Hot Medical Stocks For 2019

tags:MCFT,SNPS,Y,

Investment company Exane Asset Management buys DowDuPont Inc, T-Mobile US Inc, Catalent Inc, Braskem SA, TechnipFMC PLC, Philip Morris International Inc, UBS Group AG, Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc, NXP Semiconductors NV, NxStage Medical Inc, sells AT&T Inc, PQ Group Holdings Inc, Gilead Sciences Inc, Verizon Communications Inc, Liberty Global PLC during the 3-months ended 2017-12-31, according to the most recent filings of the investment company, Exane Asset Management. As of 2017-12-31, Exane Asset Management owns 97 stocks with a total value of $322 million. These are the details of the buys and sells.

New Purchases: DWDP, CTLT, BAK, PM, RGC, LOGI, BGC, OXY, BG, VET, Added Positions: TMUS, FTI, UBS, BMRN, NXPI, NXTM, APD, AKRX, BIIB, TMO, Reduced Positions: GILD, VZ, CNHI, QGEN, BAC, BMY, TSU, ASH, TWX, DBVT, Sold Out: T, PQG, LBTYA, CF, OLN, UNVR, ALXN, MRK, PCAR, VWR,

For the details of Exane Asset Management's stock buys and sells, go to http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=Exane+Asset+Management

Hot Medical Stocks For 2019: MCBC Holdings, Inc.(MCFT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  MCBC Holdings (NASDAQ:MCFT) shares reached a new 52-week high and low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $30.42 and last traded at $30.27, with a volume of 14269 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $29.28.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on MCBC (MCFT)

  For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Shares of MCBC Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:MCFT) have received an average rating of “Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.08.

Hot Medical Stocks For 2019: Synopsys, Inc.(SNPS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  These are some of the news headlines that may have effected Accern Sentiment’s analysis:

  Get Synopsys alerts: Synopsys, Inc. (SNPS) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages (americanbankingnews.com) Free Research Report as Applied Materials' Revenues Grew 28.8%; Adjusted EPS Surged 54.4% (finance.yahoo.com) Synopsys IC Validator Certified by Samsung Foundry for 7nm Signoff Physical Verification (prnewswire.com) Synopsys Fusion Technology Enables Lower Power, Smaller Area, and Higher Performance on Samsung Foundry 7LPP Process with EUV (prnewswire.com) Synopsys Announces New Release of LucidShape Software for Automotive Lighting Design and Analysis (finance.yahoo.com)

  A number of equities analysts recently commented on SNPS shares. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Synopsys in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Synopsys in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Synopsys from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. BidaskClub cut shares of Synopsys from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, ValuEngine raised shares of Synopsys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Synopsys presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $102.71.

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  Synopsys Inc  (NASDAQ:SNPS)Q1 2019 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 20, 2019, 5:00 p.m. ET

  Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks:

  Operator

• [By Chris Lange]

  The S&P 500 stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close was Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS) which traded up over 6% at $100.70. The stock's 52-week range is $77.91 to $101.76. Volume was about 4 million compared to the daily average volume of nearly 1 million.

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  Synopsys (NASDAQ:SNPS) Q2 2018 Earnings Conference CallMay. 23, 2018 5:00 p.m. ET

  Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks:

  Operator

Hot Medical Stocks For 2019: Alleghany Corporation(Y)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Xact Kapitalforvaltning AB increased its stake in shares of Alleghany Co. (NYSE:Y) by 15.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,612 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Xact Kapitalforvaltning AB’s holdings in Alleghany were worth $990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Alleghany Co. (NYSE:Y) has earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $650.00.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Alleghany (Y)

  For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

Best Canadian Stocks For 2019

tags:PAA,CMG,CNI,CNR,VRX,

Share price of Infosys rose 1 percent in the early trade on Tuesday after Infosys Public Services Inc (IPS) has been awarded a CAD USD 80.3 million contract by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) to modernize and automate their procurement processes.

IPS is working with Ernst & Young LLP (EY) and SAP Canada Inc. (SAP) to digitize PSPC procurement system through the implementation and management of a cloud-based electronic procurement solution.

The new solution, which will be using SAP Ariba, SAP Fieldglass and ServiceNow, will provide an intuitive, web-based portal for PSPC and its suppliers to access procurement information and services in both English and French.

Eric Paternoster, Chief Executive Officer, Infosys Public Services said, "We are honored and excited to have been selected by the Government of Canada to do just this – modernize procurement systems to make it easier for the government and the suppliers to interact, transact and better serve Canadians."

Best Canadian Stocks For 2019: Plains All American Pipeline L.P.(PAA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Shares of Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (NYSE:PAA) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-four brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $25.94.

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  In addition, the company's Advantage Pipeline joint venture (JV) with Plains All American Pipeline (NYSE:PAA) has been exceeding expectations since it began last year. Noble Midstream and Plains All American might need to expand that pipeline even further.

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  Two years ago, Plains All American Pipeline (NYSE:PAA) and Plains GP Holdings (NYSE:PAGP) took a step to simplify their corporate structure by eliminating the costly incentive distribution rights (IDRs) that Plains All American paid to Plains GP. In exchange, Plains GP acquired a 34.8% stake in the MLP. While that deal was certainly a step in the right direction, the companies could eventually take the next logical progression by combining into one entity.

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  It's also just one of several oil pipeline projects in the works throughout the Permian Basin. Plains All American Pipeline (NYSE:PAA) is currently investing $1.6 billion on Permian Basin expansions, which include two long-haul pipelines and several other complementary projects to help de-bottleneck the flow of crude. Those projects help position Plains to grow earnings and cash flow at a double-digit annual pace over the next two years, setting it up to increase its 4.9%-yielding payout at a healthy rate going forward.

Best Canadian Stocks For 2019: Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.(CMG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Baldwin]

  By submitting your email address you will receive a free subscription to Profit Alerts and occasional special offers from Money Map Press and our affiliates. You can unsubscribe at anytime and we encourage you to read more about our privacy policy.

  Shares of Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) surged more than 21% after the social media giant topped Wall Street earnings expectations after the bell Thursday. The firm made big strides toward profitability with a quarterly loss of $0.04 per share. Wall Street expected a loss of $0.07 per share. The social media giant also said that its subscriber base has stabilized. The platform had 186 million daily active users for the second consecutive quarter. The firm also reported quarterly revenue of $390 million, a figure that also easily beat expectations. Shares of Cronos Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CRON) have been sliding since Tuesday morning after the marijuana producer received a downgrade from GMP Securities. Shares fell more than 6% during Tuesday trading and have fallen another 2.1% in pre-market hours. Shares of the stock have jumped by more than 100% since the start of the year, prompting concerns for a reversal. While GMP believes a short-term correction is called for, it has said that the firm's deal with Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) is a "game changer." Today, look for more earnings reports from GoPro Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRO), Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG), FireEye Inc. (NASDAQ: FEYE), Spotify Technology SA (NASDAQ: SPOT), Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), and Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MTCH). Millions of Americans Now Entitled to Collect "Federal Rent Checks"

  Forty-six years ago, Congress passed an obscure piece of legislation known as Public Law 92-313. And today, it's why the Treasury is sitting on top of an $11.1 billion pile of money.

• [By Jason Hall]

  Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) are down 8.9% at 12:10 p.m. EDT on June 28, following yesterday's press release and presentation discussing the company's new strategies to reignite growth at the erstwhile high-growth burrito chain. After market close on June 27, Chipotle management held a call with analysts discussing the company's plans to relocate and consolidate its headquarters, the closure of 55 to 65 existing restaurants, its plans for marketing and promotion, and new menu item development. 

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Bronfman E.L. Rothschild L.P. cut its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) by 28.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 159 shares during the quarter. Bronfman E.L. Rothschild L.P.’s holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Nicholas Rossolillo]

  Lying somewhere between traditional table service and fast food is Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) -- still attempting to recover from several food scares over the last couple years. The leading fast-casual chain also has a new CEO who has hinted at making menu changes and possibly adding drive-thrus in the near future. No longer a small upstart, with over 2,400 locations, lunchtime could get a boost here as well due to Subway's retreat. Same-store sales have begun to show signs of life, and management sees them rising in the low single digits in 2018.

• [By Chris Lange]

  The stock posting the largest daily percentage loss in the S&P 500 ahead of the close was Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) which fell about 4% to $502.07. The stock's 52-week range is $247.52 to $530.68. Volume was about 2 million compared to the daily average volume of less than 1 million.

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  In this segment from the Motley Fool Money podcast, host Chris Hill and senior Motley Fool analysts Jason Moser, David Kretzmann, and Ron Gross review where the company is getting its best results and where its growth has gone cold. Plus, they discuss the latest plan by Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) to win back some of its lapsed fans with a handful of promising new menu items.

Best Canadian Stocks For 2019: Canadian National Railway Company(CNI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 1,956 put options on the company. This is an increase of 1,818% compared to the typical volume of 102 put options.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Alberta as represented by Alberta Investment Management Corp cut its position in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 21.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,956,400 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 522,300 shares during the period. Canadian National Railway accounts for about 1.7% of Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Alberta as represented by Alberta Investment Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Alberta as represented by Alberta Investment Management Corp owned 0.27% of Canadian National Railway worth $184,215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) – Equities research analysts at Desjardins boosted their Q3 2018 earnings per share estimates for shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note issued on Monday, October 8th. Desjardins analyst B. Poirier now anticipates that the transportation company will earn $1.09 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.09. Desjardins also issued estimates for Canadian National Railway’s FY2021 earnings at $5.66 EPS.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) – Analysts at Seaport Global Securities issued their Q1 2019 EPS estimates for shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, January 30th. Seaport Global Securities analyst M. Levin expects that the transportation company will earn $0.96 per share for the quarter. Seaport Global Securities also issued estimates for Canadian National Railway’s Q2 2019 earnings at $1.26 EPS, Q3 2019 earnings at $1.27 EPS and Q4 2019 earnings at $1.26 EPS.

Best Canadian Stocks For 2019: China Metro-Rural Holdings Limited(CNR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) – Equities research analysts at Desjardins boosted their Q3 2018 earnings per share estimates for shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note issued on Monday, October 8th. Desjardins analyst B. Poirier now anticipates that the transportation company will earn $1.09 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.09. Desjardins also issued estimates for Canadian National Railway’s FY2021 earnings at $5.66 EPS.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 134,917 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,692 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $11,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  State of Tennessee Treasury Department lessened its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 842,775 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 13,507 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department owned about 0.11% of Canadian National Railway worth $61,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Several brokerages have updated their recommendations and price targets on shares of Canadian National Railway (TSE: CNR) in the last few weeks:

  2/11/2019 – Canadian National Railway was given a new C$117.00 price target on by analysts at Morgan Stanley. 1/31/2019 – Canadian National Railway was given a new C$116.00 price target on by analysts at BMO Capital Markets. They now have a “market perform” rating on the stock. 1/30/2019 – Canadian National Railway had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Raymond James. They now have a C$125.00 price target on the stock. 1/30/2019 – Canadian National Railway had its price target raised by analysts at TD Securities from C$125.00 to C$130.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. 1/30/2019 – Canadian National Railway had its price target raised by analysts at CIBC from C$118.00 to C$119.00. 1/30/2019 – Canadian National Railway had its price target raised by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from C$116.00 to C$119.00. 1/14/2019 – Canadian National Railway had its price target raised by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from C$112.00 to C$116.00. 1/7/2019 – Canadian National Railway had its price target raised by analysts at Morgan Stanley from C$114.00 to C$115.00. 1/2/2019 – Canadian National Railway had its price target lowered by analysts at CIBC from C$120.00 to C$118.00. 12/19/2018 – Canadian National Railway had its price target lowered by analysts at National Bank Financial from C$119.00 to C$110.00. They now have a “sector perform” rating on the stock. 12/18/2018 – Canadian National Railway had its price target lowered by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from C$122.00 to C$112.00. 12/17/2018 – Canadian National Railway had its price target lowered by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from C$130.00 to C$128.00.

  Shares of CNR stock traded up C$1.79 during tr

Best Canadian Stocks For 2019: Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc(VRX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  TD Securities cut shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl (NYSE:VRX) (TSE:VRX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $24.00 target price on the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX) has a PDUFA date set for May 13. Specifically, this is for its New Drug Application for Plenvu (NER1006), which was licensed by Salix from Norgine in August 2016 for introduction to the U.S. market. Plenvu is a next-generation bowel cleansing preparation for colonoscopies.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Tuesday saw an up-and-down session on Wall Street, with major benchmarks trading on either side of the unchanged mark before finishing the day flat. Many investors kept most of their attention on Washington, where the White House announced that the U.S. would withdraw from the deal that the previous administration made with Iran concerning nuclear development. The withdrawal was largely expected, and although crude oil and other commodities were volatile leading up to the final decision, most other financial markets seemed prepared for the announcement. Even on a lackluster day, some companies had good news that lifted their shares substantially. Expeditors International of Washington (NASDAQ:EXPD), Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (NYSE:VRX), and SeaWorld Entertainment (NYSE:SEAS) were among the best performers on the day. Here's why they did so well.

Top 5 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2019

tags:EXXI,JST,AXGN,HOVNP,CLNE,

China is home to some of the most polluted cities in the world, as they choke on dirty air. Its rivers are renowned as the home for deadly chemicals. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) wants to end some of that and plans to pay to do so.

Apple plans to get some of its suppliers to foot much of the bill for its China Green Energy Fund, which will eventually grow close to $300 million. Among the suppliers are Catcher Technology, Compal Electronics, Corning, Golden Arrow, Jabil, Luxshare-ICT, Pegatron, Solvay, Sunway Communication and Wistron. It is not clear what each will put into the fund, or if Apple supplies most of the money.

The scale of the plan seems large at $300 million, but on the kind of scale China represents, the investment is minimal. Apple management wrote:

The fund will invest in and develop clean energy projects totaling more than 1 gigawatt of renewable energy in China, the equivalent of powering nearly 1 million homes.

China has over 1.3 billion residents and hundreds of millions of households. A study by 24/7 Wall St. showed that many of the 25 most polluted cities in the world are in China. Part of the research came from the World Health Organization. Research shows that air pollution kills as many as a million people in China each year.

Top 5 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2019: Energy XXI Ltd.(EXXI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  The stock market was mostly higher on Monday, with market participants celebrating favorable economic news on the consumer front and looking forward to another round of positive earnings reports when third-quarter earnings season starts early next month. Tax cuts have helped corporate earnings throughout 2018, and that's generally helped to lift the overall market. Yet even with several major market benchmarks at or near record levels, some stocks weren't able to participate in the gains today. Brown-Forman (NYSE:BF-B), Acorda Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACOR), and Energy XXI Gulf Coast (NASDAQ:EXXI) were among the worst performers on the day. Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to tell you why they did so poorly.

Top 5 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2019: Jinpan International Limited(JST)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Warburg Research set a €47.00 ($55.95) price target on JOST Werke (ETR:JST) in a report published on Friday. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  A number of firms have modified their ratings and price targets on shares of JOST Werke (ETR: JST) recently:

  5/25/2018 – JOST Werke was given a new €46.00 ($53.49) price target on by analysts at Deutsche Bank AG. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. 5/25/2018 – JOST Werke was given a new €46.00 ($53.49) price target on by analysts at Deutsche Bank AG. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. 5/25/2018 – JOST Werke was given a new €47.00 ($54.65) price target on by analysts at Warburg Research. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. 5/24/2018 – JOST Werke was given a new €45.00 ($52.33) price target on by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock. 5/8/2018 – JOST Werke was given a new €46.00 ($53.49) price target on by analysts at Deutsche Bank AG. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. 4/4/2018 – JOST Werke was given a new €47.00 ($54.65) price target on by analysts at Warburg Research. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.

  Shares of JOST Werke traded down €0.15 ($0.17), hitting €38.10 ($44.30), during mid-day trading on Friday, according to MarketBeat. 8,510 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 35,469. JOST Werke AG has a 52 week low of €27.20 ($31.63) and a 52 week high of €47.50 ($55.23).

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  JOST Werke AG (ETR:JST) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is €49.33 ($57.36).

• [By Max Byerly]

  Hauck & Aufhaeuser set a €58.00 ($67.44) target price on JOST Werke (ETR:JST) in a report issued on Wednesday. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Top 5 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2019: AxoGen, Inc.(AXGN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  Shares of AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN) fell nearly 19% today after the company reported second-quarter 2018 earnings. The healthcare company, which develops and markets surgical solutions for peripheral nerves, actually reported a solid quarter of sales growth compared to the year-ago period. Revenue increased 36% compared to the second quarter of 2017.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in AxoGen, Inc Common Stock (NASDAQ:AXGN) by 5.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,200 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.14% of AxoGen, Inc Common Stock worth $2,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Max Byerly]

  AxoGen, Inc Common Stock (NASDAQ:AXGN) – Investment analysts at Leerink Swann raised their FY2019 EPS estimates for shares of AxoGen, Inc Common Stock in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, August 21st. Leerink Swann analyst R. Newitter now forecasts that the medical equipment provider will earn ($0.39) per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of ($0.41). Leerink Swann currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock.

Top 5 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2019: Hovnanian Enterprises Inc(HOVNP)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  News stories about HOVNAN 1000 DS REP 1 SRS A PRF (NASDAQ:HOVNP) have trended positive on Thursday, according to Accern Sentiment Analysis. Accern identifies negative and positive media coverage by reviewing more than twenty million news and blog sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. HOVNAN 1000 DS REP 1 SRS A PRF earned a media sentiment score of 0.28 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned headlines about the company an impact score of 46.0490974987129 out of 100, indicating that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the near future.

Top 5 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2019: Clean Energy Fuels Corp.(CLNE)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Turtle Beach Corporation (NASDAQ: HEAR) surged 87.1 percent to $12.98 after the company reported Q1 results and raised its FY18 outlook. ARMO BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARMO) shares jumped 66.8 percent to $49.735 after Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced plans to acquire ARMO BioSciences for $50 per share. vTv Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: VTVT) gained 34 percent to $2.2920 following announcement that the company will pre-specify new subgroup with the FDA and report Phase 3 Part B results in June. Prestige Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PBH) climbed 22.3 percent to $34.84 after the company posted upbeat Q4 earnings. Depomed, Inc. (NASDAQ: DEPO) shares jumped 22.2 percent to $7.28 following better-than-expected Q1 earnings. Everspin Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRAM) gained 19.8 percent to $8.89 after the company reported strong results for its first quarter. Luxfer Holdings PLC (NYSE: LXFR) surged 19.8 percent to $17.10 following Q1 results. Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE) rose 18.3 percent to $2.26 after French company Total announced plans to acquire 25 percent stake in Clean Energy Fuels for $83.4 million. Intelligent Systems Corporation (NYSE: INS) gained 17 percent to $7.116. Green Dot Corporation (NYSE: GDOT) surged 15.3 percent to $73.00 after reporting upbeat Q1 earnings. The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHEF) climbed 15 percent to $28.85. Chefs' Warehouse posted Q1 earnings of $0.03 per share on sales of $318.6 million. Westport Fuel Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: WPRT) rose 14.2 percent to $2.9701. Wright Medical Group N.V. (NASDAQ: WMGI) jumped 13.8 percent to $23.87 after reporting upbeat quarterly earnings. Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. (NYSE: DPLO) gained 13.4 percent to $22.70. Diplomat named Brian Griffin as Chairman and CEO. Carvana Co. (NYSE: CVNA) shares rose 13 percent to $27.97 after reporting upbeat Q1 sales. Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ: PRTA) gained 12 percent to $15.19
• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Raymond James. Its shares closed up 1.6% at $3.71 on Tuesday but were indicated down 4% at $3.56 on Thursday.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE) saw a drop of more than 10% in short interest to 3.5 million shares. Days to cover rose from one to two. The share price dropped 8.7% in the period. The stock closed at $3.97 on Tuesday, up more than 11% for the day, in a 52-week range of $1.31 to $4.00. The high was posted Tuesday.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE) saw an increase of 6.9% in short interest to 3.2 million shares. About 2.4% of the company’s float was short, and days to cover rose from two to three. The share price rose by 4.6% in the final weeks of last month. The stock closed at $2.65 on Wednesday, down about 2.6% for the day, in a 52-week range of $1.31 to $4.05.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers MoSys, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOSY) shares rose 44.7 percent to $2.20 in pre-market trading after the company reported better-than-expected Q1 results and issued strong Q2 forecast. The Trade Desk, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTD) rose 23.2 percent to $65.01 in pre-market trading after the company reported upbeat results for its first quarter. The company also issued strong second-quarter and FY18 sales guidance. Immersion Corporation (NASDAQ: IMMR) rose 17 percent to $13.55 in pre-market trading after reporting upbeat Q1 results. Akcea Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKCA) rose 13.8 percent to $23.50 in pre-market trading after the company disclosed that the FDA Advisory Committee voted in favor of WAYLIVRA for the treatment of familial chylomicronemia syndrome. RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NASDAQ: RXII) rose 9.4 percent to $2.45 in pre-market trading after the company disclosed a collaboration with Iovance Biotherapeutics. ViewRay, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRAY) rose 13.7 percent to $8.80 in pre-market trading after reporting upbeat quarterly earnings. ForeScout Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSCT) rose 5.6 percent to $32.00 in pre-market trading after falling 2.26 percent on Thursday. Net 1 UEPS Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: UEPS) shares rose 5.6 percent to $9.30 in pre-market trading after reporting Q3 results. Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) rose 4.7 percent to $47.50 in pre-market trading. Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE) rose 4.2 percent to $2.24 in pre-market trading following Q1 earnings. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS) shares rose 3.7 percent to $11.00 in pre-market trading after the company reported Q1 earnings.

  Find out what's going on in today's market and bring any questions you have to Benzinga's PreMarket Prep.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Shares of natural gas fuel company Clean Energy Fuels Corp (NASDAQ:CLNE) fell as much as 12.7% in trading Friday as oil prices continue to swing wildly on the market. Shares gained back some of their losses late in the day but were still down 8.7% at 3:25 p.m. EDT. 

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Has $226,000 Position in Six Flags Entertainment Corp (SIX)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Six Flags Entertainment Corp (NYSE:SIX) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,066 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Six Flags Entertainment were worth $226,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Six Flags Entertainment during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Six Flags Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Six Flags Entertainment by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new stake in Six Flags Entertainment in the third quarter valued at approximately $197,000. Finally, Laurion Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Six Flags Entertainment in the third quarter valued at approximately $202,000. 93.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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In other Six Flags Entertainment news, VP Brett Petit sold 27,750 shares of Six Flags Entertainment stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $1,748,250.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 5.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Six Flags Entertainment stock traded up $0.25 during trading on Thursday, reaching $56.35. 8,433 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,679,884. Six Flags Entertainment Corp has a 52-week low of $49.79 and a 52-week high of $73.38. The company has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.47 and a beta of 1.26.

Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE:SIX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 14th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.65. Six Flags Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 43.77% and a net margin of 18.86%. The firm had revenue of $269.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $284.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Six Flags Entertainment Corp will post 2.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 18th will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 14th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.82%. Six Flags Entertainment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.55%.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Co raised Six Flags Entertainment from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 17th. Oppenheimer set a $80.00 price target on Six Flags Entertainment and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 24th. ValuEngine lowered Six Flags Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 24th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Six Flags Entertainment from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 25th. Finally, Macquarie raised Six Flags Entertainment from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $54.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $67.44.

WARNING: This piece was originally posted by Ticker Report and is owned by of Ticker Report. If you are accessing this piece on another site, it was stolen and republished in violation of international copyright & trademark laws. The legal version of this piece can be viewed at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/4168545/whittier-trust-co-of-nevada-inc-has-226000-position-in-six-flags-entertainment-corp-six.html.

About Six Flags Entertainment

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation owns and operates regional theme and water parks under the Six Flags brand name. The company's parks offer various thrill rides, water attractions, themed areas, concerts and shows, restaurants, game venues, and retail outlets. It owns and operates 20 parks, including 17 parks in the United States; 2 parks in Mexico; and 1 park in Montreal, Canada.

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Electronic Arts Could Cure Tencent's Fortnite and PUBG Blues

Tencent (NASDAQOTH:TCEHY), the world's largest video game publisher, struggled last year with a nine-month freeze on new game approvals in China. That suspension prevented Tencent from reaping profits from two of its hottest licensed games -- Bluehole's PUBG and Epic Games' Fortnite -- within its home market.

PUBG and Fortnite are two of the top titles in the genre of "battle royale" games, which have experienced a surge in popularity over the past two years. Chinese gamers are allowed to play PUBG and the Tencent-developed PUBG Mobile, but Tencent isn't allowed to monetize the game with microtransactions yet. Fortnite hasn't been approved for any platforms in China yet. China started approving new games again last December, but regulators still haven't approved microtransactions for PUBG or Fortnite.

Apex Legends. Image source: EA.

That's why it wasn't surprising when recent reports suggested that Tencent was interested in bringing Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) and Respawn Entertainment's new battle royale title, Apex Legends, to China.

Apex Legends hit 25 million players a mere week after its launch in early February. The free-to-play game, which is set in Respawn's Titanfall universe, offers the same free-for-all battle mechanics and shrinking battlefield as PUBG and Fortnite. But can Tencent really gain regulatory approval for Apex Legends when Fortnite remains in limbo?

Why Tencent needs Apex Legends

In response to the government's hostile stance toward video games, Tencent restructured its businesses last year to prioritize the growth of its other businesses.

However, Tencent still generated nearly a third of its revenues from online games last quarter, so it needs to stop the bleeding. A look back at the growth of Tencent's gaming business over the past year shows how badly it was hurt by China's suspension of new game approvals.

 

Q3 2017

Q4 2017

Q1 2018

Q2 2018

Q3 2018

Revenues (RMB)	26.8 billion	24.4 billion	28.8 billion	25.2 billion	25.8 billion
YOY growth	48%	32%	26%	6%	(4%)

Tencent's online gaming revenues. Source: Quarterly reports.

During the third quarter, Tencent's mobile gaming revenue rose 7% annually as it launched ten pre-approved mobile games. Honor of Kings, its top mobile title, also locked in mobile gamers.

Honor of Kings/Arena of Valor. Image source: Tencent.

Unfortunately, that growth was offset by a 15% annual drop in PC gaming revenue, which was caused by a lack of major new games and gamers shifting toward mobile devices. Tencent tried to revive its PC gaming business with the launch of Capcom's Monster Hunter: World last summer, but regulators forced Tencent to pull the game shortly after its launch. That game still hasn't been approved.

Tencent needs a new hit PC title to bring gamers back to its Steam-like WeGame platform. Its top game, League of Legends, remains popular, but the aging title can't carry the PC gaming business on its own.

Bringing Apex Legends to WeGame could give the platform a shot in the arm. However, the game is also violent and features microtransactions -- two key issues which could prevent it from being approved. More importantly, Chinese regulators recently announced that they would stop accepting new gaming approvals due to a backlog of unapproved games, which could put Apex Legends on the back burner for a long time.

How Tencent can help EA

EA is also one of the world's largest video game publishers, but it doesn't have a meaningful presence in China beyond FIFA and a handful of mobile games.

Tencent currently publishes mobile games for EA's FIFA, Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Plants vs. Zombies, and Need for Speed franchises in China. Red Alert and FIFA cracked App Annie's latest ranking of the country's top 50 highest grossing iOS games, but they're not chart-topping blockbusters like Tencent's own Honor of Kings.

Launching Apex Legends with Tencent in China could help EA expand its reach in the PC market, boost interest in Respawn's prior Titanfall games, and pave the way for future Titanfall game launches in China. It could also strengthen EA's presence across esports circuits, where it's established a minor presence with its FIFA, Madden, and Battlefield titles.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves

Tencent and EA are probably eager to launch Apex Legends in China. However, a deal probably won't happen anytime soon, since there's still a massive backlog of unapproved games and regulators could still block new battle royale games due to concerns about violence or gaming addiction.

 

D-Street Buzz: Nifty PSU Bank shed 1% dragged by IDBI Bank; Dabur down 3%, ITC slips

The Indian benchmark indices continues to stay in bear grip and have extended the respective loses with the Nifty50 down 64 points, trading at 10659 while the Sensex was down 239 points and was trading at 35,570 mark.

Nifty Energy continued to trade lower by 1 percent with loses from HPCL and Reliance Industries which were down over 1.5 percent each followed by Indian Oil Corporation.

PSU banks were also down led by IDBI Bank which was down 5 percent followed by Vijaya Bank, Punjab National Bank, Indian Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda.

Selective FMCG stocks were trading lower with loses from Godrej Consumer, HUL, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, GSK Consumer, Godrej Industries, Proctor & Gamble, Tata Global Beverage and Marico.

related news Buy or Sell | Trade cautiously, exit on rallies Volume shockers: Alembic Pharma, KPIT Tech among 5 stocks that are moving the most Strong SIP flows continued in Jan: 30 large, mid and smallcaps that MFs bought & sold

The top gainers from NSE included Bharti Infratel, ONGC, Zee Entertainment, Axis Bank and IndusInd Bank while the top losers included YES Bank, TCS, ITC, Coal India, and Bajaj Finserv.

The most active stocks were YES Bank, Reliance Industries, ITC, TCS and Dr Reddy's Labs.

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, Bata India, IPCA Laboratories and Tech Mahindra have hit new 52-week high in this afternoon session.

306 stocks have hit new 52-week low on the NSE including names like ABG Shipyard, Amtek Auto, Andhra Bank, Arvind, Ashok Leyland, Firstsource Solutions, Global Offshore, Mahindra Lifespace, Mercator, MRF, Natco Pharma, Natco Pharma, Unitech and Vijaya Bank among others.

The breadth of the market favoured the declines with 545 stocks advancing and 1153 declining while 381 remained unchanged. On the BSE, 842 stocks advanced, 1672 declined and 137 remained unchanged.

Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.

For more market news, click here First Published on Feb 18, 2019 03:05 pm

What Analysts Are Saying About Cisco After Earnings

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) released its most recent quarterly results after the markets closed on Wednesday. Overall, the initial reaction from investors was positive, although analysts seemed to be dragging their feet on this one.

24/7 Wall St. has included some highlights from the report, as well as what analysts are saying about the networking giant after the fact.

Cisco posted $0.73 in earnings per share (EPS) and $12.4 billion in revenue. Consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters had called for $0.72 in EPS and revenue of $12.41 billion. In the same period of last year, Cisco said it had EPS of $0.0.63 on $11.69 billion in revenue.

During the most recent quarter, total revenue increased 7% year over year, with product revenue up 9% and service revenue up 1%. Revenue by geographic segment: Americas up 7%, EMEA up 8% and APJC up 5%. Product revenue performance was generally broad-based, with growth in Applications up 24%, Security up 18% and Infrastructure Platforms up 6%.

Deferred revenue totaled $17.3 billion, down 8% in total, with deferred product revenue down 23%. Deferred service revenue was up 3%.

Looking ahead to the fiscal second quarter, the company expects to see EPS in the range of $0.76 to $0.78 and revenue growing between 4% and 6% year over year. Consensus estimates call for $0.76 in EPS and $12.84 billion in revenue.

Here's what analysts had to say:

MKM Partners reiterated a Neutral rating with a $54 price target. Credit Suisse reiterated a Neutral rating and raised its target to $47 from $44. KeyCorp reiterated it as Overweight and raised its target to $55 from $53. Merrill Lynch reiterated a Buy rating with a $56 price objective. Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a $55 target price. Citigroup reiterated a Buy rating and raised its target to $56 from $52.

Shares of Cisco were last seen up about 1.5% at $49.12 on Friday, in a 52-week range of $40.19 to $49.68. The consensus price target is $52.64.

ALSO READ: Warren Buffett’s Top Stocks for 2019

Bank OZK Grows Position in Procter & Gamble Co (PG)

Bank OZK increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) by 16.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,514 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,382 shares during the quarter. Procter & Gamble accounts for 0.8% of Bank OZK’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Bank OZK’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wagner Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 9.4% in the third quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc RI lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.7% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc RI now owns 34,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,906,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. First Midwest Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the third quarter. First Midwest Bank Trust Division now owns 62,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,196,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 14.1% in the second quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 5,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ELM Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 9.3% in the third quarter. ELM Advisors LLC now owns 7,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $607,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.36% of the company’s stock.

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A number of research firms have issued reports on PG. Scotiabank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Wednesday, January 30th. Barclays reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $94.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Friday, January 25th. SunTrust Banks lifted their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble to $95.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 24th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $86.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Co reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Wednesday, January 23rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

In related news, SVP Valarie L. Sheppard sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.60, for a total transaction of $2,928,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,032,841.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Carolyn M. Tastad sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.30, for a total transaction of $65,310.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 106,482 shares of company stock valued at $10,221,657 over the last 90 days. 1.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $98.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Procter & Gamble Co has a 1-year low of $70.73 and a 1-year high of $99.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.33 billion, a PE ratio of 23.33, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.38.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.04. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The business had revenue of $17.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Procter & Gamble Co will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 18th will be paid a $0.7172 dividend. This represents a $2.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 17th. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 68.01%.

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Procter & Gamble Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods to consumers in North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Greater China, Latin America, India, the Middle East, and Africa. The company operates in five segments: Beauty; Grooming; health Care; fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.

See Also: What is the Current Ratio?

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG).

Montag A & Associates Inc. Purchases 425 Shares of Genuine Parts (GPC)

Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,594 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 425 shares during the quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $5,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 4,397.1% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 5,979,845 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $594,396,000 after purchasing an additional 5,846,873 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Genuine Parts by 38.3% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,233,869 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $122,645,000 after purchasing an additional 341,980 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments increased its position in Genuine Parts by 165.5% during the 4th quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 506,779 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $48,661,000 after purchasing an additional 315,879 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc grew its position in Genuine Parts by 1.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc now owns 14,954,369 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,486,465,000 after acquiring an additional 191,348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Investors Inc. PA grew its position in Genuine Parts by 59,115.4% in the third quarter. Federated Investors Inc. PA now owns 188,305 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $18,718,000 after acquiring an additional 187,987 shares in the last quarter. 81.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. ValuEngine upgraded Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 19th. Bank of America lowered Genuine Parts from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 30th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $104.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 4th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Tuesday, January 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.00.

GPC opened at $105.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $15.55 billion, a PE ratio of 22.78, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $85.80 and a 1 year high of $106.12.

In other news, Director John R. Holder acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $100.81 per share, for a total transaction of $50,405.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,516.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

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About Genuine Parts

Genuine Parts Company distributes automotive replacement and industrial parts, electrical and electronic materials, and business products in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australasia, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Poland. The company distributes automotive replacement parts for imported vehicles, trucks, SUVs, buses, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, farm vehicles, small engines, farm equipment, and heavy duty equipment through 57 NAPA automotive parts distribution centers and 1,100 NAPA AUTO PARTS stores.

Further Reading: Lock-Up Period Expiration

United States Steel Corp (X) Files 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended on December 31, 2018

United States Steel Corp (NYSE:X) files its latest 10-K with SEC for the fiscal year ended on December 31, 2018. United States Steel Corp is an integrated steel producer. Its products include flat-rolled and tubular products with production operations in North America and Europe. Its products cater to automotive, construction and energy companies. United States Steel Corp has a market cap of $3.99 billion; its shares were traded at around $23.03 with a P/E ratio of 3.72 and P/S ratio of 0.28. The dividend yield of United States Steel Corp stocks is 0.86%.

For the last quarter United States Steel Corp reported a revenue of $3.7 billion, compared with the revenue of $3.1 billion during the same period a year ago. For the latest fiscal year the company reported a revenue of $14.2 billion, an increase of 15.7% from last year. For the last five years United States Steel Corp had an average revenue decline of 6.2% a year.

The reported diluted earnings per share was $6.25 for the year, compared with the loss per share of $0.69 in the previous year. The United States Steel Corp had an operating margin of 7.19%, compared with the operating margin of 4.23% a year before. The 10-year historical median operating margin of United States Steel Corp is 0.69%. The profitability rank of the company is 4 (out of 10).

At the end of the fiscal year, United States Steel Corp has the cash and cash equivalents of $1,000.0 million, compared with $1.6 billion in the previous year. The long term debt was $2.3 billion, compared with $2.7 billion in the previous year. The interest coverage to the debt is 8.7. United States Steel Corp has a financial strength rank of 6 (out of 10).

At the current stock price of $23.03, United States Steel Corp is traded at close to its historical median P/S valuation band of $21.45. The P/S ratio of the stock is 0.28, while the historical median P/S ratio is 0.27. The stock lost 40.94% during the past 12 months.

For the complete 20-year historical financial data of X, click here.

Ramco System rises 3% on signing agreement with Port of Tanjung Pelepas

Shares of Ramco System added 3.4 percent intraday Wednesday as company signed agreement with Tanjung Pelepas.

Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas Sdn Bhd (PTP), a member of MMC Group has sealed an agreement with Ramco Systems to upgrade the port's current Enterprise Resource Planning system (ERP) system, as per company release.

The upgrade is part of PTP's continuous efforts in empowering its digital strategy and enhancing its operational efficiency. In addition, it is also to supplement the port's growing customer demand and requirement of the industry, it added.

Under the agreement, Ramco will implement its comprehensive ERP suite comprising procurement, inventory, finance, maintenance, human capital management, treasury, loan management, as well as planning & budgeting.

At 12:17 hrs Ramco System was quoting at Rs 223.20, up Rs 4.70, or 2.15 percent on the BSE.

For more market news, click here First Published on Feb 13, 2019 12:22 pm

Americans’ Confidence About Their Own Finances Reaches Near-Record Highs

Americans are feeling more and more confident about their finances in 2019. It turns out that the stock market panic late in 2018, all the trade war fears and even a partial government shutdown did not discourage America’s optimism all that much. A new poll from Gallup showed that 69% of Americans expect their financial situation to improve over the next year, and 50% of Americans now say that they are in better shape financially than a year ago.

It is one thing to have high numbers, but it means little without context. This level of optimism about finances is almost at a record high, one not seen since the 71% optimism reported back in 1998.

While the report is a strong one, Gallup did note that Americans are typically less positive about how their finances have changed over the past year than they are about where they’re headed. Still, the 50% who said that they are better off today than they were a year ago is a post-recession high. For more context: it was the first time since 2007 that at least half of the public believes that they are financially better off than they were a year ago.

The percentage of the public who believes that they are worse off than a year ago was also nearly a 20-year low. The report said:

Ten years ago, as the Great Recession neared its end, the percentage saying their finances had improved from the previous year was at a record low of 23%. More than half the public, 54%, said they were worse off. Now, with unemployment below 1998 levels and the job market growing steadily, the number saying they are worse off than a year ago has dropped to 26%, the lowest level since October 2000.

As has been shown in other surveys, there is also a degree of partisanship playing a role in past and future perceptions. Gallup signaled that members of most major demographic groups are more likely in 2019 to say their financial situation has improved in the past year than to say they are worse off. Democrats were the one major exception. The latest read showed that 37% of Democrats said that they are worse off financially rather than better off. That figure was just 32% a year ago.

Gallup further showed that among some of the key groups that generally vote Democratic, a plurality or majority say they are better off. This was shown below:

62% of those under 30 say they are better off; 25% say worse off. 45% of women say they are better off; 29% say worse off. 45% of those with annual household incomes of less than $40,000 say better off, 35% worse off. 40% of liberals say they better off, 31% worse off.

Republicans had strong confidence around their finances. Some 68% now say they are better off, and only 10% say they are worse off. Gallup further said:

Among groups that are more Republican than the national average, 66% of conservatives say they are better off, as do 57% of those with annual incomes of at least $100,000 and 56% of men.

It is not all that surprising that there would be some partisan differences in perception here. There have been similar observations in other measures of consumer confidence and sentiment readings over time. After all, think about how polarizing it is just reading or watching news these days. Still, Gallup did signal improvements were consistent when comparing current results to the pre-Trump surveys. The report said:

For both Republicans and Democrats, results are more positive over the same time spans for the question asking about financial expectations for the coming year. Though Republicans’ expectations rose after Trump took office and Democrats became less optimistic, majorities from both parties said they expected to be better off in the coming year in both the pre-Trump-election polls and the post-Trump-inauguration ones.

As far as how these polls are measured, Gallup conducted telephone interviews from January 2 through January 10 from a random sample of 1,017 adults aged 18 and older from all 50 states (and the District of Columbia). Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 70% cellphone respondents and 30% landline respondents. Gallup projects that its margin of sampling error is four percentage points (+/-) at the 95% confidence level.

Source:

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The 15 Best Dividend Stocks for Retirees to Own

Facebook Pushes Instagram's YouTube Competitor in Main Feed

If you haven't heard of IGTV, you're not alone. The Instagram long-form video platform launched last June hasn't exactly caught on. Just 3.5 million people have installed the stand-alone IGTV app, according to data from SensorTower, and it's grossly overshadowed in the Instagram app by Stories and the main feed.

In order to grow viewership, Instagram is now including previews of IGTV content in users' feeds. The change follows the inclusion of IGTV content in the app's Explore tab and the ability to add IGTV videos to Stories.

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) has also struggled to grow viewership for Watch, the video platform built into the main Facebook app.

Leveraging one of its most popular products to promote a new one might annoy some users, but ultimately, it could prove extremely valuable for Facebook.

Image source: Facebook.

Reaching 1 billion people instantly

One of the biggest challenges facing IGTV and Watch is that there's a very small audience. As mentioned, IGTV has only a few million users. Facebook says 400 million people view content on Watch every month, but only 75 million of those tune in daily. That's nothing compared to the 1.8 billion users Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) says use YouTube. And those users spend an average of one hour per day streaming videos on mobile alone.

Facebook was able to grow the amount of video content on its platform by increasing the placement of video in News Feed. But it's moved away from that strategy, and that's likely harmed viewership of Watch. Putting IGTV videos in users' Instagram feeds can help expand the reach of the platform and make it much more attractive to creators -- especially those that already have strong followings on Instagram.

The new feature is also designed to bring users to the IGTV section of the Instagram app. Instead of playing an entire video in your feed -- like Facebook does when a friend shares a Watch video -- it only shows a 1-minute preview. Users are then encouraged to continue watching the video in IGTV.

That can lead to greater engagement and discovery of other IGTV content, ultimately producing a fertile environment for creators to share new videos. If successful, Facebook could copy the model for Facebook Watch and the Facebook News Feed.

An advertising opportunity

The cross-promotion of IGTV in feeds presents an interesting opportunity for Facebook if things go well. If the company sees a strong increase in viewership as a result of videos in the feed, it could offer creators the opportunity to promote IGTV videos in users' feeds.

YouTube generates tons of ad revenue from promoted videos. They appear atop recommended videos based on what you're currently watching on YouTube. They appear after you finish watching a video. And they show up when you search for something on YouTube. There's a clear market for creators looking to promote their videos.

While there's already a thriving video ad market on Facebook and Instagram, promoting videos for IGTV or Watch would keep users engaged on Facebook's platforms. That can be much more valuable to the company long term as it promotes a behavior it wants users to exhibit -- and gets paid to do it.

In the long run, Facebook wants to monetize Watch and IGTV with in-stream advertisements. Finding ways to get users to engage with the parts of the apps that currently go underutilized and  unmonetized is a key part to Facebook's continued revenue growth, as it faces ad load saturation in both the Facebook and Instagram feeds.

If showing IGTV previews in users' Instagram feeds doesn't increase engagement, Facebook can always take a step back. Users might dislike it, but they're unlikely to abandon Instagram just because they see a video preview every so often. There's very low risk, but a lot of upside for Facebook.

One Of My Favorite "Lifetime Wealth Generators"

Over at my premium newsletter, High-Yield Investing, I have a portfolio reserved for a group of stocks I call "Lifetime Wealth Generators." 

Membership is reserved for special companies that can be reliably expected to continue growing dividends well into the next decade, regardless of what the economy throws at them.

Among other requirements, these businesses should have sturdy and visible cash flows that aren't terribly sensitive to external macro events. They should also have identifiable competitive advantages and operate in industries that are built to stand the test of time.

As you can imagine, there aren't many income stocks that meet this strict criteria.

But Realty Income (NYSE: O) is a textbook example. 

The company owns more than 5,000 properties leased to 260 different commercial tenants. I'm not talking about vulnerable mom-and-pop retailers either, but rock-solid renters such as Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), Circle K, Kroger (NYSE: KR) and Home Depot (NYSE: HD). These properties are found in 49 states and leased to tenants in 48 different industries, insulating the company from a downturn in any one sector or geographic area.

Only a handful of these buildings (71 out of 5,694) are currently vacant. That's an occupancy rate of nearly 99%. In its 25-year history, Realty Income's occupancy has never once dipped below 96%.

Source: Realty Income

While many retail landlords are struggling, Realty Income was cut from a different cloth.

The company's properties are freestanding, not located in malls or shopping centers (which means better margins, lower rent volatility and less dependence on imperiled anchors). Better still, 96% of its rental income is shielded from e-commerce threats. After all, gas stations, drug stores and fast-food chains like Wendy's (Nasdaq: WEN) don't compete with Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN).

That's one reason why Realty Income has delivered positive earnings growth in 21 of the past 22 years. And its dividend track record is second to none:

• 583 straight monthly distributions over the past 49 years 
• 100 dividend increases since the IPO in 1994 
• 85 consecutive quarterly dividend hikes

It has been 25 years since Realty Income first listed on the New York Stock Exchange. And over that quarter-century, it has now raised dividends an even 100 times. That milestone was reached just last month when the monthly payout was lifted to $0.2255 per share.

If you want an idea of the stock's long-term wealth-creating power, just look at what it has already done over the past two decades.

An investor who bought Realty Income in 1999 would now be receiving a yield-on-cost of 26% on their initial investment. And with a dividend payback of 300%, they would have already recouped their outlay three times over from dividends alone -- not counting share price appreciation.

It's no wonder then that the company bills itself as "the monthly dividend company." 

Action to Take 
Realty Income remains one of my favorite income-producing stocks. 

My High-Yield Investing subscribers and I have held Realty Income in our portfolio for more than five years. In that time, we've earned more than 100% in total returns while our yield-on-cost has risen to 6.7%. 
And with a track record like this, I think we'll see plenty more dividend increases and share price gains in the future.

Management invests an average of $1.5 billion each year to acquire 400-500 new properties. By the way, the company is very selective, pulling the trigger on just 5% of the deals it runs across (meaning 19 out of every 20 opportunities reviewed are rejected).

More properties equal additional funds from operation (FFO) equal higher dividends. This winning formula allows for a prudent 3% to 4% step-up in dividends each year.

Top 5 Oil Stocks To Own For 2019

tags:HAL,WLL,APA,MRO,RIG,

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) is a company I have had my eye on for quite some time.

I have already elaborated on the mistake I made as a naive young investor, having panicked and sold my shares in Chevron at a price of $70, having been overly convinced by the media doom sayers that the oil industry will never be the same again.

However, from a long-term financial standpoint, Chevron still remains one of the most attractive stocks out there.

The company has grown its dividend for 31 years consecutively, and its yield of 4.17% remains among one of the highest on the S&P 500.

Chevron has taken a dip in 2017, from a price of approximately $118 at the beginning of the year to $103 at the time of writing:

Top 5 Oil Stocks To Own For 2019: Halliburton Company(HAL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 386,214 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,403,000.

• [By ]

  Selected examples: (AAL) , (CL) , (DRI) , (HAL) , (LUV) , (MCD) , (MMM) , (SBUX) . Darden and 3M are holdings in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS.

  What Trade War?

  Notes Goldman: "Firms expressed optimism that trade conflict would be resolved. Commentary emphasized the support for a free trade environment. Company management did not expect the disputes would escalate and affect global economic growth."

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) had its buy rating reiterated by analysts at Raymond James. They currently have a $55.00 price target on the stock.

  Hannover Re Common Stock (FRA:HNR1) had its neutral rating reiterated by analysts at DZ Bank AG.

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  We're already starting to see signs of a slowdown. Fellow oil-field services giant Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) recently warned that while "we thought there would be a downturn in activity [in the Permian] due to budget constraints and takeaway issues... it's more than we expected." This higher-than-anticipated slowdown has created more vacancy on its calendar, which is putting pressure on service prices. Because of that, and some other issues, Halliburton's earnings in the third quarter will likely come in $0.08 to $0.10 per share below expectations.

Top 5 Oil Stocks To Own For 2019: Whiting Petroleum Corporation(WLL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL) – Seaport Global Securities increased their Q1 2019 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Whiting Petroleum in a report issued on Wednesday, May 23rd. Seaport Global Securities analyst M. Kelly now expects that the oil and gas exploration company will post earnings of $0.98 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $0.55. Seaport Global Securities has a “Buy” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Seaport Global Securities also issued estimates for Whiting Petroleum’s Q2 2019 earnings at $0.87 EPS, Q3 2019 earnings at $0.85 EPS, Q4 2019 earnings at $0.89 EPS and FY2019 earnings at $3.58 EPS.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Whiting Petroleum Co. (NYSE:WLL) – Equities research analysts at Piper Jaffray Companies lifted their Q2 2018 earnings estimates for Whiting Petroleum in a research note issued on Sunday, May 20th. Piper Jaffray Companies analyst K. Harrison now forecasts that the oil and gas exploration company will earn $0.85 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $0.33. Piper Jaffray Companies currently has a “Hold” rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. Piper Jaffray Companies also issued estimates for Whiting Petroleum’s Q3 2018 earnings at $0.97 EPS, Q4 2018 earnings at $1.16 EPS, FY2018 earnings at $3.90 EPS, Q1 2019 earnings at $1.70 EPS, Q2 2019 earnings at $1.48 EPS, Q3 2019 earnings at $1.47 EPS, Q4 2019 earnings at $1.59 EPS and FY2019 earnings at $6.24 EPS.

• [By Max Byerly]

  TCW Group Inc. raised its stake in Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL) by 21.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,733 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,618 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Whiting Petroleum were worth $871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Top 5 Oil Stocks To Own For 2019: Apache Corporation(APA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey, John Bromels, and Anders Bylund]

  Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU), Apache (NYSE:APA), and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) are three such companies that Wall Street has given up on, but that could be a big mistake. Here are the reasons why three Motley Fool contributors think the market is wrong about these stocks.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) dropped about 7.3% Thursday to post a new 52-week low of $34.50. Shares closed at $37.20 on Wednesday and the stock’s 52-week high is $55.23. Volume was over 11 million, about three times the daily average of around 3.9 million. The company reported quarterly results this morning, but investors were not impressed.

• [By John Bromels]

  Three companies that the market has walloped are Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA), Magellan Midstream Partners (NYSE:MMP), and General Motors (NYSE:GM). Here's why these stocks look like bargains, and why today might be a good time to scoop up some shares. 

Top 5 Oil Stocks To Own For 2019: Marathon Oil Corporation(MRO)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  That prediction would have been unfathomable just a few months ago. While some oil bulls thought prices could surprise to the upside, the consensus outlook was that crude would be in the low to mid $50s this year thanks to surging U.S. oil production. Because of that, most producers based their budgets on oil averaging $50 a barrel, including EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG), Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO), and Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC). In EOG Resources' case, $50 oil would provide it with the cash flow to pay a dividend that was 10.4% higher than 2017's level and drill 690 more wells, which would boost oil production about 18%. Meanwhile, Marathon Oil could produce enough cash at that price point to pay its dividend and fund the new wells needed to boost companywide output 12% compared to last year. Anadarko Petroleum, likewise, could fully fund its dividend and a growth-focused capital plan, which would see it boost oil output 14% this year.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Melrose Industries (LON:MRO) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported GBX 5.80 ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of GBX 4.40 ($0.06) by GBX 1.40 ($0.02), Digital Look Earnings reports. Melrose Industries had a negative return on equity of 4.75% and a negative net margin of 4.58%.

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  The company's Powder River Basin assets also generated strong drilling results, with several wells topping 1,000 BOE/D. Finally, while the company did drill four wells in the Bakken, it has deferred completing them until later this year. That program is one to keep an eye on given the results Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) delivered last quarter, when it completed record-setting wells in the Three Forks and Middle Bakken formations.

• [By Chris Lange]

  The S&P 500 stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close was Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) which traded down over 5% at $19.99. The stock's 52-week range is $10.55 to $22.12. Volume was over 17 million compared to the daily average volume of 12.8 million.

Top 5 Oil Stocks To Own For 2019: Transocean Inc.(RIG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Spencer Israel]

  Oil companies were popular sells for the month, including ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), BP p.l.c. (NYSE: BP), and Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) all net sold. Investors also net sold Alcoa Corp. (NYSE: AA), Starbucks Corporation (NYSE: CMG). and Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) in the midst of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's testimony before Congress. 

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  Three stocks on my watchlist that look incredibly cheap and will likely be high up on my next buy list are LGI Homes (NASDAQ:LGIH), U.S. Silica Holdings (NYSE:SLCA), and Transocean (NYSE:RIG). Here's why they look compelling to me now and why Wall Street seems to be assigning them such modest valuations. 

• [By Max Byerly]

  ValuEngine upgraded shares of Transocean (NYSE:RIG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

  Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on RIG. Bank of America increased their price objective on Transocean from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Transocean from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 30th. Susquehanna Bancshares set a $11.00 price objective on Transocean and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Cowen set a $11.00 price objective on Transocean and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Piper Jaffray set a $11.00 price objective on Transocean and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $11.79.

How Fortnite Cratered Video Game Stocks Today

What happened 

It took more than a year, but Fortnite is starting to make some of the biggest names in video games a little worried about the future. In the past 24 hours, Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) and Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO) have reported earnings and less than impressive guidance, causing their stocks to fall 13.3% and 13.8%, respectively, during trading on Wednesday. Not surprisingly, Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) dropped 10.1% as investors worried that its earnings report next week won't meet expectations. 

So what

Let's start with Electronic Arts, which reported earnings first. Revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% to $1.29 billion, and the company swung from a net loss of $186 million a year ago to a gain of $262 million, or $0.86 per share. Analysts were expecting $1.94 per share in earnings on $1.8 billion of revenue. 

Image source: Getty Images.

Over at Take-Two Interactive, revenue jumped 159.7% to $1.25 billion as Red Dead Redemption 2 took the industry by storm. Net income jumped from $25.1 million a year ago to $179.9 million, or $1.57 per share. Analysts were expecting $2.75 per share in earnings. 

What really had investors concerned was the guidance that both Electronic Arts and Take-Two gave for the full year. EA expects $4.875 billion in revenue, lower than the $5.2 billion estimates from Wall Street, and Take-Two said it expects $530 million to $580 million of revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter, well below the $606 million analysts expected. 

Now what

The fears investors had about Fortnite are finally showing in financial guidance, even if they haven't affected past results all that much. The game could generate $3 billion or more in revenue from the hardcore gamer market that companies such as Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive, and Activision Blizzard rely on for a huge chunk of their revenue. 

Management of all three companies tried to ease investor fears a quarter ago by arguing that Fortnite was attracting new players to video games and would grow the pie for the entire industry. That may not be the case in 2019, and Fortnite may be like a black hole, sucking all the energy out of other video games. 

The problem for video game companies is that they don't have an easy answer for Fortnite. The game benefits from having millions of active users, and the large installed base just attracts more customers. Building a new battle-royale game to compete could take years, and it would take a long time to build a similar user base. The industry may just have to wait until the popularity of Fortnite fades, and no one knows when that will be. 

Why EnerSys Stock Dropped 11% on Thursday

What happened

Shares of Reading, Pennsylvania-based EnerSys (NYSE:ENS) closed the day down 10.8%, one day after the battery manufacturer reported fiscal Q3 2019 earnings that fell short of expectations.

Analysts had predicted that EnerSys would earn $1.25 per share on sales of $685.8 million in the quarter. Instead, EnerSys reported earnings of only $1.17 per share, pro forma, on sales of just $680 million.

Don't look now, but EnerSys stock just short-circuited. Image source: Getty Images.

So what

Actual GAAP earnings for the quarter were only $1.12 per share, which sounds bad, but was significantly better than the $0.61 per share that EnerSys lost in Q3 of fiscal 2018, a year ago, as a consequence of tax reform. Also, while sales missed estimates, they did grow 3% year over year.

CEO David Shaffer blamed a combination of weak sales to telecom customers who are hoarding cash to pay for "5G network upgrades" currently and "higher than projected freight costs in the quarter."

Now what

Looking forward, Shaffer predicted that sales of "DC power products" to telecom customers will pick up later this year. However, the CEO's guidance for pro forma profits of between $1.41 and $1.45 per share in fiscal Q4 (currently underway) nonetheless fell short of consensus analyst predictions for $1.50 per share in pro forma profit.

In other words, not only did EnerSys miss estimates in Q3 but it's planning to miss estimates again in Q4. No wonder investors are selling.

Crude Oil Prices Sag on Inventory Build Up

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly petroleum status report Wednesday morning, showing that U.S. commercial crude inventories increased by 1.3 million barrels last week, maintaining a total U.S. commercial crude inventory of 447.2 million barrels. The commercial crude inventory remains about 6% higher than the five-year average for this time of year.

Tuesday evening the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported that crude inventories increased by about 2.5 million barrels in the week ending February 1. Gasoline inventories increased by about 1.7 million barrels and distillate stockpiles rose by about 1.1 million barrels. For the same period, analysts expected crude inventories to fall by about 2.3 million barrels.

Analysts were expecting gasoline inventories to rise by about 2.18 million barrels, gasoline inventories were expected to increase by 1.6 million barrels and distillate inventories were expected to drop by about 1.8 million barrels.

Hedge funds have been shedding their short positions since December, although they have not yet begun taking long positions in any great numbers. The “smart” money appears to be staying on the sidelines until there is some clarity from the trade talks between the United States and China, whether OPEC+ will cut production again, what will happen in Venezuela and if the waivers the Trump administration gave to some buyers of Iranian crude will be extended. The trade talks are the most important according to Reuters analyst John Kemp.

Other highlights from this morning’s EIA report:

Gasoline inventories increased by 500,000 barrels and remained about 5% above the five-year average range. U.S. refineries produced about 9.9 million barrels of gasoline a day last week. U.S. crude oil exports rose by 926,000 barrels a day last week and U.S. production was unchanged at 11.9 million barrels a day. Exports of refined products rose by 98,000 barrels a day last week to about 5.15 million barrels. Distillate inventories dropped by 2.3 million barrels last week and are now about 4% below the five-year average range for this time of year. Crude oil imports averaged 7.1 million barrels a day last week, up by 63,000 barrels compared with the previous week. Refineries were running at 90.2% of capacity, with daily input averaging 16.6 million barrels a day, about 170,000 barrels more than the previous week’s average.

According to AAA, the current national average pump price per gallon of regular gasoline is $2.277, up about two cents from $2.256 a week ago and nearly four cents more than a month ago. Last year at this time, a gallon of regular gasoline cost $2.605 on average in the United States.

Before the EIA report, benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for March delivery traded down about 0.9% for the day, at around $53.20 a barrel, and it traded at $53.38 shortly after the report’s release.

Here is a look at how share prices for two blue-chip stocks and two exchange-traded funds reacted to this latest report.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) traded down about 0.3%, at $75.39 in a 52-week range of $64.65 to $87.36. Over the past 12 months, Exxon stock has traded down by about 3.7%. Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) traded down about 0.5%, at $118.94 in a 52-week range of $100.22 to $131.08. As of last night’s close, Chevron shares are trading up about 1.5% over the past year. The United States Oil ETF (NYSEARCA: USO) traded down about 0.6%, at $11.22 in a 52-week range of $9.23 to $16.24. The VanEck Vectors Oil Services ETF (NYSEAMERICAN: OIH) traded up about 0.1%, at $17.48 in a 52-week range of $13.13 to $29.87. ALSO READ: RBC Global Energy Best Ideas Up Big in 2019: 4 to Buy Now

How can I help increase workplace diversity?

Johnny C. Taylor Jr., a human-resources expert, is tackling your questions as part of a series for USA TODAY. Taylor is president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, the world's largest HR professional society.

The questions are submitted by readers, and Taylor's answers below have been edited for length and clarity.

Have a question? Do you have an HR or work-related question you'd like me to answer? Submit it here.

Question: My company is working to increase diversity. I want to help. How can I, as an employee, contribute to my workplace's commitment? – Anonymous

Johnny C. Taylor, Jr.: Workplaces with diverse and inclusive cultures are better places to work, and they perform better. Employees can and should play a role in that commitment. 

We call it "diversity and inclusion," but inclusion should come first because when employees have a sense of belonging, they feel welcomed and empowered.

To help build an inclusive work environment where employees bring their best selves to work every day, the primary focus must be on commonalities, not differences. This builds connections between people that allow them to learn from their differences.

Workplaces with diverse and inclusive cultures are better places to work, and they perform better. (Photo: Thinkstock)

For employees, this means learning how to celebrate colleagues' work while acknowledging that their viewpoints, though different, are valued.

As you consider how to contribute to your company's commitment to inclusion, speak first with HR and leadership about their vision and the strategy to reach it. Knowing what they're already working on will help you figure out how you can help.

If your company is seeking ideas on how to improve its practices, you might suggest:

• Conducting a work and communications assessment to understand each person on the team. 

• Creating a diversity and inclusion communication tool to share relevant articles and news.

• Celebrating a variety of holidays and events.

• Starting an employee resource group for open discussion, learning and support.

• Offering training in unconscious bias to help employees recognize their own blind spots.

• Scheduling team-building activities and sponsoring events.

As an employee, you can:

• Make sure HR and company executives know you want to be a champion for diversity and inclusion.

• Look for ways to weave inclusion discussions into regular employee meetings and gatherings.

• Ensure vendors and distributors incorporate inclusion in their own organizations. If you are not in that position, suggest your company does so.

But remember: One approach doesn't necessarily fit all companies, so work with your leaders to determine what will benefit your organization.

On a very personal level, you can show your commitment to diversity and inclusion by taking a colleague who has a different background and set of life experiences out to lunch, for example. While company leadership plays a role in changing culture, it all really happens one employee at a time by the actions of each of us.

Question: I must be out of the country for two months for personal reasons, and I do not have enough PTO hours to cover the time off. I could telework, but there is a difference between being in the office and handling business remotely. What options do I have as a long-time employee who doesn't want to resign? – S.

Taylor: Personal and work lives often intertwine, and hardships in one often affect the other.

As a long-term employee, you may find your company is willing to work with you on a short-term solution. Here's how I would approach the situation:

Talk to HR. Doing so will help you better understand what options are available to you and whether your workplace is set up for remote working arrangements. There are professions, like nursing, where telework is off the table. But for others, employees can use technology to communicate effectively with colleagues and get work done across time zones and international borders.

If remote work is not possible, there are other flexibility options. If you're lucky enough to work for one of the 5 percent of U.S. employers that offer a paid sabbatical program, you might be eligible for time away with a percentage of your wages and continuation of medical benefits. An unpaid sabbatical or taking leave without pay are other routes to explore.

Once you know your choices, do your homework before taking a request to your boss.

Ideally, for example, a telework arrangement should allow you and your team to function at the same level as if you were in the office. Your employer will want to know what effect the arrangement will have on your individual or department productivity, your participation in meetings and your co-workers or other stakeholders.

Thinking about and preparing your answers ahead of time will help you make your case for remote work and reassure your employer.

You didn't mention the reason for your travels. If it's health-related, you might qualify under the Family and Medical Leave Act for 12 weeks of job-protected leave. This law provides time off if you or an immediate family member has a serious health condition, regardless of where medical treatment is administered or where the ill family member is located. 

Whatever the reason, have an informed discussion with your employer as soon as possible so your supervisor has ample time to consider your request and make any logistics decisions.