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Why Lakeland Bancorp (LBAI) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. But when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments. Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, dividends. A dividend is that coveted distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders, and investors often view it by its dividend yield, a metric that measures the dividend as a percent of the current stock price. Many academic studies show that dividends account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases. Lakeland Bancorp in Focus Headquartered in Oak Ridge, Lakeland Bancorp (LBAI) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of 4.66% so far this year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.13 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 3.23%. In comparison, the Banks - Northeast industry's yield is 1.89%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.92%. Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $0.50 is up 12.4% from last year. Lakeland Bancorp has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 10.60%. Any future dividend growth will depend on both earnings growth and the company's payout ratio; a payout ratio is the proportion of a firm's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Lakeland Bancorp's current payout ratio is 34%. This means it paid out 34% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend. Earnings growth looks solid for LBAI for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 is $1.43 per share, with earnings expected to increase 6.72% from the year ago period. Bottom Line Investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons, from tax advantages and decreasing overall portfolio risk to considerably improving stock investing profits. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide a quarterly payout. High-growth firms or tech start-ups, for example, rarely provide their shareholders a dividend, while larger, more established companies that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options. Income investors have to be mindful of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that LBAI is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy). Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportLakeland Bancorp, Inc. (LBAI) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Why Douglas Emmett (DEI) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. But when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments. Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, dividends. A dividend is that coveted distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders, and investors often view it by its dividend yield, a metric that measures the dividend as a percent of the current stock price. Many academic studies show that dividends account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases. Douglas Emmett in Focus Headquartered in Santa Monica, Douglas Emmett (DEI) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of 17.4% so far this year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.26 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 2.6%. In comparison, the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry's yield is 4.19%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.92%. Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $1.04 is up 3% from last year. Douglas Emmett has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 5.73%. Any future dividend growth will depend on both earnings growth and the company's payout ratio; a payout ratio is the proportion of a firm's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Douglas Emmett's current payout ratio is 50%. This means it paid out 50% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend. Earnings growth looks solid for DEI for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 is $2.11 per share, with earnings expected to increase 4.46% from the year ago period. Bottom Line Investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons, from tax advantages and decreasing overall portfolio risk to considerably improving stock investing profits. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide a quarterly payout. High-growth firms or tech start-ups, for example, rarely provide their shareholders a dividend, while larger, more established companies that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options. Income investors have to be mindful of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, DEI is a compelling investment opportunity. Not only is it a strong dividend play, but the stock currently sits at a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold). Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportDouglas Emmett, Inc. (DEI) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Trump, without offering evidence, accuses Mueller of crimes WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump, without offering evidence, on Wednesday directly accused former Special Counsel Robert Mueller of committing a crime, saying Mueller had illegally "terminated" FBI communications as part of his Russia investigation. The Justice Department declined to comment. "Mueller terminated them illegally. He terminated all of the emails. ... Robert Mueller terminated their text messages together. He terminated them. They're gone. And that's illegal. That's a crime," Trump said in an interview with Fox Business Network, referring to two former Federal Bureau of Investigation employees who exchanged disparaging messages about the president. Trump made the remarks ahead of Mueller's scheduled testimony before lawmakers next month about his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election and whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow. The Republican president, who formally launched his re-election bid last week, repeatedly railed against Mueller's probe during the two-year investigation and accused several of the team's investigators of being Democrats targeting him. He has also accused Mueller of having a business conflict of interest tied to Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, as well as for meeting with him early in Trump's White House term about the possibility of leading the FBI a second time. Mueller, who was subpoenaed, will testify about his report in front of the Democratic-led House of Representatives Judiciary and House Intelligence Committees on July 17. In his report released in April, Mueller found that Russia did meddle in the 2016 U.S. election but that the Trump campaign did not illegally conspire with Russia to influence the vote. He also laid out a number of instances where Trump had committed obstruction of justice but stopped short of concluding the president had committed a crime. Mueller, also a Republican, previously served as the director of the FBI. (Reporting by Susan Heavey and Mark Hosenball; editing by Leslie Adler and James Dalgleish) View comments
Is Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) A Smart Choice For Dividend Investors? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Could Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) 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 popular dividend stock because of its yield, and then lose money if the company's dividend doesn't live up to expectations. Some readers mightn't know much about Essential Properties Realty Trust's 4.3% dividend, as it has only been paying distributions for a year or so. 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 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. Essential Properties Realty Trust paid out 44% of its profit as dividends, over the trailing twelve month period. This is a middling range that strikes a nice balance between paying dividends to shareholders, and retaining enough earnings to invest in future growth. Besides, if reinvestment opportunities dry up, the company has room to increase the dividend. In addition to comparing dividends against profits, we should inspect whether the company generated enough cash to pay its dividend. Essential Properties Realty Trust's cash payout ratio in the last year was 50%, which suggests dividends were well covered by cash generated by the business. 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 Essential Properties Realty Trust 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. With net debt of above 3x EBITDA, investors are starting to take on a meaningful amount of risk, should the business enter a downturn. We calculated its interest cover by measuring its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), and dividing this by the company's net interest expense. Interest cover of less than 5x its interest expense is starting to become a concern for Essential Properties Realty Trust, and be aware that lenders may place additional restrictions on the company as well. Consider gettingour latest analysis on Essential Properties Realty Trust'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. With a payment history of less than 2 years, we think it's a bit too soon to think about living on the income from its dividend. During the past one-year period, the first annual payment was US$0.84 in 2018, compared to US$0.88 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 4.8% per year over this time. We like that the dividend hasn't been shrinking. However we're conscious that the company hasn't got an overly long track record of dividend payments yet, which makes us wary of relying on its dividend income. 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. Essential Properties Realty Trust's earnings per share have fallen -99% over the past year. This is a pretty serious concern, and it would be worth investigating whether something fundamental in the business has changed - or broken. Any one year of performance can be misleading for a variety of reasons, so we wouldn't like to form any strong conclusions based on these numbers alone. We'd also point out that Essential Properties Realty Trust issued a meaningful number of new shares in the past year. Trying to grow the dividend when issuing new shares reminds us of the ancient Greek tale of Sisyphus - perpetually pushing a boulder uphill. Companies that consistently issue new shares are often suboptimal from a dividend perspective. To summarise, shareholders should always check that Essential Properties Realty Trust's dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. Firstly, we like that Essential Properties Realty Trust has low and conservative payout ratios. Earnings per share have been falling, and the company has a relatively short dividend history - shorter than we like, anyway. While we're not hugely bearish on it, overall we think there are potentially better dividend stocks than Essential Properties Realty Trust out there. Without at least some growth in earnings per share over time, the dividend will eventually come under pressure either from costs or inflation. Very few businesses see earnings consistently shrink year after year in perpetuity though, and so it might be worth seeing what the 8analysts we track are forecasting for the future. 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.
Mueller to Give Back-to-Back Testimony. 'It Never Ends,' Trump Says Former special counsel Robert Mueller has agreed to testify publicly before Congress on July 17 after Democrats issued subpoenas to compel him to appear, the chairmen of two House committees announced. Mueller’s unusual back-to-back testimony in front of the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees is likely to be the most highly anticipated congressional hearing in years, particularly given Mueller’s resolute silence throughout his two-year investigation into Russian contacts with President Donald Trump’s campaign . Mueller never responded to angry, public attacks from Trump, nor did he ever personally join his prosecutors in court or make announcements of criminal charges from the team. His sole public statement came from the Justice Department podium last month as he announced his departure, when he sought to explain his decision to not indict Trump or to accuse him of criminal conduct. He also put lawmakers on notice that he did not ever intend to say more than what he put in the 448-page report. “We chose those words carefully, and the work speaks for itself,” Mueller said May 29. “I would not provide information beyond what is already public in any appearance before Congress.” Those remarks did little to settle the demands for his testimony. The two committees continued negotiations that had already been going on for weeks, saying they still wanted to hear from Mueller no matter how reluctant he was. “When you accept the role of special counsel in one of the most significant investigations in modern history you’re going to have to expect that you’re going to be asked to come and testify before Congress,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., told reporters shortly after the announcement. Trump himself simply tweeted, “Presidential Harassment!” He followed up on Wednesday morning in an interview with Fox Business Network, saying, “It never ends,” then adding his usual list of grievances against the way the probe was conducted. In the report issued in April, Mueller concluded there was not enough evidence to establish a conspiracy between Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia, which was the original question that started the investigation. But he also said he could not exonerate Trump on obstruction of justice. The report examined several episodes in which Trump attempted to influence the investigation. Democrats say it is now the job of Congress to assess the report’s findings. Lawmakers are likely to confront Mueller on why he did not come to a firm conclusion on obstruction of justice. They are also likely to seek his reaction to a drumbeat of incessant criticism from the president and ask for his personal opinion about whether Trump would have been charged were he not the commander-in-chief. Schiff and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said they issued the subpoenas Tuesday, and Mueller agreed to testify pursuant to those subpoenas. In a letter to Mueller accompanying the subpoenas, the committee chairmen said “the American public deserves to hear directly from you about your investigation and conclusions.” Schiff said there will be two hearings “back to back,” one for each committee, and they will also meet with Mueller’s staff in closed session afterward. The Justice Department declined to comment. Republicans have criticized Democrats for their continuing investigations of the president. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., questioned why they would still want to hear from Mueller after the lengthy report was issued. “He said he didn’t want to talk to us anymore, didn’t he?” But Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the Judiciary panel, has said he has no objections to Mueller’s testimony. “May this testimony bring to House Democrats the closure that the rest of America has enjoyed for months, and may it enable them to return to the business of legislating,” Collins said. —Meet the2020 Democratic presidential candidatesyou’ve (probably) never heard of —Why 2020 Democratic presidential candidates are flocking toFox News —Meetthe Republicanslikely to challenge Trump in the 2020 primary —How woulda recessionshape the 2020 presidential race? —Beating Trump in 2020: What theelectability conversationmisses —The campaign finance power behindTrump impeachment efforts
Hamilton returns to scene of most recent retirement By Alan Baldwin LONDON (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton will feel the heat, literally at least, in Austria this weekend as Formula One champions Mercedes seek to equal McLaren's modern-day record of 11 wins in a row and he returns to the scene of his most recent retirement. With temperatures set to soar in scenic Spielberg, the championship leader is expecting more of a challenge than in France last Sunday. "It’s super-hot there, really hard for the brakes," the Briton told reporters after a dominant but dull victory at Le Castellet. "You saw a couple of years ago we had two failures in one race, so it’s a hard race for everyone. We don’t go there with all the confidence in the world, we know that we might have a difficult weekend." That double retirement actually occurred in Austria last year, a nightmare that Hamilton's subsequent streak of success has made more distant. The race, won by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, remains the five-times world champion's only retirement since 2016. It was also a first double mechanical retirement for Mercedes since their return as a constructor in 2010. Since then Hamilton has won 14 of the last 20 races. This season he has won six of eight, including the last four, and has a 36 point lead in the standings from Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas. Mercedes have also won four of the last five races at Red Bull's home track, with Hamilton and Bottas triumphant in 2016 and 2017 respectively. The challenge from Ferrari, with a car better suited to Spielberg than Le Castellet, is still a concern for Mercedes -- and source of hope for those craving excitement after the French procession. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said his team had been marginal on cooling and nothing was taken for granted, even if there would be no let up either. "(2018) was a cruel reminder how quickly things can go wrong in our sport and that reliability and performance go hand in hand in Formula One," said the Austrian. Story continues "It would be complacent to ignore the fact that for two weekends in a row now, our mechanics had to perform the equivalent of "open-heart surgery" on our cars. "We've faced a number of different issues on different components, each of which could have easily caused us to retire, so we need to get on top of those challenges as quickly as possible," he added. Ferrari's young Monegasque Charles Leclerc was consistently quicker than team mate Sebastian Vettel in France, finishing third, and will be looking to put on a much-needed show. "Austria is one of my favorite circuits," he told reporters. "It's quite a different track so I'm pretty sure we can have a positive weekend." Verstappen, with an army of traveling fans, could also be in the mix after two top three placings this season, and five fourths, but might need others to make mistakes or suffer reliability issues. "We do need to gain a bit of performance from the car to be really competitive. We do need to make a bigger step also with the engine," he said in France. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
EU says it will never renegotiate Brexit deal despite Boris Johnson claims: 'Full stop' The European Commission has again reiterated that the Brexit withdrawal agreement will not be negotiated, "full stop" – despite claims by Boris Johnson that he would somehow be able to re-open talks. When asked whether the agreement could be reopened under any circumstances – including to stop a no-deal or prevent a hard border in Ireland, – a spokesperson for the Commission was emphatic: "I can confirm, as has been repeated several times, we will not be renegotiating the withdrawal agreement, full stop," she told reporters in Brussels. Asked to comment on what the view was of Mr Johnson was within the EU institutions, the spokesperson said: "I would refrain from using any kind of adjectives to define any future prime minister of the United Kingdom and will repeat what we have said before, which is that the Commission will work with any prime minister in the spirit of good cooperation." More follows…
Should Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) Be Part Of Your Dividend Portfolio? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Could Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) 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. Essential Properties Realty Trust has only been paying a dividend for a year or so, so investors might be curious about its 4.3% yield. Some simple analysis can offer a lot of insights when buying a company for its dividend, and we'll go through this below. Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Essential Properties Realty Trust! 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. Essential Properties Realty Trust paid out 44% of its profit as dividends, over the trailing twelve month period. This is a middling range that strikes a nice balance between paying dividends to shareholders, and retaining enough earnings to invest in future growth. Besides, if reinvestment opportunities dry up, the company has room to increase the dividend. We also measure dividends paid against a company's levered free cash flow, to see if enough cash was generated to cover the dividend. Essential Properties Realty Trust paid out a conservative 50% of its free cash flow as dividends last year. 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 Essential Properties Realty Trust 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). With net debt of above 3x EBITDA, investors are starting to take on a meaningful amount of risk, should the business enter a downturn. Net interest cover can be calculated by dividing earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) by the company's net interest expense. Interest cover of less than 5x its interest expense is starting to become a concern for Essential Properties Realty Trust, and be aware that lenders may place additional restrictions on the company as well. We update our data on Essential Properties Realty Trust 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. This company has been paying a dividend for less than 2 years, which we think is too soon to consider it a reliable dividend stock. During the past one-year period, the first annual payment was US$0.84 in 2018, compared to US$0.88 last year. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 4.8% a year over that time. It's good to see at least some dividend growth. Yet with a relatively short dividend paying history, we wouldn't want to depend on this dividend too heavily. The other half of the dividend investing equation is evaluating whether earnings per share (EPS) are growing. Growing EPS can help maintain or increase the purchasing power of the dividend over the long run. Essential Properties Realty Trust's earnings per share have fallen -99% over the past year. This is a pretty serious concern, and it would be worth investigating whether something fundamental in the business has changed - or broken. Any one year of performance can be misleading for a variety of reasons, so we wouldn't like to form any strong conclusions based on these numbers alone. We'd also point out that Essential Properties Realty Trust issued a meaningful number of new shares in the past year. Trying to grow the dividend when issuing new shares reminds us of the ancient Greek tale of Sisyphus - perpetually pushing a boulder uphill. Companies that consistently issue new shares are often suboptimal from a dividend perspective. 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 Essential Properties Realty Trust has low and conservative payout ratios. Earnings per share have been falling, and the company has a relatively short dividend history - shorter than we like, anyway. Ultimately, Essential Properties Realty Trust 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. Without at least some growth in earnings per share over time, the dividend will eventually come under pressure either from costs or inflation. Very few businesses see earnings consistently shrink year after year in perpetuity though, and so it might be worth seeing what the 8analysts we track are forecasting for the future. 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.
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: AngloGold, Square, Approach, Holly Energy and Franco-Nevada For Immediate Release Chicago, IL –June 26, 2019 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. AU, Square, Inc. SQ, Approach Resources, Inc. AREX, Holly Energy Partners, L.P. HEP and Franco-Nevada Corp. FNV. Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog: 5 Winners from Trump’s New Sanctions Against Iran Tensions between the United States and Iran continue to escalate after President Trump signed an executive order imposing new sanctions on the latter. Such sanctions have been described as “hard hitting,” which will prevent Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and many other military officials from accessing U.S. financial instruments. The sanctions followed the United States’ blame that the Islamic Republic attacked two oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz and shot down a U.S. drone. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard alleged that the drone had entered Iranian airspace, even though U.S. military is adamant that it was in international airspace. Moreover, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s claim came after U.S. military informed of a missile attack on a Saudi desalination plant and stated that it is likely to have come from Yemen. It goes without saying that while the Saudis and the United States are on one side, the Houthi Yemenis and Iran make up the other one. Tensions between the Saudis and Iran can primarily be attributed to the U.S. sanctions aimed at reducing Iranian oil exports to zero. Nonetheless, Trump recently said in the Oval Office that these sanctions “represent a strong and proportionate response to Iran's increasingly provocative actions.” He added that “we will continue to increase pressure on Tehran until the regime abandons its dangerous activities and its aspirations including the pursuit of nuclear weapons, increased enrichment of uranium, development of ballistic missiles, engagement in and support for terrorism, fueling of foreign conflicts, and belligerent acts directed against the United States and its allies.” Story continues Senior Iranian officials claimed that the country’s leadership sees “war and sanctions as two sides of the same coin” and emphasized that the Islamic State can never be forced into negotiation. How to Play U.S. Sanctions on Iran? Thanks to Trump’s announcement about “hard hitting” Iranian sanctions, the broader stock market has entered negative territory. But, not all asset classes are bleeding. Prices of both gold and bitcoin are climbing north as the United States hit Iran with fresh sanctions. And that’s primarily because these two asset classes are perceived as safe-haven assets and are unperturbed by market gyrations. But, it’s just not rising geopolitical risks in the Middle East that’s driving gold and bitcoin. Gold, in particular, is gaining due to declining yields, weak macroeconomic outlook and a weaker dollar. This has led investment banking giant UBS to raise its short-term forecast for gold to $1,430 on Jun 24, from an earlier forecast of $1,380. And when it comes to bitcoin, the world’s numero uno cryptocurrency is gaining as several Wall Street bigwigs are showing keen interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. For instance, Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency has provided a boost to bitcoin. After all, Facebook’s foray into the crypto space has given a certain degree of legitimacy to the industry, which many viewed as illegal and speculative trading. Last but not the least, bitcoin has piqued the interest of many. Needless to say, bitcoin futures trading activity has been increasing over the past several weeks as shown by its moving average, per the CME Group. New Iran sanctions, in the meantime, restricted the drop in oil prices amid concerns about crude demand. With oil prices finding support from US-Iran tensions, energy shares are in a good position to rally. Lest we forget, energy shares have been one of the weakest performers so far this year, but now this growing turmoil in the Middle East will lure investors back into the energy space. Top 5 Gainers We have, thus, selected five solid stocks from the aforesaid areas that can make the most of the US-Iran tensions. These stocks carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy). AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. operates as a gold mining company. The company has a Zacks Rank #1. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has moved up 2% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 90.6% compared with the Mining - Gold industry’s estimated rally of 16.4%. Square, Inc. , which provides payment and point-of-sale solutions, is another impressive bitcoin-related stock. The mobile payment company is now allowing users to buy and sell cryptocurrency through its Square app. Square flaunts a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has moved 2.7% north over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth for the current year is 61.7%, higher than the Internet - Software industry’s projected growth of 12.7%. Approach Resources, Inc . focuses on the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of unconventional oil. The company carries a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has moved up 32% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 23.1% against the Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry’s anticipated decline of 7.2%.You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Holly Energy Partners, L.P . owns and operates petroleum product and crude pipelines. The company has a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has climbed 3.9% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 8.8% compared with the Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry’s estimated rally of 3.3%. Franco-Nevada Corp. operates as a gold-focused royalty and stream company in the United States. The company has a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has risen 5.6% over the past 60 days. The company, which is part of the Mining – Gold industry, is expected to yield an earnings return of almost 12% this year. Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside? Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana. Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look. See the pot trades we're targeting> Media Contact Zacks Investment Research 800-767-3771 ext. 9339 support@zacks.com https://www.zacks.com Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss . This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Square, Inc. (SQ) : Free Stock Analysis Report AngloGold Ashanti Limited (AU) : Free Stock Analysis Report Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV) : Free Stock Analysis Report Holly Energy Partners, L.P. (HEP) : Free Stock Analysis Report Approach Resources Inc. (AREX) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research
Wall Street's 2 Favorite Cannabis Stocks May Surprise You Cannabis is quickly moving out of the shadows and transforming into a multibillion-dollar global industry. In the United States alone, Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics estimate that total cannabis sales -- including hemp-derived CBD oils -- will come in at an eye-catching $44.8 billion in 2024. This enormous commercial opportunity, in turn, has grabbed the attention of some of Wall Street's top analysts this year. A number of firms, for instance, have issued ratings, along with 12-month price targets, for a host of publicly traded cannabis companies in 2019. That's a remarkable turn of events, given that the industry was widely viewed as off-limits by most analysts less than two years ago due to the industry's problematic legal status in key territories, widespread banking restrictions, and long history of attracting unscrupulous actors. Image source: Getty Images. Which cannabis stocks are at the top of Wall Street's initial report card? Analysts seem to favorAleafia Health(NASDAQOTH: ALEAF)andMedmen Enterprises(NASDAQOTH: MMNFF)as their top two cannabis picks, which, oddly enough, have also been some of the industry's worst performers so far this year. Is it time to catch these falling knives? Let's dig deeper to find out. Among top-tier cultivators, Wall Street thinks that Aleafia Health has the highest upside potential by a wide margin with an average price target of $4.75. The reason? Last March, Aleafia made a game-changing transaction by snapping up the medical cannabis company Emblem in an all-stock transaction. This acquisition greatly enhanced Aleafia's medical service provider network in Canada, access to high-margin derivative products, as well as its annual production capacity. In fact, this Emblem acquisition catapulted Aleafia intoCanada's top 10 growers, with an estimated peak annual production output of 138,000 kilograms. Perhaps the best part, though, is that Aleafia's industry-leading cannabis clinic network has the potential to drive strong brand loyalty among its customer base. What's the downside? The company is well behind the leaders in the space in terms of overall business development. While this Emblem transaction accelerated the company's evolution in a noteworthy manner, it still may struggle to compete against the industry's more established and better funded names -- especially those with Fortune 500 partners. Bottom line: Despite the company's undeniable progress this year and Wall Street's rosy outlook, Aleafia's stock remains a high-risk, high-reward play. Thus, this small-cap pot stock is arguably best suited as a compelling watch list candidate at the moment, rather than an outright buy. MedMen is an iconic, upscale U.S. cannabis retailer and Wall Street's second favorite cannabis stock based on its consensus price target of $6.38. The company has 86 retail licenses, active operations in five states with more on the way, as well as apartnershipwith Canada'sCronos Groupthat expands its footprint north of the border. So, while there are gads of U.S. retailers at the moment, MedMen is arguably at the top of the heap from a brand recognition standpoint. Underscoring this point, the company also expects its annual sales to top $1 billion within the next few years, easily making it the largest U.S.-based cannabis retailer in terms of annual revenues. Nevertheless, MedMen's shares have still managed to lose nearly 16% of their value this year due to the company's underwhelming financial performance. In the most recent quarter, for instance, the company reported anet operating lossof $53.3 million. And over the last nine months, MedMed lost a staggering $178.4 million. That's a worrying sign for a company widely pegged as the alpha dog among U.S. cannabis retailers. What's next? MedMen's basic plan is to keep reducing its expenses while simultaneously growing its sales by opening new retail outlets in areas such as Arizona, Nevada, and Florida. Wall Street, for its part, believes that this strategy will lead the company to profitability within the next 24 months. On the more speculative side of the ledger, MedMen's top-flight brand and sprawling U.S. presence could make it a takeover target. Cronos Group, after all, already has ties to MedMen and it has the cash to make a bid following its $1.8 billion partnership with tobacco giantAltria. Is MedMen's stock worth buying at these levels? While the stock market has been enthralled with cultivators ever since Canada announced the legalization of adult-use marijuana for recreational purposes last year, the long-term trend arguably favors retailers like MedMen. Retailers that sell high-margin derivative products, after all, should be able to weather the upcoming supply glut much better than companies focused mainly on cultivation. Viewed this way, MedMen might indeed be one pot stock worth buying right now. More From The Motley Fool • Beginner's Guide to Investing in Marijuana Stocks • Marijuana Stocks Are Overhyped: 10 Better Buys for You Now • Your 2019 Guide to Investing in Marijuana Stocks George Budwellhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: AbbVie, Allergan, Bristol-Myers and Celgene For Immediate Release Chicago, IL –June 26, 2019 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: AbbVie ABBV, Allergan AGN, Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY and Celgene CELG. Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog: AbbVie & Allergan – Where Are the Synergies? AbbVie is on the hunt for their next big revenue driver as their patent for the world’s top-selling drug, Humira, is nearing its end. AbbVie just made a $63 billion deal to acquire Dublin-based Allergan in an attempt to keep their drive alive. This deal would represent a roughly 45% premium over Allergan’s closing price yesterday. ABBV investors aren’t thrilled with this excessive premium at the end of an economic cycle with the stock falling over 15% so far today. AGN investors, on the other hand, couldn’t be more thrilled with their stock surging north of 26% this morning and still 13% below the $188 per share offer price. AbbVie + Allergan Humira makes up over 60% of AbbVie’s top-line and this patent is said to be expiring mid-2023. The Allergan acquisition would significantly boost their portfolio’s diversification and reduce the reliance on Humira. Allergan’s top line has been driven by eye care products, which has been losing momentum, as well as its medical aesthetics segment, which is the firm’s saving grace. Medical aesthetics (aka cosmetic appearance products) drives 40% of their revenue and continues to illustrate double-digit expansion. Their neuroscience and urology segment has also been driving a lot of growth for Allergan. These two pharmaceutical companies don’t have an enormous amount synergies considering that their portfolios and pipelines don’t overlap. The synergies will arise from distribution leverage, larger R&D departments to push expansive pipelines, and portfolio diversification. Although this premium appears high on paper, the actual valuation of AGN is much more reasonable. AGN is trading around its lowest forward P/E since the company started below 8x, miles below the pharma industries 20x multiple. The transaction would value Allergan at 11.3x EV/EBITDA, still roughly an 8% discount to the broader pharmaceutical industry. Allergan has been looking for a change whether it be a new investment opportunity, potential acquisitions, a company split up or a sale for some time now as their top-line appears to be stalled. This acquisition comes at an opportune time. This deal is following the Bristol-Myers Squibb’s $74 billion agreement to buy their rival Celgene, the largest pharmaceutical acquisition since 1999. This merger is now facing some antitrust concerns that are expected to delay the deals closure. These two mergers would create two of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. Performance Both AGN and ABBV have been underperforming the broader market over the last 52-weeks. These companies both need a change as their revenue slows to decline. Take Away This acquisition could make or break these firms. As I said above, both these firms need to revitalize their top-line and this merger could be the rejuvenating measure that they needed. Whether the 45% premium that AbbVie is paying for Allergan is worth the diversification remains to be seen. The acquisition will be finalized in 2020. Look to see how these firms synergize over the next 24-months. Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside? Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana. Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look. See the pot trades we're targeting>> Media Contact Zacks Investment Research 800-767-3771 ext. 9339 support@zacks.com https://www.zacks.com Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportAllergan plc (AGN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAbbVie Inc. (ABBV) : Free Stock Analysis ReportBristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY) : Free Stock Analysis ReportCelgene Corporation (CELG) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’: Here’s the Tom Holland-Peter Parker Scene That Got Cut The Oscar-winning animated feature “ Spider-Man : Into the Spider-Verse” was certainly not short on featuring various versions of the Spider-Man character, from Miles Morales to Spider-Ham to Spider-Man Noir, but it turns out there was going to be at least one more Spider-Man in the film. Tom Holland , who stars as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, reveals to JOE that he was originally going to cameo in “Spider-Verse” as his MCU superhero. “At one point I was supposed to be in it,” Holland said. “There was going to be another Peter Parker [in addition to the one voiced by Jake Johnson]. There was like a scene in a train station or something, and it was going to be like an Easter egg. I was going to walk through the background or something, and say like ‘Hey, kid.’” Related stories For 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' to Be an 'Endgame' Epilogue, Director Jon Watts Kept Secrets for Years Tom Holland Goes Viral for Saving Fan From Autograph Hunters During 'Spider-Man' Press The Holland-Peter Parker cameo got to the planning stages but did not end up making it into the production schedule. Holland said he loved the idea but it never happened, which left him “heartbroken.” When asked if a cameo might work the other way, with Shameik Moore’s Miles coming to the MCU, Holland was thrilled by the idea. “He’s really, really good in it,” Holland said. “I’m just excited to introduce Miles into our own universe one day. I think that’s going to be really good.” “ Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse ” opened last December to some of the best reviews ever given to a superhero movie. The film swept awards season, winning the Golden Globe and the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Fans have been waiting for Sony Pictures to officially announce a sequel. Producer Amy Pascal stirred up buzz for the next “Spider-Verse” movie this month when she told io9 , “We are definitely hard at work on the sequel.” Holland is back as Peter Parker in “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” the next MCU movie following the events of “Avengers: Endgame.” Holland debuted as the superhero in “Captain America: Civil War” before getting his first standalone film with 2017’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” Disney is releasing “Far From Home” in theaters nationwide July 2. “Spider-Verse” is now available to stream on Netflix. Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .
ReNeuron Group plc (LON:RENE) Insiders Increased Their Holdings Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So before you buy or sellReNeuron Group plc(LON:RENE), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling. It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market. We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise.' See our latest analysis for ReNeuron Group Non-Executive Chairman John Berriman made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£180k worth of shares at a price of UK£2.25 each. That means that even when the share price was higher than UK£2.05 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. In the last twelve months insiders paid UK£250k for 121k shares purchased. While ReNeuron Group insiders bought shares last year, they didn't sell. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below! ReNeuron Group is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at thisfreelist of growing companies with insider buying. Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at ReNeuron Group. In total, insiders bought UK£240k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any sales whatsoever. This could be interpreted as suggesting a positive outlook. I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Based on our data, ReNeuron Group insiders have about 1.3% of the stock, worth approximately UK£853k. I generally like to see higher levels of ownership. The recent insider purchases are heartening. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. But on the other hand, the company made a loss last year, which makes us a little cautious. We would certainly prefer see higher levels of insider ownership but analysis of the insider transactions suggests that ReNeuron Group insiders are expecting a bright future. Of course,the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in ReNeuron Group, you should check out thisfreereport on analyst forecasts for the company. But note:ReNeuron Group may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt. For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. 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.
Boeing looms large over struggling U.S. manufacturing sector By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New orders for long-lasting U.S.-made goods fell for a second straight month in May as troubles at Boeing weighed on demand for aircraft, suggesting manufacturing could remain weak even as business spending on equipment appears to stabilize. The report from the Commerce Department on Wednesday added to a raft of weak data on trade, consumer confidence, housing and employment growth that have indicated a sharp loss of momentum in economic activity in the second quarter. The economy, which will celebrate a record 10 years of expansion next month, is losing speed amid an ebb in both business and consumer confidence in the wake of an escalation in trade tensions between the United States and China. Momentum is also fizzling as the stimulus from last year's $1.5 trillion tax cut package and more government spending fades. The growing risks to the economy coupled with low inflation prompted the Federal Reserve to last week signal interest rate cuts starting as early as July. "We see the potential for further weakness as the factory sector continues to face a confluence of headwinds including sluggish global growth, rising trade uncertainty, an inventory glut and Boeing's travails," said Lydia Boussour, a senior U.S. economist at Oxford Economics in New York. Orders for durable goods, items ranging from toasters to aircraft that are meant to last three years or more, dropped 1.3% last month after declining 2.8% in April, the government said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast durable goods orders would slip 0.1 percent in May. Orders for transportation equipment tumbled 4.6% after diving 7.6% in April. That reflected a 28.2% plunge in orders for non-defense aircraft. Civilian aircraft orders plummeted 39.3% in April. Boeing reported on its website that it had received no aircraft orders in May after getting orders for four planes in April. The world's largest plane maker has cut production of its fastest-selling MAX 737 jetliner, which was grounded in March following two fatal plane crashes in five months. Deliveries of the plane have also been suspended, leading to a 1.4% drop in aircraft shipments in May. Aircraft inventories surged 2.5% last month. The problems at Boeing also are contributing to an undercutting of production at factories. Manufacturing, which accounts for about 12% of the economy, is also being undermined by an inventory overhang, especially in the automobile industry, which has resulted in fewer orders being placed with factories. Motor vehicles orders rebounded 0.6% in May, leaving the bulk of April's 3.2% drop intact. Slowing global growth and the lingering effects of the dollar's strength last year against the currencies of the United States' trade partners also are hobbling activity. Overall durable goods shipments rose 0.4% and inventories increased 0.5% in May. Unfilled durable goods orders fell 0.5 percent, the most since June 2016, pointing to continued weakness in manufacturing in the months ahead. Regional manufacturing surveys have also weakened in June. The dollar was largely flat against a basket of currencies, while U.S. Treasury prices were trading lower. Stocks on Wall Street rose. RAYS OF HOPE There are some glimmers of hope for manufacturing. Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, increased 0.4% last month amid increases in demand for machinery, and computers and electronic products. These so-called core capital goods orders dropped 1.0% in April. Shipments of core capital goods increased 0.7% last month after an upwardly revised 0.4% gain in the prior month. Core capital goods shipments are used to calculate equipment spending in the government's gross domestic product measurement. They were previously reported to have been unchanged in April. Business spending on equipment contracted in the first quarter for the first time in three years. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell last Wednesday acknowledged the weak business spending and said many policymakers "cited the investment picture and weaker business sentiment ... as supporting their judgment that the risk of less favorable outcomes has risen." "While core capital goods orders suggest businesses are not fully retrenching as they await clarity on trade and contend with slowing growth abroad, equipment spending still looks set to contract this quarter," said Sarah House, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina. Slowing growth in the second quarter was also underscored by another report from the Commerce Department on Wednesday showing the goods trade deficit widened 5.1% to $74.5 billion in May as an increase in imports offset a rise in exports. Following the reports, the Atlanta Fed trimmed its GDP growth estimate for the second quarter by one-tenth of a percentage point to a 1.9% annualized rate. The economy grew at a 3.1% rate in the first quarter, boosted by a spurt in exports and an accumulation of inventories. Last month, imports of goods increased $7.8 billion to $214.7 billion, boosted by a surge in imports of motor vehicles, capital goods, industrial supplies and consumer goods. Exports of goods rose $4.1 billion to $140.2 billion last month. There were increases in exports of food, motor vehicles, consumer and capital goods. The wider goods trade deficit will likely subtract from GDP growth in the second quarter. The government also said inventories rose 0.4% in May and stocks at retailers gained 0.5%. The pace of inventory accumulation is slowing from earlier this year. Inventories are expected to be a drag on second-quarter GDP growth. (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)
How Hollywood Is Celebrating Pride Month Pride Month officially wraps up this weekend with the WorldPride Parade in New York. It takes on special significance this year, as attendees mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising. A number of artists and brands are also getting involved, launching “Pride-themed” collaborations and merchandise in an effort to boost their own visibility within the LGBTQ community. Just last week, Taylor Swift released the music video for her new single “ You Need To Calm Down ” to much fanfare, with the colorful clip featuring a number of LGBTQ actors, singers and personalities, including Jesse Tyler Ferguson (with husband Justin Mikita), RuPaul, Adam Lambert and Ellen Degeneres. The video shouts out the organization GLAAD and also ends on a title card encouraging viewers to sign and share Swift’s Change.org petition asking the U.S. Senate to pass the Equality Act (So far, more than 400,000 people have signed it, including four U.S. Senators). Related stories How the ShanghaiPRIDE Festival Is Coming Out of SIFF's Shadow What the Stonewall Riots Mean 50 Years Later The State of LGBTQ Rights Globally While Swift’s new song and video has already inspired a wave of unofficial, Pride-themed merch , other celebs are teaming up with apparel and lifestyle brands on more official collaborations for Pride, with much of the proceeds going to LGBTQ causes and charities. For Lance Bass, who famously came out in 2006, he says it’s been exciting to see the gay community finally have its moment in the spotlight, not just represented in Hollywood, but in mainstream campaigns as well. “I’m happy with anyone that gives us visibility,” says Bass, who teamed up with Stoli Vodka this year to launch their “Spirit of Stonewall” bottle (sales of the limited-edition release will help raise funds for the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative, which works to promote understanding and dialogue through awareness campaigns, educational programming and fundraising). Story continues The fact that brands are even having a conversation about Pride, Bass says, is a step in the right direction. “It just shows how far we’ve come as a community, that all these companies want to work with us and support us,” he says. “The visibility is so amazing and it’s exactly what we need.” We’ve rounded up seven other collaborations to shop for Pride Month , from brands that are using their platform for good. Each of these collections partner with LGBTQ actors and artists and give back to charity, with proceeds going to support a number of prominent and worthwhile causes. 1. Teva x Tegan and Sara Rockers Tegan and Sara have long been vocal advocates for the LGBTQ community and this year, they’re putting their names behind a new collaboration with Teva. The twin sisters are partnering with the footwear brand on a limited-edition Flatform Universal Pride sandal , with a portion of proceeds going to the Tegan and Sara Foundation (TSF). The foundation’s goal is to fight for health, political and economic equality for young girls and women within the LGBTQ community, and Tegan and Sara say the collaboration is a “full circle” moment for them. “We got our first pair of Teva sandals when we were 16,” they say in a release, “and this rainbow Flatform collab is like full circle LGBTQ+ Pride validation. Teva’s generous support for our foundation will allow us to help even more LGBTQ+ youth.” Teva will donate $15 for each pair of Flatform Universal Pride sandals sold, up to a guaranteed maximum donation of $30,000, to the TSF. According to a release, the donation will fund scholarships for LGBTQ youth to attend summer camps that help develop self-confidence and leadership abilities in a safe and nurturing environment. Purchase: $79.95 on Nordstrom.com . 2. Todd Snyder x Billy Porter Contemporary sportswear designer Todd Snyder has a particularly close relationship with Pride this year, as his eponymous New York-based company has a predominantly gay staff, many of whom remember the tumultuous years immediately following the Stonewall riots. That’s why Snyder says he wanted to do something to honor that “seminal milestone in the history of New York City.” “As a New Yorker now with an amazing staff, over half of which are gay, I wanted to do something meaningful,” he told Women’s Wear Daily . “My team is very important to me and we support each other’s values.” The #TSPride collection includes a series of colorful T-shirts, hoodies and sweats produced in collaboration with athletic brand, Champion. The accompanying campaign was shot by Ryan Pfluger (who’s photographed everyone from Shawn Mendes to Sam Smith) and features “Pose” stars Billy Porter and Dominique Jackson , along with former J.Crew Creative Director Jenna Lyons, and renowned LGBTQ illustrator Richard Haines. Snyder says 20% of sales will be donated to the National Park Foundation to support the Stonewall National Monument. Prices for the #TSPride collection range from $70 for a T-shirt to $168 for a hoodie. Shop online at ToddSnyder.com . 3. H&M x Laverne Cox H&M has been a longtime supporting of the LGBTQ community, and they’ve tapped actress and activist Laverne Cox to front its “Stay True, Stay You” campaign for Pride. The campaign is part of H&M’s “Love For All” collection, which features a range of athleisure-inspired apparel, pool shoes and colorful accessories. H&M says 10% of each sale will be donated to the United Nations Free & Equal Campaign , which champions for equal rights and fair treatment of the worldwide LGBTQ community. “I’m really excited to be a part of this campaign, celebrating an incredible community that I am so thankful and proud to be a part of,” says Cox, who is rumored to be making an appearance on the final season of “Orange Is the New Black,” which premieres next month on Netflix (Cox’s character, Sophia, made a memorable exit from the show in Season 6 , after finally being released from prison). Prices for the collection range from $9.99 for a T-shirt to $69.99 for a unisex, ombre-effect windbreaker . Shop the PRIDE x H&M collection online at HM.com . 4. Smirnoff Vodka x Jonathan Van Ness Spirits brand, Smirnoff, has tapped Cox, “Queer Eye’s” Jonathan Van Ness and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” star Alyssa Edwards on a multi-platform campaign dubbed “Welcome Home,” which aims to “roll out the welcome mat” for the millions of people expected in New York for Pride celebrations this weekend. Among the activations: two limited-edition Smirnoff Vodka bottles that celebrate pride, with $1 from every bottle made going to the Human Rights Commission; a “House of Pride” pop-up hosted by Van Ness, which tells the story of the LGBTQ community’s successes and struggles through the years in New York; and a digital video series playing at the three major New York City airports, which features Cox welcoming visitors to New York for the global Pride celebrations. Smirnoff will also be participating in New York Pride with a New York City-themed float led by Edwards dressed as“Lady Liberty.” Purchase: Smirnoff Vodka, $12.99+ on Drizly.com . 5. Fossil x Alyssa Edwards Edwards is also teaming up with Fossil on the launch of a limited-edition Pride Month watch. The timepiece features a classic Fossil watch face with rainbow-hued detailing and an embossed rainbow strap, and was created in partnership with the Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI). 100% of proceeds from every sale of the watch case will benefit the work of HMI. Only 1000 units were made. In addition to Edwards, Fossil’s Pride Month campaign also features activist Blair Imani and “Pose” actor, Dyllon Burnside, who share their stories of overcoming struggles in the industry, and the importance of mentorship and giving back. Purchase: $75.00 on Fossil.com . 6. Marriott x Immigration Equality “Queer Eye’s” Karamo Brown hosted an event with Marriott in Manhattan this week, as a lead-up to New York Pride. There, the hotel chain announced a $100,000 donation to Immigration Equality, to support the non-profit organization’s work on behalf of LGBTQ and HIV-positive immigrants. Marriott says it’s the largest corporate contribution in the organization’s 15-year history, and the donation will help provide free legal services to LGBTQ asylum seekers fleeing persecution in their countries of origin. Marriott first collaborated with Immigration Equality in 2012 to support fair treatment for LGBTQ individuals and families under U.S. immigration policies. In 2018, Marriott formalized its partnership with Immigration Equality, as part of the company’s priority to “welcome all and advance human rights.” See Marriott rates and get more information here . 7. dosist Pride Month Pens John Mayer, Sarah Silverman, Orlando Bloom and Jane Fonda are among the celeb fans of dosist, a new wellness brand that aims to “educate and empower consumers to safely, effectively and naturally manage their health and happiness” through cannabis-based formulas. This month, dosist will be donating 25% of proceeds from all sales at participating retailers to local LGBTQ+ organizations in honor and celebration of Pride month. Recipients include LA Pride, the SF LGBT Center, Billy DeFrank LGBT Community Center, and San Diego Pride. Find out more at dosist.com/pride . VarietySPY products are independently selected. If you buy something from our links, PMC may earn a commission. Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .
Did ReNeuron Group plc (LON:RENE) Insiders Buy Up More Shares? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares inReNeuron Group plc(LON:RENE). Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock on the market. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market. Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Columbia Universitystudyfound that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'. View our latest analysis for ReNeuron Group Non-Executive Chairman John Berriman made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£180k worth of shares at a price of UK£2.25 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being UK£2.05). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. Happily, we note that in the last year insiders bought 121k shares for a total of UK£250k. While ReNeuron Group insiders bought shares last year, they didn't sell. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below! ReNeuron Group is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at thisfreelist of growing companies with insider buying. Over the last quarter, ReNeuron Group insiders have spent a meaningful amount on shares. Not only was there no selling that we can see, but they collectively bought UK£240k worth of shares. This is a positive in our book as it implies some confidence. Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Based on our data, ReNeuron Group insiders have about 1.3% of the stock, worth approximately UK£853k. We prefer to see high levels of insider ownership. It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. We would certainly prefer see higher levels of insider ownership but analysis of the insider transactions suggests that ReNeuron Group insiders are expecting a bright future. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at thisFREEreport showing analyst forecasts for ReNeuron Group. But note:ReNeuron Group may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt. For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. 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.
Wall Street rises on tech gains, trade hopes By Shreyashi Sanyal (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as gains in chipmaker Micron boosted the technology sector and comments from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin fueled hopes that the United States and China were making progress in their trade talks. "We were about 90% of the way there (with a deal) and I think there's a path to complete this," Mnuchin said in an interview to CNBC. Market participants are hoping for a speedy resolution of differences between the two sides as their bitter trade war takes a toll on global growth. President Donald Trump said earlier in the day it was "absolutely possible" he would emerge from a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping with a deal that would keep him from imposing tariffs he had threatened to put on China. Trump is expected to meet with Xi at the G20 summit in Japan this weekend. It will be the first time the two leaders have had a face-to-face meeting since trade talks between their countries collapsed in May. "The tariff war remains a major headwind for the global economy," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA in London. "I'm optimistic that we'll see progress at the G20, at least enough to delay further tariffs being imposed which is surely a positive for markets." Micron Technology Inc jumped 14.2%, lifting the Philadelphia Semiconductor index 3.5% higher. The company said it had resumed some shipments to Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and still expected demand for its chips to recover later this year. Tech stocks were the biggest gainers among the 11 major S&P sectors, with a 1.49% jump, while the trade-sensitive industrial index rose 0.35%. At 11:14 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 58.76 points, or 0.22%, at 26,606.98, the S&P 500 was up 6.74 points, or 0.23%, at 2,924.12 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 53.63 points, or 0.68%, at 7,938.34. Boosting the tech-heavy Nasdaq were gains in shares of Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp and Amazon.com Inc. Among other gainers, the energy sector jumped 2.14% as the oil prices rose after an outage at a major refinery on the U.S. East Coast and industry data that showed U.S. crude stockpiles fell more than expected. [O/R] Capping gains on the S&P 500 was a 1.14% drop in the healthcare sector, weighed by losses in Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer Inc and Merck & Co Inc. The benchmark index has gained 6% so far in June, hitting a record high last week, largely on hopes that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates to counter the impact of a U.S.-China trade war. However, stocks fell steeply on Tuesday after the Fed chairman pushed back on pressure from Trump to cut rates. Still, markets fully expect a rate cut in July and see a 25% possibility of a half-point move. The biggest decliner among S&P 500 companies were General Mills Inc's shares, which slipped 5.4% after the food packaging company missed quarterly sales estimates. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.53-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.41-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded five new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 13 new highs and 60 new lows. (Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal and Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
Is Eagle Plains Resources Ltd.'s (CVE:EPL) 3.2% ROE Worse Than Average? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! 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 Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. (CVE:EPL), by way of a worked example. Over the last twelve monthsEagle Plains Resources has recorded a ROE of 3.2%. One way to conceptualize this, is that for each CA$1 of shareholders' equity it has, the company made CA$0.032 in profit. See our latest analysis for Eagle Plains Resources Theformula for ROEis: Return on Equity = Net Profit ÷ Shareholders' Equity Or for Eagle Plains Resources: 3.2% = CA$278k ÷ CA$7.4m (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 the money paid into the company from shareholders, plus any earnings retained. Shareholders' equity can be calculated by subtracting the total liabilities of the company from the total assets of the company. ROE looks at the amount a company earns relative to the money it has kept within the business. The 'return' is the yearly profit. A higher profit will lead to a higher ROE. So, as a general rule,a high ROE is a good thing. That means it can be interesting to compare the ROE of different companies. By comparing a company's ROE with its industry average, we can get a quick measure of how good it is. Importantly, this is far from a perfect measure, because companies differ significantly within the same industry classification. If you look at the image below, you can see Eagle Plains Resources has a lower ROE than the average (8.2%) in the Metals and Mining industry classification. That certainly isn't ideal. It is better when the ROE is above industry average, but a low one doesn't necessarily mean the business is overpriced. Still,shareholders might want to check if insiders have been selling. Virtually all companies need money to invest in the business, to grow profits. That cash can come from issuing shares, retained earnings, or debt. In the case of the first and second options, the ROE will reflect this use of cash, for growth. 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. Eagle Plains Resources is free of net debt, which is a positive for shareholders. So while I find its ROE to be rather low, at least it didn't use debt. At the end of the day, when a company has zero debt, it is in a better position to take future growth 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. 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. Profit growth rates, versus the expectations reflected in the price of the stock, are a particularly important to consider. You can see how the company has grow in the past by looking at this FREEdetailed graphof past earnings, revenue and cash flow. 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.
South Korea's S-Oil says Saudi Aramco to give advice on $6 billion petchem project By Jane Chung SEOUL (Reuters) - S-Oil, South Korea's No.3 oil refiner by capacity, said it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with its top shareholder, Saudi Aramco, for technical advice on a multi-billion dollar petrochemical plant it is looking to build. S-Oil said in a statement on Wednesday that the cost of the proposed project in the southeast of South Korea was estimated at $6 billion, up from the $4.3 billion it had previously expected. The MoU coincides with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to South Korea this week as the two countries seek to bolster economic ties. While the Saudi prince was in Seoul, the South Korean government announced investment packages worth a total of $8.3 billion by Saudi firms in the Asian country, including S-Oil's MoU with Aramco. Hyundai Motor also inked a pact with Aramco to cooperate on hydrogen-fuelled cars. Saudi Aramco said in a separate statement on Wednesday that it had signed 12 pacts with South Korean partners worth billions of dollars as it planned to increase its global footprint over the next decade. S-Oil said it hoped to complete the plant by 2024 as part of a drive to expand its petrochemical business. The South Korean refiner said it was looking to build a so-called steam cracker with a capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per annum and olefin downstream facilities in the plant. The cracker would produce ethylene and other basic petrochemical products, while the olefin downstream facilities would churn out high-value petrochemical products including polyethylene. S-Oil said last August that it was conducting a feasibility study into building the cracker and olefin downstream facilities. Separately, S-Oil last year finished building two other petrochemical plants in South Korea. They began operating in November, producing 405,000 tonnes per year of polypropylene, 300,000 tonnes per year of propylene oxide, and 21,000 barrels per day (bpd) of gasoline. ($1 = 1,157.7000 won) (Reporting by Jane Chung; additional reporting by Sangmi Cha; Editing by Joseph Radford)
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Tesla, JinkoSolar, Enphase and Azure For Immediate Release Chicago, IL –June 26, 2019 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Tesla TSLA, JinkoSolar Holding Company Ltd. JKS, Enphase Energy Inc. ENPH and Azure Power Global Ltd AZRE. Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog: U.S. Solar Installations Increase 10% in Q1: 3 Stocks to Buy U.S. solar stocks rallied 28.7% through the first quarter of 2019. Favorable state clean energy policy, market dynamics and increasing corporate investments in renewable energy led to a 10% increase in solar installations in the country in the first quarter from the year-ago period. In particular, the U.S. solar market installed 2.7 gigawatts direct current (GWdc) of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity, reflecting the strongest Q1 in the industry’s history, per the latest Solar Market Insight Report published by Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). The solar market has recorded a solid 71.8% increase so far this year compared with the S&P 500 composite’s rise of 16.5%. We have briefly mentioned some factors that led the solar industry to deliver such an outperformance and issue optimistic projections. Factors Driving Solar Installations Florida played a key role in driving solar installations in the United States. The Sunshine State occupied the top position in solar installations during the first quarter, surpassing California that has been leading the space for the past couple of years. Thanks to Florida’s geographical situation, strong resource fundamentals boosted the growth of the solar market in the state. Also, recent policy developments in the state contributed to growth of the solar market. Florida Public Service Commission recently made solar leasing available to companies like Tesla, which has emerged as a heavyweight solar installer in the nation, after its acquisition of Solar City. Moreover, plummeting price of solar modules and panels have lowered the cost of producing solar power rapidly over the last decade. This has set the stage for more solar installations in the country. Impressively, the quarter was buoyed by 1.6 GW of utility-scale installations, with new project procurement growing the pipeline to nearly 28 GW. Will Growth Continue? Impressive installation trend in the solar market coupled with unexpected rapid growth in Florida and Texas boosted expectations. Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables now projects more than 13 GW of solar capacity additions in 2019, indicating 25% growth year over year. Notably, increased solar procurements and shifts in the market have led Wood Mackenzie to increase its forecast for 2019 utility-scale installations by 1.2 gigawatts and by 5.1 gigawatts for the 2019-24 period. Such solid projections should make investors confident about the below mentioned solar stocks’ capability to post solid operating results in the upcoming quarters. Our Choices With the help of the Zacks Stock Screener, we have identified three solar stocks that possess a favorable Zacks Rank and solid bottom-line growth potential. JinkoSolar Holding Company Ltd., a solar panel manufacturer, is expected to record earnings growth of 81.7% year over year in 2019.  It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Enphase Energy Inc., a solar inverter producer, expects its earnings to increase a whopping 420% year over year in 2019.  It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Azure Power Global Ltd, a solar power developer, expects earnings to increase a solid 123.1% year over year in fiscal 2020. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside? Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana. Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look. See the pot trades we're targeting>> Media Contact Zacks Investment Research 800-767-3771 ext. 9339 support@zacks.com https://www.zacks.com Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportTesla, Inc. (TSLA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportJinkoSolar Holding Company Limited (JKS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportEnphase Energy, Inc. (ENPH) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAzure Power Global Ltd. (AZRE) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
AbbVie to Acquire Allergan in Nearly $62B Cash & Stock Deal AbbVie Inc.ABBV has entered into a definitive transaction agreement with Allergan AGN in a bid to acquire the latter in a cash and stock deal. AbbVie is offering $120.30 in cash and 0.866 of its shares for each share of Allergan. The offer price, total of cash and stock, represents a premium of 45% over the closing price of Allergan on Jun 24. The total transaction value is nearly $63 billion taking into account AbbVie’s closing share price on Jun 24. The deal is expected to close in early 2020. In its press release, AbbVie stated that the combined company will gain leadership position across segments, which include immunology, hematologic oncology, medical aesthetics, neuroscience, women's health, eye care and virology. AbbVie expects its commercial strength, expertise and international infrastructure to boost the prospects of Allergan’s product portfolio. Sales at the combined entity are likely to grow in high-single digit annually till 2030. The transaction will be accretive immediately and is expected to increase AbbVie’s earnings by 10% over the first full year of operation. In 2018, combined revenues of both the companies were approximately $48.6 billion, with $19 billion in operating cash flow. AbbVie expects combined commercial business to boost operating cash flow. The combined entity is expected to have pre-tax synergies and lead to cost reduction of more than $2 billion in the third year of full operation. The move came as a surprise as investors were expecting a split of Allergan’ business. On Jun 19, shares of Allergan spiked on rumors of a split, following the statement of an analyst. Although shares of Allergan gained more than 25% following the announcement of the offer, AbbVie’s stock declined 16.2% on Jun 25. Investors remained skeptical about the deal’s synergies and regulatory hurdles. The deal may also face opposition from activist investors. Moreover, one analyst at SVB Leerink anticipates that AbbVie’s offer may represent a cheaper valuation for Allergan and other pharma companies may rival the bid in that case. AbbVie’s shares have declined 28.7% so far this against the industry’s increase of 4.4%. Year 2019 has seen quite a few mega mergers so far. The year started off with Bristol-Myers BMY announcing a $74 billion acquisition offer for Celgene CELG, the largest acquisition deal in the pharma space in a decade. This was followed by the closing of the $62 billion merger of Shire with Takeda Pharmaceutical. Meanwhile, several pharma companies announced blockbuster deals to acquire biotechs with gene therapies or oncology drugs/candidates. Earlier this month, Pfizer announced a deal to acquire Array Pharma for $11.4 billion to broaden its cancer portfolio. Please note that Bristol-Myers agreed to sell one of Celgene’s key drugs, Otzella, to mitigate the concerns raised by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission related to the deal. Although there is not much overlapping of products in Allergan and AbbVie’s portfolio, such regulatory issues may arise. Our Take We note that shares of AbbVie and Allergan have been declining for most of the past couple of years. AbbVie has been facing pricing pressure for its HCV drugs. Both the companies are facing branded as well generic competition for their key products. AbbVie’s Humira, which generates almost 60% of the company’s sales, has started facing biosimilar competition in international markets, which is likely to extend to the United States following the loss of exclusivity in 2023. Meanwhile, Allergan’s eye drug, Restasis, is losing significant sales to generic competitors. The company’s major drug, Botox is also set to face competition with approval of Evolus’ Jeuvantu, which is expected to be launched soon. The merger of these two large pharma companies will lead to the creation of a diversified product portfolio comprising AbbVie’s inflammation and immuno-oncology drugs and Allergan’s medical aesthetics and neuroscience portfolio. Moreover, AbbVie stated that the acquisition will reduce dependence on Humira as the proportion of the drug’s sales will decrease from 60% to 40% of total sales. The deal may provide AbbVie time to develop new potential blockbusters. However, the company said that the deal is not focused on strengthening its pipeline. Strong uptake of newly launched drugs and successful development of pipeline candidates are necessary to offset the loss of older drugs of both companies, especially Humira. AbbVie Inc. Price AbbVie Inc. price | AbbVie Inc. Quote Zacks Rank AbbVie currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone! It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market. Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020. Click here for the 6 trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportBristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAllergan plc (AGN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAbbVie Inc. (ABBV) : Free Stock Analysis ReportCelgene Corporation (CELG) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Canopy Growth Acquires KeyLeaf Life Sciences Canopy Growth Corp(NYSE:CGC)said Wednesdayit completed a transaction to acquire Canada-based KeyLeaf Life Sciences, a bio-product extractor company. What Happened Canopy and KeyLeaf worked together to build out an extraction process and related technology. The partnership was intended to refine Canopy's scale extraction model for the Canadian and global markets. Canopy assumed control of KeyLeaf for accounting purposes in late 2018 and Wednesday's agreement will see Canopy assume related entities and intellectual property. In addition, Canopy will also acquire a U.S.-based extraction facility, which will be used for Canopy's CBD expansion in the U.S. market. See Also:Canopy Growth CEO Looks To The 'Pharmaceutical World' After String Of M&A Deals Why It's Important KeyLeaf boasts 45 years of experience across multiple bio-product industries and the company's chemists, engineers, and operators will stay with the organization under a new owner. Canopy co-CEO and Chairman Bruce Linton said the acquisition brings "instant scale at a pivotal stage" in the company's growth. "This acquisition is the result of a year's worth of work with a trusted partner, and part of our commitment to always staying a step ahead as leaders in a nascent industry, focused on the long-game one piece at a time," Linton said in a press release. Canopy said it will leverage the acquisition along with other partners to process over 5,000 acres of Canadian CBD hemp production, more than 160 acres of outdoor cannabis production, and extraction materials outputted from more than four million square feet of greenhouse growing operations. Canopy Growth shares closed Tuesday at $39.77. Need more cannabis news?Check out all of our coverage here. See more from Benzinga • Cramer On Cannabis: Innovative Industrial Won't 'Let You Sleep Soundly,' Constellation A Safer Bet • Canopy Growth Details Some US Expansion Plans © 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Jacobs Inks Contact for the Largest Shipyard in Arabian Gulf Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.JEC has clinched a contract from SEPCO Electric Power Construction Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PowerChina, for the Maritime Industries and Services project at Ras Al Khair in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Per the contract, the company will provide engineering services for Packages 4, 5 and 6 of the King Salman International Complex for the project.Spanning across 4.3 square kilometers, the shipyard complex will be the largest in the region upon completion. It will be capable of providing a combination of offshore structures fabrication, new ship building and maintenance, along with repair and overhaul services. Jacobs is entitled to deliver detailed design services to the project that comprises piers, dry-docks, ship lift, buildings, supporting infrastructure, utilities, telecommunications and security systems.The King Salman International Complex for Maritime Industries and Services is part of Saudi Arabia’s National Industrial Strategy to focus on economic diversification. Courtesy of the project, which is owned by Saudi Aramco and its joint venture partners, Saudi Arabia will become a top shipbuilder globally.This contract will enable Jacobs to leverage global engineering expertise on this project via Buildings, Infrastructure and Advanced Facilities (“BIAF”) business.A Look at Jacobs’ BIAF PerformanceBIAF business, accounting for 65.7% of total revenues, has been exhibiting stellar performance over the last few quarters. Revenues from the segment increased 4.4% year over year in the last reported quarter. Most importantly, the segment’s backlog at the end of the quarter was roughly $13.4 billion, up 11.1% year over year. The company, which shares space with AECOM ACM, Altair Engineering Inc. ALTR and KBR, Inc. KBR in the Zacks Engineering - R and D Services industry, expects overall net organic revenue growth to be 3-5% for the next three years (through 2021), with BIAF leading the way with top-line CAGR of 4-6%. Shares of Jacobs, a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, have outperformed its industry year to date. The company’s shares have gained 40.8% compared with 23.2% growth of its industry in the said period. The price performance is backed by an impressive earnings surprise history. The company surpassed earnings estimates in seven of the trailing eight quarters. Efficient project execution has been driving Jacobs’ performance over the last few quarters. You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.Click here for the 6 trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportJacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportKBR, Inc. (KBR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAECOM (ACM) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAltair Engineering Inc. (ALTR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Is Eagle Plains Resources Ltd.'s (CVE:EPL) ROE Of 3.2% Concerning? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! While some investors are already well versed in financial metrics (hat tip), this article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE) and why it is important. We'll use ROE to examine Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. (CVE:EPL), by way of a worked example. Eagle Plains Resources has a ROE of 3.2%, based on the last twelve months. That means that for every CA$1 worth of shareholders' equity, it generated CA$0.032 in profit. Check out our latest analysis for Eagle Plains Resources Theformula for return on equityis: Return on Equity = Net Profit ÷ Shareholders' Equity Or for Eagle Plains Resources: 3.2% = CA$278k ÷ CA$7.4m (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. You can calculate shareholders' equity by subtracting the company's total liabilities from its total assets. 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 being equal,a high ROE is better than a low one. That means it can be interesting to compare the ROE of different companies. 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. If you look at the image below, you can see Eagle Plains Resources has a lower ROE than the average (8.2%) in the Metals and Mining industry classification. Unfortunately, that's sub-optimal. It is better when the ROE is above industry average, but a low one doesn't necessarily mean the business is overpriced. Still,shareholders might want to check if insiders have been selling. Virtually all companies need money to invest in the business, to grow 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. Eagle Plains Resources is free of net debt, which is a positive for shareholders. Without a doubt it has a fairly low ROE, but that isn't so bad when you consider it has no debt. After all, when a company has a strong balance sheet, it can often find ways to invest in growth, even if it takes some time. 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. If two companies have the same ROE, then I would generally prefer the one with less debt. But when a business is high quality, the market often bids it up to a price that reflects this. Profit growth rates, versus the expectations reflected in the price of the stock, are a particularly important to consider. Check the past profit growth by Eagle Plains Resources by looking at thisvisualization of 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.
US durable goods orders fall 1.3% in May with aircraft down WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders to U.S. factories for long-lasting manufactured goods fell sharply in May while demand in a category that tracks business investment rose modestly. Orders fell 1.3% in May following an even bigger 2.8% drop in April, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. That weakness reflected a sharp falloff in orders for commercial aircraft, a category that has been hurt by the troubles with Boeing's MAX aircraft, which has been grounded by global regulators after two fatal crashes. The category that serves as a proxy for business investment edged up 0.4% in May after a 1% decline in April. It was the biggest gain since a 1.4% jump in January. Economists have been worried about a slowdown in business investment orders, believing it shows business concerns about rising trade tensions. President Donald Trump in early May more than doubled the tariffs he has imposed on $200 billion in Chinese imports from 10% to 25% and threatened to broaden the punitive tariffs to cover another $300 billion in Chinese imports if the two countries are not able to reach a trade deal the administration is seeking to provide better protections for U.S. technology. Trump will meet later this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping and investors are closely watching to see if two sides are able to restart the stalled trade talks. The fear is that an expanded trade war between the world's two biggest economies could depress global growth and raise the threat of pushing the U.S. expansion, which next month will become the longest on record, into a recession. The report on durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, showed that excluding the volatile transportation category, orders would have risen a small 0.3% in May following a 0.1% dip in orders excluding transportation in April. Orders in the volatile commercial aircraft category fell 28.2% in May after an even bigger 39.3% plunge in April. Demand for motor vehicles and parts edged up 0.6% after a 3.2% decline in April. Automakers have faced problems with falling demand for new cars this year. Orders for machinery rose 0.7% in May while demand for primary metals such as steel edged up 0.4% after a 2.4% drop in April.
Yuengling's/Aureus Prepares to Launch Full Line of High Protein/Light Ice Cream in the Fall Yuengling's Ice Cream continues to execute on its development plans ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / June 26, 2019 /Aureus, Inc. (OTC PINK: ARSN),www.AureusNOW.com, a food brand development company that recently completed the acquisition of Yuengling's Ice Cream ("Yuengling's") is excited to announce it is completing the development of up to eight flavours of its high protein / lite ice cream. The new flavours are expected to beGourmet Vanilla, Gourmet Chocolate, Mint Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter, Cookies & Cream, Salted Caramel, Gourmet Strawberry, and Black & Tan. https://yuenglingsicecream.com/new-products/ High protein/light ice cream is the largest selling segment of the 40 billion-dollar marketplace in the US each year, out selling even Ben and Jerry's gourmet ice cream. With approximately 90 calories per serving, Yuengling's high protein / lite ice cream is packed with protein but low in fat, carbohydrates, and sugar. "Unlike most high protein products on the market, our lite ice cream tastes like our super premium product," said David Yuengling, President of Yuengling's Ice Cream. "In fact, our Vanilla lite ice cream won a gold medal and our Chocolate lite ice cream was awarded a bronze medal in the LA International Dairy competition." "By utilizing a patented nutrient delivery system, we are able to deliver vitamins and amino acids without sacrificing taste," added Rob Bohorad, CFO of Yuengling's Ice Cream. "In addition to new flavours for the Company's super premium line up in 2020, this is another great example of how the Aureus acquisition is helping Yuengling's execute on its development plan and move the company forward," continued Everett Dickson, President of Aureus. About Aureus, Inc. Management and ownership recently changed hands. The new focus is on acquiring specific assets in and related to the food industry, with a focus on ice cream. Aureus recently completed the purchase of Yuengling Ice Cream. The goal of Aureus in the acquisition is to consolidate all factors that are positive for the Yuengling brand into a synergistic success for Aureus shareholders as well as the next generation of Yuengling consumers. About Yuengling's Ice Cream Developed by American businessman Frank D. Yuengling, as a dairy business to help support the Yuengling family brewery during the 1920s Prohibition period, Yuengling's Ice Cream has a strong tradition of making exceptional gourmet ice cream products in central Pennsylvania. The fan-favorite brand continues advancing its legacy and its renowned dairy quality, by using locally sourced dairy ingredients that contain no added hormones. David Yuengling and Rob Bohorad revived the brand in 2014 and an American classic was re-born. In 2018, positioned for the brands next stage of development, Yuengling's Ice Cream forged a partnership with YIC - Online Distributors, to distribute the iconic ice cream brand online, now via Aureus. Today, Yuengling's Ice Cream is delivered directly to the doorsteps of its consumers across the nation. The Yuengling's Ice Cream Corporation- as it has been since 1935- is stand alone, and separately owned and run companies from D. G. Yuengling and Sons, Inc Brewery. Safe Harbor Statement This communication contains statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of US Highland, Inc and members of its management as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Important factors currently known to management that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-statements include fluctuation of operating results, the ability to compete successfully, and the ability to complete before-mentioned transactions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results. For More Information Contact & Media Inquiries:Aureus.now@gmail.com404.885.6045www.AureusNow.comTwitter:www.twitter.com/AureusNow SOURCE:Aureus, Inc View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/549955/YuenglingsAureus-Prepares-to-Launch-Full-Line-of-High-ProteinLight-Ice-Cream-in-the-Fall
Western Digital Ties Up With Veeam to Expand Flash Portfolio Western DigitalWDC recently announced collaboration with Veeam in an effort to develop joint solution that integrates Veeam Universal Storage API with IntelliFlash all-flash arrays Plug-in family. The new solution enables customers to leverage advance capabilities of Veeam Suite. The new solutions drive efficiency, improve performance, and optimize the total cost of ownership (TCO). Users can effectively access, transform, capture and preserve data in innovative ways. This combination is expected to deliver robust storage solutions to accelerate enterprise applications on cloud platforms. Emerging applications including the likes of AI, IoT, and machine learning (ML) tools call for a robust storage system. With the new solutions, the company attempts to meet these requirements. The joint solution is anticipated tooffer high-performance cost-effective NVMe-based flash storage platform. Moreover, with the latest integration of IntelliFlash Storage Snapshot Plug-in for Veeam, Western Digital aims to enhance overall drive capacity, reliability and performance. Further, Western Digital’s ActiveScale system will be integrated with Veeam Cloud Tier to provide fast, cost-effective system support architecture enabling customers to store petabytes (PB) of data, consequently improving data center space efficiency. The new enhancements to its IntelliFlash storage portfolio are likely to aid the company in strengthening market position against the likes of Seagate STX.  Notably, shares of Western Digital have gained 11.2% on a year-to-date basis, substantially outperforming the industry’s rally of 4.8%. Analyzing Market Opportunities Per ResearchAndMarkets data, the global data center storage market is envisioned to increase at a CAGR of 11.8% from 2018 through 2022. Per MarketsandMarkets report, the non-volatile memory market is projected to witness a CAGR of 9.5% from 2017 to reach approximately $82 billion by 2022. Per Technavio research report, the global enterprise SSD controller market is forecasted to witness a CAGR of around 26% from 2018 to 2022. The aforementioned reports reflect robust demand for storage systems across various levels, strengthening the prospects of the newly offered solutions. Growth Prospects Anticipating a potential acceleration in cloud deployments, Western Digital is also investing heavily to deliver high-capacity storage devices that will support expansion of cloud infrastructure and cloud applications. The company had also expanded its data center solutions portfolio. The company unveiled new ActiveScale5.3 object storage system, Ultrastar Serv60+8 hybrid storage server platform and new enhancements to its IntelliFlash N Series family. Western Digital is focusing more on the enterprise side, which is the key growth area in the information technology sector. Apart from this, the focus shift toward enterprise is likely to reduce the company’s dependence on the PC market and help in improvising margins. Our Take Western Digital is making every effort to ensure its products deliver high quality storage solutions across all emerging data-driven technologies. We believe this ongoing expansion of product portfolio bodes well for the top line. However, uncertain macroeconomic environment, declining trend in PC shipments and softness in NAND flash pricing trends are hindering the company’s growth prospects. Ballooning debt levels have also been plaguing Western Digital for quite some time now.  The company also faces stiff competition from Hitachi, Samsung and Intel in the storage market which adds to woes. Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider Western Digitalcarries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector are Match Group, Inc. MTCH and Autohome Inc. ATHM, each flaunting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Match Group and Autohome have a long-term earnings growth rate of 15.2% and 20.9%, respectively. More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone! It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market. Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020. Click here for the 6 trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportSeagate Technology PLC (STX) : Free Stock Analysis ReportWestern Digital Corporation (WDC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMatch Group, Inc. (MTCH) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAutohome Inc. (ATHM) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Can Resilux NV (EBR:RES) Maintain Its Strong Returns? Want to participate in a short research study ? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! While some investors are already well versed in financial metrics (hat tip), this article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE) and why it is important. By way of learning-by-doing, we'll look at ROE to gain a better understanding of Resilux NV ( EBR:RES ). Our data shows Resilux has a return on equity of 13% 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 €0.13. View our latest analysis for Resilux How Do I Calculate ROE? The formula for return on equity is: Return on Equity = Net Profit ÷ Shareholders' Equity Or for Resilux: 13% = €18m ÷ €138m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.) Most know that net profit is the total earnings after all expenses, but the concept of shareholders' equity is a little more complicated. It is all earnings retained by the company, plus any capital paid in by shareholders. You can calculate shareholders' equity by subtracting the company's total liabilities from its total assets. What Does Return On Equity Mean? 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 ROE can be used to compare two businesses. Does Resilux Have A Good Return On Equity? 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, Resilux has a better ROE than the average (10%) in the Packaging industry. ENXTBR:RES Past Revenue and Net Income, June 26th 2019 That is a good sign. I usually take a closer look when a company has a better ROE than industry peers. One data point to check is if insiders have bought shares recently . Story continues How Does Debt Impact ROE? Companies usually need to invest money to grow their profits. That cash can come from issuing shares, retained earnings, or debt. In the case of the first and second options, the ROE will reflect this use of cash, for growth. In the latter case, the debt used for growth will improve returns, but won't affect the total equity. Thus the use of debt can improve ROE, albeit along with extra risk in the case of stormy weather, metaphorically speaking. Combining Resilux's Debt And Its 13% Return On Equity Resilux has a debt to equity ratio of 0.31, which is far from excessive. The combination of modest debt and a very respectable ROE suggests this is a business worth watching. Judicious use of debt to improve returns can certainly be a good thing, although it does elevate risk slightly and reduce future optionality. But It's Just One Metric 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 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 this free report on analyst forecasts for the company . Of course Resilux may not be the best stock to buy . So you may wish to see this free collection 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 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.
Is Roku (ROKU) Outperforming Other Consumer Discretionary Stocks This Year? The Consumer Discretionary group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Roku (ROKU) one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Consumer Discretionary peers, we might be able to answer that question. Roku is one of 243 individual stocks in the Consumer Discretionary sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #9 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group. The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. ROKU is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy). Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ROKU's full-year earnings has moved 19.58% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving. According to our latest data, ROKU has moved about 204.34% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Discretionary group have gained about 18.88% on average. This means that Roku is outperforming the sector as a whole this year. Looking more specifically, ROKU belongs to the Broadcast Radio and Television industry, a group that includes 26 individual stocks and currently sits at #153 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 25.11% so far this year, so ROKU is performing better in this area. Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to pay close attention to ROKU as it looks to continue its solid performance. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportRoku, Inc. (ROKU) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Has Mastercard (MA) Outpaced Other Business Services Stocks This Year? Investors focused on the Business Services space have likely heard of Mastercard (MA), but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of MA and the rest of the Business Services group's stocks. Mastercard is one of 191 individual stocks in the Business Services sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #7 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. MA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MA's full-year earnings has moved 0.61% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger. Based on the latest available data, MA has gained about 37.68% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Business Services group have gained about 28.14% on average. This shows that Mastercard is outperforming its peers so far this year. Breaking things down more, MA is a member of the Financial Transaction Services industry, which includes 23 individual companies and currently sits at #24 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 34.21% so far this year, meaning that MA is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. MA will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Business Services stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportMastercard Incorporated (MA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Is Intuit (INTU) Stock Outpacing Its Computer and Technology Peers This Year? Investors focused on the Computer and Technology space have likely heard of Intuit (INTU), but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Computer and Technology peers, we might be able to answer that question. Intuit is one of 634 companies in the Computer and Technology group. The Computer and Technology group currently sits at #6 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. The Zacks Rank emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. INTU is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for INTU's full-year earnings has moved 4.06% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger. Based on the latest available data, INTU has gained about 30.81% so far this year. At the same time, Computer and Technology stocks have gained an average of 17.45%. This means that Intuit is outperforming the sector as a whole this year. Breaking things down more, INTU is a member of the Computer - Software industry, which includes 47 individual companies and currently sits at #106 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 29.03% this year, meaning that INTU is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Investors in the Computer and Technology sector will want to keep a close eye on INTU as it attempts to continue its solid performance. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportIntuit Inc. (INTU) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Is Rent-A-Center (RCII) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Discretionary Peers This Year? Investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Rent-A-Center (RCII) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of RCII and the rest of the Consumer Discretionary group's stocks. Rent-A-Center is one of 243 companies in the Consumer Discretionary group. The Consumer Discretionary group currently sits at #9 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst. The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. RCII is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy). Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for RCII's full-year earnings has moved 12.84% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive. Our latest available data shows that RCII has returned about 56.39% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Discretionary sector has returned an average of 18.88% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Rent-A-Center is performing better than its sector in the calendar year. Breaking things down more, RCII is a member of the Consumer Services - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 10 individual companies and currently sits at #56 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 7.22% so far this year, so RCII is performing better in this area. Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to pay close attention to RCII as it looks to continue its solid performance. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Rent-A-Center, Inc. (RCII) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research
Is Northrop Grumman (NOC) Stock Outpacing Its Aerospace Peers This Year? The Aerospace group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Northrop Grumman (NOC) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of NOC and the rest of the Aerospace group's stocks. Northrop Grumman is a member of the Aerospace sector. This group includes 37 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #1. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group. The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. NOC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NOC's full-year earnings has moved 2.46% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger. Based on the most recent data, NOC has returned 31.14% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Aerospace sector has returned an average of 26.63% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Northrop Grumman is outperforming its peers so far this year. Looking more specifically, NOC belongs to the Aerospace - Defense industry, which includes 12 individual stocks and currently sits at #67 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 22.99% so far this year, meaning that NOC is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Investors with an interest in Aerospace stocks should continue to track NOC. The stock will be looking to continue its solid performance. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportNorthrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Is Arbor Realty Trust (ABR) Outperforming Other Finance Stocks This Year? Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Arbor Realty Trust (ABR) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out. Arbor Realty Trust is a member of our Finance group, which includes 852 different companies and currently sits at #10 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst. The Zacks Rank is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. ABR is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy). Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ABR's full-year earnings has moved 9.52% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive. Our latest available data shows that ABR has returned about 19.46% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have gained about 10.51% on average. This means that Arbor Realty Trust is outperforming the sector as a whole this year. Looking more specifically, ABR belongs to the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry, a group that includes 116 individual stocks and currently sits at #83 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 21.04% this year, meaning that ABR is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns. Investors in the Finance sector will want to keep a close eye on ABR as it attempts to continue its solid performance. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportArbor Realty Trust (ABR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
A Look At The Fair Value Of Kuehne + Nagel International AG (VTX:KNIN) Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! How far off is Kuehne + Nagel International AG (VTX:KNIN) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. I will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward. We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of theSimply Wall St analysis model. See our latest analysis for Kuehne + Nagel International 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. Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate: [{"": "Levered FCF (CHF, Millions)", "2019": "CHF702.25", "2020": "CHF819.00", "2021": "CHF840.83", "2022": "CHF987.00", "2023": "CHF1.08k", "2024": "CHF1.16k", "2025": "CHF1.23k", "2026": "CHF1.30k", "2027": "CHF1.36k", "2028": "CHF1.42k"}, {"": "Growth Rate Estimate Source", "2019": "Analyst x8", "2020": "Analyst x8", "2021": "Analyst x6", "2022": "Analyst x2", "2023": "Analyst x2", "2024": "Est @ 7.38%", "2025": "Est @ 6.15%", "2026": "Est @ 5.29%", "2027": "Est @ 4.68%", "2028": "Est @ 4.26%"}, {"": "Present Value (CHF, Millions) Discounted @ 8.29%", "2019": "CHF648.51", "2020": "CHF698.45", "2021": "CHF662.20", "2022": "CHF717.84", "2023": "CHF726.38", "2024": "CHF720.32", "2025": "CHF706.11", "2026": "CHF686.56", "2027": "CHF663.72", "2028": "CHF639.05"}] Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= CHF6.87b "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 3.3%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 8.3%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2029× (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = CHF1.4b × (1 + 3.3%) ÷ (8.3% – 3.3%) = CHF29b Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= CHFCHF29b ÷ ( 1 + 8.3%)10= CHF13.17b The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is CHF20.04b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding.This results in an intrinsic value estimate of CHF167.36. Compared to the current share price of CHF137.9, the company appears about fair value at a 18% 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 Kuehne + Nagel International 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 8.3%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.841. 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 Kuehne + Nagel International, There are three essential aspects you should further examine: 1. Financial Health: Does KNIN 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 KNIN'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 KNIN? 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 CH 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.
$4.5 Billion Border Aid Bill Sets Up Showdown With Republican-Led Senate It took last-minute changes and a full-court press by top Democratic leaders, but the House passed with relative ease Tuesday a $4.5 billion emergency border aid package to care for thousands of migrant families and unaccompanied children detained after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The bill passed along party lines after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi quelled a mini-revolt by progressives and Hispanic lawmakers who sought significant changes to the legislation. New provisions added to the bill Tuesday were more modest than what those lawmakers had sought, but the urgent need for the funding — to prevent the humanitarian emergency on the border from turning into a debacle — appeared to outweigh any lingering concerns. The 230-195 vote sets up a showdown with the Republican-led Senate, which may try instead to force Democrats to send Trumpa different, and broadly bipartisan, companion measurein coming days as the chambers race to wrap up the must-do legislation by the end of the week. “The Senate has a good bill. Our bill is much better,” Pelosi, D-Calif., told her Democratic colleagues in a meeting Tuesday morning, according to a senior Democratic aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the private session. “We are ensuring that children have food, clothing, sanitary items, shelter and medical care. We are providing access to legal assistance. And we are protecting families because families belong together,” Pelosi said in a subsequent floor speech. The bill contains more than $1 billion to shelter and feed migrants detained by the border patrol and almost $3 billion to care for unaccompanied migrant children who are turned over the Department of Health and Human Services. It seeks to mandate improved standards of care at HHS “influx shelters” that house children waiting to be placed with sponsors such as family members in the U.S. Both House and Senate bills ensure funding could not be shifted to Trump’s border wall and would block information on sponsors of immigrant children from being used to deport them. Trump would be denied additional funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention beds. “The President’s cruel immigration policies that tear apart families and terrorize communities demand the stringent safeguards in this bill to ensure these funds are used for humanitarian needs only — not for immigration raids, not detention beds, not a border wall,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y. Three moderates were the only House Republicans to back the measure. The only four Democratic “no” votes came from some of the party’s best-known freshmen: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ihan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. The White House has threatened to veto the House bill, saying it would hamstring the administration’s border security efforts, and the Senate’s top Republican suggested Tuesday that the House should simply accept the Senate measure — which received only a single “nay” vote during a committee vote last week. “The idea here is to get a (presidential) signature, so I think once we can get that out of the Senate, hopefully on a vote similar to the one in the Appropriations Committee, I’m hoping that the House will conclude that’s the best way to get the problem solved, which can only happen with a signature,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. A handful of GOP conservatives went to the White House to try to persuade Trump to reject the Senate bill and demand additional funding for immigration enforcement such as overtime for border agents and detention facilities run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to a top GOP lawmaker who demanded anonymity to discuss a private meeting. Trump was expected to reject the advice. House Democrats seeking the changes met late Monday with Pelosi, and lawmakers emerging from the Tuesday morning caucus meeting were generally supportive of the legislation. Congress plans to leave Washington in a few days for a weeklong July 4 recess, and pressure is intense to wrap up the legislation before then. Agencies are about to run out of money and failure to act could bring a swift political rebuke and accusations of ignoring the plight of innocent immigrant children. Longtime GOP Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma said Democrats were simply “pushing partisan bills to score political points and avoiding doing the hard work of actually making law,” warning them that “passing a partisan bill through this chamber won’t solve the problem.” Lawmakers’ sense of urgency to provide humanitarian aid was amplified by recent reports of gruesome conditions in a windowless Border Patrol station in Clint, Texas, where more than 300 infants and children were being housed. Many were kept there for weeks and were caring for each other in conditions that included inadequate food, water and sanitation. By Tuesday, most had been sent elsewhere. The incident was only an extreme example of the dire conditions reported at numerous locations where detainees have been held, and several children have died in U.S. custody. The Border Patrol reported apprehending nearly 133,000 people last month — including many Central American families — as monthly totals have begun topping 100,000 for the first time since 2007. Federal agencies involved in immigration have reported being overwhelmed, depleting their budgets and housing large numbers of detainees in structures meant for handfuls of people. Changes unveiled Tuesday would require the Department of Homeland Security to establish new standards for care of unaccompanied immigrant children and a plan for ensuring adequate translators to assist migrants in their dealings with law enforcement. The government would have to replace contractors who provide inadequate care. Many children detained entering the U.S. from Mexico have been held under harsh conditions, andCustoms and Border Protection Chief Operating Officer John Sanders told The Associated Presslast week that children have died after being in the agency’s care. He said Border Patrol stations are holding 15,000 people — more than triple their maximum capacity of 4,000. Sanders announced Tuesday that he’s stepping down next month amid outrage over his agency’s treatment of detained migrant children. In a letter Monday threatening the veto, White House officials told lawmakers they objected that the House package lacked money for beds the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency needs to let it detain more migrants. Officials also complained in the letter that the bill had no money to toughen border security, including funds for building Trump’s proposed border wall. —Meet the2020 Democratic presidential candidatesyou’ve (probably) never heard of —Issues that divide 2020 candidates going into thefirst Democratic debate —Meetthe Republicanslikely to challenge Trump in the 2020 primary —Why 2020 Democratic presidential candidates are flocking toFox News —How woulda recessionshape the 2020 presidential race? —The campaign finance power behindTrump impeachment efforts
Energy Transfer's Controversial Bakken Oil Pipeline Could Soon Get Much Bigger Energy Transfer(NYSE: ET)fought hard to build thecontroversialDakota Access Pipeline, which transports oil out of North Dakota'sBakken shale. The company and its partners had to overcome several obstacles during construction, which caused many delays. However, the pipeline finally started service in June 2017 at an initial capacity of 470,000 barrels of oil per day (BPD). That pipeline has paid bigdividendsfor the company and its partners over the past two years. Not only did its owners benefit from the initial burst of cash flow by placing the system into service, but they have also since expanded its capacity by 100,000 BPD. However, more growth appears to be coming down the pipeline, since an even larger expansion is in the works, which would nearly double its size. Image source: Getty Images. Energy Transfer was recently able to secure enough shippers to bring the capacity of the Bakken Pipeline System -- which includes both Dakota Access and the associated Energy Transfer Crude Oil Pipeline -- up to 570,000 BPD. However, on the company'sfirst-quarter conference call, CFO Tom Long noted that the "Bakken pipeline received sufficient market interest during the open season, such that the partners are also progressing with plans to further increase the system capacity by late 2020, in order to meet growing demands for additional takeaway out of the basin." The company has since informed regulators in North Dakota that it's aiming to expand the system to as much as 1.1 million BPD, or roughly double its current size. The increased capacity "will allow Dakota Access to meet the growing demand from shippers by optimizing and fully utilizing the existing pipeline infrastructure, without the need to install new pipelines," according to the letter by the company to the state's Public Service Commission. Energy Transfer will achieve this by adding new pumping stations so that it can push more oil through the existing pipeline. By investing to increase the capacity of the current system, Energy Transfer and its partners would earn a much higher return than if they were to build a new pipeline. The initial pipeline, for example, cost them $3.8 billion, while Energy Transfer is only spending about $40 million on new pumping equipment for its current expansion in North Dakota. Image source: Getty Images. Energy Transfer, however, isn't the only company looking to increase the flow of oil out of the Bakken. Earlier this month, refining giantPhillips 66(NYSE: PSX)joined forceswith privately held Bridger Pipeline to build the Liberty Pipeline, which they aim to complete by the first quarter of 2021. The $1.6 billion project would move oil from the Bakken and Rockies production areas to a storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma. From there, it could flow toward the Gulf Coast on any number of other pipelines, including Red Oak, which Phillips 66 plans to build with a different partner. The Liberty Pipeline would receive about 175,000 BPD from the Bakken via the Bridger Extension, which Bridger Pipeline would construct. Meanwhile, pipeline giantKinder Morgan(NYSE: KMI)hasteamed upwithTallgrass Energy(NYSE: TGE)to pursue the development of a pipeline system that would expand oil transportation capacity out of the Rockies. The project would combine two underutilized natural gas pipelines operated by Kinder Morgan with Tallgrass Energy's Pony Express oil pipeline. This project would add 550,000 BPD to the region's capacity by the second half of 2020, helping improve the flow of crude oil out of the Rockies as well as the Bakken shale and Western Canada. If this project moves forward, it might also enable Kinder Morgan to expand its Double H oil pipeline out of the Bakken, since it could then move that crude further south via the expanded Pony Express pipeline. The problem with all these proposed oil pipeline projects is that the Bakken might not need all this takeaway capacity. While the Bakken hasquietly staged a comebackin recent years and is currently producing about 1.4 million BPD, it appears as if its output will top out at about 2 million BPD by 2022. With regional pipeline and refining capacity currently around 1.5 million BPD, it seems the Bakken will only need about 500,000 BPD of incremental pipeline capacity to support its expected growth. Because of that, it's unlikely that all the currently proposed projects will move forward. Energy Transfer and its partners are already transporting a large portion of North Dakota's oil production through their Bakken Pipeline System. They'd like an even larger piece of that pie, which is why they're working on potentially doubling that pipeline's capacity. If they're successful, it would be a big win, since the project would probably earn a high return on investment. However, they're going up against a lot of competition, which is why investors should closely monitor their progress on this potentially lucrative investment opportunity. More From The Motley Fool • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,728 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • 20 of the Top Stocks to Buy (Including the Two Every Investor Should Own) • What Is an ETF? • 5 Recession-Proof Stocks • How to Beat the Market Matthew DiLalloowns shares of Kinder Morgan and Phillips 66. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
Zacks.com featured highlights include: Brinker, Sonic Automotive, Molina, American Financial and Invitation Homes For Immediate Release Chicago, IL – June 26, 2019 - Stocks in this week’s article areBrinker International, Inc.EAT,Sonic Automotive, Inc.SAH,Molina Healthcare, IncMOH,American Financial Group, Inc.AFG andInvitation Homes Inc.INVH. Upgraded Broker Ratings Make These 5 Stocks Worth Betting On Basic fundamental analysis is always not enough to zero in on stocks that have the potential to generate solid returns. In such a situation, expert advice helps investors make the right choice. One could simply follow broker rating upgrades, as they have a deeper insight into stocks, sectors and the overall economy. Moreover, brokers directly communicate with the top management. They also thoroughly study the publicly available documents and attend conference calls. In addition, brokers scrutinize the fundamentals of companies and place them against the current economic backdrop to find out how the stocks will fare as an investment option. Hence, by following broker rating upgrades, one can easily find attractive stocks. But solely depending on broker upgrades is not advisable. One must take into consideration a few other factors before adding a stock to investment portfolio. This way one can ensure steady returns. For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at:https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/433744/upgraded-broker-ratings-make-these-5-stocks-worth-betting-on Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. About Screen of the Week Zacks.com created the first and best screening system on the web earning the distinction as the "#1 site for screening stocks" by Money Magazine.  But powerful screening tools is just the start. That is why Zacks created the Screen of the Week to highlight profitable stock picking strategies that investors can actively use. Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has more than doubled the market from 1988 through 2016. Its average gain has been a stellar +25% per year. See these high-potential stocks free >>. Follow us on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/zacksresearch Join us on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ZacksInvestmentResearch Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates. Contact: Jim Giaquinto Company: Zacks.com Phone: 312-265-9268 Email: pr@zacks.com Visit: www.Zacks.com Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportSonic Automotive, Inc. (SAH) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAmerican Financial Group, Inc. (AFG) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMolina Healthcare, Inc (MOH) : Free Stock Analysis ReportBrinker International, Inc. (EAT) : Free Stock Analysis ReportInvitation Home Inc. (INVH) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Should Ollie's Bargain Soft Q1 Comparable Sales Worry You? Ollie's BargainOutlet Holdings, Inc.OLLI came out with first-quarter fiscal 2019 results in early June, maintaining its positive earnings surprise streak. Net sales also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate after missing the same in the preceding quarter. The company sustained its decent year-over-year improvement in both the top and bottom line, while reporting the 20th consecutive quarter of comparable-store sales growth. However, we note that comparable-store sales — an important indicator of a retailer's health — decelerated sharply on a sequential basis. The metric rose 0.8% during the quarter under review, following an increase of 5.4% and 4.6% registered in the fourth and third quarters of fiscal 2018, respectively. Management informed that increase in average basket was partly offset by fall in transactions. Moreover, unfavorable weather conditions impacted the company’s seasonal business. Nonetheless, analysts believe that this a short blip, and Ollie's Bargain looks comfortable in sustaining comparable-store sales growth momentum in the upcoming periods. Certainly, the company’s business model of “buying cheap and selling cheap,” cost-containment efforts, focus on store productivity and expansion of customer reward program strengthen its position. Cumulatively, these have positioned the stock to augment both the top and bottom-line performance in the long run. The stock’s expected earnings per share growth rate of 22.1% for 3-5 years indicates the same. Taking a cue from the past we noticed that net sales have surged at a CAGR of 18.1% from $638 million in fiscal 2014 to $1.241 billion in fiscal 2018, while net income has soared from $26.9 million to $135 million during the aforementioned period. Management now envisions fiscal 2019 net sales in the band of $1.440-$1.453 billion and adjusted earnings in the range of $2.13-$2.17 per share. This portrays a sharp improvement from net sales of $1,241.4 million and adjusted earnings of $1.83 per share recorded in fiscal 2018. Wrapping Up Given limited exposure to tariffs, strong closeout merchandise availability, store growth potential and tight expense management, the market has fairly rewarded the company. Notably, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has surged roughly 32.5% in the past six months, outperforming the industry’s growth of 13.1%. But this has taken the valuation quite high. The stock is currently trading at 37.49X forward 12-month earnings, which compares with 17.38X for the industry and 19.18X for the sector. Moreover, we remain concerned about any increase in supply chain costs and deleverage in SG&A expenses that may weigh upon margins. Management expects gross margin to contract 20-30 basis points during the second quarter of fiscal 2019 but expected to pick-up in the back half of the year. 3 More Hot Picks Target TGT has an average positive earnings surprise of 2.6% in the trailing four quarters. It carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Zumiez ZUMZ has a long-term earnings growth rate of 13.5% and a Zacks Rank #2. Costco COST has a long-term earnings growth rate of 8.9% and a Zacks Rank #2. More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone! It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market. Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020. Click here for the 6 trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportOllie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. (OLLI) : Free Stock Analysis ReportZumiez Inc. (ZUMZ) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTarget Corporation (TGT) : Free Stock Analysis ReportCostco Wholesale Corporation (COST) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Estimating The Intrinsic Value Of Kuehne + Nagel International AG (VTX:KNIN) Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of Kuehne + Nagel International AG (VTX:KNIN) as an investment opportunity by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. I will be using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple! 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 Kuehne + Nagel International 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. 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, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value: [{"": "Levered FCF (CHF, Millions)", "2019": "CHF702.25", "2020": "CHF819.00", "2021": "CHF840.83", "2022": "CHF987.00", "2023": "CHF1.08k", "2024": "CHF1.16k", "2025": "CHF1.23k", "2026": "CHF1.30k", "2027": "CHF1.36k", "2028": "CHF1.42k"}, {"": "Growth Rate Estimate Source", "2019": "Analyst x8", "2020": "Analyst x8", "2021": "Analyst x6", "2022": "Analyst x2", "2023": "Analyst x2", "2024": "Est @ 7.38%", "2025": "Est @ 6.15%", "2026": "Est @ 5.29%", "2027": "Est @ 4.68%", "2028": "Est @ 4.26%"}, {"": "Present Value (CHF, Millions) Discounted @ 8.29%", "2019": "CHF648.51", "2020": "CHF698.45", "2021": "CHF662.20", "2022": "CHF717.84", "2023": "CHF726.38", "2024": "CHF720.32", "2025": "CHF706.11", "2026": "CHF686.56", "2027": "CHF663.72", "2028": "CHF639.05"}] Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= CHF6.87b "Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. 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 3.3%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 8.3%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2029× (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = CHF1.4b × (1 + 3.3%) ÷ (8.3% – 3.3%) = CHF29b Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= CHFCHF29b ÷ ( 1 + 8.3%)10= CHF13.17b 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 CHF20.04b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding.This results in an intrinsic value estimate of CHF167.36. Relative to the current share price of CHF137.9, the company appears about fair value at a 18% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out. The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the 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 Kuehne + Nagel International 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 8.3%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.841. 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 Kuehne + Nagel International, I've put together three essential aspects you should further research: 1. Financial Health: Does KNIN 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 KNIN'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 KNIN? 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 VTX 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.
Deutsche Bank: ‘Aggressive’ Central Banks Making Bitcoin More Attractive Thepotentialinterest rate cut by theUnited Statescentralbankis apparently one of the reasons for the recent surge of bitcoin (BTC),Deutsche Bankexec Jim Reid said in aninterviewwith CNBC on June 26. Reid, the head of global fundamental credit strategy at Deutsche Bank, stated: “if central banks are gonna be this aggressive, then alternative currencies do start to become a bit more attractive." Reid referenced a recent speech by Fed’s chairman Jerome Powell, whosaidyesterday that the central bank is considering a cut of interest rates amidst the current economic uncertainty and inflation risks. As such, the U.S. dollar (USD)droppedversus majorfiatcurrencies yesterday, recording a three-month low against euro (EUR), which was allegedly triggered by expectations of multiple interest rates decreases by the Fed. Meanwhile, bitcoin hascontinuedto hit new 2019 records of above $12,000, while its market cap surged above $220 billion with a dominance rate reached more than 60% for the first time since April 2017, asreportedearlier today. Reid also noted that the recent spike of crypto prices is partly caused byFacebook’supcoming crypto project Libra, which white paper wasreleasedearlier on June 18. Since then, bitcoin has risen more than 30% from around $9,000 to $12,616 at press time, according to data fromCoin360. In the interview, Reid has reiterated his negative stance towards easing practices by central banks after previouslyclaimingthat the existing fiat-based currency system was unstable and nearing its end. Providing his remarks back in November 2017, in the wake of the bitcoin’s all-time high record of $20,000 in December 2017, Reid criticized continuous printing of money by banks, warning that this could lead to the end of paper money. But the United States isn’t alone. In recent weeks, the European Central Bank President Mario Draghi also hinted at new interest rate cuts. “Add in the May 2020 Bitcoin halving and you have the perfect storm,”tweetedMorgan Creek founder, Anthony Pompliano,” earlier this month. “Cut rates. Ironically, Deutsche Bank itself could be partially blamed for a weakening economy. The bank’s stock has beendroppingto record lows over the past year. • You Can Now Get Bitcoin Rewards When Booking at Hotels.Com • Fidelity-Backed Crypto Analytics Firm to Integrate Twitter-Based Crypto Sentiment Feed • Huobi Expands to Turkey Where 20% of the Population Hold Crypto • Bitwise to Launch Another Crypto Exchange-Traded Product
Does The Data Make Resilux NV (EBR:RES) An Attractive Investment? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Resilux NV (EBR:RES) 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 RES, it is a company with great financial health as well as a a great history of performance. Below, I've touched on some key aspects you should know on a high level. If you're interested in understanding beyond my broad commentary, read the fullreport on Resilux here. In the previous year, RES has ramped up its bottom line by 17%, with its latest earnings level surpassing its average level over the last five years. In addition to beating its historical values, RES also outperformed its industry, which delivered a growth of 1.3%. This is an notable feat for the company. RES is financially robust, with ample cash on hand and short-term investments to meet upcoming liabilities. This indicates that RES has sufficient cash flows and proper cash management in place, which is an important determinant of the company’s health. RES appears to have made good use of debt, producing operating cash levels of 0.35x total debt in the prior year. This is a strong indication that debt is reasonably met with cash generated. For Resilux, I've put together three essential factors you should further research: 1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for RES’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor RES’s outlook. 2. Valuation: What is RES 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 RES is currently mispriced by the market. 3. Other Attractive Alternatives: Are there other well-rounded stocks you could be holding instead of RES? Exploreour interactive list of stocks with large 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 Pangaea Logistics (PANL) a Great Pick for Value Investors? Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value? One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s putPangaea Logistics Solutions, Ltd.PANL)stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks: PE Ratio A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole. On this front, Pangaea Logistics has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 6.21, as you can see in the chart below: This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 18.25. If we focus on the long-term PE trend, Pangaea Logistics’ current PE level puts it below its midpoint over the past three years. Further, the stock’s PE compares favorably with the Zacks Transportation sector’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 15.54. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers. We should also point out that Pangaea Logistics has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of just 4.93, so it is fair to say that a slightly more value-oriented path may be ahead for Pangaea Logistics stock in the near term too. P/S Ratio Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings. Right now, Pangaea Logistics has a P/S ratio of about 0.38. This is lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.30 right now.  Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years. If anything, this suggests some level of undervalued trading—at least compared to historical norms. Broad Value Outlook In aggregate, Pangaea Logistics currently has a Zacks Value Score of A, putting it into the top 20% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes Pangaea Logistics a solid choice for value investors, and some of its other key metrics make this pretty clear too. For example, the P/CF ratio comes in at 3.61, which is lower than the industry average of 4.72. Clearly, PANL is a solid choice on the value front from multiple angles. What About the Stock Overall? Though Pangaea Logistics might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth Score of A and a Momentum Score of B. This gives PANL a Zacks VGM score — or its overarching fundamental grade — of A. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>) Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been encouraging. The current quarter has seen one estimate go higher in the past sixty days compared to no movement in the opposite direction, while the current year estimate has seen one upward revision compared to no downward in the same time period. This has had a positive impact on the consensus estimate though as the current quarter consensus estimate has risen by 5.3% in the past two months, while the current year estimate has increased by 3%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below: Pangaea Logistics Solutions Ltd. Price and Consensus Pangaea Logistics Solutions Ltd. price-consensus-chart | Pangaea Logistics Solutions Ltd. Quote This bullish trend is why the stock boasts a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and why we are expecting outperformance from the company in the near term. Bottom Line Pangaea Logistics is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible line up of statistics on this front. A strong industry rank (among top 38% of more than 250 industries) and a Zacks Rank #2 further instils our confidence. However, over the past two years, the Zacks Transportation – Shipping industry has clearly underperformed the market at large, as you can see below: So, value investors might want to wait for industry trends to turn favorable in this name first, but once that happens, this stock could be a compelling pick. More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone! It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market. Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020. Click here for the 6 trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportPangaea Logistics Solutions Ltd. (PANL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Here's Why You Should Hold on to Surmodics (SRDX) Stock Now Surmodics, Inc.SRDX is well poised for growth backed by consistent growth In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) unit and persistent efforts to bolster research and development (R&D) functionalities. However, the company’s drug-coated balloons continue to face intense competition in the nice space and remains a concern.The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Price PerformanceShares of Surmodics have lost 16.4%, against the industry’s growth of 15.9% on a year-to-date basis. Further, the stock compared unfavorably with the S&P 500 Index’s rally of 16.2%. What’s Weighing on the Stock?Given the highly fragmented diagnostics market, the company’s SurVeil Drug-Coated Balloons continues to face stiff competition with Medtronic’s admiral IN.PACT platform.Moreover, surface modification and device drug delivery are competitive markets and carry the risk of technological obsolescence. Meanwhile, the IVD segment faces increased competition.Factors to Bolster SurmodicsSurmodics’ IVD unit continues to drive the company’s performance as traditionally the segment has been a leader in developing an ELISA/EIA, immunoblot/western blot, line assay or microarray.Further, the company continues to gain from core Medical Devices unit which witnessed significant contribution from its SurVeil agreement with Abbott. Management anticipates this segment to witness double-digit revenue growth in fiscal 2019.Surmodics’ continued efforts to boost its R&D stature have been a key growth driver. The company’s whole product solutions pipeline and sirolimus-based below-the-knee DCB program deserve a mention here.Moreover, acquisitions made by the company in the last few years have not only diversified its revenue base but also expanded customer base.Which Way Are Estimates Headed?For 2019, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $91.2 million, indicating an improvement of 12.1% from the year-ago period. For adjusted earnings per share, the same stands at 38 cents, suggesting a decline of 38.8% from the year-ago reported figure.Key PicksSome better-ranked stocks from the broader medical space are Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. CSII, Oxford Immunotec Global PLC OXFD and Haemonetics Corporation HAE, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Cardiovascular Systems has earnings growth rate for fiscal fourth quarter of 2019 of 33.3%.Oxford Immunotec has a long-term earnings growth rate of 25%.Haemonetics has a long-term earnings growth rate 13.5%. More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone! It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market. Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020. Click here for the 6 trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportOxford Immunotec Global PLC (OXFD) : Free Stock Analysis ReportHaemonetics Corporation (HAE) : Free Stock Analysis ReportCardiovascular Systems, Inc. (CSII) : Free Stock Analysis ReportSurmodics, Inc. (SRDX) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Why Fundamental Investors Might Love Resilux NV (EBR:RES) Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Attractive stocks have exceptional fundamentals. In the case of Resilux NV (EBR:RES), there's is a company with great financial health as well as a a strong history of performance. In the following section, I expand a bit more on these key aspects. For those interested in digger a bit deeper into my commentary, take a look at thereport on Resilux here. In the previous year, RES has ramped up its bottom line by 17%, with its latest earnings level surpassing its average level over the last five years. In addition to beating its historical values, RES also outperformed its industry, which delivered a growth of 1.3%. This is an notable feat for the company. RES's strong financial health means that all of its upcoming liability payments are able to be met by its current cash and short-term investment holdings. This indicates that RES has sufficient cash flows and proper cash management in place, which is a key determinant of the company’s health. RES seems to have put its debt to good use, generating operating cash levels of 0.35x total debt in the most recent year. This is also a good indication as to whether debt is properly covered by the company’s cash flows. For Resilux, I've put together three relevant factors you should further research: 1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for RES’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor RES’s outlook. 2. Valuation: What is RES 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 RES is currently mispriced by the market. 3. Other Attractive Alternatives: Are there other well-rounded stocks you could be holding instead of RES? Exploreour interactive list of stocks with large 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.
Why You Should Like Resilux NV’s (EBR:RES) ROCE Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we'll look at Resilux NV (EBR:RES) and reflect on its potential as an investment. Specifically, we're going to calculate its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), in the hopes of getting some insight into the business. First up, we'll look at what ROCE is and how we calculate it. Then we'll compare its ROCE to similar companies. Last but not least, we'll look at what impact its current liabilities have on its ROCE. ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Generally speaking a higher ROCE is better. Overall, it is a valuable metric that has its flaws. Renowned investment researcher Michael Mauboussinhas suggestedthat a high ROCE can indicate that 'one dollar invested in the company generates value of more than one dollar'. The formula for calculating the return on capital employed is: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) Or for Resilux: 0.16 = €27m ÷ (€277m - €110m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.) So,Resilux has an ROCE of 16%. Check out our latest analysis for Resilux One way to assess ROCE is to compare similar companies. In our analysis, Resilux's ROCE is meaningfully higher than the 10% average in the Packaging industry. We would consider this a positive, as it suggests it is using capital more effectively than other similar companies. Regardless of where Resilux sits next to its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms appears satisfactory, and this company could be worth a closer look. It is important to remember that ROCE shows past performance, and is not necessarily predictive. Companies in cyclical industries can be difficult to understand using ROCE, as returns typically look high during boom times, and low during busts. ROCE is only a point-in-time measure. Future performance is what matters, and you can see analyst predictions in ourfreereport on analyst forecasts for the company. Short term (or current) liabilities, are things like supplier invoices, overdrafts, or tax bills that need to be paid within 12 months. The ROCE equation subtracts current liabilities from capital employed, so a company with a lot of current liabilities appears to have less capital employed, and a higher ROCE than otherwise. To counter this, investors can check if a company has high current liabilities relative to total assets. Resilux has total assets of €277m and current liabilities of €110m. Therefore its current liabilities are equivalent to approximately 39% of its total assets. With this level of current liabilities, Resilux's ROCE is boosted somewhat. While its ROCE looks good, it's worth remembering that the current liabilities are making the business look better. There might be better investments than Resilux out there,but you will have to work hard to find them. These promising businesses withrapidly growing earningsmight be right up your alley. For those who like to findwinning investmentsthisfreelist of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. 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.
Kinder Morgan Wins Texas Court Challenge for PHP Project Kinder Morgan, Inc.KMI recently cleared a lawsuit hurdle for the $2-billion natural gas pipeline. A Texas court judge discarded a lawsuit that barred the company to build the proposed Permian Highway Pipeline (PHP) Project through the Texas Hill Country. Lora Livingston, a judge from the Travis County District Court, Austin, TX, tossed out the claims made against the pipeline project, following four weeks of reviewing evidences and testimonies. Kinder Morgan is pleased with the ruling, which affirms the company’s steps taken for the project. The ruling makes sure that no single landowner can obstruct the building of a critical infrastructure. The 42-inch pipeline, with a length of about 430 miles, is intended to carry about 2.1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas. The gas will be sourced from the Waha to Katy areas, and will have links to the U.S. Gulf Coast and Mexico markets. The project comes at an opportune time when there is a dearth of pipeline capacity for transporting natural gas and oil to Gulf Coast export facilities from the Permian. The project — with all of its capacity fully subscribed under long-term agreements — is anticipated to offer additional capacity for steady transportation of natural gas to the U.S. Gulf Coast. The project will likely come online by late 2020. EagleClaw, Exxon Mobil Corporation’s XOM unit XTO Energy Inc. and Apache Corporation APA are incorporated in the list of shippers for the pipeline. The pipeline is expected to help the company to set appropriate tariff and eradicate Permian bottlenecks. Moreover, the PHP project is estimated to generate additional revenues of around $1 billion per annum for the state of Texas. Individual leaseholders are expected to get more than $2 billion annually in royalties. Price Performance Headquartered in Houston, TX, Kinder Morgan has gained 17.2% in the past year compared with 4.6% collective gain of the industry it belongs to. Zacks Rank & Another Stock to Consider Kinder Morgan currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Another top-ranked player in the energy space is Plains Group Holdings, L.P. PAGP, which carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Plains Group’s sales growth is projected at 26.1% through second-quarter 2019. More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone! It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market. Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020. Click here for the 6 trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportExxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) : Free Stock Analysis ReportKinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI) : Free Stock Analysis ReportPlains Group Holdings, L.P. (PAGP) : Free Stock Analysis ReportApache Corporation (APA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Trump says "not talking boots on the ground" if action taken against Iran By Tim Ahmann and Babak Dehghanpisheh WASHINGTON/GENEVA, June 26 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he was "not talking boots on the ground" if military action were necessary against Iran, and said any conflict would not last long. Asked if a war was brewing, Trump told Fox Business Network: "I hope we don't but we're in a very strong position if something should happen." "I'm not talking boots on the ground," Trump said. "I'm just saying if something would happen, it wouldn't last very long." The comments come just days after Trump cancelled air strikes minutes before impact, with allies warning that the increase in tensions since the United States pulled out of a nuclear pact with Iran last year could accidentally lead to war. Iran suggested it was just one day from breaching a threshold in the agreement that limited its stockpile of uranium stocks, a move that would put pressure on European countries that have tried to remain neutral to pick sides. The fate of the 2015 nuclear deal, under which Iran agreed to curbs on its nuclear programme in return for access to international trade, has been at the heart of the dispute which has escalated and taken on a military dimension in recent weeks. Washington sharply tightened sanctions last month, aiming to bar all international sales of Iranian oil. It accuses Iran of being behind bomb attacks on ships in the Gulf, which it denies. Last week, Iran shot down a U.S. drone it said was in its air space, which Washington denied. Trump ordered retaliatory air strikes but called them off at the last minute, later saying too many people would have died. OBLITERATION Although the United States and Iran both say they do not want war, last week's aborted U.S. strikes have been followed by menacing rhetoric on both sides. On Tuesday Trump threatened the "obliteration" of parts of Iran if it struck U.S. interests. President Hassan Rouhani, who normally presents Tehran's mild-mannered face, called White House policy "mentally retarded". The standoff creates a challenge for Washington which, after quitting the deal against the advice of its European allies, is now seeking their support to force Iran to comply with it. The Trump administration argues that the 2015 deal reached under his predecessor Barack Obama was too weak because it is not permanent and does not cover issues outside of the nuclear area, such as Iran's missile programme and regional behaviour. U.S. officials say new sanctions are necessary to force Iran back to the negotiating table, and Trump is open to talks without pre-conditions. Iran says talks are impossible unless Washington lifts sanctions first. Tehran said a further move by Washington this week to impose personal sanctions on Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and threaten them against Foreign Minister Mohmmad Javad Zarif had closed off diplomacy permanently. (Writing by Peter Graff)
Should You Like Resilux NV’s (EBR:RES) High Return On Capital Employed? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we'll look at Resilux NV (EBR:RES) and reflect on its potential as an investment. Specifically, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), since that will give us an insight into how efficiently the business can generate profits from the capital it requires. First of all, we'll work out how to calculate ROCE. Then we'll compare its ROCE to similar companies. Last but not least, we'll look at what impact its current liabilities have on its ROCE. ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. All else being equal, a better business will have a higher ROCE. In brief, it is a useful tool, but it is not without drawbacks. Author Edwin Whitingsaysto be careful when comparing the ROCE of different businesses, since 'No two businesses are exactly alike.' Analysts use this formula to calculate return on capital employed: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) Or for Resilux: 0.16 = €27m ÷ (€277m - €110m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.) Therefore,Resilux has an ROCE of 16%. View our latest analysis for Resilux ROCE can be useful when making comparisons, such as between similar companies. Using our data, we find that Resilux's ROCE is meaningfully better than the 10% average in the Packaging industry. We consider this a positive sign, because it suggests it uses capital more efficiently than similar companies. Separate from Resilux's performance relative to its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms looks satisfactory, and it may be worth researching in more depth. It is important to remember that ROCE shows past performance, and is not necessarily predictive. ROCE can be misleading for companies in cyclical industries, with returns looking impressive during the boom times, but very weak during the busts. ROCE is, after all, simply a snap shot of a single year. What happens in the future is pretty important for investors, so we have prepared afreereport on analyst forecasts for Resilux. Short term (or current) liabilities, are things like supplier invoices, overdrafts, or tax bills that need to be paid within 12 months. Due to the way ROCE is calculated, a high level of current liabilities makes a company look as though it has less capital employed, and thus can (sometimes unfairly) boost the ROCE. To counteract this, we check if a company has high current liabilities, relative to its total assets. Resilux has total assets of €277m and current liabilities of €110m. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 39% of its total assets. Resilux has a medium level of current liabilities, which would boost the ROCE. With a decent ROCE, the company could be interesting, but remember that the level of current liabilities make the ROCE look better. There might be better investments than Resilux out there,but you will have to work hard to find them. These promising businesses withrapidly growing earningsmight be right up your alley. If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love thisfreelist of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them). 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.
WAIR vs. GD: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now? Investors looking for stocks in the Aerospace - Defense sector might want to consider either Wesco Aircraft Holdings (WAIR) or General Dynamics (GD). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look. The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits. Wesco Aircraft Holdings has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while General Dynamics has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that WAIR has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors. Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its current share price levels. Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use. WAIR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.44, while GD has a forward P/E of 15.11. We also note that WAIR has a PEG ratio of 1.04. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. GD currently has a PEG ratio of 1.70. Another notable valuation metric for WAIR is its P/B ratio of 1.47. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, GD has a P/B of 4.19. Based on these metrics and many more, WAIR holds a Value grade of A, while GD has a Value grade of C. WAIR stands above GD thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that WAIR is the superior value option right now. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportWesco Aircraft Holdings, Inc. (WAIR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportGeneral Dynamics Corporation (GD) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
DHX or SSTK: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now? Investors with an interest in Internet - Content stocks have likely encountered both DHI Group (DHX) and Shutterstock (SSTK). But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to take a closer look. We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits. Currently, DHI Group has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Shutterstock has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that DHX has an improving earnings outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in. Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its current share price levels. Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years. DHX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.61, while SSTK has a forward P/E of 26.72. We also note that DHX has a PEG ratio of 0.78. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. SSTK currently has a PEG ratio of 1.07. Another notable valuation metric for DHX is its P/B ratio of 1.47. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, SSTK has a P/B of 4.73. These metrics, and several others, help DHX earn a Value grade of A, while SSTK has been given a Value grade of C. DHX stands above SSTK thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that DHX is the superior value option right now. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportDHI Group, Inc. (DHX) : Free Stock Analysis ReportShutterstock, Inc. (SSTK) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
It’s Not All Smooth Sailing for Facebook’s Libra Project: Term Sheet 1. LIBRA CONCERNSBefore Facebook’s Libra project made its public debut, it recruited high-profile backers that would act as its launch partners. They include Visa, Uber, Mastercard, PayPal and Stripe.ANew York Timesreportsays that some of those partners are approaching Libra warily and signing non-binding agreements to join the effort so that there’s an easy out if they didn’t like the direction of the project.Companies are hesitant to associate themselves too closely with Libra because of “Facebook’s issues with regulators around the world, the company’s shaky track record on privacy and how it treats corporate partners, and the uncertain legality of cryptocurrencies,” according to the report.This one-foot-in-one-foot-out approach allows brands like Visa and Mastercard to get information about the creation of a payments service that could affect their business immensely while simultaneously having the option to easily dip out should something go wrong.And there are quite a few things that could go awry given factors like regulatory gray zones, open questions on privacy, and public perception. According to theNYT, Facebook approached a number of big financial companies, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Fidelity, about participating in the project, but they declined, in part because of regulatory questions about cryptocurrencies as a whole.I’m watching with great interest to see how Facebook will get this off the ground all while attempting to circumvent criticism from the people whose approval and support it needs most.Read more.SNEAKER MANIA:Trading sneakers is a big business. StockX, a Detroit-based online marketplace that specializes in re-selling limited-edition sneakers, raised $110 million in funding at a valuation of more than $1 billion. Investors include DST Global, General Atlantic, GGV Capital, GV and Battery Ventures. Sneaker exchange marketplaces are on the rise, and retailers are taking note. In February, Foot Locker invested $100 million in GOAT Group, which operates a secondary sneaker market.The New York Times’Erin Griffithwrites: “The fervor for sneakers has been fueled by ‘sneakerheads’ and others who regard the shoes as investment assets.”BIG PHARMA DEAL:AbbVie agreed to buy Allergan in a deal valued at about $63 billion, a 45% premium on Allergan’s most recent closing stock price. The proposed M&A will be one of the largest health care mergers of the year and bring together a portfolio that includes AbbVie’s Humira, the world’s best-selling drug, and Allergan’s flagship beauty treatment Botox.My colleague Sy Mukherjee explains further:But the AbbVie Allergan deal isn’t just a story about health care consolidation – it’s one about the state of innovation among big, legacy biopharma companies scurrying to find ways to plug future holes in their revenue streams. Both companies have bled market value in the past year as investors questioned whether AbbVie can make up for falling sales of its blockbuster psoriasis and arthritis treatment Humira, which rang in nearly $20 billion in 2018 revenues alone, and pushed for a breakup of Allergan amid pipeline struggles.Read more here.HOUSEKEEPING:I’m finally going on vacation! (But I’ll probably still be tweeting about deals, soyou can find me on Twitter here.) In my absence, my colleague Lucinda Shen will be in charge of compiling the deals and keeping you up to date every morning. Please send deals and scoops her way atlucinda.shen@fortune.com. 2. VENTURE DEALS•Carbon, a Redwood City, Calif.-based 3D printing platform, raised $260 million in funding at a $2.4 billion valuation.Madrone Capital PartnersandBaillie Giffordco-led the round, and were joined by investors includingSequoia Capital, Adidas Ventures, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Fidelity Management & Research Company, JSR Corporation, Temasek,andArkema.•Budderfly, a Shelton, Conn.-based company developer of energy intelligence software, raised $55 million in funding.Balance Point Capitalled the round, and was joined by investors includingConnecticut Innovations.•Cameo, a Chicago-based marketplace where fans can book personalized video shoutouts from pop culture personalities, raised $50 million in Series B funding.Kleiner Perkinsled the round, and was joined by investors includingThe Chernin Group, Spark Ventures, Bain CapitalandLightspeed Venture Partners.•Software Motor Company, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based manufacturer of an Internet-enabled electric motor system, raised $31.4 million in Series A-2 funding. Investors includeJLL SparkandMeson Capital.•Imgur, a San Francisco-based community-powered entertainment platform, raised $20 million in funding fromCoil.•Metropolis Technologies, Inc.,a Los Angeles-based mobility startup focused on building integrated networks to enable the future of mobility, raised $17.5 million in seed funding.Zigg Capitalled the round, and was joined by investors includingSlow VenturesandRXR Realty.•Omnidian, a Seattle-based provider of residential and C&I solar system protection plans and performance guarantees, raised $15 million in funding.IA Capitalled the round, and was joined by investors includingEvergy, National Grid (National Grid Partners), Avista Corp,Blue Bear Capital, Congruent VenturesandCity Light Capital.•Anomalie, a San Francisco-based custom wedding gown company, raised $13.6 million in Series A funding.Goodwater Capitalled the round, and was joined by investors includingSignia,SoGal Ventures, Lerer Hippeau’s BN Capital Fund,andFin’s Sam Lessin.•GreatHorn, a Waltham, Mass.-based provider of an email security platform, raised $13 million in funding.RRE Venturesand.406 Venturesco-led the round,and were joined by investors includingTechstars Ventures, V1.VCandUncork Capital.•Spiffy,a Research Triangle Park, N.C.-based on-demand car care, technology, and services company, raised $10 million in funding.Tribeca Venture Partnersled the round.•Remedy, an Austin, Texas-based provider of healthcare services, raised $10 million in Series A funding.Santé Venturesled the round.•Squire, a New York-based business management platform for barbershops, raised $8 million in Series A funding.Trinity Venturesled the round.•Phlur, an Austin-based fragrance company, raised $7 million in Series A funding.Symrise Incled the round, and was joined by investors includingNext Coast VenturesandBelcorp.•Car IQ, a San Francisco-based developer of vehicle payment technology, raised $5 million in Series A funding.Quest Venture Partnersled the round, and was joined by investors includingAvanta Ventures, Citi Ventures, Alpana Ventures, Plug and Play,andAVG’s Spike Ventures.•Homeroom, a San Francisco-based platform for after-school enrichment programs, raised $3.5 million in seed funding.Forerunner Venturesled the round, and was joined by investors includingFelicis, Precursor,andKapor Capital. 3. HEALTH AND LIFE SCIENCES DEALS•InterVene Inc, a Mountain View, Calif.-based developer of a catheter-based therapy system, raised $15 million in Series B funding.3×5 Partnersled the round, and was joined by investors includingRiverVest Venture Partners, Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX),andCorrelation Ventures. 4. PRIVATE EQUITY DEALS•Cortec GroupacquiredAspen Medical Products, an Irvine, Calif.-based designer and manufacturer of upper and lower spinal orthopedic bracing products. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.•Pestell Group, a portfolio company ofWind Point PartnersacquiredVersaPet Inc, a Canada-based manufacturer of private label and branded cat litter products. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. 5. OTHER DEALS•Extreme Networks(Nasdaq: EXTR) agreed to acquireAerohive Networks(NYSE: HIVE) for approximately $272 million. 6. IPOs•Zekelman Industries, a Chicago, Ill.-based steel pipe and tube manufacturer, withdrew plans for a $752 million IPO. It posted sales of $2.6 billion and net income of $246.1 million in the 12 months ending June 2018. Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch were underwriters. It had planned to list on both the NYSE and the Toronto Stock Exchange as “ZEK.”Read more.•Cambium Networks, a Rolling Meadows, Ill.-based firm for cloud-based wireless broadband network infrastructure, raised $70 million in an IPO of 5.8 million shares priced at $12, below its range. J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs are underwriters. It plans to list on the Nasdaq as “CMBM.”Read more. 7. EXITS•Zekelman Industries, a Chicago, Ill.-based steel pipe and tube manufacturer, withdrew plans for a $752 million IPO. It posted sales of $2.6 billion and net income of $246.1 million in the 12 months ending June 2018. Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch were underwriters. It had planned to list on both the NYSE and the Toronto Stock Exchange as “ZEK.”Read more.•Cambium Networks, a Rolling Meadows, Ill.-based firm for cloud-based wireless broadband network infrastructure, raised $70 million in an IPO of 5.8 million shares priced at $12, below its range. J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs are underwriters. It plans to list on the Nasdaq as “CMBM.”Read more. 8. FIRMS + FUNDS•Arlington Capital Partners, a Washington, D.C.-based private equity investment firm, raised $1.7 billion for its fifth fund, Arlington Capital Partners V, L.P.•Clearlake Capital Group, L.P, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based private investment firm, raised $1.4 billion for its fund, Clearlake Opportunities Partners II.•Torch Capital, a New York-based venture capital firm, raised $60 million for its inaugural fund. 9. PEOPLE•Susan CatesjoinedLeeds Equity Partnersas a partner. 10. SHARE TODAY’S TERM SHEETView this email in your browser.Polina Marinovaproduces Term Sheet, andLucinda Shencompiles the IPO news. Send deal announcements to Polinahereand IPO news to Lucindahere.
Is Edgewell Personal Care Company (NYSE:EPC) Struggling With Its 9.0% Return On Capital Employed? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we'll look at Edgewell Personal Care Company (NYSE:EPC) and reflect on its potential as an investment. To be precise, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), as that will inform our view of the quality of the business. First of all, we'll work out how to calculate ROCE. Second, we'll look at its ROCE compared to similar companies. Last but not least, we'll look at what impact its current liabilities have on its ROCE. ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Generally speaking a higher ROCE is better. Overall, it is a valuable metric that has its flaws. Renowned investment researcher Michael Mauboussinhas suggestedthat a high ROCE can indicate that 'one dollar invested in the company generates value of more than one dollar'. The formula for calculating the return on capital employed is: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) Or for Edgewell Personal Care: 0.09 = US$313m ÷ (US$4.0b - US$509m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2019.) So,Edgewell Personal Care has an ROCE of 9.0%. See our latest analysis for Edgewell Personal Care One way to assess ROCE is to compare similar companies. Using our data, Edgewell Personal Care's ROCE appears to be significantly below the 19% average in the Personal Products industry. This could be seen as a negative, as it suggests some competitors may be employing their capital more efficiently. Setting aside the industry comparison for now, Edgewell Personal Care's ROCE is mediocre in absolute terms, considering the risk of investing in stocks versus the safety of a bank account. It is possible that there are more rewarding investments out there. In our analysis, Edgewell Personal Care's ROCE appears to be 9.0%, compared to 3 years ago, when its ROCE was 6.8%. This makes us think the business might be improving. Remember that this metric is backwards looking - it shows what has happened in the past, and does not accurately predict the future. Companies in cyclical industries can be difficult to understand using ROCE, as returns typically look high during boom times, and low during busts. This is because ROCE only looks at one year, instead of considering returns across a whole cycle. What happens in the future is pretty important for investors, so we have prepared afreereport on analyst forecasts for Edgewell Personal Care. Short term (or current) liabilities, are things like supplier invoices, overdrafts, or tax bills that need to be paid within 12 months. The ROCE equation subtracts current liabilities from capital employed, so a company with a lot of current liabilities appears to have less capital employed, and a higher ROCE than otherwise. To counter this, investors can check if a company has high current liabilities relative to total assets. Edgewell Personal Care has total assets of US$4.0b and current liabilities of US$509m. Therefore its current liabilities are equivalent to approximately 13% of its total assets. It is good to see a restrained amount of current liabilities, as this limits the effect on ROCE. If Edgewell Personal Care continues to earn an uninspiring ROCE, there may be better places to invest. But note:make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across.So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20). I will like Edgewell Personal Care better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out thisfreelist of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying. 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.
Greif (GEF) Stock Down 15% YTD: Will It Make a Comeback? Shares ofGreif, Inc.GEF has fallen 15% so far this year against the industry’s growth of 16.3%. This can be attributed to the multiple headwinds plaguing the company. Factors Plaguing GreifGreif’s share price has plunged 18.9% since it reported second-quarter fiscal 2019 (ended Apr 30, 2019) results on Jun 5. The company reported earnings per share of 81 cents in the quarter, reflecting year-over-year improvement of 7%. This can be attributed to the Caraustar acquisition which was completed in February. However, lower volumes in all of its segments hurt results in the reported quarter.Containerboard demand is expected to remain soft in the United States and the rest of the world during the remainder of the fiscal year. This is expected to continue to be a drag on the Paper Packaging segment’s results, (which accounts for around 41% of the company’s revenues). Further, in the Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services business segment, persistent softness in Western and Central Europe, China and the U.S. Gulf region will impact the segment’s results. Raw material prices for steel, resin and old corrugated containers are predicted to remain volatile which will impact the company’s margins in the balance of fiscal 2019. Currency exchange rates are anticipated to remain volatile.Will the Stock Rebound?In fiscal 2019, Greif’s restructuring activities will focus on optimizing and integrating operations in the Paper, Packaging and Services segment related to the Caraustar acquisition and continue to rationalize operations and close underperforming assets in the Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services and Flexible Products & Services segments.  Though this will lead to restructuring costs in the coming quarters, it will benefit margins in the long run.Greif will also benefit from its focus on operational execution, capital discipline, and a strong and diverse product portfolio. The Caraustar buyout strengthened Greif’s leadership in industrial packaging and significantly bolstered margins, free cash flow and profitability. The company has identified $15 million of new estimated run-rate synergies related to this acquisition and projects achieving at least $60 million of run-rate synergies during the next 36 months from the closure of the deal.The Caraustar acquisition is a strategic fit for Greif. Caraustar is vertically integrated in recycled paperboard manufacturing, which will also fortify and balance Greif's portfolio and expand its paper franchise. Notably, the company generates approximately half of its revenues from the United States. Furthermore, the percentage of Greif's sales from paper packaging will expand to approximately half of total consolidated revenues.The company’s restructuring actions and benefits from the Caraustar acquisition are likely to drive improved share price performance for the company eventually.Stocks to ConsiderA few better-ranked stocks in the Industrial Products sector are The Timken Company TKR, Casella Waste Systems, Inc. CWST and Harsco Corporation HSC, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), at present. You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Timken Company has an estimated earnings growth rate of 26.6% for the ongoing year. The company’s shares have gained 34.7% so far this year.Casella Waste Systems has an expected earnings growth rate of 31.97% for the current year. The stock has appreciated 39.6% in a year’s time.Harsco has a projected earnings growth rate of 9.1% for 2019. The company’s shares have rallied 33.6% year to date.More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.Click here for the 6 trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportGreif, Inc. (GEF) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTimken Company (The) (TKR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportCasella Waste Systems, Inc. (CWST) : Free Stock Analysis ReportHarsco Corporation (HSC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Is July Rate Cut a Certainty? 6 Great Picks Until last week, a rate cut in July was a near certainty. Both the Federal Reserve and the Fed Chair had recently adopted a soft monetary stance, gladdening investors. But comments from Powell on Jun 25, echoed by James Bullard, dampened sentiment and reduced expectations of a July rate cut. However, on closer examination it seems Powell’s comments were largely a reaction to President Trump’s recurrent criticism of the central bank. On Jun 24, Trump went so far as to say that he has the power to replace the Fed Chair. This is why it is likely the Fed will go on to cut rates, taking cues from weak economic readouts, such as the latest consumer confidence data. Rate-sensitive stocks are likely to gain from a soft rate environment. This is why it makes sense to park your funds in real estate investment trusts (REITs) and utility stocks, which also offer attractive dividends. Powell Asserts Central Bank’s Independence Speaking to members of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Jun 25, Fed Chair Powell stressed that central bank independence had been a major feature of financial systems for more than a century. Powell also warned of “the damage that often arises when policy bends to short-term political interests.” Powell’s comments were a direct reaction to Trump’s recurrent criticism of the Fed’s policy stance. On Jun 24, Trump tweeted that the central bank “doesn’t know what it is doing.” Trump, who has called for lower rates on several occasions, also hinted in an interview to NBC that he had no plans of removing Powell. At the same time, he would “be able to do that if I wanted.” Also, the Fed Chair’s comments were essentially a reaction to Trump’s continual heckling. But investors chose to focus on only part of his message where he said that the Fed “should not overreact” to a unique event when taking a call on rates. He also stated that the Fed was “grappling” with deciding whether headwinds like the trade war and global economic weakness warranted policy cation. Consumer Confidence Slump Hints at Economic Troubles Interestingly enough, Powell also said that it was generally correct for central banks to preempt a crisis instead of letting an economic crisis “gather steam.” He added that the central bank was closely watching “the evolving risk picture and incoming data.” And at this point, a spate of worrying data points is building up. The latest of these is June’s consumer confidence report. The index slumped from a revised level of 131.1 in May to 121.5 in June. This is the metric’s lowest level since September 2017, largely a result of simmering trade tensions and a decline in economic growth. A major drop in May’s job gains is another cause for concern. The Conference Board’s survey also reflects this fact with more Americans, 16.4% vs. 11.8%, saying that getting a job has become harder since last month. Our Choices The Fed Chair’s comments have led to a third successive loss for the Nasdaq. But investors should focus on the political motives behind Powell’s comments instead of thinking that a July rate cut is off the agenda. Dismal consumer confidence data could easily push the Fed to affect a rate cut next month. Rate-sensitive investments like utilities and REITs, which offer attractive dividends, are useful additions to your portfolio under such circumstances. However, picking winning stocks may be difficult. This is where our VGM Score comes in. Here V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum and the score is a weighted combination of these three scores. Such a score allows you to eliminate the negative aspects of stocks and select winners. However, it is important to keep in mind that each Style Score will carry a different weight while arriving at a VGM Score. We have narrowed down our search to the following stocks based on a good Zacks Rank and VGM Score. The GEO Group, Inc.GEO specializes in the design, development, financing and operation of correctional, detention and community reentry facilities. The GEO Group carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and has a VGM Score of A. The company’s expected earnings growth for the current year is 8.3%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 35.4% over the past 60 days. The stock has a dividend yield of 8.8%. Arbor Realty Trust, Inc.ABR invests in real estate-related bridge and mezzanine loans, preferred equity, mortgage-related securities and other real estate-related assets. Arbor Realty Trust has a VGM Score of B. The company’s expected earnings growth for the current year is 1.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 5.1% over the past 60 days. The stock has a dividend yield of 9.2% and sports a Zacks Rank #1. You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Clipper Realty Inc.CLPR specializes in acquiring, owning, repositioning, operating, and managing commercial and multifamily residential properties in the New York metropolitan area. Clipper Realty has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and VGM Score of A. The company has expected earnings growth of 16.7% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 3.9% over the past 60 days. The stock has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Pinnacle West CapitalPNW provides electricity services (wholesale or retail) in the state of Arizona through its subsidiaries. Pinnacle West carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has a VGM Score of B. The company’s expected earnings growth for the current year is 6.8%. The stock has a dividend yield of 3%. Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P.BEP owns and operates renewable power generating assets. Brookfield Renewable Partners carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has a VGM Score of B. The company’s expected earnings growth for the current year is more than 100%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 23.7% over the last 30 days. The stock has a dividend yield of 6%. Northwest Natural Holding CompanyNWN builds and maintains natural gas distribution systems, as well as invests in natural gas pipeline projects through its subsidiaries. Northwest Natural Holding carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has a VGM Score of B. The company’s expected earnings growth for the current year is 1.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 0.9% over the past 60 days. The stock has a dividend yield of 2.8%. More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone! It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market. Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020. Click here for the 6 trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportBrookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (BEP) : Free Stock Analysis ReportPinnacle West Capital Corporation (PNW) : Free Stock Analysis ReportNorthwest Natural Gas Company (NWN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportArbor Realty Trust (ABR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportGeo Group Inc (The) (GEO) : Free Stock Analysis ReportClipper Realty Inc. (CLPR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Why You Should Care About Edgewell Personal Care Company’s (NYSE:EPC) Low Return On Capital Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we are going to look at Edgewell Personal Care Company (NYSE:EPC) to see whether it might be an attractive investment prospect. Specifically, we're going to calculate its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), in the hopes of getting some insight into the business. First of all, we'll work out how to calculate ROCE. Next, we'll compare it to others in its industry. Last but not least, we'll look at what impact its current liabilities have on its ROCE. ROCE measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. All else being equal, a better business will have a higher ROCE. In brief, it is a useful tool, but it is not without drawbacks. Renowned investment researcher Michael Mauboussinhas suggestedthat a high ROCE can indicate that 'one dollar invested in the company generates value of more than one dollar'. The formula for calculating the return on capital employed is: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) Or for Edgewell Personal Care: 0.09 = US$313m ÷ (US$4.0b - US$509m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2019.) Therefore,Edgewell Personal Care has an ROCE of 9.0%. View our latest analysis for Edgewell Personal Care One way to assess ROCE is to compare similar companies. In this analysis, Edgewell Personal Care's ROCE appears meaningfully below the 19% average reported by the Personal Products industry. This performance could be negative if sustained, as it suggests the business may underperform its industry. Aside from the industry comparison, Edgewell Personal Care's ROCE is mediocre in absolute terms, considering the risk of investing in stocks versus the safety of a bank account. It is possible that there are more rewarding investments out there. In our analysis, Edgewell Personal Care's ROCE appears to be 9.0%, compared to 3 years ago, when its ROCE was 6.8%. This makes us wonder if the company is improving. It is important to remember that ROCE shows past performance, and is not necessarily predictive. ROCE can be deceptive for cyclical businesses, as returns can look incredible in boom times, and terribly low in downturns. This is because ROCE only looks at one year, instead of considering returns across a whole cycle. What happens in the future is pretty important for investors, so we have prepared afreereport on analyst forecasts for Edgewell Personal Care. Current liabilities are short term bills and invoices that need to be paid in 12 months or less. Due to the way ROCE is calculated, a high level of current liabilities makes a company look as though it has less capital employed, and thus can (sometimes unfairly) boost the ROCE. To check the impact of this, we calculate if a company has high current liabilities relative to its total assets. Edgewell Personal Care has total assets of US$4.0b and current liabilities of US$509m. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 13% of its total assets. This is a modest level of current liabilities, which would only have a small effect on ROCE. If Edgewell Personal Care continues to earn an uninspiring ROCE, there may be better places to invest. But note:make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across.So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20). If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love thisfreelist of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them). 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.
Tiffany's Growth Plans on Track Despite Near-Term Bumps Shares ofTiffany & Co. TIF have risen 15.6% in the past six months and outpaced the industry’s growth of 5.4%, as investors are confident about its growth prospects. Notably, the company is focused on evolving its brand, enhancing omni-channel experience, solidifying position in core markets and increasing operating efficiency. Buoyed by such efforts, management is optimistic about fiscal 2019. It continues to project worldwide net sales growth at a low-single-digit rate on a reported basis, with comps also expected to rise at the same rate. Earnings per share are projected to increase at low-to-mid-single-digit rate. However, escalating trade tension between United States and China has been a concern. Elevated tariff to roughly 25% on jewelry that is exported to China from the United States has added to its woes. Management had earlier guided that first-half of fiscal 2019 is likely to witness roadblocks with performance expected to improve in the second half.Driving FactorsTiffany is well positioned to boost its top- and bottom-line performance over the long run by banking on capital investments made over the past several years in the distribution, manufacturing and diamond sourcing processes. The company is making efforts to enhance in-store experience and replenish the product portfolio. In this regard, it launched PAPER FLOWERS, which comprises solid collection in diamonds and platinum, and the introduction of TIFFANY TRUE, an innovative engagement ring design.Further, the company has been steadily rolling out jewelry designs, watch collection and fragrance, and additional jewelry SKUs, in a bid to lure customers. Also, it intends to introduce company-operated e-commerce website in China.These apart, Tiffany is on track with its plans to open smaller stores that offer selected collections of low-priced, high-margin products, which, in turn, boosts store productivity. It is also working toward improving sales per square foot and increasing traffic by targeted advertising, ongoing sales training and customer-oriented initiatives. Management anticipates gross retail square footage growth of 3% for fiscal 2019.A Brief IntrospectionLower spending by foreign tourists has already weighed on its first quarter results, wherein both net sales and earnings per share declined year over year. Also, the company’s comparable sales declined 5%. Management projects this headwind to continue in the second quarter as well, with earnings likely to decline year over year.Nonetheless, management anticipates performance of the company to improve in the second half of the fiscal on account of favorable year-over-year comparisons, easing of foreign exchange pressure, and launch of new products and related marketing campaigns.The aforementioned pros and cons justify a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock.Stocks You Can’t MissChildren’s Place PLCE has a long-term earnings growth rate of 8% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.L Brands, Inc. LB has a long-term earnings growth rate of 11% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Kering SA PPRUY has a long-term earnings growth rate of 10% and a Zacks Rank #2.More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.Click here for the 6 trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportChildren's Place, Inc. (The) (PLCE) : Free Stock Analysis ReportL Brands, Inc. (LB) : Free Stock Analysis ReportKering SA (PPRUY) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTiffany & Co. (TIF) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Should Saia (SAIA) be Considered a Great Value Stock? Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s putSaia Inc. SAIA stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:PE RatioA key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.On this front, Saia has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 14.65, as you can see in the chart below: This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 18.07. If we focus on the long-term PE trend, Saia’s current PE level puts it below its midpoint of 22.33 over the past five years. Moreover, the current level stands well below the highs for the stock, suggesting that it can be a solid entry point. Further, the stock’s PE also compares favorably with the Zacks Transportation sector’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 15.54. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is undervalued right now, compared to its peers. P/S RatioAnother key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.Right now, Saia has a P/S ratio of about 0.93. This is a bit lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.27x right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is well below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years. If anything, this suggests some level of undervalued trading—at least compared to historical norms.Broad Value OutlookIn aggregate, Saia currently has a Value Score of B, putting it into the top 40% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes Saia a solid choice for value investors, and some of its other key metrics make this pretty clear too.What About the Stock Overall?Though Saia might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth Score of A and a Momentum Score of F. This gives SAIA a Zacks VGM score — or its overarching fundamental grade — of A. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been dismal at best. The current year has seen no estimate go higher in the past sixty days compared to nine lower, while the next year estimate has seen one up and six down in the same time period.This has had a sluggish impact on the consensus estimate though as the current quarter consensus estimate has declined by 2.4% in the past two months, while the full year estimate has decreased by 1.8%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below: Saia, Inc. Price and Consensus Saia, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Saia, Inc. Quote Apart from this bearish mixed trend, the stock has just a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) which is why we are looking for in-line performance from the company in the near term.Bottom LineSaia is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. However, with a sluggish industry rank (among Bottom 13% of more than 250 industries) and a Zacks Rank #3, it is hard to get too excited about this company overall. In fact, over the past two years, the Zacks Transportation – Truck industry has clearly underperformed the broader market, as you can see below: So, value investors might want to wait for estimates and analyst sentiment to turn around in this name first, but once that happens, this stock could be a compelling pick.More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.Click here for the 6 trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportSaia, Inc. (SAIA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
MoneyGram (MGI) to Expand in Canada Via Flat-Fee Pricing MoneyGram International, Inc.MGI along with Canada Post has launched a low cost money remittance service in Canada. Per this service, any transaction of up to $500 will cost $10 to send from anywhere in Canada to anywhere around the world. This easy and simple pricing structure is expected to increase customers’ loyalty and draw new consumers for MoneyGram in Canada. MoneyGram is eying Canada, since demand for money-remittance services is high in this region, given its large immigrant community, which consists almost 22% of the population. In fact, in some of the major metropolitan areas like Vancouver and Toronto, almost 50% of the total population is immigrants, who need to transfer money back to their homes. Money remittance in Canada has mostly been a cash-based business, carried on via many store-front money transfer companies, thus leaving significant room for the growth of online money remittance. Immigrants have to shell out high cost to avail money remittance services and send money back home. The lack of online money remittance services is attracting new players to the industry, which is worth nearly $25 billion per year. Nearly eight million people in Canada require such services. Sensing this opportunity, Xoom, a subsidiary of PayPal Holdings, Inc. PYPL, introduced cheaper, quicker and more secure money transfer services last year. Western Union Co. WU also offers money remittance services in Canada. MoneyGram has a 15-year old relationship with Canada Post. Earlier this month, the company announced a new digital money transfer service with Canada Post, enabling consumers to start a transaction online and conveniently complete it at select Canada Post locations. MoneyGram has been making a number of deals, tie-ups and investments in technology, in an effort to boost its top line. The company’s revenues have been declining from the past two years and continued to slide in the first quarter of 2019.  Increasing competition in the U.S market and tighter restrictions in corridors such as Nigeria and the United States has brought the revenues under pressure. Revenue growth outlook remains dampened this year with the company expecting full-year 2019 revenues to decline approximately 2-4%. In a year’s time, the stock has declined 65%, compared with its industry’s rise of 0.3%. Though MoneyGram is developing and expanding its business via different strategies to stay ahead in the rapidly changing money transfer industry, it will incur substantial costs. In contrast, newer fintech players with cutting edge technology will stay ahead in the competition, thus leaving a gap for MoneyGram to catch up. MoneyGram, with a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), has witnessed a downward revision for 2019 earnings estimate by 59% in past 60 days. The same for 2020 is down by 45%. A better-ranked stock in the same space is Square Inc. SQ. The stock  with a Zacks Ranked #2 (Buy) has surpassed earnings estimate in each of the four reported quarters by 20.4%. You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.Click here for the 6 trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportSquare, Inc. (SQ) : Free Stock Analysis ReportPayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMoneyGram International Inc. (MGI) : Free Stock Analysis ReportThe Western Union Company (WU) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
New Strong Sell Stocks for June 26th Here are 5 stocks added to the Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) List today: AdvanSix Inc.ASIX manufactures and sells polymer resins. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has been revised 5.3% downward over the last 30 days. Avista CorporationAVA operates as an electric and natural gas utility company. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has been revised 1.6% downward over the last 30 days. Global Medical REIT Inc.GMRE is a medical office real estate investment trust. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has been revised 1.3% downward over the last 30 days. Heartland Financial USA, Inc.HTLF is a multi-bank holding company. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has been revised 1.8% downward over the last 30 days. ING Groep N.V.ING is a financial institution. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has been revised 2% downward over the last 30 days. View the entire Zacks Rank #5 List. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportAvista Corporation (AVA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportHeartland Financial USA, Inc. (HTLF) : Free Stock Analysis ReportING Group, N.V. (ING) : Free Stock Analysis ReportGlobal Medical REIT Inc. (GMRE) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAdvanSix Inc. (ASIX) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
FedEx CEO says trade war surprised him like a 'Mike Tyson' punch in the face FedEx’s (FDX) top executive assailed current U.S. trade policy as more protectionist measures threaten to upend the courier company’s business plans and take a bite out of its bottom line. “It reminds me a bit about that old adage of Mike Tyson that everybody has got a plan until they get hit in the mouth,” FedEx CEO Fred Smith said. “So clearly, we’ve been very disappointed over the last few years with the assumptions that we made on the growth in international trade, particularly with the Trump administration.” Smith made his remarks during a call with investors Tuesday in response to Barclays analyst Brandon Oglenski’s inquiry into FedEx’s growth strategy, especially relating to the company’s Express international air shipping business. FedEx Express’ operating income came under pressure in the fourth quarter, and the company declined to project fiscal 2020 earnings results for the segment. FedEx saidtrade disputes and low global growth ratescreated “significant uncertainty” for the business unit. “The United States policy since 1934 with Roosevelt and Secretary of State Cordell Hull was to expand international trade,” Smith said. “And now we have a huge dispute where the United States is basically become protectionist defined as, ‘I’ll make everything I need in my own borders. I don't need to import things and quite frankly don't particularly need to export them.’” Smith also acknowledged what he considered to be flaws with other countries’ trade policies as well, which have further confounded global trade flows. “We don’t agree with the Chinese position on trade either – and have been very vocal about that – which is mercantilist,” he added. In its fourth-quarter earnings release Tuesday, FedEx reported that its results for the current fiscal year would be negatively impacted by “weakness in global trade and industrial production.” The company guided toward a mid-single-digit percentage point decline in fiscal 2020 diluted earnings per share, after adjusting for certain retirement plans and integration expenses related to its acquisition of TNT Express. For thefiscal fourth quarter, FedEx reported better-than-expected results on the top and bottom lines, delivering adjusted earnings per share of $5.01 on revenue of $17.8 billion. FedEx has also taken issue with other dealings in U.S. trade policy. The Memphis, Tennessee-based company earlier this week filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Commerce Department requesting that the government “be permanently enjoined from enforcing the export administration regulations against FedEx in circumstances when the company has no knowledge that the contents of the shipment are subject to the [Export Administration Regulations],” FedEx’s general counsel said. In acourt filing, FedEx said that the export restriction rules “essentially deputize FedEx to police the contents of the millions of packages it ships daily even though doing so is a virtually impossible task, logistically, economically, and in many cases, legally.” FedEx argues that it should not be liable in the event that it accidentally ships products violating the Trump administrations’ restrictions. The lawsuit, which does not specifically name Chinese telecommunications company Huawei in its court filing, took place after the U.S. government in May added Huawei to a list of entities barred from receiving U.S. technology without a license from the Commerce Department. Shortly thereafter, Huawei complained that FedEx had delivered several of its packages to incorrect addresses, sparking an investigation into FedEx by China. On Tuesday, FedEx CEO Smith disputed claims that the incidences with Huawei were the primary motivation for the decision to file the lawsuit. “The Huawei packages were only peripherally involved in this lawsuit that we filed,” he said. “And in fact, it goes back many, many years, which is in the lawsuit itself and it concerns not contraband, which many people have confused the lawsuit as concerning. It concerns import and export controls as administered by the Department of Commerce.” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross disagreed with FedEx’s position in an interview withFox NewsTuesday, saying, “The regulation states that common carriers cannot knowingly ship items in contravention of the entity list or other export control authorities. It does not require a common carrier to be a policeman or to know what’s in every package.” Smith noted that five new companies were added to the Commerce Department’s Entity List of companies last Friday “with extraordinarily opaque requirements” around export regulation. Smith said fines for violations currently total $250,000 per package. — Emily McCormick is a reporter for Yahoo Finance.Follow her on Twitter: @emily_mcck Read more from Emily: • Don’t say ‘IPO’: What to know about Slack’s direct listing • Buffett on the American economy, capitalism: ‘It works’ • Tech companies like Lyft want your money – not ‘your opinion’ • Levi Strauss shares jump more than 30% above IPO price at open • Facebook sued by Trump administration for alleged ‘discriminatory’ ad practices • Boeing 737 Max groundings ‘pressure’ U.S. economic data: Wells Fargo Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,LinkedIn, andreddit.
Edgewell Personal Care Company (NYSE:EPC): What Does Its Beta Value Mean For Your Portfolio? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! If you own shares in Edgewell Personal Care Company (NYSE:EPC) then it's worth thinking about how it contributes to the volatility of your portfolio, overall. In finance, Beta is a measure of volatility. Modern finance theory considers volatility to be a measure of risk, and there are two main types of price volatility. The first type is company specific volatility. Investors use diversification across uncorrelated stocks to reduce this kind of price volatility across the portfolio. The second type is the broader market volatility, which you cannot diversify away, since it arises from macroeconomic factors which directly affects all the stocks on the market. Some stocks see their prices move in concert with the market. Others tend towards stronger, gentler or unrelated price movements. Beta is a widely used metric to measure a stock's exposure to market risk (volatility). Before we go on, it's worth noting that Warren Buffett pointed out in his 2014 letter to shareholders that 'volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' Having said that, beta can still be rather useful. The first thing to understand about beta is that the beta of the overall market is one. A stock with a beta below one is either less volatile than the market, or more volatile but not corellated with the overall market. In comparison a stock with a beta of over one tends to be move in a similar direction to the market in the long term, but with greater changes in price. Check out our latest analysis for Edgewell Personal Care Given that it has a beta of 0.85, we can surmise that the Edgewell Personal Care share price has not been strongly impacted by broader market volatility (over the last 5 years). This means that -- if history is a guide -- buying the stock would reduce the impact of overall market volatility in many portfolios (depending on the beta of the portfolio, of course). Many would argue that beta is useful in position sizing, but fundamental metrics such as revenue and earnings are more important overall. You can see Edgewell Personal Care's revenue and earnings in the image below. With a market capitalisation of US$1.5b, Edgewell Personal Care is a small cap stock. However, it is big enough to catch the attention of professional investors. Small companies often have a high beta value, but they can be heavily influenced by company-specific events. This might explain why this stock has a low beta. One potential advantage of owning low beta stocks like Edgewell Personal Care is that your overall portfolio won't be too sensitive to overall market movements. However, this can be a blessing or a curse, depending on what's happening in the broader market. This article aims to educate investors about beta values, but it's well worth looking at important company-specific fundamentals such as Edgewell Personal Care’s financial health and performance track record. I urge you to continue your research by taking a look at the following: 1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for EPC’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor EPC’s outlook. 2. Past Track Record: Has EPC been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look atthe free visual representations of EPC's historicalsfor more clarity. 3. Other Interesting Stocks: It's worth checking to see how EPC measures up against other companies on valuation. You could start with thisfree list of prospective options. 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.
Bank of England's Carney hints at stimulus in no-deal Brexit LONDON (AP) — The governor of the Bank of England gave his biggest hint yet that he'd back a stimulus package for the British economy if the country crashes out of the European Union at the end of October with no deal. In testimony to lawmakers on Wednesday, Mark Carney said the response from the bank's rate-setting panel to a no-deal Brexit will "not be automatic" and will depend on the impacts on demand, supply and on the exchange rate. A fall in the pound, for example, could lead to a rise in inflation that could prompt some rate-setters to want higher rates. "Some of us, myself included, not all of us, have said that on balance it's not equally weighted, the outcomes. So it's more likely that we will provide some stimulus in that event," Carney said. For Carney, dealing with the potential of a no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31 — Britain's revised departure date — will not last long as he's leaving the bank in January after nearly seven years at the helm. His successor has yet to be announced. Carney said the risks of a no-deal Brexit have increased in recent weeks and that's weighing on the economy, particularly on business investment and the housing market. Under a no-deal scenario, tariffs and other restrictions would be imposed on trade between Britain and the EU. Most economists think that will lead to a deep recession in Britain that would likely prompt the central bank to slash rates and launch another monetary stimulus program. However, if Britain secures a Brexit deal, "there would be a requirement for limited and gradual rate increases" to the main interest rate, which stands at 0.75%, Carney said. The discussion over a no-deal Brexit is at the forefront of the battle for the leadership of the Conservative Party between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt. The winner will become prime minister next month. Johnson, a former mayor of London, has said Britain will leave on Oct. 31 "do or die" while Hunt, the current foreign secretary, says it's an artificial deadline that could be extended again. Brexit has already been delayed after Parliament rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal three times. Both leadership candidates have said they will look to negotiate changes to the withdrawal agreement that deals with citizens' rights post-Brexit, Britain's financial obligations to the EU and making sure no hard border returns between EU member Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. Johnson has said that a "standstill" agreement can be reached which would see a temporary continuation of the tariff-free economic relationship between Britain and the EU. Story continues Carney and many others have said such an agreement is only possible if Britain and the EU are working toward a new trade deal. But there's no guarantee the EU would agree to that if issues within the withdrawal agreement, like the Irish border, have not been dealt with. The other countries in the World Trade Organization would also have to give their backing. Carney meanwhile warned that opting for a no-deal Brexit just to end the current economic uncertainty will be damaging. "There's a reason why in the 40-plus trade deals that have been stuck in the last quarter century between advanced economies that they've always had some form of transition from the status quo to the new arrangements," he said. "I would underscore that whatever arrangement we're coming to that it is highly desirable to give businesses enough time to adjust to that new reality." View comments
Walmart China introduces blockchain platform to trace produce Walmart China hasannouncedit is launching the Walmart China Blockchain Traceability Platform. The platform has been built on the VeChainThor Blockchain in partnership with PwC, VeChain and others. The first products have already started finding their way to the platform. As of now, there are 23 product lines on the blockchain, with another 100 to be added by the end of the year. Groceries ranging from fresh meat, to rice, to mushrooms have been added. Shoppers will be able to access information about the products they’re buying, including their origin, logistics process, and product inspection record. “Walmart has always worked to provide reliable products of quality and convenient services to customers, which is our core value proposition,” said Shi Jiaqi, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer of Walmart China. “With this target in mind, Walmart has continuously invested in the whole supply chain, from source procurement and commodity strategy, supply chain construction, to store and e-commerce platform operation management.” By the end of 2020, Walmart is predicting that half of the packaged fresh meat sold will be traced on the blockchain. Meanwhile, traceable vegetables will constitute 40 per cent of the total sales of packaged vegetables.
Before You Buy Edgewell Personal Care Company (NYSE:EPC), Consider Its Volatility Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! If you're interested in Edgewell Personal Care Company (NYSE:EPC), then you might want to consider its beta (a measure of share price volatility) in order to understand how the stock could impact your portfolio. Volatility is considered to be a measure of risk in modern finance theory. Investors may think of volatility as falling into two main categories. The first category is company specific volatility. This can be dealt with by limiting your exposure to any particular stock. The other type, which cannot be diversified away, is the volatility of the entire market. Every stock in the market is exposed to this volatility, which is linked to the fact that stocks prices are correlated in an efficient market. Some stocks see their prices move in concert with the market. Others tend towards stronger, gentler or unrelated price movements. Beta can be a useful tool to understand how much a stock is influenced by market risk (volatility). However, Warren Buffett said 'volatility is far from synonymous with risk' in his 2014 letter to investors. So, while useful, beta is not the only metric to consider. To use beta as an investor, you must first understand that the overall market has a beta of one. A stock with a beta greater than one is more sensitive to broader market movements than a stock with a beta of less than one. Check out our latest analysis for Edgewell Personal Care Zooming in on Edgewell Personal Care, we see it has a five year beta of 0.85. This is below 1, so historically its share price has been rather independent from the market. This suggests that including it in your portfolio will reduce volatility arising from broader market movements, assuming your portfolio's weighted average beta is higher than 0.85. Share price volatility is well worth considering, but most long term investors consider the history of revenue and earnings growth to be more important. Take a look at how Edgewell Personal Care fares in that regard, below. Edgewell Personal Care is a small company, but not tiny and little known. It has a market capitalisation of US$1.5b, which means it would be on the radar of intstitutional investors. Small companies can have a low beta value when company specific factors outweigh the influence of overall market volatility. That might be happening here. One potential advantage of owning low beta stocks like Edgewell Personal Care is that your overall portfolio won't be too sensitive to overall market movements. However, this can be a blessing or a curse, depending on what's happening in the broader market. This article aims to educate investors about beta values, but it's well worth looking at important company-specific fundamentals such as Edgewell Personal Care’s financial health and performance track record. I highly recommend you dive deeper by considering the following: 1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for EPC’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor EPC’s outlook. 2. Past Track Record: Has EPC been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look atthe free visual representations of EPC's historicalsfor more clarity. 3. Other Interesting Stocks: It's worth checking to see how EPC measures up against other companies on valuation. You could start with thisfree list of prospective options. 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.
Graham (GHM) Completes Divestment of Energy Steel Business Graham CorporationGHM yesterday announced that it successfully completed the divestment of its commercial nuclear utility business on Jun 24, 2019. The other party to the transaction was Hayward Tyler, a wholly-owned division of Avingtrans PLC. Financial terms of the transaction were kept under wraps.Notably, Graham’s shares gained 0.1% yesterday, closing the trading session at $20.75.Hayward Tyler is primarily engaged in developing and providing motors and critical pumps for customers in the energy sector. The firm has operations in India, China, the U.K. and the United States. It was established in 1815.Brief Discussion on DivestmentIt is worth mentioning here that prevailing challenges in the commercial nuclear industry made Graham decide to dispose of its commercial nuclear utility business — Energy Steel & Supply Co. As of Mar 31, 2019, the business was classified as ‘held for sale’ in Graham’s books.Located in Lapeer, MI, Energy Steel generated revenues of $8.3 million in fiscal 2019 (ended March 2019).This divestment will enable Graham to concentrate on other profitable businesses in defense, refining and petrochemical industries. Also, it will be accretive to the company’s margins and earnings. With a market capitalization of nearly $204 million, Graham currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). In the past 60 days, earnings estimates for the company have been lowered, reflecting bearish sentiments. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its earnings is pegged at 54 cents for fiscal 2020 (ending March 2020) and 75 cents for fiscal 2021 (ending March 2021), suggesting decline of 32.5% and 25% from the respective 60-day-ago figures.Graham Corporation Price and Consensus Graham Corporation price-consensus-chart | Graham Corporation QuoteIn the past three months, Graham’s shares have gained 6% compared with 6.7% growth recorded by the industry. Some better-ranked stocks in the industry are Roper Technologies, Inc. ROP, Chart Industries, Inc. GTLS and Flowserve Corporation FLS. All these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.In the past 30 days, earnings estimates for Roper and Chart Industries improved for the current year while remained stable for Flowserve. Further, average earnings surprise for the last four quarters was 8.43% for Roper, 16.56% for Chart Industries and 0.49% for Flowserve.More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.Click here for the 6 trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportRoper Technologies, Inc. (ROP) : Free Stock Analysis ReportChart Industries, Inc. (GTLS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportFlowserve Corporation (FLS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportGraham Corporation (GHM) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
No sign of progress at NATO in U.S.-Turkey dispute over Russian defenses By Phil Stewart BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States and Turkey appeared to make no progress during talks at NATO headquarters on Wednesday toward resolving a major dispute over Ankara's plans to acquire a Russian air defense system, just ahead of its expected July delivery. The United States says Turkey's acquisition of Russia'sS-400 air defenses poses a threat to Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 stealthy fighters, which Turkey also planned to buy. Washington says Ankara cannot have both and has started the process of removing Turkey from the F-35 program, including halting training of Turkish pilots in the United States on the advanced, stealth aircraft. Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper warned his Turkish counterpart, Hulusi Akar, during closed-door talks on Wednesday that Turkish acquisition would also have an economic impact, a senior U.S. defense official said, in a nod to expected U.S. sanctions. "The secretary was very firm, once again, that Turkey will not have both the S-400 and the F-35. And if they accept the S-400 they should accept ramifications not only to the F-35 program but also to their economic situation," the official said. Buying military equipment from Russia leaves Turkey vulnerable to U.S. retribution under a 2017 law known as the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA. Turkey has played down U.S. concerns about the security of the F-35 and insists it cannot back away from the S-400 purchase. U.S. offers to supply it with Patriot missiles, manufactured by Raytheon Co, have failed to sway Ankara. Asked if Turkey changed its position in any way, the official said: "There were no surprises but...the minister and the secretary were very clear with each other." ERDOGAN-TRUMP MEETING If the United States follows through with removing Turkey from the F-35 program, and imposes sanctions on the NATO ally, it would be one of the most significant ruptures in recent history in the relationship between the two nations, experts said. Story continues But strains in ties between Washington and Ankara already extend beyond the F-35 to include conflicting strategy in Syria, Iran sanctions and the detention of U.S. consular staff in Turkey. Turkey's defense ministry issued a short statement acknowledging that the F-35 came up in discussions, as well as Syria and "other bilateral security and defense cooperation issues." The ministry said Esper and Akar "emphasized the importance of maintaining dialogue between Turkey and the United States." The head of Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport, Alexander Mikheev, was quoted on Wednesday saying Russia would make first delivery of the S-400 missile systems to Turkey in July. With the clock ticking, attention will shift to an expected meeting between Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump at the G20 summit in Japan this week. Erdogan has said he expected to discuss the issue with Trump. Erdogan said last week that his relations with Trump were at a "very good" point, adding that the two leaders could reach a solution to bilateral issues through telephone diplomacy. On Wednesday, speaking to reporters before departing for the G20 summit, Erdogan said he had not seen any indications in his talks with Trump that the United States will impose sanctions on Ankara over the S-400 deal, but added that he would discuss the issue once again during bilateral talks with Trump. "Both myself and my ministers have stated several times that this issue was finished and that we were on the delivery stage now. For some reason, what we say isn't heeded much, and what others say is being taken into consideration," Erdogan said. "Turkey is a NATO member. The United States is also a NATO member. If NATO members have started imposing sanctions on each other, I'm not aware of this," he added. "In the talks I have held with Mr Trump so far, I have not seen any indications of this, but people in lower ranks keep mentioning these." One senior NATO diplomat said the meeting between the two leaders was probably the last chance of finding a solution. But officials in Ankara and Washington are cautious. "Everything indicates that Russia is going to deliver the system to Turkey and that will have consequences," Kay Bailey Hutchison, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, said in Brussels on Tuesday. (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Additional reporting by Robin Emmott in Brussels, Ezgi Erkoyun in Istanbul and Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Alistair Bell, William Maclean)
UPDATE 1-Barrick stands firm, saying Acacia's mine plans need changes (Adds details on mine plans, background) June 26 (Reuters) - Barrick Gold Corp on Wednesday stuck to its offer to buy out Acacia Mining, saying assumptions made by the smaller firm about its mine plans were out of touch and changes were indeed needed. Acacia said majority shareholder Barrick's proposal undervalued its mine plans and appears to have ignored the value of its exploration and development assets. Barrick, the world's second largest gold miner, had valued Acacia's assets at $1.3 billion in its 2018 annual report but said last week that following a review it concluded some of Acacia's assumptions about its assets were not supportable. Barrick fired back on Wednesday that Acacia had not raised any points that it was not already aware of. Barrick's proposal to take full control of Acacia to resolve a long-standing tax dispute with Tanzania has drawn the ire of Acacia's minority shareholders, who may have the ultimate vote on a deal. Barrick spun off Acacia in 2010, but maintains a 63.9% stake. Its proposal last month followed two years of wrangling over a $190 billion Tanzanian tax bill, which has since been reduced to $300 million. Acacia disagreed with Barrick's valuation and said a fair value buyout offer from Barrick would be attractive. Barrick said on Wednesday its proposed offer reflects the fair value of Acacia. Acacia has said its life of mine plans have been formulated in line with "industry standard methodology", adding that it hosted Barrick representatives for site visits during the first quarter of 2019 and gave Barrick its draft life of mine plans. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Bernard Orr)
Tractor Supply Displays Solid Run, Outruns Industry & S&P 500 Tractor Supply CompanyTSCO has been a sturdy performer, evident from its robust earnings and sales surprise history, and stock momentum. Impressively, the company has delivered top- and bottom-line beat in six of the trailing seven quarters. In fact, this leading rural lifestyle retailer has been consistently performing well, courtesy of its robust store-growth and omni-channel efforts.Buoyed by such positives, shares of this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company have surged 38.7% in a year, outperforming the industry’s 16% rally and the S&P 500’s 7.8% gain. You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Factors Aiding the Bullish RunTractor Supply remains quite resilient in a dynamic retail landscape. In this regard, it is imperative to mention that the company targets integration of physical and digital operations to offer consumers a seamless shopping experience through the ‘ONETractor’ initiative. Meanwhile, the company is reaping significant benefits from its Buy Online Pick Up in Store program. Also, it continues to expand the Neighbor’s Club loyalty program, outpacing its targeted membership growth goals in 2018. Apparently, the company delivered robust double-digit e-commerce sales growth for 27 straight quarters in first-quarter 2019.Apart from technological advancements, Tractor Supply is committed toward expansion of store base to drive traffic and the top line. The company has also been improving marketing and merchandising initiatives as well as its supply chain efficiencies to boost profitability. In 2019, the company plans to open about 80 namesake and 10-15 Petsense stores. These endeavors make us confident about the company’s accomplishment of domestic store-growth target of 2,500 in the long term.Furthermore, the acquisition of Petsense — a leading specialty retailer of pet supplies and services — has reinforced Tractor Supply’s foothold in the flourishing pet specialty space. Currently, Petsense is focusing on digital marketing methods to better engage with customers, revamp the website and enhance customer rewards program.These factors have been driving Tractor Supply’s comparable store sales (comps) since the last few quarters. Comps are fueled by broad-based sales growth across its unique model as well as improvement in all geographic regions and major product categories. Strength in everyday merchandise such as consumable, usable and edible products also aided comps growth. The metric improved 5% in the first quarter of 2019, following a respective rise of 5.7%, 5.1%, 5.6% and 3.7% in the fourth, third, second and first quarters of 2018. Management remains confident about benefiting from the spring selling season in the second quarter.While the aforementioned traits remain robust, higher cost of investments toward infrastructure and technology concern us a little. Escalated transportation and SG&A expenses coupled with unfavorable product mix is an added headwind. In 2019, management anticipates a slight rise in SG&A, attributable to the ramp up of its latest distribution center, ongoing wage pressures and increased depreciation expenses.Wrapping UpGiven Tractor Supply’s well-chalked strategies and consistent performance, we expect the company to maintain the momentum going ahead.3 Other Key Retail PicksDICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc. DKS delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 16.2% in the last four quarters. The company has a Zacks Rank #2.Stitch Fix, Inc. SFIX, which presently carries a Zacks Rank #2, has an impressive long-term earnings growth rate of 22.5%.Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. BBW, also a Zacks Rank #2 stock, has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 9%.More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020. Click here for the 6 trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportDICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc. (DKS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportBuild-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (BBW) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTractor Supply Company (TSCO) : Free Stock Analysis ReportStitch Fix, Inc. (SFIX) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Trump Warns of ‘Plan B’ on China Trade: Billions More in Tariffs President Donald Trump said substantial additional U.S. tariffs would be placed on goods from China if there’s no progress on a trade deal after his planned meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G-20 Summit in Japan. “My Plan B with China is to take in billions and billions of dollars a month and we’ll do less and less business with them,” Trump said Wednesday during an interview with Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo. Trump has previously said he may decide to raise tariffs on the remaining $300 billion of Chinese imports if he doesn’t like what he hears from Xi at this weekend’s summit in Osaka. The two leaders are expected to meet Saturday — something financial markets worldwide will be watching carefully. U.S. stock futures pared gains after the president’s comments. Shares rose earlier after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reiterated he was “hopeful” for an eventual trade deal as leaders of the two countries prepare to meet at the G-20 summit. An alternate course as the trade talks resume may be that U.S. suspends the next round of tariffs on the additional $300 billion of Chinese imports, BloombergreportedTuesday. If the tariffs on the broader set of goods does go into effect, it could be at a 10% rate rather than 25%, Trump said in the television interview Wednesday. ”My plan B’s maybe my plan A, my plan B is that if we don’t make a deal I will tariff, and maybe not at 25%, but maybe at 10%,” Trump said in the interview Wednesday. Trump also said that he likes China and he likes Xi but “they have taken advantage of us for so long.” “They devalue their currency like a ping-pong ball,” he said. The talks between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies mark a critical juncture in their trade war, which has gone on for more than a year, and both sides have plenty to lose if it escalates. No detailed trade deal is expected from the leaders’ summit, a senior U.S. administration official said Tuesday. The goal of the meeting is to create a path forward for a trade agreement, after negotiations broke down last month. —Meet the2020 Democratic presidential candidatesyou’ve (probably) never heard of —Issues that divide 2020 candidates going into thefirst Democratic debate —Meetthe Republicanslikely to challenge Trump in the 2020 primary —Why 2020 Democratic presidential candidates are flocking toFox News —How woulda recessionshape the 2020 presidential race? —The campaign finance power behindTrump impeachment efforts
Does Ramsdens Holdings PLC (LON:RFX) Have A Place In Your Dividend Portfolio? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Dividend paying stocks like Ramsdens Holdings PLC (LON:RFX) tend to be popular with investors, and for good reason - some research suggests a significant amount of all stock market returns come from reinvested dividends. If you are hoping to live on your dividends, it's important to be more stringent with your investments than the average punter. Regular readers know we like to apply the same approach to each dividend stock, and we hope you'll find our analysis useful. Ramsdens Holdings yields a solid 4.0%, although it has only been paying for two years. A 4.0% yield does look good. Could the short payment history hint at future dividend growth? Some simple research can reduce the risk of buying Ramsdens Holdings for its dividend - read on to learn more. 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. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. Ramsdens Holdings paid out 43% of its profit as dividends, over the trailing twelve month period. This is a middling range that strikes a nice balance between paying dividends to shareholders, and retaining enough earnings to invest in future growth. Besides, if reinvestment opportunities dry up, the company has room to increase the dividend. We update our data on Ramsdens Holdings 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 company has been paying a stable dividend for a few years now, but we'd like to see more evidence of consistency over a longer period. During the past two-year period, the first annual payment was UK£0.026 in 2017, compared to UK£0.072 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 66% per year over this time. The dividend has been growing pretty quickly, which could be enough to get us interested even though the dividend history is relatively short. Further research may be warranted. 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 Ramsdens Holdings has grown its earnings per share at 35% per annum over the past three years. Earnings per share have rocketed in recent times, and we like that the company is retaining more than half of its earnings to reinvest. However, always remember that very few companies can grow at double digit rates forever. We'd also point out that Ramsdens Holdings 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. Firstly, we like that Ramsdens Holdings has a low and conservative payout ratio. We were also glad to see it growing earnings, although its dividend history is not as long as we'd like. Ramsdens Holdings has a number of positive attributes, but falls short of our ideal dividend company. It may be worth a look at the right price, though. See if management have their own wealth at stake, by checking insider shareholdings inRamsdens Holdings stock. We have also put together alist of global stocks with a market capitalisation above $1bn and yielding more 3%. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
CANADA FX DEBT-C$ climbs to 4-month high amid trade deal optimism * Canadian dollar rises 0.1% against the greenback * Loonie touches its strongest since March 1 at 1.3142 * Price of U.S. oil increases 2.7% * Canadian bond prices fall across the yield curve TORONTO, June 26 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar strengthened to a near four-month high against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday as oil prices rose and investors became more optimistic that the United States and China would strike a trade deal. U.S. stocks rose after comments by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin fueled optimism that the United States and China would strike a trade deal. Canada has its own trade issues with China. Still, it is a major exporter of commodities, including oil, so its economy could benefit from reduced uncertainty for global trade. The price of oil was buoyed by an outage at a major refinery on the U.S. East Coast and industry data that showed U.S. crude stockpiles fell more than expected. U.S. crude oil futures were up 2.7% at $59.40 a barrel At 9:40 a.m. (1340 GMT), the Canadian dollar was trading 0.1% higher at 1.3154 to the greenback, or 76.02 U.S. cents. The currency touched its strongest intraday level since March 1 at 1.3142. The loonie rose even as China said it wants the Canadian government to stop allowing meat shipments to China after bogus export certificates were discovered. Canadian government bond prices were lower across the yield curve in sympathy with U.S. Treasuries, with the two-year down 3 Canadian cents to yield 1.419% and the 10-year falling 21 Canadian cents to yield 1.457%. Canadian gross domestic product data for April is due for release on Friday. (Reporting by Fergal Smith Editing by Nick Zieminski)
KBR Surges More Than 61% YTD, Outperforms Peers & S&P 500 KBR, Inc.KBR has been gaining investors’ confidence on the back of robust contribution from Government and Technology Solutions businesses, courtesy of ongoing growth in overseas logistics and mission support programs.Shares of the company have rallied 61.1% so far this year compared with its industry’s 23.2% collective growth. Also, the company has outperformed the S&P 500’s 16.2% rise in the said period. Encouragingly, its earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in seven of the trailing eight quarters.Notably, earnings estimates have been upwardly revised over the past few weeks, suggesting that sentiments on KBR are moving in the right direction. Although earnings estimates for 2019 have remained stable, the same for 2020 has moved up 2.7% over the past 60 days. This positive trend signifies bullish analysts’ sentiments and justifies the company’s Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), indicating robust fundamentals and the expectation of outperformance in the near term. You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Key CatalystsStrong Growth Prospects in Government & Technology Solution Businesses:KBR's revenue momentum is underpinned by industry-leading organic growth from Government Solution and Technology Solution businesses. The company’s Government business, accounting for almost 72.7% of total revenues, has been performing pretty well. Organically, sales from the Government Solutions business recorded 22% growth in the first quarter, following a 31% increase in fourth-quarter 2018. The segment recorded 44% revenue growth in the first quarter. Its industry-leading organic revenue growth was underpinned by on-contract growth in logistics and engineering, take-away wins, alongside new work awarded under the company’s portfolio of well-positioned contracting vehicles.KBR’s Technology business, which contributed 6.9% to total revenues, generated 48.4% revenue growth (48% on an organic basis) in the first quarter of 2019. The company continues to experience strong demand for innovative solutions across chemical, petrochemical and refining markets. Higher proprietary equipment sales also contributed to the upside.Solid Backlog to Aid Top Line:KBR’s solid backlog level of $13.6 billion (as of Mar 31, 2019), compared with $13.5 billion in the corresponding period of 2018, highlights its underlying strength. Notably, nearly 80% of the backlog represents work in Government Solutions. Majority of the work represent long-term reimbursable service annuity-type contracts that have significantly lower risks than some of the other projects. The company believes that this will ultimately help in margin expansion and considerably de-risking of business. Going forward, KBR expects broad-based growth across all segments. Primary growth drivers include high-end and differentiated government business work, strong margin performance, and technology and consulting business.The company, which shares space with Fluor Corporation FLR, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. JEC and Quanta Services, Inc. PWR in the Zacks Engineering - R and D Services industry, currently expects 2019 adjusted earnings per share in the band of $1.58-$1.73.Operating cash flows are projected in the range of $175-$205 million, with operating cash flow to net income ratio of 90-110%.Impressive Inorganic Drive:Acquisitions and strategic alliances have been KBR’s preferred mode of expanding market share and leveraging new business opportunities. The acquisitions of SGT and Aspire in 2018 had helped the company to record double-digit organic growth and higher margins in each of the second and third quarters of 2018. It remains optimistic about the prospects of both the buyouts, mainly on account of increased government spending across space and defense.Superior ROE:KBR’s return on equity (“ROE”) supports its growth potential. The company’s ROE of 12.8% compares favorably with the industry’s average of 11.4%, implying that it is efficient in using its shareholders’ funds.More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.Click here for the 6 trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportJacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportQuanta Services, Inc. (PWR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportFluor Corporation (FLR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportKBR, Inc. (KBR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
How Does Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd. (CVE:EOG) Affect Your Portfolio Volatility? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! If you're interested in Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd. (CVE:EOG), then you might want to consider its beta (a measure of share price volatility) in order to understand how the stock could impact your portfolio. Modern finance theory considers volatility to be a measure of risk, and there are two main types of price volatility. The first category is company specific volatility. This can be dealt with by limiting your exposure to any particular stock. The other type, which cannot be diversified away, is the volatility of the entire market. Every stock in the market is exposed to this volatility, which is linked to the fact that stocks prices are correlated in an efficient market. Some stocks see their prices move in concert with the market. Others tend towards stronger, gentler or unrelated price movements. Beta can be a useful tool to understand how much a stock is influenced by market risk (volatility). However, Warren Buffett said 'volatility is far from synonymous with risk' in his 2014 letter to investors. So, while useful, beta is not the only metric to consider. To use beta as an investor, you must first understand that the overall market has a beta of one. Any stock with a beta of greater than one is considered more volatile than the market, while those with a beta below one are either less volatile or poorly correlated with the market. View our latest analysis for Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Given that it has a beta of 1.68, we can surmise that the Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas share price has been fairly sensitive to market volatility (over the last 5 years). If the past is any guide, we would expect that Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas shares will rise quicker than the markets in times of optimism, but fall faster in times of pessimism. Beta is worth considering, but it's also important to consider whether Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas is growing earnings and revenue. You can take a look for yourself, below. Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas is a rather small company. It has a market capitalisation of CA$270m, which means it is probably under the radar of most investors. It has a relatively high beta, suggesting it is fairly actively traded for a company of its size. Because it takes less capital to move the share price of a small company like this, when a stock this size is actively traded it is quite often more sensitive to market volatility than similar large companies. Since Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas tends to moves up when the market is going up, and down when it's going down, potential investors may wish to reflect on the overall market, when considering the stock. This article aims to educate investors about beta values, but it's well worth looking at important company-specific fundamentals such as Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas’s financial health and performance track record. I highly recommend you dive deeper by considering the following: 1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for EOG’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor EOG’s outlook. 2. Past Track Record: Has EOG been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look atthe free visual representations of EOG's historicalsfor more clarity. 3. Other Interesting Stocks: It's worth checking to see how EOG measures up against other companies on valuation. You could start with thisfree list of prospective options. 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.
Est??e Lauder, Visteon, FedEx, Micron and Broadcom highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day For Immediate Release Chicago, IL – June 26, 2019 – Zacks Equity Research Estée Lauder EL as the Bull of the Day, Visteon Corporation VC as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on FedEx FDX, Micron MU and Broadcom AVGO. Here is a synopsis of all five stocks: Bull of the Day: Shares of Estée Lauder have crushed the market in 2019 and touched yet another new high on Tuesday. The high-end makeup firm posted better-than-projected third quarter fiscal 2019 results in May and raised its full-year outlook. EL Overview Estée Lauder’s business is made up completely of what it calls “prestige” skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care. Today, the historic beauty company’s portfolio includes over 25 brands that are sold around the world. This list includes its namesake Estée Lauder, as well as Michael Kors, Tom Ford Beauty, Tommy Hilfiger, and many more. The overall prestige beauty industry is in the midst of a boom that includes upstart brands that have been able to expand in a digital and social media-focused retail age, led by the likes of Instagram and others. For instance, music star Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty brand, which she owns with French luxury goods giant LVMH, exploded onto the scene in just a few years to help her become the world’s richest female musician, according toForbes. “Favorable demographic trends make prestige beauty a desirable, growing industry, and as the best diversified pure play, we are confident in our ability to lead and to gain global share,” EL’s CEO Fabrizio Freda said in prepared remarks last quarter. Estée Lauder’s chief executive has helped the company impress Wall Street in recent years. The firm has topped our quarterly Zacks earnings estimates for 19 straight periods. Meanwhile, the makeup giant’s quarterly sales results have beaten expectations nine quarters in a row. Last quarter, EL’s strongest growth drivers were the Asia/Pacific region, along with skin care, its namesake brand, La Mer and Tom Ford Beauty brands, as well as travel retail and global online channels. Plus, as we mentioned at the top, Estée Lauder raised its net sales and EPS guidance for the year. Price Movement With all this in mind, it’s easy to see why EL stock is up big over the last several years. Shares of Estée Lauder have climbed 41% since the start of the year, which blows away the S&P 500’s 16% and the Soaps-Cosmetics Market’s 22%—which includes Avon, e.l.f. Beauty, Revlon and others. EL closed Tuesday at $183.95 per share, after touching a brand new 52-week and all-time high of $184.48 in intraday trading. Outlook & Earnings Trends Moving on, current Zacks Consensus Estimate calls for the company’s fourth-quarter fiscal 2019 revenue to jump 6.5% to $3.51 billion. This would mark a slowdown from last quarter’s 11% top-line expansion. Meanwhile, Estée Lauder’s full-year revenue is projected to jump 8.1% to $14.79 billion. Peeking further ahead, EL’s fiscal 2020 revenue is expected to climb nearly 7% above our current-year estimate to $15.79 billion in a sign of stable and strong top-line growth. At the bottom end of the income statement, Estée Lauder’s adjusted Q4 earnings are projected to slip 18% to $0.50 per share. Despite this expected downturn, EL’s full-year fiscal 2019 earnings are expected to jump 15.5% to $5.21 per share. On top of that, the company’s fiscal 2020 EPS figure is projected to surge 10.6% higher than our 2019 estimate. Along with its expected longer-term earnings growth, Estée Lauder has topped earnings estimates in the trailing four periods by an average of 14%, including a 19% beat last quarter, as part of the larger run of positive surprises. Plus, EL’s fiscal 2019 and 2020 estimates have come up in a big way over the last 60 days. Bottom Line A few of EL’s key valuation metrics are currently a little stretched compared to where they have been over the last five years, which is to be somewhat expected as Estée Lauder stock continues to climb. Yet, Estée Lauder’s longer-term earnings estimate positivity helps the company earn a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at the moment. Some investors might be hesitant to think about buying EL at its new highs, so it might not hurt to wait for a possible pullback. But buying a stock at new highs shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand, because if you owned the stock already one would be extremely happy to see it continue to hit new highs as it has for the last six months. Estée Lauder is also a dividend payer that has raised its payout in recent years. And the Cosmetics industry, which Estée Lauder is part of, rests in the top 11% of our 254 Zacks industries right now. Bear of the Day: Visteon Corporation shares have tumbled 20% since the company reported disappointing first-quarter 2019 results in April. Looking ahead, the cockpit electronics and connected-car technology firm’s full-year fiscal 2019 earnings are projected to tumble. Quick Overview Visteon designs, engineers, and manufactures cockpit electronics and connected car solutions. The Van Buren Township, Michigan-headquartered firm could be in a position to capitalize on the long-term digitalization of the auto industry as vehicle displays look more and more like something out of a science fiction novel. With that said, Visteon posted a massive first quarter earnings miss. The firm posted adjusted Q1 earnings of $0.53 per share, when our Zacks Consensus Estimate called for $1.06 per share. On top of that, Visteon’s quarterly revenue slipped from $814 million in the year-ago period to $737 million. The company blamed the top-line drop on “unfavorable vehicle production volumes, customer pricing net of design changes, and unfavorable currency.” Meanwhile, executives said the margin crunch, which led to the big earning miss, was caused by “lower sales, launch challenges with a curved center information display, inefficiencies associated with a plant transfer in Mexico, and timing of engineering expense.” Visteon CEO Sachin Lawande said he expects the operational challenges that hurt margins last quarter to diminish and be largely resolved in the second and third quarters. Despite the positivity from executives, Wall Street hasn’t been kind to VC stock. In fact, shares of Visteon have plummeted roughly 60% over the last 12 months, as part of a larger rollercoaster ride over the past five years. Visteon closed regular trading Tuesday at $54.79 per share. Outlook & Earnings Trends Looking ahead to Q2, the connected car tech firm’s revenue is projected to slip 3.3% from $758.00 million in the prior-year quarter to $732.72 million, based on our current Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company’s full-year fiscal 2019 revenue is projected to slip 1.8% to $2.93 billion. Moving onto the bottom end of the income statement, the company’s adjusted second-quarter earnings are projected to decline roughly 71% from $1.37 in Q2 2018 to $0.40 per share. VC’s Q3 EPS figure is then expected to dip 1.8%. Overall, full-year earnings are projected to fall 38.5%, driven by Q1’s downturn and Q2’s projected decline. Furthermore, the company’s earnings estimates have trended heavily in the wrong direction recently. More specifically, the company’s 2019, 2020, and 2021 earnings estimates have tumbled for some time now. Bottom Line Visteon’s negative earnings estimate revision picture helps the company earn a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) at the moment. VC also sports an “F” grade for Momentum in our Style Scores system. It is worth noting that the company is projected to rebound slightly on both the top and bottom lines in 2020 from the projected 2019 downturns. But until Visteon shows some signs of a turnaround, investors are probably best served to stay away. Both FedEx (FDX) and Micron (MU) Beat on Bottom Line A couple key earnings reports hit the tape after Tuesday's market close, with global delivery and logistics giantFedExbeating bottom-line estimates by 20 cents per share, while semiconductor majorMicronbeat even bigger: $1.05 per share versus 78 cents expected. For revenues, FedEx came in about exactly even with estimates at $17.8 billion, while Micron surprised to the upside to $4.79 billion. Put in proper context, however, Micron's top line took a big hit year over year -- $7.8 billion was what the company reported in the year-ago quarter. Industry-related difficulties related to U.S.-China trade-war casualty Huawei and its access to U.S.-based semi firms like Micron (which is based in Boise, ID) have already tripped up companies likeBroadcom, so investors were looking for a bit of a slip in MU's report this afternoon. In fact, the Semiconductor Memory sub-industry is the lowest in the Zacks universe: 254 out of 254. For FedEx, this is the company's first earnings beat in its last 4 quarters; FDX had missed on the bottom line 6 of its previous 10 quarters. International softness -- again stemming from the trade war between the U.S. and China -- were expected here, as well. Earlier today, FedEx filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Commerce, claiming the department's prohibitions related to Export Administration Regulations is unfairly hurting FDX's business. While both these companies have been facing challenges that showed up in quarterly data this afternoon, neither suffered the dire possibilities that some analysts were expecting. We now look to the companies' conference calls for a way forward for both. Ahead of the earnings releases, FedEx was rated a Zacks Rank #2 (Hold), while Micron was a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). (NOTE: We are reissuing this article to correct a mistake. The original version, released only minutes before, should not be relied upon.) Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside? Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana. Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look. See the pot trades we're targeting>> Media Contact Zacks Investment Research 800-767-3771 ext. 9339 support@zacks.com https://www.zacks.com Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportVisteon Corporation (VC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportThe Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (EL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportBroadcom Inc. (AVGO) : Free Stock Analysis ReportFedEx Corporation (FDX) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMicron Technology, Inc. (MU) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Antero Midstream (AM) Declines 12.3%: Where's it Headed? Antero Midstream CorporationAM has lost 12.3% since the present form of the company came into existence. The structural simplification deal between Antero Midstream GP LP and Antero Midstream Partners LP was concluded on Mar 12, 2019, leading to the creation of Antero Midstream Corporation. The pricing chart given below shows that Antero Midstream has underperformed the Zacks Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry, which has lost 1.4% since Mar 12. The Oil-Energy Sector declined 3.5% during this period. Let’s see which way the company is headed for the future. Estimate Revisions The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 earnings per share has been revised downward to 85 cents from 98 cents over the past 60 days, with five estimates going downward and no upward estimate revision. Similarly, for 2020, four estimates have moved lower in the past two months versus none higher. The consensus estimate has declined from $1.21 per share 60 days ago to $1.08 today, reflecting a 10.7% decrease. Factors Deterring the Stock Antero Midstream is a provider of integrated and customized midstream services for natural gas producers. Now let’s consider the present economic environment with respect to the energy market. Global economic slowdown is expected to hurt clean energy demand. The price of natural gas has declined significantly over the past few months. Moreover, per U.S. Energy Information Administration, Henry Hub natural gas spot price is expected to be $2.77/MMBtu in 2019, indicating a 13.7% decrease from 2018 levels. Thus, weak demand and low commodity price are likely to hurt the production of natural gas. Lower production volumes could dent demand for midstream infrastructures, thereby hurting Antero Midstream. The company primarily provides services to Antero Resources. Thus, Antero Midstream is losing the opportunity to earn more fee-based revenues by providing midstream services to other drillers in the prolific Marcellus and Utica Shale plays, wherein demand for transportation and storage assets is on the rise. Decrease in completion activities in the company’s Marcellus and Utica fresh water delivery systems is a concern. In fact, Antero Midstream’s first-quarter 2019 results were affected by lower fresh water delivery volumes, which came in at 13,732 thousand barrels, down 31% from the prior-year level. If the situation persists, the company’s future profits will be affected. As of Mar 31, 2019, Antero Midstream had only $2 million in cash and cash equivalents, while long-term debt was $2,390 million, reflecting weakness in balance sheet. This will likely constrain the company’s financial flexibility. Last Words Given the headwinds mentioned above, Antero Midstream seems like a risky bet that ordinary investors should avoid, as the company’s prospects appear bleak. As such, it currently has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). Key Picks Some better-ranked players in the energy space are Plains Group Holdings, L.P. PAGP, Holly Energy Partners, L.P. HEP and Kinder Morgan, Inc. KMI. While Plains Group is carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Holly Energy and Kinder Morgan have a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Plains Group’s sales growth is projected at 26.1% through second-quarter 2019. Holly Energy’s 2019 earnings per share are estimated to rise 8.8% year over year. Kinder Morgan’s 2019 earnings per share are estimated to increase 11.2% year over year. More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone! It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market. Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020. Click here for the 6 trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportAntero Midstrm (AM) : Free Stock Analysis ReportKinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI) : Free Stock Analysis ReportPlains Group Holdings, L.P. (PAGP) : Free Stock Analysis ReportHolly Energy Partners, L.P. (HEP) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Wet Spring Reduces Crop, Raises Corn Prices: 'It's Hard To Get Your Head Around Just How Bad It Is' A deluge of spring rains left many of the Midwest’s corn belt fields unplanted late this year, resulting in the smallest corn crop forecast in four years. The wet weather has raised corn prices, but added to uncertainty for Heartland farmers. The Department of Agriculture reduced its planting estimate in early June for the $51-billion corn market by more than 3% and lowered the corn yield estimate by nearly 6%. Wettest Winter In 124 Years The most recentUSDA crop progressreport released June 17 showed 92% of corn planted, and 77% of soybeans. The rain that left millions of acres unplanted late in the season also could threaten the corn that has been planted. Late-planted corn crops usually have much lower yields. Major corn-producing states, including Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, still werenowhere near completelyplanted in early June, far behind the usual schedule. The wet spring plagued much of the middle of the country beyond just those three states. The National Centers for Environmental Information said the U.S. had the wettest winter in 124 years of record keeping. “I never thought we'd see this widespread of a weather issue — all the way from South Dakota to Ohio," Jerry Gulke, president of the Gulke Group, told Farm Journal’s AgWeb. “It's hard to get your head around just how bad it is.” Higher Prices The forecasts pushed U.S. corn future prices to five-year highs in recent weeks. That's normally good news for farmers. “It seems like a long time that we’ve been waiting for that $5.50 level that nobody thought we could ever see again. Yet cash corn is trading in some cases over $5 now because of the sense of urgency to get your hands on feed,” Gulke told the publication. Spot corn prices had risen nearly 20% in early June just since the first of the year as the rains kept falling and the soil kept getting wetter. Some Midwestern farmers won’t benefit much from the higher prices because of the expected smaller crops. And some will make crop insurance claims instead. Investors watching corn prices rise have seen theTeucrium Corn Fund(NYSE:CORN) rise since early May. Soybean prices have also gone higher because of the poor growing conditions. Ripple Effect Midwestern farm towns have seen a ripple effect from the slow planting season, with farm-reliant corn belt businesses from seed companies to grain elevators to trucking companies reporting sluggishness. While higher prices are welcomed by farmers who have seen low crop prices for years, the planting trouble brings more uncertainty, on top of uneasiness already put on farmers by the ongoing U.S.-China trade war. Related Links: U.S. Agricultural Exporters Caught In Middle Of Trade War With China US Department Of Agriculture Lowers Export Estimates For Corn, Wheat See more from Benzinga • Instagram's Mosseri On Deepfakes: 'If It Takes Too Long To Identify It...The Damage Is Done' • Morgan Stanley: Medtronic's B Financing Could Be 10-Cent EPS Tailwind • Match Group Analyst Projects Nearly 400K Net New Q2 Tinder Adds © 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
FedEx Sees ‘Transition Year’ as Trade Damps E-Commerce Gains (Bloomberg) -- FedEx Corp. predicted a “transition year’’ for fiscal 2020, with an improving outlook for e-commerce profits tempered by concerns that international trade tensions will worsen. Revenue per package in the ground-delivery operation rose 2.2% in the quarter ending May 31 as volume growth accelerated to 8.8%, FedEx said in a statement late Tuesday. That signaled progress in the courier’s push to extract higher profits from the surge in home deliveries driven by online shopping. FedEx is stepping up efforts to become the low-cost provider of e-commerce deliveries, paring jobs and partnering with companies such as Dollar General Corp. to add pickup and drop-off sites. But FedEx is struggling to shore up its Express air-delivery division -- the unit most threatened by escalating trade tensions, especially between the U.S. and China. “The utilization of the ground network and the opportunity they feel that they have with e-commerce to significantly grow is the positive that people are taking out of this,” said Trip Miller, managing partner at Gullane Capital Partners, which owns FedEx shares. “But certainly, we didn’t hear anything positive about China. We didn’t hear anything positive about Europe.” The shares fell 1.1% to $154.21 at 9:45 a.m. Wednesday in New York. The shares had dropped 3.3% this year through Tuesday, while rival United Parcel Service Inc. was little changed and a Standard & Poor’s index of industrial companies advanced 19%. Weak Forecast FedEx has been struggling to keep up with Wall Street’s expectations as the company pours money into making deliveries more efficient and struggles with a cloudy trade outlook. Adjusted earnings for the current fiscal year will drop by “a mid-single-digit percentage” from $15.52 a share in the year just ended, FedEx said in the statement. Analysts were expecting $16.15 in fiscal 2020 -- an estimate that had already been whittled down from $20 about six months ago. “Our fiscal 2020 performance is being negatively affected by continued weakness in global trade and industrial production, especially at FedEx Express,” said Chief Financial Officer Alan Graf. That impact extended a longstanding sense of frustration at FedEx with President Donald Trump’s willingness to stoke trade tensions, said Chief Executive Officer Fred Smith. “Clearly, we’ve been very disappointed over the last few years with the assumptions that we made on the growth in international trade, particularly with the Trump administration,” Smith said on a conference call with analysts and investors. “We have become a protectionist country.” FedEx fired a new weapon in the simmering U.S.-China trade war this week, suing the Trump administration to block enforcement of trade restrictions that have placed the company in Beijing’s crosshairs. The federal lawsuit came after the White House barred U.S. companies from selling technology to Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co. While trying to comply, FedEx employees mistakenly flagged packages involving Huawei. Now China is considering adding the courier to a list of so-called unreliable entities. Understanding China’s ‘Unreliable Entities’ Blacklist: QuickTake E-Commerce Challenge Closer to home, the next 12 months will be pivotal for FedEx as it seeks to stem the decline in profit margins at the company’s ground unit. Recent moves include extending deliveries to seven days a week and reducing reliance on the U.S. Postal Service. FedEx’s Express business cut ties with Amazon.com Inc. as the largest online retailer muscles into the delivery business. FedEx said it would focus on more profitable customers. The challenge for FedEx -- and UPS -- is that deliveries to homes, where drivers often handle a single package at each stop, tend to be less profitable than business deliveries, where they might pick up or drop off several parcels. “Fiscal year 2020 is in many ways a transition year for FedEx as we continue to reinvigorate our business to capitalize on e-commerce growth and execute significant initiatives to reduce our cost to serve in the U.S.,” said Chief Operating Officer Rajesh Subramaniam. Those efforts are softening the blow from the weak profit forecast for fiscal 2020 -- but the pressure will remain on FedEx to show sustained gains from the rise of online shopping. “FedEx is not out of the woods,” Cowen analyst Helane Becker said in a note to investors, “but base expectations are lower and if there is any shift towards a more optimistic macro environment, we expect shares to move higher from current levels.” (Updates stock action in fifth paragraph.) --With assistance from Karen Lin. To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Black in Dallas at tblack@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Case at bcase4@bloomberg.net, Tony Robinson, Cécile Daurat For more articles like this, please visit us atbloomberg.com ©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Laura Hood faces jail over false rape claim Laura Hood will face a jail term for making a false accusation of rape (Greater Manchester Police) A 27-year-old woman is facing a prison sentence after she falsely claimed she was raped in the back of a taxi after a night out. Laura Hood, 27, maintained for nearly two-and-a-half years she had been attacked by a taxi driver before she finally accepted at her trial last week that it could not have happened. But she continued to deny the allegation against her and said she was innocent because she had not knowingly lied, and instead had a false belief of "something so clear in my head”. However, a consultant forensic psychiatrist saw Hood, of Stockport, as part of the case, and concluded there was no medical or psychiatric explanation for her belief. On Wednesday, a jury at Manchester Minshull Street Crown found Hood guilty of perverting the course of justice by a 10-2 majority verdict after deliberating for more than six hours. Shortly after being dropped off home following a night out, Hood hysterically told her mother she had been sexually assaulted and then informed police she was attacked in the back of a black cab in a side-street. Her version of events was exposed though when a tracker device fitted to the cab showed the vehicle made no detours apart from when Hood jumped out briefly to use a cash machine. Hood was found guilty of convicted of perverting the course of justice at Manchester Minshull Street Crown (Flickr) Prosecutor Geoff Whelan said the driver, Haroon Yousaf, could have found himself on trial for rape without the tracker data from the early hours of January 8 2017. Mr Yousaf was kept in custody for 20 hours after he was arrested at a taxi rank on the evening of January 8, while a second man was also arrested as he drove a taxi with a similar registration number and spent some 14 hours in custody. Both suspects provided intimate samples as part of the investigation before they were later told no further action would be taken, jurors were told. Read more from Yahoo News UK: Boris Johnson's team forced to deny he only owns one pair of socks Boy, 12, arrested on suspicion of homophobic assault in Liverpool Ian Brady ‘had access to vulnerable teenagers in Wormwood Scrubs’ Story continues In a witness statement read to the court, Mr Yousaf said: "It still affects me in my day-to-day life. I don't know if I will ever come back fully from this. Before this incident I was a strong person. However I'm now negative and worry that things can go wrong. "This is the most disgusting thing that anyone can be accused of. "When I pick up single female passengers I always worry that something could happen again.” Hood's version of events was exposed through a tracker device fitted to the cab (Flickr/file photo) The married father said he had "tears in my eyes" when he had to take his clothes off in front of a stranger and provide a sample in custody. He added: "I don't think this female really understands what she has done and how it has affected my life.” The court heard how Hood maintained she had been raped despite being confronted with the vehicle tracker data. She also kept to her story when it was revealed Mr Yousaf was aged 29 at the time - and not in his 50s as she had described - and he had a full beard when she said her attacker had no facial hair. No forensic evidence gathered showed any physical contact between Mr Yousaf and the defendant. Hood said she had "absolutely no idea" how male DNA found on her underwear was not conclusively connected to any named person in the court case. Accepting there was no explanation for her belief, she said: "I wish I knew. I wish I could explain why something so clear in my head ... obviously it can't be true.” The Crown said Hood had stuck with her lies for so long and events had “snowballed". Hood, of Onslow Road, was bailed until August 1 for a pre-sentence report and cried as she exited the courtroom.
McDonald's (MCD) Hits 52-Week High, Can the Run Continue? Shares ofMcDonald's CorporationMCD have gained 9.7% compared with the industry’s 9.3% growth in the past three months. Moreover, the company hit a 52-week high of $206.39 on Jun 25, though it eventually closed at $205.71. Notably, McDonald's various sales and digital initiatives as well as positive comparable sales bode well. However, revenues have been under pressure for quite some time due to strategic refranchising initiatives. Let’s delve deeper and find out whether the company can continue its bull run in the near term.Growth DriversMcDonald’s sales boosting initiatives are driving global comparable sales (comps) growth. In first-quarter 2019, global comps grew 5.4%, marking its 15th straight quarter of positive comps. Also, U.S comps were up 4.5% in the same period. In order to boost comps growth in the United States, representing about 40% of the company’s business, McDonald’s aims at improving its focus on growing guest traffic. In this regard, it is imperative to mention that the company is accentuating on operational excellence, product innovation, offering a value menu and rolling out more limited-time offerings. The United Kingdom reported 52 straight quarter of like-for-like sales growth. Meanwhile, Australia, Canada, France, Germany and Italy are all witnessing robust improvement in sales.In the International Lead segment and high growth markets, McDonald’s strategic efforts are consistently driving comps higher. In first-quarter 2019, the International Lead segment witnessed comps growth of 6% year over year, higher than a 5.2% rise registered in the last reported quarter. Robust sales in the United Kingdom and France, and positive results across all markets drove comps.These apart, the Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company has been regularly rewarding its shareholders through share repurchases and dividends. Evidently, the company has a history of increasing dividend almost every year since the inception of its dividend payout policy in 1976. In September 2018, McDonald’s raised its dividend by 15%. Prior to that, it had increased the company’s quarterly dividend by 7.4%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 5%, 10% 15% and 11% in 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. In the last two years (2017 and 2018), McDonald’s had returned more than $16 billion via dividends and share repurchases. Concerns Revenue decline at McDonald’s has been weighing on its performance for quite some time. In the first quarter of 2019, the metric decreased 4% year over year, following a 3%, 7%, 12% and 9% decline in the fourth, third, second and first quarter of 2018, respectively. The top line had also decreased a respective 11.4%, 13%, 7% and 4.7%, in the fourth, third, second and the first quarter of 2017. This downturn reflects the impact of the company’s strategic refranchising initiatives. During the reported quarter, revenues at the company-operated restaurants decreased 12% year over year to $2,240.5 million. Of late, McDonald’s margins have been under pressure due to wage increases worldwide. Furthermore, costs associated with brand positioning across all the key markets as well as ongoing investments in initiatives are likely to persistently dent margins, at least in the near term. Increased commodity costs are added concerns. In the first quarter, consolidated margins contracted 20 bps.Stocks to Consider Better-ranked stocks worth considering in the same space include Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. CMG, Yum China Holdings, Inc. YUMC and Noodles & Company NDLS, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Chipotle Mexican Grill and Yum China’s long-term earnings are likely to witness 19.2% and 9.8% growth, respectively. Noodles & Company has an impressive long-term earnings growth rate of 8.8%. More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone! It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market. Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020. Click here for the 6 trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportNoodles & Company (NDLS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportYum China Holdings Inc. (YUMC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportChipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMcDonald's Corporation (MCD) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Before You Buy ScanSource, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCSC), Consider Its Volatility Want to participate in a short research study ? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Anyone researching ScanSource, Inc. ( NASDAQ:SCSC ) might want to consider the historical volatility of the share price. Volatility is considered to be a measure of risk in modern finance theory. Investors may think of volatility as falling into two main categories. First, we have company specific volatility, which is the price gyrations of an individual stock. Holding at least 8 stocks can reduce this kind of risk across a portfolio. The second type is the broader market volatility, which you cannot diversify away, since it arises from macroeconomic factors which directly affects all the stocks on the market. Some stocks are more sensitive to general market forces than others. Some investors use beta as a measure of how much a certain stock is impacted by market risk (volatility). While we should keep in mind that Warren Buffett has cautioned that 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk', beta is still a useful factor to consider. To make good use of it you must first know that the beta of the overall market is one. A stock with a beta greater than one is more sensitive to broader market movements than a stock with a beta of less than one. View our latest analysis for ScanSource What we can learn from SCSC's beta value With a beta of 0.91, (which is quite close to 1) the share price of ScanSource has historically been about as voltile as the broader market. If the future looks like the past, we could therefore consider it likely that the stock price will experience share price volatility that is roughly similar to the overall market. Beta is worth considering, but it's also important to consider whether ScanSource is growing earnings and revenue. You can take a look for yourself, below. NasdaqGS:SCSC Income Statement, June 26th 2019 Could SCSC's size cause it to be more volatile? ScanSource is a small company, but not tiny and little known. It has a market capitalisation of US$831m, which means it would be on the radar of intstitutional investors. It takes less capital to move the share price of small companies, and they are also more impacted by company specific events, so it's a bit of a surprise that the beta is so close to the overall market. Story continues What this means for you: ScanSource has a beta value quite close to that of the overall market. That doesn't tell us much on its own, so it is probably worth considering whether the company is growing, if you're looking for stocks that will go up more than the overall market. In order to fully understand whether SCSC is a good investment for you, we also need to consider important company-specific fundamentals such as ScanSource’s financial health and performance track record. I urge you to continue your research by taking a look at the following: Future Outlook : What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for SCSC’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for SCSC’s outlook. Past Track Record : Has SCSC been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of SCSC's historicals for more clarity. Other Interesting Stocks : It's worth checking to see how SCSC measures up against other companies on valuation. You could start with this free list of prospective options . 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.
Beth Chapman's Daughter Shares Touching Pic from Hospital Beth Chapman's youngest daughter shared an emotional photo of the reality star as she fights for her life. 20-year-old Bonnie Chapman revealed the pic Tuesday night, showing her holding Beth's hand while the star remains in a coma at The Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. "So thankful to call you my mother," the daughter of Beth and Dog the Bounty Hunter wrote. Fans immediately gave their support to the bounty hunting family as they deal with they continue to pray for Beth to pull through. "Beth pull thru!! You have your WHOLE family that needs you!! Your dog needs you!!!!" one message read. Another follower wrote, "Oh, Bonnie, you make me cry. She knows you're there holding her hand. I can see how proud of you she is from pictures. I think you are a wonderful daughter and she is so grateful for you and for your love. Put her in God's hands. Hugs." Along with the photo of her cradling Beth's hand, Bonnie also shared some photos of her mother, including during a recent graduation. As we reported, Dog and the Chapman family are faced with some incredibly difficult decisions as they discuss the life support options for Beth while she remains in a coma. Doctors have suggested a tracheotomy and feeding tube, explaining that she is just not getting enough oxygen on her own due to the blockage in her throat. While she tries to battle back, Beth's family is making sure she is comfortable and well-cared for, which included a full manicure while in the hospital. Dog shared the photo earlier this week of his wife's nails freshly glammed up, and wrote to fans, "You all know how she is about HER NAILS !!" The Chapman family have not left Beth's side while she remains in the hospital, and Dog is also beginning to shoot down rumors that they have given up hope that she will be able to make a recovery. "90% of what you’re hearing is fake news," the star announced on Tuesday. He promised an update would be given by the WGN America, the network slated to run their upcoming reality show, "Dog's Most Wanted."
Trump news - LIVE: President responds to photo of drowned migrants as he plans to live tweet Democratic debate Donald Trump has given a wild interview to Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business , declaring, “Almost all countries in this world take tremendous advantage of the United States, it’s unbelievable!” The president claimed Japan would watch a Third World War “at home on a Sony TV” rather than come to America’s aid (ahead of a trip there for the G20 summit), attacked Twitter , accused retired FBI special counsel Robert Mueller of deleting incriminating Justice Department text messages and said Iran “does not have smart leadership” and is “going down the tubes”. On Capitol Hill, the House of Representatives passed an emergency spending bill late last night securing $4.5bn (£3.6bn) to address the humanitarian crisis at the US-Mexico border , as a horrific photograph of a drowned migrant father and daughter emerged provoking new public anger. Mr Trump’s son Eric has meanwhile been spat on while out dining in public. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load View comments
Is iShares Edge MSCI Multifactor Intl ETF (INTF) a Strong ETF Right Now? The iShares Edge MSCI Multifactor Intl ETF (INTF) was launched on 04/28/2015, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Broad Developed World ETFs category of the market. What Are Smart Beta ETFs? The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment. Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency. However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta. This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics. While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results. Fund Sponsor & Index Because the fund has amassed over $1.26 B, this makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Broad Developed World ETFs. INTF is managed by Blackrock. INTF, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the MSCI World ex USA Diversified Multi-Factor Index. The MSCI World ex USA Diversified Multi-Factor Index is designed to select equity securities from MSCI World ex USA Index that have high exposure to four investment style factors: value, quality, momentum and low size, while maintaining a level of risk similar to that of the Parent Index. Cost & Other Expenses For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same. Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.30% for INTF, making it one of the cheaper products in the space. It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 3.12%. Sector Exposure and Top Holdings ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis. Looking at individual holdings, Roche Holding Par Ag (ROG) accounts for about 3.36% of total assets, followed by Rio Tinto Plc (RIO) and Hitachi Ltd. Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 20.56% of INTF's total assets under management. Performance and Risk The ETF return is roughly 11.67% so far this year and is down about -3.35% in the last one year (as of 06/26/2019). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $22.95 and $28.47. INTF has a beta of 0.89 and standard deviation of 13.24% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 228 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk. Alternatives IShares Edge MSCI Multifactor Intl ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Developed World ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider. Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF (VEU) tracks FTSE All-World ex US Index and the Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA) tracks FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index. Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF has $23.36 B in assets, Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF has $71.69 B. VEU has an expense ratio of 0.09% and VEA charges 0.05%. Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Broad Developed World ETFs. Bottom Line To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportiShares Edge MSCI Multifactor Intl ETF (INTF): ETF Research ReportsRogers Corporation (ROG) : Free Stock Analysis ReportVanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA): ETF Research ReportsVanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF (VEU): ETF Research ReportsRio Tinto PLC (RIO) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Should You Investigate Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) At US$32.98? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL), which is in the media business, and is based in United States, received a lot of attention from a substantial price movement on the NASDAQGS over the last few months, increasing to $41.27 at one point, and dropping to the lows of $32.48. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Scholastic's current trading price of $32.98 reflective of the actual value of the small-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Scholastic’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change. View our latest analysis for Scholastic Scholastic is currently overpriced based on my relative valuation model. In this instance, I’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. I find that Scholastic’s ratio of 23.85x is above its peer average of 16.24x, which suggests the stock is overvalued compared to the Media industry. In addition to this, it seems like Scholastic’s share price is quite stable, which could mean two things: firstly, it may take the share price a while to fall back down to an attractive buying range, and secondly, there may be less chances to buy low in the future once it reaches that value. This is because the stock is less volatile than the wider market given its low beta. Future outlook is an important aspect when you’re looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. Though in the case of Scholastic, it is expected to deliver a highly negative earnings growth in the upcoming, which doesn’t help build up its investment thesis. It appears that risk of future uncertainty is high, at least in the near term. Are you a shareholder?If you believe SCHL should trade below its current price, selling high and buying it back up again when its price falls towards its real value can be profitable. Given the risk from a negative growth outlook, this could be the right time to reduce your total portfolio risk. But before you make this decision, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed. Are you a potential investor?If you’ve been keeping an eye on SCHL for a while, now may not be the best time to enter into the stock. Price climbed passed its industry peers, in addition to a risky future outlook. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the track record of its management. Should the price fall in the future, will you be well-informed enough to buy? Price is just the tip of the iceberg. Dig deeper into what truly matters – the fundamentals – before you make a decision on Scholastic. You can find everything you need to know about Scholastic inthe latest infographic research report. If you are no longer interested in Scholastic, you can use our free platform to see my list of over50 other stocks with a high growth potential. 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.
Israeli startup NeuroBlade raises $23 mln to develop AI chip TEL AVIV, June 26 (Reuters) - Israeli startup NeuroBlade said on Wednesday it has completed a $23 million early funding round, led by Marius Nacht, co-founder of Check Point Software Technologies, with the participation of new investor Intel Capital. Existing investors StageOne Ventures and Grove Ventures, headed by USB flash drive inventor Dov Moran, also participated. In addition to $4.5 million previously raised, the funds will be used by NeuroBlade to scale its workforce and ramp up efforts to bring its artificial intelligence chip to market. The AI processor market is led by Nvidia and Intel but is becoming more crowded with startups developing chips for different markets, as well as large companies developing processors for their own needs. AI chips are used in various applications, including autonomous driving, image and speech recognition and video analysis. The deployment and use of AI is still limited by size, price, and performance of these chips. NeuroBlade said its chip maintains a strong performance level despite being smaller and less expensive to make. (Reporting by Tova Cohen, Editing by Ari Rabinovitch)
RE Royalties Declares Dividend and Appointment of Market Maker VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 26, 2019 /RE Royalties Ltd. (RE.V) ("RE Royalties" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Board of Directors of the Company has declared a cash distribution of $0.01 per common share for the quarter ending June 30, 2019. The distribution is payable on August 7, 2019 to shareholders of record on July 17, 2019. The distribution is designated by the Company to be a dividend for the purpose of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and any similar provincial or territorial legislation. The total aggregate distributions declared for the current fiscal year has been $0.02 per common share. The Company is also pleased to announce that it has retained Integral Wealth Securities Limited ("Integral") to provide market making services in accordance with TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") policies. Integral will trade securities of the Company on the TSXV for the purpose of maintaining an orderly market for the Company's securities. In consideration of the services provided by Integral, the Company will pay Integral a monthly cash fee of $6,000. Integral will not receive any shares or options as compensation. The agreement has an initial term of 3 months and automatically renews on a monthly basis. Following the initial term, the Company may terminate the agreement at any time on 30 days prior written notice. Integral and its clients may have or may acquire a direct interest in the securities of the Company. The Company and Integral are unrelated and unaffiliated entities. The capital and securities required for any trades undertaken by Integral as principal will be provided by Integral. Integral is a national, independent investment dealer that provides private and public issuers with investment banking services, institutional investors and public issuers with capital markets services and affluent individuals with wealth management services. Integral is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada ("IIROC") and can access all Canadian Stock Exchange and Alternative Trading Systems. Founded in 2003, the firm has established capabilities in market making, energy banking, and private debt / equity. In addition, the Company has also granted 30,000 stock options to a consultant of the Company. The stock options are granted under the Company's stock option plan and are exercisable at $0.80 per common share and are for a term of three years, subject to regulatory approval. On Behalf of the Board of Directors, Bernard TanCEO About RE Royalties Ltd. RE Royalties acquires revenue-based royalties from renewable energy generation facilities by providing a non-dilutive financing solution to privately-held and publicly-traded renewable energy generation and development companies. The Company currently owns royalties on solar, wind and hydro projects in Canada, Europe and the United States. The Company's business objectives are to provide shareholders with a strong growing yield, robust capital protection, high rate of growth through re-investment and a sustainable investment focus. For further details on RE Royalties, please visitwww.reroyalties.comor contact us at (778) 374‐2000 or send us an email atinfo@reroyalties.com. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward Looking Statements This news release includes forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, "forward-looking information") with respect to the Company and within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward looking information is typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. This information represents predictions and actual events or results may differ materially. Forward-looking information may relate to the Company's future outlook and anticipated events or results and may include statements regarding the Company's financial results, future financial position, expected growth of cash flows, business strategy, budgets, projected costs, projected capital expenditures, taxes, plans, objectives, industry trends and growth opportunities. The reader is referred to the Company's most recent filings on SEDAR for a more complete discussion of all applicable risk factors and their potential effects, copies of which may be accessed through the Company's profile page atwww.sedar.com. SOURCE:RE Royalties Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/549894/RE-Royalties-Declares-Dividend-and-Appointment-of-Market-Maker
U.S. bitcoin ATM operator to add Dai stablecoin, launch remittance service By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK, June 26 (Reuters) - Coinsource, a Texas-based bitcoin ATM operator, will make the Dai stablecoin available on its machines this summer, in preparation for the launch of a full remittance service, a company official told Reuters. MakerDao, a decentralized organization, issues Dai, which is a collateral-backed cryptocurrency that has a one-to-one soft peg to the U.S. dollar. Stablecoins like Dai are designed to overcome the wild price swings that have made bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies impractical both for commerce and payments as well as a store of value. Most are backed on a one-to-one basis by mainstream assets like the U.S. dollar, while others are collateralized by baskets of cryptocurrencies. Crytocurrencies are back in the limelight amid a searing price rally this year, led by bitcoin, which has soared more than 200% so far in 2019. As part of its launch, Coinsource, which runs more than 230 ATM machines in 29 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, will be updating all of its machines to allow customers to buy, sell, and store Dai stablecoins, with the eventual goal of becoming a remittance service provider. "In remittances, people want to save as much value and they don't want to be subjected to high volatility that you're seeing in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that can be very speculative," said Travis Gough, chief product officer at Coinsource. Under the remittance service rollout slated for sometime this year, Coinsource will allow its machines and Dai to seamlessly send cash from wallet to wallet. Users will be able to inject funds into a wallet and send that to recipient parties upon fulfilling the necessary "know your customer" screening requirements. Recipients will then be able to instantly redeem their transaction at any Coinsource machine or supported location. For now, the remittance service will be available to U.S. customers only. In a statement, Coinsource Chief Executive Officer Sheffield Clark said while the underlying architecture of cryptocurrency-based remittances are often complex, the company is removing the barrier to entry for the regular consumer. He added that transactions are automatically stored and verified on the Ethereum blockchain, while senders and recipients don't require any knowledge of token-to-token or token-to-fiat back-end conversions. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss Editing by Paul Simao)
What Makes MarketAxess (MKTX) a Strong Momentum Stock: Buy Now? Momentum investing is all about the idea of following a stock's recent trend, which can be in either direction. In the 'long' context, investors will essentially be "buying high, but hoping to sell even higher." And for investors following this methodology, taking advantage of trends in a stock's price is key; once a stock establishes a course, it is more than likely to continue moving in that direction. The goal is that once a stock heads down a fixed path, it will lead to timely and profitable trades. Even though momentum is a popular stock characteristic, it can be tough to define. Debate surrounding which are the best and worst metrics to focus on is lengthy, but the Zacks Momentum Style Score, part of the Zacks Style Scores, helps address this issue for us. Below, we take a look at MarketAxess (MKTX) , a company that currently holds a Momentum Style Score of B. We also talk about price change and earnings estimate revisions, two of the main aspects of the Momentum Style Score. It's also important to note that Style Scores work as a complement to the Zacks Rank, our stock rating system that has an impressive track record of outperformance. MarketAxess currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). Our research shows that stocks rated Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and #2 (Buy) and Style Scores of A or B outperform the market over the following one-month period. You can see the current list of Zacks #1 Rank Stocks here >>> Set to Beat the Market? In order to see if MKTX is a promising momentum pick, let's examine some Momentum Style elements to see if this operator of bond trading platforms holds up. A good momentum benchmark for a stock is to look at its short-term price activity, as this can reflect both current interest and if buyers or sellers currently have the upper hand. It's also helpful to compare a security to its industry; this can show investors the best companies in a particular area. Story continues For MKTX, shares are up 4.07% over the past week while the Zacks Securities and Exchanges industry is up 2.17% over the same time period. Shares are looking quite well from a longer time frame too, as the monthly price change of 13.51% compares favorably with the industry's 5.91% performance as well. While any stock can see a spike in price, it takes a real winner to consistently outperform the market. Over the past quarter, shares of MarketAxess have risen 28.29%, and are up 57.39% in the last year. On the other hand, the S&P 500 has only moved 4.73% and 9.44%, respectively. Investors should also take note of MKTX's average 20-day trading volume. Volume is a useful item in many ways, and the 20-day average establishes a good price-to-volume baseline; a rising stock with above average volume is generally a bullish sign, whereas a declining stock on above average volume is typically bearish. Right now, MKTX is averaging 415,759 shares for the last 20 days. Earnings Outlook The Zacks Momentum Style Score encompasses many things, including estimate revisions and a stock's price movement. Investors should note that earnings estimates are also significant to the Zacks Rank, and a nice path here can be promising. We have recently been noticing this with MKTX. Over the past two months, 1 earnings estimate moved higher compared to none lower for the full year. These revisions helped boost MKTX's consensus estimate, increasing from $5.07 to $5.18 in the past 60 days. Looking at the next fiscal year, 1 estimate has moved upwards while there have been no downward revisions in the same time period. Bottom Line Given these factors, it shouldn't be surprising that MKTX is a #2 (Buy) stock and boasts a Momentum Score of B. If you're looking for a fresh pick that's set to soar in the near-term, make sure to keep MarketAxess on your short list. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (MKTX) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Can Bitcoin hit $20,000 by January 2020? Bitcoin has experienced a major rally that has taken its price upwards close to 34% over the past two weeks. Even with minor retracements, the market is moving positively with higher lows each time it falls, meaning we should expect BTC to continue its climb towards $13,000 – which in my opinion might come within the next couple of weeks. While I personally am still bullish, others are predicting a sudden correction. Just a few days ago, in my weekly Bitcoin price analysis piece, I brought up a hypothesis that all bull markets are expected to suffer large corrections of around 30-35% in the early stages. This means we could still see Bitcoin touching its 100-day EMA or even its 200-day EMA despite the bull cycle (which can last a couple of years). Now, another interesting question many people are asking is when will Bitcoin hit $20,000? Something I usually don’t do – maybe only in the shadows – is making price predictions. I have confidence in my long-term analysis, but I see myself more of an investor than a trader. I only care about really long-term price, not short-term price. I don’t think the current or near-term price of Bitcoin to represent how much its worth. In other words, I do not intend to use BTC as a currency on the foreseeable future. Still, as the market has finally recovered (I believe), it’s now time to see where things could be heading up to the end of the year. Will the summer be kind to Bitcoin? Will we see a massive retracement back to the 20-day EMA or will Bitcoin continue to moon to new yearly highs? Looking at the chart above, it’s easy to guess what I think will happen. As long as that green line stays intact and price manages to stay above it, I expect Bitcoin to continue pushing higher and higher. You can see from the chart that the 50-day EMA has crossed the 100-day EMA, and the 20-day EMA is already above both of them. This means we’re clearly in bullish territory. Story continues Moreover, Fibonacci levels show BTC is already holding on to the 0.5 retracement level. The next one will be the key 0.618 level, around $13,500. If Bitcoin manages to surpass this level and get to the 0.786 retracement level, going higher than $16,000, I see little reason for a major retracement back to $8,000 or so. Sure, we can expect BTC to hit key support levels along the way, but the trend line is on quite a positive slope. And as they say, you should never go against the trend – just ride it for as long as possible. Bitcoin hitting $20,000? New trend-line BTC hitting 20k by Jan 2020 – #BTCUSD chart https://t.co/CkRQcB3s5d — Pedro Febrero (@Febrocas) June 25, 2019 This tweet might come back to bite me. However, I’m true to my analysis. I believe Bitcoin will hit $20,000 before 2020, or during January 2020. If you inspect the chart closely, you’ll see there’s a little tunnel connecting the lows of 2018 with the highs of 2017, which by chance of the mighty trading gods happens to cross exactly over early January 2020. What I think this means is that there will be a huge push towards new highs during the New Year. More adoption, more institutional investors, and a further push for Lightning and lower transaction fees will help Bitcoin’s price maintain its positive slope. Additionally, we shouldn’t forget Bitcoin is a living organism. Through the implementation of Segwit , Signature Aggregation , Taproot , Graftroot , and Scriptless Scripts (smart contracts on the Bitcoin network), we can expect the king of cryptocurrencies to become even more resilient and easy to use. Of course, my analysis could be entirely wrong, but I intend to keep checking how my trend line is holding up. Again, if Bitcoin is able to keep pushing forward, my bet is on a $20,000 Bitcoin by 2020. Wouldn’t that be the cherry on top of the cake? Safe trades! The post Can Bitcoin hit $20,000 by January 2020? appeared first on Coin Rivet .
When electric scooters crash, who pays the bills? NEW YORK (AP) — We've all seen reports about head injuries, traffic accidents and even deaths that electric scooter riders have suffered as the popular new mobility option has pushed onto the streets in more than 100 cities worldwide. Despite the dangers, riders are exposing themselves to liability and are most likely not insured for the damages they may cause. A rider's personal health insurance — if he or she has it — could help defray the cost of their own medical bills in case of an accident. But it's another matter entirely when a scooter rider hits and injures a pedestrian, damages someone's property or causes a car accident. The rider may be held responsible, and most insurance policies will not cover those expenses. "Under the standard insurance policy, there's most likely a pretty significant gap in coverage," said Lucian McMahon, senior research specialist for the Insurance Information Institute. "Even if the odds are low, it doesn't mean that something bad might not happen, and owing people money or compensation for injuries that you caused them can get very, very expensive, perhaps even ruinously so." The two largest scooter companies in the U.S. — Bird and Lime — generally place the responsibility for accidents on riders by listing in their rental agreements that riders relieve the companies of liability. Customers must agree to those terms to ride. Bird says riders are fully insured for anything that might happen as a result of a faulty Bird scooter. Lime says its insurance policy offers at least $1 million in liability coverage for each covered claim, but there's no way to know whether a claim is covered until an investigation is done, and each claim is unique. Despite the scooter companies' liability insurance, experts say responsibility for damages is likely to fall on the riders' shoulders, because of the terms and conditions users agree to when they download the app. "These are such new modes of transportation that the courts have not weighed in on any of this," said Bryant Greening, attorney and co-founder of LegalRideshare, which represents clients injured in ride-hailing or shared scooter accidents. "Generally speaking, these waivers of liability hold up in court, but we're going to have to see what happens as more and more of these injury cases are brought and are litigated." Electric scooter riders might think their auto insurance would kick in to cover an electric scooter accident, but automobile insurance generally doesn't cover vehicles with less than four wheels. And homeowner's or renter's insurance may cover an accident that occurs on a traditional bicycle, but it does not cover motorized bike or scooter trips. Story continues "Once you motorized that scooter or that bike, then the equation changes," said Bob Passmore, assistant vice president at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association. "More likely than not, most people's home liability or their renters' liability probably aren't going to provide coverage for that." So what can scooter riders do to protect themselves? Experts suggest calling your insurance agent to ask how you can get coverage. If you have a homeowner's or renter's insurance policy, you may be able to add an "umbrella policy," which can cover more scenarios and include higher limits for coverage than typical homeowner's or renter's policies. For example, State Farm offers a personal liability umbrella policy that the company said may cover an electric scooter driver's liability for damages they cause, but all claims are investigated based on their own merits. Allstate offers an umbrella policy to customers that have a qualifying auto or property insurance policy. The umbrella policy doesn't specifically state that it covers electric scooters in promotional materials, but there is a "recreational vehicles" category. Nationwide's policies do not provide liability coverage for losses arising out of the use of shared electric scooters. The company says it supports shared mobility options and believes the devices should be governed by common-sense regulation that emphasizes safety and protects all road users. "When that is in place, insurance covering the operation of a shared mobility device should be provided directly to the consumer by the device provider," Nationwide said in a statement. "Read your policy and talk to your insurance agent," Passmore said. "There's certainly some issues that need to be worked out." Voom, an Israeli company which offers on-demand insurance for drone operators in the U.S., plans to roll out per-ride insurance that covers electric scooters and is targeting riders and providers as potential customers. "My partner being a scooter owner, and me being a scooter sharing rider, we kind of realized, who is insuring those things?" said Ori Blumenthal, co-founder and CTO of Voom. "If you go to all the scooter sharing companies and you look at the terms and conditions, you actually take responsibility and liability for everything that may happen." Riders in the U.S. took 38.5 million trips on shared scooters last year, according to the National Association of City Transportation Officials. Within a few days of Chicago's recent electric scooters launch, LegalRideshare got calls from injured riders asking for help. If a rider causes a car crash, he or she could be badly injured and still be held financially responsible for damages to the car, Greening said. If the rider injures a pedestrian, the rider could be responsible for the pedestrian's medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering. Many shared electric scooter riders are riding scooters for the first time, increasing the chance of injury, Greening said. "They don't think to themselves, 'boy if something goes wrong here I might be on the hook for thousands and thousands of dollars,'" Greening said. View comments
What to Know About the 2019 Democratic Debate: Start Time, Schedule, Format If you’ve ever been to a crowded dance audition or a nightclub where everyone is fighting to be noticed, you’ve got the picture for the second2019 Democratic debateon Thursday, June 27. Four of the top-five polling candidates will take the stage, with front-runner Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders sharing the center podiums. The last 10 of the top 2020 Democratic candidates debating will all be trying to stand out and win a chance to challenge President Donald Trump next year. Expect power colors and snappy quotes in the two-hour event that will force candidates to make their points succinctly. Each candidate has 60 seconds to respond to a question. “They’re going to have to bust a move,” Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, said of the each of the candidates competing against frontrunner Joe Biden, the former vice president. “Obviously, Biden wants to come out where he started and unscathed, and anybody with 3% or below, it’s a fight for survival for raising money.” Here’s what you should know before you watch the 2019 Democratic debates: The second night of the epic 2019 Democratic showdown is slated for 9-11 p.m. E.T. The debate will be held at Miami’s Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, a 90-year-old Art Deco space that holds 2,200. The night one full chorus line ofcandidates who debated Wednesdaywas, left to right: Bill de Blasio, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio, former U.S. Housing Secretary Julian Castro, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Elizabeth Warren, Beto O’Rourke, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee and former U.S. Rep. John Delaney, a Democrat from Maryland. The lineup of candidates debating on Thursday night include: Joe Biden, Michael Bennet, Pete Buttigieg, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, John Hickenlooper, Bernie Sanders, Eric Swalwell, Marianne Williamson, and Andrew Yang. NBC News will host the debate, and Lester Holt and Savannah Guthrie of NBC News, Jose Diaz-Balart of Telemundo and NBC News, Chuck Todd of NBC News and Rachel Maddow of MSNBC will share moderating duties. NBC picked the candidates for each night through a drawing a week and a half ago. Early on, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said that if the number of candidates qualifying to debate by virtue of fundraising became too large, the debate would be spread over two nights. Each night of the debate has been set up so that higher polling candidates are at the center of the stage moving out to the lowest polling candidates at the ends. Ten candidates will go toe-to-toe each night. On night two, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders share the center, with Marianne Williamson and Eric Swalwell holding up the sides. The 2019 Democratic Debate audience will be made up of guests of the 2020 candidates, people who contacted the Democratic National Committee through its website, pundits, and reporters. If you’re not one of those who will be there in person, you can watch the debates live on NBC News, MSNBC, or Telemundo, or view a free online live stream across all of NBC News’ and Telemundo’s digital platforms. —4 times 2020 candidates clashed during theDemocratic debate —5 things to watch for onnight 2of the Democratic presidential debate —What the2020 Democratic candidates didn’t sayduring the first debate —Elizabeth Warrenholds her own as lesser-knowns break out in first debate —Julián Castrobreaks out in a debate defined by border policy and immigration —Can socialism win in 2020?Democrats aren’t embracing it
Citation Growth Corp. (formerly, Liht Cannabis Corp.) Announces Final State Approvals for Extraction Lab and Manufacturing Kitchen Kelowna, British Columbia ---(Newsfile Corp. - June 26, 2019) -Citation Growth Corp.(CSE: CGRO) (OTCQX: LIHTD) (formerly, Liht Cannabis Corp.) ("Citation" or the "Company"), a licensed cannabis cultivator and producer, is pleased to announce that, further to the Company's press release dated June 4, 2019, it has successfully passed all local building and electrical inspections for its extraction lab and manufacturing kitchen and has been granted final approval by the State of Nevada to begin operations under the production license held by its wholly-owned subsidiary, EcoNevada LLC. Through the utilization of closed-loop hydrocarbon extraction technologies from ExtractionTek Solutions - a leading Colorado-based extraction equipment manufacturer - the Company anticipates that it will be able to further maximize the value derived from its premium, organically-cultivated cannabis flower to produce a variety of high-margin products, including live resin, shatter, wax, and diamond sauce. Additionally, Citation plans to focus on underserved product areas, such as rosin and infused pre-rolls, as well as the discrete adult-use market, by producing both disposable and replaceable vape pens and cartridges. Upon completion of the proposed transaction (the "Proposed Transaction") contemplated in the definitive agreement to acquire all of the equity interests of theACC Group of Companies("ACC"), announced June 17, 2019, Citation expects that it will be able to further utilize its North Las Vegas extraction facility to process ready-made throughput sourced from ACC's Pahrump, Nevada cultivation facility, in addition to Citation's internally-sourced flower, to ensure maximum operating efficiency of the Company's extraction equipment. Citation anticipates that this will quickly translate into an immediate and substantial volume of extract product that Company management expects will become readily available for sale to the Nevada cannabis market by the end of July 2019. Rahim Mohamed, CEO of Citation Growth Corp. commented: "After receiving its final state approvals, Citation is excited to begin operations out of its extraction lab and manufacturing kitchen - allowing the Company the opportunity to unlock the entire value from its triple-certified, premium organic flower. Expanding the breadth of operational capabilities offered through our Nevada facility is a testament to the Company's plan for expansion throughout the cannabis value chain and realize its full potential as a premium North American producer of cannabis products." About Citation Growth Corp. Citation Growth Corp. is a publicly-traded company that has been investing in the medical and recreational cannabis space since 2014. Citation has rapidly expanded its operating portfolio to include cultivation, production, and dispensary locations in key North American state-legal jurisdictions and is seeking expansion opportunities worldwide. About the ACC Group of Companies The ACC Group of Companies is a group of privately held companies that have held indoor cannabis cultivation licenses in the State of Nevada since 2014. Primarily located in Pahrump, Nevada, ACC prides itself on its expansive collection of premium cannabis cultivars and its innovative seed genetics program. For Further Information: Rahim Mohamed, CEORM@citationgrowth.com(403) 605-9429 www.citationgrowth.com Stock Exchanges: Citation trades in Canada, under the ticker symbol "CGRO" on the CSE, and in the U.S., under the ticker symbol "LIHTD" on the OTCQX Best Market (the "QTCQX"). The Company also trades on other recognized platforms in Europe including Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Tradegate, L & S, Quotnx, Dusseldorf, Munich, and Berlin. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider, nor the OTCQX® has approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the CSE, nor the OTCQX® accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Marijuana Industry Involvement: The Company owns marijuana licenses in California and Nevada. Marijuana is legal in each state; however, marijuana remains illegal under United States federal law and the approach to enforcement of U.S. federal law against marijuana is subject to change. Shareholders and investors need to be aware that federal enforcement actions could adversely affect their investments and that the Company's ability to support continuing U.S.-based operations and its access private and public capital could be materially adversely affected. The Company's business is conducted in a manner consistent with state law and is in compliance with applicable state licensing requirements in the U.S. The Company has internal compliance procedures in place and has compliance focused attorneys engaged in jurisdictions to monitor changes in laws for compliance with U.S. federal and state law on an ongoing basis. These law firms inform any necessary changes to our policies and procedures for compliance in Canada and the U.S. Unlike in Canada which has Federal legislation uniformly governing the cultivation, distribution, sale and possession of cannabis under theCannabis Act(Canada), readers are cautioned that in the U.S., cannabis is largely regulated at the state level. To the knowledge of the Company, there are to date a total of 33 states, plus the District of Columbia, that have legalized cannabis in some form. Notwithstanding the permissive regulatory environment of medical cannabis at the state level, cannabis continues to be categorized as a controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act in the U.S. and as such, cannabis-related practices or activities, including without limitation, the manufacture, importation, possession, use or distribution of cannabis are illegal under U.S. federal law. Strict compliance with state laws with respect to cannabis will neither absolve the Company of liability under the U.S. federal law, nor will it provide a defense to any U.S. federal proceeding, which may be brought against the Company. Any such proceedings brought against the Company may materially adversely affect its operations and financial performance in the U.S. market. Currently, listings of Canadian companies on the CSE will remain in good standing as long as they provide the disclosure that is required by the applicable Canadian securities regulators and complying with applicable licensing requirements and the regulatory framework enacted by the applicable state in which they operate. Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements that relate to our current expectations and views of future events. These statements relate to future events or future performance. Statements which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, outlook, expectations or intentions regarding the future including words or phrases such as "anticipate", "objective", "may", "will", "might", "should", "could", "can", "intend", "expect", "believe", "estimate", "predict", "potential", "plan", "is designed to", "project", "continue", or similar expressions suggest future outcomes or the negative thereof or similar variations. Forward-looking statements may also include, among other things, statements about the Company's: proposed US$10MM equity financing and US$17MM debt financing being completed and anticipated use of proceeds from such financings; production of vape pens and other new products; ability to reinvest profits generated from its operations; future business strategy; the anticipated completion of the Proposed Transaction with ACC and the securityholders thereof and the anticipated benefits of such Proposed Transaction; expectations of obtaining licenses and permits; expectations regarding expenses, sales and operations; future customer concentration; anticipated cash needs and estimates regarding capital requirements and the need for additional financing; total processing capacity; the ability to anticipate the future needs of customers; plans for future products and enhancements of existing products; future growth strategy and growth rate; future intellectual property; regulatory approvals and other matters; and anticipated trends and challenges in the markets in which the Company may operate. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the demand for our products; anticipated costs and ability to achieve goals; the Company's ability to complete any contemplated transactions; historical prices of cannabis; and that there will be no regulation or law that will prevent the Company or ACC from operating its businesses; the state of the economy in general and capital markets in particular; present and future business strategies; the environment in which the Company will operate in the future; the estimated size of the cannabis market; and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. While such estimates and assumptions are considered reasonable by the management of the Company, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive and regulatory uncertainties and risks. Although the Company believes that the assumptions underlying these statements are reasonable, they may prove to be incorrect. Given these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the reader should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: execution of the definitive agreement with respect to the Proposed Transaction; completion of the Proposed Transaction; accuracy of information provided by management of ACC to the Company regarding its management estimated future capital expenditure costs, revenue, and timeframe for the completion of its Pahrump, Nevada facility; business, economic and capital market conditions; the ability to manage the Company's operating expenses, which may adversely affect the Company's financial condition; the Company's ability to remain competitive; regulatory uncertainties; market conditions and the demand and pricing for our products; exchange rate fluctuations; the risk of difficulties in the integration of the Company and ACC; security threats; the Company's relationships with its customers, distributors and business partners; the Company's ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel; industry competition; the impact of technology changes on the Company's products and industry; the Company's ability to successfully maintain and enforce its intellectual property rights and defend third-party claims of infringement of their intellectual property rights; the impact of litigation that could materially and adversely affect our business; the Company's ability to manage its working capital; and the Company's dependence on key personnel. The Company is not a positive cash flow company and it may not actually achieve its plans, projections, or expectations (the Company and ACC have a history of losses). Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include, consumer sentiment towards the Company's products and cannabis generally; risks related to the Company and ACC's ability to maintain its licenses issued by governments in good standing; uncertainty with respect to the Company and ACC's ability to grow, store and sell cannabis; risks related to the costs required to meet the obligations related to regulatory compliance; risks related to the extensive control and regulations inherent in the industry in which the Company and ACC operate; risks related to governmental regulations, including those relating to taxes and other levies; risks related an early stage business and a business involving an agricultural product and a regulated consumer product; risks related to building brand awareness in a new industry and market; risks relating to restrictions on sales and marketing activities imposed by governments; risks inherent in the agricultural business; risks relating to energy costs; risks relating to product liability claims, regulatory action and litigation; risks relating to recall or return of products; and risks relating to insurance coverage; global economic climate; equipment and building failures; increase in operating costs; decrease in the price of cannabis; security threats; government regulations; loss of key employees and consultants; additional funding requirements; volatility in the securities of the Company; changes in laws; technology failures; failure to obtain permits and licenses; anticipated and unanticipated costs; competition; risks associated with the substantial obligations of being a public company; and failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect the forward-looking statements. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future event or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Neither the Company nor any of its representatives make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, sufficiency or completeness of the information in this news release. Neither the Company nor any of its representatives shall have any liability whatsoever, under contract, tort, trust or otherwise, to the reader or any person resulting from the use of the information in this news release by the reader or its representatives or for omissions from the information in this news release. The securities of the Company are considered highly speculative due to the nature of the Company and ACC's businesses. All information in this news release concerning ACC has been provided for inclusion herein by ACC. Although the Company has no knowledge that would indicate that any information contained herein concerning ACC is untrue or incomplete, the Company assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Financial amounts are in United States Dollars, unless otherwise specified. To view the source version of this press release, please visithttps://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/45909
Has Roku Stock Price Hit Its Peak? With Roku (ROKU) stock up more than 200% since the start of the year, is it still smart to buy? The company has been on a tear, with continued strong earnings propelling its stock up. Since this time last year, the number of users on the platform has grown 40%, to 29 million, while revenue per user has increased 27% in the same time. But its stock isn’t up so much solely because of its metrics — last year, shares plunged 62% from its peak, making it ripe for comeback. Yet, analystMichael Pachterof Wedbush doesn’t see shares increasing much now, as he maintains his Neutral rating on the stock and $105 price target, up from $65. (To watch Pachter's track record,click here) Pachter is encouraged that Roku is so far effectively competing against the behemoths in tech – Amazon, Apple, and Google – with investors believing that it has an opportunity to be a global leader in streaming platforms. The analyst says the company will likely license its platform on TVs with existing international distribution, which will drive international expansion without requiring heavy investment in international distribution. But as the company expands internationally, it must also continue to expand its Roku Channel for the international markets. As a result, Pachter says the company “must spend heavily on R&D to accommodate various international standards and to collect inexpensive local content to enhance The Roku Channel (“TRC”) offerings, along with expanding existing licenses to international.” Essentially, while the US market is vast, it is different than foreign markets and Roku must adjust (and spend) as needed. As Disney and Apple both enter the streaming game later this year, Pachter expects “the expansion of high-quality streaming apps to drive increased cord-cutting and grow the overall pool of active users for the Roku platform.” But as competition increases, users may turn away from TRC and contribute to lower ad revenue. Another possibility is that Roku could “choose to drive TRC viewers by increasing content spend while enhancing TRC features and advertising capabilities, driving expenses higher.” It’s unknown right now which route users/Roku will take, but Pachter nonetheless thinks it “could be years before Roku is able to reach profitability.” All in all, according toTipRanks analytics, Roku stock has 7 bullish analysts in its corner over the last three months, 3 analysts playing it safe on the sidelines, and 2 bears who see the stock falling. Notably, the 12-month average price target (from a pool of Street-wide expectations) showcase 9% downside for the 'Moderate Buy' rated stock. Read more:Roku (ROKU) Stock Is a Winner, but Valuation Is Pretty Full, Says Wedbush • Is 33% Upside Good Enough to Risk Buying Fitbit (FIT) Stock? Deutsche Bank Doesn't Think So • Deutsche Bank Remains Sidelined on AMD Stock; Here's Why • Antitrust Investigation Is Not a Major Threat to Alphabet (GOOGL) Stock, Says Top Analyst • Tesla's (TSLA) Gigafactory Is Impressive, But Its Stock Isn't, Says RBC Capital
Did Standard Diversified Inc. (NYSEMKT:SDI) Insiders Sell Shares? Want to participate in ashort research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So before you buy or sellStandard Diversified Inc.(NYSEMKT:SDI), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling. It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required. We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. For example, a Harvard Universitystudyfound that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.' See our latest analysis for Standard Diversified Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Director, Thomas Helms, for US$792k worth of shares, at about US$20.50 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$19.20. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take price at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign. Thomas Helms was the only individual insider to sell over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date! If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love thisfreelist of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them). Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Standard Diversified insiders own about US$10m worth of shares. That equates to 3.5% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment. An insider sold Standard Diversified shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. So we'd only buy after careful consideration.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. Of courseStandard Diversified may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see thisfreecollection of high quality companies. For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. 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.
Wayfair Employees Are Protesting After Learning the Company Sold Furniture to Migrant Detention Facilities Photo credit: Getty Images From ELLE Decor Employees of furniture and home goods company Wayfair have announced a walkout tomorrow, Wednesday, June 26th, in protest of the retail brand selling beds to child migrant detention facilities at the southern United States border. As the Boston Globe reported, after learning of these orders being carried out, Wayfair employees sent an email to the leadership team, detailing their concerns and requests: to cease all business deals with BCFS (a non-profit government contractor managing migrant camps at the border) and other contractors involved, as well as establishing a new code of ethics for business-to-business sales for the company. For the record, here’s the letter the employees sent, which includes the details of the B2B order that wayfair fulfilled. pic.twitter.com/mfKs1krawu — Dais (@sun_daiz) June 25, 2019 According to the letter signed by 547 employees, the particular order in question was a $200,000 order meant for a facility in Texas that reportedly houses “3,000 migrant children seeking legal asylum in the United States.” "Wayfair is confirmed to be selling beds to the border camps!" Twitter account @wayfairwalkout wrote . "Employees asked for the order to be canceled and management said no. Everyone deserves a home they can feel safe and loved in, especially children, no matter where they're from." According to the Twitter account, Wayfair employees have asked their CEO to donate the profits made from this specific sale to charities and organizations aimed at helping those in need at the border, including the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES). The Boston Globe reports that the letter was sent to executives last Friday and a response was returned on Monday evening at 6 p.m. Wayfair's response to the controversy, according to a tweet , is that "it is standard practice to fulfill orders for all customers, and we believe it is our business to sell to any customer who is acting within the laws of the countries within which we operate." Story continues In response to a recent letter signed by 547 employees, our CEO said that the company would not cease doing business with contractors furnishing border camps. We ask that the company donate the $86,000 in profit they made from this sale to RAICES. #wayfairwalkout — wayfairwalkout (@wayfairwalkout) June 25, 2019 @Wayfairwalkout is urging employees of the Wayfair headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts to walk out on June 26th at 1:30 p.m. to Copely Square "to show [their] numbers and make this demand.". Wayfair workers couldn’t stomach they were making beds to cage children. They asked the company to stop. CEO said no. Tomorrow, they‘re walking out. This is what solidarity looks like - a reminder that everyday people have real power, as long as we’re brave enough to use it. https://t.co/667abeLDTG — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 25, 2019 You Might Also Like The A-List: 100+ of the Best Interior Designers From Milan to Miami The 65 Best Home Decorating Ideas Of All Time These Are The 2018 Color Trends That Should Be On Your Radar
Should iShares Morningstar Large-Cap Value ETF (JKF) Be on Your Investing Radar? The iShares Morningstar Large-Cap Value ETF (JKF) was launched on 06/28/2004, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market. The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $514.22 M, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market. Why Large Cap Value Large cap companies typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Overall, they are usually a stable option, with less risk and more sure-fire cash flows than mid and small cap companies. Carrying lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, value stocks also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. While value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in nearly all markets when you consider long-term performance, growth stocks are more likely to outpace value stocks in strong bull markets. Costs Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining the same. Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.25%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space. It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.32%. Sector Exposure and Top Holdings Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis. Looking at individual holdings, Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B (BRK.B) accounts for about 6.29% of total assets, followed by Jpmorgan Chase & Co (JPM) and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM). The top 10 holdings account for about 43.48% of total assets under management. Performance and Risk JKF seeks to match the performance of the Morningstar Large Value Index before fees and expenses. The Morningstar Large Value Index measures the performance of stocks issued by large-capitalization comp that have exhibited value characteristics. The ETF has added roughly 12.65% so far this year and was up about 8.58% in the last one year (as of 06/26/2019). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $91.27 and $110.09. The ETF has a beta of 0.89 and standard deviation of 11.79% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 72 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk. Alternatives IShares Morningstar Large-Cap Value ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, JKF is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space. The iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD) and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF has $38.83 B in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $48.47 B. IWD has an expense ratio of 0.20% and VTV charges 0.04%. Bottom-Line An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors. To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportiShares Morningstar Large-Cap Value ETF (JKF): ETF Research ReportsJPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) : Free Stock Analysis ReportVanguard Value ETF (VTV): ETF Research ReportsiShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD): ETF Research ReportsBerkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B) : Free Stock Analysis ReportExxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
Lockheed Martin's Unit to Benefit From $91.3M Black Hawk Deal Lockheed Martin Corp.’s LMT business unit, Sikorsky Aircraft, recently secured a contract to provide engineering and other support services for all versions of the U.S. Army’s H-60 Black Hawk helicopters. Notably, this deal comes at a high time when the U.S. administration is in favor of spending big on the nation’s defense sector. Valued at $91.3 million, the contract is expected to get completed by June 27, 2024. Black Hawk’s Significance The Black Hawk is the primary medium lift helicopter for the U.S. Army that performs a wide range of missions encompassing Air Assault, MEDEVAC, CSAR, Command and Control, and VIP transport. The newest version of the Army’s premier combat utility helicopter, the UH-60M, ensures compatibility with the U.S. Army’s Future Force. It aims to improve the forces’ effectiveness, reduce their vulnerability and allow for future growth, while lowering operating and support costs. Build upon the state-of-the-art UH-60M Black Hawk, the HH-60W (Whiskey) is the latest chopper in this family of helicopters. It has been designed with additional capabilities to better support the full range of combat rescue and other special missions. This helicopter is expected to enhance the legendary Black Hawk’s versatility by doubling the internal fuel capacity without the use of space hungry auxiliary fuel tanks. Also, the HH-60W is likely to offer a robust weapons suite, and integrate defensive systems and sensors to provide an unprecedented combination of range and survivability. Lockheed’s Potential in the Combat Helicopter Market While growing political unrest among the Middle Eastern nations have provided a boost to the demand for weaponries in countries like Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, frequent tiff between Russia and European countries have bolstered the need for defense products in Europe. Meanwhile, following a sustained period of growth, many Southeast Asian countries are building up military capabilities and have thus expanded their defense budget over the past couple of years. Given this backdrop, the defense biggies in the United States have benefited significantly being the largest weapons exporters in the world. Moreover, political unrest prevalent in the United States due to its tensed relationship with countries like North Korea and Iran has sparked the demand for the U.S. defense arsenal over the past few years. With combat helicopters constituting major part of the top notch defense products, such solid demand for defense arsenals has enhanced growth opportunities for the military helicopter market. It is imperative to mention in this context that Lockheed’s Sikorsky is a prominent provider of combat helicopter and its Black Hawk multirole helicopter serves the U.S. military and the armed forces of 28 other countries worldwide as a tough, reliable utility helicopter. This surely highlights the significance of this family of helicopter in the global military helicopter market. With the global military helicopter market projected to witness a CAGR of 8.4% during the 2018-2023 period, per a report published by Market Research Future, we may expect Lockheed to benefit significantly from this improvement. Moreover, of late, the U.S. Air Force program of record has called for 113 helicopters to replace the Air Force’s aging HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, which perform critical combat search and rescue as well as personnel recovery operations for all U.S. military services and allies. This should prompt the Pentagon to offer more awards to Sikorsky in the coming days, thereby boosting the company’s profitability. Price Movement In a year’s time, shares of Lockheed have gained 22.3% compared with the industry’s 10.1% rally. Zacks Rank & Key Picks Lockheed carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). A few other top-ranked stocks from the same space are Wesco Aircraft Holdings WAIR, Northrop Grumman Corp. NOC and Leidos Holdings LDOS, each carrying a Zacks Rank of 2. You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Wesco Aircraft’s long-term earnings growth rate is projected at 12%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 earnings has moved 3.7% up to 84 cents over the past 60 days. Northrop Grumman came up with average positive earnings surprise of 18.50% in the last four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 earnings has climbed 2.26% to $19.42 over the past 60 days. Leidos Holdings delivered average positive earnings surprise of 6.81% in the last four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 earnings has risen 1.54% to $4.60 over the past 60 days. More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.Click here for the 6 trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportWesco Aircraft Holdings, Inc. (WAIR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportLockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) : Free Stock Analysis ReportLeidos Holdings, Inc. (LDOS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportNorthrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.
3 Top E-Commerce Stocks to Buy Right Now E-commerce stocks have been Wall Street favorites for many years thanks to their ability to outgrow brick-and-mortar retailing peers. Yet with the digital sales channel still only accounting for about 10% of the wider retailing industry, there's a long runway for growth. With that bright outlook in mind, we asked Motley Fool contributors for a few e-commerce specialists that look like attractive stock buys today. Read on to find out whyStitch Fix(NASDAQ: SFIX),Zillow(NASDAQ: Z)(NASDAQ: ZG), andAlibaba(NYSE: BABA)made that list. Image source: Getty Images. Demitri Kalogeropoulos(Stitch Fix): There's no shortage of smart-sounding reasons to believe Stitch Fix will fail to build an enduring position in the apparel retailing industry. Its push-based selling model, where personal shoppers chose a customer's clothing, is unproven, and most of its target market is still unaware of its brand -- or even how the service works. But the e-commerce disruptor is making huge strides at solving those core challenges right now. Its last earnings report showed a healthy jump in its active user base and in average spending per order. Better yet, the company's customer satisfaction metric, best reflected in itsrepeat business trends, has improved in each of the last four quarters. Looking ahead, CEO Katrina Lake and her team are hoping to build brand awareness through a cross-channel marketing campaign. They're also ramping up their men's and kids' offerings and pushing into key international markets like the U.K. Each of these initiatives carries the risk that Stitch Fix will fail to meet management's targets in these competitive industry niches. Investors seeking a promising e-commerce stock might be happy accepting those risks, giving the huge returns Stitch Fix would generate if its subscription-shopping model endures. Steve Symington(Zillow Group):The real estate world isn't exactly the first e-commerce category to come to mind for many investors. But Zillow Group has made its name by disrupting the real estate status quo already with its leading group of online brands, which not only includes its namesake site and apps but also Trulia, New York City sites StreetEasy and Naked Apartments, apartment and rental search site HotPads, and RealEstate.com. But now, Zillow is ramping itsefforts to buy and sell propertiesthrough its Zillow Home Loans and Zillow Offers programs, providing homeowners and home shoppers a massively simplified and shortened real estate transaction experience in the process. Shepherding that ramp up will be Zillow co-founder Rich Barton, who enjoys outstanding rapport with the investor community andreturned to the helmas CEO four months ago. At the time, Zillow teased that within the next three to five years, it's target is to purchase 5,000 homes per month, which would result in annualized segment revenue of $20 billion. For perspective, last quarter, Zillow bought 898 houses and sold 414, generating just under $129 million in revenue in the process. That said, Zillow stock has rallied nicely on the heels of last month'sstronger-than-expected quarterly report. But it still trades around 35% below its 52-week high, and I think investors who buy today could enjoy outsized gains for years to come as Zillow's story continues to unfold. Leo Sun(Alibaba): Alibaba, the largest e-commerce player in China, lost nearly 20% of its value over the past 12 months on concerns about the trade war and an economic slowdown in China. However, the tech giant -- which owns the largest e-commerce and cloud platforms in China -- continues to generate incredible growth. Its total revenue rose 51% annually last year. Gross merchandise volume on its two core marketplaces, Tmall and Taobao, rose 31% and 19%, respectively. Annual active customers on its marketplaces grew 18%, to 654 million, as mobile monthly active users for its marketplaces grew 17%, to 721 million. On the bottom line, it grew adjusted net income by 12%. UnlikeAmazon, which uses its higher-margin cloud business to support its lower-margin marketplace business, Alibaba uses a higher-margin marketplace business -- which mainly facilitates customer-to-customer and business-to-business transactions -- to support its lower-margin cloud anddigital-mediainitiatives. It's also expanding intoother markets, like Southeast Asia, Russia, and Europe. Those investments expand its ecosystem and widen its moat againstBaidu,Tencent, and other aggressive rivals in China's crowded tech market. Alibaba expects its revenue to top 500 billion RMB ($72.8 billion) this year -- which would represent at least 33% growth from 2018. Alibaba didn't provide any earnings guidance, but analysts anticipate 22% growth -- which is a solid growth rate for a stock that trades at 19 times forward earnings. Therefore, any good news about the trade war and China could bring investors running back to this "best-in-breed" e-commerce leader. More From The Motley Fool • 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today • The $16,728 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss • 20 of the Top Stocks to Buy (Including the Two Every Investor Should Own) • What Is an ETF? • 5 Recession-Proof Stocks • How to Beat the Market John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors.Demitrios Kalogeropoulosowns shares of Amazon and Zillow Group (C shares).Leo Sunowns shares of Amazon, Baidu, and Tencent Holdings.Steve Symingtonhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon, Baidu, Stitch Fix, Tencent Holdings, Zillow Group (A shares), and Zillow Group (C shares). The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
What Is the Roth IRA 5-Year Rule? Established in 1997, the Roth individual retirement account has long been a favored option for retirement savings due to its promise of tax-free withdrawals in retirement . To make the most of this type of account, it's essential to pay close attention to the rules. "As with just about any tax break, there are loopholes and pitfalls to realizing real savings," says Logan Allec, a certified public accountant and creator of the personal finance site Money Done Right in Santa Clarita, California. Not all Roth IRA withdrawals are tax-free. After opening and contributing to a Roth IRA , you'll need to wait five years to begin tax-free withdrawals of investment earnings. If you take a distribution from a Roth IRA that is fewer than five years old, the portion of the withdrawal that comes from investment earnings could be subject to income tax and an early withdrawal penalty. Keep in mind that the Roth IRA five-year rule: -- Applies to investment earnings, not initial contributions. -- Could trigger taxes and penalties on early withdrawals of investment earnings. -- Applies to all account owners, regardless of age. The following is a close look at what the Roth IRA five-year rule involves, how it is applied and special cases to be aware of when investing in a Roth IRA. [ Read: How to Open a Roth IRA. ] How the Roth IRA Five-Year Rule Works After you make your first Roth IRA contribution , you'll be expected to wait five tax years before the earnings can be taken out without being subject to taxes. "This five-year period applies across the board, even if the account owner is 100 years old, a first-time homebuyer or deceased," Allec says. For instance, if the account owner passes away, the beneficiary will need to allow the five-year time frame to pass in order to withdraw any earnings from the account tax-free. If you want to withdraw funds before the account is five years old, aim to distribute contributions to the account instead of investment earnings. "Contributions made to Roth IRAs are considered after-tax contributions," says Archie Ponce, a financial planner and executive vice president at Optima Asset Management in Dallas. "As such, contributions may be taken out tax-free prior to the five-year holding period." Perhaps you opened a Roth IRA and contributed $6,000 during 2018, and the account earned $500. Before five years pass, you could take out up to $6,000 tax-free, if you meet the other qualifying requirements for withdrawals. However, the earnings would need to remain in the account until the account is five years old to avoid taxes and penalties. Story continues After five years have passed, you'll still need to meet certain requirements to be eligible to withdraw earnings without penalty. To qualify for tax-free withdrawals, you'll also need to be 59 1/2 or older. You may be able to make early withdrawals from the account without penalty if you are disabled or use the distribution for a specific life circumstance, such as purchasing a first home. [ See: 11 Ways to Avoid the IRA Early Withdrawal Penalty. ] When the Five-Year Rule Starts Once you open and fund a Roth IRA, the five-year waiting period consists of five tax years. "You can open a Roth IRA and make a contribution on the last day before your income taxes are due and have it count for the previous calendar year," says Ryan Repko, a financial planner at Ruedi Wealth Management in Champaign, Illinois. For instance, perhaps you opened a Roth IRA and made a contribution on April 15, 2019. The contribution could be applied to tax year 2018. This shortens the waiting time to make tax-free distributions by a year. You could begin to take withdrawals of earnings in 2023 rather than 2024. Once you open a Roth IRA and the five-year rule begins, the waiting period can be applied to other accounts. "The clock starts with your first contribution to any Roth IRA, not necessarily the one from which you are withdrawing funds," Allec says. "Once you satisfy the five-year requirement for a single Roth IRA, any subsequent Roth IRA is considered held for five years." The earlier you start contributing to a Roth IRA, the easier it will be to reduce the tax risk of running into the five-year rule. Inherited Roth IRAs are subject to the five-year rule as well. "It starts with the original account owner's first contribution, not the beneficiary's date of inheritance," Allec says. If possible, you'll want to document the account owner's initial contribution dates before passing so you know when tax-free distributions can occur. [ Read: How to Reduce Your Lifetime Tax Bill With a Roth IRA. ] Understand the Rollover Rules If you have a Roth 401(k) account, keep in mind that there is also a five-year rule for this type of account before funds can be taken out tax-free. If you meet the five-year waiting period and decide to roll the Roth 401(k) into a new Roth IRA, you will have to wait for an additional five-year tax period before withdrawing funds. If you want to avoid waiting after rolling over a Roth 401(k) into a Roth IRA, consider opening a Roth IRA as early as possible. "Fund it with a minor amount of money," Repko says. "This strategy will ensure that the full Roth 401(k) account balance will be immediately accessible upon rolling it over to the Roth IRA, provided it has been open for the five tax year period." 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