Weight Watchers Earnings: WTW Stock Down as EPS Fail to Meet Guidance

Weight Watchers (NASDAQ:WTW) announced its latest quarterly earnings results after the bell Tuesday, which was below analysts’ guidance, while its sales also disappointed, sending WTW stock on a tailspin after Wall Street closed for the day.

The New York City-based diet and health services provider said that for its fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, it posted adjusted earnings of 46 cents per share, below the 60 cents per share that Wall Street called for in a Refinitiv survey. Revenue was also underwhelming at $330 million, roughly $17 million below analysts’ projection, per Refinitiv.

For its fiscal 2019, Weight Watchers sees revenue as reaching about $1.4 billion by year’s end. Analysts see this figure as coming in at around $1.66 billion, according to a poll of analysts conducted by Refinitiv.

“While we are proud of our accomplishments in 2018, we had a soft start to 2019 versus last year’s strong performance with the launch of WW Freestyle,” Weight Watchers CEO Mindy Grossman said in a statement. “Given our Winter Campaign did not recruit as expected, we have been focused on improving member recruitment trends.”

Grossman added that the company is righting its ship with an improved call-to-action, while also optimizing its media mix. She has been instrumental towards turning the company into a business that helps people eat healthy in a mindful manner, rather than count calories.

WTW stock is down about 27.3% after hours on Tuesday off the back of a weak quarter that was below the mark in most major categories. Shares had been up about 0.6% during regular trading hours.

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4 Things General Dynamics Management Wants You to Know

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) beat earnings in its fourth quarter of 2018 -- not that you could tell from the performance of its stock, which remains 2% below where it traded before earnings, nearly a month after the fact.

Why were investors so upset with General Dynamics, despite the earnings beat? Part of the answer was the company's guidance for 2019, which fell short of expectations. The $11.60 to $11.70 per share that General Dynamics said it will earn this year works out to only 4% earnings growth over 2018 -- quite a letdown after GD's 17% earnings-growth performance in 2018.

And yet, with a price-to-earnings ratio of just 15, and a price-to-sales ratio of 1.4, General Dynamics is currently, arguably, the closest thing to a "bargain" among defense stocks. So what are the chances GD will find the gas pedal again, and resume growing at a faster pace?

Can General Dynamics step on the gas in 2019? Image source: Getty Images.

Last month's end-of-year earnings conference call may hold a few clues. Let's listen in.

Will Gulfstream find its wings?

Aerospace revenue of $2.7 billion was up against the year-ago quarter by an impressive $722 million, that is, 36.4%. This was attributable in large part to the delivery of nine G500s in the quarter, and also a strong fourth quarter in the service centers. For the full year, revenue of $8.46 billion was up $326 million, or 4%. -- General Dynamics CEO Phebe N. Novakovic

While that full-year figure won't win many cheers, Novakovic went on to predict, later in the call, that aerospace revenue will be "about $9.7 billion" in 2019, a 14% increase over 2018 levels, driven by "deliveries of approximately 145 business jets."

Historically General Dynamics' most profitable division, and best known for its Gulfstream business jets, aerospace -- with its increased sales -- is probably the fastest way for General Dynamics to accelerate its rate of profit growth.

Back to basics

Next, combat systems ... We continue to see nice order activity in this group, with fourth quarter orders of $2.19 billion and book-to-bill of 1.3 to 1 in the quarter, and 1 to 1 for the year. Tank orders alone are in excess of $1 billion. We also continue to have significant international opportunities, particularly in Europe. We've been negotiating with Spain with respect to a program valued at $2 billion for Piranha vehicles. -- Novakovic

While General Dynamics is generally thought of as a defense contractor, the civilian Gulfstream business is its secret weapon in battling for profits. But the product the company is probably best known for -- the M1 Abrams main battle tank -- is no slouch in the profit department, either.

General Dynamics' combat systems division, which builds the Abrams, has reliably churned out operating profit margins of 15% or better for the past five straight years. The company's overall profit margin last year was only 12.3%, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Accelerating order activity as 2018 progressed, therefore, bodes well for the company's ability to grow total profit faster -- and this potential Piranha deal (Piranha is an eight-wheeled armored personnel carrier, similar to the U.S. Army's Stryker) -- could add as much as four months' worth of revenue to this profitable business.

Canada? O Canada!

If you're following the headlines out of Canada, you know there are discussions taking place between the Canadian government and their customer on our armored-vehicle supply contract. As a result of these discussions, we've experienced payment delays that significantly impacted the free cash flow we expected last year. To be clear, this is a timing issue, and we expect to receive the delayed payments this year. Assuming the resolution of this matter, we expect the cash conversion rate well in excess of 100% in 2019. And looking ahead, we expect cash performance throughout the planning horizon to be very strong, in our typical 90% to 100% range. -- Chief financial officer Jason W. Aiken

Speaking of tanks, though, you may recall that back in 2014, General Dynamics Land Systems Canada inked a deal to sell the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia a fleet of some 3,000 LAV 6.0 light armored vehicles worth $13 billion -- a deal facilitated by the Canadian government. Last year, that deal's future was called into question when Canada and Saudi Arabia got into a war of words, with the Canadian government criticizing Saudi Arabia's role in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and the Saudis responding that Canada should mind its own business.

This is the "armored-vehicle supply contract" to which Aiken referred -- and at $13 billion in size, it's vital to the continued growth of General Dynamics' important combat systems division. While this has turned into more of a political question than a business question, and nothing in politics is certain, investors can take at least some comfort in Aiken's opinion that this contract remains on track for both fulfillment and payment.

Ahoy, marine systems

Next, marine systems ... In response to the significant increased demand from our Navy customer across all three of our shipyards, we continue to invest in each of our yards, with particular emphasis at Electric Boat, to prepare for increased production associated with the Block V of the Virginia submarine program and the new Columbia ballistic missile submarine. -- Novakovic

With an operating profit margin of only 9% last year, marine systems isn't General Dynamics' most profitable business, but most years it is the company's biggest or second-biggest producer of revenue -- and there's both good and bad news on that front.

Good news: While President Trump's plan to build a 355-ship Navy may now be on the rocks, at least plans to expand the submarine fleet are still going apace. As the Navy orders new Virginia-class subs, and soon, the even newer Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarine, this should keep General Dynamics' shipbuilding division awash in revenue.

Bad news: The Block V Virginia (let alone the monster-sized Columbia) "is a significant upgrade in size and performance" over the Block IV submarine before it, says Novakovic, "requiring additional manufacturing capacity" to produce. In 2019, says Novakovic, "the marine segment [will] command a larger share of our capital budget." While investors can expect this division to "drive additional revenue" for General Dynamics, it will involve more capital spending (draining free cash flow) as well, especially as "Columbia ... will begin early construction in [the] next year."

With General Dynamics' free cash flow ($2.4 billion) once again badly lagging GAAP earnings ($3.3 billion) in 2018, investors who hope the company's targeted rate of FCF will return to equaling or exceeding earnings may have to wait a bit longer.

Hot Performing Stocks To Buy For 2019

tags:FWP,UHS,BSD,

September 24, 2018: The S&P 500 closed down 0.3% at 2,919.38. The DJIA closed down 0.7% at 26,562.18. Separately, the Nasdaq was flat at 7,993.25.

Monday was a down day for the broad U.S. markets. The S&P 500 and the Dow pulled back from their all-time highs. Crude oil made a sizeable move and pushed even higher above $70. The S&P 500 sectors were mostly negative. The most positive sectors were energy and technology up 1.5% and 0.5%, respectively. The worst performing sectors were industrials and consumer staples down 1.6% and 1.5%, respectively.

Crude oil was last seen trading up 2.0% at $72.19.

Gold was last seen trading up 0.2% at $1,203.40.

The S&P 500 stock posting the largest daily percentage loss in the S&P 500 ahead of the close was Michael Kors Holdings Limited (NYSE: KORS) which fell about 8% to $66.80. The stock's 52-week range is $45.77 to $75.96. Volume was about 6 million compared to the daily average volume of 2 million.

Hot Performing Stocks To Buy For 2019: Forward Pharma A/S(FWP)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Forward Pharma A/S (NASDAQ: FWP) shares gained 88.18 percent to close at $4.14 on Tuesday. Regional Health Properties, Inc. (NYSE: RHE) shares jumped 18.04 percent to close at $0.3010 on Tuesday. Precipio, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRPO) shares gained 16.61 percent to close at $0.49 after the nano-cap specialty diagnostics company said it saw an acceleration of sales in its Pathology services in April. The company now expects to see a sequential double digit quarterly sales growth. Arcturus Therapeutics Ltd. (NASDAQ: ARCT) rose 16.09 percent to close at $7.00 on Tuesday. America's Car-Mart, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT) gained 14.53 percent to close at $62.65 after reporting upbeat Q4 results. NanoString Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: NSTG) shares surged 12.64 percent to close at $13.19. Geron Corporation (NASDAQ: GERN) gained 12.12 percent to close at $4.07 on Tuesday. Quotient Limited (NASDAQ: QTNT) shares climbed 11.58 percent to close at $6.55 on Tuesday. American Equity Investment Life Holding Company (NYSE: AEL) rose 11.23 percent to close at $32.28 following a report from Reuters that the company is looking for a sale. iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ: IQ) gained 11.15 percent to close at $22.52. Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ: VCYT) rose 10.4 percent to close at $7.11. Stein Mart, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMRT) gained 10.26 percent to close at $3.33. Stein Mart is expected to release quarterly earnings on May 23. MiMedx Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDXG) shares rose 10.11 percent to close at $8.06. The Container Store Group, Inc. (NYSE: TCS) gained 8.2 percent to close at $8.18. Container Store reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter after the closing bell. Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLAB) shares gained 7.69 percent to close at $9.10 after the company reported upbeat Q2 results. Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) rose 6.4 percent to close at $59.03 after reporting a $10 billion buyback plan.

   

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  ValuEngine lowered shares of Forward Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:FWP) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

  NASDAQ:FWP opened at $2.49 on Thursday. Forward Pharma A/S has a fifty-two week low of $1.63 and a fifty-two week high of $7.93.

• [By Money Morning Staff Reports]

  Before we get to our latest pick, here are last week's top-performing penny stocks:

  Penny Stock Sector Current Share Price Last Week's Gain Melinta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: MLNT) Healthcare $1.74 104.01% Pernix Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PTX) Healthcare $0.83 84.40% Top Image Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ: TISA) Healthcare $0.82 59.85% Jason Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: JASN) Healthcare $2.21 58.99% Maxwell Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: MXWL) Financial $4.66 51.79% Marathon Patent Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA) Healthcare $0.52 51.47% Forward Pharma A/S (NASDAQ: FWP) Basic Materials $1.53 43.57% Dixie Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DXYN) Healthcare $1.40 42.86% Trevena Inc. (NASDAQ: TRVN) Services $1.41 39.60% Alliance MMA Inc. (NASDAQ: AMMA) Healthcare $4.95 36.18%

  Don't Miss Out: The Treasury is sitting on an $11.1 billion cash pile, and a loophole entitles Americans to a sizable portion. Some are collecting $1,795, $3,000, or $5,000 every month thanks to this powerful investment…

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers Forward Pharma A/S (NASDAQ: FWP) fell 15.2 percent to $3.51 in pre-market trading after surging 88.18 percent on Tuesday. Pfenex Inc. (NASDAQ: PFNX) shares fell 15 percent to $5.85 in pre-market trading after the company announced an offering of common stock. Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (NASDAQ: RRGB) fell 17.6 percent to $47.75 in pre-market trading after the company reported downbeat results for its first quarter and issued a weak earnings forecast for the second quarter. Container Store Group, Inc. (NYSE: TCS) fell 13 percent to $7.15 in pre-market trading after reporting weaker-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter. Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARDX) shares fell 12.1 percent to $4.00 in pre-market trading after reporting pricing of public offering of common stock. Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) shares fell 9.8 percent to $27.31 in pre-market trading. Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S. (NYSE: TKC) fell 6.5 percent to $6.60 in pre-market trading. Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) shares fell 5.8 percent to $71.02 in pre-market trading. Target reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its first quarter, while sales exceeded estimates. PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE: PBF) shares fell 5.7 percent to $42.42 in pre-market trading

Hot Performing Stocks To Buy For 2019: Universal Health Services, Inc.(UHS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Alberta as represented by Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. Class B (NYSE:UHS) by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,800 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the quarter. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Alberta as represented by Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Universal Health Services, Inc. Class B were worth $3,878,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Parametrica Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,694 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

• [By Reuben Gregg Brewer]

   An aging baby boomer population is set to boost results at HCP, Inc. (NYSE:HCP) and Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) for years to come. But is it better to own physical assets, like real estate investment trust HCP, or run them, like health facility operator Universal? In the end, these two companies are very similar but also differ in many ways. Here's what you need to know to pick the one that's right for you.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  TheStreet cut shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. Class B (NYSE:UHS) from a b rating to a c+ rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Quorum Health (NYSE: QHC) and Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) are both medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings and risk.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. Class B (NYSE:UHS) by 130.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,657 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 30,365 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.06% of Universal Health Services, Inc. Class B worth $6,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Hot Performing Stocks To Buy For 2019: BlackRock Strategic Municipal Trust Inc. (BSD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  BitSend (CURRENCY:BSD) traded 3.6% higher against the U.S. dollar during the one day period ending at 21:00 PM Eastern on June 2nd. One BitSend coin can currently be bought for approximately $0.53 or 0.00006976 BTC on popular cryptocurrency exchanges including Livecoin, Cryptopia, SouthXchange and LiteBit.eu. BitSend has a market cap of $10.33 million and approximately $22,076.00 worth of BitSend was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. In the last seven days, BitSend has traded up 2.3% against the U.S. dollar.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  BitSend (BSD) is a PoW/PoS coin that uses the X11 hashing algorithm. BitSend’s total supply is 19,754,725 coins. BitSend’s official Twitter account is @Bit_send. The official website for BitSend is www.bitsend.info.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  BitSend (CURRENCY:BSD) traded down 8.9% against the U.S. dollar during the 1 day period ending at 16:00 PM Eastern on June 20th. During the last week, BitSend has traded 5.1% higher against the U.S. dollar. BitSend has a market cap of $6.58 million and approximately $147,698.00 worth of BitSend was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. One BitSend coin can now be purchased for approximately $0.34 or 0.00004993 BTC on major exchanges including LiteBit.eu, Cryptopia, SouthXchange and Bittrex.

Top 5 Stocks To Invest In 2019

tags:QUAD,SGU,IBOC,DEO,CAJ, Question: I shorted a large amount of a dividend-paying stock and was surprised that its latest quarterly dividend was deducted from my brokerage account. Why did I have to pay it?

Answer: There are several downsides to short-selling. You have unlimited loss potential, the market has an inherent positive bias over the long run, you'll probably have to pay a fee for borrowing the shares, and yes, you are responsible for paying any dividends issued by the stock while you're short.

Here's why. Consider the basic mechanism of how short-selling works.

When you short a stock, you're borrowing shares from someone else (typically your brokerage firm) and selling them on the open market. Your hope is that the stock's price goes down, so you can repurchase and return the borrowed shares for less than you sold them for.

Top 5 Stocks To Invest In 2019: Quad Graphics, Inc(QUAD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  Quad/Graphics (QUAD) : "They have a 6% yield but they have no growth. I'm taking a pass."

  Spectra Energy Partners (SEP) : "People are worried about natural gas transit. I'm worried about that 9% yield."

• [By ]

  Cramer was bearish on Chesapeake Energy (CHK) , Adaptimmune Therapeutics (ADAP) , Icahn Enterprises (IEP) , Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) , Quad/Graphics (QUAD) , Spectra Energy Partners (SEP) and L Brands (LB) .

Top 5 Stocks To Invest In 2019: Star Gas Partners, L.P.(SGU)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Melvin]

  Star Group LP (NYSE: SGU) is definitely in a really boring business: They sell heating oil and propane to customers in the United States.

  Most of their operation is in the Northeastern United States, but they also serve Michigan, Tennessee, the Carolinas, and Georgia. In all, they have 455,000 retail and commercial customers under contract and another 74,000 using on-demand delivery.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Headlines about Star Group (NYSE:SGU) have been trending positive recently, according to Accern. Accern identifies negative and positive press coverage by monitoring more than twenty million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Star Group earned a coverage optimism score of 0.47 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave media coverage about the pipeline company an impact score of 45.7696057597891 out of 100, indicating that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the near future.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new stake in Star Group LP (NYSE:SGU) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 19,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,000.

Top 5 Stocks To Invest In 2019: International Bancshares Corporation(IBOC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Shares of International Bancshares Co. (NASDAQ:IBOC) hit a new 52-week high and low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $44.40 and last traded at $44.25, with a volume of 11252 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.90.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  International Bancshares (NASDAQ: IBOC) and Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Federated Investors Inc. PA trimmed its position in International Bancshares Corp (NASDAQ:IBOC) by 12.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,657 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,997 shares during the quarter. Federated Investors Inc. PA’s holdings in International Bancshares were worth $884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Top 5 Stocks To Invest In 2019: Diageo plc(DEO)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephen Mack]

  Aside from major corporations like The Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) and Diageo Plc. (NYSE: DEO), ServiceNow clients include giant institutions such as CERN, the European physics lab that employs 12,000 scientists, and New York City's 6,000-employee Department of Health.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Scout Investments Inc. decreased its position in shares of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) by 9.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 141,633 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,679 shares during the quarter. Scout Investments Inc.’s holdings in Diageo were worth $20,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Keith Speights]

  Because of these issues, Citron expressed skepticism that British alcoholic beverage maker Diageo (NYSE:DEO) would consider Cronos Group as a cannabis partner. Cronos stock has soared recently in part due to investors' anticipation that the company would be on Diageo's short list of prospective partners. 

• [By Travis Hoium]

  One of the biggest players in the spirits business is Diageo (NYSE:DEO), the company behind Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Ketel One, and Captain Morgan. The company has its hands in some of the most popular spirits brands in the world. But is it a buy for investors? 

Top 5 Stocks To Invest In 2019: Canon, Inc.(CAJ)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Ricoh (OTCMKTS: RICOY) and Canon (NYSE:CAJ) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Canon Inc (NYSE:CAJ) – Stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group raised their FY2020 earnings estimates for shares of Canon in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group analyst M. Nakanomyo now forecasts that the technology company will post earnings of $2.60 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $2.59.

• [By Michael A. Robinson]

  I think of Magento as one the many "stealth" companies out there. Instead of dealing with consumers itself, the Campbell, Calif.-based company develops and markets software to corporate clients to build and run their web stores and to handle online purchases, shipping, and returns. Magento also helps merchants sell products through social media ads. Its customers include Canon Inc. (NYSE ADR: CAJ) and Rosetta Stone Inc. (NYSE: RST).

• [By Max Byerly]

  Here are some of the media stories that may have effected Accern Sentiment’s rankings:

  Get Canon alerts: Canon (CAJ) versus Ricoh (RICOY) Head to Head Review (americanbankingnews.com) Everybody loves everybody on Canon-McMillan’s state semifinalist baseball team (msn.com) New imagePRESS Print Servers Powered by Fiery Technology Drive Production Efficiency and Outstanding Image Quality (finance.yahoo.com) Canon tackles flare with new 70-200mm f/2.8, adds serious stabilization to f/4 (digitaltrends.com) Toyotsugu Kuwamura To Retire From Canon U.S.A., Inc. (finance.yahoo.com)

  CAJ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Investment Research cut Canon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 6th. ValuEngine cut Canon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 24th.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Canon Inc (NYSE:CAJ) – Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group upped their FY2019 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Canon in a research report issued on Tuesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group analyst M. Nakanomyo now anticipates that the technology company will post earnings per share of $1.89 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $1.76. Jefferies Financial Group also issued estimates for Canon’s FY2020 earnings at $1.99 EPS.

• [By Brian Feroldi, Anders Bylund, and Maxx Chatsko]

  So which stocks should these investors check out? We posed that question to a team of Motley Fool contributors, and they called out Canon (NYSE:CAJ), Enterprise Products Partners LP (NYSE:EPD), and Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX). 

Top 5 Performing Stocks To Watch For 2019

tags:EXTR,RTN,QLYS,MAMS,MYD,

By Josh Steiner

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) calls itself "a global leader in acquiring and collecting nonperforming loans." The irony isn't lost on us. After reporting fourth quarter earnings, it would appear as though many of the debt collector's loans remain nonperforming.

In fact, it's our contention that a growing portion of these loans won't be paid back at all.

With allowance charges rising - a fancy way of saying the portion of the purchased receivables that may ultimately be uncollectible - profitability of the $1.4 billion debt collector will remain severely challenged over the coming quarters.

Top 5 Performing Stocks To Watch For 2019: Extreme Networks Inc.(EXTR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Allot Communications (NASDAQ: ALLT) and Extreme Networks (NASDAQ:EXTR) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. lowered its stake in Extreme Networks, Inc (NASDAQ:EXTR) by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,102 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 6,640 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc.’s holdings in Extreme Networks were worth $1,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Anders Bylund]

  Shares of Extreme Networks (NASDAQ:EXTR) dropped 36.4% lower in the first half of 2018, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Following a string of rock-solid earnings reports in 2017, the enterprise networking specialist failed to impress investors in February's second-quarter report and May's third-quarter sequel.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Some of the stocks that may grab investor focus today are:

  Wall Street expects Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG) to post quarterly earnings at $10.67 per share on revenue of $2.87 billion after the closing bell. Booking Holdings shares gained 0.99 percent to $2,183.00 in after-hours trading. Tripadvisor Inc (NASDAQ: TRIP) reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter on Tuesday. Tripadvisor shares climbed 20.55 percent to $46.75 in the after-hours trading session. Analysts are expecting Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE: BUD) to have earned $0.89 per share on revenue of $13.06 billion in the latest quarter. Anheuser-Busch will release earnings before the markets open. Anheuser-Busch shares gained 0.77 percent to $99.00 in after-hours trading. Extreme Networks, Inc (NASDAQ: EXTR) reported downbeat earnings for its third quarter and issued weak Q4 guidance. Extreme Networks shares fell 28.51 percent to $8.40 in the after-hours trading session. Before the opening bell, Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.57 per share on revenue of $1.55 billion. Ameren shares dropped 2.78 percent to close at $56.91 on Tuesday.

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

• [By Billy Duberstein]

  Extreme Networks (NASDAQ:EXTR) is a small-cap networking company in the midst of a transformation. Last year, there was considerable excitement around the company's growth-via-acquisition strategy, and the stock rose 148% in 2017.

Top 5 Performing Stocks To Watch For 2019: Raytheon Company(RTN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  Raytheon Co. (RTN) is well positioned to capitalize on missile orders given it has the highest exposure to missile defense and tactical missile sales to the Middle East, Bernstein said. Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) also stands to benefit in this light. 

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Raytheon (RTN)

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

• [By ]

  Cramer and the AAP team say that the president's moves on behalf of Boeing (BA) signal good times for defense names, including Raytheon (RTN) . 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 ]

  In the Lightning Round, Cramer was bullish on Bank of Internet (BOFI) , MGM Resorts (MGM) , Verizon (VZ) , Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) , Oracle (ORCL) , Salesforce.com (CRM) , PayPal (PYPL) , Raytheon (RTN) and McDonald's (MCD) .

• [By Lou Whiteman]

  This week's episode of Industry Focus: Energy is all about big defense -- the companies behind things like missiles, ships, and intelligence services. Host Michael Douglass and Motley Fool contributor Lou Whiteman run through the latest earnings reports from Lockheed (NYSE:LMT), Raytheon (NYSE:RTN), General Dynamics (NYSE:GD), and Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC).

• [By A.J. Bursick]

  Tensions on the Korean Peninsula – the same tensions that have caused defense darlings like Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) and Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN) to crush the Dow Jones' gains four times over in the past five years – aren't going anywhere any time soon.

Top 5 Performing Stocks To Watch For 2019: Qualys, Inc.(QLYS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  Qualys Inc  (NASDAQ:QLYS)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 12, 2019, 5:00 p.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By Shane Hupp]

  TRADEMARK VIOLATION WARNING: “Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Qualys Call Options (QLYS)” was published by Ticker Report and is the property of of Ticker Report. If you are reading this piece of content on another domain, it was illegally copied and republished in violation of international copyright & trademark law. The legal version of this piece of content can be read at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/4147960/stock-traders-buy-large-volume-of-qualys-call-options-qlys.html.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Qualys Inc. (NASDAQ: QLYS) was up 1.7% at $96.41 ahead of earnings, but the guidance had the shares down almost 16% at $81.00 on Wednesday morning. JPMorgan downgraded it to Underweight from Neutral and cut the price target to $82 from $90. Wedbush maintained its Outperform rating with a $95 price target, but noted that guidance was nothing to write home about and addresses whether guidance was conservative or if there is a slowing demand.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Fiera Capital Corp lessened its position in Qualys Inc (NASDAQ:QLYS) by 11.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,581 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 15,347 shares during the quarter. Fiera Capital Corp owned approximately 0.30% of Qualys worth $8,627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By ]

  In the Lightning Round, Cramer was bullish on Align Technology (ALGN) , Regions Financial (RF) , Edwards Lifesciences (EW) , Qualys (QLYS) and HEICO (HEI) .

Top 5 Performing Stocks To Watch For 2019: MAM Software Group, Inc.(MAMS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  B. Riley reiterated their neutral rating on shares of MAM Software Group (NASDAQ:MAMS) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on MAM Software Group (MAMS)

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

• [By Logan Wallace]

  News coverage about MAM Software Group (NASDAQ:MAMS) has trended somewhat positive recently, according to Accern Sentiment. The research group identifies negative and positive news coverage by reviewing more than twenty million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. MAM Software Group earned a news impact score of 0.04 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media coverage about the technology company an impact score of 44.8819326255956 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the near term.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on MAM Software Group (MAMS)

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

Top 5 Performing Stocks To Watch For 2019: Blackrock MuniYield Fund, Inc.(MYD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Blackrock Muniyield Fund Inc. (NYSE:MYD) announced a monthly dividend on Thursday, September 6th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 14th will be given a dividend of 0.061 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, October 1st. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 13th.

Stocks in the news: Cipla, Tata Steel, Grasim, Ambuja Cements, Huhtamaki PPL, Gokaldas Exports

Here are stocks that are in the news today:

Results on February 19: Valecha Engineering, Asahi Industries, Linde India, Imec Services, Shailja Commercial Trade.

Power Grid Corporation: Board accorded investment approval for 'Northern Region System Strengthening - XL' at an estimated cost of Rs 572.98 crore with commissioning schedule of 22 months from the date of investment approval.

Suditi Industries: Company executed the license contract with PSG Merchandising, a French simplified limited liability company. Accordingly they have granted company the right to use Paris Saint-Germain''s intellectual property rights for commercial purposes.

related news Stocks in the news: Dr Reddy's Labs, Tech Mahindra, Yes Bank, Jaypee Infratech, Wipro Stocks in the news: ONGC, Jet Airways, Glenmark, Tera Software, J Kumar, Kridhan Infra Stocks in the news: Ashok Leyland, NBCC, Yes Bank, CreditAccess, Trident, SREI Infra, Zee News

Cyient: Company launched its connected equipment offering for OEMs and equipment owners and operators.

Gokaldas Exports: Company entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Government of Karnataka for setting up apparel manufacturing units over a period of next five years in Ballary district involving an investment of approximate up to Rs 80 crore.

IL&FS Transportation Networks: Interest due and payable on February 18 on the NCD was not paid to the debenture holders due to insufficient funds.

Bodal Chemicals: Company has restarted remaining of dye intermediate and dyestuff operations.

Ambuja Cements December quarter: Consolidated profit jumps to Rs 1,378 crore versus Rs 478 crore on tax credit; revenue Rs 6729 crore versus Rs 6173 crore YoY. Board recommended a final dividend on equity shares at the rate of Rs 1.50 per share.

Grasim Industries: Company to acquire the chlor-alkali business of KPR Industries (India) by way of a slump sale, for a cash consideration of Rs 253 crore. KPR Industries would utilize Rs 253 crore towards a full and final settlement of the lenders' dues under a one-time settlement.

Tata Steel: Subsidiary T S Global Minerals Holding Pte Ltd concluded the divestment of its entire stake in Black Ginger to IMR Asia Holding Pte Ltd.

Huhtamaki PPL Q3: Profit dips to Rs 18 crore versus Rs 21 crore; revenue rises to Rs 613 crore versus Rs 562 crore YoY.

Huhtamaki PPL: Board approved recommendation of payment of dividend at Rs 3 per share of face value of Rs 2 each.

Cipla: Subsidiary Goldencross Pharma Private Limited has signed an agreement to acquire 11.71 percent stake in Wellthy Therapeutics Private Limited.

Cipla: Company received a share of the South African Government's National ARV tender for TEE (comprising tenofovir, emtricitabine and efavirenz) and TLD (a combination of tenofovir (TDF), lamivudine (3TC) and dolutegravir (DTG)).

McNally Bharat Engineering Company Q3: Loss at Rs 193.3 crore versus loss Rs 144 crore; revenue falls to Rs 271 crore versus Rs 304.7 crore YoY.

Jet Airways Clarification on media reports: Company would continue to work for its stake sale in Jet Privilege Private Limited at an appropriate time, as part of its turnaround plan.

63 Moons: Company filed damage suits of Rs 10,000 crore against P Chidambaram, KP Krishnan & Ramesh Abhishek, for taking mala fide actions against company by abusing their power

Hotel Leela: Rockfort Estate to buy 1 percent stake in company from Leela Lace via inter-se transfer. Rockfort Estate & Leela Lace are promoters of company.

Wipro: Company launched QuMiC to accelerate migration to Oracle Cloud.

Mangalam Cement: Company received in-principal approval for amalgamation of Mangalam Timber Products with company.

Dishman Carbogen: Founder Janmejay Vyas steps down as MD. Global MD Arpit Vyas takes over founder's duties.

Future Consumer: Company entered into agreement with Middle East firm, T Choithrams, for supermarket chain.

Bulk Deals on February 18

Dev Info Technology: Academy for Computer Training Guj Private Limited bought 28,500 shares of the company at Rs 74.54 per share on the NSE.

Suumaya Lifestyle: Bimalkumar Rajkumar Bansal sold 3,44,000 shares of the company at Rs 31 per share on the NSE.

Tara Jewels: Punjab National Bank sold 2,00,000 shares of the company at 50 paise per share.

Viji Finance: Vijay Kothari sold 7,10,528 shares of the company at 83 paise per share.

(For more bulk deals, click here)

Analyst or Board Meet/Briefings

Merck: Board meeting will be held on February 27 to consider the audited financial results for the financial year ended December 2018 and to consider

recommendation of dividend, if any.

Indian Hotels Company: Company is organizing Capital Market Day on February 19 in Mumbai. The said event is expected to be attended by chief investment officers and senior portfolio managers of financial institutions.

Punjab & Sind Bank: Extraordinary general meeting to be held on March 15, 2019.

Blue Star: Company's officials will be attending Kotak Institutional Equities - Chasing Growth 2019 Conference on February 19.

Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals: Company's officials will be meeting analysts/investors on February 21-22.

Hindalco Industries: Company's officials will be attending Kotak Securities Limited, Chasing Growth 2019 Investors Conference in Mumbai on February 19.

Automotive Axles: Analyst/investor conference call has been organized on February 19 to discuss on the financial performance for third quarter FY19.

VST Tillers Tractors: Conference calls for the analysts and investors are scheduled to be held on February 19.

Shoppers Stop: One-on-one meeting with Lida Murayama, Fund Manager of Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co, Ltd has been scheduled on February 19.

Emami: Senior management of the company will be participating in the UBS Consumer Reverse Roadshow 2019 in Mumbai to be held on February 20.

Satin Creditcare Network: Meeting of Working Committee of the Board of Director is scheduled for February 21 for the issuance of non-convertible debentures INR equivalent amount of upto 35,00,000 US dollars through private placement.

Aster DM Healthcare: Company will be participating in the Kotak Conference on February 21, at Mumbai. First Published on Feb 19, 2019 07:38 am

Better Buy: Electronic Arts vs. Take-Two Interactive

Shares of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) and Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ:TTWO) both got initially clobbered after reporting fiscal 2019 third-quarter results -- though Electronic Arts has since rebounded. The problem? Investors were worried that free-to-play options like the game Fortnite will become a persistent problem for the video game creators.

However, after both tumbled by double digits off last year's high-water marks, one of these stocks is a pretty good buy. Below, we'll take a look at how the companies have done nine months into their respective fiscal years, along with which stock I think it the smarter pick right now.

First Nine Months Fiscal Year 2019

Electronic Arts 

Change (YOY)

Take-Two Interactive 

Change (YOY)

Revenue	$3.71 billion	4%	$2.13 billion	58%
Earnings per share	$2.64	89%	$2.41	226%
Trailing 12-month P/E	18.4	N/A	30.0	N/A
Forward 12-month P/E	21.4	N/A	20.0	N/A

Data sources: Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive, and YCharts. YOY = year over year; P/E = price to earnings.

Pulling back the curtain on weak game sales

When EA reported its worse-than-expected holiday-season results, it gave investors more color than usual on the individual performance of its marquee games. The much-anticipated shooter Battlefield V sold 7.3 million copies, about a million shy of management's expectations. Part of the weakness was a late launch date, but the game also lacked a multiplayer battle royale mode (like Fortnite). Planned subsequent updates could mitigate the problem, but it was nevertheless a disappointing shortfall.

The same goes for the other major releases, Command & Conquer: Rivals and the popular recurring soccer title FIFA 2019. The soft release of Command & Conquer has had a slow new-player adoption rate, and converting players to the latest FIFA update has also been sluggish -- in part because last year was a World Cup year and the game had a record number of players. It all added up to a downgrade on the 2019 fiscal year, with revenue now expected to be $4.875 billion compared with prior guidance of $5.15 billion. Full-year net bookings (which include products and upgrades sold via digital channels) should now be $4.75 billion, compared with previous guidance for $5.2 billion.

The good news is that EA has a solid slate of releases coming up. A battle royale free-to-play game in the Titanfall series just released and is off to a solid start, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order will also launch during the next fiscal year. That game could especially help, as the Star Wars franchise will be getting the final installment in the Skywalker story arc when Star Wars: Episode IX hits theaters in December 2019. In short, investors should expect profits to be down slightly in the near term, but rebound later in 2019.

Image source: Getty Images.

Throwing shade at quarterly results

Take-Two fared much better than EA did during the 2018 holidays, thanks in large part to the blockbuster sequel Red Dead Redemption 2. Sales and earnings were up big as the game set opening records, selling $725 million in its first three days alone. NBA 2K19 also did well as the 2018-2019 professional basketball season got underway during the quarter.

The video game maker even upgraded its outlook for the 2019 fiscal year, calling for $2.66 billion to $2.71 billion in revenue (compared with $2.55 billion to $2.65 billion before) and earnings per share of $3.07 to $3.18 (versus $1.73 to $1.98 before). If those numbers come to pass, it would be at least a 48% annualized increase in sales and at least a 99% increase in earnings per share. That's a fantastic year by any standard, but shares fell by double digits anyway.

The reason is that the upgraded guidance still fell short of what Wall Street analysts were hoping for. Though Take-Two's management did not mention Fortnite as a concern, EA's lackluster results likely dragged down Take-Two as well, as investors anticipate more modest growth with all of the free-to-play content out there. Growth is growth, though, and Take-Two expects Red Dead Redemption and online features of its other titles to carry its momentum well into 2019.

The better buy is...

After Take-Two's recent tumble and EA's rebound, Take-Two is the cheaper stock based on the current 2019 outlook. The company is also anticipating strong annualized growth, while EA is struggling with a weak near-term pipeline of games, and attributing some of its struggles to a competitive video game landscape.

Thus, Take-Two stock looks like a good growth-at-a-value play right now. EA isn't too shabby either, especially with some potentially strong game releases (like Star Wars) in the works later in the year, but it could have a bumpy road between then and now.

Is Danaher Stock Still a Good Investment?

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) has a reputation as a go-to industrial stock in times of trouble. In other words, it's the sort of stock that you want to hold in a slowdown. Indeed, its combination of medical-focused businesses and industrial businesses with secular growth prospects (such as water quality and environmental solutions) means it has a defensive quality lacking in many other industrial stocks. That's well known, but is the stock a good value? Let's take a look.

Defensive end markets

Danaher stock isn't cheap, but no one said you can buy high-quality companies at bargain prices. The investment thesis behind the stock is based on the defensive nature of its end markets, which means the stock should command a premium to reflect its ability to generate growth in any business cycle.

Image source: Getty Images.

As you can see below, the company currently generates the overwhelming majority of its earnings from relatively defensive sources such as life sciences, diagnostics, dental, and environmental solutions.

Data source: Danaher Corporation presentations. 

The defensive nature of these businesses was further confirmed during the recent fourth-quarter earnings call. Whereas other companies are seeing slowing growth in China, Danaher's CEO Tom Joyce said: " We are not seeing anything specific that we could point to today that is impacting our businesses in China." In fact, Danaher's double-digit revenue growth in China was "the eighth consecutive quarter -- or, better said, the second straight year of double-digit growth for us in China," according to Joyce. He went on to outline that Danaher's exposure to industrial end markets is "probably less than 10% of Danaher wide today."

And finally, Danaher's segment performance in the last recession shows how well its life sciences and diagnostics segments held up under very difficult circumstances. 

The near- and mid-term outlook

A quick look at Danaher's core revenue growth trends by segment shows ongoing growth at the three most important segments -- the underperforming dental segment is set to be spun off in 2019 -- and the return to organic growth in the fourth quarter is very welcome. 

Data source: Danaher Corporation presentations. 

Management's long-term financial outlook, given during the investor-day presentation in December, calls for core revenue growth in mid-single digits and core operating margin to increase by 50 to 75 basis points a year. For reference, 100 basis points equate to 1 percentage point.

Based on analyst estimates for 2019 and 2020 and management's outlook, my calculations imply operating-profit growth of 7% to 9.5% per year for the next decade. In addition, the company's excellent free cash flow (FCF) generation means that its FCF valuation is actually lower than a cyclical industrial like 3M (NYSE:MMM).

3M isn't a defensive stock and, in contrast to Danaher, it's medium-term guidance looks a bit optimistic, not least because the company has started its 2019 by lowering its full-year organic growth and earnings guidance. By way of comparison, Danaher maintained its full-year guidance for 4% organic revenue growth and adjusted diluted EPS of $4.75 to $4.85.

DHR Price to Free Cash Flow (TTM) data by YCharts.

The case against Danaher stock

The strongest bearish argument regarding the stock relates to its valuation. For example, going back to the issue of FCF, it's fair to say that last year was a standout year for FCF conversion from net income. For argument's sake, let's assume that Danaher converted 100% of net income, then its market cap to FCF multiple would be closer to 30 -- that's the kind of valuation you might pay for a growth stock. 

DHR Free Cash Flow (TTM) data by YCharts.

Given that the medium-term outlook for Danaher's operating-profit growth is only high single digits, it means that any slip-up in execution or a faulty acquisition, and Danaher's stock price and valuation multiple could come under threat.

What to do with Danaher stock

Both the bullish and bearish cases discussed here have merit, but on balance, the stock is still worth buying for investors concerned by growth prospects in the economy and/or investors looking to balance their portfolios by buying a more defensive stock than they currently hold. However, the stock's appreciation means that the upside from here isn't significant. 

One thing is for sure: Danaher is definitely the kind of stock that investors should be monitoring with a view to buy given any major broad market sell-off.

ResMed Inc. (RMD) Holdings Decreased by Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. decreased its stake in shares of ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD) by 16.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,962 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 596 shares during the quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in ResMed were worth $337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in shares of ResMed during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of ResMed by 143.0% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 328 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of ResMed by 15,868.5% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,275,028 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 5,241,994 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of ResMed during the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of ResMed by 245.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 905 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.60% of the company’s stock.

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RMD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded ResMed from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $109.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Monday, December 10th. Goldman Sachs Group downgraded ResMed from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 25th. Credit Suisse Group upgraded ResMed from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded ResMed from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $99.60 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, January 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank downgraded ResMed from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.20.

RMD opened at $99.44 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.54. ResMed Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.64 and a 1 year high of $118.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

ResMed (NYSE:RMD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 24th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $651.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $676.77 million. ResMed had a return on equity of 26.53% and a net margin of 18.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that ResMed Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 7th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 6th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. ResMed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.93%.

In related news, insider Robert Andrew Douglas sold 4,193 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.56, for a total value of $471,964.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,085,938.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider James Hollingshead sold 5,893 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.52, for a total value of $621,829.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 75,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,926,767.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 53,633 shares of company stock valued at $5,728,098 over the last 90 days. 1.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

TRADEMARK VIOLATION NOTICE: “ResMed Inc. (RMD) Holdings Decreased by Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.” was originally published by Ticker Report and is the property of of Ticker Report. If you are reading this piece on another website, it was illegally stolen and republished in violation of US & international copyright & trademark laws. The legal version of this piece can be read at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/4153639/resmed-inc-rmd-holdings-decreased-by-canandaigua-national-bank-trust-co.html.

ResMed Company Profile

ResMed Inc develops, manufactures, distributes, and markets medical devices and cloud-based software applications that diagnose, treat, and manage respiratory disorders comprising sleep disordered breathing, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, neuromuscular disease, and other chronic diseases. It offers various products and solutions for a range of respiratory disorders, including technologies to be applied in medical and consumer products, ventilation devices, diagnostic products, mask systems for use in the hospital and home, headgear and other accessories, dental devices, portable oxygen concentrators, and cloud-based software informatics solutions to manage patient outcomes, as well as provides customer and business processes.

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

Brokerages Set AvalonBay Communities Inc (AVB) Target Price at $195.15

AvalonBay Communities Inc (NYSE:AVB) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $196.07.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AVB. SunTrust Banks raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities to $208.00 and gave the stock an “average” rating in a research report on Thursday. BTIG Research upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $216.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 6th. ValuEngine lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $168.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $188.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Friday, November 2nd.

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In related news, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.76, for a total transaction of $257,264.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 1,880 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total value of $347,988.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 37,953 shares of company stock valued at $7,096,213. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brown Advisory Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Securities LLC now owns 3,323 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 11,665 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,031,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 5,057 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $880,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. San Francisco Sentry Investment Group CA lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. San Francisco Sentry Investment Group CA now owns 644 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 306 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. 94.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities stock traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $195.43. The company had a trading volume of 278,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 586,427. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.62. AvalonBay Communities has a 1 year low of $152.65 and a 1 year high of $196.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $578.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $576.56 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 42.66%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.33%.

About AvalonBay Communities

As of September 30, 2018, the Company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 290 apartment communities containing 84,490 apartment homes in 12 states and the District of Columbia, of which 19 communities were under development and 15 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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Here's Why Ellie Mae Stock Is Up More Than 20% Today

What happened

Mortgage technology specialist Ellie Mae (NYSE:ELLI) has agreed to be acquired by Thoma Bravo, a private equity firm. As of 11:52 a.m. EST, shares of the company were up 21%. 

So what

The acquisition is an all-cash transaction, and upon the closing of the deal, Ellie Mae shareholders will receive $99 in cash for each share of stock they own. This is a premium of about 21% to the previous day's close, after an already strong start to 2019, although it's still well below the 52-week high of $116.90.

Image source: Getty Images.

It may seem odd that the acquisition price of Ellie Mae is $99 per share and the stock spiked to slightly higher than $99 following the announcement. Generally speaking, acquisition targets in these situations will spike, but to a price somewhat lower than the buyout price in order to compensate for the regulatory risk that the deal won't get done.

To be clear, this deal is subject to approval by Ellie Mae stockholders, as well as the approval of regulatory authorities.

The reason for the extra boost in price is that the deal also includes a 35-day "go-shop" provision. Essentially, this means that Ellie Mae can actively solicit competing offers, and will have the right to terminate its agreement with Thoma Bravo if it can find a superior offer. In short, the shares are pricing in the chance that someone else will swoop in and offer even more for Ellie Mae.

Now what

The deal is expected to close during the second or third quarter of this year. Unless Ellie Mae receives a better offer within the next 35 days, there shouldn't be any major roadblocks to getting the deal done.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Watch Right Now

tags:BOFI,FBNC,EBSB,MGYR,STRS,WFC,NBTB,DB,TSBK,WRI,

Although very active since my last update on the company in September of 2017, the shares of First Bancshares (FBMS) have been a relatively average performer over that span of time, with a return close to that of regional banks in general and in the middle of a comp group including ServisFirst (SFBS), Renasant (RNST), MidSouth (MSL), and National Commerce (NCOM). While the company has executed on two M&A deals entirely consistent with the growth plan I expected here, operating performance has been a little lumpy.

I continue to believe that First Bancshares offers an above-average level of earnings growth potential, return potential, and risk. Integrating its acquisitions should drive meaningful operating leverage in 2019 and beyond, and loan growth should likewise drive good earnings momentum. With plenty of acquisition opportunities left in its core operating footprint (and/or target footprint), I expect additional M&A in the years to come.

Executing On The Plan

When I wrote about First Bancshares in September, I said that, "I'm expecting the bank to acquire another $300 million to $500 million in assets over the next 18 months." Between the announced acquisition of Southwest Banc Shares ($398 million in assets) in October and the subsequent December announcement of the acquisition of Sunshine Financial ($194 million), First Bancshares has pretty much done exactly that.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Watch Right Now: BofI Holding Inc.(BOFI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  The relationship between people and banks has changed dramatically over the past 20 years. Previous generations had strong personal relationships with bankers at physical branch locations in their areas, and over time, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) has gobbled up countless smaller institutions to become the national behemoth it is today. Younger customers have gravitated toward internet banking, and BofI Holding (NASDAQ:BOFI) and its Bank of Internet USA have captured a good deal of the resulting business from those who value better rates above in-person customer service.

• [By Jordan Wathen, Dan Caplinger, and Sean Williams]

  Below, three Fool.com investors make the case for adding shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB), BofI Holding (NASDAQ:BOFI), and Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) to your portfolio.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  BofI Holding, Inc. (NASDAQ:BOFI) – Analysts at DA Davidson boosted their Q1 2020 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for BofI in a research note issued on Monday, October 1st. DA Davidson analyst G. Tenner now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $0.82 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.76. DA Davidson also issued estimates for BofI’s Q2 2020 earnings at $0.85 EPS, Q3 2020 earnings at $1.24 EPS, Q4 2020 earnings at $0.83 EPS and FY2020 earnings at $3.73 EPS.

• [By Jason Hall]

  BofI Holding Inc (NASDAQ:BOFI) has made for a remarkable investment over the past decade. Its stock price is up an incredible 2,140% since the start of 2008, a remarkable 17-fold better total return than the S&P 500 over the same period of time. Over that period it has grown its assets almost 860% and increased earnings per share almost 2,600%. 

• [By Jordan Wathen, Matthew Frankel, and Dan Caplinger]

  Rather than gamble on the next big penny stock, investors would do well to buy quality companies worth owning for the long haul. In the article below, three Fool.com contributors make the case for BofI Holding (NASDAQ:BOFI), Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF), and The Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) as stocks to consider adding to your portfolio.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Watch Right Now: First Bancorp(FBNC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) was downgraded by stock analysts at ValuEngine from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) CEO Richard H. Moore purchased 1,250 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $39.79 per share, with a total value of $49,737.50. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 139,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,568,013.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on First Bancorp (FBNC)

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

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Watch Right Now: Meridian Interstate Bancorp Inc.(EBSB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  BidaskClub upgraded shares of Meridian Bancorp (NASDAQ:EBSB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Meridian Bancorp (NASDAQ:EBSB) was upgraded by equities research analysts at BidaskClub from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Meridian Bancorp (EBSB)

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

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Watch Right Now: Magyar Bancorp Inc.(MGYR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Media headlines about Magyar Bancorp (NASDAQ:MGYR) have been trending somewhat positive on Friday, according to Accern. Accern rates the sentiment of news coverage by analyzing more than 20 million blog and news sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Magyar Bancorp earned a media sentiment score of 0.16 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media headlines about the bank an impact score of 48.0770691063571 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the immediate future.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Watch Right Now: Stratus Properties Inc.(STRS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Here are some of the media stories that may have impacted Accern Sentiment’s analysis:

  Get Stratus Properties alerts: Analyzing Stratus Properties (STRS) & City Developments (CDEVY) (americanbankingnews.com) Stratus Properties (STRS) versus City Developments (CDEVY) Financial Survey (americanbankingnews.com) Reviewing Stratus Properties (STRS) and St. Joe (JOE) (americanbankingnews.com) Stratus Properties (STRS) versus City Developments (CDEVY) Head-To-Head Analysis (americanbankingnews.com) Contrasting Stratus Properties (STRS) & St. Joe (JOE) (americanbankingnews.com)

  NASDAQ STRS traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $31.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 528 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,123. Stratus Properties has a 52 week low of $26.15 and a 52 week high of $32.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Watch Right Now: Wells Fargo & Company(WFC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Lange]

  Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) short interest dropped to 33.20 million shares from the previous reading of 35.83 million. Shares were trading at $57.88, within a 52-week range of $49.27 to $66.31.

• [By ]

  Buffett's investment in banking is even more interesting that the overall over-weighting appears. Berkshire cut its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) to come in under 10% ownership last quarter but still holds $24.7 billion in shares, it's second-largest holding. At the industry-level, Berkshire added to its banking position with 3.7 million shares of US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) and 1.4 million shares of Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK).

• [By Shah Gilani]

  But the regulations didn't stop one of the country's biggest banks, Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC), from committing criminal activity on a scale that's simply unimaginable.

• [By ]

  Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) , Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and Citigroup Inc. (C) have quietly racked up billions of dollars of losses that, under the vagaries of U.S. accounting rules, they've been able to avoid recognizing in quarterly earnings reports. Citigroup is a holding in Action Alerts PLUS.

• [By Matthew Frankel, CFP]

  Frankel: Obviously, I'll be watching all of the big banks reporting earnings. But Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) is one that I really have my eye on, just because their last quarterly report was so terrible. Last quarter, they missed expectations. I don't really pay too much attention to expectations, as we've said on the show. But their revenue dropped almost 3% year over year. Their deposit base is down 2%. The big takeaway is, as of the end of last quarter, there were no signs that their scandals and whatever have really begun to get into the past yet. So, I'm looking for that. 

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Watch Right Now: NBT Bancorp Inc.(NBTB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) was downgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on NBT Bancorp (NBTB)

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

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on NBT Bancorp (NBTB)

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

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Watch Right Now: Deutsche Bank AG(DB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  Deutsche Bank AG (DB)  probably saw profit decline 34% in the first quarter, based on a FactSet survey, underscoring the troubles faced by Germany's largest lender as new CEO Christian Sewing takes over.

• [By Benzinga News Desk]

  Steve Eisman, the Neuberger Berman Group money manager who famously predicted the collapse of subprime mortgages before the 2008 financial crisis, recommended shorting Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) shares: Link $

• [By Garrett Baldwin]

  Well, Money Morning Special Situation Strategist Tim Melvin has broken these secrets out of the vault of the Smart Money managers. And he's sharing the Max Wealth secrets for free right here.

  Two Stocks to Watch Today: XOM, DB Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) jumped more than 2.6% in pre-market hours after the energy giant reported earnings before the bell. The oil major reported earnings per share of $1.41, easily topping Wall Street forecasts of $1.08. Its $7.2 billion in quarterly profits were a 72% jump from the same period last year. However, the firm did fall a bit short on the revenue front. Investors liked the news that Exxon plans to restructure its upstream business to reduce costs and bolster operating cash flow by 2025. On the European front, shares of Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) were off another 3.72% after the German banking giant reported earnings. The embattled financial institution reported its first annual profit since 2014. However, broader uncertainty remains from investors. On Friday, look for earnings reports from Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), Cigna Holding Co. (NYSE: CI), Weatherford International Plc. (NYSE: WFT), Roper Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ROP), Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK), Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON), and Johnson Controls International Plc. (NYSE: JCI). These 3 Stocks Are the Key to 2019's Greatest Profits

  The 2018 midterm election was a turning point for the cannabis industry.

• [By Craig Jones]

  Mike Khouw spoke on CNBC's "Options Action" about a bearish options activity in Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE: DB). The put options volume was 10 times the average daily put options volume and most of that activity was concentrated in the August 7 puts.

• [By Steve Symington]

  Still, several individual stocks easily outperformed the rest, including AMD (NASDAQ:AMD), Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB), and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC). Here's why they did so well.

• [By Garrett Baldwin]

  The only capital plan rejected by the U.S. central bank was proposed by the U.S. unit of Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB). DB CEO Christian Sewing promptly said this morning that the German banking giant will not get rid of its American banking unit despite what the Fed described as "widespread and critical deficiencies" in its capital planning.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Watch Right Now: Timberland Bancorp Inc.(TSBK)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Press coverage about Timberland Bancorp (NASDAQ:TSBK) has trended somewhat positive on Friday, according to Accern Sentiment Analysis. Accern ranks the sentiment of press coverage by analyzing more than twenty million blog and news sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Timberland Bancorp earned a daily sentiment score of 0.01 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave media coverage about the savings and loans company an impact score of 46.0053181885204 out of 100, indicating that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the near future.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Timberland Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSBK) declared a None dividend on Tuesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Friday, May 11th will be paid a dividend of 0.23 per share by the savings and loans company on Friday, May 25th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 10th.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Watch Right Now: Weingarten Realty Investors(WRI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  State of Alaska Department of Revenue trimmed its position in Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE:WRI) by 7.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 70,653 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 6,007 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Weingarten Realty Investors were worth $2,175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Weingarten Realty (WRI)

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

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE:WRI) was upgraded by equities research analysts at ValuEngine from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE:WRI) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.14.

Hochman Cole Investment Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Schwab US Small-Cap ETF (SCHA)

Hochman Cole Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Schwab US Small-Cap ETF (NYSEARCA:SCHA) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 3,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Piershale Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Schwab US Small-Cap ETF in the third quarter valued at $70,597,000. Gemmer Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Schwab US Small-Cap ETF by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC now owns 402,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,450,000 after buying an additional 78,703 shares in the last quarter. AJ Wealth Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Schwab US Small-Cap ETF by 6.1% in the third quarter. AJ Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 354,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,989,000 after buying an additional 20,433 shares in the last quarter. Bronfman E.L. Rothschild L.P. increased its stake in shares of Schwab US Small-Cap ETF by 3.2% in the third quarter. Bronfman E.L. Rothschild L.P. now owns 345,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,337,000 after buying an additional 10,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Klingenstein Fields & Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Schwab US Small-Cap ETF by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LLC now owns 304,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,505,000 after buying an additional 48,983 shares in the last quarter.

Get Schwab US Small-Cap ETF alerts:

Schwab US Small-Cap ETF stock opened at $68.46 on Friday. Schwab US Small-Cap ETF has a 12-month low of $57.04 and a 12-month high of $78.34.

WARNING: This report was first posted by Ticker Report and is owned by of Ticker Report. If you are reading this report on another website, it was copied illegally and reposted in violation of US & international copyright and trademark law. The original version of this report can be accessed at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/4139789/hochman-cole-investment-advisors-inc-takes-position-in-schwab-us-small-cap-etf-scha.html.

About Schwab US Small-Cap ETF

Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF (the Fund) seeks to track the total return of the Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Total Stock Market Index. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Total Stock Market Index includes the components ranked 751-2500 by full market capitalization. The Index is a float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index.

Read More: 12b-1 Fees

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SCHA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Schwab US Small-Cap ETF (NYSEARCA:SCHA).

Hasbro Earnings Once Again Decline on Toys R Us Woes

Toy maker Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2018 results before the market opened on Friday. For the quarter, revenue dropped 13% year over year, GAAP earnings per share flipped from negative to positive, and EPS adjusted for one-time items fell 42%. 

As with earlier quarters in 2018, the main culprits behind the tepid quarterly results were the bankruptcy and subsequent liquidation of Toys R Us in the U.S. and other geographic markets, and the "rapidly evolving retail landscape" in international markets, particularly Europe. In addition, the lack of a Star Wars movie release from partner Disney during the holiday quarter hurt Hasbro's results, along with negatively affecting Disney's fiscal first-quarter 2019 results.

Hasbro shares closed down nearly 1% on Friday, which we can attribute to both revenue and earnings that came in lower than what most investors were probably expecting.

Image source: Hasbro.

Hasbro's key quarterly numbers

Metric

Q4 2018 Result

Q4 2017 Result

Year-Over-Year Change

Revenue	$1.39 billion	$1.60 billion	(13%)
GAAP net income	$8.8 million	($5.3 million)	N/A
Adjusted net income	$169.6 million	$291.2 million	(42%)
GAAP EPS	$0.07	($0.04)	N/A
Adjusted EPS	$1.33	$2.30	(42%)

Data source: Hasbro. GAAP = generally accepted accounting principles. EPS = earnings per share.

For the quarter, foreign exchange had a negative impact of $35.1 million on revenue. Adjusted results exclude the following: $96.9 million, or $0.76 per share, associated with impairment charges related to Backflip Studios goodwill and other intangible assets; $62.2 million, or $0.49 per share, of severance costs associated with the company's reorganization; $10.2 million, or $0.08 per share, associated with U.S. tax reform; and a benefit of $8.5 million, or $0.07 per share, "from a higher than previously anticipated recovery of pre-bankruptcy receivables based on the Company's final settlement with Toys 'R' Us," Hasbro said in the earnings release.

For context -- though long-term investors shouldn't give too much importance to Wall Street's near-term estimates -- analysts were looking for adjusted EPS of $1.67 on revenue of $1.52 billion in the quarter. So Hasbro missed both expectations.

For full-year 2018, revenue declined 12% to $4.58 billion; GAAP net income dropped 44% to $220.4 million, or $1.74 per share; and adjusted net income fell 30% to $488.8 million, or $3.85 per share. In 2018, Hasbro generated $646 million in operating cash flow and ended the year with cash and cash equivalents of $1.18 billion.

What happened with Hasbro in the quarter? Revenue from franchise brands declined 8% year over year to $729.9 million, revenue from partner brands dropped 20% to $272.9 million, Hasbro gaming revenue fell 22% to $267.4 million, and emerging-brands revenue increased 5% to $119 million. Franchise brands Magic: The Gathering and Monopoly, partner brands Beyblade and Disney's Marvel, gaming brand Dungeons & Dragons, and emerging brand Lost Kitties grew revenue in the quarter. U.S. and Canada segment revenue declined 9% year over year to $685.6 million, international segment revenue dropped 14% to $618.5 million, and entertainment and licensing revenue dropped 31% to $85.1 million. What management had to say

Here's part of what CEO Brian Goldner had to say in the press release:

2018 was a very disruptive year, driven by the bankruptcy and liquidation of Toys "R" Us across most of the world and a rapidly shifting consumer and retail landscape. During 2018, we diversified our retailer base, meaningfully lowered retailer inventories, and delivered innovative new offerings to our global consumers. We were not, however, able to recapture as much of the Toys "R" Us business during the holiday period as we anticipated as the effect of its liquidated inventory in the market was more impactful than we and industry experts expected. It is an unprecedented yet finite event. In addition, as we discussed throughout the year, our European shipments declined as the teams successfully lowered retailer inventories amid a declining toy and game market.

Looking ahead

Hasbro doesn't provide guidance, though CFO Deborah Thomas commented on 2019 in the earnings release:

Despite the challenging year, Hasbro remains in a strong financial position with the ability to continue investing to drive profitable long-term growth and raise our quarterly dividend 8% in 2019. Given the rapid change in our business, our global teams are focused on identifying incremental opportunities to deliver top and bottom line returns. Investments to drive top-line growth include the acquisition of POWER RANGERS, storytelling such as Bumblebee and new growth drivers including Magic: The Gathering Arena and the associated MAGIC esports initiatives. We've also undertaken important operational programs -- investing in the geographic diversification of our manufacturing locations and a new Midwest U.S. warehouse opening in 2019. In addition, the organizational actions we outlined are now expected to deliver $50 [million] to $55 million in net pre-tax savings in 2019.