McCormick & Company (MKC) Equity Research

McCormick & Company  (NYSE: MKC  ) delivered a good set of fourth-quarter earnings that came in slightly ahead of estimates. However, investors will be equally interested in management's guidance. Let's take a look at the underlying trends in the earnings report that came out Jan. 28 and management's outlook for 2015.


READ THE FULL EQUITY RESEARCH ARTICLE LINKED

Dassault Systemes (DASTY) Equity Research

3D design software specialist Dassault Systemes  (NASDAQOTH: DASTY  ) surged by more than 10% after the company gave a strong set of results on Thursday. Given the weak environment in Europe, the market would have been entitled to be a bit concerned about its results -- after all, the company generated around 46% of its revenue in Europe in 2014 -- but its fourth-quarter earnings report was strong all around. Let's look at the numbers in more detail.


READ THE FULL EQUITY RESEARCH ARTICLE LINKED

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Equity Research

Real estate services and investment management company Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE: JLL  ) comfortably beat analyst estimates with its fourth-quarter results and signaled improving conditions within the commercial real estate market. The company offers a range of services across the industry, and as such, it's a useful barometer of global real estate conditions. So let's take a closer look at its earnings and see why the stock surged after results.


READ THE FULL EQUITY RESEARCH ARTICLE LINKED

What Went Wrong With United Parcel Service (UPS) Stock?

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS  ) investors already knew that the company's fourth-quarter earnings would fall short of previous expectations for EPS of $1.47-- the company gave preliminary figures on Jan. 23. At that time, management shocked the market by predicting its adjusted diluted EPS for the fourth quarter would come in at $1.25. The figure duly came in as expected with the release of its results today.



With that said, investors will be wondering just how UPS managed to disappoint for the second holiday season in a row. In addition, what is the company doing to address its issues?


READ THE FULL EQUITY RESEARCH ARTICLE LINKED

Danaher Corporation (DHR) Equity Research

It's hard not to like diversified industrial Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR  ) . Its management tends to underpromise and overdeliver on earnings, which is usually a good thing for investors. Meanwhile, its model of reinvesting cash flow to make earnings-enhancing acquisitions continues to serve investors handsomely. If you are looking for a solidly growing company, on attractive valuation, then Danaher might fit the bill. The recent fourth-quarter results confirmed many of these themes, so let's take a look.


READ THE FULL EQUITY RESEARCH ARTICLE LINKED

Robert Half International Earnings Analysis

The world's largest specialized staffing company, Robert Half International  (NYSE: RHI  ) , delivered a broadly positive set of fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday. In addition, management's commentary alluded to a tangible and positive shift in employment conditions. particularly in the U.S. As such, the company has entered the year in good shape, and the recent results contained many useful indicators of what its end markets could be like in 2015. Let's take a look at them in more detail.


READ THE FULL EQUITY RESEARCH ARTICLE LINKED

Check Point Software (CHKP) Equity Research

In a nutshell, Network security company Check Point Software (NASDAQ: CHKP  ) pleased the market delivering results at the top end of expectations. In doing so, it also announced its intent to increase investment in order to accelerate future revenue growth. Of course, more investment usually results in companies suffering an initial drag on earnings before generating higher profits down the line. Indeed, company guidance indicates this dynamic at play in 2015. Let's take a closer look at the results.


READ THE FULL EQUITY RESEARCH ARTICLE LINKED

Johnson Controls Earnings Call

Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI  ) delivered an impressive set of first-quarter results last week, and investors must be feeling pretty good about the company's prospects in 2015. Indeed, Wall Street consensus for EPS growth is 13.2% in 2015, followed by 14.1% in 2016, even while revenue is expected to decline slightly in the period. In a nutshell, the investment case for Johnson Controls is based on its ability to restructure the company and generate margin expansion. In this context, let's look at five key takeaways from the recent earnings call, and see how management intends to generate growth. Is there more upside to come?


READ THE FULL EQUITY RESEARCH ARTICLE LINKED

Mario Gabelli and David Einhorn are Buying Chemtura Stock, Should You Follow?

When legendary investor Mario Gabelli and highly rated hedge fund manager David Einhorn both take large positions in a small-cap stock, it's usually time to take notice. Specialty chemicals producer Chemtura  (NYSE: CHMT  )  isn't the most glamorous company, but that has not stopped investment firms from buying the stock. According to a recent 13D filing, Gabelli's investment firms own nearly 12.2% of shares outstanding in Chemtura -- worth about $205 million as I write. Meanwhile, the most recent 13F filing from Einhorn's Greenlight Capital shows the investment firm holding 3,950,000 shares, currently worth about $90 million. What's behind the interest in this stock?


READ THE FULL EQUITY RESEARCH ARTICLE LINKED

Deere & Company Estimates

Investors in farming machinery giant Deere & Company (NYSE: DE  ) will be interested in the latest crop production and price forecasts from the United States Department of Agriculture. Let's dig into the numbers from the USDA crop production report and, in doing so, compare its forecasts with Deere & Company's expectations. Might Deere's guidance for 2015 have been conservative?


READ THE FULL EQUITY RESEARCH ARTICLE LINKED

Polycom (PLCM) Earnings Analysis

It's hard to know how the market will respond to the latest set of earnings from video-conferencing specialist Polycom (NASDAQ: PLCM  ) . Simply looking at the headline numbers isn't the best way to look at its fourth-quarter earnings, so let's dig into the details.


READ THE FULL EQUITY RESEARCH ARTICLE LINKED

 

Johnson Controls (JCI) Earnings Analysis

Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI  ) pleased the market by reporting first-quarter results Thursday that beat analyst estimates. Furthermore, management reaffirmed the full-year guidance given at its investor day presentation in December. The company remains in transformational mode, and its earnings confirm many of its underlying positive trends. Let's take a look at them.


READ THE FULL EQUITY RESEARCH ARTICLE LINKED

Precision Castparts Earnings

Following a preannouncement on Jan. 15, Precision Castparts  (NYSE: PCP  ) investors were already braced for a disappointing third-quarter earnings report. Wall Street analysts reduced their estimates after the preannouncement, but earnings and guidance still came in lighter than the (reduced) expectations. It was a tough quarter for Precision Castparts -- with organic sales and operating income both up 2% -- so let's take a detailed look at what went wrong in the quarter.


READ THE FULL EQUITY RESEARCH ARTICLE LINKED

3 Things tO Know About Boeing Co (BA) Stock

Boeing  (NYSE: BA  ) investors will be wondering what the stock price has in store for them this year. After a difficult start to the year, the stock has been range-bound roughly between $120 and $135. Can it break out in 2015?  To help readers answer this question, I've picked out three of the key indicators of Boeing's operations and end demand to watch this year.


READ THE FULL EQUITY RESEARCH ARTICLE LINKED HERE

What to Expect From General Electric (GE) Stock in 2015

Having suffered a disappointing 2014, General Electric  investors must be wondering what 2015 has in store. During Jeff Immelt's tenure as CEO, the company has weathered a number of unfortunate macroeconomic events. Unfortunately, the run of mishaps seems to have continued last year. Management invested heavily in oil and gas businesses, only to see the price of oil crash in late 2014. Meanwhile, GE's retail finance unit, Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF  ) , was spun off in the summer in an initial public offering for $23 per share, after which the stock price rose nearly 30% by the end of the year. With that said, investing is about what happens going forward, so how is General Electric shaping up for 2015?


READ THE FULL EQUITY RESEARCH ARTICLE LINKED

What Are Deferred Tax Assets?

Deferred-tax assets are created when a company's recorded income tax (what it reports in its income statement) is lower than that paid to the tax authority. It's usually a good thing to find on a balance sheet, because the company could receive a future tax benefit from it. In other words, if you're looking at two otherwise identical companies, the one with the deferred-tax asset is more attractive, because it could pay relatively less tax in future. Let's look in more detail and use a simple example to explain the concept.


READ THE FULL INVESTING ARTICLE LINKED

Buying a Stock When Its Ex-Dividend

One of the first questions a newbie investor asks is "When do I get paid my dividend?" The answer isn't as simple as you might think. Dividends aren't simply handed to registered shareholders on the day the dividend is paid.



Instead, companies declare a dividend to be paid on a certain day in the future to stockholders of record on an earlier date. This date is called the record date, or day of record. Once the company issues a record date, an ex-dividend date is usually set for two business days before the record date.


READ THE FULL INVESTING ARTICLE LINKED 

United Technologies (UTX) Equity Research

The coming few years are likely to be an eventful period for investors in United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX  ) . As readers already know, management recently reaffirmed some of the key long-term objectives for the company. However, as discussed in the linked article, just hitting some of these objectives seems to require a major acquisition, and new CEO, Greg Hayes, is believed to be looking at potential targets.

Meanwhile, some Wall Street analysts believe that the company can enhance shareholder value by divesting its Sikorsky helicopter unit, or splitting the company's aviation and construction activities up. In this context, let's take a look at which segment is most productive for United Technologies Corporation, and what it could mean for its strategic direction.


READ THE FULL EQUITY RESEARCH ARTICLE LINKED