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Mother pleads for help in harrowing video from Mexico detention centre: 'My son is dying'
Harrowing footage shows a migrant mother begging for help for her sick child after riots broke out at a Mexico detention centre. The mother-of-two, from Haiti , lies in the dirt on the ground as she cries for help for her “dying son” through a gap beneath a fence. The unnamed woman, whose has a five-year-old and 14-month-old son, claims they have suffered without food or drinkable water at Feria Mesoamericana centre in Tapachula, where they have been for 10 days. In video footage released by Mexican outlet El Universal , the woman says through tears: “My son has been sick for a lot of days. I have suffered a lot. “They haven’t given us a bit of food. There is no drinkable water. “Help me, help me with my son. He is sick. My son is dying.” Speaking in Spanish, the mother reaches her hand out towards reporters on the other side of the fence as she pleads for “justice”. Hundreds of Haitian and African refugees rioted on Tuesday and tried to escape from the makeshift immigration centre in southern Mexico. A mother-of-two, from Haiti, begs for help for her sick son from Feria Mesoamericana immigration detention centre in Tapachula, southern Mexico. (Maria de Jesus Peters/El Universal) It was the third uprising in a month, sparked by refugees demanding food, medical attention and help with their processing which would allow them to leave. Guards and police officers reportedly stopped people from leaving the centre, which is the biggest in the country. The National Institute of Immigration dismissed the riot as just a “disturbance” at the facility, according to EFE news agency. A haunting image of a father and his 23-month-old daughter lying face down in the Rio Grande after they drowned attempting to cross from Mexico into the US on Sunday sparked outrage. Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez, 25, can be seen lying among reeds and empty beer cans with his daughter Valeria tucked into his black T-shirt with her right arm draped around his neck. It triggered outcry after further highlighting the plight faced by Central American migrants hoping to claim asylum in America. View comments |
Is Texas Roadhouse, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:TXRH) Liquidity Good Enough?
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Small-cap and large-cap companies receive a lot of attention from investors, but mid-cap stocks like Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH), with a market cap of US$3.8b, are often out of the spotlight. Despite this, the two other categories have lagged behind the risk-adjusted returns of commonly ignored mid-cap stocks. Today we will look at TXRH’s financial liquidity and debt levels, which are strong indicators for whether the company can weather economic downturns or fund strategic acquisitions for future growth. Note that this information is centred entirely on financial health and is a top-level understanding, so I encourage you to look furtherinto TXRH here.
View our latest analysis for Texas Roadhouse
What is considered a high debt-to-equity ratio differs depending on the industry, because some industries tend to utilize more debt financing than others. As a rule of thumb, a financially healthy mid-cap should have a ratio less than 40%. For TXRH, the debt-to-equity ratio is zero, meaning that the company has no debt. It has been operating its business with zero debt and utilising only its equity capital. Investors' risk associated with debt is virtually non-existent with TXRH, and the company has plenty of headroom and ability to raise debt should it need to in the future.
Since Texas Roadhouse doesn’t have any debt on its balance sheet, it doesn’t have any solvency issues, which is a term used to describe the company’s ability to meet its long-term obligations. But another important aspect of financial health is liquidity: the company’s ability to meet short-term obligations, including payments to suppliers and employees. Looking at TXRH’s US$362m in current liabilities, the company arguably has a rather low level of current assets relative its obligations, with the current ratio last standing at 0.89x. The current ratio is calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities.
Though TXRH has zero debt obligations, it still has short term liabilities such as salaries to pay. Shareholders should understand why the company isn't opting for cheaper cost of capital to fund future growth, especially if meeting short-term obligations lead to more pressing issues. This is only a rough assessment of financial health, and I'm sure TXRH has company-specific issues impacting its capital structure decisions. I suggest you continue to research Texas Roadhouse to get a more holistic view of the mid-cap by looking at:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for TXRH’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor TXRH’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is TXRH 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 TXRH is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
What It's Going to Take to Survive the Next Round of Store Closures
The eye-catching term "retail apocalypse" continues to linger in the headlines, with a new round of store closures in 2019 taking its toll onreal estate investment trusts(REITs) that own malls. Although the hype here islikely overblown, that doesn't mean that there aren't real implications for companies likeSimon Property Group(NYSE: SPG),Washington Prime Group(NYSE: WPG), andTanger Factory Outlet Centers(NYSE: SKT), among other large mall owners. Managing through the changing retail landscape won't be easy, but here are the issues that will help determine which REITs come out the other side in one piece.
The proximal cause of the problems facing brick-and-mortar stores is the internet. Companies likeAmazon.comhave reshaped the way consumers buy products. Some niches have been hit harder than others (like books and apparel), but even sectors once thought to be immune are starting to see an online shift (for example, hardware and groceries). To be fair, online sales still make up a relatively small portion (about 10%) of overall sales in the U.S. market. But some areas are definitely feeling the pain more than others.
Image source: Getty Images.
That's where the real issue comes in for malls, which tend to be heavily focused around apparel. With companies fromGaptoAscena Grouprecentlyannouncing plans to trim store countsorshutter entire brand concepts, key mall tenants are clearly deciding to pull back. Not to mention the raft of bankruptcies that have hit the space, including 2019's filings byCharlotte Russe, Payless ShoeSource and the U.S. arm ofDiesel. Interior stores closing wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that large anchor tenants likeSears(which was forced to file bankruptcy),J.C. Penney, andMacy'sare also struggling and shutting locations. Losing an anchor can materially diminish mall traffic, making internal store closures more likely and more difficult to bounce back from.
All in all, it has been a brutal few years for mall owners. The stocks of mall REITs have performed about as well as you might expect given the circumstances: They have largely nosedived. The best performer of the past three years is Simon Property Group, which is down "just" 20% or so. At the other end of the spectrum isCBL & Associates(NYSE: CBL), which has declined a sickening 89%.
History suggests, and the still-small size of overall online sales confirms, that consumers continue to shop in physical stores. Humans are, by their very nature, communal animals, and malls provide a way to connect and interact. It is highly unlikely that the internet will completely replace the mall. That said, there are big changes taking place, and they are having a disproportionate impact on malls. Some malls will survive, while others will die. The difference between which mall REITs come through this transition period in one piece will likely boil down to two key factors.
The first issue to watch is quality. The old maxim of "location, location, location" is still true. Better-positioned malls will likely manage through the retail changes better than weaker malls. REITs that focus on top-tier malls (A-quality malls) will be better able to adjust than those with second- and third-tier assets (B and C malls). Although it seems pretty obvious, retailers will want to put their stores in malls that are doing well and avoid those that are struggling.
There are a couple of factors to look at here, including sales per square foot and the actual location of a mall. The highest-quality malls tend to be near large, wealthy populations with little competition, thus allowing the mall's tenants to produce sizable sales per square foot. Malls in poorer regions, serving sparsely populated areas, or that have low sales are likely to see the most store closures. Simon,Taubman(NYSE: TCO), andMacerich(NYSE: MAC)have some of the best-positioned malls in the industry. As you might expect, CBL's portfolio has assets that are less productive. All of the mall REITs are looking to fill empty spaces today, and the best malls have the best shot at success.
Getting through an industry transition like this isn't easy, even for the best-positioned companies. Which is why you'll also want to look at thebalance sheetof any mall REIT you are considering. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that entering a period of rapid change with a heavy debt load will make life harder.
The dichotomy here is huge, withPennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust'strailing debt-to-EBITDAratio coming in at a troubling 18 times. CBL's figure here is better but still high at 11 times. These companies are not only trying to reposition their malls but also to fix their weak balance sheets. Doing either would be hard, but doing both at the same time could easily spell disaster.
SPG Financial Debt to EBITDA (TTM)data byYCharts.
At the other end of the spectrum is Simon, which has a debt-to-EBITDA ratio of roughly 5 times. It's little wonder that Simon's shares are down less than those of peers, given that it has among the strongest portfolios and strongest balance sheets. Simply put, it is well positioned to survive the retail apocalypse. Following close behind Simon is Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, with debt to EBITDA of roughly 6 times.
Tanger is an interesting outlier because it doesn't own enclosed malls; it is focused on outlet centers, as its name implies. Outlet centers generally have lower operating costs because they are outdoor structures, have generic and easily updatable store spaces, and don't have anchor tenants to worry about. Simon's portfolio contains a significant number of outlet centers, as well. That said, Tanger's business is more focused around apparel, so the REIT is not immune to the impact of online shopping. Butwith low leverage and a distinct business model, it stands out from other mall REITs.
Note, too, in the chart above that while Taubman and Macerich both have generally strong mall portfolios, they also make use of more leverage than Simon or Tanger. So there's a notable trade-off here that investors need to think about carefully before picking which company to back.
SPG Dividend Per Share (Quarterly)data byYCharts.
It's pretty clear that the best-positioned mall REIT is Simon. Simon has, not surprisingly, rewarded investors with notable dividend hikes in recent years despite the industry's headwinds. CBL, by contrast, has been forced to cut its dividend more than once already, while Pennsylvania and Washington Prime have simply held the line. In between these extremes, you'll find Tanger, Taubman, and Macerich. The differences between these mall REITs are showing up in a very dramatic fashion for income-focused investors.
All of the mall REITs are working to fill vacant space today. Better-positioned malls will have an easier go of it. But it will still take time to manage this transition, since finding new tenants and rejiggering space doesn't happen overnight. And that means that the mall REITs with the strongest balance sheets have an edge because they don't face the material financial headwinds that heavily leveraged competitors must deal with.
Stepping back, most investors looking at this space should find Simon attractive. For those with a little more tolerance for risk, Tanger's differentiated business model and low leverage might be of interest. Whatever stock you choose, however, you'll need to keep a close eye on your investment. Even the best of breed here isn't a "set it and forget it" investment today.
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John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors.Reuben Gregg Brewerowns shares of Tanger Factory Outlet Centers. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool recommends Tanger Factory Outlet Centers. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. |
Why Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH) Is A Financially Healthy Company
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Small and large cap stocks are widely popular for a variety of reasons, however, mid-cap companies such as Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH), with a market cap of US$3.8b, often get neglected by retail investors. However, generally ignored mid-caps have historically delivered better risk adjusted returns than both of those groups. TXRH’s financial liquidity and debt position will be analysed in this article, to get an idea of whether the company can fund opportunities for strategic growth and maintain strength through economic downturns. Note that this commentary is very high-level and solely focused on financial health, so I suggest you dig deeper yourselfinto TXRH here.
See our latest analysis for Texas Roadhouse
What is considered a high debt-to-equity ratio differs depending on the industry, because some industries tend to utilize more debt financing than others. A ratio below 40% for mid-cap stocks is considered as financially healthy, as a rule of thumb. For TXRH, the debt-to-equity ratio is zero, meaning that the company has no debt. It has been operating its business with zero debt and utilising only its equity capital. Investors' risk associated with debt is virtually non-existent with TXRH, and the company has plenty of headroom and ability to raise debt should it need to in the future.
Given zero long-term debt on its balance sheet, Texas Roadhouse has no solvency issues, which is used to describe the company’s ability to meet its long-term obligations. However, another measure of financial health is its short-term obligations, which is known as liquidity. These include payments to suppliers, employees and other stakeholders. With current liabilities at US$362m, it seems that the business arguably has a rather low level of current assets relative its obligations, with the current ratio last standing at 0.89x. The current ratio is the number you get when you divide current assets by current liabilities.
Although TXRH has no debt on its balance sheet, it still has to meet near-term commitments to meet. As an investor, you may want to figure out if there are company-specific reasons for not having any debt, especially if meeting short-term obligations lead to more pressing issues. I admit this is a fairly basic analysis for TXRH's financial health. Other important fundamentals need to be considered alongside. I recommend you continue to research Texas Roadhouse to get a more holistic view of the mid-cap by looking at:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for TXRH’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor TXRH’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is TXRH 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 TXRH is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Acer gaming laptops, Eufy RoboVac, and more deals for June 27
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Did Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (NYSE:BNED) Insiders Buy Up More Shares?
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We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares inBarnes & Noble Education, Inc.(NYSE:BNED).
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, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.
Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. 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.'
Check out our latest analysis for Barnes & Noble Education
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Lead Independent Director John Ryan bought US$100k worth of shares at a price of US$4.97 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$3.59 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.
Happily, we note that in the last year insiders bought 38240 shares for a total of US$198k. Barnes & Noble Education may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
Barnes & Noble Education is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at thisfreelist of growing companies with insider buying.
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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Barnes & Noble Education insiders own about US$27m worth of shares. That equates to 16% 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.
The fact that there have been no Barnes & Noble Education insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Insiders do have a stake in Barnes & Noble Education and their transactions don't cause us concern. Of course,the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Barnes & Noble Education, you should check out thisfreereport on analyst forecasts for the company.
Of courseBarnes & Noble Education 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. |
Have Insiders Been Buying Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (NYSE:BNED) Shares?
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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 sellBarnes & Noble Education, Inc.(NYSE:BNED), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.
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, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.
We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. 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.'
View our latest analysis for Barnes & Noble Education
Lead Independent Director John Ryan made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$100k worth of shares at a price of US$4.97 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$3.59). It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.
In the last twelve months insiders paid US$198k for 38240 shares purchased. While Barnes & Noble Education insiders bought shares last year, they didn't sell. 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!
Barnes & Noble Education is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to findwinning investmentsthisfreelist of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
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. It appears that Barnes & Noble Education insiders own 16% of the company, worth about US$27m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.
There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders do have a stake in Barnes & Noble Education and their transactions don't cause us concern. Of course,the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Barnes & Noble Education, you should check out thisfreereport on analyst forecasts for the company.
But note:Barnes & Noble Education 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. |
Jordyn Woods Hit Back at Kim and Khloé Kardashian's Claims She Relied on Kylie Jenner's Money
From ELLE Jordyn Woods took the chance during last night's during interview with Entertainment Tonight to respond to Kim and Khloé Kardashian's most explosive claims about her in last week's first Keeping Up With the Kardashians episode on her and Tristan Thompson's cheating scandal. The outlet asked Woods first about Kim and Khloé's claim that she never apologized to Khloé for kissing her kind-of-off boyfriend Tristan back in February. Photo credit: Instagram In the episode, Kim said, "I also think the tone of not ever saying sorry. I would've been on Khloe's doorstep, bawling my eyes out, being like, 'F*ck. I don't know what the f*ck I was doing. Holy sh*t. I'm a f*cking idiot." "I'm not saying things can't happen. I'm the most understanding, calm person ever," Khloé added. "But never once has Jordyn said, 'I'm sorry.'" Last night, Jordyn asserted that she has been remorseful. "It's just, you know, things happen, and of course I'm sorry and apologetic as much as I can be," she said. Jordyn also responded to Kim saying that she was supporting her entire family with Kylie Jenner's money. (Kim said during a group call in the episode, "Kylie, she provides for her whole family off of what you have given her.") "I definitely work very hard for a lot of the things that I have, and as you can see, I'm out here hustling, and I've always been working," Jordyn said. "I started modeling when I was 18, and you know, I work hard." Jordyn has addressed Keeping Up With the Kardashians ' episodes on her scandal before to Entertainment Tonight . In an interview after just the trailer for the episodes aired, Jordyn said that "everyone has their truth and their story, so you just go with it. Everyone has the right to speak their truth." When asked about how she hoped the series would portray her, she said "hopefully, like myself, and the real me will shine." ('You Might Also Like',) 10 Pairs of White Sneakers That Go With Everything 50 Surprising Things You Never Knew About 'Sex and the City' 20 Serums to Solve All Your Skincare Problems |
You are what you eat why the future of nutrition is personal
metamorworks/Shutterstock Humans are complicated, and there are many things that influence our health. There are things we cant change, like our age or genetic makeup, and the things we can, such as our choice of food and drink. There are also the trillions of bacteria that live in our guts collectively known as the microbiome that have a significant impact on our health and digestion. The foods we eat are mixtures of many nutrients that affect the body and microbiome in different ways, so unravelling the relationship between diet, metabolism and health is no simple matter. A new study from the University of Minnesota adds yet another layer of complexity, showing that foods that have comparable nutritional profiles can have very different effects on the microbiome. Feeding the five trillion While we know that a more diverse microbiome is usually an indicator of better gut health , we understand little about how specific foods affect the abundance of different microbial species. In their recent study, the Minnesota team asked 34 healthy volunteers to collect detailed records about everything they ate over 17 days, mapping this information against the diversity of microbes in daily stool samples. As expected, although there were several foods that were eaten by most of the participants such as coffee, cheddar cheese, chicken and carrots there were plenty of choices that were unique. The researchers found that while each participants food choices affected their own microbiome, with certain foods boosting or reducing the abundance of particular bacterial strains, there wasnt a straightforward correlation that carried over between people. For example, beans boosted the proportion of certain bacteria in one person but had far less effect in another. Intriguingly, although closely related foods (such as cabbage and kale) tended to have the same impact on the microbiome, unrelated foods with very similar nutritional compositions had strikingly different effects. This tells us that conventional nutritional labelling may not be the best way of judging how healthy a food is likely to be. Story continues The results also show that making dietary recommendations for improving the microbiome wont be simple and will need to be personalised, taking into account a persons existing gut microbes and the effects of specific foods on them. Trillions of bacteria live in our guts. Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock Go large The microbiome is probably the hottest topic in nutrition and health right now, with researchers keen to map and manipulate our bacterial friends. But its not the whole story. My team at Kings College London is collaborating with researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and a company called ZOE to run PREDICT , the largest nutritional science study of its kind anywhere in the world. The aim of PREDICT is to unpick all the complex interacting factors that affect our unique responses to food, especially the regular peaks in sugar and fat levels in blood that are linked long term to weight gain and disease. Weve been studying personal nutritional responses to food in 1,100 volunteers from the UK and US, including hundreds of pairs of twins, measuring their blood sugar (glucose), insulin, fat levels (triglycerides) and other markers in response to a combination of standardised and freely chosen meals over two weeks. We also captured information about activity, sleep, hunger, mood, genetics and, of course, the microbiome, adding up to millions of datapoints . The initial results , presented at the American Diabetes Association and American Society for Nutrition meetings earlier this month, came as a big surprise. We discovered that individuals have repeatable, predictable nutritional responses to different foods, depending on the proportions of protein, fat and carbohydrates. But there were wide variations between people (up to eightfold), making a mockery of averages even among identical twins who share all their genes. Less than 30% of the variation between peoples sugar responses is due to genetic makeup and less than 20% for fat. Unexpectedly, there was only a weak correlation between the two: having a bad response to fat couldnt predict whether someone would be a good or bad responder to sugar. We also discovered that identical twins shared only around 37% of their gut microbes. This is only slightly higher than that shared between two unrelated people, underscoring the modest effect of genes. You do you We all have personal tastes and preferences when it comes to food, so it makes sense to assume that our personal metabolisms and responses to the foods we eat should be different too. But were only now coming to the point where scientific research is catching up with this gut feeling, proving that everyone is unique and that there is no one true diet that works for all. This research shows that if you want to find the foods that work best with your metabolism, then you need to know your personal nutritional response something that cant be predicted from simple genetic tests . Of course, there are healthy eating messages that apply to everyone, such as eating more fibre and increasing diverse plant-based foods and cutting down on ultra-processed products. But the take-home message is that there is no one right way to eat that works for everyone, despite what government guidelines and glamorous Instagram gurus tell you. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article . The Conversation Tim Spector recieves grants from multiple organisations including MRC, Wellcome Trust, NIHR, NIH, CDRF, Danone. He is a scientific founder of ZOE (global) ltd and receives royalties from a book on diet and microbiome "The Diet Myth: the real science behind what we eat" Orion 2016 |
Is The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) Potentially Undervalued?
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The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE), which is in the consumer retailing business, and is based in United States, saw significant share price movement during recent months on the NASDAQGS, rising to highs of $33.97 and falling to the lows of $26.47. 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 Andersons's current trading price of $27.33 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 Andersons’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.
Check out our latest analysis for Andersons
Andersons appears to be overvalued according to 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 Andersons’s ratio of 27.45x is above its peer average of 20.32x, which suggests the stock is overvalued compared to the Consumer Retailing industry. If you like the stock, you may want to keep an eye out for a potential price decline in the future. Since Andersons’s share price is quite volatile, this could mean it can sink lower (or rise even further) in the future, giving us another chance to invest. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for how much the stock moves relative to the rest of the market.
Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. 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. In Andersons’s case, its earnings over the next year are expected to double, indicating an incredibly optimistic future ahead. This should lead to stronger cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.
Are you a shareholder?ANDE’s optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading above its fair value. However, this brings up another question – is now the right time to sell? If you believe ANDE 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. 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 ANDE for a while, now may not be the best time to enter into the stock. The price has surpassed its industry peers, which means it is likely that there is no more upside from mispricing. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for ANDE, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors in order to take advantage of the next price drop.
Price is just the tip of the iceberg. Dig deeper into what truly matters – the fundamentals – before you make a decision on Andersons. You can find everything you need to know about Andersons inthe latest infographic research report. If you are no longer interested in Andersons, 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. |
3 Key Things From Canopy Growth's Earnings Call That Investors Should Know
Last weekCanopy Growth(NYSE: CGC), a leading Canadian cannabis grower, reportedfourth-quarter and full-year results for fiscal 2019.
In Q4, net revenue soared 313% year over year to 94.1 million Canadian dollars, driven by the opening of Canada's recreational marijuana market in October. This new market brought in 65% of total gross revenue. Net loss widened considerably because the company is investing heavily in growth initiatives. It lost CA$323.4 million, compared with CA$54.4 million in the year-ago period. On a per-share basis, its loss widened to CA$0.98, from CA$0.31.
Earnings releases tell only part of the story. Here are three things from Canopy Growth's fiscal Q4 call that you should know. (TranscriptviaSeeking Alpha.)
Image source: Getty Images.
From acting CFO Mike Lee's remarks:
Gross margin in the fourth quarter of fiscal '19 before the IFRS [International Financial Reporting Standards] fair value impacts was 15 million [Canadian dollars], or 16% of net revenue. Comparatively, gross margin in the fourth quarter of fiscal '18 was CA$7.7 million, or 34% of net revenue. The lower gross margin percentage ... was primarily attributed to CA$24 million of operating expenses for facilities not yet cultivating or facilities that had underutilized capacity. ...
This one largely speaks for itself. As utilization of Canopy's facilities increase and as its new platforms (which we'll get to in a moment) begin to produce higher-margin products, the gross margin is expected to rise.
As for Lee, this was his first Canopy earnings call. He's "acting CFO" because he's awaiting security clearance, which is expected to be received soon, from Health Canada. His background is largely in the alcoholic beverage industry, with his most recent position prior to Canopy being CFO of the wine and spirits division atConstellation Brands(NYSE: STZ).
From co-CEO Bruce Linton's remarks:
[Regarding] our beverage platform, the photos necessary to submit to Health Canada are scheduled to be prepared and could be submitted on or about June 28. That would follow where we will start to see tanks arriving early July, processing skids mid- and late July, things like piping equipment and consumables early August, qualification of the equipment August to September, so that we're looking at a mid-September finish construction.
Cannabis-infused beverages, along with edibles, are expected to get regulatory approval in Canada later this year. (Only dried flower and oils were legalized for recreational use last October.) Canopy should be ready to start churning out these beverages as soon as our neighbor to the north waves the green flag.
The company is developing these beverages with its strategic partner, Constellation Brands. Last fall, the maker of Corona and Modelo beersupped its ownership stake in Canopyto about 38%. The $4 billion that Canopy received in the deal made it flush with cash, which it's using to rapidly scale up.
From Linton's remarks:
[Regarding] U.S. hemp, we announced our plan, and we're in full ramp-up mode. Contracts for farmers, announced sites, RFPs out for construction work [so] that we could begin refitting buildings, working on multiple states so that they ... follow a process that's very similar to New York state, developing brands, creating and testing products, and getting into production ramp that, while there is no absolute certainty, we certainly are aiming to have a Q4 in-channel product set.
Canopy Growth is building an industrial-scale hemp processing facility in New York state where it will make hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) products. (CBD is the nonpsychoactive chemical that's been associated with a host of medicinal benefits.) This platform marks the company's entrance into the U.S. market, which was made possible by the Jan. 1 enactment of the U.S. farm bill, which made processing hemp legal across the country.
Linton said the company is "investing a few 100 million [Canadian dollars] into U.S. processing assets that are great for hemp. But they'll also be functional and, I think, scalable for [processing marijuana] should that become a [federally] permissible activity."
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Beth McKennaowns shares of Canopy Growth. The Motley Fool recommends Constellation Brands. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. |
Is There Now An Opportunity In The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE)?
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The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE), which is in the consumer retailing 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 $33.97 at one point, and dropping to the lows of $26.47. 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 Andersons's current trading price of $27.33 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 Andersons’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.
See our latest analysis for Andersons
Andersons appears to be overvalued according to my relative valuation model. I’ve used the price-to-earnings ratio in this instance because there’s not enough visibility to forecast its cash flows. The stock’s ratio of 27.45x is currently well-above the industry average of 20.32x, meaning that it is trading at a more expensive price relative to its peers. But, is there another opportunity to buy low in the future? Since Andersons’s share price is quite volatile, this could mean it can sink lower (or rise even further) in the future, giving us another chance to invest. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for how much the stock moves relative to the rest of the market.
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. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so let’s also take a look at the company's future expectations. In Andersons’s case, its earnings over the next year are expected to double, indicating an incredibly optimistic future ahead. This should lead to stronger cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.
Are you a shareholder?It seems like the market has well and truly priced in ANDE’s positive outlook, with shares trading above its fair value. At this current price, shareholders may be asking a different question – should I sell? If you believe ANDE 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. 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 ANDE for a while, now may not be the best time to enter into the stock. The price has surpassed its industry peers, which means it is likely that there is no more upside from mispricing. However, the optimistic prospect is encouraging for ANDE, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors in order to take advantage of the next price drop.
Price is just the tip of the iceberg. Dig deeper into what truly matters – the fundamentals – before you make a decision on Andersons. You can find everything you need to know about Andersons inthe latest infographic research report. If you are no longer interested in Andersons, 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. |
Video game systems could cost shoppers $840M more this holiday season, console makers say
No good news for gamers from the elf on store shelves. Tariffs on imports from China could price one-fourth of U.S. families out of the market to buy a video game system this holiday season, game console makers say. Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony, in a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative's Office dated June 17, wrote that tariffs could price an Xbox, Switch or PlayStation "out of reach for many American families." Those shoppers who do buy a new game system will collectively pay $840 million more this holiday season than they would have had tariffs not been imposed, the companies say, citing a study from the independent economic group Trade Partnership for the Consumer Technology Association . Got milk?: Study finds residue of pesticides, antibiotics and growth hormone in non-organic milk Privacy concerns: Here's how to block Amazon from tracking your every move In a rare joint letter, first reported on by Vice , the three video game hardware makers ask the Trump administration to remove video game consoles – 96% of those imported were manufactured in China – from the final list of products to be hit with tariffs. The Trump administration has imposed 25% tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese import s and plans to expand that to an additional $300 billion in imports. China, which the U.S. has accused of stealing trade secrets and forcing technology sharing for deals, has responded with tariffs of its own on U.S. goods. But the video game companies say, "although we appreciate the Administration’s goal of strengthening the protection of IP in China, video game consoles" are unlikely to be targets of counterfeiting. Instead, they say tariffs on game systems would stifle innovation, "injure consumers, video game developers, retailers and console manufacturers" and "put thousands of high-value, rewarding U.S. jobs at risk." Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony employ nearly 8,000 in the U.S. and collectively sold more than 15 million game systems in 2018. Overall, the U.S. video game industry generated total revenue of $43.4 billion in 2018, a 20% increase over 2017. But the three video game giants note in the letter that the U.S. video game industry "directly and indirectly employs more than 220,000 people" and that most game companies are small businesses. "Many develop software for video games across the range of platforms, from PCs to mobile, including the video game consoles that we manufacture, and are an integral part of the booming app economy," they say. However, game consoles are made in China, because of a supply chain that has been developed "over many years of investment by our companies and our partners," they say. "It would cause significant supply chain disruption to shift sourcing entirely to the United States or a third country, and it would increase costs – even beyond the cost of the proposed tariffs – on products that are already manufactured under tight margin conditions." Story continues Tariffs on game systems would "significantly disrupt our companies’ businesses and add significant costs that would depress sales of video game consoles and the games and services that drive the profitability of this market segment." The effect would carry over to more than 2,700 game software and development companies, and retailers such as Best Buy, GameStop and Walmart, they say. "Thus, these tariffs would have a ripple effect of harm that extends throughout the video game ecosystem," they say in the letter. Letter from Microsoft, Nint... by on Scribd US-China trade war: As the trade war heats up this summer, who is feeling the chill? Online game threats: EA's Origin had security flaws that could have put up to 300M at risk for identity theft Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider . This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Video game systems could cost shoppers $840M more this holiday season, console makers say View comments |
HealthEquity Is Buying WageWorks In A $2B Deal
Healthequity Inc(NASDAQ:HQY) will acquireWageworks Inc(NYSE:WAGE) for.35 per share in cash, or approximately $2 billion.
WageWorks is an administrator of consumer-directed benefits such as flexible spending accounts and HealthEquity is designated as a non-bank health savings trustee by the IRS.
"Acquiring WageWorks positions us to accelerate the market-wide transition to HSAs, with greater market access and an end-to-end proprietary platform built to drive members to spend smarter while saving for healthcare in retirement," said Jon Kessler, President and CEO of HealthEquity.
"Together, we can meet employers and employees wherever they are on their journeys to connect health and wealth, while simultaneously accelerating our growth in an expanding industry.
WageWorks shares traded down 1.9% to $50.65 in Thursday's pre-market session.
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© 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. |
American Airlines Prepares to Retire Its Aging MD-80 Fleet
For the past several decades, McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jets have been a common sight at airports around the world (and especially in the U.S.). However, with production having ended in 1999, even the newest MD-80s are close to retirement age. Furthermore, new models like theBoeing(NYSE: BA) 737 MAX andAirbusA320neo are dramatically more fuel-efficient -- not to mention a lot quieter.
As a result,American Airlines(NASDAQ: AAL), by far the biggest MD-80 customer, has been planning to retire its final MD-80s in 2019. Earlier this week, the airline announced that it had scheduled its final MD-80 flights for Sept. 4. This will leaveDelta Air Lines(NYSE: DAL) as the only U.S. passenger airline operating MD-80s.
American Airlines was the first major customer for the MD-80. After getting its first handful of MD-80s in 1983 on a bargain deal from a desperate McDonnell Douglas, American used the jet to power its rapid growth during the 1980s and early 1990s.
In total, American Airlines ordered 260 MD-80s. Its 2001 merger partner, TWA, was also a major MD-80 operator. As a result, by the end of 2001, American had 362 MD-80s, accounting for 41% of its total mainline fleet. That also represented more than 30% of the 1,191 MD-80s built over the lifetime of the program. No. 2 customer Delta Air Lines ordered a comparatively modest 120 MD-80-series jets.
These MD-80s served the bulk of American Airlines' domestic mainline routes. As recently as 2011, American was still operating more than 200 MD-80s. However, in recent years, the carrier has undertaken amassive fleet renewal project, replacing older aircraft with brand-new jets from Boeing and Airbus.
By the beginning of 2019, American Airlines was down to just 30 MD-80s and planned to get rid of the rest by year-end. On Monday, the airline revealed that it will retire the final 26 MD-80s on Sept. 4, just after the end of the summer peak travel season. The final flight -- sentimentally numbered AA 80 -- will depart the airline's Dallas-Fort Worth hub at 9 a.m. on that date and arrive in Chicago at 11:35.
There's still a chance that American Airlines will need to revise its timeline for retiring its last MD-80s. It's no coincidence that the scheduled retirement date of Sept. 4 is the same day that the carrier plans to put its Boeing 737 MAX fleet back into service. American's mainline fleet is set to shrink from 956 jets at the beginning of 2019 to 942 -- including 40 Boeing 737 MAX 8s -- by the end of the year, mainly due to the MD-80 retirements. There's no way that the airline can fly its full schedule this fall with no MD-80s if the 737 MAX fleet remains grounded.
While American Airlines executives had previously expressed confidence that the 737 MAX would resume service by August, CEO Doug Parker recently acknowledged that the plane's return could be delayed to October. If anything, that risk continues to rise, as the FAA revealed this week that it has identified a new issue with the 737 MAX that Boeing will need to address prior to scheduling certification test flights.
American Airlines could choose to make deep cuts to its schedule if the 737 MAX isn't ready by Sept. 4. However, it would probably be more economical -- and cause customers less disruption -- to keep the MD-80s flying for a little while longer in that scenario.
While the 737 MAX grounding is dragging on longer than expected, it's still quite likely that the type will be certified to resume service sometime in 2019. That will allow American Airlines to retire its final MD-80s before year-end. The MD-80s will be the first of several aircraft types to depart its fleet over the next several years as part of an ambitiousfleet simplification effort.
This will leave Delta Air Lines as the only significant MD-80 operator in the U.S. As of the end of 2018, Delta had 84 MD-80s in its fleet, averaging 28 years of age. Not surprisingly, it plans to retire all of these jets by the end of next year.
Indeed, Delta Air Lines also decided recently to accelerate the retirement of its MD-90 fleet due to soaring maintenance costs. The MD-90 was an upgraded derivative of the MD-80 that never caught on with airlines. Delta still has several dozen in its fleet, but they are likely to be replaced within the next two years.
Thus, by the end of 2021, the storied McDonnell Douglas brand will have disappeared from the U.S. air travel market. There may be a bit of nostalgia from aviation enthusiasts, but upgrading to modern jets will be critical to future profit growth at American Airlines and Delta Air Lines.
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Adam Levine-Weinbergowns shares of Delta Air Lines and is long January 2020 $20 calls on American Airlines Group. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Delta Air Lines. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. |
Emily Atack on her struggle to be taken seriously an an actor: 'We were aiming for the wrong target'
Emily Atack has revealed he was hard to shake off her earlier roles when trying to pursue more "serious" acting. (Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage) Emily Atack has opened up about her struggles within the acting industry, from transitioning to more serious roles after years of playing the “sexy girl” to the pressures surrounding body image. In an exclusive interview with The Guardian , the former I’m a Celeb... Get Me Out of Here! contestant touched on how her first major role as popular girl Charlotte Hinchcliffe in comedy series The Inbetweeners influenced how casting directors saw her from then on. “I was getting all of these glamorous, sexy, girl-next-door-type roles, and that’s great,” the 29-year-old began. “I was all: ‘Hey, I’m sexy!’ Posing in my pants. But you can’t do that for ever. Read more: Emily Atack opens up about fertility worries: 'I don’t want to be a lonely old person' “You especially can’t do that, if – like me – you love going to the pub and you love Christmas Day dinners every weekend. The point is, my body was becoming way more womanly, and I wasn’t looking like the girl next door any more.” She went on to explain that what she was looking for, were roles that were a little more diverse. You know, “police officers” and things like that. “I did this whole thing of going: ‘I want to be taken seriously as an actor, I don’t want to be this pin-uppy type any more, I’m going to dye my hair brown and try and do that. I’m an actor now. “[But] once you’ve cemented a vision in people’s minds of what you are in the industry, that’s the only way people see you.” Atack continues, saying that her years of trying to break the mould she’d found herself was like “trying to get into a party I just wasn’t invited to.” But that she was still getting offers to do light entertainment and one day, she decided that that’s where she should be focusing her effort. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Emily Atack (@emilyatackofficial) on Jun 26, 2019 at 1:33pm PDT “You know what? This is the party I’m going to go to, where I’m invited, and where I can be the best version of myself that I can be,” she recalled thinking at the time. Story continues “I had to be honest with [my agency] and just be like: ‘Guys, I’m not trying to be the next Keira Knightley. Let’s stop banging on this door. We were aiming for the wrong target.’” Nowadays, Atack has found a way to combine her comedy leanings with more serious issues, like in her recent stand-up tour Talk Thirty To Me and new documentary series Adulting - which started on W last night (Wednesday 26 June). Read more: Emily Atack tells fat-shaming trolls to ‘go f*** yourself’ The latter is set to see her explore different subjects from dating and parenthood and reliance on social media. One episode will tackle body image issues; something that Atack admits to finding a challenge. “I so badly want to sit here and go: ‘I love my body.’ But I can’t lie and say it doesn’t upset me when I get called fat,” she told the publication. “If I wasn’t in the industry and I just had a regular job, working in an office, I would probably love the way I look.” |
How Much Are Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Insiders Taking Off The Table?
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We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares inAssociated Banc-Corp(NYSE:ASB).
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 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 Associated Banc-Corp
The , Timothy Lau, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$270k worth of shares at a price of US$22.54 each. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$20.56. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. 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.
In total, Associated Banc-Corp insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
I will like Associated Banc-Corp better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out thisfreelist of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Associated Banc-Corp shares. In total, insiders dumped US$232k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.
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. It appears that Associated Banc-Corp insiders own 1.7% of the company, worth about US$56m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.
Insiders sold Associated Banc-Corp shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. But it is good to see that Associated Banc-Corp is growing earnings. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We're in no rush to buy! If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check thisfreereport showing analyst forecasts for its future.
But note:Associated Banc-Corp 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. |
Despite need for Sinai funds, Egypt unlikely to join Kushner plan
By Sami Aboudi and Yousef Saba CAIRO (Reuters) - A U.S.-proposed $9 billion aid package could tempt Egypt with long-sought financing to transform its strife-torn Sinai peninsula, but analysts say political risks are likely to outweigh any potential financial benefit. Egypt has been struggling to launch infrastructure projects for the development of Sinai, where military and security forces have been battling Islamic State-linked militants. While authorities say hundreds of militants have been killed or captured since the campaign began last year, the security situation in the governorate remains volatile. Officials say creating jobs and developing infrastructure is crucial for fighting the militants, who thrive on poverty and lack of jobs. But securing resources and attracting investments into an area where militants still mount regular attacks and which is still officially closed to outsiders is a major challenge. Egyptian officials have held discussions with the World Bank on possible financing of development in Sinai. An aide to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said last year that the Sinai development plan was expected to cost some 275 billion Egyptian pounds ($16.52 billion) and should be completed by 2022, saying the plan was a "national security issue". Under the $50 billion 'Peace to Prosperity' economic plan drafted by U.S. President Donald Trump's advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner and which was discussed at a two-day conference in Bahrain this week, the Palestinians would received $25 billion while Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon would receive the other half. But the $9 billion earmarked for Egypt are linked to a broader political solution for the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While it has yet to be revealed, Palestinians briefed on the plan say it falls short of their demands for a state on all lands captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. Egypt is one of two Arab states along with Jordan to have signed a peace treaty with Israel, and Sisi and Trump have publicly praised each other. Story continues Nathan Brown, a political science professor at George Washington University, said Egypt was unlikely to agree to a proposal that could link it more closely to Gaza's fate. "While economic development funds for Sinai are attractive, the purpose of the plan seems to be to tie Gaza and Sinai closer together in a way that Egypt has resisted for political and security reasons," he said. FIERCE PALESTINIAN OPPOSITION The U.S. plan includes a series of infrastructure projects aimed at facilitating trade between Egypt, the Palestinian territories and Israel. It would expand Gaza, a small area where two million Palestinians are shut into a strip between Israel and Egypt, into North Sinai, creating an area where Palestinians can live and work under Egyptian control, according to Arab sources. Egyptian security sources say this translates into creating an industrial zone in Sinai where Palestinian workers from Gaza can work and live alongside Egyptians from Sinai. Egypt, which has cultivated a good working relationship with Gaza's Islamist Hamas rulers, considers the narrow strip crucial for its own stability and might welcome economic opportunities for its residents. But with Palestinians flatly rejecting the plan, it is hard to see how any such scheme could be workable. Despite intense U.S. pressure on Egypt to join the plan, Sisi and his foreign minister have ruled out going against Palestinian wishes, while strongly dismissing the idea -- carried in some media reports -- that Cairo might cede land in Sinai as part of the plan. Egypt fought wars over Sinai with Israel in 1956, 1967 and 1973, and any suggestion that its control of Sinai could be diluted would be sensitive. Egypt's decision to cede two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia in 2016 led to rare protests and legal challenges. "The projects, ideas and figures that came in the Kushner plan are mere theoretical proposals," said Mohamed Ibrahim, a retired general and member of the board of the Egyptian Centre for Strategic Studies. "All that relates to setting up projects in Sinai is subject to the Egyptian sovereignty. It is an Egyptian decision and no one can impose on us to set up specific projects," he added. Underscoring its reticence, Egypt waited until the last moment to announce it was sending a deputy finance minister to the two-day conference in Bahrain. "Egypt can't politically afford to accept the so-called 'Peace to Prosperity' plan given the fierce opposition and rejection by the Palestinians and a significant segment of Egyptians as well," said Fawaz Gerges, professor of Middle East politics at the London School of Economics. "To do so might have costly ramifications at home." Economist Abdul Khalik Farouk dismissed the proposed U.S. aid package to the Palestinians and Arab countries as "a form of bribery" that would do little to bring any real development. Estimating that Egypt had received around $850 billion in loans, investments and grants between 1974 and 2010, Farouk said the proposed aid package over 10 years was a drop in the bucket. "The money you are referring to... is barely enough to build a few roads and buildings. These funds have no value," he said. (Additional reporting by Mahmoud Mourad and Mohamed Abdellah, writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Aidan Lewis) |
How Many Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) Shares Have Insiders Sold, In The Last Year?
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We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So before you buy or sellAssociated Banc-Corp(NYSE:ASB), 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 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'.
See our latest analysis for Associated Banc-Corp
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the , Timothy Lau, sold US$270k worth of shares at a price of US$22.54 per share. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$20.56. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).
In total, Associated Banc-Corp insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
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).
The last three months saw significant insider selling at Associated Banc-Corp. In total, insiders dumped US$232k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Associated Banc-Corp insiders own about US$56m worth of shares. That equates to 1.7% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.
Insiders sold Associated Banc-Corp shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Despite some insider buying, the longer term picture doesn't make us feel much more positive. On the plus side, Associated Banc-Corp makes money, and is growing profits. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We'd think twice before buying! Of course,the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Associated Banc-Corp, you should check out thisfreereport on analyst forecasts for the company.
But note:Associated Banc-Corp 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. |
Influencers Transcript: Jamie Dimon, June 27, 2019
ANDY SERWER: To call Jamie Dimon an influencer is an understatement. He's a center of gravity around whom others orbit. Dimon took over JPMorgan Chase in 2005, just a few years before the financial crisis struck. He has since turned the bank into the country's second-most lucrative business, raking in $32 billion in profits last year, the chairman of the powerful Business Roundtable and a board member at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Dimon is reportedly a billionaire. He's here to talk about the changes that most profoundly shape the economy and what he's learned up close from weathering them and optimizing them.
Hello, everyone, and welcome to "Influencers." I'm Andy Serwer, and welcome to our guest, JPMorgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon. Jamie, nice to see you.
JAMIE DIMON: Thrilled to be here.
ANDY SERWER: So we're in this new flagship branch of the bank. And I want to ask you about that. But first, I have to ask you, Jamie, first off about the economy and the stock market. The stock market's at a record high essentially. And yet we have a trade war with China, trade disputes in North America and Europe, and rising tensions with Iran. How do you reconcile those two?
JAMIE DIMON: The market's sometimes inscrutable. But if you actually look at geopolitics, they really affect the global economy. They could. You know, these things get worse. But they really affect the global economy. I think trade is serious.
So we have United States, for example, is a very strong consumer, good balance sheet, household formation. Wages are going up, particularly at the low end. Consumer confidence is very high. And business confidence has been very high, but it's been rattled a little bit by trade.
So we've seen a little bit as business confidence drop, business investment drop. People are worried about the supply lines. And I think that may be hampering the economy a little bit. It's kind of "A Tale of Two Cities."
ANDY SERWER: And consumer confidence is down a little bit today.
JAMIE DIMON: It's down a little bit, but still quite high.
ANDY SERWER: Right.
JAMIE DIMON: And so, you know, we have those two things collide. And what affects what, I don't really know. The better thing is to have a deal in China. There are serious trade issues, you know. So we all want the president to deal with the issues seriously, which he's been doing. A resolution would be good. But we don't expect a quick resolution at this point.
ANDY SERWER: What do you expect out of the G20 in Osaka later this week?
JAMIE DIMON: Yeah. I think the best you can expect is that they have a good meeting, that that they start renegotiating that the tariffs are off for now and give the teams a chance to negotiate a deal, which maybe, if we're lucky, it could be done by the end of the year.
ANDY SERWER: So let's talk about this branch. I mean, obviously you guys have invested a lot here. But I thought that all banks were doing were shutting branches down. And yet, you know, this is a whole new way of doing banking for consumers.
JAMIE DIMON: Yeah, people in business, you always look at facts. I mean, we have a million people a day visit branches. So Millennials are doing it less, but they're still doing it. We've got 50 million people on digital. We've got 21 million different customers a year going to a branch.
These branches support local small businesses. They support middle-market companies. They support consumers. So-- and these new branches are great. So we started this whole expansion, 400 new branches in 20 major cities, right at the heart of some of our competitors, in some cases. And we always-- we love new formats.
But this format is meant to be a flagship branch and a community center. So that when the people come here, those are coming through, we have a thing called Chase Chats. So you come here for a small business or individuals talking about investing or starting small businesses, you know, but have community groups come in and talk about some of things we do to help affordable housing. So we hope that these things will be just great for-- for JPMorgan Chase. And we're thrilled to be on the expansion trail again.
ANDY SERWER: I mean, it's very experiential, right, isn't it?
JAMIE DIMON: And that expansion trail is thousands and thousands of jobs.
ANDY SERWER: Right. We'll talk about those.
JAMIE DIMON: And the new branches, you know, in DC and Philadelphia, Boston are actually doing quite well. It's early, but they're doing quite well.
ANDY SERWER: So it's very experiential. And I want to ask you, then, how does that dovetail with those 50 million online customers? I mean, is it either online or these super branches, nothing in between?
JAMIE DIMON: No. No. Most people-- actually, we-- we try all these different formats. And over time, those will change. And obviously these formats have more ATMS, less tellers, more advisors, private client advisors, small business advisors, and mortgage advisors. So the advice part is going up. The operational part is going down.
On average, the branches are getting smaller. This obviously is not one of smaller ones. But on average, they're getting smaller. But you've got to remind yourself people-- the average customer visits branches, usually the call centers, and does digital. They do all of it. And we do more for them, bill pay, online.
You can-- if you are a Chase customer, a good customer, you can buy and sell stock for free. You're going to get robo investments. It's really good.
ANDY SERWER: Looking for his phone here.
JAMIE DIMON: We'll give you guys advice and stuff like help you save for your kids' futures. And we're coming up with new products and new services all the time, that-- so people are using the more, not less.
ANDY SERWER: Over here they've got a piano. I don't know if people can see that. But, you know, that's pretty cool too. Are you gonna go play a tune?
JAMIE DIMON: Yeah, maybe. Yeah.
ANDY SERWER: OK. So I want to ask you about the business mix because obviously consumer is a huge part of what you're doing. I mean, it's almost, what, 40% to 50% of the bank's business is consumer. What is the mix going to look like, say, 5 to 10 years from now?
JAMIE DIMON: I hope our share goes up every year. And we're going to fight, you know, in the trenches for every customer by better products, better services, better technology, and more things. Like, so we've been growing both investments. Investments and deposit combined, $800 billion. We're gaining share in both those areas. And we're just rolling out some of these new products.
We just have something called Chase Offers, like free credit-- you get your credit score now. You go on, and we're going to take you on a journey about how to improve your credit score. We don't even market it. 19 million people use it already. And a lot people use it all the time.
So we can help you improve your financial-- your financial life by something like that, which we just give you for free. So we're finding a million ways help our customers do better and hopefully earn more and more of their business. Remember, 25% of the business that takes place in these branches is small business.
Small businesses need help. They need to come by and drop off coin and currencies and sign things, et cetera. So we-- we support both.
ANDY SERWER: Do banks like JPMorgan Chase have sort of an unfair advantage, though, Jamie, over smaller banks at this point because you need that scale and the capital to invest in technology to be able to succeed and attract and retain consumers?
JAMIE DIMON: So there's definite kinds of scale. That's true in most businesses. But remember, some of the smaller banks, community banks, they also have other things they can do. They have very low costs.
They buy some of these services from third-party providers. And they also have sometimes have unique experience with the small businesses there, the real estate there. So they could do a great job. But you're going-- I think you're going to see some more in the middle merge to try to get some of those economies of scale.
ANDY SERWER: Right. Senator Bernie Sanders introduced a plan where he would wipe out student debt essentially by levying a tax on Wall Street, 50 basis points on equities, 10 basis points on bonds. What do you think about that plan?
JAMIE DIMON: Well, the-- first of all, is there an issue with student debt? There is. And-- but you got to stop the creation of bad debt. So look what we do with student debt. The government took it over in 2010. They've lent out a trillion dollars irresponsibly. And now they want to forgive it, OK?
And now universities, half the kids don't graduate, and it takes six years. Universities should feel more responsibility. So if you're going to make loans, make good loans that people need to get them to where they're going and get them good jobs at the end. The other thing is a lot of people get those college degrees. They don't need help.
The people who need help are the inner-city school kids, the kids who aren't graduating high school, you know, some of the kids at community college who need Pell grants and stuff like that. So if you're going to help, make sure you direct it to those who really need it. How you pay for it, you can debate it all day long. You know, financial tax will be paid for by investors at the end of the day.
ANDY SERWER: So you support the plan?
JAMIE DIMON: No, I think they should look at all parts of student lending, fix the broken parts, and then forgive those people who need forgiveness, and then help people get into school, and then make sure the schools are responsible in getting the kids out. What we've done is a disgrace. And it's hurting America. We see it hurting household formation, mortgages, et cetera. How they go about taxing it, I'll leave that to the politicians to figure out.
ANDY SERWER: Let me ask you about the Federal Reserve, Jamie. They've been signaling strongly they're going to cut rates. The question is why? Unemployment's low. GDP's is pretty good. Other parts of the economy pretty healthy. And yet we need a rate cut?
JAMIE DIMON: Well, they haven't done anything yet. I think they signaled that they can go either way at this point. You know, but you-- you asked a very important thing. The why is often far more important than what they do. If they're cutting rates because they're worried about the economy, that's not particularly so good. If they're cutting rates because they want to grow things faster, that may not be so bad. So it really depends.
And, look, the Fed has to be data dependent. We can imagine the Fed saying, doesn't make a difference what the data says. We're going to do what we feel like. So they're trying to react properly to what's going on in the world. And they see the same things you and I see, slightly reducing business confidence, slightly reducing capital expenditures, you know, a lot of geopolitical noise out there. They should be responsive.
ANDY SERWER: And what do you make of President Trump's war, no other way to call it, on Jay Powell, in effect? I mean, the other day he called him clueless, essentially, acting like a stubborn child. Has he crossed the line?
JAMIE DIMON: Look, I think Jay Powell's a high-quality guy. And the president has no way of communicating. So I'll let you talk about how he does that. But Jay Powell is a quality guy. The central bank has to be independent. The central bank is independent. And most presidents in their heart of hearts want lower rates. That should never be a surprise to anybody.
ANDY SERWER: OK, shifting gears a little bit, I want to ask you about this initiative you have in Detroit. You're announcing an additional $50 million investment there, in addition to moneys that you pledged before. So it's $200 million by 2022. Why Detroit? It's for African-American residents and entrepreneurs. What exactly does the money go for?
JAMIE DIMON: So Detroit-- first of all, I think business has to be involved in trying to fix some of our serious problems. Detroit was an example of probably the one city or one of the cities that had no recovery. Its population went from 2 million to 700,000. A mayor got elected on a door-to-door vote, a white man in 80% black neighborhoods.
But he talked about what I thought-- we always thought as great stuff, schools, jobs, education, affordable housing. I need help. And he said to anyone, anyone who can help me, come on in, civic society, business. And people jumped in to try to help.
So we sent a team of people in, not traditional. It was to look at what can we do to help it to accelerate the recovery of Detroit. And so obviously we're quite good at affordable-- it was going to be sustained, very analytical. I'm going up there tomorrow to review some of this with the mayor around affordable housing, work skills, infrastructure.
This new effort is-- because there's still a class of citizens being left behind, and it's often minority. And they're, in this case, black Americans. So this $50 million's a special effort to help black entrepreneurs to do education, small business, and housing for the segment that's been left behind. But again, we've tried to have a very focused effort. And we use these-- what we learn in these things, we share.
So we do a little bit in New Orleans, Chicago, New York, LA. So we're getting smaller and smaller in how we can help lift up society. And we're-- there's a lot of people doing it. We're not the only ones. But Detroit is working. This effort is working.
We happen to be one of the biggest banks in Detroit, so consumer, small business, and large corporations. But if you were only in one city, wouldn't you try to help your city? That's the most important thing. So obviously it's good for the bank. But-- but it's part humanity. You're trying to help your city and your people come back and recover from what have been basically a terrible 20 years.
ANDY SERWER: Yeah. I mean, you really see progress there because people have been trying to help out the city for a number of years now.
JAMIE DIMON: Yeah. So if you go downtown-- if you went downtown 10 years ago, you couldn't walk around downtown. There was no life. There were no lights. There was a lot of crime.
You go to downtown now, there are lights. There are bands. There are restaurants. Jobs are coming back. I think the population started go up for the first time. You know, more people are moving into-- rehabbing some of these homes that have been abandoned. They're making a much better effort on skills.
And all society is working together. I mean, it's a beautiful thing to see people actually work together. I also want to say, you know how I got the idea? From Lee Saunders, who ran AFSCME, the municipal workers union, who, you know, said, Jamie, I need help in Detroit. So we've done a couple of things up in Detroit together. So unions working with banks working with civic society working with mayors working with governors, that actually works. What we see today happening like in Washington, that does not work.
ANDY SERWER: Yeah. It's an unusual-- unusual in that sense. Let me ask you about the bank and the strategy going forward. $32 billion in profits last year, second only to Apple in the United States. And you guys have really recovered incredibly from the Great Recession, of course. But what are the big opportunities going forward?
JAMIE DIMON: Yeah, our finest year was 2009. Our profits were down, I think, like 50% or 60%. But we stood behind our clients around the world, governments, city-states, schools, hospitals. And that was the finest year we had.
ANDY SERWER: Even though profits were--
JAMIE DIMON: Profit's only one measure of what you actually accomplish in life. You know, quality people, quality technology, service, obviously, you know, we live in a cyclical environment. Every now and then we're not going to have increasing profits. And-- but the future's equally bright.
You know, obviously, you're going can have competition, fintech, payment systems, you know, around the world. Those are legitimate. That's a good thing. You know, competition's a good thing. But we're pretty competitive too.
So you know, we do $11 and 1/2 billion spending on tech every year. We're opening 400 branches. We've got new products for-- for lower-income folks. We open up new countries every now and then. We have more people coining corporate clients in Europe. We're adding asset management products around the world.
So like every one of our businesses is growing at a different pace, but they're all growing. They're all pretty much gaining share. And we're pretty ambitious. And we're going to keep on driving responsible growth.
ANDY SERWER: Then why is the damn PE so low?
JAMIE DIMON: I don't worry about that. I mean, you never see me tout our stock or something like that. We're earning 17%. It was actually 19% last quarter on tangible equity. That's really good.
But we are in a little bit of cyclical business. People are still afraid of banks. You know, these things that affect the world, every one of them affects us.
So people, you know, are cautious. But we keep on doing what We're doing. We'll make our shareholders quite happy.
ANDY SERWER: And one thing you said perhaps to mitigate that ultimately would be subscription-like revenue. You were talking about that. And someone said it's sort of like Netflix almost. What does that all about?
JAMIE DIMON: The people-- we already have a lot of that. So if you look at, like, cash management, asset management, custody, a big chunk of consumer banking, a big chunk of commer-- they are subscription businesses. You know, you've signed the thing. You have revenues for years.
And of course, you have some which are more episodic. So investment banking by its nature and equity debt trades a little more episodic. Doesn't make it bad. It just makes episodic. But we're still gaining share. And the revenues generally are going up.
So you know, if you look at our financial results, if you look at just our financial results, you look at that and say, my god, that company's fairly consistent. In fact, one of our analysts did a report, Mike Mayo, and showed about the volatility of our earnings and revenues. Were less than most other companies, which would probably surprise you.
ANDY SERWER: Yeah, that's lost on people.
JAMIE DIMON: But we have a credit cycle. So everything I just said, I see credit go up or down. And episodic businesses, they scare people a little bit. But those businesses do quite well over a long period of time.
ANDY SERWER: And Jamie, let me ask you about Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency. What do you think about that?
JAMIE DIMON: Well, blockchain is real. We're-- we have the JP Morgan Coin blockchain. And I think competition is real. I think there are serious issues around money and how you can use money and send money . But they're government issues. And you've seen the government react like, well, what does that mean when you send money around the world? Will they follow banking rules or KYC, BSA/AML, or will they not?
So-- but they obviously want to serve their clients. That's fine. I also want to go serve their clients, too. So I always look at these systems about we'd like to do something too, ourselves. And we should-- we don't always want to be forced in someone else's ecosystem.
ANDY SERWER: Yeah. Did you talk to them about this at all? Did you guys talk to them about it?
JAMIE DIMON: I did not. But it's very possible someone in the company did.
ANDY SERWER: I mean, is crypto an existential threat to JPMorgan's core businesses?
JAMIE DIMON: I don't think so. I mean, people don't think clearly. We move $6 trillion a day around the world. It's very cheap, very secure. It works. And the banking system's already built, Zelle, real time P2P, and TCH, the clearing house, with the banking built real-time payments. We already have all that. And it's very cheap. It's very secure.
It shares a lot of information. It goes through all the bank security systems, cyber security systems, KYC, BSA/AML. So we have that. So we're going to have competitors. So it's whether-- whether it's a cryptocurrency competitor or another fintech competitor, we're going to have competitors.
I tell our people, just don't guess. You know they're they're. You know they're coming. You know they want to eat your lunch. Assume it. And it might-- and it might not be the ones we see. It might be the ones we don't see.
But that's why we are offering free trading. That's why we're coming out with the robo investing. That's why we're coming out with Chase Offers. That's why we're coming out with the FICO Credit Journey. These are great products and services. Some are free. So we're just making our banking more and more valuable to you, the customer.
Satisfaction scores are going up. The easy use in the business is going up. What you can do digitally is going up. So as long as we can do a good job for you, I think we'll be fine.
ANDY SERWER: But you worry about younger customers, Jamie. I mean, you guys shut down Finn. And there are all these new fintech companies out there. Which ones of those concern you the most?
JAMIE DIMON: Our-- our-- we're gaining share in Millennials every day in almost every-- in Sapphire bank card. Go ask any Millennial. I was at a party of my daughter's. And someone said Sapphire, and 10 kids were there, and they all pull out their Sapphire card. They all have it.
So we are winning with Millennials. They are using the branch less. But as they get more money, they need banking services, investment services, et cetera. So Finn-- you know, I don't look at Finn as a failure at all. I look at Finn-- we took a great team of people. We said the digital only may be fundamentally different than a bank so that they both had to build digital.
We learned a lot. But the fact is we also built a lot of digital stuff here, like digital account opening, digital this. And we just took the best of Finn, merged it in there. And now everyone gets the benefit of auto save, products that might be special for a Millennial segment or product that might be special for an older segment. So you know, we're always looking to do business, trying to serve our customers better.
ANDY SERWER: Are those young people--
JAMIE DIMON: I love-- I think the people coming in with Finn was great. We're the kind of company where it's OK to have a skunkworks, try some app. If it doesn't work, merge it in. You learn from it. I mean, Jeff Bezos always talks about the mistakes are how you learn. And you know, for the whole business world and the regulatory world to act like a mistake is always a bad thing is a mistake. It's not.
ANDY SERWER: Are those young customers different?
JAMIE DIMON: Less than you think. I mean, as they get more money, they act more and more like you do.
ANDY SERWER: Let me ask you about wages because it's kind of a hot topic. And with all these new branches you're going to be opening up, you're going to be hiring more tellers. And then of course, people are going to be asking about minimum wage, $15. Bank of America has now pledged $20 an hour. Are you guys going to match them?
JAMIE DIMON: Yeah. So the way I look at it is that I'm in favor of generally minimum wages going up. I think we've got to get people more of a living wage. And I think the federal may be raises, and then states should do more locally so it doesn't damage the economy too much.
I'm also in favor expanding the earned income tax credit so that working people get more money in their pockets by getting basically a negative income tax. I'd be dramatically in favor of that. Now, we already pay minimum $16.50 to $18. So it'll be something like $18 in the city. And it may go up over time.
We have-- you know, we look at it every year and decide how we're going to compete or not. But remember, that's already at the medium level of Americans. That's a starting job. That's a 17-year-old kid or a 22-year-old kid. And hopefully it's the first rung on the ladder. And like these branch-- I don't know if the branch manager's here-- may have started as a teller. That's how they start.
And they also get medical, dental, vision, training, enormous training. And the best training they get isn't the money we spend on training. It's they get to sit next to some of our bankers and learn how to do the business and get promoted. And so we create huge opportunity for people. And I understand the concern of America. But I have the same concern.
But these companies already pay that. They already do medical. They already train their people. We take very good care of our people. And that should be recognized a little bit better.
ANDY SERWER: You know, some politicians, particularly on the left, have been using this divisiveness and pointing those-- to those salaries and talking about the difference between those wages and your salary. But there's something there. I mean, you guys-- people might sort of pooh-pooh them, AOC, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren. But obviously it's resonating with some people. And so why is that? And what can someone in your position do?
JAMIE DIMON: I-- just because it resonates doesn't make it right. And comparing apples and oranges is a complete waste of time. You know, I think people just don't think clearly about stuff like that.
We treat our people well. We educate our people, give them huge opportunity and stuff. That's what we should do. We should acknowledge the problems in society that are causing the anger. But those problems are we can't build infrastructure. OK? Those problems are the inner-city school's not graduating our kids.
Our litigation system's capricious. Health care-- health care is huge. And what you're seeing now is not the-- I understand people-- we should health care to the 40 million who don't have it. But the biggest problems become these high deductibles, which we all did. You know, we put him in so that people can't afford the deductibles. So they're avoiding medical-- I think it's a terrible problem.
So what do we do? The second we found out, we, for our lowed-paid folks making under $60,000 a year, we cut the deductible to the extent that if they do the wellness programs, it's effectively zero. So we understand. We have a heart. We're trying to take care of all our folks and in a relevant way.
We also need our talent. If we don't have our top bankers, this company won't be that successful. If this company isn't that successful, I couldn't offer these great benefits to lower-paid employees. So people just don't think clearly. And we need good people.
We operate in a very complex global world. And we need, you know, our top bankers and lawyers and HR people and risk officers to make sure all the other things are right. And they have other opportunities not just in America, around the world with other banks. So you know, to act like somehow I can steal from them and do a good job at my company is a little bit crazy.
ANDY SERWER: Yeah, I think people are opportunistic by taking some facts and not all the facts, right? You mentioned health care. So let me ask you about Haven, which, of course, is your venture with Berkshire and Amazon. And I read somewhere, Jamie, recently that you suggested that Haven is going to be taking aim not just at the employees of those three institutions but maybe has a broader mandate. Is that, in fact, the case?
JAMIE DIMON: No. Someone wrote that. But it was
inaccurate.
ANDY SERWER: OK.
JAMIE DIMON: The mandate is that, and give Warren Buffett and Jeff Bezos full credit, that-- that we have this issue. And you look at the issue. It's end of life cost too much. We don't do a good job in chronic care. 40 million people are uninsured. There's lack of transparency in medical markets.
Obesity is now 30% of cost. Obesity drives cancer, heart disease, stroke depression, diabetes. We don't teach wellness in schools. It's a huge problem. It's now almost 20% of GDP, which is why Warren Buffett calls a tape worm of corporate America business. And, you know, for the rest of the world it's 9%.
So we said, you know what we got to do? Long-term sustained effort with really smart people. And that's what we have, Atul Gawande. We've got now 30 or 40 people. We're doing the data, the science. And we've started cracking what we could improve in all these different places and make ourselves smarter and smarter and smarter.
We said-- we didn't tell them exactly what they can or can't do. We said, you've got us. You've got our time. You've got our money. You've got our attention. Go at it. Think big. Think small. Come up with things we're going to test. And eventually we'll share that with the world.
If we come up-- I want to come with some great things we share, say, Jamie, that's a great thing that you-- we learned something. We're better off for it. And hopefully we can help fix the health care system. And that's the dream and the hope. But you got to start small, right? You've got to take that first step.
And-- and we have not-- never said what they can or can't do. Just be open minded. Be thoughtful. Use data. Figure out what's broken. Try to test how you can fix that.
ANDY SERWER: Do you talk to Atul Gawande?
JAMIE DIMON: Yeah. I saw him yesterday in fact.
ANDY SERWER: And he gives you sort of updates and briefings on what's going on?
JAMIE DIMON: Every-- every week or two.
ANDY SERWER: And what about Warren Buffett? You know, he's now finally invested in your company. Took him a while, right? And obviously he's a partner of yours in this endeavor. How often do you communicate with him?
JAMIE DIMON: Not a lot. But-- but I'm going to go see him this summer. And every now and then he comes to New York. He comes some of the JPMorgan events. I obviously think the world of Warren.
I've been studying Warren. I've been written-- read every single one of his partnership reports going back to 1956. So I've been studying him for a long time. Fortunately, I went to see Warren a couple of years ago, and he introduced me to Todd Combs.
Todd and I hit it off. Todd's brilliant. He's now on my board. He's serving on the board for Warren of Haven. And here we have Todd. Todd originally said to me, Jamie, I'm a little bit a policy nerd sometimes. He sent me big books about companies and PBMs. I said, Todd I don't have the time to become an expert on that stuff. And it was that conversation that actually led to some of this, like what could we do that we do need to look at and how we can fix these things.
And by the way, we want a partner, anyone who can help. So I tell the health care companies, any one of them, help us do this job. You should be thinking about how you can improve the health of Americans. And you know that the system has flaws. It's got-- we have some the best in the world.
But let's also acknowledge the flaws. You cannot fix problems if you don't recognize them. It's just a sine qua non. And we should start recognizing some of these problems, coming up with better policies to make it work. I think what the government did about transparency-- I haven't read the whole thing-- it's great. You know, you-- you-- if you've had MRIs or a blood test, you know, in a two-block radius in the average town, the difference in cost could be five times.
You know, we should-- we should learn that. And why is that? Is that legitimate? Should we maybe knock those costs down a little bit and share some of the benefit with our employees? So we're trying to find ways to make our employees happier, better health. We'll test certain things in wellness, maybe certain things in telemedicine. They're coming up with a bunch of stuff. And I'll let them do it from here at this point.
ANDY SERWER: And this new government program, you actually do think it's a real step forward.
JAMIE DIMON: Yeah. I haven't read the detail. But the concept? Absolutely. We should have had national exchanges, forced transparency, and a bunch of stuff. If we'd had that in Obamacare, it would have given it a much better chance to succeed. And we didn't.
ANDY SERWER: Another person you talked to from time to time is Donald Trump. You were there a couple of weeks ago, I think, on Friday. How has your relationship with him changed? Because you were pretty critical early on. It seems like you're less critical now.
JAMIE DIMON: Look, he's our president. And I see presidents and prime minister around the world. I focus on the policy. You know, it's that trade, tax, immigration, infrastructure and, you know, where we can help. We-- we tell them what we think. I went there representing the BRT, the Business Round Table. So I went with a bunch of other CEOs. And we covered a wide range of subjects, the Mexico trade deal, China tariffs and trade deal, Huawei, infrastructure, immigration.
And that's our job, try to help him do the best he can. When he says things we don't like, we disagree with him. We're pretty vocal in that too.
ANDY SERWER: Are the tariff something you disagree with him on?
JAMIE DIMON: I agree with the fact that there are serious trade issues with China. And he laid them out, IP, lack of bilateral investment rights, regulatory barriers, a whole bunch of stuff, state-owned enterprise. Those are legitimate complaints which we need to resolve.
We did not originally think you should do tariffs. We thought he should do TPP and get our allies together and then face off against China, not anger China. He's telling China, these are the terms of trade. The tariffs so far have gotten people to the table. That is true.
If you'd asked me to do it, I would have said, don't do it. But I want a successful conclusion, not-- not just getting them to the table. So-- but the Chinese have told me it got them to the table. So that's what it is, you know? I have to confess that I wouldn't have done it. And a lot of people have said the same thing. But we would like a successful conclusion.
And if he can't get a good deal, I-- then he should walk away. And that's a serious statement I just said. And if he can't get a good deal, he should walk away. And that will have ramifications. But that's life in the fast lanes. We'll survive.
ANDY SERWER: And what about USMCA?
JAMIE DIMON: We're going to work really hard to get it passed. That's part of why we went to see him. You know, the membership of the BRT wants that deal done. Mexico is a good neighbor of ours. Canada's a good neighbor. We never had a-- we haven't had a war since 1848.
You know, we should-- we should treat them respectfully and decently. They're very good neighbors. I think they're a 30-year-old democracy. We should help lift them up.
A lot if their problems are also ours. We sell them-- we buy their drugs and sell them the guns. So we should-- we should work together to fix some of these problems stuff like that. And then we're going to be fully involved in trying to get every congressman to vote for USMCA.
ANDY SERWER: How much credit does Donald Trump deserve for the economy being in such good shape?
JAMIE DIMON: I think some. You know, I think-- I really mean this that, you know, all my liberal New York friends would never agree with me. But the fact is we needed tax reform. And the way I look at tax reform is we had been at 40% federal and state for 20 years. The rest of the world went from 40% to 20%-- basically 20%. We're still average OECD.
The net result of that over 20 years is that trillions of dollars was reinvested overseas that would've been reinvested here. I think already $800 billion has been brought back. Now, some of it's going to stock buybacks and all that. But that's capital. That's just giving capital back to be reinvested.
The real benefit is cumulative reinvestment in the United States over the next 20 years. And that will be substantial. People look at what happened year over year. That's not why you do something, like having a proper tax system. And so regulatory reform, we need it.
And don't think of banks. I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about any of-- the whole American public knows-- mind-numbing paperwork, red tape, and bureaucracy. It's make it harder to build homes, to build bridges, to start businesses. Small business formation is lower than it's ever been in a major recovery because of that.
Infrastructure-- this one you guys should be-- I mean, if I were you guys, I'd be talking about this every day. It takes 10 years to get the 49 permits on average to get to rebuild a broken bridge. And that's true for our water, our electric grids, our bridges, our tunnels, our airports. What the hell's wrong with this can-do American nation?
That's regulation, bureaucracy, and stupidity. And if we don't fix it, we're relegated to more years of slow growth. And they're trying to attack that. So you know, the positive-- you know, we tell him exactly what we want about immigration. We want a path to citizenship for law-abiding undocumented. We want DACA to stay.
We want more merit based, like the 300,000 kids from overseas who get educated here and have to leave. You know, they come to our universities, for, you know, BAs or advanced degrees. And if we do these policies right, America will grow a lot faster.
ANDY SERWER: Jamie, you look so engaged. And I know you just promoted two women, Marianne Lake and Jen Piepszak. You talked about staying on for another three years or so. But I can't imagine you--
JAMIE DIMON: I-- I never used the word three.
ANDY SERWER: OK.
JAMIE DIMON: And it's not up to me. It's up to the board. Thank you for pointing out the two-- two magnificent women. You know, Marianne has been a great CFO for seven years. Now she's going to run credit card and mortgage and-- and auto. And Jen Piepszak, who's been in the investment bank and in consumer, was running credit card, you know, swapped into finance. And they're great partners of each other. We have exceptional people our company, including exceptional women.
ANDY SERWER: How do you personally measure success? How do you judge whether you're succeeding or not?
JAMIE DIMON: You know, I don't-- there's no one measurement. I tell people when I die, I hope people simply say, you know what? We're going to miss that son of a bitch. And he made the world a better place. It's not about profit. It's not about, you know, what's the one thing that made your legacy.
And-- but I have to have this company, this wonderful, beautiful company called JPMorgan Chase thrive in the future with great leadership, great management, and treat people ethically, be responsible corporate citizens, do a great job for customers, win share. That'll just make me feel great. And the other one is to help my country a little bit.
I'm a patriot before I'm the CEO of JPMorgan, which is why I'm-- I'm much more engaged in policy. I think we have to fix the policy errors in America holding us back. We have to fix them.
ANDY SERWER: And last question, this conversation often revolves around influence. And so I want to ask you how you see using your influence on the world, Jamie?
JAMIE DIMON: Yeah, as best I can. You know, people often say, well, what if this doesn't work, you fall flat on your face? I say, I don't care about that. You know, you go and do the best you can, you know? And you try to help countries around the world. You can't agree with everything everyone says.
But you know, people say, why do you go see President Trump? No, I'm going to help him do the best I can, because I want to help America as best I can and where I can. I'm not an expert in other areas. But I can-- some areas I know quite a bit, and so I'll do the best I can. And if it works, it works. And it doesn't, at least I'll rest in peace knowing I tried.
ANDY SERWER: Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, thanks very much for your time.
JAMIE DIMON: Thank you.
ANDY SERWER: I'm Andy Serwer. You've been watching "Influencers." We'll see you next time. |
CytRx Corporation Discusses Near Term Value from Out-License Deals and Growth Drivers for 2019 in New SNNLive Video Interview on StockNewsNow.com
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 27, 2019 /StockNewsNow.com, The Official MicroCap News Source™, today published an SNNLive Video Interview with Eric L. Curtis, President and COO of CytRx Corporation (CYTR), a biopharmaceutical research and development company with expertise in discovering and developing new therapeutics to treat patients with high unmet needs , according to the company's website (see here:www.cytrx.com). The video interview was recorded at SNN's studio in Los Angeles on Tuesday, May 28, 2019.
Click the following link to watch the SNNLive Video Interview on StockNewsNow.com:
CytRx Corporation - Biopharmaceutical Company Discusses Near Term Value from Out-License Deals and Growth Drivers for 2019
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About CytRx Corporation
CytRx Corporation (CYTR) is a biopharmaceutical company with expertise in discovering and developing new therapeutics to treat patients with high unmet needs. CytRx's most advanced drug conjugate, aldoxorubicin, is an improved version of the widely used anti-cancer drug doxorubicin and has been out-licensed to NantCell, Inc. In addition, CytRx's other drug candidate, arimoclomol, has been out-licensed to Orphazyme A/S (Nasdaq Copenhagen exchange: ORPHA). Orphazyme is testing arimoclomol in four indications including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Niemann-Pick disease Type C (NPC), Gaucher disease and sporadic Inclusion Body Myositis (sIBM). CytRx Corporation's website iswww.cytrx.com
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The Hemp High Continues as State and Federal Legislative Support Drives the US Hemp/CBD Industry
Point Roberts, Washington and Delta, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 27, 2019) -Investorideas.com, a leading investor news resource covering cannabis and hemp stocks releases a sector snapshot reporting on the continued growth in the US hemp industry, with a specific focus on production and cultivation, as both State and Federal government continue to support and update hemp industry reform and regulations.
Companies featured includeSinglePoint Inc.(OTCQB: SING),Canopy Growth Corporation(Quote) (Quote),The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd.(Quote) (Quote) andGreenGro Technologies, Inc.(Quote).
The Massachusetts House recentlypassed a billto help the State's hemp industry grow and farmers cultivate on agricultural land by allowing farmers with agricultural deed restrictions on their land to grow hemp. The Bill passed in a vote of 152-0. This bill would ultimately expand the definition of agricultural land to include hemp, so farmers could receive the same tax and protection benefits as other farmers.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) alsorecently announcedthat it expects to havecomplete federal rulesfor domestic hemp production by August. Even in some of the states who planned to wait for federal guidance,hemp legislationhas moved forward to allow farmers to participate in the 2019 season under the rules of the 2014 Farm Bill.
Canopy Growth Corporation, one of Canada's largest cannabis companies has been anticipating entering into the US hemp/cannabis market for sometime through itsacquisition of Acreage Holdings. The companyrecently reportedthat its shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of the proposed acquisition.
When at full capacity, Canopy Growth's American footprint, largely contracted with American farmers versus owned operations, will cover more than 4000 acres. Nearly half of that entire farming platform will be located in New York State, which will include approximately 1,000 acres of high-CBD hemp, along with an additional 1,000 acres of high-fibre hemp growth.
SinglePoint Inc.(OTCQB: SING)recently announcedthat it has signed a $109,465,000 contract with Elite Foundation LLC of North Carolina to supply more than 275,000 pounds of premium hemp flower over a period of 15 months. The initial 1000 pounds of product has been approved and purchased.
The contract is the first major deal arising from the previously announced supply chain and co-selling agreement with Oregon-based Easy Street Services Company and J&J Empire, LLC. SinglePoint stands to make a large profit in the deal. Company management believes this deal along with the major success in solar provides the basis to move up to a listed exchange such as the NASDAQ or NYSE.
According to President Wil Ralston, "Our team, specifically our VP of Sales, Don Smith has worked tirelessly to make this a reality. We believe this is the catalyst toward closing a stream of substantial deals in our pipeline. Not long ago, SinglePoint made a significant commitment to be a major provider in the industrial hemp space; this agreement solidifies our place in the industry. In addition to raw material supply, we are negotiating distribution agreements to place finished goods in retail stores. There is a lot of opportunity in this burgeoning market and we are getting in everywhere we can. Our newest team member, Don Smith is a leader in these efforts."
Don Smith has extensive experience in building startup companies that explode within emerging markets. Prior to joining SinglePoint, Smith spent eight years focused on the advancements in the organic sustainable food industry and its applications to the cultivation and growth of the legal cannabis business. In that time, he co-invented a "vertical cultivation" device. The invention and successful hydroponics business was sold to Greengro Technologies, Inc., where Smith served in various capacities including Chairman and CEO.
BDS Analytics and Arcview Market Research project that the collective market for CBD sales in the US will surpass $20 billion by 2024 while New York-based investment bank Cowen & Co, estimates that the market could pull in $15 billion by 2025. The smokable hemp market currently represents approximately 2% of the overall CBD market, but with a 250% growth from 2017 to 2018, Brightfield Group, a Chicago-based cannabis market research firm, identifies dried and smokable hemp flowers as one of the fastest-growing segments of the CBD market. SinglePoint's bold entry into the hemp flower market positions the company as one of the leading hemp flower wholesalers in the country.
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How Running a Little Bit Every Day for Two Months Changed My Life
Running, like cilantro or Whats Luv? by Fat Joe, can be a polarizing subject. Most people fall into one of two camps: those who love hitting a stride every morning, and those who would sooner do anything to avoid it. For most of my life, I was planted firmly in the latter camp. I topped 200 pounds for the first time as a 5-foot-4 college freshman, but really, the battle to manage my weight had been years in the making. My size, and more specifically, how I felt about my size, seeped into every aspect of my life, from the circuitous, hill-free walking routes Id take to lecture to how I chose what clothes to buy. After nights out with friends, Id dread waking up the next morning to notifications of new tagged photos, because I knew some of them would put me on display for the world to see. I dabbled in different types of exercise over the years, with varying degrees of success: travel soccer, high school volleyball, and a stint teaching hip-hop dance classes, which is still the fun fact I tell on first dates. At my college gym, I watched hours of forgettable rom-coms while cranking away on the elliptical trainer at a ten-percent incline. I always hated running, though. At age 12, I remember entering a neighborhood 5K with my dad; I also remember placing dead-last, followed by only the sweeper police car crawling patiently behind me. Three years later, I didnt make the junior varsity volleyball team because I couldnt run a mile in under 10 minutes. Every single time I laced up to run, I felt as though failurein some form or anotherwas the only possible result. The summer after my freshman year, though, I took a job at an overnight camp in Connecticut, where I essentially got paid to be a kid again. I spent my days keeping an eye on the kayakers, supervising the arts and crafts studio, and making intricate shopping lists of the items wed need to pull-off an all-camp six-hour relay race. When it came to exercise, with neither elliptical trainers nor the Netflix streaming library available to me, running was suddenly my only option. Story continues So, I made myself a promise: Every single day, I would run to a lamppost located a considerable ways down the road, and then back to the cabins again. By most runners standards, it wasnt far; I estimated the total distance to be about a mile. But I vowed to squeeze it in every day, no matter how long it took, and no matter what other camp-related responsibilities I had to fulfill. The ensuing streak lasted for 61 daysthe entire time I spent at camp that summer. I started to feel better about the person I was seeing in the mirror, sure. But to my great surprise, I learned to love running, tooenough to eventually integrate it into my career. I went from dreading the sport to plotting vacations around spots with the best running views. Ive finished seven marathons and more shorter races than I can remember, and am now a certified run coach. These were the secrets I discovered to changing my outlook. 1. Make it a non-option: I was very specific about when and where I would run. The timing: after lunch. The route: that long stretch of tree-covered road. Because I did not allow myself to deviate from the plan, it became something I did without thinking, like brushing my teeth or putting on deodorant in the morning. Research in the British Journal of Health Psychology found that 91 percent of people who wrote down when and where they would exercise each week ended up following through on their ambitions. I made myself a chart down at the arts and crafts shed, and hung it on the back of my dusty cabin door. Every day, with sweat still dripping down my arms, Id cross off the days efforta badge of honor, along with fresh bug bites on my ankles. 2. Control the controllable: Decision fatigue the inability to make good calls when you have to make calls constantlyis real. Since I was already overloaded with important choices, like red or green streamers and whether to scratch the junior girls free swim because of an approaching thunderstorm, I needed to make the choices about my midday bout of exercise as easy as possible. This meant that I wore the same thing to run every day: black tights and white Hanes v-neck tees. Id walk into my bedroom, change clothes, and get moving. There was no sitting back down on my bed, or picking up the phone, or doing anything that wasnt walking right back out the door. I also came to terms with the fact that if I happened to be a little sweaty for the rest of the day, so be it. It was summer camp. Lots of people were sweaty. I made a playlist, too. Research indicates that your rate of perceived exertion during exercisethats how hard you feel like youre working can decrease when youre listening to appropriately fast-paced beats. Most runners have a cadence hovering around 180 beats per minute; curate your selections accordingly. (Whats Luv? is a tad slow.) 3. Have a SMART goal: A key detail about my initial embrace of running is that my aspirations had nothing to do with running: I wanted to lose a certain amount of weight, and fit into a pair of jeans from the Gap outlet. I did not set out to run a marathon in 61 days, because that would have been totally unrealistic for a beginner, and a sure recipe for disappointment and/or injury. By setting a SMART goala helpful acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-boundI gave myself the best odds of success. 4. Be easy on yourself: I knew Id never be the best runner. Im still not the best runnereven though I coach others to do so. At the very end of the summer, bursting with pride at my accomplishment after that final run, I celebrated by using my cars odometer to measure the distance I usually needed about 15 minutes to run. I had spent the entire 61-day stretch believing it was a mile; it was, in fact, just 0.55 of a mile. I sat parked on the side of the road for 10 minutes, embarrassed and tearful, feeling as though I had unintentionally cheated myself. I was wrong. For me, success in running wasnt about how far or how fast I was goingit was about making a commitment to accomplish something hard, and then putting in the work to follow through. That summer, I learned to love what running does for me: it makes me feel empowered and strong. Twelve years later, I still chase that feeling (almost) every single day. Originally Appeared on GQ |
How to free up iCloud storage without paying for more
Twitter Facebook Apple's iCloud service is a godsend for iPhone and iPad owners. These sorts of mobile devices can be lost or stolen pretty easily, so giving users a free and automatic way to back up all their data in case of an emergency is massively important. It's a bit of a bummer, then, that Apple only gives us five measly gigabytes of free iCloud storage space to work with. If you take a lot of photos or leave more than one iCloud backup sitting around, that 5GB limit will fill up quicker than you might have thought possible. Luckily, there are some pretty easy ways to manage your iCloud situation straight from your iOS device. Apple was smart enough to anticipate that people would want to know how to do this and even made a handy tutorial page for it. Read more... More about Apple , Iphone , Ipad , Ios , and Icloud |
Megastar Development Corp. Names Robert Archer to its Board of Directors
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 27, 2019 / Megastar Development Corp.("Megastar", or the"Company") (TSX-V:MDV; Frankfurt:M5QN), an early stage mineral exploration company focused on its properties in Oaxaca, Mexico, is pleased to announce that Robert Archer has joined its Board of Directors.
Mr. Archer has more than 35 years' experience in the mining industry, working throughout North and South America. After having spent 15 years with major mining companies, Mr. Archer moved to the junior mining sector where he held several senior management positions. Mr. Archer co-founded Great Panther Mining Limited, a growth-oriented mid-tier precious metals producer, having served as President & CEO until August 2017 and currently remains on its Board of Directors. Mr. Archer also serves as CEO and sits on the Board of Newrange Gold Corp. (TSX-V:NRG), an exploration company with assets in the Western United States. Mr. Archer is a Professional Geologist (registered in British Columbia) and holds an Honours BSc from Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario.
"We would like to welcome Bob aboard," said Dusan Berka, CEO of Megastar. "Bob's more than 20 years' experience in Mexico highlighted by his accomplishment of building Great Panther into the company it is today, will be a great asset, as Megastar begins its work to advance its Mexican projects. Familiarity with Mexico, what it takes to build companies from an early-stage and being well-known to investors in the junior market space, will all help our company as it furthers work on its properties. In addition, as a geologist, he will be a great compliment to David Jones, our geological leader in Oaxaca."
"When introduced to Megastar and its properties in Oaxaca, I was immediately intrigued," said Bob Archer. "After spending some time with David Jones, the Company's senior technical leader and learning why these assets were secured by Megastar, I quickly understood the possibilities. I look forward to bringing my experience to the Board and assisting the management team to advance the Company and its Mexican assets."
The Company wishes to announce the departure of Jonathan Rich from its Board of Directors. Mr. Rich served on the Company's Board since 2012, having helped it transition to a company now focused on its Mexican assets. Megastar wants to thank Mr. Rich for his work and support to the Company.
Lastly, the Company has granted an aggregate of 1,850,000 incentive stock options ("the Options") to members of its Board and management team. The Options are exercisable for a period of three years from the date of grant at a price $0.11 per share and vesting over a period of three years. The Options have been granted under and are governed by the terms of the Company's incentive stock option plan.
ABOUT MEGASTAR DEVELOPMENT CORP.
Megastar Development Corp. is an emerging resource company engaged in the evaluation, acquisition and exploration of mineral properties in Canada and Mexico. Megastar has an Option to acquire 100% interest in three epithermal Au-Ag mineral properties in Oaxaca, Mexico. Megastar also owns 100% interest in Ralleau mineral property in Urban Barry District, Lebel-Sur-Quévilion area of Quebec, currently under 50% Option to DeepRock Minerals Exploration Inc. For further information, investors and shareholders are invited to visit the Company's website atwww.megastardevelopment.comor call the office at 604-681-1568, or toll free at 1-877-377-6222.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
"DUSAN BERKA"
Dusan Berka, P. Eng.President & CEO
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 news release.
Forward Looking Statements:
Statements included in this announcement, including statements concerning our plans, intentions and expectations, which are not historical in nature are intended to be, and are hereby identified as, "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements may be identified by words including "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "expects" and similar expressions. The Company cautions readers that forward-looking statements, including without limitation those relating to the Company's future operations and business prospects, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements.
SOURCE:Megastar Development Corp.
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/550082/Megastar-Development-Corp-Names-Robert-Archer-to-its-Board-of-Directors |
Jamie Dimon: Donald Trump should 'walk away' if he can't get a good deal with China
Jamie Dimon has a direct message for President Donald Trump ahead of trade talks withChinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 Summit: Don’t agree to a deal just for the sake of getting one.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon says that we could get a trade deal with China, “maybe if we're lucky ... by the end of the year.” But he also said that if President Donald Trump “can’t get a good deal, then he should walk away. That's a serious statement I just said: If he can't get a good deal, he should walk away.”
In an interview this week covering a range of topics at theunveiling of JPMorgan Chase's new flagship bank branch, Dimon said that the failure to get a deal done with China “will have ramifications, but that's life in the fast lanes. We'll survive.”
Trump is scheduled to meet this weekend with China’s President Xi Jinping at the G20 meeting in Osaka, Japan. Addressing the trade war between the countries will be at the top of the agenda. “There’s a path to complete this,” Treasury Secretary Steve MnuchintoldCNBC. The Trump administration had at one point made it 90% of the way to a deal, Mnuchin added, without specifying what held up the talks or why the deal hadn’t been completed.
Dimon made the comments in a conversation that aired on Yahoo Finance in an episode of “Influencers with Andy Serwer,” a weekly interview series with leaders in business, politics, and entertainment.
Asked about the president’s use of tariffs, Dimon said: “I have to confess I wouldn't have done it.” Dimon says he would have preferred marshaling U.S. allies to square off against China, but now believes tariffs have been effective in helping to force China to negotiate.
Earlier this month, Dimon met with Trump in his capacity as chairman of the Business Roundtable, a lobbying group for big U.S. companies that includes many prominent CEOs on its board.
Dimon described his recent visit to the White House. “I went with a bunch of other CEOs and we covered a wide range of subjects,” he said. “The Mexico trade deal, China tariffs and trade deal, Huawei, infrastructure, immigration. And that's our job, try to help him do the best he can. When he does things we don't like, we disagree with, we're pretty vocal on that, too.”
Asked if he disagreed with Trump on tariffs, Dimon responded, “If you would ask me to do it, I would have said, don't do it. But I want a successful conclusion, you know, not — not just getting them to the table. But the Chinese have told me it got them to the table. So that's what it is.”
As for not favoring tariffs, Dimon notes that “a lot of people have said the same thing. But we would like a successful conclusion. I agree with the fact that there's serious trade issues with China, and he's laid them out. IP, lack of bilateral investment rights, regulatory barriers, a whole bunch of stuff, state-owned enterprise. Those are legitimate complaints, which we need to resolve. We did not originally think he should do tariffs. We thought he should do TPP [Trans-Pacific Partnership] and get our allies together, and then face off against China. Not angering China, just tell China these are the terms of trade.”
Does Dimon expect to get a deal to emerge this weekend? “I think the best you can expect is that they have a good meeting, that they start renegotiating, that the tariffs are off for now, and give the teams a chance to negotiate a deal, which maybe if we're lucky could be done by the end of the year,” he said. “We all want the president to deal with the issues seriously, which he's been doing. A resolution would be good, but we don't expect a quick resolution at this point.”
No doubt Dimon will be following events concerning the China trade war this weekend — and going forward — closely.
Andy Serwer is editor-in-chief of Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter:@serwer.
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Dollar's Largest Monthly Loss Since 2018: ETF Winners
The dollar index is on its way to post the biggest monthly loss since 2018.Invesco DB US Dollar Index Bullish FundUUP has lost about 1.4% in the past month. Dovish Fed comments are mainly behind this move (read: ETF Winners & Losers Post Fed Meet).
Investors should note that the Fed stayed put in its latest meeting held in mid-June but has hinted at rate cuts this year. Even before the meeting, markets started pricing in such a dovish move by the end of the year. Flare-ups in trade tensions and its negative impact on the United States as well as global economy are deemed to have driven the Fed toward such dovish comments.
Though Fed Chair Powell has dimmed the prospects of a near-term rate cut in the recent session and commented that the central bank is “insulated from short-term political pressures,” the expected move is still not out of the table.
As of Jun 26, according to CME FedWatch tool, there is a 60% chance of a 50-bp rate cut in the Sep 18 meeting, followed by a 23.4% probability of 25-bp rate cut and 16.6% likelihood of a 75-bp rate cut.
Apart from dovish Fed comments, some downbeat data in the fields of retail sales, manufacturing activity and home sales, and construction pointed to a moderately slowing U.S. economy, which in turn kept the strength of the dollar at check.
Against this backdrop, let’s take a look at the ETF investing areas that benefited in a falling dollar environment.
Winners
Large-Cap U.S. Equities
As large-cap stocks are more exposed to foreign markets, these are more hurt by a stronger greenback. As a result, a dovish Fed and weaker dollar are boons to large-cap investing. The S&P 500 ETFSPYadded 3.7% in the past month while small-cap ETFiShares Russell 2000 ETFIWM is up 0.8%.
Gold
Rising bets on policy easing and a weaker dollar supported commodities as these are priced in the greenback. Gold benefited considerably as the metal is now hovering around a six-year high. Gold bullion fundSPDR Gold TrustGLD gained 10% in the past month. The yellow metal is set to record the best monthly gain since February 2016, per forbes.com. Gold mining ETFVanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETFGDX, which normally acts as a leveraged play of the underlying metal, is up 25% in this timeframe (read: Gold ETFs Likely to Rule 2H Irrespective of Fed Rate Cut).
Emerging Markets
Most emerging markets have fallen prey to greenback’s gains. Rising bond yields at home normally curb demand for relatively high-yielding emerging market securities. As a result, emerging market ETF iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETFEEM beat the S&P 500 and added 6.4% in the past month, despite China-related trade tensions.WisdomTree Emerging Currency Strategy FundCEW also advanced 3.5% in the said timeframe.
Short Dollar
No wonder, inverse dollar ETFInvesco DB US Dollar Index Bearish Fund UDNwould gain out of the move. The fund added 1.8% past month (as of Jun 26, 2019).
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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 reportInvesco DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund (UUP): ETF Research ReportsInvesco DB US Dollar Index Bearish Fund (UDN): ETF Research ReportsiShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM): ETF Research ReportsiShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM): ETF Research ReportsSPDR Gold Shares (GLD): ETF Research ReportsVanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX): ETF Research ReportsWisdomTree Emerging Currency Strategy Fund (CEW): ETF Research ReportsSPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY): ETF Research ReportsTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWant 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 |
CORRECTED-UPDATE 6-In victory for Trump, U.S. House Democrats back down on border aid bill demands
(Corrects number of Democrats voting against the bill to 95 instead of 71 in 5th paragraph)
By Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON, June 27 (Reuters) - Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives backed down to President Donald Trump and passed a $4.6 billion aid package to address a migrant surge at the U.S.-Mexico border without the additional protections for migrant children that liberals had sought.
Trump, the Republican-controlled Senate and moderate Democrats insisted on finishing the emergency aid bill as soon as possible, without further haggling over demands for greater migrant safeguards and reduced immigration enforcement spending.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in Congress, said shortly before the vote that her colleagues were giving up their fight for now over changes to the measure, which had already passed the Senate.
"At the end of the day, we have to make sure that the resources needed to protect the children are available," she said in a statement. "In order to get resources to the children fastest, we will reluctantly pass the Senate bill."
The House vote was 305 to 102, with 95 out of 235 House Democrats voting against the Senate bill. The measure was then sent to Republican Trump for signing into law.
Trump welcomed House passage of the "Bipartisan Humanitarian Aid Bill for the Southern Border," saying, "A great job done by all!"
He also credited the Mexican government with doing more to curtail the flow of Central American migrants to the U.S. border.
Trump has made cracking down on illegal immigration a centerpiece of his administration, but officials are saying a renewed crush of migrants at the border has strained resources.
TRAGIC PHOTO SPURS ACTION
A photo of two drowned migrants and reports of horrendous conditions for detained children have spurred efforts to craft compromise legislation to send to Trump before Congress adjourns this week for the Fourth of July U.S. holiday.
Pelosi and liberal Democrats had earlier planned to amend the Senate bill to set health standards for facilities holding migrants, establish a three-month limit for any child to spend at intake shelters and reduce spending for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
But with Congress headed for a recess, moderate Democrats joined the White House and Senate Republicans in urging Pelosi to accept the bill that had cleared the Senate with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, as good enough.
Additional pressure came from administration officials who said the money was running out and Congress had to act now.
In an apparent concession to help win over wavering Democrats, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence agreed in a telephone conversation with Pelosi that lawmakers would be notified within 24 hours after the death of a child held in U.S. custody at the border, a source familiar with the conversation said. Pence also agreed to a 90-day limit on how long children would be permitted to spend in a border intake facility.
Those two aspects were not part of the bill and have no force of law.
The episode was a blow to Pelosi and her leadership, and exposed the deep divide between moderates and liberals in her caucus.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, wrote on Twitter that the bill was a "blank check for the border w NO accountability." She added: "Trump is not to be trusted with protecting our immigrants. Why must that even be stated? We need hard lines of protection, in ink."
Border apprehensions hit their highest level in more than a decade in May, creating chaotic scenes at overcrowded border patrol facilities. Many of the migrants are either children or families, mostly from Central America.
The conditions of children entering the country alone has become an issue in the 2020 presidential race. During a debate on Wednesday night, many of the Democratic contenders called for an overhaul of U.S. immigration laws, and about 12 candidates were set to visit a Florida facility this week.
A photo of Salvadoran father Oscar Alberto Martinez and his toddler daughter Angie Valeria, who drowned together attempting to cross the Rio Grande, added urgency on both sides of the aisle to reach a funding deal.
'DEPLORABLE' CONDITIONS
Lawyers and human rights workers said they found sick and hungry children when they visited the Border Patrol facility in Clint, Texas.
"Many had been detained for weeks, one even up to a month in really horrific conditions," said Clara Long, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Attorneys representing migrant children filed papers in federal court in Los Angeles on Wednesday asking that the U.S. government be held in contempt of court for "flagrant and persistent" violations of the terms of a 1997 agreement that governs the treatment of children in immigration detention. They requested immediate action be taken to remedy the "deplorable" conditions.
The renewed focus on conditions on the border has also galvanized opposition in recent days to a Trump administration policy that sends asylum seekers to some of Mexico's most violent cities.
In an open letter to Trump and other political leaders, a coalition of evangelical churches said it was "deeply troubled" by the policy it said left children vulnerable to violence and trafficking, as well as by reports of "inhumane" conditions in U.S. federal immigration facilities.
The Catholic diocese of El Paso, Texas, separately denounced a critical lack of shelter, food, legal aid and basic services for asylum seekers returned to Mexico under the program and "distressing detention conditions" in the United States before they are returned.
In court papers filed on Wednesday, a union that represents asylum officers at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, described the program as "fundamentally contrary to the moral fabric of our nation," citing the American tradition of sheltering the persecuted stretching back to the arrival of "Pilgrims onto a Massachusetts shore in November 1620." (Reporting by Susan Cornwell and Richard Cowan; writing by Alistair Bell and Steve Gorman; editing by Kieran Murray and Grant McCool) |
Did Changing Sentiment Drive Auxico Resources Canada's (CNSX:AUAG) Share Price Down By 39%?
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The simplest way to benefit from a rising market is to buy an index fund. When you buy individual stocks, you can make higher profits, but you also face the risk of under-performance. Investors inAuxico Resources Canada Inc.(CNSX:AUAG) have tasted that bitter downside in the last year, as the share price dropped 39%. That contrasts poorly with the market return of 1.1%. We wouldn't rush to judgement on Auxico Resources Canada because we don't have a long term history to look at. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 27% in the last 90 days.
Check out our latest analysis for Auxico Resources Canada
With zero revenue generated over twelve months, we don't think that Auxico Resources Canada has proved its business plan yet. You have to wonder why venture capitalists aren't funding it. As a result, we think it's unlikely shareholders are paying much attention to current revenue, but rather speculating on growth in the years to come. For example, investors may be hoping that Auxico Resources Canada finds some valuable resources, before it runs out of money.
As a general rule, if a company doesn't have much revenue, and it loses money, then it is a high risk investment. There is almost always a chance they will need to raise more capital, and their progress - and share price - will dictate how dilutive that is to current holders. While some such companies do very well over the long term, others become hyped up by promoters before eventually falling back down to earth, and going bankrupt (or being recapitalized).
Our data indicates that Auxico Resources Canada had CA$57,290 more in total liabilities than it had cash, when it last reported in March 2019. That makes it extremely high risk, in our view. But since the share price has dived -39% in the last year, it looks like some investors think it's time to abandon ship, so to speak. You can see in the image below, how Auxico Resources Canada's cash levels have changed over time (click to see the values). You can click on the image below to see (in greater detail) how Auxico Resources Canada's cash levels have changed over time.
It can be extremely risky to invest in a company that doesn't even have revenue. There's no way to know its value easily. What if insiders are ditching the stock hand over fist? I'd like that just about as much as I like to drink milk and fruit juice mixed together. You canclick here to see if there are insiders selling.
Given that the market gained 1.1% in the last year, Auxico Resources Canada shareholders might be miffed that they lost 39%. While the aim is to do better than that, it's worth recalling that even great long-term investments sometimes underperform for a year or more. The share price decline has continued throughout the most recent three months, down 27%, suggesting an absence of enthusiasm from investors. Basically, most investors should be wary of buying into a poor-performing stock, unless the business itself has clearly improved. Most investors take the time to check the data on insider transactions. You canclick here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.
But note:Auxico Resources Canada may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on CA exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
While Bitcoin Soars, This Cryptocurrency is up 737% Since January
The bitcoin price is up 234 percent since January, even despite Wednesday’s drop. But while mainstream media scramble to explain bitcoin’s rise, one cryptocurrency has quietly outperformed every digital asset in the top 25. LINK, the native token of Chainlink, has soared 737 percent year-to-date.
Although LINK’s rise is parabolic, it doesn’t appear to be a crypto pump-and-dump. There are real fundamentals behind the price. In 2019 alone, Chainlink inked deals with Google and Oracle, launched its mainnet on Ethereum, and secured a listing on Coinbase.
Chainlink has emerged as a key player in the word of smart contracts. While Ethereum popularized the technology, it’s very difficult for smart contracts to interact with other blockchains and real-world systems.
Chainlink fills the gap, making it possible for smart contracts to communicate with existing bank software, data feeds, and APIs. As founder Sergey Nazarov explained toDecrypt:
“Essentially, our goal is make good blockchain middleware. It’s not the sexiest way to put it, but what we’re doing is connecting systems that need to be connected for value to exist.”
Google’s cloud team have already tapped Chainlink to improve its blockchain projects. Google’s BigQuery plans to use Chainlink as the middleman between its cloud database and Ethereum. In a Google cloud blog post, theyexplained:
Read the full story on CCN.com. |
SEBI tightens rules for pledged shares, mutual funds
By Abhirup Roy
MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's market regulator reinforced disclosure rules for when the shares in a company are pledged as collateral and tightened rules for mutual funds to try to protect minority shareholders and retail investors.
Promoters of a company -- often its main investors -- will have to disclose reasons for having pledged shares when combined pledges exceed 20% of the total share capital in a company or 50% of their total shareholding in the firm, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said in a statement on Thursday.
Such pledging refers to the use of shares as collateral when investors are seeking to borrow money. When the total pledged rises, it increases the risk for other shareholders as the stock could fall heavily if lenders are forced to sell the shares in the event of a default.
"The board has taken the above measures in the context of recent concerns with regards to promoter/companies raising funds from mutual funds, NBFCs through structured obligations, pledge of shares, non-disposal undertakings, corporate/promoter guarantees and various other complex structures," the SEBI said.
SEBI also put a cap on the royalty paid by companies to their parents or promoters and ordered companies to get shareholder approval for royalty payments above the cap.
"The board has now decided that payments made to related parties towards brand usage or royalty may be considered material if the transactions exceed 5 percent of the annual consolidated turnover of the listed entity," SEBI said.
MUTUAL FUND RULES
SEBI also tightened the risk management framework and prudential norms governing investments in debt and money market instruments for liquid mutual funds in an attempt to protect retail investors.
The regulator has made it mandatory for all liquid schemes to have at least 20% in liquid assets such as cash, government bonds, treasury bills or repo in government securities.
It also reduced the sectoral caps on funds to 20% from the existing 25% and asked funds to bring down their additional exposure to housing finance companies to 10% from 15%.
Authorities have been concerned about the liquidity issues being faced by some non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and have taken efforts to mitigate any contagion risks.
The collapse of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) last year triggered a series a defaults across the shadow banking sector, as borrowing costs for the sector surged forcing them to turn to mutual funds.
The regulator has thus also mandated funds to invest only in listed non-convertible debentures and limited fresh investments in commercial papers to only listed papers.
"All fresh investments in equity shares by mutual fund schemes shall only be made in listed or to be listed equity shares," SEBI said.
There should be adequate security cover of at least four times for investment by schemes in debt securities having credit enhancements backed by equities directly or indirectly.
(Writing by Swati Bhat; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise/Keith Weir) |
Some United Hunter Oil & Gas (CVE:UHO) Shareholders Have Copped A Big 64% Share Price Drop
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United Hunter Oil & Gas Corp.(CVE:UHO) shareholders will doubtless be very grateful to see the share price up 33% in the last week. But that isn't much consolation to those who have suffered through the declines of the last year. Like an arid lake in a warming world, shareholder value has evaporated, with the share price down 64% in that time. It's not that amazing to see a bounce after a drop like that. It may be that the fall was an overreaction.
View our latest analysis for United Hunter Oil & Gas
United Hunter Oil & Gas didn't have any revenue in the last year, so it's fair to say it doesn't yet have a proven product (or at least not one people are paying for). You have to wonder why venture capitalists aren't funding it. So it seems shareholders are too busy dreaming about the progress to come than dwelling on the current (lack of) revenue. It seems likely some shareholders believe that United Hunter Oil & Gas will discover or develop fossil fuel before too long.
We think companies that have neither significant revenues nor profits are pretty high risk. There is usually a significant chance that they will need more money for business development, putting them at the mercy of capital markets. So the share price itself impacts the value of the shares (as it determines the cost of capital). While some companies like this go on to deliver on their plan, making good money for shareholders, many end in painful losses and eventual de-listing. United Hunter Oil & Gas has already given some investors a taste of the bitter losses that high risk investing can cause.
United Hunter Oil & Gas had liabilities exceeding cash by CA$120,779 when it last reported in March 2019, according to our data. That puts it in the highest risk category, according to our analysis. But with the share price diving 64% in the last year, it's probably fair to say that some shareholders no longer believe the company will succeed. You can see in the image below, how United Hunter Oil & Gas's cash levels have changed over time (click to see the values). You can click on the image below to see (in greater detail) how United Hunter Oil & Gas's cash levels have changed over time.
Of course, the truth is that it is hard to value companies without much revenue or profit. Would it bother you if insiders were selling the stock? It would bother me, that's for sure. It costs nothing but a moment of your time tosee if we are picking up on any insider selling.
United Hunter Oil & Gas shareholders are down 64% for the year, but the market itself is up 1.1%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 0.8% over the last half decade. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. Shareholders might want to examinethis detailed historical graphof past earnings, revenue and cash flow.
We will like United Hunter Oil & Gas better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out thisfreelist of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on CA exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Is VersaBank (TSE:VB) A Smart Choice For Dividend Investors?
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Could VersaBank (TSE:VB) 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. 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.
Some readers mightn't know much about VersaBank's 1.2% dividend, as it has only been paying distributions for the last two years. A low dividend might not be a bad thing, if the company is reinvesting heavily and growing its sales and profits. Before you buy any stock for its dividend however, you should always remember Warren Buffett's two rules: 1) Don't lose money, and 2) Remember rule #1. We'll run through some checks below to help with this.
Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis
Dividends are usually paid out of company earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. Looking at the data, we can see that 6.0% of VersaBank's profits were paid out as dividends in the last 12 months. With a low payout ratio, it looks like the dividend is comprehensively covered by earnings.
Consider gettingour latest analysis on VersaBank'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. The dividend has not fluctuated much, but with a relatively short payment history, we can't be sure this is sustainable across a full market cycle. During the past two-year period, the first annual payment was CA$0.04 in 2017, compared to CA$0.08 last year. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 41% a year over that time.
We're not overly excited about the relatively short history of dividend payments, however the dividend is growing at a nice rate and we might take a closer look.
Examining whether the dividend is affordable and stable is important. However, it's also important to assess if earnings per share (EPS) are growing. Over the long term, dividends need to grow at or above the rate of inflation, in order to maintain the recipient's purchasing power. It's good to see VersaBank has been growing its earnings per share at 51% a year over the past 5 years. Earnings per share have grown rapidly, and the company is retaining a majority of its earnings. We think this is ideal from an investment perspective, if the company is able to reinvest these earnings effectively.
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 VersaBank 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. VersaBank 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.
You can also discover whether shareholders are aligned with insider interests bychecking our visualisation of insider shareholdings and trades in VersaBank 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. |
Did Changing Sentiment Drive Vision Lithium's (CVE:VLI) Share Price Down A Painful 84%?
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Vision Lithium Inc.(CVE:VLI) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 30% in the last week. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last year have been stomach churning. To wit, the stock has dropped 84% over the last year. So it's not that amazing to see a bit of a bounce. The important thing is whether the company can turn it around, longer term.
We really hope anyone holding through that price crash has a diversified portfolio. Even when you lose money, you don't have to lose the lesson.
View our latest analysis for Vision Lithium
With zero revenue generated over twelve months, we don't think that Vision Lithium has proved its business plan yet. We can't help wondering why it's publicly listed so early in its journey. Are venture capitalists not interested? So it seems shareholders are too busy dreaming about the progress to come than dwelling on the current (lack of) revenue. It seems likely some shareholders believe that Vision Lithium will find or develop a valuable new mine before too long.
Companies that lack both meaningful revenue and profits are usually considered high risk. You should be aware that there is always a chance that this sort of company will need to issue more shares to raise money to continue pursuing its business plan. While some such companies do very well over the long term, others become hyped up by promoters before eventually falling back down to earth, and going bankrupt (or being recapitalized). Some Vision Lithium investors have already had a taste of the bitterness stocks like this can leave in the mouth.
Our data indicates that Vision Lithium had CA$324,960 more in total liabilities than it had cash, when it last reported in February 2019. That makes it extremely high risk, in our view. But with the share price diving 84% in the last year, it's probably fair to say that some shareholders no longer believe the company will succeed. You can see in the image below, how Vision Lithium's cash levels have changed over time (click to see the values). You can see in the image below, how Vision Lithium's cash levels have changed over time (click to see the values).
It can be extremely risky to invest in a company that doesn't even have revenue. There's no way to know its value easily. Would it bother you if insiders were selling the stock? I would feel more nervous about the company if that were so. You canclick here to see if there are insiders selling.
Investors in Vision Lithium had a tough year, with a total loss of 84%, against a market gain of about 1.1%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 15% per year over five years. We realise that Buffett has said investors should 'buy when there is blood on the streets', but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality businesses. If you would like to research Vision Lithium in more detail then you might want totake a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in the company.
We will like Vision Lithium better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out thisfreelist of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on CA exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Chemical Specialty Industry Outlook Rosy Despite Trade Woes
The Zacks Chemicals Specialty industry consists of manufacturers of specialty chemical products for a host of end-use markets such as textile, paper, automotive, electronics, personal care, energy, construction and agriculture. These chemicals (including catalysts, surfactants, speciality polymers, coating additives, pesticides and oilfield chemicals) are used based on their performance and have a specific purpose. They have application in the manufacturing process of a vast range of products including paints and coatings, cosmetics, petroleum products, inks, and plastics.Here are the industry’s three major themes:
• The chemical specialty industry is benefiting from healthy demand in key end-use markets such as construction, automotive, agriculture and energy. Rising housing construction activities, especially in Asia, and higher automotive production are driving demand for paints and coatings. Moreover, an ever-growing world population and the concomitant need to beef up food supply to feed more mouths remains a prime catalyst for growth in demand for agricultural chemicals. Higher exploration and drilling activities globally to address rising energy needs are also pushing up demand for oilfield chemicals.
• Chemical specialty companies remain focused on strategic actions including cost-cutting and productivity improvement, expansion into high-growth markets, operational efficiency improvement, and expansion of scale through acquisitions. Moreover, a number of companies are taking aggressive price increase actions in the wake of raw material cost inflation. These actions should reap industry-wide margin benefits.
• U.S.-China trade tensions remain a drag on the industry. The United States and China had imposed billions of dollars in punitive tariffs on each others’ products last year. China’s tariffs on American products include a wide range of chemical products, including specialty chemicals. The tariffs currently in place are doing damage to the chemical specialty industry. China is one of the biggest export markets for U.S. chemicals. Beijing’s retaliatory tariffs have created an uncertain demand environment for U.S. chemical products in this significant market. The tariffs are hurting U.S. chemical exports.
Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Encouraging Prospects
The Zacks Chemicals Specialty industry is part of the broader Zacks Basic Materials sector. It carries a Zacks Industry Rank #101, which places it at the top 40% of more than 250 Zacks industries.The group’s Zacks Industry Rank, which is basically the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates upbeat near-term prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.Before we present a few specialty chemical stocks that you may want to consider for your portfolio, let’s take a look at the industry’s recent stock market performance and current valuation.Industry Outperforms Sector and S&P 500The Zacks Chemicals Specialty industry has outperformed the Zacks S&P 500 composite over the past year. The industry has gained 7.5% over this period compared with the S&P 500’s rise of 6%. Meanwhile, the broader Zacks Basic Materials Sector tumbled 10.5% over the past year.One-Year Price Performance
Industry’s Current ValuationOn the basis of trailing 12-month enterprise value-to EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, which is a commonly used multiple for valuing chemical stocks, the industry is currently trading at 23.28X, above the S&P 500’s 11.29X and the sector’s 8.58X.Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 26.34X, as low as 9.74X, and at a median of 23.11X, as the chart below shows.Enterprise Value/EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) Ratio
Enterprise Value/EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) Ratio
Bottom LineWhile chemical specialty companies face the heat from trade tensions, they should gain from strategic actions such as continued focus on cost and productivity, expansion moves and earnings-accretive acquisitions. Growth in major end-use markets such as automotive and construction should also act as a catalyst for the industry.We are presenting four stocks sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) that are well positioned to grow. You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Israel Chemicals Ltd.(ICL): This Israel-based company has expected earnings growth of 13.5% for 2019. The company delivered positive earnings surprise in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average positive surprise of 13.7%. It also has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 9.5%.Price and Consensus: ICL
Axalta Coating Systems Ltd.(AXTA): The Pennsylvania-based company has expected earnings growth of 35.2% for 2019. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings for the current year has gone up 10.2% in the last 60 days. The company delivered positive earnings surprise in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average positive surprise of 19.6%.Price and Consensus: AXTA
Flexible Solutions International Inc.(FSI): This Canada-based company has expected earnings growth of 342.9% for 2019. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings for the current year has gone up 63.2% in the last 60 days.Price and Consensus: FSI
Westlake Chemical Partners LP(WLKP): The Texas-based company has expected earnings growth of 39.7% for 2019. It also has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 9.5%.Price and Consensus: WLKP
Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit PotentialThe biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +98%, +119% and +164% in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks 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 reportWestlake Chemical Partners LP (WLKP) : Free Stock Analysis ReportIsrael Chemicals Shs (ICL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportFlexible Solutions International Inc. (FSI) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAxalta Coating Systems Ltd. (AXTA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VTGN): Are Analysts Bullish?
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VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:VTGN) most recent earnings announcement in June 2019 showed that losses became smaller relative to the prior year's level - great news for investors Below, I've laid out key growth figures on how market analysts predict VistaGen Therapeutics's earnings growth trajectory over the next few years and whether the future looks brighter. I will be looking at earnings excluding extraordinary items to exclude one-off activities to get a better understanding of the underlying drivers of earnings.
See our latest analysis for VistaGen Therapeutics
Market analysts' consensus outlook for this coming year seems buoyant, with earnings becoming less negative, generating -US$19.6m in 2020. However, earnings should fall off and remain flat over the next few years, reaching -US$18.9m in 2022.
Although it’s helpful to understand the growth rate each year relative to today’s value, it may be more beneficial analyzing the rate at which the company is growing on average every year. The advantage of this method is that it ignores near term flucuations and accounts for the overarching direction of VistaGen Therapeutics's earnings trajectory over time, fluctuate up and down. To compute this rate, I put a line of best fit through analyst consensus of forecasted earnings. The slope of this line is the rate of earnings growth, which in this case is 49%. This means, we can expect VistaGen Therapeutics will grow its earnings by 49% every year for the next few years.
For VistaGen Therapeutics, there are three fundamental aspects you should further examine:
1. Financial Health: Does it have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at ourfree balance sheet analysis with six simple checkson key factors like leverage and risk.
2. Future Earnings: How does VTGN'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-Growth Alternatives: Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of VTGN? Exploreour interactive list of stocks with large growth potentialto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Greif (GEF) Provides Guidance for FY22 on Investor Day
Greif, Inc.GEF provided a strategic update at its recently-held Investor Day. It provided an update on the Caraustar integration and synergies, highlighted its capital-allocation priorities and issued long-term financial guidance.
Caraustar Buyout: A Strategic FitThis February, Greif completed the acquisition of Caraustar Industries, Inc., for $1.8 billion, and is currently integrating its operations. The integration process is expected to complete in second-quarter fiscal 2020. The buyout has strengthened the company’s leadership in industrial packaging as well as significantly bolstered its margins, free cash flow and profitability.Caraustar is vertically integrated in recycled paperboard manufacturing, which will enhance and balance Greif's portfolio as well as expand its paper franchise. In fact, Greif generates around half of its revenues from the United States. Furthermore, the percentage of the company’s sales from paper packaging will expand to approximately half of total consolidated revenues.
Notably, the company has increased run-rate synergies related to the acquisition and expects to achieve at least $60 million from the original estimate of $45 million over the next 36 months from the deal’s closure.To include the impact of the acquired business, Greif had updated the adjusted earnings per share guidance for fiscal 2019 to $3.70-$4.00 from the prior estimate of $3.60-$4.00. The company will also benefit from its focus on operational execution, capital discipline, and a strong and diverse product portfolio.Financial Commitment for FY22As part of its strategic update, Greif anticipates adjusted EBITDA of $820-$900 million for fiscal 2022. For fiscal 2018, the company achieved an adjusted EBITDA of $503.2 million. Hence, a higher EBITDA signifies the company’s future potential for stock price appreciation. The company also continues to pursue marginal gains across its business segments to enhance profitability. Adjusted free cash flow is estimated between $410 million and $450 million for fiscal 2022. Greif’s compelling dividend yield, higher free cash flows and prudent capital-allocation approach position it well to meet its long-term financial commitments.The company expects net sales to be around $5.5 billion in fiscal 2022, driven by strategic growth of capital expenditure, the Caraustar inclusion and organic growth. The company projects capital expenditure between $160 million and $180 million for the fiscal year.In order to support its deleveraging plan, investing in existing businesses through maintenance projects and organic growth opportunities remains Greif’s priority. Moreover, the company expects to achieve a targeted leverage ratio of 2-2.5x net debt to EBITDA by early 2022, in order to repay its debt following the Caraustar acquisition.Rising Demand Aids Paper Packaging BusinessGreif announced the exploration of strategic alternatives, which includes a potential sale for the consumer packaging business and related mill assets. In fiscal 2018, revenues worth $330 million were generated from the consumer packaging business.
Greif, Inc. Price and Consensus
Greif, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Greif, Inc. Quote
Zacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderGreif currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).A few better-ranked stocks in the Industrial Products sector are The Timken Company TKR, CIRCOR International, Inc. CIR 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 26.5% for the ongoing year. The company’s shares have gained 15.5%, in the past year.CIRCOR International has an expected earnings growth rate of 4.3% for the current year. The stock has appreciated 23.1% in a year’s time.Harsco has a projected earnings growth rate of 9.1% for 2019. The company’s shares have rallied 13.4%, over the past year.Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit PotentialThe biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +98%, +119% and +164% in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks 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 reportGreif, Inc. (GEF) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTimken Company (The) (TKR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportCIRCOR International, Inc. (CIR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportHarsco Corporation (HSC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
The XpresSpa Group (NASDAQ:XSPA) Share Price Is Down 99% So Some Shareholders Are Very Salty
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XpresSpa Group, Inc.(NASDAQ:XSPA) shareholders are doubtless heartened to see the share price bounce 142% in just one week. But spare a thought for the long term holders, who have held the stock as it bled value over the last five years. Like a ship taking on water, the share price has sunk 99% in that time. While the recent increase might be a green shoot, we're certainly hesitant to rejoice. The real question is whether the business can leave its past behind and improve itself over the years ahead.
We really hope anyone holding through that price crash has a diversified portfolio. Even when you lose money, you don't have to lose the lesson.
View our latest analysis for XpresSpa Group
XpresSpa Group isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.
In the last half decade, XpresSpa Group saw its revenue increase by 48% per year. That's well above most other pre-profit companies. So it's not at all clear to us why the share price sunk 64% throughout that time. You'd have to assume the market is worried that profits won't come soon enough. While there might be an opportunity here, you'd want to take a close look at the balance sheet strength.
You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).
You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in thisfreeinteractive graphic.
XpresSpa Group shareholders are down 26% for the year, but the market itself is up 6.9%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. However, the loss over the last year isn't as bad as the 64% per annum loss investors have suffered over the last half decade. We would want clear information suggesting the company will grow, before taking the view that the share price will stabilize. You might want to assessthis data-rich visualizationof its earnings, revenue and cash flow.
If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss thisfreelist of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Zimbabwe allays fears over gold sales, remittances after currency reform
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's central bank has reassured gold companies and people receiving money transfers that they will still be able to receive foreign currency in their bank accounts after a ban takes effect in shops.
On Monday, Zimbabwe declared its interim RTGS dollar the only legal tender, ending the decade-long use of multiple currencies including the U.S. dollar.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the move was an important step to repair the economy, but it caused uncertainty among businesses and people who rely on remittances from the large Zimbabwean diaspora. [nL8N23W44I]
"Authorised dealers are advised the current payment arrangements for large-scale gold producers shall continue to apply and the current retention thresholds have remained the same," a central bank notice sent late on Tuesday said.
Gold producers operating in Zimbabwe keep 55% of their sales proceeds in foreign currency, with the remainder being surrendered to the central bank. After Monday's currency reform, half of the balance kept by the central bank will now be sold on the interbank forex market.
Gold miners and other exporters will keep their foreign currency accounts, from which they can make international payments. For local payments, they have to liquidate their forex at the interbank market rate.
Individuals can still receive remittances in their foreign currency accounts, the central bank said.
(Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle) |
Boris shrugs off girlfriend row to stay on course for Number 10, shows new poll
Next for Number 10? Boris Johnson is still way ahead of Jeremy Hunt to reach Number 10 (Reuters) Boris Johnson is still the firm favourite to become Prime Minister despite a bruising week in the Conservative leadership campaign. Two-thirds of Tory party members - 65.52% - back Johnson for Number 10 , according to the latest poll from Conservative Home. Jeremy Hunt has closed the gap, but is still way back, polling at 30%. Previously, Hunt was on 11%, a long way back from Johnson - but he is still seemingly too far back with Conservative party members to become PM. Boris Johnson with a supporter in Oxshott, Surrey (REUTERS/Peter Nicholls) The poll is a boost for Johnson who has suffered a poor week in the spotlight, after police were called to his girlfriends home following an apparent row with the would-be prime minister. During the apparent altercation , The Guardian newspaper reported that Johnson could allegedly be heard saying "get off my f****** laptop" before a loud crashing noise. Carrie Symonds, his girlfriend, could be heard telling him to "get off me" and "get out of my flat", the newspaper reported. Waving goodbye to number 10? Jeremy Hunt out campaigning this week. (REUTERS/Toby Melville) He was also accused by Hunt of being a coward for ducking policy debates. But it all seems to have made little difference. Johnsons vote may only have improved by three per cent from 62 per cent, compared to Hunts rise of 19 per cent from 11 per cent but he still leads the Foreign Secretary by a whacking 36 points, said Conservative Home. Johnson now has two-thirds of the total vote, 66 per cent, and remains set to win this election. As we suspected on Tuesday, his domestic row seems to have made next to no difference to his standing among activists. It had been suggested that Johnsons approval ratings had suffered in the wake of the domestic disturbance. One poll even put him behind Hunt. However, a Sunday Telegraph-commissioned ComRes poll at the weekend, said Johnson had a 22-point lead. However, more than half of Scottish voters would vote to leave the UK if Boris Johnson becomes prime minister, another poll suggested. Johnson has the backing of failed leadership candidate and former Brexit Minister Dominic Raab (REUTERS/Peter Nicholls) Hunt now has some three weeks to try and claw back the almost 36% deficit. Story continues The new leader will be named on July 22. ---Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK--- |
Should We Be Cautious About Restart SIIQ S.p.A.'s (BIT:RST) ROE Of 0.6%?
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One of the best investments we can make is in our own knowledge and skill set. With that in mind, this article will work through how we can use Return On Equity (ROE) to better understand a business. By way of learning-by-doing, we'll look at ROE to gain a better understanding of Restart SIIQ S.p.A. (BIT:RST).
Over the last twelve monthsRestart SIIQ has recorded a ROE of 0.6%. Another way to think of that is that for every €1 worth of equity in the company, it was able to earn €0.0063.
View our latest analysis for Restart SIIQ
Theformula for ROEis:
Return on Equity = Net Profit ÷ Shareholders' Equity
Or for Restart SIIQ:
0.6% = €225k ÷ €14m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.)
It's easy to understand the 'net profit' part of that equation, but 'shareholders' equity' requires further explanation. It is the capital paid in by shareholders, plus any retained earnings. Shareholders' equity can be calculated by subtracting the total liabilities of the company from the total assets of the company.
ROE looks at the amount a company earns relative to the money it has kept within the business. The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. A higher profit will lead to a higher ROE. So, all else equal,investors should like a high ROE. 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. 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 Restart SIIQ has a lower ROE than the average (11%) in the Real Estate industry classification.
That certainly isn't ideal. We'd prefer see an ROE above the industry average, but it might not matter if the company is undervalued. Nonetheless, it could be useful todouble-check if insiders have sold shares recently.
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 use of debt will improve the returns, but will not change the equity. Thus the use of debt can improve ROE, albeit along with extra risk in the case of stormy weather, metaphorically speaking.
While Restart SIIQ does have some debt, with debt to equity of just 0.45, we wouldn't say debt is excessive. Its ROE is rather low, and it does use some debt, albeit not much. That's not great to see. Judicious use of debt to improve returns can certainly be a good thing, although it does elevate risk slightly and reduce future optionality.
Return on equity is useful for comparing the quality of different businesses. Companies that can achieve high returns on equity without too much debt are generally of good quality. If two companies have the same ROE, then I would generally prefer the one with less debt.
But when a business is high quality, the market often bids it up to a price that reflects this. The rate at which profits are likely to grow, relative to the expectations of profit growth reflected in the current price, must be considered, too. So I think it may be worth checking thisfreethisdetailed 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. |
Ericsson to Build Smart Factory in US, Eyes Global Expansion
EricssonERIC has announced plans of building its first fully automated smart factory in the United States. The Swedish telecom equipment maker has been focusing on working more closely with its customers to support them in the build out of 5G globally, particularly in North America.While the location will be announced upon final discussions with state and local authorities, the company’s new factory, planned to initially employ about 100 people, is expected to be operational in early 2020. In addition, Ericsson is digitizing its entire global production landscape.Notably, the avant-garde facility will likely produce Advanced Antenna System radios to increase network capacity and coverage. This includes rural coverage and 5G radios for urban areas, required for rapid 5G deployments in North America.Ericsson continues to focus on 5G system development and has undertaken many notable endeavors to position itself for market leadership. The growth in 5G subscriptions is estimated to be the fastest in North America, with 63% of projected mobile subscriptions within the next five years, followed by North East Asia with 47% and Europe with 40%.Reportedly, the factory will be powered by Ericsson 5G solutions customized for the industrial environment and will advance the company’s commitment to sustainability, including registration to pursue Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold Certification.Robust commitment of chipset and device suppliers is the key to the acceleration of 5G adoption. Smartphones for all main spectrum bands are scheduled to hit the market this year. As 5G devices increasingly become available and more 5G networks go live, more than 10 million 5G subscriptions are estimated globally by the end of 2019. Ericsson has been working with operators to help in their network modernization, while optimizing on plenty of opportunities.Further, the factory complements Ericsson’s global supply chain, allowing it to work closely with customers through its European, Asian and American operations, while ensuring fast deliveries to meet customer needs. The company is also accelerating the launch of cutting-edge smart manufacturing through a flexible production setup in its existing factories in Estonia, China and Brazil.Favorable industry trends are likely to boost the company’s long-term growth and profitability. Ericsson intends to accelerate its planned cost cuts and efficiency measures. It also remains focused on its core business of selling networking equipment with the expected ramp up of 5G networks.Driven by diligent execution of key business strategies, shares of Ericsson have rallied 27.1% compared with the industry’s rise of 15.8% in the past year.
Currently, Ericsson has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in the industry include Harris Corp. HRS, Motorola Solutions, Inc. MSI and Ubiquiti Networks, Inc. UBNT, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Harris has long-term earnings growth expectation of 8%.Motorola has long-term earnings growth expectation of 7.7%.Ubiquiti has long-term earnings growth expectation of 19.8%.Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit PotentialThe biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of+98%,+119%and+164%in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks 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 reportEricsson (ERIC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMotorola Solutions, Inc. (MSI) : Free Stock Analysis ReportHarris Corporation (HRS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportUbiquiti Networks, Inc. (UBNT) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Idris Elba wrote a song inspired by his Hobbs & Shaw villain
We all have ways to kill downtime between obligations. Some of us knit. Some of us scroll endlessly through Twitter. And some of us are like Idris Elba , who, during breaks from filming the Fast & Furious spin-off Hobbs & Shaw , decided to write, produce, and record an original song inspired by his villainous character. When EW visited the set of Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw in January, we sat down with Elba in his trailer to discuss his heel turn as the film’s cyber-enhanced antagonist, Brixton. The film follows its namesake heroes, Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw, as they reluctantly join forces to stop Brixton from stealing a globe-threatening virus and unleashing it upon the world. (Typical bad guy stuff.) So what did Elba do between scenes of planning global mischief and brawling with Statham and Johnson? Well, he explained, he wrote a song on his iPad, inspired by his character. And then he polished it and eventually recorded it with Cypress Hill. And then he played the final mix for director David Leitch, who liked it so much he decided to include it in a scene in the final film. Michael Muller for EW “People know that I DJ and I make music and all that, but the hybrid of being able to put something that I’ve made specifically for a movie I’m in is new territory for me,” Elba told EW. The 46-year-old actor may be best known for his dramatic roles in The Wire and Luther, but he’s also spent years spinning records under the name DJ Big Driis. Before he landed The Wire, he supported himself by taking DJ gigs wherever he could, and although his music career has largely taken a backseat to his acting, he still performs and writes. In April, he performed at Coachella, and he recently signed a global publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group. “Idris is an artist in so many ways; he’s an incredible actor and also a martial artist and a musician,” Leitch says. “And when you’re surrounded by artists like that, you want to just take advantage of it and support the creativity and see where it goes.” Story continues For more on Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, pick up the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly on stands Friday, or buy it now ! Don’t forget to subscribe for more exclusive interviews and photos , only in EW. Related content: Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham break down the “oil and water” alliance of Hobbs & Shaw Idris Elba on his Hobbs & Shaw villain: “He’s a mean motherf—er” See the Hobbs & Shaw trailer |
3 Reasons You Shouldn't Get a Side Hustle
We hear a lot about side hustles these days, and given that45% of U.S. workers have one, they're clearly pretty popular. In many cases, taking on a second job is a great idea. That side gig can not only help you boost your income, but it can also give you something meaningful to do with your time. And often, the skills you develop in the course of that gig are ones that can position you for a better job in the future. But in some cases, taking on aside hustlemay not be the right move for you. Here are a few such scenarios.
Some companies expressly bar employees from working a job on the side. In many cases, this restriction will be limited to the scope of the primary job in question. For example, if you're a full-time web developer, you may be banned from doing that very same work for private clients (or any related work, for that matter), but youcanwalk dogs or wait tables on the side. Review your employer's policy thoroughly to ensure that by taking on a second gig, you're not putting your main job at risk. And if you clearly don't have permission, don't chance it.
IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.
Many companies offer generous performance bonuses that reward employees for hard work. If such a program exists at your company, it might pay to put in a little extra time at your main job rather than devote hours to a side hustle.
Imagine you stand to collect a $10,000 bonus at year-end for a stellar performance at work, but to snag that cash, you'll probably need to devote another five hours a week to the job. If, during those same five hours, you're only looking at making $100 total from a side hustle, you stand to benefit more financially by devoting the time to your main job.
Some people have no problem working a lot and pushing themselves to do more. But if you're already at the point where you feel that you work too much and are stressed out and unhappy because of it, then a side gig could be just the thing that pushes you over the edge. And that could not only hurt your career, but compromise your mental and physical health.
While working a second gig is a great way to earn extra money -- money you may be desperate for -- in some cases, it's not the smartest move. If you're low on funds, take a look at yourbudgetand find ways to cut back on expenses. That could mean dining out less often, downgrading your cable plan, canceling your gym membership, or even moving to a cheaper home to lower your rent or mortgage costs. It may not be your ideal solution to your financial woes, but if it's not feasible to get a side hustle right now, know that thereareother things you can do to get your hands on more money.
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3 Stocks Poised for Huge Growth Over the Next Decade
Investing in disruptive stocks targeting large addressable markets can be a ticket to market-trouncing returns, but finding these stocks can be tough. We asked three Motley Fool contributors to help, and after scouring their universes, they came back recommendingVivint Solar(NYSE: VSLR),JD.com(NASDAQ: JD), andCannTrust Holdings(NYSE: CTST)as top stocks with huge growth potential to own over the next 10 years. Are these stocks right for your portfolio? Read on to find out.
Travis Hoium(Vivint Solar):The residential solar industry has been through its share of ups and downs, but today it's as stable as it has ever been. Vivint Solar is one of the companies that has settled into a steady business model of building residential solar systems, monetizing them by selling solar leases to customers, and mixing in some system sales along the way.
Image source: Getty Images.
What makes this a great growth stock is that leases stack on top of one another, creating a natural growth business as the customer base increases. You can see below that the last decade has been high growth, up until the last year, when timing of system sales has flattened revenue.
VSLR Revenuedata byYCharts. TTM= trailing 12 months.
As the value of projects stacks up, so does thevalue sitting on Vivint Solar's balance sheet. Management estimates that the net retained value of projects is currently $9.48 per share, more than a 25% premium from where shares are currently trading. A growth stock trading at a discount is just the kind of stock I want to own in today's market.
Leo Sun(JD.com):JD.com, China's largest direct retailer and second largest e-commerce player afterAlibaba(NYSE: BABA), lost about 30% of its value over the past 12 months due to concerns about its slowing sales, inconsistent profits, the trade war's impact on the Chinese economy, and a rape allegation against its founder and CEO Richard Liu.
Yet several of those headwinds gradually waned. Its revenue stabilizedlast quarterwith 21% year-over-year growth, its gross and operating margins expanded as it cut costs and offered its logistics services to third-party companies, and its free cash flow turned positive again as it divested several projects. Prosecutors also dropped the rape charges, although the alleged victim is still suing Liu and JD for damages.
Its near-term outlook is murky, but it still has room to run over the long term. Unlike Alibaba, which only facilitates purchases between businesses and individuals on Taobao and Tmall, JD takes ownership of its inventories and sells most of its products as a direct retailer.
It also uses its own logistics network, which includes drones and delivery robots, while Alibaba mostly relies on third-party courier services. JD has plenty of support from other tech and retail giants -- its biggest backers includeTencent,Walmart, andAlphabet's Google.
JD's stock currently trades at less than 0.5 times this year's sales, so it could rebound quickly on any good news about China. It will also dominate China's retail market alongside Alibaba for the foreseeable future -- which makes it a great long-term play on the People's Republic.
Image source: Getty Images.
Todd Campbell(CannTrust):Following Canada's recreational marijuana laws going into effect last fall, CannTrust shares have fallen sharply as investors "sold the news." The drop in its share price, however, could offer investors a great opportunity to buy a top pot stock on sale.
People spend about $150 billion per year worldwide on marijuana, including about $4.5 billion in Canada and nearly $50 billion in the United States. Canada legalized recreational marijuana last year, and although it's still illegal federally in the U.S., 10 states (and counting) have created legal marketplaces, and momentum for federal legalization is building.
To capitalize on these changes, CannTrust owns hydroponic production facilities in Niagara, which positions it perfectly to serve Ontario and Quebec, where over 60% of Canada's population lives. If the U.S. legalizes pot nationally, it's proximity to the U.S. may help it respond quickly.
In the third quarter, CannTrust expects annual pot production will reach a 50,000-kilo run rate, and production could hit a 200,000-kilo pace next year because of new outdoor production.
It sold roughly 3,000 kilos in the first quarter, generating16.9 millionCanadian dollars ($12.8 million) in revenue, so if it hits its production targets, sales could be about to soar. Since CannTrust expects quarterly operating profits by the end of this year, it could be one of the first pot stocks to reward investors with earnings. Given that backdrop, I don't think it's a stretch to think this company's financial future over the next decade is bright.
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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors.Leo Sunowns shares of JD.com and Tencent Holdings.Todd Campbellowns shares of Alphabet (C shares) and CannTrust Holdings Inc.His clients may have positions in the companies mentioned.Travis Hoiumhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), JD.com, and Tencent Holdings. The Motley Fool recommends CannTrust Holdings Inc. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. |
You Might Like Robit Oyj (HEL:ROBIT) But Do You Like Its Debt?
Want to participate in a short research study ? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! While small-cap stocks, such as Robit Oyj ( HEL:ROBIT ) with its market cap of €56m, are popular for their explosive growth, investors should also be aware of their balance sheet to judge whether the company can survive a downturn. Since ROBIT is loss-making right now, it’s essential to assess the current state of its operations and pathway to profitability. The following basic checks can help you get a picture of the company's balance sheet strength. However, this is just a partial view of the stock, and I recommend you dig deeper yourself into ROBIT here . Does ROBIT Produce Much Cash Relative To Its Debt? ROBIT has shrunk its total debt levels in the last twelve months, from €50m to €43m , which also accounts for long term debt. With this reduction in debt, ROBIT's cash and short-term investments stands at €18m to keep the business going. We note it produced negative cash flow over the last twelve months. As the purpose of this article is a high-level overview, I won’t be looking at this today, but you can examine some of ROBIT’s operating efficiency ratios such as ROA here . Can ROBIT pay its short-term liabilities? Looking at ROBIT’s €24m in current liabilities, the company has been able to meet these commitments with a current assets level of €70m, leading to a 2.93x current account ratio. The current ratio is calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities. Generally, for Machinery companies, this is a reasonable ratio since there is a bit of a cash buffer without leaving too much capital in a low-return environment. HLSE:ROBIT Historical Debt, June 27th 2019 Can ROBIT service its debt comfortably? With debt reaching 59% of equity, ROBIT may be thought of as relatively highly levered. This is a bit unusual for a small-cap stock, since they generally have a harder time borrowing than large more established companies. Though, since ROBIT is presently unprofitable, there’s a question of sustainability of its current operations. Running high debt, while not yet making money, can be risky in unexpected downturns as liquidity may dry up, making it hard to operate. Story continues Next Steps: ROBIT’s high cash coverage means that, although its debt levels are high, the company is able to utilise its borrowings efficiently in order to generate cash flow. This may mean this is an optimal capital structure for the business, given that it is also meeting its short-term commitment. This is only a rough assessment of financial health, and I'm sure ROBIT has company-specific issues impacting its capital structure decisions. I suggest you continue to research Robit Oyj to get a more holistic view of the small-cap by looking at: Future Outlook : What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for ROBIT’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for ROBIT’s outlook. Valuation : What is ROBIT worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether ROBIT is currently mispriced by the market. Other High-Performing Stocks : Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here . We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor 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. |
Better Buy: Brookfield Renewable Partners vs. NextEra Energy Partners
The renewable energy market has massive growth potential in the coming decades. According to one estimate, the industry needs to invest a jaw-dropping$10 trillionto move to a carbon-free world. That enormous market potential led several companies to establish renewable-focused investment arms to take advantage of this opportunity. Leading asset managerBrookfield Asset Management(NYSE: BAM), for example, formedBrookfield Renewable Partners, while top-tier utilityNextEra Energy(NYSE: NEE)createdNextEra Energy Partners.
Both of those entities have a similar aim, which is to build and buy clean energy assets supported by long-term, fixed-price contracts and use the associated cash flow to pay an above-average dividend. That strategy makes them attractive options for income-seeking investors. Since most investors will only want to own one of these renewable income vehicles, here's a closer look at which one is the better buy.
Image source: Getty Images.
The first place investors should start when analyzing two opportunities is their finances. Here's how these two renewable energy companies stack up against each other:
[{"Company": "Brookfield Renewable Partners(NYSE: BEP)", "Dividend Yield": "5.7%", "Credit Rating": "BBB+", "% of Cash Flow Fee-Based or Regulated": "87%", "Debt-to-Adjusted-EBITDA Ratio": "3", "Dividend Payout Ratio": "Less than 90% of cash flow"}, {"Company": "NextEra Energy Partners(NYSE: NEP)", "Dividend Yield": "3.9%", "Credit Rating": "BB/BB+/Ba1", "% of Cash Flow Fee-Based or Regulated": "About 100%", "Debt-to-Adjusted-EBITDA Ratio": "4 to 5", "Dividend Payout Ratio": "Roughly 80% of cash flow"}]
Data sources: Brookfield Renewable Partners and NextEra Energy Partners. EBITDA = earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
As the table shows, the pair have very different financial profiles. Brookfield Renewable Partners has a higher dividend yield due in large part to paying out a greater percentage of its cash flow. (Though it is worth noting that the company's long-term target is to get its payout ratio below 70%.) Meanwhile, Brookfield Renewable boasts a much stronger credit profile since it has the highest credit rating in the sector, which it backs with a conservative leverage ratio. NextEra Energy Partners, on the other hand, has junk-rated credit because of its higher leverage ratio. That makes it much more expensive for the company to borrow money to fund acquisitions and expansion projects.
Both Brookfield Renewable and NextEra Energy Partners expect to grow their cash flow at a healthy clip in the coming years. Brookfield Renewable currently anticipates that its cash flow per share will expand at a 6% to 11% annual rate over the next five years, which should support 5% to 9% yearly increases in its distribution. Roughly half of that growth will come from the improving profitability of its existing portfolio as the company reduces costs, signs higher-rate contracts as the current below-market ones expire, and benefits from inflation escalators on its other agreements.
The other growth driver is the organic expansion projects Brookfield has under development, which currently include a rooftop solar joint venture in China, a new wind facility in Ireland, a hydroelectric plant in Brazil, and a pumped storage facility expansion in North America. The company can fully fund those projects with retained cash flow after paying its high-yield dividend. As such, Brookfield isn't relying on acquisitions to support growth. However, it has the liquidity to invest about $700 million per year on deals that would power accelerated earnings growth. In recent years, the company has partnered with parent Brookfield Asset Management to invest in renewable power generatorTerraForm Powerand Canadian utilityTransAlta.
NextEra Partners, meanwhile, believes it can grow its cash flow at a fast enough clip to support 12% to 15% annual dividend increases through at least 2024. The main catalyst driving that plan is drop-down acquisitions from its parent NextEra Energy. Earlier this year, for example, NextEra Energy Partners bought $1.02 billion of wind and solar assets from its parent, which is a large enough deal to support its dividend growth plan through at least the end of this year. One of the unique aspects of this deal is that the companysecured the financing from a private equity fund,which was the second time it used thistypeof funding for a transaction. NextEra Partners' reliance on outside funding to power its growth strategy is a concern because if its access to financing dries up, it could cause the company to tap the brakes on its dividend growth plan.
Brookfield Renewable and NextEra Energy Partners offer investors the opportunity to generate a growing income stream from the renewable energy market. While NextEra Energy Partners expects to grow its dividend at a faster rate, the company needs to secure outside financing to support that plan, which makes it a higher-risk option given its weaker credit profile. That's why Brookfield Renewable is the better buy, because it offers investors a higher yield along with a lower-risk growth profile. As such, there's a much higher probability that it can generate market-beating total returns in the coming years since it's not relying on any outside forces to power its growth.
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Matthew DiLalloowns shares of Brookfield Asset Management, Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P., NextEra Energy, and TERP. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Brookfield Asset Management. The Motley Fool recommends NextEra Energy. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. |
Women, On Average, Talked More Than Men During the First Democratic Debate. But Here's Who Talked Most
Female candidates, on average, got more speaking time during Wednesday’s first 2020 Democratic presidential debate than male candidates—but the top speaker was a man, according to post-debate analyses. Wednesday’s debate included a history-making three women running for president in the 2020 election: Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren , Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. And on average, they got more speaking time than their seven male counterparts: 8.1 minutes versus 7.8, according to a Washington Post breakdown . Still, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker talked the most overall at 10.9 minutes, followed by former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke at 10.3 and Warren at 9.3. ( Politico notes that Warren had been asked four questions before any other candidate had been asked three, though was not called upon as often in the debate’s second hour.) Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, meanwhile, got just five minutes. The other two female candidates were somewhere in the middle, according to the Post ’s analysis. Klobuchar talked for 8.5 minutes, while Gabbard spoke for 6.6. Here's the final tally: How many minutes each candidate got to speak on the first night https://t.co/Xk6uafPQWZ #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/aXNPxAW6DF — The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 27, 2019 That order generally tracked with a separate word-count analysis done by FiveThirtyEight , and fairly closely with pre-debate polls. The three most talkative candidates were also the three politicians polling best before Wednesday’s debate, according to data from RealClearPolitics . Warren, however, entered the debate leading both Booker and O’Rourke by a wide margin. But the top two Democratic contenders, according to preliminary polling data, have yet to take the debate stage. Former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders will join eight other candidates Thursday night in a second Democratic debate, which will also include a historic three female candidates: California Sen. Kamala Harris, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and author and speaker Marianne Williamson. |
3 Retail Stocks That Are Too Cheap to Ignore
Retail stocks have dramatically underperformed the broader market over the past five years. TheS&P 500is up about 49%, whileSPDR S&P Retail, which tracks all the retail stocks in the index, is down 3.8%.
Some retail stocks are struggling and are down for good reasons, but there are gems to be found. Three retailers that are posting growth in comparable-store sales and generating healthy profits on the bottom line areWilliams-Sonoma(NYSE: WSM),Foot Locker(NYSE: FL), andAmerican Eagle Outfitters(NYSE: AEO).
What's more, these three stocks have forward price-to-earnings ratios of less than 15 and pay above-average dividend yields.
IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.
Williams-Sonoma was founded in 1956 to sell high-quality cookware, but over the years the company has expanded beyond the kitchen to providing home furnishings through its subsidiaries, including Pottery Barn, West Elm, PBteen, Rejuvenation, Mark and Graham, and Outward. The stock is down 12% over the past five years, even as revenue and earnings per share climbed 26% and 42%, respectively.
The company is off to astrong start to the year, with comps up 3.5% and EPS up 21% year over year in the last quarter. Management has made effective use of cross-promoting its brands, which has helped with customer acquisition.
Most importantly, cross-brand customers spend an average of four times more than single-brand customers and account for 30% of the total customer base. Management believes it can continue to drive growth in the short term by continuing to cross-promote its brands, as well as improving the customer experience, bettering operational efficiency, and growing its new business-to-business division.
For guidance, management calls for full-year EPS to be between $4.55 and $4.75, with revenue up between 2% and 5% over last year. The stock trades for a forward P/E of 13.4 and pays a 2.82% dividend yield.
Foot Locker is a similar story. The stock has gone nowhere for five years, but the business continues to show growth in revenue and profits. The stock is downright cheap at only 8.4 times this year's earnings estimates.
Some investors are concerned about where Foot Locker fits in an industry that's going increasingly digital. For example,Nike, Foot Locker's largest supplier,has invested in digital appsto sell sneakers directly to consumers, and that digital channel has been driving strong growth for the sneaker giant.
However, Foot Locker reported growth in store-channel comps of 2.9% last quarter, while the digital channel increased by 14.8% year over year. Store traffic was down, but combined with the digital channel, overall traffic was up for the quarter. Clearly, something is going for the specialty retailer that market participants are missing.
What investors may be overlooking is that Foot Locker is an important marketing partner for both Nike andAdidas. The athletic-wear giants work with Foot Locker to develop marketing campaigns and other services to deepen customer connections with their respective brands. Last year, Foot Locker generated $7.9 billion in sales, and Nike supplies about two-thirds of the retailer's merchandise, which means Foot Locker helps move billions of dollars' worth of product for Nike every year.
Obviously, a weak-performing Foot Locker would hurt Nike's business, which gives the Swoosh incentive to bolster sales at its retail partners.
The company's recent performance certainly doesn't jibe with a P/E multiple below 10. In the first quarter, total comp sales were up 4.6%, driven by growth across all regions around the world. Through 2023, Foot Locker is targeting mid-single-digit growth on the top line while expanding the operating margin to the low double digits.
This looks like a very undervalued retail stock, and the best thing is that investors get paid while they wait, with a current dividend yield of 3.38%.
American Eagle has performed well in recent years, despite the declines in mall traffic and the impact of havingAmazon.comgain share in the apparel market. The company just reported its 17th consecutive quarter of positive comp store sales. Management credits its recent performance to increasing market share in the jeans business -- American Eagle is the No. 2 jeans brand overall -- as well as the Aerie brand's success in taking share away from other lingerie stores, includingL Brands' Victoria's Secret.
What's more, American Eagle was an early investor in e-commerce and now has a $1 billion-plus digital business, and "it's growing rapidly," management says. The company continues to push forward with upgrades to the digital channel and improvements to the in-store shopping experience, all which management credits for recent growth.
Analysts expect the company to increase EPS by at least 8% over the next two years. Based on those expectations, the stock's forward P/E of 10.7 times this year's earnings estimate looks cheap.To sweeten the deal, investors also get a dividend yield of 3.11%.
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John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors.John Ballardowns shares of Amazon. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon and Nike. The Motley Fool recommends Williams-Sonoma. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. |
Better Buy: Kinder Morgan vs. Pattern Energy
Yield-hungry investors have lots of choices in the energy sector. Two appealing options are natural gas pipeline kingpinKinder Morgan(NYSE: KMI)and wind power-focusedPattern Energy(NASDAQ: PEGI). Both energy companies generate predictable cash flow backed mainly by long-term contracts, which gives them the money to pay above-average dividends. In Kinder Morgan's case, its payout currently yields 4.9%, while Pattern Energy's is an even more enticing 7.3%.
While many income-seeking investors might favor Pattern Energy solely for its higher yield, that doesn't necessarily mean it's the better buy between the two. Here are a few other factors investors should consider.
Image source: Getty Images.
Earlier this year, Pattern Energy provided investors with itsoutlook for the next two years. The wind power company expects to generate between $160 million and $190 million of cash available for distribution this year, which at the midpoint is 5% above last year's level. Meanwhile, Pattern Energy sees its free cash flow rising to a range of $185 million to $225 million next year, which would be about 17% higher than 2019's midpoint. This outlook implies that the company will grow its cash flow at a 10% compound annual rate over the next two years. That would enable it to push its dividend payout ratio from a tight 99% in 2018 to a more comfortable 80% by 2020.
Three factorsare powering Pattern Energy's growth forecast:
1. It should start receiving cash dividends from its investment in Pattern Development next year.
2. It expects to improve the profitability of its existing assets through optimization efforts and a project to repower its Gulf Wind facility by installing more powerful turbines.
3. Its ability to continue making acquisitions.
One concern with Pattern Energy, however, is that it needs to acquire between $300 million to $500 million of new assets to fuel its growth plan. While it has a large inventory of projects it could buy, it's unclear how the company will pay for those deals since it currently only has about $200 million in liquidity. As a result, Pattern Energy will need to find outside financing, which could prove costly. If the company can't obtain adequate funding, that could negatively impact its growth forecast. In the worst-case scenario, it could even need to reduce its dividend to help improve its financial profile.
Kinder Morgan is on track to grow its cash flow per share byabout 7% this year. One of the main drivers of that growth is the expansion projects the company hascoming on line later this year. Overall, the pipeline giant has $6.1 billion of expansions under construction, which should fuel healthy cash flow growth next year as well.
Overall, Kinder Morgan expects to haul in approximately $5 billion of cash flow this year. The company plans to use about 46% of that money to pay its dividend and the rest to finance growth projects. Given it's on track to generate $2.7 billion in excess cash after paying the dividend, Kinder Morgan can almost fully fund its $3.1 billion capital project budget. It can easily cover the overage with new debt, especially since pipeline companies typically finance half of their expansion projects with debt.
However, if there is a concern with Kinder Morgan, it is the company's growth prospects. The pipeline giant believes it can secure between $2 billion and $3 billion of new projects per year, which at the low end would grow its earnings by about 4%. That's a much slower growth rate than Pattern Energy could deliver if everything goes according to its plan.
Pattern Energy currently offers investors a higher yield and a potentially faster growth rate over the next two years. However, the company comes with a much higher risk profile, given its tight financial state. Kinder Morgan, on the other hand, can easily cover its dividend and its growth projects. That makes it a much lower-risk opportunity for income-seeking investors, which is why I think it is the better buy between the two.
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Matthew DiLalloowns shares of Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. |
Can Brown-Forman (BF.B) Withstand Tariff-Related Perils?
Brown-Forman CorporationBF.B displays a solid run on the brochures, owing to its robust earnings surprise trend, strong brands portfolio and product innovation. These have driven the company’s strong run in the past year. Notably, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has witnessed growth of 11.5% in the past year against the industry’s decline of 3.1%.However, the recent softness in the stock owing to the impacts of tariffs imposed on American spirits cannot be ignored. While the company’s top and bottom-line performances remain favorable, the higher tariffs have taken a toll on margins due to increased costs. Consequently, we note that Brown-Forman’s shares have underperformed the industry in the year-to-date period. It displayed 15.4% gain in the period while the industry grew 22.7%.
Further, the sheer consequences of higher tariffs are reflected in the company’s guidance for fiscal 2020, which is hurting investors’ confidence on the stock.Detailed Picture of Tariff-Related WoesWhile Brown-Forman delivered strong fourth-quarter fiscal 2019, retaliatory tariffs imposed on American spirits partly affected top and bottom lines. The company witnessed impacts of cost of tariff on underlying net sales in the fourth quarter and fiscal 2019, apart from impacts on cost of sales and gross margin. Notably, underlying net sales for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2019 witnessed negative impact of nearly one percentage point from lower net prices to distributors in certain markets to offset additional tariff-related costs.One key reason why tariff increases are largely hurting Brown-Forman is its widespread international presence. In recent years, the company has grown footprint in international markets, which is significantly contributing to total sales. However, Brown-Forman produces most spirits in the United States, which is attracting larger exports to foreign lands.Notably, the company’s products account for nearly 60% of the American whiskey business in Europe, resulting in large exports. Consequently, the cost of tariffs on American whiskey implemented by the European Union in response to the U.S. tariff increases is hurting Brown-Forman’s performance. Moreover, its American whiskey strategy mainly focuses on building a market for its super-premium brands, such as Gentleman Jack and Woodford Reserve in Europe. With business in Europe being a large part of the strategy, it expects the tariffs implemented by the European Union to be a hindrance for its American whiskey strategy in the near term.Brown-Forman’s gross margin continued to be impacted by tariff-related costs in the last few quarters. Notably, the company’s gross profit declined nearly 6% to $482 million in fourth-quarter fiscal 2019 while gross margin contracted 500 basis points (bps) to 64.8%. Further, gross margin contracted 260 bps in fiscal 2019, of which decline of 160 bps was due to tariffs and most of the remaining was attributed to higher input costs, including agave and wood.Moreover, the company expects gross margin for fiscal 2020 to be impacted by the persistence of tariffs and higher input cost-related headwinds. This is likely to result in a 200-bps decline in gross margin in fiscal 2020. The company expects impacts of tariff-related costs to persist throughout fiscal 2020 compared with seven months in fiscal 2019. Additionally, it expects higher input costs, primarily related to agave, as well as ongoing wood inflation, to be an even greater drag on the gross margin in fiscal 2020.Other Headwinds – Adverse Currency RatesIn addition to the tariff woes, Brown-Forman’s cross-border presence exposes it to negative impacts of adverse currency rates due to the appreciation of the U.S. dollar against most of the major currencies. Notably, the company sells products in over 170 countries worldwide. In fiscal 2019, unfavorable currency rates impacted net sales by nearly 2 percentage points and operating income by 3 points. Moreover, we expect these headwinds to continue in fiscal 2020.Wrapping UpFrom the above picture, it is clear that increased tariffs are likely to be a major headwind for Brown-Forman in the near future. Nevertheless, the company’s strong brand portfolio, with multitude popular spirit brands like Jack Daniels, Southern Comfort and Finlandia Vodka, keeps it afloat in this distressing environment. In fact, we expect its continued focus on pricing, product innovation and expanding operations in emerging markets to boost its operational performance and strengthen market position.Further, the company’s positive earnings surprise in the last eight quarters brings optimism. Notably, the company is gaining from sustained sales growth in its portfolio of premium spirit brands, particularly bourbon and tequila. Additionally, international expansion for the Jack Daniel’s trademark remains a major contributor to sales growth.Looking ahead, the company remains confident that it will capitalize on its American Whiskey strategy while benefiting from investments in its brands’ portfolio over the years. Amid tariff-related woes, these positives can keep Brown-Forman going.Some Better-Ranked Stocks to Explore in the Beverage SpaceCampari Group DVDCY has an impressive long-term earnings growth rate of 7.5%. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.PepsiCo Inc. PEP has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of nearly 7% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present.Monster Beverage Corporation MNST, which presently carries a Zacks Rank #2, has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 14.3%.Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit PotentialThe biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +98%, +119% and +164% in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks 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 reportBrown-Forman Corporation (BF.B) : Free Stock Analysis ReportPepsico, Inc. (PEP) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMonster Beverage Corporation (MNST) : Free Stock Analysis ReportCampari Group (DVDCY) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here. |
U.S. Oil Prices Jump as EIA Reports Largest Draw Since 2016
The U.S. Energy Department's inventory release showed that crude stocks slumped nearly 13 million barrels last week in the biggest weekly drawdown since September 2016 as exports hit a record high.
Oil Prices Jump on the News
Following the massive decline, U.S. benchmark crude futures gained as much as 2.7% (or $1.55) to $59.38 per barrel Wednesday – the best settlement in more than a month.
The federal data sparked widespread buying in energy stocks, which pushed the Energy Select Sector SPDR – an assortment of the largest U.S. energy companies – up more than 1.5% Wednesday. Consequently, some of, the biggest gainers of the S&P 500 included energy-related names like – Marathon Petroleum Corporation MPC, ConocoPhillips COP, Hess Corporation HES, Valero Energy Corporation VLO and Marathon Oil Corporation MRO.
Meanwhile, gasoline futures shot up 5% to $1.970 a gallon on Philadelphia Energy Solutions’ decision to permanently close its oil refinery in Philadelphia following last week’s devastating fire.
Analysis of the EIA Data
Crude Oil:The federal government’s EIA report revealed that crude inventories plunged by 12.8 million barrels for the week ending Jun 21, the most in nearly three years and more than 4.5 times what energy analysts had expected. Sharply lower imports and jump in exports led to the massive stockpile draw with the world's biggest oil consumer.
Crude exports averaged a record 3.77 million barrels per day last week, up 348,000 barrels per day (bpd) from the previous week. Meanwhile, net imports fell 811,000 bpd.
The past week’s big decline in oil inventories comes as a relief for industry watchers who saw supplies trend mostly higher since mid-March. In fact, prior to this decrease, stockpiles expanded in 9 of the last 13 weeks and were up nearly 43 million barrels (or 10%) during the period.
Adding to the positive sentiment, the latest report also shows that stocks at the Cushing terminal in Oklahoma came down from their highest since December 2017. Inventories at the key delivery hub for U.S. crude futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange was down 1.7 million barrels to 51.8 million barrels.
But at 469.6 million barrels, current crude supplies are still 12.7% above the year-ago figure and 5% over the five-year average. The crude supply cover was down from 28.4 days in the previous week to 27.4 days. In the year-ago period, the supply cover was 23.7 days.
Gasoline:Gasoline supplies fell 996,000 barrels for its second successive weekly decline. The drop – slightly below the polled number of 1.1 million barrels – came on account of lower imports of the fuel, which edged down 21,000 bpd. At 232.2 million barrels, the stock of the most widely used petroleum product is now 3.7% below the year-earlier level and at the five-year average range.
Distillate:Distillate fuel supplies (including diesel and heating oil) fell 2.4 million barrels last week, while analysts were looking for an inventory drop of around 1.1 million barrels. Current supplies – at 125.4 million barrels – are 6.8% higher than the year-ago level though stocks remain 7% below than the five-year average.
Refinery Rates:Refinery utilization was up by 0.3% from the prior week to 94.2%.
Want to Own an Energy Stock Now?
In case you are looking for a near-term energy play, Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. HLX might be an excellent selection. The specialty services provider to offshore energy companies has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The 2019 Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Houston, TX-based company is 28 cents, representing some 47.4% earnings per share growth over 2018. Next year’s average forecast is 38 cents pointing to another 36.9% growth.
Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential
The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.
Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +98%, +119% and +164% in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better.
See these 7 breakthrough stocks 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 reportMarathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportValero Energy Corporation (VLO) : Free Stock Analysis ReportHelix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (HLX) : Free Stock Analysis ReportHess Corporation (HES) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMarathon Oil Corporation (MRO) : Free Stock Analysis ReportConocoPhillips (COP) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Are RNB Retail and Brands AB (publ)'s (STO:RNBS) Interest Costs Too High?
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Investors are always looking for growth in small-cap stocks like RNB Retail and Brands AB (publ) (STO:RNBS), with a market cap of kr135m. However, an important fact which most ignore is: how financially healthy is the business? Since RNBS is loss-making right now, it’s vital to evaluate the current state of its operations and pathway to profitability. We'll look at some basic checks that can form a snapshot the company’s financial strength. Nevertheless, this is just a partial view of the stock, and I recommend youdig deeper yourself into RNBS here.
RNBS has sustained its debt level by about kr420m over the last 12 months including long-term debt. At this stable level of debt, RNBS's cash and short-term investments stands at kr16m , ready to be used for running the business. Moreover, RNBS has produced cash from operations of kr38m during the same period of time, leading to an operating cash to total debt ratio of 9.0%, signalling that RNBS’s current level of operating cash is not high enough to cover debt.
At the current liabilities level of kr394m, it appears that the company has maintained a safe level of current assets to meet its obligations, with the current ratio last standing at 1.64x. The current ratio is calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities. Generally, for Specialty Retail companies, this is a reasonable ratio since there's a sufficient cash cushion without leaving too much capital idle or in low-earning investments.
With total debt exceeding equity, RNBS is considered a highly levered company. This is somewhat unusual for small-caps companies, since lenders are often hesitant to provide attractive interest rates to less-established businesses. However, since RNBS is presently loss-making, sustainability of its current state of operations becomes a concern. Running high debt, while not yet making money, can be risky in unexpected downturns as liquidity may dry up, making it hard to operate.
RNBS’s high cash coverage means that, although its debt levels are high, the company is able to utilise its borrowings efficiently in order to generate cash flow. Since there is also no concerns around RNBS's liquidity needs, this may be its optimal capital structure for the time being. I admit this is a fairly basic analysis for RNBS's financial health. Other important fundamentals need to be considered alongside. I recommend you continue to research RNB Retail and Brands to get a better picture of the small-cap by looking at:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for RNBS’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor RNBS’s outlook.
2. Historical Performance: What has RNBS's returns been like over the past? Go into more detail in the past track record analysis and take a look atthe free visual representations of our analysisfor more clarity.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
CoinMarketCap Pushes Exchanges to Transparency: Sign of Mature Market?
In May, crypto market data providerCoinMarketCaprequested allexchangesin the global exchange marketdisclose accurate datain a move to improve transparency of the information displayed on the platform. CoinMarketCap declared an ultimatum to all exchanges listed, clarifying that they would be delisted from the platform if they fail to provide accurate trading data, volume and other relevant information.
In an initiative called Data Accountability and Transparency Alliance (DATA), CoinMarketCap said that it will “review, align, and enhance reporting standards across the industry” with the objective of eliminating inflated volumes and inaccurate information from the market. The CoinMarketCap teamsaid:
“Any exchange that does not provide this mandatory data to us via a new or updated summary endpoint will be excluded from all price and adjusted volume calculations on the site. There is a 45-day grace period for all exchanges to send this new endpoint to us, and changes will go into effect on June 14, 2019.”
The 45-day grace period has now well passed, with 70% ofcryptoexchanges reported to have provided CoinMarketCap with information required to comply with the DATA initiative.
In March, Bitwise Asset Management, a San Francisco-based investment firm founded by former executives atFacebook, BlackRock andGoldman Sachs, reported in a presentation to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that 95% of the reported volume in the crypto exchange market was fake.
Related:Bitwise Calls Out to SEC: 95% of Bitcoin Trade Volume Is Fake, Real Market Is Organized
The Bitwise team disclosed that only 10 exchanges, with the exception ofBitMEX, have a real daily bitcoin (BTC) trade volume above $1 million, which includedBinance,Bitfinex,Kraken,Bitstamp,Coinbase,bitFlyer,Gemini,itBit,BittrexandPoloniex.
At the time, the Bitwise team explained that, when inflated volumes were removed from the bitcoin market, the volume of the dominant cryptocurrency relative to its market cap was healthy. The firm also stated that arbitrage between the 10 exchanges had improved, indicating the formation of a healthier market structure. The reportread:
“When you remove fake volume, the real bitcoin volume is quite healthy given its market cap. Gold’s market cap is ~$7 trillion with a spot volume of ~$37 billion implying a 0.53% daily turnover. Bitcoin’s $70 billion market cap would imply a 0.39% daily turnover, very much in-line with that of gold.
Over the past several months, the top exchange rankings by trade volume, following the implementation of the DATA initiative on CoinMarketCap, have started to reflect legitimate volumes coming from reputable exchanges.
BitMEX, Binance, OKEx and Huobi have been ranking as the top four exchanges based on reported volume, with Binance, OKEx and Huobi also ranking as the top three exchanges on adjusted volume.
For many months, the exchange Coinbene had ranked as the top exchange on CoinMarketCap, an exchange Bitwise explicitly suspected of having artificial trade volume. In an official statement, Carylyne Chan, the global head of marketing at CoinMarketCap,said:
“We are highly encouraged after seeing strong support for our DATA initiative so far. With these submitted data points, we aim to provide more meaningful analyses and metrics for our users, and empower them with information to do their own research even more effectively.”
Currently, CoinMarketCap estimates the global crypto exchange volume to be over $100 billion, a figure that is still estimated to be substantially higher than verifiable volume in the market.
Bitwise created a methodology called the “Real 10” volume of bitcoin, with data from the 10 exchanges it identified as having verifiable volume. The Real 10 volume of bitcoin is hovering at around $3.1 billion as of June 26, according to Messari. The Real 10 volume, put together with the CME bitcoin futures market volume and BitMEX, likely surpasses $14 billion, since CME hasregisteredover a billion dollars in daily volume at its peak in May and BitMEX has beenrecordingover $10 billion in daily trading volume in the past month.
Even with the removal of 30% of the exchanges that failed to comply with CoinMarketCap — which the firm has not disclosed yet — it is entirely possible that exclusion of alternative cryptocurrency volume would result in the verifiable daily volume of the crypto market being less than $30 billion.
As CoinMarketCap continues to delist exchanges that failed to comply with the DATA initiative from the platform, the daily volume of the market on CoinMarketCap is expected to decline. Still, a large discrepancy between real volume and reported volume exists.
The Blockchain Transparency Institute teamsaid:
“Initial BTI Verified exchanges include 9 of the top cleanest exchanges in our rankings. These exchanges include Coinbase, Upbit, Bittrex, Poloniex, Liquid, Kraken, Gate, Bitso, and Lykke. The largest exchanges in the United States, Korea, Japan, and Mexico are all on our initial release and we will be announcing new additions each month. All initial BTI Verified exchanges are over 90% clean with a few that are 97-99% clean including Coinbase and Upbit. Kraken was the cleanest exchange we found with these current algorithms at over 99%.”
Over time, with the launch of strictly regulated platforms in key countries like the U.S., the reported volume of the crypto exchange market will likely see less inflation, and portray real demand and interest from both retail and institutional investors.
The Commodities and Futures Exchange Commission (CFTC) approved the application of LedgerX on June 25 to operate in the U.S. market as a crypto derivatives and clearing platform. LedgerX co-founder Juthica Chousaid:
"We've long had the goal to expand the range of customers we can serve beyond our institutional base — it's the natural next step for us. Omni, by interfacing with our existing institutional liquidity pool, will offer retail customers a top tier experience from day one.”
Bakkt, the highly anticipated bitcoin futures market operated by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) — the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) — is expected to launch in July. Adam White, the chief operating officer of Bakkt, said on June 13 that the Bakkt bitcoin futures platform will launch on July 22 and that its launch will establish a new standard for accessing crypto markets, while also raising liquidity in the market. Whitesaidat the time:
“This launch will usher in a new standard for accessing crypto markets. Compared to other markets, institutional participation in crypto remains constrained due to limitations like market infrastructure and regulatory certainty. This results in lower trading volumes, liquidity, and price transparency than more established markets like ICE’s Brent Crude futures contract, which has earned global trust in setting the world’s price of crude oil.”
For years, minor exchanges with restricted capital and resources had the incentive to inflate their volumes to appeal to retail investors. However, with the emergence of strictly regulated and reputable platforms, the incentive to spend significant resources in an attempt to become more compelling to retail investors has noticeably dropped.
At the start of 2019, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental organization founded as a part of the G-7,releaseda guideline to request crypto exchanges to revamp their internal management systems and Know Your Customer (KYC) policies to crack down on money laundering.
Already, key countries participating in the G-20 summit, includingSouth Korea, have started the process of preparing a new bill to reflect the recommendations of the FATF.
All of the requests released by the FATF, such as asking crypto exchanges to record all transactions above $1,000, will likely not be accepted by most member countries. But, they are likely to follow the vision laid out by the FATF to strengthen Anti-Money Laundering (AML) policies.
Related:What Crypto Exchanges Do to Comply With KYC, AML and CFT Regulations
To comply with such policies, exchanges will need to appoint in-house security experts, establish better internal management systems and cover legal costs, which would generally create an impractical environment for small exchanges with small profit margins to operate in. The communique released by Japan’s Ministry of Financeread:
“Technological innovations, including those underlying crypto-assets, can deliver significant benefits to the financial system and the broader economy. While crypto-assets do not pose a threat to global financial stability at this point, we remain vigilant to risks, including those related to consumer and investor protection, anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT). “
The G-20 explicitly said that it “looks forward” to adopting the guideline released by the FATF by the end of June, which indicates that member countries would try to follow the FATF’s guideline at maximum capacity, adding that:
“We welcome IOSCO’s work on crypto-asset trading platforms related to consumer and investor protection and market integrity. We welcome the FSB’s directory of crypto-asset regulators, and its report on work underway, regulatory approaches and potential gaps relating to crypto-assets.”
• QuadrigaCX Users Lose $190M as Speculations Over Cotten’s Death Swirl
• Overstock’s tZero Launches Mobile Crypto App Touted as Hack-Resistant
• Huobi Expands to Turkey Where 20% of the Population Hold Crypto
• Bitcoin Falls by $1,400 After Crash of Major Crypto Exchange Coinbase |
Ford to cut 12,000 jobs in Europe by end 2020
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Ford said it will cut 12,000 jobs in Europe by the end of next year to try to return the business to profit, part of a wave of cost reductions in an auto industry facing stagnant demand and huge investments to build low emission cars.
The challenge of investing in electric, hybrid and autonomous vehicles while having to overhaul combustion engines to meet new clean-air rules, has forced Europe's carmakers to slash fixed costs and streamline their model portfolios.
Ford Europe has been losing money for years and pressure to restructure its operations increased after arch-rival General Motors raised profits by selling its European Opel and Vauxhall brands to France's Peugeot SA.
Ford said it would close three plants in Russia, a plant in France and Wales, and cut shifts at factories in Valencia, Spain and Saarlouis, Germany.
Following the sale of the Kechnec Transmission plant in Slovakia, to Magna, Ford's manufacturing footprint will be reduced to 18 facilities by end-2020, from 24 today.
"We have largely concluded consultations with social partners regarding restructuring actions," Stuart Rowley, president, Ford of Europe told Reuters.
About 12,000 jobs will be affected at Ford's wholly owned facilities and consolidated joint ventures in Europe by the end of 2020, primarily through voluntary separation programmes.
Around 2,000 of those are fixed salaried positions, which are included among the 7,000 salaried positions Ford is reducing globally, the carmaker said. The rest are workers on hourly contracts or agency workers.
FALLING DEMAND
Ford has 51,000 employees in Europe or 65,000 when joint ventures are included.
In January Ford announced a sweeping business review which included the prospect of plant closures and discontinuing loss-making vehicle lines to pursue a 6% operating margin in Europe.
But demand for cars in Europe is falling, European automobile manufacturers' association ACEA said on Thursday, predicting that European passenger car registrations will shrink by 1% in 2019 to 15 million cars, revising its previous forecast of 1% growth.
Car sales will stagnate or decline in the next three years, AlixPartners said in a survey of the industry published this week. Manufacturers balancing sales of electric and combustion engined cars will see margins hit particularly hard, the survey said.
Ford said it intended to double the profitability of its commercial vehicle business in Europe in the next five years, supported by a restructured Ford Sollers joint venture in Russia and a strategic alliance with Volkswagen.
Earlier this year Ford said it would seek to exit the multivan segment and focus on developing electrified versions of more profitable "crossover" and sports utility vehicles.
European passenger vehicle development, including for battery electric vehicles, will be centred in Cologne, the carmaker said.
Ford also said it expected to triple passenger car imports into Europe by 2024 by selling Mustang and Explorer vehicles, including a Mustang-inspired electric car in late 2020.
(Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Tassilo Hummel) |
U.S. Business Investment Rebounds in May: 5 Top Picks
On Jun 26, the Department of Commerce released U.S. factory orders for long-lasting durable goods in May. Although the orders contracted, the rate of decline was much less than the previous month.Moreover, core durable goods order –- a key metric to track business investment plan –- jumped significantly. The shipment of core durable goods also increased to a large extent in May. These two metrics provide a major relief to the market’s concern that investment softened in the manufacturing sector primarily owing to the lingering trade dispute with China.Durable Goods Orders Weak But Not DisappointingThe Department of Commerce reported that new orders for manufactured durable goods declined $3.3 billion or 1.3% to $243.4 billion in May from April. The consensus estimate was of a decline of 0.8%. However, durable goods orders in April declined 2.8% (revised data). This indicates that the rate of decline in capital goods orders actually halted in May.Moreover, the decline in May’s durable goods order was primarily attributed to a 28.2% drop in non-defense aircraft orders. This tepid result was mainly due to lack of orders for the troubled 737 MAX aircraft of The Boeing Co. BA.Motor vehicles and parts orders rebounded 0.6%, while Orders for transportation equipment plummeted 4.6%. Overall durable goods shipments rose 0.4% and inventories increased 0.5% in May.Core Durable Goods Orders Jump in MayMore important information from the report is that the core durable goods order (which exclude defense aircraft) jumped 0.4% in January after witnessing a sharp fall in the previous three months. This also reflects the highest monthly gain of core factory orders since January. Notably, this metric declined 1% in April.Last month, leading performers for core durable goods were heavy machinery, primary metals, computers and networking gear. Meanwhile, in May, core capital goods orders rose 2.3% year over year. Shipments of core capital goods increased 0.7% in May compared with 0.4% (revised data) in April.
Implication of Strong Core Durable Goods DataIndustry researchers are highly concerned about future capital spending by the U.S. manufacturing sector due to the prolonged tariff battle between the United States and China and an impending global economic slowdown. However, core capital goods data for May indicate that business spending is likely to continue although the pace may decline to some extent.Shipment of core capital goods is a leading metric to calculate equipment spending in the U.S. government’s GDP measurement. Notably, the manufacturing sector constituted nearly 12% of U.S. GDP.Lingering trade conflict between the United States and China took a toll on the manufacturing sector. A large section of U.S. manufacturing companies is dependent on low-cost inputs from China which acts as intermediary product for heavy industrial sector. However, imposing of tariff on several of these intermediary products by the Trump administration raised input cost for those U.S. companies.Consequently, business confidence dented and investors postponed investment plans. Notably, the first quarter of 2019 witnessed contraction of business spending on equipment for the first time in three months. Therefore, stabilization of business investment in May will act as a major boon to the manufacturing industry. Notably, business investment in the 12 months ended in May rose 1.4% from 1.2% in April.Our Top PicksAgainst this backdrop, it will be prudent to invest in stocks with a favorable Zacks Rank that are poised to gain from the solid core factory orders data. We narrowed down our search to five such stocks. Each of these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.The chart below shows price performanc of our five picke in the past three months.
Cisco Systems Inc.CSCO designs, manufactures, and sells Internet Protocol-based networking and other products related to the communications and information technology industry worldwide. The company has an expected earnings growth rate of 18.5% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 0.7% over the last 60 days.AZZ Inc.AZZ provides galvanizing and metal coating services, welding solutions, specialty electrical equipment and highly engineered services to the power generation, transmission, distribution, refining and industrial markets. The company has expected earnings growth rate of 32.1% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 2.8% over the last 60 days.Flowserve Corp.FLS designs, develops, manufactures, distributes, and services industrial flow management equipment in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and internationally. The company has expected earnings growth rate of 25.1% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 2.3% over the last 60 days.The Timken Co.TKR engineers, manufactures, and markets engineered bearings and power transmission products worldwide. It operates in two segments, Mobile Industries and Process Industries. The company has expected earnings growth rate of 26.6% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 10% over the last 60 days.Broadwind Energy Inc.BWEN provides products to energy, mining, and infrastructure sector customers primarily in the United States. It operates through three segments: Towers and Heavy Fabrications, Gearing, and Process Systems. The company has expected earnings growth rate of90.6% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 63.6% over the last 60 days.Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit PotentialThe biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +98%, +119% and +164% in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks 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 reportCisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) : Free Stock Analysis ReportThe Boeing Company (BA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAZZ Inc. (AZZ) : Free Stock Analysis ReportBroadwind Energy, Inc. (BWEN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportFlowserve Corporation (FLS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTimken Company (The) (TKR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Is Hermès International Société en commandite par actions (EPA:RMS) A Financially Strong Company?
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With a market capitalization of €65b, Hermès International Société en commandite par actions (EPA:RMS) is a large-cap stock, which is considered by most investors as a safe bet. Common characteristics for these big stocks are their strong balance sheet and high liquidity, which means there's plenty of stocks available to the public for trading. In times of low liquidity in the market, these firms won’t be left high and dry. They are also relatively unaffected by increases in interest rates. Assessing the most recent data for RMS, I will take you through the key ratios to measure financial health, in particular, its solvency and liquidity.
View our latest analysis for Hermès International Société en commandite par actions
RMS has shrunk its total debt levels in the last twelve months, from €54m to €50m – this includes long-term debt. With this debt repayment, RMS's cash and short-term investments stands at €3.5b , ready to be used for running the business. On top of this, RMS has produced cash from operations of €1.8b in the last twelve months, leading to an operating cash to total debt ratio of 3519%, indicating that RMS’s operating cash is sufficient to cover its debt.
At the current liabilities level of €1.6b, it seems that the business has been able to meet these obligations given the level of current assets of €5.0b, with a current ratio of 3.15x. The current ratio is the number you get when you divide current assets by current liabilities. Having said that, many consider a ratio above 3x to be high, although this is not necessarily a bad thing.
A debt-to-equity ratio threshold varies depending on what industry the company operates, since some requires more debt financing than others. As a rule of thumb, a financially healthy large-cap should have a ratio less than 40%. For Hermès International Société en commandite par actions, investors should not worry about its debt levels because the company has very, very little on its balance sheet! This means it has been running its business utilising funding from primarily its equity capital, which is rather impressive. Investors' risk associated with debt is virtually non-existent with RMS, and the company has plenty of headroom and ability to raise debt should it need to in the future.
RMS has demonstrated its ability to generate sufficient levels of cash flow, while its debt hovers at a safe level. In addition to this, the company exhibits proper management of current assets and upcoming liabilities. Keep in mind I haven't considered other factors such as how RMS has been performing in the past. You should continue to research Hermès International Société en commandite par actions to get a better picture of the stock by looking at:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for RMS’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor RMS’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is RMS 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 RMS is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Has Hermès International Société en commandite par actions (EPA:RMS) Got Enough Cash?
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With a market capitalization of €65b, Hermès International Société en commandite par actions (EPA:RMS) is a large-cap stock, which is considered by most investors as a safe bet. Common characteristics for these big stocks are their strong balance sheet and high liquidity, which means there's plenty of stocks available to the public for trading. These companies are resilient in times of low liquidity and are not as strongly impacted by interest rate hikes as companies with lots of debt. Today I will analyse the latest financial data for RMS to determine is solvency and liquidity and whether the stock is a sound investment.
See our latest analysis for Hermès International Société en commandite par actions
RMS's debt levels have fallen from €54m to €50m over the last 12 months , which also accounts for long term debt. With this reduction in debt, RMS currently has €3.5b remaining in cash and short-term investments to keep the business going. On top of this, RMS has produced cash from operations of €1.8b during the same period of time, leading to an operating cash to total debt ratio of 3519%, indicating that RMS’s operating cash is sufficient to cover its debt.
Looking at RMS’s €1.6b in current liabilities, it seems that the business has maintained a safe level of current assets to meet its obligations, with the current ratio last standing at 3.15x. The current ratio is the number you get when you divide current assets by current liabilities. Having said that, many consider a ratio above 3x to be high, although this is not necessarily a bad thing.
What is considered a high debt-to-equity ratio differs depending on the industry, because some industries tend to utilize more debt financing than others. As a rule of thumb, a financially healthy large-cap should have a ratio less than 40%. The good news for investors is that Hermès International Société en commandite par actions has virtually no debt. This means it has been running its business utilising funding from primarily its equity capital, which is rather impressive. Investors' risk associated with debt is virtually non-existent with RMS, and the company has plenty of headroom and ability to raise debt should it need to in the future.
RMS’s high cash coverage and low debt levels indicate its ability to utilise its borrowings efficiently in order to generate ample cash flow. In addition to this, the company exhibits proper management of current assets and upcoming liabilities. Keep in mind I haven't considered other factors such as how RMS has been performing in the past. I recommend you continue to research Hermès International Société en commandite par actions to get a more holistic view of the stock by looking at:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for RMS’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor RMS’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is RMS 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 RMS is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Best drink to have after a spicy curry
Scientists have found the best drink to soothe your mouth after curry. [Photo: Getty] Tucking into a spicy curry is one of the great pleasures of life. However, it can quickly escalate from a pleasant meal to a mouth-burning discomfort. Now, scientists have revealed just what to drink to quell the hot sensation and what to avoid. Researchers at Penn State University, Pennsylvania, asked 72 participants to drink a spicy Bloody Mary cocktail containing capsaicin, the same spice-inducing compound found in chilli peppers. READ MORE: Your cup of tea doesn't need a spoonful of sugar Afterwards, they tested seven different drinks to see which one most significantly reduced the burning sensation and which one had the least useful effect. So whats the verdict? What to drink after curry You can thank anyone whos ever told you to drink milk with your curry, as the researchers found this is the best remedy. Milk proved the number one post-curry beverage with scientists finding both whole milk and skimmed milk proved equally effective at tackling the burn,. We weren't surprised that our data suggest milk is the best choice to mitigate burn, but we didn't expect skim milk to be as effective at reducing the burn as whole milk," said lead researcher Alissa Nolden. This was believed to be down to the presence of a protein, known as casein, in milk. "That appears to mean that the fat context of the beverage is not the critical factor and suggests the presence of protein may be more relevant than lipid content, Nolden added. Kool-Aid, a flavoured drink mix popular in the US, came a close second for reducing the burn. The drinks which performed the worst at reducing the burn were non-alcoholic beer, cola and carbonated water. READ MORE: The diet mistakes that could be killing us Beverages with carbonation such as beer, soda and seltzer water predictably performed poorly at reducing the burn of capsaicin,' adds Nolden. Although alcoholic drinks were not tested in the experiment, Nolden speculated that these would proved the least effective for counteracting the curry burn. If the beer tested would have contained alcohol, it would have been even worse because ethanol amplifies the sensation, she said. |
These 3 Value Stocks Are Absurdly Cheap Right Now
With the stock market close to its all-time high, value investing doesn't get much love these days. But that doesn't mean there aren't value stocks ripe for the picking. Three of our Motley Fool contributors see value inKinder Morgan(NYSE: KMI),Kontoor Brands(NYSE: KTB), andRenewable Energy Group(NASDAQ: REGI).
Matt DiLallo(Kinder Morgan):Pipeline giant Kinder Morgan, like most energy companies, has had its share of struggles in recent years due to all the changes in the oil market. Those issues forced the company to take actions to strengthen its financial profile, including selling assets to pay down some of its debt. Those sales, when combined with the weaker conditions in the oil market, hurt Kinder Morgan's cash flow in recent years.
Image source: Getty Images.
But the company has worked just as hard to reverse that decline by investing in high-return growth projects. Those expansions are beginning to pay dividends as they've helped restart its growth engine. For2019, the company expects to haul in more than $5 billion, or $2.20 per share, of cash flow, which would be about 7% above last year's level.
That uptick in earnings has helped fuel a small rebound in Kinder Morgan's stock price this year, though shares are still absurdly cheap given the amount of cash it's on track to produce. With the stock recently around $20.50, it implies that the company sells for slightly more than nine times cash flow. That's well below the peer group average, which is closer to 12 times cash flow these days.
For whatever reason, the market isn't yet giving Kinder Morgan full credit for all the moves it made to improve its financial profile and restart its growth engine. However, the market should eventually correct this oversight, which is why the stock looks like an excellent buy for value investors.
Tim Green(Kontoor Brands):Spun off fromVF Corporationin May,denim-focused Kontoor Brandsis having a rough time as a publicly traded company. The stock has crashed from around $40 per share to $26. While the fear of tariffs on imports from Mexico drove some of the decline, this level of pessimism doesn't seem warranted.
Kontoor owns Wrangler and Lee, two denim brands that have been around for a long time. Wrangler is the No. 1 denim brand in the U.S. mass channel, generating $1.6 billion of annual revenue, and Lee is a leading denim brand in China and India, good for another $1 billion of annual revenue.
These brands aren't trendy, but they are popular. The company expects to produce low single-digit annual revenue growth over the next two years, roughly in line with the growth of the overall market. I'll admit that it's hard to get excited about a company with such a low ceiling for growth. But the valuation makes up for it.
At $26 per share, Kontoor is valued at just about $1.5 billion. Analysts are expecting non-GAAP(adjusted) earnings per share of $3.44 on average in fiscal 2019, although I would take that estimate with a grain of salt given how new the company is. Still, a forward P/E of less than 8 is certainly enticing.
The dividend is another reason to be interested in this stock. Kontoor hasn't officially declared its first quarterly dividend payment yet, but it did reiterate its intentions to pay shareholders $2.24 in dividends annually. That works out to a yield of roughly 8.5%.
Kontoor's beaten-down stock price may be related to VF shareholders selling off the stock after the spinoff. Regardless of the reason for the depressed valuation, Kontoor looks like a solid value stock.
Maxx Chatsko(Renewable Energy Group):Shares have been nearly halved since their late-2018 peak, and sport an above-average risk profile. But investors with a long-term mindset might find an intriguing opportunity in Renewable Energy Group right now. The nation's largest biodiesel producer is trading at just 0.87 times book value, which means the stock would have to rise 15% to be fairly valued. That's not the only source of intrigue.
Renewable Energy Group has finally outgrown its dependence on a federal subsidy called the blenders tax credit (BTC), which has been allowed by Congress to expire in 2010, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2019. But that doesn't mean it wouldn't help the company's financial position. While the subsidy has been retroactively reinstated every year through 2017, biodiesel producers have had no such luck for output from last year or this year -- yet. If the BTC is put back on the books, then the business would receive an estimated $237 million check from Uncle Sam for 2018 production alone.
The windfall isn'tneeded, but it sure would help. Consider that Renewable Energy Group is currently exploring ways toexpand its production capacity of renewable diesel(different from biodiesel), which is chemically identical to petroleum-based diesel and more valuable. That includes expansion of an existing facility beyond its current annual capacity of 112 million gallons and anew joint venture being exploredwithPhillips 66that would start with a West Coast facility that would have a capacity of 250 million gallons per year.
The biodiesel leader currently doesn't have the cash to make big investments in renewable diesel, which makes the reinstatement of the BTC absolutely crucial to enabling the next wave of growth without massive dilution or soaring debt balances. That said, while there are multiple bipartisan funding bills on the table and a history of retroactive legislation, Renewable Energy Group will still face pricing headwinds throughout 2019. Investors willing to take on the extra risk for the value play could be handsomely rewarded, but the payoff could take years.
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Matthew DiLalloowns shares of Kinder Morgan and Phillips 66.Maxx Chatskohas no position in any of the stocks mentioned.Timothy Greenowns shares of Kontoor Brands Inc. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. |
Introducing Your Family Entertainment (FRA:RTV), The Stock That Dropped 15% In The Last Three Years
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As an investor its worth striving to ensure your overall portfolio beats the market average. But in any portfolio, there are likely to be some stocks that fall short of that benchmark. Unfortunately, that's been the case for longer termYour Family Entertainment AG(FRA:RTV) shareholders, since the share price is down 15% in the last three years, falling well short of the market return of around 25%.
View our latest analysis for Your Family Entertainment
While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).
Your Family Entertainment saw its share price decline over the three years in which its EPS also dropped, falling to a loss. Since the company has fallen to a loss making position, it's hard to compare the change in EPS with the share price change. But it's safe to say we'd generally expect the share price to be lower as a result!
You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).
Thisfreeinteractive report on Your Family Entertainment'searnings, revenue and cash flowis a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.
Your Family Entertainment shareholders are down 7.4% for the year, falling short of the market return. The market shed around 3.2%, no doubt weighing on the stock price. The three-year loss of 5.3% per year isn't as bad as the last twelve months, suggesting that the company has not been able to convince the market it has solved its problems. We would be wary of buying into a company with unsolved problems, although some investors will buy into struggling stocks if they believe the price is sufficiently attractive. You might want to assessthis data-rich visualizationof its earnings, revenue and cash flow.
But note:Your Family Entertainment may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on DE exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Toyota to invest $2 billion in developing electric vehicles in Indonesia
By Fanny Potkin
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp plans to invest $2 billion to develop electric vehicles (EVs) in Indonesia over the next four years, starting with hybrid vehicles, Indonesia's coordinating ministry for maritime affairs said.
"From 2019 to 2023, we will progressively increase our investment to 28.3 trillion rupiah ($2 billion)," Toyota president Akio Toyoda was quoted as saying in a statement released by the ministry on Thursday.
The Japanese carmaker said this month that it aimed for half its global sales to be from electric vehicles by 2025, five years ahead of schedule, and will tap Chinese battery makers to meet the accelerated global shift to electric cars.
The deal was agreed at a meeting in Osaka on Thursday between Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan and Toyoda.
"Because the Indonesian government already has an electric vehicle development map, Toyota considers Indonesia a prime EV investment destination," Toyoda said in the statement.
He said Toyota would follow the government's EV plan by investing in stages, starting with the development of hybrid vehicles.
Monet, the self-driving car joint venture of Toyota and SoftBank Corp, separately told Reuters in June it plans to begin operating in Southeast Asia next year.
BATTERY HUB
Indonesia, the region's largest economy, has plentiful reserves of nickel laterite ore, a vital ingredient in the lithium-ion batteries used to power EVs, and has been making a push to attract foreign carmakers.
Officials are betting Indonesia, which is already Southeast Asia's second-largest car production hub, can become a major regional player in lithium battery production and feed the fast-rising demand for EVs.
The country announced earlier in 2019 plans to introduce a fiscal scheme that will offer tax cuts to EV battery producers and automakers, as well as preferential tariff agreements with other countries that have a high EV demand.
Indonesian ministers told Reuters in December that Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor Co plans to start producing EVs in Indonesia as part of an around $880 million auto investment in the country.
Japan's Mitsubishi meanwhile announced in mid-2018 it would work with the Indonesian government to research infrastructure that could accommodate EVs.
Analysts are cautious however on how quickly Indonesia's EV ambitions can be carried out, as some of its lithium battery projects require complicated nickel smelter technology.
The ministry's statement on Thursday gave no details on how Toyota, which already makes batteries for hybrids and hybrid plug-ins, would implement its investment plans.
Toyota was not immediately reachable for comment, but said in June it would partner with China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) and EV maker BYD Co Ltd for battery procurement.
(Reporting by Fanny Potkin; Editing by Ed Davies, Alexander Smith and Jan Harvey) |
2019 NFL preview: Matt Patricia hopes for better results
Yahoo Sports is previewing all 32 teams as we get ready for the NFL season, complete with our initial 2019 power rankings . (Yahoo Sports graphics by Paul Rosales) Matt Patricia had a problem last season. Patricia was going to do things a certain way with the Detroit Lions, a way that was going to bother many on and around the team, and he didn’t have enough time to surround himself with people who were going to buy in. It’s hard to turn over an NFL roster in one offseason. That’s why 2018 was filled with headlines of strife, and the first part of 2019 was filled with headlines on how Patricia can fix it. Patricia’s tenure didn’t get off to a great start, with the story of a 1996 sexual assault allegation . Through offseason practices, players didn’t seem to like having to run all the time like they were on a high school team. Detroit’s training camp was more physical than most NFL teams run. Late in the season, a big deal was made of Patricia making players practice in the snow and cold . Patricia had a “tendency to launch into a curse-laden tirades on the practice field,” the Detroit News said . Patricia was routinely late for scheduled news conferences, which isn’t something most fans should or will care about, but a former Lions player told the Detroit Free Press that Patricia would run late to team meetings too . That doesn’t fly in the detail-oriented world of pro football. The most memorable non-football moment of Patricia’s first season might have come when he scolded a reporter for slouching , as if he didn’t realize the irony of him yelling at someone for his appearance. And it all looked even worse because the Lions went 6-10. [Join or create a 2019 Yahoo Fantasy Football league for free today] It’s only Year Two for Patricia, but it seems like a fork in the road already. He had a full offseason to weed out the players and assistants who didn’t like his approach. He’s implementing the style of physical football he wants, in a pass-happy NFL world. Either we’ll look back and celebrate Patricia’s old-school, admittedly harsh style as a successful throwback in a world gone soft, or he’ll be derided as yet another Bill Belichick assistant who thought a franchise should abide by whatever he did because he had some rings from New England. Story continues For this to be a success story, there needs to be a more copacetic feeling within the locker room about Patricia’s style. Having cornerback Darius Slay and defensive tackle Damon Harrison skip minicamps as they look for new deals wasn’t a great sign. Culture change is an entirely overused buzzword with new NFL coaches. In Patricia’s case, it seems vital to his survival in Detroit. “More so than buy-in, it’s about, OK, who are the guys that want to work hard, who are the guys that want to do it the right way, who are the guys that are trying to help us build long-standing success? Who are the guys that want to study the game, work hard at it?” Patricia said, according to the Free Press . “There’s just a different level of work ethic that some of the guys have that are going to come in and that we’re developing of the fine line of what the NFL really is. “It may be an hour extra here, or just a little bit of conversation here between players, or being a little bit smarter in these situations. It’s really about that more than the buy-in factor. It’s about just the right types of guys that you put together as a team.” As is the case with other former Belichick assistants, Patricia’s answer seems to be acquiring players who once played for the Patriots. The jewel of the offseason was defensive end Trey Flowers, a young, standout player signed from New England for a massive five-year, $90 million deal. And, perhaps best of all for Patricia, Flowers is fully on board with the notion of being coached hard. "Obviously it's a tough league, and in order to be successful, you got to be tough," Flowers said, according to the Detroit News . "It can't be comfortable.” Year One didn’t go well. The offense sputtered as Patricia seemed to want a different scheme than offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter preferred, though the revelation that quarterback Matthew Stafford played through broken bones in his back needs to be factored in. Cooter was replaced as offensive coordinator by Darrell Bevell, who promises to run the ball more. Patricia’s defense was middle of the road, though got better late as players grasped a complex scheme and midseason acquisition Harrison helped stop the run. There were brief moments in which the Lions looked good, like a dominant 26-10 win over the eventual champion Patriots in Week 3, but it was mostly a season of discord and losses as Patricia tried to change the organization. Patricia was hired for a reason. It’s not like he doesn’t understand X’s and O’s. The Lions seem to be improving the roster, especially on defense. Detroit’s preferred style is a throwback, but the Seahawks played that way last year and made the playoffs. The most important factor in Patricia turning around the Lions seems to be what happens within the locker room. He needs the culture change to take hold, and some wins would help too. And he might need those things to happen pretty fast. Lions coach Matt Patricia went 6-10 in his first season with the Detroit Lions. (Getty Images) Three of the most notable free-agent acquisitions were defensive end Trey Flowers (a former Patriot), cornerback Justin Coleman (hey, another ex-Patriot!) and receiver Danny Amendola (more Patriots ties, yay!). Tight end Jesse James was also signed from the Steelers. Presumably James buys into The Patriot Way, because if not he’d be elsewhere. Flowers is obviously a huge key to the offseason, after getting $90 million. The draft was a curious one. Tight end T.J. Hockenson went with the eighth pick, and it’s rare for a tight end to be picked that high. Linebacker Jahlani Tavai was such a surprise in the second round, the Detroit Free Press had a banner headline asking “Jahlani Who?” the next day. The Lions are going full Patriots, ignoring conventional wisdom to get players who fit their type, even if it’s a few rounds early. GRADE: B-minus By the time last season ended, the Lions’ receivers were depleted by injuries and the Golden Tate trade, running back Kerryon Johnson was done with a knee injury and the tight end situation was one of the worst in the NFL. This season, Kenny Golladay is back (and could have a true breakout as a No. 1 receiver), Marvin Jones and Johnson return from injury, Danny Amendola should help when he’s healthy and the tight end position is fortified by T.J. Hockenson and Jesse James. There is a lot more for Matthew Stafford to work with, as he tries to rebound from a down season. While the defense was better late in the season, it was devoid of many big plays. Defensive end Trey Flowers is a very good player, but his career high in sacks is 7.5, which he got last season. Nobody on the 2018 Lions had more than 7.5 sacks. Detroit had just 14 takeaways last season, and failed to force even one turnover in seven of 16 games. Maybe that was bad luck. Or, perhaps the Lions have some sound defenders but not enough playmakers. If the Lions want to be a run-first team and turn Matthew Stafford into a game manager, what’s the point in having his $29.5 million salary-cap hit this year? Stafford has one of the strongest arms in football, yet had the 38th ranked average depth of throw (aDOT) among 39 qualified quarterbacks last season, according to Pro Football Focus. Only Cody Kessler ranked behind Stafford. The Lions turned him into a checkdown artist. Maybe that was due to the Lions not having enough healthy targets, or Stafford’s various injuries including a broken back. But it doesn’t make much sense to pay Stafford, and then take away his strength by not passing deep. They could employ a mediocre game manager to throw 3-yard outs at a fraction of the price, if that’s what they desire. In the grand scheme, Trey Flowers’ contract probably makes him the most important Lions player other than Stafford going forward. But given how the Lions want to play, running back Kerryon Johnson is way up there too. “We’ll always be about running the football,” new offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said, according to the Detroit Free Press . “We want to be a tough, hard-nosed, physical football team. We want to be able to exert our will on our opponents.” While newly acquired C.J. Anderson will get carries too, Johnson has to be the focal point of the running game. Johnson averaged 5.4 yards per carry as a rookie, but the Lions strangely kept giving carries to an obviously ineffective LeGarrette Blount. That must be an important part of The Patriot Way that we can’t understand. If the Lions let Johnson have a bigger share of the work (and there have also been positive reports about his receiving ability this offseason), he could have a huge season. From Yahoo’s Scott Pianowski: “Putting it bluntly, there’s not much in the Lions offense that sparks my fantasy interest. But I could see Marvin Jones being a nifty value. He was the WR5 two years ago, showcasing his ability to make contested catches, and his first season in Detroit was a credible 55-930-4. And it’s not like he was allergic to the end zone last year, scoring five times in nine games (a knee problem cost him about half the season). “Assuming Jones will be healthy through his age-29 season is no sure thing, and obviously Matthew Stafford (off an injury-riddled year himself) needs to be hale. But with an ADP just outside the Top 100, fantasy owners can slot Jones into a lesser depth chart position. This is the perfect type of middle-round pick, a combination of reasonable floor and plausible upside. No one expects Jones to outscore the team’s featured target, Kenny Golladay, and I won’t fight you if you want to snag Golladay in the third or fourth round. But Jones, about five rounds cheaper than Golladay, has appeal as well.” [ Yahoo fantasy preview: Detroit Lions ] T.J. Hockenson became the 13th tight end since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger to go in the top 10 of the draft. He’s just the ninth tight end to go in the top eight. It wasn’t a reach; Hockenson was considered a top-10 prospect in this draft . It’s just funny that he went to a Lions team that in 2014 drafted Eric Ebron 10th overall, ahead of Odell Beckham Jr. and Aaron Donald among others. Hockenson plays a position that generally has been tough on rookies, but the Lions have veteran Jesse James to split the load. Also, expect to see a lot of two-tight end sets from the Lions as they try to establish themselves as a run-heavy team. Hockenson might not make a huge impact as a rookie — though he might, because he has rare talent as a receiver and blocker — but he’s a fantastic prospect and should prove to be a good pick. WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH DAMON HARRISON AND DARIUS SLAY? Harrison and Slay are arguably Detroit’s two best defensive players, and both gave up $250,000 workout bonuses and incurred fines (up to $88,650 each ) for skipping a mandatory minicamp as they expressed dissatisfaction with their current contracts. Both have two years left on their deals, with Slay set to make $12.55 million this year and Harrison slated to make $6.75 million. It’s a tough spot for the Lions. They don’t want to start negotiating with players who have multiple years left on their contracts, or invite others to hold out. But they do need Harrison and Slay in camp. And if those two have already given up more than a quarter-million each, what’s a little more in training camp fines? It’s hard to figure out how the Lions make their two defensive stars happy while also not setting a precedent for future holdouts. The Lions are in a tough division, and it’s hard to predict a team that hasn’t won a playoff game in more than 10,000 days to have a random magical season. Still, if a healthier Matthew Stafford is allowed to play to his strengths and that revives the offense, the defense should be improved assuming Darius Slay and Damon Harrison are happy and productive. It’s hard to see the Lions jumping over the Bears, Vikings and Packers in the NFC North but staying in wild-card contention isn’t too crazy. Lions owner Martha Ford is getting a reputation as someone who won’t be patient with mediocrity . Jim Caldwell’s back-to-back 9-7 seasons weren’t considered good enough; he was fired. Given all the negative vibes around Matt Patricia’s first season, would Detroit give him a third season if the Lions have double-digit losses again? If there’s as much grumbling about his style this season and the team doesn’t show any progress, the Lions might be starting over again. It’s hard to imagine Matt Patricia having a tougher second season. He presumably knew who was on his side and who wasn’t, and adjusted his 2019 roster accordingly. But that doesn’t guarantee a much better record this season. The Lions still have a tough division to deal with and it’s not a roster that is brimming with blue-chip talent. The Lions will probably have a similar record, albeit with less griping from the locker room, and then Detroit will have to decide if it still believes in Patricia. 32. Arizona Cardinals 31. Miami Dolphins 30. Oakland Raiders 29. New York Giants 28. Cincinnati Bengals 27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26. Washington Redskins – – – – – – – Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab |
Read This Before You Buy Teck Resources Limited (TSE:TECK.B) Because Of Its P/E Ratio
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This article is for investors who would like to improve their understanding of price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll look at Teck Resources Limited's (TSE:TECK.B) P/E ratio and reflect on what it tells us about the company's share price. Based on the last twelve months,Teck Resources's P/E ratio is 5.69. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 18%.
Check out our latest analysis for Teck Resources
Theformula for price to earningsis:
Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS)
Or for Teck Resources:
P/E of 5.69 = CA$29.6 ÷ CA$5.2 (Based on the year to March 2019.)
A higher P/E ratio implies that investors paya higher pricefor the earning power of the business. All else being equal, it's better to pay a low price -- but as Warren Buffett said, 'It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.'
Generally speaking the rate of earnings growth has a profound impact on a company's P/E multiple. When earnings grow, the 'E' increases, over time. And in that case, the P/E ratio itself will drop rather quickly. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others -- and that may attract buyers.
Teck Resources increased earnings per share by an impressive 13% over the last twelve months. And its annual EPS growth rate over 5 years is 33%. This could arguably justify a relatively high P/E ratio.
The P/E ratio indicates whether the market has higher or lower expectations of a company. The image below shows that Teck Resources has a lower P/E than the average (15.3) P/E for companies in the metals and mining industry.
This suggests that market participants think Teck Resources will underperform other companies in its industry. While current expectations are low, the stock could be undervalued if the situation is better than the market assumes. It is arguably worth checkingif insiders are buying shares, because that might imply they believe the stock is undervalued.
It's important to note that the P/E ratio considers the market capitalization, not the enterprise value. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. Theoretically, a business can improve its earnings (and produce a lower P/E in the future) by investing in growth. That means taking on debt (or spending its cash).
Such expenditure might be good or bad, in the long term, but the point here is that the balance sheet is not reflected by this ratio.
Net debt totals 21% of Teck Resources's market cap. That's enough debt to impact the P/E ratio a little; so keep it in mind if you're comparing it to companies without debt.
Teck Resources has a P/E of 5.7. That's below the average in the CA market, which is 14.9. The company does have a little debt, and EPS growth was good last year. The low P/E ratio suggests current market expectations are muted, implying these levels of growth will not continue.
Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. If the reality for a company is not as bad as the P/E ratio indicates, then the share price should increase as the market realizes this. So thisfreevisual report on analyst forecastscould hold the key to an excellent investment decision.
Of course,you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates.So take a peek at thisfreelist of companies with modest (or no) debt, trading on a P/E below 20.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Netflix to Lose The Office in 2021, Top Executive Steps Down
NetflixNFLX is set to lose hit showThe Officeto Comcast-owned NBCUniversal beginning 2021. Per data analytics firm Jumpshot, quoted by CNBC, The Office was the most-watched show on the streaming platform in 2018.Meanwhile, the company lost Matt Brodlie, its director of original film to Disney DIS. Notably, he was instrumental in releasing notable films like Ibiza and Roma on the platform.Matt Brodlie will join as the senior vice president of international content development at Disney’s upcoming streaming service Disney+.However, both news didn’t have much negative impact on share price, which inched up 0.5% to close at $362.20 on Jun 26. Netflix shares have returned 35.3% on a year-to-date basis compared with industry’s growth of 24.8%.
NBC Outwitted Netflix forThe OfficeReportedly, NBC, which is a division of the NBCUniversal, paid $500 million to its sister company and one of the producers, Universal Television, to win the exclusive domestic streaming rights of the show.NBC’s $100 million per year offer was better than Netflix’s $90 million per year. The company will include the show in its ad-supported upcoming streaming service in 2020.Notably, NBC’s service is free to subscribers of pay-TV services and reportedly will cost streaming service users (cord cutters) $10 per month.Will Stiff Competition Hurt Growth?Netflix’s portfolio strength has been expanding its subscriber base that hit 148.8 million at the end of first-quarter 2019. However, the company’s dominance in the streaming market is threatened by the entry of new services from Apple AAPL, Disney, Comcast and AT&T T.Content providers with upcoming streaming services are now looking to remove their popular movies and shows from Netflix. Disney is set to pull its movies and shows from the platform ahead of the launch of Disney+ in November.Netflix is also anticipated to lose another hit show Friends to AT&T’s WarnerMedia, once the service launches.Although intensifying competition and loss of popular third-party content don’t bode well for the company, we believe an expanding original content portfolio to be a key catalyst.Moreover, efforts to attract viewers by investing more in regional programming and partnerships with telcos like Telefonica in Spain, KDDI in Japan, Comcast and T-Mobile in the United States, and Sky in the U.K. and Germany are major growth drivers.Netflix expects to have 153.86 million paid subscribers globally in second-quarter 2019, up 23.7% year over year.Netflix currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential
The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.
Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of+98%,+119%and+164%in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better.
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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 reportThe Walt Disney Company (DIS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportNetflix, Inc. (NFLX) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAT&T Inc. (T) : Free Stock Analysis ReportApple Inc. (AAPL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Actuant (ATU) Tops Q3 Earnings Estimates, Raises FY19 View
Actuant CorporationATU delivered better-than-expected results for the third quarter of fiscal 2019 (ended May 31, 2019), with an earnings beat of 12.5%. This was the company’s fifth consecutive quarter of impressive results.This industrial tool maker’s adjusted earnings per share in the reported quarter were 45 cents, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 40 cents. On a year-over-year basis, the bottom line gained 15.4% from the year-ago figure of 39 cents. The improvement came on the back of improving margin profile.Divestiture Impact Lowers RevenuesActuant generated sales of $295.3 million in the reported quarter, reflecting decline of 6.9% from the year-ago figure. Divestitures of Cortland Fibron and Precision-Hayes International adversely impacted sales by 6% while forex woes lowered sales by 4%. These were partially offset by the positive impact of 3% from core sales growth.Also, the top line lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $301 million by roughly 1.9%.The company reports net sales under two segments — Industrial Tools & Services (IT&S), and Engineered Components & Systems (EC&S). The segmental information is briefly discussed below:Industrial Tools & Services (56.5% of third-quarter fiscal 2019 net sales): This segment’s revenues totaled $166.7 million, reflecting growth of 5% from the year-ago figure. The segment’s core sales grew 8% and buyouts added 1%. These were partially offset by 4% adverse forex impact.Continued strength in end markets served boosted the segment’s products and services businesses. Also, the company reaped benefits from commercial investments made earlier.Engineered Components & Systems (43.5% of third-quarter fiscal 2019 net sales): This segment’s revenues totaled $128.5 million, down roughly 18.8% from the year-ago figure. The segment’s core sales declined 2% as the company faced headwinds in the U.S. agriculture, European truck and the U.S. frac markets.Also, divestitures of Precision-Hayes International and Cortland Fibron reduced sales by 14%, and forex woes had 3% adverse impact.Margins Improve Y/YIn the reported quarter, Actuant’s cost of sales decreased 8.6% year over year to $183.4 million. It represented 62.1% of sales compared with 63.3% in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin improved 115 basis points (bps) year over year to 37.9%. Selling, administrative and engineering expenses decreased 10.1% year over year to $69.6 million. As a percentage of sales, it represented 23.6% versus 24.4% in the year-ago quarter.Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were $47.1 million, up 6% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA margin in the reported quarter was 15.9% versus 14% in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted operating income increased 17.7% year over year to $39.9 million while adjusted operating margin grew 280 bps to 13.5%.Balance Sheet and Cash FlowExiting third-quarter fiscal 2019, Actuant’s cash and cash equivalents were $201.3 million, up 18.2% from $170.4 million at the end of the last reported quarter. Long-term debt balance increased 2.9% sequentially to $469 million.In the quarter under review, the company generated cash of $52.5 million from operating activities, down roughly 9% from $57.7 million generated in the year-ago quarter. Capital spending totaled $8.1 million, up 30.5% year over year.OutlookActuant believes that emphasis on the development of products, enhancement of operational efficiency and cost-reduction measures will help it deliver sound results in fiscal 2019. Moreover, its initiatives to restructure the portfolio will work in its favor.The company further noted that it will retain the remaining Cortland businesses while is working on the idea of selling its Engineered Components & Systems segment and progressing with restructuring actions of the Industrial Tools & Services segment.For fiscal 2019, the company anticipates adjusted earnings per share to be $1.15-$1.21, higher than previously mentioned $1.09-$1.20. The new projection includes the impact of an increase in tax rate from 10% in fiscal 2018 to 20% in fiscal 2019.Sales are now projected to be $1.125-$1.135 billion, lower than the earlier $1.15-1.19 billion. The new guidance reflects year-over-year core sales growth of 2-3% (lower than previously estimated 3-5%). On a segmental basis, core sales are likely to grow 6-7% for Industrial Tools & Services, and decline 2-3% for Engineered Components & Systems.Cash flow from operations is predicted to be $87-$100 million, down from the previously mentioned $105-$115 million. Capital expenditure projection is maintained at $25-$30 million while free cash flow is assumed to be $62-$70 million versus the earlier $80-$85 million.For the fiscal fourth quarter, adjusted earnings are anticipated to be 25-31 cents per share and sales are likely to be $265-$275 million. Core sales growth is predicted to decline 1-3%, with 7-11% decrease predicted for Engineered Components & Systems, and growth of 1-4% for the Industrial Tools & Services segment.Actuant Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Actuant Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Actuant Corporation QuoteZacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderWith a market capitalization of approximately $1.5 billion, Actuant currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).Some better-ranked stocks in the Zacks Industrial Products sector are Roper Technologies, Inc. ROP, Chart Industries, Inc. GTLS and Flowserve Corporation FLS. While Roper sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), both Chart Industries and Flowserve carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.In the past 30 days, earnings estimates for Roper and Chart Industries have improved for the current year while remained unchanged for Flowserve. Further, average earnings surprise for the last four quarters was positive 8.43% for Roper, 16.56% for Chart Industries and 0.49% for Flowserve.Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit PotentialThe biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +98%, +119% and +164% in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks 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 reportRoper Technologies, Inc. (ROP) : Free Stock Analysis ReportActuant Corporation (ATU) : Free Stock Analysis ReportFlowserve Corporation (FLS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportChart Industries, Inc. (GTLS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Has RHÖN-KLINIKUM Aktiengesellschaft (FRA:RHK) Got Enough Cash?
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Small-caps and large-caps are wildly popular among investors; however, mid-cap stocks, such as RHÖN-KLINIKUM Aktiengesellschaft (FRA:RHK) with a market-capitalization of €1.8b, rarely draw their attention. While they are less talked about as an investment category, mid-cap risk-adjusted returns have generally been better than more commonly focused stocks that fall into the small- or large-cap categories. RHK’s financial liquidity and debt position will be analysed in this article, to get an idea of whether the company can fund opportunities for strategic growth and maintain strength through economic downturns. Note that this information is centred entirely on financial health and is a top-level understanding, so I encourage you to look furtherinto RHK here.
See our latest analysis for RHÖN-KLINIKUM
RHK's debt levels surged from €3.7m to €114m over the last 12 months , which includes long-term debt. With this rise in debt, RHK currently has €255m remaining in cash and short-term investments to keep the business going. Moreover, RHK has generated €46m in operating cash flow during the same period of time, resulting in an operating cash to total debt ratio of 40%, indicating that RHK’s operating cash is sufficient to cover its debt.
Looking at RHK’s €308m in current liabilities, it appears that the company has been able to meet these obligations given the level of current assets of €540m, with a current ratio of 1.76x. The current ratio is the number you get when you divide current assets by current liabilities. Usually, for Healthcare companies, this is a suitable ratio since there's a sufficient cash cushion without leaving too much capital idle or in low-earning investments.
With a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.0%, RHK's debt level is relatively low. This range is considered safe as RHK is not taking on too much debt obligation, which may be constraining for future growth. We can check to see whether RHK is able to meet its debt obligations by looking at the net interest coverage ratio. A company generating earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) at least three times its net interest payments is considered financially sound. In RHK's, case, the ratio of 26.72x suggests that interest is comfortably covered, which means that lenders may be inclined to lend more money to the company, as it is seen as safe in terms of payback.
RHK has demonstrated its ability to generate sufficient levels of cash flow, while its debt hovers at a safe level. In addition to this, the company will be able to pay all of its upcoming liabilities from its current short-term assets. Keep in mind I haven't considered other factors such as how RHK has been performing in the past. I recommend you continue to research RHÖN-KLINIKUM to get a better picture of the stock by looking at:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for RHK’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor RHK’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is RHK 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 RHK is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Amazon-Owned Twitch Quietly Brings Back Bitcoin Payments
Amazon-owned , leading game streaming platform Twitch has enabled bitcoin ( BTC ) and bitcoin cash ( BCH ) payments again, Cointelegraph Brazil reports on June 25. As Cointelegraph reported at the time, in March Twitch quietly removed bitcoin and bitcoin cash as payment options for subscriptions by removing Bitpay as a payment method. Per the report, Bitpay has been enabled again as a payment processor on the platform. Bitcoin and bitcoin cash can be found as payment options in the section dedicated to the less common payment methods of the subscription payment page. The renewed enabling of those coins as payment options has not been announced on the company’s blog or in a press release. Bitcoin — after trading sideways in the $3,000-$4,000 range for the first months of the year — has recently rallied and broke $13,000 yesterday . As of press time, bitcoin is down 5.47% on the day and up nearly 32% on the week . Earlier today news broke that BitMEX , the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform, saw record volumes across its operations as bitcoin hit $13,000. As Cointelegraph reported yesterday, also San Francisco -based payments company Square has just made bitcoin deposits available on its popular Cash App platform. Related Articles: Former Visa Exec-Led Startup Ships Nearly 4,000 Crypto Cards in a Week Coinbase Users Now Have 'Recharge' Capabilities With Bitcoin Lightning Network Price Analysis 26/06: BTC, ETH, XRP, BCH, LTC, EOS, BNB, BSV, ADA, TRX Square Rolls Out Bitcoin Deposits for Cash App to General Public |
RHÖN-KLINIKUM Aktiengesellschaft (FRA:RHK): Financial Strength Analysis
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Stocks with market capitalization between $2B and $10B, such as RHÖN-KLINIKUM Aktiengesellschaft (FRA:RHK) with a size of €1.8b, do not attract as much attention from the investing community as do the small-caps and large-caps. Surprisingly though, when accounted for risk, mid-caps have delivered better returns compared to the two other categories of stocks. RHK’s financial liquidity and debt position will be analysed in this article, to get an idea of whether the company can fund opportunities for strategic growth and maintain strength through economic downturns. Note that this commentary is very high-level and solely focused on financial health, so I suggest you dig deeper yourselfinto RHK here.
See our latest analysis for RHÖN-KLINIKUM
Over the past year, RHK has ramped up its debt from €3.7m to €114m – this includes long-term debt. With this rise in debt, RHK currently has €255m remaining in cash and short-term investments to keep the business going. On top of this, RHK has generated cash from operations of €46m during the same period of time, resulting in an operating cash to total debt ratio of 40%, signalling that RHK’s debt is appropriately covered by operating cash.
At the current liabilities level of €308m, the company has been able to meet these commitments with a current assets level of €540m, leading to a 1.76x current account ratio. The current ratio is the number you get when you divide current assets by current liabilities. Usually, for Healthcare companies, this is a suitable ratio as there's enough of a cash buffer without holding too much capital in low return investments.
With debt at 9.0% of equity, RHK may be thought of as having low leverage. RHK is not taking on too much debt commitment, which may be constraining for future growth. We can test if RHK’s debt levels are sustainable by measuring interest payments against earnings of a company. Ideally, earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) should cover net interest by at least three times. For RHK, the ratio of 26.72x suggests that interest is comfortably covered, which means that lenders may be less hesitant to lend out more funding as RHK’s high interest coverage is seen as responsible and safe practice.
RHK has demonstrated its ability to generate sufficient levels of cash flow, while its debt hovers at a safe level. Furthermore, the company will be able to pay all of its upcoming liabilities from its current short-term assets. I admit this is a fairly basic analysis for RHK's financial health. Other important fundamentals need to be considered alongside. I suggest you continue to research RHÖN-KLINIKUM to get a better picture of the stock by looking at:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for RHK’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor RHK’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is RHK 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 RHK is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Uber targets expansion in fast-growing West African markets
By Alexis Akwagyiram LAGOS (Reuters) - Global ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc is in talks with regulators over plans to expand into two West African countries and provide a boat service in Nigerian megacity Lagos, a company executive said on Thursday. In much of sub-Saharan Africa there are low levels of personal car ownership, rapidly expanding populations and a lack of efficient mass transport systems in fast-growing cities. Uber, which said it has 36,000 active drivers in sub-Saharan Africa, operates in a number of countries in East and South Africa but is largely absent from West Africa, aside from Nigeria and Ghana. The firm has identified the region as a target for potential expansion, Chief Business Officer Brooks Entwistle told Reuters. He said the company was in talks with regulators in Ivory Coast and Senegal regarding the possible launch of services. "Both Abidjan and Dakar are logical opportunities for us," said Entwistle, adding that discussions were at an early stage. He did not disclose further details. "We have talked about West Africa today as being a big growth priority for us and launch priority for us moving forward," said Entwistle. Ivory Coast and Senegal have two of the world's fastest growing economies, according to the International Monetary Fund. Nigeria, Africa's largest economy, is also the continent's most populous nation. A number of motorcycle ride-hailing firms have also targeted West Africa as an area for expansion in the last few months. Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos, a megacity of around 20 million inhabitants built on a lagoon where Uber began operating in July 2014, is beset by heavy congestion. Entwistle, who spoke to Reuters during an interview in Lagos, said the company was in talks with state regulators about providing a transport system on the city's waterways as a way of bypassing its choked roads. "We are looking at the waterways here, which are very interesting to us as it relates to a potential service," said Entwistle. The company has launched a boat service in the Indian city of Mumbai in the last few months. "We did launch Uber Boat in Mumbai and we have watched the product develop. It's in its early stages and we think there is high relevance here," he said, referring to Lagos. The Uber executive, who described Lagos as "one of the great growth opportunity cities in the world", said the company has also held discussions with a bus firm and regulators in the city. He said the talks were in line with a global push by the company to develop products that can work alongside public transit systems. Story continues Entwistle said the combination of population growth and congestion made Lagos, and other cities in the region, attractive. The United Nations predicts that Nigeria's population will more than double to 400 million by 2050, which would make it the third most populous country in the world after China and India. Uber faces stiff competition in African cities from Estonian ride-hailing firm Bolt, which until early 2019 was called Taxify. Bolt has grabbed business largely by taking a smaller cut from drivers using its app. (Reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Jan Harvey) View comments |
American Resources Corporation Hires Seasoned Director of Coal Sales
FISHERS, IN / ACCESSWIRE / June 27, 2019 /American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC), a supplier to the rapidly growing global infrastructure marketplace, with a primary focus on the extraction, processing, transportation, and distribution of metallurgical coal to the steel industry, is excited to announce the hiring of Andy Cox as the company's Director of Coal Sales. In this new role for the company, Mr. Cox will oversee all sales of the company's metallurgical, specialty, industrial and high-quality thermal coals to existing customers while developing new sales strategies and partnerships throughout the industry.
Andy joins American Resources with over three decades of coal sales experience. Most recently, he worked in coal marketing and sales with Wise Energy Group, and prior to that he was Vice President of Marketing and Sales at Murray Energy Corporation for nearly five years. Before Murray Energy, he worked as Vice President of Sales for Rhino Resource Partners for nearly seven years.
This position at American Resources is a newly created role that is in response to the company's rapid coal production growth and its anticipated continued increase of coal sales. The forecasted increase in production of high quality metallurgical coal (or coking coal) and pulverized coal injection (PCI) coal over the next eighteen months will be sold to the international and domestic marketplaces.
The appointment of Mr. Cox supports the Company's strategic growth as a low-cost producer of metallurgical coal to serve steel producers and infrastructure initiatives worldwide. Chief Executive Officer of American Resources, Mark Jensen noted: "We are thrilled to have someone of Andy's caliber, character and work ethic join our team and his hiring comes at a time where we are forecasting rapid growth over the next four quarters.. We continue to see numerous opportunities to expand both organically and through strategic acquisitions and want to be more proactive in expanding our distribution network and servicing our customer base. Andy brings extensive knowledge and relationships to our platform which will certainly complement our growth."
"I am excited to join American Resources Corporation in their endeavor as they continue to expand their operations and coal production" commented Andy Cox. "After understanding their production strategy and growth potential, I think I can add value to the team as the company executes on its growth."
American Resources Corporation continues to focus on its growth objective by efficiently leveraging its large number of core mining permits and through identifying strategic, supplemental acquisitions. The Company is committed to being one of the lowest cost operators in the Central Appalachian basin (CAPP) and throughout all its coal mining, processing, and transportation operations.
Andy can be reached atawc@questenergyinc.comor by phone at (434) 409-5208.
About American Resources Corporation
American Resources Corporation is a supplier of raw materials to the rapidly growing global infrastructure marketplace. The company's primary focus is on the extraction, processing, transportation and selling of metallurgical coal and pulverized coal injection (PCI) to the steel industry. AREC's operations are based in the Central Appalachian basin of eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia, where premium quality metallurgical products are located.
The company's business model is based on running a streamlined and efficient operation to economically extract and deliver resources to meet its customers' demands. By running operations with low or no legacy costs, American Resources Corporation works to maximize margins for its investors while being able to scale its operations to meet the growth of the global infrastructure market.
Website:
http://www.americanresourcescorp.com
Institutional/Retail/Individual Contact:
American Capital VenturesHoward Gostfrand, President305-918-7000 - Officehg@amcapventures.comwww.amcapventures.com
PCG AdvisoryJeff Ramson, CEO646-863-6893jramson@pcgadvisory.comwww.pcgadvisory.com
Company Contact:
Mark LaVerghetta317-855-9926 ext. 0Vice President of Corporate Finance and Communicationsinvestor@americanresourcescorp.com
Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important factors that could cause the Company's actual results, performance, or achievements or industry results to differ materially from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond American Resources Corporation's control. The words "believes", "may", "will", "should", "would", "could", "continue", "seeks", "anticipates", "plans", "expects", "intends", "estimates", or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. Any forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. The Company cannot assure you that the projected results or events will be achieved.
SOURCE:American Resources Corporation
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/550085/American-Resources-Corporation-Hires-Seasoned-Director-of-Coal-Sales |
Aftermath Silver Announces Amendment to Private Placement and Revised Terms to Challacollo and Cachinal Silver-Gold Projects
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 27, 2019) -Aftermath Silver Ltd.(TSXV: AAG.H)(the "Company" or "Aftermath Silver") announces that the details of its previously announced non-brokered private placement have been revised. The private placement will now consist of up to 18,750,000 units at a price of $0.08 per Unit. Each Unit will consist of one common share and one-half of one non-transferable common share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant will entitle the holder to purchase, for a period of 36 months from the date of issue, one additional common share of the Issuer at an exercise price of $0.12 per share. The private placement is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange and the securities will be subject to a four month and one day hold period under securities laws.
The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the private placement for the acquisition and exploration of the Challacollo and Cachinal Silver-Gold projects in Chile and for general working capital.
Resignation and Appointment of Interim President and Chief Executive Officer
The Company would also like to announce the resignation of Sean Hurd as President/CEO and Director. Michael Williams, current Director and Chairman of the Company, will become the Interim President and CEO.
Challacollo Silver-Gold Project
As previously announced Aftermath has entered into a non-binding letter of intent with Mandalay Resources Inc. to purchase its 100% interest in the Challacollo silver-gold project in Chile. Aftermath and Mandalay have agreed to adjust the payment schedule to allow Aftermath to complete the Share Purchase Agreement and consummate the envisaged transaction.
Under the terms of the Challacollo LOI, as amended, the Company may acquire 100% of the Chilean holding company for an aggregate of:
• CA$500,000 cash to be paid on or before July 31st, 2019;
• CA$500,000 cash to be paid on or before December 31st, 2019
• CA$1,000,000 cash to be paid on or before December 31st, 2020;
• CA$5,500,000 on or before December 31st, 2021, to be paid, at Aftermath's option, in Aftermath shares of up to a value of CA$2,750,000, and the balance in cash; provided that in no event shall the number of Aftermath shares issued represent more than 49% of Aftermath's outstanding shares following such payment; and
• Mandalay to retain a 3% Net Smelter Return royalty on production, up to a maximum of CA$3,000,000.
Challacollo is a low-sulphidation epithermal deposit which hosts a historic 30 million silver ounce Indicated Mineral Resource (4.7 million tonnes at 200 g/t silver) and a 6.9 million silver ounce Inferred Mineral Resource (1.6 million tonnes of 134 g/t), with associated gold credits.
Previous drilling concentrated on the principal vein (Lolón Vein) to a depth of about 200 m below surface. Aftermath will focus its initial exploration efforts on parallel vein systems, not included in the historic Mineral Resource, that have some preliminary drilling. The oxidation level bottoms at approximately 200 m below surface; however, the down-dip extent of the mineralized structures remains unknown. Gold and base metal grades are generally observed to increase with depth.
The Challacollo project is located in Chile's Tarapaca Region (Region I). The project is approximately 30 km east of the Pan American Highway. Power transmission lines are located 15-30 km from the property. The project includes water rights. For further details please see the Company's news release dated August 1, 2018.
Cachinal Silver-Gold Project
The Company has also revised the definitive agreement with Halo Labs Inc (formally Apogee Opportunities Inc.) to purchase its 80% interest in the Cachinal silver-gold project, in Chile.
• CA$250,000 upon closing;
• CA$250,000 in 6 months from closing;
• CA$525,000 in 12 months from closing; and
• CA$550,000 in 18 months from closing.
Cachinal is a low-sulphidation epithermal deposit which hosts a current CIM compliant 18.4 million silver ounce Indicated Mineral Resource (5.66 million tonnes of 101 g/t) and 3 million silver ounce Inferred Mineral Resource (0.82 million tonnes of 115 g/t), with associated gold credit.
Shallow drilling has defined the current mineral resources principally to a depth of 150 m below surface and provides sufficient evidence to interpret the presence of high-grade shoots within the vein system extending below the base of a potential open pit. Following these high-grade shoots to depth with drilling will be the initial focus of the Company's efforts to expand the silver-gold mineralisation. The oxidation level bottoms at about 120 - 150 m below surface; however, the down-dip extent of the mineralized structures remains unknown.
The Cachinal Silver-Gold Project is located in Chile's Antofagasta Region (Region II). The project is located about 40 km east of the Pan American Highway, in a nearly flat plain at an elevation of around 2,700 m above sea level, 16 km north of Austral Gold's Guanaco gold-silver mine. For further details please see the Company's news release dated June 25, 2018.
About Aftermath Silver Ltd
Aftermath Silver Ltd is a Canadian junior exploration company engaged in acquiring, exploring, and developing mineral properties with an emphasis on silver in Chile. The Company is focused of growth through the discovery and acquisition of quality projects in stable jurisdictions. Aftermath continues to seek new opportunities to take advantage of the relatively low silver price.
Qualified Person
Peter Voulgaris, MAIG, MAusIMM, a consultant to the Company, is a non-independent qualified person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Voulgaris has reviewed the technical content of this news release, and consents to the information provided in the form and context in which it appears.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
"Michael Williams"
Michael Williams, Director/Vice President/Executive Chairman604-484-7855
The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward‐looking statements" within the meaning of the applicable Canadian Securities laws. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts are forward looking statements, including the anticipated time and capital schedule to production; estimated project economics, including but not limited to, mill recoveries, payable metals produced, production rates, payback time, capital and operating and other costs, IRR and mine plan; expected upside from additional exploration; expected capital requirements; and other future events or developments. Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, are reliant on future events or conditions, Forward‐looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar expressions.
These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward‐looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward‐looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward‐looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward‐looking statements include, but are not limited to, changes in commodities prices; changes in expected mineral production performance; unexpected increases in capital costs; exploitation and exploration results; continued availability of capital and financing; differing results and recommendations in the Feasibility Study; and general economic, market or business conditions. In addition, forward‐looking statements are subject to various risks, including but not limited to operational risk; political risk; currency risk; capital cost inflation risk; that data is incomplete or inaccurate. The reader is referred to the Company's filings with the Canadian securities regulators for disclosure regarding these and other risk factors, accessible through Vendetta Mining's profile atwww.sedar.com.
There is no certainty that any forward‐looking statement will come to pass and investors should not place undue reliance upon forward‐looking statements. The Company does not undertake to provide updates to any of the forward‐looking statements in this release, except as required by law.
To view the source version of this press release, please visithttps://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/45928 |
Hancock Jaffe Reports Early Positive Results For CoreoGraft Animal Feasibility Study
No Device Failures in Eight Test Subjects
IRVINE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 27, 2019/ Hancock Jaffe Laboratories, Inc.(NASDAQ: HJLI, HJLIW), a developer of medical devices that restore cardiac and vascular health, today provided an update on the status of its CoreoGraft animal feasibility study. There have been no device failures in eight animal test subjects where CoreoGrafts have been implanted as heart bypass grafts, with one group observed at 30 days, and another group observed at 45 days post-surgery. In particular, the CoreoGrafts have showed no signs of thrombosis, aneurysmal degeneration, neointimal hyperplasia, stenosis, changes in the lumen, or other problems that are known to plague saphenous vein grafts ("SVGs") and attempts by others to create small caliber (3 mm and 4 mm) grafts.
Dr. Marc H. Glickman, Hancock Jaffe's Chief Medical Officer stated, "Overall, the CoreoGrafts have performed very well throughout our feasibility study. I was particularly surprised how pristine some of our CoreoGrafts looked at 45 days, especially in light of the difficulties that others have experienced when attempting to create small caliber grafts. Our early success is extremely encouraging, and we have not seen anything to dissuade our belief that the CoreoGraft will be a viable product."
HJLI has been conducting a series of experimental acute (shorter-term) and chronic (longer-term) animal feasibility studies to evaluate the safety and performance of the CoreoGraft and the procedures to implant the CoreoGraft under a variety of conditions. The challenges of animal feasibility studies include technical challenges related to implantation surgical procedures, and anatomical challenges related to the animal test subjects, primarily due to physiological and anatomical differences in the animal test subjects versus humans. The knowledge HJLI gains from the animal feasibility study will be valuable in finalizing device design and in developing required GLP study designs for FDA approval submissions.
HJLI expects to add two additional animal test subjects to the feasibility study, testing different implantation techniques. The remaining animals in the feasibility study that were observed at 45 days will be observed again at 90 days post-surgery. Hancock Jaffe will provide the next CoreoGraft update at that time. With anticipated positive results at 90 days, HJLI plans to initiate a dialogue with the FDA to discuss regulatory approval plans. HJLI expects the next studies after the feasibility study to be a GLP studies, where the studies are conducted in accordance with standards and guidelines acceptable for FDA submissions.
HJLI's CoreoGraft is a potential alternative to using saphenous vein grafts ("SVGs") to revascularize the heart during coronary artery bypass graft ("CABG") surgeries. The current standard of care for most CABG surgeries is to harvest the saphenous vein from the leg of the patient. SVGs are known to have high short term and long-term failure rates when used as grafts around the heart. Studies indicate that up to 40% of SVGs fail within one year of CABG surgeries, with a significant percentage failing within the first 30 days. Eight to ten years after surgery, SVG failure rates are known to be in as high as 75%. In addition to high SVG failure rates, the SVG harvest procedure itself is invasive, painful, and subject to complication rates exceeding 20%. The CoreoGraft is being developed for bypass patients where SVG harvest is not an option and to potentially replace SVGs. Lower failure and complication rates would be advantageous to both doctors and patients, and would lower the overall costs associated with CABG surgeries.
About Hancock Jaffe Laboratories, Inc.
HJLI specializes in developing and manufacturing bioprosthetic (tissue based) medical devices to establish improved standards of care for treating cardiac and vascular diseases. HJLI currently has two lead product candidates: the VenoValve®, a porcine based valve which is intended to be surgically implanted in the deep venous system of the leg to treat reflux associated with Chronic Venous Insufficiency; and the CoreoGraft®, a bovine tissue based off the shelf conduit intended to be used for coronary artery bypass surgery. For more information, please visitHancockJaffe.com.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release and any statements of stockholders, directors, employees, representatives and partners of Hancock Jaffe Laboratories, Inc. (the "Company") related thereto contain, or may contain, among other things, certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties. Such statements may include, without limitation, statements identified by words such as "projects," "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends," "plans," "potential" or similar expressions. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the Company's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including those detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results (including, without limitation, with respect to our first-in-human VenoValve study) may differ significantly from those set forth or implied in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that are subject to change based on various factors (many of which are beyond the Company's control). The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future presentations or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
CONTACT:
HJLI Press Contacts:
Amy CarmerTel: 949-261-2900Email:ACarmer@HancockJaffe.com
Media & Investor Relations Contact:
MZ North AmericaChris TysonManaging Director(949) 491-8235HJLI@mzgroup.uswww.mzgroup.us
SOURCE:Hancock Jaffe Laboratories, Inc.
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/550032/Hancock-Jaffe-Reports-Early-Positive-Results-For-CoreoGraft-Animal-Feasibility-Study |
KushCo Holdings Opens Distribution Facility in Michigan to Meet Rapidly Growing Demand Across the Midwest Region
Company Sees over 200% Quarter-Over-Quarter Revenue Increase in Illinois and Michigan from Q1 to Q2
GARDEN GROVE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 27, 2019 /KushCo Holdings, Inc. (KSHB) (''KushCo'' or the ''Company''), announced the development of a new 40,000 square foot distribution facility in Taylor, Michigan. The new facility will support the Company's rapidly growing operations across the Midwest, including Illinois and Michigan, which both recently legalized recreational cannabis.
The facility will serve as the Company's anchor in the Midwest and will include a show room, sampling room and office space for sales and operations teams. With states like Michigan, Illinois and Missouri entering into medical and recreational markets, the new facility will optimize operational efficiencies and enable KushCo to grow customer relationships in the Midwest region.
"We're excited to invest in the infrastructure to support these key markets with boots on the ground in the Midwest and the launch of our new distribution facility in Michigan. This new initiative will expand our footprint and deepen our relationships with operators in the region," said Nick Kovacevich, CEO of KushCo Holdings. "Our 215% quarter-over-quarter growth in Michigan is a testament to the potential in the region and our ability to remain a valued partner in the most promising recreational and medical markets across the United States."
Jason Vegotsky, the Company's Chief Revenue Officer, added, "Illinois is a particularly important market for us given our relationships with key MSOs headquartered there, and our investments are already paying off with new customers being onboarded to our platform. An essential aspect of our aggressive expansion strategy is our commitment to strategic investments in regions throughout the country as the legal structure supporting cannabis continues to evolve."
To be added to the distribution list, please emailir@kushco.comwith ''Kush'' in the subject line.
About KushCo Holdings
KushCo Holdings, Inc. (KSHB) (www.kushco.com) is the premier producer of ancillary products and services to the cannabis and hemp industries. KushCo Holdings' subsidiaries and brands provide, product quality, exceptional customer service, compliance knowledge and a local presence in serving its diverse customer base.
Founded in 2010, KushCo Holdings has now sold more than 1 billion units to growers, processors and producers across North America, South America, and Europe.
The Company has been featured in media nationwide, including CNBC, Los Angeles Times, TheStreet.com, Entrepreneur, and Inc. Magazine. While KushCo Holdings provides products and solutions to customers in the cannabis and CBD industries, it has no direct involvement with the cannabis plant or any products that contain THC or CBD.
For more information, visitwww.kushco.comor call (888)-920-5874
KushCo Holdings Contacts
Media Contact:Anne Donohoe / Nick OpichKCSA Strategic Communications212-896-1265 / 212-896-1206adonohoe@kcsa.com/nopich@kcsa.com
Investor Contact:Phil Carlson / Elizabeth BarkerKCSA Strategic Communications212-896-1233 / 212-896-1203ir@kushco.com
SOURCE:KushCo Holdings, Inc.
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/550097/KushCo-Holdings-Opens-Distribution-Facility-in-Michigan-to-Meet-Rapidly-Growing-Demand-Across-the-Midwest-Region |
EU banks plan to join instant payments system as they fear Facebook’s Libra crypto
Banks in the eurozone region plan to join the real-time payments system by the end of 2020, as they fear Facebook's upcoming cryptocurrency Libra, Reutersreports.
The 19-country region has reportedly had the real-time payments system since 2017, but only about half of the region's banks have joined it. Post Facebook's Libra announcement, banks now feel the heat of competition, according to the report."The clock is ticking," Etienne Goosse, director general of the European Payments Council (EPC) was quoted as saying in the report. Goosse said that regardless of Facebook's success with the project, banks need to move more quickly as large tech firms are here to stay.
"They come with a global solution, under a global brand offering many things that the consumers seem to find wonderful. So we have no time," he said.
Facebook, along with 27 founding partners including Uber and Paypal, recentlyunveileda plan for "low-volatility" cryptocurrency Libra, intending to serve the unbanked and facilitate low-fee money transfers globally. Libra is expected to go live sometime next year, but it has already facedscrutinyfrom central banks and politicians around the world. |
5 Top Tech Gainers of 1H19
Even as the S&P 500 suffered its fourth successive daily loss on Jun 26, tech stocks surged higher. The Nasdaq emerged as the only broad benchmark to finish in the green, after Micron Technology MU fueled a surge in semiconductor stocks.
The surge in tech stocks is notable since it occurred on a day when investors expressed their skepticism over a trade deal, leading to a decline in the broader indexes. In fact, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) is the leading performer among the S&P 500’s 11 sectors year to date. It maintains a similar dominance over the last three months.
Despite the fallout of the trade war and global economic sluggishness, prospects of technology stocks have not been dimmed this year. This is why it makes sense to add them to your portfolio.
Big Tech Remains Big Wall Street Story
On Wednesday, the Nasadaq Composite index gained 0.3% on a surge in semiconductor stocks. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) advanced nearly 3% after shares of Micron surged 13.3%, following the release of better-than-expected guidance. Shares of NVIDIA NVDA gained 5.1% while shares of ON Semiconductor ON increased by 4.2%.
The day’s events underlined the continuing dominance of tech stocks this year. In fact, SMH is up 24.4% year to date. The broader Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF (VGT) has gained 25.6% over the same period.
Moreover, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) has gained 25.6% year to date, easily outperforming the S&P 500’s 16.2% increase. XLK is the leading sectoral performer over this period as well as over the last three months, during which it has gained 6.7%, nearly twice the S&P 500’s 3.5% increase.
Trade Deal to Boost Tech’s Prospects
Tech seems to be surging despite uncertainty over a U.S.-China trade deal. But an agreement between the two rivals will only boost the sector higher. Most tech behemoths conduct a large amount of business overseas, leading to a massive buildup in overseas revenues. If the Trump administration successfully defuses tensions with China, they stand to gain substantially.
Comments made on Jun 26 by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggest that a near-term deal is still a possibility. Speaking to CNBC in Bahrain, Mnuchin said: “We were about 90% of the way there (with a deal) and I think there’s a path to complete this.” Mnuchin thinks significant progress can be made by presidents Trump and Xi at the upcoming meeting of G-20 countries.
Trump continued to adopt an aggressive tone on trade issues while speaking to Fox Business on Wednesday morning. He said he would be pleased to collect tariffs in case a deal with China was not concluded. At the same time, he did say that an agreement with China was “absolutely possible,” claiming that Chinese leaders “want to make a deal more than I do.”
Our Choices
Tech stocks have remained a dominant force in U.S. markets for most of the year. Trade tensions have failed to dent their prospects. With the probability of a near-term trade deal rising, they stand to move even higher over the rest of 2019.
Tech stocks which have notched up searing year-to-date gains will make great additions to your portfolio. We have narrowed down our search based on a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and other relevant metrics. You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Universal DisplayOLED is a leading developer of technology and intellectual property (IP) for the Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED) market.
Universal Display’s projected growth for the current year is 97%. Its earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 20.2% over the past 60 days. The stock has gained 95.1% year to date.
Bruker CorporationBRKR designs and manufactures proprietary life science and materials research systems, and associated products.
Bruker’s projected growth for the current year is 15.7%. Its earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 0.6% over the past 30 days. The stock has gained 62.1% year to date.
Match Group, Inc.MTCH is the world’s foremost provider of dating products and operates a portfolio of more than 45 brands.
Match Group’s projected growth for the current year is 25.7%. Its earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 17.9% over the past 60 days. The stock has gained 55.9% year to date.
j2 Global Inc.JCOM provides Internet services. It reports primarily in two business segments: Cloud Services and Digital Media.
j2 Global’s projected growth for the current year is 11%. Its earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 4% over the past 60 days. The stock has gained 23.7% year to date.
Ciena CorporationCIEN is a leading provider of optical networking equipment, software and services.
Ciena’s projected growth for the current year is 43.2%. Its earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 9.9% over the last 30 days. The stock has gained 22.9% year to date.
Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential
The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.
Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +98%, +119%and +164%in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better.
See these 7 breakthrough stocks 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 reportj2 Global, Inc. (JCOM) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMatch Group, Inc. (MTCH) : Free Stock Analysis ReportUniversal Display Corporation (OLED) : Free Stock Analysis ReportCiena Corporation (CIEN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportBruker Corporation (BRKR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportNVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportON Semiconductor Corporation (ON) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMicron Technology, Inc. (MU) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Ford confirms 12,000 job cuts in Europe, six plant closures
Ford Motor Co. promised Thursday to stem the bleeding of its overseas operation with 12,000 confirmed job cuts, factory closures and a more profitable business model with more electric vehicles in Europe.
The plan includes at least three new vehicles in the next five years and a leaner organization “as part of the most comprehensive redesign in the history of its business in Europe," Ford said in a statement.
The automaker has been under pressure from investors and analysts to cut costs from its bloated European operation.
Ford said its cuts include previously announced, proposed or planned closure or sale of six assembly and component manufacturing plants by the end of next year:
• Proposed closure of Bridgend Engine Plant in South Wales
• Closure of Ford Aquitaine Industries Transmission Plant in France
• Closure of Naberezhnye Chelny Assembly, St. Petersburg Assembly and Elabuga Engine Plant in Russia
• Sale of the Kechnec Transmission Plant in Slovakia to Magna
Ford will reduce its manufacturing presence in Europe to a proposed 18 facilities by the end of 2020, from 24 at the beginning of 2019. In the U.K., the Ford of Britain and Ford Credit Europe headquarters in Warley also will close later this year, with operations consolidated in Dunton.
In addition, Ford said it is implementing shift reductions at its assembly plants in Saarlouis, Germany, and Valencia, Spain, as well as a leaner management structure and marketing and sales operations.
Meet the new Ford F-series Super Duty:Pickup gets Tremor Off-Road package
$100,000 pickup?:Chevy is working on a new Silverado that top that price
Overall, approximately 12,000 jobs will be impacted at Ford’s wholly owned facilities and consolidated joint ventures in Europe by the end of 2020, primarily through voluntary separation programs, the company confirmed Thursday. Around 2,000 of those are salaried positions, which are included among the 7,000 salaried positions Ford is reducing globally.
“Separating employees and closing plants are the hardest decisions we make, and in recognition of the effect on families and communities, we are providing support to ease the impact,” Rowley said. “We are grateful for the ongoing consultations with our works councils, trade union partners and elected representatives. Together, we are moving forward and focused on building a long-term sustainable future for our business in Europe."
The company said it is creating three new business groups – commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles and imports – to “facilitate fast decision-making” that benefits the customer.
Ford promised to deliver a comprehensive line-up of electrified vehicles for European customers with battery electric vehicles assembled in Europe.
Follow Detroit Free Press reporter Phoebe Wall Howard on Twitter@phoebesaid.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press:Ford confirms 12,000 job cuts in Europe, six plant closures |
Is AB Sagax (publ)'s (STO:SAGA A) Balance Sheet A Threat To Its Future?
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AB Sagax (publ) (STO:SAGA A) is a small-cap stock with a market capitalization of kr32b. While investors primarily focus on the growth potential and competitive landscape of the small-cap companies, they end up ignoring a key aspect, which could be the biggest threat to its existence: its financial health. Why is it important? Understanding the company's financial health becomes vital, as mismanagement of capital can lead to bankruptcies, which occur at a higher rate for small-caps. We'll look at some basic checks that can form a snapshot the company’s financial strength. Nevertheless, these checks don't give you a full picture, so I suggest youdig deeper yourself into SAGA A here.
Over the past year, SAGA A has ramped up its debt from kr16b to kr17b , which includes long-term debt. With this increase in debt, SAGA A's cash and short-term investments stands at kr544m to keep the business going. Additionally, SAGA A has produced cash from operations of kr1.6b during the same period of time, resulting in an operating cash to total debt ratio of 9.5%, signalling that SAGA A’s current level of operating cash is not high enough to cover debt.
At the current liabilities level of kr2.3b, the company arguably has a rather low level of current assets relative its obligations, with the current ratio last standing at 0.47x. The current ratio is the number you get when you divide current assets by current liabilities.
Since total debt levels exceed equity, SAGA A is a highly leveraged company. This is a bit unusual for a small-cap stock, since they generally have a harder time borrowing than large more established companies. We can check to see whether SAGA A is able to meet its debt obligations by looking at the net interest coverage ratio. A company generating earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) at least three times its net interest payments is considered financially sound. In SAGA A's, case, the ratio of 4.4x suggests that interest is appropriately covered, which means that lenders may be willing to lend out more funding as SAGA A’s high interest coverage is seen as responsible and safe practice.
SAGA A’s high cash coverage means that, although its debt levels are high, the company is able to utilise its borrowings efficiently in order to generate cash flow. However, its low liquidity raises concerns over whether current asset management practices are properly implemented for the small-cap. This is only a rough assessment of financial health, and I'm sure SAGA A has company-specific issues impacting its capital structure decisions. I recommend you continue to research AB Sagax to get a better picture of the stock by looking at:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for SAGA A’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor SAGA A’s outlook.
2. Historical Performance: What has SAGA A's returns been like over the past? Go into more detail in the past track record analysis and take a look atthe free visual representations of our analysisfor more clarity.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Record China Output Drives Steel Production: What's Ahead?
Global crude steel production spiked in May as steel mills in China – the world's biggest steel producer – ramped up production to record high. Higher output from India and the United States also supported the expansion.According to the latest report from the World Steel Association ("WSA") – the international trade body for the iron and steel industry – crude steel production for 64 reporting nations rose 5.4% year over year for the reported month to 162.7 million tons (Mt).China Mills Roar in MayProduction from China, which accounts for around half of the global steel output, shot up 10% year over year to a new record high of 89.1 Mt in May, exceeding the previous peak level of 85 Mt registered in April. Steel mills in the country beefed up output even though higher feedstock costs due to a spike in iron ore prices squeezed their profit margins. The record output highlights China’s continued demand for steel consumption.Fears of supply shortage due to mine disruptions in Brazil triggered a spurt in the prices of iron ore, the key steel-making raw material. Chinese steel mills are looking to raise their prices in the wake of higher input costs.The steel industry continues to reel under the effects of sustained oversupply of steel in the market, exacerbated by a surge in production in China. Despite U.S.-China trade tensions, China’s steel mills bumped up output last year to take advantage of strong profit margins. A glut of Chinese steel also put downward pressure on global steel prices. China’s steel overcapacity remains an overhang for the steel sector.China’s steel production climbed 6.6% year over year to reach 928.3 Mt last year. The country’s share of global crude steel production rose to 51.3% in 2018 from 50.3% in 2017.According to the WSA, Chinese steel output has surged 10.2% on a year-over-year comparison basis to roughly 404.9 Mt for the first five months of 2019.How Other Key Producers FaredAmong other major Asian producers, India – the world's second largest producer of steel – saw a 5.1% rise in production to 9.2 Mt in May. The WSA, earlier this year, said that it expects continuing infrastructure projects to support steel demand growth in India.Output in Japan dropped 4.6% to 8.7 Mt in May while production in South Korea rose 2.2% to 6.4 Mt. Consolidated output were up 7.6% to 117.3 Mt in Asia.In North America, crude steel production picked up 5.4% to 7.7 Mt in the United States. The 25% tariff on steel imports, which the Trump administration levied last year, are boosting production capacity of U.S. steel producers amid lower imports. The tariffs have helped U.S. steel industry capacity break above the important 80% level – the minimum rate required for sustained profitability of the industry. Improved capacity is driving U.S. steel production.Driven by the trade actions, a number of American steel producers including United States Steel Corp. X, Nucor Corp. NUE and Steel Dynamics, Inc. STLD are investing to ramp up production capabilities and upgrade facilities. However, higher production, partly driven by restarted mills, has contributed to the drop in U.S. steel prices.Meanwhile, output in Canada went up 12.8% to around 1.2 Mt. Overall production in North America rose 4.5% to roughly 10.5 Mt.In the Europe Union, production from Germany, the biggest producer in the region, fell 6.2% to 3.5 Mt. Output increased 1.1% in Italy to around 2.2 Mt. France saw a 7.6% decline to roughly 1.2 Mt while Spain witnessed a 7.1% drop to 1.3 Mt. Total output went down 2.8% in the European Union to around 14.5 Mt.Output in the Middle East rose 1.6% to 3.2 Mt with Iran, the top producer in the region, seeing a 3.8% rise to 2.2 Mt. Africa logged an 8.5% gain to around 1.3 Mt in the reported month.Among other notable producers, production from Turkey dropped 8% to 3.1 Mt. Output from Brazil, the largest producer in South America, was up 2.9% to 2.8 Mt.What Lies Ahead?Tangshan – the top steelmaking city in China – has extended production cuts across its mills till the end of July to improve air quality. This intense production curb at the steelmaking hub in China’s top steel province of Hebei may keep Chinese steel output growth under check in the coming months.However, Chinese steel mills will likely continue to crank up output as domestic demand is expected to remain healthy moving forward. Steel demand in the country is expected to pick up as Beijing steps up efforts to ramp up infrastructure investment to prop up its slowing economy that has been hurt by the trade war with the United States. Higher investment in the construction sector is expected to support steel demand in the country. The WSA envisions heightened government stimulus levels to boost steel demand in China this year.Steel Stocks to Watch ForA couple of stocks currently worth considering in the steel space are L.B. Foster Company FSTR and Ryerson Holding Corporation RYI. While L.B. Foster sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Ryerson Holding is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.L.B. Foster has an expected earnings growth of 65.8% for 2019. Earnings estimates for the current year have been revised 14.8% upward over the last 60 days.Ryerson Holding has an expected earnings growth of 109.4% for 2019. Earnings estimates for the current year have been revised 51.4% upward over the last 60 days.Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit PotentialThe biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +98%, +119% and +164% in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks 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 reportNucor Corporation (NUE) : Free Stock Analysis ReportSteel Dynamics, Inc. (STLD) : Free Stock Analysis ReportRyerson Holding Corporation (RYI) : Free Stock Analysis ReportL.B. Foster Company (FSTR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportUnited States Steel Corporation (X) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
The First Canadian Pot Stock to Generate Recurring Profits Will Be...
The "canna-business" is booming, in case you haven't noticed. After generating a whopping $10.9 billion in legal sales last year in licensed stores, the newest "State of the Legal Cannabis Markets" report from the duo of Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics projects that worldwide saleswill top $40 billion by 2024, which is good enough for a more than 24% compound annual growth rate.
Interestingly enough, though, this rapid growth rate hasn't exactly led to pot stocks seeing green. There are just a small handful of cannabis stocks currently profitable on an operating basis, without the aid of fair-value adjustments and one-time benefits. Also interesting is the fact that what few profitable marijuana stocks do exist are located in, or focused on, the United States.
That raises the question: What Canadian pot stock will be the first to deliver profits on a recurring basis without the need for one-time benefits?
Perhaps the easiest thing to do is remove the Canadian marijuana growers that we absolutely know won't be the answer, such asCanopy Growth(NYSE: CGC),Aurora Cannabis(NYSE: ACB),Cronos Group(NASDAQ: CRON), andTilray(NASDAQ: TLRY).
Both Canopy Growth and Aurora Cannabis have been clear that their intentions are to lay the infrastructure for North American and global expansion. This means plenty of acquisitions and an abundance of spending to handle all aspects of branding, portfolio diversification, and international expansion. Afterreporting a loss of 670 million Canadian dollarsin fiscal 2019, Canopy Growth's chances at profitability in 2020 are pretty slim. Likewise, Aurora Cannabis' chances of generating recurring profits continue to shrink with each costly acquisition, and given Canada's near-term supply issues.
As for Cronos Group and Tilray, a lack of production and/or a meandering strategy will likely keep both companies running in the red. Although Cronos Group is focusing on substantially higher margin derivatives production, it'sgoing to take some timefor the company to ramp up global production. That means losses are likely in the near term.
Meanwhile, Tilray's strategycompletely shifted in mid-March, according to CEO Brendan Kennedy. Having been forced to purchase wholesale cannabis to make good on its supply agreements, thereby crushing its own margins, it'll be about a year before Tilray's focus on the U.S. and Europe gives it any chance at recurring profitability.
Although costs are likely to be high for all growers over the next couple of quarters as they look to diversify their production and combat supply chain issues that'll likely take many quarters to resolve in Canada, the most likely of all major marijuana growers in Canada to beprofitable on a recurring basisis....OrganiGram Holdings(NASDAQ: OGI).
OrganiGram has a number of factors working in its favor that give it a leg up on its competition in terms of reaching recurring profitability first.
To begin with, unlike many of its peers, OrganIGram isworking on just a single grow facility. Compare that to Canopy Growth or Aurora Cannabis, which have a respective 10 and 15 grow farms in their portfolios. By focusing on a single campus in Moncton, New Brunswick, OrganiGram is able to minimize its shipping and transportation costs, which can add up over time, as well as keep its labor costs reasonably low.
OrganiGram is also able to keep expenses down within its Moncton campus. When grow-room construction is complete by the end of the year, the company will be capable of 113,000 kilos of annual run-rate production, but will only be devoting about 490,000 square feet of space to yield this output. That'sbetter than 230 grams per square foot, which looks to be more than double the industry average at peak capacity. OrganiGram is achieving such figures by utilizing three growing tiers in its cultivation rooms, thereby maximizing its licensed space.
Perhaps it's also worth noting at this point that OrganiGram is one of four weed growers thathas signed a supply deal with all of Canada's provinces, along with Canopy Growth,Aphria, andCannTrust Holdings. Even though it's unclear just how much marijuana OrganiGram is providing to these provinces, these supply deals are, nevertheless, an important means of generating guaranteed quarterly cash flow.
Last, but not least, OrganiGram plans to focus on high-margin derivative products, like many of its peers. A recently announced phase 5 expansion at Moncton will feature added extraction capacity, which adds onto the company's multiyear agreement withValens GroWorks, which allows Valens to supply OrganiGram with distillates and cannabinoids for derivative production.
Obviously, there are no guarantees here that OrganiGram will beat its peers to recurring profitability given the nature of the industry and its rapidly changing variables. However, OrganiGram looks to have the low-cost structure and high-yield production capable of one-upping its much larger competitors and reaching recurring profitability before any other Canadian pot stock.
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
Sean Williamsowns shares of CannTrust Holdings Inc. The Motley Fool recommends CannTrust Holdings Inc and OrganiGram Holdings. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. |
Lucifer boss clarifies why the Netflix show is ending with season 5
Photo credit: Fox From Digital Spy Lucifer boss Ildy Modrovich has offered an explanation as to why the show is ending with its fifth season. Earlier this month, Netflix announced that the popular series would be returning for one last season, leading to fans petitioning for a sixth season . Posting on Twitter , co-showrunner Modrovich shared that the announcement was made to give everyone time to "accept and process the news". She also said that there was "care and consideration" behind the decision to end the show. Photo credit: John P. Fleenor/Netflix Related: 5 big questions that Lucifer season 5 needs to answer "Hello, beloved Lucifam!," she wrote. "We know there's been a lot of confusion over the recent announcement that this is our last season. Many are wondering if they should fight for more?? And while we feel just as sad as many of you do that this marvelous ride is coming to an end, a fight won't change things right now. "But we spoke to our partners at Netflix and Warner Bros, and you should all know TREMENDOUS care and consideration was put into making this decision." A message of love for our #Lucifans 🥰😈❤️ from me... @Henderson_Joe all the #Lucifer writers and our beautiful cast... @tomellis17 @LaurenGerman @LesleyAnnBrandt @RachaelEHarris @kevinmalejandro @dbwofficial @Aimee_Garcia and @ScarMestevez pic.twitter.com/8aXb6yfJ7c - Ildy Modrovich (@Ildymojo) June 26, 2019 Modrovich added: "The whole reason they decided to announce that it was our fifth and final season simultaneously is because they know how devoted and passionate our fans (and we!) are and wanted to give y'all (and us!) as much time as they could to accept and process the news. Story continues "And for that, we're incredibly grateful. We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article. "But mostly, we're all beyond grateful that they gave us this new life in the first place. AND a chance to give this story the ending it deserves. "And, of course... none of that would have EVER happened if it weren't for YOU. We can truly never thank you enough of that." Lucifer season 4 is available to watch now on Netflix. Catch up on seasons 1-3 via Amazon Prime . Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Instagram and Twitter account . ('You Might Also Like',) Animal Crossing New Horizons is finally announced on Nintendo Switch How to watch Amazon Prime on your TV, smartphone and tablet – and enjoy Good Omens online Nintendo to release two new Switch consoles this year |
Are Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Investors Paying Above The Intrinsic Value?
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How far off is Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) 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. This is done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.
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.
Check out our latest analysis for Paychex
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. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. 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 ($, Millions)", "2019": "$1.01k", "2020": "$1.26k", "2021": "$1.30k", "2022": "$1.37k", "2023": "$1.44k", "2024": "$1.52k", "2025": "$1.59k", "2026": "$1.65k", "2027": "$1.71k", "2028": "$1.77k"}, {"": "Growth Rate Estimate Source", "2019": "Analyst x5", "2020": "Analyst x5", "2021": "Analyst x1", "2022": "Analyst x1", "2023": "Analyst x1", "2024": "Analyst x1", "2025": "Est @ 4.51%", "2026": "Est @ 3.98%", "2027": "Est @ 3.6%", "2028": "Est @ 3.34%"}, {"": "Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 8.82%", "2019": "$927.96", "2020": "$1.07k", "2021": "$1.00k", "2022": "$977.57", "2023": "$940.25", "2024": "$915.79", "2025": "$879.53", "2026": "$840.37", "2027": "$800.07", "2028": "$759.77"}]
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= $9.11b
"Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St
After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the intial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 10-year government bond rate of 2.7%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 8.8%.
Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2029× (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = US$1.8b × (1 + 2.7%) ÷ (8.8% – 2.7%) = US$30b
Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= $US$30b ÷ ( 1 + 8.8%)10= $12.81b
The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is $21.92b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding.This results in an intrinsic value estimate of $61. Compared to the current share price of $81.77, the company appears reasonably expensive at the time of writing. 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. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Paychex 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 8.8%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.022. 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. What is the reason for the share price to differ from the intrinsic value? For Paychex, I've put together three relevant factors you should further examine:
1. Financial Health: Does PAYX 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 PAYX'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 PAYX? 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 US 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. |
Trade, climate change, Iran focus as G-20 leaders meet
OSAKA, Japan (AP) Trade and geopolitical tensions, and the looming threat of climate change, are on the agenda as the presidents of the United States and China and other world leaders gather in Osaka, Japan, for a summit of the Group of 20 major economies. While prospects for detente in the trade war between the U.S. and China are in the spotlight, many participating are calling for a broader perspective in tackling global crises. "This will be a difficult G-20, there are global challenges to be met, we need to step up to avoid the climate threats, ... reform the World Trade Organization and prepare for the digital revolution," Donald Tusk, president of the European Union Council, said at a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The summit comes at a time of growing international tensions, for example, over Iran's nuclear deal, as well as disputes between the United States and China over trade and technology. President Donald Trump arrived Thursday evening and was due to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday as the G-20 meetings conclude. Accompanying him were U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman in Beijing said China intends to defend itself against further U.S. moves to penalize it over trade friction. Threats by Trump to impose more tariffs on Chinese exports "won't work on us because the Chinese people don't believe in heresy and are not afraid of pressure," Geng Shuang said. China has sought to gain support for defending global trade agreements against Trump's "America First" stance in gatherings like the G-20. The state-run Xinhua News Agency published a commentary Thursday noting that the G-20's rise to prominence came with leaders' efforts to contain the damage from the 2008 global financial crisis. "While the global economic recovery remains fragile, it now encounters a surge of anti-free trade rhetoric and protectionist measures that threaten to upend the rules-based multilateral trading regime," it said. Story continues Xi was also expected to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Abe on Thursday evening, seeking a breakthrough after years of strain over territorial disputes. It is his first visit to Japan since he became China's top leader in 2013. A visit by Xi to North Korea last week raised hopes for some movement in the impasse with the U.S. over the North's nuclear program. Trump is due to visit South Korea after leaving Japan, raising speculation there may be more news on Korean issues during his Asian travels. Trump has at times found himself at odds with other leaders in such international events, particularly on issues such as Iran, climate change and trade. Abe has sought to make the Osaka summit a landmark for progress on environmental issues, including climate change. French President Emmanuel Macron reinforced that message on Wednesday during a state visit to Tokyo, where he described climate change as a "red line" issue for endorsing a G-20 communique. "It's the moment to be truly in time in the face of history and to fulfill our responsibility," Macron said. "I will not sign if we don't go further in our ambition about climate change. That would mean all those summits are for nothing." On the periphery of the Osaka meetings, activists belonging to a coalition of 50 environmental groups protested outside a coal-fired power plant in the nearby port city of Kobe. They chanted "No coal Japan!" while raising an inflatable depicting Abe, taking aim at his efforts to promote such projects across the globe. They also want more aggressive efforts by the Japanese government to help curb climate change. Japan is one of the largest funders of coal-fired power stations overseas, having ramped up their use inside the country after most nuclear power plants were idled following the 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima. The effort to offset the loss of the generating capacity has slowed Japan's own progress in curbing the carbon emissions that contribute to global warming. "We made this balloon and organized this protest to make him feel embarrassed, have him feel the pressure inside and outside Japan," said Hanna Song of the Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society. "We want him to stop funding coal and not to make climate change worse." The leaders, arriving steadily throughout the day under heavy monsoon rains, were well insulated from such protests by the security blanketing Osaka, a business center of 2.7 million in western Japan. The authorities closed roads and brought in platoons of extra police. ___ Associated Press journalists Joeal Calupitan in Kobe, Japan, Liu Zheng in Beijing and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report. |
Could Samse SA (EPA:SAMS) Have The Makings Of Another Dividend Aristocrat?
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Today we'll take a closer look at Samse SA (EPA:SAMS) from a dividend investor's perspective. Owning a strong business and reinvesting the dividends is widely seen as an attractive way of growing your wealth. On the other hand, investors have been known to buy a stock because of its yield, and then lose money if the company's dividend doesn't live up to expectations.
A 1.7% yield is nothing to get excited about, but investors probably think the long payment history suggests Samse has some staying power. There are a few simple ways to reduce the risks of buying Samse for its dividend, and we'll go through these below.
Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Samse!
Companies (usually) pay dividends out of their earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, the dividend might have to be cut. 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. Samse paid out 21% of its profit as dividends, over the trailing twelve month period. We like this low payout ratio, because it implies the dividend is well covered and leaves ample opportunity for reinvestment.
We also measure dividends paid against a company's levered free cash flow, to see if enough cash was generated to cover the dividend. Samse paid out 65% of its cash flow as dividends last year, which is within a reasonable range for the average corporation. It's positive to see that Samse's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut.
We update our data on Samse every 24 hours, so you can always getour latest analysis of its financial health, here.
From the perspective of an income investor who wants to earn dividends for many years, there is not much point buying a stock if its dividend is regularly cut or is not reliable. For the purpose of this article, we only scrutinise the last decade of Samse's dividend payments. The dividend has been stable over the past 10 years, which is great. We think this could suggest some resilience to the business and its dividends. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was €1.80 in 2009, compared to €2.50 last year. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 3.3% a year over that time.
Dividends have grown relatively slowly, which is not great, but some investors may value the relative consistency of the dividend.
While dividend payments have been relatively reliable, it would also be nice if earnings per share (EPS) were growing, as this is essential to maintaining the dividend's purchasing power over the long term. Samse has grown its earnings per share at 6.2% per annum over the past five years. A low payout ratio and strong historical earnings growth suggests Samse has been effectively reinvesting in its business. We think this generally bodes well for its dividend prospects.
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. Above all, we're glad to see that Samse pays out a low fraction of its earnings and, while it paid a higher percentage of cashflow, this also was within a normal range. Second, earnings growth has been mediocre, but at least the dividends have been relatively stable. Overall we think Samse is an interesting dividend stock, although it could be better.
You can also discover whether shareholders are aligned with insider interests bychecking our visualisation of insider shareholdings and trades in Samse stock.
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. |
The Pentagon has a laser that identifies people by their heartbeat
Biometric identification has become part of everyday life. We've gotfacial recognitionin airports, cars that can beunlockedjust by looking at them, technology that detects a person's uniqueway of walking, and of course the ubiquitous fingerprint, used for everything from smart phones toevent ticketing. Next on the agenda? Your heartbeat.
AsMIT Technology Reviewreports, the Pentagon has developed a laser that can identify people -- from a distance -- by their heartbeat. The technology, known as Jetson, uses laser vibrometry to identify surface movement on the skin caused by a heartbeat, and it works from 200 meters away.
Everyone's cardiac signature is unique, and unlike faces andfingerprints, it can't be altered in any way. As with facial recognition and other biometrics which rely on optimal conditions, though, Jetson does have a few challenges. It works through regular clothing such as a shirt, but not thicker garments, such as a winter coat. It also takes about 30 seconds to collect the necessary information, so right now it only works if the target is sitting or standing still. And, of course, its efficiency would also depend on some kind of cardiac database. Nonetheless, under the right conditions, Jetson has over 95 percent accuracy.
Obviously, the technology could prove a massive boon for the military andsurveillance organisations, hence the Pentagon's request for it several years ago -- officialdocumentsfrom the Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO) suggest this has been in the works for some time. However, it could have other applications as well. AsMITnotes, doctors could check heartbeats without having to touch the patient, while hospitals could wirelessly monitor a patient's vitals. Perhaps this kind of technology will even one day render cutting-edge advances in facial recognition obsolete. |
Activist Jana Takes a Swing at Callaway Golf
Shares ofCallaway Golf(NYSE: ELY)have traded sharply higher in June afterhedge fund Jana Partners disclosed a 9.5% stakeand its intention to advocate for changes including a potential sale. Callaway is an iconic maker of premium golf clubs -- selling individual clubs for as much as $700. In addition to being an industry leader and top seller of golf clubs and balls, Callaway also offers apparel and accessories related to golf and active lifestyles.
Despite the company's strong arsenal of consumer brands, its share price has lagged the overall market, especially since the company'sacquisition of Jack Wolfskin was announced in November 2018. The investor reaction to Jana's stake may be a reflection of a desire to see the company sell its non-core assets or address other operational issues that have contributed to the stock's underperformance.
Data byYCharts
Jana Partners is a highly regarded activist hedge fund. The investment firm has successfully advocated for change at several high profile companies, includingTiffany & CoandConAgra Brands. Notably, Jana was able to push companies like Whole Foods Market and Pinnacle Foods to sell themselves.
Given Jana's impressive track record, investors have high hopes for its ability to successfully advocate for change at Callaway. Jana's 9.5% stake will lend it considerable influence as it now ranks as the company's second largest shareholder.
We can glean some insight as to why Jana has made its investment in Callaway by looking at the SEC filing disclosure:
[Jana] intends to have discussions with the Issuer's board of directors and management regarding the Issuer's portfolio composition; strategic alternatives including exploring a sale of the Issuer or asset divestitures; capital allocation and acquisition strategy; operating performance and cost management; and governance.
The language in the investment disclosure makes it clear that Jana sees an opportunity to monetize the company's assets through a partial sale or auction for the whole company. Jana will probably also seek to have its representatives join Callaway's board. The investment firm is working with several experienced consumer industry executives on this investment including a formerNikeexecutive. Based on these initial disclosures, Jana has big plans for Callaway, and taking a look under the hood reveals that Callaway has several valuable assets that can be monetized.
In addition to Callaway's core golf business which in and of itself is quite valuable and would be an attractive acquisition to a number of sporting goods companies, Callaway has at least two other businesses that could be sold separately.
One is the Jack Wolfskin business that was just acquired a few months ago. Callaway acquired it for $476 million -- a large acquisition for a company like Callaway with a less than $2 billion market capitalization. Ever since the deal was announced last November, analysts have questioned its merits.
Callaway's core golf business sells highly engineered products that are substantially differentiated from competing brands and as a result enjoy pricing power and healthy profit margins. In contrast, Jack Wolfskin is primarily an apparel and footwear business. The apparel and footwear industries are extremely competitive, and the Jack Wolfskin brand cannot claim any sort of market leadership -- in other words, it's not as attractive a business as Callaway's core offerings.
Given that Callaway only recently acquired Jack Wolfskin, its acquisition price is a good marker for what the business could be worth. Although Callaway may have to sell it for a discount if it wants to divest the business quickly.
Image Source: Getty Images.
The second asset isCallaway's minority ownership stake in Topgolf. Topgolf is a premium golf driving range concept designed to entertain groups of people with golf and a full bar. Topgolf turns golf into an experience similar to visiting a bowling alley for a night out with friends. This unique twist on golf has really caught on in some parts of the United States and is growing rapidly.
Some industry analysts believe that Topgolf's business is worth as much as $6 billion. Callaway owns more than 10% of Topgolf which implies that its stake could be worth several hundred million dollars. However, because Callaway owns a minority ownership stake, it does not include Topgolf's financials in its income statement reporting.
There have been rumors that Topgolf could IPO in the near future, and given the company's strong growth, Callaway should be able to find a buyer for its stake.
As you can see, Callaway has several valuable assets that are strong candidates for divestitures, not to mention a sale of the entire company. Adding Jana's strong track record of corporate activism to the mix, it's no wonder that investors are bullish on Jana's involvement with Callaway.
Jana will likely seek out seats on the board of directors, followed by a review of strategic alternatives. Investors shouldn't be surprised if Callaway announces big changes in the coming year.
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Luis Sanchezhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Nike. The Motley Fool is short shares of Conagra Brands. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. |
Is National Storage Affiliates Trust (NYSE:NSA) Potentially Underrated?
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I've been keeping an eye on National Storage Affiliates Trust (NYSE:NSA) because I'm attracted to its fundamentals. Looking at the company as a whole, as a potential stock investment, I believe NSA has a lot to offer. Basically, it is a company with a a strong track record of dividend payments as well as a buoyant future outlook. Below is a brief commentary on these key aspects. For those interested in understanding where the figures come from and want to see the analysis, take a look at thereport on National Storage Affiliates Trust here.
NSA is considered one of the top dividend payers in the market, and it has also been able to maintain it at a level in which net income is able to cover dividend payments.
For National Storage Affiliates Trust, there are three relevant factors you should further examine:
1. Historical Performance: What has NSA's returns been like over the past? Go into more detail in the past track record analysis and take a look atthe free visual representations of our analysisfor more clarity.
2. Valuation: What is NSA 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 NSA is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other Attractive Alternatives: Are there other well-rounded stocks you could be holding instead of NSA? 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. |
Here's Why Kaman (KAMN) is Attractive Investment Option Now
Kaman CorporationKAMN currently seems to be a smart choice for investors seeking exposure in the machinery space. Solid fundamentals and positive revision in earnings estimates are reflective of healthy growth potential of the stock.This Bloomfield, CT-based company currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and has a VGM Score of A. It belongs to the Zacks Manufacturing – General Industrial industry, which comes under the ambit of the Zacks Industrial Products sector.We believe that the strengthening housing market, infrastructural development, lower taxes with the implementation of the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, solid manufacturing activities, and other tailwinds will aid industrial machinery companies. Further, healthy demand in the commercial and military aerospace markets is a boon.Below we discussed why investing in Kaman will be a smart choice.Financial Performance & Earnings Estimates:The company delivered impressive results in the first quarter of 2019. Its adjusted earnings of 57 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 54.05%. It is worth mentioning here that the company delivered a positive average earnings surprise of 15% in the last four quarters.For 2019, Kaman anticipates gaining from healthy business, efforts to invest in growth opportunities and work on reducing debts. Impressive first-quarter performance and growth prospects created positive sentiments for the stock. Earnings estimates for the company have been revised upward in the past 60 days. Currently, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Kaman’s earnings is pegged at $2.95 for 2019, reflecting growth of 1% from the 60-day-ago figure.Kaman Corporation Price and Consensus
Kaman Corporation price-consensus-chart | Kaman Corporation QuoteIn the past three months, the company’s shares have gained 9% compared with the industry’s growth of 5.5%.
Healthy Aerospace Business:The company engages in manufacturing aircraft bearings, aero structures, miniature ball bearings and others through the Aerospace segment. Kaman believes that focus on innovation, solid demand for existing products, investments to boost growth opportunities and solid orders will be boons for segmental growth in the quarters ahead.For 2019, the company anticipates Aerospace sales to be $730-$760 million, higher than the previously mentioned $720-$750 million.Divestment of Distribution Segment:Kaman recently reached an agreement to divest its Distribution segment to units associated with Littlejohn & Co., LLC. The move is in sync with the company’s aim to drive shareholder value.The divestment, when completed, is likely to help Kaman solidify balance sheet and focus on its more attractive aerospace business.Shareholder-Friendly Policies:The company effectively uses capital for rewarding shareholders handsomely through dividend payments and share buybacks.In the first quarter of 2019, it paid dividends worth $5.6 million to its shareholders and purchased treasury stocks worth $3 million. In 2018, dividend payments totaled $22.3 million and purchase of treasury shares was $19.3 million.Debt Profile:Kaman’s long-term debt totaled $274.2 million at the end of the first quarter of 2019. This balance reflects a decline of 3.5% from the previous quarter. The company’s debt profile is better than the industry. Its long-term debt/capital of 34.5% is lower than the industry’s 43.6%.Other Key PicksSome other top-ranked stocks in the sector are Roper Technologies, Inc. ROP, Chart Industries, Inc. GTLS and Flowserve Corporation FLS. While Roper sports a Zacks Rank #1, both Chart Industries and Flowserve carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.In the past 30 days, earnings estimates for Roper and Chart Industries have improved for the current year while remained unchanged for Flowserve. Further, average earnings surprise for the last four quarters was positive 8.43% for Roper, 16.56% for Chart Industries and 0.49% for Flowserve.Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit PotentialThe biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +98%, +119% and +164% in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks 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 reportRoper Technologies, Inc. (ROP) : Free Stock Analysis ReportFlowserve Corporation (FLS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportChart Industries, Inc. (GTLS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportKaman Corporation (KAMN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
How young is too young for children to go to the park on their own?
How young is too young for a child to go to the park alone? [Photo: Getty] A mum has sparked a parenting debate about how young is too young for a child to go to the park on their own? Taking to parenting site Mumsnet , the mum explained that shed just returned from a trip to the park where her son started playing with a boy on his own. I decided to take my son to the park for a quick run around before bed, she wrote. Shortly after getting to the play park a boy cycles up to us and starts playing with my son. I looked around for his mum but couldn't see anyone. Waited another 5 minutes and still no-one. At this point I decided to get my son to ask him some questions... The woman went on to say that her son found out that the boy was eight years old and in Year 3 at a local school. I enquired if his mum was there and he said no, she is at home, she continued. After discovering the youngest lived a street away from them, the mum left with her son and encouraged the boy to ride home too. He proceeded to cycle in the middle of the road! she continues. My immediate thought was road safety so I said we should all cycle on the path. I then watched him cycle and go back to his house safely. READ MORE: Is it OK for a child to use a potty in public? Though the woman explained that they live just minutes from the path so it is very local and safe, she was concerned that the boy had no qualms about talking to her or her son. I could've been a predator or pedofile [sic]. He also was cycling in the middle of the road, which of course could lead to him being injured or hit by a car! The mum finished her post by asking the forum whether it was appropriate to allow an 8-year-old boy to play at and then cycle home from the park alone, particularly as it was 6.30pm in the evening. She also wondered whether she should report it to the school the boy attends. And other parents were quick to wade into the tricky topic. Some parents couldnt see a problem with children so young being in the park alone. I teach eight year olds. Loads of them play out at the park by themselves. Its light in the evenings now so I dont see the harm, one woman wrote. Story continues My 8 year old goes to the park alone, another agreed. YAB [you are being] ridiculous to consider reporting a child being allowed to a park 5 minutes from his home. My DD was playing at the park on her own at 8, another mum agreed. I can literally see the park from my window, but even if it was a bit further away I would have let her go with a friend at that age. She's 9 now and is often out playing with her little gang of mates, they don't all need constant supervision, it's a judgement call that parents make about their own children. Other parents pointed out that children today are wrapped in cotton wool these days. He's eight, it's broad daylight, one parent wrote. A mum has sparked a debate about the topic after spotting an 8-year-old on their own in the park [Photo: Getty] READ MORE: A third of parents are breaking the law when giving a lift to someone else's child But some did think that eight was too young to be allowed out alone. I have an 8-year-old DS and I'd never allow him to go to the park on his own, one parent wrote. I help out in his class once a week too and it's not just him - it's the whole class who are too young and clueless to be out alone. An 8-year-old was abducted from a park local to me last week, one user warned. He was found with a stranger who tried to go in the bushes with him and was spotted by passers by. I have an 8 year old and wouldnt let her play anywhere where shes out of my vision, the same user continued. Not about wrapping them up and keeping them in a bubble. Its simply just not as safe as we would like it to be. I personally think my 8-year-old is too young but I guess everyone is different. Other parents thought it depended on the individual child and how mature they were. Some are very trustworthy but don't like being left alone, one mum wrote. So it's hard to put a precise age on when children should go to the park/corner shop/home alone. Parents have been debating a number of topics online recently. Last week, a mum went online to ask how much is too much to contribute to a teacher present ? Last month mums and dads were divided over whether primary school children should be given homework. And back in May a stay-at-home mum sparked a furore after asking if it is reasonable to expect her husband to pay her a £2,700 monthly "salary . |
Should You Be Holding National Storage Affiliates Trust (NYSE:NSA)?
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Building up an investment case requires looking at a stock holistically. Today I've chosen to put the spotlight on National Storage Affiliates Trust (NYSE:NSA) due to its excellent fundamentals in more than one area. NSA is a company with a an impressive track record of dividend payments as well as a buoyant growth outlook. 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, take a look at thereport on National Storage Affiliates Trust here.
NSA's high dividend payments make it one of the best dividend stocks on the market, and its profitability ensures that dividends are well-covered by its net income.
For National Storage Affiliates Trust, I've compiled three pertinent factors you should look at:
1. Historical Performance: What has NSA's returns been like over the past? Go into more detail in the past track record analysis and take a look atthe free visual representations of our analysisfor more clarity.
2. Valuation: What is NSA 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 NSA is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other Attractive Alternatives: Are there other well-rounded stocks you could be holding instead of NSA? 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. |
The Five Pointer: Rooney's stunner, Rapinoe v Trump and Messi's new shirt
Welcome to The Five Pointer - Yahoo Sport's daily round-up. We start with Wayne Rooney’s MLS wonder-goal from his own half for DC United. Donald Trump hits back at Women’s USWNT World Cup star Megan Rapinoe. Also at the Women’s World Cup, Cameroon are in trouble with FIFA over their behaviour in their defeat to England. Arsenal man Lucas Torreira responds to rumours about his future. Finally, Brazilian club Fluminense pay special tribute to Lionel Messi and pals at the Copa America. Featured from our writers Glastonbury to show England's World Cup clash after plea from player Norway vs England: Phil Neville sweats over defensive duo ahead of World Cup quarter-final clash David Silva to leave Manchester City at the end of next season Chelsea legend Frank Lampard moves closer to Stamford Bridge return as Derby County confirm talks View comments |
Have Insiders Been Buying National Grid plc (LON:NG.) Shares This Year?
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It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares inNational Grid plc(LON:NG.).
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 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.'
View our latest analysis for National Grid
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Chairman Peter Gershon bought UK£48k worth of shares at a price of UK£8.07 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of UK£8.30. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. If someone buys shares at well below current prices, it's a good sign on balance, but keep in mind they may no longer see value. The good news for National Grid share holders is that an insider was buying at near the current price. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Peter Gershon.
You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
National Grid is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at thisfreelist of growing companies with insider buying.
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 0.06% of National Grid shares, worth about UK£16m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.
Our data shows a little insider buying, but no selling, in the last three months. That said, the purchases were not large. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Overall we don't see anything to make us think National Grid insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. Of course,the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in National Grid, you should check out thisfreereport on analyst forecasts for the company.
But note:National Grid 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. |
New Strong Sell Stocks for June 27th
Here are 5 stocks added to the Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) List today:
Abiomed, Inc.ABMD is engaged in the research and development of medical devices to assist or replace the pumping function of the failing heart. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has been revised 1.5% downward over the last 30 days.
American Airlines Group Inc.AAL is the owner and operator of a network air carrier. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has been revised 1.2% downward over the last 30 days.
Caleres, Inc.CAL is a retailer and wholesaler of footwear. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has been revised 4.8% downward over the last 30 days.
Foot Locker, Inc.FL is an athletic shoes and apparel retailer. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has been revised 0.2% downward over the last 30 days.
FedEx CorporationFDX is a provider of transportation, e-commerce, and business services. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has been revised 4.4% 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 reportAmerican Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportABIOMED, Inc. (ABMD) : Free Stock Analysis ReportFoot Locker, Inc. (FL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportCaleres, Inc. (CAL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportFedEx Corporation (FDX) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here. |
Former Visa Exec-Led Startup Ships Nearly 4,000 Crypto Cards in a Week
Crypterium,cryptopaymentfirmledby formerVisaexec, has shipped about 4,000 crypto debit cards in a week since thelaunchof the card, according to apress releaseon June 27.
Crypterium, anEstonia-headquarteredfintechcompany,launchedits Crypterium Card on June 12, offering global community a prepaid card loaded with major cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), litecoin (LTC), USD Coin (USDC), as well as Crypterium’s ownCRPTtoken.
As the company wrote in theannouncement, the new bitcoin card operates “in the same way as a traditional prepaid card,” enabling online and in-store crypto purchases on a number of services includingAmazon,Netflix, as well as tuition fees, or medical bills, among others. With that, users can also cash out from “any of the 2 million” automatic teller machines (ATMs), with funds converted automatically to local currencies.
Crypterium has managed to deliver 3,736 Crypterium Cards to around 70 countries in the first week after the launch of the solution, citing “booming demand” amid the current BTC price surge and nascentbull market.
While the majority of card orders have come from theUnited States, the firm also noted a significant demand from the Asia-Pacific region, withAustraliaranking third by orders. Exceptional demand, in particular, came from countries with weak local currencies and unstable economies.
Steven Parker, former General Manager of global payment giant Visa, said that these impressive numbers reflect the actual global demand for a “stable debit card” that provides equal status to crypto and traditional currencies in terms of payments.
On June 11, U.S.-basedcrypto exchangeandwalletserviceCoinbaselaunchedits Visa debit card in sixEuropeancountries, enabling customers to sync their cards directly to their Coinbase accounts and withdraw fiat currencies from ATMs.
Earlier this week, Cointelegraphreportedthat the total number of global bitcoin ATMs (BTMs) has reached 5,000.
• Overstock’s tZero Launches Mobile Crypto App Touted as Hack-Resistant
• Square Rolls Out Bitcoin Deposits for Cash App to General Public
• Ripple CEO: Bitcoin and XRP Aren’t Competitors — I’m Long BTC
• Survey: 27% of UK Residents Want to See Crypto in More Real-World Applications |
Is Navigant Consulting, Inc. (NYSE:NCI) Expensive For A Reason? A Look At Its Intrinsic Value
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How far off is Navigant Consulting, Inc. (NYSE:NCI) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. I will be using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.
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 Navigant Consulting
We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.
A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:
[{"": "Levered FCF ($, Millions)", "2019": "$39.48", "2020": "$48.72", "2021": "$45.92", "2022": "$44.44", "2023": "$43.81", "2024": "$43.73", "2025": "$44.03", "2026": "$44.60", "2027": "$45.37", "2028": "$46.30"}, {"": "Growth Rate Estimate Source", "2019": "Analyst x2", "2020": "Analyst x2", "2021": "Est @ -5.76%", "2022": "Est @ -3.21%", "2023": "Est @ -1.43%", "2024": "Est @ -0.18%", "2025": "Est @ 0.69%", "2026": "Est @ 1.3%", "2027": "Est @ 1.73%", "2028": "Est @ 2.03%"}, {"": "Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 8.42%", "2019": "$36.42", "2020": "$41.45", "2021": "$36.03", "2022": "$32.16", "2023": "$29.24", "2024": "$26.92", "2025": "$25.00", "2026": "$23.36", "2027": "$21.92", "2028": "$20.63"}]
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= $293.14m
"Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St
After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the intial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 10-year government bond rate of 2.7%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 8.4%.
Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2029× (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = US$46m × (1 + 2.7%) ÷ (8.4% – 2.7%) = US$836m
Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= $US$836m ÷ ( 1 + 8.4%)10= $372.58m
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 $665.73m. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding.This results in an intrinsic value estimate of $16.92. Relative to the current share price of $22.79, the company appears reasonably expensive at the time of writing. 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 Navigant Consulting 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 8.4%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.954. 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. What is the reason for the share price to differ from the intrinsic value? For Navigant Consulting, There are three fundamental factors you should look at:
1. Financial Health: Does NCI 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 NCI'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 NCI? 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 NYSE 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. |
Will Wind Beat Hydro in the US Energy Generation Race?
Usage of renewable energy sources to produce electricity is constantly increasing in the United States. The rising awareness of utility operators has resulted in ramped-up investments in research and development in the renewable space. New technology and advanced products have lowered the cost of operating utility-scale renewable power plants.Per a recent forecast from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), wind, solar, and hydropower will collectively produce 18% of domestic electricity in 2019 and almost 20% in 2020. It foresees renewables as the fastest growing source of electricity production in the United States.EIA expects energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to decline 2.0% in 2019 and 0.9% in 2020 after the 2.7% rise in 2018. Electricity from wind sources is predicted to grow 12% and 14% in the next two years. EIA expects the share of total electricity generation from wind to increase from 7% in 2018 to 9% in 2020. Electricity generated from wind in 2019 will surpass hydropower generation.The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) latest Wind Vision Study Scenario projects 10% of the nation's end-use demand will be served by wind by 2020, 20% by 2030 and 35% by 2050. DOE also announced funding of up to $28.1 million targeted to advance wind energy nationwide across the land-based, offshore, and distributed wind sectors.Utilities Show More Interest in WindWind is gradually becoming the preferred renewable source of electricity generation in the United States owing to declining cost of production and usage of bigger turbines which allow production of greater volumes compared with earlier times. Innovation in the wind power generation technology will further bring down cost of operation.Though flow and direction of wind is still a pressing concern, power generation from wind is on the rise. Utility players like Xcel Energy XEL, NextEra Energy, Inc. NEE and WEC Energy Group, Inc. WEC are focusing on wind generation with extensive plans to produce more.
Xcel Energy aims to provide 100% carbon-free electricity to customers by 2050. The company’s steel-for-fuel initiative enables the addition of renewables. Nearly 3,000 MW of its new wind projects has received regulatory approval, with construction underway. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and has returned 30.2% in the past 12 months compared with industry’s return of 12.4%. You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.NextEra Energy has decided to invest $39.5 billion in the 2019-2023 time frame in various projects. During 2018, the company added in excess of 6,500 MW renewable projects to its backlog, which includes 1,300 MW of wind repowering and in the first quarter of 2019, the backlog was 953 MW, which includes 195 MW of wind repowering. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #3 and has returned 21.7% in the past 12 months.WEC Energy is focused on reducing carbon emissions by approximately 40% below 2005 levels by 2030 and 80% by 2050. The company is pursuing acquisitions to expand its wind operations. After acquiring Forward Wind Energy Center and Bishop Hill III, the company took over an 80% ownership in Coyote Ridge Wind Farm, which has a capacity of 97 MW. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #3 and has returned 29.3% in a year’s time.Is the Focus on Wind Long-Term?A few market experts opine that the focus on renewable sources like wind is primarily due to the incentives provided by the government. Experts believe, once the Production Tax Credit (PTC) is phased out, interest of utility operators will shift from the renewable energy space.However, we expect the interest of utility operators to remain despite the gradual phasing out of PTC. Few utilities have already chalked out long-term plans to provide 100% electricity from clean sources with or without PTC.
Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit PotentialThe biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of+98%,+119%and+164%in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks 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 reportXcel Energy Inc. (XEL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportWEC Energy Group, Inc. (WEC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportNextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Head Spinning Reversal In Bond ETFs
What a difference six months can make. That’s how long it took for the Federal Reserve to go from hiking rates (with talk of more hikes to come) to suggesting it may cut rates imminently.
The turnaround in the 10-year Treasury yield wasn’t any less abrupt. It went from a yield of 3.25% in November to as low as 1.97% this month, propelling theiShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEF)to its highest level since 2016. (Bond prices rise as yields go down.)It’s enough to make anyone’s head spin.
U.S. 10-Year Treasury Yield
“It’s been quite an abrupt turnaround. I don’t remember seeing the outlook for monetary policy ever being so volatile,” remarked Brian Jacobsen, senior investment strategist for Wells Fargo Asset Management’s multi-asset client solutions group.
Jacobsen says that the wild ride in the 10-year yield is a direct result of the changing stance of monetary policy, one in which the Fed went from being patient with rate hikes to being prepared to cut rates, all in the span of two quarters.Rising Recession Fears
Of course, the Fed hasn’t changed its stance in a vacuum. As the stimulus from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 wears off and the U.S.-China trade war acts as a drag, the economy is naturally slowing down.
Professional forecasters expect U.S. economic growth to be closer to 2% this year, down from close to 3% last year. That alone would be enough to send yields lower, but the uncertainty of how the trade war will play out and slowing growth around the world has the “R-word” (recession) popping up a lot more in conversations.
The chance of a recession over the next 12 months is 30%, according to a survey of economists by Bloomberg. Even if they are right, that still leaves a 70% chance of no recession, but the mere hint of the first economic contraction in a decade is understandably spurring safe-haven buying in Treasuries and other investment-grade bonds.TheiShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT), theiShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG), theVanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCIT)theiShares MBS ETF (MBB)and theVanguard Total International Bond ETF (BNDX)have all been popular with investors seeking the safety of fixed income this year.
Most Popular Fixed Income ETFs Of 2019
[{"Ticker": "VCIT", "Fund": "Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF", "YTD Flows ($M)": "5,202"}, {"Ticker": "TLT", "Fund": "iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF", "YTD Flows ($M)": "4,825"}, {"Ticker": "BNDX", "Fund": "Vanguard Total International Bond ETF", "YTD Flows ($M)": "4,482"}, {"Ticker": "MBB", "Fund": "iShares MBS ETF", "YTD Flows ($M)": "4,179"}, {"Ticker": "AGG", "Fund": "iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF", "YTD Flows ($M)": "4,160"}]
Range-Bound 10-Year
Unlike in 2018, when low-duration ETFs were all the rage, this year, investors are willing to take on duration risk, perhaps confident that rates won’t spike too much from here, with growth and inflation relatively tepid.
Gary Stringer, president and CIO of Stringer Asset Management, believes the 10-year Treasury yield will largely be range-bound between 1.75% and 2.25%. Wells Fargo’s Jacobsen also imagines the 10-year yield will be stuck in a trading range, albeit one that is wide and volatile, with an upper bound of 2.5%.Fed’s Next Move
But the two differ on what the next move from the Fed will be. Stringer, like the market, sees the Central Bank cutting rates to keep the business cycle on track. Jacobsen, on the other hand, thinks the Fed’s next move is much more contingent on how U.S.-China trade talks play out.
“We stick out like a sore thumb from the market in terms of our views,” Jacobsen said. “The market went from pricing in rate hikes to rate cuts rather quickly, and the Fed changed its tone rather quickly. We think the market and the Fed could change their tone back the other way just as quickly.”According to Jacobsen, the Fed’s projection of needing to cut rates is a conditional forecast. It assumes trade talks will go nowhere between the U.S. and China. If that’s the case, the Fed will likely need to cut rates to help sustain the economic recovery. But if talks are fruitful, especially if President Trump and President Xi can pledge to work together this weekend at the G-20, the outlook for rates could change in a hurry.“The market view of the likelihood of rate cuts could really quickly turn into a prediction of the Fed holding steady with rates,” Jacobsen said.
Judicious Credit Risk
Regardless of what the Fed does with rates or how trade talks play out, you won’t find many analysts calling for much higher interest rates. Still, with rates having moved down so much and so fast, investors should be careful about taking on too much duration risk, they caution.“It’s really about trying to take on judicious credit risk as opposed to too much duration risk,” Jacobsen advised. “We’d much rather look at CoCo [contingent convertible] bonds in Europe and select emerging market debt, where you can get a little more yield.”
Meanwhile, Stringer warns investors to stay away from high yield bonds, where he doesn’t think investors are getting compensated enough for taking liquidity and credit risk.“Within our fixed income positioning, we’re currently favoring short duration and intermediate duration high quality corporate bond and mortgage-backed security ETFs, as well as a taxable municipal bond ETFs on the longer end of the curve,” he said. “Each of these are high quality, liquid, and offer a yield advantage over similar duration Treasury bonds.”
Email Sumit Roy atsroy@etf.comor follow him on Twitter@sumitroy2
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6 Reasons Your Budget is Impossible to Stick To
Do you find that you can't stick to your budget? Here's why -- and what you can do to make it easier.
Image source: Getty Images
Living on a budget is importantbecause it allows you to make sure your money works for you. When you plan out where your cash will go, you can prioritize thingslike savingso you aren’t broke as a senior and can put limits on spending for less-necessary items such as dining out or your DVD collection.
But just having a budget doesn’t actually do you any good -- you have to stick to it if it’s going to be an effective money-management tool. Unfortunately that can be easier said than done, especially if you make mistakes during the budgeting process.
If you find you’re consistently overspending and not sticking to your plans, there are probably a few key reasons why you’re having so much trouble. Here are six possible explanations for why living on your budget just isn’t working for you.
In most cases, it’s possible to make a budget work by being smart about how you allocate your dollars. But sometimes your income is too low or your expenses are too high and there’s simply no way to make the numbers add up. If you make $2,000 a month and are paying $1,800 a month for rent, something obviously needs to change.
Ideally your spending on the essentials -- including shelter, transport to work, clothing, and food -- shouldn’t exceed around 50% of your income. That would leave you 30% to spend on wants and 20% to allocate towards all your savings goals (this is called the50-30-20 budget). If you can get close to that, you’re OK. But if your fixed expenses are taking up 80% of your income, you need to make some big lifestyle shifts.
If your income can’t support your lifestyle, some options to consider include moving somewhere cheaper, getting a roommate, getting rid of your vehicle if you don’t really need it, or increasing your income by asking for a raise or taking on a side-gig. You’ll have to decide which of these steps would be most effective for you if you can’t make the math work.
A budget shouldn’t be an aspirational document that’s nothing more than a wish-list of what you hope you can do with your money. It should be realistic given your day-to-day life. The only way you can know if you’re making a budget you have some hope of sticking to is to figure out where your money is currently going.
You should ideally track your spending for at least 30 days by using an app such asMintor by inputting all your transactions into a spreadsheet. Once you know what your actual outlays are, you can see what realistic cuts need to be made and where you can tweak the numbers to have enough money to live on now and to save for your future.
Tracking your spending to get an idea of where your money is going is a good way to start making your budget, but you can’t stop there. After all, if you track your spending in June, this doesn’t account for your car inspection due in September, your daughter’s birthday in May, or the December holiday season -- all of which will likely cause you to incur costs you didn’t plan for and potentially reach for yourcredit cards.
When making your budget, sit down and look at a calendar or look at your past year’s credit card statements to see what types of irregular expenses come up on a routine basis. Then account for those throughout the year. Instead of having to suddenly come up with $1,000 cash in December -- and probably blowing your budget entirely -- plan to save $84 a month in aholiday savings account.
If you have money set aside for all these irregular expenses that you’re bound to encounter, they won’t cause you to overspend during the month they come up.
Unfortunately, no matter how careful you are with planning, something unexpected is probably going to come up at least once during the course of an average month. If you’ve given every single dollar a job to fulfill, you won’t have anything left over to pay for these surprises. While you should have anemergency fundyou can tap for big unexpected bills, you don’t want to take money out of these funds every month just because you have a small tab to pay.
To make sure you don’t end up overspending, have a line item in your budget labeled “surprise!” Depending on your income, this could be as low as $5 or as much as $100 or more -- just so you have a bit of flexibility. If you don’t end up spending the surprise fund in one month, save it for the next one so you’ve got an even bigger cushion.
A budget is a living document that needs to evolve with your lifestyle. You can’t expect that a budget you made last year, or even six months ago, is necessarily right for your needs today.
So sit down once every month or two, see how you’ve done with sticking to your plan, and make any adjustments or tweaks that need to be made to account for differences in your current circumstances.
If you’re married or seriously involved with a romantic partner, it’s going to bemuchharder to stick to your budget if you don’t have buy-in from the person you love. Obviously big issues will arise if you have shared accounts and only one of you sticks to your budget.
But you could also have problems if you maintain separate accounts but don’t consult your beloved about your budget. If you plan to spend $10 on dining out but your paramour wants you to go out for dinner twice a week -- and you need to pay your half of the bill -- this is going to become either a relationship or financial issue (or both) very quickly. So make sure you talk to the person you love about your financial plans so you can get on the same page.
If you solve these six big potential problems, hopefully you can create a budget that you can actually stick to. It may take some time and effort to make a financial plan for spending and saving that actually works for you, but doing it is worth the effort -- assuming you don’t want to end up broke with nothing to show for all your work.
The Motley Fool owns and recommends MasterCard and Visa, and recommends American Express. We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule. If we wouldn’t recommend an offer to a close family member, we wouldn’t recommend it on The Ascent either. Our number one goal is helping people find the best offers to improve their finances. That is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team. |
Is Costco (COST) a Solid Growth Stock? 3 Reasons to Think " Yes "
Investors seek growth stocks to capitalize on above-average growth in financials that help these securities grab the market's attention and produce exceptional returns. But finding a great growth stock is not easy at all.
By their very nature, these stocks carry above-average risk and volatility. Moreover, if a company's growth story is over or nearing its end, betting on it could lead to significant loss.
However, it's pretty easy to find cutting-edge growth stocks with the help of the Zacks Growth Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which looks beyond the traditional growth attributes to analyze a company's real growth prospects.
Costco (COST) is on the list of such stocks currently recommended by our proprietary system. In addition to a favorable Growth Score, it carries a top Zacks Rank.
Research shows that stocks carrying the best growth features consistently beat the market. And for stocks that have a combination of a Growth Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy), returns are even better.
While there are numerous reasons why the stock of this warehouse club operator is a great growth pick right now, we have highlighted three of the most important factors below:
Earnings Growth
Arguably nothing is more important than earnings growth, as surging profit levels is what most investors are after. And for growth investors, double-digit earnings growth is definitely preferable, and often an indication of strong prospects (and stock price gains) for the company under consideration.
While the historical EPS growth rate for Costco is 9.9%, investors should actually focus on the projected growth. The company's EPS is expected to grow 17.7% this year, crushing the industry average, which calls for EPS growth of 7.1%.
Cash Flow Growth
Cash is the lifeblood of any business, but higher-than-average cash flow growth is more beneficial and important for growth-oriented companies than for mature companies. That's because, high cash accumulation enables these companies to undertake new projects without raising expensive outside funds.
Right now, year-over-year cash flow growth for Costco is 13.3%, which is higher than many of its peers. In fact, the rate compares to the industry average of 3.6%.
While investors should actually consider the current cash flow growth, it's worth taking a look at the historical rate too for putting the current reading into proper perspective. The company's annualized cash flow growth rate has been 8.8% over the past 3-5 years versus the industry average of 8.6%.
Promising Earnings Estimate Revisions
Superiority of a stock in terms of the metrics outlined above can be further validated by looking at the trend in earnings estimate revisions. A positive trend is of course favorable here. Empirical research shows that there is a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
The current-year earnings estimates for Costco have been revising upward. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has surged 1.1% over the past month.
Bottom Line
While the overall earnings estimate revisions have made Costco a Zacks Rank #2 stock, it has earned itself a Growth Score of B based on a number of factors, including the ones discussed above.
You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
This combination positions Costco well for outperformance, so growth investors may want to bet on it.
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 reportCostco Wholesale Corporation (COST) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here. |
You Might Like Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LIND) But Do You Like Its Debt?
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Investors are always looking for growth in small-cap stocks like Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LIND), with a market cap of US$791m. However, an important fact which most ignore is: how financially healthy is the business? Assessing first and foremost the financial health is vital, since poor capital management may bring about bankruptcies, which occur at a higher rate for small-caps. Let's work through some financial health checks you may wish to consider if you're interested in this stock. However, these checks don't give you a full picture, so I’d encourage you todig deeper yourself into LIND here.
LIND has sustained its debt level by about US$196m over the last 12 months – this includes long-term debt. At this constant level of debt, the current cash and short-term investment levels stands at US$70m , ready to be used for running the business. Additionally, LIND has produced US$61m in operating cash flow over the same time period, resulting in an operating cash to total debt ratio of 31%, signalling that LIND’s operating cash is sufficient to cover its debt.
At the current liabilities level of US$164m, the company may not have an easy time meeting these commitments with a current assets level of US$136m, leading to a current ratio of 0.83x. The current ratio is calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities.
Since total debt levels exceed equity, LIND is a highly leveraged company. This is somewhat unusual for small-caps companies, since lenders are often hesitant to provide attractive interest rates to less-established businesses. We can test if LIND’s debt levels are sustainable by measuring interest payments against earnings of a company. Ideally, earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) should cover net interest by at least three times. For LIND, the ratio of 2.29x suggests that interest is not strongly covered, which means that lenders may be more reluctant to lend out more funding as LIND’s low interest coverage already puts the company at higher risk of default.
Although LIND’s debt level is towards the higher end of the spectrum, its cash flow coverage seems adequate to meet debt obligations which means its debt is being efficiently utilised. Though its low liquidity raises concerns over whether current asset management practices are properly implemented for the small-cap. I admit this is a fairly basic analysis for LIND's financial health. Other important fundamentals need to be considered alongside. I recommend you continue to research Lindblad Expeditions Holdings to get a better picture of the stock by looking at:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for LIND’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor LIND’s outlook.
2. Historical Performance: What has LIND's returns been like over the past? Go into more detail in the past track record analysis and take a look atthe free visual representations of our analysisfor more clarity.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
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