Marcus & Millichap Inc (MMI) Major Shareholder Phoenix Investments Holdings L Sells 3,000 Shares

Marcus & Millichap Inc (NYSE:MMI) major shareholder Phoenix Investments Holdings L sold 3,000 shares of Marcus & Millichap stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.27, for a total transaction of $120,810.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,532,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $665,752,298.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Phoenix Investments Holdings L also recently made the following trade(s):

Get Marcus & Millichap alerts: On Friday, July 27th, Phoenix Investments Holdings L sold 8,000 shares of Marcus & Millichap stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.68, for a total transaction of $325,440.00. On Wednesday, July 25th, Phoenix Investments Holdings L sold 50,000 shares of Marcus & Millichap stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.51, for a total transaction of $2,025,500.00. On Monday, July 23rd, Phoenix Investments Holdings L sold 27,300 shares of Marcus & Millichap stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.11, for a total transaction of $1,095,003.00. On Wednesday, July 18th, Phoenix Investments Holdings L sold 123,425 shares of Marcus & Millichap stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.53, for a total transaction of $5,002,415.25. On Thursday, June 14th, Phoenix Investments Holdings L sold 50,000 shares of Marcus & Millichap stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.32, for a total transaction of $1,916,000.00. On Tuesday, June 12th, Phoenix Investments Holdings L sold 90,303 shares of Marcus & Millichap stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.52, for a total transaction of $3,478,471.56. On Thursday, June 7th, Phoenix Investments Holdings L sold 114,624 shares of Marcus & Millichap stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total transaction of $4,377,490.56. On Friday, June 1st, Phoenix Investments Holdings L sold 7,029 shares of Marcus & Millichap stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.17, for a total transaction of $261,267.93. On Monday, June 4th, Phoenix Investments Holdings L sold 86,056 shares of Marcus & Millichap stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.45, for a total transaction of $3,222,797.20. On Wednesday, May 30th, Phoenix Investments Holdings L sold 108,500 shares of Marcus & Millichap stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.78, for a total transaction of $4,099,130.00.

Shares of Marcus & Millichap opened at $39.90 on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 6.40 and a current ratio of 6.40. Marcus & Millichap Inc has a 1 year low of $24.34 and a 1 year high of $41.45.

Marcus & Millichap (NYSE:MMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.08. Marcus & Millichap had a net margin of 7.76% and a return on equity of 22.22%. The firm had revenue of $174.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. sell-side analysts anticipate that Marcus & Millichap Inc will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in Marcus & Millichap by 98.1% during the fourth quarter. Advisor Group Inc. now owns 3,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Marcus & Millichap by 6.0% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 29,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,078,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Marcus & Millichap by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 151,564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,942,000 after buying an additional 1,850 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Marcus & Millichap by 6.3% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 35,276 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,272,000 after buying an additional 2,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Marcus & Millichap by 36.4% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,842 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 2,358 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.42% of the company’s stock.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Marcus & Millichap to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 2nd. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Marcus & Millichap from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Marcus & Millichap currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $42.67.

Marcus & Millichap Company Profile

Marcus & Millichap, Inc, a brokerage firm, provides investment brokerage and financing services to sellers and buyers of commercial real estate in the United States and Canada. The company offers commercial real estate investment sales, financing, research, and advisory services for multifamily, retail, office, and industrial properties, as well as hospitality, self-storage, seniors housing, land, and manufactured housing properties.

Recommended Story: Short Selling

Here's Why Owens Corning Fell as Much as 14% Today

What happened

Shares of Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) dropped as much as 14% today after the company announced second-quarter 2018 earnings. The manufacturer of roofing materials, building insulation, and composites delivered a relatively solid performance compared to the year-ago period, with revenue up 14% and net income up 26%.

Despite strong year-over-year growth, quarterly earnings per share of $1.09 fell well below Wall Street's expectations for $1.45, according to data compiled by Yahoo! Finance. As of 1:43 p.m. EDT, the stock had settled to a 10.1% loss. Shares have now lost 36% of their value since the beginning of the year.

Image source: Getty Images.

So what

The business isn't necessarily going off the rails, as the stock price might suggest. Rather, Owens Corning is simply facing higher materials costs in 2018 than it has in recent years. Rising crude oil prices are likely the main culprit, especially considering that the roofing segment (dependent on asphalt prices) saw the largest decline in operating margin.

It appears that Wall Street analysts did not factor that into their financial estimates for the business. Consider that the average of all analyst estimates called for second-quarter 2018 EPS of $1.45 and revenue of $1.86 billion. While Owens Corning missed the top-line expectation by less than 2%, it delivered EPS that was 25% lower than expected. The difference in earnings is entirely explained by gross margin.

In the second quarter of 2017, the business enjoyed a gross margin of 25.5%, compared to only 22.9% in the most recent quarter. Although small, the difference cost Owens Corning about $45 million in gross profit in the second quarter of 2018. It turns out that the difference between $1.45 in expected EPS and the $1.09 in actual EPS is $40 million in net income.

Now what

Shares of Owens Corning just can't catch a break from Wall Street lately. While management admits the business is facing higher material costs, the expectation is for the business to pick up momentum in the second half of 2018 and carry that forward into 2019. In fact, the company could capture up to 72% of all earnings before income taxes for the year in the back half of 2018 (when home construction and maintenance peaks). Simply put, instead of panicking with the rest of the market, investors might consider giving this building stock a closer look.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (VRTX) Position Trimmed by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. lowered its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 39.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,031 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 19,440 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $247,701,000. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11,575.0% in the 1st quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 956,067 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $956,000 after buying an additional 947,878 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 19,888,045 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,241,352,000 after buying an additional 478,972 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 69.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 567,351 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $92,465,000 after buying an additional 232,183 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 139.5% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 364,768 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,996,000 after buying an additional 212,481 shares during the period. 93.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Get Vertex Pharmaceuticals alerts:

VRTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus set a $172.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 12th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. ValuEngine raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 2nd. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 27th. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 27th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $189.42.

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Michael Parini sold 2,330 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.50, for a total value of $348,335.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 41,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,269,880.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 4,096 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.63, for a total transaction of $686,612.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 48,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,147,320.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 325,198 shares of company stock worth $52,264,134. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $177.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 221.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.42. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $136.50 and a 52 week high of $183.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 3.53 and a current ratio of 3.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 26th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $641.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $626.05 million. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 15.28%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, develops medicines for serious diseases. The company focuses on developing and commercializing therapies for the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) and advancing its research and development programs. It markets ORKAMBI (lumacaftor in combination with ivacaftor) to treat patients with CF 12 years of age and older who are homozygous for the F508del mutation in their cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene; KALYDECO (ivacaftor) for the treatment of patients with CF who have specific mutations in their CFTR gene, including the G551D mutation; and SYMDEKO (tezacaftor in combination with ivacaftor) to treat patients with CF 12 years of age and older who are F508del homozygous or who have 1 mutation that is responsive to tezacaftor/ivacaftor.

See Also: Price to Earnings Ratio (PE), For Valuing Stocks

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VRTX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX).

How to Keep 2nd-Place Candidates Interested in Your Company

Every once in a lucky while, you'll reach the end of the interview process with two candidates who would both make a great addition to your company. While you might have a hard time deciding between them, ultimately something will tip the scales in one candidate's favor -- perhaps one has more experience under their belt, or possesses hard-to-find skills. It can be tough to let that other candidate know that you've chosen someone else for the job -- but the good news is, you don't need to let them go entirely.

It's always beneficial to nurture relationships with second-place candidates, says Gene Brady, Director at SCN �� Search Consulting Network. "'Second-place' candidates have many times been the one to receive the offer, for a wide variety of reasons -- the first-place candidate withdraws [...] or the first-place candidate doesn't pass the drug or background check. Also, the next assignment that comes in may fit the second-place candidate so nicely they become the first-place candidate for the role!

Image source: Getty Images.

But how exactly can you keep a second-place candidate interested if you don't have an opportunity for them at the moment? Here are a few of the top tips.

Let them down gently

An interested candidate never wants to hear that they didn't get the job, but if you message it correctly, you can leave them feeling good about themselves and open to future opportunities. It shouldn't feel artificially cheery or phony, though -- make sure you're authentic in your response.

"If we think the person is a good fit, we make that known," says Marc Prosser, co-founder of FitSmallBusiness.com. "Often, we, or our recruiter, will have a phone conversation with them that goes like this: 'We had lots of great candidates who applied for the position. We think you would be a great addition to our company, however, [we] have chosen to offer the position to another candidate. Would you be open to hearing from us in the future?'"

You may even want to share specific feedback on why they weren't selected for the role, says Paul Freed, co-founder of Herd Freed Hartz.

"Explain the decision to go with another candidate[...] Offer any interview feedback if needed, but also say it was a tough decision on the team and [we] would love to hire both but just don't have the budget right now and that you'd [like] to stay close for future opportunities," Freed says.

If you know a timeline of when that budget might come in, or when a role fitting their experience and skills may open, make sure to share that with them.

Establish ongoing communication

HR experts agree that the best way to keep a strong candidate interested in your company is to proactively engage with them.

"Emails where you check in are great for nurturing candidates. You can also call or text, asking how everything is going -- maybe asking something about what you discussed during interviews (pursuit of a degree, certification, or other topics)," says hiring and onboarding consultant Jen Teague. "Everyone wants to be memorable for the right reasons, and these modes of contact are a great way to do that. You don't have to become a buddy, just a reference or point of contact for the company. That way, you are fresh in the candidate's mind and he or she will be more likely to apply again the future."

Make sure that this outreach isn't just a one-time thing, though, cautions HR consultant and author Joshua M. Evans.

"Follow up with them every few weeks. This is often overlooked because it is cumbersome, but following up with a potential candidate every few weeks can not only keep [them] interested, it can also build their appreciation for your organization," Evans says.

Other creative ideas for staying in touch with a candidate include sending a monthly update, inviting them to a company open house or even sending them a small gift, Freed says. If you have the budget for it, you may even want to "consider adding this person for an advisory role or consultant for a special project."

And of course, keep candidates in the loop regarding new opportunities.

Message, "email or call the candidates periodically when new jobs are available, and encourage them to apply for jobs on a short-list if they meet qualifications. When there's news about an upcoming hiring phase, notify them and recommend applying if they are interested," says Tes Akhtar, recruiting and HR development consultant for Potent Pages.

Be honest on timing

It's understandable to want to keep a candidate on deck, but if you're interacting with them for months on end and have no idea when a relevant position will open, you need to let them know.

"One important caveat is to NOT lead [candidates] on. Do not give them false hope as your backup plan," Evans says. "Remember that if they were a good fit for your organization then they would probably be a good fit for someone else's. Don't hold them back from progressing their careers because you want them waiting in the wings."

For example, "if a position isn't going to be open for three months, we tell the person up front and let them know we will periodically check in with them," Freed says.

That being said, as long as you're open about what the candidate can expect, there's nothing wrong with engaging them as long as they're still interested.

"There are always future opportunities," Freed adds. "We value relationships, and look to maintain the good ones. Many times we've presented people with multiple opportunities through the years, and then bam -- one lines up well for them, they receive an offer, and it was our sustained relationship that kept the door wide open."

So the next time you have to choose between two stellar candidates, don't lament having to let one of them go -- see it as a valuable opportunity to grow your talent pool.

This article originally appeared on Glassdoor.com.

Why ETF "Herd Investors" Will Always Get Burned

Tim Melvin

Just when I suspect one of America's greatest investors might be digging through my mail… I become convinced he's doing it.

Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital lambasted index investing in his latest investor letter. In this, we're 1,000% agreed: Indexing is a silly, dangerous waste of time (unless you want sub-3% returns… minus fees).

An eagle eye for warding off popular con games like indexing is just one of the reasons Marks is worth about $1.9 billion. Clearly, he knows a thing or two about grabbing unreasonably high returns.

He warned his readers about another return-sapping scheme out there on Wall Street.

It's one I've compared to buying a "ticket on the Hindenburg" and thinking you signed up for a walking tour of the Chicago Botanic Garden.

This is worth a second look – because Marks is actually pointing us toward a much, much more profitable way to invest.

It's an approach I've mastered and profited immensely with for years – and so can you…

Join the conversation. Click here to jump to comments…

Tim Melvin

About the Author

Browse Tim's articles | View Tim's research services

Jane Street Group LLC Takes Position in Brookfield Business Partners LP (BBU)

Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Brookfield Business Partners LP (NYSE:BBU) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,583 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners in the 1st quarter worth about $240,324,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,823,297 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $101,614,000 after buying an additional 61,825 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,373,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,442,000 after buying an additional 150,157 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investments Corp. lifted its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Sentry Investments Corp. now owns 962,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,651,000 after buying an additional 26,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 52.3% in the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 346,706 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,328,000 after buying an additional 119,112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.45% of the company’s stock.

Get Brookfield Business Partners alerts:

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BBU. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Brookfield Business Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Brookfield Business Partners to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “buy” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research report on Monday, April 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, The company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.40.

Shares of NYSE:BBU opened at $38.72 on Thursday. Brookfield Business Partners LP has a fifty-two week low of $27.01 and a fifty-two week high of $41.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 7th. The business services provider reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $8.19 billion during the quarter. Brookfield Business Partners had a negative net margin of 0.08% and a positive return on equity of 5.27%.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 31st were given a $0.063 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 30th. This is an increase from Brookfield Business Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%.

Brookfield Business Partners Company Profile

Akcea Therapeutics Jumps on European Marketing Approval

Akcea Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: AKCA) shares saw a nice bump on Wednesday after the company announced in conjunction with Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IONS) that they had received a marketing authorization approval from the European Commission (EC).

Specifically, this approval is for the treatment, Tegsedi, of stage 1 or stage 2 polyneuropathy in adult patients with hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (hATTR). This follows the positive opinion recommending approval provided by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of European Medicines Agency (EMA).

The EC’s approval of Tegsedi was based on results from the Phase 3 NEURO-TTR study in patients with hATTR with symptoms of polyneuropathy. Results from that study demonstrated that patients treated with Tegsedi experienced significant benefit compared to patients treated with placebo.

Paula Soteropoulos, CEO of Akcea, commented:

With the EC`s decision, TEGSEDI is now the world`s first and only RNA-targeted therapeutic approved for patients with hATTR amyloidosis. With subcutaneous delivery, TEGSEDI puts treatment in the patients` hands while bringing the significant benefits shown in the NEURO-TTR study in both measures of neuropathy and quality of life for people living with this serious and fatal disease. This is an important day for the hATTR amyloidosis community as we believe TEGSEDI enables people and their families impacted by this disease to move forward with their lives. Today is a milestone for Akcea with our first drug approval. It is an achievement we share with the courageous hATTR patient community in Europe and around the globe. We are ready to launch TEGSEDI along with our patient and physician support services across Europe.

Shares of Akcea were last seen up about 3% at $24.96, with a consensus analyst price target of $32.00 and a 52-week trading range of $1.05 to $33.99.

Ionis shares were trading at $45.00, with a consensus price target of $58.50 and a 52-week range of $39.07 to $65.51.

24/7 Wall St.
RBC Raises 2018 and 2019 Oil Price Estimates: 6 Top Picks to Buy Now

Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc (AJRD) Expected to Post Earnings of $0.24 Per Share

Analysts forecast that Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc (NYSE:AJRD) will announce earnings per share (EPS) of $0.24 for the current quarter, according to Zacks. Two analysts have issued estimates for Aerojet Rocketdyne’s earnings, with the lowest EPS estimate coming in at $0.21 and the highest estimate coming in at $0.27. Aerojet Rocketdyne reported earnings of $0.32 per share during the same quarter last year, which would indicate a negative year over year growth rate of 25%. The business is expected to announce its next quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 2nd.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Aerojet Rocketdyne will report full year earnings of $0.97 per share for the current financial year, with EPS estimates ranging from $0.89 to $1.05. For the next financial year, analysts expect that the company will report earnings of $1.15 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $1.09 to $1.20. Zacks’ earnings per share calculations are an average based on a survey of research analysts that that provide coverage for Aerojet Rocketdyne.

Get Aerojet Rocketdyne alerts:

Aerojet Rocketdyne (NYSE:AJRD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 1st. The aerospace company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $492.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $417.68 million. Aerojet Rocketdyne had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a positive return on equity of 46.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.08 EPS.

AJRD has been the subject of several recent research reports. ValuEngine raised Aerojet Rocketdyne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 2nd. Zacks Investment Research raised Aerojet Rocketdyne from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.33.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Aerojet Rocketdyne by 1.5% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 139,811 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,911,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Aerojet Rocketdyne by 2.3% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 111,200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,110,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in Aerojet Rocketdyne by 2.1% during the first quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 126,057 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,526,000 after purchasing an additional 2,650 shares during the period. Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Aerojet Rocketdyne by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,995 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 2,683 shares during the period. Finally, OppenheimerFunds Inc. grew its stake in Aerojet Rocketdyne by 7.5% during the first quarter. OppenheimerFunds Inc. now owns 43,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 3,001 shares during the period. 97.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shares of AJRD stock traded up $0.05 on Wednesday, hitting $29.75. The company had a trading volume of 13,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 574,644. The stock has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.19, a PEG ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47. Aerojet Rocketdyne has a twelve month low of $21.35 and a twelve month high of $36.25.

About Aerojet Rocketdyne

Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and sells aerospace and defense products and systems in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Aerospace and Defense, and Real Estate. The Aerospace and Defense segment offers aerospace and defense products and systems for the United States government, including the Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and aerospace and defense prime contractors.

Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Aerojet Rocketdyne (AJRD)

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

Cabbage Trading 1.3% Higher This Week (CAB)

Cabbage (CURRENCY:CAB) traded 5.2% lower against the dollar during the 24-hour period ending at 11:00 AM Eastern on July 7th. One Cabbage coin can now be purchased for approximately $0.0025 or 0.00000038 BTC on exchanges. Cabbage has a total market cap of $26,118.00 and $25.00 worth of Cabbage was traded on exchanges in the last day. Over the last seven days, Cabbage has traded 1.3% higher against the dollar.

Here’s how other cryptocurrencies have performed over the last day:

Get Cabbage alerts: OmiseGO (OMG) traded down 3.3% against the dollar and now trades at $7.71 or 0.00117807 BTC. Wanchain (WAN) traded down 3.6% against the dollar and now trades at $2.32 or 0.00035507 BTC. Ardor (ARDR) traded 2.3% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.16 or 0.00002467 BTC. Mithril (MITH) traded 12.5% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.46 or 0.00007087 BTC. Raiden Network Token (RDN) traded up 1.1% against the dollar and now trades at $0.80 or 0.00012200 BTC. Quantum Resistant Ledger (QRL) traded 2.9% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.47 or 0.00007188 BTC. DECENT (DCT) traded 1.8% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.37 or 0.00005617 BTC. ION (ION) traded up 0.3% against the dollar and now trades at $0.87 or 0.00013304 BTC. Fluz Fluz (FLUZ) traded 10.3% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0213 or 0.00000325 BTC. FidentiaX (FDX) traded up 7.6% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0250 or 0.00000382 BTC.

Cabbage Coin Profile

CAB uses the hashing algorithm. Cabbage’s total supply is 10,499,996 coins. Cabbage’s official website is www.cabbage.tech. Cabbage’s official Twitter account is @cabbagetech.

Cabbage Coin Trading

Cabbage can be purchased on these cryptocurrency exchanges: YoBit. It is usually not presently possible to buy alternative cryptocurrencies such as Cabbage directly using US dollars. Investors seeking to acquire Cabbage should first buy Bitcoin or Ethereum using an exchange that deals in US dollars such as GDAX, Changelly or Coinbase. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Bitcoin or Ethereum to buy Cabbage using one of the exchanges listed above.

new TradingView.widget({ “height”: 400, “width”: 650, “symbol”: “CABUSD”, “interval”: “D”, “timezone”: “Etc/UTC”, “theme”: “White”, “style”: “1”, “locale”: “en”, “toolbar_bg”: “#f1f3f6”, “enable_publishing”: false, “hideideas”: true, “referral_id”: “2588”});

First Horizon National (FHN) Scheduled to Post Earnings on Thursday

First Horizon National (NYSE:FHN) will be posting its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, July 12th.

First Horizon National (NYSE:FHN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.04. First Horizon National had a return on equity of 9.37% and a net margin of 12.30%. The business had revenue of $437.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $438.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 42.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect First Horizon National to post $1 EPS for the current fiscal year and $2 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Get First Horizon National alerts:

FHN opened at $17.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.92. First Horizon National has a one year low of $15.84 and a one year high of $20.86. The stock has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a PE ratio of 16.05, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.98.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 7th. First Horizon National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.24%.

A number of research firms have recently commented on FHN. ValuEngine cut First Horizon National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Hovde Group upgraded First Horizon National from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 29th. FIG Partners upgraded First Horizon National from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 16th. Piper Jaffray Companies began coverage on First Horizon National in a research report on Monday, April 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Co upgraded First Horizon National from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. First Horizon National presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $22.17.

About First Horizon National

First Horizon National Corporation operates as the bank holding company for First Tennessee Bank National Association that provides various financial services. It operates through four segments: Regional Banking, Fixed Income, Corporate, and Non-Strategic. The company offers general banking services for consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments.

Zacks: Brokerages Expect Mercury Systems Inc (MRCY) Will Announce Quarterly Sales of $149.60 Million

Equities research analysts expect Mercury Systems Inc (NASDAQ:MRCY) to announce $149.60 million in sales for the current quarter, Zacks reports. Four analysts have made estimates for Mercury Systems’ earnings, with estimates ranging from $148.50 million to $152.03 million. Mercury Systems reported sales of $115.61 million during the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year over year growth rate of 29.4%. The company is expected to issue its next earnings report on Tuesday, August 7th.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Mercury Systems will report full-year sales of $489.93 million for the current financial year, with estimates ranging from $488.80 million to $492.34 million. For the next year, analysts expect that the company will post sales of $572.06 million per share, with estimates ranging from $566.89 million to $585.21 million. Zacks Investment Research’s sales calculations are a mean average based on a survey of analysts that that provide coverage for Mercury Systems.

Get Mercury Systems alerts:

Mercury Systems (NASDAQ:MRCY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $116.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $128.45 million. Mercury Systems had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 6.83%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share.

MRCY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Mercury Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of Mercury Systems in a report on Thursday, April 26th. ValuEngine lowered shares of Mercury Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Mercury Systems from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.33.

Shares of NASDAQ:MRCY opened at $38.54 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.44. Mercury Systems has a 1-year low of $30.11 and a 1-year high of $55.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.47, a current ratio of 3.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

In other news, CFO Michael Ruppert acquired 3,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $32.66 per share, with a total value of $101,246.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 120,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,930,500.36. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MRCY. Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mercury Systems by 70.1% during the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Inc. now owns 4,347 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 1,791 shares during the period. Miles Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury Systems during the 1st quarter valued at $237,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury Systems during the 1st quarter valued at $264,000. First Mercantile Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Mercury Systems by 35.5% during the 1st quarter. First Mercantile Trust Co. now owns 5,721 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 1,498 shares during the period. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mercury Systems by 14,884.2% during the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 5,694 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 5,656 shares during the period. 96.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Mercury Systems

Mercury Systems, Inc provides sensor and safety critical mission processing subsystems for various critical defense and intelligence programs in the United States. The company's products and solutions are deployed in approximately 300 programs with 25 defense prime contractors. Its principal programs include Aegis, Patriot, Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program, Gorgon Stare, Predator, F-35, Reaper, F-16 SABR, E2D Hawkeye, and Paveway.

Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Mercury Systems (MRCY)

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

U-Haul Parent Amerco Posts an Adjusted Earnings Loss

Amerco (NASDAQ:UHAL) reported its fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2018 earnings after the market closed on Wednesday. For the quarter, the parent company of the do-it-yourself moving leader and self-storage player U-Haul, which also has two insurance company subsidiaries, grew revenue 6.8% year over year. Adjusted for one-time factors, it posted a loss of $0.28 per share, versus earnings per share (EPS) of $0.49 in the�year-ago quarter.�

The market's reaction was muted, with shares of Amerco essentially flat in after-hours trading on Wednesday.�

Image source: Getty Images.

Amerco earnings: The raw numbers

Metric

Fiscal Q4 2018

Fiscal Q4 2017

Year-Over-Year Change

Revenue	$757.6 million	$709.4 million	6.8%
Operating income	$2.8 million	$43.7 million	(94%)
Net income	$10.8 million	$9.5 million	13.7%
GAAP earnings per share	$0.56	$0.49	14.3%
Adjusted EPS	($0.28)	$0.49	N/A

Data source: Amerco. GAAP = generally accepted accounting principles.

The GAAP results include�a $16.5 million, or $0.84 per share, benefit resulting from the Tax Reform Act. The adjusted EPS result excludes this benefit.

For fiscal 2018, revenue rose 5.3% year over year to $3.60 billion, net income jumped 98% to $790.6 million, or $40.36 per share, and adjusted EPS declined 24% to $14.86. The fiscal 2018 adjusted EPS result excludes an $18.16 per share benefit associated with tax reform and an after-tax benefit of $7.34 per share from the sale of a portion of Amerco's Chelsea, New York, property.�

What happened with Amerco in the quarter? Revenue in the U-Haul segment, which accounted for 89.8% of the company's total revenue, increased 7.5% from the year-ago period to $680.4 million. Revenue in the insurance segment (comprised of one property casualty and one life insurance company) edged up 1.6% to $79.3 million. (Revenue from the two segments adds up to a bit more than the company's total revenue because there's a small revenue elimination, which excludes the sale of goods and services between the two business units.) Within the U-Haul segment, self-moving equipment rental revenue grew 6.7% from the year-ago period to $494.5 million. Within the U-Haul segment, self-storage revenue rose 13.3% to $84.6 million.� Room count grew to 366,000 at the end of the quarter compared to 318,000 at the end of the year-ago period. Average occupancy rate based on room count was 68.9%, down from 72.2% in the year-ago period. DIY moving and self-storage product and service sales revenue increased 4.4% to $56.2 million, while property management fees grew 1.7% to $6.1 million. These are fees the company collects from managing self-storage units owned by others. The U-Haul segment posted an operating loss of $11.1 million, versus a gain of $29.0 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017. One main reason for this was that fleet maintenance and repair costs increased $17.9 million over the year-ago quarter. Also, the company gave out�bonuses to employees totaling about $20.3 million, which was essentially a sharing-the-wealth type of thing stemming from tax reform. Operating income in the insurance segment declined 6.1% to $14.2 million. (Operating results from the two segments adds up to slightly more than the company's total operating income because of the elimination previously mentioned.)� What management had to say

Here's what CEO Joe Shoen had to say in the press release:

Customer demand for our self-moving and self-storage products remains steady. We made progress in managing the sale of our pickups and cargo vans during the quarter but more work remains. We continue to invest in self-storage, the rental fleet and technology for the long-term.

Looking ahead

Amerco had a challenging quarter. Operating income declined markedly in the quarter, and on an adjusted basis, the company posted a bottom-line loss. It's been struggling with increased maintenance and repair costs for its vehicles, particularly those nearing resale. Increased depreciation on its vehicles has also been hurting reported earnings, but depreciation is a noncash expense.

Amerco doesn't provide guidance. There's also just a single Wall Street analyst who provides annual estimates, making them of little value.

Buy State Bank of India; target of Rs 360: JM Financial

JM Financial's research report on State Bank of India

SBIN's 4QFY18 loss of INR 77.2bn marks large cleanup of balance sheet with a) Non-NPL stressed loans declining to just 1.9% of loans, b) 180 bps increase in provision cover on a QoQ basis to 50.4%. Moreover, management has indicated that this new watchlist subsumes all ex-NPL stress on the loan book, and includes all corporate SMA2 loans as well as some SMA1 loans.

Outlook

We believe there could be a potential upside risk to our RoA estimates as credit cost returns to normalcy. We value SBIN at 1.5x fully adjusted FY20E BVPS with subsidiaries contributing INR 82 to our TP. Maintain BUY with revised 12M TP of INR 360/sh.

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

Rivals Rise Up to Threaten Tesla's Battery Business

Batteries to run cars. Batteries to store solar power. Batteries ... to prevent blackouts.

Everywhere you look in the field of battery technology,�Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) seems to be there already. The company's even building a battery�gigafactory in the Nevada desert�to keep its battery empire well-supplied, and one of the reasons for this is that Tesla is rapidly outgrowing its origins as a car company, and finding new ways to make money by building huge, utility-scale energy storage complexes to help electricity companies shore up the stability of their electric grids.

It's a lucrative business -- and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) wants in.

Lithium ions are great for storing electricity, but does a utility really need to use ultra-lightweight, ultra-expensive lithium? Image source: Getty Images.

Lockheed looks for electricity

Last month, Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) announced that it's found a way to make storage batteries for a whole lot cheaper than what lithium-ion batteries currently cost -- by forgoing the lithium.

Now, Lockheed might seem a strange candidate to come up with such a plan. Most investors probably know Lockheed Martin only as a defense giant. And yet, Lockheed Martin also has an active side business in green and renewable technologies, covering everything from generating power from ocean waves to filtering out salt to create potable water�to�nuclear fusion.

And this is the direction in which Lockheed is leaning with its latest venture. As explained in a�Reuters�story, Lockheed is working to develop a "flow" battery that utilities can use to store their energy and stabilize their electric grids. Because utilities tend to be geographically grounded, and not move around a lot, light-weighing lithium metal isn't a sine qua non in the batteries they use. Simply put, cost trumps lightness when it comes to building utility-scale batteries.

Playing to this strength, Lockheed says its new battery technology will be made from nontoxic rare-earth metals and chemicals dissolved in a water solution to hold their charge. These materials will be cheap, but not necessarily lightweight like lithium.

Context: Competition is heating up for Tesla

Will Lockheed Martin's new battery initiative upset Tesla's recent success in building utility-scale batteries? Actually, Tesla is already encountering some competition here. After winning one Australian energy storage deal (for 129 megawatts) last year, then a second (for 250 megawatts of "distributed" storage) this year, Tesla was tapped a third time to build a 25 megawatt energy storage facility co-located with the Gannawarra Solar Farm near Kerang, Victoria. (Tesla has also built a smaller 20 megawatt battery system supporting a wind farm at the Bulgana Green Power Hub in Western Victoria.)

These weren't the only energy storage projects that came up for bid recently, however. Yet another project -- 30 megawatts of storage -- was awarded to AES (NYSE:AES) and Siemens' (NASDAQOTH:SIEGY) joint venture Fluence, a start-up those companies set up specifically to compete with Tesla in this growing market. It will be installed at�the Ballarat terminal station, owned by AusNet, and operated by EnergyAustralia.

Fluence offers storage in three formats: "Siestorage" (billed as providing "lightning fast energy"), Advancion (designed for "dependability"), and SunFlex (tailored to provide "maximum solar yield") -- each apparently utilizing lithium-ion batteries such as Tesla uses. The company has not revealed which of these solutions will be employed in Australia.

Fluence, incidentally, is also the company behind the biggest energy storage project in Tesla's home market of the United States. In January, AES and Siemens announced�they received the necessary "approvals and authorizations" to proceed with a "100 MW/400 MWh"�energy storage project in Long Beach, California, dubbed the Alamitos power center energy storage project. Said project will provide backup power to Southern California Edison in western Los Angeles.

Why it matters to investors

As I've pointed out previously, Tesla's energy storage business produces better gross margins than its better-known electric car business -- where Tesla's also been feeling some heat from the competition as General Motors' electric Bolt steals sales from impatient would-be Tesla Model 3 buyers, and Volkswagen gears up for a major push into electric vehicles.�Now, as Tesla faces down a whole host of imitators in the electric car market, its more profitable energy storage business is also coming under attack -- an attack that will only get more intense when Lockheed brings its new flow batteries to market next year.

With AES, Siemens, and now Lockheed Martin gunning for Tesla's surprisingly successful energy storage business, things could soon be looking grim for Tesla.

5,457 Shares in Avangrid (AGR) Acquired by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Avangrid (NYSE:AGR) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Avangrid by 56.6% in the fourth quarter. Advisor Group Inc. now owns 3,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 1,110 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in shares of Avangrid in the fourth quarter worth about $166,000. Wealthstreet Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avangrid in the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group purchased a new position in shares of Avangrid in the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avangrid in the fourth quarter worth about $216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.88% of the company’s stock.

Get Avangrid alerts:

Several research analysts have recently commented on AGR shares. Gabelli reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Avangrid in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Guggenheim set a $55.00 price objective on Avangrid and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective (up previously from $52.00) on shares of Avangrid in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. ValuEngine upgraded Avangrid from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Avangrid in a report on Friday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Avangrid currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.21.

Shares of Avangrid opened at $53.39 on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. Avangrid has a 1 year low of $43.13 and a 1 year high of $54.55. The stock has a market cap of $16.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Avangrid (NYSE:AGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.01). Avangrid had a net margin of 6.36% and a return on equity of 4.59%. The business had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. analysts expect that Avangrid will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 7th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. Avangrid’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.64%.

About Avangrid

Avangrid, Inc operates as an energy services holding company in the United States. It engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity, as well as distribution, transportation, and sale of natural gas. As of December 31, 2017, the company delivered electricity to approximately 2.2 million electric utility customers, as well as natural gas to approximately 1 million natural gas public utility customers; and owned approximately 67.5 billion cubic feet of net working gas storage capacity.

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

Gold prices to trade sideways today: Angel Commodities

Angel Commodities' report on Gold

On Thursday, spot gold prices rose around 1 percent to close at� $ 1304.5 per ounce as risk aversion witnessed a spurt after� news that US President Trump has cancelled a summit with North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un. Also, weaker U.S. dollar as investors interpreted minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting as dovish, boosted na upside. Most Federal Reserve policymakers thought it likely another interest rate increase would be warranted "soon" if the U.S. economic outlook remains intact, minutes of the central bank's last policy meeting showed. Policymakers once again debated the inflation path. Several noted that recent wage data provided "little evidence" of overheating in the labor market, while some others saw a risk that "supply constraints would intensify upward wage and price pressures, or that financial imbalances could emerge." On the MCX, gold prices rose 0. 9 percent to close at Rs.31752/10gms.

Outlook
We expect gold prices to trade sideways today as latest cancelled meeting between US - north Korea Presidents�� will keep the markets tense. Also, policy makers remained concerned about the labour market while US economic outlook remains intact which can warrant rate hike in the near future. On the MCX, gold prices are expected to trade sideways today; international markets are trading marginally lower by 0.2 percent at $ 1302.3 per ounce.

For all commodities 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

Deutsche Bank chairman defends CEO replacement

FRANKFURT--Deutsche Bank AG (DBK.XE) Chairman Paul Achleitner defended the supervisory board's decision last month to replace Chief Executive John Cryan, calling the change "unavoidable," in a speech to investors Thursday at the lender's annual meeting.

Mr. Achleitner has come under fire from shareholders for what some view as a botched management changeover reflecting deeper turmoil and strategic uncertainty at the bank.

Management-board conflicts were getting out of hand and stalling important decisions under Mr. Cryan, Mr. Achleitner said Thursday, citing "increasing differences of opinion" in the executive ranks.

Career Deutsche Bank employee Christian Sewing, who replaced Mr. Cryan as CEO after serving as the bank's top retail-banking and senior audit executive, was the supervisory board's "first choice" to fill the top job, Mr. Achleitner said.

Mr. Achleitner said leaks of internal information and speculation accelerated the CEO change in March and April. The supervisory board had hoped to announce a new CEO at Thursday's annual meeting, not April 8 as it ended up doing, Mr. Achleitner said.

He credited Mr. Cryan with improving Deutsche Bank's internal controls and its relationships with regulators. Mr. Cryan also helped the bank boost its capital position and make key decisions such as exiting 10 countries to focus on more important markets, Mr. Achleitner said.

Write to Jenny Strasburg at Jenny.strasburg@wsj.com

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now

tags:XHR,XON,EMKR,SO,DJCO,COUP,WM,XEL,COB,LN,

Natural gas for transportation leader Clean Energy Fuels Corp (NASDAQ:CLNE) has steadily grown and improved the quality of its business and business results over the past several years. Today's Clean Energy Fuels is leaner, has a stronger balance sheet, and is in a solid position as a market leader in a growth industry.�

But is the stock undervalued? By one metric, book value per share, it looks downright cheap. But management used a massive amount of stock to make ends meet over the past 18 months, destroying a significant amount of shareholder value in the process. Still, the loss of an important tax credit will have multimillion-dollar implications, and the sale of a very profitable part of the business raises questions about the company's ability to generate positive cash flows this year.�

Image source: Getty Images.

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: Xenia Hotels & Resorts, Inc.(XHR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Chicago Equity Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Xenia Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:XHR) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 330,625 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 9,325 shares during the quarter. Chicago Equity Partners LLC owned 0.31% of Xenia Hotels & Resorts worth $6,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) and Xenia Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:XHR) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, profitability and valuation.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in Xenia Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:XHR) by 18.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,446,848 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 679,100 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 4.16% of Xenia Hotels & Resorts worth $87,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: Intrexon Corporation(XON)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap synthetic biology Intrexon Corp (NYSE: XON) has elevated short interest of 33.93% according to Highshortinterest.com. Intrexon Corp says its���powering the Bioindustrial Revolution with Better DNA�⒙�to create biologically-based products that improve the quality of life and the health of the planet.�� The Company��s�integrated technology suite provides its partners across diverse markets with industrial-scale design and development of complex biological systems delivering unprecedented control, quality, function and performance of living cells.�

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Friday was a relatively quiet day on Wall Street, with major market benchmarks finishing narrowly mixed for the session. Weekly gains were still substantial for the indexes, however, as investors grew confident that the economy is walking the fine line between avoiding a recession and growing so fast that it spurs the Federal Reserve to tighten monetary policy aggressively. Yet even though most stocks held up well, some individual companies had bad news that sent their shares lower. Ultra Petroleum (NASDAQ:UPL), Intrexon (NYSE:XON), and News Corp. (NASDAQ:NWSA) were among the worst performers on the day. Here's why they did so poorly.

• [By Todd Campbell]

  After the company reported disappointing first-quarter financial results, including worse-than-expected revenue performance, shares in Intrexon Corp.�(NYSE:XON) were down by 20% at 3:15 p.m. EDT Friday.

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: EMCORE Corporation(EMKR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap fiber-optic networking product Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ: AAOI), a potential peer of EMCORE Corporation (NASDAQ: EMKR), Finisar Corporation (NASDAQ: FNSR) and Oclaro Inc (NASDAQ: OCLR), is the�most�shorted stock on the�NASDAQ with short interest of 62.65% according to Highshortnterest.com.

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: Southern Company (SO)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  The Southern Company (NYSE: SO) dropped about 2% Tuesday to post a 52-week low of $43.16 after closing at $44.04 on Monday. The 52-week high is $53.51. Volume was around 7.3 million, about 35% higher than the daily average. The company had no specific news.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  The Southern Co. (NYSE: SO) traded down about 1.9% Thursday and posted a new 52-week low of $45.08 after closing Wednesday at $45.96. The 52-week high is $53.51. Volume was about 5.4 million, about 15% above the daily average of around 4.8 million shares. The company had no specific news Thursday.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  The Southern Co. (NYSE: SO) traded down about 2.9% Wednesday and posted a new 52-week low of $45.81 after closing Tuesday at $47.20. The 52-week high is $53.51. Volume was about 5.5 million, about 15% above the daily average of around 4.8 million shares. The company had no specific news Wednesday.

• [By Reuben Gregg Brewer]

  My timing, however, isn't always so good, and I sometimes get in too early. But owning a great dividend-paying company at a fair price is better than owning a bad company at any price. Which is why I'm happy to have bought U.S. utility giant The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) and healthcare real estate investment trust (REIT) Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR). And I'll be just as happy if they fall further from here.

• [By ]

  And while it's imperative that you don't risk money you're going to count on in the next several years in investments that can quickly lose a lot of value and be very slow to -- if ever -- recover, high-quality dividend stocks can still serve an important part in providing the best mix of income for today and long-term capital appreciation for down the road. To help you find the best dividend stocks for your retirement, three Motley Fool investors did some research and came back with Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS), Southern Co. (NYSE:SO), and Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE:KMI).

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  QCI Asset Management Inc. NY trimmed its stake in Southern (NYSE:SO) by 91.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 182,905 shares during the quarter. QCI Asset Management Inc. NY’s holdings in Southern were worth $733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: Daily Journal Corp. (S.C.)(DJCO)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  BidaskClub downgraded shares of Daily Journal (NASDAQ:DJCO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

  Separately, TheStreet raised shares of Daily Journal from a c- rating to a b rating in a report on Monday, February 12th.

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: Coupa Software Incorporated (COUP)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Coupa (NASDAQ:COUP) CRO Steven M. Winter sold 11,336 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.24, for a total transaction of $614,864.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now directly owns 12,480 shares in the company, valued at $676,915.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: Waste Management, Inc.(WM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  For his "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer spoke with Jim Fish, president and CEO of Waste Management (WM) , which just posted an eight-cents-a-share earnings beat, but saw shares decline as investors worry over the impact of trade wars with China on the company's recycling business.

• [By Tyler Crowe, Reuben Gregg Brewer, and Travis Hoium]

  Finding investments that can reward you over such long periods can do miracles for your portfolio -- as long as you can find the right ones. So we asked three Motley Fool investors to highlight a stock they see as a great investment with solid growth prospects over the next 25 years. Here's why they picked W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW), Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN), and Waste Management (NYSE:WM).

• [By ]

  In the Lightning Round, Cramer was bullish on The Blackstone Group (BX) , Nvidia  (NVDA) , Amgen (AMGN) , Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) , Hasbro (HAS) and Waste Management (WM) .

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: Xcel Energy Inc.(XEL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  The rise of wind power wouldn't have been possible without two companies in particular, which combine to own 20.7 gigawatts of wind capacity, or about 24% of the country's total. Investors wouldn't be surprised to learn that clean energy provider NextEra Energy is one of the renewable energy stocks most important to American wind power.�However, the relatively unheard of natural gas and electric utility Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) doesn't seem to garner nearly the same level of attention. Overlooking it could be a mistake.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Xcel Energy Inc (NYSE:XEL) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.00.

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: CommunityOne Bancorp(COB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Cobinhood (CURRENCY:COB) traded up 4.7% against the U.S. dollar during the 1 day period ending at 23:00 PM Eastern on May 16th. One Cobinhood token can currently be purchased for approximately $0.0862 or 0.00001024 BTC on exchanges including Mercatox, Cobinhood and EtherDelta (ForkDelta). During the last week, Cobinhood has traded 9.9% lower against the U.S. dollar. Cobinhood has a total market capitalization of $31.24 million and $16,592.00 worth of Cobinhood was traded on exchanges in the last day.

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: LINE Corporation (LN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  But as platforms such as Line (LN) and Tencent's (TCEHY) WeChat show, Messenger and WhatsApp each have tremendous potential to be monetized through some mixture of ads, payments, e-commerce services and in-app transactions. WeChat, which just topped 1 billion MAUs, is believed to have accounted for a healthy portion of the $36.4 billion in revenue Tencent produced last year. Line, which had 168 million MAUs at the end of last year, had 2017 revenue of 167 billion yen ($1.56 billion).

AptarGroup (ATR) Now Covered by Analysts at Jefferies Group

Jefferies Group began coverage on shares of AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $99.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock. Jefferies Group also issued estimates for AptarGroup’s FY2019 earnings at $4.25 EPS, FY2020 earnings at $4.90 EPS and FY2021 earnings at $5.55 EPS.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on ATR. Zacks Investment Research upgraded AptarGroup from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $98.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. KeyCorp reiterated a hold rating on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Friday, April 27th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a hold rating and issued a $92.00 price target on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. ValuEngine upgraded AptarGroup from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo reiterated a market perform rating and issued a $90.00 price target (up from $83.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $90.57.

Get AptarGroup alerts:

AptarGroup traded up $0.27, reaching $93.56, on Friday, according to Marketbeat. 272,286 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 390,475. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a PE ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.79. AptarGroup has a 12 month low of $79.97 and a 12 month high of $96.39.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.06. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 8.85%. The business had revenue of $703.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $674.84 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. research analysts expect that AptarGroup will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 8th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.21%.

In related news, Director Stephen J. Hagge sold 5,612 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.65, for a total transaction of $497,503.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 84,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,446,688.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director King W. Harris sold 68,985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.99, for a total value of $6,207,960.15. Following the transaction, the director now owns 193,474 shares in the company, valued at $17,410,725.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 216,090 shares of company stock worth $19,689,075. 5.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in AptarGroup by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,366,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $482,069,000 after buying an additional 194,562 shares during the last quarter. Atlanta Capital Management Co. L L C grew its stake in AptarGroup by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Atlanta Capital Management Co. L L C now owns 3,872,169 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $347,837,000 after buying an additional 282,170 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in AptarGroup by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,923,289 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $172,770,000 after buying an additional 313,441 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in AptarGroup by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,739,675 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $156,275,000 after buying an additional 12,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BTIM Corp. grew its stake in AptarGroup by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. BTIM Corp. now owns 986,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $85,096,000 after buying an additional 38,201 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.19% of the company’s stock.

About AptarGroup

AptarGroup, Inc provides a range of packaging, dispensing, and sealing solutions, primarily for the beauty, personal care, home care, prescription drug, consumer health care, injectable, and food and beverage markets. The company operates in three segments: Beauty + Home, Pharma, and Food + Beverage.

'Deadpool' franchise is a box office rarity: An R-rated hit

Analysts are predicting that "Deadpool 2" will have a big opening at around $130 million this weekend, but that's hardly news these days considering the string of successful Marvel superhero films like "Black Panther" and "Avengers: Infinity War."

20th Century Fox's "Deadpool" franchise, however, is different from The Avengers at Disney and nearly every superhero movie in one way that makes its box office achievements even more impressive: It's rated R.

When it comes to blockbusters, ratings matter. According to comScore (SCOR), the highest-grossing R-rated film on the all-time domestic box office list is 2004's "The Passion of the Christ," which comes in at No. 38. The top ten films of all time, three of which are from Disney's Marvel Studios, are all PG-13.

The original "Deadpool" found an audience despite its R rating, making $363 million domestically in 2016. The film comes in at No. 42 on comScore's list, the next R-rated movie to make the cut after "Passion of the Christ." "Deadpool" also holds the record for biggest opening for an R-rated film.

With its R-rating, "Deadpool" audiences were treated to a superhero film that pulled no punches. The film, which stars Ryan Reynolds as the titular hero, was replete with violence, sex and swearing. It was a self-referential and raunchy spoof of the entire superhero genre. This allowed it to stand out in an incredibly saturated market and even gave it some Oscar buzz.

"Deadpool 2" looks to capitalize on that success. With a strong $18.6 million opening on Thursday night, it will likely unseat "Infinity War" as the current king of the box office this weekend. But is "Deadpool's" R-rating going to keep it from being an even bigger hit?

"Part of the character's secret sauce is the vulgar irreverence that isn't going to make a PG-13 cut under our existing rating system," said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com.

Robbins added that "Deadpool" is "oddly akin" to some of the most successful comic book films because it's popular with both adults and kids and even though some teenagers won't be able to buy a ticket, you can't water down the film for a rating.

"Then 'Deadpool' stops being 'Deadpool,'" he said.

And it's not just "Deadpool" that has bucked the PG-13 comic book trend. Fox had another R-rated superhero hit with last year's "Logan," a gritty film about X-Men's Wolverine. "Logan" amassed solid box office numbers and received an Oscar nomination, which is rare for a superhero film.

Disney is on track to buy most of 21st Century Fox, including its film studio, for $52.4 billion. That deal could bring Deadpool into the fold at Marvel Studios alongside The Avengers, but Disney's acquisition might change the R-rated antics of the fouled mouth hero since the house of mouse is built on a foundation of family friendly films.

However, Disney CEO Bob Iger said in March that there are no plans to change Fox Searchlight, the independent film arm of the studio that makes many R-rated films, so the company may not intend to squeeze everything through a Disney filter.

The potential future of "Deadpool" under the Disney umbrella did not go unnoticed by Reynolds, who joked about the subject when Disney announced the deal in December.

"Time to uncork that explosive sexual tension between Deadpool and Mickey Mouse," he tweeted.