Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2019

tags:INSM,HIIQ,SUM,ITT,ZAIS,BELFB,NG,LSI,XCRA,GDV,

At first, the gifts seemed innocent enough: a free dinner and a private helicopter tour over the Grand Canyon. By the end of it, though, the Polish official was standing in a Warsaw parking lot, accepting $100,000 in bags of cash, given to him in exchange for multi-million-dollar government contracts.

You might be thinking that this government employee was being paid off by the mafia or some shadowy military contractor, but think again: According to the SEC and Polish prosecutors, the official was allegedly bribed by white-collar executives within Hewlett Packard (NYSE:HPQ) and IBM (NYSE:IBM), the American blue chip technology firms.

In 2014, the SEC charged HP with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in Poland. At the time, the agency explained HP executives "provided gifts and cash bribes worth more than $600,000 to a Polish government official to obtain contracts with the national police agency."

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Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2019: Insmed, Inc.(INSM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Insmed Inc. (NASDAQ: INSM) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

  Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Needham, based on the run-up in shares and on a harder earnings comparison that will be harder to beat. Lululemon was up 1% at $96.31 but was down 2% at $94.30 on Monday. It had a consensus target price of $89.93.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Check-Cap Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHEK) shares rose 78.82 percent to close at $7.26 on Monday. GEE Group, Inc. (NYSE: JOB) shares jumped 18 percent to close at $2.36. McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE: MDR) climbed 15.7 percent to close at $7.00 after the UK-based offshore oil service company Subsea 7 made an unsolicited bid to buy McDermott for $7 per share. However, the acquisition offer is contingent on McDermot terminating its pending merger with Chicago Bridge & Iron Company. Foresight Autonomous Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ: FRSX) gained 17.21 percent to close at $3.61. Stars Group Inc. (NASDAQ: TSG) rose 14.16 percent to close at $33.45. Stars Group Inc (NASDAQ: TSG) announced plans to acquire Sky Betting & Gaming for $4.7 billion. China Internet Nationwide Financial Services Inc. (NASDAQ: CIFS) shares jumped 12.79 percent to close at $25.58. Nautilus, Inc. (NYSE: NLS) shares gained 11.52 percent to close at $15.00. Nautilus is expected to release Q1 results on May 7, 2018. Craig-Hallum initiated coverage on Nautilus with a Buy rating and a $19.00 price target. Box, Inc. (NYSE: BOX) rose 10.94 percent to close at $22.91. Insmed Incorporated (NASDAQ: INSM) shares rose 10.76 percent to close at $26.05. Credit Suisse upgraded Insmed from Neutral to Outperform. NextDecade Corporation (NASDAQ: NEXT) shares rose 10.02 percent to close at $6.48. Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc. (NASDAQ: HMNY) shares gained 8.37 percent to close at $2.46 on Monday after falling 10.98 percent on Friday. Cambium Learning Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABCD) shares gained 7.81 percent to close at $11.11. Vectren Corporation (NYSE: VVC) shares rose 7.26 percent to close at $70.31. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) announced plans to acquire Vectren for $72 per share in cash. Tennant Company (NYSE: TNC) rose 6.66 percent to close at $74.45 after the company posted upbeat Q1 results and raised its FY18 earnings outlook. Hanesbrands Inc.
• [By Lisa Levin]

  Insmed Incorporated (NASDAQ: INSM) shares were also up, gaining 9 percent to $25.57. Credit Suisse upgraded Insmed from Neutral to Outperform.

  Equities Trading DOWN

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2019: Health Insurance Innovations, Inc.(HIIQ)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Health Insurance Innovations (NASDAQ:HIIQ) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. Approximately 2,255,517 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 457% from the previous session’s volume of 404,884 shares.The stock last traded at $28.70 and had previously closed at $27.65.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Health Insurance Innovations (NASDAQ: HIIQ) and Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD.B) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Health Insurance Innovations (HIIQ)

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

• [By Max Byerly]

  These are some of the headlines that may have effected Accern Sentiment’s scoring:

  Get Health Insurance Innovations alerts: Health Insurance Innovations (HIIQ) and Brown & Brown (BRO) Critical Survey (americanbankingnews.com) Founder of Tampa health insurance company is out (finance.yahoo.com) Cantor Fitzgerald Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Health Insurance Innovations (HIIQ) (americanbankingnews.com) Health Insurance Innovations founder out (seekingalpha.com) Health Insurance Innovations (HIIQ) Insider Michael W. Kosloske Sells 1,300,000 Shares (americanbankingnews.com)

  Shares of Health Insurance Innovations opened at $34.35 on Tuesday, according to Marketbeat.com. Health Insurance Innovations has a 1 year low of $12.65 and a 1 year high of $37.38. The stock has a market cap of $559.65 million, a PE ratio of 24.20 and a beta of 0.55.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2019: Summit Materials, Inc.(SUM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Summit Materials Inc. (NYSE: SUM) traded down more than 18% Wednesday to set a new 52-week low of $20.50. Shares closed at $25.10 on Tuesday, and the 52-week high is $34.06. Volume was more than six times the daily average of around 1.5 million. The company missed earnings and revenue expectations this morning.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Princeton Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Summit Materials (NYSE:SUM) by 9.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 30,269 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,687 shares during the period. Princeton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Summit Materials were worth $917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Solium Capital Inc. (TSE:SUM) Director Marcos Lopez sold 2,148 shares of Solium Capital stock in a transaction on Friday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$11.13, for a total value of C$23,907.24.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2019: ITT Corporation(ITT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Intelligent Trading Foundation (CURRENCY:ITT) traded 1.1% higher against the US dollar during the 1 day period ending at 8:00 AM ET on April 18th. In the last week, Intelligent Trading Foundation has traded up 19.5% against the US dollar. One Intelligent Trading Foundation token can currently be purchased for about $0.0764 or 0.00000942 BTC on cryptocurrency exchanges including COSS, EtherDelta (ForkDelta), IDEX and Mercatox. Intelligent Trading Foundation has a total market cap of $749,032.00 and approximately $863.00 worth of Intelligent Trading Foundation was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Intelligent Trading Foundation (CURRENCY:ITT) traded down 96.4% against the US dollar during the 1 day period ending at 12:00 PM Eastern on July 4th. During the last seven days, Intelligent Trading Foundation has traded up 9.8% against the US dollar. One Intelligent Trading Foundation token can currently be bought for approximately $0.0502 or 0.00000754 BTC on exchanges including Mercatox, IDEX and COSS. Intelligent Trading Foundation has a market capitalization of $492,213.00 and approximately $1,654.00 worth of Intelligent Trading Foundation was traded on exchanges in the last day.

• [By Lisa Levin] Companies Reporting Before The Bell Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.96 per share on revenue of $3.46 billion. Aon plc (NYSE: AON) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $2.8 per share on revenue of $2.93 billion. American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AXL) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.81 per share on revenue of $1.75 billion. Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.88 per share on revenue of $9.27 billion. LifePoint Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: LPNT) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.13 per share on revenue of $1.62 billion. V.F. Corporation (NYSE: VFC) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.65 per share on revenue of $2.90 billion. Newell Brands Inc. (NYSE: NWL) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.26 per share on revenue of $3.05 billion. Titan International, Inc. (NYSE: TWI) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.04 per share on revenue of $407.27 million. Boise Cascade Company (NYSE: BCC) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.45 per share on revenue of $1.09 billion. Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE: LNG) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.39 per share on revenue of $1.59 billion. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.24 per share on revenue of $308.05 million. ITT Inc. (NYSE: ITT) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.73 per share on revenue of $683.96 million. Fred's, Inc. (NASDAQ: FRED) is expected to report quarterly loss at $0.19 per share on revenue of $551.00 million. Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIRT) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.52 per share on revenue of $288.31 million. Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: CQP) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.57 per share on revenue of $1.38 billion. Genesis Energy, L.P

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2019: ZAIS Group Holdings, Inc.(ZAIS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Gp Zgp (NASDAQ:ZAIS) major shareholder Z Acquisition Llc bought 6,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $4.10 per share, with a total value of $26,650,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 6,500,000 shares in the company, valued at $26,650,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2019: Bel Fuse Inc.(BELFB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Bel Fuse, Inc. Class B (NASDAQ:BELFB) was upgraded by equities research analysts at BidaskClub from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  ValuEngine cut shares of Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

  Separately, BidaskClub lowered shares of Bel Fuse from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a research note on Saturday, January 6th.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Media coverage about Bel Fuse, Inc. Class B (NASDAQ:BELFB) 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. Bel Fuse, Inc. Class B earned a coverage optimism score of 0.10 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media coverage about the electronics maker an impact score of 45.9775371402704 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.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2019: Natural Gas(NG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  JPMorgan Chase set a GBX 870 ($11.80) target price on National Grid (LON:NG) in a research note released on Monday. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Wells Fargo & Company MN lowered its stake in shares of NovaGold Resources Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:NG) (TSE:NG) by 5.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,071,600 shares of the mining company’s stock after selling 57,571 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in NovaGold Resources were worth $4,640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Money Morning News Team]

  Canadian gold mining company NovaGold Resources Inc. (NYSE: NG) shows an even starker change in sentiment. In the last six months, the volume of short bets on the stock declined 32.75%, from 19.05 million shares to 12.81 million.

• [By Money Morning Staff Reports]

  Canadian gold mining company NovaGold Resources Inc. (NYSE: NG) shows an even starker change in sentiment. In the last 12 months, the volume of short bets on the stock declined 79%, to 522,400.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2019: Life Storage, Inc. (LSI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Life Storage (NYSE: LSI) is one of 233 public companies in the “Real estate investment trusts” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare Life Storage to similar businesses based on the strength of its profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Life Storage (NYSE:LSI)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets in a report released on Wednesday. They currently have a $87.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price would suggest a potential downside of 8.83% from the company’s previous close.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Life Storage Inc (NYSE:LSI) – Investment analysts at Jefferies Group lifted their FY2018 EPS estimates for shares of Life Storage in a note issued to investors on Monday, June 4th. Jefferies Group analyst G. Hoglund now anticipates that the real estate investment trust will earn $5.38 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $5.34. Jefferies Group has a “Hold” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Group also issued estimates for Life Storage’s FY2019 earnings at $5.57 EPS.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Life Storage (LSI)

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

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Life Storage, Inc. (NYSE:LSI) President Kenneth F. Myszka sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.02, for a total value of $910,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2019: Xcerra Corporation(XCRA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in LTX-Credence Co. common stock (NASDAQ:XCRA) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 12,132 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,000.

• [By Max Byerly]

  LTX-Credence Co. common stock (NASDAQ:XCRA) – Analysts at B. Riley increased their FY2018 earnings per share estimates for LTX-Credence Co. common stock in a research note issued on Tuesday, May 29th. B. Riley analyst C. Ellis now forecasts that the semiconductor company will post earnings of $1.03 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $0.99. B. Riley has a “Neutral” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. B. Riley also issued estimates for LTX-Credence Co. common stock’s Q4 2018 earnings at $0.27 EPS, Q1 2019 earnings at $0.27 EPS, Q2 2019 earnings at $0.23 EPS, Q3 2019 earnings at $0.28 EPS, Q4 2019 earnings at $0.32 EPS, FY2019 earnings at $1.09 EPS and FY2020 earnings at $1.30 EPS.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2019: Gabelli Dividend(GDV)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Media headlines about Gabelli Dividend & Income (NYSE:GDV) have trended somewhat positive this week, Accern Sentiment Analysis reports. The research firm rates the sentiment of press coverage by analyzing more than 20 million news and blog sources. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Gabelli Dividend & Income earned a news impact score of 0.18 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned headlines about the financial services provider an impact score of 48.1795768072103 out of 100, meaning that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the next several days.

KAZ Mineral shares fall on Russian copper deal

Shares in KAZ Minerals PLC (KAZ.LN) fell Thursday after the company said it will buy the Baimskaya copper project in Russia for $900 million from Aristus Holdings Ltd., a company partly owned by Russian billionaires Roman Abramovich and Alexander Abramov.

KAZ said it will pay an initial $675 million for a 75% stake in Baimskaya, located in the Chukotka region in the far east of Russia. The first payment will consist of $436 million in cash, and 22.3 million new KAZ shares, valued at $239 million.

Deferred consideration of $225 million in cash or shares for the remaining 25% interest will be paid either on the achievement of commercial production, or March 31, 2029, according to KAZ.

KAZ said Baimskaya is one of the world's most significant undeveloped copper assets, with resources of 9.5 million tons of copper, and 16.5 million ounces of gold. The company forecasts average annual production of 250,000 copper tons and 400,000 gold ounces over the first ten years of operations.

The capital expenditure required to develop the mine is estimated at $5.5 billion said KAZ, which said it will finalize the development strategy and financing during a feasibility study. KAZ said Aristus won't contribute to the development spending, but has a "strong incentive" to assist the delivery of the project due to the deferred consideration. Mr. Abramov, one of Aristus's owners, is chairman of London-listed steel producer Evraz PLC (EVR.LN).

Shares at 0805 GMT were down 111.20 pence, or 14%, at 708.60 pence.

What's the Difference Between a Credit Card and a Charge Card?

Charge cards and credit cards both enable you to buy items now and pay later, and they both offer rewards to cardholders. But there are a few key differences between the two that could trip you up (and cost you a lot of money) if you're not aware of them. I've outlined the key differences between credit and charge cards below so you can decide which one is right for you.

Image source: Getty Images.

Spending limits

When you're approved for a credit card, you're given a monthly credit limit based on your credit score. You can apply for credit limit increases, but you cannot exceed your credit limit, or else your card will be declined, or you'll be charged costly overdraft fees.

Charge cards work a little differently. They come with no pre-set spending limit. But this shouldn't be confused with no spending limit. Instead, it means your card issuer re-evaluates your limit each month based on your credit score, payment history, income, and other factors. You can check your credit limit at any time by logging into your online account or calling the number on the back of your card.

Some of the newer credit scoring models don't consider charge-card balances when calculating your credit utilization ratio�(the proportion of your available credit that you're using), because that limit varies from month to month. A high credit utilization ratio tends to lower your credit score. So one of the perks of using a charge card is that you can spend a lot and, provided you pay it off in full when you get your next bill, it shouldn't have a significant impact on your credit score.

Carrying a balance

Ideally, you'll be able to pay your credit card balance in full each month. But if you can't, your credit score won't take much of a hit if you make the minimum payment. However, you will begin incurring interest charges, and these can be as high as a 25% annual percentage rate (APR).

Charge cards are designed to be paid in full each month. If you fail to do so, the card issuer will report it to the credit bureaus, and your credit score will drop. You'll also be charged a late fee, usually around 3% of the balance. That may not seem like much, but this interest is charged monthly. A 3% monthly interest rate adds up to a 36% APR, which is much higher than most credit cards.

Say you have a $5,000 balance, but you can only afford to pay $1,000 when your bill comes due. If you have a credit card with a 20% APR, it'll take you six months to pay it off at $1,000 per month, and you'll end up paying $265.68 in interest. In that same scenario with a charge card, you'll now have to pay 3% interest every month. You'll still pay it back within six months, but you'll pay $501.68 in interest.

Annual fees

Some credit cards charge annual fees. They're most common with secured credit cards and top-rated travel cards that offer generous rewards. But if you're just interested in a traditional cash-back rewards card, you shouldn't have any trouble finding one that doesn't charge you for the privilege of owning the card.

The same can't be said for charge cards. Each one charges an annual fee, and it's not uncommon for that fee to exceed $100 -- and some go as high as $500. These fees may be worth it if the card offers decent rewards, but you'll have to do the math to determine whether it's actually a good value for you.

Availability and acceptance

Charge cards are less popular than credit cards, so there are fewer choices available to you. They're also much more difficult to get because they require an excellent credit score -- usually 740 or above. No pre-set spending limit means an increased risk for creditors if you fail to pay back the debt, so only applicants who have demonstrated a long history of financial responsibility are eligible for these cards.

Which type is better for me?

A credit card is generally the better choice for most people. If you pay your balance in full each month, it works essentially the same as a charge card. But if you need to carry a balance, you can do so without damaging your credit score. Plus, you'll have a lot more choices in terms of rewards, interest rates, and annual fees.

A charge card may be a good fit for you, however, as long as you have excellent credit and you're sure you can pay your balance in full each month. Having no pre-set spending limit gives you the freedom to make larger purchases that a credit card may not allow, without hurting your credit utilization ratio.

If you're still unsure which type of card you should choose, look at some of the cardholder agreements and compare the perks and fees to figure out which one best fits in with your spending habits.

The Oil Price Pullback Could Lift These 2 Airline Stocks

A global oil glut caused oil prices to plunge between mid-2014 and early 2016. However, over the past two and a half years, oil has regained a lot of ground. This development has translated into steadily rising jet fuel prices, putting pressure on airlines' profitability.

The oil rally has cooled off this month, over recent reports that have alleviated investors' worries about a serious oil shortage. Lower jet fuel prices should help all of the airlines, but two could benefit disproportionately: Spirit Airlines (NYSE:SAVE) and Alaska Air (NYSE:ALK).

The oil rally takes a breather

Gulf Coast jet fuel prices averaged just $1.42 per gallon in July 2017. However, oil prices rallied dramatically in the second half of 2017 and continued to rise in the first half of this year. As a result, Gulf Coast jet fuel has been going for more than $2 per gallon this month.

Oil prices have risen significantly over the past year. Image source: Getty Images.

Declining petroleum stocks have contributed to the oil rally by eroding the big cushion of excess inventory that had held prices down since 2014. Meanwhile, renewed U.S. sanctions on Iran, plunging production in Venezuela, and civil unrest in other oil-producing countries have combined to pinch supply.

However, some of these supply disruptions have eased recently. Furthermore, U.S. petroleum stocks increased significantly in last week's report, defying expectations. This development caused the price of Brent crude to fall to around $70 per barrel, down from $78 per barrel as recently as July 10.

Gulf Coast jet fuel prices have retreated as well, falling to $2.02 per gallon by last Monday. That's down from a multiyear high of $2.22 per gallon in late May, but still up from $1.90 per gallon at the beginning of 2018.

Spirit Airlines could be the biggest winner

Jet fuel prices also plunged in February, before rocketing to new heights over the next three months. It's possible that the latest dose of price relief for airlines won't last long, either. But if the price of jet fuel remains near recent levels -- or falls further -- Spirit Airlines is likely to be the biggest beneficiary among U.S. airlines.

Lower fuel prices would be a big boon for Spirit Airlines. Image source: Spirit Airlines.

What distinguishes Spirit from its rivals is that it has very low non-fuel unit costs. Fuel is therefore a bigger part of its cost structure. Indeed, in the first quarter of 2018, Spirit Airlines spent 29% of its revenue on fuel, compared with less than 21% at No. 1 airline American Airlines Group.

As a result, changes in the price of jet fuel have a bigger impact on Spirit Airlines' profitability than that of other airlines, holding fare levels constant.

Spirit Airlines stock has surged this month, thanks to an upbeat investor update indicating that second-quarter earnings will be much better than previously expected. Spirit still needs to get unit revenue growing again to fully regain investors' confidence, but if its fuel-cost headwind moderates, it has a good chance of returning to EPS growth in the second half of 2018.

Alaska Air is also set to benefit

Alaska Airlines is much closer to its larger peers than to Spirit Airlines in terms of the role of fuel in its cost structure. In the first quarter, it spent a little more than 22% of its revenue on jet fuel.

However, in the span of two years, Alaska has gone from being the most profitable airline in the U.S. to below average, increasing the impact of small margin swings on its earnings. Its adjusted pre-tax margin was just 1.3% in the first quarter. Based on its most recent guidance, Alaska's Q2 adjusted pre-tax margin probably fell from 24% a year ago to around half that level this year.

Like Spirit Airlines, Alaska's unit revenue has been declining lately. But also like Spirit, Alaska Airlines has a good chance to turn things around starting in the second half of 2018. In the past few months, it has slashed some underperforming routes, with more cuts coming this fall. In addition, merger synergies and the introduction of a "basic economy" product should boost unit revenue growth over the next several quarters.

These moves should enable Alaska to stabilize its profitability within the next few quarters. But facing a smaller fuel-price headwind would allow the carrier to return to profit growth sooner -- potentially helping to lift Alaska Air stock out of the doldrums.

What to Watch For in American Express Earnings

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) is scheduled to release its most recent quarterly results after the markets close on Wednesday. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters are $1.82 in earnings per share (EPS) on $10.05 billion in revenue. The second quarter of last year reportedly had EPS of $1.47 and $8.31 billion in revenue.

The company began testing a blockchain version of its customer rewards program in May and now will go one step deeper into blockchain development with a patent application related to a proof of payment (PoP) system. The idea behind the system is to provide better evidence of payment transactions between merchants and their customers.

As described in the application, the PoP system comprises a processor, instruction memory and execution space that verifies a payment with a transaction amount and merchant identifier.

Being the first to weave together the parts of a blockchain-based PoP system could pay big dividends to American Express, but not for some time yet. Other big financial services firms also will take a run at this business. American Express wants to be first.

Excluding Wednesday��s move, Amex has outperformed the broad markets in the past 52 weeks, with its stock up about 19%. In just 2018 alone, the stock is up only 2%.

A few analysts weighed in on Amex prior to the release:

Jefferies has a Hold rating with a $105 price target. Stephens has a Hold rating and a $97 price target. Buckingham Research has a Buy rating with a $112 target. Barclays has an Equal Weight rating and a $113 price target. Guggenheim has a Hold rating with a $104 target price.

Shares of Amex were last seen up about 1% at $102.47, with a consensus analyst price target of $109.68 and a 52-week trading range of $83.33 to $103.24.

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5 Mega-Cap S&P 500 Stocks to Buy Now for the Rest of 2018

Europe prepares to hit Google with another huge fine

Europe could soon bring the hammer down on Google.

The European Commission is expected to hit the company with a massive fine over allegations that it pushed its apps on smartphone users and thwarted competitors.

The complaints �� brought by European and American rivals �� have been under investigation since 2015, and a decision will be announced Wednesday, according to multiple media reports. The European Union's top antitrust official Margrethe Vestager is scheduled to address reporters at 7 a.m. ET in Brussels.

The Commission declined to comment ahead of the press conference.

EU regulators have taken a much more adversarial approach to big tech companies than their US counterparts, especially when it comes to competition, data protection and tax issues.

Last year, Google (GOOGL) was hit with a record EU antitrust fine of ��2.4 billion ($2.8 billion) for prioritizing its shopping service over competitors in search. Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN) and Facebook (FB) have also been penalized by European regulators.

The Commission has accused Google of violating antitrust rules by requiring manufacturers to install its apps on smartphones before they are sold. Regulators have also alleged that Google sought to prevent manufacturers from using alternatives to its Android operating system.

The European Union could force the tech company to change its business practices. It could also be fined as much as 10% of its annual global sales, which topped $110 billion in 2017.

Google has argued that its practices have not reduced consumer choice.

Why Spirit Airlines Stock Soared 10% on Thursday

Shares of Spirit Airlines (NYSE:SAVE) skyrocketed yesterday, ending the day with a 10.2% gain. The fast-growing budget airline updated its second-quarter forecast after the market closed on Wednesday, and the news was good.

Spirit Airlines is now in position to exceed analysts' most recent second-quarter earnings per share estimates by a country mile. Clearly, that's great news for investors. Nevertheless, the company needs to return to consistent unit revenue growth in the second half of 2018 to keep this rally going.

The second quarter was better than feared

In late April, Spirit Airlines provided downbeat guidance for the second quarter, undermining a nascent rally for the stock. Management projected that revenue per available seat mile (RASM) would plunge 6.5% to 7.5%, while rising fuel prices would more than offset an impressive 7.5% to 8.5% year-over-year improvement in non-fuel unit costs.

Based on this forecast, analysts were recently projecting that Spirit's second-quarter adjusted EPS would fall to $0.92 from $1.14 a year earlier, despite the benefit of a lower tax rate.

On Wednesday evening, Spirit updated its second-quarter guidance. The company estimates that RASM fell 6.8% year over year, despite capacity growth coming in 1.5 percentage points higher than previously expected, at 30.5%. On the bright side, non-fuel unit costs plunged by about 11%. A shift in the timing of some expenses to the fourth quarter accounted for 1 percentage point of the improvement, but the rest reflected strong cost control.

Spirit Airlines dramatically reduced its non-fuel unit costs last quarter. Image source: Spirit Airlines.

Fuel efficiency also improved significantly, as Spirit Airlines has been adding more fuel-efficient aircraft to its fleet. In fact, fuel consumption was 2.3% below Spirit's original forecast, despite capacity growth coming in higher than expected.

In total, fuel efficiency improved more than 5% year over year, from 85.3 available seat miles per gallon to 89.7 available seat miles per gallon. This was incredibly important, as fuel prices rose even more than expected last quarter.

Spirit is poised for an EPS beat

Spirit Airlines does not provide formal EPS guidance, but the company's forecasts include enough information to create good estimates. Spirit's capacity growth of 30.5%, offset by its 6.8% RASM decline, implies that total revenue rose approximately 21.6% last quarter to $853 million.

Meanwhile, fuel consumption of 106.1 million gallons and an average price of $2.32 per gallon translate to total fuel costs of $246 million. The company disclosed net interest expense of $13.8 million. Lastly, Spirit's adjusted non-fuel operating expenses came in at $425 million in the second quarter of 2017. Based on a 30.5% capacity increase and an 11% decline in non-fuel unit costs, adjusted non-fuel operating expenses increased to around $494 million last quarter.

Totaling up the numbers, Spirit's new forecast implies an adjusted profit of around $99 million before tax and $75 million after tax. That would imply EPS of $1.10: down just slightly year over year, and well ahead of analysts' current estimates.

A return to unit revenue growth is still essential

While investors' current excitement is understandable, it's important to note that non-fuel unit cost improvements will be far more modest going forward at Spirit Airlines. As of late April, the carrier expected a mid-single-digit decline in non-fuel unit costs for the third quarter, followed by a low-single-digit increase in the fourth quarter. Furthermore, fuel costs are set to remain a major headwind at least through the end of the year.

This highlights the importance of Spirit Airlines returning to unit revenue growth. Without unit revenue growth, the recent increases in jet fuel prices will cause severe margin erosion.

Fortunately, Spirit's unit revenue trajectory could be about to improve dramatically. First, the carrier will face much easier comparisons going forward. Spirit Airlines posted a 0.9% RASM increase in the first half of 2017, including a 5.7% increase in the second quarter. By contrast, RASM fell 6.3% in the third quarter and 1.8% in the fourth quarter.

Second, Spirit Airlines' growth rate will slow dramatically toward the end of 2018. In April, management estimated that Spirit would increase its capacity 26% year over year in the third quarter and just 13% to 15% in the fourth quarter.

Other airlines are equally motivated to boost unit revenue growth and have started to trim capacity in September and beyond. That could pave the way for Spirit Airlines to achieve the unit revenue growth it so desperately needs in the second half of 2018.

Head-To-Head Survey: OMV (OMVJF) versus HOPEWELL HOLDIN/ADR (HOWWY)

OMV (OTCMKTS: OMVJF) and HOPEWELL HOLDIN/ADR (OTCMKTS:HOWWY) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk and institutional ownership.

Volatility & Risk

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OMV has a beta of 0.43, meaning that its stock price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, HOPEWELL HOLDIN/ADR has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares OMV and HOPEWELL HOLDIN/ADR’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
OMV	1.09%	10.97%	5.13%
HOPEWELL HOLDIN/ADR	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

HOPEWELL HOLDIN/ADR pays an annual dividend of $0.13 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. OMV does not pay a dividend.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for OMV and HOPEWELL HOLDIN/ADR, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
OMV	0	0	0	0	N/A
HOPEWELL HOLDIN/ADR	0	0	0	0	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares OMV and HOPEWELL HOLDIN/ADR’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
OMV	$22.84 billion	0.81	$608.10 million	$5.61	10.04
HOPEWELL HOLDIN/ADR	$303.95 million	9.79	$252.80 million	N/A	N/A

OMV has higher revenue and earnings than HOPEWELL HOLDIN/ADR.

Summary

OMV beats HOPEWELL HOLDIN/ADR on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About OMV

OMV Aktiengesellschaft operates as an integrated oil and gas company. It operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment explores for, develops, and produces oil and gas resources primarily in Romania and Black Sea, Austria, North Sea, Australasia, Russia, the Middle East, and Africa. As of December 31, 2017, this segment had proved oil and gas reserve of 1,146 million barrels of oil equivalent; and proved and probable oil and gas reserves of 1,943 million barrels of oil equivalent. The Downstream segment refines, processes, and sells petroleum products to commercial and private customers. This segment operates refineries in Schwechat, Austria; Burghausen, Germany; and Petrobrazi, Romania with an annual processing capacity of 17.8 million metric tons, as well as operates a retail network of approximately 2,039 filling stations in 10 countries. This segment also engages in gas transit, as well as gas storage, marketing, and trading businesses. It operates a gas pipeline network; gas storage facilities with a capacity of 2.7 billion cubic meters; and 2 gas-fired power plants in Romania and Turkey. OMV Aktiengesellschaft was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Vienna, Austria.

About HOPEWELL HOLDIN/ADR

Hopewell Holdings Limited (?HHL?), the Hong Kong-based group, was listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in 1972. HHL and its subsidiaries are active in the fields of property development and investment, investment in infrastructure projects, hotel investment and management, restaurant operations and food catering.

Uber's HR chief steps down after discrimination probe

Uber's head of human resources has resigned following an internal investigation into how she handled claims of racial discrimination within the company.

Chief People Officer Liane Hornsey announced her departure in an email she sent to employees on Tuesday. An Uber spokesperson confirmed Hornsey's resignation, first reported by Reuters, and the investigation that prompted it, but would not elaborate on the claims against her.

According to Reuters, an anoymous group of employees, all of them people of color, alleged that Hornsey used "discriminatory language" and made "derogatory comments" about high-level executives at Uber.

"We are confident that the investigation was conducted in an unbiased, thorough and credible manner, and that the conclusions of the investigation were addressed appropriately," an Uber spokesperson said in a statement to CNNMoney.

Hornsey, who joined the company in January, 2017, did not address the probe in her email. "By now you'll have seen the news that I've decided to leave Uber. I know this comes a little out of the blue for some of you, but I have been thinking about this for a while," she wrote in the email, obtained by CNNMoney.

Hornsey could not be reached for comment.

Her departure comes as CEO Dara Khosrowshahi scrambles to change a corporate culture many have described as toxic. Uber has grappled with a string of scandals, including widespread allegations of gender and sexual harassment that led to co-founder Travis Kalanick's resignation as CEO in June 2017.

Larry Johnson, an expert on corporate culture, said Hornsey's departure shows Uber is still in "hot water."

"I'm glad to see Uber is trying to turn things around from the way it was last year," said Johnson, who is the author of a book about corporate culture and integrity called "Absolute Honesty." "If she's guilty as charged, then that's a step in the right direction."

Khosrowshahi praised Hornsey in an email he sent to employees, but did not mention the investigation or allegations against her.

"Liane is incredibly talented, creative, and hard-working. She's been a valuable member of my leadership team and I wish her nothing but the best," he wrote in the email, obtained by CNNMoney.

Khosrowshahi hailed several of her accomplishments, including releasing Uber's first diversity report and hiring a chief diversity and inclusion officer. She also played a role in the company's effort to ensure all employees are paid equally based on their location, role, and tenure at Uber. Such efforts are part of Khosrowshahi's ongoing campaign to burnish the company's image, and the allegations against Hornsey show how big a challenge he faces.

"These are huge issues they've been struggling with," said Cindy Schipani, a professor of business administration and law at the University of Michigan. "The culture still has a lot of room for improvement."

CNNMoney's Sara Ashley O'Brien contributed to this report.

RadiSys (RSYS) Sees Strong Trading Volume

RadiSys Co. (NASDAQ:RSYS) saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 3,524,786 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 361% from the previous session’s volume of 765,060 shares.The stock last traded at $1.57 and had previously closed at $1.51.

A number of research firms have issued reports on RSYS. Roth Capital reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of RadiSys in a research report on Monday. Northland Securities downgraded RadiSys from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 3rd. DA Davidson downgraded RadiSys from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 2nd. Zacks Investment Research raised RadiSys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $0.75 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 26th. Finally, ValuEngine raised RadiSys from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. RadiSys has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $3.13.

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The company has a market capitalization of $59.54 million, a P/E ratio of -2.82 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.71.

RadiSys (NASDAQ:RSYS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 1st. The technology company reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $26.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.43 million. RadiSys had a negative return on equity of 100.29% and a negative net margin of 40.08%. research analysts forecast that RadiSys Co. will post -0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of RadiSys by 171.9% during the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 234,416 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 148,216 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of RadiSys by 247.7% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 186,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 132,500 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of RadiSys during the fourth quarter worth about $200,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of RadiSys by 19.7% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 709,312 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 116,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in shares of RadiSys by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 454,623 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 197,342 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 32.40% of the company’s stock.

About RadiSys

Radisys Corporation provides telecom solutions worldwide. It operates in two segments, Software-Systems and Hardware Solutions. The company's products include MediaEngine products that provide media processing capabilities required for applications, such as voice over long-term evolution (VoLTE), voice over Wi-Fi, Web real-time communication, and multimedia conferencing, as well as media interworking; and MobilityEngine, Its MobilityEngine products portfolio provide solutions for 4G, LTE-Advance and emerging 5G standards for RAN use cases, including Centralized, Virtualized and multi access edge compute (MEC).

Fluor Co. (NEW) (FLR) Upgraded at Zacks Investment Research

Fluor Co. (NEW) (NYSE:FLR) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday. The firm currently has a $54.00 price target on the construction company’s stock. Zacks Investment Research‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 11.55% from the stock’s current price.

According to Zacks, “Fluor’s leading position in nuclear remediation at government facilities bodes well for its future growth. Its market diversity as well as strong focus on streamlining business structure to boost profitability is expected to boost growth, going forward. Notably, the company’s leading position in nuclear remediation at government facilities bodes well for its future growth. Also, stabilizing commodity prices and gradual improvement in energy and mining sectors are anticipated to unlock further opportunities for growth. However, over the past three months, the company’s shares have underperformed the industry. Also, the company is suffering from below-par performance in Mining, Industrial, Infrastructure & Power and Energy & Chemicals businesses. Over the past few quarters, Fluor has been witnessing continuous backlog erosion as well, which adds to its concerns.”

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Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Fluor Co. (NEW) from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 9th. Citigroup set a $69.00 price target on shares of Fluor Co. (NEW) and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 4th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Fluor Co. (NEW) from a “b” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 3rd. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Fluor Co. (NEW) from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 17th. Finally, Barclays set a $60.00 price target on shares of Fluor Co. (NEW) and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.32.

Shares of Fluor Co. (NEW) traded down $0.18, hitting $48.41, during midday trading on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. 417,250 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,194,396. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of 29.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Fluor Co. has a 12 month low of $37.03 and a 12 month high of $62.09.

Fluor Co. (NEW) (NYSE:FLR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 3rd. The construction company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.25). Fluor Co. (NEW) had a net margin of 0.58% and a return on equity of 11.08%. The company had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. research analysts anticipate that Fluor Co. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current year.

In other news, Director Peter J. Fluor bought 50,000 shares of Fluor Co. (NEW) stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $44.54 per share, for a total transaction of $2,227,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 141,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,285,484.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Fluor Co. (NEW) by 0.5% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,034,793 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $59,210,000 after purchasing an additional 5,100 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Fluor Co. (NEW) by 25.0% during the first quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 18,791 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 3,754 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Fluor Co. (NEW) by 1.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 215,669 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $12,340,000 after purchasing an additional 3,437 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Trust Group LLC lifted its holdings in Fluor Co. (NEW) by 16,314.1% during the first quarter. Atlantic Trust Group LLC now owns 10,505 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 10,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fluor Co. (NEW) by 147.3% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 474,609 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,157,000 after purchasing an additional 282,699 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.54% of the company’s stock.

About Fluor Co. (NEW)

Fluor Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, fabrication and modularization, commissioning and maintenance, and project management services worldwide. It operates through four segments: Energy, Chemicals & Mining; Industrial, Infrastructure & Power; Diversified Services; and Government.

Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Fluor Co. (NEW) (FLR)

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

Hot Stocks To Invest In Right Now

tags:PYDS,NTAP,ATRA,DGICB,SUMR, &l;p&g;One of Asia&a;rsquo;s biggest digital currency exchanges &a;ndash; Coincheck &l;span&g;&a;ndash;&l;/span&g; has admitted the loss of around $534 million worth of cryptocurrency following an attack on its network.

The Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan-based company said hackers broke in at 02:57am local time on Friday (12:57pm EST on Thursday, 25 January). However, the breach went undetected for nearly another eight and half hours.

Most of the losses pertain to a lesser-known cryptocurrency NEM; the world&a;rsquo;s&a;nbsp;tenth-largest by market value. As an interim measure Coincheck has suspended deposits and withdrawals for all cryptocurrencies, except Bitcoin, as it attempts to get a handle on the situation.

&l;img class=&q;size-large wp-image-1776&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/gauravsharma/files/2016/04/Shibuya-Crossing-Tokyo-Japan-G-Sharma-March-2016-1200x900.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;900&q; data-width=&q;1200&q;&g;&l;em&g;Shibuya Crossing with 109 Shopping Mall in the background, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan &a;copy; Gaurav Sharma, March 2016&l;/em&g;

Hot Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Payment Data Systems, Inc.(PYDS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ: EEFT) and Payment Data Systems (NASDAQ:PYDS) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, risk, dividends and earnings.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ: EEFT) and Payment Data Systems (NASDAQ:PYDS) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and profitability.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Net 1 UEPS Technologies (NASDAQ: UEPS) and Payment Data Systems (NASDAQ:PYDS) are both small-cap industrial products companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Here are some of the news headlines that may have effected Accern Sentiment Analysis’s rankings:

  Get Payment Data Systems alerts: Euronet Worldwide (EEFT) versus Payment Data Systems (PYDS) Financial Comparison (americanbankingnews.com) Payment Data Systems (PYDS) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.06 EPS (americanbankingnews.com) Payment Data Systems’ (PYDS) CEO Louis Hoch Q1 2018 Results – Earnings Call Transcript (seekingalpha.com) Edited Transcript of PYDS earnings conference call or presentation 15-May-18 9:00pm GMT (finance.yahoo.com) Payment Data Systems Announces Results for the First Quarter of 2018 (finance.yahoo.com)

  NASDAQ:PYDS traded up $0.03 on Friday, reaching $1.75. 66,441 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 170,972. Payment Data Systems has a 12 month low of $1.17 and a 12 month high of $4.10.

Hot Stocks To Invest In Right Now: NetApp Inc.(NTAP)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Pivotal Research set a $74.00 price target on NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) in a research note released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) CEO George Kurian sold 30,253 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.52, for a total value of $2,042,682.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) received a $83.00 price objective from DA Davidson in a research note issued on Thursday. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. DA Davidson’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 23.60% from the company’s current price. DA Davidson also issued estimates for NetApp’s Q1 2019 earnings at $0.66 EPS, Q2 2019 earnings at $0.75 EPS, Q4 2019 earnings at $0.88 EPS, FY2019 earnings at $3.11 EPS, Q1 2020 earnings at $0.80 EPS, Q2 2020 earnings at $0.86 EPS, Q3 2020 earnings at $0.94 EPS, Q4 2020 earnings at $1.03 EPS and FY2020 earnings at $3.65 EPS.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) by 22.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 381,020 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 69,530 shares during the quarter. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in NetApp were worth $23,505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers Recro Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: REPH) fell 50.3 percent to $6.17 in pre-market trading after the company received a Complete Response Letter from the FDA. The FDA declined to approve the company’s New Drug Application for IV meloxicam. Westell Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: WSTL) shares fell 16.5 percent to $2.89 in pre-market trading after the company announced Q4 results. Melinta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MLNT) fell 16.5 percent to $5.20 in pre-market trading after reporting pricing of public offering of common stock. Westmoreland Resource Partners, LP (NYSE: WMLP) fell 11 percent to $3.49 in pre-market trading after surging 194.03 percent on Wednesday. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) shares fell 11 percent to $13.45 in pre-market trading. Petrobras announced plans to lower the cost of diesel by 10 percent. Sanderson Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAFM) shares fell 9.4 percent to $97 in pre-market trading after the company reported weaker-than-expected results for its second quarter. Zealand Pharma A/S (NASDAQ: ZEAL) fell 6.9 percent to $15.55 in pre-market trading after rising 2.71 percent on Wednesday. L Brands, Inc. (NYSE: LB) shares fell 6.7 percent to $31.76 in pre-market trading after the company reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its first quarter. The company issued weak second quarter and FY18 earnings guidance. ReTo Eco-Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: RETO) shares fell 5.9 percent to $4.78 in pre-market trading. Qiwi plc (NASDAQ: QIWI) fell 5.9 percent to $17.52 in pre-market trading. Eiger Biopharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: EIGR) fell 5 percent to $13.25 in pre-market trading after reporting a proposed offering of common stock. Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE: BBY) shares fell 4.3 percent to $72.66 in pre-market trading. Best Buy reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter. NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) fell 4.1 percent to $64.
• [By Logan Wallace]

  Wells Fargo & Co reiterated their positive rating on shares of NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) in a research note released on Wednesday. They currently have a $80.00 price objective on the data storage provider’s stock.

Hot Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc.(ATRA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Lange]

  Atara Biotherapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ATRA) shares surged on Friday after the firm announced that it received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to initiate two Phase 3 clinical studies. Specifically these mid-stage studies deal with tabelecleucel in patients with rituximab-refractory Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) associated post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (EBV+PTLD).

• [By ]

  Atara BioTherapeutics (Nasdaq: ATRA) is a leading T-cell immunotherapy company located in San Francisco. The company is developing cutting edge treatments for patients with various types of cancer. And the company is on the verge of a major breakthrough by attempting to become the first company with a scalable adoptive cell therapy for cancer �� something no other company has been able to accomplish.

• [By Keith Speights]

  There are more small-cap biotech stocks than any investor can realistically keep up with. But three stocks I think you'll want to keep on your radar are�Abeona Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ABEO), Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA), and Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX). Here's why these small-cap biotech stocks are worth monitoring closely.�

• [By Max Byerly]

  Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) SVP Derrell Porter sold 1,544 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.15, for a total value of $61,991.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $501,875. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Hot Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Donegal Group, Inc.(DGICB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Media headlines about Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICB) have been trending somewhat positive on Thursday, Accern reports. Accern ranks the sentiment of press coverage by analyzing more than twenty million news and blog sources. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Donegal Group earned a news impact score of 0.13 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news stories about the insurance provider an impact score of 47.2596177658095 out of 100, meaning that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the near term.

Hot Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Summer Infant Inc.(SUMR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Here are some of the news headlines that may have effected Accern’s rankings:

  Get Summer Infant alerts: How Financially Strong Is Summer Infant Inc (NASDAQ:SUMR)? (finance.yahoo.com) Summer Infant, Inc. (SUMR) Director Buys $10,800.00 in Stock (americanbankingnews.com) Head-To-Head Survey: Summer Infant (SUMR) vs. Smiths Group (SMGZY) (americanbankingnews.com) Summer Infant Announces Upcoming Investor Events (finance.yahoo.com) Summer Infant, Inc. (SUMR) Receives Average Rating of “Strong Buy” from Analysts (americanbankingnews.com)

  SUMR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Summer Infant from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 25th. ValuEngine cut shares of Summer Infant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Summer Infant in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Summer Infant presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $2.50.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Oragenics, Inc. (NYSE: OGEN) shares surged 66.67 percent to close at $2.00 on Wednesday after the company’s AG013 for oral mucositis in head and neck cancer patients showed favorable safety profile in mid-stage OM study. Sigma Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ: SGLB) shares jumped 49.24 percent to close at $1.97 on Wednesday. Sigma Labs demonstrated proof of concept for closed loop quality control during metal additive manufacturing. ASLAN Pharmaceuticals Limited (NASDAQ: ASLN) rose 34.45 percent to close at $9.21. BTIG Research initiated coverage on ASLAN Pharmaceuticals with a Buy rating. Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE: DKS) shares rose 25.82 percent to close at $38.35 after the company reported upbeat Q1 earnings and raised FY18 earnings outlook. TapImmune, Inc. (NASDAQ: TPIV) rose 24.15 percent to close at $5.09. WBB Securities upgraded TapImmune from Speculative Buy to Buy. Legacy Reserves LP (NASDAQ: LGCY) jumped 23.3 percent to close at $5.98 on Wednesday. Summer Infant, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUMR) gained 22.92 percent to close at $1.18 after announcing commitment for $60 million credit facility from Bank of America and $17.5 million term loan from Pathlight Capital. Cloud Peak Energy Inc. (NYSE: CLD) rose 21.95 percent to close at $4.00. SpartanNash Co (NASDAQ: SPTN) gained 21.4 percent to close at $22.92 after the company reported upbeat earnings for its first quarter on Tuesday. Motus GI Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOTS) rose 17.14 percent to close at $5.40. Movado Group, Inc. (NYSE: MOV) gained 16.59 percent to close at $49.20 after the company reported better-than-expected Q1 results and raised its guidance. Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ORMP) climbed 15.61 percent to close at $8.22. Oramed Pharma disclosed that its patent has been allowed in the US for oral administration of proteins. Dorian LPG Ltd. (NYSE: LPG) rose 14.89 percent to close at $8.41. Dorian LPG confirmed receipt of unsolicited proposal fr
• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Sigma Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ: SGLB) shares rose 90.9 percent to $2.52. Sigma Labs demonstrated proof of concept for closed loop quality control during metal additive manufacturing. Oragenics, Inc. (NYSE: OGEN) shares surged 58.4 percent to $1.9005 after the company’s AG013 for oral mucositis in head and neck cancer patients showed favorable safety profile in mid-stage OM study. Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE: DKS) shares climbed 23.2 percent to $37.5370 after the company reported upbeat Q1 earnings and raised FY18 earnings outlook. Summer Infant, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUMR) rose 21.9 percent to $1.17 after announcing commitment for $60 million credit facility from Bank of America and $17.5 million term loan from Pathlight Capital. TapImmune, Inc. (NASDAQ: TPIV) jumped 18.8 percent to $4.87. WBB Securities upgraded TapImmune from Speculative Buy to Buy. Movado Group, Inc. (NYSE: MOV) gained 17.2 percent to $49.45 after the company reported better-than-expected Q1 results and raised its guidance. ASLAN Pharmaceuticals Limited (NASDAQ: ASLN) jumped 16.2 percent to $7.96. BTIG Research initiated coverage on ASLAN Pharmaceuticals with a Buy rating. Legacy Reserves LP (NASDAQ: LGCY) rose 15.5 percent to $5.6011. InspireMD, Inc. (NYSE: NSPR) gained 13.3 percent to $1.36 following PR announcing sustained benefit of CGuard EPS. Immutep Limited (NASDAQ: IMMP) shares climbed 13.2 percent to $2.7724 after the company reported new data from its ongoing TACTI-mel Phase I trial, which evaluated the combination of eftilagimod alpha, its lead compound, with Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK)'s Keytruda in unresectable or metastatic melanoma patients, who have had a suboptimal response or had disease progression with keytruda monotherapy.. SpartanNash Co (NASDAQ: SPTN) rose 12.2 percent to $21.20 after the company reported upbeat earnings for its first quarter on Tuesday. Amtech Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASYS) rose 12.1 percent to

Universal Currency (UNIT) Market Cap Reaches $2.60 Million

Universal Currency (CURRENCY:UNIT) traded down 4.2% against the U.S. dollar during the one day period ending at 23:00 PM Eastern on June 23rd. Universal Currency has a market cap of $2.60 million and $90,319.00 worth of Universal Currency was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. During the last seven days, Universal Currency has traded down 14.7% against the U.S. dollar. One Universal Currency coin can currently be bought for about $0.18 or 0.00003003 BTC on cryptocurrency exchanges including YoBit, CoinExchange, Bit-Z and Cryptopia.

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

Get Universal Currency alerts: Emercoin (EMC) traded 2.3% lower against the dollar and now trades at $2.52 or 0.00041219 BTC. BitcoinDark (BTCD) traded 6.4% lower against the dollar and now trades at $46.64 or 0.00764265 BTC. Experience Points (XP) traded 16.3% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0001 or 0.00000001 BTC. Sprouts (SPRTS) traded down 4% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0000 or 0.00000000 BTC. Internet of People (IOP) traded 1.7% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.79 or 0.00012955 BTC. Neutron (NTRN) traded 2.7% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0705 or 0.00001156 BTC. Breakout (BRK) traded down 2.3% against the dollar and now trades at $0.10 or 0.00001664 BTC. BitTokens (BXT) traded up 0.2% against the dollar and now trades at $0.53 or 0.00007883 BTC. ParkByte (PKB) traded flat against the dollar and now trades at $0.0233 or 0.00000382 BTC. PX (PX) traded flat against the dollar and now trades at $0.0010 or 0.00000015 BTC.

About Universal Currency

Universal Currency (CRYPTO:UNIT) is a PoW/PoS coin that uses the SHA-256 hashing algorithm. Its genesis date was May 1st, 2015. Universal Currency’s total supply is 18,309,275 coins and its circulating supply is 14,209,275 coins. Universal Currency’s official Twitter account is @UnitCurrency and its Facebook page is accessible here. Universal Currency’s official website is www.u-currency.com.

According to CryptoCompare, “PoS mining�starts at block 10001 “

Buying and Selling Universal Currency

Universal Currency can be bought or sold on the following cryptocurrency exchanges: Cryptopia, YoBit, Bit-Z and CoinExchange. It is usually not currently possible to buy alternative cryptocurrencies such as Universal Currency directly using US dollars. Investors seeking to acquire Universal Currency should first buy Bitcoin or Ethereum using an exchange that deals in US dollars such as Coinbase, GDAX or Gemini. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Bitcoin or Ethereum to buy Universal Currency using one of the aforementioned exchanges.

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

Facebook��s ��lack of accountability�� spurs European fund to dump shares

The sustainability practice of a large European asset management firm is banning investments in Facebook shares.

Nordea's head of group sustainable finance, Sasja Beslik, explained the decision on social media Thursday.

"Nordea has decided to exclude Facebook from the Nordea Stars Funds' investments," he said in a tweet.

The company's Stars Funds invest in companies with "top-of-class environmental, social responsibility and governance profiles."

Beslik said the move came after Nordea conducted an investigation into the Cambridge Analytica data scandal and Facebook's responses to it.

Facebook shares declined by more than 10 percent in March after media coverage that data from tens of millions of Facebook profiles were improperly accessed by research firm Cambridge Analytica before the 2016 election. The data mishandling spurred international probes, an internal audit and an overhaul of Facebook's privacy policies. The company has admitted it didn't do enough to protect users' privacy and vowed to improve.

Facebook's stock has since recovered all of those losses.

"The investigations have revealed a lack of accountability over data security/data sharing infrastructure of the platform, lack of transparency and a reactive behavior combined with increased scrutiny from regulators and stakeholders," Beslik said.

Tweet Link

In March, Nordea announced it put a "temporary hold" on new investments in Facebook for three months in its Stars Funds. At the time Facebook represented a 1.98 percent position in the company's Nordea Global Stars fund. In a tweet Thursday, Beslik said it had divested of its Facebook shares.

Nordea had 330 billion euros ($382 billion) of assets under management at year-end 2017, according to its website.

Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Brokerages Set Ameresco Inc (AMRC) PT at $13.17

Ameresco Inc (NYSE:AMRC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $13.17.

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMRC. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Ameresco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, March 8th. Roth Capital set a $13.00 price target on Ameresco and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 7th. Canaccord Genuity set a $11.50 price target on Ameresco and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 4th. ValuEngine downgraded Ameresco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Ameresco from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 2nd.

Get Ameresco alerts:

Shares of NYSE:AMRC traded down $0.15 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $11.40. 101,326 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 126,422. The firm has a market capitalization of $542.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.56. Ameresco has a 12-month low of $5.25 and a 12-month high of $13.20.

Ameresco (NYSE:AMRC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.12. Ameresco had a return on equity of 13.66% and a net margin of 6.02%. The firm had revenue of $167.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.04 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. equities analysts anticipate that Ameresco will post 0.66 earnings per share for the current year.

In related news, insider David Anderson sold 50,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.29, for a total transaction of $615,360.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 474,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,830,376. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph P. Demanche sold 13,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $135,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 54,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $547,450. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 378,240 shares of company stock valued at $4,455,921. 57.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Ameresco by 121.6% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 17,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 9,651 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Ameresco by 536.3% in the 1st quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 18,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 15,891 shares during the last quarter. A.R.T. Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ameresco in the 1st quarter valued at about $287,000. ZPR Investment Management purchased a new position in Ameresco in the 1st quarter valued at about $336,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in Ameresco by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 34,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 6,469 shares during the last quarter. 24.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameresco Company Profile

Ameresco, Inc provides comprehensive energy services for businesses and organizations in North America and Europe. It offers energy efficiency, infrastructure upgrades, energy security and resilience, asset sustainability, and renewable energy solutions. The company operates through U.S. Regions, U.S.

Johnson Controls Power Unit Draws Interest from KKR, Apollo

Johnson Controls International Plc is drawing interest from private equity firms KKR & Co. and Apollo Global Management LLC for its power solutions business that could value the unit at as much as $12 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

The firms were part of a select group of financial sponsors, which also included CVC Capital Partners and Advent International, that were invited to what’s known as a gold card meeting with Johnson Controls management last week to assess their interest in the unit, the people said.

A decision on whether to proceed with an auction is expected shortly, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. The talks, which were preliminary, may not lead to a sale, they said.

Representatives for Johnson Controls, KKR, Apollo, CVC and Advent declined to comment.

Johnson Controls, which is based in Cork, Ireland, and also has offices in Milwaukee, announced in March that it had hired advisory firm Centerview Partners to explore strategic options for the unit with Chief Executive Officer George Oliver saying the company’s focus is on improving operational execution and realizing merger synergy. A $12 billion valuation would give the battery unit a multiple of about eight times earnings, based on a company statement that in 2017 the business generated $7.3 billion in revenue and $1.6 billion in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

The company is the world’s largest producer of automotive batteries, building one-third of all of those produced globally, according to its website. The power solutions unit employs 15,000 worldwide and manufactures and distributes batteries for almost every type of vehicle, according to its website.

Johnson Controls also operates a buildings technology and solutions business that makes safety and security products, a business which was strengthened through its 2016 merger with Tyco International.

LISTEN TO ARTICLE 1:58 Share Share on Facebook Post to Twitter Send as an Email Print

How Selim Bassoul Transformed Middleby Corp.

A maker of commercial and industrial kitchen equipment may seem like an unusual company for Tom and David Gardner to fall in love with -- no matter how how high-quality those ovens and food processors are -- but Middleby�(NASDAQ:MIDD) is a bit more than that. And the biggest reason why has a lot to do with its CEO, Selim Bassoul, who was brought in specifically to give the company a culture.

In this segment of the Rule Breaker Investing podcast, Motley Fool co-founder David Gardner talks with Bassoul about the ideas and mindset he brought to Middleby, as well as what he has learned over the years.

A full transcript follows the video.

This video was recorded on May 9, 2018.

David Gardner: One of my favorite people in business, Selim Bassoul is chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of The Middleby Corporation. As I mentioned earlier in the show, a leading developer and manufacturer of commercial cooking equipment, and food processing and packaging equipment.

Mr. Bassoul is responsible for the strategic direction of the company and leading the senior management team. And, as you'll find out from our interview, at least two more things. First of all, he's responsible, in many ways, for a hugely winning stock over the last decade plus and he's a gentleman with a really interesting backstory.

Without further ado, Selim Bassoul.

__

Gardner: It was, I'm going to say, February of 2013. My brother came back from an interview he'd done with a public company CEO and he insisted that all his executive team watch the full 60-plus minutes of this privately taped video interview that we eventually shared with our members. But Tom was so passionate about it. He said, "I insist that all of my direct reports watch this." It was an interview with Selim Bassoul, the CEO of Middleby.

And Selim Bassoul I'm very pleased to have with me here on Rule Breaker Investing. Selim, I watched that video, I loved it, and then I noticed that no Motley Fool service at that moment was actively recommending Middleby stock. Hidden Gems Tom had started, found your company early on, and had a great run with it; but, somebody had sold it, I think, at some point. And so, I said, "I'm going to recommend Middleby for Rule Breakers".

That was one month after, so it was March of 2013. The stock right then was around $49. Today it's around $125. It's been an awfully good five years. Selim, thank you for all that you've done [not just for investors and Rule Breaker members listening right now], but through your business for the world at large, and I want to try to talk about each of those three things as quickly as we can.

Let me start by asking. How did Middleby start?

Selim Bassoul: Well, it started in the '80s by Bill Whitman. It was a company that had good brands. They were selling everything to everybody. They had ovens, and refrigerators, and mixers. And it was a company like everybody, a "me too" company. Almost growing [...] Not a lot of innovation and there was a lot of turnover. We had a lot of turnover of employees. There were a lot of turnovers of customers. We did not have a process. There was no culture.

In fact, the smartest thing that Bill Whitman did was to hire me. He went and recruited me...

Gardner: [Laughs]

Bassoul: ...to come in and change his company and change the culture.

Gardner: What year was that, Selim?

Bassoul: It was in 1996. And he gave me free hand to set a new culture. And that's lesson No. 1. Lesson No. 1 is surround yourself with the best. When you are struggling and sinking, the best thing is to go find the best. At the time I was a rising star in the food equipment business. He approached me, and he said, "Selim, I want you. I want you to come in." Lesson No. 2 is to give full empowerment to your employees to do what they need to do. No. 3 is he said to me, "Selim, we do not have a culture. Create a culture."

Gardner: And Selim, you came as a rising star from another company. Did you borrow anything from that experience? What did you learn and what is the culture that you've now created? And the number I think is right -- 22 years later.

Bassoul: David, I learned from being in healthcare that you cannot survive without speed, agility, and innovation. You can't. In healthcare, those are the three major factors of being able to be relevant. And I adapted that in every one of our businesses. Speed -- speed of execution. Speed of innovation. Agility -- remaining lean and efficient and agile.

And No. 3 is just innovation. You have to innovate. You have to be ahead of your customers.

Gardner: Selim, as I think about the success that Middleby's had, you have been a master of acquiring other companies. You have great organic growth, and a wonderful vision. We're going to talk about your vision for the world at large in a little bit, but sticking with Middleby, here, you have grown the company through any number of acquisitions over years now. Integrating them.

And the way that I cast it -- as we wrote up your stock five years ago -- tell me if we have this right. We always have things a little wrong, so correct me here, Selim. I was saying that Bassoul has this wonderful story that he can tell talented, up-and-coming companies.

He said, "You're great. I like you. If I like you you'll stay on and be within the leadership, but two things we can offer you. No. 1, we can make you global. Many of you are smaller companies or regional companies. We can take you and make you much bigger. And No. 2, we are a technology company, ourselves. We can improve your technology, so we can make you better and bigger."

That, as it turns out, has been a siren song for dozens of companies that you've acquired over the years. Is that an accurate portrayal of the company? I know it's not fully accurate. What else needs to be said?

Bassoul: I think this is quite accurate. I will go back and tell you what we do not do. We do not buy markets or competitors. We buy technology innovation. If you aim to acquire a market or to take out a competitor, you will always fail, so that has never been our model. A lot of people come to me and say, "Selim, but if you buy this market, it's easy." I'd say, "We can grow in the market organically. We don't need to buy somebody."

No. 2: What we always do is find the people that fit us. They should be disruptive in their own world and they need to have a culture of winning.

And the third is a culture of empowerment. So, I look at lots of entrepreneurs and I find that a lot of them have technology, they have a winning culture, but they are not able to empower their people. They have such control that they become control freaks. And many times, I walk away from this, because then the culture doesn't work for us.

We do not embrace control freaks. It doesn't work. When you have only three layers of separation between me and the lowest-ranking employees, you have to create a lot of autonomy, otherwise we cannot do our job. We cannot grow.

Gardner: Maybe the hardest thing to do in business is to acquire something else. A different culture. Even if it's a like-minded culture, ultimately, it's a separate group of people. You've not met them before. All of a sudden, they're part of you. And so, this is not a fair question, but why would we ask fair questions on Rule Breaker Investing? Selim, could you give a 90-second or so short course, maybe with three points? A master class for those of us who would like to do our acquisitions better. How have you made it work? Ninety seconds or so.

Bassoul: No. 1 is to make sure that you are able to get a return on your investment. That's No. 1. It's not how much you pay. It's how much you get back in terms of return. Our format is simple. We like to get back our cash in five years or less. Including synergy and everything else, if I pay $100 million for an acquisition, I want to get back all my cash in five years or less.

No. 2, I want to be able to know that this company I can take globally. We do not buy regional players. At the end, this is not what we need. We need scale.

No. 3, we need to make sure that the management team can stay with us; not only the founder or the family that owned it or the owner, but deep in the organization, because we want to have people on the bench. If we cannot keep that management team, we'll not buy that company irrespective of how good they are.

Gardner: That's really interesting. And many people take an opposite approach. I remember John Mackey of Whole Foods often says it's very hard for us as an acquisitive company [Whole Foods, over the course of a few decades], to let those CEOs in place. Usually when he buys, he lets them know that's going to be their last day on the job for that company.

Of course, Warren Buffett, sounding a lot more like Selim Bassoul, here, prefers to find those great managers and put them in place. I guess it can work either way. We each need to find what is the music, what is the rhythm that works for us, and that's a brilliant master class in 90 seconds. Thank you, Selim.

Why Dycom Stock Dropped Today

What happened

Shares of telecommunications infrastructure provider Dycom (NYSE:DY)�stock are diving -- down 16% as of 10:35 a.m. EDT after reporting a swing and a miss on both sales and earnings for its fiscal Q1 2019. (And no that's not a typo. Dycom is about a year ahead of everyone else when it comes to its fiscal calendar).

Looking�to report Q1 sales of $736.1 million, Dycom delivered $731.4 million this morning instead. Expected to report a pro forma profit of at least $0.68 per share, Dycom said its adjusted earnings were only $0.63 -- and its GAAP profit a mere $0.53 per share.

Image source: Getty Images.

So what

Sales declined 7% year over year in Q1, and organic sales "growth" was negative 10%. (Revenues from "storm restoration services" and "contract revenues from acquired businesses" helped to minimize the decline in organic sales).

Diluted earnings per share, meanwhile, declined a much steeper 57% year over year, falling to the aforementioned $0.53 per share.

Now what

Still, Dycom remains profitable, and its guidance for the rest of this year suggests that's not going to change in the near term -- if not quite so profitable as investors had hoped. For fiscal Q2 2019 (that's the quarter we are in now), Dycom says it expects to earn between $1.02 and $1.17 per share, GAAP, on sales of between $830 million and $860 million. For the full year, Dycom's guidance calls for $3.81 to $4.70 per share in profit on sales between $3.23 billion to $3.42 billion.

These numbers are below what Dycom had previously promised, however, and below Wall Street's expectations. The full year guidance, for example, is roughly $1 below previous guidance, and a full $1 below what Wall Street had been telling investors to expect.

Hence the sell-off.

Match Downplays Facebook and Produces Stunning Growth

There were a lot of questions going into Match Group's (NASDAQ:MTCH) earnings release. Just a week before, reports emerged that Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) planned on adding dating features to its ubiquitous social media site, causing Match's stock to dive 25%.

Facebook has had success at poaching ideas from competitors before, like its development of Instagram Stories, which offered features similar to those found on Snapchat. With more than 2.2 billion monthly active users, it was feared that Facebook could emerge as a major competitor to Match's dating apps, which include Tinder, OkCupid, Match, PlentyOfFish, and many others.

Couples continue to "heart" Match Group. Image source: Getty Images.

Match Group results: The raw numbers

Metric

Q1 2019

Q1 2018

Year-Over-Year Change

Revenue	$407.37 million	$298.76 million	36%
Operating income	$112.23 million	$58.87 million	91%
GAAP earnings per share	$0.33	$0.08	313%

Data source: Match Group First-Quarter 2018 Financial Release. Chart by author.

What happened at Match Group this quarter?

For the just completed first quarter, Match Group said its revenue of $407 million, which increased 36% year over year, was the highest quarter-over-quarter revenue growth since the company went public in November 2015. Earnings per share of $0.33 tripled compared to the prior-year quarter, and the results beat analysts' expectations for revenue of $386 million and earnings per share of $0.19.

Tinder continued to be the main growth driver, with members increasing sequentially by 368,000, and adding 1.6 million over the previous year. The increase drove Tinder's revenue, which increased 150% compared to the prior-year quarter.�Members are also spending more, with average revenue per user (ARPU) up 37% year over year as a result of user adoption of Tinder Gold, the premium version of the app.

Match's total subscribers hit 7.43 million, up 26% year over year, while ARPU of $0.58 grew 8% compared to the prior-year quarter.

"We continue to deliver innovative products that customers across our portfolio of brands find valuable, and we are not slowing down anytime soon," commented Mandy Ginsberg, Match's CEO. "I am highly confident that our product roadmap, particularly at Tinder, will allow us to remain the clear leader in this category and deliver continued growth for Match Group shareholders."

The biggest question, of course, was whether Facebook's move into the dating space would have an adverse impact on the company's business. During the conference call, Ginsberg said, "I don't think that people are going to be comfortable mixing their dating lives with Facebook." She went on to say that most people on Facebook didn't want to share details of their love life, or be contacted by strangers on a site that is primarily used for connecting with friends and family.

Looking ahead

Given the company's impressive results, Match raised its full-year forecast and provided the following guidance:

Total revenue in a range of $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion, up from the $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion it forecast just last quarter, which would represent 24% year-over-year growth at the midpoint of its guidance.� Adjusted EBITDA between $600 million and $650 million -- up from the $550 million to $600 million in its previous forecast, which would represent 33% year-over-year growth at the midpoint of its guidance.

It remains to be seen if Facebook's move into the space will have any meaningful impact on the company's future results. Match is banking on its 20-year head start and innovative products to maintain its significant lead in the space.