A long-time bull debunks 'peak earnings' fears, sees strong year-end rally

Long-time bull Art Hogan sees holes in the "peak earnings" argument.

According to the B. Riley FBR chief market strategist, earnings growth on a year-over-year basis will crest this year �� but that doesn't mean it's as good as it gets for investors. He believes the economic picture supports the case for a fresh round of strong numbers that will drive stocks to record highs.

"Earnings growth is going to continue. It's just difficult comps versus 2018," Hogan said Wednesday on CNBC's "Trading Nation."

As of Wednesday's market close, Thomson Reuters reports 81 percent of second-quarter earnings reports have come in above estimates. Since 1994, an average of 64 percent of companies beat estimates.

The long-time bull acknowledges the latest earnings have vastly benefited from the 2017 one-time corporate tax cut. But that's no reason to second-guess the bull market, he said.

"Obviously, we've had great earnings in 2018 thus far," Hogan said.

His year-end S&P 500 target is 3,000, up more than 6 percent from current levels or 4 percent from its all-time high hit on Jan. 26.

Hogan is citing more than just strong earnings as his a chief catalyst. He believes the Trump administration will use midterm elections as a reason to end the trade war, in turn easing uncertainty on Wall Street.

"Right now, we're just pricing in bad news, and that continues to escalate with China. We're starting to see some cracks and some olive branches being brought forward," Hogan said. "That will start to ease some of the concerns corporate America has about trade and tariffs."

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3 Growth Stocks for the Long Term

Successful investors generally overweight growth stocks, and it's easy to see why: Growth stocks are shares of companies that are growing their sales and profits faster than the industry and the market at large, which eventually leads to solid capital appreciation and rich rewards for shareholders. More often than not, the longer you hold growth stocks, the higher your returns.

So we asked three Motley Fool contributors to recommend growth stocks for the long term. They offered some solid ideas from diverse industries: A.O. Smith (NYSE:AOS), Trex Company (NYSE:TREX), and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT).

This surprising star performer should continue to outshine

Neha Chamaria (A.O. Smith): In a world where tech stocks rule the high-flyer list, would you believe that a water-heater manufacturer's shares have risen a whopping 800% in just the past ten years? A.O. Smith has been the dark horse of the industrials sector, and it's likely to continue growing rapidly. The reason: a massive addressable market in some of the fastest-growing economies.

After cornering the water-heater market in North America, A.O. Smith has now set its eyes on countries like China and India, where rising disposable incomes and expanding middle and upper classes are driving demand for consumer durables like purifiers and heaters. A.O. Smith's sales from China topped $1 billion last year, thanks to its more than 9,000 retail counters, and e-commerce that brought in almost a quarter of those sales.

Buying and holding growth stocks for the long term can prove richly rewarding. Image source: Getty Images.

These numbers show how aggressively A.O. Smith is growing. In its most recent quarter, the company handily beat estimates and upgraded its adjusted earnings-per-share (EPS) outlook for fiscal 2018, guiding for a solid 20% growth at the midpoint from last year. Between 2010 and 2017, A.O. Smith grew its adjusted EPS at a compound annual rate of 26%.

A.O. recently hit another milestone -- that of becoming a Dividend Aristocrat, having increased its dividends for 25 consecutive years. Yet the company still plows back a major chunk of its profits into the business for growth, which can also be credited for almost all of the stock's gains over the years. That makes A.O. Smith a growth stock in the traditional sense of the word, and an excellent choice for the long haul.

The undisputed leader in a fast-growing niche

Jason Hall (Trex): Recycled-decking manufacturer Trex Company has made recent investors a lot of money:

TREX data by YCharts.

It's a rare investment that delivers over fourfold gains in a five-year period. Yet even with these remarkable returns Trex is worth buying right now, because its future remains very bright.

The company has a dominant position in the wood-alternative decking industry, commanding over 40% of North American sales, but regular wood still makes up more than 85% of the total volume of decking lumber sold each year. That goes to show just how big the market opportunity really is for Trex, despite so many years of huge growth already.

Furthermore, I expect the burgeoning population of millennial homebuyers could be a boon for the company, further accelerating future growth. Trex's value as a more environmentally friendly choice than virgin wood decking resonates with younger buyers. Add the significant reduction in maintenance and multiple decades of use before needing to replace it, and Trex is likely to appeal to an even higher portion of new homeowners in the years to come.

With a huge lead over its competitors, a solid long-term opportunity for growth, and a great management team in place, Trex makes the cut as a top growth stock to buy now and hold for the long term.

A large, growing software company

Ashraf Eassa (Microsoft): Software giant Microsoft, which you probably know as the maker of the popular Windows operating system and the ubiquitous Office productivity suite, is a large and extremely profitable company that pays a respectable dividend (as of this writing, Microsoft shares yield 1.58%). What might be more interesting, though, is that Microsoft has also delivered a substantial amount of revenue growth during its life as a publicly traded company:

MSFT Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts.

That growth continued during its most recent fiscal year, with the software giant raking in $110.4 billion in revenue -- a figure that was up 14% from the company's prior fiscal year. It also churned out $35.1 billion in operating income -- a 21% year-over-year boost. Not only is Microsoft showing that it can deliver respectable revenue growth, but it's translating that revenue growth into fat profits for its shareholders, something that it's historically proven it can do well:

MSFT Operating Income (TTM) data by YCharts.

Digging deeper into the company's fiscal-year 2018 results, we see that each of its three major reporting segments delivered double-digit year-over-year growth rates:

Metric Productivity and Business Processes Intelligent Cloud More Personal Computing

Total revenue	$9.668 billion	$9.606 billion	$10.811 billion
Year-over-year revenue growth	13%	23%	17%

Data source: Microsoft fiscal fourth-quarter 2018 earnings release.

The fact that Microsoft's growth comes from a diverse set of businesses, rather than from a single superstrong business while the others languish, seems like a good thing.

Looking ahead, analysts expect Microsoft to enjoy 11.2% revenue growth during its fiscal year 2019 (the year that just started), then add another 10.3% revenue growth on top of that during its fiscal year 2020. The software giant's EPS is also expected to grow by 10.3% and 14.7%, respectively, during those years.

Microsoft has a solid track record of delivering both revenue and profit growth over a long period of time. So if you're looking for a growth stock that you can count on to be here today, tomorrow, and likely ten years from now, the software giant is worth a look.

Tesla Earnings: 3 Questions for Elon Musk

There are several important narratives playing out at Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA). Though Model 3 production has skyrocketed, the company's net loss and negative free cash flow have significantly worsened. Sure, management expects Tesla's financial situation to improve as Model 3 deliveries rise, but there are no guarantees.

Unsurprisingly, big questions loom. Investors are about to get some key answers in a vital quarterly update. The electric-car and sustainable-energy company just put a date to its second-quarter update: August 1.�

Model 3. Image source: Tesla.

Ahead of Tesla's second-quarter update, here are three key questions investors are likely hoping Tesla CEO Elon Musk will answer:

1. How's Model 3 production faring?

Investors don't have to wait until Tesla's second-quarter update to hear how Model 3 production and deliveries went during the period. The company already released those figures. Tesla produced a record 53,339 vehicles�-- up 55% sequentially. Of those vehicles, 28,578 were Model 3. But since Tesla's Model 3 output ramped up exponentially throughout the quarter, most of the vehicles were produced toward the end of the period, leaving 11,166 Model 3 units in transit to customers going into Q3.

Importantly, Tesla achieved its target for producing 5,000 Model 3 units per week by the end of the quarter -- but it achieved it during the last seven days of the quarter, leaving investors guessing how sustainable this new production level is. Alleviating at least some concerns, Tesla did note it was able to achieve this Model 3 production rate while keeping its Model S and X production at normal levels.

The big question, therefore, is how Model 3 production has proceeded since Tesla achieved its target Model 3 production rate. Has Tesla been able to sustain this higher level of output? In addition, does Tesla still expect to achieve a production rate of 6,000 Model 3 units per week by late August?

2. What's next for Autopilot?

After Tesla's driver-assist system was first released in October 2015,�the company aggressively improved the technology through regular over-the-air software updates that brought major new updates, including driver-assisted steering, lane changes, the ability to "summon" the vehicle in and out of tight spaces, and�improved automatic emergency braking.

But Tesla's Autopilot program seems to be falling behind schedule recently. For instance, Musk initially promised to demonstrate one of its vehicles driving across the country by late 2017,�thus proving Autopilot's yet-to-be-released "full self-driving capability" add-on is the real deal. But Autopilot seems to be taking a back seat as Tesla focuses on accelerating Model 3 production.

Now that Model 3 production has jumped, will the automaker dedicate more effort to Autopilot?

Model 3. Image source: Tesla.

3. Will Tesla need to raise capital this year after all?

Tesla's cash situation doesn't look good. The company ended its first quarter with $2.7 billion of cash, yet management plans to spend about $2.3 billion more in Q2, Q3, and Q4 combined despite having negative free cash flow of $1.05 billion in Q1. Making matters worse, Tesla said it didn't expect to become cash flow positive until Q3 -- so this means Q2 will likely feature negative free cash flow as well.

Management has previously predicted it wouldn't need to raise capital this year since it expected higher Model 3 deliveries to help the company become both profitable and cash flow positive in the second half of the year. Is management sticking to this plan? Or is the capital-intensive auto business more costly than management anticipated?

Gujarat State Petronet Q1 PAT seen up 9.4% YoY to Rs. 166.9 cr: KR Choksey

KR Choksey has come out with its first quarter (April-June�� 18) earnings estimates for the Oil & Gas sector. The brokerage house expects Gujarat State Petronet to report net profit at Rs. 166.9 crore up 9.4% year-on-year (up 6% quarter-on-quarter).

Net Sales are expected to increase by 24.1 percent Y-o-Y (up 4.9 percent Q-o-Q) to Rs. 367.7 crore, according to KR Choksey.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) are likely to rise by 10 percent Y-o-Y (up 4.9 percent Q-o-Q) to Rs. 303.5 crore.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

Read More First Published on Jul 22, 2018 07:24 pm

Blue Apron (APRN) vs. Netshoes (CAYMAN) (NETS) Financial Analysis

Blue Apron (NYSE: APRN) and Netshoes (CAYMAN) (NYSE:NETS) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation and risk.

Profitability

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This table compares Blue Apron and Netshoes (CAYMAN)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Blue Apron	-22.76%	-155.60%	-39.31%
Netshoes (CAYMAN)	-10.20%	-36.94%	-13.62%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Blue Apron and Netshoes (CAYMAN), as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Blue Apron	0	14	4	0	2.22
Netshoes (CAYMAN)	1	2	0	0	1.67

Blue Apron presently has a consensus target price of $5.92, indicating a potential upside of 65.42%. Given Blue Apron’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Blue Apron is more favorable than Netshoes (CAYMAN).

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Blue Apron and Netshoes (CAYMAN)’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Blue Apron	$881.19 million	0.78	-$210.14 million	($1.64)	-2.18
Netshoes (CAYMAN)	$180.65 million	0.33	-$51.31 million	($1.80)	-1.06

Netshoes (CAYMAN) has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Blue Apron. Blue Apron is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Netshoes (CAYMAN), indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

11.7% of Blue Apron shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.1% of Netshoes (CAYMAN) shares are owned by institutional investors. 56.2% of Blue Apron shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Blue Apron beats Netshoes (CAYMAN) on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Blue Apron

Blue Apron Holdings, Inc. operates an e-commerce marketplace that delivers original recipes and fresh ingredients for making home cooking accessible. It provides original recipes with the pre-portioned ingredients to complement tastes and lifestyles of college graduates, young couples, families, singles, and empty nesters. The company also offers Blue Apron Wine, a direct-to-consumer wine delivery service that sells wines, which can be paired with its meals; and sells beef, poultry, and lamb products under the BN Ranch brand name. Its meal products are accompanied by printed and digital content, including how-to instructions, and the stories of its suppliers and specialty ingredients. The company offers its services through order selections on Website or mobile application in the United States. Blue Apron Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Netshoes (CAYMAN)

Netshoes (Cayman) Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as a sports and lifestyle online retailer in Brazil and internationally. It offers various products, including athletic shoes, jerseys, apparels, accessories, and sporting equipment of international, local, and private brands, as well as fashion primarily under the Netshoes and Zattini brands. The company operates through its e-commerce Websites, such as netshoes.com, shoestock.com, and zattini.com. Netshoes (Cayman) Limited was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in S茫o Paulo, Brazil.

Hot Performing Stocks To Watch Right Now

tags:CVT,RLGY,UL,KYO,TRU,PLG,

Although the stock market has been hitting record highs this year, not all companies have been enjoying the ride.

Five companies in particular have been slammed and are the worst-performing S&P 500 stocks in 2016.

We've put together a list of those companies as a warning for investors. But just because a stock is tanking, doesn't mean investors can't still profit…

In fact, Money Morning Global Credit Strategist Michael Lewitt, a former hedge fund and wealth manager, has turned targeting bad-performing stocks into a winning investment strategy. He has already banked triple-digit profits from some of the most embattled companies on the market.

And for the first time ever, we're sharing Lewitt's investment strategy with readers. But first, let's look at our list of the five worst-performing S&P 500 stocks in 2016…

Hot Performing Stocks To Watch Right Now: CVENT, INC.(CVT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  CyberVein (CURRENCY:CVT) traded 7.6% lower against the US dollar during the one day period ending at 21:00 PM E.T. on June 9th. One CyberVein token can now be purchased for about $0.0625 or 0.00000853 BTC on major exchanges including Bit-Z, HitBTC and IDEX. CyberVein has a total market cap of $56.75 million and $10.82 million worth of CyberVein was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. During the last seven days, CyberVein has traded up 5.3% against the US dollar.

Hot Performing Stocks To Watch Right Now: Realogy Holdings Corp.(RLGY)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Realogy (NYSE:RLGY) had its target price trimmed by Citigroup from $37.00 to $35.00 in a report released on Friday morning. The firm currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Old Mutual Global Investors UK Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Realogy Holdings Corp (NYSE:RLGY) by 11.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,142,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 269,939 shares during the period. Old Mutual Global Investors UK Ltd.’s holdings in Realogy were worth $58,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Hot Performing Stocks To Watch Right Now: Unilever PLC(UL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers Aceto Corporation (NASDAQ: ACET) fell 41.9 percent to $4.30 in pre-market trading. ACETO board disclosed that it is taking proactive steps to address business and financial challenges. Canaccord Genuity downgraded Aceto from Buy to Sell. Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc. (NASDAQ: HMNY) fell 25.3 percent to $2.86 in pre-market trading after reporting an ATM offering of $150 million. Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE: PIR) fell 17.4 percent to $2.86 in pre-market trading after reporting a fourth quarter sales miss. Comps were down 7.5 percent in the quarter. Sleep Number Corporation (NASDAQ: SNBR) fell 12.4 percent to $32.00 in pre-market trading following a first quarter earnings miss. Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRTK) fell 10.2 percent to $11.90 in pre-market trading on news of $125 million convertible debt offering. Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: MACK) shares fell 8 percent to $8.02 in pre-market trading after dropping 2.02 percent on Wednesday. Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPO) shares fell 5.6 percent to $80 in pre-market trading. Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LITE) shares fell 4.8 percent to $60.00 in pre-market trading after rising 1.78 percent on Wednesday. vTv Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: VTVT) fell 4.6 percent to $2.10 in pre-market trading after surging 84.87 percent on Wednesday. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE: TSM) shares fell 4.5 percent to $40.07 in pre-market trading after the company reported Q1 results. Align Technology, Inc.. (NASDAQ: ALGN) fell 3.5 percent to $267.40 in pre-market trading after rising 1.61 percent on Wednesday. Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) shares fell 3.5 percent to $12 in pre-market trading after the company issued quarterly fleet status report. GoPro, Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRO) fell 3.2 percent to $4.90 in pre-market trading. Unilever PLC (NYSE: UL) fell 2.6 percent to $54.73 in pre-market
• [By Asit Sharma]

  How this lid materializes is rarely explained or dwelt upon. At any rate, I do like the cliche for its flexibility as a metaphor for other disciplines -- the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry, for example. Several CPG companies, including Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL), have recently found a lid on their pricing baskets: a constraint on their ability to push through price increases on goods sold through retail channels.

• [By Max Byerly]

  News coverage about Unilever (NYSE:UL) has been trending somewhat positive on Tuesday, according to Accern Sentiment Analysis. The research firm scores the sentiment of press coverage by monitoring more than 20 million news and blog sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Unilever earned a news impact score of 0.12 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news coverage about the company an impact score of 47.0118624662366 out of 100, meaning that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the near future.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  LPL Financial LLC reduced its holdings in shares of UNILEVER N.V. Common Stock (NYSE:UL) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 92,190 shares of the company’s stock after selling 906 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in UNILEVER N.V. Common Stock were worth $5,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Isaac Pino, CPA]

  Dollar Shave Club, bought by Unilever (NYSE:UL) in 2016, offers membership as low as $5. Again, the margins may be thin on the products -- just like at Costco -- but that's made up by what hopefully becomes a longer, deeper relationship with the customer.

Hot Performing Stocks To Watch Right Now: Kyocera Corporation(KYO)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anders Bylund]

  Shares of Japanese materials giant Kyocera�(NYSE:KYO) gained 12.1% in April 2018, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The stock rode a strong fourth-quarter report to these gains despite zero coverage in the financial press.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Media coverage about Kyocera (NYSE:KYO) has trended somewhat positive on Monday, Accern Sentiment reports. Accern scores the sentiment of media coverage by monitoring more than twenty million news and blog sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Kyocera earned a coverage optimism score of 0.14 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news articles about the electronics maker an impact score of 44.4825472854626 out of 100, indicating that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the stock’s share price in the near term.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Media stories about Kyocera (NYSE:KYO) have trended somewhat positive this week, according to Accern. The research firm ranks the sentiment of press coverage by analyzing more than 20 million blog and news sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Kyocera earned a news sentiment score of 0.11 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave press coverage about the electronics maker an impact score of 44.7168933477613 out of 100, indicating that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the next few days.

Hot Performing Stocks To Watch Right Now: TransUnion(TRU)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on TransUnion (TRU)

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

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Here are some of the news headlines that may have effected Accern Sentiment’s rankings:

  Get TransUnion alerts: MIB and TransUnion Work Together to Minimize Identity Fraud in Life Insurance and Annuities (finance.yahoo.com) C2 Systems Launches Cloud-based Data Aggregation and Decision Engine (prweb.com) Insider Selling: TransUnion (TRU) EVP Sells 30,000 Shares of Stock (americanbankingnews.com) TransUnion (TRU) Expected to Post Quarterly Sales of $538.48 Million (americanbankingnews.com) TransUnion to Present at William Blair Growth Stock Conference (finance.yahoo.com)

  A number of research firms have commented on TRU. Zacks Investment Research upgraded TransUnion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on TransUnion from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 23rd. SunTrust Banks upped their price target on TransUnion from $64.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on TransUnion from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Co set a $65.00 price objective on TransUnion and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $66.64.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) shares reached a new 52-week high and low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $69.74 and last traded at $68.94, with a volume of 28118 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $68.47.

• [By Max Byerly]

  TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) EVP David M. Neenan sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.42, for a total value of $2,112,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 123,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,663,702.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 11.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,432,827 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 144,711 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.78% of TransUnion worth $81,355,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers AGM Group Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: AGMH) shares climbed 30.3 percent to $11.05 after climbing 34.60 percent on Thursday. Limelight Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: LLNW) jumped 21.2 percent to $4.9699 following a first-quarter earnings beat. The company also raised its fiscal 2018 estimates. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) shares climbed 18.8 percent to $7.89 after reporting strong Q1 earnings. Farmers Capital Bank Corp (NASDAQ: FFKT) gained 15.4 percent to $48.75. WesBanco Inc (NASDAQ: WSBC) announced an agreement and plan of merger with Farmers Capital Bank Corporation. TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) climbed 10.2 percent to $66.76 after the company posted upbeat Q1 results and issued a strong forecast for the second quarter. TransUnion announced plans to acquire Callcredit. Myomo, Inc. (NYSE: MYO) shares gained 9.2 percent to $3.9299 after rising 8.11 percent on Thursday. Pinnacle Foods Inc (NYSE: PF) gained 8.8 percent to $60.04 after a 13-D filing from Jana Partners showed an increased stake in the comapny, from 1.42 million shares at the end of last quarter to 10.83 million shares, or a 9.3-percent stake. Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE: ASB) shares climbed 8.8 percent to $26.70 following upbeat Q1 earnings. OFG Bancorp (NYSE: OFG) gained 8.5 percent to $12.80 after reporting Q1 results. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF) climbed 7.5 percent to $7.73 following Q1 results. Seaspan Corporation (NYSE: SSW) shares climbed 6.7 percent to $7.50. Deutsche Bank upgraded Seaspan from Hold to Buy. General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) shares rose 4.6 percent to $14.63 after the company reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IONS) rose 4.3 percent to $47.80. Biogen and Ionis have expanded their strategic collaboration to develop drug candidates for a broad range of neurological diseases.

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

Hot Performing Stocks To Watch Right Now: Platinum Group Metals Ltd.(PLG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Shares of Platinum Group Metals (TSE:PTM) (NYSE:PLG) traded down 18.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as C$0.18 and last traded at C$0.18. 643,238 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 400% from the average session volume of 128,626 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$0.22.

Bankrate Study: 10 Best States to Retire List for 2018

Bankrate releases a list of the best states to retire every year based on a number of factors that the company considers to be essential for a happy retirement.

Source: Shutterstock

One of the most essential elements of the list is the cost of living, which means that expensive states such as New York and California are near or at the bottom of the list despite the fact that they have a lot to offer from a cultural standpoint.

Factors considered by Bankrate when determining its rankings include cost of living, crime rate, culture, health care quality, taxes, weather and well-being. Here are the 10 best states to retire for 2018:

South Dakota: The Midwestern state ranks 19 for cost of living, 21 for crime, 10 for culture, 12 for health care quality, two on taxes, 38 for weather and number one for well-being. Utah: The Western state is near the top of the list as it is number eight for taxes and number nine for well-being. Idaho: This state has a lot going for it as its number four in crime, eight in health care quality and eight in well-being. New Hampshire: The Northeastern state is number one in lowest crime, five in health care quality and seven in taxes and well-being. Florida: The sunny state is near the top of the list as it has the second best weather in the country. Montana: Here’s another underrated selection which ranks seven in culture and six in taxes. North Carolina: The Eastern state is 12 in both cost of living and weather. Wyoming: This state has the lowest taxes in the country and its nine in crime, making it one of the best states to retire. Nebraska: The health care quality in this state ranks at number 12. Mississippi: The Southern state rounds out the top 10 as it has the lowest cost of living in the U.S.

Where would you like to retire.

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Funko Inc (FNKO) Expected to Announce Quarterly Sales of $122.76 Million

Equities research analysts expect Funko Inc (NASDAQ:FNKO) to post sales of $122.76 million for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks reports. Five analysts have provided estimates for Funko’s earnings, with the lowest sales estimate coming in at $117.10 million and the highest estimate coming in at $126.89 million. The business is scheduled to issue its next earnings report on Thursday, August 9th.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Funko will report full-year sales of $614.80 million for the current financial year, with estimates ranging from $610.30 million to $626.61 million. For the next fiscal year, analysts forecast that the business will post sales of $694.25 million per share, with estimates ranging from $680.20 million to $712.36 million. Zacks Investment Research’s sales averages are an average based on a survey of research analysts that that provide coverage for Funko.

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Funko (NASDAQ:FNKO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 10th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $137.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.64 million. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Separately, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Funko from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Funko presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $12.67.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FNKO. California Public Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Funko in the fourth quarter worth about $2,496,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Funko in the fourth quarter worth about $3,542,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Funko in the fourth quarter worth about $831,000. Geode Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Funko in the fourth quarter worth about $137,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Funko in the fourth quarter worth about $157,000. 9.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Funko opened at $13.82 on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The stock has a market capitalization of $718.40 million and a P/E ratio of 46.07. Funko has a one year low of $5.81 and a one year high of $15.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Funko Company Profile

Funko, Inc, a pop culture consumer products company, designs, sources, and distributes licensed pop culture products in the United States, China, Vietnam, and the United Kingdom. The company offers vinyl, bobble head, blind-packed miniature, and action figures; and plush products, accessories, apparels, and homewares, as well as bags, purses, and wallets.

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Top 5 Growth Stocks For 2019

tags:ISRG,MED,BWLD,JWN,TBI, President Donald Trump's tax law was sold as a transformative overhaul that would unlock an ocean of money Corporate America could spend on job-creating investments.

The Republican tax cuts enacted last December immediately sparked millions of one-time bonuses for employees as well as some wage hikes. And the windfall led to a record-shattering stock buyback bonanza that enriched shareholders.

However, the promised investment boom has not materialized -- not yet anyway. Business spending is humming along at healthy levels, but economists see little evidence that the tax cuts sparked an acceleration of investments in new equipment, factories or other projects.

"There is nothing to suggest the tax law is lifting investment in any substantive way, at least so far," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.

One broad measure of business spending, real nonresidential fixed investment, rose by 6.1% during the first quarter. That's solid growth signaling a strong economy. However, it was roughly in-line with the past several quarters. It even marked a slight deceleration from the final three months of 2017.

Top 5 Growth Stocks For 2019: Intuitive Surgical Inc.(ISRG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Stoffel]

  That's the basic business model behind the two companies in today's match-up: surgical robot maker�Intuitive Surgical�(NASDAQ:ISRG) and medical device maker�Medtronic�(NYSE:MDT). If you're interested in investing in this field, the question becomes: Which is the better stock to buy at today's prices?

• [By Sean Williams]

  The VISE acronym stands for:

  Visa (NYSE:V) Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) Sirius XM Holdings (NASDAQ:SIRI) Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA)

  Each of these four companies brings clear-cut competitive advantages to the table that should allow it to handily outperform the broader market (and the FANG stocks).

• [By Chris Lange]

  The stock posting the largest daily percentage gain in the S&P 500 ahead of the close Wednesday was Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) which rose about 8% to $469.73. The stock��s 52-week range is $263.66 to $473.79. Volume was 3.2 million compared to the daily average volume of less than 1 million.

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  Right now, it's time for that yearly review of the ones he picked to honor the month, and also the briefly famous pregnant giraffe: five companies, and the first letters of their tickers spelled out A-P-R-I-L. They were Axon Enterprise�(NASDAQ:AAXN), Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacific�(NYSE:PAC), ResMed�(NYSE:RMD), Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG), and Live Nation�(NYSE:LYV).

Top 5 Growth Stocks For 2019: MEDIFAST INC(MED)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED) shares were also up, gaining 22 percent to $121.06 after the company reported strong Q1 results and raised its FY18 guidance.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Biostar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BSPM) shares rose 35.8 percent to $3.00. Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVGI) shares surged 32 percent to $8.94 after reporting upbeat Q1 earnings. Carbon Black, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBLK) gained 29.6 percent to $24.62. Carbon Black priced its IPO at $19 per share. California Resources Corporation (NYSE: CRC) shares rose 26.8 percent to $32.70 following upbeat Q1 earnings. Pandora Media, Inc. (NYSE: P) gained 25 percent to $7.185 after reporting strong quarterly results. Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED) shares climbed 23.7 percent to $122.87 after the company reported strong Q1 results and raised its FY18 guidance. Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NYSE: NGVC) rose 23.2 percent to $8.4999 after reporting Q2 results. Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTLA) gained 22.2 percent to $41.27 after the FDA approved the company's Andexxa, the only antidote indicated for patients treated with rivaroxaban and apixaban. Shake Shack Inc (NYSE: SHAK) rose 22.2 percent to $57.955 after the company reported upbeat results for its first quarter and raised its FY18 guidance. Atomera Incorporated (NASDAQ: ATOM) jumped 19.7 percent to $6.12 after reporting Q1 results. Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI) rose 16.4 percent to $21.00 after reporting strong preliminary results for the third quarter. Titan International, Inc. (NYSE: TWI) shares rose 16.4 percent to $12.21 following Q1 earnings. Integer Holdings Corporation (NYSE: ITGR) shares gained 14.9 percent to $63.75 following Q1 results. Control4 Corporation (NASDAQ: CTRL) shares climbed 14.5 percent to $23.98 folloiwng strong Q1 results. B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE: BGS) climbed 12.6 percent to $25.40 after reporting Q1 earnings. HMS Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: HMSY) shares gained 10 percent to $19.59 after reporting upbeat quarterly earnings. Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAV) rose 7 percent to $10.09 following Q3 r
• [By Max Byerly]

  MediBloc (CURRENCY:MED) traded 0.2% lower against the U.S. dollar during the twenty-four hour period ending at 16:00 PM Eastern on June 7th. MediBloc has a total market cap of $37.92 million and $586,074.00 worth of MediBloc was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. Over the last week, MediBloc has traded down 36% against the U.S. dollar. One MediBloc token can now be purchased for $0.0128 or 0.00000166 BTC on major exchanges including Coinrail, Bibox and Gate.io.

• [By Max Byerly]

  McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE: MKC) and Medifast (NYSE:MED) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  MediBloc (CURRENCY:MED) traded 3.9% lower against the U.S. dollar during the 1-day period ending at 20:00 PM E.T. on June 13th. One MediBloc token can now be purchased for $0.0083 or 0.00000131 BTC on major cryptocurrency exchanges including Coinrail, Gate.io and Bibox. During the last seven days, MediBloc has traded 36.5% lower against the U.S. dollar. MediBloc has a total market cap of $24.58 million and $216,935.00 worth of MediBloc was traded on exchanges in the last day.

Top 5 Growth Stocks For 2019: Buffalo Wild Wings Inc.(BWLD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  A long term performance chart shows Dave & Busters Entertainment�tripling in value�before falling back while�small cap upscale gentlemen's clubs and restaurant owner�RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: RICK) began taking off in 2016 and small cap�Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD) is being acquired by Arby��s Restaurant Group:

• [By Steve Symington]

  That's not to say it was a quiet day for every stock on the market. With earnings season ramping up, brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:BUD) and restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ:BWLD) served as an exercise in contrast as investors reacted to their respective quarterly reports.

Top 5 Growth Stocks For 2019: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN)Q1 2018 Earnings Conference CallMay 17, 2017, 4:45 p.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By ]

  Cramer and the AAP team say today's weakness is the opportunity they have been patiently waiting for. Their target? Nordstrom (JWN) . Find out what they're telling their investment club members and get in on the conversation with a free trial subscription to Action Alerts PLUS.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  One bit of good news for Walmart is that its Sam’s Club warehouse stores scored an 80 to tie for third behind Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) at 83 and Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) at 81.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Look for Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) to reveal its fiscal fourth-quarter results on Thursday as well. The consensus analyst estimates are $1.25 in EPS and revenue of $4.62 billion. Shares of Nordstrom closed at $53.56 on Friday, above the consensus price target of $49.94. The 52-week range is $37.79 to $54.00.

• [By JJ Kinahan]

  This week brings a string of retail results with reports from Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) on Wednesday morning and Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) after market close on Thursday. Next week, big-box retailer Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) and home improvement retailer Lowe’s Inc. (NYSE: LOW) both report before market open on Wednesday, May 23. For a look at what else is going on across markets, check out today’s market update if you have time.

• [By ]

  On Thursday, earnings are expected from JCPenney Co. (JCP) , Action Alerts PLUS holding Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) , Nintendo Co. (NTDOY) and Walmart Inc. (WMT) .

Top 5 Growth Stocks For 2019: TrueBlue Inc.(TBI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Trueblue (TBI)

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

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.50.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) by 24.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 95,307 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,680 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Trueblue worth $2,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) by 21.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 137,178 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,951 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Trueblue were worth $3,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Trueblue (NYSE: TBI) is one of 23 public companies in the “Help supply services” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare Trueblue to similar businesses based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, dividends, earnings and risk.

The 5 Best Restaurant Stocks of 2018 (So Far)

This year hasn't been great for the broader restaurant industry. Leading companies, including Starbucks�and McDonald's, have been struggling with negative customer traffic trends as more diners opt to stay closer to home, or to have their food delivered.

A few restaurant chains have managed to buck that downtrend, though, and their business success has contributed to market-beating stock-price gains for shareholders.

Below, we'll take a closer look at a few of these outperforming chains.

Image source: Getty Images.

Domino's Pizza: Up 48%

Investors had been worried that Domino's�(NYSE:DPZ) impressive growth streak was coming to an end, but the pizza chain put those fears to rest in its fiscal first-quarter earnings report. That announcement revealed that sales gains sped up to an 8% pace from 4% in the prior quarter thanks to market share gains in both the U.S. and international segments. Domino's franchised business model, meanwhile, continued to show off its strength as operating margin jumped to 38% of sales from 31%. The company is hoping to continue expanding sales at existing locations at a healthy clip, but its long-term growth plans�center on building out its store base to an even deeper penetration in the U.S. and in other countries around the world. ��

Fiesta Restaurant Group: Up 53%

Fiesta Restaurant Group�(NASDAQ:FRGI), home of the Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana fast-casual chains, is back in Wall Street's good graces after a tough 2017 that was marked by falling sales at existing locations and an overall net loss. Its rebound plan, which includes cost cuts, menu improvements, and increased marketing investments, appears to be working. Sales returned to modest growth in the Pollo Tropical segment and are looking better at Taco Cabana. Those gains represent just the first small step in bringing the business back toward the nearly 10% operating margin shareholders saw in 2015, up from roughly 3% today.�

Chipotle Mexican Grill: Up 55%

Former highflier Chipotle�(NYSE:CMG) has had an impressive rally this year. Investors are happy to see both sales and profits headed in the right direction after a brutal multiyear stretch of declines that was brought on by food safety issues in 2015. In the fiscal first quarter, revenue rose 2.2% as higher menu prices offset slight traffic declines. Profit margin jumped to 20% of sales from 18% a year ago. Investors betting on the stock today have to hope that new CEO Brian Niccol can extend those modestly positive results through a risky turnaround plan that includes new menu items and a revamped loyalty program.

BJ's Restaurants: Up 69%

California-based brewhouse chain BJ's Restaurants�(NASDAQ:BJRI) has had a good year so far. Comparable-store sales rose 4.2% in the first quarter, and while most of those gains came from higher menu prices, the restaurant was also aided by modestly higher customer traffic. BJ's has seen many of its newest menu initiatives, including slow-roast prime rib, hit a chord with in-store diners even as its delivery sales spike. CEO Greg Trojan and his team are hoping to press both of those advantages over the coming quarters, but investors are even more optimistic about the company's balanced approach to store launches. It plans to open six restaurants this fiscal year, down from 10 in 2017, and surpass 200 locations across just over 26 U.S. states.

Noodles & Co.: Up 131%

It might seem odd that the industry's biggest winner so far this year isn't growing. In fact, Noodles & Co. (NASDAQ:NDLS) recently posted a quarterly net loss while revenue decreased 5%. But that result still shot past investors' expectations by showing surprising progress in the casual-dining chain's recovery efforts. Noodles & Co. has lots of work ahead of it before it can snap out of its four-year stretch of annual net losses. Yet, with shares having fallen by over 80% since 2013, even modestly good news proved to be enough to spark at least a short-term rally in the stock.

Picking favorites

The above list offers investment opportunities that include powerful, established franchises in addition to struggling rebound candidates. If you prefer the first category, you might want to take a closer look at industry leader Domino's. As for those riskier turnaround options, Chipotle offers an attractive mix of brand power and modest growth expectations that could lay the foundation for solid long-term returns from here.

Zacks Investment Research Lowers Mplx (MPLX) to Hold

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

According to Zacks, “MPLX LP is a fee-based limited partnership formed to own, operate, develop and acquire crude oil, refined product and other hydrocarbon-based product pipelines and other midstream assets. The Company’s assets consist of a network of common carrier crude oil and product pipeline systems and associated storage assets in the Midwest and Gulf Coast regions of the United States. MPLX LP is based in Findlay, Ohio. “

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Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Mplx from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 16th. Mizuho set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Mplx and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 11th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Mplx and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank initiated coverage on shares of Mplx in a research note on Thursday, April 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.08.

Mplx opened at $33.98 on Thursday, according to Marketbeat.com. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market cap of $26.98 billion, a PE ratio of 32.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.28. Mplx has a 52-week low of $31.60 and a 52-week high of $39.38.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 30th. The pipeline company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.19. Mplx had a net margin of 21.88% and a return on equity of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. Mplx’s quarterly revenue was up 60.3% compared to the same quarter last year. equities research analysts expect that Mplx will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SWS Partners acquired a new position in shares of Mplx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $149,000. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $179,000. Pitcairn Co. bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mplx by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Inc. now owns 7,135 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Koch Industries Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Institutional investors own 31.19% of the company’s stock.

About Mplx

MPLX LP owns, operates, develops, and acquires midstream energy infrastructure assets. It operates in two segments, Logistics and Storage, and Gathering and Processing segments. The company is involved in the gathering, processing, and transportation of natural gas; gathering, transportation, fractionation, storage, and marketing of natural gas liquids (NGLs); and gathering, transportation, and storage of crude oil and refined petroleum products.

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Analysts Anticipate Twilio Inc (TWLO) Will Announce Quarterly Sales of $130.23 Million

Equities research analysts expect that Twilio Inc (NYSE:TWLO) will report sales of $130.23 million for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Six analysts have issued estimates for Twilio’s earnings. The highest sales estimate is $131.55 million and the lowest is $129.35 million. Twilio reported sales of $95.87 million during the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year-over-year growth rate of 35.8%. The firm is scheduled to issue its next earnings report on Monday, August 6th.

On average, analysts expect that Twilio will report full year sales of $541.81 million for the current fiscal year, with estimates ranging from $541.00 million to $544.91 million. For the next fiscal year, analysts anticipate that the business will report sales of $660.86 million per share, with estimates ranging from $636.58 million to $680.34 million. Zacks’ sales calculations are a mean average based on a survey of analysts that that provide coverage for Twilio.

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Twilio (NYSE:TWLO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 8th. The technology company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $129.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $115.92 million. Twilio had a negative net margin of 16.61% and a negative return on equity of 21.88%. The business’s revenue was up 47.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.04) earnings per share.

TWLO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Twilio to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 13th. Vetr lowered shares of Twilio from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $42.47 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt started coverage on shares of Twilio in a research note on Wednesday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Dougherty & Co started coverage on shares of Twilio in a research note on Tuesday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Twilio in a research note on Thursday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. The company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.90.

In other Twilio news, General Counsel Karyn Smith sold 938 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.36, for a total value of $36,919.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO George Hu sold 6,886 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.10, for a total transaction of $413,848.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 91,972 shares of company stock valued at $4,997,598 over the last quarter. 19.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TWLO. Technology Crossover Management IX Ltd. bought a new position in Twilio in the fourth quarter worth about $47,599,000. Raging Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Twilio in the fourth quarter worth about $22,420,000. Salesforce Com Inc. bought a new position in Twilio in the fourth quarter worth about $20,969,000. Harvest Capital Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Twilio during the first quarter valued at about $17,181,000. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Twilio during the first quarter valued at about $16,992,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.11% of the company’s stock.

Shares of TWLO traded down $1.71 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $55.25. 8,052,149 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,936,118. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -70.83 and a beta of -0.27. Twilio has a 12-month low of $23.25 and a 12-month high of $62.34.

Twilio Company Profile

Twilio Inc provides a cloud communications platform that enables developers to build, scale, and operate communications within software applications in the United States and internationally. The company's programmable communications cloud provides a set of application programming interfaces that enable developers to embed voice, messaging, and video capabilities into their applications.

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Wells Fargo & Company MN Cuts Stake in AvalonBay Communities (AVB)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lessened its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) by 15.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 349,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 62,872 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $57,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global X Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Global X Management Co. LLC now owns 4,932 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $811,000 after buying an additional 923 shares during the last quarter. Xact Kapitalforvaltning AB lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Xact Kapitalforvaltning AB now owns 29,567 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,275,000 after buying an additional 1,610 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 52,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,289,000 after buying an additional 4,592 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth about $236,000. Finally, Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Alberta as represented by Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Alberta as represented by Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 110,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $19,661,000 after acquiring an additional 5,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.10% of the company’s stock.

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AVB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $175.00 price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 2nd. Sandler O’Neill lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $189.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $188.94.

AvalonBay Communities opened at $161.76 on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. AvalonBay Communities has a 12 month low of $152.65 and a 12 month high of $199.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.19 by ($1.16). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.57% and a net margin of 35.62%. The business had revenue of $560.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $556.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. AvalonBay Communities’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. equities research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities will post 8.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 16th. Investors of record on Friday, June 29th will be issued a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 28th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 68.21%.

AvalonBay Communities Profile

As of December 31, 2017, the Company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 288 apartment communities containing 84,158 apartment homes in 12 states and the District of Columbia, of which 21 communities were under development and nine communities were under redevelopment. The Company is an equity REIT in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing apartment communities in leading metropolitan areas primarily in New England, the New York/New Jersey Metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, the Pacific Northwest, and the Northern and Southern California regions of the United States.

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Kraton (KRA) vs. Eastman Chemical (EMN) Critical Comparison

Kraton (NYSE: KRA) and Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Dividends

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Eastman Chemical pays an annual dividend of $2.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Kraton does not pay a dividend. Eastman Chemical pays out 29.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Eastman Chemical has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.3% of Kraton shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.9% of Eastman Chemical shares are held by institutional investors. 4.7% of Kraton shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Eastman Chemical shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Kraton and Eastman Chemical’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kraton	$1.96 billion	0.79	$97.54 million	$2.85	17.10
Eastman Chemical	$9.55 billion	1.59	$1.38 billion	$7.61	13.96

Eastman Chemical has higher revenue and earnings than Kraton. Eastman Chemical is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kraton, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Kraton and Eastman Chemical’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kraton	5.65%	18.07%	3.80%
Eastman Chemical	15.08%	22.14%	7.25%

Risk and Volatility

Kraton has a beta of 1.2, suggesting that its stock price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Eastman Chemical has a beta of 1.22, suggesting that its stock price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Kraton and Eastman Chemical, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kraton	1	1	2	0	2.25
Eastman Chemical	0	7	8	0	2.53

Kraton presently has a consensus price target of $56.33, suggesting a potential upside of 15.60%. Eastman Chemical has a consensus price target of $104.79, suggesting a potential downside of 1.39%. Given Kraton’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Kraton is more favorable than Eastman Chemical.

Summary

Eastman Chemical beats Kraton on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kraton

Kraton Corporation manufactures and sells styrenic block copolymers and other engineered polymers in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Polymer and Chemical. The Polymer segment offers performance products, including styrene-butadiene-styrene and styrene-isoprene-styrene; and specialty polymers, such as hydrogenated styrenic block copolymers, as well as isoprene rubber and isoprene rubber latex for use in medical and personal care products, adhesives, tackifiers, paints, and coatings. The Chemical segment provides pine-based specialty products that include rosin-based tackifiers for packaging and pressure-sensitive adhesive applications; terpene-based tackifiers for bookbinding, hygiene, and pressure-sensitive adhesive applications; alpha-methyl-styrene (AMS) resins for bookbinding and pressure-sensitive adhesive applications; and hot melt polyamides for flexible packaging. It also provides rosin-based binders for the thermoplastic pavement marking submarket; sells tall oil fatty acids for the asphalt paving market; and produces rosin esters and insoluble maleic-based tackifiers, as well as bitumen additives. In addition, this segment offers terpene-based tread enhancement resins and AMS-based tread enhancement additives, as well as distilled tall oil and rosins for enhancing the performance and manufacturing of high performance, winter, and all-season tires. Further, it provides dimer acids, tall oil rosins, and terpene fractions for fuel additive, oilfield chemical, mining fluid, coating, metalworking fluid and lubricant, and other applications. The company sells its products through various channels, including direct sales force, marketing representatives, and distributors under the Kraton and Cariflex brands. The company was formerly known as Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc. and changed its name to Kraton Corporation in September 2016. Kraton Corporation is based in Houston, Texas.

About Eastman Chemical

Eastman Chemical Company manufactures and sells materials, specialty additives, chemicals, and fibers in the United States and internationally. The company's Additives & Functional Products segment offers specialty coalescents, specialty and commodity solvents, paint additives, and specialty polymers; hydrocarbon and rosin resins; insoluble sulfur and antidegradant rubber additives; performance resins and amine derivative-based building blocks; heat transfer and aviation fluids; formic acid-based solutions; and metam-based soil fumigants, thiram and ziram based fungicides, and plant growth regulators. Its products are used in transportation, consumables, building and construction, industrial applications, animal nutrition, care chemicals, crop protection, and energy markets. Its Advanced Materials segment provides copolyesters, cellulose esters, polyvinyl butyral (PVB) sheets, specialty (PVB) intermediates, and window film and protective film, and aftermarket applied film products for value-added end uses in transportation, consumables, building and construction, durable goods, and health and wellness markets. The company's Chemical Intermediates segment offers Olefin derivatives, acetyl derivatives, ethylene, and commodity solvents; primary non-phthalate and phthala plasticizers, and a range of niche non- phthalate plasticizers; and methylamines and salts higher amines and solvents. Its Fibers segment manufactures and sells cellulose acetate tow for use in filtration media primarily cigarette filters; triacetin, cellulose acetate flake, and acetyl raw materials for other acetate fiber producers; and natural, acetate, and polyester yarn, as well as solution-dyed acetate yarn for use in apparel, home furnishings, and industrial fabrics. The company also offers aviation turbine engine oil; wet-laid nonwovens; and specialty films. Eastman Chemical Company was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee.

Top 5 Dividend Stocks To Invest In Right Now

tags:TAL,SCG,PAYX,PNW,UMH,

As a long-term shareholder in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), I wanted to compare them will a leading domestic shale producer - EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG). As you surely are aware, COP had been one of the "Big 3" international integrated oil companies prior to the spin-off of Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX), a move that unleashed tremendous shareholder value. But now COP is an upstream only company and the comparison to EOG is relevant and - at least to me - informative and interesting.

The following chart compares some relevant valuation metrics of the two companies:

EOG COP EOG vs. COP - Relative Metrics Share Price $103.40 $51.82 Market Cap. $59.6 Billion $64.2 Billion Debt $7 Billion $28.7 Billion Cash $1.1 Billion $4.3 Billion Net Debt $5.9 Billion $24.4 Billion Net Debt To Cap 33% 44% Net Debt/share $10.77/share $19.60/share Enterprise Value $66.6 Billion $92.9 Production 555,200 boe/d 1,577,000 boe/d % Production Crude & Condensate 51% 49%* Dividend (Yield) $0.67 (0.6%) $1.00 (1.9%) Proved Reserves 2.1 Billion boe 8.2 Billion boe Proved Reserves/share 3.8 boe/share 6.6 boe/share Click to enlarge

Source: Yahoo finance, Q3 EPS reports (EOG, COP), Latest Reserves Report (EOG, COP). *Crude+Bitumen

Top 5 Dividend Stocks To Invest In Right Now: TAL International Group Inc.(TAL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Trilogy Global Advisors LP cut its stake in TAL Education (NYSE:TAL) by 57.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 94,705 shares of the company’s stock after selling 126,580 shares during the quarter. Trilogy Global Advisors LP’s holdings in TAL Education were worth $3,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Dustin Parrett]

  Our analysis from May 2013 found the VQScore tool identified 48 triple-digit winners, including a staggering 2,573% gainer in TAL Education Group ADR (NYSE: TAL).

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Tarena International (NASDAQ: TEDU) and TAL Education (NYSE:TAL) are both business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends and institutional ownership.

Top 5 Dividend Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Scana Corporation(SCG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Companies Reporting Before The Bell General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.24 per share on revenue of $34.66 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.85 per share on revenue of $5.24 billion. United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $1.55 per share on revenue of $16.44 billion. Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.74 per share on revenue of $7.91 billion. ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.74 per share on revenue of $8.81 billion. PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.93 per share on revenue of $12.4 billion. American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.72 per share on revenue of $10.42 billion. Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE: LUV) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.74 per share on revenue of $5.01 billion. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.8 per share on revenue of $34.52 billion. Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.66 per share on revenue of $5.38 billion. D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE: DHI) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.85 per share on revenue of $3.76 billion. The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $1.4 per share on revenue of $1.94 billion. Praxair, Inc. (NYSE: PX) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $1.56 per share on revenue of $2.94 billion. Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.92 per share on revenue of $4.63 billion. Shire plc (NASDAQ: SHPG) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $3.54 per share on revenue of $3.72 billion. Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK) is projected to report quarter
• [By Chris Lange]

  The stock posting the largest daily percentage gain in the S&P 500 ahead of the close Wednesday was SCANA Corp. (NYSE: SCG) which rose over 22% to $47.71. The stock��s 52-week range is $37.10 to $73.81. Volume was about 19 million compared to its average volume of 2 million.

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  Dominion Energy (NYSE:D) started 2018 well, delivering results that came in at the high end of its forecast thanks to much colder weather than last winter. Because of that, the utility believes its full-year results will come in above the midpoint of its guidance range. The company also affirmed its dividend growth forecast even though two factors helping to power it -- the SCANA (NYSE:SCG) merger and its ability to grow its master limited partnership�Dominion Energy Midstream Partners (NYSE:DM) -- have become increasingly uncertain.

• [By Chris Lange]

  The S&P 500 stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Tuesday was SCANA Corp. (NYSE: SCG) which traded down roughly 5% at $41.13. The stock��s 52-week range is $37.10 to $71.28. Volume was 3.5 million, compared with the daily average of 3 million shares.

Top 5 Dividend Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Paychex Inc.(PAYX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  GW&K Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 15.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 509,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 89,891 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned 0.14% of Paychex worth $31,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By ]

  "For many other stocks, such as gaming (EA, TTWO) and IT services ( (PAYX) , (GPN) ), regulatory risks for Facebook may not necessarily pose a risk to their core business models," writes Goldman Sachs strategist David Kostin. "We expect correlations for these stocks would likely revert to historical averages and present potential buying opportunities given their underperformance since March."

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Paypex (CURRENCY:PAYX) traded 1% lower against the dollar during the one day period ending at 16:00 PM Eastern on May 20th. In the last week, Paypex has traded 45.6% higher against the dollar. Paypex has a total market capitalization of $142.70 million and $8,938.00 worth of Paypex was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. One Paypex token can currently be purchased for about $2.09 or 0.00024454 BTC on cryptocurrency exchanges.

• [By ]

  In the Lightning Round, Cramer was bullish on Paychex (PAYX) , Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) and XPO Logistics (XPO) .

  Cramer was bearish on 3M (MMM) , Fitbit (FIT) and Granite Construction (GVA) .

Top 5 Dividend Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Pinnacle West Capital Corporation(PNW)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (NYSE: PNW) was raised to Outperform from Neutral and the price target was raised to $87 from $85 at Credit Suisse.

  Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $140 from $125 at JMP Securities.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Atria Investments LLC cut its stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) by 49.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,560 shares during the period. Atria Investments LLC’s holdings in Pinnacle West Capital were worth $371,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) by 15.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,196 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Pinnacle West Capital were worth $700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Bank of America upgraded shares of Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Bank of America currently has $81.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock. The analysts noted that the move was a valuation call.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in shares of Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Pinnacle West Capital were worth $912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Top 5 Dividend Stocks To Invest In Right Now: UMH Properties Inc.(UMH)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Wednesday afternoon, the real estate shares surged 0.56 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc. (NYSE: AHH), up 3 percent, and UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE: UMH) up 3 percent.

Boots and beer boost Target sales but earnings…

Sales of beer, boots and groceries boosted sales at Target at the start of the year. But the earnings were ultimately less than what investors had expected.

The big box retailer reported that traffic to its stores increased 3.7% in the first quarter --the biggest surge in more than a decade --�lifting sales at stores open at least a year by 3%.

Target also reported that its digital sales soared 28%.

But its adjusted earnings of $1.32 per share missed the prediction of analysts with S&P Global Intelligence by seven cents.

That appeared to confirm concerns by some investors that despite a range of initiatives, from smaller, more tailored stores to an expansion of same day delivery, Target will have to continue cutting prices to beat rival Walmart, as well as Amazon and other e-commerce sellers.

Target's stock price was down 5.86% to $71 in pre-market trading.

We believe the company
is facing increasingly competitive pressures from several different
fronts. First, the company faces competition from Internet retailers
that typically offer lower prices, and the company's online sales
are not as profitable as sales in physical stores due to the costs for
shipping goods. Second, we have concerns about Walmart getting
more aggressive on pricing, which will most likely cause Target
to lower prices as well. We believe these competitive issues will
pressure profit margins and thus limit future earnings growth.

"We believe the company�is facing increasingly competitive pressures from several different�fronts,'' Brian�Yarbrough, an analyst�for�Edward�Jones said in a note. "First, the company faces competitWe believe these competitive issues will�pressure profit margins and thus limit future earnings growth.''

Target CEO Brian Cornell was more upbeat, saying in a statement that while winter weather hindered some sales, "we��re very pleased that our business continued to generate strong traffic and sales growth in the�first quarter, as we made significant progress in support of our long-term strategic initiatives.��

Target has been reaching out to a younger, urban customer by opening smaller, tailored locations in cities and near college campuses. But it�also revamped 56 stores in the first quarter, tweaks that Cornell says lead to a 2% to 4% lift in sales.

Target also continued to build on on its reputation as a low-cost fashion destination, unveiling three of�a dozen new, exclusive brands�in the first quarter, and partnered with popular boot maker Hunter for a limited collection.�

In the race to beat Amazon by getting packages to customers as fast as possible, Target expanded same day delivery in cities where many shoppers may not have a car and depend on public transportation. The service is now available in 55 stores in Boston, New York,Chicago, Washington D.C and San Francisco.

�

CLOSE

The "Fixer Upper" reality show stars Chip and Joanna Gaines are launching a product line with Target just in time for the holidays. USA TODAY

It offers a separate same day service through Shipt, a�delivery company that Target recently acquired, which will drop�purchases on the doorsteps of customers in more than 40 states by the end of this year.

Target's also going toe to toe with Walmart and Amazon in the lucrative grocery space, cutting its next-day delivery fee nearly in half�starting last week�for household items like napkins and peanut butter.

And it's drive up service, that allows customers to sit in their cars while their purchases are toted to their trunks or back seats, was rolled out to 270 stores after debuting in Minneapolis-St.� Paul.�

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CLOSE

Just when you thought we couldn��t get it any easier, Target has found another way to make shopping the laziest and easiest thing to do. Buzz60's Maria Mercedes Galuppo has more. Buzz60

Customers are "reacting to our offerings,'' Cornell said in a call with investors. "As�we remodel more stores, as we open up stores in neighborhoods . . .�we expect traffic to continue to grow.����

�

�

bluebird bio (BLUE) Trading Up 0%

bluebird bio (NASDAQ:BLUE) was up 0% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $190.50 and last traded at $189.30. Approximately 892,250 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 14% from the average daily volume of 779,838 shares. The stock had previously closed at $189.30.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BLUE shares. BidaskClub cut bluebird bio from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 16th. ValuEngine upgraded bluebird bio from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on bluebird bio from $122.00 to $113.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. SunTrust Banks lifted their price objective on bluebird bio to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 19th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on bluebird bio from $185.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.80.

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The stock has a market cap of $9.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.83 and a beta of 2.17.

bluebird bio (NASDAQ:BLUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.31) EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of ($2.01) by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $15.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 million. bluebird bio had a negative net margin of 857.55% and a negative return on equity of 27.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 133.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.68) EPS. equities research analysts forecast that bluebird bio will post -9.33 EPS for the current year.

In other news, Director Mark Vachon sold 6,000 shares of bluebird bio stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.38, for a total transaction of $1,286,280.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,500,660. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Philip D. Gregory sold 2,250 shares of bluebird bio stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $450,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,504,400. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,250 shares of company stock worth $8,269,990. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLUE. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of bluebird bio by 3,004.0% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 462,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $82,371,000 after buying an additional 447,600 shares during the period. Redmile Group LLC purchased a new stake in bluebird bio in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,270,000. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in bluebird bio by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,831,371 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $682,366,000 after purchasing an additional 231,697 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in bluebird bio by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 686,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $122,337,000 after purchasing an additional 200,900 shares during the period. Finally, Carillon Tower Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in bluebird bio in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,213,000.

About bluebird bio

bluebird bio, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on developing transformative gene therapies for severe genetic diseases and cancer. Its product candidates include Lenti-D that is in Phase II/III clinical trials for the treatment of cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, a rare hereditary neurological disorder; and LentiGlobin, which is in various clinical studies for the treatment of transfusion- transfusion-dependent �-thalassemia and severe sickle cell disease.