Best Insurance Stocks To Watch Right Now

tags:WRB,AIG,AON,PRU, Hazel Hoffman is only five years old, but her medical bills are already through the roof. The little girl suffers from a form of epilepsy that has sent her to the hospital multiple times with severe seizures. Her medications alone cost more than $1,500 a month.

Hazel's mother, Rachael, can only afford the care her daughter needs because she is in the Children's Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP. It picks up the entire cost of Hazel's medications, hospitalizations and lab work with no monthly premium. Hoffman, a receptionist at a preschool, would have to pay $500 a month for her employer's plan, which would only cover half of the cost, leaving them "absolutely no money" for food or basic necessities.

Hoffman, however, is terrified that Hazel may lose this vital coverage. Funding for the federal program ran out on Sept. 30, and Congress has yet to reauthorize it. Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle say they want to continue the program but are arguing over how to pay for it.

Best Insurance Stocks To Watch Right Now: W.R. Berkley Corporation(WRB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC cut its holdings in W. R. Berkley Corp (NYSE:WRB) by 6.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,225 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 4,153 shares during the quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC owned 0.05% of W. R. Berkley worth $4,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  W. R. Berkley (NYSE: WRB) and State Auto Financial (NASDAQ:STFC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations and risk.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  ValuEngine cut shares of W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning.

  WRB has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Bank of America cut shares of W. R. Berkley from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and set a $74.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, June 14th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of W. R. Berkley from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Boenning Scattergood restated a hold rating on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, April 25th. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Monday. They set a sell rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. W. R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $70.78.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  W. R. Berkley Corp (NYSE:WRB) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $69.33.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on W. R. Berkley (WRB)

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

Best Insurance Stocks To Watch Right Now: American International Group Inc.(AIG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 2nd, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.32 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, September 28th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%.

• [By ]

  Insurance company American International Group Inc. (AIG) stock fell 5.3% as harsh winter weather weighed on profits. But the company's long-term care exposure is relatively minimal.

• [By Max Byerly]

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

  Get American International Group alerts: AIG’s loss for European business worsens in 2017 (businessinsurance.com) $1.26 EPS Expected for American International Group (AIG) This Quarter (americanbankingnews.com) UBS: Buy AIG After Earnings Estimates ‘Bottom Out’ (finance.yahoo.com) American International Group (AIG) Stock Rating Upgraded by UBS (americanbankingnews.com) American International Group (AIG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts (americanbankingnews.com)

  American International Group traded up $0.36, hitting $55.15, during mid-day trading on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The stock had a trading volume of 9,821,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,828,715. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. American International Group has a 1-year low of $49.57 and a 1-year high of $67.30. The firm has a market cap of $49.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.24.

• [By Lisa Levin]

   

  Losers Heat Biologics, Inc. (NASDAQ: HTBX) shares tumbled 48.59 percent to close at $1.275 on Thursday after the company priced its $18,000,000 public offering. InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: NVIV) fell 38.77 percent to close at $8.26 on Thursday. Check-Cap Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHEK) shares tumbled 27.43 percent to close at $8.81. Achaogen, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAO) dropped 24.76 percent to close at $11.06 in reaction to a disappointing update from an FDA AdCom panel. The FDA panel voted favorably for the company's Plazcomicin for treatment of adults with complicated urinary tract infections, but also voted against the therapy to be used as a treatment for bloodstream infections. Anika Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANIK) shares declined 24.68 percent to close at $34.80 after the company posted downbeat quarterly results. LSC Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LKSD) shares fell 24.22 percent to close at $12.64 following wider-than-expected Q1 loss. Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) fell 21.42 percent to close at $50.80 following downbeat quarterly profit. Horizon Global Corporation (NYSE: HZN) dropped 20.42 percent to close at $6.00 following downbeat quarterly earnings. Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. (NYSE: HOS) slipped 20.11 percent to close at $2.90 following wider-than-expected Q1 loss. Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESPR) fell 19.28 percent to close at $36.93. Esperion Therapeutics stock lost roughly a third of its value Wednesday after the company reported mixed Phase III results for its leading drug candidate, bempedoic acid. JP Morgan downgraded Esperion Therapeutics from Neutral to Underweight. Laredo Petroleum, Inc. (NYSE: LPI) declined 17.77 percent to close at $8.98 after the company reported weaker-than-expected Q1 earnings. The Habit Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ: HABT) dipped 16.1 percent to close at $8.60 after the company reported downbeat quarterly results. Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. (N
• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Suntrust Banks Inc. boosted its position in shares of American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG) by 12.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,736 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,048 shares during the period. Suntrust Banks Inc.’s holdings in American International Group were worth $1,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Best Insurance Stocks To Watch Right Now: Aon Corporation(AON)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Aon (NYSE:AON) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 40,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in AON were worth $5,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

• [By Max Byerly]

  State of Wisconsin Investment Board decreased its holdings in shares of Aon (NYSE:AON) by 9.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 384,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 38,942 shares during the quarter. State of Wisconsin Investment Board’s holdings in AON were worth $53,905,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  AON (NYSE:AON) had its price target hoisted by Citigroup from $160.00 to $165.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Best Insurance Stocks To Watch Right Now: Prudential Financial Inc.(PRU)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jason Hall, Chuck Saletta, and Reuben Gregg Brewer]

  But that doesn't mean you need to make risky bets to capture solid returns, either, and buying solid companies at reasonable prices can help create a margin of safety and improve your returns, while also decreasing your risk of permanent losses. Three stocks that meet these criteria are small healthcare real-estate specialist�Caretrust REIT Inc�(NASDAQ:CTRE), financial services giant�Prudential Financial Inc�(NYSE:PRU), and energy behemoth�ExxonMobil Corporation�(NYSE:XOM).�

• [By Joseph Griffin]

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

  Get Prudential Financial alerts: Prudential (PUK) Presents At 2018 Deutsche Bank Annual Global Financial Services Conference – Slideshow (seekingalpha.com) Leston Welsh joins Prudential Group Insurance as head of Disability and Absence Management (finance.yahoo.com) Contrasting Prudential Financial (PRU) & Old Mutual (ODMTY) (americanbankingnews.com) Prudential again accused with unauthorised money deduction (vir.com.vn) An Application for the Trademark ��MULLINTBG�� Has Been Filed by Prudential Insurance Company (insurancenewsnet.com)

  Prudential Financial traded down $5.05, hitting $94.97, during midday trading on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. 2,919,216 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,144,103. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $42.01 billion, a PE ratio of 8.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.52. Prudential Financial has a one year low of $94.51 and a one year high of $127.14.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Flippin Bruce & Porter Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,391 shares during the period. Flippin Bruce & Porter Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $6,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Prudential (LON:PRU) had its price objective trimmed by Barclays from GBX 2,144 ($28.38) to GBX 2,076 ($27.48) in a research report report published on Wednesday. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Expedia shares rally after big earnings beat

Expedia Group shares jumped on Friday after the travel website operator reported a quarterly profit well above estimates.

The company reported a second-quarter profit of $1.38 per share on Thursday, beating the 89 cent consensus estimate by Thomson Reuters. Revenue for the second quarter, meanwhile, fell in line with analysts' expectations at $2.88 billion.

The stock had its best day since April 27, with shares closing up 9.5 percent at $137.79 per share.

Expedia also reported that gross bookings increased 13 percent from last year, boosted by a 33 percent year-over-year jump in HomeAway bookings and an 11 percent gain in bookings from its core business.

"We've delivered solid financial results while continuing to push forward on several critical initiatives aligned with the three strategic themes I outlined late last year, becoming more locally relevant on a global basis, becoming more customer-centric and speeding up the pace of execution and innovation," said Expedia CEO Mark Okerstrom.

Shares of the company were up 13 percent year to date through Friday's close.

Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) Holdings Raised by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage Corp (NASDAQ:MNST) by 4.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 63,517 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,992 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $3,640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 10.1% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,792,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,579,000 after purchasing an additional 623,336 shares in the last quarter. Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 311.2% in the first quarter. Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL now owns 662,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,873,000 after purchasing an additional 501,000 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 2.1% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 23,226,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,328,806,000 after purchasing an additional 487,443 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 11.5% in the first quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,841,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,785,000 after purchasing an additional 394,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in shares of Monster Beverage by 214.6% in the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 555,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,767,000 after purchasing an additional 378,880 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.48% of the company’s stock.

Get Monster Beverage alerts:

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $61.58 on Friday. Monster Beverage Corp has a 52-week low of $47.61 and a 52-week high of $70.21. The company has a market capitalization of $34.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.18, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.28.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 24.69% and a return on equity of 22.88%. The company had revenue of $850.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $845.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. equities research analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corp will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Monster Beverage declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 30th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Monster Beverage from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $63.38.

Monster Beverage Profile

Monster Beverage Corporation, through its subsidiaries, develops, markets, sells, and distributes energy drink beverages, soda, and its concentrates in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Monster Energy Drinks, Strategic Brands, and Other. The company offers ready-to-drink packaged drinks, non-carbonated dairy based coffee and energy drinks, and non-carbonated energy shakes primarily to bottlers and full service beverage distributors, as well as sells directly to retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, drug stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, food service customers, and the military; and concentrates and/or beverage bases to authorized bottling and canning operations; and ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks to bottlers and full service beverage distributors.

Read More: Book Value Per Share �� BVPS

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MNST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Monster Beverage Corp (NASDAQ:MNST).

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Watch For 2019

tags:TUES,CNSL,AFAM,CSC,AMED,HQY,NVEE,TISI,LBTYA,MTX,

Editor's note: Seeking Alpha is proud to welcome James Sun as a new contributor. It's easy to become a Seeking Alpha contributor and earn money for your best investment ideas. Active contributors also get free access to the SA PRO archive. Click here to find out more 禄

Editor's note: Seeking Alpha is proud to welcome James Sun as a new contributor. It's easy to become a Seeking Alpha contributor and earn money for your best investment ideas. Active contributors also get free access to the SA PRO archive. Click here to find out more 禄

BUSINESS OVERVIEW/FUNDAMENTALS Investment Into Development �� Likely To Bear Fruit In Long Run

Operating wind projects is a highly competitive business with low returns due to relatively weak entry barriers. Therefore, operational efficiencies are the safest way to go to remain competitive, and the transition to self-perform on certain projects is helping them achieve this with significant cost savings. However, management is taking further steps to build a competitive advantage.

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Watch For 2019: Tuesday Morning Corp.(TUES)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers Cemtrex, Inc. (NASDAQ: CETX) fell 7.1 percent to $2.10 in pre-market trading after rising 4.15 percent on Friday Bioblast Pharma Ltd. (NASDAQ: ORPN) fell 7.1 percent to $2.10 in pre-market trading after dipping 9.05 percent on Friday. LexinFintech Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: LX) fell 5.9 percent to $17.15 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACRX) shares fell 5.1 percent to $2.80 in pre-market trading after dropping 1.67 percent on Friday. China Telecom Corporation Limited (NYSE: CHA) shares fell 4.1 percent to $45.70 in pre-market trading. Carver Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: CARV) fell 4 percent to $8.00 in pre-market trading after tumbling 24.36 percent on Friday. Tuesday Morning Corporation (NASDAQ: TUES) shares fell 3.6 percent to $2.65 in pre-market trading. Cheetah Mobile Inc. (NYSE: CMCM) shares fell 3.4 percent to $11.90 in pre-market trading following Q1 results. Qudian Inc. (NYSE: QD) fell 3.3 percent to $11.10 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) fell 3.1 percent to $32.53 in pre-market trading after announcing plan to acquire MB Financial for $54.70 per share in cash and stock
• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Tuesday Morning (NASDAQ: TUES) and Ollie’s Bargain Outlet (NASDAQ:OLLI) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings and dividends.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Tuesday Morning (NASDAQ: TUES) and Target (NYSE:TGT) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, earnings and risk.

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Watch For 2019: Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc.(CNSL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dustin Parrett]

  Just look at the first stock on our list. Its dividend is yielding 13.62%, and it's loaded with the potential to return 80% gains over the next 12 months…

  Best Dividend Stocks for Growth, No. 3: Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: CNSL)

  Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: CNSL) is an Internet service provider (ISP) specializing in high-speed, broadband Internet networks in the northeastern United States.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Consolidated Communications (NASDAQ: CNSL) and Liberty Braves Group Series C (NASDAQ:BATRK) are both small-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, valuation and earnings.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Frontier Communications (NASDAQ: FTR) and Consolidated Communications (NASDAQ:CNSL) are both small-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations and valuation.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Consolidated Communications (CNSL)

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

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Watch For 2019: Almost Family Inc(AFAM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Almost Family Inc (NASDAQ:AFAM) by 12.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 62,175 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,953 shares during the quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Almost Family were worth $3,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Watch For 2019: Computer Sciences Corporation(CSC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  CasinoCoin (CURRENCY:CSC) traded 11.7% lower against the U.S. dollar during the 24 hour period ending at 21:00 PM ET on May 27th. In the last week, CasinoCoin has traded down 44.1% against the U.S. dollar. One CasinoCoin coin can currently be purchased for $0.0005 or 0.00000007 BTC on popular exchanges including cfinex and BitFlip. CasinoCoin has a market cap of $18.55 million and approximately $27,292.00 worth of CasinoCoin was traded on exchanges in the last day.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  CasinoCoin (CURRENCY:CSC) traded 26.1% lower against the U.S. dollar during the 24-hour period ending at 23:00 PM E.T. on June 10th. One CasinoCoin coin can currently be bought for about $0.0004 or 0.00000006 BTC on popular exchanges including cfinex and BitFlip. During the last seven days, CasinoCoin has traded 29.9% lower against the U.S. dollar. CasinoCoin has a market capitalization of $15.21 million and $5,864.00 worth of CasinoCoin was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours.

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Watch For 2019: Amedisys Inc(AMED)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Amedisys (AMED)

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

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Amedisys (AMED)

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

• [By Shane Hupp]

  BioScrip (NASDAQ: BIOS) and Amedisys Home Health and Hospice Care (NASDAQ:AMED) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and risk.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Amedisys Inc (NASDAQ:AMED) – Equities researchers at SunTrust Banks increased their Q3 2018 EPS estimates for Amedisys in a research note issued on Tuesday, June 5th. SunTrust Banks analyst D. Macdonald now anticipates that the health services provider will earn $0.77 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $0.73. SunTrust Banks also issued estimates for Amedisys’ Q4 2018 earnings at $0.79 EPS, Q3 2019 earnings at $0.84 EPS and Q4 2019 earnings at $0.88 EPS.

• [By Lisa Levin]

   

  Companies Reporting After The Bell Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) is projected to post quarterly loss at $1.31 per share on revenue of $1.97 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE: IFF) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $1.59 per share on revenue of $909.36 million. Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZG) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.06 per share on revenue of $294.79 million. General Cable Corporation (NYSE: BGC) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $0.15 per share on revenue of $980.61 million. Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ: CENT) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.84 per share on revenue of $598.45 million. Cabot Corporation (NYSE: CBT) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $1 per share on revenue of $746.42 million. Fabrinet (NYSE: FN) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.71 per share on revenue of $319.71 million. National General Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: NGHC) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.55 per share on revenue of $1.08 billion. The Navigators Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NAVG) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $0.75 per share on revenue of $320.92 million. Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. (NYSE: DPLO) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.22 per share on revenue of $1.29 billion. Trex Company, Inc. (NYSE: TREX) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $1.19 per share on revenue of $172.22 million. AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AMC) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.09 per share on revenue of $1.35 billion. Envision Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: EVHC) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.64 per share on revenue of $2.02 billion. Regal Beloit Corporation (NYSE: RBC) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $1.23 per share on revenue of $869.64 million. Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.67 per share on revenue of $39

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Watch For 2019: HealthEquity, Inc.(HQY)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Benzinga News Desk]

  A distillery in a small Spanish town has claimed it invented the original Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) recipe and now wants recognition: Link

  ECONOMIC DATA Initial Jobless Claims For Week Ended May 25 221K vs 225K Economist Estimate, Down From 234K In Prior Week Personal Income Apr. Up 0.3%, Personal Spending Up 0.6% The Chicago PMI for May is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. The pending home sales index for April will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 12:30 p.m. ET. Fed Governor Lael Brainard will speak at 1:00 p.m. ET. Data on money supply for the recent week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan is set to speak at 8:30 p.m. ET. ANALYST RATINGS Canaccord upgrades Biogen (NASDAQ: BIIB) from Hold to Buy Morgan Stanley upgrades Corning (NYSE: GLW) from Equal-Weight to Overweight Morgan Stanley downgrades Micron (NASDAQ: MU) from Overweight to Equal-Weight Cantor downgrades HealthEquity (NASDAQ: HQY) from Overweight to Neutral

  This is a tool used by the Benzinga News Desk each trading day — it's a look at everything happening in the market, in five minutes. To get the full version of this note every morning, click here.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in HealthEquity (NASDAQ:HQY) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 88,800 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.15% of HealthEquity worth $5,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Here are some of the news headlines that may have impacted Accern’s analysis:

  Get Healthequity alerts: HealthEquity Inc. (HQY) VP Darcy G. Mott Cut 10000 Shares (bharatapress.com) Investors Love This Stock?: HealthEquity, Inc. (HQY) (bitcoinpriceupdate.review) Insider Selling: Healthequity Inc (HQY) Director Sells 15,000 Shares of Stock (americanbankingnews.com) Notable ETF Inflow Detected – IJT, STMP, HQY, TREX (nasdaq.com) You Need to Watch this stock? HealthEquity, Inc. (HQY) (connectinginvestor.com)

  Several brokerages have issued reports on HQY. Barrington Research boosted their price target on shares of Healthequity to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 5th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Healthequity from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Healthequity from $61.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 5th. SunTrust Banks boosted their price target on shares of Healthequity from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 5th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Healthequity from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $77.00.

• [By Max Byerly]

  ValuEngine upgraded shares of HealthEquity (NASDAQ:HQY) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning.

• [By Sean Williams, Chuck Saletta, and Brian Feroldi]

  With this in mind, we asked three Motley Fool investors to name one healthcare stock that's tops on their list for the month of June. These three mid-cap stocks made the cut: royalty drug company Innoviva (NASDAQ:INVA), mental illness treatment center operator Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC), and health savings account provider HealthEquity (NASDAQ:HQY).

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  HealthEquity, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQY)Q1 2019 Earnings Conference CallJune 4, 2018, 5:00 p.m. ET

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

  Operator

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Watch For 2019: NV5 Global, Inc.(NVEE)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jason Hall, John Bromels, and Daniel Miller]

  Case in point: We asked three Motley Fool investors for their best high-growth stock ideas, and they gave us some unexpectedly insightful ideas: A small-cap upstart in a multi-trillion dollar industry,�NV5 Global Inc�(NASDAQ:NVEE), nearly 90-year-old uniform supplier�Cintas Corporation�(NASDAQ:CTAS), and video game and esports giant�Activision Blizzard, Inc.�(NASDAQ:ATVI).�Keep reading to learn why these high-growth stocks are set to continue soaring in the years to come.�

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  NV5 Global (NASDAQ: NVEE) and Applied DNA Sciences (NASDAQ:APDN) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, valuation and dividends.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  NV5 Global (NASDAQ:NVEE) VP Richard Tong sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.40, for a total transaction of $66,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 34,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,319,551.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Watch For 2019: Team, Inc.(TISI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Team (TISI)

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

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Team, Inc. (NYSE:TISI) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.00.

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Watch For 2019: Liberty Global plc(LBTYA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Barclays reiterated their buy rating on shares of Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) in a report released on Sunday. They currently have a $39.00 target price on the stock.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  These are some of the media stories that may have impacted Accern’s rankings:

  Get Liberty Global alerts: TalkTalk counts the cost of biggest ever customer gains (finance.yahoo.com) $0.12 Earnings Per Share Expected for Liberty Global (LBTYA) This Quarter (americanbankingnews.com) Deal Valuation Disappointing But Liberty Global’s (LBTYA) Valuation Is Too Cheap To Ignore – Citi (streetinsider.com) Virgin Media searches for new leader as chief executive prepares to log off (telegraph.co.uk) Vodafone ‘highly likely’ to receive approval for Liberty Global deal, says Citi (proactiveinvestors.co.uk)

  Shares of Liberty Global traded down $0.17, hitting $28.77, on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. 1,665,800 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,234,886. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.79, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. Liberty Global has a 52 week low of $28.00 and a 52 week high of $39.73. The company has a market capitalization of $23.20 billion, a PE ratio of -12.56, a P/E/G ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 1.62.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Liberty Global PLC Class A (NASDAQ:LBTYA) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,946,065 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 31,331 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned about 0.36% of Liberty Global PLC Class A worth $92,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Lisa Levin]

   

  Companies Reporting After The Bell Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $1.22 per share on revenue of $5.72 billion. Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $1.04 per share on revenue of $5.68 billion. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $1.68 per share on revenue of $14.05 billion. Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.62 per share on revenue of $441.73 million. Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ: JAZZ) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $2.77 per share on revenue of $434.87 million. Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE: SLF) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $0.89 per share on revenue of $6.38 billion. LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE: LTM) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.16 per share on revenue of $2.70 billion. Liberty Global plc (NASDAQ: LBTYA) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.02 per share on revenue of $4.05 billion. TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.16 per share on revenue of $362.11 million. The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ: WEN) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.1 per share on revenue of $379.98 million. A-Mark Precious Metals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMRK) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.06 per share on revenue of $1.69 billion. Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ: MNST) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $0.4 per share on revenue of $849.38 million. Convergys Corporation (NYSE: CVG) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.4 per share on revenue of $670.10 million. ScanSource, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCSC) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.7 per share on revenue of $875.91 million. KAR Auction Services, Inc. (NYSE: KAR) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.76 per share on revenue of $923.13
• [By Ethan Ryder]

  BidaskClub cut shares of Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Tuesday.

  LBTYA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Group reiterated a buy rating on shares of Liberty Global in a research report on Thursday, March 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Liberty Global from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 14th. ValuEngine downgraded Liberty Global from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a research report on Thursday, March 1st. Citigroup set a $43.00 price objective on Liberty Global and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Macquarie reiterated an outperform rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $41.00) on shares of Liberty Global in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The company presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $41.46.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Liberty Global (NASDAQ: LBTYA) is one of 32 public companies in the “Cable & other pay television services” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare Liberty Global to related companies based on the strength of its institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability and earnings.

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Watch For 2019: Minerals Technologies Inc.(MTX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Minerals Technologies (NYSE: MTX) and LSB Industries (NYSE:LXU) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, dividends and profitability.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The basic materials company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.01, Bloomberg Earnings reports. Minerals Technologies had a return on equity of 13.89% and a net margin of 11.64%. The company had revenue of $431.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $420.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. Minerals Technologies’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Minerals Technologies (MTX)

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

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Minerals Technologies (NYSE: MTX) and Air Products & Chemicals (NYSE:APD) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  LSB Industries (NYSE: LXU) and Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) are both multi-sector conglomerates companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reaffirms $37.66 Rating for Pfizer (PFE)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued their $37.66 rating on shares of Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $45.00 target price on Pfizer and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $39.00 target price on Pfizer and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Sunday. Zacks Investment Research lowered Pfizer from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Sunday. Credit Suisse Group set a $39.00 target price on Pfizer and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, July 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, June 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $40.32.

Get Pfizer alerts:

Pfizer traded down $0.29, reaching $37.37, on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 427,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,723,540. Pfizer has a 1-year low of $32.32 and a 1-year high of $39.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $224.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.93.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $12.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.14 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 41.29% and a return on equity of 25.29%. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. sell-side analysts forecast that Pfizer will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 3rd will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 2nd. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.32%.

In other Pfizer news, CEO Ian C. Read sold 132,312 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.01, for a total value of $4,764,555.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ian C. Read sold 486,753 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.36, for a total value of $18,185,092.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,145,693 shares in the company, valued at $42,803,090.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 643,288 shares of company stock worth $23,832,314 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PFE. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 452,745,609 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $16,398,445,000 after purchasing an additional 12,183,218 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Pfizer by 29,164.7% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 11,481,988 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $415,878,000 after acquiring an additional 11,442,753 shares in the last quarter. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Pfizer by 81.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,093,990 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $691,583,000 after acquiring an additional 8,563,358 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Pfizer by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 70,738,885 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,562,162,000 after acquiring an additional 7,534,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Pfizer by 46.6% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 22,539,888 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $816,395,000 after acquiring an additional 7,161,892 shares in the last quarter. 69.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pfizer Company Profile

Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells healthcare products worldwide. It operates in two segments, Pfizer Innovative Health (IH) and Pfizer Essential Health (EH). The IH segment focuses on the development and commercialization of medicines and vaccines, and consumer healthcare products in various therapeutic areas, including internal medicine, vaccines, oncology, inflammation and immunology, and rare diseases, as well as consumer healthcare, such as over-the-counter brands comprising dietary supplements, pain management, gastrointestinal, and respiratory and personal care.

Featured Story: Closed-End Mutual Funds

Hot Value Stocks To Invest In Right Now

tags:REIS,FMBI,NPI,

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) saw a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 18,357,054 shares, an increase of 9.6% from the April 30th total of 16,753,064 shares. Approximately 4.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,090,628 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.9 days.

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AGNC. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,315,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,560,000 after acquiring an additional 78,127 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 136.9% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 44,504 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $897,000 after acquiring an additional 25,720 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Company LTD raised its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Company LTD now owns 31,804 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 3,708 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 122.7% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 356,299 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,205,000 after acquiring an additional 196,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its stake in AGNC Investment by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 176,285 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,559,000 after buying an additional 19,956 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.27% of the company’s stock.

Hot Value Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Reis, Inc(REIS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Reis (NASDAQ:REIS) was upgraded by research analysts at ValuEngine from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Reis (REIS)

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

Hot Value Stocks To Invest In Right Now: First Midwest Bancorp, Inc.(FMBI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  First Midwest Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMBI) reached a new 52-week high and low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $26.92 and last traded at $26.74, with a volume of 58961 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.22.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Bancorp Bank (NASDAQ: TBBK) and First Midwest Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMBI) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability, earnings and institutional ownership.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on First Midwest Bancorp (FMBI)

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

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Media coverage about First Midwest Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMBI) has been trending somewhat positive recently, Accern Sentiment reports. The research group identifies positive and negative press coverage by analyzing more than 20 million news and blog sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. First Midwest Bancorp earned a news sentiment score of 0.06 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news coverage about the financial services provider an impact score of 45.6144382724963 out of 100, meaning that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the near future.

Hot Value Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Nuveen Premium Income Municipal Fund, Inc.(NPI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Northland Power (TSE:NPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 9th. The solar energy provider reported C$0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of C$0.46 by C$0.13. The business had revenue of C$486.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$412.97 million. Northland Power had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 20.85%.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Northland Power (TSE:NPI) is set to release its earnings data after the market closes on Wednesday, May 9th. Analysts expect Northland Power to post earnings of C$0.45 per share for the quarter.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Northland Power Inc. (TSE:NPI) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as C$24.86 and last traded at C$24.85, with a volume of 237841 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$24.23.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Northland Power Inc. (TSE:NPI) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$27.21.

Hot Undervalued Stocks To Own Right Now

tags:KODK,AFAM,CBFV,SCVL,PPP,NEO, Uber is still fending off accusations of an unfair work environment.

This week, the embattled ride-hailing company was sued by three Latina engineers who allege that they, as women and people of color, were paid less than their white or Asian male colleagues.

Two of the women -- Ingrid Avenda帽o and Roxana del Toro Lopez -- left Uber this summer, while Ana Medina is still employed by the company. They allege that Uber uses a "stack ranking" system for evaluating employees, meaning they're evaluated from "worst to best."

"In this system," the suit says, "female employees and employees of color are systematically undervalued....because [they] receive, on average, lower rankings despite equal or better performance."

And those stack rankings are then used, in part, to determine promotions. Additionally, Uber sets employee pay based on their past compensation, which inherently disadvantages women, they say.

As a result, the women "have suffered and will continue to suffer harm, including but not limited to lost earnings, lost benefits, and other financial loss, as well as non-economic damanges."

Hot Undervalued Stocks To Own Right Now: Eastman Kodak Company(KODK)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers SenesTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNES) shares surged 296.07 percent to close at $1.25 on Monday after the California Department of Pesticide Regulation proposed to register the company's ContraPest for sale and use in California. AgEagle Aerial Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: UAVS) shares gained 19.59 percent to close at $2.93. TransGlobe Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: TGA) rose 18.39 percent to close at $2.64 on Monday. Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: SHOS) shares gained 15.91 percent to close at $2.55. VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE: EGY) shares jumped 14.9 percent to close at $2.39. Resonant Inc. (NASDAQ: RESN) climbed 13.96 percent to close at $4.49. Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) shares rose 13.55 percent to close at $4.61 on Monday. Lilis Energy, Inc. (NYSE: LLEX) surged 13.09 percent to close at $5.01. MB Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: MBFI) gained 12.9 percent to close at $49.28. Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) agreed to acquire MB Financial for $54.70 per share in cash and stock. TransEnterix, Inc. (NYSE: TRXC) shares rose 12.83 percent to close at $3.43. World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE) jumped 12.52 percent to close at $57.86 on Reports that it has reached a deal with Fox for Its 'Smackdown Live' program. Eastman Kodak Company (NASDAQ: KODK) rose 12.38 percent to close at $5.90. NuCana plc (NASDAQ: NCNA) climbed 11.94 percent to close at $26.44. NuCana appointed Dr. Cyrille Leperlier to its Board as an independent non-executive Director. Aqua Metals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AQMS) rose 11.83 percent to close at $3.97 on Monday. Huami Corporation (NYSE: HMI) shares jumped 11.27 percent to close at $10.17 following Q1 results. 21Vianet Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: VNET) gained 9.55 percent to close at $7.34. Boxlight Corporation (NASDAQ: BOXL) rose 8.56 percent to close at $7.86 after the company announced an exclusive partnership with Multi Touch Interactives to strengthen the de
• [By ]

  Eastman Kodak Co. (KODK) has accused Hong Kong-based trading exchange LBank.io of fraud related to its upcoming KODAKCoin initial coin offering (ICO). LBank.io claimed it would be hosting the KODAKCoin ICO from May 4 through May 11, but Kodak said it's not true. "It has come to our attention that more than one fraudulent website has been promoting the sale of KODAKCoin. All factual information regarding the availability of an IOC to accredited investors will come directly from KODAKCoin and its authorized representatives," Kodak said to Coindesk. Kodak had initially expected to begin offering its KODAKCoin in January, but has since delayed the sale. LBank.io is the ninth-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by trading volume.

• [By ]

  Even Kodak (NYSE: KODK) is on the blockchain bandwagon.�

  Shares of the print and film company spiked more than 328% in the two-day period ending January 10, 2018.�

Hot Undervalued Stocks To Own Right Now: Almost Family Inc(AFAM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Almost Family Inc (NASDAQ:AFAM) by 12.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 62,175 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,953 shares during the quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Almost Family were worth $3,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Hot Undervalued Stocks To Own Right Now: CB Financial Services, Inc.(CBFV)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  CB Financial Services Inc (NASDAQ:CBFV)’s share price hit a new 52-week high and low on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as low as $34.95 and last traded at $34.40, with a volume of 4600 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $34.65.

Hot Undervalued Stocks To Own Right Now: Shoe Carnival, Inc.(SCVL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Friday morning, the consumer discretionary shares surged 0.30 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL), up 13 percent, and Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCVL) up 14 percent.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Media headlines about Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SCVL) have been trending somewhat positive on Tuesday, according to Accern Sentiment. The research group ranks the sentiment of news coverage by monitoring more than twenty million news and blog sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Shoe Carnival earned a coverage optimism score of 0.15 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news stories about the company an impact score of 46.6045751862708 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the stock’s share price in the near term.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Press coverage about Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SCVL) has been trending somewhat positive recently, Accern Sentiment reports. The research group ranks the sentiment of news coverage by reviewing more than twenty million blog and news sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Shoe Carnival earned a media sentiment score of 0.20 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave media headlines about the company an impact score of 47.3026047084141 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the next several days.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCVL) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 727,285 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,319 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 4.42% of Shoe Carnival worth $17,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Hot Undervalued Stocks To Own Right Now: Primero Mining Corp(PPP)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  PayPie (CURRENCY:PPP) traded up 4.9% against the US dollar during the 24 hour period ending at 19:00 PM ET on May 27th. PayPie has a market capitalization of $42.41 million and $350,319.00 worth of PayPie was traded on exchanges in the last day. During the last week, PayPie has traded down 23.7% against the US dollar. One PayPie token can currently be purchased for approximately $0.51 or 0.00007004 BTC on major cryptocurrency exchanges including EtherDelta (ForkDelta) and Fatbtc.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  PayPie (CURRENCY:PPP) traded 5.6% lower against the U.S. dollar during the 1-day period ending at 20:00 PM Eastern on June 20th. During the last week, PayPie has traded down 2.7% against the U.S. dollar. One PayPie token can currently be purchased for about $0.32 or 0.00004751 BTC on major exchanges including Fatbtc and EtherDelta (ForkDelta). PayPie has a total market cap of $26.47 million and $29,238.00 worth of PayPie was traded on exchanges in the last day.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  PayPie (CURRENCY:PPP) traded 0.5% lower against the U.S. dollar during the 24 hour period ending at 17:00 PM ET on May 18th. One PayPie token can now be bought for $0.71 or 0.00008653 BTC on cryptocurrency exchanges including EtherDelta (ForkDelta) and Fatbtc. During the last week, PayPie has traded 8.5% lower against the U.S. dollar. PayPie has a market capitalization of $58.95 million and approximately $821,053.00 worth of PayPie was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours.

Hot Undervalued Stocks To Own Right Now: NeoGenomics, Inc.(NEO)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  NeoGenomics (NASDAQ:NEO) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.29.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on NeoGenomics (NEO)

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

• [By Shane Hupp]

  NEO (CURRENCY:NEO) traded up 6.9% against the US dollar during the 24 hour period ending at 7:00 AM Eastern on April 15th. NEO has a total market cap of $4.40 billion and $88.39 million worth of NEO was traded on exchanges in the last day. One NEO coin can now be purchased for about $67.68 or 0.00809123 BTC on popular cryptocurrency exchanges including HitBTC, OKEx, Exrates and Upbit. During the last seven days, NEO has traded up 42.9% against the US dollar.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  These are some of the media stories that may have effected Accern’s analysis:

  Get NeoGenomics alerts: NeoGenomics (NEO) Receives Buy Rating from Stephens (americanbankingnews.com) NeoGenomics Redeems 100% of Series A Redeemable Preferred Stock (finance.yahoo.com) Q2 2018 EPS Estimates for NeoGenomics, Inc. Cut by William Blair (NEO) (americanbankingnews.com) NeoGenomics (NEO) Receives Buy Rating from BTIG Research (americanbankingnews.com) Steven C. Jones Sells 2,000 Shares of NeoGenomics, Inc. (NEO) Stock (americanbankingnews.com)

  NeoGenomics traded up $0.40, hitting $13.90, during trading on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. 6,150 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 498,468. NeoGenomics has a 52 week low of $7.08 and a 52 week high of $14.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 231.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.69 and a beta of 0.48.

Head-To-Head Comparison: Milacron (MCRN) & WARTSILA OYJ/ADR (WRTBY)

Milacron (NYSE: MCRN) and WARTSILA OYJ/ADR (OTCMKTS:WRTBY) are both industrial products companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

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This is a summary of current ratings for Milacron and WARTSILA OYJ/ADR, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Milacron	0	0	2	0	3.00
WARTSILA OYJ/ADR	0	0	0	0	N/A

Milacron currently has a consensus price target of $23.50, indicating a potential upside of 23.88%. Given Milacron’s higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Milacron is more favorable than WARTSILA OYJ/ADR.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Milacron and WARTSILA OYJ/ADR’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Milacron	$1.23 billion	1.08	$1.10 million	$1.69	11.22
WARTSILA OYJ/ADR	$5.56 billion	2.12	$434.03 million	$0.15	26.53

WARTSILA OYJ/ADR has higher revenue and earnings than Milacron. Milacron is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than WARTSILA OYJ/ADR, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

99.4% of Milacron shares are held by institutional investors. 2.7% of Milacron shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

WARTSILA OYJ/ADR pays an annual dividend of $0.15 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Milacron does not pay a dividend. WARTSILA OYJ/ADR pays out 100.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Profitability

This table compares Milacron and WARTSILA OYJ/ADR’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Milacron	2.51%	-77.35%	6.83%
WARTSILA OYJ/ADR	7.78%	17.45%	7.14%

Risk & Volatility

Milacron has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WARTSILA OYJ/ADR has a beta of 0.8, indicating that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

WARTSILA OYJ/ADR beats Milacron on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

Milacron Company Profile

Milacron Holdings Corp. manufactures, distributes, and services engineered and customized systems within the plastic technology and processing industry in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Advanced Plastic Processing Technologies (APPT), Melt Delivery and Control Systems (MDCS), and Fluid Technologies (Fluids). The APPT segment designs, manufactures, and sells injection molding, blow molding, and extrusion equipment; and auxiliary systems and related parts and service. This segment serves companies who serve in the consumer goods, packaging, electronics, medical, automotive, and construction end markets. The MDCS segment designs, manufactures, and sells hot runner systems, process control systems, mold bases and components, and aftermarket parts and related technologies and services for injection molding, as well as maintenance, repair, and operating supplies for plastic processing operations. This segment serves customers in the plastic processing value chain and manufacturing spectrum, including OEMs, molders, and mold makers in the consumer goods, electronics, automotive, packaging, and medical end markets. The Fluids segment manufactures and markets coolants, lubricants, process cleaners, and corrosion inhibitors that are used in metalworking processes, such as cutting, grinding, stamping, forming, and high speed machining. This segment's products are used in various markets, such as aerospace, medical, automotive, industrial components and machinery, bearings, munitions, packaging, job shops, and glass and mirror production. The company was formerly known as Milacron LLC and changed its name to Milacron Holdings Corp. in May 2012. The company was founded in 1860 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

WARTSILA OYJ/ADR Company Profile

W盲rtsil盲 Oyj Abp provides technologies and lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets worldwide. The company offers gas, multi-fuel, and liquid fuel power plants; and seals, bearings, and related equipment for the hydropower and tidal, and a range of industrial sectors. It also provides ballast water management systems; seismic, rig tensioning, CNG, and high pressure air and gas compressors; communication, and safety and security systems; and automation, dredge control and monitoring, integrated bridge control, and measurement and control technologies. It also provides electric propulsion and drives; power generation and distribution systems; navigation, automation, and communication systems; dynamic positioning, safety, and security solutions; and entertainment systems. In addition, the company offers dual fuel, diesel, and low-speed engines, as well as generating sets and auxiliary systems; architectural lighting, audio, broadcast, digital signage, dynamic lighting, and LED display systems; exhaust gas cleaning systems; single stage desalination systems and multi stage flash evaporators; and gas cargo handling, gas recovery, LNG, fuel gas handling, and tank control systems. Further, it provides inert gas systems; hybrid and integrated solutions; gears, propellers, propulsion control systems, rudders, thrusters, and waterjets; shaft generator and shore connection systems; centrifugal, deepwell, firefight, seawater lift, and gas fuel pumps, as well as pump room systems and valves; sonars and naval acoustics; and wet and dry products, as well as designs ferry, fishing, merchant, offshore, tug, and other vessels. Additionally, the company offers electrical and automation, 2 and 4-stroke engine, environmental, seal and bearing, hydro and tidal, industrial, propulsion, and other services. It serves merchant, offshore, cruise and ferry, special vessel, and navy segments. The company was founded in 1834 and is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland.

Neeraj Gunsagar Sells 26,335 Shares of TrueCar Inc (TRUE) Stock

TrueCar Inc (NASDAQ:TRUE) EVP Neeraj Gunsagar sold 26,335 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.00, for a total transaction of $289,685.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 207,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,280,597. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Shares of TrueCar opened at $10.87 on Friday, according to Marketbeat. TrueCar Inc has a 12-month low of $8.75 and a 12-month high of $21.75. The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.26 and a beta of 2.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 7.14 and a quick ratio of 7.14.

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TrueCar (NASDAQ:TRUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 8th. The technology company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.01. TrueCar had a negative net margin of 10.69% and a negative return on equity of 8.62%. The company had revenue of $81.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.01) EPS. TrueCar’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. equities analysts forecast that TrueCar Inc will post -0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

TRUE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of TrueCar from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 7th. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of TrueCar in a research note on Thursday, March 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of TrueCar from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 22nd. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of TrueCar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 6th. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of TrueCar in a research note on Wednesday, April 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $9.75 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.84.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TRUE. 683 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in TrueCar during the 4th quarter valued at about $18,603,000. Harvest Capital Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in TrueCar during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,686,000. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT purchased a new stake in TrueCar during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,109,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its holdings in TrueCar by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 5,250,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $49,665,000 after purchasing an additional 750,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in TrueCar by 51.0% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,495,661 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $14,149,000 after purchasing an additional 505,158 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

TrueCar Company Profile

TrueCar, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an Internet-based information, technology, and communication services company in the United States. It operates its platform on the TrueCar Website and mobile applications. The company also customizes and operates its platform for its affinity group marketing partners, including financial institutions, membership-based organizations, and employee buying programs for large enterprises.

What Are ABLE Savings Accounts? 5 Things You Should Know

Until very recently, disabled individuals found themselves in a delicate situation when it came to their long-term financial security. The same often applied to families raising children with disabilities. While they might qualify for state and federal aid programs, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Medicaid, they could only receive the full benefits of each if their assets were less than $2,000. Since these programs often fund access to assisted living technologies and services, healthcare, and transportation, disabled individuals were essentially forced to remain poor or lose their benefits.

Luckily, this antiquated approach is slowly changing, thanks in large part to the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act. The ABLE Act amended parts of the federal tax code beginning in 2015, allowing states to establish tax-advantaged savings programs for individuals with disabilities and their families. Importantly, the assets don't count against the $2,000 resource limit for SSI until they total $100,000.

The programs are still relatively new, and information can be a little difficult to come by. So here's what you need to know about ABLE Savings Programs, based on my recent experience establishing one for my younger autistic brother in Pennsylvania.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Who's eligible for an ABLE Savings Account?

Any individual who became disabled prior to their 26th birthday is eligible for an ABLE Savings Account (this doesn't exclude people over the age of 26 from having an account as long as the age of onset occurred before their 26th birthday).) Someone who meets that requirement and is already receiving SSI is automatically eligible, although even individuals not currently receiving benefits from Social Security can maintain accounts if they meet the program's requirements concerning significant disabilities and can produce a letter from their doctor.

It's also important to note that the "account owner" does not need to be the person eligible to open or manage an ABLE Savings Account, and can instead be an "authorized individual", such as a parent or guardian. Many states also allow for multiple "authorized agents" to have varying or equal levels of control over the account, which provides flexibility for different situations.

Image source: Getty Images.

2. What are the benefits of an ABLE Savings Account?

There are quite a few. While the specific details vary by state, the broader advantages are the same throughout the country. In fact, they have a lot in common with the 529 College Savings Program, which served as the model for the ABLE Savings Program, including:

Shielded from Social Security: The assets in an ABLE Savings Account won't be counted when determining an individual's eligibility for SSI until the account balance reaches $100,000 -- which is much better than the current $2,000 public benefit resource limit. And most states allow an account balance to exceed $300,000, with some setting a ceiling at over half a million dollars. Flexible growth: An ABLE Savings Account can be used purely as a savings account with an attached debit card; as an investment portfolio (through low-cost funds managed by Vanguard, Blackrock, or the like); or a combination of the two. The balance grows tax-free. Tax-advantages: Up to $15,000 of state tax-deductible contributions can be made to a single ABLE Savings Account in a single tax year. That makes it a smart way to fund services and technologies you might already pay for when raising a disabled child, or things for yourself. Some states also protect account balances from inheritance taxes, eligibility decisions for student financial aid, and the dreaded Medicaid repayment requirement. More accessible than a Special Needs Trust: An ABLE Savings Account differs from a Special Needs Trust (SNT) in important ways, so one cannot necessarily replace the other -- and they can even be used in conjunction with one another. However, an SNT is usually established with a minimum initial contribution of $10,000 plus legal fees. An ABLE account, on the other hand, can be started with as little as $25 in most states.

Image source: Getty Images.

3. How can the money be used?

While any funds withdrawn from an ABLE Savings Account must be used for "qualified expenses," the IRS has decided to broadly interpret that term, so there's some fogginess in defining what qualifies and what doesn't. Generally, qualified expenses include:

Educational expenses for preschool through college, including tuition, books, and supplies. Transportation expenses, including mass transit passes, moving expenses, and even the purchase of a vehicle. Job-related training expenses. Almost any medical expense, including insurance premiums, communication services and devices, long term supports, nutritional management, and more. Assistive support expenses, such a computer for a child with autism. Various miscellaneous expenses ranging from legal fees to funeral expenses.

Additionally, housing expenses, such as rent or even the purchase of a home, can be considered qualified expenses -- but these have the potential to affect SSI eligibility, so there's a little more homework you should do before getting too carried away with this category of living expenses.

Image source: Getty Images.

4. Who can contribute to an ABLE Savings Account?

Anyone -- the account owner, the authorized individual, any authorized agents, family and friends, your local barista -- can make a contribution to an ABLE Savings Account. There are ways to establish recurring contributions to automate savings, or to make one-time contributions.

There are two important considerations, though. First, contributions are only tax deductible for an individual paying state income taxes in the same state in which the ABLE Savings Account is established. So someone living in California can contribute to a loved one's account in Florida, but won't be able to reduce their state income tax burden by doing so. Second, the total contributions made in a single tax year cannot exceed $15,000 (for 2018). So whether one person is contributing or dozens of family members are, the total contribution limit is the same.

Image source: Getty Images.

5. Every state is working on an ABLE Savings Program

While the ABLE Act was signed into law for the 2015 tax year, it took states a little time to change their own laws and put the pieces into place. The good news is that all 50 states have either established or are working on creating ABLE Savings Programs for their citizens. The bad news is that 14 states (Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin) are still in the process of establishing programs.

To see the details of your state's ABLE Savings Program or the timeline for implementation, visit the ABLE National Resource Center.

A big step in the right direction

The creation of ABLE Savings Accounts finally provides a common sense approach to providing care and long-term financial security for disabled individuals, whether that's you or a loved one.

While the specifics of establishing an ABLE Savings Account vary from state to state, most accept digital applications and opening an account is relatively straightforward. Given the advantages and ease of access -- and the fact that the first $100,000 in assets don't affect eligibility for SSI -- these new savings plans should become a powerful tool for individuals and families facing financial burdens from disability management.

SophiaTX (SPHTX) Trading Up 58.7% This Week

SophiaTX (CURRENCY:SPHTX) traded up 2.4% against the U.S. dollar during the 24-hour period ending at 18:00 PM Eastern on July 4th. In the last week, SophiaTX has traded 58.7% higher against the U.S. dollar. SophiaTX has a market cap of $45.90 million and approximately $126,924.00 worth of SophiaTX was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. One SophiaTX token can now be bought for about $0.24 or 0.00003575 BTC on cryptocurrency exchanges including YoBit, Bit-Z, Kucoin and Cobinhood.

Here’s how similar cryptocurrencies have performed in the last 24 hours:

Get SophiaTX alerts: XRP (XRP) traded up 1.2% against the dollar and now trades at $0.50 or 0.00007431 BTC. Ripple (XRP) traded 4.6% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.45 or 0.00007633 BTC. Stellar (XLM) traded 2.4% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.21 or 0.00003188 BTC. IOTA (MIOTA) traded 7.3% higher against the dollar and now trades at $1.23 or 0.00018473 BTC. NEO (NEO) traded 14.9% higher against the dollar and now trades at $41.99 or 0.00628438 BTC. Tether (USDT) traded up 0.2% against the dollar and now trades at $1.00 or 0.00014991 BTC. TRON (TRX) traded 0.5% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0393 or 0.00000588 BTC. Binance Coin (BNB) traded down 0.8% against the dollar and now trades at $14.08 or 0.00210704 BTC. VeChain (VET) traded 2.7% higher against the dollar and now trades at $2.75 or 0.00041091 BTC. Ontology (ONT) traded 1% higher against the dollar and now trades at $5.18 or 0.00077544 BTC.

SophiaTX Profile

SophiaTX’s launch date was December 19th, 2017. SophiaTX’s total supply is 350,000,000 tokens and its circulating supply is 192,161,767 tokens. SophiaTX’s official Twitter account is @sophia_tx_ and its Facebook page is accessible here. The Reddit community for SophiaTX is /r/SophiaTXproject. SophiaTX’s official website is www.sophiatx.com.

SophiaTX Token Trading

SophiaTX can be bought or sold on these cryptocurrency exchanges: Qryptos, Cobinhood, IDEX, Bit-Z, CoinFalcon, Kucoin, YoBit and Hotbit. It is usually not currently possible to purchase alternative cryptocurrencies such as SophiaTX directly using US dollars. Investors seeking to trade SophiaTX should first purchase Ethereum or Bitcoin using an exchange that deals in US dollars such as Coinbase, Gemini or Changelly. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Ethereum or Bitcoin to purchase SophiaTX using one of the exchanges listed above.

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In Your 60s? 3 Stocks You Might Want to Buy

Contrary to what many believe, it's easier to find stocks to invest in when you're in your 60s. That's because your choices narrow down significantly as you filter out young, aggressive companies that typically carry higher risk. As you near retirement, you need a portfolio choc-a-block with mature, established businesses that have a visible growth path and preferably offer solid dividends to supplement your income. Three interesting stocks that fit the bill are American States Water (NYSE:AWR), A.O. Smith (NYSE:AOS), and Realty Income (NYSE:O).

Can you go wrong investing in a necessity like water?

I know American States Water sounds likes one of the most boring companies out there, but wait until you hear about its dividend streak: This water utility has increased its dividend every year for 63 consecutive years, making it a top Dividend King with the longest dividend growth record among all publicly listed companies.

As with any other utility, the bulk of American States Water's revenue is regulated, which helps the company earn stable cash flows and dole out regular dividends. But while traditional electric utilities are feeling the heat of emerging trends like renewable energy, there's practically no substitute for water. That, coupled with the fact that American States Water gets nearly a quarter of its revenue from water services provided to military bases under contracts stretching for as many as 50 years, makes it an incredible defensive stock to own in a retirement portfolio.

Image source: Getty Images.

Also, "defensive" doesn't mean this stock is a slow mover: It has more than doubled in just the past five years, with dividends adding a good 25% to the stock's rise. American States Water currently yields 1.8%, with management targeting annual dividend growth of above 5% in the long run. Considering the company grew its dividends at a compound annual rate of around 9.4% in the past five years, you can easily expect good dividend and capital appreciation from the stock for years to come.

A rapidly growing Dividend Aristocrat

A.O. Smith is yet another boring company, but its numbers and growth prospects are anything but that. This manufacturer of water heaters and boilers is growing at a phenomenal pace, having generated record sales of $3 billion in 2017. In April again, the company reported record first-quarter sales.

Sales from China alone hit $1 billion last year, opening up a huge market for A.O. Smith. In fact, markets like China and India offer massive potential as urban residential construction picks up to accommodate the population migrating from small towns and the rise of the middle-upper classes. Back home, A.O. Smith continues to exploit its brand image to its advantage: Lowe's recently picked the company as its primary�supplier of water treatment products for its stores.

Here's the best part: A.O. Smith is also a great dividend stock that recently made it to the elite Dividend Aristocrats list after announcing its 25th straight annual dividend increase. The stock yields a paltry 1.2%, but its dividend growth more than makes up for it. Last quarter, for instance, A.O. Smith rewarded investors with a good 29% dividend hike, and the 25% growth in dividends in the past five years is a major reason the stock's been a multibagger. With management focused on organic growth, international opportunities, and commitment to shareholders, you can bank on this dividend stock to grow your retirement portfolio.

Trust this stock for monthly income

A real-estate investment trust (REIT) makes for a great investment choice in your 60s as they're structurally required to pass on 90% or more of their income as dividends to shareholders. A REIT typically buys properties in its sector of operation and leases them to earn a secure rental income stream as well as reap the benefits of any appreciation in property value. One REIT I'd recommend is Realty Income.

Monthly dividend stocks are a smart choice if you're at or near retirement. Image source: Getty Images.

Realty Income owns more than 5,000 commercial properties spread across nearly 50 industries, with drug and convenience stores bringing in a bulk of its revenues. It's also a net-lease REIT, where contracts have built-in annual rent increase clauses, and the responsibility of most variable expenses like property taxes and insurance lies with the tenant. That makes for a very stable and secure source of income with fewer hassles, which, when coupled with the company's diversification, makes Realty Income an attractive stock.

As for dividends, Realty Income has an incredible track record: It pays a monthly dividend, has increased its dividends for 82 consecutive quarters, and currently yields a hefty 4.9%. The company's exposure to the retail sector has put some investors off, but investors at or near retirement know better and can count on the company's defensive and diversified portfolio for rich dividends and capital appreciation for years to come.