When to Cut and Run vs. When to Double Down

Underwater positions �� there is no topic that investors would rather avoid talking about.

But as I pointed out in a recent article on diversification, some positions are going to head in the opposite direction of where you want them to.

So the issue is more about when �� or IF �� you should close out any losing positions in your portfolio.

I generally go against the grain when it comes to this type of decision.

See, a lot of experts will say you should just sell a position when it reaches a particular percentage loss… the whole ��cut your losses short and let your winners run�� theory.

For more trading-oriented strategies, I think that can make a lot of sense.

It encourages you to be less emotional about your investments�� and the discipline automatically limits the amount of capital you can lose on any single trade.

But if you have a longer time horizon, or your goal is generating solid investment income, I��d tell you to reconsider creating arbitrary stop loss signals.

In fact, I have no problem sitting on a losing position because I have seen many come roaring back!

Here��s a recent example from one of my own personal portfolios.

On June 28th of last year, I purchase 428 shares of Supervalu, a grocery chain operator and food distribution company.

The stock was already very beaten down and trading at $22.45.

Unfortunately, it continued to head even lower and by October 20th it was at $14.90.

A lot of people would have simply sold by this point.

I actually bought another 500 shares.

I now had $17,058.92 invested in the stock�� no small amount of money.

So you can imagine how gut wrenching it was to see the shares go even a bit LOWER still!

But I was convinced Supervalu was still worth far more than the market price so I held firm.

Here��s a chart that shows the action with my buy points circled��

Then, a couple positive developments started happening, including a new activist investor establishing a big stake and pushing for changes…

The stock started rebounding into the $20s��

And then last Thursday, July 26th, United Natural Foods offered to buy the entire company for roughly $32.50 a share �� a 67% premium to the previous day��s closing price.

That��s the big spike you see right at the end of my chart.

End result?

I just booked a $12,740 profit in one year (actually much less on average, since more than half of my position was established when I doubled down in October).

This is hardly a fluke.

It��s actually the SECOND time I��ve seen this happen just with Supervalu.

The first time was back in 2012, when I recommended the stock for my Dad��s real-money $100,000 retirement portfolio�� the one I was sharing with tens of thousands of readers.

Just like this recent time, the grocer��s stock had already been punished pretty severely but that didn��t stop it from going MUCH lower after my Dad (and probably many readers) had bought in.

As you can see from this chart below, at one point the shares were actually down more than 60% from Dad��s original entry point in the $7 range.

Wow, talk about a gut-wrenching decline!

Once again, most investors would have certainly dumped at some point, taken a big loss, and moved on.

But nothing about my investment thesis had changed.

And ultimately, I WAS vindicated on Supervalu that time, too, because the company started turning things around like I predicted.

First, it reached an agreement to sell some of its chains �� including Albertsons, Acme, Shaw��s and Star Market �� to a consortium of investors led by Cerberus Capital Management.

Then, its results started improving and the business returned to profitability.

Just take a look at this second chart, which is the same one as above with all the subsequent action added in.

You can see how quickly the stock started bouncing back to �� and ultimately ABOVE �� the original recommendation point.

My Dad ended up booking a solid 30.8% total return on the position once it hit my short-term price target.

And anyone who bought in at lower prices as I continued to pound the table on this stock could have more than TRIPLED their initial investment.

I could keep giving you more examples beyond Supervalu but here��s the bottom line��

If you��re a long-term investor and the fundamental reasons for owning a given position haven��t changed, I believe it makes sense to continue holding … especially if you��re receiving dividends along the way.

Moreover, the better you understand those fundamental reasons for owning a stock, the more confident you��ll be in staying put while the market goes against you.

You may even consider adding more shares on serious weakness.

Because as my latest Supervalu investment just proved, it��s entirely possible to see a 67% jump in one single day �� rewarding anyone with guts, patience and conviction.

To a richer life,

Nilus Mattive
Editor, Rich Life Roadmap

Up 400% So Far in 2018, Is Intelsat for Real?

Shares of satellite communications company Intelsat (NYSE:I) are up over 400% so far in 2018. Positive press and speculation have fueled the dramatic increase, and at least one analyst is calling for even more upside. However, investors hoping for more return should be aware of the big risk they are taking in owning this company.

What happened?

The hubbub got started early this year when the Luxembourg-based communications outfit reported its full-year 2017 results. Along with those results, the company said it won a contract to expand 4G LTE mobile services in rural America and that a proposal was made to the Federal Communications Commission to use Intelsat's satellites to speed up the deployment of the fast-approaching 5G wireless network.

When you add in an upgrade from RBC Capital Markets�, as well as a sensational call from small analyst Kerrisdale Capital for the sub-$20 stock to jump to $150, traders had all the ingredients they needed to land a jackpot. By the way, under all of that news is the fact that Intelsat is running at a steep loss and sales growth has been weak at best. Revenue fell 1.8% in 2017 and 3.7% in the first quarter of 2018 when excluding a $25 million benefit from new revenue recognition standards. Losses per share were $1.50 and $0.56 in 2017 and first-quarter 2018, respectively.

Data by YCharts.

The $14 billion elephant in the room

The upshot here for investors is that Intelsat may have a few irons in the fire to get revenue and cash flow back into growth mode. The company's biggest customers are communications networks, media companies, and government services, all of which have new needs that Intelsat's satellites help meet. However, the big concern is on the balance sheet. Intelsat is bogged down with long-term debt, to the tune of $14.1 billion as of the end of the first quarter. To put that in perspective, Intelsat's current market cap is only $2.4 billion and cash and equivalents on hand are only $492 million.

Juggling that debt by refinancing when it comes due has been the name of the game, but servicing it is becoming more costly. Interest expense in the last reported period was $282 million compared with $246 million a year ago. Both figures gobbled up more than profits from operations. For full-year 2017, interest expense was $1.02 billion and was the biggest reason the company posted a red bottom line.

Image source: Getty Images.

In fact, it was for this reason that Intelsat shares traded for a mere $2 and change before exploding higher earlier this year. Granted, the company has plenty of assets it could monetize to wean itself off lenders, and with the prospect of new wireless networks providing a spark to generate growth, Intelsat's heavy burden could get a little lighter soon.

For investors attracted to the triple-digit marquee return this year, though, it could be as good as it gets for the stock. Unchecked borrowing is still easily outstripping operating margins, and without confirmation that new revenue sources are for certain, losses likely aren't going to swing to profits anytime soon.

Yamana Gold (YRI) Hits New 12-Month Low at $3.58

Shares of Yamana Gold Inc. (TSE:YRI) (NYSE:AUY) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as C$3.58 and last traded at C$3.61, with a volume of 2262499 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$3.74.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on YRI shares. National Bank Financial upgraded Yamana Gold from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from C$6.00 to C$5.75 in a report on Tuesday, April 10th. Canaccord Genuity cut their price target on Yamana Gold from C$6.00 to C$5.75 in a report on Monday, May 28th.

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Yamana Gold (TSE:YRI) (NYSE:AUY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 2nd. The company reported C$0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.01. The firm had revenue of C$568.48 million for the quarter. Yamana Gold had a negative return on equity of 17.87% and a negative net margin of 41.69%.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 29th were issued a dividend of $0.006 per share. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 28th.

About Yamana Gold

Yamana Gold Inc operates as a gold producer with gold production, gold development stage properties, exploration properties, and land positions throughout the Americas, including Canada, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. It primarily sells precious metals, including gold, silver, and copper. The company was formerly known as Yamana Resources Inc and changed its name to Yamana Gold Inc in July 2003.

Further Reading: Are Wall Street analysts’ stock ratings worth following?

Brokerages Anticipate Centurylink Inc (CTL) to Post $0.23 EPS

Wall Street analysts expect that Centurylink Inc (NYSE:CTL) will announce earnings per share of $0.23 for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks reports. Six analysts have provided estimates for Centurylink’s earnings, with the highest EPS estimate coming in at $0.28 and the lowest estimate coming in at $0.18. Centurylink reported earnings of $0.46 per share during the same quarter last year, which indicates a negative year over year growth rate of 50%. The firm is expected to issue its next quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Wednesday, August 8th.

On average, analysts expect that Centurylink will report full year earnings of $0.93 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $0.84 to $1.00. For the next financial year, analysts forecast that the business will report earnings of $1.06 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $0.82 to $1.45. Zacks’ earnings per share averages are an average based on a survey of sell-side research firms that that provide coverage for Centurylink.

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Centurylink (NYSE:CTL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 9th. The technology company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $5.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.97 billion. Centurylink had a return on equity of 4.94% and a net margin of 6.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 41.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. TheStreet upgraded Centurylink from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Friday, July 6th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Centurylink in a research note on Wednesday, May 16th. Macquarie lowered Centurylink from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $27.61 to $18.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Centurylink from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 26th. Finally, ValuEngine lowered Centurylink from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.00.

In related news, Director Steven T. Clontz bought 41,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.44 per share, for a total transaction of $797,040.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 162,019 shares in the company, valued at $3,149,649.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CTL. Ballew Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Centurylink in the first quarter valued at about $101,000. Archford Capital Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centurylink in the first quarter valued at about $130,000. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centurylink in the first quarter valued at about $136,000. Private Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Centurylink by 295.1% in the first quarter. Private Capital Group LLC now owns 8,783 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 6,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Centurylink in the first quarter valued at about $150,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.46% of the company’s stock.

Centurylink stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $19.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 76,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,433,678. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35, a PEG ratio of -14.08 and a beta of 0.79. Centurylink has a 1-year low of $13.16 and a 1-year high of $23.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58.

Centurylink Company Profile

CenturyLink, Inc provides various communications services to residential, business, wholesale, and governmental customers primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Business and Consumer. The company offers virtual private network data network services; Ethernet services; Internet protocol services; CenturyLink Prism TV that allows customers to watch television or cable channels and record up to four shows on one home digital video recorder; and Vyvx, which provides audio and video feeds over fiber or satellite for broadcast and production customers, as well as satellite digital television services.

Further Reading: Book Value Of Equity Per Share �� BVPS Explained

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Lawsuit: Black farmers were sold 'fake' seeds

Black farmers, whose numbers already have dwindled precipitously over the past century, face new hardships�after suffering�poor yields�last year, because they were�sold "fake" soybean seeds marketed at a Memphis trade show, members of a group representing African-American growers said Tuesday.

Leaders of�the Memphis-based Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association have�filed a class-action lawsuit against Stine Seed Co., the nation's largest independent seed-producer, accusing the Adel, Iowa, firm of targeting African-Americans for sales of defective seeds.

The suit alleges that black farmers who attended the 67th Annual Mid-South Farm & Gin Show at the Memphis Cook Convention Center in March of last year bought more than $100,000 worth of�Stine�seeds. But the "certified" seeds the growers had paid for were switched with inferior ones at a warehouse near Sledge, Miss., according to the suit.

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Stine, in a statement issued Tuesday night, strongly denied the allegations and said it would mount a vigorous defense against the "meritless" lawsuit.

The lawsuit is the latest action by the BFAA, which also has represented some of the African-American�farmers claiming widespread discriminatory practices against�by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Following an initial class-action lawsuit against USDA,�nearly 16,000 growers had collected settlements totaling $1.06 billion by 2011. Congress has appropriated $1.2 billion to pay for a second wave of settlements.

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Winter wheat is harvested in a field farmed by Dalton and Carson North near McCracken, Kan. Kansas farmers are harvesting a smaller winter wheat crop amid an ongoing drought.  CHARLIE RIEDEL, APFullscreen Winter wheat stands ready to by harvested in a field near McCracken, Kan. The government forecast U.S. winter wheat production at nearly 1.2 billion bushels, down 6 percent from last year.   CHARLIE RIEDEL, APFullscreen Winter wheat is harvested in a field near McCracken, Kan. Kansas is the nation's leading wheat producer with a forecast of 270 million bushels, down 19 percent compared to a year ago. Kansas is expected to harvest 7.3 million acres of wheat.   CHARLIE RIEDEL, APFullscreen Winter wheat is harvested in a field near McCracken, Kan.   CHARLIE RIEDEL, APFullscreen Winter wheat is harvested in a field near McCracken, Kan.   CHARLIE RIEDEL, APFullscreen Winter wheat is harvested in a field near McCracken, Kan.   CHARLIE RIEDEL, APFullscreen Winter wheat stands ready to by harvested in a field near McCracken, Kan.  CHARLIE RIEDEL, APFullscreen Winter wheat stands ready to by harvested in a field near McCracken, Kan.  CHARLIE RIEDEL, APFullscreen Winter wheat stands ready to by harvested in a field near McCracken, Kan.  CHARLIE RIEDEL, APFullscreen Winter wheat stands ready to by harvested in a field near McCracken, Kan.  CHARLIE RIEDEL, APFullscreen Winter wheat is harvested in a field near McCracken, Kan.   CHARLIE RIEDEL, APFullscreenInterested in this topic? You may also want to view these photo galleries:Replay1 of 112 of 113 of 114 of 115 of 116 of 117 of 118 of 119 of 1110 of 1111 of 11AutoplayShow ThumbnailsShow CaptionsLast SlideNext Slide

BFAA president Thomas Burrell said at a news conference Tuesday that the number of black farmers has dropped from nearly 1 million in 1920 to about 5,000 today largely as a result of "systemic racism." The�low yields resulting from the�"fake" seeds could�drive more minority growers out of business, he said.��

"The few remaining black farmers, who have survived drought, who have survived tariffs, who have survived all kinds of natural disasters... are now finding themselves having to deal with the government of systemic racism by not only the Department of Agriculture, but now seed-manufacturers, seed-breeders, chemical manufacturers who now are weaponizing and have weaponized their seeds," Burrell said.

Farmers using the seeds reported yields that were only half�those from other varieties, according to the suit. At the news conference, BFAA officials distributed laboratory results from Mississippi State University showing that none of the farmers' seeds that had been submitted for testing germinated.

"Upon learning of these claims, the company took swift action to conduct an internal investigation, which has not revealed any evidence that would support these allegations," Stine president Myron Stine said in a statement.�"Our focus is on continuing to serve all our customers with the highest degree of integrity and respect that are the bedrock of our company��s values.��

He said the company has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

CLOSE

The U.S. hiked tariffs on Chinese imports Friday. Beijing has said it would be forced to counterattack. China could put higher tariffs on a number of U.S. goods including soybeans, whiskey and pork. That has pork farmers worried. (July 6) AP

�

SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (SSNC) Receives $58.44 Consensus PT from Analysts

SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSNC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $58.44.

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. BidaskClub upgraded shares of SS&C Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 21st. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of SS&C Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of SS&C Technologies in a report on Tuesday, May 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Credit Suisse Group assumed coverage on shares of SS&C Technologies in a report on Thursday, May 31st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of SS&C Technologies in a report on Tuesday, June 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company.

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Shares of SS&C Technologies opened at $53.02 on Tuesday, according to Marketbeat. SS&C Technologies has a one year low of $36.48 and a one year high of $55.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.62, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

SS&C Technologies (NASDAQ:SSNC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.01). SS&C Technologies had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 19.65%. The firm had revenue of $434.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. analysts anticipate that SS&C Technologies will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 31st. SS&C Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.64%.

In other SS&C Technologies news, SVP Paul Gerard Igoe sold 112,000 shares of SS&C Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.17, for a total value of $5,395,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 112,000 shares in the company, valued at $5,395,040. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jonathan E. Michael bought 12,543 shares of SS&C Technologies stock in a transaction on Friday, May 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $49.10 per share, with a total value of $615,861.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Macquarie Group Ltd. lifted its stake in SS&C Technologies by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 331,783 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $13,431,000 after acquiring an additional 108,319 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in SS&C Technologies by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 123,919 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,016,000 after acquiring an additional 6,468 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in SS&C Technologies by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 21,710 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $879,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in SS&C Technologies by 361.3% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 279,761 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,325,000 after acquiring an additional 219,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BB&T Securities LLC acquired a new stake in SS&C Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $320,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.75% of the company’s stock.

About SS&C Technologies

SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc provides software products and software-enabled services to financial services providers. Its products and services allow its clients to automate and integrate front-office functions, such as trading and modeling; middle-office functions, including portfolio management and reporting; and back-office functions comprising accounting, performance measurement, reconciliation, reporting, processing, and clearing.

Better Buy: Facebook, Inc. vs. Twitter

In the world of social media, there's Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), and there's everyone else. Facebook has four products with over 1 billion users. Other social media companies are lucky to have one. Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), which once showed promise of reaching the same level of ubiquity as Facebook, has seen its monthly active user growth stall in recent years, inching slightly higher to 336 million in the first quarter, up 3% year over year.

But Twitter has had some successes lately. It has improved engagement among its monthly users, as exemplified by its double-digit daily user growth in each of the last six quarters. Management also says its shift to video ads has resulted in better return on investment for marketers, which it expects to eventually attract back to the platform. These accomplishments have Twitter trading at a multiyear high.

Facebook is also trading near its all-time high price, which may give investors pause when choosing among their investment options in social media. Let's take a closer look at both Facebook and Twitter stock to determine which is the better buy right now.

Image source: Facebook.

The same underlying business

Facebook and Twitter might cater to different audiences, but they still rely on the same underlying business model. Both companies want to keep your attention for as much time as possible. Users' engagement with each company's respective app provides opportunities for Facebook and Twitter to show ads and collect data to help determine which ad will produce the greatest value in any given instance.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has recently commented that the company doesn't want to maximize time spent, but wants to improve the quality of time spent on Facebook and its apps. Facebook has even taken steps to reduce time spent on its flagship app and Instagram. Still, the goal is to capture users' attention. Zuckerberg just noted the quality of that attention is an important factor, too.

Facebook is extremely dominant with regard to capturing its users' attention. Daily users spend an average of over 40 minutes per day on Facebook. Instagram users spend another half hour or so. U.S. users may be even more engaged, averaging 58.5 minutes per day on Facebook and 53 minutes per day on Instagram, according to data from SimilarWeb.

Meanwhile, Twitter's engagement levels are relatively tiny. Users spend an average of just 1 minute per day in the app, according to Mediakix.

Twitter engagement is improving. Daily active users are increasing significantly faster than monthly active users. That said, with such low monthly user growth at Twitter, it's not hard to outpace that growth. Last quarter, Twitter increased daily users by 10% year over year.

Facebook managed to grow daily users even faster (13%) on top of its already massive user base. So, while Twitter is improving engagement, Facebook is also seeing an influx of new users to grow the total amount of time spent on its platform.

Once users are engaged, monetize them

Keeping users engaged is only half the battle, the other half is displaying ads that produce strong returns on investment for advertisers. This is where Facebook truly shines.

Due to its strong user engagement, Facebook has millions of data points on each user about their interests. It can use those data to effectively target advertisements for businesses no matter what size. That's how it's managed to attract over 6 million active advertisers. Small businesses, in particular, are heavily reliant on Facebook advertisements to drive growth.

Twitter, on the other hand, doesn't have the same breadth or depth of user data as Facebook. As a result, it's only managed to attract a small fraction of the advertisers that are on Facebook. A majority of Twitter's ad revenue still comes from large brands, who are simply looking to reach as broad of an audience as possible and aren't as reliant on data to create highly targeted ads like on Facebook. But with a smaller audience than Facebook, brand advertisers are only giving Twitter a fraction of their business.

Most importantly, Facebook is able to produce a better return on investment for advertisers both big and small. Twitter has recently boasted about the improvement to its advertisements' returns. But Facebook CFO Dave Wehner rightfully pointed out that marketers will compare ROI across platforms, not the same platform this quarter to last quarter. With Facebook dominating return on investment among social media apps, it's in the best position to win the vast majority of ad budgets.

A look at some numbers

Qualitatively, Facebook is hands-down a better company than Twitter, with strong user growth, excellent user engagement, and ad products that convert better for marketers. Let's look at how the two compare on valuation.

Metric

Facebook

Twitter

Price-to-sales ratio	12.87	12.69
Enterprise value-to-EBITDA ratio	19.93	57.28
Price-to-free-cash-flow ratio	30.62	49.46

Data source: YCharts. Table source: Author

The only area where Twitter has a better valuation than Facebook is in its price-to-sales ratio. Even then, the margin between the two is slim, and there's a clear reason why Facebook ought to have a higher P/S ratio than Twitter. Facebook's profit margins are absolutely massive, with an operating margin of 46% in the first quarter this year.�In comparison, Twitter posted an operating margin of just 11%. That discrepancy shows up in the two companies' EV/EBITDA valuations.

The story is also clear when looking at the amount investors value the free cash flow generated by both companies. Facebook's valuation is far lower than Twitter's. That's despite the fact that Facebook is showing improvements in its free cash flow while Twitter's growth is relatively slow. Facebook's free cash flow improved 33% in the first quarter; Twitter's improved 7%.

With better business operations and a better valuation, Facebook is a clear better buy for investors.

Brokerages Expect Innospec Inc. (IOSP) Will Post Earnings of $1.11 Per Share

Equities research analysts forecast that Innospec Inc. (NASDAQ:IOSP) will announce $1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks. Zero analysts have provided estimates for Innospec’s earnings. Innospec reported earnings of $1.16 per share during the same quarter last year, which indicates a negative year-over-year growth rate of 4.3%. The company is expected to report its next quarterly earnings report on Tuesday, August 14th.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Innospec will report full year earnings of $4.40 per share for the current financial year. For the next year, analysts expect that the firm will report earnings of $4.65 per share. Zacks Investment Research’s earnings per share averages are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side research firms that that provide coverage for Innospec.

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Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $360.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.90 million. Innospec had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 EPS.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BidaskClub raised shares of Innospec from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 7th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Innospec from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 18th. ValuEngine cut shares of Innospec from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Finally, Johnson Rice raised shares of Innospec from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.00.

In related news, VP Brian Watt sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.32, for a total value of $263,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 26,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,984,606.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Ian Malcolm Mcrobbie sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.71, for a total transaction of $383,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 35,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,753,045.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,841 shares of company stock valued at $1,209,657. Corporate insiders own 2.02% of the company’s stock.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IOSP. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Innospec by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 167,152 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,801,000 after acquiring an additional 9,061 shares during the last quarter. Aperio Group LLC lifted its position in Innospec by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. Aperio Group LLC now owns 7,638 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,022 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in Innospec in the fourth quarter valued at $586,000. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Innospec by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 32,788 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 3,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Innospec by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,085,422 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,630,000 after acquiring an additional 21,708 shares during the last quarter. 91.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of Innospec traded up $0.85, hitting $79.85, during trading on Friday, Marketbeat reports. 179,136 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 91,591. The stock has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14 and a beta of 1.06. Innospec has a 12-month low of $54.10 and a 12-month high of $81.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

The company also recently disclosed a semiannual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is a boost from Innospec’s previous semiannual dividend of $0.39. This represents a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 18th. Innospec’s payout ratio is 37.77%.

Innospec Company Profile

Innospec Inc develops, manufactures, blends, markets, and supplies specialty chemicals for use as fuel additives, ingredients for personal care, home care, agrochemical, mining and other applications, and oilfield chemicals worldwide. It operates through four segments: Fuel Specialties, Performance Chemicals, Oilfield Services, and Octane Additives.

Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Innospec (IOSP)

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

Intel Could Pay Dearly for Its 10nm Chip Production Delay

On a day when Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) crushed Wall Street's expectations with a stellar first-quarter report, investors were worried about something else. Chipzilla revealed that its move to the 10-nanometer (nm) chip production process will be delayed once again due to yield issues, this time to an unspecified date in 2019.

When CEO Brian Krzanich said that the chipmaker might have gone overboard�with its 10nm chip development targets, investors were unsettled, as the company has now officially lost its manufacturing lead in the chip industry. An advanced chip manufacturing process�would have allowed Intel to reduce production costs, increase processing power, and make its chips more power efficient. And all of this is crucial in warding off the ever-growing competition.

But Intel investors will now have to wait until�2020 (assuming there are no further delays) for the volume production to begin, and this could spell trouble.

Image Source: Intel�

CPU dominance is in danger

Intel is the dominant supplier of central processing units (CPUs) used in PCs, holding an estimated 88% of this market at the end of 2017, according�to Mercury Research. But rival Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) has done well to make its mark in the CPU space with its Ryzen CPUs, which are based on the 14nm chip manufacturing process.

AMD increased�its CPU market share to 12% at the end of last year from 9.9% the year before. However, AMD can inflict more damage on Intel this year as its latest second-generation Ryzen CPUs are based on an improved�12nm process (a refined version of last year's 14nm process).

AMD claims that the new Ryzen CPUs are 16% faster�and 11% more power efficient than last year's first-gen offerings. But the bigger play for AMD lies elsewhere, as the second-gen Ryzen chips are just a steppingstone to something more important.

AMD plans�to leapfrog Intel's chip manufacturing technology by next year with its Zen 2 architecture, which is based on a 7nm manufacturing process and is slated for a commercial launch next year. The fact that AMD's foundry partner�TSMC has already started�volume production of 7nm chips lends credibility to AMD's ambitions to attack Intel's manufacturing lead. This doesn't bode well for Intel's client computing group (CCG), which accounted�for almost 51% of revenue last quarter.

Intel has been relying on higher average selling prices (ASPs) of its processors to drive growth in CCG and beat the flat PC shipment volumes. For instance, the segment's revenue increased�3% year over year in the latest quarter on the back of a 7% increase in desktop ASPs and a 1% increase in notebook ASPs. But the company could be forced to reduce prices of its CPUs to overcome AMD's threat and defend market share, and Intel is no stranger�to such a strategy.

This spells trouble for its CCG segment profitability. The segment's operating margin was down�4% last quarter to 34%, with Intel blaming the drop on 10nm transition costs. With the transition to 10nm still some time away and competitive threats rising, Intel's CCG business looks set for a rough ride.

More bad news

The fallout from Intel's 10nm delay won't be restricted to the CPU business. The data center group (DCG), which is the company's second-largest�source of revenue with a third of the total top line, will also feel the heat.

Intel has relied big time on DCG to drive growth. The segment reported�24% year-over-year growth in the latest quarter and could exceed $20 billion in revenue this year if it keeps growing at its current pace. Intel credits its Xeon processors for this impressive growth. They are witnessing strong demand thanks to their application�in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing.

The segment's terrific growth clearly indicates that Intel's latest�Xeon processors (which are also based on a 14nm platform) have helped it maintain a near�monopoly in server chips. But AMD has managed to make a mark here, thanks to its EPYC server chips that were launched�at aggressive prices last year.

Server original equipment manufacturers have been warming up to EPYC, giving AMD hope that it could get a mid-single-digit share of the server chip market by the end of 2018. But AMD can do much more, as its "Rome" server chips -- based on Zen 2 architecture -- are expected to succeed EPYC next year.

AMD's data-center roadmap�clearly indicates that it will start manufacturing chips on the 7nm process between now and 2020. Now that AMD has completed�its Zen 2 design, its next-gen server chips are expected to come out in late 2018, and deployment is expected to begin in 2019.

The EPYC Rome is expected to pack stronger technical specifications thanks to the improved manufacturing process. And it will probably help AMD grab a bigger piece of the server chip market in the long run.

Meanwhile, Intel's progress in the programmable solutions group (PSG) could also hit a speed bump thanks to market leader Xilinx's technology�lead.

PSG has been gaining impressive traction recently as the likes of Microsoft and Baidu have selected�Intel's programmable chips to accelerate�AI workloads in data centers. In fact, Intel saw a 150% increase�in sales of programmable data center chips last quarter, boosting the segment's revenue by 17% to $498 million.

But Xilinx has a new weapon in the form of Project Everest, which is based on a 7nm architecture and is expected to start shipping next year. Xilinx is claiming that its Everest chips will be 20 times faster�at running AI workloads, compared to the existing products on the market. Intel, meanwhile, will be stuck on its Stratix 10 programmable chips built on the 14nm�Tri-Gate process that's three�years old already.

Brace for impact

Turn the clock back two years, and you would see Intel dominating rivals such as AMD. But times have changed, and Intel's customers have been choosing rivals' products. For instance, AMD now has over 40 EPYC-based server�systems on the market thanks to the likes of Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Dell EMC, and Cray, among others. Amazon, Huawei, and Alibaba, meanwhile, chose Xilinx's programmable chips last year as the company enjoys a significant technology lead over Intel that could expand further.

There will be no immediate impact on Intel because of its 10nm delay. Rivals are still working on advanced manufacturing processes, and even they could run into trouble. But if Intel is unable to keep up as its rivals take the next step, the chip giant could be in choppy waters.

Eternity Price Tops $0.0366 on Major Exchanges (ENT)

Eternity (CURRENCY:ENT) traded 14.6% lower against the U.S. dollar during the 1 day period ending at 7:00 AM ET on May 28th. Over the last seven days, Eternity has traded 31.6% lower against the U.S. dollar. Eternity has a market capitalization of $156,350.00 and $1,349.00 worth of Eternity was traded on exchanges in the last day. One Eternity coin can currently be bought for approximately $0.0366 or 0.00000506 BTC on exchanges including YoBit, Trade Satoshi and Livecoin.

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

Get Eternity alerts: Tao (XTO) traded down 20.6% against the dollar and now trades at $0.41 or 0.00005682 BTC. Syndicate (SYNX) traded down 5.3% against the dollar and now trades at $0.29 or 0.00004011 BTC. Monkey Project (MONK) traded down 3.1% against the dollar and now trades at $2.97 or 0.00040999 BTC. TrustPlus (TRUST) traded 10.5% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0560 or 0.00000773 BTC. Capricoin (CPC) traded down 1.5% against the dollar and now trades at $0.80 or 0.00011002 BTC. Magnet (MAG) traded down 6.9% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0515 or 0.00000711 BTC. Centurion (CNT) traded 13.4% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0124 or 0.00000172 BTC. SuperCoin (SUPER) traded up 184.1% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0156 or 0.00000216 BTC. Piggycoin (PIGGY) traded 12.7% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0011 or 0.00000015 BTC. Regalcoin (REC) traded down 10.5% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0335 or 0.00000462 BTC.

Eternity Coin Profile

Eternity (CRYPTO:ENT) is a PoW/PoS coin that uses the
X11 hashing algorithm. Eternity’s total supply is 4,269,933 coins. Eternity’s official Twitter account is @Eternity_Group. The official website for Eternity is ent.eternity-group.org.

Buying and Selling Eternity

Eternity can be bought or sold on the following cryptocurrency exchanges: Trade Satoshi, YoBit and Livecoin. It is usually not currently possible to buy alternative cryptocurrencies such as Eternity directly using U.S. dollars. Investors seeking to trade Eternity should first buy Bitcoin or Ethereum using an exchange that deals in U.S. dollars such as GDAX, Gemini or Coinbase. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Bitcoin or Ethereum to buy Eternity using one of the aforementioned exchanges.

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

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Buy For 2019

tags:SAFT,MCBC,RNR,SAR,TREE,NDAQ,INTL,CBOE,DB,NBTB,

I love it when a Nobel Prize winner gives humanity a gift everyone can use and enjoy. That was the case when Prof. Richard Thaler won the Nobel Prize in Economics on Monday.

Prof. Thaler's work over the past 30 years has changed we the way we view financial decisions. As a behavioral economist, he's studied the way we actually think and act instead of hewing to some wrong-headed theories.

We often act on emotion: Buying stocks at their highest prices, then selling when we should be buying; getting the costliest credit and thinking that we know more than than market and the computers running it.

Per Stromberg, Secretary General of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announces that the Nobel Economics Prize goes to US economist Richard Thaler (on screen) for his pioneering work to bridge the gap between economics and psychology on October 9, 2017 in Stockholm (JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images)

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Buy For 2019: Safety Insurance Group Inc.(SAFT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jordan Wathen]

  Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) reported that winter weather activity and an accounting change were drags on its first-quarter results, though a lower tax rate was a net positive to the Massachusetts-based insurance company.�

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Buy For 2019: Macatawa Bank Corporation(MCBC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  BidaskClub upgraded shares of Macatawa Bank (NASDAQ:MCBC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

  Separately, Hovde Group set a $11.00 price target on Macatawa Bank and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Buy For 2019: RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.(RNR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  RenaissanceRe (NYSE: RNR) is one of 73 publicly-traded companies in the “Fire, marine, & casualty insurance” industry, but how does it compare to its rivals? We will compare RenaissanceRe to similar companies based on the strength of its dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, risk and profitability.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Buy For 2019: Saratoga Investment Corp(SAR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Headlines about Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) have been trending somewhat positive this week, according to Accern Sentiment. Accern rates the sentiment of media coverage by analyzing more than 20 million news and blog sources. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Saratoga Investment earned a daily sentiment score of 0.17 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave headlines about the financial services provider an impact score of 45.4912059514825 out of 100, meaning that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the near future.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Saratoga Investment (SAR)

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

• [By Logan Wallace]

  ValuEngine downgraded shares of Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

  A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. National Securities reiterated a neutral rating and set a $24.00 price target (up from $23.00) on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Saratoga Investment from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Friday, March 2nd. Finally, B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research note on Tuesday, March 27th. They set a buy rating and a $23.50 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Saratoga Investment presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $24.38.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Buy For 2019: Tree.com Inc.(TREE)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Rhumbline Advisers decreased its position in LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) by 13.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,252 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in LendingTree were worth $4,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  These are some of the media headlines that may have effected Accern’s rankings:

  Get LendingTree alerts: Zacks: Brokerages Expect LendingTree (TREE) to Post $1.24 EPS (americanbankingnews.com) Form 4/A LendingTree, Inc. For: Apr 12 Filed by: LEBDA DOUGLAS R (streetinsider.com) Form 4/A LendingTree, Inc. For: May 08 Filed by: LEBDA DOUGLAS R (streetinsider.com) LendingTree to acquire Ovation Credit for $20.75 million (wraltechwire.com) LendingTree to buy credit-service provider (mpamag.com)

  LendingTree opened at $271.05 on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The company has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.77. LendingTree has a 12-month low of $269.95 and a 12-month high of $278.10. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  The stock market climbed sharply on Thursday, responding well to favorable earnings results from several corners of the market. Major benchmarks were up 1% to 2%, with particularly good performance from the Nasdaq Composite thanks to the tech sector's outperformance during the day. Yet some stocks suffered from bad news that cast doubt on companies' ability to benefit from generally favorable business conditions. MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM), Arch Coal (NYSE:ARCH), and LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) were among the worst performers on the day. Here's why they did so poorly.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Buy For 2019: The NASDAQ OMX Group Inc.(NDAQ)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Asit Sharma]

  In its last sequential quarter, Nasdaq Inc.�(NASDAQ:NDAQ)�relied on non-trading segments for growth as its market-services segment turned in a near flat performance. In the first quarter of 2018, however, healthy trading volumes resumed, and Nasdaq achieved expansion in each of its four operating segments. Before sifting through important highlights for the quarter, let's briefly review the top-level performance:

• [By Sean Williams]

  However, Canada becoming the first developed country in the world to legalize adult-use cannabis is far from the only "marijuana first" we've witnessed this year. In February, Canadian weed investment company Cronos Group (NASDAQ:CRON), which has three core assets, announced that it was becoming the first Canadian pot stock to uplist to the Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ). Moving from the over-the-counter (OTC) exchange to a more reputable exchange like the Nasdaq allowed for improved liquidity, as well as cleared the way for institutional investors to take a position in Cronos Group. Wall Street traditionally shies away from investing in OTC-listed companies.�

• [By Lisa Levin] Companies Reporting Before The Bell Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $2.4 per share on revenue of $5.63 billion. Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.41 per share on revenue of $37.16 billion. Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.11 per share on revenue of $605.26 million. Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.59 per share on revenue of $22.75 billion. General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $2.52 per share on revenue of $7.6 billion. The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $2.58 per share on revenue of $22.24 billion. Anthem, Inc. (NYSE: ANTM) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $4.91 per share on revenue of $22.52 billion. Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.79 per share on revenue of $3.04 billion. Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $3.61 per share on revenue of $6.61 billion. Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE: ROK) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $1.81 per share on revenue of $1.66 billion. Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.07 per share on revenue of $2.15 billion. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ: GT) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.46 per share on revenue of $3.82 billion. Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.97 per share on revenue of $1.62 billion. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TROW) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $1.71 per share on revenue of $1.29 billion. Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (NYSE: DPS) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $1.04 per share on revenue of $1.57 billion. Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SI

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Buy For 2019: INTL FCStone Inc.(INTL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  INTL FCStone (NASDAQ:INTL) shares reached a new 52-week high and low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $47.87 and last traded at $47.95, with a volume of 2050 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.30.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  INTL FCStone (NASDAQ:INTL) was upgraded by investment analysts at TheStreet from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  INTL FCStone (NASDAQ:INTL) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.20, Bloomberg Earnings reports. INTL FCStone had a positive return on equity of 3.32% and a negative net margin of 0.02%.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Buy For 2019: CBOE Holdings Inc.(CBOE)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dustin Blitchok]

  After CBOE Global Markets Inc (NASDAQ: CBOE) launched bitcoin futures in December, Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW) didn't immediately make the product available to clients, said Barry Metzger, the brokerage’s senior vice president of global, trading and advice.

• [By Sean Williams]

  But times have changed, the virtual-currency market has matured a bit, and institutional investors have had a means to bet on the crypto market in a more traditional sense over the past couple of months. By this, I mean that both the CME Group�and CBOE Global Markets (NASDAQ:CBOE) have offered bitcoin futures on their trading platforms since December, providing a more traditional avenue for Wall Street to place its bets.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Last December, two major futures exchanges started offering futures contracts on bitcoin. CBOE Global Markets (NASDAQ:CBOE) was the first to market with its futures offering, and CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) didn't waste any time coming out with its own version of a bitcoin contract.

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  Cboe Global Markets (NASDAQ:CBOE) Q1 2018 Earnings Conference CallMay. 4, 2018 8:30 a.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By Asit Sharma]

  Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBOE) reported expansive earnings growth in its first-quarter 2018 report, issued on May 3. In addition to revenue tacked on from its acquisition of Bats Global Markets in March 2017, Cboe enjoyed increased volume in trading of the company's proprietary VIX (Cboe Volatility Index) futures and options.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Deutsche B枚rse (OTCMKTS: DBOEY) and Cboe Global Markets (NASDAQ:CBOE) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Buy For 2019: Deutsche Bank AG(DB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  Here's everything you must know before Thursday's opening bell:

  Facebook (FB) posted first-quarter earnings and revenue that beat analysts' expectations. Ford (F) plans to shed most of its North American car lineup as customer preference has shifted to pickups and crossovers.  Deutsche Bank (DB) said it was planning "significant" job cuts for its global investment banking division. Investors will analyze earnings from Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) .    U.S. stock futures pointed toward a modestly higher open.

  Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for extended interviews, Cramer Replays, feature content, and more!

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) dropped about 6.9% Thursday to post a new 52-week low of $11.99. Shares closed at $12.88 on Wednesday and the stock’s 52-week high is $20.23. Volume of around 10 million shares was more than double the daily average.The bank is cutting thousands of jobs and some demands have been made to kick out the bank’s chairman.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) fell by about 2.9% Wednesday to post a new 52-week low of $12.90 after closing at $13.29 on Tuesday. The 52-week high is $20.23. Volume of about 6.3 million was about 40% higher than the daily average of about 4 million. The bank had no specific news.

• [By Elizabeth Balboa]

  Creditanstalt was saved when the First Austrian Republic, the National Bank of Austria and the Rothschild family took up the costs. The firm eventually became state-owned following a forced merger with Wiener Bankverein, and the resulting entity was later subsumed by Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE: DB).

• [By Garrett Baldwin]
  Merger mania has been hitting Wall Street all month. Today, 21st Century Fox Inc. (Nasdaq: FOXA) has been urged by activist investor Chris Hohn to make a deal with Comcast Corp.�(Nasdaq: CMCSA) if that company's offer is better than the deal they could receive from The Walt Disney Co.�(NYSE: DIS). Hohn's firm disclosed in an SEC filing that it has a 7.4% stake in FOXA. Four Stocks to Watch Today: BBY, DB, KR, APRN Best Buy Corp.�(NYSE: BBY) leads a busy day of earnings reports in New York. The Big Box retailer easily topped Wall Street expectations, with earnings per share of $0.82 on $9.11 billion in revenue. The average analyst expectation came in at $0.75 on $8.78 billion. The largest bank in Europe is facing problems again. This morning, Deutsche Bank AG�(NYSE: DB) announced plans to slash 7,000 jobs as the firm attempts to restore profitability to its balance sheet. The announcement comes as the company's chair faces a vote of no confidence at an annual general meeting taking place today. In other deal news, Kroger Inc. (NYSE: KR) has purchased Home Chef, the biggest privately owned meal kit delivery firm in the United States. The deal includes $200 million upfront and could be worth $700 million should Home Chef hit certain targets over its next five years. It is an interesting acquisition, given that rival Blue Apron Holdings Inc. (NYSE: APRN) has struggled since its IPO. Though APRN stock was up 3.8% this morning on news of the Home Chef deal, the stock is trading at just $3.07. It hit the market at $11.00 in June 2017. Look for additional earnings reports from Splunk Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLK), Deckers Outdoor Corp. (Nasdaq: DECK), Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Ross Stores Inc.�(Nasdaq: ROST), Autodesk Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK), and Hormel Foods Corp. (NYSE: HRL).

  Follow�Money Morning��on��Facebook,�Twitter, and�LinkedIn.

• [By ]

  Deutsche Bank AG (DB) announced plans in its Thursday morning earnings report to cut a "significant" number of jobs in its global investment banking division. DB reported net income falling to 120 million euros, down 79% from the same period last year and well below the FactSet analyst forecast of 377 million euros. The bank's core tier one capital ratio, a measure of the cash it can set aside to cover potential losses, slipped 60 basis points from the end of last year to 13.4%.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Buy For 2019: NBT Bancorp Inc.(NBTB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

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

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

• [By Ethan Ryder]

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

Dave & Buster's: It's All Fun And Games With Nearly 30% Upside

Casual-dining chains have not been winners during this economic expansion. Millenials, with their need for more social media-worthy experiences, have been blamed for the decline in conjunction with Baby Boomers moving onto fixed incomes as they retire.

Dave & Buster's Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ: PLAY) provides an eat, drink, play, and watch experience for consumers. This hybrid entertainment/dining experience has fared well since going public in 2012, attracting higher-income adults in the 21-39 age range. Poor same-store sales last quarter knocked the premium off the stock price, but top and bottom-line growth were still strong. Margins and efficiency ratios top its competitors, and Wall Street and quant valuation models agree that there is a strong upside for this diamond in the casual-dining rough. You'll Probably Want to Sit Down for This

Casual dining, the traditional sit-down, full-service restaurant experience is getting hit by demographics. Millennials want hip, social-media worthy experiences and retiring Baby Boomers are thrifty on their fixed incomes. Headlines such as "Millennials Are Killing Chains Like Buffalo Wild Wings And Applebee's" are not uncommon.

Overall, the food service industry has seen increasing growth over the last eight months. The chart below indicates restaurant sales have grown around 3.8 percent YoY (blue line) after bottoming out at 1.6 percent in September 2017. Employee growth sits just below 2 percent, showing that operators have not regained much confidence with the sales uptick.

Source: BLS, U.S. Census, FRED

Growth within the industry is a bit lumpy, with limited-service restaurants, such as Wendys Co (NASDAQ: WEN) and Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc (NYSE: CMG), growing at 5.3 percent in 2017 as compared to 3.5 percent for casual dining establishments according to the National Restaurant Industry.

Source: National Restaurant Association

Restaurants are doing everything they can to make the experience better for diners. Chili's, a subsidiary of Brinker International, Inc (NYSE: EAT), reduced their menu by 50 items. Applebee's, owned by Dine Brands Global Inc (NYSE: DIN) invested in tablets for every table to give the appearance of more on-demand service. "Endless Apps" at TGIF is an example of older chains playing the value card.

Picture Credit: TGI Fridays

Meanwhile, Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLAY) has focused on the experience side of an evening out. Over the last decade, it has flipped the share of revenue from food and games, with entertainment now responsible for 56 percent of sales and driving a more than 2x increase in EBITDA margins.

Source: Dave & Buster's Jan. 2018 Investor Presentation

Dave & Buster's Owns It Niche

Dave & Buster's is best known for its "Eat Drink Play Watch" tagline. Its restaurants provide full-service dining, a wide variety of alcohol, the latest video games, and plenty of televisions to follow sporting events. The chain owns all of its domestic stores, 106 as of February 2018, and has increased the count by 11.2 percent annually since 2012.

Source: Dave & Buster's Jan. 2018 Investor Presentation

D&B features the highest sales per store in the casual-dining industry, even compared to higher-end restaurants.

Source: Dave & Buster's Jan. 2018 Investor Presentation

Its demographics are a bit surprising. It is less a Chuck E. Cheese and more an adult experience. D&B's target audience is 21 to 39 years-old, and it has a 58 percent to 42 percent adults to family visitor mix.

Source: Dave & Buster's Jan. 2018 Investor Presentation

Since Dave and Buster's went public in October 2012, it has consistently grown revenues.

Source: finbox.io

Along with this revenue growth, the company has grown its margins. Net Profit Margin sits at 10.2 percent, impressive for the food industry.

Source: finbox.io

In addition to Net Profit Margin, D&B leads its peers in managerial efficiency ratios including Return on Invested Capital, ROE, and Return on Assets.

Source: finbox.io

A well-executing management team also shows through in the restaurant chain's growth comps. It far outpaces its peers, and the Consumer Discretionary sector as a whole, with sales growth, net profit growth, and projected sales and net income growth.

Source: finbox.io

However, when it comes to a firm that is constantly opening new locations, same-store comps are an important measure. D&B features the two-year stacked metric in its latest Investor Presentation (chart below) versus Knapp-Track same-store sales estimates, which are based on a survey of 50+ casual-dining chains. With strong past performance, it is not surprising that the firm would focus on a two-year combination of same-store sales, but there are cracks starting to show. The stock has suffered after comps dropped in late 2017 and into 2018. For Q4, ended on February 4, same-store sales fell -5.9 percent, dragging the fiscal year down to -0.9 percent growth. Despite the weak comps, net income increased 34.9 percent on the quarter and 35.2 percent for the year. Management noted in the earnings call that while weather played a part, it had seen a fall-off on the entertainment side with its younger audience, and is focusing on improving the gaming experience while also offering more value opportunities with food and cocktail specials.

Source: Dave & Buster's Jan. 2018 Investor Presentation

Wall Street expectations remain strong for D&B. All ten analysts suggest accumulating the stock with four strong buys and six buy recommendations. Management has been doing a good job of managing expectations with four quarters of earnings surprises, but barely scraped by last quarter when everyone was caught off-guard with the weak same-store comps. Sales estimates are near double-digit for this and next year, but EPS estimates have fallen since the earnings release. Expectations are for negative EPS growth over the next quarters and years. D&B is dealing with the repercussions of strong past comps, but it is good to see that analysts have accepted a slower trajectory for the company.

Source: finance.yahoo.com

PLAY Should Trade at a Premium But Is Now Priced to Move

Dave & Buster's has the lowest trailing P/E among its peers (pink bars). Its Forward P/E is around average for the pack, but the expectations for declining earnings does leave it as the only one to see a higher future P/E. This can be seen as a positive, as it allows for easier earnings surprises compared to its peers.

Source: finbox.io

Price/Sales show the company as averagely valued relative to its peers. Sales can be a purer comparison among firms as they are typically less engineered than earnings.

Source: finbox.io

The firm's Enterprise Value multiples also do not show relative cheapness. While D&B's EV/EBITDA is lowest among its peers, the more honest Free Cash Flow metric is around average for the chains.

Source: finbox.io

Showing D&B's relative debt load is a bit difficult due to two of its competitors featuring negative equity. Compared to Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI), and the Consumer Discretionary sector's 45 percent Debt/Equity ratio (pink bars), D&B's is a bit high. However, Debt/Total Capital provides more comps and shows the chain more favorably relative to its peers. The firm has focused on reducing debt bringing it down from $486 million in 2014 to $264 million last year.

Source: finbox.io

Dave & Buster's can easily afford its current leverage. Its 22.4x Interest Coverage ratio is highest among its peers. Its Cash Flow/Total Debt was an impressive 81.9 percent in 2017 according to finbox.io.

Source: finbox.io

While the stock appears fairly priced compared to its peers, it has clearly been a better performing company with higher per-store sales, better margins, and industry-best efficiency ratios. Wall Street believes in the management team with an average target price across nine analysts pointing to 41.8 percent upside. Finbox.io's quantitative valuation model also expects positive returns from the stock, but at a more conservative move of 28.2 percent.

Source: finbox.io

Dave & Buster's: Outplaying the Competition for a 28 percent+ Upside

With tepid wage growth, the feared impact of Millennials, and poor results from casual-dining chains in general expect the market to take a conservative view of the group. This sets Dave & Buster's up to easily beat Wall Street's expectations if it continues its strong performance.

Its margins and efficiency ratios show that management has been out-executing its peers. The fact that the stock shows up valued similarly to these competitors, rather than at a premium, points to an opportunity to invest in a star at an average valuation. Wall Street experts agree, forecasting nearly 42 percent upside for Dave & Buster's. Acting as a check against the sometimes qualitative view of analysts, Finbox.io's quantitative valuation composite also sees upside from the restaurant chain, calling for a gain of 28.2 percent. Dave & Buster's is positioned right to allow investors to eat up some stock gains.

Author: Matt Hogan

Expertise: Valuation, financial statement analysis

Matt Hogan is also a co-founder of finbox.io. His expertise is in investment decision making. Prior to finbox.io, Matt worked for an investment banking group providing fairness opinions in connection to stock acquisitions. He spent much of his time building valuation models to help clients determine an asset's fair value. He believes that these same valuation models should be used by all investors before buying or selling a stock.

His work is frequently published at InvestorPlace, Benzinga, ValueWalk, AAII, Barron's, Seeking Alpha and investing.com.

Matt can be reached at matt@finbox.io.

As of this writing, I did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities and this is not a buy or sell recommendation on any security mentioned.

Photo Credit: DaveandBusters.com