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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AVB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB).

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.�

�

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.

Forget Golf. Women��s Endowment Roles Can Lead to the Boardroom

The old boys’ network is costing university endowments money. Investment committees that have female majorities typically generate higher returns than committees that don’t.

“There’s something about the way women lead and the way they collaborate,” says Jolyne Caruso-FitzGerald, a 35-year Wall Street veteran and chair of the board of trustees at Barnard College, a women’s school in Manhattan. “There’s this intimidation factor on mostly male boards. They have a way of shutting down women. I wish people would just look at the data.”

#lazy-img-327783192:before{padding-top:68.77272727272727%;}Barnard College Board of Trustees Chair Jolyne Caruso-FitzGeraldPhotographer: Adrienne Grunwald for Bloomberg Markets

To get an idea of what can happen when women make investment decisions, take a look at the Seven Sisters, a group of historically women’s colleges in the U.S. Northeast. Women hold almost 80 percent of the seats on the schools’ investment committees, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In comparison, on state university foundation boards, whose duties include overseeing endowments, women on average held only a quarter of the seats in 2015, according to a report from the Association of Governing Boards. The Seven Sisters, which includes Barnard, reported an average 12.5 percent investment return for the year ended June 30, 2017, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The national average was 12.2 percent for the period, according to the National Association of College & University Business Officers.

In financial circles, it’s common to hear that the most important consideration is money—that the keys to the kingdom are available to anyone who can deliver a beefy return on investment. But that’s not necessarily the case when it comes to women and many finance jobs. Despite the data, women are underrepresented on committees that decide where endowment money goes.

Endowments are big business. They invest donations, supplement operating budgets, pay for capital improvements, and chip in with tuition payments for needy students. In the U.S., endowment assets total $567 billion, from Harvard’s almost $40 billion endowment to the $185 million fund at Lesley University, a neighboring school in Cambridge, Mass.

U.S. universities certainly talk the talk when it comes to diversity. Ninety-two percent of endowments and foundations agree that diverse committees drive successful investment programs, according to a 2015 study conducted by consulting company NEPC LLC. But those schools fall short when it comes to walking the walk. Diversity was ranked sixth out of seven optimal qualities when new committee members are selected (with the top consideration being investment knowledge) in the survey.

Disparities exist just about everywhere. At Barnard, six of the seven members of the investment committee, which manages $327 million, are women. At co-ed Ivy League school Columbia, where Barnard students also take classes and share facilities, the eight-person group that oversees the $10 billion endowment has one woman. Columbia spokesman Robert Hornsby declined to comment.

“Guys have been lining up behind each other on the golf course for 20 years. University boards are a way to get in that same line”

Cheryl Holland got her spot on the investment committee of Bryn Mawr College, another Seven Sisters school, in 1998, not long after asking why there was only one woman on it, she says. By 2004 she was chairing the committee. Now the group has eight members, only two of whom are men. “It’s a sexy committee,” Holland says. “Everyone wants to be on it.”

Caruso-FitzGerald says Barnard’s investment committee faced a difficult decision regarding divestment from unpopular political causes, an issue that student activists on campus brought to administrators. The endowment’s final decision—selling investments in companies that deny climate science—resulted in the committee dropping its longtime outside manager.

The female-majority environment was critical in reaching a decision that made everyone comfortable, Caruso-FitzGerald says. “We’ve been able to tackle these difficult decisions, and we always get to consensus. There’s never this dominant voice that squashes everyone else’s viewpoint.”

There are plenty of jobs at university endowments—on the investment committees or in the funds’ offices. The committees are generally subsets of the university’s board of trustees, a combination of alumni and community members that provides strategic direction for the school’s fund. Committee responsibilities can include approving investment decisions and picking individual hedge funds and private equity firms in which to invest.

At some smaller funds, it may be a committee or two-­person staff responsible for portfolio management. Larger funds have staff to manage the money, and the committee provides strategic direction. 

It’s the investment office’s task to manage the endowment day to day. Unlike in many pockets of institutional investing, women are better represented in these offices than in other money-­management roles. Among the 50 largest endowments, women head about a dozen, accounting for some $40 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Only one Ivy League endowment has a woman at the helm—Alice Ruth at Dartmouth.

“It’s impressed me that women are reaching the senior ranks at endowments,” says Debbie Duncan, a Wall Street veteran who’s the chair of the board of trustees at all-women Smith College and an investment committee member. This side of investing tends to have more women “than what you’d see in the mutual fund world or other institutional investors.”

That’s true despite women’s performance, which is as good or better than men’s when it comes to investing elsewhere in the financial world. Fixed-income mutual funds run by women have outperformed funds run by men since 2003, but only 14 U.S. debt funds were managed exclusively by women as of September 2017, compared with 47 in 2004, according to Morningstar Inc. The share of women running bond or equity assets has stalled for the last three years at about 1 in 10.

The pattern holds in C-suites, too. Companies where women make up at least 15 percent of senior management report 50 percent higher profitability, according to Credit Suisse Group reports. Companies that are led by a female chief executive officer have better price-to-book value and higher return on equity, Credit Suisse says. A 2017 Fidelity Investments study focusing on employee-sponsored retirement plans found that women tended to save more and performed better.

Wall Street, which is a feeder for endowment investment committees, hasn’t been a champion of promoting women to top spots. No woman has ever run a major bank. Less than one-­quarter of the senior U.S. executives and managers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. are women. Ana Duarte-McCarthy, Citigroup’s former head of diversity, says it’s not a lack of talent but more a problem of getting women across the finish line.

University boards, especially investment committees, are often steppingstones to lucrative corporate board positions, says Betsy Berkhemer-Credaire, CEO of executive search company Berkhemer Clayton Inc. They’re essential to gaining board-related expertise and making connections, she says.

“Guys have been lining up behind each other on the golf course for 20 years,” Berkhemer-Credaire says. “University boards are a way to get in that same line.”

An essential role of university boards, of all stripes, is to encourage giving. Roxanne Wilson, who’s been a member of both the investment committee and the board of trustees at all-women Scripps College in Claremont, Calif., says having female majorities on both committees has helped Scripps raise money. And as times change, more and more of the donors are women.

“People, especially alumni, want to donate to something they believe in,” says Wilson, who got her start cold-calling alumni for money. “Back in my phone-a-thon days, women would tell me that they’d have to ask permission, or we’d get some lesser amount, while the husband’s institution got the big numbers. Women aren’t afraid to talk about money anymore.”