Host Hotels & Resorts Inc (HST) Files 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended on December 31, 2018

Host Hotels & Resorts Inc (NYSE:HST) files its latest 10-K with SEC for the fiscal year ended on December 31, 2018. Host Hotels & Resorts Inc is a lodging real estate investment trust. It owns properties and conducts operations. Its properties include luxury and upper-upscale hotels. Host Hotels & Resorts Inc has a market cap of $14.59 billion; its shares were traded at around $19.70 with a P/E ratio of 13.49 and P/S ratio of 2.65. The dividend yield of Host Hotels & Resorts Inc stocks is 4.06%. Host Hotels & Resorts Inc had annual average EBITDA growth of 0.60% over the past ten years.

For the last quarter Host Hotels & Resorts Inc reported a revenue of $1.4 billion, compared with the revenue of $1.3 billion during the same period a year ago. For the latest fiscal year the company reported a revenue of $5.5 billion, an increase of 2.5% from last year. For the last five years Host Hotels & Resorts Inc had an average revenue growth rate of 1.1% a year.

The reported diluted earnings per share was $1.47 for the year, an increase of 93.4% from previous year. Over the last five years Host Hotels & Resorts Inc had an EPS growth rate of 18.3% a year. The Host Hotels & Resorts Inc had an operating margin of 9.47%, compared with the operating margin of 12.31% a year before. The 10-year historical median operating margin of Host Hotels & Resorts Inc is 10.95%. The profitability rank of the company is 7 (out of 10).

At the end of the fiscal year, Host Hotels & Resorts Inc has the cash and cash equivalents of $1.5 billion, compared with $913.0 million in the previous year. The long term debt was $3.8 billion, compared with $4 billion in the previous year. The interest coverage to the debt is 3, which is not a favorable level. Host Hotels & Resorts Inc has a financial strength rank of 6 (out of 10).

At the current stock price of $19.70, Host Hotels & Resorts Inc is traded at close to its historical median P/S valuation band of $17.93. The P/S ratio of the stock is 2.65, while the historical median P/S ratio is 2.41. The stock gained 8.16% during the past 12 months.

For the complete 20-year historical financial data of HST, click here.

I Love Netflix, but I'm Avoiding the Stock for Now

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) is a company that fundamentally altered the world. After changing how physical movie rentals were done, the company ushered in an all-new content distribution paradigm by moving to digital streaming. Today, all you need is a computer, internet connection, and a Netflix subscription to gain access to a whole host of movies and television shows.

Over time, the company's management team has made seemingly one brilliant move after another. For example, Netflix's business model can be fairly easily replicated if it only stuck to distributing content owned by others. So, in recent years, the company has been funding and rolling out exclusive content. Perhaps more importantly, that exclusive content is often very good, and a critical component to keeping customers locked into its platform. That lock-in not only ensures that customers stay subscribed, but it makes it easier for Netflix to raise prices over time.

Image source: Getty Images.

Netflix is a phenomenal business run by a management team that really knows what it's doing. With that being said, I wouldn't buy the stock right now. Here's why.

Netflix is richly valued

Netflix is great, but the stock already prices in a lot of greatness. As of this writing, the stock trades at $363 per share. That's not the highest it's been over the last 52 weeks, but it's nearly 60% higher than the 52-week low that it set about a year ago. 

Now, the mere fact that a stock is performing well doesn't necessarily mean that the shares aren't worth buying (although I admit that I like to buy businesses that I really like when they're out of favor with Wall Street), but there are other signs that the stock might be overheated. 

On several different valuation metrics, Netflix is very richly priced. According to analysts, Netflix is set to generate $4.05 in earnings per share (EPS) in 2019 and $6.43 per share in 2020. This means that the stock trades at just shy of 90 times 2019 EPS and a little more than 56 times 2020 EPS estimates.

If we focus on its price-to-sales ratio, the business trades at about 7.8 times the revenue that analysts expect Netflix to generate in 2019 and 6.3 times their 2020 estimates. 

And, finally, if we peek at the company's free cash flow data, it has been burning cash for years, with the rate of that cash burn seemingly continuing to rise. 

NFLX Free Cash Flow (TTM) data by YCharts.

Put simply, for Netflix to justify its current stock price, it'll need to keep dramatically growing its revenue and EPS for years to come. And, sooner or later, the company is going to need to become free-cash-flow positive.

Investor takeaway

To be clear, I'm not trying to make the argument that you should go out and sell your Netflix shares today nor am I saying that the stock is a short (no matter how richly valued a stock is, shorting on valuation alone tends not to be a successful strategy). Netflix is a great business that I expect to thrive in the years to come. 

However, given that the stock is richly valued and has rallied so hard and fast over the last couple of months, now doesn't seem like a good time for new investors to jump into the stock or for current investors to add to their positions. 

That being said, for those who do want to get in on Netflix, I wouldn't say that you should wait until the stock trades at a bargain-basement valuation, either -- Netflix is the kind of stock that's likely to command a rich valuation for the foreseeable future as it continues to deliver impressive growth.

Indeed, I'd be opportunistic in looking for an entry point. Perhaps an overall market pullback or a worse-than-expected quarterly report might drive the shares down, creating a better opportunity for investors with longer-term investment horizons.

Commerce Bancshares Inc (CBSH) Files 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended on December 31, 2018

Commerce Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:CBSH) files its latest 10-K with SEC for the fiscal year ended on December 31, 2018. Commerce Bancshares Inc is engaged in banking business, providing a range of retail, corporate, investment, trust, and asset management products and services to individuals and businesses. Commerce Bancshares Inc has a market cap of $7.05 billion; its shares were traded at around $63.28 with a P/E ratio of 16.75 and P/S ratio of 5.45. The dividend yield of Commerce Bancshares Inc stocks is 1.41%.

For the last quarter Commerce Bancshares Inc reported a revenue of $337.7 million, compared with the revenue of $307.1 million during the same period a year ago. For the latest fiscal year the company reported a revenue of $1.3 billion, an increase of 9.2% from last year. For the last five years Commerce Bancshares Inc had an average revenue growth rate of 4.9% a year.

The reported diluted earnings per share was $3.78 for the year, an increase of 37.4% from previous year. Over the last five years Commerce Bancshares Inc had an EPS growth rate of 11.1% a year. The profitability rank of the company is 3 (out of 10).

At the end of the fiscal year, Commerce Bancshares Inc has the cash and cash equivalents of $1.2 billion, compared with $469.1 million in the previous year. The long term debt was $8.70 million, compared with $1.76 million in the previous year. Commerce Bancshares Inc has a financial strength rank of 5 (out of 10).

At the current stock price of $63.28, Commerce Bancshares Inc is traded at 43.9% premium to its historical median P/S valuation band of $43.99. The P/S ratio of the stock is 5.45, while the historical median P/S ratio is 3.79. The stock gained 15.60% during the past 12 months.

Directors and Officers Recent Trades:

Director David W Kemper sold 7,681 shares of CBSH stock on 02/15/2019 at the average price of $61.62. The price of the stock has increased by 2.69% since.Exec. Vice President & CCO Daniel D. Callahan sold 1,156 shares of CBSH stock on 02/12/2019 at the average price of $61.03. The price of the stock has increased by 3.69% since.Executive Vice President Kevin G Barth sold 6,001 shares of CBSH stock on 02/12/2019 at the average price of $61.05. The price of the stock has increased by 3.65% since.Director David W Kemper sold 27,728 shares of CBSH stock on 02/04/2019 at the average price of $60.12. The price of the stock has increased by 5.26% since.Director David W Kemper sold 20,000 shares of CBSH stock on 02/01/2019 at the average price of $59.81. The price of the stock has increased by 5.8% since.

For the complete 20-year historical financial data of CBSH, click here.

Cramer remix: How my father's mistakes inspired me to buy stocks

If you want to invest in individual stocks, you have to be ready to do your homework, CNBC's Jim Cramer said on his show Thursday.

The "Mad Money" host told a story from his childhood about how his father, "Pops," began buying stocks of National Video through a tip that he received from his brother. Pops, he said, eventually put a large chunk of his life savings into the equity as the price was rising. Once the stock began falling, Pops, like many people, had no idea what to do besides asking his brother to fetch another tip from his friend, Cramer said.

The tip was to keep buying National Video and the only thing that Pops knew to do was continue buying the stock, which means he was at the "mercy" of the stock's movement, he said.

"One of the precepts of 'Mad Money' is to know how to invest in an individual stock if you are going to do so," Cramer said. "Tips, as I like to say, are for waiters ... You must do homework if you are going to own individual stocks ... [and] if you can't do homework then own an index fund."

But if you fear losing money, "don't own stocks at all," he said.

Click here to hear the full story.

The evolution of "Mad Money" Scott Mlyn | CNBC Jim Cramer on "Mad Money."

Cramer took a stroll down memory lane to reflect on the history of "Mad Money with Jim Cramer" and how it has evolved over the past dozen-plus years.

While "Mad Money" has retained two members of its original production team from its 2005 launch, the show's focus has changed over time from stock picking to stock educating that seeks to help viewers understand the value of index funds, Cramer said. The host said he was inspired to reflect on the show's changes from his interactions with "Mad Money" fans and critics via email, phone, and Twitter.

"We have been doing it for so darn long we take it for granted what we do and tonight you know I'm gonna change that, I'm gonna correct it," Cramer said. "Tonight, I want to talk to you about the show, its evolution, and how you can best use it or worse misuse it, and I am doing so because there's so much we throw at you that you might not be able to use it as effectively as we would like."

Click here to read Cramer's evolution.

Paying for law shcool Michael Fein | Bloomberg | Getty Images Harvard University

Prior to his career as "Mad Money" host and before his days as a hedge fund manager, Cramer said he was a journalist looking to make more money by playing his hand in the stock market "the right way."

Back then he found an "edge" by reading as many periodicals he could get his hands on, like forbes Magazine, that covered stocks, he said. That's when he created his concept of "Mad Money"—extra cash that he saved outside of his IRA contributions to buy shares of American Agronomics at $9.

The stock dropped and the investment was destroyed, he said. Cramer later learned, he said, that a steel company at the time named SPS was looking to grow its workforce. The stock wasn't doing the best and had negative reports in the news at the time, but Cramer said he had gotten new information that would give it a different outlook.

"In other words, I had insight nobody else had. I was ahead of the story. Now these days it's hard to get that kind of an edge. Everybody pretty much knows everything they want. Edges do exist though and we do our best to present them every night. Interpretations of news and events can augment those edges and analysis is very important."

After investing in the company and making a "ton of money," Cramer said he was later "hooked." The host would eventually make enough money to pay for his first year of law school.

Click here to learn how Cramer did it.

Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images A cashier returns cash to a customer at a Vineyard Vines store at the Fashion Outlets of Chicago. See for yourself

Cramer said the indexing of individual stocks began while he was a student at Harvard Law School that ultimately became the S&P 500. Still, at the time, he was more interested in individual stocks

When Cramer joined Goldman Sachs in 1984, he said his mother would call often to ask about her favorite stocks by following the Peter Lynch theory of buy what you know and stay on top of it. He said that she would ask often about names like Giant Food and Gantos, among others.

But Cramer would eventually learn through none other than his father that sometimes Wall Street research gets it wrong. He tried to get "Pops" to buy stock of Gantos, the women's apparel chain that was "heavily promoted" by the firm, until Pops took him to an outlet store near Philadelphia. After hours of staking out the Gantos store, Cramer said only about a dozen people entered the store.

"Most of all I want to show you that it isn't reckless to try to pick individual stocks and those who say it is just don't understand the process of first hand experience, married with research buttressed by skepticism," he said. "Here's the bottom line: My mom was no genius at stocks, but she did have a genuine interest. My dad was a genius at retail and I would like to think that some of that rubbed off on me."

Ashlee Espinal | CNBC Mad Money with Jim Cramer on October 19, 2016. Informing and entertaining

Cramer said he encourages his viewers to invest in index funds and not stocks because it's not ideal to buy a stock on a tip without research, but stock pickers must have an edge or personal experience to match the research you put into a stock.

Still, you have to be skeptical at all times, he said.

The purpose of "Mad Money" is to educate viewers and produce profit for charities, Cramer said, which has led to more than $2.3 million since its inception. Viewers can keep up with the ActionAlertPlus.com charity to see how the money works, he said.

"All I'm really trying to do is keep you informed in an entertaining way knowing that if I didn't do that ... it would have failed commercially years ago," Cramer said, acknowledging that he's not perfect himself. "The education is what it's about as long as you know that the bottom line is that I'm doing my job and hopefully doing it right."

Questions for Cramer?
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The 3 Top Dividend-Paying Stocks to Buy in 2019

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Brexit, the trade war with China, the collapse of Venezuela, and even rising interest rates are all threats to the stock market's performance.

But you don't have to worry.

Today we're going to give you our list of the three top dividend-paying stocks to buy in 2019 to help you pad your portfolio with extra income during volatile times.

Plus, these aren't just any old income stocks. These offer double-digit upside, too.

These were uncovered using the proprietary Money Morning Stock VQScore system.

The VQScore gives our investors a distinct investing advantage because it reveals stocks that have the greatest potential for market-beating gains.

The VQScore system ranks the 1,500 most profitable companies on the market based on their growth potential. We've screened our rankings for stocks that offer dividends of at least double the S&P 500 average.

That gives you stocks with substantial upside and added income in your portfolio to give you a boost during volatile times.

Here are three of the best dividend-paying stocks to buy now…

Top Dividend-Paying Stocks to Buy in 2019, No. 3: AbbVie Inc.

There are some excellent buying opportunities among biotech stocks right now because many have fallen from their 52-week highs.

Fears about a trade war with China, soaring geopolitical tensions, and other global uncertainties have investors getting defensive. Generics are creating increased competition, and there is also the threat of drug price cuts.

But following the herd could be a costly mistake.

"Federal Rent Checks": Thanks to an obscure law, over 100 government agencies are required to pay rent. By following a simple investment strategy, you could receive checks of up to $1,795 every month. Read more…

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) is one of the best dividend-paying stocks now because its share price has dropped over 40% from its high in 2018. The main reason for this has been concern surrounding the release of biosimilars in Europe that are targeting Humira, the company's top-selling drug.

Humira is a popular injection therapy that treats autoimmune diseases.

Even so, the latest forecasts reveal that Humira's financial growth has slowed. This is only a concern in Europe, however. There likely won't be any biosimilar competition for Humira in the United States until at least 2023.

Humira isn't the company's only drug. It also has Imburvica, an oral therapy to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and Viekira Pak, a treatment for chronic hepatitis C.

The company has a dominant position in the immunology sector and has been working on its next generation of therapies, with several drugs expected to launch in 2019. On Feb. 12, it announced that it had purchased rights to a new immunotherapy for multiple myeloma from Teneobio, a privately held company.

AbbVie pays a 5.31% dividend yield on top of some significant potential for growth.

Yahoo Finance reports that ABBV has a $92 one-year price target. This would give investors 16% gains from today's price of $79.73. But one analyst predicts ABBV could hit $115 a share in 12 months. That's a potential 45% gain on top of its 5% dividend yield.

Top Dividend-Paying Stocks to Buy in 2019, No. 2: BP Plc.

When oil prices declined last year, it put a damper on global energy exploration and production companies.

Now that sanctions could be looming on Venezuela and OPEC is planning to cut output, oil prices are on the upswing again. In fact, they've just reached their 2019 highs this week.

That's a big boost for BP Plc. (NYSE: BP), one of the best dividend stocks to buy now. The company is using artificial intelligence to boost its exploration efforts, and it continues to broaden investments into systems for alternative energy.

As the company increases its oil reserves and invests in other projects, such as charging stations in China, it is going to be able to weather the pressures and challenges it faces concerning climate change.

BP announced its Q4 results on Feb. 5, and it nearly doubled its net profit in 2018. The company's upstream business increased 3% year over year, and much of the profit increase was driven by higher oil prices.

BP stock has a one-year price target of $48.95. From today's opening price of $42.60, this would be a gain of 15%. That could be too conservative, considering oil prices are set to continue climbing this year. Plus, BP stock has a perfect VQScore of 4, making it a breakout candidate.

As if this isn't enough of an upside, BP also pays a 6.1% dividend yield.

But our top dividend stock to buy has an even bigger dividend and higher upside…

Join the conversation. Click here to jump to comments…

Marriott International Inc (MAR) Stake Lowered by Piedmont Investment Advisors Inc.

Piedmont Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its position in Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR) by 43.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,664 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,704 shares during the period. Piedmont Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Marriott International were worth $2,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MAR. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Marriott International in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marriott International by 51.9% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. G&S Capital LLC lifted its position in Marriott International by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. G&S Capital LLC now owns 582 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in Marriott International by 9,956.1% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 7,787,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 7,710,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Interstate Bank lifted its position in Marriott International by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. First Interstate Bank now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.45% of the company’s stock.

Get Marriott International alerts:

Shares of MAR stock traded up $2.50 on Wednesday, reaching $124.53. The company had a trading volume of 36,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,600,093. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.75, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $41.82 billion, a PE ratio of 28.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.23. Marriott International Inc has a 12 month low of $100.62 and a 12 month high of $144.86.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 28th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Marriott International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.61%.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Co set a $127.00 price target on shares of Marriott International and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 14th. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Marriott International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 23rd. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Marriott International from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 8th. SunTrust Banks reduced their price target on shares of Marriott International to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $127.00 price target on shares of Marriott International in a research report on Monday, December 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.00.

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Marriott International Company Profile

Marriott International, Inc operates, franchises, and licenses hotel, residential, and timeshare properties worldwide. The company operates through three segments: North American Full-Service, North American Limited-Service, and Asia Pacific. It operates its properties under the JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, W Hotels, The Luxury Collection, St.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MAR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR).

Oracle of Omaha Abandons Oracle’s Stock After Just 1 Quarter

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-A) (NYSE:BRK-B) invested about $2.1 billion in Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) in late 2018. That was a bullish vote of confidence for the enterprise software company, since Buffett had only invested in a handful of tech stocks after shunning them for most of his career.

However, a recent SEC filing revealed that Berkshire sold its entire position in Oracle after a single quarter. That was a surprising move for Buffett, a champion of long-term investing who famously claimed that his favorite holding period was "forever". So why did the Oracle of Omaha abruptly dump Oracle?

Image source: Getty Images.

Understanding Oracle's business

Oracle, like many other mature enterprise software companies, is struggling to grow its sales in a saturated market. Analysts expect its revenue to fall 1% this fiscal year (which ends on May 31), compared to 6% growth last year.

Oracle is pivoting away from its slow-growth, on-premises businesses, like database hardware and software, toward higher-growth cloud services. Oracle previously disclosed its cloud-based SaaS (software as a service), IaaS (infrastructure as a service), and PaaS (platform as a service) revenues separately, and investors often measured Oracle's turnaround by the strength of those businesses.

However, the growth of that cloud revenue decelerated significantly throughout fiscal 2018. In the fourth quarter of 2018, Oracle stopped reporting the growth of its SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS revenues separately.

Instead, it combined those units with its legacy businesses into two new (and arguably opaque) reporting segments: "Cloud Services & License Support" revenue and "Cloud License & On-Premise License" revenue. However, the performance of those two new segments over the past three quarters indicated that Oracle's cloud growth was still decelerating:

Metric

Q4 2018

Q1 2019

Q2 2019

Cloud Services and License Support	$6.8 billion	$6.6 billion	$6.6 billion
YOY growth	8%	3%	3%
Cloud License and On-Premise License	$2.5 billion	$867 million	$1.2 billion
YOY growth	(5%)	(3%)	(9%)

Source: Oracle quarterly reports, on a reported (not constant currency) basis.

Oracle reported flat year-over-year revenue growth last quarter. This indicates that Oracle is struggling to compete against bigger fish in the cloud services market like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Azure.

Amazon's AWS revenue rose 45% to $7.4 billion last quarter, and it retained its title as the largest IaaS/PaaS platform in the world. Microsoft's commercial cloud revenue -- which includes Azure, Office 365, Dynamics, and other SaaS products -- climbed 48% to $9 billion last quarter. Within that total, its Azure revenue surged 76%.

Enterprise customers are clearly flocking to either AWS or Azure, which leaves very little room for cloud underdogs like Oracle and IBM (NYSE:IBM). Berkshire also sold its entire stake in IBM last year amid concerns about its cloud competitors.

Image source: Getty Images.

An addiction to buybacks

I believe Oracle is on the verge of making the same mistakes as IBM. Buffett was initially drawn to IBM in 2011 after Big Blue pledged to double its EPS within five years -- but to reach that goal (which it ultimately failed to do), IBM dramatically cut costs, sold business units, failed to invest in new technologies, and aggressively repurchased its stock. As a result, IBM's revenue growth flatlined and it fell behind Amazon and Microsoft in the cloud market.

Last quarter, Oracle spent $10 billion on buybacks. That's why its non-GAAP EPS surged 16% as its net income only rose 3%. In other words, Oracle "bought" an earnings beat, and analysts expect those buybacks to boost its non-GAAP EPS by 9% this year. Oracle recently authorized another $12 billion in buybacks.

Buying back stock is only a smart move if a company can't find meaningful ways to reinvest its cash into its business. It would be wiser for Oracle, which is sitting on $49 billion cash and marketable securities, to acquire more cloud service companies to boost its sales growth and aggressively challenge Amazon and Microsoft.

Oracle bought seven companies in 2018, but the largest acquisition, Grapeshot, only cost about $400 million. Oracle's operating expenses also rose less than 1% annually last quarter, which suggests a lack of urgency regarding the growth of its cloud businesses.

Berkshire doesn't want to own another IBM

Oracle's stock looks cheap at 14 times forward earnings, but Berkshire Hathaway probably doesn't want to own another stagnant tech stock like IBM. Oracle is arguably in better shape today than IBM in 2011, but Berkshire likely noticed too many similarities to stick with what is likely to be a long-term loser.

AutoZone (AZO) Reaches New 52-Week High at $922.28

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $922.28 and last traded at $919.75, with a volume of 293014 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $904.96.

Several research analysts have issued reports on AZO shares. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $976.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $870.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 23rd. Wedbush set a $870.00 price target on shares of AutoZone and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 21st. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $854.00 to $930.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Co reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $970.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Tuesday, December 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $882.51.

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The company has a market cap of $23.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.68.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 4th. The company reported $13.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $12.21 by $1.26. The company had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.64 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 102.31% and a net margin of 12.49%. AutoZone’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $10.00 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 59.67 EPS for the current year.

In other AutoZone news, insider Ronald B. Griffin sold 21,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.93, for a total transaction of $17,743,530.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,062,068.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP William T. Giles sold 13,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $870.11, for a total transaction of $11,746,485.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,119 shares in the company, valued at $11,414,973.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 46,790 shares of company stock valued at $40,211,001. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Polianta Ltd purchased a new position in AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth $1,173,000. State Treasurer State of Michigan boosted its stake in AutoZone by 413.3% in the 4th quarter. State Treasurer State of Michigan now owns 40,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,839,000 after purchasing an additional 32,500 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in AutoZone by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 1,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,122,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. acquired a new position in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,691,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 353.8% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. now owns 6,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,935,000 after purchasing an additional 4,960 shares during the period. 88.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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About AutoZone (NYSE:AZO)

AutoZone, Inc retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories. The company offers various products for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products. Its products include A/C compressors, batteries and accessories, bearings, belts and hoses, calipers, carburetors, chassis, clutches, CV axles, engines, fuel pumps, fuses, ignition and lighting products, mufflers, radiators, starters and alternators, thermostats, and water pumps.

See Also: Correction

Instructure (INST) Stock Price Up 6.2%

Shares of Instructure Inc (NYSE:INST) rose 6.2% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $42.90 and last traded at $42.61. Approximately 579,392 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 70% from the average daily volume of 339,859 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.12.

INST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Instructure from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 27th. ValuEngine raised shares of Instructure from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 12th. Credit Suisse Group initiated coverage on shares of Instructure in a report on Friday, November 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $42.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Instructure from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Instructure from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.10.

Get Instructure alerts:

The firm has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of -24.77 and a beta of 0.49.

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in INST. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Instructure during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,945,000. Foxhaven Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Instructure during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,606,000. Tensile Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Instructure during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,647,000. Vista Equity Partners Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Instructure by 670.7% during the 4th quarter. Vista Equity Partners Management LLC now owns 531,192 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $19,925,000 after purchasing an additional 462,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust grew its holdings in shares of Instructure by 63.0% during the 3rd quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 551,559 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $19,525,000 after purchasing an additional 213,125 shares during the last quarter. 83.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Instructure Company Profile (NYSE:INST)

Instructure, Inc, a software-as-a-service technology company, provides applications for learning, assessment, and performance management worldwide. The company offers its platform through a software-as-a-service business model. It develops Canvas, a learning management system for K?12 and higher education; Bridge, a learning and performance management suite for businesses; Arc, a next-generation online video learning platform for academic and corporate learning; and Gauge, an assessment management system for K?12 schools.

Further Reading: Capital gains and your 401(k) or IRA

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (PB) Shares Sold by Capital Advisors Inc. OK

Capital Advisors Inc. OK decreased its stake in Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) by 17.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,571 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,200 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Inc. OK’s holdings in Prosperity Bancshares were worth $970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Prosperity Bancshares by 5,839.2% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 1,642,789 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,615,129 shares during the period. First Mercantile Trust Co. boosted its stake in Prosperity Bancshares by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. First Mercantile Trust Co. now owns 570 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Lavaca Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Prosperity Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $104,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Prosperity Bancshares by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,728 shares of the bank’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Prosperity Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.51% of the company’s stock.

Get Prosperity Bancshares alerts:

Shares of NYSE:PB opened at $73.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.37. Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.01 and a 1-year high of $79.20.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $186.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.17 million. Prosperity Bancshares had a net margin of 38.17% and a return on equity of 8.12%. Prosperity Bancshares’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. Analysts forecast that Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Prosperity Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 35.57%.

PB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Prosperity Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 25th. Barclays cut shares of Prosperity Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $71.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 10th. Stephens reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday. Hovde Group upgraded shares of Prosperity Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Prosperity Bancshares from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.29.

In other news, Vice Chairman H E. Timanus, Jr. acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $57.65 per share, for a total transaction of $288,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 147,447 shares in the company, valued at $8,500,319.55. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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About Prosperity Bancshares

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc operates as bank holding company for the Prosperity Bank that provides retail and commercial banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, money market, and time accounts. The company also offers 1-4 family residential mortgage, commercial mortgage and multifamily residential, commercial and industrial, agricultural real estate, and non-real estate agricultural loans, as well as construction, land development, and other land loans; consumer loans, including automobile, recreational vehicle, boat, home improvement, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans; and consumer durables and home equity loans.

Further Reading: How to Track your Portfolio in Google Finance

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

Top 10 Value Stocks To Buy Right Now

tags:TDS,EMD,HOT,EGOV,TRU,RADA,ERF,ROSE,CAFD,BGCP,

Tampa, FL, based Investment company Suncoast Equity Management buys Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp, VMware Inc, The Home Depot Inc, Adobe Systems Inc, Brookfield Property Partners LP, Total System Services Inc, sells The Middleby Corp, C.R. Bard Inc during the 3-months ended 2017-12-31, according to the most recent filings of the investment company, Suncoast Equity Management. As of 2017-12-31, Suncoast Equity Management owns 33 stocks with a total value of $362 million. These are the details of the buys and sells.

New Purchases: BPY, TSS, Added Positions: CTSH, VMW, HD, ADBE, DUK, VTR, Reduced Positions: V, ACN, FB, PCLN, CBG, HON, BRK.B, GOOGL, PYPL, LOW, Sold Out: MIDD, BCR,

For the details of Suncoast Equity Management's stock buys and sells, go to http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=Suncoast+Equity+Management

These are the top 5 holdings of Suncoast Equity ManagementVisa Inc (V) - 269,006 shares, 8.47% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 2.86%Accenture PLC (ACN) - 194,470 shares, 8.22% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 2.19%Honeywell International Inc (HON) - 149,505 shares, 6.33% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 2.2%The Priceline Group Inc (PCLN) - 12,935 shares, 6.21% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 2.43%CBRE Group Inc (CBG) - 457,140 shares, 5.47% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 2.78%New Purchase: Brookfield Property Partners LP (BPY)

Suncoast Equity Management initiated holdings in Brookfield Property Partners LP. The purchase prices were between $21.32 and $24.8, with an estimated average price of $22.86. The stock is now traded at around $20.28. The impact to the portfolio due to this purchase was 0.07%. The holdings were 11,990 shares as of 2017-12-31.

Top 10 Value Stocks To Buy Right Now: Telephone and Data Systems, Inc.(TDS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Telephone & Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) was upgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a hold rating to a buy rating.

  Third Point Reinsurance (NYSE:TPRE) was upgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a sell rating to a hold rating.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  TokenDesk (CURRENCY:TDS) traded 10.5% lower against the US dollar during the 1 day period ending at 22:00 PM Eastern on May 23rd. One TokenDesk token can currently be bought for about $0.0987 or 0.00001299 BTC on major cryptocurrency exchanges. During the last seven days, TokenDesk has traded down 43.2% against the US dollar. TokenDesk has a total market cap of $0.00 and $23,424.00 worth of TokenDesk was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Telephone & Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.00.

Top 10 Value Stocks To Buy Right Now: Western Asset Emerging Markets Income Fund, Inc(EMD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Emerald Crypto (EMD) is a proof-of-work (PoW) coin that uses the
  Scrypt hashing algorithm. Its launch date was June 16th, 2013. Emerald Crypto’s total supply is 19,117,129 coins. Emerald Crypto’s official Twitter account is @Emerald_Crypto and its Facebook page is accessible here. Emerald Crypto’s official website is www.emeraldcrypto.de.

Top 10 Value Stocks To Buy Right Now: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.(HOT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Hydro Protocol (CURRENCY:HOT) traded up 3.5% against the dollar during the 24-hour period ending at 22:00 PM E.T. on June 14th. During the last seven days, Hydro Protocol has traded down 28.5% against the dollar. One Hydro Protocol token can currently be bought for approximately $0.0392 or 0.00000594 BTC on popular cryptocurrency exchanges including BigONE, DDEX and OKEx. Hydro Protocol has a total market cap of $27.49 million and $967,051.00 worth of Hydro Protocol was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Holo (CURRENCY:HOT) traded 1.6% lower against the US dollar during the one day period ending at 18:00 PM ET on August 18th. Holo has a market capitalization of $82.13 million and approximately $2.55 million worth of Holo was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. One Holo token can currently be bought for $0.0006 or 0.00000010 BTC on cryptocurrency exchanges including Hotbit, Binance, Fatbtc and Radar Relay. Over the last seven days, Holo has traded 5.3% lower against the US dollar.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Holo (CURRENCY:HOT) traded 0.8% lower against the US dollar during the 24 hour period ending at 20:00 PM E.T. on September 22nd. Holo has a market cap of $148.52 million and approximately $5.90 million worth of Holo was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. One Holo token can currently be purchased for approximately $0.0011 or 0.00000017 BTC on major exchanges including IDEX, LATOKEN, Binance and Hotbit. In the last seven days, Holo has traded up 0.1% against the US dollar.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Hydro Protocol (CURRENCY:HOT) traded up 15.6% against the US dollar during the 24-hour period ending at 19:00 PM ET on May 5th. During the last week, Hydro Protocol has traded up 93.2% against the US dollar. One Hydro Protocol token can currently be purchased for approximately $0.10 or 0.00001044 BTC on major exchanges including BigONE, DDEX and OKEx. Hydro Protocol has a total market cap of $72.13 million and approximately $1.91 million worth of Hydro Protocol was traded on exchanges in the last day.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Holo (CURRENCY:HOT) traded down 9.1% against the US dollar during the 24 hour period ending at 8:00 AM Eastern on June 11th. Holo has a total market cap of $109.14 million and $2.40 million worth of Holo was traded on exchanges in the last day. One Holo token can now be purchased for about $0.0008 or 0.00000012 BTC on popular cryptocurrency exchanges including IDEX, Radar Relay, Hotbit and Fatbtc. During the last seven days, Holo has traded down 17.3% against the US dollar.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Hochtief Ag (FRA:HOT) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is €154.11 ($179.20).

Top 10 Value Stocks To Buy Right Now: NIC Inc.(EGOV)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Feroldi]

  NIC (NASDAQ:EGOV), a provider of specialty software services primarily focused on government agencies, reported its fourth-quarter results last week. Revenue and net income both took a step back during the quarter due to the loss of revenue from its largest customer.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Shares of NIC Inc. (NASDAQ:EGOV) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.00.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  NIC Inc. (NASDAQ:EGOV) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.00.

• [By Brian Feroldi]

  NIC (NASDAQ:EGOV), a leading provider of digital government services, reported its second-quarter results on Aug. 1. Increased usage of the company's services helped drive modest revenue growth during the quarter. Management took full advantage of the increased scale, which drove a 31% gain on the bottom line.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on NIC (EGOV)

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

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on NIC (EGOV)

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

Top 10 Value Stocks To Buy Right Now: TransUnion(TRU)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) shares reached a new 52-week high and low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $69.74 and last traded at $68.94, with a volume of 28118 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $68.47.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 11.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,432,827 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 144,711 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.78% of TransUnion worth $81,355,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers AGM Group Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: AGMH) shares climbed 30.3 percent to $11.05 after climbing 34.60 percent on Thursday. Limelight Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: LLNW) jumped 21.2 percent to $4.9699 following a first-quarter earnings beat. The company also raised its fiscal 2018 estimates. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) shares climbed 18.8 percent to $7.89 after reporting strong Q1 earnings. Farmers Capital Bank Corp (NASDAQ: FFKT) gained 15.4 percent to $48.75. WesBanco Inc (NASDAQ: WSBC) announced an agreement and plan of merger with Farmers Capital Bank Corporation. TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) climbed 10.2 percent to $66.76 after the company posted upbeat Q1 results and issued a strong forecast for the second quarter. TransUnion announced plans to acquire Callcredit. Myomo, Inc. (NYSE: MYO) shares gained 9.2 percent to $3.9299 after rising 8.11 percent on Thursday. Pinnacle Foods Inc (NYSE: PF) gained 8.8 percent to $60.04 after a 13-D filing from Jana Partners showed an increased stake in the comapny, from 1.42 million shares at the end of last quarter to 10.83 million shares, or a 9.3-percent stake. Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE: ASB) shares climbed 8.8 percent to $26.70 following upbeat Q1 earnings. OFG Bancorp (NYSE: OFG) gained 8.5 percent to $12.80 after reporting Q1 results. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF) climbed 7.5 percent to $7.73 following Q1 results. Seaspan Corporation (NYSE: SSW) shares climbed 6.7 percent to $7.50. Deutsche Bank upgraded Seaspan from Hold to Buy. General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) shares rose 4.6 percent to $14.63 after the company reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter. Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IONS) rose 4.3 percent to $47.80. Biogen and Ionis have expanded their strategic collaboration to develop drug candidates for a broad range of neurological diseases.

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Natixis trimmed its stake in shares of TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) by 22.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 248,242 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 73,784 shares during the quarter. Natixis’ holdings in TransUnion were worth $17,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Top 10 Value Stocks To Buy Right Now: Rada Electronics Industries Limited(RADA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  TESSCO Technologies (NASDAQ: TESS) and RADA Electronic Industries (NASDAQ:RADA) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.

Top 10 Value Stocks To Buy Right Now: Enerplus Corporation(ERF)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Enerplus Corp (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $16.50.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Enerplus (TSE:ERF) (NYSE:ERF) had its target price hoisted by CIBC from C$19.00 to C$20.00 in a research note published on Friday morning.

  Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. CSFB upped their price objective on shares of Enerplus from C$17.00 to C$20.00 in a report on Friday, April 13th. GMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Enerplus from C$17.00 to C$18.00 in a report on Thursday, March 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Enerplus from C$18.00 to C$20.00 in a report on Monday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity upped their price objective on shares of Enerplus from C$16.50 to C$17.00 in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Desjardins upped their price objective on shares of Enerplus from C$16.00 to C$17.50 in a report on Monday, February 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, The stock has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of C$18.29.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Enerplus (ERF)

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

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) – Stock analysts at National Bank Financial reduced their FY2018 earnings estimates for Enerplus in a research note issued on Thursday, May 3rd. National Bank Financial analyst T. Wood now forecasts that the oil and natural gas company will earn $1.13 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $1.27. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for Enerplus’ FY2019 earnings at $1.96 EPS.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Enerplus (ERF)

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

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  News coverage about Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) has been trending somewhat positive recently, Accern Sentiment Analysis reports. Accern identifies positive and negative news coverage by reviewing more than twenty million news and blog sources. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Enerplus earned a news impact score of 0.09 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned headlines about the oil and natural gas company an impact score of 47.3097650375709 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the next several days.

Top 10 Value Stocks To Buy Right Now: Rosetta Resources Inc.(ROSE)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Rosehill Resources (ROSE)

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

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Rosehill Resources (NASDAQ:ROSE) Director Harry Quarls acquired 6,700 shares of Rosehill Resources stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.15 per share, with a total value of $54,605.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 53,189 shares in the company, valued at $433,490.35. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Rosehill Resources Inc Class A (NASDAQ:ROSE) was upgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a strong sell rating to a sell rating.

  Shire (NASDAQ:SHPG) was upgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a sell rating to a hold rating.

Top 10 Value Stocks To Buy Right Now: 8point3 Energy Partners LP(CAFD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Cent PUERTO S AS (NYSE:CEPU) and 8Point3 Energy Partners (NASDAQ:CAFD) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Top 10 Value Stocks To Buy Right Now: BGC Partners, Inc.(BGCP)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  BidaskClub cut shares of BGC Partners (NASDAQ:BGCP) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

  A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on BGCP. ValuEngine downgraded shares of BGC Partners from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 29th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of BGC Partners from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, June 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $13.00.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  BGC Partners (NASDAQ: BGCP) and Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

• [By ]

  BGC Partners (BGCP) : "We're in a market where Goldman Sachs (GS) got slammed. I'm going with them."

  Ecolab (ECL) : "That's a terrific situation that I want you to buy more of if it comes down."

Triumph Group (TGI) Rating Lowered to Market Perform at Cowen

Triumph Group (NYSE:TGI) was downgraded by Cowen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $22.15 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock. Cowen’s target price suggests a potential downside of 2.38% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. UBS Group upgraded Triumph Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $14.50 in a research report on Monday, December 17th. ValuEngine upgraded Triumph Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 12th. Zacks Investment Research cut Triumph Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 10th. Finally, SunTrust Banks boosted their target price on Triumph Group to $25.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Triumph Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.96.

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Shares of NYSE TGI opened at $22.69 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 8.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 2.55. Triumph Group has a fifty-two week low of $11.16 and a fifty-two week high of $29.60.

Triumph Group (NYSE:TGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 7th. The aerospace company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.04. Triumph Group had a negative return on equity of 149.35% and a negative net margin of 12.41%. The company had revenue of $807.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $829.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Triumph Group will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TGI. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Triumph Group in the 4th quarter worth about $138,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Triumph Group by 1,567.6% in the 4th quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 5,653 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 5,314 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Triumph Group by 312.6% in the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Inc. now owns 2,393 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,813 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Triumph Group by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 881,610 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,139,000 after purchasing an additional 46,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Triumph Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund now owns 32,611 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter.

About Triumph Group

Triumph Group, Inc designs, engineers, manufactures, repairs, overhauls, and distributes aerostructures, aircraft components, accessories, subassemblies, and systems worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Integrated Systems, Aerospace Structures, and Product Support. It offers aircraft and engine-mounted accessory drives, thermal control systems and components, cargo hooks, high lift actuations, cockpit control levers, hydraulic systems and components, landing gear actuation systems, control system valve bodies, landing gear components and assemblies, electronic engine controls, main engine gear box assemblies, exhaust nozzles and ducting, fuel pumps, geared transmissions and drive train components, secondary flight control systems, fuel metering units, and vibration absorbers.

Further Reading: Index Funds

Why Shares of Varonis Tumbled Today

What happened

Shares of data security and analytics company Varonis (NASDAQ:VRNS) slumped on Tuesday following a fourth-quarter report that featured disappointing guidance. Varonis beat analyst estimates across the board for its fourth-quarter results, but its outlook fell well short of expectations. The stock was down about 15.5% at 12:40 p.m. EST today.

So what

Varonis reported fourth-quarter revenue of $87.5 million, up 20% year over year and just slightly above the average analyst estimate. The company added 275 new customers during the quarter, down from 327 added during the prior-year period.

Image source: Getty Images.

Non-GAAP earnings per share came in at $0.54, up from $0.40 in the fourth quarter of 2017 and $0.20 higher than analysts were expecting. GAAP EPS was $0.20, down from $0.22.

Those revenue and earnings beats were overshadowed by Varonis' guidance. The company expects first-quarter revenue between $58.5 million and $60 million, up just 9% to 12% year over year. Analysts were expecting revenue guidance of $62.36 million. First-quarter non-GAAP EPS is expected to be a loss of $0.36 to $0.38, well in excess of the loss of $0.23 analysts were expecting.

Varonis' full-year guidance also missed the mark. The company sees revenue between $297 million and $305 million, up 10% to 13% from 2018, along with non-GAAP EPS between $0.04 and $0.16. Analysts were expecting revenue of $318.12 million and non-GAAP EPS of $0.32.

Now what

Varonis is planning to transition from perpetual licenses to a subscription-based model in 2019. "We believe this will provide a faster pathway for customers to realize more of the value of our broad platform and for Varonis to capture more of our total addressable market and increase customer lifetime value," said CEO Yaki Faitelson.

Moving to a subscription model will hurt revenue growth in the short term as revenue is recognized over time instead of up front. With the stock tumbling following the news, investors clearly aren't thrilled with the downside of Varonis' subscription push.

Brokerages Set Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (ERIC) PT at $8.18

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $8.18.

ERIC has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson in a research note on Thursday, October 18th. ValuEngine raised shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 18th. Argus raised shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 19th. BidaskClub raised shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 23rd. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 20th.

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Shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $8.78. The stock had a trading volume of 11,110,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,699,948. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson has a 12-month low of $6.00 and a 12-month high of $9.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market cap of $29.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 292.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.53.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 25th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.22). Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson had a negative net margin of 2.91% and a positive return on equity of 1.32%. The firm had revenue of $63.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.19) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson will post 0.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $152,000. HRT Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson in the third quarter valued at approximately $186,000. Lenox Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson by 7,208.4% in the third quarter. Lenox Wealth Management Inc. now owns 21,706 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after buying an additional 21,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson in the third quarter valued at approximately $196,000. 7.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) provides information and communications technology solutions for networks, IT and cloud, and media markets worldwide. It operates through four segments: Networks, Digital Services, Managed Services, and Other. The Networks segment provides mobile radio access networks, transport solutions, and site solutions, as well as related services, such as network rollout, network tuning, and customer support.

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Weekly Tactical Pick: Shriram Transport Finance

Amid the crisis engulfing the non-banking financial company (NBFC) space in the aftermath of the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) default, the Shriram Transport Finance Corporation (STFC) stock has underperformed (down 36 percent from its 52-week high in October last year).

In fact, in the quarter gone by (Q3 FY19), it reported subdued numbers. (Read | Shriram Transport Finance: Soft Q3 but outlook confident; valuations reasonable) The growth in assets under management (AUM) decelerated to 14 percent year-on-year from above 20 percent seen in the previous two quarters.

The management took a conscious decision to preserve its cash amid a challenging environment. It increased its lending rate and reduced the loan-to-value ratio that had put a brake on growth, especially for new commercial vehicles and business loans.

Notwithstanding, the increase in lending rates in more recent times, the increase in cost of funds resulted in a compression of net interest margin by 13 basis points YoY and 8 basis points sequentially to 7.44 percent. (100 bps=1 percentage point)

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Festive demand was subdued and that also had an impact on recent performance.

Then why are we recommending the stock at this stage?

The management's recent guidance is encouraging. It expects AUM to grow by 15-18 percent in FY19 (from 14 percent year-to-date), thereby pointing to acceleration in growth in Q4 FY19.

It is also quite confident of achieving 20 percent AUM growth in FY20 as it expects demand for commercial vehicles to bounceback on account of pre-buying ahead of implementation of Bharat Stage- VI. The increase in prices due to implementation of BS-VI should have a positive rub off on prices in the used vehicle market as well.

Activity level on the ground has improved since middle of January, after remaining subdued for a while, and this provides medium-term visibility for the business.

STFC has raised resources that should provide adequate support for near-term growth. It has a diversified borrowing profile and has not faced challenges with funding, although cost of funds have seen an increase.

Although markets have seen some slowdown, collection efficiency remains strong. Gross Stage 3 assets (non-performing assets) remains stable at 8.78 percent. Net Stage 3 assets stands at 5.86 percent, with provision coverage (provisions held against non-performing assets) hovering around 35 percent.

The entity remains well capitalised with Capital Adequacy Ratio at 19.72 percent.

In its February 7 monetary policy , the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has completely removed uniform risk weightage on NBFCs. In the new framework, risk-weighs would be as per the ratings assigned by the accredited rating agencies, thereby benefiting larger well-run NBFCs like STFC.

The company is entering a seasonally strong period and liquidity in the balance sheet will clearly give it an advantage over competition. The medium term outlook is promising for this niche entity. The correction in the stock price has rendered valuations attractive at 1.6 times the estimated adjusted book for FY20.

Disclaimer: Moneycontrol Research analysts do not hold positions in the companies discussed here First Published on Feb 8, 2019 10:00 am

Here's Why Genetic Testing Stocks Rose as Much as 31.8% in January

What happened

Investors waited for years, hoping that genetic-testing companies would live up to their awesome potential to improve medicine and usher in the first wave of personalized healthcare. That patience finally began paying off in 2018 as multiple companies, including Genomic Health (NASDAQ:GHDX) and NeoGenomics (NASDAQ:NEO), turned profitable, while others held highly anticipated initial public offerings.

The newly profitable industry has created even higher expectations for 2019 -- and the main players started off the year on the right foot. Shares of NeoGenomics paced the peer group with a 31.8% gain in January, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. That was followed by Invitae (NYSE:NVTA) and Genomic Health, which gained 27.3% and 17.7%, respectively. Each of the three genetic-testing stocks has gained at least 118% in the last year.

Image source: Getty Images.

So what

Invitae is the only company of the trio that is still delivering operating losses. However, it reached an important inflection point in the third quarter of 2018 -- the first time year-over-year operating losses declined. If it holds up, then the trend could put the business on pace to achieve operating profits sometime in 2020, which wouldn't be too surprising given its overall growth trajectory.

The business is also alone among peers in having issued preliminary full-year 2018 results and initial full-year 2019 guidance. Invitae said it likely generated about $144 million in revenue last year and processed 302,000 tests. It expects to hit $220 million in revenue and process 500,000 tests in 2019 while making steady progress improving operating cash flow and operating losses.

Progress toward those lofty marks figures to make Invitae the next genetic-testing business to reach a sustainable level of profitability. Both NeoGenomics and Genomic Health reached that milestone in 2018.

NEO data by YCharts.

NeoGenomics had flirted with quarterly operating profits here and there in the past but its focus on lower gross-margin cancer diagnostics made profits more elusive than investors would have liked. That appears to have changed last year after the company hit higher revenue totals and reduced operating expenses per test. It posted operating income of $7.2 million on revenue of $200 million through the first nine months of 2018 as a result.

That still puts NeoGenomics just behind Genomic Health in terms of revenue growth and operating efficiency. Genomic Health recorded its first-ever quarterly operating profit in the second quarter of 2018 -- and it shows no sign of slipping back into the red. The company is even delivering comfortable levels of net income, which puts it in rarefied air among its peers.

In fact, Genomic Health raised its full-year 2018 guidance at the last minute after reporting third-quarter results. It bumped up expectations for full-year 2018 net income from a paltry $2.5 million to $27 million. Double-digit revenue growth and better-than-expected operating efficiency drove the positive surprise.

Image source: Getty Images.

Now what

Both Invitae and NeoGenomics will report full-year 2018 operating results on Feb. 19. Genomic Health has yet to schedule its full-year 2018 earnings conference call, but investors can expect it to occur soon. The important story line in 2019 is that each company is growing at a double-digit clip and improving its profitability.

Considering that the genetic-testing industry remains highly fragmented, investors might expect the profitable growth of NeoGenomics and Genomic Health to enable acquisitions of smaller peers in 2019. The increased financial flexibility coupled with a fast-growing U.S. market certainly create some intriguing opportunities for individual investors.

Treasurys follow European yields lower after cut to eurozone growth forecasts

Treasury yields fell in early Thursday trading, dragged lower by a slide in European yields after eurozone growth expectations for this year were slashed, adding to mounting concerns a global economic slowdown was under way.

The 10-year Treasury note yield TMUBMUSD10Y, -1.27% slipped 3.8 basis points to 2.668%, while the 2-year note yield TMUBMUSD02Y, -0.97% was down 2 basis points to 2.504%. The 30-year bond yield TMUBMUSD30Y, -0.66% fell 2.9 basis points to 3.010%.

The German 10-year bond yield TMBMKDE-10Y, -22.68% retreated 4.4 basis points to 0.121%, while the Italian 10-year yield rose 7.5 basis points to 2.912%. Bond prices move inversely to yields.

German and other European bonds mostly rallied after the European Commission cut its growth forecast for the eurozone's 19 member states to 1.3% for 2019 from its earlier forecast of 1.9%, citing the sharp deterioration in global trade. Treasurys and their German peers often follow each other as they're both considered haven investments.

On the other hand, Italian government paper sold off as Italy's growth forecast was cut to 0.2%, from previous expectations for 1.2%. Weaker growth would undermine Italy's pledge to keep its budget deficit to 2.04% of the country's annual economic output in 2019 — the government's budget forecast assumed GDP would grow at 1% — potentially setting up another clash between Rome and Brussels.

The Bank of England stood pat, as expected, at its February meeting. The central bank also snipped its growth expectations for the United Kingdom to 1.2% this year from 1.7%. Investors say the lack of progress on Britain's plans to leave the European Union has kept the BOE on hold.

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The Sanders-Schumer proposal to limit buybacks could be hit to the market

A Democratic proposal that would limit stock buybacks takes dead aim at one of the market's main pillars of support for the past decade.

The trillions spent on share repurchases since the current bull market began in March 2009 have helped keep a floor under Wall Street even when times got bad. Last year was not a very good one for the market, with the S&P 500 down more than 6 percent, but companies' willingness to step in and buy their stock likely kept the damage from being even worse.

However, the issue has been a hot one, particularly among progressives who believe companies should be doing more with their cash than rewarding shareholders and putting money in the pockets of executives who ultimately benefit by higher stock prices.

show chapters Chuck Schumer, Bernie Sanders call for limits on corporate buybacks    7 Hours Ago | 03:34

That sentiment helped fuel a measure being proposed Sens. Charles Schumer of New York and Bernie Sanders of Vermont who said in a New York Times op-ed that they want to apply "preconditions" on buybacks that would force $15 an hour wages, paid time off and health benefits.

"At a time of huge income and wealth inequality, Americans should be outraged that these profitable corporations are laying off workers while spending billions of dollars to boost their stock's value to further enrich the wealthy few," the senators said.

While the measure seeks to address the wealth gap, Wall Street pros worry about its disruptive potential for markets.

"If the populist attacks become enacted, they will be meaningful," said David Santschi, director of liquidity research at TrimTabs, which tracks where cash is going in the marketplace. "I don't think it's the government's job to tell companies how they can spend money."

Buybacks shattered a record in 2018, surging to $1.04 trillion and doubling 2017's output.

Big tech companies and Wall Street banks are usually the leaders in gross purchases. Apple, for example has executed more than $250 billion in repurchases over the past decade through 2018, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. Embattled banking titan Wells Fargo did more than $63 billion during the period, while Microsoft surpassed $100 billion.

The top 20 repurchasers alone bought back more than $1.1 trillion in the decade.

Even Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, which almost never participates, announced some $928 million worth in 2018.

"That's a lot of moves that have a lot of buying power," Santschi said. "If you have a significant slowdown in buybacks, it would have a significant impact on markets."

The buybacks have worked hand in glove with Federal Reserve monetary policy, which has kept interest rates at borrowing-friendly lows and for years pumped in trillions of liquidity to markets through an aggressive bond-buying program that pushed the central bank's balance sheet to $4.5 trillion.

show chapters Pisani analyzes the Schumer, Sanders proposal to limit buybacks    4 Hours Ago | 03:14

With the Fed on the sidelines and buybacks under attack, that could set up an even more challenging circumstances for investors, who survived a downturn last year that briefly skated into bear market territory.

To be sure, Schumer and Sanders, the latter of whom is likely a Democratic presidential contender in the 2020 race, will have a hard time getting their plan approved. While the House is in their party's hands and likely to be more receptive, the Senate remains Republican and President Donald Trump likely would have misgivings over a plan that would strike so directly against Wall Street.

"This is what I'd call the opening round in terms of what's going on," said Doug Roberts, managing principal at Channel Capital Research. "I don't think it's going to make it's way through the Senate."

In fact, Roberts said, there could be some positives: If the ultimate result is getting companies to invest more money in their businesses and personnel, it could provide an economic boost particularly along with Trump's focus on discouraging companies from building abroad.

"That seems like a Goldilocks effect," he said. "On a technical level, [the buybacks restrictions] may restrict them a little bit. But it also may be offset with an economic effect."