Top 5 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2019

tags:IPXL,XENE,RSYS,FEIC,I,

Toward the end of trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 0.49 percent to 24,370.33 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.85 percent to 7,596.27 . The S&P also rose, gaining 0.54 percent to 2,731.75 .

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Tuesday afternoon, the energy shares surged 1.1 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included NextDecade Corporation (NASDAQ: NEXT) up 10 percent, and Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE) up 9 percent.

In trading on Tuesday, telecommunication services shares fell 0.76 percent.

Top Headline

Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) reported better-than-expected results for its fiscal second quarter.

Lennar said it earned $1.58 per share in the quarter on revenue of $5.459 billion versus expectations of 45 cents and $5.1 billion.

 

Equities Trading UP

TSR, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSRI) shares shot up 37 percent to $8.30 after James Hughes requested TSR pursue a sale of the company.

Shares of Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NYSE: LEE) got a boost, shooting up 27 percent to $3.05. The provider of local news and information, and a major platform for advertising said it reached an agreement to manage Berkshire Hathaway's newspaper and digital operations in 30 markets.

Top 5 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2019: Impax Laboratories, Inc.(IPXL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  News articles about Impax Laboratories (NASDAQ:IPXL) have trended somewhat positive on Sunday, according to Accern Sentiment. Accern rates the sentiment of news coverage by reviewing more than 20 million news and blog sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Impax Laboratories earned a daily sentiment score of 0.08 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news coverage about the specialty pharmaceutical company an impact score of 43.4189030940397 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the stock’s share price in the near future.

Top 5 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2019: Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc.(XENE)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Euro Tech Holdings Company Limited (NASDAQ: CLWT) shares climbed 70.3 percent to $5.45 after reporting 2017 year-end results. MEDIGUS Ltd/S ADR (NASDAQ: MDGS) surged 39.8 percent to $1.58 in reaction to its Monday announcement of a distribution agreement. The medical device company said it reached an agreement to distribute its minimally invasive medical devices in Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: RKDA) gained 25.6 percent to $11.50. Arcadia Biosciences reported that Albert D. Bolles, Ph.D. has joined its board of directors. Aytu Bioscience Inc (NASDAQ: AYTU) shares jumped 21.8 percent to $0.4798 after the company late Monday reported lighter-than-expected Q1 loss. Hollysys Automation Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: HOLI) shares gained 21.1 percent to $26.77 following Q3 results. Pfenex Inc. (NYSE: PFNX) rose 16.8 percent to $7.1271 after the company announced the positive top-line PF708 study results in Osteoporosis patients that showed no imbalances in severity or incidence of adverse events. MEI Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: MEIP) rose 13.8 percent to $2.88. Red Violet, Inc. (NASDAQ: RDVT) jumped 13.1 percent to $6.41 after reporting Q1 results. SORL Auto Parts, Inc. (NASDAQ: SORL) shares gained 12 percent to $5.87 after reporting upbeat Q1 results. Bovie Medical Corporation (NYSE: BVX) gained 8.4 percent to $3.96 after reporting a first-quarter sales beat. Rosehill Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: ROSE) surged 8.4 percent to $7.90 after announcing Q1 results. LiqTech International, Inc. (NASDAQ: LIQT) rose 8.1 percent to $0.5171 following Q1 results. ProPhase Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRPH) rose 7.7 percent to $5.6103 following Q1 results. Nine Energy Service, Inc. (NYSE: NINE) shares climbed 7.4 percent to $35.90. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: XENE) rose 6.7 percent to $6.40 after the company presented XEN901 Phase 1 clinical update and XEN1101 TMS pharmacodynamic Phase 1 data. MYnd
• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers TransEnterix, Inc. (NYSE: TRXC) rose 28.8 percent to $4.03 in pre-market trading after the company disclosed that it has received the FDA clearance for expanded indications for its Senhance Surgical System. Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: ENT) rose 15.6 percent to $2.30 in pre-market trading. Companhia Brasileira de Distribuição (NYSE: CBD) rose 13.2 percent to $24.20 in pre-market trading. ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: ZTO) rose 12.2 percent to $21.65 in pre-market trading. Alibaba and Cainiao agreed to make strategic investment in ZTO Express of $1.38 billion. DHI Group, Inc. (NYSE: DHX) rose 10.8 percent to $2.05 in pre-market trading. Momo Inc. (NASDAQ: MOMO) shares rose 9.6 percent to $42.68 in pre-market trading after the company reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter and issued strong sales forecast for the second quarter. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: XENE) shares rose 9.1 percent to $6.00 in pre-market trading. Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ: OLED) rose 8.4 percent to $108.00 in pre-market trading. Jupai Holdings Limited (NYSE: JP) shares rose 7 percent to $24.50 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. Net 1 UEPS Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: UEPS) rose 5.9 percent to $10.61 in pre-market trading. Frontline Ltd. (NYSE: FRO) rose 5.9 percent to $5.04 in pre-market trading. Evogene Ltd. (NASDAQ: EVGN) rose 5.5 percent to $3.27 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD) rose 5.5 percent to $3.68 in pre-market trading after gaining 5.44 percent on Friday. Kitov Pharma Ltd (NASDAQ: KTOV) shares rose 5.4 percent to $2.16 in pre-market trading.

  Find out what's going on in today's market and bring any questions you have to Benzinga's PreMarket Prep.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:XENE) traded up 2.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $11.00 and last traded at $9.60. 1,488 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 100% from the average session volume of 400,794 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.35.

Top 5 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2019: RadiSys Corporation(RSYS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alexander Bird]

  Here are the top performers from last week…

  Penny Stock Current Share Price Last Week's Gain Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. (NYSE: ANW) $1.83 165.71% Radisys Corp. (Nasdaq: RSYS) $1.55 115.68% Ascent Capital Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ASCMA) $3.71 43.12% Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Nasdaq: ADMP) $4.36 40.63% Tintri Inc. (Nasdaq: TNTR) $0.18 40.49% Prana Biotechnology Ltd. (Nasdaq: PRAN) $2.35 39.96% Micronet Enertec Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: MICT) $1.60 39.40% Corindus Vascular Robotics (NYSE: CVRS) $1.17 34.40% ParkerVision Inc. (Nasdaq: PRKR) $0.70 30.65% SuperCom Ltd. (Nasdaq: SPCB) $0.24 30.10%

  While these gains are exciting, they pale in comparison to the profit potential of our top penny stock to buy this week.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  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.

• [By Logan Wallace]

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

Top 5 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2019: FEI Company(FEIC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Media headlines about FEI (NASDAQ:FEIC) have trended somewhat positive on Monday, according to Accern. Accern ranks the sentiment of news coverage by reviewing more than 20 million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. FEI earned a news impact score of 0.17 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave media stories about the scientific and technical instruments company an impact score of 43.5801711111494 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the next few days.

Top 5 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2019: Intelsat S.A.(I)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Shares of communications satellite operator Intelsat (NYSE:I) jumped more than 12% early Tuesday -- for the second day in a row -- before closing the day up a still-respectable 10.9%. Once again, the catalyst for the move appears to have been a simple press release.

• [By Keith Noonan]

  Intelsat (NYSE:I) stock rocketed up 391.4% through the first six months of the year, according to data provided by�S&P Global Market Intelligence. That performance made it the biggest gainer of any stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange through the first half of 2018.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Intelsat (I)

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

Top Growth Stocks To Buy Right Now

tags:PZC,XBI,HSBA,

Wall Street brokerages expect Synnex (NYSE:SNX) to post $4.68 billion in sales for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks. Three analysts have made estimates for Synnex’s earnings, with the lowest sales estimate coming in at $4.66 billion and the highest estimate coming in at $4.70 billion. Synnex reported sales of $3.94 billion during the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year over year growth rate of 18.8%. The firm is expected to report its next earnings results on Thursday, June 28th.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Synnex will report full year sales of $19.45 billion for the current fiscal year, with estimates ranging from $19.36 billion to $19.55 billion. For the next year, analysts expect that the company will post sales of $20.22 billion per share, with estimates ranging from $19.83 billion to $20.46 billion. Zacks Investment Research’s sales averages are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side analysts that cover Synnex.

Top Growth Stocks To Buy Right Now: PIMCO California Municipal Income Fund III(PZC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Headlines about Pimco CA Muni. Income Fund III (NYSE:PZC) have trended somewhat positive recently, Accern reports. The research group scores the sentiment of media coverage by analyzing more than twenty million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Pimco CA Muni. Income Fund III earned a media sentiment score of 0.15 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news headlines about the investment management company an impact score of 48.0089575306336 out of 100, indicating that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the near future.

• [By Max Byerly]

  PZ Cussons (LON:PZC) had its price objective decreased by Numis Securities from GBX 255 ($3.40) to GBX 230 ($3.06) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. Numis Securities currently has a hold rating on the stock.

Top Growth Stocks To Buy Right Now: SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jim Crumly]

  Tech stocks were strong today, but biotech really took off on merger and acquisition news; the�SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSEMKT:XBI) jumped 2.7%.�

• [By Jim Crumly]

  Industrials led the market, with the�Industrial Select SPDR ETF (NYSEMKT:XLI) rising 1.5%. Biotechnology stocks struggled; the�SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSEMKT:XBI) fell 2%.

• [By ]

  Remember the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSE:XBI) chart I showed you Friday? Take a look at this ETF bouncing off its 50-day moving average one more time:

• [By ]

  In a sea of red, small-cap biotech stocks stood strong during Wednesday��s trading session. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSE:XBI) finished the day higher by more than 1.25% while the Nasdaq Composite was stuck in the red. XBI��s comeback rally that began to materialize just before Christmas is now threatening to break out to new highs.

• [By Jim Crumly]

  Biotech stocks notched big gains for the second straight day, with the�SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSEMKT:XBI)�adding 2.3%. Retail stocks also were strong; the�SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSEMKT:XRT) closed up 1%.

Top Growth Stocks To Buy Right Now: HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  HSBC (LON:HSBA) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Citigroup from GBX 810 ($10.78) to GBX 800 ($10.65) in a report released on Tuesday. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 9.59% from the stock’s previous close.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  HSBC (LON:HSBA) had its target price lowered by equities research analysts at Shore Capital from GBX 721 ($9.60) to GBX 625 ($8.32) in a report issued on Tuesday. The brokerage presently has a “sell” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Shore Capital’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 14.71% from the company’s previous close.

IBM Is Still Not Microsoft

After International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) posted a 3.7% rise in revenue for the second quarter, its shares rose modestly. The company’s extremely slow growth shows it is still not in the league with Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and other tech giants that have posted strong revenue improvements in areas where IBM management says its future lies.

IBM’s shares are flat for the year, based on a modest rally after it posted its earnings. For the same period, Microsoft shares are up 22% and may go higher when it posts what are expected to be strong numbers for the second quarter. Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), which dominates the cloud market in which IBM wants to become a leader, have risen 53% over the period, mostly because of the success of its Amazon Web Services unit.

IBM’s cloud-based revenue growth was actually very slow for the period. In an analysis of the segment that includes cloud efforts, IBM announced:

Technology Services & Cloud Platforms (includes infrastructure services, technical support services and integration software) — revenues of $8.6 billion, up 2 percent (flat year to year adjusting for currency). Strategic imperatives revenue grew 26 percent, led by hybrid cloud services, security and mobile.

The AWS segment of Amazon rose 49% in the first quarter and is expected to post similar results for the second quarter. Revenue for Microsoft’s Azure cloud segment rose 93% in its last reported quarter. It will announce new quarterly results soon, and Azure sales are expected to surge again.

IBM’s problems are often blamed on its legacy businesses: software, technical support, finance and hardware. In reality, its cloud and artificial intelligence businesses have posted improvements that put their growth rates and sizes at the bottom end of the large companies in the industry.

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12 American Companies That Control Tech

At the top of the press release about IBM’s results, Ginni Rometty, chair, president and chief executive officer, said:

We delivered strong revenue and profit growth in the quarter, underscoring IBM’s progress and momentum in the emerging, high-value segments of the IT industry. More clients are engaging IBM on their journey to the cloud, and deploying IBM Cloud, Watson AI, analytics, blockchain and security solutions. This demonstrates IBM’s unique leadership in providing innovative technology coupled with deep industry expertise, trust and security.

“Strong growth” and “unique leadership”? Not really.

SatoshiMadness (MAD) Reaches Market Cap of $129,304.00

SatoshiMadness (CURRENCY:MAD) traded flat against the US dollar during the 1 day period ending at 22:00 PM E.T. on July 12th. In the last week, SatoshiMadness has traded down 1.7% against the US dollar. One SatoshiMadness coin can currently be bought for about $0.0001 or 0.00000001 BTC on major exchanges. SatoshiMadness has a total market cap of $129,304.00 and $0.00 worth of SatoshiMadness was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours.

Here is how other cryptocurrencies have performed in the last 24 hours:

Get SatoshiMadness alerts: Particl (PART) traded 1.7% lower against the dollar and now trades at $4.69 or 0.00075189 BTC. Phore (PHR) traded up 1.7% against the dollar and now trades at $1.09 or 0.00017526 BTC. NoLimitCoin (NLC2) traded 5.8% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0333 or 0.00000534 BTC. TokenStars (TEAM) traded 3.9% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0973 or 0.00001558 BTC. Shorty (SHORTY) traded flat against the dollar and now trades at $0.0083 or 0.00000127 BTC. Bitradio (BRO) traded 16.7% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0649 or 0.00001039 BTC. MojoCoin (MOJO) traded down 1% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0133 or 0.00000213 BTC. WARP (WARP) traded flat against the dollar and now trades at $0.0677 or 0.00000735 BTC. PIECoin (PIE) traded up 19% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0039 or 0.00000063 BTC. Creatio (XCRE) traded 4.5% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0021 or 0.00000033 BTC.

About SatoshiMadness

SatoshiMadness is a proof-of-stake (PoS) coin that uses the PoS hashing algorithm. It launched on August 16th, 2015. SatoshiMadness’ total supply is 2,000,683,485 coins. SatoshiMadness’ official Twitter account is @SatoshiMadness.

SatoshiMadness Coin Trading

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

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

WWE Just Hit a New All-Time High: Is It Time to Sell?

WWE�(NYSE:WWE) is the Hulk Hogan of entertainment stocks right now. The wrestling company's share price has notched a series of fresh all-time highs after a pair of new TV deals were announced at the end of June.�

When a stock vaults into the stratosphere like that, it brings up concerns that it's overheated and set for a major cool-down. Let's see if that fear might be justified in the case of WWE.

Tag team action

WWE is crushing it right now because of new TV deals for its two flagship weekly TV shows, Raw and SmackDown. Both currently air on Comcast's (NASDAQ:CMCSA) USA Network; Raw will stay, while SmackDown is moving to 21st Century Fox's (NASDAQ:FOX) (NASDAQ:FOXA) Fox Sports.

The companies involved were shy to reveal specifics. According to an article in�The Hollywood Reporter, Fox is paying just over $1 billion in a five-year deal to broadcast SmackDown. It will start airing on Fox Sports in October 2019.�

Comcast extended its rights to air Raw for five years. The Hollywood Reporter says that the price tag is $265 million per year, for a total of over $1.3 billion. Like the Fox deal, the renewal starts next October.

Image source: WWE.

Those numbers are well higher than the existing figures. WWE's "key content agreements" (i.e. broadcast rights to Raw and Smackdown in the company's top territories) brought in $235 million in 2017: 29% of that year's revenue. In 2020, the first full year the new arrangements will be in force, the company expects that to more than double, to at least $514 million.

That's only the kickoff year of the deal and doesn't include new contracts with territories outside the U.S., several of which are currently under negotiation. These are relatively small; the on-the-bubble regions are "only" worth $79 million of revenue in 2020 under the terms of present contracts. Still, increases like those of the U.S. rights will add to the overall figure.

Your winner, and still champion...

It's hard not to get excited about the Comcast and Fox deals, but have they made the stock too expensive?

According to estimates published by Yahoo! Finance, on average 11 analysts tracking the company believe that WWE's earnings will be $1.41 per share in 2019. Although that's a 53% improvement over the company's anticipated 2018 EPS, it just matches WWE's forward P/E of 53. This suggests that the stock may be fairly priced.

As a WWE shareholder, though, I'm not ready to tap out yet. The Fox deal in particular presents opportunities for improvements in other segments. It can easily juice sales of merchandise, for example, or take-up of the company's proprietary WWE Network for new fans eager for even more wrestling.

Fox will be on the hook to make its investment worthwhile, so it's sure to be aggressive in promoting it. The company has a particularly strong audience base in Thursday Night Football, the rights for which it acquired recently for a big chunk of change.

WWE's stock price growth has been dizzying lately. It might slow or even reverse in the very near future, but I think the company is still a strong long-term play. Wrestling is a hot product, and WWE has been very effective in keeping it that way. The company should continue to improve its revenue and profitability well into the future.

3 Key Takeaways From June's Auto Sales Data

Investors in�Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), General Motors, (NYSE:GM) and other major automakers exhaled a sigh of relief as June sales posted a healthy 5.2% gain over the prior year. The good news was welcome as concerns rise about possible tariff implications and as analysts continue to predict a down year for U.S. auto sales. June was the second-largest sales increase of the year and takes year-to-date industry sales 1.9% higher, through June, compared to 2017. Let's take a closer look at some key takeaways from last month's data.

GM is firing on all cylinders

One clear takeaway is that GM has momentum across its lineup. During the second quarter, GM gained half a point of market share and posted double-digit sales gains or better on 14 vehicle lines. Chevrolet and GMC sales outpaced the industry with 6% and 7% sales gains, respectively, and the SUV-heavy brands helped boost GM's average transaction prices $300 higher than the prior year to a second-quarter record of $35,500.

Image source: Getty Images.

Not to be left out of the fun, GM's Cadillac brand is showing signs of life. Cadillac posted record year-to-date crossover deliveries, with the XT5 posting year-over-year sales gains in 14 of the past 15 months. Cadillac launches the XT4, an all-new crossover, during the fall, which will provide a sales boost in the near term. The luxury brand also intends to introduce a new model roughly every six months through the end of 2021 to power the brand long-term.

While GM is well-known for its full-size trucks and SUV nameplates, its Bolt electric vehicle is also showing strong results. In fact, GM estimates that the Bolt's second-quarter global sales will be up 35% compared to the prior year, and its first-half global sales will be up more than 40%. Management noted that, with demand outpacing its supply, it would boost fourth-quarter production by more than 20%.

Trucks and SUVs continue to power GM's sales, but June and second-quarter sales results make it clear the company is doing well across its entire lineup.

Light trucks or bust

Consumer demand switching in favor of SUVs helped Ford offset its 14% year-over-year slide in June car sales. Its SUV and truck segments were up 8.9% and 3.2%, respectively, pushing Ford's June sales 1.2% higher. Its highly profitable F-Series is on pace to set a new annual sales record, with first-half sales topping 451,000 units -- a 4.1% increase over the first half of 2004, the current record year. Ford brand SUV sales of 77,453 last month set a new June sales record. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (NYSE:FCAU) also posted a strong 8% sales gain in June. Jeep and Ram both posted record June sales months with gains of 19% and 6.3%, respectively, while sales of Chrysler and Fiat were down 32% and 36%, respectively.

It's not just Detroit autos thriving on SUV sales, with Honda's CR-V and Pilot posting record months. In fact, Honda's light-truck sales jumped 12% last month, which was enough to offset its 2.4% car sales decline. Nissan's Armada, Rogue, and Murano helped drive the Japanese automaker to a 2.5% sales gain last month. The story is similar at Toyota, where its well-known Camry and Corolla posted sales declines during June, but its C-HR, RAV4, Highlander, and Tacoma all posted double-digit gains.

Light trucks generated 67% of U.S. light-vehicle sales during the first three weeks of June, the highest level ever recorded in June and the 24th�consecutive month above 60%, according to J.D. Power. June made it clear that it's a bad time to be a major automaker in the U.S. without a successful SUV portfolio. Consumers are clearly ditching passenger cars for larger vehicles, and that trend isn't slowing down.

Big spenders

One critical piece of data for auto investors to watch is incentive spending. The last development any investor wants to see is major automakers getting into an incentive spending war to protect market share at the cost of valuable margins. Fortunately, this has been less of an issue in recent years as average transaction prices have largely increased alongside incentive spending, giving automakers some wiggle room and supporting margins.

According to J.D. Power, average new-vehicle incentive spending was at $3,765 in the first three weeks of June. Auto industry analytics company ALG�estimates that new-vehicle incentive spending rose 4.6% last month compared to the prior year, with GM's June incentive spending jumping an estimated 18%. Meanwhile, ALG also estimated that the average transaction price for a new light vehicle increased only 0.7% last month over the prior year.

One month doesn't make a trend, but investors will want to keep an eye on incentive spending as this cycle peaks and hope that automakers have learned from past mistakes and will avoid profit-eroding incentive wars. Despite rising incentives, June was another strong month for the industry and caps off what should be a strong second quarter from automakers. Tune in for their earnings results later this month.

CNO Financial Group Inc (CNO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerage

Shares of CNO Financial Group Inc (NYSE:CNO) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.00.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Co set a $23.00 price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 25th. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Monday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. ValuEngine lowered shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 17th.

Get CNO Financial Group alerts:

Shares of CNO Financial Group traded up $0.02, reaching $19.45, during trading hours on Monday, Marketbeat reports. 705,258 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 979,554. CNO Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $18.65 and a fifty-two week high of $26.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.63 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.44. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 6.92%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. equities research analysts forecast that CNO Financial Group will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 11th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This is a positive change from CNO Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 8th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.80%.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in CNO Financial Group in the first quarter worth $171,000. Point72 Asia Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in CNO Financial Group in the first quarter worth $196,000. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 94.1% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 10,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 5,171 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in CNO Financial Group in the first quarter worth $239,000. Finally, Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in CNO Financial Group in the first quarter worth $259,000. Institutional investors own 94.70% of the company’s stock.

About CNO Financial Group

CNO Financial Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops, markets, and administers health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance, and other insurance products for senior and middle-income markets in the United States. It operates through Bankers Life, Washington National, Colonial Penn, and Long-Term Care in Run Off segments.

In Your 60s? 3 Things to Know About Social Security

Many people don't bother concerning themselves with Social Security until filing for it becomes a reality. But if you're in your 60s, those benefits might come into play sooner than expected. Here are a few things all older workers should know about Social Security -- especially during what could end up being the most pivotal decade of your career.

1. You may be coming up on your full retirement age

Though you're allowed to file for Social Security as early as age 62, many workers choose to hold off on benefits until their full retirement age (FRA) rolls around. This way, they get to collect the full monthly benefit their work history entitles them to without having to worry about facing a reduction for filing early. That said, your FRA could be just around the corner, depending on your year of birth.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

If you were born in 1954 or earlier, your full retirement age is 66. FRA then increases slightly for those born later, as follows:

Year of Birth

Full Retirement Age

1943-1954	66
1955	66 and 2 months
1956	66 and 4 months
1957	66 and 6 months
1958	66 and 8 months
1959	66 and 10 months
1960	67

DATA SOURCE: SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION.

Pay attention to your FRA, and develop a filing strategy around that age. This doesn't mean that you should file at your precise full retirement age -- rather, figure out when that age is and determine the best time to start taking benefits in relation to it.

2. You can only delay your benefits for so long

Filing for Social Security at FRA is a good way to ensure that you get your full monthly benefit. At the same time, if you delay benefits past FRA, you'll snag an 8% boost on those payments for each year you hold off.

But don't make plans to delay those benefits indefinitely. Once you turn 70, you can no longer accrue delayed retirement credits that increase your monthly payments, so if you're in your late 60s and haven't yet filed for Social Security, mark your calendar to do so in conjunction with your 70th�birthday.

3. Working longer could boost your benefits

Though the age at which you first file for Social Security can impact your monthly benefits, those payments themselves are calculated based on how much you earned during your top 35 working years. Therefore, if you're eager to boost your benefits in time for retirement, working a bit longer could achieve that key goal.

Imagine you're 66 and are ready to take benefits at full retirement age, but your work record is limited to 33 years. This means that you'll have $0 factored in for two out of 35 years in the formula that establishes your full benefit amount, thereby lowering that number. On the other hand, if you work two extra years and replace those two zeros with an actual salary, your personal formula will change and your monthly benefits will go up.

The same holds true if you're making far more money in your 60s than you were earlier in life. If you're able to replace two years of $25,000 in earnings with two years of $125,000 in earnings, your monthly benefits stand to climb as well.

Your 60s are the perfect time to get serious about Social Security, so even if you're not planning or able to file just yet, it pays to read up on how the program works. The more you learn about Social Security, the better positioned you'll be to make the most of your benefits, no matter when you actually claim them.

Buy Jyothy Laboratories, target Rs 271: Shitij Gandhi

Shitij Gandhi

After giving a consolidation breakout above Rs 210 levels in the recent past, Jyothy Laboratories is seen trading in a rising channel with the formation of higher highs and higher lows on a daily interval.

The prices are also maintaining well above its short and long-term moving averages along with consistent buying at lower levels.

Additionally, on the weekly charts, the stock has given breakout above the ascending triangle pattern which is generally considered bullish when found in an uptrend.

Traders can accumulate the stock in a range of Rs 235-240 for the upside target of Rs 271 levels with a stop loss below Rs 215.

Disclaimer: The author is Senior Research Analyst, SMC Global Securities Ltd. The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on moneycontrol.com are his own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. First Published on Jul 4, 2018 12:04 pm

Capstar Financial Holdings Inc (CSTR) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Capstar Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CSTR) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $19.75.

Several analysts recently commented on CSTR shares. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Capstar Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 2nd. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Capstar Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Sandler O’Neill set a $20.00 price target on shares of Capstar Financial and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 28th. Finally, Stephens restated a “hold” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Capstar Financial in a report on Thursday, June 28th.

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Shares of Capstar Financial traded up $0.21, hitting $19.05, during midday trading on Tuesday, according to Marketbeat Ratings. The stock had a trading volume of 648 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,271. Capstar Financial has a fifty-two week low of $16.00 and a fifty-two week high of $22.22. The stock has a market cap of $216.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.25 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Capstar Financial (NASDAQ:CSTR) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 27th. The bank reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $13.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.37 million. Capstar Financial had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 9.91%. analysts anticipate that Capstar Financial will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently declared a Not Available dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 30th.

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Capstar Financial by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 388,842 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,077,000 after purchasing an additional 3,682 shares during the period. Foresters Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Capstar Financial by 27.1% during the first quarter. Foresters Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 290,500 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,470,000 after purchasing an additional 62,000 shares during the period. Ranger Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Capstar Financial by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 147,911 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,072,000 after purchasing an additional 9,470 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Capstar Financial by 7.7% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 56,176 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 3,994 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Capstar Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $818,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.13% of the company’s stock.

Capstar Financial Company Profile

CapStar Financial Holdings, Inc operates as the holding company for CapStar Bank that provides commercial banking services to consumer and corporate customers located primarily in Davidson, Sumner, Williamson, and the surrounding counties in Tennessee, the United States. It offers a range of deposit products and services, including demand deposits, interest-bearing transaction accounts, money market accounts, time and savings deposits, certificates of deposit, and CDARS reciprocal products.