We are upgrading Stone Energy Corp.'s (SGY) shares to Buy from Hold following the company's better-than-expected second quarter 2008 results. The stock's recent pullback (down more than 20% in the last month alone), primarily due to commodity-price weakness, has made its valuation very attractive. We like the acquisition of Bois d'Arc Energy (BDE). The strategic rationale of the transaction is compelling, given the complementary asset bases, strategies, and skill sets of the two companies. The new Stone Energy will be more diversified with a significant Gulf of Mexico exploration exposure. Our price objective remains unchanged, though we have raised our estimates. In the quarter, Stone Energy reported recurring earnings of $2.91 per diluted share, compared to $1.29 per diluted share in the year-earlier quarter. The year-over-year gain was driven[More...]

Allianz Aktiengesell (AZ) is the largest insurer in Germany with a market share of 18% of the property and casualty insurance in that country and is a leader in Europe. The company has over 60 million customers and a presence in more than 70 countries.[More...]

As widely reported and analyzed since yesterday (7/17), Commissioner Adelstein has issued a proposal to approve the companies' license transfer application contingent of significant concessions involving a six-year price cap on subscriptions [More...]

One month ago I talked about the extraordinarily high concentration of energy stocks within my stock screen machine. Interestingly enough, the performance of those stocks have been very good. Their monthly returns - up +10.37% as a whole with 29... [More...]

This is the latest in a long-line of energy-exploration mergers, and yet another which will be successfully completed in 120-days or less. [More...]