Kimberly-Clark Corp. is principally engaged in the manufacturing and marketing throughout the world of a range of products for personal, business and industrial uses, mostly made from natural and synthetic fibers. For the FY ended 12/31/00, net sales increased 7% to $13.98B. Net income rose 8% to $1.8B. Revenues reflect increased sales of Personal Care products and higher prices. Earnings also reflect higher margins due to lower manufacturing costs.

April 1, 2001

KMB, a global leader in the production and marketing of numerous household and industrial products, has been a very strong market performer for the better part of a year. By supplying the world with products that people will always need, KMB has been able to maintain stable earnings. KMB is expected to post profits of $3.65 for fiscal 2001. The company has a very modest forward P/E of 18.6, which offers jittery investors a little bit of cushion in this nervous market. This fact partly explains why KMB has been able to hold its stock value while so many other stocks have floundered. KMB has spent the past several trading sessions consolidating its gains from earlier this year. This process may be nearing its completion, enabling the stock to resume its up trend. New positions can be added as KMB crosses over its 50-DMA of $67.88. Some of you may want to wait until it becomes clear that KMB will close above the 50-DMA on volume that put the stock on track to do 2 million shares by day’s end. Money Flow has been outstanding and the OBV is improving. Although the MACD is still negative, it appears to have stopped its decent and could be poised to trigger a buy signal soon. We are placing stops at $62.50 in case KMB brakes support at $65.50.

Picked on April 1st @ $67.83
Change since picked +0.00
Stop Loss $62.50

April 5, 2001

KMB made an encouraging rally earlier in the day as it crossed over the critical 50-DMA of $68.09 right on the open. Unfortunately, it could not maintain this early strength and it subsequently pulled modestly back throughout the rest of the day. This pullback can most likely be attributed to a bit of portfolio shuffling out of cyclical stocks and into some of the big technology names. Although this trend may continue tomorrow, we remain encouraged about the long-term profit potential for KMB due to the stock's long term uptrend and earnings stability. Traders might want to pick up KMB tomorrow as long as the stock can stay above $66.88. Additionally, a move above today's high of $68.38, accompanied by midday volume over 1.1 million shares, could be an enticing entry point. One encouraging sign that KMB could eventually make a nice move is the Money Flow, which continues to be outstanding.

Picked on April 1st @ $67.83
Change since picked -0.84
Stop Loss $62.50

April 3, 2001

KMB may not be the most exciting company in the universe; nevertheless, its stock continues to attract investment due to its stability. Although this play has pulled back so far this week due to general market uneasiness, KMB could make a move tomorrow following some potentially positive developments after the close. KMB's Executive Vice President, Kathi Seifert, is speaking at the Banc of America Securities Consumer Products Conference Tuesday afternoon. She will be outlining KMB's strategic initiatives and provide an overview of the company. These types of presentations are usually pretty positive because they are designed to encourage investment in the company by the conference attendees. Technically speaking, KMB saw its third mild down spike of the past two weeks today. The previous two spikes were one day events and the stock quickly recovered and moved right back to its 50-DMA. This moving average closed today at $67.97. We would be cautious about adding positions if this pattern does not repeat itself and KMB drops below $65.28. Otherwise, traders could consider adding to positions if KMB opens flat to a little higher (no more than two points).

Picked on April 1st @ $67.83
Change since picked -1.98
Stop Loss $62.50