Robert Half International Earnings Analysis

Staffing specialist Robert Half International delivered a solid set of third-quarter earnings, with management making positive noises about future growth prospects. Indeed, they clearly believe that more growth is coming, because the hiring company is itself hiring in order to capitalize on hot areas in the recruitment market. Time to look more closely at the results.


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The Bullish Case for Deere & Company Stock

It's been a difficult year for investors in the agricultural machinery sector, as key crop prices have continued to fall, putting pressure on farmers' incomes and willingness to spend on new machinery. Consequently, the leading players in the industry, including Deere & Company have underperformed the broader market. However, a recent report from PricewaterhouseCoopers titled "China's Agricultural Challenges" helps shed light on the long-term bullish case for buying agribusiness stocks. Let's look at the key arguments.


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Alcoa Sets the Tone for Eanings Season

Alcoa earnings usually set the tone for the earnings season, and not just because of the "AA" ticker. Its position as a major aluminum and alumina supplier means if companies are cutting back or increasing production, then Alcoa will hear about it first. Moreover, CEO Klaus Kleinfeld always gives good commentary on the company's trading environment. Let's run down the major changes in its end-market outlook and take a guess at how the earnings season will shape up for the industrial sector.


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Goldman Sachs Thinks You Should Sell These Stocks

In a recent quarterly chartbook, Goldman Sachs analysts recommended 40 stocks to buy and 40 to sell. The only major industrial company on the buy list is Johnson Controls, but there are a plethora of industrials on the sell list. Of course, that doesn't mean you should sell; in fact, sometimes it's a good idea to buy stocks the investment community has given up on.

Let's take a look at some of them and examine what you need to know before buying into these stocks unloved by Goldman Sachs analysts.




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Where is Wells Fargo Headed?

According to Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf, the bank's third-quarter results reflected its diversified business model's ability to "generate consistent financial performance in an uneven economic environment." It's a good way to summarize the challenges that Wells Fargo has been meeting this year within a difficult trading environment. That said, let's take a look at the key themes in the earnings report and what the bank has been doing to generate earnings growth.


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General Electric Company Order Book

General Electric Company is the largest industrials company in the U.S., and with the sector being highly cyclical, looking at the company's order book will reveal much about the economy as a whole. That said, each company has its own specific end markets, and General Electric is no different, so let's take a detailed look at what the company's order trends are saying about the economy and the investment themes that might be at work going forward.

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FedEx Corporation Free Cash Flow

One of the ongoing concerns that FedEx Corporation  investors have is its cash flow generation. In short, FedEx's free cash flow generation has consistently lagged that of rival United Parcel Service . With this in mind, let's look at the facts and ask what's been going on with FedEx's cash flow generation. The key question being: does its history of weak free cash flow generation mean the stock should be avoided?


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FedEx Corporation and United Parcel Service Preparing for Peak

During most of the year, package delivery companies FedEx Corporation  and United Parcel Service attract little attention from the public, but that all changes come the holiday season if they don't deliver packages on time. However, investors should also focus on the holiday period because dealing with peak demand is probably the biggest variable in both companies' earnings. Let's look at what both companies are doing to prepare for peak demand during the upcoming holiday season.


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McCormick & Company's Troubles in India

Spices and seasonings business McCormick & Company  delivered a mixed set of third-quarter earnings Thursday morning, but disappointed the market by guiding toward the lower end of its full-year earnings-per-share guidance range. The company's underlying revenue and earnings growth continues to be masked by unfavorable currency movements. Meanwhile, just as McCormick is achieving success in dealing with some of the weaker areas of its business, it's seeing weakness in its majority-owned India spice business, Kohinoor, and the ill effects of a decline in the Mexican peso. Let's take a closer look at what's going on.


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AZZ Incorporated Outperforms the S & P 500

Unlike many stocks in the industrial sector, AZZ Incorporated has significantly outperformed the S&P 500 in the last year. However, this isn't really due to any large help from its end markets.

Instead, the company has executed well on its plan to recover margins in its energy segment while increasing growth opportunities in the galvanizing segment with the acquisition of U.S. Galvanzing from Trinity Industries and the planned construction of a new galvanizing plant in Nevada. It's pretty much a "self-help" story, and the recent second-quarter results acted as confirmation of the progress the company has made. Let's take a closer look:


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Time to Buy Illinois Tool Works?

Diversified industrial giant Illinois Tool Works stock has notably underperformed the S&P 500 this year -- however, it's not the only one. As the chart below shows, many industrial stalwarts have gotten caught in the headwinds building up against the sector. The stronger U.S. dollar, a soft capital spending environment, declining energy capital expenditures, and weaker growth in China and other emerging markets have made conditions difficult. That said, the company's execution of its five-year enterprise strategy remains on track, and much of its operational effectiveness looks set to improve. Does this make the current weakness a buying opportunity for you?


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What Went Wrong With Cognex Corporation in 2015?

It's always punishing when growth stocks fail to live up to expectations, and investors in machine vision company Cognex  certainly weren't spared a sharp fall after it disappointed investors with its guidance at the time of the second-quarter results. However, since then the stock has recovered some lost ground. What exactly went wrong in 2015? And is it symptomatic of a deeper underlying problem?


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Where is United Technologies Headed?

Ever since the abrupt retirement of former CEO Louis Chenevert in November 2014, the market has speculated over the future strategic direction of United Technologies. A change of CEO often means a change of direction, and given that the stock is down more than 18% this year, investors will be questioning whether CEO Gregory Hayes is taking the company on the right path. Let's take a closer look and try to answer this question.


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What Went Wrong With FedEx Corporation Earnings?

When the global economy sneezes, it's highly likely that package delivery companies like FedEx  and United Parcel Service will catch a cold. As a consequence, it's hardly surprising that FedEx's first-quarter results disappointed the market. Essentially, the company missed analyst earnings estimates and downgraded its EPS guidance for fiscal 2016 -- and don't forget that this is only the first quarter. Time to take a closer look at the earnings report


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Deere & Company Faces Two Big Near Term Risks

In a previous article, I looked at the current trends within Deere & Company's trading environment and concluded that the near-term risk was rising, even if the long-term case for the stock was still intact. For the benefit of readers looking for a deeper outline of the near-term risks, I've a created a graphical depiction below of what these rising risks are.

Let's take a closer look at what's going on.


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Gerneral Electric Growth Prospects

Investors in General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) no doubt already know about CEO Jeffrey Immelt's aim to return the company back to its industrial roots. So far the plan is working well in terms of divesting assets from GE Capital. Meanwhile, the company is developing its long-term growth opportunities with initiatives such as the industrial Internet and services. But the core driver of its earnings remains its industrial hardware solutions. The company has three new major product lines that are representative of its success in transitioning back to its industrial roots.
Let's take a closer look at the early indicators of their success


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Deere's Management Speaks

The best-case scenario for investors in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) is that crop prices rise, leading to an increase in farmers' incomes and ultimately a pickup in spending on large agricultural machinery. However, until that happens, the company will have to weather the storm of declining sales and weakening economic conditions within emerging markets. The question now is: How is the company adjusting to weakening conditions? Here is a look at five things you need to know about Deere's current trends.


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Stocks to Buy and Hold for the Next 20 Years

When you are looking at stocks worth committing to for a long time, it's usually a good idea to have a high degree of confidence in the company's underlying earnings drivers. The four stocks outlined below have significantly different long-term trends guiding their prospects, but each of the trends is already in place.


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Time to Buy Johnson Controls?

After the S&P 500's recent falls, many investors will be looking at picking up some stocks at bargain-basement prices, and Johnson Controls  could fit the bill. Since trading around the $50 mark in June, the stock is off around 20% as I write. The move has attracted Goldman Sachs analysts, who recently upgraded the stock from "neutral" to "buy," saying the market has already priced in the heightened risk in the automotive sector in China. It's not a view that I share, and it should be noted that Goldman Sachs was recently hired to give financial advice for the spinoff of the company's automotive experience segment. With that said, let's look at five takeaways from the third-quarter earnings call that might be support the bullish case for the stock.


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Tupperware and Avon Products to Cut Dividend?

Many investors love dividends, but all of them hate stocks that unexpectedly cut dividends. In the cases of Avon Products and Tupperware Brands Corporation, I think there is cause for worry. I have quantitative and qualitative concerns about both companies and their ability to continue to pay the kinds of dividends that investors have gotten used to in the last few years. With that said, let's take a closer look.


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Can Deere & Company Stock Bounce Back?

Now that the dust has settled on Deere & Company's (NYSE:DE) earnings, it's time to take a closer look at the ongoing trends in its business. The stock has, superficially at least, some very attractive qualities.

The food industry is relatively noncyclically aligned and offers investors the potential to generate positive returns irrespective of where the economy is headed. Meanwhile, Deere investors will be hoping that 2015 sees a trough in its earnings. With that said, the company's third-quarter earnings and guidance were disappointing, and there is no sign that Deere's difficult end markets are picking up just yet.

So where does this leave the case for buying stock in Deere?


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Emerson Electric's Difficult 2015

Investors in Emerson Electric  already know the company had a difficult 2015, with a combination of negative trends forcing management to lower revenue and earnings estimates throughout its fiscal year. The last earnings report wasn't pretty, and as of this writing, the stock has declined around 20% year to date. However, no stock goes down forever, and the stock's forward annual yield of 3.8% is obviously going to attract dividend hunters. With that said, let's look at the five things management wants you to know about its current trading and future prospects.


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Special Situations Stocks to Buy and Sell

Special-situations investing describes when stocks experience some kind of corporate event that might lead the market to revalue them, and that leads investors to consider buying shares in anticipation of the valuation change. General Electric Company, Danaher Corporation, and Johnson Controls are all in the process of spinning off businesses and restructuring their companies. As such, they will all look fundamentally different in the next year or so. However, I believe that the former two have a good chance of outperforming the market, while Johnson Controls has more downside risk. Here's why.


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United Parcel Service's Good Quarter

The current earnings season has been disappointing for the industrial sector, but United Parcel Service, managed to buck the trend with its set of second-quarter results. In truth, the positive news was more about the company's execution rather than any help from the macro environment. With that said, let's take a closer look at five of the key things management wants you to know about the quarter, and what it means for the company in 2015.


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Home Depot Earnings Signal a Strong Housing Market

In an earnings season marked by talk of slowing U.S. growth, Home Depot's (NYSE second quarter served notice that the housing market remains in good health. The market would have been excused for some apprehension ahead of the earnings report. After all, painting company Sherwin-Williams, which works in an industry closely allied with spending on housing, was forced to reduce its full-year guidance amid talk of "unprecedented rainfall" that reduced end-demand growth in the United States. However, Home Depot raised full-year guidance, and the market promptly took the stock to an all-time high. Let's take a closer look at the earnings


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Danaher Corporation Earnings Call

It's been a difficult reporting season for the industrial sector, but Danaher Corporation stands out from its peer group in terms of results and prospects. A mix of favorable end-market exposure, corporate restructuring activity (management intends to split the company into two separate parts), and excitement over its intended $13.8 billion purchase of Pall Corp. has led to the stock's outperformance versus the market and its peer group in 2015.


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Cisco Systens Earnings Analysis

Chuck Robbins got his tenure as CEO of Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) off to a good start by delivering earnings ahead of analyst estimates. While all eyes will be on the new management in the coming quarters to see any restructuring of Cisco's portfolio, the immediate focus is on how its businesses are performing right now. With this in mind, let's take a closer look at the key numbers in the earnings report.


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Stocks to Beat Crime

NICE Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:NICE) specializes in hardware and software that captures and analyzes customer interactions across a multitude of platforms -- very useful for crime prevention. Meanwhile, Allegion Plc (NYSE:ALLE) manufactures security doors and locks for use by corporations and homes alike. Let's take a brief look at both companies and what makes them attractive for this investing theme.


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Time to Buy Stock in PPG Industries?

Painting and coatings manufacturer PPG Industries is a curious beast. On one hand, it's a true Dividend Aristocrat, having raised its dividend for the last 43 years at a compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, of 7% -- making it attractive to dividend seekers. On the other hand, its mid-teens growth rate and trailing P/E of around 27 times earnings make it the kind of stock only growth investors will take a look at. However, I'm going to introduce a third hand into consideration, and ask whether PPG Industries stock is a buy right now.


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