Analyst's (Goldman) call on Refiners!

Guess when the Goldman guy made his call to sell SUN and other refiners? Yep, right at the bottom!! These stupid analysts look at the charts and then come out and make their calls - nothing more - Epitome of incompetence on the street!!

Refiners - Ready to Fire up!

Source: Reuters

"As we begin the spring and summer driving season, we are cautiously optimistic in our outlook for margins as a result of inventory draws, increased gasoline demand and continued low refinery utilization rates," Western Refining said.

POSITIVE RESULTS

Sunoco posted a net income of $59 million, or 50 cents a share, for the first-quarter ending March 31, higher than analysts' estimate of 33 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates. [ID:nWNAB4773]

Tesoro's net earnings for the quarter were $51 million, or 37 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $82 million, or 60 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts on average had forecast earnings of 40 cents a share. [ID:nWNAB4728]

Alon USA's net income for the first quarter was 17.4 million, or 37 cents a share, versus a loss of $33.6 million, or 72 cents a share last year, and better than Wall Street's expectation for a 33 cents per share profit. [ID:nWNAB4722]

Western Refining Inc earned 86 cents a share in the first quarter, higher than analysts' average forecast for earnings of 84 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.[ID:nBNG41202]

CVR's earnings excluding unrealized loss from a cash flow swap was 50 cents a share, compared with analysts estimate of 38 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.[ID:nBNG102169]

Sunoco shares were trading up 0.2 percent at $31.50, after having closed at $31.44 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Tesoro was down 2.4 percent at $18.45, while Alon was flat at $14.69.

Western Refining shares closed up 11 percent at $15.43 and CVR closed down 4.8 percent at $7.96.

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I am long SUNHJ- SUN Aug 35 calls as I expect that SUN will catch up with its peers and the whole sector is going to rally into Summer. HES, ALJ, FTO, MRO and COP could also be considered as good refining plays! 

PankaJ

Earnings - 6th May 2009 (2)

6:07PM LHC Group beats by $0.14, beats on revs; raises FY09 EPS above consensus, raises revs guidance above consensus (LHCG) 24.91 +0.24 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.62 per share, $0.14 better than the First Call consensus of $0.48; revenues rose 49.2% year/year to $124.6 mln vs the $114.7 mln consensus. Co raises guidance for FY09, sees EPS of $2.15-2.25 vs. $2.09 consensus, up from $2.00-2.10; raises FY09 revs of $500-510 mln vs. $488.93 mln consensus, up from $480-500 mln.

5:57PM Anadarko Petro beats by $0.09, misses on revs (APC) 48.26 +2.78 : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.53 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.09 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.62); revenues fell 46.4% year/year to $1.6 bln vs the $1.7 bln consensus. 

5:36PM Atwood Oceanics beats by $0.09, beats on revs (ATW) 26.25 +1.01 : Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.88 per share, $0.09 better than the First Call consensus of $0.79; revenues rose 24.0% year/year to $140.7 mln vs the $139 mln consensus.

5:04PM ION Geophysical misses by $0.02, misses on revs; guides FY09 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (IO) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.10 per share, $0.02 worse than the First Call consensus of ($0.08); revenues fell 23.8% year/year to $106.9 mln vs the $132.8 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY09, sees EPS of ($0.04)-$0.12 vs. ($0.05) consensus; sees FY09 revs of $570-630 mln vs. $555.50 mln consensus.

5:02PM Sunoco beats by $0.16 (SUN) 31.44 +1.25 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.50 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.16 better than the First Call consensus of $0.34. "We continue to expect a challenging market for petroleum and chemical products due to ongoing economic weakness and additional global supply. However, the Company remains focused on executing its strategic plan. In the first quarter, we implemented the first phase of our business improvement initiative, and expect to reduce costs by more than $300 mln on an annualized basis by year end. Our capital spending for 2009 is now expected to be approximately $200 mln lower than planned. This reduction is primarily associated with the deferral of the Middletown, Ohio cokemaking construction project due to permitting delays and the deferral of certain other projects in Refining and Supply. In addition, we successfully completed debt offerings of $250 mln by Sunoco, Inc. and $175 mln by Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. during the quarter. Further, in April, we executed a sales agreement for our Tulsa refinery and Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. issued 2.25 mln limited partnership units generating approximately $110 mln of net proceeds from the offering. These actions along with our continued operating discipline will assist us in maintaining our financial flexibility and liquidity through 2009."

4:40PM USEC Inc. misses by $0.07, misses on revs; reaffirms FY09 revs guidance (USU) 7.11 +0.11 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.02 per share, $0.07 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.09. Co reaffirms guidance for FY09, sees FY09 revs of approx. $2.2 bln vs. $2.21 bln consensus; co expects gross profit margin to be in a range of approximately 10-12%.  At March 31, 2009, deferred revenue totaled $250.7 mln, an increase of $54.4 mln from December 31, 2008. The gross profit associated with deferred revenue as of March 31, 2009, was $100.3 mln. The gross profit margin for the quarter was 8.3% compared to 11.3% in the same quarter of 2008.

4:29PM Tesoro reports EPS in-line, reports revs (TSO) 18.45 +0.65 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.37 per share, in-line with the First Call consensus of $0.37; revenues fell 50.3% year/year to $3.28 bln. "With an unusually high level of refinery maintenance activity on the West Coast, we benefited from strong crack spreads during the first quarter. Even though the start to 2009 has been better than expected, we will continue to pursue our program to reduce our cash breakeven. A large piece of that program is intended to increase our margin capture realizations, and, in the first quarter, they were above their average historical levels in each region."

4:19PM Eagle Bulk Shipping reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (EGLE) 9.17 +0.84 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.37 per share, in-line with the First Call consensus of $0.37; revenues rose 52.6% year/year to $56 mln vs the $54.4 mln consensus. Fleet utilization rate for the first quarter was 99.6%.

4:15PM Prudential beats by $0.22; guides FY09 EPS in-line (PRU) 35.57 +4.57 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.05 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.22 better than the First Call consensus of $0.83. Co issues in-line guidance for FY09, sees EPS of $4.80-5.20 vs. $4.87 consensus. This expectation assumes appreciation of 2% per quarter in the S&P 500 index, commencing with its close as of December 31, 2008. Individual Annuity net sales $643 mln, up from $620 mln a year ago. Full Service Retirement gross deposits and sales of $10.5 bln and net additions $6.3 bln, up from gross deposits and sales of $4.6 bln and net additions of $653 mln a year ago. "While our current quarter results continue to reflect unfavorable market and economic conditions, our solid balance sheet and product portfolio support highly attractive value propositions for clients focused on financial security and peace of mind. We view the positive net flows registered by our U.S. retirement, annuities and asset management businesses and the solid sales results in our domestic and international insurance businesses as validation of our core business models, as well as the dedication of our associates in these difficult times."

4:13PM Career Education misses by $0.01, misses on revs (CECO) 21.68 0.52 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.32 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.33; revenues fell 3.2% year/year to $437.4 mln vs the $446.7 mln consensus. CEO says, "I am encouraged by our overall performance in the first quarter. Our Health Education schools delivered another record quarter with a 24% increase in student population. Our Culinary schools posted a 13% increase in student starts, thanks to our efforts in 2008 to evolve the business to meet the changing needs of our students. However, in our University institutions, while we generated strong improvements in operating income and margins, I am not satisfied with the level of our student starts. We will continue to improve in this important area as we move toward our goal of meaningful and consistent revenue growth across the organization."\