Top Tech Stocks To Own Right Now

tags:SILC,ACXM,JBL,FORM,AVGO,ELON,

The war on cash is raging, and PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) is rocking it. In this week's episode of Industry Focus: Technology, host Dylan Lewis and Motley Fool contributor Matthew Cochrane take a closer look at the digital payments industry, where PayPal sits in it, and what to make of its $2.2 billion acquisition of "the Square of Europe."

Competition is heating up, and credit card companies are offering a pretty compelling alternative to PayPal's wildly successful One Touch -- but how worried should PayPal investors really be? Did PayPal overpay by spending billions on a company that'll only generate some $160 million this year? What sets PayPal apart? Tune in to find out more.

A full transcript follows the video.

This video was recorded on May 25, 2018. 

Dylan Lewis: Welcome to Industry Focus, the podcast that dives into a different sector of the stock market every day. It's Friday, May 25th, and we're talking payments news and PayPal. I'm your host, Dylan Lewis, and I'm joined on Skype by fool.com's Matthew Cochrane. Matthew, how's it going?

Top Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Silicom Ltd(SILC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) and Silicom (NASDAQ:SILC) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings and institutional ownership.

• [By ]

  Finally, Cramer said that Silicom (SILC) is an interesting concept with real earnings, and an attractive valuation at just 18 times earnings. However, the company is small, which mean investors need to be careful. 

• [By Logan Wallace]

  BidaskClub upgraded shares of Silicom (NASDAQ:SILC) from a strong sell rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

  Separately, ValuEngine cut Silicom from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Saturday, June 2nd.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  News articles about Silicom (NASDAQ:SILC) have been trending somewhat positive recently, Accern Sentiment reports. 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 -1 to 1, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Silicom earned a news impact score of 0.08 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media headlines about the technology company an impact score of 47.5737469373647 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the next few days.

Top Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Acxiom Corporation(ACXM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  DXC Technology (NASDAQ: ACXM) and Acxiom (NASDAQ:ACXM) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, valuation and risk.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Acxiom (ACXM)

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

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Acxiom Corporation (NASDAQ: ACXM) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.21 per share on revenue of $239.88 million.

  PetIQ, Inc. (NASDAQ: PETQ) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $0.12 per share on revenue of $108.58 million.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Acxiom Corp. (NASDAQ: ACXM) traded down more than 33% Thursday and posted a new 52-week low of $18.60 after closing Wednesday at $28.05. The stock’s 52-week high is $32.93. Volume was about 25 times the daily average of around 600,000 shares. The company is being hammered after social media giant Facebook said it would change its relationship with data brokers.

Top Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Jabil Circuit Inc.(JBL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  Jabil Circuit Inc  (NYSE:JBL)Q2 2019 Earnings Conference CallMarch 14, 2019, 4:30 p.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Jabil Inc (NYSE:JBL) by 182.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 262,830 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 169,736 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC’s holdings in Jabil were worth $7,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• [By Motley Fool Transcription]

  Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallSept. 25, 2018, 8:30 a.m. ET

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

  Operator

Top Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: FormFactor, Inc.(FORM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  FormFactor (NASDAQ:FORM) was downgraded by ValuEngine from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Monday.

• [By Max Byerly]

  FormFactor, Inc. (NASDAQ:FORM) – Equities researchers at B. Riley dropped their FY2018 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for FormFactor in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, July 30th. B. Riley analyst C. Ellis now anticipates that the semiconductor company will post earnings of $0.74 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $0.98. B. Riley currently has a “Buy” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley also issued estimates for FormFactor’s Q3 2019 earnings at $0.27 EPS, Q4 2019 earnings at $0.31 EPS and FY2019 earnings at $1.07 EPS.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in FormFactor, Inc. (NASDAQ:FORM) by 237.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 27,817 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 19,565 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in FormFactor were worth $370,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Top Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Avago Technologies Limited(AVGO)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ashraf Eassa]

  Earlier this year, in the midst of the drama surrounding Broadcom's (NASDAQ:AVGO) attempted takeover of Qualcomm, Jacobs relinquished his role as chairman but stayed on as a director. Then, shortly after rumors began to surface that he was trying to take Qualcomm private, Jacobs was kicked off the board of directors.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Investors bought shares of Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) on weakness during trading hours on Monday. $228.19 million flowed into the stock on the tick-up and $156.45 million flowed out of the stock on the tick-down, for a money net flow of $71.74 million into the stock. Of all stocks tracked, Broadcom had the 16th highest net in-flow for the day. Broadcom traded down ($7.29) for the day and closed at $252.42

• [By Chris Lange]

  When Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) released its fiscal second-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Thursday, the company said that it had $4.88 in earnings per share (EPS) and $5.01 billion in revenue. The consensus estimates had called for $4.77 in EPS and revenue of $5.0 billion. In the same period of last year, it said it had EPS of $3.69 and $4.19 billion in revenue.

Top Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Echelon Corporation(ELON)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Echelon Co. (NASDAQ:ELON) shares reached a new 52-week high and low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $4.07 and last traded at $4.18, with a volume of 9600 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $4.31.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Xplore Technologies (NASDAQ: XPLR) and Echelon (NASDAQ:ELON) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership and valuation.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Echelon (NASDAQ: ELON) and Lantronix (NASDAQ:LTRX) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Trade talks are in final stages, but there is still fear China may walk back concessions

There were multiple reports about trade talks between U.S. and China on Tuesday, which sent traders scrambling to decipher.

Some U.S. officials fear that China is reneging on certain trade concessions, Bloomberg News reported first Tuesday afternoon. People familiar with the talks told Bloomberg that they are concerned China's pushback and stalling discussions could threaten President Donald Trump's chance at a boost ahead of his 2020 reelection bid.

Two others said that Beijing negotiators have shifted their stance because they haven't received convincing assurances from Washington that U.S. tariffs imposed on Chinese exports would be lifted.

The report knocked stocks to their lows of the day and nearly sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average into negative territory on the session. The Bloomberg report did note that some U.S. officials believe China's moves were normal.

Equities quickly rebounded, however, after Dow Jones reported that trade talks are in the final stages. It also reported that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will fly to Beijing the week of March 25 and China's Vice Premier Liu will travel to Washington the week after.

Trump said last week he was in no rush to complete a trade pact with China and doubled down that any agreement include intellectual property rule enforcement, a recurring hitch for the talks.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had been expected to hold a summit at the president's Mar-a-Lago property in Florida later this month. Last month, the administration delayed an additional round of tariffs on Chinese goods. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said earlier this month the U.S. and China were "on the cusp" of a possible deal.

Best Safest Stocks To Own Right Now

tags:UNP,TWNK,ALNY,AI,MITT,

The U.S. Dollar has appreciated more than 7% against a basket of currencies since the end of March. While that might not seem like a lot, it's huge for a developed currency and can cause a lot of problems in a lot of different ways.

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Mostly positive second-quarter earnings were overshadowed by warnings of a stronger dollar and weaker profits for U.S. companies with international exposure.

From Netflix to Illinois Tool Works, management was downbeat as weaker foreign currencies meant lower sales in those markets when converted back to dollars.

One fortunate side effect of all this is that shares of foreign companies have become cheaper in dollar terms. When a company's shares are primarily priced in another currency and that base weakens then it's going to act as an artificial weight on the price of the American Depository Receipts (ADRs).

Best Safest Stocks To Own Right Now: Union Pacific Corporation(UNP)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  News stories about Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) have been trending somewhat positive this week, Accern reports. The research firm rates the sentiment of news coverage by monitoring more than twenty million news and blog sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Union Pacific earned a media sentiment score of 0.11 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media stories about the railroad operator an impact score of 46.138597756114 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the next several days.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI lifted its position in shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 101,144 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,017 shares during the period. Union Pacific accounts for about 2.1% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $14,330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  TRADEMARK VIOLATION WARNING: “Union Pacific Co. (UNP) Shares Sold by Meristem Family Wealth LLC” was first published by Ticker Report and is owned by of Ticker Report. If you are reading this story on another website, it was illegally stolen and reposted in violation of US and international copyright legislation. The correct version of this story can be accessed at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/4208257/union-pacific-co-unp-shares-sold-by-meristem-family-wealth-llc.html.

Best Safest Stocks To Own Right Now: Hostess Brands, Inc. (TWNK)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  News coverage about Hostess Brands (NASDAQ:TWNK) has been trending somewhat positive recently, according to Accern. Accern identifies positive and negative media coverage by analyzing more than twenty million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Hostess Brands earned a media sentiment score of 0.16 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned press coverage about the company an impact score of 46.5687166542873 out of 100, meaning that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the immediate future.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Hostess Brands Inc (NASDAQ:TWNK) by 28.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,669,338 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 373,487 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in Hostess Brands were worth $22,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Hostess Brands (NASDAQ:TWNK) was upgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  Hostess Brands, Inc.  (NASDAQ:TWNK)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 27, 2019, 4:30 p.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Vertical Research assumed coverage on shares of Hostess Brands (NASDAQ:TWNK) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the stock.

Best Safest Stocks To Own Right Now: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ALNY)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Speights]

  It's not exactly David vs. Goliath. However, Bellicum Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BLCM) and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) are definitely in different leagues right now. Both are clinical-stage biotechs, but Bellicum's market cap is less than $350 million while Alnylam's market cap is close to $10 billion.

• [By Jim Crumly]

  Commercial success for Tegsedi is not a done deal even if it's approved worldwide; Alnylam Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ:ALNY) competing drug patisiran was approved by the FDA on Aug. 10. Alnylam's clinical testing showed cardiac benefits for patients whose cardiovascular systems have been affected by the disease, and Alnylam believes that will give patisiran an advantage over Tegsedi. But in the conference call, Akcea executives brushed off that concern and pointed to the advantage Tegsedi has in being an injection that can be delivered at home, versus patisiran, which is administered intravenously in a clinic. We shall see.

• [By Cory Renauer]

  After 16 years as a public company, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALNY) finally got the go-ahead to launch its first product earlier this month. Onpattro is the first in a new class of drugs that alter gene expression, but Pfizer, Inc. (NYSE:PFE) just reported some impressive results with a possible competitor that works a lot differently.

• [By Brian Orelli]

  Earlier this week, Dicerna released promising interim phase I data for its lead drug, DCR-PHXC, in patients with primary hyperoxaluria type 1 and type 2. The company plans to start a trial to be used to support an FDA approval in the first quarter of 2019, but that'll put it behind Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY), which is about to start a phase 3 study testing its drug, lumasiran, in patients with primary hyperoxaluria type 1. Hopefully, Dicerna can use some of its new capital to help accelerate enrollment in its trial to try to catch up to Alnylam.

Best Safest Stocks To Own Right Now: Arlington Asset Investment Corp(AI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  POLY AI (CURRENCY:AI) traded down 2.3% against the U.S. dollar during the 24-hour period ending at 22:00 PM Eastern on June 13th. POLY AI has a total market capitalization of $294.00 and approximately $702.00 worth of POLY AI was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. During the last seven days, POLY AI has traded 37.6% lower against the U.S. dollar. One POLY AI token can now be purchased for about $0.0001 or 0.00000002 BTC on exchanges.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Arlington Asset Investment Corp (NYSE:AI) insider J Rock Tonkel, Jr. bought 10,000 shares of Arlington Asset Investment stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.79 per share, for a total transaction of $87,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 359,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,156,620.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Arlington Asset Investment (NYSE: AI) and New Mountain Finance (NYSE:NMFC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, valuation, earnings and institutional ownership.

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  Arlington Asset Investment Corp  (NYSE:AI)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 19, 2019, 9:00 a.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By Logan Wallace]

  POLY AI (CURRENCY:AI) traded 57.3% higher against the dollar during the 24-hour period ending at 0:00 AM ET on July 2nd. One POLY AI token can currently be purchased for about $0.0002 or 0.00000003 BTC on exchanges. POLY AI has a market cap of $454.00 and approximately $157.00 worth of POLY AI was traded on exchanges in the last day. In the last week, POLY AI has traded 65.4% higher against the dollar.

Best Safest Stocks To Own Right Now: AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc.(MITT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust Inc (NYSE:MITT) by 284.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 241,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 178,736 shares during the period. Citadel Advisors LLC’s holdings in AG Mortgage Investment Trust were worth $4,540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  AG Mortgage Investment Trust Inc (NYSE:MITT) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, September 17th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, September 28th will be paid a dividend of 0.50 per share by the real estate investment trust on Wednesday, October 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 27th.

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  AG Mortgage Investment Trust Inc  (NYSE:MITT)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 27, 2019, 9:30 a.m. ET

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

  Operator

Chegg Stock Is a Screaming Buy Thanks to This New Catalyst

One of my favorite stocks on Wall Street is digital education platform Chegg (NYSE::CHGG). The bull thesis on Chegg stock is simple. The world is becoming more digital than ever. This includes the education sector. But, there is currently no at-scale, uniform, low-cost provider of digital education services globally for high school and college students.

Source: Shutterstock

Chegg is providing these services, and it is growing very quickly because demand for these services is robust. But, Chegg is still in the first inning of this growth narrative, and as it plays out over the next several years, Chegg stock will stay on a winning trajectory.

That bull thesis missed one big thing, which only reinforces why Chegg stock is a long-term winner: a college bribery scandal.

Over the past several days, both the academic and celebrity worlds have been hit hard by a college bribery scandal that includes some big name Hollywood actors and actresses. Long story short, those big name actors and actresses, alongside 50 other wealthy parents, bribed people in the college admissions process to get their kids into good schools.

Believe it or not, this news is a big deal for Chegg. Indeed, it should provide a strong catalyst for Chegg’s services — namely its online SAT prep service —  and that will provide a huge near, medium and long-term tailwind for this already supercharged growth narrative.

Overall, Chegg stock is a long-term winner, with or without the college bribery scandal. But, the college bribery scandal creates a huge tailwind that should propel the stock toward $50 over the next twelve-plus months.

You Can’t Pay Your Way Into College Anymore

The details of the college bribery scandal, which are now just coming to light aren’t important. Instead, what is important, is that this is just the tip of the iceberg. People everywhere, one way or another, have been trying to rig the college admissions process for a long time, so much so that it was somewhat becoming true that you could pay your way into college.

This trend is breaking. The scandal is an embarrassment for all involved parties. No one wants that kind of publicity. So, going forward, the involved parties will do everything to avoid this publicity. Higher education institutions will tighten up their admissions processes. Standardized test taking processes will likewise be tightened up. Parents will stop trying to shuffle money into these sort of bribery schemes.

In other words, the era of being able to pay your way into college is gradually coming to an end.

The financial implication of this is that more money than ever will flow into legitimate college admissions processes, such as test prep. Standardized test prep is already a huge industry. Millions of high school students take the SAT and ACT exams every year. Millions of dollars are already spent on preparing those students for those exams.

But, with this recent scandal, there will inevitably be a boom in the standardized test prep industry. That’s big for Chegg. The company is a streamlined, digital and low-cost provider of SAT prep solutions nationwide, with an exceptionally wide reach and high brand awareness. Naturally, as more dollars flow into the standardized test prep industry over the next several years, a lot of those dollars will find their way into Chegg.

As such, the recent college bribery scandal actually provides a big tailwind for CHGG stock.

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Long-Term Upside Is Compelling

In the big picture, the college bribery scandal is just one of many reasons to like Chegg stock for the long haul. Those reasons are as follows:

Digital is the future, and CHGG is the digital platform in the education space. Thus, the adoption of CHGG’s digital education tools will only grow over time. Chegg only has 3.1 million subscribers, representing less than 10% penetration among America’s 36 million high school and college students. Globally, the opportunity is much bigger, with over 200 million college students worldwide. Chegg is growing it’s sub base at a ~40% rate and Service revenues at a 35%-plus rate. Neither growth rate is slowing by much in a multi-year window. Gross margins are 75%-plus. The revenue model is largely subscription-based. Opex rates are falling quickly with revenue scale. Adjusted operating margins have climbed from a loss of 14% in 2014, to an increase of more than 20% last year. They are expected to head even higher next year.

Overall, Chegg is a big-growth, high-margin company that has a long runway ahead of it through robust subscriber growth. Because of this, I think CHGG projects as a steady 20%-plus revenue and sub grower over the next several years. Gross margins should remain steady around 75% during that stretch. Meanwhile, opex rates should keep falling with scale, implying healthy room for operating margin expansion.

Under those assumptions, I see Chegg as being able to do about $2.50 in earnings-per-share by fiscal 2025. At that point in time, the company should still be a big growth company with a huge international opportunity in front of it, and will consequently warrant a big forward growth multiple of 30. Based on the 30X forward multiple, $2.50 in fiscal 2025 EPS should reasonably lead to a fiscal 2024 price target for Chegg stock of $75.

Discounted back by 10% per year, that equates to a fiscal 2019 price target of over $45, implying healthy upside over the next several months.

Bottom Line on CHGG Stock

Chegg stock is a long-term winner. The recent college bribery scandal only reinforces that long-term bull thesis, and provides a healthy tailwind for operations over the next few quarters. As such, Chegg stock remains a buy at current levels.

As of this writing, Luke La

What Dick's Sporting Goods Wants Investors to Know

Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) this past week wrapped up a decent fiscal 2018 highlighted by higher earnings. The retailer also met management's modest sales outlook even as it continued to struggle with lost sales from its firearm ban.

The chain doesn't see a return to sales growth occurring until the second quarter of fiscal 2019, though, and that conservative outlook contributed to a sharp drop in the stock price immediately following Dick's earnings report. CEO Edward Stack and his executive team added context to that prediction in a conference call with analysts. Let's take a look at a few highlights from that presentation.

Image source: Getty Images.

Closing strong

We're very pleased with the performance of our core business during the quarter.-- Stack

Dick's exceeded both of management's big-picture targets over the key holiday shopping season. Sales fell 2% at existing locations, and that performance led to a 3.1% decline for the full year -- near the low end of the 3% to 4% range executives issued in late November. Comps were positive in apparel, footwear, fitness, outdoor equipment, and Dick's private brands, which improved to 14% of sales from 12%.

Comps fell in the hunting category, as expected, due to the company's firearm selling ban. Without that challenge, sales would have risen by about 1% for the period, management said.

Shoring up the finances

We remain focused on increasing our productivity, as we lower costs and eliminate unnecessary spending across all areas of our business.-- President Lauren Hobart

The $3.24 per share of full-year earnings Dick's produced was near the high end of its late-November guidance. Looking beyond that headline figure, the financial performance was mixed.

On the plus side, selling expenses held steady in the fourth quarter as cost cuts offset higher wages and compensation. That success was more than offset, though, by a drop in gross profitability. Executives blamed higher shipping, fulfillment, and freight costs tied to its growing online sales base for that slump. Put together, these trends resulted in operating income of $142 million, or 5.7% of sales, compared to $178 million, or 6.7% of sales, a year ago. The good news is that online demand spikes in the fourth quarter, and so the profitability pressure from that channel won't be as large in the coming quarters.

Looking ahead

For 2019, we anticipate earnings per diluted share to be in the range of $3.15 to $3.35, and consolidated same-store sales to be approximately flat [to up] 2% for the year. We expect to deliver positive comps beginning in the second quarter by the execution of our strategies as well as the hunt and electronics headwinds we faced last year meaningfully abating.-- CFO Lee Belitsky

Dick's fiscal 2019 will include far more changes than its roughly flat sales and profit prediction implies. The retailer is pouring cash into the online sales channel, with two new distribution centers set to come online right before the holiday season. It will move further away from the hunting category, too, by removing that segment from about 125 stores and replacing it with higher-growth products like its private brands.

Dick's main merchandising priority is to make its stores more attractive shopping destinations, and investors will see initiatives aimed at that goal throughout the year, including with moves like adding batting cages and revamping the product layout.

Investors weren't happy to hear that all of these initiatives might only deliver flat sales in the context of steady or slightly lower profitability in 2019. But management believes they're making all the right moves to position the business for better growth in stores and online, ideally returning the chain to a path of sustainable sales gains as early as 2020.

Ramco System surges 5% after Opteon Solutions selects co to digitise payroll operations

Share price of Ramco System added 5 percent intraday on March 13 after Australia-based Opteon Solutions selected the company to digitise its payroll operations.

Ramco stock touched an intraday high of Rs 275.00 after the news.

Ramco Systems will digitize Payroll operations of staff spread across 75 offices in Australia and New Zealand, Company said in a release.

Virender Aggarwal, CEO, Ramco Systems, said, "While Payroll is seen as an operational task, it is one of the most complex and highly error-prone activity which significantly impacts employee morale. We are glad to add yet another leading business - Opteon Solutions as our client. In both these organizations as well as many others across Asia and Australia, the combination of Workday HR and Ramco Payroll is being seen as a beneficial technology stack by clients."

At 1102 hours Ramco System was quoting at Rs 275, up Rs 13.25, or 5.06 percent on the BSE.

For more market news, click here First Published on Mar 13, 2019 11:41 am

Top 5 Performing Stocks To Watch For 2019

tags:FNJN,ZUMZ,RIC,ECT,ODFL,

Individual investors often overlook the insurance industry due to its complex financial reporting and the many different flavors of insurers. But this is one industry you don't want to ignore. If you were to compile a list of some of the best-performing stocks over any long-term investment horizon, you'd find insurers throughout the list because of their ability to create wealth for shareholders by taking risks one policy at a time.

Below, three Motley Fool contributors make the case for three different insurers with very different business models: Markel (NYSE:MKL), Chubb (NYSE:CB), and First American Financial (NYSE:FAF).

Not your average insurance operation

Matt Frankel, CFP (Markel): One insurance stock that's already one of my largest holdings, and that I'm thinking about buying more of, is Markel.

The company's core business is specialty insurance. In a nutshell, Markel provides insurance in situations that few other companies will -- such as coverage for classic cars, ATVs, and snowmobiles -- as well as insurance products for things like weddings and liability insurance for high-risk businesses, just to name a few. Specialty insurance generally translates to higher profit margins, and Markel has a strong history of just that.

Top 5 Performing Stocks To Watch For 2019: Finjan Holdings, Inc.(FNJN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Marathon Patent Group (NASDAQ: MARA) and Finjan (NASDAQ:FNJN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, valuation and dividends.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Finjan (FNJN)

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

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Finjan (NASDAQ: FNJN) and Dolby Laboratories (NYSE:DLB) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and risk.

• [By Logan Wallace]

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

  Get Finjan alerts: You Need To Taste These: Finjan Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNJN), The Dixie Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DXYN), Sky Solar … (thestreetpoint.com) With a 125/250 Day Adjusted Slope of 63.35003, Is Finjan Holdings, Inc. (NasdaqCM:FNJN) a Favorable Pick? (cantoncaller.com) Which Option is Best? Finjan Holdings, Inc. (FNJN) Buy or Sell (topdesertsafari.com) Finjan Holdings Inc (FNJN) Given Average Recommendation of “Strong Buy” by Analysts (americanbankingnews.com)

  Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TheStreet raised shares of Finjan from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 14th. Dawson James reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Finjan in a report on Tuesday, May 22nd. Finally, ValuEngine cut shares of Finjan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 2nd.

Top 5 Performing Stocks To Watch For 2019: Zumiez Inc.(ZUMZ)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Zumiez (NASDAQ:ZUMZ) CEO Richard Miles Brooks sold 3,957 shares of Zumiez stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $106,839.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,709,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,144,809. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

• [By Garrett Baldwin]
  Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) chief economist Jan Hatzius has a message for the markets. Hatzius said in a research note on Monday that U.S. GDP has likely peaked. "The current pace is probably as good as it gets because we expect the impulse from financial conditions to gradually turn more negative," Hatzius said. The European Union slapped America with roughly $3.3 billion in tariffs on U.S. goods. The tariffs, which are in retaliation to the Trump administration's recent steel and aluminum tariffs on the EU, will go into effect in July. They specifically target products like cigarettes, whiskey, denim, and orange juice. Stocks to Watch Today: AVGO, AGN, GOOGL, TSLA Broadcom Ltd. (Nasdaq: AVGO) leads a busy day of earnings reports. Wall Street anticipates the firm will report earnings per share of $4.77 on top of $5.00 billion in revenue. Uncertainty still remains on whether the company will be able to purchase industry rival Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) in a deal that would be the largest technology merger in the history of the markets. Shares of Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL) are under pressure due to more regulatory scrutiny by the European Union. Shares were off slightly this morning as investors digested a report from The Financial Times indicating the EU will hit the firm with a antitrust fine. Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) stock popped nearly 10% Wednesday, crushing short sellers of the stock. Investors betting against the stock lost a collective $1 billion on paper yesterday, according to S3 Partners. This week, founder Elon Musk won a battle to maintain his roles as both CEO and chair. He also provided a boost of optimism to TSLA stock over production expectations for the Model 3 vehicle. Allergan Inc. (NYSE: AGN) shares are up 2.4% thanks to its latest activist investor. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn purchased a small stake in the drug maker at a time when other activist investors are pushing for strategic changes by the company.
• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Zumiez (ZUMZ)

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

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  Zumiez (NASDAQ:ZUMZ) Q1 2018 Earnings Conference CallJun. 7, 2018 5:00 p.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Zumiez (ZUMZ)

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

Top 5 Performing Stocks To Watch For 2019: Richmont Mines, Inc.(RIC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Riecoin (CURRENCY:RIC) traded flat against the U.S. dollar during the 1-day period ending at 23:00 PM E.T. on September 16th. Over the last week, Riecoin has traded flat against the U.S. dollar. One Riecoin coin can now be purchased for about $0.0070 or 0.00000093 BTC on major exchanges. Riecoin has a market capitalization of $308,472.00 and $0.00 worth of Riecoin was traded on exchanges in the last day.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Richoux Group (LON:RIC) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported GBX (3.90) (($0.05)) earnings per share for the quarter, Bloomberg Earnings reports. Richoux Group had a negative net margin of 19.84% and a negative return on equity of 38.45%.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Media headlines about Richmont Mines (NYSE:RIC) (TSE:RIC) have been trending somewhat positive this week, Accern reports. The research firm ranks the sentiment of news coverage by monitoring 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 closest to one being the most favorable. Richmont Mines earned a coverage optimism score of 0.03 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave media headlines about the basic materials company an impact score of 45.3472842725256 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the stock’s share price in the next several days.

Top 5 Performing Stocks To Watch For 2019: ECA Marcellus Trust I(ECT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  SuperEdge (CURRENCY:ECT) traded 1.3% higher against the dollar during the 1 day period ending at 21:00 PM Eastern on October 4th. One SuperEdge token can currently be purchased for $0.0001 or 0.00000002 BTC on major exchanges. Over the last week, SuperEdge has traded 13.3% higher against the dollar. SuperEdge has a market cap of $0.00 and $91.00 worth of SuperEdge was traded on exchanges in the last day.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Media coverage about Eca Marcellus Trust I (NYSE:ECT) has been trending somewhat positive this week, according to Accern Sentiment Analysis. The research group rates the sentiment of media coverage by reviewing more than 20 million blog and news sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Eca Marcellus Trust I earned a coverage optimism score of 0.24 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media coverage about the oil and gas company an impact score of 47.7651927822973 out of 100, meaning that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the stock’s share price in the next few days.

• [By Max Byerly]

  SuperEdge (CURRENCY:ECT) traded 17.2% higher against the dollar during the 24-hour period ending at 14:00 PM ET on September 22nd. One SuperEdge token can now be purchased for about $0.0001 or 0.00000001 BTC on cryptocurrency exchanges. In the last seven days, SuperEdge has traded 52.1% lower against the dollar. SuperEdge has a total market capitalization of $0.00 and approximately $623.00 worth of SuperEdge was traded on exchanges in the last day.

Top 5 Performing Stocks To Watch For 2019: Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc.(ODFL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lou Whiteman]

  Shares of Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) were up 10.9% in February, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, after the trucking company posted fourth-quarter results that exceeded expectations. This was due to impressive revenue growth and cost management.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. (NASDAQ: ODFL) was started as Buy at Argus.

  ALSO READ: Companies With the Best and Worst Reputations

  Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE: RIO) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Investors sold shares of Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL) on strength during trading hours on Monday. $15.84 million flowed into the stock on the tick-up and $66.82 million flowed out of the stock on the tick-down, for a money net flow of $50.98 million out of the stock. Of all stocks tracked, Old Dominion Freight Line had the 12th highest net out-flow for the day. Old Dominion Freight Line traded up $1.37 for the day and closed at $158.14

Why Plug Power Stock Rose 10% Today

What happened

Shares of fuel cell pioneer Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) popped nearly 9% higher after reporting fiscal Q4 2018 earnings last Thursday and haven't looked back since. This morning, Plug stock opened the week with another strong performance, up 9.5% as of 12:30 p.m. EDT.

So what

There hasn't been any major news regarding Plug Power since the earnings came out, so chances are today's move is just a continuation of the enthusiasm investors showed last week.

But what explains that enthusiasm? On Thursday, Plug reported an adjusted loss of $0.07 per share on sales of a little less than $60 million. Analysts, however, had predicted Plug would lose only $0.06 pro forma, on sales of a little more than $60 million -- and Plug's actual GAAP loss for the quarter was even bigger at $0.08 per share.

Plug Power's sales estimates are pointing up. Image source: Getty Images.

Now what

On the plus side, Plug's per-share loss one year ago, in Q4 2017, was $0.09 GAAP -- so even the $0.08 loss was an improvement. What's more, Plug's guidance for 2019 was something of a happy surprise. Instead of the $232.8 million in sales that Wall Street is expecting, Plug promised to deliver gross billings between $235 million and $245 million, more than making up for Q4's revenue shortfall, and about 3% ahead of estimates at the midpoint.

I'm not convinced that a promise of 3% better revenue and no profit is reason enough to value Plug Power stock 18% above what it cost pre-earnings. But it appears I'm in the minority today.

Trupanion (TRUP) Downgraded by ValuEngine to Hold

ValuEngine cut shares of Trupanion (NASDAQ:TRUP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on TRUP. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Trupanion from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 7th. Canaccord Genuity reiterated a buy rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Trupanion in a research note on Tuesday, November 13th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Trupanion from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $44.38.

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TRUP opened at $27.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $955.83 million, a P/E ratio of -928.00 and a beta of 1.15. Trupanion has a fifty-two week low of $22.38 and a fifty-two week high of $46.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Trupanion (NASDAQ:TRUP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.01 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $82.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $82.16 million. Trupanion had a negative return on equity of 0.88% and a negative net margin of 0.30%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Trupanion will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other Trupanion news, Director Howard E. Rubin sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.03, for a total value of $1,741,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 188,739 shares in the company, valued at $5,479,093.17. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Darryl Rawlings sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.45, for a total transaction of $113,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,551,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,137,927.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 141,486 shares of company stock worth $4,108,344. 20.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Trupanion in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of Trupanion by 12,818.2% in the fourth quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 2,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 2,820 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its stake in shares of Trupanion by 105.1% in the fourth quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 3,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 1,891 shares during the period. Resources Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Trupanion in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Trupanion by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

About Trupanion

Trupanion, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides medical insurance for cats and dogs on monthly subscription basis in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The company operates through Subscription Business and Other Business segments. It serves pet owners and veterinarians through third-party referrals and online member acquisition channels.

Featured Article: Return on Investment (ROI) Defined, Explained

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

A Look Back at Kroger's 2018 Results

Kroger (NYSE:KR) just wrapped up 2018, reporting its fourth-quarter results on Thursday morning. While the quarter was a disappointment when compared to analysts' estimates, investors shouldn't overlook some notable progress the company made during 2018.

Last year was a critical year for Kroger -- one in which the company ramped up investment on its first full year of a three-year transformation plan called Restock Kroger. The plan, which is expected to generate $400 million in incremental operating profit and $6.5 billion in free cash flow over the three-year period beginning in 2018 and ending in 2020, represents the company's efforts to transform its business to thrive in an evolving retail landscape.

In 2018, Kroger managed to invest aggressively while growing its business and posting earnings per share at the high end of its full-year outlook.

Image source: Kroger.

Here's a closer look at Kroger's recent progress.

Same-store sales rose 1.8%

When excluding fuel, Kroger's same-store sales (management calls them identical sales) rose 1.8% year over year. This was an acceleration compared to Kroger's same-store sales growth, excluding fuel, of 0.7% in 2017. 

Notably, though, Kroger changed the way it measures same-store sales in the first quarter of 2018. The company changed the metric to be "more inclusive of company business units -- including Kroger Specialty Pharmacy and ship-to-home solutions," management said in its first-quarter earnings release. So, the supermarket company's 2017 and 2018 same-store sales metrics aren't perfect comparisons.

Adjusted sales increased 2%

Kroger's 2018 sales decreased 1.2% to $121.2 billion. But when excluding fuel, an extra week in 2017, the company's convenience store business unit divestiture, and the impact of a merger with meal-kit company Home Chef, total sales during the year were up 2%. This is slightly lower than the company's adjusted sales growth of 2.2% in 2017.

Earnings per share of $2.11

In 2018, Kroger earned $2.11 per share on an adjusted basis. Not only is this higher than the company's $2.04 in adjusted earnings per share in 2017, but it's toward the high end of the full-year outlook for earnings per share that management provided this time last year. Kroger had guided for 2018 adjusted earnings per share to be between $1.95 and $2.15.

In its fourth-quarter and full-year update, management said about its profitability:

For fiscal 2018, Kroger's adjusted net earnings per diluted share result was slightly ahead of the company's internal expectations due to results from the solid early execution of Restock Kroger, including process changes that led to sustainable cost controls and higher-margin alternative profit streams. This performance allowed Kroger to continue making incremental Restock Kroger investments while delivering on its guidance range for the year.

Digital sales increased 58%

As part of the company's Restock Kroger initiative, management wants to empower customers to "buy anything, anytime, anywhere from Kroger," the company said in an October 2018 update on the three-year transformation plan. As part of this effort, management expects its annual digital sales run rate of more than $5 billion at the end of 2018 to rise to $9 billion by the end of 2019.

Given the company's strong growth in digital sales recently, this target looks achievable. Digital sales were up 58% year over year in 2018 -- and that's on top of 90% growth in 2017. In addition, this is significantly faster growth than the 40% year-over-year growth in U.S. e-commerce sales that Walmart (NYSE:WMT) saw in its recently ended fiscal 2019.

While Kroger's transformation plan showed some signs of progress in 2018, the next two years will show whether the initiative can make a meaningful difference. Management said in its fourth-quarter earnings release that 2018 was ultimately "an investment year that laid the groundwork for us to achieve our 2020 Restock Kroger targets including financials."

Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond ETF (VGIT) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond ETF (NASDAQ:VGIT) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 2,485,913 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 216% from the previous session’s volume of 787,105 shares.The stock last traded at $63.69 and had previously closed at $63.65.

Get Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond ETF alerts:

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.119 dividend. This represents a $1.43 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st.

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond ETF in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Aspire Private Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond ETF during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond ETF during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Lake Point Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond ETF during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, We Are One Seven LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond ETF during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000.

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Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond ETF Company Profile (NASDAQ:VGIT)

Vanguard Intermediate Term Government Bond ETF (the Fund) seeks to track the performance of a market-weighted government bond index with an intermediate-term, dollar-weighted average maturity. The Fund employs a passive management or indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the Barclays Capital U.S.

Further Reading: Does the Step Transaction Doctrine Affect a Backdoor Roth IRA?

Short Interest in TJX Companies Inc (TJX) Decreases By 43.3%

TJX Companies Inc (NYSE:TJX) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,045,654 shares, a decrease of 43.3% from the January 31st total of 21,230,986 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 5,726,336 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

In related news, Director Amy B. Lane sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.79, for a total value of $51,790.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 31,092 shares in the company, valued at $1,610,254.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new position in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its stake in TJX Companies by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 580 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in TJX Companies by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 600 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Edge Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in TJX Companies by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Edge Wealth Management LLC now owns 650 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. increased its stake in TJX Companies by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. now owns 660 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. 63.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TJX Companies stock opened at $51.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.48, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.67. TJX Companies has a fifty-two week low of $39.86 and a fifty-two week high of $56.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 27th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.68. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.01 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 7.98% and a return on equity of 59.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that TJX Companies will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

TJX Companies declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 27th that permits the company to repurchase $2.25 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel and home fashions retailer to buy up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on TJX. Cfra raised shares of TJX Companies to a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 28th. Barclays set a $56.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 28th. Credit Suisse Group boosted their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 28th. Finally, MKM Partners boosted their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.06.

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TJX Companies Company Profile

The TJX Companies, Inc operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, accent furniture, lamps, rugs, wall décor, decorative accessories, giftware, lighting, soft home, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, kids, and gourmet food departments; jewelry; and other merchandise.

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AppFolio Ends 2018 With a Bang

AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF), a software-as-a-service provider that caters to the real estate and legal markets, reported its fourth-quarter and full-year 2018 results recently.

Revenue growth of 33% allowed the company to exceed the high end of its guidance range. However, the bottom line was held back by elevated expenses primarily related to recent acquisitions. Management expects that spending to lead to a more robust product offering in time, which is exactly what investors should want to see.

AppFolio Q4 results: The raw numbers

Metric

Q4 2018

Q4 2017

Change (YOY)

Sales	$50.4 million	$37.9 million	33%
GAAP net income	$2.65 million	$2.58 million	3%
GAAP earnings per share	$0.07	$0.07	0%

Data source: AppFolio. YOY = year over year. GAAP = generally accepted accounting principles. 

What happened with AppFolio this quarter Core solutions, which is the company's subscription-based revenue, grew 26% to $19.4 million. This result was driven by a 20% increase in property management units.  Value+ services, which is revenue earned from fee-based services such as payments, grew 38% to $28.8 million. On the call with analysts, management credited the gain to growth in electronic payment services, screening services, and insurance services. The annual dollar-based net expansion rate, which measures the change in customer spending from one year to the next, was 116% in the company's property management business and 113% in its legal channel. This indicates that retention rates remain very strong and that customer spending continues to increase on AppFolio's platforms.   Property manager customers grew 11% to 13,050.  Legal customers grew 10% to 10,300.  A $1.9 million non-cash charge was recorded during the quarter related to the company's acquisition of WegoWise last August. This was the primary reason profit growth was muted. Operating costs grew 34%, which outpaced revenue growth. This was partially driven by acquisition expenses. Cash balance at year's end was $102 million while long-term debt was $48.6 million. Stock buybacks totaled $21.6 million during the quarter. A $100 million share repurchase program was recently authorized. 

Image source: AppFolio.

Turning to the full year, here's a review of the company's numbers from 2018:

Revenue grew 32% to $190.1 million. This figure exceeded the high end of guidance. Net income grew 106% to $20 million, or $0.56 per share.

After the end of the year, the company spent $54 million to acquire Dynasty Marketplace, which is a provider of "artificial intelligence solutions for the real estate market." Management believes that the acquisition will eventually enhance the company's fee-based service offerings.

What management had to say

CEO Jason Randall summarized the year for investors:

In 2018, we continued on our mission to revolutionize vertical industry businesses by providing great software and service to our customers. We did this through our dedication to delivering outstanding customer experiences, supporting a thriving corporate culture and delivering next generation technologies to the verticals we serve today.

Looking forward

CFO Ida Kane expects that AppFolio's strong pace of revenue growth will continue into 2019. The company currently forecasts full-year revenue will land between $250 million and $255 million. The midpoint of this range represents revenue growth of 33%.

CEO Randall ended his prepared remarks on the investor call by stating that the needs of its customers are AppFolio's top priority:"[W]e remain focused on delivering great customer experiences fueled by next-generation technology, innovation and our commitment to providing exceptional service to our customers. We believe our consistency in these areas enables long-term sustainable growth."

This report was mostly filled with great news. Revenue growth remains high and continues to outpace guidance. Customer spending and acquisition remains strong. Churn appears to be low. Management continues to make bolt-on acquisitions and guidance for 2019 calls for greater than 30% top-line growth.

However, there are a few negatives in this report that investors should watch. Spending growth outpaced revenue growth and led to no movement on the bottom line. That's mostly a byproduct of the recent acquisitions, but it's a sharp reversal from the huge profit growth rates that we've seen in the recent past.

The other negative is that AppFolio is no longer debt-free. The company tapped the debt markets to fund its Dynasty Marketplace acquisition and stock buybacks. I'd prefer the company to keep its balance sheet squeaky-clean rather than take on debt, but the leverage is very low in the grand scheme of things.

Overall, I think that the good news from this report overwhelmed the bad. Shareholders have every reason to remain excited about where this company is headed.

Hot Safest Stocks To Own For 2019

tags:NAO,MNTX,FR, Widows and orphans have had a tough few months.   Long-term U.S. Treasury bonds – often cited as the safest investment on the planet and suitable for the most cautious investors – lost more than seven years' worth of income in just the past four months.   Lending money to the U.S. government for 30 years in exchange for a 2% yield turned out not to be such a good idea. Yields are now 50% higher than they were back in July. And these Treasury bonds, or "T-bonds," have collapsed in price.   But that has given us a fantastic risk/reward setup today...   Let's start by looking at this chart of the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond Fund (TLT)...  

Hot Safest Stocks To Own For 2019: Nordic American Offshore Ltd(NAO)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Nordic American Offshore (NYSE: NAO) and DryShips (NASDAQ:DRYS) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, valuation, dividends and risk.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Media headlines about Nordic American Offshore (NYSE:NAO) have been trending somewhat negative on Thursday, according to Accern. Accern ranks the sentiment of media coverage by analyzing more than 20 million news and blog sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Nordic American Offshore earned a media sentiment score of -0.10 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned headlines about the shipping company an impact score of 46.9955270541452 out of 100, meaning that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the immediate future.

Hot Safest Stocks To Own For 2019: Manitex International Inc.(MNTX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Manitex International (MNTX)

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

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Manitex International (MNTX)

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

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Manitex International (MNTX)

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

Hot Safest Stocks To Own For 2019: First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc.(FR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on First Industrial Realty Trust (FR)

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

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Media stories about First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR) have trended somewhat positive this week, Accern reports. Accern identifies positive and negative news coverage by monitoring more than twenty million news and blog sources. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. First Industrial Realty Trust earned a media sentiment score of 0.16 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news coverage about the real estate investment trust an impact score of 47.0893315038895 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the next few days.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on First Industrial Realty Trust (FR)

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

• [By Shane Hupp]

  First Majestic Silver Corp. (TSE:FR) (NYSE:AG) Director Robert A. Mccallum sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$6.94, for a total transaction of C$13,880.00.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Stephens Inc. AR lowered its stake in First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FR) by 9.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,858 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 7,506 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR owned 0.06% of First Industrial Realty Trust worth $2,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FR) Director Bruce W. Duncan sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.26, for a total value of $997,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 672,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,369,478.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

What a Toys R Us Comeback May Mean for Retail

Can a Toys R Us comeback revive the U.S. toy market? The company that bought Toys R Us' intellectual property portfolio out of bankruptcy is counting on the brand's enduring goodwill with consumers to help it hit the ground running.

Numerous retailers including Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Target scrambled to expand shelf space for toys after Toys R Us was liquidated, and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) even sent out its first toy catalog. Yet U.S. toy sales still fell by 2% last year to $21.6 billion, according to NPD. The impact was most noticeable on toy makers Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) and Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT), which reported fourth-quarter revenue declines of 13% and 5%, respectively.

The return of a retail outlet dedicated to the playroom might be what these manufacturers need, but Toys R Us -- now part of a new company called Tru Kids -- has a high hurdle to get over if it wants to make a difference.

Image source: Getty Images.

A heavy emphasis on foreign markets

The market watchers at NPD Group say the U.S. toy market put in a solid performance last year, considering that many analysts had forecast sales could fall at a double-digit rate. Although the 2% decline broke a streak of four straight years of growth, sales were still higher in 2018 than they were two years earlier.

This suggests that Tru Kids won't have an easy time going up against the retailers that filled the vacuum caused by Toys R Us' demise. Walmart, for example, reported exceptionally strong fourth-quarter results and said that toys were one of its strongest categories last quarter, as it gained market share.

Tru Kids' strategy appears to put a lot of emphasis on international sales. While Toys R Us has disappeared in the U.S., it remains operational in many foreign markets -- particularly in Asia, where it operates more than 550 stores, with 182 locations in mainland China alone. It plans to open 60 new stores in the region this year, with most of them in China.

Yet Toys R Us Asia is not a part of Tru Kids, though the two will partner through Toys R Us Asia's owner, Fung Retailing, to expand the brand's presence there. Similar partnerships with affiliates in the United Arab Emirates, Israel, South Korea, India, and elsewhere could extend its reach beyond the 900 stores globally that generated some $3 billion in sales last year.

The U.S. strategy is less clear

While that's a sizable platform to grow on, Tru Kids' intentions here in the U.S. are more nebulous. It may seek a combination of permanent stores, pop-ups, and e-commerce sales -- possibly even partnering with Amazon. However, no real strategy has been outlined, so toy makers can't expect much help in the near term.

Hasbro saw its full-year 2018 sales fall 12% to $4.6 billion, while Mattel's sales were down 8% to $4.5 billion. Hasbro's adjusted earnings plunged nearly 30% year over year, and Mattel reported another full-year loss, albeit slightly narrower than its 2017 loss.

Although Tru Kids' brands still have a lot of consumer goodwill, the Toys R Us bankruptcy was brought about in part because shopping habits had changed and the toy store failed to adjust sufficiently. Nostalgia alone won't be enough to forge a winning path, particularly as consumers have now found new outlets to visit.

The key takeaway

A Toys R Us revival may give everyone the warm fuzzies, but it's not going to alter the retail landscape very much. Walmart will continue to build on its newfound strength, and Amazon has a near-limitless ability to carry inventory through third parties. While Hasbro and Mattel won't mind the help of Tru Kids, they will still need to rely primarily upon new movies hitting theaters -- driving licensing revenue and related toy sales -- to achieve meaningful growth in the immediate future.

Just a few years ago, Toys R Us was the third-largest toy seller in the U.S., with a 15% share of the market. However, other retailers have largely closed the gap left by its bankruptcy, making it less certain that its comeback as Tru Kids will have much impact, if any.

3 High-Yield Stocks at Rock-Bottom Prices

Many dividend stocks fell out of favor over the past year as rising interest rates turned bonds into more attractive income investments. Yet there are still plenty of high-yielding stocks that are currently trading at discount valuations. Today, three of our Motley Fool investors will share three stocks that fit the bill -- China Mobile (NYSE:CHL), General Motors (NYSE:GM), and WestRock (NYSE:WRK).

China's largest wireless carrier

Leo Sun (China Mobile): China Mobile is the largest wireless carrier in China. It served a whopping 927.5 million wireless customers in January, representing 4% growth from a year earlier. 77% of those subscribers were on 4G plans, up from 73% a year ago.

Image source: Getty Images.

China Mobile also owns a smaller wireline business, which grew its customer base 38% annually to 161.5 million in January. That newer business gives China Mobile more all-in-one bundling opportunities.

China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom are all state-backed enterprises. The government tweaks competition between the three carriers, oversees cost-cutting strategies (like the sale of their towers to a joint venture), and clears the way for the expansion of their 5G networks.

Government-mandated reductions in wireless fees and the elimination of data-roaming charges weighed down China Mobile's earnings growth throughout most of 2018. As a result, it will likely generate low single-digit sales and earnings growth this year.

However, with most of that damage now behind it, investors can expect its revenue and earnings growth to gradually improve as users upgrade to 5G plans over the next few years. Moreover, the stock is cheap at 12 times trailing earnings, and its yield -- which is declared twice every year based on a percentage of its earnings -- generally fluctuates between 3% and 5%. Therefore, investors looking for a conservative income investment on China should take a closer look at China Mobile.

Watch this stock drive higher

Dan Caplinger (General Motors): General Motors has combined high dividend yields and cheap share prices for a long time now. The automaker boasts a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, which gives it a current yield of 3.8%. Yet the stock trades at only 7 times trailing earnings, and when you incorporate near-term expectations for modest bottom-line growth, GM's forward multiple comes in at just 6.

General Motors has seen mixed performance in its business recently. In 2018, revenue was up by just 1% from 2017 levels, and adjusted earnings per share were down 1%. Rising commodity costs had a negative impact on the company's profit, and weakness in the Chinese auto market and inflation-related currency pressures throughout much of South America weighed on GM's results. Yet pickup truck sales in North America were strong, and crossover sport-utility vehicle sales benefited from continued low gasoline prices.

Analysts have suggested that auto sales will suffer a cyclical downturn soon after years of growth, but expectations for General Motors in 2019 look similar to 2018 results on the bottom line. That implies little or no growth, but with such a low earnings multiple -- and plenty of earnings to support further dividend increases -- General Motors is an ideal high-yield stock for income investors to consider.

Wall Street loves to hate this paper business

Maxx Chatsko (WestRock): Either analysts in Manhattan have some top-secret information most investors don't, or Wall Street is simply wrong about WestRock. Shares of the paper leader have fallen nearly 40% in the last year on fears that the trade war between the United States and China would have a detrimental impact on the business. That simply never occurred.

Image source: Getty Images.

In fiscal 2018, the business delivered year-over-year double-digit growth in revenue, operating income, operating margin, adjusted EBITDA, operating cash flow, and a range of other important financial metrics. The business is on solid footing for the year and years ahead, too. WestRock closed its acquisition of KapStone in November 2018 (during its fiscal first-quarter 2019), which will significantly boost its corrugated packaging business. That's important. 

WestRock generated 56% of revenue and 72% of operating income from its corrugated packaging segment in fiscal 2018. "Corrugated packaging" is the technical term for cardboard, which has been experiencing record demand and record pricing in recent years thanks to the rise of online shopping and a swelling global middle class. That includes insatiable demand from China, where manufacturing capacity of finished paper products is insufficient to meet domestic demand. Thus, China has to turn to the United States for imports. Wall Street's knee-jerk reaction to the trade war's effect on the American paper industry never panned out.

That makes the stock's 40% fall look like a screaming buying opportunity to me. WestRock converted 15% of revenue into operating cash flow in fiscal 2018. That's more than enough breathing room to cover its 4.6% dividend yield. Meanwhile, the stock trades at just 9 times future earnings, a PEG ratio of 0.62, and a price-to-book value of just 0.86. Once KapStone begins contributing in the year ahead, Wall Street will likely to be forced to properly value shares. 

Buy Siyaram Silk Mills; target of Rs 410: ICICI Direct

ICICI Direct's research report on Siyaram Silk Mills

SSML reported decent revenue growth of 13.4% YoY to Rs 446.3 crore despite market conditions remaining subdued. The fabric division grew 13% YoY to Rs 332 crore while growth in the garmenting segment grew marginally by 1.4% YoY to Rs 87 crore. Revenues from the yarn segment grew 3.4x to Rs 16 crore mainly due to commencement of production of its dyed yarn (indigo) facility Gross margins for the quarter contracted significantly by 265 bps YoY to 55.9%, mainly on account of increased proportion of products having lower margin profile (Indigo dyed yarn and higher discounted garmenting brand, 'Mozo'). However, with positive operating leverage kicking in, EBITDA margins declined 98 bps YoY to 11.8% Substantial increase in interest cost (up 50% YoY to Rs 13.7 crore) further impacted PAT growth. Ensuing PAT declined 10.5% YoY to Rs 20.1 crore.

Outlook

We expect overall revenues to increase at 9% CAGR and PAT to grow at 11% CAGR in FY18-20E. SSML's stock price has witnessed a significant correction of ~48% in the last 12 months, making it available at valuation of 11.6x FY20E earnings. Hence, we have a BUY recommendation with a revised target price of Rs 410 (14x FY20E EPS).

For all recommendations report, click here

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

Read More First Published on Feb 28, 2019 03:47 pm

Buy RBL Bank; target of Rs 633: Cholamandalam Securities

Cholamandalam Securities' research report on RBL Bank

RBL's advances grew by 35.2% YoY to INR 498.9bn in 3QFY19, missing CSEC's estimate of 40.3% YoY growth. The growth predominantly came from Retail assets (67% YoY), DB&FI segment (42% YoY) and C&IB segment (27.9% YoY).The wholesale & retail mix remained at 57% and 43% respectively. Based on their internal ratings, ~96.6% of the advances is offered to BBB- or higher rated borrowers. The management expects loan book to grow at 30-35% till FY20E. Deposits grew by 35.1% YoY (above CSEC's estimate of 31%YoY) to INR 522bn supported by increase in CASA base. CASA deposits grew by 38.5%YoY taking CASA ratio to 24.6% from 24% in 3QFY18. The management reiterated that it targets a growth of 0.75-1% every year, till FY20 in CASA ratio. The digital acquisition channel now contributes 40-50% of new (deposit) account openings, implying granularity in funding profile coupled with low cost of acquisition.

Outlook

Robust loan growth trajectory and well-maintained asset quality coupled with healthy margins, rapidly growing fee income and expected improvements in opex due to technological up gradation, gives a positive outlook for the bank. Hence, we give the stock a BUY rating, with a target price of INR 633 valuing at 3X of FY21E P/ABV.

For all recommendations report, click here

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

Read More First Published on Mar 1, 2019 04:09 pm

Why Office Depot Stock Popped Today

Shares of Office Depot (NASDAQ:ODP) were up 11% as of 3:45 p.m. EST Wednesday after the company announced strong fourth-quarter 2018 results. 

More specifically, Office Depot's quarterly net sales climbed 3.4% year over year to $2.67 billion, translating to adjusted net income from continuing operations of $52 million, or $0.09 per share, up from $45 million, or $0.09 per share in the same year-ago period. Analysts, on average, were expecting lower earnings of $0.08 per share on slightly higher revenue of $2.68 billion. 

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES

So what

Within Office Depot's top line, product sales fell 1% to $2.25 billion, while services revenue climbed 34% thanks to a combination of growth from the company's business services division and the partial inclusion of CompuCom divisional results in the segment. Excluding CompuCom, service revenue climbed 19%.

"In the pivotal year of our transformation, we achieved our key priorities of recapturing top-line growth, expanding our distribution platform, growing our services business, generating significant free cash flow, and strengthening our balance sheet," stated Office Depot CEO Gerry Smith.

Now what

For the full fiscal-year 2019, Office Depot reaffirmed its previous outlook for revenue to arrive at $11.1 billion (up from $11.0 billion in fiscal 2018) with adjusted EBITDA of $575 million (up from $567 million in fiscal 2018).

In the end, coupling that progress with Office Depot's modest bottom-line beat gave investors more than enough reason to optimistic for its future, and the stock is responding in kind.

Top Clean Energy Stocks For 2019

tags:HTY,REG,WFT,JWN,OSK,GRMN, What happened 

Shares of natural gas distributor Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ:CLNE) were down 10.2% at the close of trading Monday on no real news. Shares were down as much as 11.8% in early morning trading, and were down by high single digits for most of the day. 

So what

Oddly enough, crude oil is trading slightly higher today with WTI crude up 0.3% and Brent crude up 1.5% on the day, which is usually a bullish sign for Clean Energy Fuels. Natural gas is also down 1%, which should lower input costs, another factor that usually pushes the stock higher. 

Image source: Getty Images.

Sometimes stocks trade on momentum or factors that have nothing to do with fundamentals, and that appears to be what's happening today. Shares were also down double digits last Thursday on an analyst downgrade, so this could be momentum from that move as well. 

Top Clean Energy Stocks For 2019: John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield Fund(HTY)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  John Hancock Tax-Advntgd Glbl SH Yld Fd (NYSE:HTY) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 23rd, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.16 per share on Friday, September 28th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 13th.

Top Clean Energy Stocks For 2019: Regency Centers Corporation(REG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  Regency Centers Corp  (NYSE:REG)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 14, 2019, 11:00 a.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Regency Centers Corp (NYSE:REG) – SunTrust Banks dropped their Q3 2018 earnings per share estimates for shares of Regency Centers in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, August 15th. SunTrust Banks analyst K. Kim now forecasts that the real estate investment trust will post earnings of $0.94 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.95. SunTrust Banks also issued estimates for Regency Centers’ Q4 2018 earnings at $0.95 EPS, FY2018 earnings at $3.78 EPS, FY2019 earnings at $3.87 EPS, FY2020 earnings at $3.95 EPS, FY2021 earnings at $4.00 EPS and FY2022 earnings at $4.11 EPS.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  State of Tennessee Treasury Department raised its holdings in shares of Regency Centers Corp (NYSE:REG) by 402.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 192,496 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 154,218 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department’s holdings in Regency Centers were worth $11,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Regency Centers (REG)

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

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH purchased a new position in Regency Centers Co. (NYSE:REG) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 8,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $484,000.

Top Clean Energy Stocks For 2019: Weatherford International plc(WFT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Check-Cap Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHEK) shares jumped 104.82 percent to close at $14.87 on Tuesday. EVINE Live Inc. (NASDAQ: EVLV) rose 31.25 percent to close at $1.06. The pay-TV home shopping company was named as a potential acquisition target by TechCrunch. According to the publication, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is exploring ways of marketing its products and services to consumers beyond the internet. SemiLEDs Corporation (NASDAQ: LEDS) shares climbed 27.16 percent to close at $4.26 on Tuesday. Atossa Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: ATOS) gained 27.09 percent to close at $3.80. Atossa Genetics disclosed that it has Received positive interim review from the Independent Safety Committee in Phase 1 Topical endoxifen dose escalation study in men. Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSII) surged 17.13 percent to close at $37.95 as the company posted upbeat results for its first quarter. Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SC) shares gained 15.91 percent to close at $18.21 following upbeat quarterly earnings. Riot Blockchain, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT) shares jumped 15.73 percent to close at $7.58 on Tuesday after declining 1.50 percent on Monday. Sanmina Corp (NASDAQ: SANM) shares gained 14.62 percent to close at $31.75 as the company reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its second quarter on Monday. Orchids Paper Products Company (NYSE: TIS) jumped 12.86 percent to close at $7.37. Orchids Paper Products is expected to report its Q1 financial results on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE: HLX) rose 12.8 percent to close at $7.05 following strong quarterly results. Avid Bioservices, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDMO) rose 12.72 percent to close at $3.81. Genprex, Inc. (NASDAQ: GNPX) gained 12.61 percent to close at $5.00. Obalon Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OBLN) rose 12.39 percent to close at $3.72. NextDecade Corporation (NASDAQ: NEXT) shares climbed 11.88 percent to close at $7
• [By Paul Ausick]

  Weatherford International plc (NYSE: WFT) traded down about 10% Thursday and posted a new 52-week low of $2.63 after closing Wednesday at $2.93. The stock’s 52-week high is $7.09. Volume was around 43 million, about double the daily average. The company had no specific news.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Weatherford International (WFT)

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

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  Weatherford International (NYSE:WFT) has been an undead company for several years now. Despite the fact that it hasn't produced a profitable year since 2012, has been burning through cash for longer, and has more debt than the total capitalization of the business, it somehow hasn't gone bankrupt. This entire time, management has been promising a turnaround with ambitious plans to reduce its costs, but these efforts have been all for naught as its financial situation continues to worsen.

Top Clean Energy Stocks For 2019: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Baldwin]
  Crude oil prices continue to remain in focus after Brent crude hit $80.00 per barrel. The benchmark crude touched $80.00, as markets are concerned about the impact renewed Iranian sanctions will have on global supply. French oil giant Total announced Wednesday that it was abandoning a gas project in Iran after failing to obtain a waiver from the Trump administration to do business in Iran. The sanctions are expected to decline global output at a time that OPEC is already working diligently to push oil prices higher by containing excessive global production. Four Stocks to Watch Today: JCP, BABA, F, KR Shares of JCPenney (NYSE: JCP) are ticking higher after its earnings report before the bell. Yesterday, retail companies were stunned by the 11% jump for its rival Macy's Inc. (NYSE: M) stock thanks to a strong first-quarter report. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) is generating a lot of buzz as investors monitor trade relations between the United States and China. BABA stock had slumped by 18% thanks to trade restrictions on Chinese companies. Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) announced it will restart production of its popular F-150 pickup truck at its Dearborn, Mich., facility. The company recently suspended operations after a fire damaged supplies needed for manufacturing. The F-150 is the most popular consumer vehicle in the United States. In an effort to beat back the growth of Wal-Mart and Amazon, grocery giant Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) announced a deal to purchase a 5% stake in British online supermarket Ocado. The deal will allow Kroger to utilize the UK firm's warehouse automation technology in the United States and improve its supply chain costs. Look for additional earnings reports from Applied Materials Inc. (Nasdaq: AMAT), Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN), The Children's Place Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCE), Teekay Corp. (NYSE: TK), and Quantum Corp. (NYSE: QTM).

  Follow Money Morning on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

• [By ]

  When it comes to fashion, Nordstrom (JWN) was a surprise pick, along with Macy's (M) which has been investing to fight back against Amazon.

  Boss admitted that President Trump and a trade war with China remain a wild card for retailers and that will be something they continue to watch closely.

• [By Daniel B. Kline]

  Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) had a good quarter and raised its forecast for the full year. That's a combination that investors generally like, and shares in the company rose significantly after the company reported.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) released its fiscal first-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Thursday. The retailer said that it had $0.51 in earnings per share (EPS) on $3.56 billion in revenue, compared with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for $0.44 in EPS on revenue of $3.46 billion. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $0.37 and $3.35 billion in revenue.

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  A lot has changed since then, however. J.C. Penney badly underperformed its own comparable sales target in the second half of 2016, as comparable sales fell instead of hitting the 3-4% mark the company had projected. Its peers continued to struggle -- Macy's (NYSE:M), Kohl's (NYSE:KSS), and Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) all reported declining comps in the fourth quarter, and Macy's said last year it would close 100 stores.

• [By Douglas A. McIntyre]

  Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) may reopen plans for a leveraged buyout after good holiday results. According to The Wall Street Journal:

  The failed effort by the Nordstrom family to take the namesake department store chain private will be remembered as a missed opportunity amid the selloff in retailers' stocks last fall.

Top Clean Energy Stocks For 2019: Oshkosh Corporation(OSK)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Oshkosh (OSK)

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

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Oshkosh (OSK)

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

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Osisko Mining (TSE:OSK) Director Robert Wares purchased 10,000 shares of Osisko Mining stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$2.06 per share, with a total value of C$20,600.00.

• [By Lou Whiteman]

  Shares of Oshkosh Corp. (NYSE:OSK) jumped 22.4% in January, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, after a strong earnings report and guidance that analysts say could prove to be conservative. It was a nice turnaround for a stock that has been an underperformer for most of the last year.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Osisko Mining Inc (TSE:OSK) Director John Feliks Burzynski acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$2.08 per share, with a total value of C$10,400.00.

Top Clean Energy Stocks For 2019: Garmin Ltd.(GRMN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]

  Garmin's (NASDAQ:GRMN) dividend lacks the steady track record that many investors prefer. The GPS device maker only recently raised its payout after holding it steady for almost three years. However, if you can accept that checkered past you might find plenty to like about this stock.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  It's time to see if kids really want to strap fitness trackers around their wrists. Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN) is teaming up with Disney (NYSE:DIS) to try to give its kid-friendly vivofit jr. product line a fairy-tale ending. Garmin is hoping that the new Disney Princess-themed bands for the vivofit jr. 2 that it's introducing on Wednesday will give young girls -- and young boys that identify with or are inspired by the Disney Princess family -- a more enjoyable incentive to monitor their daily activity levels.

• [By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]

  Garmin's (NASDAQ:GRMN) business is looking up. That's been true for about two years now, but the GPS device and wearables specialist recently announced even stronger growth on both the top and bottom lines.