -2.2% y/y, the 22nd consecutive month lending has contracted.
UK Feb retail sales ex autos rose +1.8% m/m, six times higher than expectations of +0.3% and the biggest increase in 9-months. On an annual basis retail sales ex autos rose +4.2% y/y, better than expectations of +2.9% y/y.
UK Feb retail sales including autos rose +1.7% m/m, over three times expectations of +0.5% m/m and the largest monthly gain in 9-months. On an annual basis, retail sales including autos rose +3.7% y/y, better than expectations of +2.45 y/y.
China Feb industrial profits rose +9.4% year-to-date y/y, the smallest increase in over a year.

U.S. STOCK PREVIEW

Today’s weekly initial unemployment claims report is expected to show a small increase of +4,000 to 324,000, adding to last week’s increase of +5,000 to 320,000. Meanwhile, continuing claims are expected to fall -7,000 to 2.882 million, reversing part of last week’s +41,000 increase to 2.889 million. Today’s Q4 GDP report is expected to be revised slightly higher by +0.3 points to +2.7% (q/q annualized) from the last estimate of +2.4%. Today’s Feb pending home sales report is expected to show an increase of +0.2% m/m, edging a bit higher after the small +0.1% increase seen in January. There are 5 of the Russell 1000 companies that report earnings today: Accenture (consensus $1.04), Leidos Holdings (0.45), Signet Jewelers (2.15), GameStop (1.93), Red Hat (0.37). Equity conferences during the remainder of this week include: Jefferies Animal Health Day on Thu, and Jefferies Animal Health Day on Thu

OVERNIGHT U.S. STOCK MOVERS

Baxter International (BAX +2.47%) announced plans to create two separate, independent global healthcare companies; one focused on developing and marketing innovative biopharmaceuticals and the other on life-saving medical products.
Signet Jewelers (SIG -1.17%) reported Q4 EPS of 2.18, higher than consensus of $2.15.
lululemon (LULU +0.50%) lowered guidance on fiscal 2014 EPS to $1.80-$1.90, weaker than consensus of $2.14.
Leidos (LDOS +0.37%) reported Q4 EPS of 56 cents, well above consensus of 45 cents.
Accenture PLC (ACN -0.66%) reported Q2 EPS of $1.03, less than expectations of $1.04, but then raised guidance on fiscal 2014 EPS view to $4.50-$4.62 from $4.44-$4.56, higher than consensus of $4.51.
H.B. Fuller (FUL -0.78%) reported Q1 adjusted EPS of 49 cents, less than consensus of 50 cents.
Essex Property (ESS -2.44%) will replace Cliffs Natural (CLF -2.03%) in the S&P 500 as of the April 1 close.
American Express (AXP -1.30%) said it will increase its quarterly dividend by 13% to 26 cents per share and that it will repurchase up to $4.4 billion of common shares during 2014 and up to an additional $1 billion in the first quarter of 2015.
Morgan Stanley (MS -1.17%) said it will double its dividend to 10 cents from 5 cents and also announced a $1 billion stock repurchase plan.
The Fed said that after its stress tests for this year it rejected the capital plans of Citigroup (C -0.28%) , HSBC North America Holdings (HSBC -0.43%) , RBS Citizens Financial Group (RBS -2.15%) , and Santander Holdings (SAN +0.99%) . The Fed also said it objected to the capital plan of Zions Bancorporation (ZION -1.31%) because the firm did not meet the minimum, post-stress tier-1 common ratio of 5 percent.
Paychex (PAYX -1.30%) rose 3% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 EPS of 44 cents, better than consensus of 42 cents.

MARKET COMMENTS

June E-mini S&Ps (ESM14 +0.22%) this morning are up +4.50 points (+0.24%). The S&P 500 on Tuesday erased an early rally and closed lower after President Obama said Russia’s actions in Crimea must be met with condemnation, which raised concerns of escalation of the Ukraine crisis. Stocks had opened higher on bullish factors that included (1) the +2.2% increase in Feb durable goods orders, better than expectations of +0.8%, and (2) comments from St. Louis Fed President Bullard who said the U.S. is in “good shape” to have economic growth of more than +3.0% for the remaining quarters in 2014. Closes: S&P 500 -0.70%, Dow Jones -0.60%, Nasdaq -1.29%.
Jun 10-year T-notes (ZNM14 -0.09%) this morning are down -2 ticks. Jun 10-year T-note futures prices on Wednesday closed higher. T-notes moved higher on weaker stocks along with strong demand for the Treasury’s $35 billion auction of 5-year T-notes that had a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.99, higher than the 12-auction average of 2.63 and the highest in 1-1/2 years. Closes: TYM4 +10.50, FVM4 +7.25.
The dollar index (DXY00 +0.15%) this morning is up +0.093 (+0.12%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.0022 (-0.16%) at a 3-week low. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.18 (+0.18%). The dollar index on Wednesday closed higher. The dollar rose on supportive factors that included (1 the stronger than expected increase in U.S. Feb durable goods orders, and (2) comments from St. Louis Fed President Bullard, who said that the U.S. is in “good shape” to have economic growth of more than +3.0% for the remaining quarters in 2014. Closes: Dollar index +0.088 (+0.11%), EUR/USD -0.0045 (-0.33%), USD/JPY -0.222 (-0.22%).
May WTI crude oil (CLK14 +0.63%) this morning is up +10 cents (+0.10%) and May gasoline (RBK14 +0.50%) is up +0.0067 (+0.23%). May crude and gasoline prices on Wednesday closed higher with May crude at a 2-week high. Bullish factors included (1) the -1.3 million bbl drop in crude oil stockpiles at Cushing, OK, the delivery point for WTI futures, to a 2-yr low of 28.5 million bbl, and (2) the -5.101 million bbl plunge in EIA gasoline inventories to a 3-1/2 month low of 217.2 million bbl. Bearish factors centered on the +6.619 bbl surge in weekly EIA crude supplies to a 3-1/2 month high of 382 million bbl, the tenth consecutive increase and more than double expectations of a +2.85 million bbl increase. Closes: CLK4 +1.07 (+1.08%). RBK4 +0.0246 (+0.85%).

GLOBAL EVENT CALENDAR03/27/2014

US	0830 ET	Weekly initial unemployment claims expected +4,000 to 324,000, previous +5,000 to 320,000. Weekly continuing claims expected -7,000 to 2.882 million, previous +41,000 to 2.889 million.
	0830 ET	Q4 GDP expected revised higher to +2.7% (q/q annualized) from +2.4%. Q4 personal consumption expected revised higher to +2.8% from +2.6%. Q4 GDP price index expected unrevised at +1.6%. Q4 GDP PCE expected unrevised at +1.3%.
	0830 ET	Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto speaks at the University of Dayton.
	0830 ET	USDA weekly Export Sales.
	1000 ET	Feb pending home sales expected +0.2% m/m and -9.0% y/y, Jan +0.1% m/m and -9.1% y/y.
	1300 ET	Treasury auctions $29 billion 7-year T-notes.
	2130 ET	Chicago Fed President Charles Evans delivers a speech at an Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong.
EUR	0500 ET	Eurozone Feb M3 money supply expected +1.3% y/y and +1.2% 3-month avg, Jan +1.2% y/y and +1.2% 3-month avg.
UK	0530 ET	UK Feb retail sales ex autos expected +0.3% m/m and +2.9% y/y, Jan -1.5% m/m and +4.8% y/y.
	0530 ET	UK Feb retail sales including autos expected +0.5% m/m and +2.4% y/y, Jan -1.5% m/m and +4.3% y/y.
	0530 ET	UK Jan index of services, Dec +0.2% m/m and +0.8% 3-mon/3-mon.
	2005 ET	UK Mar GfK consumer confidence expected +1 to -6, Feb -7.
JPN	1930 ET	Japan Feb overall household spending expected +0.1% y/y, Jan +1.1% y/y.
	1930 ET	Japan Feb jobless rate expected unch at 3.7%, Jan 3.7%. Feb job-to-applicant ratio expected +0.01 to 1.05, Jan 1.04.
	1930 ET	Japan Feb national CPI expected +1.5% y/y, Jan +1.4% y/y. Feb national CPI ex fresh food expected +1.3% y/y, Jan +1.3% y/y. Feb national CPI ex food & energy expected +0.8% y/y, Jan +0.7% y/y.
	1930 ET	Japan Mar Tokyo CPI expected +1.2% y/y, Feb +1.1% y/y. Mar Tokyo CPI ex-fresh food expected +0.9% y/y, Feb +0.9% y/y. Mar Tokyo CPI ex food & energy expected +0.5% y/y, Feb +0.5% y/y.
	1950 ET	Japan Feb retail sales expected -0.1% m/m and +3.5% y/y, Jan +1.6% m/m and +4.4% y/y.

U.S. STOCK CALENDAR03/27/2014

Company Name	Ticker	Time	Event Description	Period	Estimate
Accenture PLC	ACN US	Bef-mkt	Q2 2014 Earnings Release	Q2 2014	1.036
Leidos Holdings Inc	LDOS US	Bef-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.446
Signet Jewelers Ltd	SIG US	6:30	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	2.148
Accenture PLC	ACN US	8:00	Q2 2014 Earnings Call	Q2 2014
Leidos Holdings Inc	LDOS US	8:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
NASDAQ OMX Group Inc/The	NDAQ US	8:15	Investor Day	Y 2014
Signet Jewelers Ltd	SIG US	8:30	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
GameStop Corp	GME US	8:30	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	1.929
Paychex Inc	PAYX US	10:30	Q3 2014 Earnings Call	Q3 2014
GameStop Corp	GME US	11:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Microsoft Corp	MSFT US	13:00	Microsoft Office For Apple's iPad-Debut
Sempra Energy	SRE US	13:00	Analyst Conference	Y 2014
Edison International	EIX US	17:00	SONGS OII Settlement Agreement Call
Red Hat Inc	RHT US	17:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Red Hat Inc	RHT US	Aft-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.374
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc	VRTX US		PDUFA, Kalydeco, cystic fibrosis (CF) w/ non-G551D CFTR gating mutations

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Del Frisco's Restaurant Group - Barchart's Chart of the Day

Del Frisco's Restaurant Group (DFRG) is the Barchart Chart of the Day. Open Table's users rate this one of the top high end steakhouses. The stock has a Trend Spotter buy signal, a Weight Alpha of 71.50+ and gained 64.41% in the last year.

The Chart of the Day is Del Frisco's Restaurant Group (DFRG). I found the stock by sorting the All Time High list for new high frequency in the last month, then used the Flipchart feature to review the charts. Since the Trend spotter signaled a buy on 2/11 the stock gained 15.44%.

DFRG develops, owns and operates three contemporary, complementary restaurant concepts: Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House, Sullivan's Steakhouse and Del Frisco's Grille. The restaurants offer selections that include steaks, lobster tails, lamb chops and fresh seafood, as well as an extensive wine selection.

88% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
13 new highs and up 11.84% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 60.61%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 26.31
Recently traded at 27.67 with a 50 day moving average of 24.69

Fundamental factors:

Market Cap $656.33 million
P/E 32.66
Revenue expected to grow 14.60% this year and another 17.30% next year
Earnings are estimated to increase 11.50% this year, an additional 20.60% next year and continue to increase annually by 20.00% a year for the next 5 years
Wall Street analysts issued 3 strong buy and 3 buy recommendations on the stock

If you need to add a little meat to your portfolio this might be it. Watch the 50 day moving average for signs of weak momentum and the 100 day moving average for a price reversal.

Today's 5 Best Mid Caps

Today I used Barchart to sort the S&P 400 Mid Cap Index for new high frequency in the last month then I reviewed the charts using the Flipchart feature. I didn't find 5 stocks I liked, only 3 so I resorted by short term technical indicators and again used the Flipchart feature to find 2 more.

The stocks I've seleceted are Granite Construction (GVA), Cabot Corp (CBT), NewMarket Corp (NEU), Unit Corp (UNT), and Alliant Energy (LNT):

Granite Construction (GVA)

Barchart technical indicators:

96% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
14 new highs and up 17.73% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 74.02%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 39.90
Recently traded at 40.13 with a 50 day moving average of 35.87

Cabot Corp (CBT)

Barchart technical indicators:

88% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
13 new highs and up 5.15% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 63.98%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 56.97
Recently traded at 56.89 with a 50 day moving average of 52.34

NewMarket Corp (NEU)

Barchart technical indicators:

88% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
13 new highs and up 4.71% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 66.88%
Barchart computes a technical support leve at 384.30
Recently traded at 389.09 with a 50 day moving average of 356.63

Unit Corp (UNT)

Barchart technical indicators:

96% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
5 new highs and up 5.44% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 76.47%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 62.65
Recently traded at 63.81 with a 50 day moving average of 55.99

Alliant Energy (LNT)

Barchart technical indicators:

100% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
6 new highs and up 3.27% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 64.32%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 54.32
Recently traded at 55.58 with a 50 day moving average of 52.95

BARCHART MORNING CALL 3/26

BARCHART MORNING CALL

Wednesday, March 26th, 2014View Older Reports

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OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS

June E-mini S&Ps (ESM14 +0.34%) this morning are up +0.28% and European stocks are up +0.97% at a 2-week high after a gauge of German consumer confidence remained at a 7-1/4 year high. Also, in a sign that the European sovereign debt crisis continues to recede, the yield on Portugal's 5-year government bond fell to 3.007%, the lowest in over 4-years. U.S. stocks received support on comments from St. Louis Fed President Bullard who said the U.S. is in "good shape" to have economic growth of more than 3.0% for the remaining quarters in 2014. Asian stocks closed mostly higher: Japan +0.37%, Hong Kong +0.72%, China -0.16%, Taiwan +0.55%, Australia +0.75%, Singapore +1.26%, South Korea +1.40%, India +0.18%. Chinese stocks bucked the trend and closed lower after Li Daokui, a former member of the PBOC monetary policy committee, said that China is headed for a "mini crisis" in its regional debt market. Commodity prices are mixed. May crude oil (CLK14 +0.26%) is up +0.10%. May gasoline (RBK14 +0.35%) is up +0.32%. Apr gold (GCJ14 +0.25%) is up +0.28%. May copper (HGK14 -0.85%) is down -0.82%. Agriculture and livestock prices are mixed. The dollar index (DXY00 +0.14%) is up +0.14%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.17%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.12%. June T-note prices (ZNM14 -0.09%) are down -3 ticks.
Speaking at an Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong, St. Louis Fed President Bullard, a non-voting member of the FOMC this year, said that the U.S. is in "good shape" to have economic growth of more than 3.0% for the remaining quarters in 2014 and may reach that pace for the full year and that the unemployment rate is likely to dip below 6.0% by the end of the year.
The German Apr GfK consumer confidence was unchanged at 8.5, right on expectations and the best level in 7-1/4 years.
The Japan Feb corporate service price index rose +0.7% y/y, slightly less than expectations of +0.8% y/y.

U.S. STOCK PREVIEW

Today’s Feb durable goods orders report is expected to show increases of +0.8% and +0.3% ex-transportation following January’s mixed report of -1.0% and +1.1% ex-transportation. There is one of the Russell 1000 companies that report earnings today: Paychex (consensus $0.42). Equity conferences during the remainder of this week include: TAG Spring Consumer Conference on Tue, Gastech Conference & Exhibition on Mon-Wed, BB&T Capital Markets Commercial & Industrial Conference on Wed, CIBC Retail and Consumer Conference on Wed, JPMorgan Insurance Conference on Wed, Oracle Storage Summit New York on Wed, Jefferies Animal Health Day on Thu, and Jefferies Animal Health Day on Thu

OVERNIGHT U.S. STOCK MOVERS

Corning (GLW +2.29%) was upgraded to 'Positive' from 'Neutral' at Susquehanna.
Walgreens (WAG +3.28%) was downgraded to 'Neutral' from 'Outperform' at Macquarie.
Covanta (CVA +4.55%) was upgraded to 'Outperform' from 'Neutral' at RW Baird.
Carlyle Group (CG -1.01%) was upgraded to 'Buy' from 'Neutral' at UBS.
Garmin (GRMN -0.89%) was upgraded to 'Buy' from 'Neutral' at Citigroup.
Lockheed Martin (LMT +1.50%) was awarded a $698.03 million government contract to procure long lead parts, materials and components in support of 57 IX F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters.
Facebook (FB +1.23%) said it agreed to acquire Oculus VR for approximately $2 billion.
International Game (IGT +0.34%) fell over 8% in after-hours trading after it cut its fiscal 2014 adjusted EPS outlook to $1.00-$1.10 from $1.28-$1.38 and said it will reduce its global workforce by 7%.
Steelcase (SCS -0.55%) reported Q4 EPS of 18 cents, higher than consensus of 17 cents, which prompted Raymond James to upgrade the stock to 'Strong Buy' from 'Outperform.'
Peabody Coal (BTU +1.18%) and Arch Coal (ACI -0.64%) were both downgraded to 'Neutral' from 'Buy' at UBS.
PVH Corp. (PVH -1.71%) reported Q4 EPS of $1.43, better than consensus of $1.42, but then lowered guidance on fiscal 2014 EPS to $7.40 to $7.50, well below consensus of $7.81.

MARKET COMMENTS

June E-mini S&Ps (ESM14 +0.34%) this morning are up +5.25 points (+0.28%). The S&P 500 on Tuesday closed higher. Stocks rose on optimism over the U.S. economic outlook after U.S. Mar consumer confidence (Conference Board) rose +4.0 points to a 6-year high of 82.3, a bigger increase than expectations of +0.4 to 78.5. Gains were limited as Feb new home sales fell -3.3% to a 5-month low of 440,000, a bigger decline than expectations of -4.9% to 445,000. Closes: S&P 500 +0.44%, Dow Jones +0.56%, Nasdaq +0.34%.
Jun 10-year T-notes (ZNM14 -0.09%) this morning are down -3 ticks. Jun 10-year T-note futures prices on Tuesday closed higher. A larger-than-expected decline in U.S. Feb new home sales to a 5-month low offset a jump in U.S. Mar consumer confidence to its best level in 6 years. Closes: TYM4 +1.50, FVM4 +2.75.
The dollar index (DXY00 +0.14%) this morning is up +0.109 (+0.14%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.0024 (-0.17%). USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.12 (+0.12%). The dollar index on Tuesday closed little changed. The dollar garnered support from an increase in U.S. Mar consumer confidence to a 6-year high, while EUR/USD retreated after the German Mar IFO business climate fell more than expected. Closes: Dollar index +0.010 (+0.01%), EUR/USD -0.00126 (-0.09%), USD/JPY +0.015 (+0.01%).
May WTI crude oil (CLK14 +0.26%) this morning is up +10 cents (+0.10%) and May gasoline (RBK14 +0.35%) is up +0.0093 (+0.32%). May crude and gasoline prices on Tuesday closed lower. Crude prices erased early gains and closed lower after the Houston Ship Canal was partially reopened, which reduced concerns that crude production at refineries along the Gulf Coast will be sharply reduced. Another bearish factor is the outlook for weekly EIA crude stockpiles on Wed to rise +2.815 million bbl, their tenth consecutive increase. Limiting losses was the larger-than-expected increase in U.S. Mar consumer confidence to a 6-year high. Closes: CLK4 -0394 (-0.39%). RBK4 -0.0040 (-0.14%).

GLOBAL EVENT CALENDAR03/26/2014

US	0200 ET	St. Louis Fed President James Bullard speaks at a conference in Hong Kong on the topic Central Banks: Will policy making ever be conventional again?
	0700 ET	Weekly MBA mortgage applications, previous -1.2% with purchase sub-index -0.9% and refi sub-index -1.3%.
	0830 ET	Feb durable goods orders expected +0.8% and +0.3% ex-transportation, Jan -1.0% and +1.1% ex-transportation. Feb non-defensive ex-aircraft capital goods orders, Jan +1.5%.
	0945 ET	Mar Markit services PMI expected +0.7 to 54.0, Feb 53.3.
	1030 ET	EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
	1130 ET	Treasury auctions $13 billion 2-year floating-rate notes.
	1300 ET	Treasury auctions $35 billion 5-year T-notes.
	2020 ET	St. Louis Fed President James Bullard speaks at a conference in Hong Kong on the topic What are the prospects for U.S. monetary policy?
GER	0300 ET	German Apr GfK consumer confidence expected unch at 8.5, Mar 8.5.
CHI	2130 ET	China Feb industrial profits, Jan +12.2% year-to-date y/y.

U.S. STOCK CALENDAR03/26/2014

Company Name	Ticker	Time	Event Description	Period
PVH Corp	PVH US	9:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Flowserve Corp	FLS US	9:00	Analyst Day	Y 2014
Iron Mountain Inc	IRM US	9:00	Investor Day	Y 2014
Cabela's Inc	CAB US	9:30	Analyst Day	Y 2014
McCormick & Co Inc/MD	MKC US	10:00	Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
Xcel Energy Inc	XEL US		Investors Meeting - Day 2	Y 2014

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

VantageSouth Bancshares - Barchart's Chart of the Day

VantageSouth Bancshares (VSB) is The Barchart Chart of the Day. The Raleigh, NC based bank has a Trend Spotter buy signal, a Weighted Alpha of 64.40+ and gained 56.59% in the last year.

The Chart of the Day is VantageSouth Bancshares (VSB). I found the stock by sorting All Time High list for new high frequency in the last month, skipping any that didn't have a positive gain for the last week and month. I then used the Flipchart feature to review the charts to find the one I liked. Since the Trend spotter signaled a buy on 1/27 the stock gained 26.09%.

VSB operates as the bank holding company for VantageSouth Bank. It offers a broad range of banking services, including checking and savings accounts, commercial, consumer and personal loans, mortgage banking services, and other associated financial services in the Raleigh, NC region.

80% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
16 new highs and up 19.83% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 85.12%
Barchart computes a technical support at 6.50
Recently traded at 7.25 with a 50 day moving average of 6.02

Fundamental factors:

Market Cap $ 333.79 million
P/E 29.79
Revenue is projected to grow 49.00% this year and another 37.40% next year
Earnings are estimated to increase this year by 500.00% and an additional 150.00% next year
The projections are not a consensus since there is only one Wall Street analyst following the stock but he has a strong buy
Financial strength is C++

Small North Carolina bank serving the state capital region. Watch the 50 day moving averages for momentum weakness and the 100 day moving average to protect gains.

5 Great Large Caps

Today I used Barchart to sort the S&P 500 Large Cap Index for the stocks with the best technical indicators and charts. First I sorted the index for new high frequency in the lat month then skipped over the stock that didn't have positive gains in the last week and month. Next I used to Flipchart feature to find the chart I liked.

Today's list includes EMC Corp (EMC), Bank of New York Mellon (BK), Genworth Financial (GNW), Invesco (IVZ) and Allegheny Technologies (ATI):

EMC Corp (EMC)