Shares of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia are off more than 20% for the year to date, and 13% since late February. But now may be the time for investors to reconsider their opinion on that sinking stock.
So says Bear Stearns analyst Michael Meltz. In a client note posted Tuesday morning, Meltz pointed out that recent price weakness.
"While valuation is still not cheap, the pullback makes the shares somewhat more attractive given the company's growth profile," the analyst wrote.
Meltz told his clients that he thinks shares of the media company, founded by Martha Stewart in 1996, could benefit in coming months from positive news flow related to new deals and products, including its redesigned Web site, MarthaSteward.com
Additionally, Meltz noted that many of the company's previously announced merchandising alliances will be rolled out throughout the spring and summer, such as a collection of paints at Lowe's, crafts at Michael's Stores and home products at Macy's.
Meltz added, "We think the future looks bright for Martha Stewart, and view the company as one of the few real growth stories within the broader media space."
He upgraded his rating on the company to "peer perform" from "underperform."
Traders responded, sending shares of the company climbing 3.9%, or 65 cents, to $17.53 in Tuesday trading.
Separately on Tuesday, homebuilder KB Home said it's teaming up with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia to build a community of 97 houses in Los Angeles County.
The community, scheduled to start welcoming residents in the fall of 2007, is the second such community that the two companies have built together in California.
Source Forbes.com
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Sporting tycoon buys Adidas stake
Fiona Walsh
Tuesday March 27, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Secretive retail billionaire Mike Ashley has splashed out more than £180m on a 3.14% stake in Adidas, the German sportswear group.
News of his holding saw shares in Adidas, the world's second-largest sporting goods maker, jump €1.15 on the German stock exchange today, to €40.25 (£27.32).
Just weeks ago Mr Ashley raised £929m by floating his Sports Direct empire on the London stock market. At the time, he said he had no plans to spend the cash, but would put it in the bank instead.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Task of the raider
The task (of a bidder; raider ) is to identify asset that not used efficiently, acquire it, make it efficient, and than realise it at competitive price on the market.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Great men
"Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than material force, that thoughts rule the world."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Stones roll by U2 for top-grossing tour ever
NASHVILLE (Billboard) - Though they'll surely live to fight another day, U2's brief stint holding the title of top-grossing tour ever is over. That distinction returns to the Rolling Stones, whose A Bigger Bang tour is now the top-grossing tour in history.
Full article from Yahoo! UK& Ireland
Full article from Yahoo! UK& Ireland
Bank of Georgia IPO to raise 83 million pounds
LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of Georgia said on Friday it expected to raise $160 million (83 million pounds) in a share flotation that will make it the first ever company from the former Soviet Union country to list in London. Full article from Reuters UK
Friday, November 24, 2006
We won't chop up Gazporn:)
Russia' President Vladimir Putin denies EU proposal to unbundle Gazprom's upstream and downstream operations -- exploration and production from transportation and distribution. Article from Yahoo! Finance UK
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Sunday, November 19, 2006
World's fastest economy could speed to trouble
Article from Yahoo! Finance UK&Ireland about robust speed of Azeibardjan economy caused oil price increase along with the launch of the pipeline through Turkey that opens country's oil export direct access to the Western markets (bypassing Russia)
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Hertz IPO is latest private-equity flotation
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Less than a year after private equity funds bought Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTZ), the world's largest car rental company is on track for one of the largest U.S. stock flotations of the year.
Private equity investors, whose appetite for acquisitions is fueling a surge in overall M&A activity, have been shortening the time between leveraged buyouts and the initial public offerings they often use to cash out on the deals.
Companies are also boosting offering sizes after paying themselves larger dividends and loading up with debt.
"When you have so much money in these deals, it increases the pressure to an enormous degree to get liquidity," said Tom Taulli, founder of InvestorOffering.com. "Investors are pushing for faster turnarounds and the deals are becoming flips as opposed to investments."
ML Global Private Equity Fund LP, an affiliate of Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER), and buyout firms Carlyle Group and Clayton Dubilier & Rice bought Hertz from Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) last December for $5.6 billion, or $15 billion including debt.
Park Ridge, New Jersey-based Hertz, which also has one of the largest equipment rental businesses in the United States, is scheduled to float about 88 million shares on Wednesday, or about 27.5 percent of the company, according to a prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
COULD BE NO. 2 U.S. IPO
The company could raise more than $1.8 billion if the shares price at the top of a $16 to $18 forecast range and over-allotment options are exercised. The company would also be valued at about $5.8 billion.
At an $18 share price, Hertz would be the No. 2 U.S. IPO this year after the $2.6 billion float of credit card association MasterCard (NYSE:MA ).
At that price, Hertz would trade at 57 times annualized earnings, based on current earnings, which are depressed by debt service payments, according to Francis Gaskins president of IPO Desktop, a research firm based in Marina del Rey, California.
Actual earnings would be higher once the IPO proceeds are used to pay down debt, making for a smaller price-earnings ratio.
Still, Hertz's valuation looks lofty compared with rivals Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE:DTG ) and Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAR ), which trade at about 17 and 16 times earnings respectively, according to Reuters Estimates.
The Hertz investors are set to reap a paper gain of nearly $4 billion on $2.3 billion they invested less than a year ago.
The three firms will also receive a special dividend of up to $642 million from Hertz if the deal prices at the midpoint of the range and the underwriters exercise their option to sell 13 million additional shares.
In June, the investors used a $1 billion loan and cash on hand to pay a $999.2 million dividend to current stockholders.
Source Yahoo! Finance
Private equity investors, whose appetite for acquisitions is fueling a surge in overall M&A activity, have been shortening the time between leveraged buyouts and the initial public offerings they often use to cash out on the deals.
Companies are also boosting offering sizes after paying themselves larger dividends and loading up with debt.
"When you have so much money in these deals, it increases the pressure to an enormous degree to get liquidity," said Tom Taulli, founder of InvestorOffering.com. "Investors are pushing for faster turnarounds and the deals are becoming flips as opposed to investments."
ML Global Private Equity Fund LP, an affiliate of Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER), and buyout firms Carlyle Group and Clayton Dubilier & Rice bought Hertz from Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) last December for $5.6 billion, or $15 billion including debt.
Park Ridge, New Jersey-based Hertz, which also has one of the largest equipment rental businesses in the United States, is scheduled to float about 88 million shares on Wednesday, or about 27.5 percent of the company, according to a prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
COULD BE NO. 2 U.S. IPO
The company could raise more than $1.8 billion if the shares price at the top of a $16 to $18 forecast range and over-allotment options are exercised. The company would also be valued at about $5.8 billion.
At an $18 share price, Hertz would be the No. 2 U.S. IPO this year after the $2.6 billion float of credit card association MasterCard (NYSE:MA ).
At that price, Hertz would trade at 57 times annualized earnings, based on current earnings, which are depressed by debt service payments, according to Francis Gaskins president of IPO Desktop, a research firm based in Marina del Rey, California.
Actual earnings would be higher once the IPO proceeds are used to pay down debt, making for a smaller price-earnings ratio.
Still, Hertz's valuation looks lofty compared with rivals Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE:DTG ) and Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NYSE:CAR ), which trade at about 17 and 16 times earnings respectively, according to Reuters Estimates.
The Hertz investors are set to reap a paper gain of nearly $4 billion on $2.3 billion they invested less than a year ago.
The three firms will also receive a special dividend of up to $642 million from Hertz if the deal prices at the midpoint of the range and the underwriters exercise their option to sell 13 million additional shares.
In June, the investors used a $1 billion loan and cash on hand to pay a $999.2 million dividend to current stockholders.
Source Yahoo! Finance
Sunday, November 12, 2006
accounting information
The objective of accounting information is to enable decision makers to improve the allocation of resources which they control and to assess the actual results of their decisions against forecasted results.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Emerging markets drive forex reserves
Very comprehensive commentary on the current state of Forex markets and relationship between currencies of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries, their holding in dollar denominated assets. Full text on Forexblog
Money managers bet on cheap mining stocks
By Pratima Desai
LONDON (Reuters) - Fund managers are piling into mining stocks because they are cheap and do not reflect the strength of metals prices that by historical standards are still very high.
Copper, which accounts for almost 30 percent of British miners' earnings, jumped by nearly 85 percent to $8,800 a tonne between August 2002 and May this year.
Prices have fallen since May, but most of the gains bar about 17 percent are still intact.
The sell-off was precipitated by fears of a U.S.-led global economic slowdown, rising inflationary pressure and significantly higher interest rates around the world.
Share prices of leading British miners shot up by an average of around 70 percent between August 2002 and May this year, since when they have tumbled by nearly 20 percent.
"The sell-off ... is really overdone. The fundamentals really haven't changed substantially," said Aljoscha Haesen, senior analyst at British fund manager Forsyth Partners.
"The (fund) managers are taking advantage of these sell-offs in equity prices and are buying quality companies at valuations that are still very compelling."
The market's failure to appreciate the value of natural resource companies is why private equity funds which rarely foray into mining are scouting the sector, managers say
Source Reuters
LONDON (Reuters) - Fund managers are piling into mining stocks because they are cheap and do not reflect the strength of metals prices that by historical standards are still very high.
Copper, which accounts for almost 30 percent of British miners' earnings, jumped by nearly 85 percent to $8,800 a tonne between August 2002 and May this year.
Prices have fallen since May, but most of the gains bar about 17 percent are still intact.
The sell-off was precipitated by fears of a U.S.-led global economic slowdown, rising inflationary pressure and significantly higher interest rates around the world.
Share prices of leading British miners shot up by an average of around 70 percent between August 2002 and May this year, since when they have tumbled by nearly 20 percent.
"The sell-off ... is really overdone. The fundamentals really haven't changed substantially," said Aljoscha Haesen, senior analyst at British fund manager Forsyth Partners.
"The (fund) managers are taking advantage of these sell-offs in equity prices and are buying quality companies at valuations that are still very compelling."
The market's failure to appreciate the value of natural resource companies is why private equity funds which rarely foray into mining are scouting the sector, managers say
Source Reuters
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