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BTS fans demand apology from Jimmy Carr over 'absolutely disgusting' joke
Comedian Jimmy Carr has sparked a furious backlash after he offended BTS fans over what they labelled an “absolutely disgusting” joke about the K-pop act. Carr made the remark on Australian TV show 20 to One - which counts down top 20s in pop culture - as he discussed the South Korean boy band and other global crazes with other stars, including Perez Hilton. Carr said: “When I heard something Korean had exploded in American I got worried so I guess it could have been worse. But not much worse.” The hashtags #channel9apologize and #channel9racist started trending as fans of the band demanded an apology from Carr and broadcaster Channel 9. Here is the full report which was given on BTS tonight. Watch at your own will. pic.twitter.com/pW43GQHG11 — AUSTRALIA BTS (@australiabts) June 19, 2019 The fan-run Twitter account BTS Australia accused the show of “racism” and claimed the show had been prejudiced towards the group. There was one joke that the group’s United Nations speech was about hair products. “This is unfair and presenting inaccurate information,” fans wrote in a statement. “You disregarded their achievements, and instead let your xenophobic, racist mindsets be biased instead. We want an apology.” Offensive: Comedian Jimmy Carr has come under fire (Getty) Others called for action to be taken against all the stars who discussed the South Korean pop group including actor Rob Mills and comedian Mel Buttle. “@jimmycarr I suggest you post a public apology for what you said about BTS on @20toOne absolutely disgusting,” tweeted one. Another wrote: “#channel9apologize. Take an action @20toOne to those people who spoke about BTS within the ‘interview’: Erin Molan, Dave Thornton, Rob Mills, Mel Buttle, Jimmy Carr, Perez Hilton. WE NEED APOLOGY.” A third posted: “Apologise to BTS, you’re a disgrace to the UK.” @jimmycarr You messed up mf. Apologize to for what you said about BTS. — Habs💀이 밤 (@gguksID) June 19, 2019 Also, I did notice that one of the participants in this report was a British comedian named Jimmy Carr. As a UK army I am absolutely disgusted with the joke he made and his overall response to bts. An abysmal representation for our country and a shameful way to speak/behave. https://t.co/4e8t21IabK — Tori ~ Wembley D-2💕 (@magicshopmix) June 19, 2019 i’m british and have known of and watched jimmy carr since i was a child but that doesn’t mean i’m gonna try and justify him linking bts to north korean activities. https://t.co/BSkMEawk1d — janine #FORHANBIN (@lovedustgd) June 19, 2019 The channel later issued an apology, stating that the intention was to “humorously highlight” the group’s popularity. Story continues “As a light-hearted entertainment program, it is our belief that last night’s episode of ‘20 to One’ ... did not breach any broadcast regulations, and was intended to humorously highlight the popularity of the group,” the spokesperson said in a statement to CNN. “We apologise to any who may have been offended by last night’s episode. Made up of RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook, BTS, the group were the second best-selling artists worldwide in 2018 and recently played two sold out shows at Wembley Stadium. Standard Online has contacted Carr for comment. |
Boris Johnson's Brexit plans slammed by UK governor Mark Carney
Boris Johnson. Photo: Simon Dawson/Pool via AP The governor of the Bank of England has slammed Boris Johnson’s Brexit trade deal plans, wading into the final round of the Tory leadership contest. Mark Carney challenged claims by the frontrunner to be the next UK prime minister that Britain could avoid significant disruption to trade from new tariffs if it left the EU without a deal. Johnson had used the BBC’s leadership debate this week to highlight what some Brexiteers call a “secret weapon” of a clause in world trade rules to secure continued free trade even if the UK cannot secure an agreement. But Carney told the BBC on Friday morning that the UK needed “absolute clarity” that a no-deal Brexit would mean new tariffs. READ MORE: The big hole in Boris Johnson’s Brexit plans He said the EU would have to apply the same higher tariffs to Britain as other non-EU states, under Article 24 of global trade rules set out in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Such new tariffs could significantly undermine trade flows in and out of Britain, which are currently frictionless with the EU. ‘No deal means no deal’ “If we move to no-deal, no deal means no deal,” said Carney on the Today programme after giving a speech at Mansion House last night. “The GATT rules are clear. GATT 24 applies if you have an agreement, not if you’ve decided not to have an agreement with the European Union, or been unable to come to an agreement. “Not having an agreement with the European Union means there are tariffs, automatically, because the Europeans have to apply the same rules to us as they apply to everyone else. “It means there is a substantial change in the relationship with the European Union. Now that be the choice the country takes, but it should be a choice that’s taken under absolute clarity of what that means.” Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney during the annual Bankers and Merchants Dinner at Mansion House in London. No free trade until the UK has a deal Johnson had said Article 24 of global trade rules permitted continued free trade without tariffs while the UK government negotiated its future relationship. Story continues But several experts have previously warned short-term free trade is only allowed if the two sides already have a detailed plan and timetable for a future agreement. Carney said the secretary of state for international trade Liam Fox, a leading Brexiteer, and the director general of the World Trade Organisation had both agreed this was the case. The UK has not even begun negotiating a future agreement with the EU, with Brussels limiting talks since the UK voted to leave to the terms of the divorce. READ MORE: Boris Johnson ‘plans two-year Brexit transition’ Negotiating key planks of the future relationship by 31 October appears an impossible task, as many trade deals take years to negotiate. Britain would also need EU approval for a smooth transition under Article 24. Countless warnings by experts suggest Britain would therefore face catastrophic economic consequences if it left in October without agreement, and Article 24 could not be relied on to smooth Brexit in the near-future at least. Johnny Mercer, a Conservative MP, faced a grilling from BBC presenter Justin Webb as he defended Boris Johnson on air. Pressed by Webb to admit the plans were “magical stuff,” Mercer said that the public were “fed up” of hearing in the media that things were impossible. READ MORE: Why a no-deal Brexit could mean twice the bureaucracy for manufacturers |
What You Should Know About Vivenio Residencial SOCIMI, S.A.'s (BME:YVIV) Financial Strength
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Investors are always looking for growth in small-cap stocks like Vivenio Residencial SOCIMI, S.A. (BME:YVIV), with a market cap of €332m. However, an important fact which most ignore is: how financially healthy is the business? Given that YVIV is not presently profitable, it’s essential to evaluate the current state of its operations and pathway to profitability. The following basic checks can help you get a picture of the company's balance sheet strength. Nevertheless, these checks don't give you a full picture, so I recommend youdig deeper yourself into YVIV here.
YVIV has built up its total debt levels in the last twelve months, from €40m to €191m , which includes long-term debt. With this growth in debt, YVIV currently has €20m remaining in cash and short-term investments , ready to be used for running the business. On top of this, YVIV has generated €9.0m in operating cash flow over the same time period, resulting in an operating cash to total debt ratio of 4.7%, signalling that YVIV’s debt is not covered by operating cash.
Looking at YVIV’s €8.8m in current liabilities, the company has maintained a safe level of current assets to meet its obligations, with the current ratio last standing at 2.4x. The current ratio is calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities. For Real Estate companies, this ratio is within a sensible range since there is a bit of a cash buffer without leaving too much capital in a low-return environment.
With debt reaching 63% of equity, YVIV may be thought of as relatively highly levered. This is a bit unusual for a small-cap stock, since they generally have a harder time borrowing than large more established companies. But since YVIV is currently loss-making, sustainability of its current state of operations becomes a concern. Maintaining a high level of debt, while revenues are still below costs, can be dangerous as liquidity tends to dry up in unexpected downturns.
YVIV’s high cash coverage means that, although its debt levels are high, the company is able to utilise its borrowings efficiently in order to generate cash flow. Since there is also no concerns around YVIV's liquidity needs, this may be its optimal capital structure for the time being. This is only a rough assessment of financial health, and I'm sure YVIV has company-specific issues impacting its capital structure decisions. I suggest you continue to research Vivenio Residencial SOCIMI to get a better picture of the small-cap by looking at:
1. Valuation: What is YVIV worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? Theintrinsic value infographic in our free research reporthelps visualize whether YVIV is currently mispriced by the market.
2. Historical Performance: What has YVIV's returns been like over the past? Go into more detail in the past track record analysis and take a look atthe free visual representations of our analysisfor more clarity.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
You May Have Been Looking At Zambal Spain Socimi, S.A. (BME:YZBL) All Wrong
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Zambal Spain Socimi, S.A. is a €775m small-cap, real estate investment trust (REIT) based in Madrid, Spain. REITs own and operate income-generating property and adhere to a different set of regulations. This impacts how YZBL’s business operates and also how we should analyse its stock. In this commentary, I'll take you through some of the things I look at when assessing YZBL.
View our latest analysis for Zambalin Socimi
A common financial term REIT investors should know is Funds from Operations, or FFO for short, which is a REIT's main source of income from its portfolio of property, such as rent. FFO is a cleaner and more representative figure of how much YZBL actually makes from its day-to-day operations, compared to net income, which can be affected by one-off activities or non-cash items such as depreciation. For YZBL, its FFO of €26m makes up 59% of its gross profit, which means the majority of its earnings are high-quality and recurring.
Robust financial health can be measured using a common metric in the REIT investing world, FFO-to-debt. The calculation roughly estimates how long it will take for YZBL to repay debt on its balance sheet, which gives us insight into how much risk is associated with having that level of debt on its books. With a ratio of 15%, the credit rating agency Standard & Poor would consider this as significantly high risk. This would take YZBL 6.85 years to pay off using operating income alone. Given that long-term debt is a multi-year commitment this is not unusual, however, the longer it takes for a company to pay back debt, the higher the risk associated with that company.
Next, interest coverage ratio shows how many times YZBL’s earnings can cover its annual interest payments. Usually the ratio is calculated using EBIT, but for REITs, it’s better to use FFO divided by net interest. This is similar to the above concept, but looks at the nearer-term obligations. With an interest coverage ratio of 13.54x, its safe to say YZBL is producing more than enough funds to cover its upcoming payments.
I also use FFO to look at YZBL's valuation relative to other REITs in Spain by using the price-to-FFO metric. This is conceptually the same as the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio, but as previously mentioned, FFO is more suitable. YZBL's price-to-FFO is 29.39x, compared to the long-term industry average of 16.5x, meaning that it is overvalued.
In this article, I've taken a look at Funds from Operations using various metrics, but it is certainly not sufficient to derive an investment decision based on this value alone. Zambalin Socimi can bring about diversification for your portfolio, but before you decide to invest, take a look at the other aspects you must consider before investing:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for YZBL’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor YZBL’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is YZBL worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? Theintrinsic value infographic in our free research reporthelps visualize whether YZBL is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
What You Need To Know Before Investing In Zambal Spain Socimi, S.A. (BME:YZBL)
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Zambal Spain Socimi, S.A. is a €775m small-cap, real estate investment trust (REIT) based in Madrid, Spain. REITs own and operate income-generating property and adhere to a different set of regulations. This impacts how YZBL’s business operates and also how we should analyse its stock. I’ll take you through some of the key metrics you should use in order to properly assess YZBL.
View our latest analysis for Zambalin Socimi
Funds from Operations (FFO) is a higher quality measure of YZBL's earnings compared to net income. This term is very common in the REIT investing world as it provides a cleaner look at its cash flow from daily operations by excluding impact of one-off activities or non-cash items such as depreciation. For YZBL, its FFO of €26m makes up 59% of its gross profit, which means the majority of its earnings are high-quality and recurring.
YZBL's financial stability can be gauged by seeing how much its FFO generated each year can cover its total amount of debt. The higher the coverage, the less risky YZBL is, broadly speaking, to have debt on its books. The metric I'll be using, FFO-to-debt, also estimates the time it will take for the company to repay its debt with its FFO. With a ratio of 15%, the credit rating agency Standard & Poor would consider this as significantly high risk. This would take YZBL 6.85 years to pay off using operating income alone. Given that long-term debt is a multi-year commitment this is not unusual, however, the longer it takes for a company to pay back debt, the higher the risk associated with that company.
Next, interest coverage ratio shows how many times YZBL’s earnings can cover its annual interest payments. Usually the ratio is calculated using EBIT, but for REITs, it’s better to use FFO divided by net interest. This is similar to the above concept, but looks at the nearer-term obligations. With an interest coverage ratio of 13.54x, its safe to say YZBL is producing more than enough funds to cover its upcoming payments.
In terms of valuing YZBL, FFO can also be used as a form of relative valuation. Instead of the P/E ratio, P/FFO is used instead, which is very common for REIT stocks. YZBL's price-to-FFO is 29.39x, compared to the long-term industry average of 16.5x, meaning that it is overvalued.
In this article, I've taken a look at Funds from Operations using various metrics, but it is certainly not sufficient to derive an investment decision based on this value alone. Zambalin Socimi can bring about diversification for your portfolio, but before you decide to invest, take a look at the other aspects you must consider before investing:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for YZBL’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor YZBL’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is YZBL worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? Theintrinsic value infographic in our free research reporthelps visualize whether YZBL is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Zenitel (EBR:ZENT) Shareholders Have Enjoyed A 64% Share Price Gain
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Generally speaking the aim of active stock picking is to find companies that provide returns that are superior to the market average. And the truth is, you can make significant gains if you buy good quality businesses at the right price. To wit, the Zenitel share price has climbed 64% in five years, easily topping the market return of 3.9% (ignoring dividends). On the other hand, the more recent gains haven't been so impressive, with shareholders gaining just 20%.
View our latest analysis for Zenitel
There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).
Zenitel's earnings per share are down 5.6% per year, despite strong share price performance over five years. This means it's unlikely the market is judging the company based on earnings growth. Since the change in EPS doesn't seem to correlate with the change in share price, it's worth taking a look at other metrics.
It is not great to see that revenue has dropped by 3.0% per year over five years. It certainly surprises us that the share price is up, but perhaps a closer examination of the data will yield answers.
Depicted in the graphic below, you'll see revenue and earnings over time. If you want more detail, you can click on the chart itself.
Take a more thorough look at Zenitel's financial health with thisfreereport on its balance sheet.
Investors should note that there's a difference between Zenitel's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price change, which we've covered above. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Zenitel hasn't been paying dividends, but its TSR of 82% exceeds its share price return of 64%, implying it has either spun-off a business, or raised capital at a discount; thereby providing additional value to shareholders.
We're pleased to report that Zenitel shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 20% over one year. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 13%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. Is Zenitel cheap compared to other companies? These3 valuation measuresmight help you decide.
Of course,you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere.So take a peek at thisfreelist of companies we expect will grow earnings.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on BE exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
A Look At The Intrinsic Value Of Zoltav Resources Inc. (LON:ZOL)
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Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Zoltav Resources Inc. (LON:ZOL) by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. This is done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple!
Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of theSimply Wall St analysis model.
View our latest analysis for Zoltav Resources
We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Seeing as no analyst estimates of free cash flow are available to us, we have extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the company's last reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.
Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:
[{"": "Levered FCF (RUB, Millions)", "2019": "RUB389.03", "2020": "RUB429.47", "2021": "RUB462.30", "2022": "RUB488.74", "2023": "RUB510.11", "2024": "RUB527.60", "2025": "RUB542.20", "2026": "RUB554.70", "2027": "RUB565.70", "2028": "RUB575.63"}, {"": "Growth Rate Estimate Source", "2019": "Est @ 14.32%", "2020": "Est @ 10.4%", "2021": "Est @ 7.64%", "2022": "Est @ 5.72%", "2023": "Est @ 4.37%", "2024": "Est @ 3.43%", "2025": "Est @ 2.77%", "2026": "Est @ 2.31%", "2027": "Est @ 1.98%", "2028": "Est @ 1.76%"}, {"": "Present Value (RUB, Millions) Discounted @ 7.35%", "2019": "RUB362.38", "2020": "RUB372.65", "2021": "RUB373.66", "2022": "RUB367.98", "2023": "RUB357.76", "2024": "RUB344.68", "2025": "RUB329.95", "2026": "RUB314.44", "2027": "RUB298.71", "2028": "RUB283.13"}]
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= RUB3.41b
"Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St
The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 10-year government bond rate of 1.2%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 7.4%.
Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2029× (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = RUруб576m × (1 + 1.2%) ÷ (7.4% – 1.2%) = RUруб9.5b
Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RUBRUруб9.5b ÷ ( 1 + 7.4%)10= RUB4.68b
The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is RUB8.08b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. This results in an intrinsic value estimate in the company’s reported currency of RUB56.94. However, ZOL’s primary listing is in Cayman Islands, and 1 share of ZOL in RUB represents 0.0125 ( RUB/ GBP) share of AIM:ZOL,so the intrinsic value per share in GBP is £0.71.Relative to the current share price of £0.70, the company appears about fair value at a 1.7% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.
We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Zoltav Resources as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.4%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.028. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.
Although the valuation of a company is important, it shouldn’t be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Zoltav Resources, I've compiled three relevant aspects you should look at:
1. Financial Health: Does ZOL have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at ourfree balance sheet analysis with six simple checkson key factors like leverage and risk.
2. Other High Quality Alternatives: Are there other high quality stocks you could be holding instead of ZOL? Exploreour interactive list of high quality stocksto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!
PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the LON every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks justsearch here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Can India cash in if Apple shifts some manufacturing out of China?
The ongoing US-China trade has the potential to benefit India. Cupertino-headquartered Apple Inc. is looking to shift 15-30% of its production in China to other parts of southeast Asia, Nikkei Asia Review reported on June 19 citing unnamed sources. Plant-based meats sound healthy, but they’re still processed foods If Apple does make such a shuffle, India will stand to gain, experts believe. “We believe, realistically, in a best-case scenario, Apple would be able to move 5-7% of its iPhone production to India in the next 12-18 months,” WedBush Securities analyst Dan Ives told Fortune magazine . “Moving 15% of its iPhone production from China to other regions (India and Vietnam would be top candidates) would take at least two to three years in our opinion.” Already, some of Apple’s handsets such as the low-priced iPhone SE and the three-year-old iPhone 7 are assembled in India . In December 2018, Reuters reported that Apple may also start assembling the newer iPhone X in India sometime in 2019. Facebook’s Libra is spurring central banks’ interest in issuing cryptocurrency But ramping up manufacturing in India won’t be without hurdles for the iPhone-maker. From idea to execution For one, India’s policies are fine on paper but often not so in practice. “(The) Indian system lags in implementation and is perceived unfair when it comes to dealing with multinational companies,” said Yugal Joshi, vice-president at Texas-based consultancy Everest Group, citing the earlier sudden changes in the country’s e-commerce policy . Then, the Indian government is mulling contentious data localisation policies that could deter global companies from entering or expanding business in India. On top of it, geopolitical tensions are rife even between India and the US. Most recently, on June 5, Washington DC withdrew a key trade privilege for New Delhi and India retaliated 11 days later by imposing higher tariffs on 29 US goods . Story continues “Given the possibility of an escalation in trade issues between India and the US, and geopolitical issues relating to Iran, India relocation carries significant risks that will weigh on the team making an assessment,” Vivek Durai, founder of business intelligence platform Paper.VC, told Quartz. “The overall global trade environment risks becoming a series of bilateral plays making it much harder to create a reliable cross border supply chain.” If all goes well policy-wise, capacity is the next question Apple has to address. Factoring in factories Two Taiwanese Apple suppliers Wistron and Foxconn have a presence in India. While Wistron has a manufacturing facility at the outskirts of Bengaluru, Foxconn has a factory near Chennai. However, the companies produce small volumes at these units. “Apple will look to a strong and welcoming state government, ideally in south India, that can provide the tax and real estate sops it might need to scale manufacturing,” said Durai. “Existing facilities would definitely need upgrades. Also, you’d have to consider scaling your entire supply chain as well.” Even before headlines about curbing China production made the rounds, Foxconn had already kickstarted expansion talks with the Indian government. Plus, the overhaul won’t happen overnight, so India still has time to gear up for it. A win-win Ramping up production in India could help Apple overcome one of its long-standing challenges in the world’s second-largest smartphone market: reducing prices of iPhone. iPhone currently has just 2% market share in India, despite Apple’s many efforts to grow its presence here. Local production could help circumvent the high import duty on the handsets, which are more expensive in India than most Asian countries and even New York . Earlier, Apple has tried to introduce refurbished phones in India but the Narendra Modi government has resisted citing the country’s snowballing e-waste crisis . Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief , our free daily newsletter with the world’s most important and interesting news. More stories from Quartz: Google and Facebook are circling Africa with huge undersea cables to get millions online The new White House press secretary took on North Korean security for US reporters |
Stocks - Futures Fall as U.S.-Iranian Tension Hits Sentiment
Investing.com - U.S. futures were lower on Friday, struggling to build on Thursday's record close in the S&P 500 after Iran's shooting down of a U.S. surveillance drone stoked fears of war between the two.
U.S. President Donald Trumpapproved military strikes against Iranon Friday in retaliation, but called off the attacks at the last minute, according to a New York Times report.
Tensions between the two countries have risen since the White House decided to withdraw from the UN-backed 2015 Iran nuclear agreement. The administration most recently accused Iran of last week's attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, which Tehran denies.
The incident has reminded markets that monetary policy - and specifically the hopes for interest rate cuts and other stimulus from the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank that drove markets higher earlier in the week - is not the only game in town.
Tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures slumped 24 points or 0.3% by 6:49 AM ET (10:49 GMT), while Dow futures lost 23 points or 0.1% and S&P 500 futures inched down 4 points or 0.2%.
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) was in focus after The Wall Street Journal reported it had agreed to buy health-care payments firm Equian for $3.2 billion.
Meanwhile, Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) fell 3.3% after the Center for Consumer Freedom launched an ad campaign alleging that many of the company's plant-based meat products could include traces of toxic chemicals.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) was down 1.3%, while Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) slipped 1.4% and Carnival (NYSE:CCL) slumped 4.8%, still pressured by a profit warning it issued on Thursday due to weak demand from European customers.
Investors are also likely to keep an eye on Slack (NYSE:WORK), which enjoyed a stellar debut on Wall Street on Thursday, gaining nearly 50% by the market close. However, as the stock was listed without underwriters, it has less protection against possible volatility if market sentiment turns.
In commodities, crude oil gained 0.9% to $57.58 a barrel. Gold futures gained 0.3% to a six-year high of $1,401.55 a troy ounce, while the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.1% to 96.093.
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A Look At The Intrinsic Value Of Zoltav Resources Inc. (LON:ZOL)
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How far off is Zoltav Resources Inc. (LON:ZOL) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to today's value. This is done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.
Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of theSimply Wall St analysis model.
View our latest analysis for Zoltav Resources
We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Seeing as no analyst estimates of free cash flow are available to us, we have extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the company's last reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.
A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:
[{"": "Levered FCF (RUB, Millions)", "2019": "RUB389.03", "2020": "RUB429.47", "2021": "RUB462.30", "2022": "RUB488.74", "2023": "RUB510.11", "2024": "RUB527.60", "2025": "RUB542.20", "2026": "RUB554.70", "2027": "RUB565.70", "2028": "RUB575.63"}, {"": "Growth Rate Estimate Source", "2019": "Est @ 14.32%", "2020": "Est @ 10.4%", "2021": "Est @ 7.64%", "2022": "Est @ 5.72%", "2023": "Est @ 4.37%", "2024": "Est @ 3.43%", "2025": "Est @ 2.77%", "2026": "Est @ 2.31%", "2027": "Est @ 1.98%", "2028": "Est @ 1.76%"}, {"": "Present Value (RUB, Millions) Discounted @ 7.35%", "2019": "RUB362.38", "2020": "RUB372.65", "2021": "RUB373.66", "2022": "RUB367.98", "2023": "RUB357.76", "2024": "RUB344.68", "2025": "RUB329.95", "2026": "RUB314.44", "2027": "RUB298.71", "2028": "RUB283.13"}]
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= RUB3.41b
"Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St
After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the intial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 10-year government bond rate of 1.2%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 7.4%.
Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2029× (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = RUруб576m × (1 + 1.2%) ÷ (7.4% – 1.2%) = RUруб9.5b
Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RUBRUруб9.5b ÷ ( 1 + 7.4%)10= RUB4.68b
The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is RUB8.08b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. This results in an intrinsic value estimate in the company’s reported currency of RUB56.94. However, ZOL’s primary listing is in Cayman Islands, and 1 share of ZOL in RUB represents 0.0125 ( RUB/ GBP) share of AIM:ZOL,so the intrinsic value per share in GBP is £0.71.Compared to the current share price of £0.70, the company appears about fair value at a 1.7% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.
We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Zoltav Resources as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.4%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.028. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.
Although the valuation of a company is important, it shouldn’t be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Zoltav Resources, There are three relevant aspects you should further research:
1. Financial Health: Does ZOL have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at ourfree balance sheet analysis with six simple checkson key factors like leverage and risk.
2. Other High Quality Alternatives: Are there other high quality stocks you could be holding instead of ZOL? Exploreour interactive list of high quality stocksto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!
PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every GB stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock justsearch here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
How Do Analysts See Harworth Group plc (LON:HWG) Performing Over The Next Year?
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Since Harworth Group plc (LON:HWG) released its earnings in December 2018, analysts seem fairly confident, as a 39% increase in profits is expected in the upcoming year, relative to the past 5-year average growth rate of 17%. With trailing-twelve-month net income at current levels of UK£34m, we should see this rise to UK£47m in 2020. In this article, I've outline a few earnings growth rates to give you a sense of the market sentiment for Harworth Group in the longer term. Investors wanting to learn more about other aspects of the company shouldresearch its fundamentals here.
Check out our latest analysis for Harworth Group
The longer term view from the 2 analysts covering HWG is one of positive sentiment. Given that it becomes hard to forecast far into the future, broker analysts tend to project ahead roughly three years. To get an idea of the overall earnings growth trend for HWG, I’ve plotted out each year’s earnings expectations and inserted a line of best fit to determine an annual rate of growth from the slope of this line.
By 2022, HWG's earnings should reach UK£43m, from current levels of UK£34m, resulting in an annual growth rate of 6.1%. This leads to an EPS of £0.14 in the final year of projections relative to the current EPS of £0.11. With a current profit margin of 44%, this movement will result in a margin of 52% by 2022.
Future outlook is only one aspect when you're building an investment case for a stock. For Harworth Group, I've compiled three important factors you should look at:
1. Financial Health: Does it have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at ourfree balance sheet analysis with six simple checkson key factors like leverage and risk.
2. Valuation: What is Harworth Group worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? Theintrinsic value infographic in our free research reporthelps visualize whether Harworth Group is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Growth Alternatives: Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of Harworth Group? Exploreour interactive list of stocks with large growth potentialto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Is Huhtamäki Oyj's (HEL:HUH1V) 2.3% Dividend Worth Your Time?
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Today we'll take a closer look at Huhtamäki Oyj (HEL:HUH1V) from a dividend investor's perspective. Owning a strong business and reinvesting the dividends is widely seen as an attractive way of growing your wealth. Yet sometimes, investors buy a stock for its dividend and lose money because the share price falls by more than they earned in dividend payments.
With a 2.3% yield and a nine-year payment history, investors probably think Huhtamäki Oyj looks like a reliable dividend stock. A 2.3% yield is not inspiring, but the longer payment history has some appeal. Some simple research can reduce the risk of buying Huhtamäki Oyj for its dividend - read on to learn more.
Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Huhtamäki Oyj!
Dividends are usually paid out of company earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. As a result, we should always investigate whether a company can afford its dividend, measured as a percentage of a company's net income after tax. In the last year, Huhtamäki Oyj paid out 55% of its profit as dividends. This is a fairly normal payout ratio among most businesses. It allows a higher dividend to be paid to shareholders, but does limit the capital retained in the business - which could be good or bad.
Another important check we do is to see if the free cash flow generated is sufficient to pay the dividend. Huhtamäki Oyj paid out 167% of its free cash flow last year, suggesting the dividend is poorly covered by cash flow. Paying out such a high percentage of cash flow suggests that the dividend was funded from either cash at bank or by borrowing, neither of which is desirable over the long term. While Huhtamäki Oyj's dividends were covered by the company's reported profits, free cash flow is somewhat more important, so it's not great to see that the company didn't generate enough cash to pay its dividend. Cash is king, as they say, and were Huhtamäki Oyj to repeatedly pay dividends that aren't well covered by cashflow, we would consider this a warning sign.
As Huhtamäki Oyj has a meaningful amount of debt, we need to check its balance sheet to see if the company might have debt risks. A quick way to check a company's financial situation uses these two ratios: net debt divided by EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), and net interest cover. Net debt to EBITDA is a measure of a company's total debt. Net interest cover measures the ability to meet interest payments on debt. Essentially we check that a) a company does not have too much debt, and b) that it can afford to pay the interest. Huhtamäki Oyj has net debt of 2.54 times its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA). Using debt can accelerate business growth, but also increases the risks.
We calculated its interest cover by measuring its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), and dividing this by the company's net interest expense. Huhtamäki Oyj has EBIT of 10.74 times its interest expense, which we think is adequate.
We update our data on Huhtamäki Oyj every 24 hours, so you can always getour latest analysis of its financial health, here.
Before buying a stock for its income, we want to see if the dividends have been stable in the past, and if the company has a track record of maintaining its dividend. The first recorded dividend for Huhtamäki Oyj, in the last decade, was nine years ago. The company has been paying a stable dividend for a while now, which is great. However we'd prefer to see consistency for a few more years before giving it our full seal of approval. During the past nine-year period, the first annual payment was €0.38 in 2010, compared to €0.84 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 9.2% per year over this time.
Huhtamäki Oyj has been growing its dividend at a decent rate, and the payments have been stable despite the short payment history. This is a positive start.
Examining whether the dividend is affordable and stable is important. However, it's also important to assess if earnings per share (EPS) are growing. Growing EPS can help maintain or increase the purchasing power of the dividend over the long run. Strong earnings per share (EPS) growth might encourage our interest in the company despite fluctuating dividends, which is why it's great to see Huhtamäki Oyj has grown its earnings per share at 11% per annum over the past five years. Huhtamäki Oyj's earnings per share have grown rapidly in recent years, although more than half of its profits are being paid out as dividends, which makes us wonder if the company has a limited number of reinvestment opportunities in its business.
Dividend investors should always want to know if a) a company's dividends are affordable, b) if there is a track record of consistent payments, and c) if the dividend is capable of growing. Huhtamäki Oyj gets a pass on its dividend payout ratio, but it paid out virtually all of its cash flow as dividends. This may just be a one-off, but we'd keep an eye on this. We were also glad to see it growing earnings, although its dividend history is not as long as we'd like. In sum, we find it hard to get excited about Huhtamäki Oyj from a dividend perspective. It's not that we think it's a bad business; just that there are other companies that perform better on these criteria.
Earnings growth generally bodes well for the future value of company dividend payments. See if the 6 Huhtamäki Oyj analysts we track are forecasting continued growth with ourfreereport on analyst estimates for the company.
We have also put together alist of global stocks with a market capitalisation above $1bn and yielding more 3%.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Rihanna goes day drinking with Seth Meyers
Seth Meyers was a little too hungover to start his show with an opening monologue on Thursday night after he went day drinking with Rihanna for a special segment on Late Night WIth Seth Meyers . Before Meyers and Rihanna even started, they both took a shot and pounded a beer. They were in for a long afternoon. Behind the bar, Meyers made fun drinks for Rihanna based on some of her best songs like "Under my Rumbrella" "We Found Veuve in a Hostess Place" and "B**** Better Have My Bunny," which required Meyers to break the heads off of giant chocolate bunnies so he could fill them with Don Julio 1942 tequila. Following the festive cocktails, Meyers and Rihanna played a drinking game. Meyers showed Rihanna a few pictures of some of her craziest outfits and asked her where she wore the outfit. If she got it right, he would take a shot, but if she got it wrong, she would. Rihanna was, surprisingly, good at the game, which Meyers was not happy about. In fact, the drinking game was the turning point for the two, who both began to slur their words. Next, Meyers and Rihanna took turns playing the bartender who gives great advice. When Rihanna asked Meyers what career path she should take if she were to quit music, Meyers told her she should be a pilot. "I actually wanted to be a pilot," Rihanna told Meyers. "When I realized my grades sucked." Meyers pointed out that he wouldn't want to have a pilot who got bad grades. "You want your pilot to be like, 'Hey, we're about to take off. I got a D in Science," asked Meyers. The shenanigans continued with Meyers testing out some pickup lines on Rihanna, and Rihanna giving Meyers a summer makeover using products from her very successful Fenty Beauty line. The two finished their booze-filled day attempting to sing Rihanna's hit song, "Work," but it was an epic fail, which isn't a surprise since it's already a tough song to sing sober. Late Night With Seth Meyers airs weeknights at 12:35 a.m. on NBC . Watch clips and full episodes of Late Night With Seth Meyers for free on Yahoo View. Story continues Check out James Corden taking Crosswalk the Musical to Paris with Les Misérables: Read more from Yahoo! Entertainment: Kourtney Kardashian says Kylie Jenner acts entitled since becoming a billionaire Tom Hanks commits his first crime by shoplifting Anderson Cooper’s touching tribute to his late mother during first night back to CNN Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter , Facebook , or Instagram , or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Kylie Mar, on Twitter , Facebook , or Instagram . Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Lifestyle's newsletter. |
Meteoric Bitcoin Price Breaks 2019 High as Investors Paint $15,000 FOMO Target
ByCCN Markets: Since June 10, bitcoin has been on a strong upside movement supplemented with large volume across major crypto markets.
The bitcoin price is up by more than $1,300 in the past week (source: coinmarketcap.com)
On Friday, thebitcoin pricehit $9,800 on leading exchanges in the likes of Coinbase, Binance, and Bitstamp, achieving a new 2019 high following a 162 percentyear-to-date gainagainst the U.S. dollar.
As the bitcoin price nears the so-called “FOMO” level at $10,000, which has been considered as a psychological level by many investors in the crypto market, investors anticipate the momentum of the asset to strengthen in the near term.
Fundstrat co-founder Thomas Lee has emphasized that bitcoin has historically seen extended periods of upside movement when it surpasses above the FOMO level.
Read the full story on CCN.com. |
Britain's most popular discount rail ticket firm is valued at £1.6bn
A close-up of a man accessing thetrainline.com on an Apple iPad Mini tablet computer at London's Paddington Station on January 14, 2013. Photo by Will Ireland/Future Publishing via Getty Images The Trainline, one of Britains most popular discount rail ticket firms, is valued at £1.68bn ($2.1bn) after the group priced its shares at 350 pence per share on Friday . The group, which sells train and coach tickets via its website and mobile app, plans to raise £951m through its initial-public-offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange, where it will float 56.5% of its business. Trainline shares will start trading at 8am local time today. One of the worlds largest fund managers Baillie Gifford, which invest in Tesla ( TSLA ), Amazon ( AMZN ), Netflix ( NFLX ), and Facebook ( FB ), has committed to invest £200m into the IPO. "We are delighted to be starting life as a public company on the London Stock Exchange. This is an incredibly exciting achievement for all of us at Trainline, said Clare Gilmartin, CEO of Trainline in a statement. We believe we are uniquely positioned to capitalise on the vast opportunity ahead and accelerate our expansion for the benefit of our customers, our train and coach company partners and our shareholders." READ MORE: Who is Tesla's fourth-largest shareholder Baillie Gifford? The Trainline was founded two decades ago and has fended off buyout attempts from private equity firms over the last few years, according to a number of media reports. The group said it plans to use the cash raised from the IPO to raise its profile and expand its e-ticketing service across Europe. |
Is Huhtamäki Oyj (HEL:HUH1V) A Smart Pick For Income Investors?
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Is Huhtamäki Oyj (HEL:HUH1V) a good dividend stock? How would you know? Dividend paying companies with growing earnings can be highly rewarding in the long term. Unfortunately, it's common for investors to be enticed in by the seemingly attractive yield, and lose money when the company has to cut its dividend payments.
Investors might not know much about Huhtamäki Oyj's dividend prospects, even though it has been paying dividends for the last nine years and offers a 2.3% yield. A 2.3% yield is not inspiring, but the longer payment history has some appeal. Some simple research can reduce the risk of buying Huhtamäki Oyj for its dividend - read on to learn more.
Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Huhtamäki Oyj!
Dividends are usually paid out of company earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. As a result, we should always investigate whether a company can afford its dividend, measured as a percentage of a company's net income after tax. Huhtamäki Oyj paid out 55% of its profit as dividends, over the trailing twelve month period. A payout ratio above 50% generally implies a business is reaching maturity, although it is still possible to reinvest in the business or increase the dividend over time.
Another important check we do is to see if the free cash flow generated is sufficient to pay the dividend. Huhtamäki Oyj paid out 167% of its free cash last year. Cash flows can be lumpy, but this dividend was not well covered by cash flow. Paying out such a high percentage of cash flow suggests that the dividend was funded from either cash at bank or by borrowing, neither of which is desirable over the long term. Huhtamäki Oyj paid out less in dividends than it reported in profits, but unfortunately it didn't generate enough free cash flow to cover the dividend. Were it to repeatedly pay dividends that were not well covered by cash flow, this could be a risk to Huhtamäki Oyj's ability to maintain its dividend.
As Huhtamäki Oyj has a meaningful amount of debt, we need to check its balance sheet to see if the company might have debt risks. A rough way to check this is with these two simple ratios: a) net debt divided by EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), and b) net interest cover. Net debt to EBITDA is a measure of a company's total debt. Net interest cover measures the ability to meet interest payments on debt. Essentially we check that a) a company does not have too much debt, and b) that it can afford to pay the interest. With net debt of more than twice its EBITDA, Huhtamäki Oyj has a noticeable amount of debt, although if business stays steady, this may not be overly concerning.
We calculated its interest cover by measuring its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), and dividing this by the company's net interest expense. Huhtamäki Oyj has EBIT of 10.74 times its interest expense, which we think is adequate.
Consider gettingour latest analysis on Huhtamäki Oyj's financial position here.
From the perspective of an income investor who wants to earn dividends for many years, there is not much point buying a stock if its dividend is regularly cut or is not reliable. Looking at the last decade of data, we can see that Huhtamäki Oyj paid its first dividend at least nine years ago. The company has been paying a stable dividend for a while now, which is great. However we'd prefer to see consistency for a few more years before giving it our full seal of approval. During the past nine-year period, the first annual payment was €0.38 in 2010, compared to €0.84 last year. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 9.2% a year over that time.
Huhtamäki Oyj has been growing its dividend at a decent rate, and the payments have been stable despite the short payment history. This is a positive start.
The other half of the dividend investing equation is evaluating whether earnings per share (EPS) are growing. Over the long term, dividends need to grow at or above the rate of inflation, in order to maintain the recipient's purchasing power. It's good to see Huhtamäki Oyj has been growing its earnings per share at 11% a year over the past 5 years. Huhtamäki Oyj's earnings per share have grown rapidly in recent years, although more than half of its profits are being paid out as dividends, which makes us wonder if the company has a limited number of reinvestment opportunities in its business.
Dividend investors should always want to know if a) a company's dividends are affordable, b) if there is a track record of consistent payments, and c) if the dividend is capable of growing. First, the company has a payout ratio that was within an average range for most dividend stocks, but it paid out virtually all of its generated cash flow. We were also glad to see it growing earnings, although its dividend history is not as long as we'd like. Ultimately, Huhtamäki Oyj comes up short on our dividend analysis. It's not that we think it is a bad company - just that there are likely more appealing dividend prospects out there on this analysis.
Companies that are growing earnings tend to be the best dividend stocks over the long term. See what the 6 analysts we track are forecasting for Huhtamäki Oyjfor freewith publicanalyst estimates for the company.
If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at ourcurated list of dividend stocks yielding above 3%.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
With EPS Growth And More, Hopscotch Global PR Group (EPA:HOP) Is Interesting
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For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it completely lacks a track record of revenue and profit. But as Peter Lynch said inOne Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.'
If, on the other hand, you like companies that have revenue, and even earn profits, then you may well be interested inHopscotch Global PR Group(EPA:HOP). While that doesn't make the shares worth buying at any price, you can't deny that successful capitalism requires profit, eventually. Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, but time is often a friend of the profitable company, especially if it is growing.
See our latest analysis for Hopscotch Global PR Group
Over the last three years, Hopscotch Global PR Group has grown earnings per share (EPS) like young bamboo after rain; fast, and from a low base. So I don't think the percent growth rate is particularly meaningful. Thus, it makes sense to focus on more recent growth rates, instead. Over twelve months, Hopscotch Global PR Group increased its EPS from €1.08 to €1.13. That amounts to a small improvement of 4.8%.
I like to take a look at earnings before interest and (EBIT) tax margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. Hopscotch Global PR Group's EBIT margins are flat but, of some concern, its revenue is actually down. Suffice it to say that is not a great sign of growth.
You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.
Since Hopscotch Global PR Group is no giant, with a market capitalization of €23m, so you shoulddefinitely check its cash and debtbeforegetting too excited about its prospects.
Personally, I like to see high insider ownership of a company, since it suggests that it will be managed in the interests of shareholders. So we're pleased to report that Hopscotch Global PR Group insiders own a meaningful share of the business. Actually, with 40% of the company to their names, insiders are profoundly invested in the business. I'm reassured by this kind of alignment, as it suggests the business will be run for the benefit of shareholders. Of course, Hopscotch Global PR Group is a very small company, with a market cap of only €23m. That means insiders only have €9.2m worth of shares, despite the large proportional holding. That might not be a huge sum but it should be enough to keep insiders motivated!
One important encouraging feature of Hopscotch Global PR Group is that it is growing profits. Just as polish makes silverware pop, the high level of insider ownership enhances my enthusiasm for this growth. The combination sparks joy for me, so I'd consider keeping the company on a watchlist. While we've looked at the quality of the earnings, we haven't yet done any work to value the stock. So if you like to buy cheap, you may want tocheck if Hopscotch Global PR Group is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.
You can invest in any company you want. But if you prefer to focus on stocks that have demonstrated insider buying, here isa list of companies with insider buying in the last three months.
Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Do Hopscotch Global PR Group's (EPA:HOP) Earnings Warrant Your Attention?
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It's only natural that many investors, especially those who are new to the game, prefer to buy shares in 'sexy' stocks with a good story, even if those businesses lose money. But as Warren Buffett has mused, 'If you've been playing poker for half an hour and you still don't know who the patsy is, you're the patsy.' When they buy such story stocks, investors are all too often the patsy.
So if you're like me, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, likeHopscotch Global PR Group(EPA:HOP). While profit is not necessarily a social good, it's easy to admire a business than can consistently produce it. Conversely, a loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the sweet milk of external capital may run sour.
View our latest analysis for Hopscotch Global PR Group
In the last three years Hopscotch Global PR Group's earnings per share took off like a rocket; fast, and from a low base. So the actual rate of growth doesn't tell us much. As a result, I'll zoom in on growth over the last year, instead. Hopscotch Global PR Group has grown its trailing twelve month EPS from €1.08 to €1.13, in the last year. That amounts to a small improvement of 4.8%.
Careful consideration of revenue growth and earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margins can help inform a view on the sustainability of the recent profit growth. Hopscotch Global PR Group's EBIT margins are flat but, of some concern, its revenue is actually down. And that does make me a little more cautious of the stock.
In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings, and revenue, over time. For finer detail, click on the image.
Hopscotch Global PR Group isn't a huge company, given its market capitalization of €23m. That makes it extra important to check on itsbalance sheet strength.
Personally, I like to see high insider ownership of a company, since it suggests that it will be managed in the interests of shareholders. So we're pleased to report that Hopscotch Global PR Group insiders own a meaningful share of the business. Actually, with 40% of the company to their names, insiders are profoundly invested in the business. I'm reassured by this kind of alignment, as it suggests the business will be run for the benefit of shareholders. Of course, Hopscotch Global PR Group is a very small company, with a market cap of only €23m. So despite a large proportional holding, insiders only have €9.2m worth of stock. That might not be a huge sum but it should be enough to keep insiders motivated!
One important encouraging feature of Hopscotch Global PR Group is that it is growing profits. Just as polish makes silverware pop, the high level of insider ownership enhances my enthusiasm for this growth. The combination sparks joy for me, so I'd consider keeping the company on a watchlist. While we've looked at the quality of the earnings, we haven't yet done any work to value the stock. So if you like to buy cheap, you may want tocheck if Hopscotch Global PR Group is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.
Of course, you can do well (sometimes) buying stocks thatare notgrowing earnings anddo nothave insiders buying shares. But as a growth investor I always like to check out companies thatdohave those features. You can accessa free list of them here.
Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Euro zone bond yields near record lows, PMI in focus
* Flash PMI data awaited
* Markets braced for rate cuts globally
* EZ bond yields set to end Friday with weekly decline
* Euro zone periphery govt bond yields http://tmsnrt.rs/2ii2Bqr
By Dhara Ranasinghe
LONDON, June 21 (Reuters) - Euro zone government bond yields held near recent record or multi-year lows on Friday, with attention turning to a key reading of economic activity - the Purchasing Managers' Index.
Bond yields, which fall when prices rise, have slid again this week, after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Tuesday that more monetary easing was on its way unless inflation picked up.
Euro zone money markets almost fully price in a 10-basis-point rate cut at the ECB's September meeting, and even a stabilisation in Friday's PMI numbers is unlikely to change that view, analysts said.
Economists polled by Reuters expect a Markit flash composite PMI for June of 51.8, unchanged from May. The manufacturing PMI, which has weakened in recent months, is expected to rise to 48 in June from 47.7 the previous month.
"What we've seen this week is that central banks are ready to act, so I would expect markets to react less to today's PMI as easing is coming," said Pooja Kumra, European rates strategist at TD Securities in London.
In early trade, most 10-year bond yields in the euro zone were around a basis point higher on the day.
Germany's benchmark 10-year Bund yields was minus 0.31%, near a record low of around minus 0.33% on Tuesday after Draghi's speech in Sintra, Portugal.
Spanish 10-year bond yields were down 11 bps, declining for the ninth straight week.
Italy's 10-year bond yield, trading at 2.13%, was down some 18 bps this week, its third straight week of declines. (Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe, editing by Larry King) |
KLM avoiding parts of Iranian airspace
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Air France-KLM's Dutch subsidiary KLM is avoiding flying over parts of Iran as a precautionary measure, a spokesman said on Friday, confirming a report by the Netherlands' state broadcaster NOS.
The spokesman could not provide further details. The NOS report said that the company decided to reroute flights following a decision last night by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to stop American operators from flying over Tehran-controlled airspace over the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman.
(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Susan Fenton) |
Man took his own life after repeated problems with Universal Credit
Sean Doherty's family say he killed himself after suffering problems with Universal Credit (Pictures: SWNS/Getty) The family of a man who took his life after repeated problems with Universal Credit have hit out at the system, saying: “They just don’t care about people.” Sean Doherty developed depression after the death of his father in July 2018, who he had been a carer for. His family claim staff from the Department of Work and Pensioners (DWP) accused the 37-year-old of continuing to receive a carers’ allowance. In June this year Sean, from Pollok, Southside, Glasgow, visited A&E in the city twice, begging for help for his mental health but was sent home as he was deemed “low risk”. Just days later on June 6, he took his own life in the River Clyde and his body was found three days later. Margaret and Joanne Doherty, Sean's mother and her daughter, claim the constant hounding of benefits staff over his Universal Credit led to his death (Picture: SWNS) Sean’s family say he was failed by medics who did not realise how severe his problems were. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have now launched an investigation and described the Doherty family’s concerns as ‘serious’. READ MORE Young people ‘are growing bony bumps on their skulls’ caused by mobile phones Sean’s sister, Julie, 40, said he was repeatedly underpaid Universal Credit due to confusion as to whether he was receiving carer’s allowance. She said: “He wasn’t being paid the correct amount of benefits, because they said he was receiving carer’s allowance. He would phone Universal Credit and they would say he had the carer’s allowance, so he kept having to tell them ‘My dad’s dead’. “There is just no help for people.” The DWP has insisted that its contact with Sean was to check he was ‘getting the full support he was entitled to’. Sean Doherty took his own life after being turned away from hospital twice when he was deemed 'low risk' (Picture: SWNS) But Julie said Sean was sometimes paid just £30 into his bank account and believes the combined turmoil of grieving and dealing with benefit’s staff made her brother suicidal. Sean’s mum Margaret, who accompanied him to hospital on one of the occasions, said she wants answers about why her son was sent home twice from hospital. She said: “He had had a lot of problems with Universal Credit, there were always phoning him and threatening to cut his money and saying he wasn't declaring his carers allowance for his dad. Story continues "They were still asking him about the carers allowance after he died and it had stopped.” Sean took his own life and was found in the River Clyde (Picture: Getty) She said she had gone with Sean to the hospital after he had said he felt like killing himself, but when they spoke to a doctor he said: “He doesn't seem to have a problem”. She said: “After we reported him missing, the police went down to the hospital and told me that as far as the doctors were concerned he had been very low risk. “I feel as if the hospital didn't give a damn about my son. I feel so angry because I know my son wasn't low risk.” A spokeswoman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said they are investigating the claims, adding: "We are treating this issue seriously and will let the family know of the outcome of our investigations." A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensioners (DWP) said: "Our thoughts are with Mr Doherty's family and friends at this difficult time. "We value the role carers play and were in contact with Mr Doherty to ensure he was getting the full support he was entitled to, as we rely on information provided by claimants to get this right." ---Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK--- |
Investors Who Bought Gunnebo (STO:GUNN) Shares Three Years Ago Are Now Down 39%
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Many investors define successful investing as beating the market average over the long term. But if you try your hand at stock picking, your risk returning less than the market. We regret to report that long termGunnebo AB (publ)(STO:GUNN) shareholders have had that experience, with the share price dropping 39% in three years, versus a market return of about 38%. Unhappily, the share price slid 6.1% in the last week.
Check out our latest analysis for Gunnebo
While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.
During the three years that the share price fell, Gunnebo's earnings per share (EPS) dropped by 19% each year. In comparison the 15% compound annual share price decline isn't as bad as the EPS drop-off. So, despite the prior disappointment, shareholders must have some confidence the situation will improve, longer term.
The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).
We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of Gunnebo'searnings, revenue and cash flow.
When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference betweentotal shareholder return(TSR) andshare price return. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. We note that for Gunnebo the TSR over the last 3 years was -33%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted thetotalshareholder return.
Gunnebo shareholders gained a total return of 0.9% during the year. But that return falls short of the market. But at least that's still a gain! Over five years the TSR has been a reduction of 5.2% per year, over five years. So this might be a sign the business has turned its fortunes around. It is all well and good that insiders have been buying shares, but we suggest youcheck here to see what price insiders were buying at.
Gunnebo is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at thisfreelist of growing companies with insider buying.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on SE exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
UPDATE 2-Investor LGIM dumps ExxonMobil from its Future World funds
(Adds Exxon comment on emission-reduction goals)
By Susanna Twidale
LONDON, June 21 (Reuters) - Britain's biggest asset manager has removed ExxonMobil and four more companies from its 5 billion pounds ($6.3 billion) Future World funds, and said it would vote against their chairs for failing to confront the threats posed by climate change.
Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), the fund arm of insurer Legal & General which has 1 trillion pounds under management, has been among the most vocal asset managers on climate risks, and will also divest from Hormel Foods , Korea Electric Power Corp, Kroger and Metlife.
The divestment applies only to LGIM's Future World funds, which it says are set up for clients who want to express a conviction on environmental, social and governance themes.
"In all other LGIM (non-Future World) funds that remain invested in those companies that have not met our criteria, we will vote against the election of the chair of the board," said Meryam Omi, head of sustainability and responsible investment strategy at LGIM.
"We can vote against the chair on any number of issues, so to do so because of a single issue such as climate change sends a powerful message to companies that they should be raising their standards in this area."
As part of its Climate Impact Pledge, launched in 2016, LGIM has sought to engage with the largest companies in the oil and gas, mining, electric utilities, autos, food retail and financial sectors on climate change and said it would take action.
"ExxonMobil Corporation has not met our key minimum requirements, including on emissions reporting and targets,” LGIM said in its report.
LGIM said meeting the 2015 Paris climate agreement goal of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius would mean cutting fossil fuel use by a third by 2040.
Some institutional investors have pressed Exxon to define a path towards meeting the Paris agreement, but the company has not committed to any such targets.
Exxon said it was committed to improving efficiency and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in its operations and that it discloses its so-called scope one and scope two emissions.
Scope one encompasses direct emissions from a company's operations which it can control, while scope two relates to indirect emissions from the electricity used by a company.
"We’re also providing solutions to consumers to help them reduce their emissions and are developing next-generation lower-emissions solutions, like carbon capture and storage and advanced biofuels," spokesman Scott Silvestri said.
"We’re on track to meet greenhouse gas reduction measures we announced last year, which are expected to help significantly to improve emissions performance. They include a 15% decrease in methane emissions and a 25% reduction in flaring by 2020."
Last month, shareholders defeated measures calling for a special board committee on climate change and for a report on the climate risks.
LGIM said Exxon lagged behind European peers such as Equinor, BP and Shell which better disclose their company’s potential climate risks.
Hormel Foods, Korea Electric Power, U.S. retailer Kroger and U.S. insurance company Metlife also failed to meet LGIM's criteria on climate-related risk disclosure, it said.
($1 = 0.7885 pounds) (Reporting by Susanna Twidale in London, additional reporting by Jennifer Hiller in Houston; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Mark Potter) |
ILPRA S.p.A. (BIT:ILP): Time For A Financial Health Check
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ILPRA S.p.A. (BIT:ILP) is a small-cap stock with a market capitalization of €26m. While investors primarily focus on the growth potential and competitive landscape of the small-cap companies, they end up ignoring a key aspect, which could be the biggest threat to its existence: its financial health. Why is it important? Understanding the company's financial health becomes vital, since poor capital management may bring about bankruptcies, which occur at a higher rate for small-caps. We'll look at some basic checks that can form a snapshot the company’s financial strength. However, this is just a partial view of the stock, and I’d encourage you todig deeper yourself into ILP here.
ILP has sustained its debt level by about €8.1m over the last 12 months – this includes long-term debt. At this current level of debt, ILP currently has €7.9m remaining in cash and short-term investments to keep the business going. Moreover, ILP has generated €1.1m in operating cash flow in the last twelve months, leading to an operating cash to total debt ratio of 13%, meaning that ILP’s debt is not covered by operating cash.
With current liabilities at €14m, it appears that the company has been able to meet these obligations given the level of current assets of €23m, with a current ratio of 1.69x. The current ratio is calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities. Usually, for Machinery companies, this is a suitable ratio since there is a bit of a cash buffer without leaving too much capital in a low-return environment.
With debt reaching 89% of equity, ILP may be thought of as relatively highly levered. This is somewhat unusual for small-caps companies, since lenders are often hesitant to provide attractive interest rates to less-established businesses. We can check to see whether ILP is able to meet its debt obligations by looking at the net interest coverage ratio. A company generating earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) at least three times its net interest payments is considered financially sound. In ILP's, case, the ratio of 6.21x suggests that interest is appropriately covered, which means that lenders may be willing to lend out more funding as ILP’s high interest coverage is seen as responsible and safe practice.
ILP’s high cash coverage means that, although its debt levels are high, the company is able to utilise its borrowings efficiently in order to generate cash flow. This may mean this is an optimal capital structure for the business, given that it is also meeting its short-term commitment. Keep in mind I haven't considered other factors such as how ILP has been performing in the past. I recommend you continue to research ILPRA to get a more holistic view of the small-cap by looking at:
1. Valuation: What is ILP worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? Theintrinsic value infographic in our free research reporthelps visualize whether ILP is currently mispriced by the market.
2. Historical Performance: What has ILP's returns been like over the past? Go into more detail in the past track record analysis and take a look atthe free visual representations of our analysisfor more clarity.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
'Stranger Things' Final Trailer sets the stage for season three
Since premiering in July 2016,Stranger Thingshas become an award-winning and widely-appreciated Netflix series. Season three is almost ready for release on July 4th --along with a game for Xbox One, PS4, Switch, PC and mobile devices-- and after afew brief teasersNetflix has delivered a "final trailer" that gives us some strong hints of how things are going in 1985-era Hawkins, IN. (If you'd like to go into it fresh then I don't recommend reading further or watching it.)
Eleven, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, Max and the rest of our friends are of course back and taller than ever, but it appears that last season's quest to cut off an attacker from the Upside Down by closing an interdimensional gate wasn't as successful as everyone hoped. With someJurassic Park-style flair (apparently the show is now cribbing from 90s features too) we're teased by The Mind Flayer and its minions, complete with a voiceover explaining exactly how much danger everyone is in: "We're going to end you. We're going to end your friends. We're going to end... everyone."
Get your walkie talkies and slingshots ready -- it's not over yet. |
Some IFB Agro Industries (NSE:IFBAGRO) Shareholders Are Down 41%
Want to participate in a short research study ? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Passive investing in an index fund is a good way to ensure your own returns roughly match the overall market. But if you buy individual stocks, you can do both better or worse than that. Unfortunately the IFB Agro Industries Limited ( NSE:IFBAGRO ) share price slid 41% over twelve months. That contrasts poorly with the market return of 1.5%. Longer term shareholders haven't suffered as badly, since the stock is down a comparatively less painful 7.2% in three years. Furthermore, it's down 25% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders. We note that the company has reported results fairly recently; and the market is hardly delighted. You can check out the latest numbers in our company report . View our latest analysis for IFB Agro Industries In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS). During the unfortunate twelve months during which the IFB Agro Industries share price fell, it actually saw its earnings per share (EPS) improve by 9.5%. It could be that the share price was previously over-hyped. It's fair to say that the share price does not seem to be reflecting the EPS growth. So it's well worth checking out some other metrics, too. IFB Agro Industries's revenue is actually up 5.9% over the last year. Since the fundamental metrics don't readily explain the share price drop, there might be an opportunity if the market has overreacted. Depicted in the graphic below, you'll see revenue and earnings over time. If you want more detail, you can click on the chart itself. NSEI:IFBAGRO Income Statement, June 21st 2019 Balance sheet strength is crucual. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on how its financial position has changed over time . Story continues A Different Perspective Investors in IFB Agro Industries had a tough year, with a total loss of 41%, against a market gain of about 1.5%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 6.8% per year over half a decade. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. Before deciding if you like the current share price, check how IFB Agro Industries scores on these 3 valuation metrics . If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on IN exchanges. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com . This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
You are more likely to get your wallet back if it's full of cash
Our own self image as an honest person is more important than a quick hit of cash. Photo: Getty You are more likely to return a lost wallet stuffed with cash than keep it, a team of economists has found. In a worldwide experiment involving 17,000 lost wallets in 40 countries , researchers found that most found their way back and the likelihood of a safe return increased with the amount of money inside it contrary to popular opinion. Wallets used in the study either contained no money, a small amount, or a larger big money sum, which reflected the spending power of the different countries. They also held a grocery list and business cards showing an email and phone number for an owner. Cash in these wallets about £10 in local currency boosted the return response rate to around 51%, against 40% for wallets that held no currency. This trend popped up in every nation but actual numbers varied. Share of wallets reported in the 'No Money' and 'Money' condition by country. In the UK, US and Poland researchers used a Big Money wallet, boosting the cash inside to the equivalent of £75. The response rate jumped to 72%, compared to 61% for those containing just a tenners-worth of local notes. Interestingly, the Guardian reports that wallets dropped off at the Vatican and at two anti-corruption bureaus were among those that never made their way back to their rightful owners. So finders keepers isnt a thing, then? Alain Cohn of the University of Michigan, one of the authors who reported the findings in the journal science said: The evidence suggests that people tend to care about the welfare of others, and they have an aversion to seeing themselves as a thief. When people stand to heavily profit from engaging in dishonest behavior, the desire to cheat increases but so do the psychological costs of viewing oneself as a thief and sometimes the latter will dominate the former. Another author, Christian Zuend of the University of Zurich, said: "it suddenly feels like stealing" when there's money in the wallet. That idea was supported by the results of polls the researchers did in the US, the UK and Poland, Zuend said. READ MORE: Brits miss out on £64bn by choosing not to have summer jobs |
Why Ice Make Refrigeration Limited (NSE:ICEMAKE) Looks Like A Quality Company
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One of the best investments we can make is in our own knowledge and skill set. With that in mind, this article will work through how we can use Return On Equity (ROE) to better understand a business. By way of learning-by-doing, we'll look at ROE to gain a better understanding of Ice Make Refrigeration Limited (NSE:ICEMAKE).
Ice Make Refrigeration has a ROE of 15%, based on the last twelve months. That means that for every ₹1 worth of shareholders' equity, it generated ₹0.15 in profit.
Check out our latest analysis for Ice Make Refrigeration
Theformula for ROEis:
Return on Equity = Net Profit ÷ Shareholders' Equity
Or for Ice Make Refrigeration:
15% = ₹75m ÷ ₹501m (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2019.)
It's easy to understand the 'net profit' part of that equation, but 'shareholders' equity' requires further explanation. It is the capital paid in by shareholders, plus any retained earnings. Shareholders' equity can be calculated by subtracting the total liabilities of the company from the total assets of the company.
Return on Equity measures a company's profitability against the profit it has kept for the business (plus any capital injections). The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. A higher profit will lead to a higher ROE. So, all else equal,investors should like a high ROE. That means ROE can be used to compare two businesses.
Arguably the easiest way to assess company's ROE is to compare it with the average in its industry. The limitation of this approach is that some companies are quite different from others, even within the same industry classification. As is clear from the image below, Ice Make Refrigeration has a better ROE than the average (11%) in the Machinery industry.
That's what I like to see. I usually take a closer look when a company has a better ROE than industry peers. One data point to check is ifinsiders have bought shares recently.
Most companies need money -- from somewhere -- to grow their profits. That cash can come from issuing shares, retained earnings, or debt. In the first and second cases, the ROE will reflect this use of cash for investment in the business. In the latter case, the use of debt will improve the returns, but will not change the equity. That will make the ROE look better than if no debt was used.
Ice Make Refrigeration has a debt to equity ratio of just 0.064, which is very low. I'm not impressed with its ROE, but the debt levels are not too high, indicating the business has decent prospects. Careful use of debt to boost returns is often very good for shareholders. However, it could reduce the company's ability to take advantage of future opportunities.
Return on equity is one way we can compare the business quality of different companies. A company that can achieve a high return on equity without debt could be considered a high quality business. If two companies have around the same level of debt to equity, and one has a higher ROE, I'd generally prefer the one with higher ROE.
But ROE is just one piece of a bigger puzzle, since high quality businesses often trade on high multiples of earnings. It is important to consider other factors, such as future profit growth -- and how much investment is required going forward. So I think it may be worth checking thisfreethisdetailed graphof past earnings, revenue and cash flow.
If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss thisfreelist of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Poll finds Americans are worried about asteroids, don’t care about the Moon
As we creep closer to the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing, NASA is doing its best to drum up support for a return mission that would see its astronauts once again roaming the lunar surface. With such an exciting mission on the horizon, you’d think that public interest in a Moon return would be pretty high. It isn’t. In fact, a new poll by the Associated Press in partnership with the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research suggests that Americans are much more interested in things that could possibly kill them — like asteroids or comets — than another crewed visit to the Moon. Related Stories: NASA just set preliminary dates for its commercial crew launches, with SpaceX in the lead The ring around Uranus has a warm glow SpaceX is just days away from its third Falcon Heavy launch The poll reveals that a full 68 percent of respondents see the monitoring of asteroids, comets, and “other events in space that could impact Earth” as being either “very important” or “extremely important.” This stands in stark contrast to the mere 23 percent of people who believe heading back to the Moon is highly important. This public opinion data is interesting for a number of reasons, not least of which is that the current administration has made a return to the Moon a top priority. That sentiment, it would seem, is not shared by the vast majority of the general public. Being lukewarm over a return mission to the Moon is understandable, but what might be even more surprising is that many people have little or no interest in seeing a crewed mission to Mars become a top priority either: Thirty-seven percent say sending astronauts to Mars should take precedence over going back to the moon, while 18% would rather have NASA send more astronauts to the moon. But 43% do not think either action should be a priority for the country. Well, like it or not, NASA is indeed headed back to the Moon either in 2024 (maybe) or a bit later, and a mission to Mars is almost certainly going to be a top priority for the space administration once all of the supporting technology has reached maturity. But don’t worry, NASA is still watching for asteroids in the meantime. Story continues BGR Top Deals: Best Bird Feeder These premium true wireless earbuds sound way better than AirPods and Powerbeats Pro Trending Right Now: Forget the iPhone 11 and Pixel 4, the smartphone display we want is coming next week The Nintendo Switch Mini leak might actually be real We know exactly how much new footage we’ll see in Marvel’s ‘Avengers: Endgame’ rerelease See the original version of this article on BGR.com |
Can Ice Make Refrigeration Limited's (NSE:ICEMAKE) ROE Continue To Surpass The Industry Average?
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One of the best investments we can make is in our own knowledge and skill set. With that in mind, this article will work through how we can use Return On Equity (ROE) to better understand a business. We'll use ROE to examine Ice Make Refrigeration Limited (NSE:ICEMAKE), by way of a worked example.
Our data showsIce Make Refrigeration has a return on equity of 15%for the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every ₹1 worth of equity in the company, it was able to earn ₹0.15.
Check out our latest analysis for Ice Make Refrigeration
Theformula for ROEis:
Return on Equity = Net Profit ÷ Shareholders' Equity
Or for Ice Make Refrigeration:
15% = ₹75m ÷ ₹501m (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2019.)
It's easy to understand the 'net profit' part of that equation, but 'shareholders' equity' requires further explanation. It is the capital paid in by shareholders, plus any retained earnings. The easiest way to calculate shareholders' equity is to subtract the company's total liabilities from the total assets.
ROE measures a company's profitability against the profit it retains, and any outside investments. The 'return' is the yearly profit. A higher profit will lead to a higher ROE. So, all else equal,investors should like a high ROE. That means it can be interesting to compare the ROE of different companies.
One simple way to determine if a company has a good return on equity is to compare it to the average for its industry. The limitation of this approach is that some companies are quite different from others, even within the same industry classification. As you can see in the graphic below, Ice Make Refrigeration has a higher ROE than the average (11%) in the Machinery industry.
That is a good sign. I usually take a closer look when a company has a better ROE than industry peers. For exampleyou might checkif insiders are buying shares.
Most companies need money -- from somewhere -- to grow their profits. That cash can come from retained earnings, issuing new shares (equity), or debt. In the first and second cases, the ROE will reflect this use of cash for investment in the business. In the latter case, the debt required for growth will boost returns, but will not impact the shareholders' equity. That will make the ROE look better than if no debt was used.
Ice Make Refrigeration has a debt to equity ratio of just 0.064, which is very low. Its ROE isn't particularly impressive, but the debt levels are quite modest, so the business probably has some real potential. Conservative use of debt to boost returns is usually a good move for shareholders, though it does leave the company more exposed to interest rate rises.
Return on equity is one way we can compare the business quality of different companies. Companies that can achieve high returns on equity without too much debt are generally of good quality. If two companies have the same ROE, then I would generally prefer the one with less debt.
But ROE is just one piece of a bigger puzzle, since high quality businesses often trade on high multiples of earnings. The rate at which profits are likely to grow, relative to the expectations of profit growth reflected in the current price, must be considered, too. So I think it may be worth checking thisfreethisdetailed graphof past earnings, revenue and cash flow.
But note:Ice Make Refrigeration may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Should Indiabulls Integrated Services Limited (NSE:IBULISL) Be Part Of Your Dividend Portfolio?
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Could Indiabulls Integrated Services Limited (NSE:IBULISL) be an attractive dividend share to own for the long haul? Investors are often drawn to strong companies with the idea of reinvesting the dividends. Yet sometimes, investors buy a stock for its dividend and lose money because the share price falls by more than they earned in dividend payments.
With a 0.5% yield and a six-year payment history, investors probably think Indiabulls Integrated Services looks like a reliable dividend stock. A 0.5% yield is not inspiring, but the longer payment history has some appeal. Remember though, given the recent drop in its share price, Indiabulls Integrated Services's yield will look higher, even though the market may now be expecting a decline in its long-term prospects. Some simple analysis can reduce the risk of holding Indiabulls Integrated Services for its dividend, and we'll focus on the most important aspects below.
Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis
Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. As a result, we should always investigate whether a company can afford its dividend, measured as a percentage of a company's net income after tax. Indiabulls Integrated Services paid out 11% of its profit as dividends, over the trailing twelve month period. Given the low payout ratio, it is hard to envision the dividend coming under threat, barring a catastrophe.
While the above analysis focuses on dividends relative to a company's earnings, we do note Indiabulls Integrated Services's strong net cash position, which will let it pay larger dividends for a time, should it choose.
Remember, you can always get a snapshot of Indiabulls Integrated Services's latest financial position,by checking our visualisation of its financial health.
From the perspective of an income investor who wants to earn dividends for many years, there is not much point buying a stock if its dividend is regularly cut or is not reliable. Looking at the data, we can see that Indiabulls Integrated Services has been paying a dividend for the past six years. Although it has been paying a dividend for several years now, the dividend has been cut at least once by more than 20%, and we're cautious about the consistency of its dividend across a full economic cycle. Its most recent annual dividend was ₹1.00 per share, effectively flat on its first payment six years ago.
We're glad to see the dividend has risen, but with a limited rate of growth and fluctuations in the payments, we don't think this is an attractive combination.
With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share (EPS) are growing. Why take the risk of a dividend getting cut, unless there's a good chance of bigger dividends in future? Indiabulls Integrated Services's earnings per share have been essentially flat over the past five years. Flat earnings per share are acceptable for a time, but over the long term, the purchasing power of the company's dividends could be eroded by inflation. So, we know earnings growth has been thin on the ground. However, at least the payout ratio is conservative, and there is plenty of potential to increase this over time.
We'd also point out that Indiabulls Integrated Services issued a meaningful number of new shares in the past year. Regularly issuing new shares can be detrimental - it's hard to grow dividends per share when new shares are regularly being created.
When we look at a dividend stock, we need to form a judgement on whether the dividend will grow, if the company is able to maintain it in a wide range of economic circumstances, and if the dividend payout is sustainable. It's great to see that Indiabulls Integrated Services is paying out a low percentage of its earnings and cash flow. Second, earnings growth has been ordinary, and its history of dividend payments is chequered - having cut its dividend at least once in the past. Indiabulls Integrated Services has a number of positive attributes, but it falls slightly short of our (admittedly high) standards. Were there evidence of a strong moat or an attractive valuation, it could still be well worth a look.
Are management backing themselves to deliver performance? Check their shareholdings in Indiabulls Integrated Services inour latest insider ownership analysis.
Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try ourcurated list of dividend stocks with a yield above 3%.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
U.S., Japan may need more tools to shore up banking system -Fed's Rosengren
June 21 (Reuters) - The United States and Japan may need to shore up bank oversight to prepare for economic downturns, the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston warned on Friday.
Eric Rosengren, president of the Boston Fed, said in a speech that policymakers in the two major economies should consider whether regulators need more tools, including requiring banks to hold more capital now, to counteract economic risks.
"Japan, like the United States, might benefit from considering an expanded set of macroprudential tools to enhance the financial system's resilience," Rosengren said in remarks prepared for delivery at a conference in Eltville, Germany.
Rosengren, who is voting member of the Fed this year on U.S. interest rates, did not discuss his monetary policy outlook in the speech. The Fed on Wednesday signaled that rate cuts could begin as early as July in response to growing economic risks, rising U.S. trade tensions and tepid inflation. The Fed has cited high levels of U.S. corporate debt among major risks to the economy today.
Rosengren's speech focused largely on lessons from the late-1990s financial crisis in East Asia and what he sees as weaknesses in Japan's financial system today. The speech also pointed to the role that central banks' powers beyond setting rates, including overseeing banks, may play in the next downturn. Policymakers could have lessened the impact of prior financial crises by "stress testing" banks and requiring them to hold extra cash, Rosengren said.
"Despite the passage of time and adoption of better policies, one could argue that the Japanese banking system is now, once again, being threatened by adverse economic conditions," said Rosengren, who was at the Boston Fed when the 2008 global financial crisis shook the economy.
"A shrinking population, aging demographics, and very low interest rates provide very little room for Japanese banks to operate profitably. This of course provides an incentive to reach for yield, potentially implying additional risk-taking."
While Rosengren endorsed requiring banks to keep extra capital cushions during good times, the Fed itself has shied away from requiring banks to do so, keeping its "Countercyclical Capital Buffer" requirement for banks at 0%. Rosengren does not have a vote on those capital requirements.
The Fed is due to report later on Friday some results from its own annual "stress tests" of banks' ability to weather a major downturn. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt Editing by Leslie Adler) |
Bitcoin Price Hits New 2019 High Inching Closer to $10,000 ‘FOMO’
Bitcoin (BTC) set a new 2019 high on June 21, hitting $9,800 and firmly beating daily returns of almost all majorcryptocurrencies.
Market visualization courtesy ofCoin360
Data from Coin360 put BTC/USD trading at around $9,675 at press time Friday after a minor correction from earlier highs.
The performance further cements bitcoin’s bullish progress over the past three months, surprising investors once more afterretakingthe $9,000 mark this week.
Monthly (30-day) gains for bitcoin investors now stand at 26.5%.
Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source:Coin360
Previously, commentators had begun forecasting a break to $10,000 would spark considerable demand among prospective buyers, who would then push the bitcoin price higher. They included serial bitcoin bullTom Lee, who in a note to clients of his Fundstrat Global Advisors said 2019 could see BTC/USD reach as high as $40,000.
“In most markets, a ‘new high’ is needed to confirm a breakout[.] But with (bitcoin), when it trades at a price seen only 3% of its history, this has confirmed a new high imminent. This makes crypto different,” hetweetedThursday as bitcoin passed $9,750.
“Currently $250 away from FOMO.”
Altcoinmarkets were slow to react to bitcoin’s latest advances. At press time, ethereum (ETH) had nonetheless managed to beat the largest cryptocurrency’s 24-hour returns, gaining 5.4% to hit $284.
The last time ETH/USD traded at that level was in September 2018, the pair coming full circle in around nine months in a pattern, which closely tracks bitcoin.
Ether 7-day price chart. Source:Coin360
Other altcoins in the top twenty by market cap fared less impressively. The exceptions were monero (XMR), which put in daily gains of 8% to reach $109, and binance coin (BNB), which rose 7.2% to achieve a new all-time high of $37.18.
The total cryptocurrency market cap now stands at just under $300 billion, its highest since July last year. Of that, bitcoin holds 57.7% market dominance - a new peak since December 2017, which BTC/USD set its historic high around $20,000.
• Bitcoin Holds $9,100 Support While Top 20 Coins Trade Sideways
• ETH Hits 10-Month High as Crypto Markets See Solid Green
• Bitcoin Breaks $9,300 as US Stock Market Sees Minor Uptrend
• Bitcoin Breaks $9,300 as US Stock Market Sees Minor Downturn |
What Should You Know About Hydrogen Group Plc's (LON:HYDG) Future?
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Hydrogen Group Plc's (LON:HYDG) latest earnings announcement in April 2019 revealed that the company finally turned profitable after losses on average over the last few years. Today I want to provide a brief commentary on how market analysts view Hydrogen Group's earnings growth outlook over the next few years and whether the future looks brighter. Note that I will be looking at net income excluding extraordinary items to get a better understanding of the underlying drivers of earnings.
View our latest analysis for Hydrogen Group
Analysts' expectations for the coming year seems buoyant, with earnings rising by a robust 22%. This growth seems to continue into the following year with rates arriving at double digit 35% compared to today’s earnings, and finally hitting UK£3.2m by 2022.
While it’s informative knowing the rate of growth each year relative to today’s value, it may be more insightful to determine the rate at which the earnings are rising or falling on average every year. The pro of this approach is that it ignores near term flucuations and accounts for the overarching direction of Hydrogen Group's earnings trajectory over time, which may be more relevant for long term investors. To compute this rate, I've inserted a line of best fit through the forecasted earnings by market analysts. The slope of this line is the rate of earnings growth, which in this case is 11%. This means, we can expect Hydrogen Group will grow its earnings by 11% every year for the next few years.
For Hydrogen Group, I've put together three key factors you should further examine:
1. Financial Health: Does it have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at ourfree balance sheet analysis with six simple checkson key factors like leverage and risk.
2. Valuation: What is HYDG worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? Theintrinsic value infographic in our free research reporthelps visualize whether HYDG is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Growth Alternatives: Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of HYDG? Exploreour interactive list of stocks with large growth potentialto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
BOJ tankan to show big manufacturers' mood at near three-year low: Reuters poll
By Kaori Kaneko
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese big manufacturers' business confidence likely worsened to nearly three-year lows in the June quarter as the U.S.-China trade war and weakening global demand hurt the export-reliant economy, a Reuters' poll found on Friday.
A deterioration in corporate sentiment will add to the Bank of Japan's concerns about slowing economic growth after its governor signalled readiness to ramp up stimulus as global risks cloud the outlook.
The Bank of Japan's quarterly tankan business sentiment survey is expected to show the headline index for big manufacturers' confidence slipped to plus nine in June from plus 12 three months earlier, the poll of 16 economists showed.
That level for the index would be the lowest since September 2016 when it was at plus six.
The sentiment index for big non-manufacturers inched down to plus 20 in June from plus 21 seen in March survey, the poll found.
"Slowdown in the global economy, weak exports and factory output due to lower demand for semiconductor-related products dented manufacturers' mood," said Yasunari Tanaka, researcher at Mitsubishi Research Institute.
"An escalation in the U.S.-China trade conflict hurts exports and the yen's appreciation damaged the corporate earnings environment."
In the March survey, sentiment among big manufacturers soured at its fastest pace in more than six years, but the pace of deterioration likely slowed in the June survey propped up by relatively solid domestic demand and the 10-day extended holiday to celebrate the enthronement of a new emperor, analysts said.
In the September quarter, big manufacturers' business confidence is seen slipping to plus six and non-manufacturers' sentiment is expected to ease to plus 19, the poll showed.
Big companies are forecast to increase their capital spending plans by 8.9% for this fiscal year, up from 1.2% projected in the March survey.
"Although uncertainty over the overseas situation has been rising, we expect demand for upgrading aging facilities as well as streamlining and labour-saving investment will stay solid," said Koichi Ishida, economist at Japan Research institute.
The BOJ will publish its tankan survey at 8:50 a.m. time on Monday July 1. (2350 GMT on June 30).
FACTORY OUTPUT
Japan's factory output in May likely rose 0.7% from the previous month after a 0.6% gain in April, another poll of 17 economists showed.
"Domestic demand such as consumer spending and public investment remain solid but falls in exports weighed on factory output," said Koya Miyamae, senior economist at SMBC Nikko Securities.
The trade ministry will announce May factory output at 8:50 a.m. on June 28 (2350 GMT June 27).
The ministry's May retail sales, which will be issued on June 27, was expected to show a 1.2% increase from a year earlier, underpinned by auto sales, after a revised 0.4% gain in April, the poll showed.
Tokyo's core consumer prices (CPI) index, which includes oil products but excludes fresh food prices, was seen rising 0.9% in June from a year earlier, slowing down from a 1.1% gain in May due to falling oil prices.
The government will publish Tokyo's core CPI at 8:30 a.m. on June 28 (2330 GMT on June 27).
(Editing by Jacqueline Wong) |
Stormzy releases new song 'Crown' ahead of Glastonbury headline performance
Stormzy has released a brand new single titled “Crown” ahead of his headline performance at Glastonbury Festival . The track was produced with MJ Cole and Jimmy Napes, who co-wrote the track with Stormzy, and is accompanied by live visuals filmed at the iconic Church Studio in London. Stormzy is shown performing backed by gospel singers who provide some additional soul to go with Stormzy’s raw and honest lyrics. At one point he addresses the backlash to his pioneering scholarship for black students at Cambridge University, rapping: "I done a scholarship for the kids, they said it's racist/ That's not anti-white, it's pro-black." Check out the video below: In a statement, Stormzy commented: “I’ve been struggling to find words to describe how much this song means to me... struggling to explain exactly why I felt the needed to say what I’ve said on the record... and can’t quite summarise the journey of emotions the song takes me on when I listen back to it. “I’m very proud of myself for making this song and I can’t wait for you all to hear it. Nothing but love and respect for my brother Jimmy Napes a world class phenomenal talent and MJ Cole the genius and legend - an honour and a pleasure to work with you both my brothers. We’ve created something very special and close to my heart.” “Crown” is the follow-up to Stormzy’s comeback single “Vossi Bop”, which became his first number one single in the UK with 94,495 combined sales – breaking the record for week one streams by a British rapper at 12.7 million. Stormzy will perform "Crown" on The Graham Norton Show tonight (21 June) on BBC One. View comments |
Will Hydrogen Group Plc's (LON:HYDG) Earnings Grow Over The Next Few Years?
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Hydrogen Group Plc's (LON:HYDG) latest earnings update in April 2019 signalled that the business finally turned profitable after losses on average over the past few years. Below, I've laid out key growth figures on how market analysts view Hydrogen Group's earnings growth outlook over the next couple of years and whether the future looks brighter. I will be looking at earnings excluding extraordinary items to exclude one-off activities to get a better understanding of the underlying drivers of earnings.
Check out our latest analysis for Hydrogen Group
Market analysts' consensus outlook for this coming year seems buoyant, with earnings growing by a robust 22%. This growth seems to continue into the following year with rates reaching double digit 35% compared to today’s earnings, and finally hitting UK£3.2m by 2022.
While it’s useful to understand the growth rate year by year relative to today’s value, it may be more insightful analyzing the rate at which the company is moving every year, on average. The benefit of this method is that it removes the impact of near term flucuations and accounts for the overarching direction of Hydrogen Group's earnings trajectory over time, which may be more relevant for long term investors. To calculate this rate, I've inserted a line of best fit through the forecasted earnings by market analysts. The slope of this line is the rate of earnings growth, which in this case is 11%. This means, we can presume Hydrogen Group will grow its earnings by 11% every year for the next few years.
For Hydrogen Group, I've put together three relevant aspects you should look at:
1. Financial Health: Does it have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at ourfree balance sheet analysis with six simple checkson key factors like leverage and risk.
2. Valuation: What is HYDG worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? Theintrinsic value infographic in our free research reporthelps visualize whether HYDG is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Growth Alternatives: Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of HYDG? Exploreour interactive list of stocks with large growth potentialto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
BNP Paribas’ venture arm backs $16.5 million round for startup Token
Opera Tech Ventures, the venture arm of investment banking giant BNP Paribas, has backed a $16.5 million investment round for open banking platform provider Token. Tokenannouncedthe news Tuesday, saying that existing investors Octopus Ventures and EQT Ventures also participated in the round, among others.
The investment will go toward building its platform TokenOS, which “enables a global ecosystem of banks, their customers and developers to initiate payments and move money and information securely, instantly and frictionlessly worldwide,” according to the announcement.
Token said it recentlypartneredwith Mastercard, and that more than 4,000 banks are connected to its platform, including Tandem Bank, Think Money Group, An Post, Sberbank Croatia and Slovenia, Khaleeji Commercial Bank.
“The open banking wave - driven in Europe by PSD2 [Revised Payment Service Directive] regulation - is a huge opportunity to create new value propositions for consumers, as well as dramatically improve existing ones,” said Alastair Mitchell, partner and investment advisor at EQT Ventures.
Apart from the open banking platform, Token has astablecoincalled Token X, backed 1:1 by fiat currency held in escrow, according to information from its website. “Token X enables instant movement of funds globally at a very low cost.”Founded in 2015, Token previouslyraised$18.5 million in Series A in 2017 to expand in Europe. |
Estimating The Fair Value Of Hostelworld Group Plc (LON:HSW)
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Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Hostelworld Group Plc (LON:HSW) by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. I will be using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.
Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of theSimply Wall St analysis model.
Check out our latest analysis for Hostelworld Group
We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.
A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:
[{"": "Levered FCF (\u20ac, Millions)", "2019": "\u20ac16.30", "2020": "\u20ac17.60", "2021": "\u20ac19.90", "2022": "\u20ac22.60", "2023": "\u20ac25.40", "2024": "\u20ac27.57", "2025": "\u20ac29.32", "2026": "\u20ac30.73", "2027": "\u20ac31.88", "2028": "\u20ac32.83"}, {"": "Growth Rate Estimate Source", "2019": "Analyst x2", "2020": "Analyst x1", "2021": "Analyst x1", "2022": "Analyst x1", "2023": "Analyst x1", "2024": "Est @ 8.54%", "2025": "Est @ 6.35%", "2026": "Est @ 4.81%", "2027": "Est @ 3.74%", "2028": "Est @ 2.98%"}, {"": "Present Value (\u20ac, Millions) Discounted @ 11.56%", "2019": "\u20ac14.61", "2020": "\u20ac14.14", "2021": "\u20ac14.33", "2022": "\u20ac14.59", "2023": "\u20ac14.70", "2024": "\u20ac14.30", "2025": "\u20ac13.63", "2026": "\u20ac12.81", "2027": "\u20ac11.91", "2028": "\u20ac10.99"}]
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= €136.01m
"Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St
The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 10-year government bond rate of 1.2%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 11.6%.
Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2029× (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = €33m × (1 + 1.2%) ÷ (11.6% – 1.2%) = €322m
Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= €€322m ÷ ( 1 + 11.6%)10= €107.67m
The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is €243.68m. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. This results in an intrinsic value estimate in the company’s reported currency of €2.55. However, HSW’s primary listing is in Ireland, and 1 share of HSW in EUR represents 0.888 ( EUR/ GBP) share of LSE:HSW,so the intrinsic value per share in GBP is £2.26.Relative to the current share price of £1.86, the company appears about fair value at a 18% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.
We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Hostelworld Group as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 11.6%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.447. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.
Whilst important, DCF calculation shouldn’t be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Hostelworld Group, I've compiled three fundamental factors you should further examine:
1. Financial Health: Does HSW have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at ourfree balance sheet analysis with six simple checkson key factors like leverage and risk.
2. Future Earnings: How does HSW's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with ourfree analyst growth expectation chart.
3. Other High Quality Alternatives: Are there other high quality stocks you could be holding instead of HSW? Exploreour interactive list of high quality stocksto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!
PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every GB stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock justsearch here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Europe's corporate bond market soars on ECB re-entry bets
LONDON, June 19 (Reuters) - Bond investors have sent Europe's 1.7 trillion euro ($1.92 trillion) corporate debt market spiralling to record highs this week, betting the sector will be a prime beneficiary should the European Central Bank revive its asset purchase programme.
Government bonds have rallied hard since Tuesday when ECB president Mario Draghi surprised investors by flagging that the bank could cut interest rates and resume bond purchases, less than six months after it ended its three-year-long stimulus scheme.
The bank seems likely to first cut interest rates, leaving Draghi's successor at the ECB to embark on asset purchases if he or she deems it necessary. Because corporate bond purchases were often considered the most effective part of quantitative easing, many predict that this is where policymakers will eventually direct their stimulus fire.
David Zahn, head of global fixed income at Franklin Templeton is among those who have bought corporate and bank capital bonds, as well as Italian and Spanish government debt in anticipation of the ECB's re-entry.
"Corporate bond purchases are the ones that work really well in my view," Zahn told a conference a day after Draghi's speech. "We have been positioned for this for probably around six months."
Zahn declined to say whether he had added to those positions after Draghi's comments, but many other investors appear to have done so.
On Tuesday, the widely-used iBoxx euro corporate bond index RIC hit a record high and enjoyed its best day since the ECB first announced corporate bond purchases in March 2016. Average yields have dropped 19 basis points this week to an all-time low of 0.76%.
The iTraxx Main, a index of investment grade credit default swaps (CDS) - derivatives used to hedge exposure to a credit - slipped to its lowest level in over a year at 56.5 basis points.
Vincent Chaigneau, head of research and investment strategy at Generali Investments, a 450 billion-euro fund, also believes corporate bonds will be the ECB's first port of call.
"I think we will see corporate bond QE this year and perhaps another round of ABS (asset-backed securities) and covered bonds purchases," he said.
The ECB began the corporate sector purchase programme (CSPP) in June 2016, buying between 5-6 billion euros every month up to the end of the programme last year. It holds 177.8 billion euros of corporate bonds.
One reason to expect more is that sovereign bonds are in short supply. Analysts estimate the ECB already holds 25%-30% of the euro zone debt market and is approaching a self-imposed ceiling on some governments' paper.
"It makes sense to hold credit right now ... there's more juice in credit than in other sectors like non-core (government bonds)," Chaigneu said.
In 2016, inflation rose significantly after the CSPP action, with policymakers arguing that this programme in particular was more effective than others because indirectly leads to more lending to small and medium enterprises.
"I've been a relatively big fan," ECB ratesetter Ardo Hansson told Reuters. "All asset purchases are not created equal. We're trying to get the enterprises and households to spend or invest a bit more."
The scheme resulted in sharply lower bond yield premia over sovereign debt, allowing companies access to record low funding rates.
The fact ECB is even contemplating resuming QE shows how much the outlook for the European economy has darkened. Perversely, this leads to investors being more bullish on the European corporate sector; as the old mantra goes, bad news is good news for markets. ($1 = 0.8846 euros)
(Reporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan; editing by John Stonestreet) |
The best-kept tech secret to making your money work
(Photo: Getty Images) Its fair to say that UK banking is undergoing a period of flux. Public trust in the sector remains low, a decade after the financial crisis brought banks to the point of collapse and recession, retrenchment and austerity in its wake. In the intervening years new tech-savvy startups, sensing an opportunity, have emerged to challenge the might of traditional financial institutions. London is the global hub of a robust and rapidly growing fintech (Financial Technology) sector. KPMG calculates that investment in UK fintech hit a record £16bn in 2018. Fintech businesses are taking on incumbents in a number of areas, from payment technology to small business loans to money transfers. In addition, a number of challenger banks have emerged to offer easy-to-use, online-only alternatives to traditional current and savings accounts. These newcomers have no bricks and mortar branches, and instead rely on advanced technology, paper-free simplicity and easy functionality to attract customers. They are adept and agile, offering features like spending trackers and savings planners long before their more traditional rivals. (Photo: Getty Images) Protecting your savings Most experts regard the emergence of a strong fintech sector as a positive step forward. Its presence has made financial services more responsive. But none of this activity fundamentally changes the nature of banking, which ties savings and investments to local, government-issued currencies (like pounds, dollars and euros). That in turn makes them vulnerable to economic fragility and political interference. In other words, while the best fintech challenger banks provide a better customer experience, they dont protect users from the next global credit crunch or financial crisis. Put simply, banking that is tied to government-issued currencies cannot protect your moneys value. Put cash into a savings account with your bank and, when you come to spend it, you may find that it has significantly less purchasing power than it did when you deposited it, and in extreme circumstances, that you cant even access part of your money. For that reason, some experts argue that, while challenger banks might be a step in the right direction, what the financial sector needs most of all is a challenger currency. Story continues Money that adds up Bitcoin is one example of that, but its wild fluctuations show that virtual currencies are not the answer to financial instability. A more promising example is a new mainstream currency called Tally . The difference between Tally and Dollars, Euros and Bitcoin is that each unit of Tally represents a real physical asset, which is 1 milligram of LBMA approved physical gold. In that sense Tally is money that uses a different rationale. In many ways, Tally is a familiar fintech product. It is based on a user-friendly smartphone banking app. It takes just minutes to sign up for. It comes with a debit Tally Mastercard® that lets you spend your money seamlessly anywhere in the world, with no transaction or FX fees. But in another way, Tally is something truly unique and potentially game-changing. Your money is no longer based on a bankers promise, and subject to the slings and arrows of global politics and economics. It is the customers solid physical asset, housed in a secure vault in Switzerland, and utilised via their individual banking account. (Photo: Getty Images) A currency, not an investment We should be clear. This isnt gold as a speculative investment. This is a deposit converted to Tally that you can use as everyday money. You save it. You spend it. But whatever you do with it, you have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that it is protected from inflation and bank risk. Use Tally and you operate within the global digital banking system, just as you would with any other mainstream currency. But your asset sits outside that system, protected from its fragility and volatility. Tally is a 100% reserve banking platform, which means that your money is never lent out. Why does Tally use gold? Historically gold holds its purchasing power over time. History suggests that your savings will be able to buy as much in the future as they can today. There are no transaction costs for using Tally at home or abroad. Instead, customers pay a single monthly charge of 0.1% of their average monthly holding which covers storage, security, insurance and operational costs. Any holding above half a million Tally (t500,000) is charged at 0.05%. Thats it, there are no hidden charges or fees. And the value of your Tally is 100% insured, giving you peace of mind come what may. So is it time to think about Tally? For true protection and certainty of your savings, it might be worth considering money that really makes sense, money that adds up. Find out more at www.tallymoney.com and download the Tally app from the App Store or Google Play . Tally relative to GBP (£) can rise or fall due to fluctuations in the global gold price. TallyMoney Ltd is an Electronic Money Directive Agent (Financial Conduct Authority Reference Number 902059) of the FCA-licensed E-Money Institution, PayrNet Limited (FCA Reg. No. 900594). Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated. |
Power outage partially halts Toshiba Memory's chip plant
TOKYO, June 21 (Reuters) - Toshiba Memory Corp, the world's No. 2 producer of NAND flash memory chips, said on Friday production at its plant in central Japan has been partially suspended for nearly a week since a brief power outage last Saturday.
A Toshiba Memory spokeswoman declined to comment when the plant would resume full operations and to what extent its production has been affected.
Toshiba Memory, owned 40% by Toshiba Corp, is in the process of going public.
The plant suspension is also affecting Western Digital Corp , Toshiba Memory's joint venture partner, but a spokeswoman for the U.S. data storage device maker declined to comment on the impact on its business.
It usually takes days to resume operations at a chip plant, as all equipment needs to be tested.
(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Rashmi Aich) |
Brexit: Bank of England governor shreds Boris Johnson's claim for avoiding economic damage after no-deal
The Bank of England governor has rubbished a key Boris Johnson claim for avoiding economic damage after a no-deal Brexit , in a severe blow to the Tory leadership favourite. Mr Johnson dismissed fears about crashing out of the EU by arguing the UK could still enjoy tariff-free trade under what is known as Gatt 24, until a permanent agreement was struck. But Mark Carney pointed out the trade law could only be invoked if there was an agreement in place and the central point of a no-deal Brexit was the absence of a deal. The Gatt rules are clear. Gatt 24 applies if you have a [withdrawal] agreement, not if you've decided not to have an agreement, or you have been unable to come to an agreement, he told the BBC. We should be clear that not having an agreement with the European Union would mean that there are tariffs, automatically because the Europeans have to apply the same rules to us as they apply to everyone else. Alistair Burt , a former minister and supporter of Jeremy Hunt , Mr Johnsons rival, said: You have got to be on top of the detail no-deal would be very dangerous. He pointed out the gaffe came after Mr Johnson had stumbled over his plan for huge tax cuts for high earners when the impact on taxpayers in Scotland was revealed. To use Article 24 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Gatt) avoiding tariffs on goods a trade agreement must be agreed in principle, rather than be an aspiration. Its use also needs the two sides to agree, meaning the UK could not simply impose it on the EU after a crash-out departure. During Tuesday nights TV debate , Mr Johnson was challenged by Rory Stewart on the import taxes and therefore border controls that would be required on agricultural goods crossing to and from the Republic. He replied: There will be no tariffs, there will be no quotas, because what we want to do is get a standstill in our current arrangements under Gatt 24 or whatever it happens to be until such time that we have negotiated an FTA [Free Trade Agreement]. The answer appeared to betray the former foreign secretarys lack of detailed knowledge, a persistent criticism of his record in office. more follows View comments |
Trump: We Were Cocked & Loaded Before I Scuttled Iran Strike
President Trump says he abruptly canceled a planned military strike on Iran on Thursday night. He confirmed media reports that he had a last-minute change of heart by saying that the U.S. military was cocked and loaded before he changed his mind. Trump approved U.S. strikes on multiple targets in Iran on Thursday in response to Iran's downing of an unmanned U.S. drone. But he changed his orders at the last minute, in a move first reported by The New York Times . Explaining his decision Friday morning, Trump wrote: We were cocked & loaded to retaliate last night on 3 different sights when I asked, how many will die. 150 people, sir, was the answer from a General. 10 minutes before the strike I stopped it, not proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone. He added: I am in no hurry, our Military is rebuilt, new, and ready to go, by far the best in the world. Sanctions are biting & more added last night. Iran can NEVER have Nuclear Weapons, not against the USA, and not against the WORLD! Multiple senior administration officials cited by the Times said military and diplomatic officials were waiting for a strike Thursday evening when the operation was suddenly called off. Planes were reportedly already in the air and ships had gotten into position when the call came down that the operation was not going ahead. Meanwhile, Iran warned Friday that it had the opportunity to shoot down a U.S. aircraft carrying 35 people that the country claimed was accompanying the drone shot down Thursday. This plane also entered our airspace and we could have shot it down, but we did not, said Amirali Hajizadeh, head of the Revolutionary Guards aerospace division. Its not immediately clear if there are plans for the strikes to go ahead at a different time. Newsweek cited a Pentagon official as saying U.S. military assets in the region were placed on a 72-hour standby. The drone incident Thursday was just the latest in a growing list of disputes between Tehran and Washington to raise fears that one simple diplomatic misunderstanding between the two countries could trigger a full-on military confrontation. Story continues Tensions have gotten so high that the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday blocked all American-registered planes from flying over parts of the Middle East, citing heightened military activities and increased political tensions in the region that pose an inadvertent risk to U.S. civil aviation operations. Other global carriers, including British Airways, KLM, Qantas, and Lufthansa, have followed suit. It was not immediately clear if the FAA order came in response to news reports about the Trump administrations planned airstrike, but the agency cited Irans shootdown as a reason to fear aircraft could be at risk in the region. Will America Attack Iran Over One Dead Robot? While Trump and his advisers have insisted the U.S. drone was over international waters, Iranian leaders have claimed to have GPS proof that the craft flew into the countrys airspace despite radio warnings. The attack on the drone also came as many Democratic lawmakers had already begun to question whether the Trump administration was actively trying to build a case for military action against Iran in response to what top officials have described as escalating threats from the country since Trump pulled out of the Obama-era nuclear deal last year. Just last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo backed Trump in blaming Iran for attacks on two fuel tankers in the Gulf of Oman, claiming Tehran was lashing out to get back at the U.S. for sanctions. The Trump administration announced last month that it would be sending additional troops to the Middle East to send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime , as National Security Adviser John Bolton put it at the time. When reports of the called-off military strikes on Iran broke late Thursday, Democratic lawmakers took to Twitter to sound the alarm over the matter. This is governing by chaos. We need a steady hand at the wheel. I stood up against the Iraq War and I know that America cannot afford another disastrous war in the Middle East, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a 2020 candidate, wrote . Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who is also running for president, accused Trump of instigating conflict with Iran. Donald Trump promised to bring our troops home. Instead he has pulled out of a deal that was working and instigated another unnecessary conflict. There is no justification for further escalating this crisiswe need to step back from the brink of war, she wrote. Trump Tells His Team to Tone Down the Tough Talk on Iran Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. |
Does Himatsingka Seide Limited (NSE:HIMATSEIDE) Have A Good P/E Ratio?
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This article is for investors who would like to improve their understanding of price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll look at Himatsingka Seide Limited's (NSE:HIMATSEIDE) P/E ratio and reflect on what it tells us about the company's share price.Himatsingka Seide has a P/E ratio of 8.09, based on the last twelve months. In other words, at today's prices, investors are paying ₹8.09 for every ₹1 in prior year profit.
View our latest analysis for Himatsingka Seide
Theformula for price to earningsis:
Price to Earnings Ratio = Share Price ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS)
Or for Himatsingka Seide:
P/E of 8.09 = ₹161.75 ÷ ₹19.99 (Based on the year to March 2019.)
A higher P/E ratio means that investors are payinga higher pricefor each ₹1 of company earnings. That isn't a good or a bad thing on its own, but a high P/E means that buyers have a higher opinion of the business's prospects, relative to stocks with a lower P/E.
Probably the most important factor in determining what P/E a company trades on is the earnings growth. If earnings are growing quickly, then the 'E' in the equation will increase faster than it would otherwise. That means even if the current P/E is high, it will reduce over time if the share price stays flat. So while a stock may look expensive based on past earnings, it could be cheap based on future earnings.
Himatsingka Seide shrunk earnings per share by 2.4% last year. But it has grown its earnings per share by 25% per year over the last five years.
One good way to get a quick read on what market participants expect of a company is to look at its P/E ratio. If you look at the image below, you can see Himatsingka Seide has a lower P/E than the average (10.8) in the luxury industry classification.
This suggests that market participants think Himatsingka Seide will underperform other companies in its industry. Since the market seems unimpressed with Himatsingka Seide, it's quite possible it could surprise on the upside. You should delve deeper. I like to checkif company insiders have been buying or selling.
The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. Hypothetically, a company could reduce its future P/E ratio by spending its cash (or taking on debt) to achieve higher earnings.
While growth expenditure doesn't always pay off, the point is that it is a good option to have; but one that the P/E ratio ignores.
Net debt totals a substantial 133% of Himatsingka Seide's market cap. This level of debt justifies a relatively low P/E, so remain cognizant of the debt, if you're comparing it to other stocks.
Himatsingka Seide has a P/E of 8.1. That's below the average in the IN market, which is 15.5. When you consider that the company has significant debt, and didn't grow EPS last year, it isn't surprising that the market has muted expectations.
Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. If it is underestimating a company, investors can make money by buying and holding the shares until the market corrects itself. So thisfreereport on the analyst consensus forecastscould help you make amaster moveon this stock.
Of course,you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates.So take a peek at thisfreelist of companies with modest (or no) debt, trading on a P/E below 20.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Most UK export firms still not ready for a no-deal Brexit
A mural by street artist Banksy showing a star being chiselled from the European flag in Dover. Photo: AP Photo/Matt Dunham Most UK firms which export to Europe are still unprepared for a no-deal Brexit, according to official figures. Around 60% of exporting companies have still failed to complete key paperwork almost two months after Britain was initially due to leave the EU on 31 March. Around 150,000 companies could find themselves legally prevented from continuing to trade with European partners unless they register with HMRC before Brexit. Applying for an ‘economic operator registration and identification’ (EORI) number is just one of the new hurdles UK firms could face if Britain leaves without an agreement. Boris Johnson, the frontrunner in the race to be the next Tory leader and UK prime minister, has talked up the importance of Britain leaving with or without a deal by November. READ MORE: Carney slams Johnson’s Brexit trade deal plans Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney highlighted the figures on UK firms’ preparedness in an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday morning. He said only 40% of the 250,000 firms expected to need an EORI number to trade had applied, but said it was twice the number which had applied six months ago. But he added: “Industry has continued to work on being prepared. The main thing business was doing in the run-up to the deadline at the end of March was to build stock, so they could try to supply the UK market as much as possible. “They’ve done that. Those stocks are sitting there.” READ MORE: Bank governor gives Facebook’s Libra a cautious welcome He warned business stockpiling only provided “a very short-term level” of preparedness, and said it was “extremely difficult” to do in sectors like car making. About three-quarters of businesses today would say ‘we’ve done as much as we can do.’ It doesn’t mean thery’re fully ready-far from it. “Business will be reliant on what the governments are able to do in order to keep the ports open and trade flowing.” He also used the interview to wade into the final round of the Conservative leadership contest, slamming frontrunner Boris Johnson’s Brexit trade plans. Carney challenged Johnson’s claim that he would be able to stop Britain facing significant disruption to trade from new tariffs if it left the EU without a deal. READ MORE: Bank of England holds rates at 0.75% as risks to growth increase |
IQE share price falls 35% on Huawei profit warning
A Huawei company logo is seen at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) Asia 2019 in Shanghai, China June 11, 2019. Photo: REUTERS/Aly Song The US battle with Huawei is sending shockwaves throughout the tech sector. A Welsh microchip maker has seen its stock tank over 35% after warning that the international furore surrounding Huawei will hit its business. IQE ( IQE.L ), which makes parts for semiconductor chips, said on Friday that “uncertain market conditions” would mean revenues for 2019 would be between £140m and £160m — lower than analyst forecasts of £175m. IQE warned in May that it was exposed to the US trade ban on Huawei but said then it was in “a strong position to adjust.” However, the company said Friday’s revenue warning was due to “far-reaching impacts on other companies and supply chains that are now becoming evident” from the Huawei ban. IQE’s share price fell by as much as 37% at the open on Friday in response to the update. At just before 8.30am, the stock was still down by 33%. IQE's stock price collapsed on Friday. Photo: Yahoo Finance UK Chinese telecoms giant Huawei has been caught up in the escalating trade tensions between the US and China. The company has been accused of stealing US trade and the US banned companies from trading with Huawei in May. The US has also raised national security concerns about Huawei. The Trump administration believes Huawei has close links to the Chinese government and fears that Huawei’s telecoms equipment is being used for spying. The political pressure is having an impact on Huawei’s business. Earlier this month the company said full year sales would be $30bn below forecasts and said smartphone sales were set to fall by 40%. Dr Drew Nelson, the CEO of IQE, said in a statement: “These are unprecedented times for the global semiconductor industry as geo-political conditions affect interconnected global supply chains. “It is now clear that the impact of Huawei’s addition to the US Bureau of Industry and Security’s Entity List is having far-reaching and long-lasting impacts on global supply chains.” ———— Oscar Williams-Grut covers banking, fintech, and finance for Yahoo Finance UK. Follow him on Twitter at @OscarWGrut . Read more: Bank of England's Carney gives Facebook's Libra cautious backing Bank of England cuts growth forecast on no-deal Brexit fears, rates unchanged Why politicians and regulators are already going after Facebook's Libra Lloyds exec defends CEO's £2.8m pay: 'People like a winner' Facebook's Libra could spark 'mass adoption' of crypto |
Pokemon Go creators release Harry Potter mobile game Wizards Unite
(Wizards Unite official website screencap) By Rollo Ross LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The creators of mobile gaming phenomenon Pokemon Go unleashed a new game on Thursday that features Harry Potter and other characters from the wizarding world made famous in best-selling books and blockbuster movies. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite was co-developed by Pokemon Go developer Niantic Inc and AT&T Inc's Warner Bros, which owns the rights to develop entertainment based on author J.K. Rowling's popular Harry Potter series. Wizards Unite had been scheduled to debut on Friday, but players in the United States found they were able to download it on Thursday afternoon. Like Pokemon Go, Wizards Unite uses augmented reality and Google mapping to make it look like characters are appearing in the real world. Players see characters, creatures and other elements overlaid on the landscape that they see through their phone's camera as they move around. In Wizards Unite, users play the role of a new recruit within the Statute of Secrecy Task Force to help solve a mystery. Players can discover artifacts, cast spells and encounter characters from the Potter films and prequel movie series "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," the developers said. "You see all your favorite characters and artifacts, whether it's the Sorting Hat, or Buckbeak, or whether it's Harry himself or Newt Scamander," said Jonathan Knight, studio head of Warner Bros. Games San Francisco. There is also a new story that unfolds within the game, Knight said. "There's a crafting game where you're collecting potion ingredients and creating potions and using them to be a better wizard," he said. Pokemon Go exploded after its introduction in 2016, sending players into city streets, offices, parks and restaurants to search for colorful animated characters. Actress Tiffany Haddish, an avid fan of the Harry Potter books, was given an early look at Wizards Unite. At a launch event held by Warner Bros., Haddish said her favorite part of the game was that it forces people to move around to search for clues and characters. She said she had lost five to 10 pounds when she was walking around playing Pokemon Go. "I'm about to be starting playing this like crazy," Haddish said. "Maybe I'll lose 10 to 15 pounds. Who knows?" (Reporting by Rollo Ross; writing by Lisa Richwine and Diane Craft) |
USD/CAD Daily Forecast – Rising Oil Prices Amid US-Iran Tensions Pushing the Pair Down
After touching the bottom near 1.3150 marks, the Loonie pair had risen slightly overGreenbackupliftment yesterday. The USD Index had made a minor upward move last day amid impressive Jobless data release. Anyhow, the USD/CAD pair failed to breach the healthy 1.3221 resistance levels and reverted. The pair continued to move along the lower bracket near 1.3160/80 range levels in the Asian session.
RisingCrudeprices remained the primary negative trendsetter for the plunging USD/CAD pair. The commodity prices had dropped around 1.52% in the early hours today. Despite that, the Oil prices continued to hold on the monthly gains lingering near $57.75 bbl.
Crude 240 Min 21 June 2019
The Crude is the biggest export item for Canada. Hence, any changes in the Oil prices have an inverse impact on the USD/CAD pair. The Crude gained value amid the rising Middle East tensions and hopes over a Fed rate cut. Yesterday, Iran had downed a US drone that strayed into the Iranian airspace. The drone was brought down using a “Third of Khordad” – a surface-to-air missile. This incident marks as the first of its kind where Iran claims in-charge of the attacks. The US President had initially called Iran’s action as a “big mistake”. Somehow, Trump appeared to downplay as perlatestreports. President told reporters that he finds it “hard to believe it was intentional”.
The escalating tensions in the Middle East region that contributes around 20% of the Global Oil Production kept the Oil prices high. Also, the US Dollar appeared to lose value further bestowing Crude price upsurge.
Ahead of the day, Loonie traders await the Canadian April MoM Retail Sales reports. The market seems to stay highly bearish over the Retail figures, expecting a 0.9% decrease this time.
On the USD side, the June Markit Services PMI and May Home Sales data line up in the economic docket. The Street analysts anticipate a slight growth in both these reports.
Crude prices might show volatility after the data release of theBaker HughesUS Oil Rig Count. This Crude reports had recorded 788 figures in previous time.
USDCAD 60 Min 21 June 2019
The 50-days short term trend indicatingSMAwas heading south in the Asian session. The short term SMA had already crossed paths with the other two significant 100-days and 200-days SMA. Such a movement approaching the pair alludes a reversal at any point in time. Nevertheless, all the SMA stood well above the USD/CAD pair, calling a downtrend. TheMACDshowcased the histograms pointing north and both the moving averages tending to move upwards. On further downward movement, the pair would find strong support near 1.3153 levels.
USDCAD 1 Day 21 June 2019
On the longer timescale, the pair appeared to maintain a downtrend clinching near the 4-month bottom. If the negative trend continues, then the pair might rebound from the robust 1.3114 support levels. Also, the overhead SMA confirmed the bearish trend in the pair’s future movements.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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Central banks will want oversight of Facebook's Libra: Bank of England's Carney
LONDON (Reuters) - Major central banks and regulators will want oversight of Facebook's proposed new currency and payment system, Libra, to ensure it is safe and does not allow money laundering or finance terrorism, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said. "It has to be safe, or it's not going to happen," Carney told the BBC in an interview broadcast on Friday. "We, the Fed, all the major global central banks and supervisors, would have direct regulatory (oversight)." Britain's Financial Conduct Authority - responsible for consumer protection and anti-money laundering - would also have a major supervisory role to play, Carney added. Carney said on Thursday that Facebook cannot expect its new Libra currency to benefit from the same unregulated free-for-all that helped the company achieve a dominant position in social media. (Reporting by David Milliken; editing by Costas Pitas) |
Trump Claims Latino Voters Want Him To Deport Millions Of Undocumented Immigrants
President Donald Trump says Latino voters broadly support his hard-line immigration policy and want him to follow through on threats to deport millions of undocumented immigrants across America. In an interview that aired Thursday on the Spanish-language channel Telemundo, journalist José Díaz-Balart pressed the president on his efforts to rein in immigration along the southern border, including his tweeted pledge earlier this week that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would begin deporting millions of illegal aliens as soon as next week. The Hispanics want toughness at the border, they dont want people coming in taking their jobs, Trump said. They dont want criminals to come because they understand the border better than anybody. Díaz-Balart asked Trump if it was a mistake to enforce his zero tolerance immigration plan, which has resulted in thousands of children being separated from their parents at the border. Trump said he had no regrets. Its not a mistake, Trump said. We want to have strong borders. Its not a mistake. The president said that the policy of separation began under his predecessor, former President Barack Obama. That claim is not entirely accurate. According to The New York Times, previous administrations did break up families, but only occurred in very limited circumstances. There was also no formalized process of separation until the Trump administration began its zero tolerance policy . Im the one that put people together, they separated, I put em together, Trump said. I inherited separation, and I changed the plan and I brought them together.
I hated to have the separation policy. What zero tolerance means to me is that were going to be tough on the border. Trump has taken a hard line on immigration since he became president and appears to be making it a core issue of his reelection campaign. He recently replaced many of the countrys top immigration officials and is still touting his promised wall along the southern border. Story continues Trump also said he wasnt worried about his electability in 2020 or any of the many Democratic challengers hoping to unseat him. To back this, he touted polling numbers that he said showed him doing well with Hispanic voters. Díaz-Balart questioned the figures. There are some who fear, who fear your rhetoric, who fear whats going on at the border, who fear that you have said that you will be deporting millions of people, Díaz-Balart said. They want me to do it! Trump fired back. Theyre here illegally. Related... 'I Know What Concentration Camps Are,' Actor George Takei Says Dangerous Situation Unfolding For Kids At Texas Border Detention Site, Lawyers Say Justice Department Argues Against Providing Soap, Toothbrushes, Beds To Detained Kids Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost . |
Did L E Lundbergföretagen AB (publ)'s (STO:LUND B) Recent Earnings Growth Beat The Trend?
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Increase in profitability and industry-beating performance can be essential considerations in a stock for some investors. In this article, I will take a look at L E Lundbergföretagen AB (publ)'s (STO:LUND B) track record on a high level, to give you some insight into how the company has been performing against its historical trend and its industry peers.
Check out our latest analysis for L E Lundbergföretagen
LUND B's trailing twelve-month earnings (from 31 March 2019) of kr6.0b has jumped 13% compared to the previous year.
Furthermore, this one-year growth rate has exceeded its 5-year annual growth average of 11%, indicating the rate at which LUND B is growing has accelerated. What's enabled this growth? Well, let’s take a look at whether it is only a result of industry tailwinds, or if L E Lundbergföretagen has seen some company-specific growth.
In terms of returns from investment, L E Lundbergföretagen has fallen short of achieving a 20% return on equity (ROE), recording 9.7% instead. However, its return on assets (ROA) of 4.4% exceeds the SE Diversified Financial industry of 3.9%, indicating L E Lundbergföretagen has used its assets more efficiently. Though, its return on capital (ROC), which also accounts for L E Lundbergföretagen’s debt level, has declined over the past 3 years from 5.1% to 4.5%.
L E Lundbergföretagen's track record can be a valuable insight into its earnings performance, but it certainly doesn't tell the whole story. Positive growth and profitability are what investors like to see in a company’s track record, but how do we properly assess sustainability? You should continue to research L E Lundbergföretagen to get a better picture of the stock by looking at:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for LUND B’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor LUND B’s outlook.
2. Financial Health: Are LUND B’s operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why we’ve done it for you. Check out ourfinancial health checks here.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the trailing twelve months from 31 March 2019. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Australia’s Central Bank: It’s ‘Difficult’ to Imagine Mass Adoption of Bitcoin
ByCCN Markets: After ten years, the Reserve Bank of Australia has decided that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies don’t pose a threat to Aussie dollars or other forms of fiat payment.
The RBA concludes, after reviewing everything it knows about cryptocurrency, that it’s “difficult to envisage” an outbreak of Bitcoin users in the down under.
It’s on cryptocurrency to be more attractive and useful than traditional payment methods. People will prefer the easier, more familiar world of debt-based currency until this is the case.
To maintain the status quo, RBA says, rulers need only worry about keeping the fundamentals of the Australian dollar in place –
“As long as the Australian dollar continues to provide a reliable, low-inflation store of value, and the payments industry continues to work on the efficiency, functionality, and resilience of the Australian payments system, it is difficult to envisage cryptocurrencies presenting a compelling proposition that would lead to their widespread use in Australia.” |
If You Like EPS Growth Then Check Out iomart Group (LON:IOM) Before It's Too Late
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Some have more dollars than sense, they say, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can easily find investors. Unfortunately, high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson.
If, on the other hand, you like companies that have revenue, and even earn profits, then you may well be interested iniomart Group(LON:IOM). Now, I'm not saying that the stock is necessarily undervalued today; but I can't shake an appreciation for the profitability of the business itself. Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, but time is often a friend of the profitable company, especially if it is growing.
Check out our latest analysis for iomart Group
If you believe that markets are even vaguely efficient, then over the long term you'd expect a company's share price to follow its earnings per share (EPS). That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. Over the last three years, iomart Group has grown EPS by 4.8% per year. While that sort of growth rate isn't amazing, it does show the business is growing.
I like to see top-line growth as an indication that growth is sustainable, and I look for a high earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margin to point to a competitive moat (though some companies with low margins also have moats). While we note iomart Group's EBIT margins were flat over the last year, revenue grew by a solid 6.2% to UK£104m. That's a real positive.
You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.
While we live in the present moment at all times, there's no doubt in my mind that the future matters more than the past. So why not checkthis interactive chart depicting future EPS estimates, for iomart Group?
Like that fresh smell in the air when the rains are coming, insider buying fills me with optimistic anticipation. That's because insider buying often indicates that those closest to the company have confidence that the share price will perform well. Of course, we can never be sure what insiders are thinking, we can only judge their actions.
We haven't seen any insiders selling iomart Group shares, in the last year. With that in mind, it's heartening that Scott Cunningham, the Group Finance Director of the company, paid UK£13k for shares at around UK£3.29 each.
Along with the insider buying, another encouraging sign for iomart Group is that insiders, as a group, have a considerable shareholding. With a whopping UK£55m worth of shares as a group, insiders have plenty riding on the company's success. At 16% of the company, the co-investment by insiders gives me confidence that management will make long-term focussed decisions.
While insiders are apparently happy to hold and accumulate shares, that is just part of the pretty picture. That's because on our analysis the CEO, Angus MacSween, is paid less than the median for similar sized companies. For companies with market capitalizations between UK£158m and UK£633m, like iomart Group, the median CEO pay is around UK£666k.
iomart Group offered total compensation worth UK£439k to its CEO in the year to March 2018. That seems pretty reasonable, especially given its below the median for similar sized companies. CEO remuneration levels are not the most important metric for investors, but when the pay is modest, that does support enhanced alignment between the CEO and the ordinary shareholders. I'd also argue reasonable pay levels attest to good decision making more generally.
One positive for iomart Group is that it is growing EPS. That's nice to see. Better yet, insiders are significant shareholders, and have been buying more shares. That makes the company a prime candidate for my watchlist - and arguably a research priority. Once you've identified a business you like, the next step is to consider what you think it's worth. And right now is your chance to view our exclusivediscounted cashflow valuationof iomart Group. You might benefit from giving it a glance today.
There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. So if you like the sound of iomart Group, you'll probably love thisfreelist of growing companies that insiders are buying.
Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
U.S. Crude Extends Weekly Gains to 10% as U.S.-Iran Tensions Add to Rally
Investing.com - Oil prices hit a three-week high on Friday, extending recent gains as escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran forced market participants to price in higher geopolitical risk premiums.
New York-traded West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 45 cents, or 0.8%, to $57.52 a barrel by 7:56 AM ET (11:56 GMT), while Brent crude futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S. gained 84 cents, or 1.3%, to $65.29.
WTI oil was on track for a weekly gains of nearly 10%, while Brent was up 5.3% from a week ago.
U.S. President Donald Trump hadauthorized military strikes against Iranin response to the strike against a U.S. surveillance drone late Thursday, but called off the attack at the last minute, according to a New York Times report.
The incident underlined the risk of disruptions to global oil supplies coming out of the Persian Gulf, where six oil tankers have been damaged by explosions in the past six weeks.
“We continue to believe amid this growing tension in the Middle East, along with expectations of an OPEC+ deal extension, that oil prices will trend higher over the second half of the year,” ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Wenyu Yao said in a note. “A weaker U.S. dollar, with a more dovish Fed only adds further support,” they added.
OPEC members have postponed their scheduled review of the existing agreement on output restraint by a week to July 1. Non-members, most importantly Russia, will join the following day. Most analysts expect the aggregate output cut of 1.2 million barrels a day to be extended through the end of the year, although Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih has indicated that quotas for individual countries may need to be recalculated.
In other energy trading, gasoline futures surged 3.4% at $1.8465 a gallon by 7:58 AM ET (11:58 GMT), while heating oil jumped 1.9% at $1.9197 a gallon.
Lastly, natural gas futures traded up 1.1% at $2.208 per million British thermal unit.
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Meet Alternateth: A ‘Friendly Fork’ of the Ethereum Blockchain
One ethereum community member is about to begin what one might call a “friendly fork” of the ethereum blockchain.
Called “Alternateth,” James Hancock, project team lead at ethereum startup ETHSignals, told CoinDesk in interview that he hopes the network will act as “a sister chain” to ethereum validating ideas and proof-of-concepts before adoption on the main chain. The goal is to initiate the split in two months’ time.
“For ethereum to be sound money, it needs to be very conservative in making changes,” said Hancock. “For ethereum to keep pace with competition it needs to keep making changes. These two ideas are in tension as it is difficult to do both well.”
Related:Ethereum Classic’s Next Crypto Code Upgrade Set for September
Ethereum is the world’s second largest blockchain network by market capitalization. Since launch in 2015, ethereum has witnessed the rise of several other competing smart contract platforms includeEOS,Tron,IOSTand others. While none come close to matching ethereum’s near$30 billionvaluation, the proliferation of new technology iterating on ethereum’s architecture and structure have fueledfurther pressureon developers to maintain the network’s competitive edge.
As such, Hancock sees Alternateth as a test network of sorts for speeding up development on ethereum mainnet. For example, one of the first features he intends to execute on Alternateth is mining algorithm switch, “Progressive Proof-of-Work” (ProgPoW), which has yet to see mainnet activation on ethereum despite being approved by core developerssince early January.
But outside of testing purposes, Hancock also sees Alternateth as a blockchain to support ethereum developers.
Leveraging a block rewards mechanism similar to what is seen onthe zcash blockchain,Hancock tells CoinDesk that a portion of mining rewards on Alternateth will be collected into a multi-signature address “comprised of multiple trusted community members.”
Related:Internet Security Provider Cloudflare Announces an Ethereum Gateway
At present, Hancock is rallying support for this new ethereum blockchain from other developers. In terms of miner support, Hancock purports that some general purpose miners on ethereum are already “ready to mine” the ProgPoW algorithm, which Alternateth will leverage from the outset.
In terms of project fundraising, Hancock emphasized that there is presently no intentions to launch an initial coin offering or pursue alternative avenues for funding.
Rather, Hancock affirmed the project is an entirely volunteer-driven effort that has yet to fully work through all of the nitty gritty details of blockchain code protocol and monetary policy.
The overall vision, however, is clear. Hancock affirmed:
“It will be a test-bed for some of these upcoming features [for ethereum] and will support funding development for the main chain…Similar to the relationship between litecoin and bitcoin.”
For now, the Alternateth initiative is still in very early stages of development, though Hancock asserts he’s receiving support privately for now from other unnamed ethereum developers and miners.
“I am getting support on how to execute the fork,” said Hancock. “I wouldn’t say they are ‘working on the project,’ at least not for now…I’ll let the [developers] announce their own involvement.”
To this, ethereum developers and other community stakeholders have been rallying support for various sustainable funding initiatives on the ethereum blockchain.
In fact, the proposal of introducing block rewards on the platform most recently stirred a flurry of controversy in the ethereum community back in April when a working group was created by the founder of crypto bounties platform Gitcoin, Kevin Owocki.
Owocki told CoinDesk in a past interview:
“I do think that there’s a limit to the amount of throughput that can go through Consensys grants and the [Ethereum Foundation] grants system…Also, in the spirit of decentralization, we basically can’t rely on Consensys grants and [Ethereum Foundation] grants to be around forever.”
Agreeing with this sentiment, ethereum core developer Lane Rettig created aGitHubproposal in response for “a better, more explicit governance structure” on ethereum which could take on the task of managing block reward funds.
However, the conversation came to a head when discussions got heated between members of the block rewards working group in April.
Arguing that “public salary discussions” would be one of the many political issues caused by reallocating Ethereum Foundation funds into a new structure of fund management, Spankchain CEO Ameen Soleimani called out Rettig for allegedly requesting a $200,000 salary from the Ethereum Foundation and pushing discussions on block rewards forward for his own personal financial gain.
Rettig rebutted this accusation by stating that he did not request such a salary and that the Ethereum Foundation as a whole “does not give salaries.” Hourly pay by the Ethereum Foundation according to Rettig, on the other hand, is “as little as $25 per hour” for senior developers.
Rettig wrote in the working group Telegram group chat:
“My motivations for these governance/funding discussions is that I worked unpaid for about six months and there are other developers on the Ethereum Foundation teams that have been unpaid for ten months or more, many working without valid contracts. Does that sound fair?”
While Rettig and Soleimani have since returned to amicable relationson social media,the block reward working group – now renamed to “ETH Commons Funding Models” on Telegram – has since quieted down considerably.
At the same time, Hancock, who remains one of the working group members on Telegram, hopes to revive this idea of block rewards, only by applying it to a separate blockchain platform.
Alternateth, Hancock concludes, will be “a friendly fork of ethereum” designed to support and complement the ethereum blockchain, not compete with it.
Ethereum imagevia Shutterstock
• Two Startups Are Partnering to Enable Amazon Purchases with Ethereum
• Marketing Chief Amanda Gutterman Is Latest Exec to Leave ConsenSys |
What is a DAO and how does it work?
This Monday, Digitex Futures announced its plans to become a DAO. If that leaves you with a couple of questions, let’s delve a little deeper. To start with, what is a DAO exactly and how does it work? And who is Digitex Futures? What is a DAO? A DAO is a decentralised autonomous organisation. But you could have just looked that up on Google. The very essence of a DAO is to remove the hierarchy and individual ownership from an organisation. So, instead of having a pyramid style of leadership, you can think of a decentralised company as being circular. Every participant in the organisation votes on matters concerning the company through digitally programmed mechanisms coded into smart contracts. It might seem like a strange concept at first, but a DAO gives participants voting and ownership rights and makes the system much fairer. It’s also a way of improving efficiencies in that many routine tasks can be automated. Think about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ether cutting out the need for a middleman in a financial transaction. What a DAO does for a company is cut out the need for additional parties where repetitive functions abound. For example, smart contracts can be programmed to pay out employee salaries when they meet certain conditions, such as completing the agreed-upon work by a certain date. Suppliers and providers can also be paid automatically. Although Dash occasionally comes under fire for not being 100% decentralised, its model of governance is a DAO. Anyone can submit proposals to DAO participants to vote on, from hiring a new legal team to implementing a charity project in Venezuela. The DAO members vote on whether to approve or reject the proposal. The concept of a DAO is still very new and there are few companies that can claim to have achieved a truly decentralised circular business model. However, the idea is gaining traction. Even behemoth financial corporations such as JP Morgan are experimenting with smart contracts in their businesses to preprogram multiple back-office tasks. Story continues The DAO hack that split Ethereum in two If you’ve heard the acronym before, it’s probably because of Ethereum’s disastrous attempt at becoming a DAO in 2016. Simply called The DAO, the decentralised organisation was working well for the first few months until an opportune hacker spotted a loophole in a smart contract and was able to drain around $60 million worth of Ether. Back then, Ethereum was hardly a year old. This amount of Ether lost was a catastrophe for the blockchain project, and it had to take the contentious decision of creating a hard fork to effectively erase the damage. This split Ethereum into two camps and saw the birth of Ethereum Classic , who continued on the original code, and Ethereum as we know it today. With precedents such as this still fairly fresh in the cryptocurrency community’s mind, is it too early for other companies to think about becoming a DAO? After all, a smart contract is only as good as the person who coded it. What’s to stop another loophole from harpooning the organisation? Well to be fair, three years in the cryptocurrency space is a long time. Technology has come a long way since then. This time last year, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon was calling Bitcoin “stupid” – now the company has created its own cryptocurrency and is implementing smart contracts. Moreover, smart contracts are now audited instantly before being deployed on the blockchain to check the code. Still though, it’s a pretty bold step for any company to take. The Digitex DAO, otherwise known as DigiDAO Anyone familiar with the Digitex Futures project will know it isn’t your average company. With its huge community, colourful CEO, and development ups and downs, it’s made a lot of noise – some good and some bad. But with its latest development team backed by Ethereum and specialists in security and smart contract auditing, CEO Adam Todd feels that the company couldn’t be better positioned to take this step. In a recent video , he explained that the process won’t happen overnight. In fact, ownership of Digitex will be transferred to its community members over the next five years. As sole owner and CEO, Adam will be rescinding 80% of his ownership in Digitex so that the company can introduce a system of decentralised governance by blockchain. Digitex will be creating new tokens called DigiDAO (DGDAO) tokens. These will be given away daily to DGTX token holders (the native token of the commission-free exchange) in proportion to the amount of DGTX that people hold on the exchange. The DGDAO tokens will essentially transform DGTX into a pure utility token as it will be used for all operations on the exchange. All voting and equity ownership rights will be transferred to holders of DGDAO tokens. How has the community responded to the news? So far, the reaction has been rather mixed. As you may imagine, the news has caused a lot of questions. Adam Todd held a live AMA on Wednesday that seemed to clear up most people’s doubts, although the company is still collecting feedback. The majority of the community appeared to like the idea of gaining equity ownership of the exchange simply for holding DGTX. The token price jumped by around 20% just after Adam’s initial video on June 17. However, the DGTX token is currently trading some 10% down on June 19. This could be a sign that token holders still have more questions or that Digitex will have to work harder to regain credibility. After two very public delays, all most people want to know now is when the exchange will launch, no matter how many innovative plans the company has. Whatever the outcome of the ambitious venture, it will be interesting to see how the DigiDAO plays out. The post What is a DAO and how does it work? appeared first on Coin Rivet . |
A Spotlight On Lekoil Limited's (LON:LEK) Fundamentals
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Lekoil Limited (LON:LEK) is a company with exceptional fundamental characteristics. Upon building up an investment case for a stock, we should look at various aspects. In the case of LEK, it Below, I've touched on some key aspects you should know on a high level. For those interested in understanding where the figures come from and want to see the analysis, read the fullreport on Lekoil here.
For Lekoil, I've compiled three essential aspects you should look at:
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Euro zone business growth stayed weak in June as optimism wanes
By Jonathan Cable
LONDON (Reuters) - Euro zone business activity picked up a touch this month but worries about slowing global growth and the impact of spreading trade conflict meant firms were at their least optimistic in nearly five years, a survey showed.
Activity was at its strongest since November but it was unbalanced, with manufacturing activity contracting for a fifth month, overshadowing a small uptick in the services industry.
The downbeat showing comes just days after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi signalled one of the biggest policy reversals of his eight-year tenure and said the Bank would ease policy again if inflation failed to accelerate.
Despite years of ultra-loose monetary policy, prices have failed to rise as fast as the ECB wants, while a slew of recent data have suggested growth is slowing.
IHS Markit's Flash Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which is considered a good guide to economic health, only nudged up to 52.1 this month from a final May reading of 51.8, beating the median expectation in a Reuters poll for 51.8.
Earlier figures from the bloc's two biggest economies, Germany and France, remained weak but surprised on the upside, offering a boost to European equities.
"The small improvement in the flash PMIs for June will not be enough to deflect the ECB from its new plan to ease policy within the coming months," said Andrew Kenningham, chief Europe economist at Capital Economics.
Kenningham reckons the ECB will formally strengthen its forward guidance next month and then cut the deposit rate by 10 basis points to -0.5% in September.
A Reuters poll last month, taken before Draghi's comments, found no prospect of the ECB raising interest rates through to the end of 2020 and that its next policy move would be to tweak its forward guidance towards more accommodation.
MISMATCH
IHS Markit said the PMI pointed to GDP growth of just over 0.2% this quarter, below the 0.3% predicted in the Reuters poll.
Firms in the bloc's dominant service industry staged a modest upturn, with that PMI rising to 53.4 from May's 52.9, ahead of expectations for no change.
But manufacturing activity contracted again. The factory PMI held well below the 50 mark separating growth from contraction, registering 47.8 compared to last month's 47.7 and missing expectations for 48.0.
An index measuring output, which feeds into the composite PMI, dipped to 48.8 from 48.9.
"The dichotomy between services and manufacturing is only getting larger. The big question remains for how long this can continue," said Bert Colijn, a senior economist at ING.
Demand declined for a ninth month, and factories were running down backlogs of work to stay active, as they have since September. The new orders sub-index held steady at May's 46.6.
As demand also remained weak for services, firms there barely increased headcount this month. The employment index fell to 53.8 from 54.0.
With forward-looking indicators painting a downbeat picture, optimism waned. The composite future output PMI fell to 58.7 from 59.8, its lowest reading since October 2014.
Purchasing managers were concerned about weakening global growth, trade conflict, dampened demand conditions and rising geopolitical risks, IHS Markit said.
The United States has hit the European Union with tariffs and threatened more. On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump criticised Draghi's comments that further monetary policy changes may be needed by the ECB, saying it would spark unfair European competition against the United States.
(Editing by Catherine Evans) |
Does LIDDS AB (publ)'s (STO:LIDDS) CEO Pay Matter?
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Monica Wallter has been the CEO of LIDDS AB (publ) (STO:LIDDS) since 2015. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.
See our latest analysis for LIDDS
According to our data, LIDDS AB (publ) has a market capitalization of kr396m, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth kr1.7m. (This figure is for the year to December 2017). While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at kr1.4m. We examined a group of similar sized companies, with market capitalizations of below kr1.9b. The median CEO total compensation in that group is kr1.8m.
So Monica Wallter receives a similar amount to the median CEO pay, amongst the companies we looked at. While this data point isn't particularly informative alone, it gains more meaning when considered with business performance.
The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at LIDDS has changed from year to year.
Over the last three years LIDDS AB (publ) has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 34% per year (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 654%.
Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's great to see that revenue growth is strong, too. These metrics suggest the business is growing strongly. It could be important to checkthis free visual depiction ofwhat analysts expectfor the future.
I think that the total shareholder return of 171%, over three years, would leave most LIDDS AB (publ) shareholders smiling. So they may not be at all concerned if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.
Monica Wallter is paid around the same as most CEOs of similar size companies.
The company is growing earnings per share and total shareholder returns have been pleasing. So one could argue the CEO compensation is quite modest, if you consider company performance! So you may want tocheck if insiders are buying LIDDS shares with their own money (free access).
Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out thisfreelist of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
U.S. cannot unilaterally remove Turkey from F-35 programme -Turkish defense official
ISTANBUL, June 21 (Reuters) - The United States cannot unilaterally remove Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet programme as the partnership agreement does not allow it, Turkey's head of Defense Industries Directorate said on Friday.
Turkey's defense industry could suffer in the event of U.S. sanctions, but will get through it, Demir told reporters. Ankara and Washington have been at loggerheads for months over Turkey's planned purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense system.
U.S. says S-400 is incompatible with NATO's defence network and could compromise its F-35 fighter jets, an aircraft Turkey is helping build and planning to buy.
(Reporting by Daren Butler and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Writing by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Jonathan Spicer) |
Does LIDDS AB (publ)'s (STO:LIDDS) CEO Salary Compare Well With Others?
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Monica Wallter became the CEO of LIDDS AB (publ) (STO:LIDDS) in 2015. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.
View our latest analysis for LIDDS
According to our data, LIDDS AB (publ) has a market capitalization of kr396m, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth kr1.7m. (This is based on the year to December 2017). While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at kr1.4m. We examined a group of similar sized companies, with market capitalizations of below kr1.9b. The median CEO total compensation in that group is kr1.8m.
That means Monica Wallter receives fairly typical remuneration for the CEO of a company that size. Although this fact alone doesn't tell us a great deal, it becomes more relevant when considered against the business performance.
You can see, below, how CEO compensation at LIDDS has changed over time.
Over the last three years LIDDS AB (publ) has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 34% per year (using a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 654% over last year.
Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. The combination of strong revenue growth with medium-term earnings per share improvement certainly points to the kind of growth I like to see. Shareholders might be interested inthisfreevisualization of analyst forecasts.
Most shareholders would probably be pleased with LIDDS AB (publ) for providing a total return of 171% over three years. This strong performance might mean some shareholders don't mind if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for a company of its size.
Remuneration for Monica Wallter is close enough to the median pay for a CEO of a similar sized company .
Few would be critical of the leadership, since returns have been juicy and earnings per share are moving in the right direction. So one could argue the CEO compensation is quite modest, if you consider company performance! If you think CEO compensation levels are interesting you will probably really likethis free visualization of insider trading at LIDDS.
If you want to buy a stock that is better than LIDDS, thisfreelist of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
What Did Klépierre SA's (EPA:LI) CEO Take Home Last Year?
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In 2016 Jean-Marc Jestin was appointed CEO of Klépierre SA (EPA:LI). This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at other big companies. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.
View our latest analysis for Klépierre
According to our data, Klépierre SA has a market capitalization of €8.8b, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth €2.3m. (This number is for the twelve months until December 2018). We note that's an increase of 25% above last year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at €650k. We took a group of companies with market capitalizations over €7.1b, and calculated the median CEO total compensation to be €3.4m. There aren't very many mega-cap companies, so we had to take a wide range to get a meaningful comparison figure.
Most shareholders would consider it a positive that Jean-Marc Jestin takes less in total compensation than the CEOs of most other large companies, leaving more for shareholders. Though positive, it's important we delve into the performance of the actual business.
You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Klépierre, below.
Klépierre SA has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 21% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). Its revenue is down -2.0% over last year.
This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. Revenue growth is a real positive for growth, but ultimately profits are more important. Shareholders might be interested inthisfreevisualization of analyst forecasts.
Since shareholders would have lost about 15% over three years, some Klépierre SA shareholders would surely be feeling negative emotions. This suggests it would be unwise for the company to pay the CEO too generously.
It appears that Klépierre SA remunerates its CEO below most large companies. Since the business is growing, many would argue this suggests the pay is modest. Despite some positives, it is likely that shareholders wanted better returns, given the performance over the last three years. So while we would not say that Jean-Marc Jestin is generously paid, it would be good to see an improvement in business performance before too an increase in pay.
In this case we may want to look deeper into the company. There are some real positives and we could see improved returns in the longer term. Shareholders may want tocheck for free if Klépierre insiders are buying or selling shares.
Of course,you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere.So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Serious troubles for the USD. Gold on long-term Highs
Last day of this week will be definitely very interesting. Overnight, we found out that attack on Iran was approved and military was in early stages of that operation to be later called off by Donald Trump. That is definitely a risk killer and a factor that positively affects the save heaven assets and Oil. On the other hand, we have global indices knocking to all-time highs, like there would be no risk at all. Where is the logic?
In this environment, Dollar took a heavy blow but Friday starts with the recovery attempt.On Dollar Index, price met long-term dynamic support – lower line of the ascending triangle pattern. If buyers think about stopping the drop, that is the place for that. Breakout will give us a super strong sell signal.
USDJPY brokr the lower line of the flag and the horizontal support on the 107.9 but foremost, the long-term dynamic up trendline. Price closing a week below the last one, will be a proper signal to sell the USD.
Weaker USD and the tensions in Gulf region are great for theprice of Gold, which made new long-term highs. This week’s candle is very encouraging and the price being above the horizontal resistance on the 1365 USD/oz is a legitimate signal to go long. Gold fever is back?
This article is written by Tomasz Wisniewski, a senior analyst atAlpari Research & Analysis
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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Does La Française de l'Energie S.A.'s (EPA:LFDE) CEO Pay Compare Well With Peers?
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The CEO of La Française de l'Energie S.A. (EPA:LFDE) is Julien Moulin. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.
View our latest analysis for La Française de l'Energie
According to our data, La Française de l'Energie S.A. has a market capitalization of €84m, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth €246k. (This is based on the year to June 2018). Notably, the salary of €240k is the vast majority of the CEO compensation. We took a group of companies with market capitalizations below €177m, and calculated the median CEO total compensation to be €147k.
As you can see, Julien Moulin is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean La Française de l'Energie S.A. is paying too much. We can better assess whether the pay is overly generous by looking into the underlying business performance.
You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at La Française de l'Energie, below.
On average over the last three years, La Française de l'Energie S.A. has grown earnings per share (EPS) by 61% each year (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 31% over the last year.
Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's great to see that revenue growth is strong, too. These metrics suggest the business is growing strongly. It could be important to checkthis free visual depiction ofwhat analysts expectfor the future.
Given the total loss of 27% over three years, many shareholders in La Française de l'Energie S.A. are probably rather dissatisfied, to say the least. It therefore might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.
We compared the total CEO remuneration paid by La Française de l'Energie S.A., and compared it to remuneration at a group of similar sized companies. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.
However we must not forget that the EPS growth has been very strong over three years. On the other hand returns to investors over the same period have probably disappointed many. One might thus conclude that it would be better if the company waited until growth is reflected in the share price, before increasing CEO compensation. CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting tocheck if the CEO is buying or selling La Française de l'Energie (free visualization of insider trades).
Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out thisfreelist of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Market growth Halted after the Rally
However, on Friday, the markets are alert to details: investors are concerned that without tangible progress in trade negotiations, the economy will continue to slow down. This is partly due to the US tariffs, as well as fears over even greater sanction tightening in the future. Moreover, tensions with the US are likely to be raised further, following the shooting down of an American drone by Iran. This could, in turn, drive up theCrude oil prices– which may be an additional obstacle to further economic growth.
S&P500 updated its historical highson Thursday, responding to the Fed’s policy easing. However, on Friday morning, the rally lost momentum. To some extent, this was caused by the traditional Friday position-closing by investors. It is also worth paying attention to the fact that since January 2018, the updating of historical peaks is followed by corrective kickbacks from 2% to 20%. Consequently, this will be a contributing factor towards a cautious outlook for the stock markets next week.
The dollar’s retreat supported the euro, sendingEURUSDto an area above 1.1300. The single currency twice attempted – unsuccessfully – to break below 1.1100 in May. Meanwhile, in June, the support level appeared to have moved to 1.1200. Given that the softness of the Fed’s policy provides a sufficient argument for a downward trend break, it may soon pass the “test of strength” in the form of a 200-day MA.
The British pound rose to 1.2725 on Thursday, but after theBoE meeting GBPUSDwas discarded from local maximums. However, it is worth noting that – in contrast with Europe and the United States – the Bank of England continues to adhere to a more hawkish attitude, not excluding a potential increase in interest rates if the economy avoids disorderly Brexit negative effects.
This article was written byFxPro
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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How Should Investors React To La Française de l'Energie S.A.'s (EPA:LFDE) CEO Pay?
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The CEO of La Française de l'Energie S.A. (EPA:LFDE) is Julien Moulin. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.
View our latest analysis for La Française de l'Energie
According to our data, La Française de l'Energie S.A. has a market capitalization of €84m, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth €246k. (This figure is for the year to June 2018). It is worth noting that the CEO compensation consists almost entirely of the salary, worth €240k. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations under €177m, and the median CEO total compensation was €147k.
Thus we can conclude that Julien Moulin receives more in total compensation than the median of a group of companies in the same market, and of similar size to La Française de l'Energie S.A.. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the pay is too high. A closer look at the performance of the underlying business will give us a better idea about whether the pay is particularly generous.
You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at La Française de l'Energie, below.
Over the last three years La Française de l'Energie S.A. has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 61% per year (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 31%.
This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. It's great to see that revenue growth is strong, too. These metrics suggest the business is growing strongly. It could be important to checkthis free visual depiction ofwhat analysts expectfor the future.
Since shareholders would have lost about 27% over three years, some La Française de l'Energie S.A. shareholders would surely be feeling negative emotions. So shareholders would probably think the company shouldn't be too generous with CEO compensation.
We compared the total CEO remuneration paid by La Française de l'Energie S.A., and compared it to remuneration at a group of similar sized companies. Our data suggests that it pays above the median CEO pay within that group.
However we must not forget that the EPS growth has been very strong over three years. However, the returns to investors are far less impressive, over the same period. One might thus conclude that it would be better if the company waited until growth is reflected in the share price, before increasing CEO compensation. CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting tocheck if the CEO is buying or selling La Française de l'Energie (free visualization of insider trades).
If you want to buy a stock that is better than La Française de l'Energie, thisfreelist of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
JGBs yields briefly hit near 3-year low on Fed afterglow
By Hideyuki Sano
TOKYO, June 21 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond yields fell to near three-year lows on Friday, extending their decline made after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled rate cuts, before rising back a tad on profit-taking ahead of a weekend.
The 10-year Japanese government bond yield briefly dropped to as low as minus 0.195%, the lowest since late July 2016. In late afternoon, it rose back to minus 0.170%, flat on the day.
The yield fell earlier after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Thursday that he would not be too strict about his policy to guide the yield about 20 basis points above or below its zero percent target.
Buying accelerated as the BOJ did not reduce the size of JGB purchase on Friday and after the result of the operations showed many players limited their selling to the BOJ.
Although the yield retreated from the low, many market players think it is a matter of time before the market will test the minus 0.20% given rising expectations of monetary easing around the world.
"The market has gone a bit too far this week. But in the long run, investors will keep buying and the yield curve will flatten," said Yusuke Ikawa, Japan strategist at BNP Paribas.
The 20-year yield fell to as low as 0.145%, the lowest since July 2016, before stepping back to 0.195%, up 2 basis points.
The 30-year yield also hit a near three-year low of 0.275% , before rising back up 3 basis points to 0.320%.
The yield curve has flattened considerably compared to September 2016 when the BOJ adopted a "yield curve control" policy.
The 20-year yield now stood more than 20 basis points below its levels on the day the BOJ announced a plan to guide long-term bond yields levels in addition to short-term interest rates, which it keeps at negative levels.
Short-term bond yields also dipped, with the five-year yield dropping 0.5 basis point to minus 0.270% The two-year yield also shed 0.5 basis point to minus 0.240% .
Expectations are rising that the BOJ will have to slash interest rates further into negative levels if the yen strengthen further.
The overnight indexed swaps rates have dropped sharply in recent sessions, pricing in about 40% chance of a 20 basis points rate cut by the end of year. (Reporting by Hideyuki Sano; editing by Uttaresh.V) |
James Bond to drive £1.5 million Aston Martin hybrid car in 'Bond 25'
Aston Martin will be debuting its new £1.5 million 'hypercar' in Bond 25 , the imposing Valhalla, as one of three set to appear in the new chapter of the veteran spy series. Boasting a twin-turbo V6 with a “high output” , along with a battery-electric motor, the hybrid is capable of speeds in excess of 200mph, and will do zero to 60mph in under three seconds. The term ‘hypercar’ is used in the motoring industry to describe only the highest-performing supercars . There will also be a classic DB5 in the movie, which featured in Bond's jaunt to Scotland in Skyfall , and a V8, last seen in The Living Daylights , back in 1987. Prince Charles talks with actor Daniel Craig (Credit: Chris Jackson/PA via AP) Of the car's norse moniker, the British car manufacturer's CEO Andy Palmer said: “Aston Martin model names always attract a lot of attention. They do so because they invariably capture an emotion or tell a story. “Norse mythology contains such powerful language and rich storytelling it felt only right that the AM-RB 003 (as it was formerly named) should follow the Valkyrie’s theme.” The Aston Martin Valhalla (Credit: AP) The Valkyrie is Aston Martin's other recent addition to its fleet, the fastest street-legal car in the world, due to go into production later this year. Read more: Danny Boyle put off franchises after Bond The announcement of Bond's new rides came as the Prince of Wales visited the movie's set yesterday. Prince Charles and Daniel Craig are said to have bonded over a classic silver DB5 at Pinewood Studios, where production has now shifted to following its stint in Jamaica. The Prince of Wales tours the set of the 25th James Bond Film with producer Michael G. Wilson (Credit: Niklas Halle'n - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Charles also met with producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, along with Bond 25 stars Naomie Harris and Ralph Fiennes. “The cars are the interesting thing here. Much more interesting than me,” Charles quipped to reporters. One photo showed a painting of Judi Dench’s M hanging on the wall. Britain's Prince Charles (L), Prince of Wales meets Naomie Harris as he tours the set of the 25th James Bond Film at Pinewood Studios on June 20, 2019 (Photo by Niklas HALLE'N / various sources / AFP) He then asked a crew-member 'Has it been slightly delayed?', referring to the production schedule, to which he received the answer: “Slightly, yes.” Production was thrown into disarray last month when Craig injured his ankle on set in Jamaica, necessitating a trip back to the US for minor surgery. Story continues Prince Charles, Prince of Wales meets British actor Lashana Lynch (L) as he tours the set of the 25th James Bond Film at Pinewood Studios on June 20, 2019. (Photo by Niklas Halle'n - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Prince Charles (R), Prince of Wales meets British actors Ralph Fiennes (2L), Daniel Craig (L) and US director Cary Joji Fukunaga as he tours the set of the 25th James Bond Film at Pinewood Studios on June 20, 2019 (Photo by Niklas Halle'n - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Scenes were actually being filmed as the Prince arrived, one in which Fiennes' M is giving Bond a disciplinary. After he left the set, director Cary Fukunaga was heard to say: “Right, back to work. Not distracting at all!” Read more: Malek responds to ‘chaotic’ Bond 25 rumours Also starring Rami Malek as the movie's villain, the so-far untitled Bond 25 is set to land in April, 2020. |
Can You Imagine How Leasinvest Real Estate's (EBR:LEAS) Shareholders Feel About The 26% Share Price Increase?
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Stock pickers are generally looking for stocks that will outperform the broader market. And in our experience, buying the right stocks can give your wealth a significant boost. For example, long termLeasinvest Real Estate SCA(EBR:LEAS) shareholders have enjoyed a 26% share price rise over the last half decade, well in excess of the market return of around 3.9% (not including dividends). However, more recent returns haven't been as impressive as that, with the stock returning just 10% in the last year, including dividends.
See our latest analysis for Leasinvest Real Estate
While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.
Over half a decade, Leasinvest Real Estate managed to grow its earnings per share at 6.2% a year. The EPS growth is more impressive than the yearly share price gain of 4.8% over the same period. Therefore, it seems the market has become relatively pessimistic about the company.
You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
Dive deeper into Leasinvest Real Estate's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Leasinvest Real Estate'searnings, revenue and cash flow.
It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of Leasinvest Real Estate, it has a TSR of 54% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!
It's nice to see that Leasinvest Real Estate shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 10% over the last year. And that does include the dividend. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 9.0%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. Keeping this in mind, a solid next step might be to take a look at Leasinvest Real Estate's dividend track record. Thisfreeinteractive graphis a great place to start.
If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love thisfreelist of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on BE exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
The Leasinvest Real Estate (EBR:LEAS) Share Price Is Up 26% And Shareholders Are Holding On
Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
When we invest, we're generally looking for stocks that outperform the market average. And in our experience, buying the right stocks can give your wealth a significant boost. For example, long termLeasinvest Real Estate SCA(EBR:LEAS) shareholders have enjoyed a 26% share price rise over the last half decade, well in excess of the market return of around 3.9% (not including dividends). On the other hand, the more recent gains haven't been so impressive, with shareholders gaining just 10%, including dividends.
Check out our latest analysis for Leasinvest Real Estate
To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.
Over half a decade, Leasinvest Real Estate managed to grow its earnings per share at 6.2% a year. The EPS growth is more impressive than the yearly share price gain of 4.8% over the same period. Therefore, it seems the market has become relatively pessimistic about the company.
You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
Thisfreeinteractive report on Leasinvest Real Estate'searnings, revenue and cash flowis a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.
As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of Leasinvest Real Estate, it has a TSR of 54% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!
It's nice to see that Leasinvest Real Estate shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 10% over the last year. And that does include the dividend. That's better than the annualised return of 9.0% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. Importantly, we haven't analysed Leasinvest Real Estate's dividend history. Thisfreevisual report on its dividendsis a must-read if you're thinking of buying.
Of course,you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere.So take a peek at thisfreelist of companies we expect will grow earnings.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on BE exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Masi Agricola S.p.A. (BIT:MASI): Are Analysts Right About The Drop In Earnings?
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After Masi Agricola S.p.A.'s (BIT:MASI) recent earnings announcement in December 2018, analyst forecasts appear to be pessimistic, as a 3.2% fall in profits is expected in the upcoming year. However, this is still an improvement on its past 5-year earnings growth rate of -6.0%, on average. With trailing-twelve-month net income at current levels of €7.1m, the consensus growth rate suggests that earnings will decline to €6.9m by 2020. I will provide a brief commentary around the figures and analyst expectations in the near term. Investors wanting to learn more about other aspects of the company shouldresearch its fundamentals here.
See our latest analysis for Masi Agricola
The longer term view from the 1 analysts covering MASI is one of negative sentiment. Broker analysts tend to forecast up to three years ahead due to a lack of clarity around the business trajectory beyond this. I've plotted out each year's earnings expectations and inserted a line of best fit to calculate an annual growth rate from the slope in order to understand the overall trajectory of MASI's earnings growth over these next few years.
From the current net income level of €7.1m and the final forecast of €7.1m by 2022, the annual rate of growth for MASI’s earnings is -0.02%. EPS reaches €0.22 in the final year of forecast compared to the current €0.22 EPS today. Fall in earnings appears to be a result of cost growth exceeding top-line growth of 2.1% in the next three years. With this high cost growth, margins is expected to contract from 11% to 10% by the end of 2022.
Future outlook is only one aspect when you're building an investment case for a stock. For Masi Agricola, there are three essential factors you should look at:
1. Financial Health: Does it have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at ourfree balance sheet analysis with six simple checkson key factors like leverage and risk.
2. Valuation: What is Masi Agricola worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? Theintrinsic value infographic in our free research reporthelps visualize whether Masi Agricola is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Growth Alternatives: Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of Masi Agricola? Exploreour interactive list of stocks with large growth potentialto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Huawei says shipped 100 million smartphones this year as of end-May
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies said on Friday it has shipped 100 million smartphones this year as of May 30.
Huawei consumer business group's smartphone product line president He Gang revealed the numbers at a launch event in Wuhan, China for its new Nova 5 phone. The phone is powered by Huawei's new 7-nanometer chipset Kirin 810.
Huawei has been hit by devastating curbs ordered by Washington, which threatens to cripple its supply chain.
Founder and chief executive Ren Zhengfei said on Monday the ban could cost the company $30 billion in revenue this year, and that smartphone sales outside China already dropped 40 percent in the past month.
(Reporting by Sijia Jiang; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) |
Apple urges Trump not to impose tariffs on iPhones amid China trade war
Donald Trump’s trade war with China will hurtAppleand help its global rivals, the iPhone maker has warned.
In a letter, Apple urged the government not to impose tariffs oniPhones, iPads, Macs, AirPods and Apple TV, as well as parts and accessories for those devices such as monitors and keyboards. Analysts have said tariffs could increase the cost of Apple’s products, many of which are assembled in China and contain Chinese-made components.
The tech firm warned that all of its major products would be hit with additional taxes at the US border as a result of Mr Trump’s plan toimpose 25 per cent tariffs on $300bn(£240bn) of Chinese goods.
“We urge the US government not to impose tariffs on these products,” Apple wrote.
The letter published on Wednesday underlines some unintended consequences of the US president’sattacks on Chinese goods and firms such as Huawei. Those attacks have been widely seen as a way of reasserting US economic dominance but also risk hurting American businesses.
The letter also marks a test of the relationship between the president and one of America’s most valuable and important companies.
Back in March, Mr Trump had praised Apple’s boss Tim Cook, who hemistakenly called “Tim Apple”, describing him as “a friend of mine” who has “brought a lot of money back into our country”.
In the letter, Apple pointed out that it was the “single largest US corporate taxpayer and pays billions more each year in local property, sales and employee taxes”.
US tariffs would “result in a reduction of Apple’s US economic contribution” and also weigh on Apple’s global competitiveness, the company warned.
“The Chinese producers we compete with in global markets do not have a significant presence in the US market, and so would not be impacted by US tariffs,” the letter said.
“Neither would our other major non-US competitors.
“A US tariff would, therefore, tilt the playing field in favour of our global competitors.”
Japanese financial newspaper theNikkeireported this week that Apple has asked its major suppliers to look at the effects of shifting 15 to 30 per cent of production capacity from China to southeast Asia.
Sources told the newspaper that, even if a resolution is reached between China and the US, any production shifts would be permanent, as Apple considered the risks of relying so heavily on Chinese manufacturing too great.
Neil Campling, head of technology research at investment firm Mirabaud Securities, said other factors beyond trade tensions and tariffs are at play in Apple’s decision.
“What comes as a surprise in some ways is that it has taken this long,” he said.
“The combination of a lower birth rate, higher labour costs and the risk of overly centralising its production in one country has been a factor in China for some time now, and these adverse factors continue regardless of trade wars and tariff rounds.
“Diversification of production is key.”
Minimum wages in China have risen over the last decade and the Philippines and Vietnam would offer “considerable” savings relative to China, Mr Campling said. |
What Does Mahamaya Steel Industries Limited's (NSE:MAHASTEEL) P/E Ratio Tell You?
Want to participate in a short research study ? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! This article is for investors who would like to improve their understanding of price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll apply a basic P/E ratio analysis to Mahamaya Steel Industries Limited's ( NSE:MAHASTEEL ), to help you decide if the stock is worth further research. Looking at earnings over the last twelve months, Mahamaya Steel Industries has a P/E ratio of 44.58 . That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 2.2%. Check out our latest analysis for Mahamaya Steel Industries How Do You Calculate A P/E Ratio? The formula for price to earnings is: Price to Earnings Ratio = Share Price ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS) Or for Mahamaya Steel Industries: P/E of 44.58 = ₹192.6 ÷ ₹4.32 (Based on the year to March 2019.) Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good? A higher P/E ratio means that investors are paying a higher price for each ₹1 of company earnings. That is not a good or a bad thing per se , but a high P/E does imply buyers are optimistic about the future. How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios P/E ratios primarily reflect market expectations around earnings growth rates. When earnings grow, the 'E' increases, over time. That means even if the current P/E is high, it will reduce over time if the share price stays flat. And as that P/E ratio drops, the company will look cheap, unless its share price increases. Mahamaya Steel Industries's 148% EPS improvement over the last year was like bamboo growth after rain; rapid and impressive. How Does Mahamaya Steel Industries's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers? The P/E ratio essentially measures market expectations of a company. As you can see below, Mahamaya Steel Industries has a much higher P/E than the average company (9.9) in the metals and mining industry. NSEI:MAHASTEEL Price Estimation Relative to Market, June 21st 2019 Mahamaya Steel Industries's P/E tells us that market participants think the company will perform better than its industry peers, going forward. Clearly the market expects growth, but it isn't guaranteed. So investors should delve deeper. I like to check if company insiders have been buying or selling . Story continues Don't Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. Thus, the metric does not reflect cash or debt held by the company. Theoretically, a business can improve its earnings (and produce a lower P/E in the future) by investing in growth. That means taking on debt (or spending its cash). Such spending might be good or bad, overall, but the key point here is that you need to look at debt to understand the P/E ratio in context. Mahamaya Steel Industries's Balance Sheet Net debt is 35% of Mahamaya Steel Industries's market cap. While it's worth keeping this in mind, it isn't a worry. The Bottom Line On Mahamaya Steel Industries's P/E Ratio Mahamaya Steel Industries's P/E is 44.6 which is above average (15.5) in the IN market. Its debt levels do not imperil its balance sheet and its EPS growth is very healthy indeed. So to be frank we are not surprised it has a high P/E ratio. When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. People often underestimate remarkable growth -- so investors can make money when fast growth is not fully appreciated. Although we don't have analyst forecasts, shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow. Of course you might be able to find a better stock than Mahamaya Steel Industries . So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com . This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
China bans pig imports from Laos due to African swine fever
BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Friday it has banned direct and indirect imports of pigs, wild boars and related products from Laos due to the first African swine fever outbreaks reported by the Southeast Asian nation on June 20.
"Illegally imported pigs, wild boars and their products from Laos intercepted by the frontier defence departments shall be destroyed under the supervision of the customs," China's General Administration of Customs said in a statement.
China will also increase quarantine inspection of packages and passenger baggage from Laos, it said.
If pigs, wild boars and their products from Laos are found coming into China via ships, aircraft, road vehicles and railway trains, the shipments will be sealed and disposed of, it said.
Laos confirmed its first outbreaks of deadly African swine fever - which is fatal to pigs but does not harm humans - in its southern province of Saravane, the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health said on Thursday.
China has reported more than 120 outbreaks of the disease in all its mainland provinces and regions, as well as Hainan island and Hong Kong, since it was first detected in the country in early August 2018.
(Reporting by Shivani Singh; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell and Tom Hogue) |
Who is Mark Field?
Mark Field has come under fire after grabbing an activist and marching her out of a dinner (Picture: PA) Foreign Office Minister Mark Field may not be one of the biggest names in politics, but has held a number of ministerial roles since becoming an MP in 2001. The MP for Cities of London and Westminster is in the spotlight after manhandling a climate change activist out of a dinner in the City of London. Mr Field has apologised ‘unreservedly’ to the activist after video footage showed him stopping her at the black-tie dinner at Mansion House by pushing her against a column at Mansion House before holding her by the back of the neck and forcefully walking her out of the room. Mark Field has come under fire for manhandling a climate change activist out of a City of London dinner (Picture: PA/BBC) An Oxford-educated solicitor Born in Germany in October 1964, Mr Field was educated at Reading School and later completed a degree in law at Oxford. The 54-year-old practised as a solicitor before his political career began and was an elected councillor in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. He joined the Conservative frontbench two years after first winning a seat in the Commons, taking on the role of Opposition Whip. Later the same year, he was appointed shadow minister for London, and roles as shadow financial secretary to the Treasury and shadow minister for culture and the arts swiftly followed. In September 2010, he became the youngest MP on the Intelligence and Security Committee and he was later made a Privy Counsellor in recognition of his work on the committee. After the 2017 election he took on one of his most prominent positions to date, as minister of state for Asia and the Pacific at the Foreign Office. He has also served as vice chairman (International) of the Conservative Party. Mark Field kisses Jeremy Hunt's wife Lucia at the launch of her husband's Conversative party leadership campaign in London in June (Picture: NIKLAS HALLE'N/AFP/Getty Images) A ‘hardline right winger’ Mr Field was described by The Guardian as one of the most 'hardline right wingers' up for election in 2001. The observation related to comments he made in 1991 about charities fighting the Aids epidemic. According to the Guardian, he wrote in Crossbow in 1991: "... Many charitable trusts set up to help counter Aids in the mid-1980s became little more than a gay rights front”. Story continues Later, after he campaigned for Mr Portillo to get his Kensington seat, he reportedly said that whether people are or were gay was a "non-issue" for members of the Kensington and Chelsea Conservative Association. Urged police to ‘take a much firmer grip’ on climate change demonstrations In April, Mr Field sent a letter to Metropolitan Police chief Cressida Dick urging police to "take a much firmer grip" on climate change demonstrations. In the letter, the MP complained that constituents were "quite rightly fed up" with the travel disruption caused by Extinction Rebellion protests, claiming businesses in the West End were estimated to have lost "tens of millions of pounds" as a result of the protests. He wrote: "I, of course, respect the right to peaceful protest as a key part of our democratic tradition, and as a Foreign Office Minister whose portfolio covers climate change, know better than most the pressing need to address this most serious of issues. "Nevertheless, I am sure you will agree that what we have seen over the past few days goes well beyond a good-natured exercise in free speech and that the detrimental effect these protests are having on ordinary citizens and local business is much too great for the protesters, however well intention(ed), to be allowed to carry on in such a flagrant way." He concluded that "I should be most grateful if, as a matter of urgency, you would take a much firmer grip on this problem and for the law to be applied to its full extent against those who, despite fair warning, insist on protesting in this anti-social way." Undated handout photo issued by Mark Field of a letter he wrote to Metropolitan Police Comimssioner Cressida Dick in April following the disruption caused by climate change campaigners Extinction Rebellion. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Friday June 21, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Hammond Letter. Photo credit should read: Mark Field/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. A fan of looser rules on expenses According to the Guardian in 2001, Mr Field was a supporter of looser rules on MPs' outside earnings, saying: "If you're earning several hundred thousand a year in the City, are you going to give it up for £47,000 a year in the Commons?" According to the Ham & High newspaper, in 2015 Mr Field claimed six per cent less than the capital-wide average from 2010 to 2015. His claims included £90 each year for an annual subscription to The Week magazine and in 2014-15 £126 for a subscription to The Economist to keep up to date with current affairs. In 2014-15 he claimed £864.12 for a Dell office computer, in 2012-13 £499 for an iPad for office use, in 2011-12 £379.97 for a Toshiba computer for travel use, and in 2010-11 £1,077.36 for a Dell laptop for home use. He is quoted as saying: “I was one of the most vocal critics of the old expenses regime, speaking out against my own colleagues at the time and continuing to campaign for transparency into the next parliament. “We now have a system where constituents are able to look up an MP’s expense claims and make their own mind up.” Mr Field with a guest at The Bell Pottinger Summer Party at Lancaster House (Picture: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Bell Pottinger) He would revoke Article 50 In March, Mr Field said he would support revoking Article 50 and stopping the Brexit process if Theresa May’s deal was rejected once again in the Commons. He told BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour: “To be honest, my personal view is that I would be happy to revoke Article 50. “I appreciate that is probably a minority view, but if we get to this utter paralysis – and I sincerely hope that in the next 48, 72 hours we do not – then if that becomes an option, it’s an option that I would personally take. “I accept it would probably not be a majority view in the House of Commons,” he said, adding: “I think we are in such uncharted waters. As I say, I have voted every time for the Withdrawal Agreement, I sincerely hope that Parliament and some of my Parliamentary colleagues will see sense and will make sure we get that through.” Outspoken In his role as Foreign Office Minister, Mr Field has spoken out on issues from Britain's interventions in Iraq and Libya, the collapse of an international nuclear treaty and the plight of the Muslim Rohingya in Burma. Most recently, he spoke in the Commons about Hong Kong's controversial extradition bill, warning that it could have a "chilling effect" on rights and freedoms. A lifelong sports fan Mr Field lives in Westminster with his wife Vicki, son Frederick, born in 2007, and daughter Arabella, born in 2011. His website lists his interests as urban walking, pop music and researching local London history, and he is also said to be a lifelong sports fan. |
UPDATE 3-PMI data pushes up euro zone bond yields, but rate cut bets still on
* Euro zone business activity picks up, but still weak
* Markets braced for rate cuts globally
* Euro zone bond yields set for sharp weekly declines
* Euro zone periphery govt bond yields http://tmsnrt.rs/2ii2Bqr (Updates pricing, adds detail on Italy)
By Dhara Ranasinghe
LONDON, June 21 (Reuters) - Government bond yields across the euro area edged up on Friday after news that business activity in the bloc had picked up in June, but the data was not strong enough to shift market expectations that a rate cut is likely soon.
Borrowing costs remained within sight of record or multi-year lows hit on Tuesday after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi's warning shot that more easing was on the cards unless inflation picks up.
And yields across the bloc were set to end Friday with sizeable falls -- Spanish 10-year yields were set for a ninth straight week of declines, the longest streak of weekly falls in almost 25 years.
IHS Markit's Flash Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which is considered a good guide to economic health, only nudged up to 52.1 this month from a final May reading of 51.8.
French business activity strengthened more than expected in June to the fastest pace in seven months and activity in Germany's services and manufacturing sector edged higher in June.
But the overall tone of the euro zone PMI data remained weak and reinforced expectations for further monetary easing soon.
"We can take satisfaction from the fact that the PMIs haven't deteriorated significantly," said Chris Scicluna, head of economic research at Daiwa Capital Markets.
"But we need to see a meaningful improvement in the data to see the ECB sitting on its hands in the autumn. At the moment, expect a September rate cut."
Euro zone money markets have almost fully priced in a 10-basis-point rate cut at the ECB's September meeting.
Most 10-year bond yields in the bloc rose four to five basis points on the day on Friday.
Germany's benchmark Bund yield was up four bps at minus 0.28%, not far off a record low of around minus 0.33% hit on Tuesday after Draghi's speech in Sintra, Portugal. It is down two bps on the week.
Spanish 10-year bond yields were down six bps this week, declining for the ninth straight week.
Italy's 10-year bond yield, flat on the day at 2.16% , was down 16 bps this week, its third straight week of declines, despite re-escalating tensions between Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and the European Union over Italy's budget.
Salvini threatened to resign and bring down the government unless he can push through at least 10 billion euros ($11 billion) of tax cuts.
In addition to Draghi's dovish shock on Tuesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday signalled rate cuts as early as July, saying it was ready to battle growing economic risks.
The Bank of Japan and other major central banks are also under pressure to deliver more stimulus soon, a backdrop that suggests bond yields remained anchored.
"If this week has shown anything, it's that we're once again very reliant on central banks for returns," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA.
(Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe, Editing by Larry King and Gareth Jones) |
What Kind Of Shareholder Appears On The TGB Banquets and Hotels Limited's (NSE:TGBHOTELS) Shareholder Register?
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If you want to know who really controls TGB Banquets and Hotels Limited (NSE:TGBHOTELS), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Institutions will often hold stock in bigger companies, and we expect to see insiders owning a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones. I quite like to see at least a little bit of insider ownership. As Charlie Munger said 'Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.'
TGB Banquets and Hotels is not a large company by global standards. It has a market capitalization of ₹157m, which means it wouldn't have the attention of many institutional investors. In the chart below below, we can see that institutions are noticeable on the share registry. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about TGBHOTELS.
View our latest analysis for TGB Banquets and Hotels
Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.
TGB Banquets and Hotels already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own 8.1% of the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of TGB Banquets and Hotels, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in TGB Banquets and Hotels. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.
The definition of company insiders can be subjective, and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.
I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.
It seems that insiders own more than half the TGB Banquets and Hotels Limited stock. This gives them a lot of power. That means they own ₹79m worth of shares in the ₹157m company. That's quite meaningful. Most would argue this is a positive, showing strong alignment with shareholders. You canclick here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
With a 33% ownership, the general public have some degree of sway over TGBHOTELS. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.
We can see that Private Companies own 8.3%, of the shares on issue. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.
I always like to check for ahistory of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart ofhistoric revenue and earnings in thisdetailed graph.
Of coursethis may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at thisfreefreelist of interesting companies.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Can Longino & Cardenal S.p.A.'s (BIT:LON) ROE Continue To Surpass The Industry Average?
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Many investors are still learning about the various metrics that can be useful when analysing a stock. This article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE). To keep the lesson grounded in practicality, we'll use ROE to better understand Longino & Cardenal S.p.A. (BIT:LON).
Longino & Cardenal has a ROE of 19%, based on the last twelve months. That means that for every €1 worth of shareholders' equity, it generated €0.19 in profit.
View our latest analysis for Longino & Cardenal
Theformula for ROEis:
Return on Equity = Net Profit ÷ Shareholders' Equity
Or for Longino & Cardenal:
19% = €1.2m ÷ €6.2m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.)
Most readers would understand what net profit is, but it’s worth explaining the concept of shareholders’ equity. It is the capital paid in by shareholders, plus any retained earnings. Shareholders' equity can be calculated by subtracting the total liabilities of the company from the total assets of the company.
Return on Equity measures a company's profitability against the profit it has kept for the business (plus any capital injections). The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. A higher profit will lead to a higher ROE. So, all else being equal,a high ROE is better than a low one. That means it can be interesting to compare the ROE of different companies.
One simple way to determine if a company has a good return on equity is to compare it to the average for its industry. However, this method is only useful as a rough check, because companies do differ quite a bit within the same industry classification. As is clear from the image below, Longino & Cardenal has a better ROE than the average (16%) in the Hospitality industry.
That's what I like to see. We think a high ROE, alone, is usually enough to justify further research into a company. For example,I often check if insiders have been buying shares.
Most companies need money -- from somewhere -- to grow their profits. That cash can come from retained earnings, issuing new shares (equity), or debt. In the first and second cases, the ROE will reflect this use of cash for investment in the business. In the latter case, the debt used for growth will improve returns, but won't affect the total equity. In this manner the use of debt will boost ROE, even though the core economics of the business stay the same.
Although Longino & Cardenal does use debt, its debt to equity ratio of 0.27 is still low. The fact that it achieved a fairly good ROE with only modest debt suggests the business might be worth putting on your watchlist. Conservative use of debt to boost returns is usually a good move for shareholders, though it does leave the company more exposed to interest rate rises.
Return on equity is useful for comparing the quality of different businesses. In my book the highest quality companies have high return on equity, despite low debt. All else being equal, a higher ROE is better.
But when a business is high quality, the market often bids it up to a price that reflects this. The rate at which profits are likely to grow, relative to the expectations of profit growth reflected in the current price, must be considered, too. So you might want to check this FREEvisualization of analyst forecasts for the company.
But note:Longino & Cardenal may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
What To Know Before Buying Vishnu Chemicals Limited (NSE:VISHNU) For Its Dividend
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Is Vishnu Chemicals Limited (NSE:VISHNU) a good dividend stock? How would you know? Dividend paying companies with growing earnings can be highly rewarding in the long term. Yet sometimes, investors buy a popular dividend stock because of its yield, and then lose money if the company's dividend doesn't live up to expectations.
With a 0.8% yield and a four-year payment history, investors probably think Vishnu Chemicals looks like a reliable dividend stock. While the yield may not look too great, the relatively long payment history is interesting. Some simple research can reduce the risk of buying Vishnu Chemicals for its dividend - read on to learn more.
Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Vishnu Chemicals!
Dividends are usually paid out of company earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. As a result, we should always investigate whether a company can afford its dividend, measured as a percentage of a company's net income after tax. In the last year, Vishnu Chemicals paid out 4.9% of its profit as dividends. We like this low payout ratio, because it implies the dividend is well covered and leaves ample opportunity for reinvestment.
Another important check we do is to see if the free cash flow generated is sufficient to pay the dividend. Vishnu Chemicals's cash payout ratio last year was 1.6%. Cash flows are typically lumpy, but this looks like an appropriately conservative payout. It's positive to see that Vishnu Chemicals's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut.
As Vishnu Chemicals has a meaningful amount of debt, we need to check its balance sheet to see if the company might have debt risks. A quick way to check a company's financial situation uses these two ratios: net debt divided by EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), and net interest cover. Net debt to EBITDA measures a company's total debt load relative to its earnings (lower = less debt), while net interest cover measures the company's ability to pay the interest on its debt (higher = greater ability to pay interest costs). Vishnu Chemicals is carrying net debt of 3.32 times its EBITDA, which is getting towards the upper limit of our comfort range on a dividend stock that the investor hopes will endure a wide range of economic circumstances.
We calculated its interest cover by measuring its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), and dividing this by the company's net interest expense. With EBIT of 2.68 times its interest expense, Vishnu Chemicals's interest cover is starting to look a bit thin.
Remember, you can always get a snapshot of Vishnu Chemicals's latest financial position,by checking our visualisation of its financial health.
Before buying a stock for its income, we want to see if the dividends have been stable in the past, and if the company has a track record of maintaining its dividend. Looking at the data, we can see that Vishnu Chemicals has been paying a dividend for the past four years. It has only been paying dividends for a few short years, and the dividend has already been cut at least once. This is one income stream we're not ready to live on. During the past four-year period, the first annual payment was ₹2.00 in 2015, compared to ₹1.00 last year. Dividend payments have fallen sharply, down 50% over that time.
We struggle to make a case for buying Vishnu Chemicals for its dividend, given that payments have shrunk over the past four years.
Given that dividend payments have been shrinking like a glacier in a warming world, we need to check if there are some bright spots on the horizon. Strong earnings per share (EPS) growth might encourage our interest in the company despite fluctuating dividends, which is why it's great to see Vishnu Chemicals has grown its earnings per share at 21% per annum over the past five years. The company is only paying out a fraction of its earnings as dividends, and in the past been able to use the retained earnings to grow its profits rapidly - an ideal combination.
When we look at a dividend stock, we need to form a judgement on whether the dividend will grow, if the company is able to maintain it in a wide range of economic circumstances, and if the dividend payout is sustainable. First, we like that the company's dividend payments appear well covered, although the retained capital also needs to be effectively reinvested. We were also glad to see it growing earnings, but it was concerning to see the dividend has been cut at least once in the past. Overall we think Vishnu Chemicals scores well on our analysis. It's not quite perfect, but we'd definitely be keen to take a closer look.
Now, if you want to look closer, it would be worth checking out ourfreeresearch on Vishnu Chemicalsmanagement tenure, salary, and performance.
We have also put together alist of global stocks with a market capitalisation above $1bn and yielding more 3%.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Why Vishnu Chemicals Limited (NSE:VISHNU) Is A Dividend Rockstar
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Today we'll take a closer look at Vishnu Chemicals Limited (NSE:VISHNU) from a dividend investor's perspective. Owning a strong business and reinvesting the dividends is widely seen as an attractive way of growing your wealth. Yet sometimes, investors buy a stock for its dividend and lose money because the share price falls by more than they earned in dividend payments.
With a 0.8% yield and a four-year payment history, investors probably think Vishnu Chemicals looks like a reliable dividend stock. While the yield may not look too great, the relatively long payment history is interesting. When buying stocks for their dividends, you should always run through the checks below, to see if the dividend looks sustainable.
Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis
Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. So we need to form a view on if a company's dividend is sustainable, relative to its net profit after tax. Vishnu Chemicals paid out 4.9% of its profit as dividends, over the trailing twelve month period. We like this low payout ratio, because it implies the dividend is well covered and leaves ample opportunity for reinvestment.
We also measure dividends paid against a company's levered free cash flow, to see if enough cash was generated to cover the dividend. Vishnu Chemicals's cash payout ratio last year was 1.6%. Cash flows are typically lumpy, but this looks like an appropriately conservative payout. It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously.
As Vishnu Chemicals has a meaningful amount of debt, we need to check its balance sheet to see if the company might have debt risks. A quick way to check a company's financial situation uses these two ratios: net debt divided by EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), and net interest cover. Net debt to EBITDA is a measure of a company's total debt. Net interest cover measures the ability to meet interest payments on debt. Essentially we check that a) a company does not have too much debt, and b) that it can afford to pay the interest. Vishnu Chemicals has net debt of more than 3x its EBITDA, which is getting towards the limit of most investors' comfort zones. Judicious use of debt can enhance shareholder returns, but also adds to the risk if something goes awry.
Net interest cover can be calculated by dividing earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) by the company's net interest expense. With EBIT of 2.68 times its interest expense, Vishnu Chemicals's interest cover is starting to look a bit thin.
Consider gettingour latest analysis on Vishnu Chemicals's financial position here.
One of the major risks of relying on dividend income, is the potential for a company to struggle financially and cut its dividend. Not only is your income cut, but the value of your investment declines as well - nasty. Looking at the data, we can see that Vishnu Chemicals has been paying a dividend for the past four years. It has only been paying dividends for a few short years, and the dividend has already been cut at least once. This is one income stream we're not ready to live on. During the past four-year period, the first annual payment was ₹2.00 in 2015, compared to ₹1.00 last year. The dividend has fallen 50% over that period.
A shrinking dividend over a four-year period is not ideal, and we'd be concerned about investing in a dividend stock that lacks a solid record of growing dividends per share.
Given that dividend payments have been shrinking like a glacier in a warming world, we need to check if there are some bright spots on the horizon. It's good to see Vishnu Chemicals has been growing its earnings per share at 21% a year over the past 5 years. The company is only paying out a fraction of its earnings as dividends, and in the past been able to use the retained earnings to grow its profits rapidly - an ideal combination.
Dividend investors should always want to know if a) a company's dividends are affordable, b) if there is a track record of consistent payments, and c) if the dividend is capable of growing. Firstly, we like that Vishnu Chemicals has low and conservative payout ratios. Next, earnings growth has been good, but unfortunately the dividend has been cut at least once in the past. Vishnu Chemicals performs highly under this analysis, although it falls slightly short of our exacting standards. At the right valuation, it could be a solid dividend prospect.
Now, if you want to look closer, it would be worth checking out ourfreeresearch on Vishnu Chemicalsmanagement tenure, salary, and performance.
If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at ourcurated list of dividend stocks yielding above 3%.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Equity funds suck in biggest inflow in 15 months at $14.4 billion - BAML
LONDON (Reuters) - Investors ploughed $14.4 billion into equity funds in the week to Wednesday, the biggest inflows in 15 months, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said on Friday, as a dovish turn by major central banks fired up markets.
U.S. equity funds enjoyed biggest inflows in 14 weeks, pulling in $17.8 billion, while Japan stock funds attracted $1.4 billion, the bank said, citing data provider EPFR.
However, Europe stocks fund suffered $3.5 billion of outflows while investors withdrew $1.7 billion from emerging market equities, BAML's Chief Investment Strategist Michael Hartnett wrote in a note to clients.
Major central banks stepping up efforts to ease and provide stimulus against a backdrop of signs of easing economic growth has boosted markets around the globe this week.
"Markets stop panicking when central banks start panicking," Hartnett said.
Bond funds also enjoyed inflows, raking in $8.2 billion in a 24th week of inflows. Investment grade bond funds took in $6.6 billion, with high-yield and emerging market debt vehicles attracting small outflows.
Meanwhile Treasury funds suffered their biggest weekly outflows since march at $1.2 billion, BAML said.
The bank's "Bull & Bear" gauge fell to 2.3 or "neutral" territory, it added.
(Reporting by Karin Strohecker, Editing by Abhinav Ramnarayan) |
Could Yourgene Health Plc's (LON:YGEN) Investor Composition Influence The Stock Price?
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If you want to know who really controls Yourgene Health Plc (LON:YGEN), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies. Warren Buffett said that he likes 'a business with enduring competitive advantages that is run by able and owner-oriented people'. So it's nice to see some insider ownership, because it may suggest that management is owner-oriented.
Yourgene Health is not a large company by global standards. It has a market capitalization of UK£79m, which means it wouldn't have the attention of many institutional investors. In the chart below below, we can see that institutions own shares in the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about YGEN.
See our latest analysis for Yourgene Health
Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.
We can see that Yourgene Health does have institutional investors; and they hold 40% of the stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Yourgene Health's earnings history, below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Yourgene Health. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.
The definition of company insiders can be subjective, and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.
It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Yourgene Health Plc. Insiders own UK£22m worth of shares in the UK£79m company. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You canclick here to see if they have been buying or selling.
The general public, with a 20% stake in the company, will not easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Private equity firms hold a 5.4% stake in YGEN. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.
Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 6.9%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.
I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too.
I like to dive deeperinto how a company has performed in the past. You can accessthisinteractive graphof past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.
Ultimatelythe future is most important. You can access thisfreereport on analyst forecasts for the company.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Oil price rises on report Trump ordered Iran strike, then backtracked
The price of oil is rising on Friday as tensions continue to escalate between the US and Iran. US president, Donald Trump, ordered military strikes on Iran before changing his mind, according to the New York Times. It follows the downing of a US drone by Iranian forces on Thursday. “Iran made a very big mistake!” Trump tweeted on Thursday. Donald Trump reportedly ordered military strikes on Iran, then changed his mind. Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters Brent ( BZ=F ) was up 0.6% to $64.87 at 9.10am UK time, having been in the red around an hour earlier. Crude ( CL=F ) was up by 0.5% to $57.39. Oil is rising amid reports Trump ordered strikes on Iran. Photo: Yahoo Finance UK Tensions between the US and Iran have been escalating over the last two weeks, affecting the oil prices. Last week two oil tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman near Iranian waters. The US accused Iran of being responsible for the attack, an accusation Iran denies. The US deployed 1,000 extra troops to the region earlier this week in response to what it called “hostile behaviour.” Commercial airlines have also been avoiding the area. The US Federal Aviation Authority issued a ban on US carriers flying over Iranian airspace in the Persian Gulf on Thursday . Dutch carrier KLM ( AF.PA ) and Australian airline Qantas are both also rerouting planes to avoid the area, according to the Associated Press. The area of tension — where the tankers were attacked and the US drone downed — is a critical passage for global oil trade. The Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman is the only route to the open ocean from the Persian Gulf. Traders fear that rising tensions could disrupt oil shipments and restrict supply. |
What Type Of Shareholder Owns Yourgene Health Plc's (LON:YGEN)?
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If you want to know who really controls Yourgene Health Plc (LON:YGEN), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time. I generally like to see some degree of insider ownership, even if only a little. As Nassim Nicholas Taleb said, 'Don’t tell me what you think, tell me what you have in your portfolio.'
Yourgene Health is a smaller company with a market capitalization of UK£79m, so it may still be flying under the radar of many institutional investors. Taking a look at our data on the ownership groups (below), it's seems that institutional investors have bought into the company. We can zoom in on the different ownership groups, to learn more about YGEN.
Check out our latest analysis for Yourgene Health
Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.
We can see that Yourgene Health does have institutional investors; and they hold 40% of the stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Yourgene Health's historic earnings and revenue, below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Yourgene Health. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board; and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board, themselves.
Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.
Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Yourgene Health Plc. It has a market capitalization of just UK£79m, and insiders have UK£22m worth of shares in their own names. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You canclick here to see if they have been buying or selling.
The general public, with a 20% stake in the company, will not easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Private equity firms hold a 5.4% stake in YGEN. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.
Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 6.9%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Yourgene Health better, we need to consider many other factors.
Many find it usefulto take an in depth look at how a company has performed in the past. You can accessthisdetailed graphof past earnings, revenue and cash flow.
If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can checkthis free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
DIPChain Project Set to Launch Major Exchanges in September
SINGAPORE / ACCESSWIRE /June21, 2019 /Since entering the bull market in May, the price of altcoins has been soaring all the way. Many cryptocurrency investors have benefited from it and the market become unprecedentedly eye-catching. Even Facebook, the world's largest social media platform, released its whitepaper for Libra on 18 June.
Since the private sale of DIPChain began on May 18, a large number of investors have been looking to purchase DIPC for high returns, thus leading to the advance of its Early Allocation.
According to the Whitepaper of DIPChain, the total amount of DIPC is 1 billion, and the sales amount of DIPC account for 35%. DIPC assets are currently under the custody of DIP FOUNDATION to ensure the stability of currency prices and the convenience of upgrading and maintenance.
In the ecosystem of DIPChain Project, the holders of DIPC will have a series of rights and interests including dividend distribution, community governance, and node campaign. On its DAPP DIPLive, artists, art lovers and cryptocurrency investors will also use DIPC as an incentive when interacting with each other.
Based on the current global sales quota of contemporary art, it is initially estimated that the sales quota will reach 3 billion RMB. Based on the market share of 5% of the DIPChain, at least 150 million RMB will be used to buy back DIPC every year.
In addition, it is worth noting that according to the official information of DIPChain, recently the senior management of DIPChain is actively negotiating with Huobi, OKEX, CoinAll, bit-z, HitBTC, Bibox, IDAX and other mainstream exchanges, and plans to list on 2-3 mainstream exchanges in September. If successfully listed on, the circulation of DIPC and token price can be expected.
DIP FOUNDATION is established in 2019, aiming to promote the healthy development of the global art market, support young talents in artistic creation, as well as build a borderless art living community.
Contact Details :
Company Name: DIP FOUNDATION LTD.
Address: 60 PAYA LEBAR ROAD #08-55 PAYA LEBAR SQUARE SINGAPORE(409051)
Email:ir@dipchain.io
Website:https://www.dipchain.io
Telegram:https://t.me/dipchain
Country: Singapore
SOURCE:DIPChain Project
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/549445/DIPChain-Project-Set-to-Launch-Major-Exchanges-in-September |
Should You Be Tempted To Sell Josef Manner & Comp. AG (VIE:MAN) Because Of Its P/E Ratio?
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This article is written for those who want to get better at using price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll apply a basic P/E ratio analysis to Josef Manner & Comp. AG's (VIE:MAN), to help you decide if the stock is worth further research.Josef Manner & Comp has a price to earnings ratio of 29.8, based on the last twelve months. In other words, at today's prices, investors are paying €29.8 for every €1 in prior year profit.
Check out our latest analysis for Josef Manner & Comp
Theformula for price to earningsis:
Price to Earnings Ratio = Share Price ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS)
Or for Josef Manner & Comp:
P/E of 29.8 = €90 ÷ €3.02 (Based on the year to December 2018.)
A higher P/E ratio implies that investors paya higher pricefor the earning power of the business. All else being equal, it's better to pay a low price -- but as Warren Buffett said, 'It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.'
Generally speaking the rate of earnings growth has a profound impact on a company's P/E multiple. That's because companies that grow earnings per share quickly will rapidly increase the 'E' in the equation. That means unless the share price increases, the P/E will reduce in a few years. Then, a lower P/E should attract more buyers, pushing the share price up.
Josef Manner & Comp's earnings made like a rocket, taking off 78% last year. Even better, EPS is up 25% per year over three years. So we'd absolutely expect it to have a relatively high P/E ratio.
One good way to get a quick read on what market participants expect of a company is to look at its P/E ratio. You can see in the image below that the average P/E (17.9) for companies in the food industry is lower than Josef Manner & Comp's P/E.
Josef Manner & Comp's P/E tells us that market participants think the company will perform better than its industry peers, going forward. Shareholders are clearly optimistic, but the future is always uncertain. So investors should always consider the P/E ratio alongside other factors, such aswhether company directors have been buying shares.
It's important to note that the P/E ratio considers the market capitalization, not the enterprise value. So it won't reflect the advantage of cash, or disadvantage of debt. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth.
While growth expenditure doesn't always pay off, the point is that it is a good option to have; but one that the P/E ratio ignores.
Josef Manner & Comp has net debt worth 23% of its market capitalization. This could bring some additional risk, and reduce the number of investment options for management; worth remembering if you compare its P/E to businesses without debt.
Josef Manner & Comp trades on a P/E ratio of 29.8, which is above the AT market average of 14.7. The company is not overly constrained by its modest debt levels, and its recent EPS growth is nothing short of stand-out. So to be frank we are not surprised it has a high P/E ratio.
When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. As value investor Benjamin Graham famously said, 'In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine.' Although we don't have analyst forecasts, you might want to assessthis data-rich visualizationof earnings, revenue and cash flow.
But note:Josef Manner & Comp may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20).
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Jimmy Carr sparks backlash with 'racist' joke about K-pop band BTS
Jimmy Carr faces backlash for a 'racist' joke about Korean pop band BTS (Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic) Just days after Channel 4 bosses were urged to sack Jimmy Carr for taking a swipe at those with dwarfism during his stand-up tour, the comedian is facing further criticism for a “racist” joke he made about K-pop band BTS. “When I first heard something Korean had exploded in America, I got worried,” Carr teased, appearing on Australian TV Show 20 to One . Read more: Warwick Davis' charity slams Jimmy Carr for dwarf abortion joke “So I guess, it could've been worse - but not much worse,” he continued, as a he watched a clip of the group performing. Viewers and thousands of Bangtan Boys fans - dubbed ‘the BTS Army’ - took to social media to slam the 8 Out of 10 Cats presenter, describing the comment as “xenophobic.” Pop band BTS - aka Bangtan Boys - were the subject of Jimmy Carr's latest controversial joke (Steven Ferdman/Getty Images for ESB) “If your idea of humour is demeaning an artist's career and ideology by making them look shallow and superficial, while making disgusting and inappropriate racist comments, then you have failed pathetically,” one Twitter user wrote. “You should be ashamed.' Another said: "Literally every sentence said in this video is problematic and is filled with racial undertones and xenophobia." @Channel9 If your idea of humour is demeaning an artist career and ideology by making them look shallow and superficial while making disgusting and inappropriate racist comments - then you have failed pathetically. You should be ashamed. #Channel9Apologise #channel9racist pic.twitter.com/l72MKFTPfE — Shivani Shintre (@ShivaniShintre) June 20, 2019 Another took a swipe at his comedic style in general, tweeting: “I’m not surprised by Jimmy Carr’s comments on BTS. His stand-up show I caught on TV mostly involved jokes about women being in the kitchen. Story continues “I watched for a whole 30 seconds before I decided it wasn’t worth losing brain cells over.” Responding to the backlash, Australian network Channel Nine defended Carr in a statement. It read: "As a light-hearted entertainment program, it is our belief that last night's episode of 20 to One , which highlighted the Greatest Global Crazes, did not breach any broadcast regulations. Read more: K-pop stars BTS make history as first Korean group to play at Wembley “It was intended to humorously highlight the popularity of the group. We apologise to any who may have been offended by last night's episode." During a performance of his Terribly Funny live tour, Carr joked, “Is a dwarf an abortion that made it?” It prompted several complaints, including one from actor-turned-television presenter Warwick Davis and his charity, Little People UK. |
Ecuador court rules against community consultation for Cascabel mining project
QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuador's Constitutional Court on Thursday ruled against a request to require community consultations for a planned mining project, allowing Australia's SolGold to move forward with developing its Cascabel copper, gold and silver mine.
The project is in the advanced exploration phase and is one of the most ambitious mining projects in Ecuador, which hopes to develop mineral resources to spur its sluggish economy and wean dependence on crude oil exports.
But local communities in the northern Imbabura and Carachi provinces had asked the court for permission to hold a popular referendum on whether or not to allow the development to go forward. Activists have expressed concern about the mine's impact on the environment and sources of potable water.
In its ruling, the court said such a popular referendum was incompatible with the Andean country's laws.
"The court verified that the proposal to call a popular referendum under constitutional control does not meet the requirements for clarity and precision that the law demands," the court wrote.
The decision is a victory for President Lenin Moreno, who is seeking to boost foreign investment in Ecuador after a decade of populist rule under leftist predecessor Rafael Correa. Moreno had warned the court about the consequences of authorizing consultations for mining areas that already have awarded licenses to foreign companies.
In March, a popular referendum in Azuay province went against a planned gold mine to be developed by INV Metals Inc, prompting the Canadian company to seek to relocate the project.
A preliminary study of Cascabel shows it could become one of the world's largest mines of its kind, with mineral reserves of 10.9 million tonnes of copper and more than 23 million ounces of gold,
Neither Ecuador's Energy Ministry, which oversees the mining sectors, nor representatives of the Imbabura and Carachi communities immediately responded to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Writing by Luc Cohen; Editing by Leslie Adler) |
Taking A Look At Mahickra Chemicals Limited's (NSE:MAHICKRA) ROE
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Many investors are still learning about the various metrics that can be useful when analysing a stock. This article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE). To keep the lesson grounded in practicality, we'll use ROE to better understand Mahickra Chemicals Limited (NSE:MAHICKRA).
Over the last twelve monthsMahickra Chemicals has recorded a ROE of 14%. Another way to think of that is that for every ₹1 worth of equity in the company, it was able to earn ₹0.14.
See our latest analysis for Mahickra Chemicals
Theformula for return on equityis:
Return on Equity = Net Profit ÷ Shareholders' Equity
Or for Mahickra Chemicals:
14% = ₹20m ÷ ₹151m (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2019.)
Most readers would understand what net profit is, but it’s worth explaining the concept of shareholders’ equity. It is all earnings retained by the company, plus any capital paid in by shareholders. Shareholders' equity can be calculated by subtracting the total liabilities of the company from the total assets of the company.
ROE measures a company's profitability against the profit it retains, and any outside investments. The 'return' is the yearly profit. The higher the ROE, the more profit the company is making. So, all else equal,investors should like a high ROE. That means ROE can be used to compare two businesses.
One simple way to determine if a company has a good return on equity is to compare it to the average for its industry. The limitation of this approach is that some companies are quite different from others, even within the same industry classification. If you look at the image below, you can see Mahickra Chemicals has a similar ROE to the average in the Chemicals industry classification (13%).
That's not overly surprising. ROE doesn't tell us if the share price is low, but it can inform us to the nature of the business. For those looking for a bargain, other factors may be more important. For those who like to findwinning investmentsthisfreelist of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Companies usually need to invest money to grow their profits. The cash for investment can come from prior year profits (retained earnings), issuing new shares, or borrowing. In the case of the first and second options, the ROE will reflect this use of cash, for growth. In the latter case, the use of debt will improve the returns, but will not change the equity. That will make the ROE look better than if no debt was used.
While Mahickra Chemicals does have some debt, with debt to equity of just 0.32, we wouldn't say debt is excessive. Although the ROE isn't overly impressive, the debt load is modest, suggesting the business has potential. Judicious use of debt to improve returns can certainly be a good thing, although it does elevate risk slightly and reduce future optionality.
Return on equity is one way we can compare the business quality of different companies. Companies that can achieve high returns on equity without too much debt are generally of good quality. All else being equal, a higher ROE is better.
Having said that, while ROE is a useful indicator of business quality, you'll have to look at a whole range of factors to determine the right price to buy a stock. It is important to consider other factors, such as future profit growth -- and how much investment is required going forward. You can see how the company has grow in the past by looking at this FREEdetailed graphof past earnings, revenue and cash flow.
Of courseMahickra Chemicals may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see thisfreecollection of other companies that have high ROE and low debt.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Here Are the Salaries of Disney Princesses, Mascots and More
Many children dream of being princesses and mermaids — and for some, those dreams actually come true. But are these supposed “dream jobs” really worth the rigorous training, often low pay and other drawbacks? If you’re interested in a job that seems like a fantasy, it’s time to learn what the realities of that job entail.
If you grew up watching “The Little Mermaid” and always envied Ariel, you’re in luck — you can get paid to be a real-life mermaid. Mermaids can perform at private parties as a weekend job or as a side gig to boost income, or as a regular job at places such as Florida’s Weeki Wachee Springs State Park. But you usually can’t just throw on a tail and get the role. Weeki Wachee holds multiple rounds of auditions for its “mermaid squad.” Those tryouts involve completing a timed, 300-yard endurance swim, swimming both with and against the water’s current and treading water for 10 to 15 minutes, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Aspiring mermaids who make it past the first round of auditions then must demonstrate their underwater theatrical skills for the theater manager. The women who make the cut will perform underwater ballet in a 400-seat auditorium. Shows take place year-round.
Weeki Wachee mermaid pay starts at $10 an hour, and mermaids must be able to perform at least four days a week. Mermaids who work private parties can earn more: One mermaid advertising her services on Gig Salad charges $375 and up to perform at children’s and adult parties and says her events typically last one to two hours.
For people who love swimming, entertaining and being around children, being a mermaid could be a dream job. “Interacting with children in the water and sharing the magic of our oceans with them is my favorite [thing about being a mermaid],” Mermaid Linden, a mermaid performer, wrote on her website. However, it’s not all dress-up and fun, as there are occupational hazards in the job. The Weeki Wachee mermaids perform in 72-degree water, so being cold comes with the job. And depending on the type of water you’re swimming in, performing could lead to stinging eyes, Linden said. There also are additional risks that come from performing with sea creatures. “I have been stung in the eyes by jellyfish,” Linden said.
Being a professional Cinderella or Belle at Disney World, Disneyland or another Disney park might be an easier way to princess-hood than marrying a member of the royal family — but not by much. Princesses must audition for their roles, and auditions can include singing, dancing and acting. If you’re auditioning for a specific character, you’re judged more on your ability to portray the character based on attitude and gesture than on how you recite lines, according to the Disney Auditions website. “It’s pretty hard,” a former Disney cast member said of the princess audition process. “There are multiple auditions across the country. Sometimes thousands of people show up. You have to dance and read lines, depending on how far you go.” You’re then filtered for the various roles based on how well you fit into the costume. “They cut you based on need, and height and face obviously matter,” the cast member said. “Ninety percent is, can you fit in the costume?”
Characters with accents must undergo dialect training, and even women who portray American characters must practice doing their princess voice, which often is higher than their natural speaking voice, Buzzfeed reported. Princesses must be in character and in costume the whole time they are in the park and must perfect their character’s signature. Duties include performing in parades and signing autographs for guests.
Character performers at Disney parks and resorts make an average of $11 an hour, according to Glassdoor. Full-time performers work 40 hours a week, but Disney has part-time performers too, Buzzfeed reported. Of course, there are better-paying part-time jobs out there, but this might be one you just love to do.
Learn:How to Change Careers and Land Your Dream Job
Getting adored by Disney fans, especially young girls, is one of the best aspects of the job, one former princess told Buzzfeed. “So many little girls are obsessed with Snow White and look at you in awe,” she said. “Being dressed up and seeing little girls in the same costume as you, who really think you’re her — that’s special.” But you need to have thick skin to apply for the job and even to stay in the job. Current and former employees told Buzzfeed that aspiring princesses were disqualified for “being too ‘ethnic’-looking,” aging or gaining weight. And princesses are evaluated monthly on how they look in the costume. Those who don’t maintain Disney’s standards are given other roles.
Most malls and shopping centers have a Santa Claus during the Christmas season, and being a mall Santa can be one of the best side jobs for making extra holiday cash. So how do you get to be St. Nick? Although some malls hire directly, many go through event agencies and photo companies, Monster reported. Having a real beard no longer is a requirement since many fake beards look just as natural, the job site stated, but it is important that you like working with children. Many Santas get professional training to get the gig, during which they learn how to communicate basic things in sign language and Spanish, how to answer difficult questions and even how to work around reindeer.
Santa’s responsibilities include talking with children about their Christmas wishes and answering their sometimes-tricky questions.
Compared to other character actors, Santa Claus gets paid pretty well. A mall Santa can make $15 to $20 an hour, Monster reported. However, the shifts can be long. Because malls don’t want children to see Santa switching shifts, the same Santa usually works the entire day. Depending on the employer’s hours, shifts can range from six to 12 hours.
For many people in the Santa role, the feeling of making a child’s day is the best part of the job. “It’s definitely more rewarding for the Santas than the children,” one Santa told Monster. But it also can be a tough job. Santas sometimes have to be the one to place the kid on their lap, which can mean repeated heavy lifting. There’s also the risk of getting sick from interacting with germy children all day. And it can be emotionally challenging if a child confides in Santa about difficulties at home or other hardships in their lives.
If you’ve dreamed about being a professional athlete but don’t quite have the skills, you still can get the feeling of being important at the game — and drawing the attention of adoring fans — by being a professional mascot. There is no formal training required to be a mascot, but you do need to audition, the Chicago Tribune reported. Desired skills include acrobatics, cheerleading and mascot training, which you can get in a specialty program such as the Pro Mascot School in San Antonio. If you do get the gig, you have to follow a script, perform choreographed routines and make appearances as an integral part of the team’s marketing strategy.
Professional full-time mascots typically make $22,000 to $65,000 a year, but top mascots can earn six-figure salaries, Parade reported, and NBA mascots make more than MLB mascots, according to Job Monkey. The amount of hours you’re expected to work depends on the team: About half of the professional sports teams hire full-time mascots, but other teams split mascot duties among more than one person.
Mascots get to be front and center during professional sporting events, openly mock the opposing team and bask in the adoration of thousands of fans. But it can be hard to be “on” for hours on end, and you have to be willing to act silly and make a fool of yourself on a regular basis. Fortunately, in most cases your face is covered, so no one will know it’s you doing outlandish things.
Were you the class clown in school? You can turn those skills into a profitable career if you want to join the rodeo circuit. The most important job of a rodeo clown is to protect the cowboys: Rodeo clowns are responsible for distracting the bull once the rider has fallen off so that the animal doesn’t trample the fallen cowboy. Clowns also act as the entertainment between rides by bantering with the announcer and performing comedic skits. To get the gig, you have to work your way up, according to Salary.com. Aspiring rodeo clowns usually apprentice at local or youth rodeos, and some attend clown training school to gain extra skills.
Experienced rodeo clowns can earn as much as $2,000 per show, though less experienced entertainers earn less, the Houston Chronicle reported. Top rodeo clowns can make — are you ready for this? — between $150,000 and $200,000 a year! Clowns can either work full time or take jobs here and there.
The biggest perk of being a rodeo clown is getting appreciation from the crowd and the cowboys you protect. “It’s a great feeling when the crowd applauds and appreciates your efforts. But the greatest is when the cowboys come to you and let you know how much they appreciate you being there for them night after night,” one rodeo clown, who goes by the name of Scooter, told Salary.com. It’s the ideal job for an adrenaline junkie who likes to goof around and make people laugh. But it’s obviously extremely dangerous to work in close proximity to enraged bulls. “It’s not whether you’re gonna get hurt, it’s when and how bad,” said Scooter, who has suffered numerous injuries during his career, including 24 broken bones, three concussions and a dislocated jaw.
Click through to read20 ways to improve your chances of getting a job.
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• 101 Side Business Ideas and How to Start Without Quitting Your Job
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• 5 Things I Wish I Had Together Before I Started My Own Business
This article originally appeared onGOBankingRates.com:Here Are the Salaries of Disney Princesses, Mascots and More |
The Most Valuable Investments for Retirement, According to Retirees
When it comes to retirement advice, sometimes the best source isfrom the people who have already lived it.
In a 2018 survey, GOBankingRates asked retirees to share their biggest hurdles in retirement andwhat they would have done differently leading up to retirement. The survey also gathered their insights regarding the most valuable assets that helped them save for retirement.
Click through to see what they said andlearn about the most valuable investments for your golden years.
Both men and women in the survey identified their 401k plan as the most important savings vehicle for building their nest egg, with 33 percent of men and 35.76 percent of women ranking it as most important.
A401k plan is so valuable to retirement savingsbecause your contributions aren’t taxed and grow tax-free, so you won’t pay any taxes until you take the distributions in retirement.
The first step tomaximizing your 401k planis to make sure you’re taking full advantage of any matching contribution offered by your employer. For example, if your employer matches up to 3 percent of your salary, be sure to contribute at least that amount. Once you’re doing that, commit to devoting a minimum percentage of each raise you earn to increasing your 401k contributions.
Personal savings were the second most commonly identified savings vehicle that survey respondents identified as helping them save for retirement. Although it was the second most common option for both men and women, women were over 13 percentage points more likely to name savings at 34.44 percent versus 21.18 percent for men.
Personal savings are flexible — you cantap into the savingswithout a penalty. However, you don’t receive tax breaks on this type of retirement account.
Holding your personal savings in a basic checking or savings account will ensure that you don’t lose money — but you’ll be missing out on the higher returns that you could be making by investing that money.
Instead,consider a high-yield savings accountor CD to maximize the interest you earn without participating in higher-risk investments.
Overall, stocks tied for the third most commonly identified source of retirement savings among all respondents at 11.93 percent. A substantial difference existed, however, between men at 15.76 percent and women at just under 10 percent.
Stocks have ups and downs, but they traditionally offer some of the highest rates of return. However, many Americans — not just retirees — aren’t taking advantage ofthis wealth-building strategy, found a previous survey.
Get Started Today:The Best Online Stock Brokers for Beginners
If you want to invest in the stock market to grow your retirement savings, keep these two things in mind: Invest for the long term, andkeep your fees low.
Consider low-cost index funds to give you broad exposure to the market at a low cost, and stay invested through the market’s ups and downs so you don’t miss out on gains.
Traditional IRAs tied with stocks as the third most commonly identified source of retirement savings among all respondents, but were 5.35 percentage points more common among men than among women.
You must earn taxable compensation to contribute to a traditional IRA each year, butyou can set one up yourselfwithout having to worry about whether your employer has the plan set up for you.
Consider adding investments earmarked for retirement to your IRA instead of keeping the money in a taxable account. The money in the traditional IRA grows tax-free, so each time you realize gains or get paid interest, you can reinvest the entire amount without having to share a portion of the income with the IRS.
The downside is that if you take money out before 59.5 years old,you’ll owe a 10 percent tax penaltyunless an exception applies.
Only 9.05 percent of respondents identified Roth IRAs as the biggest source of retirement savings, which might be partly because Roth IRAs have only been around since 1998 and those surveyed are already retired. Roth IRAs were a more common response from men than women by just over three percentage points.
Click to See:The Best Roth IRA Accounts
Use abackdoor Roth IRA contributionto contribute to a Roth IRA even if your income is too high. Although there are income limits on who can contribute, Congress has officially blessed the strategy of making a nondeductible contribution to a traditional IRA and then converting it to a Roth IRA because there are no income limits on who can convert to a Roth IRA.
Roth vs. Traditional IRA:Which Retirement Plan Is Best for Me?
Bonds were the least common investment chosen overall with under 6 percent choosing this one. Men favored bonds slightly more at 6.9 percent compared to women at 5.3 percent.
Bonds typically offer lower returns than stocks but are generally less volatile. So, as people get older, they often shift more of their portfolio from stocks to bonds tominimize the impact of a market crash.
Although corporate bonds might pay higher interest rates, investing in government bonds might be a better option, depending on your marginal tax rate.
Federal savings bonds may be exempt from state and local income taxes, whereas municipal bonds may be exempt from federal taxes and might be exempt from taxation by the state or local government issuing the bonds.
Click through tosee the best robo-advisors for your investments.
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• The Most (and Least) Tax-Friendly States for Retirees
• Best and Worst States to Retire Rich
• This Is What a Comfortable Retirement Will Cost You in Every State
This article originally appeared onGOBankingRates.com:The Most Valuable Investments for Retirement, According to Retirees |
How One VC Firm Amassed a 24% Stake in Slack Worth $4.6 Billion
(Bloomberg) -- Stewart Butterfield loved the game, but not enough people agreed with him. He spent two years and raised roughly $11 million to build an online adventure game called Glitch that featured garrulous, blue-headed creatures and milk-drunk butterflies.
Once people had a chance to play it and Butterfield could track the numbers, the verdict was clear: Glitch was a flop. “There was this night where I just lost faith,” Butterfield said in a podcast interview. He decided in 2012 that it was game over. Butterfield made plans to shut down the company and give the remaining money back to his investors.
Andrew Braccia, a partner at venture capital firm Accel, wouldn’t accept the refund. He and other investors urged Butterfield to keep the remaining $5 million and try something else. That turned into Slack Technologies Inc., the maker of corporate chat software that went public Thursday. At the close of trading, Slack’s market value was $19 billion.
Accel invested about $200 million in Slack over seven years, largely driven by Braccia’s unwavering faith in Butterfield. As of the stock debut, Accel held 24% of the company, the biggest VC stake in a newly public unicorn in recent history. Those shares are worth $4.6 billion today.
Owning such a large chunk of a company is unusual in venture investing for a couple reasons. If a startup appears to be succeeding, founders and other investors compete fiercely for shares. And when things are uncertain, overexposing a fund to one company can be a foolish gamble. “They don’t all look like winners right away,” said Trae Vassallo, managing director of early-stage venture firm Defy.
The startup failure rate is 67%, according to research firm CB Insights. Just 1% of those achieve a unicorn valuation of at least $1 billion. “You have to have a clear conviction when making a concentrated bet,” said Byron Deeter, a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. “If you’re right, you’ll be disproportionately rewarded. But if it goes bad, there’s a real risk.”
Slack is what happens when a risky bet pays off. The value of Accel’s stake is greater than that of any private financier of Lyft Inc., Snap Inc., Spotify Technology SA or Twitter Inc., each of which went public at higher market values.
In an interview Thursday, Butterfield said Accel was eager to buy into every funding round for Slack—of which there were many—and offered to invest more than expected almost every time. The company had raised more than $1.2 billion in private capital, according to CB Insights data. “Our whole board, the VC members of the board, have worked incredibly hard,” Butterfield said. “I feel incredibly well supported.”
In the windup to Slack’s listing, Accel converted about a quarter of its Slack holdings to common stock, allowing it to sell that portion of its shares. Such a transaction could return more than $1 billion for the VC firm, earning back the total sum of several funds. And that doesn’t account for two other Accel companies that have gone public since April, Crowdstrike Holdings Inc. and Pagerduty Inc.
In 2012, when Butterfield was convinced he’d failed, Braccia was steadfast, said Bradley Horowitz, who put some of his own money in the game company. That’s probably because Braccia recalled what happened the last time Butterfield made a bad game. It morphed into a popular photo-sharing site called Flickr, which Yahoo! bought for around $25 million in 2005. Braccia, Butterfield and Horowitz all worked together at Yahoo.
Horowitz, now a vice president of product at Google, said Braccia “was the one who said ‘keep going.’ He had the determination.” Horowitz joined Braccia in refusing to take his money back when Butterfield was ready to give up. “Stewart could have told me he was building a new coat hanger,” Horowitz said. “I would be all in.”
Braccia declined to be interviewed, citing the regulatory quiet period. Bloomberg Beta, the venture capital arm of Bloomberg LP, is also an investor in Slack.
In 2015, just as Slack was beginning to gain traction, Braccia explained why he was making such a big bet on the company. Butterfield has an uncanny ability to recover from failure and then rally people around his next idea, Braccia told a crowd at the time: “He’s resilient. He’s been knocked down multiple times, and he’s picked himself back up.”
--With assistance from Ellen Huet.
To contact the author of this story: Lizette Chapman in San Francisco at lchapman19@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Milian at mmilian@bloomberg.net, Michael Hytha
For more articles like this, please visit us atbloomberg.com
©2019 Bloomberg L.P. |
What Kind Of Shareholder Owns Most Magma Fincorp Limited (NSE:MAGMA) Stock?
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A look at the shareholders of Magma Fincorp Limited (NSE:MAGMA) can tell us which group is most powerful. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies. Companies that have been privatized tend to have low insider ownership.
Magma Fincorp is a smaller company with a market capitalization of ₹35b, so it may still be flying under the radar of many institutional investors. In the chart below below, we can see that institutions own shares in the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about MAGMA.
View our latest analysis for Magma Fincorp
Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.
Magma Fincorp already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own 32% of the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Magma Fincorp, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
It looks like hedge funds own 7.4% of Magma Fincorp shares. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
The definition of company insiders can be subjective, and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Magma Fincorp Limited. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It seems the board members have no more than ₹70m worth of shares in the ₹35b company. Many investors in smaller companies prefer to see the board more heavily invested. You canclick here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
The general public holds a 11% stake in MAGMA. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
With a stake of 23%, private equity firms could influence the MAGMA board. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.
It seems that Private Companies own 26%, of the MAGMA stock. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.
I always like to check for ahistory of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart ofhistoric revenue and earnings in thisdetailed graph.
If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss thisfreereport on analyst forecasts.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Do Institutions Own Lyka Labs Limited (NSE:LYKALABS) Shares?
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A look at the shareholders of Lyka Labs Limited (NSE:LYKALABS) can tell us which group is most powerful. Institutions will often hold stock in bigger companies, and we expect to see insiders owning a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones. Warren Buffett said that he likes 'a business with enduring competitive advantages that is run by able and owner-oriented people'. So it's nice to see some insider ownership, because it may suggest that management is owner-oriented.
With a market capitalization of ₹616m, Lyka Labs is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. Taking a look at our data on the ownership groups (below), it's seems that institutional investors have bought into the company. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholder can tell us about LYKALABS.
See our latest analysis for Lyka Labs
Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.
We can see that Lyka Labs does have institutional investors; and they hold 6.4% of the stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Lyka Labs's earnings history, below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Lyka Labs is not owned by hedge funds. As far I can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.
The definition of company insiders can be subjective, and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. The company management answer to the board; and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board, themselves.
Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.
It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Lyka Labs Limited. Insiders own ₹275m worth of shares in the ₹616m company. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You canclick here to see if they have been buying or selling.
The general public holds a 47% stake in LYKALABS. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too.
I like to dive deeperinto how a company has performed in the past. You can accessthisinteractive graphof past earnings, revenue and cash flow for free.
If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss thisfreelist of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Are You An Income Investor? Don't Miss Out On Larsen & Toubro Limited (NSE:LT)
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Could Larsen & Toubro Limited (NSE:LT) be an attractive dividend share to own for the long haul? Investors are often drawn to strong companies with the idea of reinvesting the dividends. On the other hand, investors have been known to buy a stock because of its yield, and then lose money if the company's dividend doesn't live up to expectations.
While Larsen & Toubro's 1.2% dividend yield is not the highest, we think its lengthy payment history is quite interesting. There are a few simple ways to reduce the risks of buying Larsen & Toubro for its dividend, and we'll go through these below.
Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis
Dividends are usually paid out of company earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. Larsen & Toubro paid out 28% of its profit as dividends, over the trailing twelve month period. This is medium payout level that leaves enough capital in the business to fund opportunities that might arise, while also rewarding shareholders. Plus, there is room to increase the payout ratio over time.
As Larsen & Toubro has a meaningful amount of debt, we need to check its balance sheet to see if the company might have debt risks. A rough way to check this is with these two simple ratios: a) net debt divided by EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), and b) net interest cover. Net debt to EBITDA measures a company's total debt load relative to its earnings (lower = less debt), while net interest cover measures the company's ability to pay the interest on its debt (higher = greater ability to pay interest costs). Larsen & Toubro has net debt of 5.52 times its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) which implies meaningful risk if interest rates rise of earnings decline.
Net interest cover can be calculated by dividing earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) by the company's net interest expense. Larsen & Toubro has EBIT of 8.91 times its interest expense, which we think is adequate. Despite a decent level of interest cover, we think that shareholders should remain cautious of the high level of net debt. Rising rates or tighter debt markets have a nasty habit of making fools of highly-indebted dividend stocks.
Remember, you can always get a snapshot of Larsen & Toubro's latest financial position,by checking our visualisation of its financial health.
Before buying a stock for its income, we want to see if the dividends have been stable in the past, and if the company has a track record of maintaining its dividend. For the purpose of this article, we only scrutinise the last decade of Larsen & Toubro's dividend payments. The dividend has been stable over the past 10 years, which is great. We think this could suggest some resilience to the business and its dividends. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was ₹4.67 in 2009, compared to ₹18.00 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 14% per year over this time.
It's rare to find a company that has grown its dividends rapidly over ten years and not had any notable cuts, but Larsen & Toubro has done it, which we really like.
Dividend payments have been consistent over the past few years, but we should always check if earnings per share (EPS) are growing, as this will help maintain the purchasing power of the dividend. It's good to see Larsen & Toubro has been growing its earnings per share at 12% a year over the past 5 years. Earnings per share have been growing at a good rate, and the company is paying less than half its earnings as dividends. We generally think this is an attractive combination, as it permits further reinvestment in the business.
Dividend investors should always want to know if a) a company's dividends are affordable, b) if there is a track record of consistent payments, and c) if the dividend is capable of growing. First, we like that the company's dividend payments appear well covered, although the retained capital also needs to be effectively reinvested. We like that it has been delivering solid improvement in its earnings per share, and relatively consistent dividend payments. All these things considered, we think this organisation has a lot going for it from a dividend perspective.
Earnings growth generally bodes well for the future value of company dividend payments. See if the 30 Larsen & Toubro analysts we track are forecasting continued growth with ourfreereport on analyst estimates for the company.
If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at ourcurated list of dividend stocks yielding above 3%.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Britain's Lloyds fined $58 million for HBOS fraud failings
By Huw Jones and Iain Withers
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog has fined Lloyds Banking Group 45.5 million pounds ($58 million) for failures to disclose suspicions of fraud at an HBOS branch in Reading, southern England.
The fine is a further embarrassment for Lloyds as banks continue to pay for misbehaviour during the financial crisis a decade ago when Britain had to bail out several lenders.
Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) was involved in one of Britain's biggest banking frauds which led to six people, including two former HBOS bankers, being jailed in 2017 for a combined 47 years.
HBOS was rescued by Lloyds in a state-engineered takeover in 2009. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) says HBOS identified suspicious conduct in Reading in early 2007 but did not tell the regulator until the year Lloyds acquired the bank.
The fine would have been 65 million pounds but was discounted by 30% after Lloyds agreed to resolve the matter, angering a group representing victims of the fraud.
Nikki Turner, one of the victims of the HBOS fraud who runs campaign group SME Alliance, said the fine had come too late.
"For victims who lost their businesses, livelihoods and, in some cases families, because of the craven, unrestricted behaviour of HBOS bankers, action coming over a decade after the event is the ultimate insult," Turner said.
The fine is the largest imposed by the FCA on a firm for not being open and co-operative with the watchdog, but it is dwarfed by the 6 billion pound pre-tax profit made by Lloyds last year.
Lloyds shares were down 0.6% at 13.50 GMT.
HBOS FAILURES
The FCA said HBOS failed to be open and cooperative and failed to disclose information appropriately to the then regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
The bank's failures caused delays to investigations by both the FCA and police, said Mark Steward, the FCA's executive director of enforcement and market oversight.
"There is no evidence anyone properly addressed their mind to this matter or its consequences," Steward said.
The watchdog also banned Lynden Scourfield, Mark Dobson, and husband and wife David Mills and Alison Mills, who were all convicted in 2017 in a fraud trial related to the Reading case, from working in financial services.
Lloyds Banking Group said in a statement it welcomed the FCA's "comprehensive investigation", accepted its findings and apologised to customers affected.
The then FSA appointed investigators to examine the misconduct, but the probe was put on hold from 2013 to 2017 to allow for the criminal prosecution to be completed.
Lloyds has not yet drawn a line under the fraud at the HBOS Reading branch, with its handling of the affair questioned at the bank's annual meeting last month.
British television personality Noel Edmonds has alleged his former entertainment business collapsed as a result of the fraud, while Lloyds has said 71 business customers have been offered compensation, of whom 98% have accepted its offers.
A retired High Court judge is reviewing whether this compensation scheme was conducted fairly.
($1 = 0.7887 pounds)
(Reporting by Huw Jones and Iain Withers in London and Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Rachel Armstrong, Mark Potter and Alexander Smith) |
Facebook’s Crypto Libra is a Huge Deal – Just Not for the Reason you Think
ByCCN Markets: With the release ofits whitepaper, Facebook officially announced its cryptocurrency, Libra. It now joinsJP MorganandAtletico Mineiroamong the ranks of non-blockchain businesses with their own crypto.
What does this mean for cryptocurrency? Will we finally get that LAMBO MOONSHOT we’ve been waiting for, that orgy of FOMO that sends bitcoin to $1 million?
Or will people suddenly shun bitcoin for this safe, “backed” money that doesn’t have wild fluctuations in price?
We shall see. I’m more interested in Libra for another reason, one much more important than the price of bitcoin.
Imagine you ran a huge business and wanted to create your own money system. You knew you risked alienating your shareholders, worrying your customers, provoking regulators, and giving governments a reason to fight you.
Read the full story on CCN.com. |
Japan Watchdog Charges Zaif Crypto Exchange Owner with ‘Legal Violations’
Cryptocurrency exchange owner Fisco is being forced to improve its business management systems after an investigation by the country’s financial watchdog.
According to areleasefrom the Financial Services Agency (FSA), on Feb. 13, the agency visited Fisco – a Japanese investment firm thattook over ownershipof the hacked Zaif exchange in April and found that the firm had made a number of “legal violations.”
The FSA said it found “problems” with the firm’s business management – for example, the board of directors had not been discussing “important management issues such as business plans.” Risk management at Fisco, relating to potential issues like money laundering and financing of terrorism, was also found to be lacking, as did other aspects of general business management, such as its outsourcing process.
Related:G7 Forming Task Force in Response to Facebook’s Libra Cryptocurrency
The FSA said “management did not recognize the importance of legal compliance.”
To bring the company back in line with its expectations, the agency has handed Fisco a business improvement order, mandating it to establish a system to allow proper internal management, outsourcing, accounting and auditing. The firm must also set up risk management systems for fiat and cryptocurrency.
In itsSeptember 2018 hack, Zaif lost approximately 7 billion yen ($62.5 million) in bitcoin (BTC), monacoin (MONA) and bitcoin cash (BCH).
A month later, Fisco announced its intention to take over the ailing firm and finallycompleted the acquisitionin April, at which point normal services were resumed for the first time since the hack.
Related:QuadrigaCX CEO Set Up Fake Crypto Exchange Accounts With Customer Funds
The FSA was said to also beinvestigating Huobi Japanalongside Fisco, according to a Reuters report in April. No public statement has so far been made by the agency on any conclusions, however.
FSAimage via Shutterstock
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