Top 5 Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2019

tags:NEA,CAGR,FCPT,MTRX,PBSK,

This time last year, shares of e-commerce and cloud-computing company Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) could have easily looked like they had already exhausted much of their upside potential. Trading at $968 at the time, shares were up 25% in the trailing-12-month period ending Aug. 13, 2017, and they were up 83% in the two-year timeframe leading up to that date. But Amazon stock has continued to surge higher, rising 97% in the last 12 months -- nearly doubling to $1,910 at the time of this writing.

With such a monstrous run-up behind it, it's a good time to reflect on what has driven the stock so much higher over the past 12 months. Catalysts for the stock include fast-growing revenue, skyrocketing earnings per share, huge growth in Amazon Web Services, and more.

Here's what investors should know.

Image source: Amazon.com.

Top 5 Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2019: Nuveen AMT-Free Municipal Income Fund(NEA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  BB&T Securities LLC cut its holdings in Nuveen Amt-Free Quality Municpl Incm Fnd (NYSE:NEA) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 260,949 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,037 shares during the quarter. BB&T Securities LLC owned about 0.10% of Nuveen Amt-Free Quality Municpl Incm Fnd worth $3,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Nuveen AMT-Free Municipal (NYSE:NEA) by 8.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,674,452 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 372,370 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in Nuveen AMT-Free Municipal were worth $60,768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Top 5 Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2019: California Grapes International, Inc. (CAGR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By SEEKINGALPHA.COM]

  It is hard to fully wrap your hands around the potential market opportunity that Accenture will have in the years ahead but I believe that the opportunities are almost endless (dramatic, I know). For example, consider these forecasts that Forbes detailed in its "2017 Roundup Of Internet Of Things Forecast" report:

  According to Bain, "B2B IoT segments will generate more than $300B annually by 2020, including about $85B in the industrial sector". According to PwC, "$6T will be spent on IoT solutions between 2015 and 2020". According to Accenture, "Industrial Internet Of Things could add $14.2T to the economy by 2020". According to Statista, "The global Internet of Things (IoT) market is projected to grow from $2.99T in 2014 to $8.9T in 2020, attaining a 19.92% Compound Annual Growth Rate (OTCPK:CAGR). Industrial manufacturing is predicted to increase from $472B in 2014 to $890B in global IoT spending. Healthcare and life sciences are projected to increase from $520B in 2014 to $1.335T in 2020, attaining a 17% CAGR".

  The forecasts compiled by Forbes are all over the place but one thing is consistent, that is, the growth potential for IoT (and the sub-industries) is real. Connected things are expected to experience significant growth and I believe that it is hard to deny that digital will play a key role in the future growth of the global economy.

Top 5 Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2019: Four Corners Property Trust, Inc.(FCPT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Boenning Scattergood set a $30.00 target price on Four Corners Property Trust (NYSE:FCPT) in a research report released on Friday morning. The firm currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Four Corners Property Trust (FCPT)

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

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  These are some of the media headlines that may have impacted Accern Sentiment Analysis’s scoring:

  Get Four Corners Property Trust alerts: FCPT Closes 46 Chili's Restaurant Properties for $149.8 million as part of Previously Announced Brinker Sale-Leaseback Transaction (finance.yahoo.com) FCPT Announces Acquisition of a Buffalo Wild Wings Restaurant Property for $1.7 million (finance.yahoo.com) Four Corners Property Trust (FCPT) vs. Sutherland Asset Management (SLD) Head to Head Analysis (americanbankingnews.com) FCPT Announces Acquisition of an Arby's Restaurant Property for $1.6 million (finance.yahoo.com) Four Corners Property Trust Inc (FCPT) Expected to Post Quarterly Sales of $35.62 Million (americanbankingnews.com)

  Shares of Four Corners Property Trust traded down $0.16, hitting $26.01, during trading hours on Friday, according to MarketBeat Ratings. The stock had a trading volume of 360,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 479,703. The company has a current ratio of 6.59, a quick ratio of 6.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13 and a beta of -0.04. Four Corners Property Trust has a 12-month low of $21.28 and a 12-month high of $26.96.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Neuberger Berman Group LLC trimmed its position in Four Corners Property (NYSE:FCPT) by 12.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,843 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned 0.10% of Four Corners Property worth $1,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Top 5 Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2019: Matrix Service Company(MTRX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Matrix Service Co (NASDAQ:MTRX) CEO John R. Hewitt sold 17,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.25, for a total transaction of $342,958.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 261,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,028,350.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

• [By Lisa Levin]

   

  Companies Reporting After The Bell Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $10.67 per share on revenue of $2.87 billion. CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.19 per share on revenue of $6.00 billion. Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $1.21 per share on revenue of $803.36 million. Spectra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE: SEP) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $0.81 per share on revenue of $751.57 million. IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IAC) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.8 per share on revenue of $923.80 million. Open Text Corporation (NASDAQ: OTEX) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.62 per share on revenue of $691.75 million. Tutor Perini Corporation (NYSE: TPC) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.29 per share on revenue of $1.09 billion. Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. (NASDAQ: FOXA) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.54 per share on revenue of $7.41 billion. ICU Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ICUI) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $1.84 per share on revenue of $346.28 million. TechnipFMC plc (NYSE: FTI) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.33 per share on revenue of $3.13 billion. Synaptics Incorporated (NASDAQ: SYNA) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.91 per share on revenue of $401.76 million. The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation (NYSE: DNB) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $1.07 per share on revenue of $386.91 million. Matrix Service Company (NASDAQ: MTRX) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $0.07 per share on revenue of $285.16 million. Maiden Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ: MHLD) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.21 per share on revenue of $739.31 million. tronc, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRNC) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.65 per share on revenue of $428.25 million. Copa Holdings,
• [By Garrett Baldwin]

  This is just the start of the cryptocurrency revolution…

  Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) fell 1.2% after founder and Chair Jack Ma announced he will be stepping down next year. Ma said that the demands of the chair role required tireless "ability and energy." The firm said that CEO Daniel Zhang will assume the position in 12 months. Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) shares added more than 3% this morning despite the recent departure of senior level executives Dave Morton and Gaby Toledano. The company has seen 41 executives depart the firm this year, but little explanation has been provided for the mass exodus. CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) stock will be in focus after news broke that CEO Leslie Moonves will be stepping down. The media executive has faced multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. The firm said that acting COO Joseph Ianniello could fill the CEO role until the board of directors finds a "permanent successor." Look for earnings reports from Casey's General Stores Inc. (Nasdaq: CASY), National Beverage Corp. (Nasdaq: FIZZ), Limoniera Co. (Nasdaq: LMNR), and Matrix Service Co. (Nasdaq: MTRX).

  Quickly Amass a Potential $1.5 Million Retirement Nest Egg: Pension plans are already defaulting left and right, and now promises made to retirees are being shattered. But it's not too late to tap into this financial defense strategy – as long as you arm yourself soon.

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  Matrix Service Co  (NASDAQ:MTRX)Q2 2019 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 07, 2019, 10:30 a.m. ET

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

  Operator

Top 5 Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2019: Poage Bankshares, Inc.(PBSK)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  News coverage about Poage Bankshares (NASDAQ:PBSK) has been trending somewhat negative on Thursday, according to Accern. The research firm identifies positive and negative media coverage by reviewing more than twenty million blog and news sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Poage Bankshares earned a daily sentiment score of -0.06 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned headlines about the savings and loans company an impact score of 47.5091086029881 out of 100, meaning that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the next several days.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Poage Bankshares (NASDAQ:PBSK) announced its earnings results on Monday. The savings and loans company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, Bloomberg Earnings reports. The company had revenue of $5.39 million for the quarter. Poage Bankshares had a negative return on equity of 4.84% and a negative net margin of 14.32%.

Best Gold Stocks To Invest In Right Now

tags:SHBI,NSM,LNC,

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 09: Musician Jimmy Buffett performs at the after party for the premiere of Universal Pictures' 'Jurassic World' at Hollywood & Highland on June 9, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images).

The golden years are looking even brighter with news that Jimmy Buffett is planning to open a string of luxurious Margaritaville retirement home communities, the first in Daytona Beach, Florida. Retirees will be able to live in a paradise where the party never stops and 'growing older, but not up' is encouraged. The price tag will start in the low $200s and furnished models are scheduled to open in early 2018 for those 55 and up.

Buffett, 70, has teamed with developer Minto Communities on Latitude Margaritaville. "It's going to be a very fun place," Minto Vice President Bill Bullock told ABC News of the $1 billion project that is expected to feature 7,000 two-and-three-bedroom homes. "We expect our first residents to be living in the community by late summer of 2018." Bullock claims that there have already been over 10,000 registrants in the first two weeks of offers.

Best Gold Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Shore Bancshares Inc(SHBI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Press coverage about Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) has been trending somewhat positive this week, according to Accern Sentiment. Accern identifies negative and positive news coverage by monitoring more than twenty million news and blog sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Shore Bancshares earned a coverage optimism score of 0.15 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news headlines about the bank an impact score of 46.3784121307224 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the near future.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Media coverage about Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) has trended somewhat positive on Sunday, Accern reports. The research firm rates the sentiment of news coverage by analyzing more than 20 million news and blog sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Shore Bancshares earned a media sentiment score of 0.09 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media headlines about the bank an impact score of 47.376414932679 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 Joseph Griffin]

  LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI) by 134.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 157,489 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 90,289 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Shore Bancshares were worth $2,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Best Gold Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc.(NSM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  Nationstar Mortgage (NYSE:NSM) Q2 2018 Earnings Conference CallJul. 17, 2018 9:00 a.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By Max Byerly]

  LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Nationstar Mortgage (NYSE:NSM) by 28.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 282,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,900 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 0.29% of Nationstar Mortgage worth $5,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Eqis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc (NYSE:NSM) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $182,000.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc (NYSE:NSM) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 149,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,824 shares during the quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Nationstar Mortgage were worth $2,684,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  News coverage about Nationstar Mortgage (NYSE:NSM) has trended somewhat positive on Saturday, according to Accern Sentiment. The research firm identifies positive and negative news coverage by analyzing more than twenty million blog and news sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Nationstar Mortgage earned a media sentiment score of 0.12 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave media headlines about the financial services provider an impact score of 48.8354214982419 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the immediate future.

Best Gold Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Lincoln National Corporation(LNC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Traders purchased shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) on weakness during trading on Thursday. $47.59 million flowed into the stock on the tick-up and $34.03 million flowed out of the stock on the tick-down, for a money net flow of $13.56 million into the stock. Of all companies tracked, Lincoln National had the 32nd highest net in-flow for the day. Lincoln National traded down ($0.84) for the day and closed at $68.05

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Stifel Financial Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 783 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $3,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Lincoln National Co. (NYSE:LNC) by 41.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,335 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Lincoln National were worth $3,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Why Dine Brands Stock Jumped Today

What happened

Shares of Dine Brands (NYSE:DIN) have jumped today, up by 12% as of 11:30 a.m. EST, after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings results. The Applebee's and IHOP parent beat expectations and increased its dividend payout.

So what

Total revenue rose to $214.2 million, well above the consensus estimate of $197.3 million in sales. That all translated into non-GAAP net income of $30.3 million, or $1.70 per share, similarly topping the market's expectations of $1.57 per share in adjusted profit. Both restaurant chains posted gains in same-restaurant sales, with Applebee's comps rising 3.5% and IHOP's comps increasing 3%. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA rose to $65 million.

Image source: Getty Images.

"Dine Brand's strong performance in the fourth quarter and throughout 2018 is the result of a clear strategic vision and unwavering commitment to sustainable growth," CEO Steve Joyce said in a statement. "Both Applebee's and IHOP have outperformed their respective categories by delivering on comprehensive efforts to drive their businesses and delight guests."

Now what

Dine Brands also boosted its quarterly dividend by 10% to $0.69 per share, which will be payable on April 5 to shareholders of record as of March 20. The company's board also authorized a new $200 million share repurchase authorization to replace the existing buyback program.

In terms of outlook, Dine Brands expects both Applebee's and IHOP to increase comparable same-restaurant sales by 2% to 4% in 2019. The company expects 20 to 30 net closures of Applebee's franchises during the year, while IHOP franchisees and area licensees are expected to add 35 to 55 new restaurants globally. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA for 2019 is expected in the range of $268 million to $277 million, with adjusted earnings per share of $6.90 to $7.20. Analysts are currently modeling for $6.93 per share in adjusted profits this year.

Is 2-Day Free Shipping Really Free?

Two-day shipping is free until it isn’t. And things that are supposed to ship in two days ship in two days until they don’t. Most retailers, and certainly major retailers like Walmart and Amazon, put so many rules on two-day shipping plans that it is often hard to get an item in two days at all. Unless the customer wants to spend money.

Amazon’s restrictions include the size of the order. If it is not $25 or above, the customer pays a charge. A product bought at Amazon also has to have a “FREE Shipping” tag next to it.

Products bought at Amazon.com that Amazon does not sell itself often do not have free shipping. Since Amazon sells products for tens of thousands of other retailers, free shipping may not be included. That is up to the company that is using the Amazon.com platform to market its products.

Amazon has a broad policy that gets it off the free shipping hook: “Canceling items, combining orders, or changing your shipping address, speed, or preference might affect your order’s free shipping eligibility.” While this appears to put the burden on the buyer, it is not clear what a “combined order” is or how these orders affection shipping times.

Another caveat appears to be based on where the customer is located. “You may find geographic shipping restrictions apply to particular products.” Amazon is not clear about what a “geographic restriction” is.

Another open issue is an “order may contain ineligible items.” Amazon does not give guidance about what that might be. Additionally, “A special product, order, or handling fee may still apply.”

Walmart.com has its own set of rules. The broadest is “Estimated delivery times are determined based on the method of shipping chosen when Products are purchased and the destination of the Products.” It is clear that products have to be delivered in the United States to quality. However, the term “destination” is not made clear.

Walmart.com has another broad policy: “All transactions are made pursuant to a shipping contract, and, as a result, risk of loss and title for Products pass to you upon delivery of the Products to the carrier.” The language is convoluted enough so it is unclear what it means, at least to people who do not understand legal language.

Walmart offers free shipping, in some cases, on orders above $35. As is the case with Amazon, third-party sellers may not offer free shipping at all: “… sellers set their own shipping costs and methods.”

Some items sold at Walmart carry a delivery date well beyond two days. This is true even when people pay for shipping. This is another set of rules that are not entirely clear. Walmart may have a set of rules about this set of rules, but that is not evident at the Walmart.com site.

What is free shipping? The answer varies. What is two-day shipping? That answer varies as well. As for free two-day shipping, the rules, which are unclear, are even more complicated.

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Briggs & Stratton Co. (BGG) Expected to Post Earnings of $0.87 Per Share

Brokerages expect Briggs & Stratton Co. (NYSE:BGG) to report earnings per share (EPS) of $0.87 for the current quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Three analysts have provided estimates for Briggs & Stratton’s earnings. The lowest EPS estimate is $0.75 and the highest is $1.07. Briggs & Stratton reported earnings of $0.84 per share during the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year-over-year growth rate of 3.6%. The firm is expected to announce its next earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th.

On average, analysts expect that Briggs & Stratton will report full year earnings of $1.25 per share for the current financial year, with EPS estimates ranging from $1.10 to $1.45. For the next fiscal year, analysts forecast that the firm will report earnings of $1.61 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $1.48 to $1.68. Zacks’ earnings per share calculations are an average based on a survey of analysts that follow Briggs & Stratton.

Get Briggs & Stratton alerts:

Briggs & Stratton (NYSE:BGG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $505.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $461.71 million. Briggs & Stratton had a positive return on equity of 8.12% and a negative net margin of 1.24%. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share.

Several research firms have weighed in on BGG. Zacks Investment Research lowered Briggs & Stratton from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 29th. Sidoti cut their price target on Briggs & Stratton from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 6th. ValuEngine lowered Briggs & Stratton from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $14.00 price target on Briggs & Stratton and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Briggs & Stratton currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.50.

BGG stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $13.22. 304,652 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 534,419. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $549.05 million, a PE ratio of 10.25 and a beta of 0.93. Briggs & Stratton has a one year low of $11.34 and a one year high of $23.10.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 18th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.24%. Briggs & Stratton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.41%.

In other news, Director Frank M. Jaehnert purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.04 per share, for a total transaction of $120,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 25,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $301,000. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BGG. Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan acquired a new stake in shares of Briggs & Stratton in the fourth quarter valued at about $158,000. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY increased its position in shares of Briggs & Stratton by 336.5% in the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY now owns 14,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $189,000 after acquiring an additional 11,121 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of Briggs & Stratton by 39.5% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 25,464 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 7,207 shares during the last quarter. RBF Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Briggs & Stratton in the fourth quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Briggs & Stratton by 50.8% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 211,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,771,000 after acquiring an additional 71,347 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.96% of the company’s stock.

About Briggs & Stratton

Briggs & Stratton Corporation designs, manufactures, markets, sells, and services gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment to the original equipment manufacturers in the United States. It operates in two segments, Engines and Products. The Engines segment offers four-cycle aluminum alloy gasoline engines that are used primarily by the lawn and garden equipment industry.

Further Reading: Reverse Stock Split

Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Briggs & Stratton (BGG)

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Cognex Faces an Uncertain Year

No one said investing in growth companies came without volatility in revenue and earnings growth. Case in point: the recent results from machine vision company Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX). The market has known for a while that the company's consumer electronics and automotive markets, two of its largest industry verticals, were slowing, and China's slowdown has also been affecting the company.

With all that in mind, let's look at the earnings report to get some color on what to expect in 2019.

Cognex fourth-quarter earnings: The raw numbers

Starting with the headline numbers from the quarter:

Revenue grew 6% to $193 million, compared with guidance of $180 million to $190 million. Gross profit grew 1.5% to $140.5 million as gross profit margin declined to 73% from 75% in the same quarter last year. A 6.7% increase in research and development costs combined with a 9.6% rise in selling, general, and administrative costs led to an operating income margin of 23%, down from 28% in last year's fourth quarter. Operating income declined to $45.2 million, from $50.8 million last year.

In short, revenue growth has stalled and declines in gross and operating margin led to lower operating income in the quarter. Moreover, guidance for the first-quarter of 2019 calls for more of the same:

First-quarter revenue is expected in the range of $165 million to $175 million, the midpoint of which represents flat growth from last year's first quarter. Gross profit margin is expected to be similar to the 73% reported in the fourth quarter. Operating expenses are expected to increase slightly on a sequential basis -- recall that operating expenses grew strongly in the fourth quarter. What happened to Cognex's growth?

Cognex is wrestling with weakness in its key industrial verticals -- consumer electronics and automotive.

Slowing automotive production is negatively affecting Cognex's growth prospects. Image source: Getty Images.

The auto industry has long been an early adopter of automation and so represents around a quarter of Cognex's revenue. CFO John Curran disclosed that automotive revenue was flat in the fourth quarter, compared with high-single-digit growth for 2018. Cognex's expectation is for long-term growth of 10% a year for its automotive revenue.

CEO Robert Willett spoke of a broad-based slowdown in spending in China and also noted that "we are seeing delayed spending and project push-outs by our customers in the American automotive market." The North American automotive market represents half of Cognex's total Americas region sales.

In truth, there's nothing surprising here, because a slew of companies have reported weaker automotive capital spending conditions. For example, Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) recently lowered expectations for its sales to the industry in 2019. 

Consumer electronics

For consumer electronics, sales to the industry "declined, as expected, in Q4," Curran said on the earnings call, because of "lower revenue from large customers in OLED [organic light-emitting diode] display and smartphone manufacturing." Investors have known about this matter since the first-quarter earnings call in the spring, so no surprises there.

Investors will have to wait until the next quarter's results to get an outlook for 2019. Cognex's customers typically ramp up production in anticipation of the fourth quarter, so its second and third quarters are usually its largest for orders and revenue.

Aside from the impact from those "large customers," Curran said, "revenue grew in the mid-teens over Q4 '17, led by strong performance in logistics, which nearly doubled." Logistics represents around 10% of Cognex's revenue and is expected to grow at 50% a year.  

Looking ahead

Investors will be looking forward to the next set of earnings to get some color on the outlook for consumer electronics spending because that's the great unknown for 2019.

Cognex's automotive-based sales are clearly slowing, along with a general slowdown in light-vehicle sales and production. Elsewhere, Cognex continues to generate strong growth, notably in the logistics market. Investors will be hoping it's one of the industry verticals that can offset any weakness elsewhere this year.

BitcoinX 24 Hour Trading Volume Hits $43,789.00 (BCX)

BitcoinX (CURRENCY:BCX) traded 0.2% higher against the dollar during the 1-day period ending at 15:00 PM E.T. on February 16th. BitcoinX has a total market capitalization of $0.00 and $43,789.00 worth of BitcoinX was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. Over the last week, BitcoinX has traded 21.9% higher against the dollar. One BitcoinX coin can now be purchased for $0.0020 or 0.00000055 BTC on popular exchanges including $10.39, $24.43, $50.98 and $7.50.

Here is how similar cryptocurrencies have performed over the last 24 hours:

Get BitcoinX alerts: Mixin (XIN) traded up 3.5% against the dollar and now trades at $119.90 or 0.03287045 BTC. Sakura Bloom (SKB) traded 5.5% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0014 or 0.00000038 BTC. XinFin Network (XDCE) traded up 6.4% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0007 or 0.00000018 BTC. ProCurrency (PROC) traded 15.7% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0007 or 0.00000020 BTC. Bitcoin W Spectrum (BWS) traded up 2.6% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0007 or 0.00000019 BTC. USDCoin (USC) traded 0.4% lower against the dollar and now trades at $1.00 or 0.00027535 BTC. LePen (LEPEN) traded down 0.4% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0001 or 0.00000001 BTC. SHACoin (SHA) traded 25% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0003 or 0.00000005 BTC.

BitcoinX Profile

BitcoinX (CRYPTO:BCX) is a proof-of-stake (PoS) coin that uses the SHA256 hashing algorithm. It was first traded on January 10th, 2014. BitcoinX’s total supply is 167,361,683,927 coins. The Reddit community for BitcoinX is /r/BCXofficial and the currency’s Github account can be viewed here. BitcoinX’s official Twitter account is @bcx_team and its Facebook page is accessible here. BitcoinX’s official website is bcx.org.

BitcoinX Coin Trading

BitcoinX can be traded on the following cryptocurrency exchanges: $7.50, $51.55, $13.77, $50.98, $10.39, $33.94, $5.60, $20.33, $24.43, $24.68, $18.94 and $32.15. It is usually not currently possible to purchase alternative cryptocurrencies such as BitcoinX directly using U.S. dollars. Investors seeking to trade BitcoinX should first purchase Bitcoin or Ethereum using an exchange that deals in U.S. dollars such as Changelly, GDAX or Gemini. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Bitcoin or Ethereum to purchase BitcoinX using one of the exchanges listed above.

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Hydro One (H) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Raymond James

Hydro One (TSE:H)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Raymond James in a report released on Wednesday.

Several other research firms also recently commented on H. National Bank Financial upped their price objective on shares of Hydro One from C$21.00 to C$23.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 6th. CIBC decreased their price objective on shares of Hydro One from C$20.50 to C$19.75 in a report on Friday, November 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$21.50.

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TSE:H opened at C$20.83 on Wednesday. Hydro One has a one year low of C$18.57 and a one year high of C$21.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.36 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 118.23, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Hydro One Company Profile

Hydro One Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as an electrical transmission and distribution company in Ontario. It operates through three segments: Transmission, Distribution, and Other Business. The company owns and operates approximately 30,000 circuit kilometers of high-voltage transmission network and 123,000 circuit kilometers of low-voltage distribution network; and 308 transmission stations.

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EQT (EQT) Trading Down 5.3% Following Weak Earnings

Shares of EQT Co. (NYSE:EQT) traded down 5.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $17.92 and last traded at $18.20. 6,704,326 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 38% from the average session volume of 4,871,953 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.21.

The oil and gas producer reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. EQT had a positive return on equity of 3.77% and a negative net margin of 6.86%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 EPS.

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The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 14th. EQT’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.16%.

EQT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of EQT from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 7th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Jefferies Financial Group set a $39.00 price target on shares of EQT and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of EQT from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $48.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of EQT from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $55.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, October 26th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group set a $48.00 price target on shares of EQT and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. EQT has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.29.

In other EQT news, Director Philip G. Behrman acquired 5,331 shares of EQT stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.37 per share, with a total value of $103,261.47. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,400. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert Joseph Mcnally acquired 8,700 shares of EQT stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.69 per share, with a total value of $145,203.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,566.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 58,381 shares of company stock valued at $993,238 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in EQT in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Financial Architects Inc raised its stake in EQT by 55.1% in the fourth quarter. Financial Architects Inc now owns 2,131 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. JOYN Advisors Inc. raised its stake in EQT by 282.1% in the fourth quarter. JOYN Advisors Inc. now owns 3,546 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 2,618 shares in the last quarter. Bronfman E.L. Rothschild L.P. raised its stake in EQT by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Bronfman E.L. Rothschild L.P. now owns 4,184 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 3,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerebellum GP LLC raised its stake in EQT by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Cerebellum GP LLC now owns 5,201 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 1,713 shares in the last quarter. 96.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The company has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47.

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EQT Company Profile (NYSE:EQT)

EQT Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates in natural gas industry in the United States. Its EQT Production segment produces natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and crude oil. As of December 31, 2017, this segment operated 21.4 trillion cubic feet of proved natural gas, NGLs, and crude oil reserves across approximately 4.0 million gross acres comprising approximately 1.1 million gross acres.

See Also: Why do company's buyback their stock?

Sell Ujjivan Financial Services, target Rs 230: Ashish Chaturmohta

Ashish Chaturmohta

Ujjivan Financial Services witnessed a sharp decline from May high of Rs 435 last year to a low of Rs 166 in October. Since then, the stock has retraced 50 percent of the decline and seeing a reversal. The previous support level of Rs 285 is now acting as resistance for the stock.

The price has given a breakout on the downside from the Bollinger Band with the expansion of bands indicating a continuation of the trend in the direction of breakout on the daily chart.

The RSI on the weekly chart has given a negative crossover with its average last week. MACD line on the daily chart has moved below the equilibrium level of zero.

Thus, the stock can be sold at current levels and on the rise towards Rs 263 with a stop loss above Rs 274 for a target of Rs 230.

The author is Head of Technical and Derivatives at Sanctum Wealth Management. 

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on Moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. First Published on Feb 12, 2019 01:26 pm

Should You Join The Wall Street Bears?

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image getty size-large wp-image-638971392&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/638971392/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;639&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; A view on a sculpture depicting the Bull and Bear, located near the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

The S&a;amp;P 500&a;rsquo;s almost-1% decline last Thursday seems to have caused a quick change in the outlook of some analysts. Several warned that stocks were now too expensive after the dramatic rally from the December lows. Others pointed to the fact the S&a;amp;P 500, after rebounding to its 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA), failed to close above it.

&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-20821&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/tomaspray/files/2019/02/WA2-8a.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;243&q; data-width=&q;1086&q;&g;

Even though the selling continued early Friday, dropping the Dow Industrials down near the 25,000 level, it closed at 25,106, up slightly for the week. In fact, as the table indicates, all of the major averages closed higher as the Dow Jones Utility Average led the way up 2.1%. The Nasdaq 100 gained 0.55%. All of the averages are still showing solid YTD gains.

&l;strong&g;But did these declines change any of the technical indicators? &l;/strong&g;As I mentioned last week (&l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomaspray/2019/02/03/trend-insights-from-the-monthly-charts/&q;&g;Catch The Trend With Monthly Charts&l;/a&g;), there were some significant technical signals in January, as the monthly S&a;amp;P 500 Advance/Decline line made a new all-time high.

&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-20822&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/tomaspray/files/2019/02/WA2-8b.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;792&q; data-width=&q;900&q;&g;

The &l;a href=&q;http://www.viperreport.com/ad-line-market-timing-stock-picking-trading/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;advance/decline numbers&l;/a&g; were decidedly negative on Thursday, which caused all of the daily A/D lines to turn down slightly. The NYSE Composite reached the resistance from the November highs (line a) before it turned lower. The 20-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) is at 12,125, which also corresponds to the mid-January high, and rising. There is further support in the 11,900-12,000 area.

The NYSE All A/D line has turned down slightly from its recent high as the key downtrend (line b) was overcome in late January. This was the resistance that was derived from the bearish divergence that formed at the September 21 high. As we discussed last week, a bearish divergence is when the A/D line makes a high followed by a lower high, while prices make a high followed by a higher high. The NYSE Stocks Only A/D Line has moved above the resistance (line c) but is still well below the September high.

&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-20823&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/tomaspray/files/2019/02/WA2-8c.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;745&q; data-width=&q;818&q;&g;

For the week, all of the A/D lines did move a bit higher. The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) had a high last week of $171.37, with next weekly resistance (line a) at $172.85. The 20-week EMA has flattened out, and is now at $165.62. This represents good support.

The Nasdaq 100 A/D made a new high last week after previously overcoming its short term downtrend (line b). The WMA has turned upward, which is a positive sign, and there is now major support (line c). Invesco QQQ Trust&s;s weekly &l;a href=&q;http://www.viperreport.com/the-secret-to-trading-etfs-for-profit/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;relative performance&l;/a&g; improved last week, suggesting that it is stronger than the S&a;amp;P 500.

&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-20824&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/tomaspray/files/2019/02/WA2-8d.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;751&q; data-width=&q;818&q;&g;

The Spyder Trust (SPY) closed slightly above its 200-day MA last Tuesday and Wednesday, before it corrected. The decline has so far held well above the 20-day EMA at $266.19. Looking at price targets above last week&a;rsquo;s high at $273.44, the daily starc+ band is at $277.82, and there is widely watched resistance at $280.

The daily S&a;amp;P 500 A/D line pulled back slightly last week, but is well above its steep uptrend (line b) and its sharply-rising WMA. There is more important A/D line support (line a), which was the resistance that was overcome in late January.

Many are already worried about what will happen to stocks in March, as the market learned that President Trump was no longer meeting President Xi. The US-China March trade deadline and Brexit already have the markets worried. Concerns over first quarter 2019 earnings also started to worry analysts last week, as the guidance turned negative.

Some may still be reacting to the disappointing price action in Amazon.com (AMZN) and Alphabet (GOOGL). They were down 2.3% and 1.4% respectively for the week, despite the fact that GOOGL beat earnings by $500 million. Neither has much debt, but it seems as though investors are now holding the big tech names to a higher standard.

There were a number of more dire headlines, as Deutsche Bank &l;a href=&q;https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-cocktail-of-macro-risks-could-cause-downturn-that-rivals-global-financial-crisis-deutsche-bank-2019-02-07?dist=markets&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&a;ldquo;warned of dark clouds gathering over the global economy&a;rdquo;&l;/a&g;. Then there is Morgan Stanley&a;rsquo;s Mike Wilson, who has been warning of an &l;a href=&q;https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/26/morgan-stanley-strategist-who-predicted-sell-off-sees-dismal-2019.html&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;earnings recession&l;/a&g;.

Of course, this is in contrast to the seeming lack of any concern demonstrated by investors and traders in January, who were declaring it was time to &a;ldquo;buy, buy, buy!&a;rdquo;. I too would like to see a certain amount of concern, as too high bullishness or complacency often means trouble for stocks. However, this dramatic shift in media sentiment seems like an over-compensation.

&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-20825&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/tomaspray/files/2019/02/WA2-8e.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;673&q; data-width=&q;900&q;&g;

In last week&a;rsquo;s survey from the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII), the Bearish-% dropped to 22.8% while the Bullish-% rose to 39.9%. Even though the Bullish-% is not that high, historically the Bearish-% is quite low.

Turning to bonds, the rebound in yields was short lived, as the yield on the 10-Year T-Note closed at 2.632% after reaching the 2.800% level just a few weeks ago. The technical reading did indicate a failing rally, and the new Viper buy signals in the Utilities Sector Select (XLU) supported this view.

Crude oil was hit hard last week, as the April contract lost $2.46 for the week. Still at $53.09, it is holding above the four-week low at $51. The weekly &l;a href=&q;https://www.viperreport.com/how-to-use-volume-to-predict-stock-direction/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;On Balance Volume&l;/a&g; has dropped below its WMA, but the Herrick Payoff Index (HPI) is still positive, indicating positive money flow into crude.

For economic data, next week we have the Consumer Price Index on Wednesday, with the Producer Price Index, Retail Sales, and Business Inventories on Thursday. On Friday, we get the Empire State Manufacturing Survey, Industrial Production, and Consumer Sentiment.

&l;strong&g;So is it time to jump on the bearish bandwagon? &l;/strong&g;The stock market&a;rsquo;s ability to absorb last week&a;rsquo;s selling and close higher indicates that the rally from the pre-Christmas lows is not over. There are no signs from the market internals that a top is in place.

A further wave of selling early this week would be a sign that there has been a loss of upside momentum. It is more likely in my opinion, based on the daily A/D lines, that a higher close early in the week will signal a significant move above last week&a;rsquo;s highs.

Clearly, it is not the time to be an aggressive buyer of market leading ETF&s;s, though some stocks still are just breaking out and have a much more favorable risk/reward profile.

In my&a;nbsp;&l;a href=&q;http://guides.viperreport.com/viper-etf/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;Viper ETF Report&l;/a&g;&a;nbsp;and the&a;nbsp;&l;a href=&q;http://guides.viperreport.com/viper-hot-stocks/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;Viper Hot Stocks Report&l;/a&g;, I&a;nbsp;update&a;nbsp;my stock market outlook twice each week with specific buy and sell advice. New subscribers receive six trading lessons for just $34.95 each per month.

&l;/p&g;

3 Highlights From Electronic Arts' Earnings Call

Video game giant Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) disappointed investors on Feb. 5 when it reported earnings and issued its outlook for the following quarter. While the company's earnings per share (EPS) during the fiscal third quarter of $0.86 cruised past the company's guidance by $0.25 and the company's new EPS outlook for the year is $3.20 against a prior expectation of $3.11, its revenue outlook for the year came down to $4.875 billion from a prior $5.15 billion.

The company's revenue performance in the third quarter missed expectations due to "significant challenges," and according to EA CEO Andrew Wilson, the company's betting that those challenges "will continue to impact our performance in Q4, which has led us to lower our full fiscal year net revenue guidance today." 

Image source: EA.

To better understand what's going on, let's take a look at three additional things that EA's management had to say on the company's most recent earnings call. 

1. What happened with Battlefield V?

During the call, Wilson explained that for its flagship first-person shooter title, Battlefield V, the company "made some decisions on launch timing and key features of this game that we felt would improve the quality of the experience," which led to the game being delayed into November. That move seems to have been costly for the company. 

According to Wilson, "the later release date meant the game launched deeper into a competitive holiday window where heavy price discounting was a big factor." 

Wilson also admitted that EA "made the decision to prioritize other features, including a single-player experience at launch" rather than the battle royale game mode. Since, as Wilson said, "battle royal modes became incredibly popular in shooter games," this negatively impacted the performance of the title in the marketplace. 

"As a result of these decisions, we struggled to gain momentum and we did not meet our sales expectations for the quarter," Wilson said.

According to the executive, the company is planning to launch a new game mode for Battlefield V, called Firestorm battle royale that he claims "will be a unique take on the royale genre, integrating unique battlefield characteristics including strategic squad gameplay, varying objectives, and vehicles." 

We'll see if that latest update can breathe some new life into Battlefield V. 

2. The mobile miss

It's important for major game publishers to have strong positions in the mobile gaming market, particularly considering that it's a large part of the overall gaming market. (According to a 2018 report from Newzoo, 51% of the $137.9 billion gaming market came from mobile gaming.)

Wilson claimed that, although the "mobile market is strong and expected to continue growing nearly 10% next year," business dynamics "have become increasingly challenging" in the world of mobile games. He explained that it's "harder than ever for new games to break through," noting that "the average age of top 20 titles is greater than three years old" and conceded that the company's latest mobile game, Command & Conquer: Rivals, hasn't gained the traction that the company had hoped it would. 

Looking out longer term, Wilson outlined the actions that the company is taking to improve its performance in the mobile game market. These actions include "doubling down on these games through live services," as well as "putting [EA's] best teams on bigger projects and exploring additional ways to create and iterate quickly." 

"We have always focused on profitability in mobile, and we are evolving to better position ourselves for growth in the future," said Wilson. 

3. Free-to-play vs. full price

During the call, analyst Tim O'Shea asked management to explain its expectations around "the right mix of business models going forward," in reference to free-to-play titles and full-price games. EA CFO Blake Jorgensen indicated that there's room in the industry for both types of games over the long term. 

"And we think some people will wanna consume games in different ways, some through purchase, some through subscription, some through streaming purchase or streaming subscription, and some through free-to-play models across many different platforms," Jorgensen elaborated. 

Investor takeaway

EA clearly hit a speed bump last quarter and things look like they'll continue to be subdued in the current quarter. However, for investors who believe in the company's portfolio of game franchises and think that management will take the appropriate action to course correct, the fact that EA stock is down so much from the peak could prove to be a buying opportunity.

Kellogg Earnings: Why K Stock Is Getting Soggy Despite Q4 Beat

Kellogg earnings for the fourth quarter of 2018 were above estimates, but K stock is still down on Thursday.

Source: Shutterstock

Kellogg (NYSE:K) starts off its earnings report for the fourth quarter of the year with earnings per share of 91 cents. This is down from its earnings per share of 93 cents from the same time last year. However, it did still beat out Wall Street’s earnings per share estimate of 88 cents for the quarter, but couldn’t keep K stock from falling today.

Net loss in the Kellogg earnings report for the fourth quarter of 2018 comes in at $82 million. This is a decrease from the company’s net loss of $417 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2017.

The Kellogg earnings report for the fourth quarter of the year also includes operating income of $326 million. The food company’s operating income from the same period of the year prior was $389 million.

The most recent Kellogg earnings report has the company reporting revenue of $3.32 billion. This is an increase over its revenue of $3.19 billion from the fourth quarter of the previous year. It also was able to match analysts’ revenue estimate for the quarter, but was unable to keep K stock from dropping today.

So what exactly is it that has K stock falling on Thursday? The answer is its outlook for 2019. The company says that it is expecting earnings per share for the year to decline between 5% and 7%. Earnings per share for the full year of 2018 were $4.33. This decrease will have it missing Wall Street’s earnings per share estimate of $4.30 for 2019.

K stock was down 5% as of Thursday afternoon.

As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

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Bridgepoint Education (BPI) Rating Increased to Hold at ValuEngine

ValuEngine upgraded shares of Bridgepoint Education (NYSE:BPI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Barrington Research reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Bridgepoint Education in a research note on Tuesday, January 8th. TheStreet lowered Bridgepoint Education from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 27th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research lowered Bridgepoint Education from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 14th.

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Shares of NYSE BPI opened at $8.31 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $220.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.08, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 2.16. Bridgepoint Education has a 1 year low of $5.31 and a 1 year high of $13.63.

Bridgepoint Education (NYSE:BPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 8th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $114.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.25 million. Bridgepoint Education had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 3.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bridgepoint Education will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current year.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BPI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Bridgepoint Education by 1,199.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 181,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,846,000 after acquiring an additional 167,635 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Bridgepoint Education during the 3rd quarter worth $197,000. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bridgepoint Education by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,261,000 after acquiring an additional 22,613 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bridgepoint Education by 27.5% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,094,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,147,000 after acquiring an additional 236,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bridgepoint Education during the 3rd quarter worth $3,679,000. 81.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bridgepoint Education

Bridgepoint Education, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides postsecondary education services in the United States. Its academic institutions, Ashford University and University of the Rockies, offer associate's, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs in the disciplines of business, education, psychology, social sciences, and health sciences.

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To view ValuEngine’s full report, visit ValuEngine’s official website.

Why Shares of Ford Rose 15% in January

What happened

Ford's (NYSE:F) stock had a rough 2018, but the Blue Oval's shares began 2019 with a bang. According to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, Ford's share price rose 15% in January. 

To some extent, Ford's January rise can be explained as a partial rebound after a big sell-off in December. But while Ford's share price is still quite low, there's a growing sense among investors that CEO Jim Hackett may finally have the company headed in the right direction.

The all-new Explorer is one of several new Fords set to arrive in 2019. Image source: Ford.

So what

One of the things we learned in January was that Ford's 2018 earnings were dismal. External factors such as exchange rates and higher steel prices were part of the problem, but Ford's own woes in China and Europe were also partly to blame. 

If we set aside 2014's result, when Ford spent nearly $2 billion to launch its all-new F-150 pickup, Ford's adjusted earnings per share in 2018 were lower than at any time since 2009. Data source: Ford.

Happily for Ford shareholders, another thing we learned during Ford's guidance presentation and earnings call in January is that Ford's leaders think the worst is behind them. Ford spent 2018 laying the groundwork for a major overhaul of its business in China, and putting together a plan to return Europe to sustainable profitability. 

Now, in 2019, Ford will begin executing on those plans, while continuing with its effort to boost profitability in North America and beginning work on a revamp of its business in South America. Ford will also launch several new products this year, including all-new versions of the big-selling Explorer and Escape, that are expected to boost its transaction prices and margins. 

Simply put, after a year of struggles, Ford investors now have a good idea of where the company is headed -- and there's a lot to like about the plan.

Now what

CFO Bob Shanks made it clear that some of those external headwinds, like Brexit, will still be a factor in 2019. That's why Ford's guidance for the year is deliberately vague: Ford can't yet say how much improvement it'll see by the end of 2019, but it's now confident that things are on the right track. 

 

Are General Electric's Earnings Really That Good?

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2018 results before markets opened Thursday. For the quarter, the conglomerate reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS)  of $0.17 on revenues of $33.28 billion. In the same period a year ago, GE said it had adjusted EPS of $0.43 on revenues of $31.6 billion. The latest results also compare to the consensus estimates for EPS of $0.22 on revenues of $32.59 billion.

For the full year, GE posted adjusted EPS of $0.65 and revenue of $121.62 billion, compared with year-ago EPS of $1.00 and revenues of $118.24 billion. Analysts had forecast full-year EPS of $0.71 and revenues of $120.71 billion.

The company also announced that it has reached a $1.5 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice related to subprime lending practices for the years 2005 to 2007 at its WMC Mortgage unit. GE last April booked this amount as its possible liability. That the settlement did not cost the company more is good news.

Chair and CEO H. Lawrence Culp Jr. said:

Our strategy is clear: de-leverage our balance sheet and strengthen our businesses, starting with Power. To do this, we are improving execution, customer focus, and how we set priorities across GE. I'm confident in our team, technology, and the global reach of GE's brand and relationships. We have more work to do, but I'm encouraged by the changes we're making to strengthen GE and create value for our shareholders, customers, and employees.

The Power segment posted fourth-quarter revenue of $6.76 billion, down 25% year over year. The segment posted a net loss of $872 million. For the year, Power segment revenues dropped 22% and the unit’s net loss totaled $808 million.

The Renewable Energy segment reported quarterly revenue of $3.36 billion, up 28%, but a profit of just $67 million, down 51%. The Oil & Gas segment reported revenue of $6.25 billion, up 8% and adjusted profit of $396 million, up 60%. Baker Hughes, a GE Company (NYSE: BHGE) contributed $96 million in cash to GE’s quarterly profit.

The Aviation segment was GE’s best performer, with revenue of $8.46 billion and profit of $1.72 billion, up 21% and 24%, respectively, year over year. Healthcare revenue rose 2% to $5.4 billion and profit rose by 2% to $1.18 billion.

GE also pointed to several significant deleveraging moves the company made last year:

Reduced quarterly dividend, accelerated the sell-down of GE's stake in BHGE, and increased GE's retained stake in the planned Wabtec transaction, collectively allowing GE to generate or retain approximately $10 billion of cash. In GE Industrial, signed or completed substantially all of the $20 billion asset disposition program in 2018. In GE Capital, completed $8 billion of asset sales and other actions in the quarter, bringing the total dispositions to $15 billion in 2018; paid down external debt by $21 billion in 2018.

GE offered no guidance for either the first quarter or the full 2019 fiscal year. Analysts have set first-quarter EPS at $0.16 on revenues of $27.9 billion. For the full year, EPS is forecast at $0.84 and revenues at $119.78 billion.

GE still needs to sort out some serious problems with broken blades in its newest electricity-generating turbines. The company has set aside $480 million to pay for repairs and customers’ warranty claims. The deeper problem, of course, is that turbine sales are falling.

The good news for GE is that investors liked what they heard and pushed the stock up by nearly 9% at $9.77 in Thursday’s premarket trading. Shares closed up about 2.3% on Wednesday, at $9.10 in a 52-week range of $6.66 to $16.11. The consensus 12-month price target on the stock is $11.61.

ALSO READ: Why 6 Top Biotech Stocks Could Beat Wall Street Q4 Estimates

Is This Marijuana Stock in Trouble?

There will be a lot of demand for dried marijuana flower when Canada opens its recreational marijuana market next week, but the biggest market opportunity for marijuana growers, including Aphria Inc. (NASDAQOTH:APHQF), isn't for marijuana the commodity but for marijuana the ingredient. Canada's regulators are expected to give an OK next year for the sale of cannabis-infused beverages, edibles, and other consumer goods products, and if that happens, the lowest-cost marijuana producer could be positioned to profit most. 

This isn't lost on marijuana companies. Everyone's taking steps to tamp down marijuana production costs, but some companies are doing better than others, and Aphria's arguably been doing best. Because of its decision to focus on greenhouses rather than more expensive indoor facilities, Aphria's gross margin has consistently clocked in higher than that of its largest competitors: Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC) and Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQOTH:ACBFF). 

Aphria's record of envy-inspiring margin, however, got a black mark last quarter. Aphria's latest quarterly financials show its gross margin fell substantially in the period, and that's got investors wondering if its margin advantage is going to disappear. Do Aphria's latest results suggest its margins are in trouble, or is something else going on?

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

A big, emerging marketplace

Canada's medical marijuana market has been a big success since changes cleared the way for licensing growers and distributors in 2014. The medical market has steadily expanded since then, and in turn, that's translated into significant revenue growth for industry participants, including Aphria.

Canada's medical marijuana market totals in the hundreds of millions of dollars per year, but a much larger opportunity for cannabis companies exists in serving the adult-use market, or recreational marijuana market. Licensed growers will begin selling dried cannabis and cannabis oils to adults for recreational use on Oct. 17 following an OK from Canada's government earlier this year. 

Estimates vary for how big Canada's recreational market will be next year, but most industry watchers anticipate that a significant chunk of Canada's marijuana sales will move from the black market to retail stores in 2019. For instance, Deloitte estimates two-thirds of Canada's black-market sales will move to the legal market, resulting in legal recreational marijuana sales of up to 4.3 billion Canadian dollars next year. If so, that would be a big windfall for Aphria and its competitors.

Preparing for the potential 

Canada has licensed 120 marijuana producers. However, marijuana market share is concentrated among the biggest players, and that's unlikely to change when the adult-use market gets up and running. In fact, market share could become even more concentrated next year, because only the largest cannabis companies are prepared to meet the anticipated spike in demand.

Aphria isn't as big as Aurora Cannabis, which has funded production of 570,000 kilograms annually, or Canopy Growth, which is expected to have production capacity north of 500,000 kilograms next year, but it's still on track to be Canada's third-biggest grower, with roughly 255,000 kilograms of capacity per year. 

Currently, Aphria's production totals 35,000 kilograms, so expansion work at Aphria One, its largest greenhouse, is key to delivering on the company's capacity target. Aphria One is undergoing a multipart expansion designed to increase its annual production to 110,000 kilograms per year. As part of that expansion, it's installing new automation equipment that can limit the use of labor, which is the biggest expense associated with greenhouse cultivation.

Once complete, automation will handle a host of time-consuming tasks at Aphria One, including:

Transplanting cuttings into final pots for flowering Evaluating plant health and quality Watering and feeding nutrients Transporting plants for processing Debudding and trimming plants Disposing of waste from cutting, debudding, and trimming And distributing buds into the drying rack for curing.

The project's aim is to limit labor to the initial phase of cultivation and trimming and pruning throughout the growth phase. If successful, Aphria should be able to produce far more marijuana than it does today at a lower cost, allowing it to maximize profit as sales boom because of recreational demand.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

Growth pains take a toll

There were plenty of bright spots in Aphria's latest quarterly financials. Its revenue more than doubled in the past year to $13.3 million; the percentage of sales from cannabis oils, which boast pricing power and offer better margins than dried flower, grew to 39% from 29%; and its net income jumped to CA$21.2 million from CA$15 million in the prior year. 

However, these figures come with some asterisks.

Yes, revenue grew 10% from the prior quarter, but that was largely due to wholesale sales to limited partnerships. It would've been more encouraging if that growth had instead come from retail demand due to more patients being served. 

The increase in cannabis oil sales as a percentage of revenue is good, but it was "driven primarily by an internal formula change for our equivalency factor." Management didn't explain in its press release exactly how it changed its gram equivalency formula, so investors will need more information to make a true apples-to-apples comparison.

Additionally, Aphria's net income performance is less exciting when we consider it was heavily influenced by gains on investments in other marijuana companies. Also, earnings actually fell on a per-share basis in the past year because the company issued more shares. On a per-share basis, earnings declined to $0.09 from $0.11 last year.

The company's cash cost to produce one kilogram of dried flower jumped to $1.30 from $0.95 in the period. If we back out tailwinds from its investment portfolio and exclude increases in fair value of biological assets due to production increases, Aphria's gross margin nose-dived to 63.6% in the quarter from 78.7% in the prior quarter.  

Is this cannabis company losing its competitive edge?

The reliance on wholesale revenue rather than organic growth from consumers could simply reflect a flattening of medical marijuana demand ahead of the recreational market opening this month. Therefore, investors might not want to worry too much about that point.

It's impossible to know what will happen to marijuana stock prices in any given quarter, so investors probably shouldn't pay much attention to the impact of price swings on Aphria's bottom-line results, either.

The margin erosion is undeniably something we'll need to watch, but investors might not want to put much emphasis on last quarter's dip, because it was apparently due to a shortage of labor that forced it to "dispose of" one week's worth of crop rotation when it "outgrew its optimal harvest period." Since the company says it's doubled staffing at Aphria One as part of its expansion plans since the end of the quarter, that setback to margin could be a one-time event, not a sign of lasting margin deterioration. If we back out the negative drag caused by the operational hiccup, Aphria's gross margin would've been 7.4% higher, or 71%. 

That's still lower than Aphria's gross margin of 75.6% last fiscal year and 78.7% in the previous quarter. But it outpaces Canopy Growth's gross margin of 43% last quarter, and it's within striking distance of Aurora Cannabis, which reported gross margin of 74% last quarter, and it was 52% last fiscal year.

Since Aphria's track record shows it has consistently delivered better margins than those companies, it might be worth giving management the benefit of the doubt that it can maintain its low-cost advantage.