Month: September 2011

The weaknesses prevailing in the housing and construction industry in the U.S. have once again come to the fore as the National Association of Home Builders lowered its September outlook. […]

We have retained our Neutral recommendation on independent oil and gas explorer Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. ( CNQ ). […]

We are upgrading H&R Block Inc. ( HRB ) to Outperform from Neutral as the company reported a lower-than-expected loss in the quarter besides divesting RSM McGladrey to augment the performance of its core tax business. In a concerted effort to augment the performance of its core tax business, H&R Block Inc. […]

Saul Centers Inc. ( BFS ) recently announced the acquisition of three Giant food-anchored shopping centers in Washington, DC for $168.5 million. The acquired shopping centers are located in the Baltimore area, encompassing 635,000 square feet of space, of which 98% is currently leased […]

Aesthetic products company Syneron Medical ( ELOS ) recently announced that its “elure” advanced skin lightening pro ducts have clinched the prestigious “Best of Beauty award” in Allure magazine. The Israel-based company has won the award for both the elure advanced skin -lightening lotion and the elure advanced lightening night cream in the “Big Breakthroughs” category. All ure is a leading be auty magazine for U.S […]

Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. ( FCX ) announced a partnership with the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, whereby the later will develop new women’s entrepreneurship programs in Chile and Peru. Previously, Thunderbird has developed and run women’s and other entrepreneurship programs in some other foreign markets including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Jordan and a separate program in Peru […]

We recently upgraded our recommendation on Universal Technical Institute, Inc. ( UTI ) to Neutral with a price target of $14.00 following its third-quarter 2011 results. […]

On Friday, Humana Inc. ( HUM ) announced a deal to acquire California-based MD Care for an undisclosed amount. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, after obtaining approval from both state and federal regulatory bodies […]

In its weekly release, Houston-based oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. ( BHI ) reported a rise in the U.S. rig count (number of rigs searching for oil and gas in the country) to its highest level since November 7, 2008 […]