Tag Archives: Ray Lane

Computers

Hewlett-Packard: Tough years for a Silicon Valley pioneer

Leave a comment

It’s been a turbulent decade at Hewlett-Packard, with board members and CEOs resigning or being ousted for all manner of colorful reasons, including strategic missteps, accusations of spying on journalists and alleged sexual harassment.

The latest moves came last week, when two directors resigned and Ray Lane said he would step down as chairman of HP‘s board following HP‘s ill-fated Autonomy acquisition.

The tumult started in 2005 with the ouster of Carly Fiorina, who had disagreements with the board over strategy. It worsened the following year with the so-called “pretexting” scandal and took a surreal turn three years ago when Mark Hurd resigned after an alleged affair with an actress.

IDGNS
Carly Fiorina

In that time, HP‘s reputation has been dented and its stock price has plummeted.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Dow Spotlight Stock of the Week: Hewlett-Packard

Leave a comment

By Matt Thalman, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

In 2013, Hewlett-Packard has been the best-performing component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average . Shares are up more than 54%, while the Dow itself has risen by only 11.15%, and its second best-performing component, Travelers , has climbed by just 17.53% in comparison. But this past week gave us HP‘s worst performance so far this year, with a 7.84% drop — its first decline since the week of Feb. 11.

So what happened?
On Monday, one of the company’s top executives, Senior Vice President Ajei Gopal, announced that he’s leaving the company to join Silver Lake Partners — the private-equity group that’s attempting to take Dell private. Gopal will probably play a large role in helping Silver Lake turn Dell around, considering he’s helped in the same capacity at HP. But HP‘s turnaround is far from complete, so this isn’t a move HP shareholders wanted to see.

On Tuesday, Goldman Sachs analyst Bill Shope lowered HP stock from a “neutral” to a “sell,” saying he could see shares falling 31% from Monday’s closing price of $23.31. That means Shope believes that HP shares, which currently sit at $21.97, will drop to $16.09 sometime in the future.  

Wednesday brought little news, but shares fell again, probably in reaction to the downgrade. Then Thursday arrived with more drama, as the company announced that Ray Lane will step down as chairman of the board but will retain a seat. Board members John Hammergren and G. Kennedy Thompson also announced that they’ve chosen to resign from their positions.

Shares closed the day up 1.78%, but they resumed their tumble on Friday, falling another 1.48% during the trading session. The seesawing performance of the stock following the announcements indicates to me that shareholders have mixed feelings on the board members’ moves.

During the most recent shareholder meeting, when board members were re-elected, Hammergren and Thompson received only 54% and 55% of the vote, respectively. Lane didn’t do much better at 58%. Typically, board members receive more than 90% of the vote, so it was clear that a large portion of shareholders weren’t happy with the job these members had been doing. Most analysts cite the $11 billion Autonomy purchase, and the subsequent $8 billion writedown, as the source of shareholder discontent.

What now?
The loss of an SVP during a turnaround is definitely a negative. He probably knows what H-P has planned for the future, and now that he’s going to work on behalf of a competitor, he could use that knowledge against HP in some fashion.

The downgrade is also a negative, but much less of one. It’s just one person’s opinion and should be viewed that way. In the short term, the downgrade has already affected the share price and may put further downward pressure on the stock in the coming weeks, but it will ultimately have only short-term effects. A downgrade in no way has any impact on the overall health of …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Third Time's the Charm: Jobs Data Hurts the Dow

Leave a comment

By Matt Thalman, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

For the third day in a row, the markets have been hit with poor jobs data.

On Wednesday, payroll-processing company ADP reported that private employers only added 158,000 new jobs in the month of March, whereas economists were expecting 200,000 hires. Yesterday, the Department of Labor’s weekly jobless-claims report indicated that 385,000 initial claims had been filed the previous week, which was 28,000 more than the week before and 35,000 higher than what was expected. And today, the Department of Labor once again poured on the bad news with its March employment report. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that just 88,000 new jobs were created last month. Analysts were expecting a much higher number, which most had pinned around 200,000. 

Although the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to post a strong gain yesterday despite the high jobless claims, as of 12:55 p.m. EDT today it’s down 111 points, or 0.76%. The other major indexes are actually performing worse: The S&P 500 has lost 0.95% of its value, and the NASDAQ is down 1.17%.

Some of the largest drags on the markets today come from the world of technology.

Shares of Cisco have fallen 2.5% after competitor F5 Networks released an earnings warning. Shareholders need to remember that poor performance by the competition can sometimes be good news. However, concerns that established companies are struggling to keep up with ever-changing technology have investors pulling out of the networking giant today. 

After falling 1.3% yesterday, shares of IBM are down a further 1.4% today. While Cisco is getting punished for a competitor’s weakness today, investors may be punishing IBM for its competition’s strength. A recently published independent study indicates that IBM‘s competitor Oracle now has chips and servers that outperform IBM‘s similar devices. 

The Dow’s darling stock of 2013, Hewlett-Packard , is down by 1.9% after chairman Ray Lane announced yesterday that he will step down from his position but still hold a seat on the board of directors. Only 59% of shareholders voted to re-elect Lane at the company’s recent shareholder meeting, so Lane’s move is something of a mixed bag. It likely makes 41% of shareholders happy that he’s no longer the chairman yet unhappy that he’s still on the board. On the other hand, 59% of shareholders voted to keep Lane, so they may be upset today that he gave in to the minority and decided to step down.

The massive wave of mobile computing has done much to unseat the major players in the PC market, including venerable technology names like Hewlett-Packard. However, HP is rapidly shifting its strategy under the leadership of CEO Meg Whitman. But does this make HP one of the least-appreciated turnaround stories on the market, or is this a minor detour on its road to irrelevance? The Motley Fool’s technology analyst details exactly what investors need to know about HP in our new premium research report. Just click here now …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

High Jobless Claims Couldn't Hold Back the Dow

Leave a comment

By Matt Thalman, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

The markets, in general, fought hard today, and all the major indexes managed to post a winning session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 55 points, or 0.38%, and closed at 14,606. The S&P 500 performed slightly better, rising 0.4%, and now rests at 1,559, while the NASDAQ managed to pull itself higher by 0.2%.

The markets reacted positively to the massive stimulus plan that Japan announced today. The country is following our own central bank, and will soon start a $1.4 trillion quantitative easing program. This positive news was enough to keep investors bullish, even after the Labor Department released weekly jobless claims that increased more than expected. Economists were expecting claims to hit 350,000, but the actual number came in at 385,000, or 28,000 claims higher than the previous week.  

Speaking of the job market, shares of McDonald’s hit a new 52-week high today, despite the company’s difference in opinion from its employees about the job market, and shares managed to close up 1.39%. Today’s rally came despite company employees joining other fast-food restaurant workers to protest in New York City today. The protestors are primarily asking for higher hourly wages. The statewide average pay for fast-food workers is currently $8.25 per hour, and today’s protestors are requesting $15 per hour.  

AT&T shareholders cheered today after Facebook announced that its new “Home” smartphone interface will be exclusively available through the wireless provider. Shares of AT&T rose by 1.69% on the news, while its only true competitor, Verizon, rose 0.63%. My Fool colleague Travis Hoium raised a very good point earlier today, saying that, while the exclusivity is great for AT&T now, he questioned how long it would last. We have seen this in the past with other big exclusivity contracts, most notably the iPhone, and how it eventually went away.

The turnaround efforts made by Hewlett-Packard continue to impress shareholders. This was  made evident once again today, as the stock rose another 1.78%. Year to date, H-P is hands down the best performing Dow component, as shares have risen 56.49%. That’s more than three times the 17.56% return that shares of JPMorgan Chase, the next best performing Dow component, have done this year.

After the closing bell rang today, Hewlett-Packard announced that chairman Ray Lane is stepping down from his chairman position, but will still remain a board member. The move comes as a result of shareholders voicing their disapproval of Lane’s leadership at the company’s most recent board meeting, when he only received 59% of the vote for re-election to the board. As of this writing, shares of H-P were trading lower by 0.22% during the after-hours session.

More foolish insight

The massive wave of mobile computing has done much to unseat the major players in the PC market, including venerable technology names like Hewlett-Packard. However, HP‘s rapidly shifting its strategy under the new leadership of CEO Meg Whitman. But does this make HP one …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

HP: A Small Victory for Shareholders

Leave a comment

By Alex Dumortier, CFA, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Stocks clawed back some of yesterday’s losses today, with the S&P 500 , and the narrower, price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.4%.

Reflecting these gains, the VIX Index , Wall Street‘s fear gauge, fell 2%, to close below 14. (The VIX is calculated from S&P 500 option prices and reflects investor expectations for stock market volatility over the coming thirty days.)

HP: Finally, something to cheer about
Last December, I asked, Is Yahoo! a Model for H-P?, arguing that:

There’s no question that HP could use a board shakeup and possibly a new CEO. Much of the change at Yahoo! came at the impetus of activist investor Dan Loeb. HP already has an activist investor in place: Ralph Whitworth of Relational Investors joined the board in 2011. What is he waiting for?

It appears that the board of Dow component Hewlett-Packard is finally taking some responsibility for the disastrous lapses in governance that have inflicted enormous harm on the company and its shareholders over the past several years.

According to a press release published today, Ray Lane will step down as chairman of the board (though he will remain a board member), to be replaced on a temporary basis by Ralph Whitworth. Two other members, John Hammergren and G. Kennedy Thompson, are also resigning their seats. Whitworth will also replace Hammergren at the head of the Finance and Investment Committee.

Mr. Lane took the measure of shareholder sentiment last month, when he was re-elected to the board in a proxy vote with a noticeably lukewarm 59% of the votes — the third lowest percentage among all eleven directors. Only Messrs. Hammergren and Thompson scored lower, with 54% and 55%, respectively.

The choice of the permanent chairman and new board members will be a crucial test of the company’s resolve to turn itself around. Over the past few years, HP has been a heavyweight champion when it comes to destroying goodwill, both the accounting variety, through disastrous acquisitions, and that of its shareholders. Today’s announcement is a step in the right direction, but the journey to restoring the company’s good name on Wall Street will be a long one.

The massive wave of mobile computing has done much to unseat the major players in the PC market, including venerable technology names like Hewlett-Packard. However, HP‘s rapidly shifting its strategy under the new leadership of CEO Meg Whitman. But does this make HP one of the least-appreciated turnaround stories on the market, or is this a minor blip on its road to irrelevance? The Motley Fool’s technology analyst details exactly what investors need to know about HP in our new premium research report. Just click here now to get your copy today.

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Is This Dow Stock Becoming a Dividend Aristocrat?

Leave a comment

By Anders Bylund, The Motley Fool

HPQ Dividend Chart

Filed under:

Dividend aristocrats treat their payouts like nuclear safety protocols. One mistake can blow up your reactor — or destroy your share price overnight. So their dividend checks never, ever shrink, and a true aristocrat increases its payouts every year. Income investors love these wealth-building policies, and for good reason: An unweighted portfolio of the 54 S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats tickers would have returned 225% over the last 10 years, assuming you reinvested every dividend check in more shares.

By comparison, the Dow Jones Industrial Average returned just 116% over the same period, dividend-adjusted and all. The dividend champs are an elite group indeed — only nine of the 30 Dow components current qualify for a spot on the list, the rest having failed to increase dividends for at least 25 years straight. These stocks average 4.2 CAPS stars (out of five), with only two tickers rated “below average” by your fellow investors. It’s a quality group by any measure.

Is this an impostor?
Hewlett-Packard just raised its dividend by 10%. The board approved a modest increase last year as well, not to mention a 50% boost in 2011. Is this another dividend champion or what?

Well, no — not even close. HP might have landed on the Aristocrats list 10 years ago, when the computer industry fired on all cylinders and the company had raised payouts without fail for many years. But then the dot-com bubble popped, and HP‘s payouts got stuck at $0.08 per share for 11 years.

HPQ Dividend data by YCharts.

The recent return to regular dividend increases coincides with a massive share-price drop. The company has lost its way, and investors can feel it. If you feel cynical today, you could call these increases an attempt to buy investor love with higher yields. So far, it’s not working.

That’s not just my own opinion. Strategy failures in recent years made some HP shareholders question the competency of its directors. In this week’s annual shareholder meeting, three directors (including chairman Ray Lane) received only a narrow majority of “yea” votes.

To put that benchmark into context, remember that Walt Disney removed Michael Eisner from the board and then the CEO office after he received a 57% approval rating. That was absolutely the right move, as successor Bob Iger has led the company to fantastic success and a market-crushing 179% shareholder return in nine years on the job.

A similar shareholder-approved house-cleaning seems in order for HP today. Add the ticker to your Foolish watchlist and wait for more news on this.

Let the right one in
Intel also declared another dividend today, steady at $0.225 per share but likely to rise in the following quarter. Why would I expect an increase? Because that’s how the chip giant rolls. Compare and contrast Intel’s serious dividend increases to HP‘s halfhearted attempts:

HPQ Dividend data by <a target=_blank …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Did the Dow Catch a Virus From the Tech Sector?

Leave a comment

By Jessica Alling, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher yesterday following the Fed’s announcement that it would continue with its quantitative easing program until there are more improvements in the labor market. With fresh assurances that there would be no increases in interest rates or other changes on the way, investors pushed the Dow to a new intraday high, and ultimately to a 55-point gain.

Today we’re seeing a much different picture — 25 of the Dow’s 30 component stocks are in the red, with the technology sector sporting the biggest losses. Cisco is the leader of the pack so far in trading, down 3.53% just before 11 a.m. The networking giant was recently downgraded by Wall Street analysts, who cited weaker demand for its products. This coincides with the bad news from Oracle last night that it is seeing a weaker environment, creating lesser demand across all of its tech segments, which sent its stock into a nosedive. Oracle has been down by as much as 10% today, and is currently down 9%. It wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that Cisco is feeling some negative effects from Oracle’s announcements.

IBM is also down this morning, trading at a 2.22% loss so far. Despite winning a new contract with the state of Ohio for a tech upgrade and its recent success with its Boston “smart city” collaboration, Big Blue has a cloud hanging over its head. Polish authorities are investigating a bribing scheme that involved a high-ranking member of the Polish government who determined the winners of lucrative government contracts. IBM has made it clear that the investigation only includes the work of a former employee. Also implicated in the investigation are Hewlett-Packard and Oracle.

HP is down 1.07% this morning. On top of the Polish investigation, shareholders demonstrated their frustration with the company’s botched Autonomy deal through their votes on the re-election of HP‘s board of directors. Though all candidates up for re-election won, there were some very close calls, including for chairman Ray Lane‘s seat. Perhaps in a move to assuage shareholders, the board approved a 10% increase in the company’s dividend. The new payout will raise the per-share dividend from $0.132 to $0.1452, increasing HP‘s costs of distribution by $106 million. Though the company reported a 16% decrease in profits for its first quarter last month and there is continued pressure from the changing personal computing environment, HP is looking to increase value to shareholders.

The massive wave of mobile computing has done much to unseat the major players in the PC market, including Hewlett-Packard. However, HP‘s rapidly shifting its strategy under the new leadership of CEO Meg Whitman. But does this make HP one of the least-appreciated turnaround stories on the market, or is this a minor blip on its road to irrelevance? The Motley Fool’s technology analyst details exactly what investors need to know about HP in our new premium research …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Hewlett-Packard Leads the Dow to New Highs

Leave a comment

By Dan Dzombak, The Motley Fool

US Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance Chart

Filed under:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up after for the 10th day in a row following multiple positive reports on the state of the economy. As of 1:15 p.m. EDT the Dow was up 59 points, or 0.41%, to 14,515. The S&P 500 was up 0.4% to 1,561.

There were three U.S. economic releases today.

Report

Period

Result

Previous

Weekly new unemployment claims

March 2 to March 9

332,000

342,000

Producer price index

February

0.7%

0.2%

Core PPI

February

0.2%

0.2%

Current account deficit

Q4

($110 billion)

($112 billion)

Source: MarketWatch U.S. Economic Calendar.

While the PPI was up 0.7%, which was expected as higher energy costs impacted producers. Absent energy costs, the PPI was just up 0.2%.

The one to pay attention is the unemployment claims report. Weekly new unemployment claims fell to a seasonally adjusted 332,000. That’s down from last week’s 342,000 and below analyst expectations of 350,000. Last year, new unemployment claims averaged between 360,000 and 370,000 and never really broke out of that range. The declining level of new unemployment claims is a good sign for the economy, indicating that the jobs market is strengthening. It remains to be seen whether this is a trend or just a blip.

US Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance data by YCharts.

New unemployment claims can be volatile, so it is generally better to watch the four-week moving average, which dropped by 2,750 to 346,750. That’s the lowest level since 2008.

While the jobs market is strengthening, the economy is still not adding jobs fast enough to significantly reduce the unemployment rate anytime soon. The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee has said it plans to continue QE3 until the unemployment rate hits 6.5% or inflation picks up. Until then, the Fed will continue buying up $85 billion worth of long-term assets every month to prop up the economy.

Today’s Dow leaders
Today’s Dow leader is Hewlett-Packard , up 1.8% to $21.71 on no real news. Earlier this week the British Serious Fraud Office opened an investigation into HP‘s accusations of fraud against former executives of Autonomy. If you recall, HP acquired Autonomy for $10 billion in 2011, only to write the acquisition down for $8.8 billion last year. HP accused former executives — including Autonomy’s founder and former CEO, Mike Lynch — of fabricating sales to boost Autonomy’s financials. While American authorities commenced investigations soon after HP‘s accusations, this is the first notice that British authorities are also investigating.

While the stock was hit hard last year, dropping 47% in 2012, there have been no repercussions for the board members who approved the deal. Institutional proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services is recommending that investors vote against HP chairman Ray Lane, audit committee head G. Kennedy Thompson, and finance and investments committee head John Hammergren.

HP is rapidly shifting its strategy under the new leadership of CEO …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

This Stock Is Leading the Dow to an All-Time High

Leave a comment

By Dan Dzombak, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up to a new all-time high following two positive economic reports. As of 1:35 p.m. EST the Dow is up 157 points, or 1.1%, to 14,285. The S&P 500 is up 1.2% to 1,543.

There were two U.S. economic releases today.

Report

Period

Result

Previous

CoreLogic Home Price Index

January

0.7%

0.2%

ISM Non-Manufacturing Index

February

56%

55.2%

The first economic release was CoreLogic’s Home Price Index, which rose 0.7% from December and 9.7% in the 12-month period ending Jan. 31. CoreLogic chief economist Mark Fleming noted:

The [Home Price Index] showed strong growth during the typically slow winter season. With these gains, the housing market is poised to enter the spring selling season on sound footing. The improvements are materializing across the country, with all but Delaware and Illinois showing increasing HPI and 15 states within 10 percent of their peak values.

The second economic release was from the Institute for Supply Management, which reported that its Non-Manufacturing Index rose 0.8 percentage points to 56% in February. That’s above January’s 55.2% and analyst expectations of 55.2%. Any reading higher than 50% indicates economic growth. The rise in the index to 56% indicates that responders believe the economy is still growing, and at a faster rate than in January.

Today’s Dow leader
Leading the Dow to record highs is beleaguered tech giant Hewlett-Packard , up 2.6%. Last year was rough for HP, which finished down 46% after two $8 billion-plus writedowns for relatively recent acquisitions. The second of those writedowns was for Autonomy, which was purchased in August of 2011 for $10.3 billion and written down for $8.8 billion in November 2012.

Today, in response to the Autonomy disaster, institutional proxy advisor ISS recommended that shareholders in Hewlett-Packard vote against the re-election of HP chairman Ray Lane, as well as board members John Hammergren and G. Kennedy Thompson. John Hammergren is chairman and CEO of McKesson and chairs HP’s finance and investment committee. G. Kennedy Thompson was CEO of Wachovia from 2000 to 2008 and is chairman of HP’s audit committee.

Meg Whitman’s turnaround of the company is beginning to take shape. A key part of that should include the removal of those who were responsible for oversight of the company’s two enormously failed acquisitions.

The question remains: Is HP one of the least appreciated turnaround stories on the market, or is this a minor detour on its road to irrelevance? The Motley Fool’s technology analyst details exactly what investors need to know about HP in our new premium research report. Just click here now to get your copy today.

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

What's Behind the Dow's All-Time High This Morning

Leave a comment

By Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

The moment financial media companies have been waiting for finally came this morning, as the Dow Jones Industrials set a new intraday record this morning. As of 10:45 a.m. EST, the Dow is up 139 points to 14,267, easily eclipsing the former high level of 14,198 and on pace to leave the former closing record far behind — if it can hold its gains. Interestingly, the move led to a renewed focus on long-term perspective, which has become a rarity in market commentary but which makes sense, given the inevitable comparisons to the previous record set in late 2007.

Within the Dow, gains were broad-based, with 29 of the 30 Dow components higher on the day. Hewlett-Packard is the morning’s biggest gainer, rising more than 2% on news that institutional-investor services company ISS had recommended that shareholders vote against three directors seeking to keep their positions on HP‘s board, including chairman Ray Lane. The stock has rebounded lately, but questions about the company’s future strategy still linger and call into question whether the recent rally can last.

Elsewhere in the market, Genworth Financial has risen 6.8% on a good day for specialty insurers with exposure to the mortgage insurance business. Good news on the housing front has improved the financial situation at Genworth and its peers markedly, and if the economy continues to strengthen, then rising home values could make Genworth’s business a lot less risky going forward.

Finally, construction-related plays Terex and Manitowoc have climbed 6.1% and 4.8%, respectively. After hitting new yearly highs last month, the makers of heavy equipment for the construction industry had fallen back on fears that the economic expansion might end. But optimism in the markets tends to beget optimism in business activity, and investors clearly think a cyclical upturn could boost both companies a whole lot further in the months and years to come.

Can HP keep up its comeback?
Is today’s move up for Hewlett-Packard just the beginning of more massive gains for the long-beleaguered stock, or is HP’s bull run about to come to an end? Get the answers you need in our premium research report on Hewlett-Packard, in which The Motley Fool’s technology analyst details exactly what investors need to know about HP. Just click here now to get your copy today.

var FoolAnalyticsData = FoolAnalyticsData || []; FoolAnalyticsData.push({ …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance