Month: May 2014

The beleaguered smartphone maker Blackberry Ltd. ( BBRY ) has decided to enter the lucrative machine-to-machine (M2M) wireless communications market. Management has undertaken “Project Ion” to help business enterprises to provide a seamless connection between people, devices and machines for greater value addition […]

Motorola Solutions Inc. ( MSI ) has teamed up with 3M Company ( MMM ) to distribute headsets from the 3M Peltor Heavy-Duty Headset portfolio. […]

We issued an updated research report on Kennametal Inc. ( KMT ) on May 16, 2014. The company reported improved year-over-year results for the third quarter of fiscal 2014 (ended Mar 31, 2014) […]

United Fire Group, Inc . ( UFCS ) increased its quarterly dividend by 11% to 20 cents per share. The increased dividend will be paid on Jun 16, 2014 to shareholders of record on Jun 2. […]

U.S. cable MSOs (multi service operators) have a reason to smile as the cable TV industry commands the majority share of the high-speed broadband (Internet) market in the U.S., steering past the telecom industry. This came as a respite for the cable TV operators who have been gradually losing their foothold in the core video market to fiber-based telecom operators and online video streaming service providers […]

Ford Motor Co. ( F ) announced that the new F-650/F-750 medium-duty truck lineup featuring the 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8 turbo diesel will come with three engine power ratings. This will provide the best-in-class standard diesel horsepower and torque […]

The board of directors of media and film producing company, Viacom Inc. ( VIAB ) raised the quarterly cash dividend to 33 cents from 30 cents per class A and class B common share. The increased dividend will be payable on Jul 1, 2014 to shareholders of record at the close of market on Jun 13, 2014. […]

T he Dow Chemical Company ’s ( DOW ) subsidiary Dow AgroSciences has launched a food security initiative in Africa in collaboration with AMPATH, an Indiana University-led consortium. Through the initiative, Dow AgroSciences and AMPATH will educate the people in Africa to fight hunger by offering local farmers with agricultural knowledge that will help them to improve their crop yield and hence their quality of life. Dow AgroSciences is sending its employees to Kenya to work with AMPATH so that they can learn about the agricultural practices and create ideas to improve local food security in the region. […]

ARB Inc., a unit of the West Construction Services segment of Primoris Services Corporation ( PRIM ) has secured a new underground contract from a major utility customer worth $200 million. The deal covers pipeline safety and replacement work in Southern California. In 2010, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) launched a pipeline safety rulemaking proceeding to provide new safety and reliability regulations for natural gas pipelines […]

Moody's Investors Service, a leading credit rating agency, withdrew ManTech International Corporation 's ( MANT ) credit rating. The repeal was subsequent to the company’s redemption of its $200 million debt on Apr 15. It has presently eliminated all debt off its balance sheet. […]

The board of directors of American Tower Corporation ( AMT ) – a leading global wireless communications tower operator – has approved a hike of 6.3% in the company’s quarterly cash dividend to 34 cents per share of its common stock. The increased dividend will be paid on July 16, 2014 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 17, 2014. We believe the dividend increment is supported by American Tower’s blockbuster financial numbers for the first quarter of 2014, which came on the back increased deployment of 3G/4G networks and aggressive buying of towers in emerging markets. […]

Shares of James Hardie Industries plc ( JHX ) gained around 3.4% after the company reported strong results for fourth-quarter fiscal 2014 (ended Mar 31, 2014). Adjusted earnings improved 43% to 10 cents per share from the prior-year quarter figure of 7 cents. Including asbestos and New Zealand product liability and tax adjustments as well as Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) expenses, the company recorded a loss of 42 cents a share, wider than loss per share of 16 cents in the year-ago quarter. […]