Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund Buys Merck Inc, GlaxoSmithKline PLC, Novartis AG, Sells A

Investment company Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund buys Merck Inc, GlaxoSmithKline PLC, Novartis AG, Lonza Group, Medtronic PLC, Masimo Corp, Abbott Laboratories, bluebird bio Inc, Coloplast A/S, Atara Biotherapeutics Inc, sells AbbVie Inc, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Biogen Inc, Gilead Sciences Inc, Roche Holding AG during the 3-months ended 2018-05-31, according to the most recent filings of the investment company, Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund. As of 2018-05-31, Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund owns 60 stocks with a total value of $986 million. These are the details of the buys and sells.

New Purchases: GSK, NVS, LONN, MDT, MASI, BLUE, ATRA, Added Positions: MRK, ABT, BAX, COLO B, NBIX, A, ALXN, INCY, Reduced Positions: ABBV, BMY, BIIB, GILD, ROG, UNH, SHP, HUM, REGN, LLY, Sold Out: PCRX, AVXS,

For the details of Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund's stock buys and sells, go to http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=Eaton+Vance+Worldwide+Health+Sciences+Fund

These are the top 5 holdings of Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences FundJohnson & Johnson (JNJ) - 496,664 shares, 6.02% of the total portfolio. UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH) - 239,444 shares, 5.86% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 14.83%Pfizer Inc (PFE) - 1,135,385 shares, 4.14% of the total portfolio. Merck & Co Inc (MRK) - 658,673 shares, 3.98% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 241.28%Bayer AG (BAYN) - 253,183 shares, 3.06% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 16.06%New Purchase: GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK)

Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund initiated holding in GlaxoSmithKline PLC. The purchase prices were between $12.74 and $15.25, with an estimated average price of $14.14. The stock is now traded at around $15.82. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 2.68%. The holding were 1,306,141 shares as of 2018-05-31.

New Purchase: Novartis AG (NVS)

Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund initiated holding in Novartis AG. The purchase prices were between $74.96 and $84.29, with an estimated average price of $79.19. The stock is now traded at around $83.69. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 2.22%. The holding were 295,000 shares as of 2018-05-31.

New Purchase: Lonza Group Ltd (LONN)

Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund initiated holding in Lonza Group Ltd. The purchase prices were between $219.8 and $271.6, with an estimated average price of $244.03. The stock is now traded at around $305.30. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 1.51%. The holding were 55,571 shares as of 2018-05-31.

New Purchase: Medtronic PLC (MDT)

Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund initiated holding in Medtronic PLC. The purchase prices were between $76.55 and $86.99, with an estimated average price of $81.47. The stock is now traded at around $90.24. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 1.03%. The holding were 117,565 shares as of 2018-05-31.

New Purchase: Masimo Corp (MASI)

Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund initiated holding in Masimo Corp. The purchase prices were between $83.58 and $100.22, with an estimated average price of $90.61. The stock is now traded at around $100.06. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.59%. The holding were 58,354 shares as of 2018-05-31.

New Purchase: bluebird bio Inc (BLUE)

Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund initiated holding in bluebird bio Inc. The purchase prices were between $160.45 and $233.05, with an estimated average price of $183.75. The stock is now traded at around $155.50. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.26%. The holding were 14,429 shares as of 2018-05-31.

Added: Merck & Co Inc (MRK)

Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund added to a holding in Merck & Co Inc by 241.28%. The purchase prices were between $53.27 and $60.25, with an estimated average price of $56.93. The stock is now traded at around $65.49. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 2.81%. The holding were 658,673 shares as of 2018-05-31.

Added: Abbott Laboratories (ABT)

Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund added to a holding in Abbott Laboratories by 37.48%. The purchase prices were between $57.57 and $63.62, with an estimated average price of $60.36. The stock is now traded at around $64.78. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.47%. The holding were 276,884 shares as of 2018-05-31.

Added: Coloplast A/S (COLO B)

Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund added to a holding in Coloplast A/S by 33.59%. The purchase prices were between $496.4 and $617.2, with an estimated average price of $539.65. The stock is now traded at around $707.80. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.25%. The holding were 104,124 shares as of 2018-05-31.

Added: Neurocrine Biosciences Inc (NBIX)

Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund added to a holding in Neurocrine Biosciences Inc by 72.52%. The purchase prices were between $75.3 and $95.64, with an estimated average price of $85.02. The stock is now traded at around $113.55. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.24%. The holding were 59,473 shares as of 2018-05-31.

Sold Out: Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc (PCRX)

Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund sold out a holding in Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc. The sale prices were between $27.5 and $36.7, with an estimated average price of $33.21.

Sold Out: AveXis Inc (AVXS)

Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund sold out a holding in AveXis Inc. The sale prices were between $115.91 and $217.83, with an estimated average price of $172.63.

Reduced: AbbVie Inc (ABBV)

Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund reduced to a holding in AbbVie Inc by 59.34%. The sale prices were between $89.78 and $119.75, with an estimated average price of $101.49. The stock is now traded at around $93.91. The impact to a portfolio due to this sale was -2.57%. Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund still held 156,151 shares as of 2018-05-31.

Reduced: Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY)

Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund reduced to a holding in Bristol-Myers Squibb Company by 68.88%. The sale prices were between $50.53 and $67.92, with an estimated average price of $57.67. The stock is now traded at around $59.62. The impact to a portfolio due to this sale was -2.51%. Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund still held 176,060 shares as of 2018-05-31.

Reduced: Biogen Inc (BIIB)

Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund reduced to a holding in Biogen Inc by 41.54%. The sale prices were between $257.52 and $294.4, with an estimated average price of $274.38. The stock is now traded at around $344.06. The impact to a portfolio due to this sale was -1.28%. Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund still held 63,797 shares as of 2018-05-31.

Reduced: Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD)

Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund reduced to a holding in Gilead Sciences Inc by 25.24%. The sale prices were between $64.88 and $81.72, with an estimated average price of $72.89. The stock is now traded at around $77.90. The impact to a portfolio due to this sale was -0.98%. Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund still held 378,226 shares as of 2018-05-31.

Reduced: Roche Holding AG (ROG)

Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund reduced to a holding in Roche Holding AG by 42.99%. The sale prices were between $211.05 and $229.8, with an estimated average price of $220.64. The stock is now traded at around $243.05. The impact to a portfolio due to this sale was -0.96%. Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund still held 56,527 shares as of 2018-05-31.

Reduced: Shire PLC (SHP)

Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund reduced to a holding in Shire PLC by 43.99%. The sale prices were between $29.54 and $42.19, with an estimated average price of $36.76. The stock is now traded at around $43.51. The impact to a portfolio due to this sale was -0.79%. Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund still held 240,939 shares as of 2018-05-31.

Here is the complete portfolio of Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund. Also check out:

1. Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund's Undervalued Stocks
2. Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund's Top Growth Companies, and
3. Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund's High Yield stocks
4. Stocks that Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund keeps buying

AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. (AMN) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. (NYSE:AMN) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $64.25.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AMN shares. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of AMN Healthcare Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of AMN Healthcare Services from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of AMN Healthcare Services in a research note on Thursday, July 12th. Credit Suisse Group boosted their target price on shares of AMN Healthcare Services from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 10th. Finally, ValuEngine downgraded shares of AMN Healthcare Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 4th.

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AMN Healthcare Services traded down $0.30, hitting $61.20, on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 221,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 326,894. AMN Healthcare Services has a one year low of $34.85 and a one year high of $68.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of 23.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.41.

AMN Healthcare Services (NYSE:AMN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 3rd. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.02. AMN Healthcare Services had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 24.50%. The company had revenue of $522.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $518.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. analysts predict that AMN Healthcare Services will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In related news, insider Susan R. Salka sold 31,952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.63, for a total transaction of $1,745,537.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 238,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,003,305.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director R Jeffrey Harris sold 19,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.38, for a total transaction of $1,061,715.12. Following the transaction, the director now owns 88,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,795,717.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 88,021 shares of company stock worth $4,959,053 in the last 90 days. 2.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AMN Healthcare Services during the 1st quarter worth about $172,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in AMN Healthcare Services by 35.7% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AMN Healthcare Services during the 1st quarter worth about $210,000. Atria Investments LLC acquired a new position in AMN Healthcare Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $223,000. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in AMN Healthcare Services during the 1st quarter worth about $218,000.

AMN Healthcare Services Company Profile

AMN Healthcare Services, Inc provides healthcare workforce solutions and staffing services in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Nurse and Allied Solutions, Locum Tenens Solutions, and Other Workforce Solutions. The company offers travel nurse staffing under the American Mobile, Onward Healthcare, Nurses Rx, and O'Grady-Peyton brands; rapid response nurse staffing and labor disruption services, a shorter-term staffing solution under the NurseChoice brand; local, or per diem, staffing for daily shift work or on as-needed basis under the Nursefinders brand; and locum tenens staffing for specialties, clinicians, and dentists on an independent contractor basis on temporary assignments from a few days up to one year under the Staff Care and Locum Leaders brands.

Recommended Story: Price to Earnings Ratio (PE), For Valuing Stocks

Buy Zee Entertainment; target of Rs 600: ICICI Direct

ICICI Direct's research report on Zee Entertainment

Consolidated revenue came in at Rs 1772.3 crore, largely in line with our estimate of Rs 1780.1 crore. Domestic ad revenues grew 22.3% (vs. our expectation of 20% YoY growth) but international ad revenues stayed muted (2.1% YoY), lower than our expectation of 10% growth. This led to in line overall ad revenue growth of 18.5% YoY. On the subscription front, growth was disappointing at 8.3% YoY (vs. expectation of ~13% YoY), impacted by a decline in international subscription by 6.6% YoY while domestic subscription grew 12.3%RsEBITDA came in at Rs 565.7 crore, a tad above our expectation of Rs 560.7 crore, up 16.8% YoY. Consolidated EBITDA margins came in at 31.9% vs. our expectation of 31.5%. The EBITDA growth was owing to operating leverage and also supported by 3% QoQ decline in operational costRsReported PAT came in at Rs 339.4 crore (vs. expectation of Rs 349.4 crore) owing to higher-than-expected tax outgo, with tax rate of ~39% vs. expectation of ~35%.

Outlook

Zee Entertainment is poised to maintain its industry leading performance both in terms of ad growth as well as margins trajectory, given its strong bouquet of regional channels and prudent content spending. The digital expansion trajectory also remains on course, as per expectations, with limited margin erosion. The recent correction of over ~12% in the last three months has made the risk reward favourable amid its robust performance. We continue to value the company at 30x FY20E P/E to arrive at a target price of Rs 600. We upgrade the stock to BUY.

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

Read More First Published on Jul 18, 2018 05:29 pm

Robinhood Proves There Is Still a Huge Demand for Cryptocurrencies

Robinhood is a favorite trading app for millennials thanks to its no-fee service, and now there are even more reasons to like the platform.

Today (July 12), Robinhood announced that it added Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash to its crypto platform.

The company said there was a strong demand from its customers to add both of the crypto coins.

And the willingness to add new coins helps introduce even more people to the market. When it's easier to buy cryptocurrencies and there are more choices, the increased demand can help send prices higher.

Here is a recap of the top five cryptocurrencies by market cap as of 12:30 p.m. EST

Cryptocurrency	Market Cap	Price	Change (24h)
Bitcoin (BTC)	$106,375,425,710	$6,204.34	-3.46%
Ethereum (ETH)	$43,713,836,475	$434.33	-2.00%
Ripple (XRP)	$17,092,434,158	$0.43	-3.19%
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)	$11,756,875,097	$682.21	-2.50%
EOS (EOS)	$6,142,710,463	$6.85	-3.54%

Now, here's a closer look at the top cryptocurrency stories of the day…

The Top Cryptocurrency Stories for July 12 Ledger, the crypto custody startup that invented a hardware wallet, plans to add support for more than 100 crypto assets by the end of 2019. This is great news for cryptocurrency enthusiasts. Ledger makes a hardware wallet that is one of the safest ways to store coins and tokens. Crypto investors may have been afraid to buy certain coins before because of a lack of storage options. Now, they could help fuel a buying spree.

"Millionaire-Maker": A potential upgrade taking place behind the scenes could send the Bitcoin price to unprecedented highs. Few people even know about this game-changer. Click here to learn how you could make millions…

Even though Bitcoin prices have been rocky in 2018, one bull is doubling down on a bold BTC price prediction. Thomas Lee of Fundstrat Global Advisors LLC believes one Bitcoin will be worth $25,000 by the end of the year. From today's price, that's a potential return of 302.94%. There was fear India may issue a sweeping ban on cryptocurrencies, but it looks like country officials may just regulate them as commodities instead, according to a com report. The government now seems more interested in setting up regulations to deter money laundering than a direct ban. Finally, a new startup wants to use blockchain technology to create trustworthy collaborative databases for consumers and businesses, according to Forbes. The idea is platform users can vote on the accuracy of published information. The company is called DIRT Protocol, and its founder has an impressive history. Yin Wu is a serial entrepreneur, and she sold a mobile notification startup to Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) in 2015. The Shocking Reason Why We Think Bitcoin Could Hit $100,000

Join the conversation. Click here to jump to comments…

Top Cheap Stocks To Own Right Now

tags:KSS,SIRI,UNH,RCII, &l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image shutterstock size-large wp-image-569696209&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/569696209/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;640&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Shutterstock

The reason many find it hard to save is because they cut things they love, or need, to do. Or they&a;nbsp;cut drastically across the board. Saving money this way isn&s;t realistic. It&s;s like dieting; if you eat nothing but kale and apple cider for five days, you will be diving into a chocolate cake headfirst by the end of the week. For example, something you won&s;t see on this list: skipping your daily coffee purchase. Now, spending $5 every day on a Starbucks latte does add up to some serious cash: $1,800 a year to be exact. And yes, you can make your coffee at home. But those of us who buy a&a;nbsp;mocha latte every morning don&s;t do it just for the coffee. We do it for the social interactions, the feel and smell of a coffee shop and the&a;nbsp;finale&a;nbsp;of a morning routine that&a;nbsp;tells us we have officially started our day. That to me is worth the $5.&a;nbsp;Maybe just not every day. Or maybe at a cheaper coffee shop.

Top Cheap Stocks To Own Right Now: Kohl's Corporation(KSS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joe Tenebruso]

  But with the prices of many retailers down sharply in recent years, could there be some interesting bargains for investors? In this regard, let's take a look at Kohl's (NYSE:KSS) and J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP) to see which of these retailers is the better buy today.

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

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

• [By Adam Levine-Weinberg]

  In this episode of Industry Focus: Consumer Goods, Vincent Shen and senior Motley Fool contributor Adam Levine-Weinberg dive into the latest developments from�Macy's�(NYSE:M), Kohl's�(NYSE:KSS), and Dillard's�(NYSE:DDS), which have all enjoyed bullish rallies of 30% in the past month.

Top Cheap Stocks To Own Right Now: Sirius XM Radio Inc.(SIRI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  However, several Buffett stocks chalked up nice gains during the first quarter. The three top performers in Berkshire's portfolio were Sirius XM Holdings (NASDAQ:SIRI), Mastercard (NYSE:MA), and Moody's (NYSE:MCO). Here's what drove these stocks higher -- and what their prospects are for the rest of 2018.

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  In this segment from�MarketFoolery, host Chris Hill, Motley Fool One's Jason Moser, and Stock Advisor Canada's Taylor Muckerman consider an individual case of a common question for investors: When you have a stock that has become a big winner, should you hold on tight until you need the money, or sell to lock in some profits, and reinvest them elsewhere? There's certainly no single right answer, but the question is always a good one to ask. The response depends on the context of the individual company, so the Fools tailor their take this time to the outlook for Sirius XM�(NASDAQ:SIRI).

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) has just received its most bullish sell-side analyst rating�on Wall Street. Credit Suisse’s Brian Russo has raised the bar on Sirius XM with an Outperform rating with an $8.50 price target.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  There are two ways to buy into the country's lone provider of satellite radio, and one Wall Street pro thinks you should consider the road less traveled. Buckingham analyst Matthew Harrigan is downgrading shares of Sirius XM Holdings (NASDAQ:SIRI) on Monday, lowering his rating from buy to neutral.�

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Sirius XM
  The more than 206.74 million Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) shares that were short after the last two weeks of this month amounted to just 0.1% or so more than on the previous settlement date. This was the third-lowest level of short interest in the past year, and it totaled 15.8% of the available float. The average daily volume has shrunk in seven of the past eight periods, and the number of days to cover inched up to nearly 13. Sirius’ stock price was $7.22 at the trading day’s close yesterday. Its 52-week low is $5.09 and the 52-week high is $7.33, a multiyear high posted this week.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) is a company that thrives on of new car sales. If you have had satellite radio and are not solely reliant on what you get for music in streaming or your library, then chances are pretty good that you won’t want to go back to just having old-fashioned FM/AM radio.

Top Cheap Stocks To Own Right Now: UnitedHealth Group Incorporated(UNH)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) traded up 0.37% at $220.41. The stock’s 52-week range is $156.09 to $231.77. Volume was about a 65% below the daily average of around 3 million shares. The company had no specific news.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) traded up 2.46% at $238.63. The stock’s 52-week range is $156.09 to $238.95, a new 52-week high set this afternoon. Volume was about 33% above the daily average of around 3 million shares. The company had no specific news Wednesday.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Traders sold shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) on strength during trading on Wednesday. $83.82 million flowed into the stock on the tick-up and $145.51 million flowed out of the stock on the tick-down, for a money net flow of $61.69 million out of the stock. Of all companies tracked, UnitedHealth Group had the 16th highest net out-flow for the day. UnitedHealth Group traded up $2.22 for the day and closed at $241.72

Top Cheap Stocks To Own Right Now: Rent-A-Center Inc.(RCII)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Timothy Green]

  Shares of rent-to-own retailer Rent-A-Center Inc. (NASDAQ:RCII) soared on Monday after the company agreed to be acquired for $15 per share. This comes less than a week after Rent-A-Center received a lower buyout offer following the completion of its strategic review. The stock was up about 22.2% at 11:30 a.m. EDT.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Shares of Rent-A-Center Inc (NASDAQ:RCII) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $8.75.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  AerCap (NYSE: AER) and Rent-A-Center (NASDAQ:RCII) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations and valuation.

KBC Grp NV/ADR (KBCSY) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of KBC Grp NV/ADR (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday. Zacks Investment Research currently has $43.00 price objective on the stock.

According to Zacks, “KBC Group NV is an integrated bank-insurance group, catering mainly for retail, private banking, SME and mid-cap clients. Its operating segment consists of Belgium Business, Czech Republic Business, International Markets Business and Group Centre. The Belgium Business segment engages in the retail and private banc assurance activities. The Czech Republic Business segment comprises all KBC’s activities. The Group Centre segment includes the operating results of the group’s holding-company activities. The International Markets Business segment comprises the activities conducted by entities in the other Central and Eastern European core countries. KBC Group NV is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. “

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Separately, ValuEngine lowered shares of KBC Grp NV/ADR from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 2nd.

OTCMKTS:KBCSY opened at $38.78 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $31.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.37 and a beta of 0.56. KBC Grp NV/ADR has a fifty-two week low of $37.32 and a fifty-two week high of $48.84.

KBC Grp NV/ADR (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 17th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter. KBC Grp NV/ADR had a net margin of 25.24% and a return on equity of 14.20%. equities research analysts predict that KBC Grp NV/ADR will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

KBC Grp NV/ADR Company Profile

KBC Group NV, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated bank-insurance services primarily for retail, private banking, small and medium sized enterprises, and mid-cap clients primarily in Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, and Slovakia. It accepts deposits; offers loans to individuals, businesses, and public authorities; and provides services, including payments, cash management, trade finance, leasing, corporate finance, and money and capital market products, as well as offers asset management services.

Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on KBC Grp NV/ADR (KBCSY)

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China Wants India To Make Peace With Pakistan. It Won't Work

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image getty size-large wp-image-981564440&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/981564440/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;639&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; (Photo by Saqib Majeed/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

China wants to help ease the long-standing conflict between India and Pakistan. And it has a plan for it.

&a;nbsp;

Last June, Beijing paved the way for the two countries to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a Eurasian political, economic and security organization founded by China, Russia, and a number of other Central Asian counties.

&a;nbsp;

This year, Beijing &l;a href=&q;http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1106873.shtml&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;wants&l;/a&g; military personnel from both countries to participate in counter-terror exercises under the &a;ldquo;Peace Mission 2018.&a;rdquo;

&a;nbsp;

There&a;rsquo;s an official reason behind Beijing&a;rsquo;s plan. The easing of conflict will foster economic ties between the two countries, the same way easing of tension between China and the US in the 1970s fostered economic relations between the two countries.

&a;nbsp;

But there are a couple of unofficial reasons, too.

One of them is that easing of tensions between the two countries will serve China&a;rsquo;s efforts to complete building of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

That&a;rsquo;s the express link between Western China, the Middle East, and Africa -- China&s;s second continent. Ideologically that is, which can explain why Beijing has committed $46 billion to the project.

The trouble is that CPEC passes through Pakistani&a;nbsp;&l;a href=&q;http://www.embajadaindia.cl/page/display/78/22.&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;regions&l;/a&g;&a;nbsp;&l;a href=&q;https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-a94c8ea05a085d853447d3f42bcbbd0b-c?convert_to_webp=true&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;claimed&l;/a&g;&a;nbsp;by India. That makes it a rough road, to say the least -- Pakistan and India continue to fight for control of these regions. That&a;rsquo;s why China needs India to make peace with Pakistan.

&l;!--nextpage--&g;

Another reason Beijing wants to see peace between the two countries is to find a market for its products. Especially as tensions between China and the US escalate.

&a;ldquo;China has always believed in an economic solution to solve the world&a;rsquo;s challenges,&a;rdquo; &l;span&g;says &l;/span&g;Vijay Eswaran, Malaysian entrepreneur and Chairman of QI Group of Companies.&a;nbsp; &a;ldquo;&l;span&g;In that context China may be willing to play a role in potentially improving ties between India and Pakistan&a;rdquo;&l;/span&g;

&a;ldquo;&l;span&g;The ongoing trade threats from US to China encourages the latter to find a new big market. And India, the largest markets for Chinese goods outside of the US is right in its neighbourhood.&a;rdquo;&l;/span&g;

&l;span&g;That&a;rsquo;s why Beijing wants to use its leverage with Pakistan to ease conflicts between the two countries.&l;/span&g;

&l;span&g;But it &l;/span&g;won&a;rsquo;t &l;span&g;work, for a couple of reasons. One of them is that the two countries have a different perception &l;/span&g;regarding what &a;lsquo;terrorism&a;rsquo; consists of.

Another reason is that China has, so far, done very little to satisfy India. Quite the opposite: repeatedly blocking India&s;s efforts to join the Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG).

And it has sided openly with Pakistan in the India-Pakistan Kashmir standoff, as evidenced by statements by China&a;rsquo;s senior officials on the sidelines of United Nations General Assemblies.

Then there&a;rsquo;s India&s;s siding with the US in the South China Sea disputes.

The bottom line: Beijing has a long way to go before it can bring India and Pakistan to the table and ease long standing conflicts between the two countries.

&l;/p&g;

Vicor Corp (VICR) VP Claudio Tuozzolo Sells 2,558 Shares

Vicor Corp (NASDAQ:VICR) VP Claudio Tuozzolo sold 2,558 shares of Vicor stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.85, for a total value of $117,284.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $448,871.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Claudio Tuozzolo also recently made the following trade(s):

Get Vicor alerts: On Tuesday, May 15th, Claudio Tuozzolo sold 3,000 shares of Vicor stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.85, for a total value of $116,550.00. On Monday, May 7th, Claudio Tuozzolo sold 5,000 shares of Vicor stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $180,000.00.

VICR traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $46.85. The stock had a trading volume of 12,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 275,272. Vicor Corp has a 1 year low of $16.30 and a 1 year high of $52.05. The firm has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 428.64 and a beta of 0.87.

Vicor (NASDAQ:VICR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 24th. The electronics maker reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter. Vicor had a return on equity of 3.06% and a net margin of 2.13%. The company had revenue of $65.27 million during the quarter. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.02) EPS.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. ValuEngine lowered Vicor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 24th. BidaskClub raised Vicor from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 8th.

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VICR. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in Vicor by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 25,928 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 6,306 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new position in Vicor during the 4th quarter valued at about $572,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Vicor by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 40,479 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $846,000 after buying an additional 5,859 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Vicor by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 172,937 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $3,615,000 after buying an additional 21,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in Vicor by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,221,405 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $46,428,000 after buying an additional 70,575 shares in the last quarter. 24.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vicor

Vicor Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets modular power components and power systems for converting, regulating, and controlling electric current worldwide. It operates through three segments: Brick Business Unit, VI Chip, and Picor. The company offers modular direct current (DC)-DC converters, open-frame intermediate bus converters, and complementary components; high density zero voltage soft switching DC-DC converters; configurable products; and custom power systems.

Musk Says Tesla Hit With ��Extensive�� Sabotage by Rogue Employee

LISTEN TO ARTICLE 3:30 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

A disgruntled Tesla Inc. employee broke into the company’s manufacturing operating system and sent highly sensitive data to unknown third parties, according to an email Elon Musk sent to staff.

The worker, who had been denied a promotion, did “quite extensive and damaging sabotage” to Tesla’s operations, Musk wrote in the memo late Sunday, which was reported in full by CNBC. While a spokesman declined to comment, an employee who asked not to be identified confirmed he received the email.

Tesla is conducting an in-depth investigation into the matter, including whether the employee was acting alone, with others at the company or with any outside organizations, Musk wrote.

“As you know, there are a long list of organizations that want Tesla to die,” Musk said. He referenced Wall Street short sellers “who have already lost billions of dollars,” oil and gas companies that “don’t love” to see solar power and electric cars advancing, and automakers that produce gasoline and diesel vehicles. “If they’re willing to cheat so much about emissions, maybe they’re willing to cheat in other ways?” he said.

Musk’s email about sabotage comes as Tesla races to ramp up production of its mission critical Model 3 sedan to 5,000 cars a week. Last week, Musk announced that he was reorganizing the company and reducing Tesla’s workforce by 9 percent in a bid for profitability. More than 3,000 workers lost their jobs, and Tesla’s WARN notice filed with the state of California revealed that over 500 employees in Fremont and Palo Alto were dismissed.

‘Strange Incident’

A day later, Musk invoked a late tech titan in urging workers to keep an eye out for any funny business after a fire briefly halted car output. In a “strange incident that was hard to explain,” Musk wrote that a small fire on a manufacturing line had stopped production for several hours.

“Could just be a random event, but as Andy Grove said, ‘Only the paranoid survive,’” Musk wrote Monday, referring to the late chairman and CEO of Intel Corp. “Please be on the alert for anything that’s not in the best interests of our company.”

Tesla can ill afford manufacturing setbacks now. It’s racing to meet a target to build 5,000 Model 3 sedans a week by the end of this month, a goal Musk told shareholders on June 5 that the company was “quite likely” to achieve. The company’s forecasts for generating profit and cash in the third and fourth quarters of this year are based on this objective, and falling short would reignite concerns about whether the company may need to raise more capital.

Smoldering

A Tesla spokeswoman confirmed the authenticity of the Monday email, which CNBC reported first. Smoldering in an air filter in the welding area of Tesla’s body line was extinguished in a matter of seconds, she said. Production has resumed and there were no injuries or significant equipment damage, she added.

Tesla shares climbed for a seventh straight day, adding 3.5 percent to $370.83 on Monday. More than $19 billion has been added to the automaker’s market capitalization in the past month, in part due to Musk’s confidence at the annual shareholders’ meeting that the Model 3 would meet production targets. In a tweet Sunday, Musk warned that those betting against the company "have about three weeks before their short position explodes."

#lazy-img-328670082:before{padding-top:56.25%;}

Tesla is no stranger to concerns about sabotage. A former oil services executive named Todd Katz was sued by Tesla in 2016 impersonating Musk in an email to former Tesla CFO Jason Wheeler. In the lawsuit, Tesla said the email was part of an oil-industry effort to undermine the company’s push for energy-efficient transportation alternatives.

— With assistance by Kartikay Mehrotra

(Updates with context in paragraphs five, 10 and 11.)

Hot Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now

tags:IIPR,AINV,CM,CBB,RBS,ROP,

Continued from my last note, our investment thesis for Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) remains a Buy as they have continued to post stronger results after 2017 ended. We believe that the bank has a runway for growth based on the increasing backlog in the investment banking division, an increase in Marcus loans and FICC revenues posting a turnaround. In our view, most of the business lines are expected to post gains during the year as volatility in the market returns and M&A activity picks up. We believe that management can address shortfalls in trading to close the gap with US peers.

Clarity Money provides clarity on the business

On April 15th, GS formally announced and closed the acquisition of Clarity Money, a personal finance app. Clarity Money is the most recent step the firm has taken to bulk up its consumer finance platform, which, in our opinion, has the potential to become an industry leader based on the functionality it has. Clarity Money is a personal financial management tool that uses artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science to improve the financial health of users through canceling wasteful accounts, creating a savings plan, tracking spending habits, finding appropriate credit cards, and connecting users with investing solutions. Ultimately, we anticipate that this area of the business could become much more meaningful for Goldman Sachs over time. We believe Clarity Money will provide the company insightful customer financial information which will better position the firm to recommend products and underwrite credit more intelligently, also paving the path to add more products and capabilities over time.

Hot Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. (IIPR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Yet, there are far more ways for investors to "get their fix" of the cannabis industry than by purchasing companies that directly handle the plant. The ancillary market could deliver even more impressive growth, and one such company that may be worth a spot on your radar is real estate investment trust (REIT) Innovative Industrial Properties (NYSE:IIPR).

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Wednesday morning, the real estate shares surged 0.67 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. (NYSE: IIPR), up 5 percent, and Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc. (NYSE: AHH) up 3 percent.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Innovative Industrial (NYSE: IIPR) and Terreno Realty (NYSE:TRNO) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings and risk.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Two weeks ago, one of these under-the-radar ancillary pot stocks reported its first-quarter results -- and despite having been public for just five quarters, it managed to turn a reasonably strong per-share profit and declared a dividend. Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to Innovative Industrial Properties (NYSE:IIPR).

• [By Lisa Levin]

  On Wednesday, the real estate shares surged 0.87 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. (NYSE: IIPR), up 3 percent, and Education Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: EDR) up 3 percent.

Hot Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Apollo Investment Corporation(AINV)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  Apollo Investment Corporation (NASDAQ:AINV)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallMay 18, 2018, 10:00 a.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Income investors are always on the lookout for investments that will produce ample income, and it's hard to find companies that do better right now than business development companies. BDCs like Main Street Capital (NYSE:MAIN) and Apollo Investment (NASDAQ:AINV) make investments in different types of businesses, often providing capital through either debt or equity financing. Because BDCs often elect the favorable tax status of regulated investment companies, they have to distribute the vast majority of their taxable income to their shareholders, and that produces the impressive yields that both Main Street and Apollo give their investors.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Apollo Investment (NASDAQ:AINV)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reiterated by investment analysts at National Securities in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday. They presently have a $6.00 price target on the asset manager’s stock. National Securities’ target price indicates a potential upside of 6.19% from the stock’s current price.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTLA) rose 34.7 percent to $45.50 in pre-market trading following news that the FDA has approved Andexxa for the reversal of factor Xa inhibitors. Euro Tech Holdings Company Limited (NASDAQ: CLWT) rose 15.7 percent to $6.65 in pre-market trading after climbing 155.56 percent on Thursday. China Recycling Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: CREG) rose 14.7 percent to $2.75 in pre-market trading after climbing 57.89 percent on Thursday. Pandora Media, Inc. (NYSE: P) rose 11 percent to $6.40 in pre-market trading after reporting strong quarterly results. Fred's, Inc. (NASDAQ: FRED) rose 9.2 percent to $1.90 in pre-market trading following Q4 results. Shake Shack Inc (NYSE: SHAK) rose 9.1 percent to $51.70 in pre-market trading after the company reported upbeat results for its first quarter and raised its FY18 guidance. Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDRX) rose 9 percent to $12.55 in pre-market trading after the company posted Q1 results and agreed to acquire HealthGrid. Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE: WTW) rose 7.6 percent to $75 in pre-market trading after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter. The company also raised its FY18 earnings outlook from $2.40-$2.70 to $3-$3.20. Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAV) rose 7.5 percent to $10.15 in pre-market trading following Q3 results. Pearson plc (NYSE: PSO) rose 4.5 percent to $11.83 in pre-market trading after reporting strong quarterly earnings. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA) shares rose 4.4 percent to $190.50 in the pre-market trading session as the company posted upbeat Q4 results. Aqua Metals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AQMS) shares rose 3.9 percent to $4.30 in pre-market trading after gaining 6.98 percent on Thursday. Newell Brands Inc (NYSE: NWL) shares rose 3.6 percent to $27.65 in pre-market trading after reporting upbeat quarterly earnings. HMS Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: H
• [By Shane Hupp]

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

  Get Worldpay alerts: Worldpay notes 18% spike in Champions League final betting (sbcnews.co.uk) SumUp card reader review (startups.co.uk) ARE ANALYSTS TURNING CRITICAL?: SunTrust Banks, Inc., (NYSE: STI), Worldpay, Inc., (NYSE: WP) (globalexportlines.com) Payments Landscape: Market 2018 Global Analysis By Key Players �� Worldpay, PayPal, Braintree, Amazon Payments … (digitaljournal.com) Thrashing Stocks: Apollo Investment Corporation, (NASDAQ: AINV), Worldpay, Inc., (NYSE: WP) (globalexportlines.com)

  Worldpay traded down $0.18, hitting $79.10, on Friday, according to MarketBeat Ratings. 2,141,300 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,513,670. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Worldpay has a 1-year low of $59.10 and a 1-year high of $85.53. The stock has a market cap of $14.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.52, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.60.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Apollo Investment (NASDAQ:AINV) will be posting its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Friday, May 18th. Analysts expect Apollo Investment to post earnings of $0.16 per share for the quarter.

Hot Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce(CM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (TSE:CM) (NYSE:CM) – Analysts at Desjardins reduced their Q2 2018 earnings per share estimates for Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, May 2nd. Desjardins analyst D. Young now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $2.85 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.86.

• [By Lisa Levin] Companies Reporting Before The Bell Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $1.38 per share on revenue of $16.50 billion. Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.83 per share on revenue of $1.48 billion. Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.25 per share on revenue of $17.63 billion. Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.83 per share on revenue of $957.49 million. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE: CM) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $2.23 per share on revenue of $3.40 billion. Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRN) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.9 per share on revenue of $210.70 million. Qiwi plc (NASDAQ: QIWI) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.25 per share on revenue of $60.19 million. iClick Interactive Asia Group Limited (NASDAQ: ICLK) is projected to report quarterly loss at $0.06 per share on revenue of $34.87 million.

   

• [By Garrett Baldwin]

  We're about to reveal a little wealth secret that could unlock the trade of a lifetime.�Money Morning�Special Situation Strategist Tim Melvin takes you inside what could easily be a 10-bagger for investors in the weeks ahead.�Read more right here.

  The Top Stock Market Stories for Tuesday The Euro has plunged to its lowest point against the U.S. dollar in 2018 thanks to political problems in Europe. The breakdown of power in Italy has raised new concerns about the nation��s ability to repay its debts, as the spread between German and Italian bonds has widened. Market instability has also spread to Spain where the nation��s parliament is preparing to vote on whether to oust Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and his party. Oil prices slid one news that OPEC and Russia will consider hikes in production during a meeting in Vienna, Austria on June 22nd. The news accompanied reports that U.S. production is expected to rise throughout the summer. The price of WTI oil sat at $67.20 per barrel. The Brent crude oil price recovered this morning, adding 1% to hit $76.12. Canadian banks are under pressure this morning over a major breach by cyber criminals. The Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO) and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE: CM) �� the two largest banking institutions in the country �� announced that roughly 90,000 customers�� data may have been stolen. This would be the first major cybersecurity event to happen in Canada involving financial firms. Three Stocks to Watch Today: CRM, SBUX, MOMO com (NYSE: CRM) will lead a busy day of earnings reports on Wall Street. The cloud computing giant is set to report fiscal first quarter 2019 numbers after the bell on Tuesday. The average analyst projection calls for a 46% jump in EPS of $0.46 on top of a 23% gain in revenue to $2.94 billion. Starbucks�� Corporation (Nasdaq: SBUX) will temporarily close about 8,000 locations on Tuesday to train roughly 175,000 employees on racial bias. The training sessions were
• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE:CM)Q2 2018 Earnings Conference CallMay 23, 2018, 8:00 a.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE:CM) (TSE:CM) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 23rd, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of 1.036 per share by the bank on Friday, July 27th. This represents a $4.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 27th.

Hot Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Cincinnati Bell Inc(CBB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Friday was mixed on Wall Street, with the Nasdaq Composite eking out minor gains even as most other major benchmarks finished down modestly. Market participants seemed largely content to see how things played out on the geopolitical front between the U.S. and North Korea, and key reversals in other financial markets helped send 10-year Treasury rates back below 3% and also resulted in a substantial drop in crude oil prices. Despite generally quiet conditions, bad news sent shares of certain companies lower. Accuray (NASDAQ:ARAY), Cincinnati Bell (NYSE:CBB), and Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) were among the worst performers on the day. Here's why they did so poorly.

Hot Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Royal Bank Scotland plc (RBS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers ARMO BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARMO) shares rose 67.5 percent to $49.96 in pre-market trading after Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced plans to acquire ARMO BioSciences for $50 per share. Turtle Beach Corporation (NASDAQ: HEAR) rose 62.8 percent to $11.30 in pre-market trading after the company reported Q1 results and raised its FY18 outlook. vTv Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: VTVT) rose 23.4 percent to $2.11 in pre-market trading following announcement that the company will pre-specify new subgroup with the FDA and report Phase 3 Part B results in June. Resonant Inc. (NASDAQ: RESN) rose 19.1 percent to $5.00 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NASDAQ: RXII) rose 17.7 percent to $2.39 in pre-market trading following Q1 results. Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE) rose 15.2 percent to $2.20 in pre-market trading after French company Total announced plans to acquire 25 percent stake in Clean Energy Fuels for $83.4 million. Everspin Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRAM) rose 14.6 percent to $8.50 in pre-market trading after the company reported strong results for its first quarter. Carvana Co. (NYSE: CVNA) shares rose 11 percent to $27.50 in pre-market trading after reporting upbeat Q1 sales. Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ: RUN) rose 8.9 percent to $10.70 in pre-market trading following upbeat quarterly earnings. MediciNova, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNOV) rose 8.1 percent to $11.35 in pre-market trading after the company announced opening of Investigational New Drug Application for MN-166 (ibudilast) in glioblastoma. New Gold Inc. (NYSE: NGD) shares rose 7.7 percent to $2.65 in pre-market trading after the company reported that its President and CEO Hannes Portmann left the company. The company named Raymond Threlkeld as successor. Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ: OTTR) shares rose 7.4 percent to $46.60 in the pre-market trading session. Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: HIMX) shares rose

Hot Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Roper Technologies, Inc.(ROP)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Here are some of the news articles that may have impacted Accern Sentiment Analysis’s analysis:

  Get Roper Technologies alerts: What if Congress kills the Strategic Capabilities Office?; Pentagon projects arms-spending decline; Still no Air Force One deal; and more. (defenseone.com) The Air Force Desperately Wants Hypersonic Weapons (nationalinterest.org) The latest CEO pay numbers are in and the disparities in local compensation are huge (finance.yahoo.com) Free Post Earnings Research Report: Roper��s Quarterly Revenues Rose 11%; Adjusted EPS Surged 24% (finance.yahoo.com) Roper Technologies (ROP) Raised to “Buy” at ValuEngine (americanbankingnews.com)

  ROP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Roper Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 9th. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Roper Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Roper Technologies and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Roper Technologies in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Roper Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $303.75.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Investors like dividend stocks that aren't stingy with their payouts. Yet even among the elite ranks of the Dividend Aristocrats -- stocks that have increased their annual payments to shareholders for at least 25 straight years -- you can find some companies with dividend yields that are embarrassingly low. Below, we'll look more closely at Roper Technologies (NYSE:ROP), S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI), and Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) to see why they give investors a somewhat mixed picture when it comes to dividends.

• [By Lee Samaha]

  Another quarter, another strong earnings report for industrial technology company Roper Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ROP). The earnings report contained all the hallmarks of a typical Roper report -- margin expansion and strong cash-flow generation from its asset-light business model. But there's another positive that is driving improvement at Roper. Let's take a look at it, and the details of the earnings report.

• [By ]

  The primary companies identified fitting the bill are Hubbell (NYSE: HUBB), Roper Technologies (NYSE: ROP), and L3 (NYSE: LLL).

  2. Short Semiconductors
  Domestic companies with high exposure to the Chinese market are in danger due to the proposed tariffs. High technology is on the top of the sector list with Chinese exposure. Digging deeper into the high tech sector, semiconductor companies have the highest Chinese exposure.

• [By Garrett Baldwin]
  Shares of General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) are in focus after the company reported earnings before the bell. GE stock popped 5.6% after the firm topped earnings per share (EPS) estimates by $0.05 and backed its 2018 outlook. The firm reported EPS of $0.16 on top of $28.66 billion in revenue. GE stock had been off nearly 18% from its last earnings report on January 24 due to ongoing financial and legal problems. Crude oil prices dipped Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump took aim at OPEC. Trump accused the cartel of keeping oil prices "artificially high" despite "record amounts of oil all over the place." Brent crude and WTI crude oil both hit three-year highs this week after Saudi Arabia suggested that it was working to press oil prices back above $100 per barrel. Three Stocks to Watch Today: PM, MO, WFC Shares of Philip Morris International Inc.�(NYSE: PM) fell this morning after the firm experienced its worst trading day since its spin-off from Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO). Shares of PM fell as much as 16% after the firm fell short of revenue expectations after the bell. MO stock fell roughly 6% on the day. Shares of Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) are under pressure after The New York Times reported that the firm may be facing a $1 billion fine. The fines would cover a variety of "alleged" misdeeds that include the firm's push on customers to purchase auto insurance they didn't need and charging mortgage customers fees for services that they were not using. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will most likely announce the fine today. Money Morning�Capital Wave Strategist�Shah Gilani weighed in on the topic this week, and he offers a scorching indictment. Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) is on the move today after the semiconductor giant announced plans to lay off 1,500 employees. The cuts are expected to hit employees in California and cities around the globe. The cuts are part of the fi
• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  Roper Technologies (NYSE:ROP) Q1 2018 Earnings Conference CallApril 20, 2018 8:30 a.m. ET

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

  Operator

AXIS Capital (AXS) and Kingstone Companies (KINS) Critical Survey

AXIS Capital (NYSE: AXS) and Kingstone Companies (NASDAQ:KINS) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.

Dividends

Get AXIS Capital alerts:

AXIS Capital pays an annual dividend of $1.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Kingstone Companies pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. AXIS Capital pays out -49.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kingstone Companies pays out 42.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. AXIS Capital has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years. AXIS Capital is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for AXIS Capital and Kingstone Companies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AXIS Capital	0	7	2	0	2.22
Kingstone Companies	0	0	1	0	3.00

AXIS Capital presently has a consensus target price of $61.33, indicating a potential upside of 6.65%. Kingstone Companies has a consensus target price of $21.00, indicating a potential upside of 17.98%. Given Kingstone Companies’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Kingstone Companies is more favorable than AXIS Capital.

Risk and Volatility

AXIS Capital has a beta of 0.33, suggesting that its stock price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kingstone Companies has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.7% of AXIS Capital shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.5% of Kingstone Companies shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of AXIS Capital shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.3% of Kingstone Companies shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares AXIS Capital and Kingstone Companies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AXIS Capital	-6.52%	-3.42%	-0.69%
Kingstone Companies	5.93%	6.67%	2.62%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares AXIS Capital and Kingstone Companies’ gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AXIS Capital	$4.59 billion	1.05	-$368.96 million	($3.15)	-18.26
Kingstone Companies	$92.77 million	2.05	$9.98 million	$0.94	18.94

Kingstone Companies has lower revenue, but higher earnings than AXIS Capital. AXIS Capital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kingstone Companies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Kingstone Companies beats AXIS Capital on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AXIS Capital

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides various specialty insurance and reinsurance products worldwide. It operates through two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance. The Insurance segment offers property insurance for commercial buildings, residential premises, construction projects, and onshore energy installations; marine insurance covering offshore energy, cargo, liability, recreational marine, fine art, specie, hull, and war; and terrorism, aviation, credit and political risk, and liability insurance. It also provides professional lines insurance that cover directors' and officers' liability, errors and omissions liability, employment practices liability, fiduciary liability, crime, professional indemnity, cyber and privacy, medical malpractice, and other financial insurance related coverages for commercial enterprises, financial institutions, and not-for-profit organizations. In addition, this segment offers accidental death, travel, and specialty health products for employer and affinity groups, as well as accident and health reinsurance for catastrophic or per life events through wholesale and retail brokers, managing general agents, and underwriters. The Reinsurance segment offers reinsurance to insurance companies, including catastrophe; property reinsurance covering property damage and related losses resulting from natural and man-made perils; professional lines; and credit and surety. This segment also provides agriculture reinsurance; coverage for various types of construction risks and risks related to erection, testing, and commissioning of machinery and plants during the construction stage; marine, aviation, and personal accident reinsurance; and derivative based risk management products. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda.

About Kingstone Companies

Kingstone Companies, Inc., through its subsidiary, Kingstone Insurance Company, underwrites property and casualty insurance products to small businesses and individuals in New York. The company provides personal lines insurance products, such as homeowners and dwelling fire multi-peril, cooperative/condominium, renter, and personal umbrella policies. It also offers commercial liability policies comprising business owners policies, such as small business retail, service, and office risks without residential exposure to business owners; artisan's liability policies for small independent contractors; special multi-peril policies for business owners risks; and commercial umbrella policies. In addition, the company provides for-hire vehicle physical damage only policies for livery and car service vehicles and taxicabs; and canine legal liability policies, as well as reinsurance products. Kingstone Companies, Inc. sells its products through independent retail, and wholesale agents and brokers. The company was formerly known as DCAP Group, Inc. and changed its name to Kingstone Companies, Inc. in July 2009. Kingstone Companies, Inc. was founded in 1886 and is based in Kingston, New York.

12 Costly Retirement Mistakes to Avoid

Most of us look forward to retirement, imagining that we'll get to relax more and do lots of things that we haven't had sufficient time for -- such as traveling, reading, and exercising. How pleasant and secure our retirements are depends to a great deal on how well we prepare -- and on how many smart moves and how few mistakes we make.

It's very risky to leave much of your retirement to chance, as that increases your odds of running out of money long before you run out of breath. For best results, be the master of your own retirement and make savvy decisions.

Image source: Getty Images.

Here are 12 common -- and costly -- retirement mistakes to avoid:

1. Not having a plan

The most basic mistake that millions make is simply not having a plan. According to the 2017 Retirement Confidence Survey, only�41% of respondents said that they or their spouse has taken the time to estimate how much money they'll need in retirement.

There's no one-size-fits-all number regarding how much you need to save for retirement, but some experts suggest aiming for 80% of your income at the time you retire. So if you retire earning $75,000, you'll want to aim to have� $60,000 per year. That would be your total needed income. Some of it will likely be Social Security benefits, and much will probably come from your savings. One way to help you figure out how much you need to save is to invert the 4% rule and multiply your desired annual income from your nest egg by 25. (The 4% rule is a very rough guide to how much money you can withdraw from your nest egg in retirement in order to make it last.) So, for example, if you want to be able to draw $25,000 from your nest egg in your first year of retirement, you'd multiply that by 25, getting $625,000. You'd need to retire with $625,000 saved.

Once you know how much your retirement will require, you'll need to figure out how you'll amass that sum. You might need to increase your saving, cut back on your spending, and/or take on a part-time job for a while.

2. Not making the most of tax-advantaged retirement accounts

Another error is not taking advantage of retirement accounts available to you, such as traditional and Roth IRAs and traditional and Roth 401(k) plans at work. With a traditional IRA, you contribute pre-tax money, reducing your taxable income for the year, and thereby reducing your taxes, too. (Taxable income of $75,000 and a $5,000 contribution? Your taxable income drops to $70,000 for the year.) The money grows in your account, and when you withdraw it in retirement, it's taxed at your ordinary income tax rate at the time -- which is often lower than your current rate.

With a Roth IRA, you contribute post-tax money that doesn't reduce your taxable income at all in the contribution year. (Taxable income of $75,000 and a $5,000 contribution? Your taxable income remains $75,000 for the year.)�Here's why the Roth IRA is a big deal, though: Your money grows in the account until you withdraw it in retirement --�tax free. For 2018, the IRA contribution limit is $5,500 -- plus $1,000 for those 50 or older.

Meanwhile, 401(k)s also come in traditional and Roth varieties, and their 2018 contribution limits are far steeper -- $18,500 plus an additional $6,000 for those 50 and up. The table below shows how much�you can accumulate by socking away various sums that grow at an annual average of 8%. Remember that if you do so within a Roth IRA and/or a Roth 401(k), the sums below may be yours tax-free. If you're in a 25% tax bracket and empty a Roth account worth $500,000, you can avoid paying $125,000 in taxes.

Growing at 8% for

$5,000 Invested Annually

$10,000 Invested Annually

$15,000 Invested Annually

15 years	$146,621	$293,243	$439,864
20 years	$247,115	$494,229	$741,344
25 years	$394,772	$789,544	$1.2 million
30 years	$611,729	$1.2 million	$1.8 million

Calculations by author.

No matter what sum you need, the sooner you start saving and investing, the better off you'll be -- even if you're only in your 30s. After all, the younger you are, the longer your money can grow for you.

3. Cashing out 401(k) accounts

These days, it's common for workers to change jobs every few years, meaning that they end up contributing to lots of 401(k) accounts over time. It's also very common for workers to cash out those accounts when changing jobs. Don't do so, though. Early withdrawals result in 10% penalties -- plus taxation on the income. Even worse, you're shortchanging your future when you cash out your 401(k) -- and even, to a lesser degree, if you borrow from it, leaving many dollars unable to grow for you for a number of years.

Even if your 401(k) has only $20,000 in it when you leave your job, if that sum can keep growing for another 20 years and it averages an annual growth rate of 8%, it will grow to more than $90,000, which can be very meaningful in retirement.

Image source: Getty Images.

4. Putting off saving for retirement

Most of us procrastinate with various tasks we need to do -- but putting off preparing for your retirement is a very costly kind of procrastination. To understand just how costly, imagine that you plan to sock away $8,000 per year for 20 years, in order to fund your retirement, and you expect to earn an average annual return of 8%. What happens if you put it off and start this investing in earnest two years late? Well, if you sock away $8,000 annually for 18 years and it grows by 8% annually, you'll end up with around $323,570.�What if you didn't procrastinate and followed your plan for a full 20 years? Well, then you'd end up with $395,383 -- more than $70,000 more. Note, too, that you end up with more than 70,000 extra dollars just by having made two extra $8,000 investments, or $16,000. The earliest dollars you invest have the most time to grow. By putting off saving aggressively for retirement, you're leaving many thousands of dollars on the table.

The table below offers more examples of how a few years can make a big difference. For example, consider that if you socked away $10,000 annually for 25 years, it would grow to almost $790,000 over 25 years. If you'd started five years late, though, you'd have accumulated about $500,000 over 20 years -- that's almost $300,000 less.

Growing at 8% for

$5,000 Invested Annually

$10,000 Invested Annually

$15,000 Invested Annually

15 years	$146,621	$293,243	$439,864
18 years	$202,231	404,463	$606,696
20 years	$247,115	$494,229	$741,344
23 years	$328,824	$657,648	$986,471
25 years	$394,772	$789,544	$1.2 million

Calculations by author.

5. Assuming Social Security will be enough

Another error is assuming that the Social Security benefits you'll receive in retirement will be enough (or close to enough) to support you. In many instances, that's just not the case. Consider this: The average Social Security retirement benefit was recently $1,411�per month, or only about $17,000 per year. Of course, if you earned more than average during your working years, you'll collect more than that -- but not necessarily a lot more. The maximum�benefit for those retiring at their full retirement age was recently $2,788 per month -- or about $33,000 for the whole year.

Savvy planners will find out what they can expect from Social Security and will incorporate it into their plans. You can get an estimate of your expected benefits from the Social Security website at www.ssa.gov.

Image source: Getty Images.

6. Underestimating healthcare costs

We all know that healthcare is extremely costly, but we don't always remember to include it in our retirement planning. The 2018 Retirement Confidence Survey found�that only 19% of workers have taken the time to estimate how much money they will need for healthcare expenses in retirement. There's no way to really know exactly how much you'll need, but it does help to have a rough idea. So consider this: A 65-year-old couple retiring today will spend, on average, a total of $275,000 out of pocket on healthcare, according to Fidelity�Investments. (That doesn't include long-term care expenses, either.)

One way to ease this burden is to be smart about Medicare, choosing the plan that will serve you best and making the most of all the program offers. Be good about getting screenings and preventive care, for example, and you might reduce your overall healthcare costs by staying healthier. Long-term care insurance is worth considering, but it's imperfect and is quite costly itself, the older you are when you sign up for it.

Overall, you might aim to afford healthcare by planning to save more aggressively and aiming for a bigger nest egg. Or delay starting to collect Social Security in order to end up with fatter benefit checks. Other possible options�for some include reverse mortgages or tapping life insurance policies for extra income, though that comes at the expense of heirs.

7. Underestimating how long your retirement will be

The most common age at which Americans retire is about 62 or 63. There are lots of reasons why it's good to retire as early as you can -- but it can be a dangerous gambit, too, if you end up living a very long life.

It's estimated�that America is home to about 72,000 centenarians -- people aged 100 or older. If you live to 100 and retire at age 62, you're looking at 38 years of retirement. If you only live to 90, that's still a significant 28 years that your dollars will need to last. According�to the Social Security Administration, "About one out of every four 65-year-olds today will live past age 90, and one out of 10 will live past age�95."

Because of the possibility of living a long life, personal finance guru Suze Orman has advised�that most people should aim to retire no earlier than age 70: "Every dollar you don't spend in your 60s is a dollar that can keep growing for your 70s and beyond." (For some people, this advice is sound. If you have planned well, though, and have socked away enough money for retirement, you could retire much earlier.)

8. Retirement will deliver some surprises

You might end up retiring earlier than you planned to. According�to the 2016 Retirement Confidence Survey, 46% of retirees left the workforce earlier than planned, with 55% citing health problems or a disability as the reason and 24% citing changes at work such as a downsizing or workplace closure.

Image source: Getty Images.

9. Not considering fixed annuities

It's smart to at least consider investing in one or more annuities for your retirement, as it can provide almost guaranteed regular income, like a pension, and it can do so for the rest of your live, reducing the chance that you'll not have enough money to live on in later years.

Stick with fixed annuities, though, as opposed to variable or indexed annuities. (Those can be problematic, with steep fees and restrictive terms.) Here's the kind of income that various people might be able to secure in the form of an immediate fixed annuity in the current economic environment:

Person/People

Cost

Monthly Income

Annual Income Equivalent

65-year-old man	$100,000	$551	$6,612
70-year-old man	$100,000	$632	$7,584
70-year-old woman	$100,000	$592	$7,104
65-year-old couple	$200,000	$941	$11,292
70-year-old couple	$200,000	$1,036	$12,432
75-year-old couple	$200,000	$1,195	$14,340

Data source:�immediateannuities.com.

Another strategy to avoid running out of money is investing in a deferred fixed annuity (sometimes called longevity insurance). Instead of starting to pay immediately, it starts paying at a future point, such as when you turn a certain age. For example, a 70-year-old man might spend $50,000 for an annuity that will start paying him $933�per month for the rest of his life beginning at age 80.

10. Being late to sign up for Medicare

Medicare is critically important for tens of millions of retirees, and it will likely be critical for you, too. Just don't be late enrolling in Medicare, or you'll pay -- a lot. Your Part B premiums (which cover medical services but not hospital services) can rise by 10% for each year that you were eligible for Medicare and didn't enroll. Yikes!

So when, exactly, should you enroll? Well, you're eligible for Medicare at age 65, and you can sign up anytime within the three months leading up to your 65th birthday, during the month of your birthday, or within the three months that follow. Those seven months are your initial enrollment period.

The thought of missing that period may be worrisome, but there's a helpful loophole: If you're among the many Americans who are already receiving Social Security benefits by the time they reach age 65, you should be enrolled in Medicare automatically. You might also avoid the late-enrollment penalty and be able to skip the deadline if you're still working (with employer-provided healthcare coverage) at age 65, or if you're serving as a volunteer abroad.

11. Ignoring inflation

Warren Buffett has�said, "The arithmetic makes it plain that inflation is a far more devastating tax than anything that has been enacted by our legislature." He explained that while an income tax taxes earnings, inflation is applied to everything. So while you might earn 4% interest on a bank account in some years, if inflation is 4%, it will wipe out that gain entirely.

Over long periods, inflation has averaged about 3% per year, but in any given year or period, it can be much higher or lower. In 2015, for example, it averaged�close to 0%, while it was 6% in 1982, 9% in 1975, and more than 13% in 1980. Even at 3%, it can really shrink the purchasing power of your future dollars, as something that costs $1,000 now may cost about $1,810 in 20 years.

Imagine that you're aiming to amass $875,000 by the time you retire in 20 years, figuring that that sum will be enough to support you. Well, if inflation averages 3%, that $875,000 will end up having the purchasing power of just $484,000�in today's dollars. You'd need to amass about $1.6 million by retirement in order to end up with the purchasing power of $875,000 today. Keep inflation in mind when planning for retirement -- and perhaps ratchet up your savings goal and your annual contributions. (Know, too, that there are a bunch of ways to increase your retirement income.)

12. Not being strategic about Social Security

Finally, don't just start collecting your Social Security benefits at any old time. Learn more about it first, because there are ways to maximize your Social Security and some strategies you might employ -- especially if you're married.

For example, you can increase or decrease your benefits by starting to collect Social Security earlier or later than your "full" retirement age, which is 66 or 67 for most of us these days. A married couple can coordinate their benefit-taking, perhaps having the spouse with the lower expected benefits starting to collect early, so that the other spouse can delay starting to collect, allowing those eventual benefits to grow bigger.

Spend a little time learning more about retirement and smart moves to make, and you can end up with thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars more than you expected. That can make a huge difference in your last decades of life.

Q2 2018 Earnings Estimate for SM Energy (SM) Issued By Seaport Global Securities

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) – Equities research analysts at Seaport Global Securities lifted their Q2 2018 earnings per share estimates for shares of SM Energy in a research report issued on Wednesday, May 23rd. Seaport Global Securities analyst M. Kelly now anticipates that the energy company will post earnings per share of ($0.08) for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of ($0.09). Seaport Global Securities also issued estimates for SM Energy’s Q3 2018 earnings at $0.00 EPS, FY2018 earnings at $0.06 EPS, Q1 2019 earnings at $0.00 EPS, Q2 2019 earnings at $0.06 EPS, Q3 2019 earnings at $0.35 EPS, Q4 2019 earnings at $0.48 EPS and FY2019 earnings at $0.89 EPS.

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A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Tudor Pickering upgraded SM Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 10th. Williams Capital set a $40.00 target price on SM Energy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. ValuEngine downgraded SM Energy from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on SM Energy from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank began coverage on SM Energy in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $28.13.

SM Energy opened at $25.89 on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42. SM Energy has a 52-week low of $12.29 and a 52-week high of $28.20.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 4th. The energy company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $769.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.40 million. SM Energy had a negative return on equity of 2.53% and a net margin of 4.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 106.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS.

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 170,176 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,757,000 after purchasing an additional 19,836 shares during the period. EnCap Energy Capital Fund IX L.P. bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $180,780,000. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 357,079 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $7,884,000 after purchasing an additional 31,453 shares during the period. Hartree Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of SM Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,605,000. Finally, Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SM Energy by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 451,060 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $9,960,000 after purchasing an additional 42,836 shares during the period.

The business also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 27th were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 26th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.61%. SM Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -12.20%.

SM Energy Company Profile

SM Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of crude oil and condensate, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in onshore North America. It primarily has operations in the South Texas and Gulf Coast, Rocky Mountain, and Permian regions.

Revlon names Debra Perelman as CEO

Revlon has named the�first woman CEO in its 86-year history �� Debra Perelman, the daughter of the cosmetics and beauty company's billionaire board chairman, Ronald Perelman.

Amid heightened competition and steep losses, the New York City-based company tapped Perelman for the�chief executive post and presidency Wednesday, four months after she was named as Revlon's�chief operating officer. Perelman's r茅sum茅 also includes a more than 20-year career in other positions at Revlon and MacAndrew & Forbes, the corporate management and acquisition firm headed by Ronald Perelman.

As both a Revlon executive and board member, Perelman, 44, has overseen corporate strategy and led a continuing transformation to digital retail marketing and sales, the company said. She formed a data and analytics group to help drive the transition to e-commerce and launched a partnership with the MIT Media Lab to explore ways to disrupt the industry, Revlon said.

In her new corporate positions, she will focus on enhancing Revlon's "consumer- and customer-focused approach," the company said.

"I love Revlon not only as a company, but as a culture of employees and executives who are committed to delivering women and men the best products in our industry," Perelman said in a statement about her new role. "I am committed to driving the company to compete and thrive in today's dynamic environment and encouraging our talented team's entrepreneurial spirit, agility and bold creativity."

Paul Meister, who had been overseeing Revlon's day-to-day operations on an interim basis since January, will continue in his role as executive vice chairman of the company's board of directors, the firm said.

Meister filled in after the departure of former Revlon CEO Fabian Garcia, who departed in what the company characterized as a move to "pursue other opportunities."

Ronald Perelman, a successful business dealmaker, corporate raider, as well as one of the nation's wealthiest individuals, bought Revlon in 1985. The company�manufactures, markets and sells beauty and personal care products, including its Revlon and Almay makeup brands, and Charlie and Jean Nat茅 fragrances.� Revlon also owns Elizabeth Arden, a maker of prestige fragrances.

Like many retailers, Revlon has struggled with U.S. consumers' move away from traditional brick and mortar stores. Debra Perelman will lead the company's�battle against an increasing array of online-only beauty product marketers that sell via Amazon and other e-commerce platforms, as well as specialty store�competitors like Sephora and Ulta.

The new competition has shaken up the beauty industry and sent Revlon's shares 18.25% lower, year to date. The company's stock was down nearly 3.5% at $18.20�hours after Perelman's appointment was announced.

Announcing first-quarter results on May 10, Revlon reported $560.7 million in net sales, down 5.7% from $594.9 million for the same period last year. The company also reported a�$61.7 million operating loss, compared with a $43.1 million loss for the previous year's first quarter.

Revlon also said it experienced $20 million in net sales reductions due to disruptions at the company's Oxford, N.C., manufacturing facility after the February 2018 launch�of a new resources planning Internet technology system in the U.S.�

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Discussing the management change in the company's official announcement, Ronald Perelman said�that "Debbie's global perspective, financial acumen and holistic approach to brands, consumers and technology will help Revlon reclaim its leadership position."

"I have always trusted Debbie to bring fresh vision, innovation and success to companies, and I have no doubt she will do the same for Revlon," added Perelman.

Contributing: Charisse Jones

Follow USA TODAY reporter Kevin McCoy on Twitter: @kmccoynyc

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