sony

SONY CORP. ADRs $20 (New York symbol SNE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $24.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend suspended in September 2014; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.sony.com) recently lost digital copies of its upcoming movies to online intruders. If the thieves post these films on the Internet, it would likely hurt future sales of both cinema tickets and DVDs. The company also recently announced that it would stop making cheaper mobile phones for emerging markets and focus on higher-priced models for developed nations. Severance costs and other expenses will widen its expected loss to $1.38 per ADR in the year ending March 31, 2015, from $1.21 in 2014. Sony is still a hold....

SONY CORP. ADRs $20 (New York symbol SNE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $24.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend suspended in September 2014; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.sony.com) recently lost digital copies of its upcoming movies to online intruders. If the thieves post these films on the Internet, it would likely hurt future sales of both cinema tickets and DVDs.

The company also recently announced that it would stop making cheaper mobile phones for emerging markets and focus on higher-priced models for developed nations. Severance costs and other expenses will widen its expected loss to $1.38 per ADR in the year ending March 31, 2015, from $1.21 in 2014.

Sony is still a hold.

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CONAGRA FOODS INC., $33.61, New York symbol CAG, rose 4% this week after reporting better-than-expected earnings.

In its fiscal 2015 first quarter, which ended August 24, 2014, ConAgra’s earnings form ongoing operations fell 16.6%, to $111.2 million, or $0.25 a share....

Pat McKeough responds to many requests from members of his Inner Circle for advice on specific stocks, as well as questions on investment strategy and the economy. Every week, his comments and recommendations on the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And each week we offer you a report on one of the stocks profiled in these Q&A sessions. We give you Pat’s buy-hold-sell recommendation as well as his analysis of the stock. This is part of our new approach offering you regular and specific buy, hold and sell advice in our daily posts. Every week you’ll get “A Stock to Sell” on Monday, “Best Canadian Stocks” on Tuesday, and “Our Top U.S. Stocks” on Thursday. This week an Inner Circle member asked us about one of the top tech stocks competing for market share in online search and content. Two years ago, Yahoo hired a new president and CEO away from rival Google to help the company make up lost ground against Google and Facebook. Pat examines the measures Marissa Mayer has taken to improve Yahoo’s competitive position. He also discusses Yahoo’s big stake in Alibaba, the Chinese “Amazon.com”, and the impact that company’s upcoming IPO will have on Yahoo’s prospects. Q: I would like your evaluation on the prospects for Yahoo. Thank you....

Yahoo! Inc., $35.90, symbol YHOO on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 1.0 billion; Market cap: $36.1 billion; www.yahoo.com), offered one of the Internet’s first search engines when it launched in 1994 and has since become one of the most popular online destinations for content. Its sites also have a range of other features, including shopping and email. In July 2012, Yahoo appointed Marissa Mayer as president and CEO. Mayer joined Google in 1999 and helped develop many of that company’s most popular services. She was a vice-president at Google before she left. Under Mayer, Yahoo is simplifying the design of its websites, which should draw more users and help the company compete with Google and Facebook. In addition, Yahoo is shutting down many of its less-popular services to focus on its main sites. The company plans to cut the number of websites it operates from over 50 to around 10....

MONSANTO CO., $125.12, New York symbol MON, reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings this week. It also announced a new share buyback plan. Monsanto sells technology-based agricultural products, such as genetically modified seeds, to farmers, grain processors and food companies. It also sells weed- and pest-control products. In the third quarter of its 2014 fiscal year, which ended May 31, 2014, Monsanto earned $858 million, down 5.6% from $909 million a year earlier. Earnings per share fell 3.6%, to $1.62 from $1.68, on fewer shares outstanding. But even with the decline, the latest earnings beat the consensus forecast of $1.54....

HILLSHIRE BRANDS CO., $53.28, New York symbol HSH, jumped 18% this week in response to two hostile takeover offers. The company makes a variety of packaged meat products. Its main brands include Ball Park hot dogs, Jimmy Dean sausages and Hillshire Farm deli meats. Other foods include Sara Lee frozen desserts and Chef Pierre pies. On Tuesday, rival food producer Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. (Nasdaq symbol PPC) offered to acquire Hillshire for $45.00 a share. That was followed by a $50.00-a-share bid by Tyson Foods (New York symbol TSN) on Thursday....

SONY CORP. ADRs $16 (New York symbol SNE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.0 billion; Market cap: $16.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend yield: 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.sony.com) has brought in a new restructuring plan that involves selling its money-losing Vaio personal computer business and cutting 3% of its workforce....

SONY CORP. ADRs $16 (New York symbol SNE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.0 billion; Market cap: $16.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend yield: 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.sony.com) has brought in a new restructuring plan that involves selling its money-losing Vaio personal computer business and cutting 3% of its workforce. The company also plans to set up its struggling TV operations as a separate firm, which would make it easier to sell a minority stake in this business.

However, slow sales have forced Sony to write down its remaining computer inventories. Weaker DVD demand has also prompted it to write down the value of its disc-manufacturing operations.

As a result, Sony lost $1.25 billion, or $1.21 per ADR, in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014 (each American Depositary Receipt represents one common share). In 2013, it earned $458 million, or $0.43 per ADR. Revenue rose 4.2%, to $75.4 billion from $72.3 billion, on stronger smartphone sales and the launch of its PlayStation 4 video game console. However, without the benefit of currency exchange rates, revenue in Japanese yen fell 2%.

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Technicolor SA (ADR), $6.04, symbol TCLRY on the U.S. over-the-counter market (ADRs outstanding: 335.7 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; www.technicolor.com), has its main listing on the NYSE Paris Euronext exchange under the TCH symbol. This France-based firm was called Thomson SA until 2010, when it emerged from bankruptcy proceedings in France. It was laboring under a heavy debt burden, but it recapitalized by converting a lot of its debt into equity. Technicolor offers a range of services and systems to the entertainment industry, including video production and visual effects. It has worked on major Hollywood films, including all the movies in the Harry Potter series. Major companies such as Sony and LG Electronics also license Technicolor’s more than 40,000 patents for use in their products including digital TVs, smartphones, tablets and digital cameras....