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Aegon NV an Exceptional Value - Analyst Blog

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 15:54:00 GMT

We are maintaining our Buy recommendation on Aegon NV (AN) after its third quarter results. While the current environment will be challenging for investment portfolios, we think that, at its current multiple, the stock trades at a significant discount to its peers. Our six-month target price is $7.00. Aegon stock has declined significantly along with the recent market sell-off. At current multiple of 4.8x our current 2008 EPS and 0.3x book value, fundamentally we think that there will be potential gain for stock in the near term. Headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, Aegon N.V. provides a multitude of insurance and pension-based saving and investment solutions. It is one of the world s ten largest life insurance companies ranked by assets, profits and market capitalization. [More...]

Analyst Comments: SMI, Gushan, Priceline, ArthroCare, ZOLL Medical, Orchid Cellmark, Charlotte Russe, Hoku Scientific, 3SBio, Skechers, Coca-Cola Hellenic

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:17:00 GMT

Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMI) is a Chinese semiconductor foundry company with multiple integrated chip wafer fabrication plants. SMI is the largest foundry company in China (third largest worldwide) and operates multiple plants and fabrication (fab) lines. Strategic alliances with Chartered, Toshiba, Infineon (IFX), Fujitsu, Motorola (MOT), Elpida and IMEC have provided access to intellectual property (IP) associated with a variety of semiconductor process technologies. We remain concerned regarding operational performance in the near-term given severe price declines in DRAM. The firm has announced they plan to exit the DRAM business. We[More...]

Friends Don't Let Friends Buy Stocks - Look at State Street

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 23:34:00 GMT

Wow, total panic out there. State Street (STT) is supposed to be a safe asset manager type of financial institution - it's down 40% - oh wait, it's rebounded to only down 30%. Now S&P can downgrade its debt, credit spreads can widen and we can take it to[More...]

Analyst Comments: Chunghwa Telecom, PG&E Corporation, Valspar, Estee Lauder, PALM, GameStop, Kinross Gold, Denbury Resources, Aegon, Biogen Idec, General Dynamics

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:07:00 GMT

We maintain our Buy recommendation and the same valuation target for Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd. (CHT), the largest integrated telecom operator in Taiwan, ahead of its second quarter fiscal 2008 earnings results.[More...]

Preferred Stocks for A Volatile Market

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 15:54:37 GMT

Several readers and podcast listeners have recently emailed in questions concerning preferred stocks. It seems that these inquiries were prompted because of the levels of low-yielding cash positions they are amassing within their portfolios. So, here are a few pointers.Preferred stocks have long been thought of as a safe haven from many of the nasty downturns that occur from time to time within the equity markets. Now seems to be one of those times. During the first few trading days of 2008 the unusually high volatility is adding to an already tense situation on Wall Street. The dreaded “R” word has been appearing in conversations as we see additional data points that are moving us steadily towards a slowing economy.The alternatives for investors are contracting, particularly when we see many positions hit hard without much logic or notice. A glance at the recent 52-week high/low list for January shows a disproportionate number of names making lows. Unles[More...]

Game on!

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:43:50 GMT

At last it's time to put up or shut up.....or, given the market torpor of the last couple of weeks, perhaps it's just time to wake up. Today sees the last FOMC announcement of 2007, and with it the the provision of the next dose of liquidity to financial markets.A broad consensus has devleoped that the FOMC will deliver 0.25% on the funds rate and 0.50% on the discount rate. The latter move, if carried out, would appear to be largely symbolic, as it would still represent a punitive rate accessible by a limited number of borrowers. Were the Fed to re-invent the discount window as offering liquidity at an actual discount to Fed funds , while at the same time broadening its scope, then we could perhaps call the beginning of the end of the seizing up of short term money markets. Word on the street is that this is highly unlikely to happen, so it could well be the case that tonight's announcement is something of an anticlimax.The last week[More...]