FeedPosted Nov 4th 2009 11:40AM by Steven Halpern (RSS feed)
Filed under: Newsletters, AFLAC Inc (AFL), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Stocks to Buy
"One way to build an inflation hedge into your investment cash flows is to focus on stocks that are likely to boost their dividends on a regular basis," explains dividend specialist Chuck Carlson.
In his The DRIP Investor, which focuses on blue chip companies offering dividend reinvestment programs, he notes, "Since dividends are paid with cold cash, they can't be faked. Either you pay the dividend or you don't. They can't be some figment of accounting magic." Here, he looks at three favorite blue chips with strong dividend records.
Continue reading Dividend growth trio: Aflac, Medtronic and Colgate-Palmolive
Posted Oct 31st 2009 10:10AM by Trey Thoelcke (RSS feed)
Filed under: Daimler (DAI), Sprint Nextel Corp (S), AFLAC Inc (AFL), Avon Products (AVP), Kellogg Co (K), Hershey Co (HSY), Procter and Gamble (PG), BP p.l.c. ADS (BP), McGraw-Hill Companies (MHP), General Dynamics Corp (GD), Nintendo (NTDOY)
Continue reading Earnings highlights: Aflac, Avon, BP, Hershey, Kellogg, Nintendo, P&G, Sprint ...
Posted Sep 22nd 2009 5:00PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: AFLAC Inc (AFL), Stocks to Buy

It appears the market is finally starting to see the value in
Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:
AFL), hence it goes without saying that I'm reiterating my Buy rating for company, first recommended
on May 28, 2009 at a price of $36.07.
Aflac is another one of those insurers that was rudely treated by Wall Street during the panicked frenzy that gripped markets with the onset of the financial crisis. And it was rude: the Street took AFL's shares from a high of $68 to about $11, basically on the fear that Aflac would incur major losses from European bank hybrid bonds, including the threat of bank nationalization.
Continue reading Aflac is in an uptrend
Posted Aug 19th 2009 5:00PM by John Jagerson (RSS feed)
Filed under: Aetna Inc (AET), AFLAC Inc (AFL)

Regardless of how you feel about a public health insurance option offered by the government, interest at the policy level seems to be waning recently. If Democrats drop the idea of a public option as a component of health care reform, health insurance companies could benefit.
The way I see it, if the government starts offering health insurance as a public provider then new supply will have entered the market. According to my college Econ 101 text book, that new supply would have shifted the supply and demand curves towards lower prices and maybe lower profits.
Continue reading Dropping the 'public option' could insure some stocks' health
Posted Aug 17th 2009 4:00PM by Jon Ogg (RSS feed)
Filed under: Aetna Inc (AET), AFLAC Inc (AFL), Lowe's Cos (LOW), E*TRADE (ETFC)

Today's weakness was due to two issues. First was a much needed pullback after a monster run-up in the markets. Second was a weak Asian market turnout that spilled over to the west on concerns that maybe the recent gains did not add up to as high as share prices had gone. The stronger NY Fed District manufacturing data was merely a footnote. The bears might claim a decisive victory because there were no major rallies, but keep in mind that this is a summer Monday with light trading desks.
Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:
Dow 9,135.34 -186.06 (-2.00%)
S&P 500 979.72 -24.37 (-2.43%)
Nasdaq 1,930.84 -54.68 (-2.75%)
Top 10 Analyst CallsContinue reading Closing Bell: Bears win decisive victory, sort of (AET, AFL, AEZS, FSLR, LOW)
Posted Jul 26th 2009 12:30PM by Trey Thoelcke (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, AFLAC Inc (AFL), MasterCard Inc'A' (MA)
The earnings crunch rolls on this coming week, with quarterly reports expected from Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), Kellogg (NYSE: K), MasterCard (NYSE: MA), Motorola (NYSE: MOT), Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S), Travelers (NYSE: TRV), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), U.S. Steel (NYSE: X), Viacom (NYSE: VIA), Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS), and many others.
Below are some reporting companies for which analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters have high hopes. What does that mean? Well, all of them are expected to report double-digit earnings grown in the most recent quarter. They have tended to offer positive surprises in recent quarters. They have long-term EPS growth forecasts of greater than 10%, and they have earnings multiples that are higher than their industry or sector averages, or higher than at least one top competitor. And they all have First Call consensus recommendations to buy.
Continue reading The week in preview: Some expected earnings winners
Posted Jul 19th 2009 12:00PM by Jamie Dlugosch (RSS feed)
Filed under: AFLAC Inc (AFL), Eastman Kodak (EK), Stocks to Sell
Investors continued to sell Eastman Kodak (NYSE: EK) during the second quarter, and shares bottomed at $2 per share.
Looking forward, I recently added Eastman Kodak to my Penny Stock Winners model portfolio as a buy recommendation.
In my opinion, the carnage at Eastman Kodak has been complete and the upside benefit of the digtal revolution is worth the speculation. The company may never fully recover from the last few years, but a small improvement in operations can result in big gains in the stock.
I would be a buyer of Eastman Kodak at these prices.
Next: Stock to Avoid #10
Posted May 28th 2009 5:40PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: AFLAC Inc (AFL), Stocks to Buy
The market's flight-to-safety in late 2008/early 2009 spared few sectors, and it did not exempt the insurance sector, the upside of which is an insurance value or two for investors, and Aflac is one.
Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) is another one of those insurers that was rudely treated by Wall Street during the panic and paranoia that gripped markets with the onset of the global financial crisis. And it was rude: the Street took AFL's shares from a high of $68 to about $11, basically on the fear that Alfac would incur major losses from European bank hybrid bonds, including the threat of bank nationalization. To be sure, given the opaqueness surrounding much of the financial crisis, an AFL hair-cut was in order, but an 80% price drop? Please.
Continue reading Aflac's recent stock price rise is no accident
Posted Feb 25th 2009 8:56AM by Allan Halprin (RSS feed)
Filed under: Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), General Electric (GE), Citigroup Inc. (C), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Money and Finance Today, Abbott Laboratories (ABT), AFLAC Inc (AFL), American Express (AXP), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), Consolidated Edison (ED), Verizon Communications (VZ), News Corp'B' (NWS), UAL Corp (UAUA), Lilly (Eli) (LLY)
Continue reading 5% dividends you can believe in, is your pension safe? & 9 optimistic people - Today in Money 2/25
Posted Feb 1st 2009 12:30PM by Trey Thoelcke (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, AFLAC Inc (AFL), Avon Products (AVP), MasterCard Inc'A' (MA), Northrop Grumman (NOC)
If you've been watching earnings this past week, or if you read last week's Week in Preview, then this coming week may leave you feeling a bit like Bill Murray in Groundhog's Day. That is, again analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect earnings declines to be more frequent and deeper than earnings gains.
Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT), Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW), Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC), IAC Interactivecorp (NASDAQ: IACI), Moody's Corp. (NYSE: MCO), Elizabeth Arden Inc. (NASDAQ: RDEN), Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE: DVN), Diebold Inc. (NYSE: DBD), Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC), United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS), Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL), ITT Corp. (NYSE: ITT), and Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) are scheduled to report quarterly results this week, and they're all expected to report double-digit declines in earnings.
But again this week, let's take a look who Wall Street feels may have done well in the past quarter.
Continue reading The week in preview: High hopes for MasterCard, Avon, Aflac, Northrop Grumman
Posted Nov 7th 2008 9:24AM by Allan Halprin (RSS feed)
Filed under: Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Wal-Mart (WMT), Coca-Cola (KO), PepsiCo (PEP), Ford Motor (F), Exxon Mobil (XOM), McDonald's (MCD), Walt Disney (DIS), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), Sprint Nextel Corp (S), Money and Finance Today, Abbott Laboratories (ABT), AFLAC Inc (AFL), Family Dollar Stores (FDO), Procter and Gamble (PG), Kimberly-Clark (KMB), Mattel, Inc (MAT), Nordstrom, Inc (JWN)
In the News:
Dividend Stocks: The S&P EliteThese 28 companies have boosted their payouts in each of the past 25 years with top S&P STARS rankings. They include Abbott Labs, Aflac, Coca-Cola, ExxonMobil, Family Dollar, J&J, Kimberly-Clark, McDonalds, Pepsi, P&G, 3M, Wal-Mart and more.
http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/nov2008/pi2008116_893947.htm
Tax Changes Coming, But When?Taxpayers' bills will very likely change under President-elect Barack Obama's administration, but don't hold your breath for major tax changes as soon as he takes office. Here is what you can expect and when.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Obamas-plans-may-delayed-your/story.aspx?guid=%7B06D020A6%2D9797%2D4B89%2DB48C%2D6037BDA934FD%7D
Continue reading Dividend stocks; the S&P elite, when will tax changes come?, and Obama mementos a good investment? - Today in Money 11/7
Posted Oct 10th 2008 9:19AM by Jim Cramer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Forecasts, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Market matters, Citigroup Inc. (C), AFLAC Inc (AFL), Bank of America (BAC), Chesapeake Energy (CHK), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Comerica Inc (CMA), General Mills (GIS), Morgan Stanley (MS), Procter and Gamble (PG), , Freep't McMoRan Copper (FCX), Stocks to Buy, Cramer on BloggingStocks, Financial Crisis, MetLife Inc. (MET)
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the safety theme will come back if only because these companies' earnings will be good in six months. Editor's note: Jim Cramer will present his 2009 stock outlook for the first time at TheStreet.com Investment Conference on Saturday, Oct. 25.
Click for details.
Now they come after the
Procter & Gambles (NYSE:
PG) (
Cramer's Take) and the
General Mills (NYSE:
GIS) (
Cramer's Take) and the like, betting that the action will be better in the cyclicals with all of this money being printed worldwide.
Commodities are also coming back because of reflation. And we have to feel that many of the infra and ag names are finally sold out by the hedge fund redemptions.
Here I am speaking of a
Freeport McMoRan (NYSE:
FCX) (
Cramer's Take), with its good yield and a belief that the hedge funds are at last done.
I don't buy it. I like a balanced portfolio, but I want to buy the GIS/PG all the way down because we are going into a recession, not going out of one. These companies pay dividends, raise dividends and have great commodity tailwinds.
Colgate's (NYSE:
CL) (
Cramer's Take) down a lot too, and I am liking that one.
Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Buy Procter, General Mills all the way down
Posted Jul 1st 2008 2:00PM by Steven Halpern (RSS feed)
Filed under: International markets, Newsletters, AFLAC Inc (AFL), Japan, Stocks to Buy
Aflac (NYSE: AFL) is a new addition to the "Borderless Portfolio" maintained by global expert John Christy. Here's the latest from his industry-leading Forbes International Investment Report.
"If you own a television, chances are you're quite familiar with the infamous squawking duck in Aflac's commercials. Aflac has also been in the news lately as the first American company to give shareholders a 'say on pay', or the ability to vote on executive compensation.
"Less well known, however, is Aflac's huge presence in the Japanese insurance market. In 2007, roughly
75% of the company's pre-tax operating earnings were generated in Japan.
"Alfac has been doing business in Japan for more than 30 years, and one in four Japanese households has an Aflac insurance policy. In Japan, Aflac sells healthcare policies for certain things that aren't covered by the national healthcare system, as well as life insurance. And, yes, they have a talking duck in their ads over there too.
"At a time when many financial companies are reporting massive write-offs, Aflac reiterated its target of 15% earnings growth this year, and double-digit growth in 2009. Aflac Japan is doing its part to help drive this growth with 19% operating earnings growth in the first quarter of 2008."
Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.
Posted Jun 13th 2008 11:14AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, AFLAC Inc (AFL), Analyst initiations, Time Warner Cable (TWC)
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Drugstore.com, Sycamore and Aflac were today's noteworthy initiations:
- Kaufman Bros. believes Drugstore.com (NASDAQ: DSCM) is well-positioned for long-term growth and significant margin expansion, led by share gains in the OTC and prestige beauty verticals. The firm started shares with a Buy rating and $3.25 target.
- Merriman initiated Sycamore (NASDAQ: SCMR) with a Neutral rating and prefers to be on the sidelines given the company's concentrated customer base and lack of clarity on strategic priorities and ongoing business operations.
- SunTrust Robinson expects the Aflac's (NYSE: AFL) cancer insurance policies in Japan to benefit from concerns about the national health system. Shares were assumed with a Buy rating and $79 target.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
- Caris initiated Mylan (NYSE: MYL) with a Buy rating and $18 target.
- NetSuite (NYSE: N) was assumed with a Hold rating and $22 target at Deutsche Bank.
- Stanford initiated Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) with a Buy rating and $20 target.
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