Blog Posts by Chris Nichols

Southeastern Asset Management, Dell's (DELL) biggest outside shareholder, is re-emphasizing its opposition to the $24 billion buyout of the computer maker, and now it's demanding a list of other investors so that it can take the case directly to them.

To this point, Southeastern, the holder of more than 8% of Dell's stock, hasn't been tremendously successful in getting the buyout group to see things the way it does. Southeastern was one of the early voices against the purchase, and it believes Dell is worth almost $24 a share. The takeover bid, led by company founder Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners, is $13.65. Microsoft (MSFT) is contributing a loan.

On Wednesday, a day the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average was hitting an all-time high and the Nasdaq added 1.2%, Round Rock, Texas-based Dell was gaining 9 cents to $14.09. Not exactly skyrocketing, but it is the best level the stock has seen in months and represents a post-deal announcement peak. Dell's 52-week high is $17.46.

"All we have are these brands. I'm not going to be here forever. It's my job while I'm here to do everything I can to protect these brands." -- Jamie Morgan, president of Justin Brands

When you walk into the headquarters of Justin Brands in Fort Worth, Texas, you're entering the American West.

Depending on your geographical perspective, you might see it otherwise. But there's no doubt whatsoever that the ethos, the state of mind that is the frontier, is at the core of everything this 134-year-old boot maker stands for.

A picture of silent Western movie star Tom Mix hangs on the wall. Images of former chairman John Justin Jr. are there, keeping an eye on things. Cowboy boots are on display, and Justins are on the feet of the employees. Or they'd better be, if these people want to have a place to work tomorrow. This is explained by Justin's president, Jamie Morgan. He isn't smiling when he says it, but he's probably joking. Maybe.

The history of this company goes back to 1879, when H.J.

JCPenney's (JCP) stock was having one of the steepest single-day drops in its history Thursday, and at the current level, it's in line for its third-worst session going back to at least November 1984.

That's as far into the past as FactSet data go, and it would mean that CEO Ron Johnson has been in office during two of the three biggest dives ever witnessed for the retailer's shares. The latest selloff comes only hours after the company reported horrible sales numbers for its fourth quarter, continuing a series of slumping results. If this area holds, he'll have overseen four of the nine grimmest sessions of all time.

So far, the most pronounced pullback for JCPenney was May 16, 2012 -- one of the bleak Johnson days -- when the shares sank 19.7% by the close. For now, they're dropping 15.6% to $17.85. That's actually quite a step up from the low, at which point the stock hit $16.57, a plunge of 21.7% from the previous finish. Roughly an hour into the trading day, volume already was

If we keep talking about it, one day we might actually jinx Hormel's (HRL) stock -- but we're not there yet.

Shares of the Austin, Minn., food company were up 1.6% Thursday to $36.74, a level that, if it holds, would be an all-time closing high. This came after the maker of Spam, bacon and canned chili raised its full-year profit forecast following a first quarter in which it met estimates of 48 cents a share. Sales of $2.12 billion were slightly under the $2.14 billion consensus.

As the top line suggests, it wasn't a perfect fiscal period for Hormel. At the Jennie-O Turkey Store division -- around 18% of revenue -- sales of $390.3 million missed expectations by $5 million, and the segment's operating profit fell 23% from the prior year. Results there are likely to be weaker than 2012, the company believes. Refrigerated foods, half of Hormel's total sales, declined 1.9% to $1.06 billion, finishing shy of Wall Street's outlook of $1.10 billion. Operating profit in the largest unit was

You might come by that morning cup of coffee with a little less out of pocket in the days ahead, with word coming from J.M. Smucker (SJM) on Tuesday that it plans to cut the list prices for most of the java it sells at stores in the U.S.

The Orrville, Ohio, company said the reductions, averaging 6%, cover the majority of its packaged coffee sold domestically, primarily under the Folgers and Dunkin' Donuts brands carried in stores. Smucker cited declines in the cost for coffee beans.

While widely known for jelly, Smucker has been becoming more reliant on coffee in recent years, with that part of its product line regularly making up roughly 40% or more of its sales in recent quarters and increasing the company's overall top line.

Source: Smucker.

In late 2008, Smucker acquired the Folgers brand from Procter & Gamble (PG), and since then it has added the operations of Rowland Coffee Roasters and taken over a coffee business line from Sara Lee, now known as Hillshire Brands (HSH).

Individual investors are getting another lesson in the joy of boring, as Warren Buffett, the master of banal who's only one of the richest people on earth, said he'll be part of a group that's buying ketchup maker H.J. Heinz (HNZ).

Who cares. Nobody, unless you're one of the folks getting a 20% surge today and a nearly 19% premium to the best level the stock has ever reached. In this case, the $28 billion deal, including assumed debt, will see Pittsburgh-based Heinz bought for $72.50 a share by Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) and investment firm 3G Capital. Its highest-ever close was $61, a record set earlier this month and one that will be a distant memory by the end of trading Thursday.

If you had Heinz yesterday, good for you -- but not just for what's transpired with the buyout. If you've been around for any length of time, you've had a stock that's climbed six of the past seven years, with a five-year mean increase of 5.2%. It tends to raise its dividend on a regular basis

Brian Belski, the chief investment strategist at BMO Capital Markets, says the growth strategy that has worked well in the market for the past few years might need to be traded in for 2013.

Speaking this week to Matt Nesto, Belski says that, longer term, "we think that there's a transition out of growth strategies into value strategies. When growth is scarce, growth outperforms, and growth has been outperforming for four out of the last five years."

It's no secret that major stock indices have doubled since the post-crisis lows reached in March 2009, and Belski says for investors to keep their positive streak intact, value may be the place to be.

"Our analysis suggests that growth strategies typically perform best during periods of slowing earnings growth -- something that has clearly defined the market environment over the past few years," he wrote in a research report earlier this month. "However, recent earnings growth trends suggest a change is in the making. Given that earnings revision trends remain relatively subdued ... we believe there is a good chance that earnings growth will at least match, if not exceed current 2013 earnings growth expectations."

With that being the case, this appears to be "an opportune time" for a value approach, he believes.

The opposition to the Dell (DELL) buyout has gotten even stronger, with No. 2 outside shareholder T. Rowe Price joining Southeastern Asset Management, the biggest investor, in saying it won't support the deal.

Baltimore-based T. Rowe's chief investment officer said the fund firm doesn't plan to back the proposal "as put forward." T. Rowe Price owned 4.41% of Dell's shares outstanding as of Sept. 30, according to FactSet data.

The Wall Street Journal has a nice summary of where things stand with the top investors. Among other large shareholders, most haven't commented one way or the other, but those who have aren't happy with the $13.65-a-share offer for the Round Rock, Texas, computer seller.

Pzena Investment Management, the No. 19 investor, has indicated it won't vote with the takeover team, while Harris Associates and Yacktman Asset Management look to be leaning against it, though nothing definitive on their votes has been reported. Below, you can see the holdings of the big