8 Ex-Dividend Stocks With Buy Ratings

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The following stocks go ex-dividend Wednesday, meaning an investor must purchase the shares Tuesday to qualify for the next dividend payment: Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Buckle (BKE), Freeport-McMoran (FCX), Foot Locker (FL), General Dynamics (GD), Goldcorp (GG), Morningstar (MORN) and Yum Brands (YUM).

Each of the stocks received a buy rating from TheStreet Ratings.

Abbott Laboratories

The health care company is scheduled to report its first-quarter earnings on April 17. Analysts, on average, anticipate earnings of 99 cents a share on revenue of $9.35 billion.

"Due to the release of the ABT abstract on HCV yesterday and due to the improvement in the valuations of ABT's comps we are updating our sum of the parts valuation model for ABT today," Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts wrote in an April 5 report. "On the encouraging co-pilot data we are increasing the earnings multiple we assume for ABT's pharma business to 11 from 10. We continue to use a 14 multiple for the diversified medical products business based on our sum of the parts of the four businesses within that division that we show below. And we are now basing our target multiples on 2013 estimates. As a result our PO moves from $57 to $65."

Forward Annual Dividend Yield: 3.3%

Rated "A (Buy)" by TheStreet Ratings: The company's fourth-quarter gross profit margin was about the same as it was last year.

Abbott Laboratories has average liquidity. Its Quick Ratio is 1.02, which shows the company can technically meet its short-term cash needs.

In the fourth quarter, stockholders' net worth increased 9.16% from the prior year.

TheStreet Ratings' price target is $75.25.

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