The PBR1000 4th Quarter Rankings: The Race to the Finish!

November 20, 2013 by

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By Larry C. Paxton

The PBR1000 Quarterly Rankings Report 2013Q4 was released on October 30th to current subscribers of The PBR1000 and is now available to the general public. Please contact us if you are a subscriber and did not receive the email with the Excel file attached.

The usual questions pop up as we race to the end of the year. Who will have the most revenues and profits? Which companies will have the highest increase in stock prices? How will the retail sector do during the holiday season? What will be the final economic numbers for 2013 and what are the forecasts, or maybe that should be guesses in our still volatile times, for 2014? One of the many purposes of The PBR1000 is to provide some key data to help us with that analysis, and for many of us to help figure out how to position ourselves to be more successful in the future.

Highlights from The PBR1000 Quarterly Rankings Report 2013Q4 include:

  • Most data is through the end of the 3rd calendar quarter, September 30.
  • There are some data and Comments/News Briefs from October.
  • The number of companies included is 1,082.
  • New fields added include the current CEO and the year they became CEO.
  • The CEO name is hotlinked to a brief biography, generally from the corporate website.
  • The “C” column before the “Company Name” column designates the number of comments/news briefs for that company in the “Comments/News Briefs” column.

The Top 10 The PBR1000 Companies by stock price gains year to date are(Name/PBR Ranking/% gain YTD through Sept. 30th/% gain YTD through Nov. 15th):

  • AMR Corp(dba American Airlines)/109/414%/1371%
  • Fannie Mae/11/404%/1169%
  • Freddie Mac/32/385%/1085%
  • SunPower Corp/768/365%/496%
  • Zale Corp/908/270%/285%
  • Rite Aid Corp/104/250%/287%
  • Netflix/588/234%/278%
  • SuperValu/149/233%/179%
  • Best Buy/54/216%/269%
  • Caesar’s Entertainment/291/184%/187%

Similarly, The PBR1000 reports include some stock exchanges and commodities. Percent changes year to date through Sept. 30th and Nov. 15th are:

  • DJIA/15%/22%
  • NASDAQ/25%/32%
  • S&P 500/18%/26%
  • Gold/-21%/-23%
  • Silver/-28%/-32%
  • Oil/9%/0%

The PBR1000 Index is calculated by totaling up stock prices for a period for all companies tracked. Because Berkshire Hathaway(PBR5) has a significant impact on this index it is quoted with and without Berkshire Hathaway(“BH”). It is interesting to compare The PBR1000 Index with the other indices. Here are The PBR1000 index numbers percentage change for September 30, 2013, compared to December 31, 2012:

  • The PBR1000 with BH: 26%
  • The PBR1000 without BH: 23%

Note that percents are expressed in whole numbers. In the actual reports they are rounded to the nearest 2 decimal places.

The following additional reports will be released over the next few weeks, and more are being planned based on The PBR1000 subscriber feedback. These are free for The PBR1000 subscribers and available for a nominal fee for non-subscribers.

  • The PBR1000 Quarterly Rankings Report by Industry
  • The PBR1000 Quarterly Rankings Report by State

Companies removed from The PBR1000 during the 3rd quarter and reason for removal are(In alpha order, Company/PBR 3rd Quarter Rank/Reason):

  • BMC Software/816/Taken private by a consortium of equity companies
  • Gardner Denver/773/Acquired by KKR(PBR259)
  • Smithfield Foods/199/Acquired by Chinese company Shuanghui International
  • TMS International/736/Acquired by the Pritzker Organization
  • Vanguard Health Systems/366/Acquired by Tenet Healthcare(PBR255)

In October and November a lot of activity has already occurred. For example, Dell has gone private, and Office Depot and OfficeMax have merged. Check out The PBR1000 Breaking News on the www.PBRMarketTools.com home page and for recaps on the Blog page.

We are entering the holiday season. We will continue to update the PBRMarketTools homepage with breaking news, make available supplemental reports during the quarter, and look forward to providing the next The PBR1000 Quarterly Rankings Report early in 2014.

Please have a Happy and Blessed Holiday Season!

(The purpose of The PBR1000 is to provide a wide range of interested people  with key demographic, industry, financial, personnel, and comments/news briefs on over 1,000 publicly traded companies with principal offices in the US. This information is updated quarterly and published in Excel format as The PBR1000 Quarterly Rankings Report. During a quarter several supplementary reports are published as well.

Larry C. Paxton is the President/CEO of Pax Business Resources, LLC. PBRMarketTools is the marketing research unit. For several years Larry has worked for and provided products and services to The PBR1000 companies.)

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The PBR1000: October News Review

November 5, 2013 by

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By Larry C. Paxton

All types of investment strategies were utilized by The PBR1000 in October. Companies acquired, merged, split to form new companies, were bought by foreign companies, went private, restructured their financing, or made key management changes.  Here are the major October stories from The PBR1000, starting with the most current items. Clicking on the associated link for each item will open a new Window. The PBR1000 rankings are from the just released The PBR1000 4th Quarter Progress Report.

October 31, 2013:

A wholly owned subsidiary of Spirit Aerosystems Holdings, Inc(PBR435) announces that it is concluding its joint venture with Moscow, Russia, based Progresstech Group. Click here for Aerosystems’ press release.

October 31, 2013:

Revlon, Inc(PBR1002) announced that Lorenzo Delpani has been elected President/CEO, to be effective 11/01/13. Click here for Revlon’s press release.

October 29, 2013:

The acquisition of Dell Inc(PBR45) by Michael Dell and investment partners has been completed, the company is now private, stock trading terminated and stock to be delisted. Click here for Dell’s press release.

October 29, 2013:

Sears Holdings Corp(PBR68) announced today some re-organizations, including moving its Land’s End and Sears Auto Centers into separate business entities. Click here for the Sears press release.

October 29, 2013:

Allergan, Inc(PBR411) to sell its lap-band business to Apollo Endosurgery Inc for up to $110 million. Click here for the NASDAQ/WSJ article.

October 28, 2013:

The Mosaic Co(PBR227) is acquiring the Florida Phospate Business of CF Industries(PBR391) for total consideration of $1.4 billion. Expected to close in 1st half of 2014. Click here for Mosaic’s press release.

October 28, 2013:

Liberty Global, Inc(PBR241) announced it is selling its international content division Chellomedia to AMC Networks, Inc.(NASDAQ: AMCX) for $1.04 billion. Click here for Liberty Global’s announcement.

October 25, 2013:

McDonald’s Corporation(PBR100) to end 40 year relationship with Berkshire Hathaway’s(PBR5) recently purchased HJ Heinz unit. Click here for the Reuter’s article.

October 24, 2013:

E I duPont de Nemours(PBR83) announces that over the next 18 months it will move its Performance Chemicals division into a separate publicly held entity. Click here for duPont’s press release.

October 24, 2013:

Reuter’s reports that The Dow Chemical Co(PBR51) has said that it will be selling $3-4 billion in assets over the next 18-24 months. Click here for the Reuter’s article.

October 23, 2013:

The international unit of The Goldman Sachs Group(PBR67) has said that it will immediately start selling to institutional investors its 16 million shares investment in Sports Direct International. Click here for the Reuter’s article.

October 23, 2013:

Bank of America Corp(PBR21) has been found liable for fraud over defective mortgages sold under its Countrywide unit. US Dept of Justice expected to ask for up to $848 million in fines, adds to $40 billion already paid by BofA to date since financial crisis of 2008. Click here for the Reuter’s article.

October 23, 2013:

Omnicare, Inc(PBR384) agrees to pay US government $120 million for alleged steep discounting of prescription drugs at nursing homes in exchange for patient referrals. Click here for the Reuter’s article.

October 22, 2013:

Goldman Sachs Group(PBR67) announced the sale of its majority stake in UK based pension insurance company Rothesay Life. Goldman Sachs will retain a 36% share after regulatory approval. Click here for the Goldman Sachs press release.

October 21, 2013:

Devon Energy Corp(PBR268), Crosstex Energy, Inc(PBR942) and Crosstex Energy, LP, agree to combine Devon’s midstream assets with Crosstex’s to form a new midstream publicly held company to be named later. Click here for Devon’s press release.

October 21, 2013:

After 20 years at The Goldman Sachs Group(PBR67), Michael Evans to retire as Vice Chairman at the end of 2013, will become a senior director. Click here for Goldman Sachs’ press release.

October 21, 2013:

The asset management unit of The Goldman Sachs Group(PBR67) is to acquire the Global Treasury Funds managed by Royal Bank of Scotland’s RBS Asset Management group. The transaction is expected to close in the 1st quarter of 2014. Click here for Goldman Sachs’ press release.

October 21, 2013:

WSJ & Reuters report that GE Capital has extended $835 million in new financing to RadioShack Corp(PBR510). Click here for Reuter’s press release.

October 20, 2013:

Crown Castle International Corp(PBR758) is acquiring the rights to 9,700 AT&T(PBR12) communications towers for $4.85 billion. Click here for Crown Castle’s press release.

October 19, 2013:

Reuter’s reports that JPMorgan Chase & Co(PBR18) in its negotiations with the US Justice Department has tentatively agreed to pay $13 billion for bad mortgage loans sold to investors before the 2008 financial crisis. Click here for Reuter’s press release.

October 18, 2013:

NRG Energy, Inc(PBR295) to acquire Edison Mission Energy, with its 40+ electrical energy generating plants, for $2.8+ billion, deal expected to close 1st quarter, 2014. Click here for NRG’s press release.

October 18, 2013:

Occidental Petroleum Co(PBR114) in its initial strategic review is selling off about 1/3 of its holdings in Plains All-American Pipeline(PBR74), $1.3 billion in pre-tax proceeds. Click here for Occidental’s press release.

October 18, 2013:

KKR & Co, LP(PBR258) is acquiring Ireland based Avoca Capital, which manages around $8 billion in European assets as a credit investment manager. Terms not disclosed. Click here for KKR’s press release.

October 16, 2013:

The sale of TMS International Corp(PBR736) to the Pritzker Organization, LLC, for $1 billion, $17.50/share, has been completed. Click here for the TMS press release.

October 16, 2013:

The Marmon Group subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway(PBR5) is acquiring England based IMI plc’s Beverage Dispense and Merchandising divisions for $1.1 billion. Click here for Marmon’s press release.

October 16, 2013:

Advance Auto Parts, Inc.(PBR380) to acquire General Parts International, Inc. for $2.04 billion cash. Expected to close late 2013/early 2014. Click here for Advance Auto Parts’ press release.

October 15, 2013:

Walmart Stores, Inc(PBR2) announced today that in FY2015 it plans to spend $11.8-12.8 billion globally for 33-37 million square feet, over half in the US. Click here for Walmart’s press release.

October 15, 2013:

KKR & Co, LP(PBR258) has signed an agreement with Mid Europa Partners to acquire its SBB/Telemach Group, the leading Pay-TV and broadband operator in Southeast Europe, serving around 1.7 million customers. Financial terms were not disclosed. Click here for KKR’s press release.

October 9, 2013:

CACI International Inc(PBR570) to acquire security services provider Six3 for $820 million. Click here for the transcript of CACI’s presentation.

October 9, 2013:

Hess Corporation(PBR72) is selling its US East Coast and St. Lucia terminal networks to Buckeye Partners, LP(PBR501) for $850 million. Click here for Hess’ press release.

October 9, 2013:

KKR & Co, LP(PBR258) is to acquire The Crosby Group and Acco Material Handling Solutions from Melrose Industries PLC for around $1 billion. Both units provide products and services to the oil/gas industries. Click here for KKR’s press release.

October 7, 2013:

Fifth & Pacific Cos(PBR964) is selling the intellectual property rights to its Juicy Couture brand to Authentic Brands Group for $195 million. The deal is expected to close in November. Click here for Fifth & Pacific’s press release.

October 7, 2013:

Darling International, Inc.(PBR935) has entered into an agreement to acquire the Netherlands based Vion Food Group’s Vion Ingredients division for $2.17 billion, expecting to close in January, 2014. Click here for Darling’s press release.

October 7, 2013:

Time Warner Cable Inc(PBR124) has entered into an agreement with Duke Energy(PBR134) to acquire its regional fiber optic network company DukeNet Communications, LLC for $600 million, with closing expected in 1st quarter of 2014. Click here for Time Warner Cable’s press release.

October 2, 2013:

Revlon Inc’s CEO Alan Ennis resigns to pursue other interests, board selects David L. Kennedy, Vice Chairman, to be Interim CEO. Click here for Revlon’s press release.

October 2, 2013:

Monsanto Company(PBR192) has signed an agreement to purchase for $930 million cash The Climate Corporation, a software technology services and insurance company specializing in helping farmers be more productive. Click here for the Monsanto press release.

October 1, 2013:

Tenet Healthcare Corporation(PBR254) completes its acquisition of Vanguard Health Systems(PBR366) for $4.30 billion, $21.00/share. Click here for Tenet’s press release.

October 1, 2013:

Brent Saunders, former CEO at Bausch + Lomb, today became the president/CEO of Forest Laboratories, Inc.(PBR483), succeeding Howard Solomon who had held the position for 30 years, and who will continue to be chairman.

October 1, 2013:

Berry Plastics Group, Inc(PBR470) completes its acquisition of Graphic Packaging’s Flexible Plastics and Film business, and the sale of its Kits and Catering businesses to the WNA division of the Waddington Group, Inc. Click
here for Berry’s press release.

October 1, 2013:

Merck & Co, Inc.(PBR58) reported today that it is refocusing its operating model, will be reducing its 81,000 worldwide workforce by 20% by 2015. Click
here for the Merck announcement.

Larry C. Paxton is the President/CEO of Pax Business Resources, LLC. He spent several years working for and consulting to many of the largest corporations in the US. www.PBRMarketTools.com is the marketing research division. The PBR1000 is a compilation of key demographic, industry, financial, personnel data, and news summaries on over 1,000 of the largest US publicly traded companies. This list is updated four times a year and published in Microsoft Excel format as The PBR1000 Quarterly Progress Reports.

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The PBR1000 Breaking News Review: July/August, 2013

September 5, 2013 by

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(Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

By Larry C. Paxton

The summer months of July and August were busy ones with lots of deals affecting The PBR1000, some of them with some significant controversy. Unless specified otherwise, the ranking(in parentheses after the company name) is based on The PBR1000 3rd Quarter Progress Report. Here’s the recap, sorted by the most recent news date:

August 25, 2013: Amgen Inc(PBR151) to acquire Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc(NASDAQ: ONXX, $362 million in revenues in 2012) for $125/share, $10.4 billion all cash deal, expecting to close during early 4th quarter 2013. Will give Amgen some additional cancer medications and research.

August 23, 2013: Steve Ballmer, CEO since 2000 for Microsoft Corporation(PBR34), announced today that he will be retiring sometime within the next 12 months.

August 20, 2013: After filing for protection in January, 2012, today Eastman Kodak Company(PBR527) received approval from the US Bankruptcy Court of its Chapter 11 Reorganization Plan. According to CEO Antonio Perez the goal is to emerge from bankruptcy on September 3, 2013, and focus on being a technology leader serving large and growing commercial imaging markets such as commercial printing, packaging, functional printing, and professional services.

August 7, 2013: AOL Inc(PBR807) to acquire Adap.tv, Inc., a leading global, programmatic video advertising platform for the world’s largest brands, agencies, and publishers. Deal valued at $405 million, $322 million in cash, $83 million in AOL common stock. Deal expected to close during 3rd quarter 2013.

August 5, 2013: The Washington Post Company(PBR542) announced today that Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, Inc.(PBR47), in a separate personal transaction valued at $250 million, will be acquiring the company. The transaction includes the main paper and some other smaller publications, but not all entities of the company. It is expected that the deal will be completed before the end of 2013.

August 2, 2013: The New York Times Company(PBR870) agreed to sell off its New England Media Group, which includes The Boston Globe and related holdings, to John W. Henry, sports entrepreneur and principal owner of the Boston Red Sox, for $70 million cash. The deal is expected to close in 30-60 days.

July 30, 2013: KKR & Co, LP(PBR258) completes acquisition of Gardner Denver, Inc(PBR773) for $3.9 billion, plus assumption of debt.

July 30, 2013: Community Health Systems(PBR174) to buy Health Management Associates(PBR354) for $13.78/share, deal valued at $7.6 billion, which includes HMA debt of $3.7 billion. Deal expected to close by end of 1st quarter 2014.

July 29, 2013: US drug maker Perrigo(PBR620) to buy Ireland based biotech firm Elan(NYSE: ELN) in $8.4 billion deal.

July 29, 2013: Canadian retailer giant Hudson Bay(parent of Lord & Taylor) to buy Saks, Inc(PBR646) for $2.6 billion.

July 28, 2013: Omnicom Group Inc(PBR182) and Publicis Groupe SA(Paris, France) announce definitive agreement to merge and form Publicis Omnicom Group, a holding company based in the Netherlands with head offices in Paris and New York City. It will be the largest communications, advertising, marketing and digital services company in the world. Transaction valued at $35 billion, expected to close during 4th quarter 2013 or 1st quarter 2014.

July 24, 2013: HanesBrands Inc(PBR489) to buy Maidenform Brands, Inc(NYSE: MFB, $600MM revenues in 2012) for $23.50/share, $575 million total deal value.

July 12, 2013: AT&T(PBR12) reaches agreement to acquire LEAP Wireless(PBR625) for $15/share, $1.2 billion, expected to close in 6-9 months.

July 10, 2013: Japan’s SoftBank Corp completes its $21.6 billion acquisition of Sprint Nextel Corp(PBR83-2Q13), renames it to Sprint Corporation(PBR82), will continue trading under stock symbol S.

July 9, 2013: Kroger Co(PBR26) announced that it is acquiring the upper end 212 store chain Harris Teeter Supermarkets(PBR487) for $49.38/share, $2.44 billion transaction value, to close during 2013.

July 2, 2013: Coinstar, Inc.(PBR807-2Q13), changes name to Outerwall, Inc.(PBR804), still trading on NASDAQ with new symbol OUTR, new website, continues to provide Coinstar, ATM, and RedBox services.

Larry Paxton is the President/CEO of Pax Business Resources, LLC. The marketing research division, www.PBRMarketTools.com, produces the popular The PBR1000 Quarterly Progress Report.

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