Consumer Staples

Pre-open movers US stock futures are flat this morning, as investors are awaiting earnings reports. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1 point to 11,756.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index fell 1.20 points to 1,234.00. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 1.75 points to 2,336.00. A...

Lorillard Inc (NYSE: LO) reported a 2.6% drop in its Q3 net income. Lorillard's quarterly profit dropped to $267 million, from $274 million, in the year-ago period. Its earnings per share gained to $1.94 from $1.81 as shares outstanding dropped 9.6% to 137 million. Lorillard's sales climbed to $1...

Texas Instruments Incorporated (NYSE: TXN) is estimated to report its Q3 EPS at $0.58 on revenue of $3.33 billion. Lorillard Inc (NYSE: LO) is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $2.03 per share on sales of $1.14 billion. Invesco Ltd (NYSE: IVZ) is expected to report its Q3 EPS at $0.41 on...

Some of the stocks that may grab investor focus today are: Wall Street expects Caterpillar Inc (NYSE: CAT) to report its Q3 earnings at $1.63 per share on revenue of $14.8 billion. Caterpillar shares gained 3.71% to close at $87.39 on Friday. Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) is projected to report its...

Reynolds American (NYSE: RAI) releases its next round of earnings this Tuesday, October 25, 2011. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Tuesday's third quarter earnings announcement. Earnings and Revenue: Wall Street expects an EPS of 73 cents/share and revenues of $2.3...

Lorillard (NYSE: LO) announces its next round of earnings this Monday, October 24, 2011. Here's Benzinga's essential guide to Lorillard's third quarter earnings report. Earnings and Revenue: Wall Street expects an EPS of $2.04/share and revenues of $1.14 billion. Lorillard's latest numbers will...

Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) releases its next round of earnings this Thursday, October 20, 2011. Get the latest predictions in Benzinga's essential guide to the company's third quarter earnings report. Earnings and Revenue: Based on estimates, investors are readying for a positive EPS...

Below are the top large-cap cigarettes stocks on the NYSE, the NASDAQ and the AMEX in terms of PEG ratio. Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE: PM) has a PEG ratio of 1.10. PM's trailing-twelve-month ROE is 152.36%. Lorillard Inc (NYSE: LO) has a PEG ratio of 1.25. LO's trailing-twelve-month...

Morgan Stanley is out with a research report on cigarette makers, and it has an Equal-Weight rating on Lorillard (NYSE: LO). In a note to clients, Morgan Stanley writes, "Our assessment of Lorillard's underlying strength and its third-quarter outlook are unchanged. In particular, we expect some...

Deutsche Bank has published a research report on Lorillard (NYSE: LO) and expects pressure from the FDA's menthol science review. In the report, Deutsche Bank writes, "Most likely scenario may be FDA recognizing concerns but deferring action, while worst-case would be any indication it is moving...

Goldman Sachs is out with its report today on Lorillard (NYSE: LO), downgrading LO from Buy to Neutral. In its report, Goldman Sachs writes, "We are downgrading LO from Buy to Neutral in conjunction with our addition of BEAM to CL-Buy. We remain constructive on LO's fundamentals and solid cash...

Goldman Sachs has downgraded Lorillard (NYSE: LO) from Buy to Neutral and has established a $123 price target.

Below are the top cigarettes stocks on the NYSE in terms of revenue. The trailing-twelve-month revenue at Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE: PM) is $28.72 billion. PM's PEG ratio is 1.01. The trailing-twelve-month revenue at Altria Group Inc (NYSE: MO) is $16.54 billion. MO's ROE for the same...

A bear call spread involves selling a call option while purchasing a higher-strike call option with the same expiration month. The short call option is more expensive than the long call option which creates a credit. The objective is to profit from the short options' time decay. Adding a long call...

As fear returns (or perhaps never left is more apropos) to the equity markets, the indexes are dropping sharply today, with the Dow and S&P 500 down sharply, and the NASDAQ off more than 1%. Despite this, the cigarette names are performing relatively well, in comparison to the broader equity...