general electric

Most stock markets have risen lately. But as always, they remain subject to unexpected downturns. Even so, the long-term outlook is for higher stock prices. One way to profit from rising markets is to add exchange traded funds (ETFs) that track major stock indexes to your portfolio. ETF’s trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks. Prices are quoted in newspaper stock tables and online. You must pay brokerage commissions to buy and sell ETFs, but their low management fees still give them a cost advantage over most mutual funds....

CONAGRA FOODS INC., $27.51, New York symbol CAG, rose 8% this week after it reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings. The company also raised its earnings forecast for its full fiscal year and increased its dividend. ConAgra makes a wide variety of packaged foods, including Chef Boyardee canned pasta, Hunt’s tomato sauce, Peter Pan peanut butter and Orville Redenbacher popcorn. In its fiscal 2013 first quarter, which ended August 26, 2012, ConAgra’s earnings soared 166.6% to $250.1 million, or $0.61 a share. A year earlier, it earned $93.8 million, or $0.23 a share....

GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. $20 (New York symbol GE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 10.6 billion; Market cap: $212.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; Dividend yield: 3.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.ge.com) plans to split its energy-products division into three new businesses: GE Power and Water (turbines, generators); GE Oil and Gas (products for onshore and offshore energy producers); and GE Energy Management (power-transmission equipment). This reorganization should make it easier for these new divisions to take advantage of new opportunities. It should also save GE $200 million to $300 million by 2014. To put these savings in context, GE earned $4.0 billion in the three months ended June 30, 2012. That’s up 6.9% from $3.75 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 11.8%, to $0.38 from $0.34, on fewer shares outstanding. Revenue rose 2.5%, to $36.5 billion from $35.6 billion....

GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. $20 (New York symbol GE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 10.6 billion; Market cap: $212.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; Dividend yield: 3.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.ge.com) plans to split its energy-products division into three new businesses: GE Power and Water (turbines, generators); GE Oil and Gas (products for onshore and offshore energy producers); and GE Energy Management (power-transmission equipment).

This reorganization should make it easier for these new divisions to take advantage of new opportunities. It should also save GE $200 million to $300 million by 2014.

To put these savings in context, GE earned $4.0 billion in the three months ended June 30, 2012. That’s up 6.9% from $3.75 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 11.8%, to $0.38 from $0.34, on fewer shares outstanding. Revenue rose 2.5%, to $36.5 billion from $35.6 billion.

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SPDR S&P 500 ETF $131.97 (New York symbol SPY; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) holds the stocks in the S&P 500 Index, which consists of 500 major U.S. stocks that are chosen based on their market cap, liquidity and industry group.

The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Apple Inc., ExxonMobil, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Wells Fargo & Co., Johnson & Johnson, IBM, Chevron, General Electric, Pfizer Inc., Coca-Cola Co., Google and AT&T.

The fund’s expenses are just 0.10% of its assets.

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Most stock markets are down lately due to investor worries about a potential eurozone breakup, sluggish U.S. growth and a slowdown in China. Still, the long-term outlook is positive. One way to profit from a rebound is to add exchange traded funds (ETFs) that track major stock market indexes to your portfolio. ETFs trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks. Prices are quoted in newspaper stock tables and online. You must pay brokerage commissions to buy and sell ETFs, but their low management fees still give them a cost advantage over most mutual funds....

J.C. PENNEY CO. INC., $26.29, New York symbol JCP, fell 23% this week after the company reported much-worse-than-expected quarterly earnings. It also suspended its $0.20-a-share quarterly dividend to conserve cash. Penney operates more than 1,100 department stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. It also sells goods over the Internet. The company recently began a major restructuring that includes shifting to an everyday pricing strategy. The company feels that predictable prices will spur customers to visit more often instead of waiting for items to go on sale....

The ability to weather a crisis is one of the distinguishing characteristics of the blue chip stocks we recommend. This multinational, one of the last survivors of the original 12 Dow Jones stocks of 1896, suffered a sharp setback during the financial crisis of 2008-2009. But its deep resources and diverse industrial base have allowed it to stage a recovery. General Electric Co. (New York symbol GE; www.ge.com) is one of the world’s largest manufacturers. It makes equipment for generating and distributing electricity, such as turbines (31% of revenue, 32% of earnings); aircraft engines (13%, 17%); health care equipment, such as medical scanners (13%, 14%); home appliances and lighting (6%, 1%); and locomotives (3%, 4%)....

GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. $19 (New York symbol GE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 10.6 billion; Market cap: $201.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 3.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.ge.com) is one of the world’s largest manufacturers. It makes equipment for generating and distributing electricity, such as turbines (31% of revenue, 32% of earnings); aircraft engines (13%, 17%); health care equipment, such as medical scanners (13%, 14%); home appliances and lighting (6%, 1%); and locomotives (3%, 4%). Following the 2008/2009 financial crisis, the company scaled back the activities of its GE Capital subsidiary, which provides loans and other financial services to GE’s customers. This business now accounts for 34% of GE’s revenue and 32% of its earnings.

Recession took a toll ...

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GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. $19 (New York symbol GE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 10.6 billion; Market cap: $201.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 3.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.ge.com) is one of the world’s largest manufacturers. It makes equipment for generating and distributing electricity, such as turbines (31% of revenue, 32% of earnings); aircraft engines (13%, 17%); health care equipment, such as medical scanners (13%, 14%); home appliances and lighting (6%, 1%); and locomotives (3%, 4%).

Following the 2008/2009 financial crisis, the company scaled back the activities of its GE Capital subsidiary, which provides loans and other financial services to GE’s customers. This business now accounts for 34% of GE’s revenue and 32% of its earnings.

Recession took a toll …

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