Top 10 Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019

tags:RMCF,SIRI,BDSI,SB,NYMT,SMSI,PTI,RIG,HCKT,SSBI,

Buckle up — the market is looking jittery right now. If it’s not the threat of further Federal interest rate hikes, it’s the possibility of a full-blown prolonged trade war with China and Europe. As James Brumley notes, however, if geopolitical risks were actually a deterrent to investing in today’s best stocks to buy, “nobody would ever put a penny in stocks”.

For investors prepared to put in the work, there are plenty of gems to be found. I set out to pinpoint the best stocks to buy right now using the best analysts on Wall Street as guidance. TipRanks tracks and measures the performance of over 4,700 analysts enabling investors to identify consistently outperforming experts.

Analysts are ranked based on two crucial factors: success rate and average return-per-recommendation. Following top analysts is an easy way to identify stocks that experts believe have strong investing potential. That’s why I’m only including companies with a ‘Strong Buy’ top analyst consensus based on the past three months of ratings.

Top 10 Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc.(RMCF)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (NASDAQ: RMCF) and Tootsie Roll Industries (NYSE:TR) are both small-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends and analyst recommendations.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (NASDAQ: RMCF) and Tootsie Roll Industries (NYSE:TR) are both small-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

Top 10 Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: Sirius XM Radio Inc.(SIRI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

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

• [By Garrett Baldwin]

  Click here before Sept. 26 to sign up.

  Four Stocks to Watch Today: P, AMRN, GOLD, ABX Shares of Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) jumped more than 8% this morning on news it will be acquired by Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI). The all-stock deal is worth roughly $3.5 billion. SIRI stock was off 3.5% after the announcement. This morning, Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) announced it has purchased Randgold Resources Ltd. (NASDAQ: GOLD) in an all-share deal that will create a new firm worth $18.3 billion. The new mining firm will have a massive presence in North America and Africa. Barrick shareholders will own 67% of the new organization, while Randgold shareholders will own 33%. Shares of Amarin Corp. (NASDAQ: AMRN) popped more than 285% in pre-market hours (from $2.99 to $11.55) after the biopharma company announced positive results from a clinical trial. The firm's fish oil capsule showed significant benefits to heart patients. Shares of Amarin had been off about 25% this year before the announcement. Look for an earnings report this afternoon from Ascena Retail Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ASNA).

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• [By Mac Greer]

  Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) reported on its fiscal fourth quarter on Wednesday, and while revenue and operating profits were down, it did beat its outlook. Unsurprisingly, CEO Tim Cook pointed to China's economic slowdown and Washington's trade war as the causes of lower iPhone sales, but on the earnings call, he also talked through a bigger-picture evolutionary story that could generate some optimism about the company and the stock. Elsewhere in the investing world, satellite radio monopoly Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) reported a quarter of record revenue -- but that company, too, is more focused on what's ahead.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  A lot can happen to a stock in just a couple of weeks. There were 275.5 million shares of Sirius XM Holdings (NASDAQ:SIRI) sold short at the end of January, the largest number of bearish bets placed on the satellite radio provider in more than a year. Two weeks later, short interest fell to 174.7 million shares, a fresh 52-week low in pessimism. 

• [By Jim Royal]

  Fresh off news that it was buying Pandora Media (NYSE:P), Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) slumped 8% early on Monday. It's the cheapest the stock has been in months, and investors seemed to jeer the all-stock deal. But if history is any guide, it's a bad bet to go against superinvestor John Malone, whose Liberty empire controls Sirius XM.

Top 10 Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: BioDelivery Sciences International Inc.(BDSI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. (NASDAQ:BDSI) Director Francis E. Odonnell, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.60, for a total value of $36,800.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  Biodelivery Sciences International Inc  (NASDAQ:BDSI)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallMarch 14, 2019, 4:30 p.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By Logan Wallace]

  BioDelivery Sciences International (NASDAQ:BDSI) had its target price reduced by research analysts at HC Wainwright from $4.00 to $3.50 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective points to a potential upside of 40.00% from the company’s current price.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. (NASDAQ: BDSI) shares were also up, gaining 19 percent to $2.3272 after the company announced board restructuring plan and $50m equity financing deal led by Broadfin to "significantly strengthen" financial position.

Top 10 Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: Safe Bulkers Inc(SB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

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

  Get Safe Bulkers alerts: Safe Bulkers, Inc. Agrees with Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry Co. Ltd. to Install Alfa Laval PureSOx Scrubbers (finance.yahoo.com) Analysts Anticipate Safe Bulkers, Inc. (SB) to Post $0.06 EPS (americanbankingnews.com) Safe Bulkers Inc.: Safe Bulkers, Inc. Announces Election of Class I Directors at 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (twst.com) Critical Analysis: Dorian LPG (LPG) & Safe Bulkers (SB) (americanbankingnews.com)

  A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SB shares. TheStreet cut Safe Bulkers from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Thursday. Maxim Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Safe Bulkers in a research report on Monday, July 23rd. Zacks Investment Research cut Safe Bulkers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 12th. ValuEngine upgraded Safe Bulkers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 1st. Finally, Seaport Global Securities upgraded Safe Bulkers from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $3.50 to $5.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.79.

• [By Lisa Levin]

   

  Companies Reporting After The Bell SpartanNash Company (NASDAQ: SPTN) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.53 per share on revenue of $2.38 billion. HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.48 per share on revenue of $13.57 billion. salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE: CRM) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.47 per share on revenue of $2.94 billion. HEICO Corporation (NYSE: HEI) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $0.53 per share on revenue of $424.96 million. Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE: SB) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.02 per share on revenue of $41.10 million
• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDGL) shares surged 144.96 percent to close at $265.61 on Thursday in reaction to an encouraging Phase 2 clinical trial update. The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company said its liver-directed, thyroid hormone receptor called MGL-3196 showed a statistical significance in the primary endpoint of lowering liver fat at 12 weeks and also 36 weeks. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VKTX) shares rose 101.01 percent to close at $9.99 on Thursday after falling 4.42 percent on Wednesday. Akers Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKER) jumped 45.58 percent to close at $0.474. The developer of rapid health information technologies said Wednesday afternoon it was granted a 180-day extension from the Nasdaq Stock Market to meet the requirement of a minimum $1.00 per share closing bid price for 10 straight days. Kitov Pharma Ltd (NASDAQ: KTOV) gained 40.93 percent to close at $3.03 after the FDA approved Kitov's Consensi for the treatment of osteoarthritis pain and hypertension. China Customer Relations Centers, Inc. (NASDAQ: CCRC) rose 28.21 percent to close at $19.86. J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE: JILL) climbed 26.45 percent to close at $7.84 after the company posted upbeat quarterly earnings. Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS) shares climbed 21.93 percent to close at $2.78 in reaction to an encouraging FDA update. The biotechnology company that focuses on therapies for the treatment of cancer said the FDA granted a Fast Track designation for fimepinostat (CUDC-907) in patients with relapsed or refractory. Boxlight Corporation (NASDAQ: BOXL) gained 21.23 percent to close at $7.48. Kirkland's, Inc. (NASDAQ: KIRK) rose 16.21 percent to close at $12.83 after reporting upbeat Q1 results. The Brink's Company (NYSE: BCO) jumped 16.2 percent to close at $79.25 as the company announced plans to acquire Dunbar Armored for $520 million in cash. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAOI) rose 15.14 percent to c
• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Evermore Global Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) by 24.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,997,101 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 635,851 shares during the quarter. Safe Bulkers accounts for approximately 2.2% of Evermore Global Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Evermore Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Safe Bulkers were worth $6,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Safe Bulkers (SB)

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

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Safe Bulkers (SB)

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

Top 10 Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: New York Mortgage Trust Inc.(NYMT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  NY MTG TR INC/SH (NASDAQ:NYMT) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $6.38.

• [By Max Byerly]

  ValuEngine cut shares of NY Mtg Tr Inc/SH (NASDAQ:NYMT) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Thursday morning.

  Several other research firms also recently commented on NYMT. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of NY Mtg Tr Inc/SH from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, August 6th. BidaskClub downgraded shares of NY Mtg Tr Inc/SH from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Saturday, September 15th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of NY Mtg Tr Inc/SH from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 25th. Finally, Maxim Group restated a buy rating and issued a $6.75 price target (up previously from $6.25) on shares of NY Mtg Tr Inc/SH in a research note on Friday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $6.35.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on NY Mtg Tr Inc/SH (NYMT)

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

• [By Max Byerly]

  NY Mtg Tr Inc/SH (NASDAQ:NYMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.05. NY Mtg Tr Inc/SH had a net margin of 24.78% and a return on equity of 17.07%. The business had revenue of $17.50 million during the quarter. analysts anticipate that NY Mtg Tr Inc/SH will post 0.24 EPS for the current year.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Shares of NY Mtg Tr Inc/SH (NASDAQ:NYMT) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a 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 $6.06.

Top 10 Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: Smith Micro Software Inc.(SMSI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  These are some of the news stories that may have impacted Accern’s scoring:

  Get Smith Micro Software alerts: Short Interest in Smith Micro Software (SMSI) Increases By 51.9% (americanbankingnews.com) Smith Micro Software’s (SMSI) CEO Bill Smith on Q1 2018 Results – Earnings Call Transcript (seekingalpha.com) Smith Micro Software (SMSI) Reports Q1 Loss of $0.10 (streetinsider.com) Smith Micro Reports First Quarter 2018 Financial Results (finance.yahoo.com) Smith Micro announces above market USD 7.0m private placement offering (financial-news.co.uk)

  Separately, ValuEngine upgraded shares of Smith Micro Software from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Connecture (OTCMKTS: CNXR) and Smith Micro Software (NASDAQ:SMSI) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Okta (NASDAQ: OKTA) and Smith Micro Software (NASDAQ:SMSI) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, valuation and profitability.

Top 10 Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: Patni Computer Systems Limited(PTI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Lange]

  Proteostasis Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: PTI) saw its shares slide early on Thursday after the company reported that it had positive data from its early stage trial in cystic fibrosis (CF). These results come from the firm's ongoing Phase 1 dosing study of PTI-801 in CF patients on background Orkambi (lumacaftor/ivacaftor) therapy.

Top 10 Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: Transocean Inc.(RIG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  An issue of Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG) debt rose 1.3% as a percentage of its face value during trading on Wednesday. The debt issue has a 6.8% coupon and will mature on March 15, 2038. The debt is now trading at $84.56 and was trading at $83.13 one week ago. Price moves in a company’s debt in credit markets often predict parallel moves in its stock price.

• [By Reuben Gregg Brewer]

  Deep-sea drilling specialist Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) jumped 15.2% in September, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. There have been a couple of big ups and downs this year, but through the first nine months of 2018, the stock was up a heady 30%. The timing of the September advance, however, coincided with some key news.

• [By Spencer Israel]

  Oil companies were popular sells for the month, including ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), BP p.l.c. (NYSE: BP), and Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) all net sold. Investors also net sold Alcoa Corp. (NYSE: AA), Starbucks Corporation (NYSE: CMG). and Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) in the midst of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's testimony before Congress. 

• [By Jim Crumly]

  As for individual stocks, Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) briefly broke through $1 trillion in valuation, and Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) announced plans to acquire Ocean Rig UDW (NASDAQ:ORIG).

• [By Jason Hall, Tyler Crowe, and Matthew DiLallo]

  At the same time, there has been a tremendous amount of consolidation (like this and this and this), leaving fewer -- stronger -- companies operating just when work is starting to pick up. Here's a look at quarterly revenue for Diamond Offshore (NYSE:DO), Transocean (NYSE:RIG), Ensco PLC (ADR) (NYSE:ESV), Noble Corp. (NYSE:NE), and Rowan (NYSE:RDC) so far this year. 

Top 10 Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: The Hackett Group Inc.(HCKT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on The Hackett Group (HCKT)

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

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  Hackett Group Inc  (NASDAQ:HCKT)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 19, 2019, 5:00 p.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  The Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCKT) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.00.

Top 10 Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: Summit State Bank(SSBI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  ValuEngine upgraded shares of Summit State Bank (NASDAQ:SSBI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

  Separately, TheStreet raised Summit State Bank from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th.

McCormick (MKC) Q1 2019 Earnings Conference Call Transcript

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McCormick (NYSE:MKC) Q1 2019 Earnings Conference CallMarch 26, 2019 8:00 a.m. ET

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

Kasey Jenkins -- Vice President of Investor Relations

Good morning. This is Kasey Jenkins, vice president of McCormick investor relations. Thank you for joining today's first-quarter earnings call. To accompany this call, we posted a set of slides at ir.mccormick.com.

[Operator instructions] We'll begin with remarks from Lawrence Kurzius, chairman, president, and CEO; and Mike Smith, executive vice president, and CFO. During our remarks, we will refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures. These include information in constant currency as well as adjusted operating income, adjusted income tax rate and adjusted earnings per share that exclude the impact of special charges and for 2018, transaction and integration expenses related to the acquisition of our Frank's and French's brands as well as the net nonrecurring income tax benefit associated with the December 2017 U.S. tax reform legislation.

Reconciliations to the GAAP results are included in this morning's press release and slides. In our comments, certain percentages are rounded. Please refer to our presentation, which includes the complete information. In addition, please note that all comparisons discussed today, both for results and outlook, are calculated from a 2018 date that had been recast for the two accounting standard updates we adopted on a retrospective basis in the first quarter of 2019 as well as for certain other reclassifications noted in this morning's first-quarter results press release.

Please refer to the recast 2018 financials section of the press release and the Form 8-K we furnished on March 11 for further detail as well as the filing of our Form 10-Q later today, which reflects all the changes to our previously reported 2018 results and the historical financial information that has been recast. As a reminder, today's presentation contains projections and other forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those projected. The company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statement, whether because of new information, future events or other factors.

As seen on Slide 2, our forward-looking statement also provides information on risk factors that could affect our financial results. It is now my pleasure to turn the discussion over to Lawrence.

Lawrence Kurzius -- Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Kasey. Good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us. Our first-quarter results were a great start to the year, delivering sales, operating income and adjusted earnings-per-share growth as well as margin expansion.

Our successful execution of our strategies and engagement of employees around the world has driven strong performance across both of our segments, and we're confident they will continue to drive our momentum and success as we go through the year. Starting on Slide 4. Our broad and advantaged global flavor portfolio continues to position us to meet the demand for flavor around the world and grow our business. Among our first-quarter highlights across our portfolio, we drove growth on our consumer segment with the strength particularly in the U.S.

spices and seasonings, recipe mixes and new Frank's and Zatarain's frozen products as well as in China sauces and chicken bouillon. In our flavor solutions segment, our Americas and EMEA regions drove significant growth in flavors, branded foodservice and condiments with strong contributions from both new products and the base business. We are confident our breadth and reach will continue to differentiate McCormick and be the foundation of our sales growth as consumer demand for flavor continues to rise. No matter where or what you choose to eat or drink, you will probably enjoy something flavored by McCormick every day.

Now let me go into more detail on our first-quarter performance, as seen on Slide 5, as well as provide some business comments before turning it over to Mike, who will go more in depth on the quarter-end results and the details of our 2019 outlook. As we said on our year-end earnings call in January and at CAGNY in February, we had confidence in our strategies and are well-positioned to deliver strong results in 2019. You can see this beginning with our first-quarter performance with the strong sales growth, operating profit growth, margin growth and EPS growth. Starting with our top line for the first quarter.

Versus the year-ago period, we grew sales 1%, and in constant currency, sales grew 4% for the total company with strength in both segments. This growth was due to higher volume and product mix and was entirely organic, driven by the base business and new products as we have no acquisition impact in the quarter. In our consumer segment, sales were flat, including an unfavorable impact from currency, and grew 3% in constant currency. In our flavor solutions segment, sales grew 3%, and in constant currency, grew 6%.

In addition to our top-line growth, we grew adjusted operating income and expanded our adjusted operating margin. With our higher sales and cost savings led by our Comprehensive Continuous Improvement Program, or CCI, we grew the first quarter's adjusted operating income 4%, or 6% in constant currency, and expanded our adjusted operating margin 40 basis points. At the bottom line, our first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.12 was 12% higher than $1 in the first-quarter of 2018, driven primarily by our adjusted operating income growth and the lower adjusted tax rate. And this 12% adjusted earnings-per-share growth includes an unfavorable impact from currency.

Our solid first-quarter results were in line with our expectations and our outlook for our 2019 performance, which we shared on our January earnings call, continues to be strong. I'd like to turn now to a business update with a focus this morning on highlights from our consumer and flavor solutions segments, our exciting new products for the first half of 2019, and finally, touch on some of our recent announcements. Turning on Slide 6 with our consumer segment. As I just mentioned, we grew constant currency sales 3% with increases in each of our three regions.

In the Americas, we grew constant currency sales 3%, driven by higher volume and product mix. In the U.S., the unusual impacts we had in the fourth quarter, as we previously indicated on our January earnings call and at CAGNY, are behind us. Our IRI data indicates U.S. spice and seasonings scanner scales through multi-outlets grew 4% for the category and 5% for McCormick branded, reflecting a continuation of the strong consumption and share trend improvement realized in the fourth quarter.

In fact, we grew spice and seasoning share in the first quarter. Our performance on the market is being driven by new products and expanded distribution, together with our strong marketing programs and merchandising execution. Additionally, we again had strong growth in unmeasured channels, including club, e-commerce and Hispanic retail chains. Overall, combining strong consumption growth in other parts of our U.S.

branded portfolio with spices and seasonings, we continue to see an acceleration in our consumption trend, which shows we're winning with consumers across our portfolio. McCormick branded dry recipe mixes continued their momentum of consumption and share growth, and Stubb's barbecue sauce consumption growth again outpaced its category. Frank's RedHot sauce, Grill Mates and Lawry's marinades all grew consumption, partially driven by leveraging Super Bowl marketing and promotional programs across our condiment portfolio. New products, including Frank's RedHot frozen wings and Zatarain's frozen items, are also gaining momentum and contributed to first-quarter growth.

As I mentioned, our strong marketing programs contributed to driving our growth. We've also increased our effectiveness and are getting more value out of each marketing dollar. In the first quarter, we funded increases in our working media with decreases in our nonworking spend. Our newly formed marketing excellence organization, which I discussed at CAGNY, is optimizing our brand marketing spend and driving greater speed and effectiveness.

For instance, with our innovative approach for Frank's brand support, we had a big win on Super Bowl Sunday. We spent significantly less than the cost of a Super Bowl commercial and leveraged the power of social media with a strong creative idea. With our playful splat, Frank's garnered over 250 million consumer impressions and was awarded Twitter's brand interception award for driving the highest percentage of branded conversations during the big game without a national television ad. Not only did we win the award, we won with significant Frank's consumption growth.

Now turning to the Europe, Middle East and Africa, the EMEA region. Constant currency growth was driven by new products as well as expanded distribution and successful promotional activity. New product launches in the U.K. in the second half of the year, first choice, our brand renovation initiative, and Street Food Seasonings, which are adventurous flavors for millennials, continue to do well and we're excited to build on strong early results with continued expansion to additional markets in 2019.

In the Asia Pacific region, our constant currency growth was led by China, driven by new products as well as the base business growth due to successful merchandising execution and expanded distribution. We're also excited about the momentum we're gaining on Frank's and French's. At the end of the first quarter, products with localized Chinese labels are beginning to be listed in retail stores, and we expect distribution to build over the year. Turning now to Slide 7.

In our flavor solutions segment, our sales performance was excellent. Our constant currency sales growth was 6%, driven by higher volume and product mix on base business as well as new products in the Americas and EMEA regions. We're continuing to win with our customers through new products, expanded distribution and promotional activities. In the Americas, we drove constant currency sales growth of 7%.

We had strong sales growth to quick service restaurants as well as in our flavor product category. Our flavor sales were driven by snack seasonings, particularly due to new products and our customers' promotions, and by products that deliver the clean label and better-for-you attributes our customers are seeking. We also had strong branded food-service growth, driven by an increased distribution with national and regional customers, promotional activity with operators and expansion in emerging channels. In branded foodservice, we continue to realize the benefit of leveraging our full portfolio of McCormick spices and seasonings and Frank's, French's and Cattlemen's products across operators.

Our sales growth in EMEA was outstanding, 9% in constant currency. It was broad based across the portfolio, both from a product category and customer perspective. The momentum we built in this region last year carried into the first quarter. We drove sales growth to quick service restaurants, partially due to their strong promotional activities, and to packaged food companies with new products being a key driver.

Our new products are an important point to differentiate our brands and drive growth. Now I am happy to share with you our consumer segment's robust plans for new products in the first half of 2019 as seen on Slide 8. We're delivering against consumer demand for healthy options and transparency in the quality and source of ingredients. In the U.S., we have launched the Zatarain's Garden District Kitchen range.

These meal solutions, inspired by the rich culinary heritage of New Orleans, are plant based and high in both protein and fiber, and we continue to renovate our dry recipe mixes for simple and clean ingredient statements that still deliver delicious flavor. We are continually improving our portfolio to strengthen our relevance with consumers. In the U.S., we're expanding our McCormick Gourmet line with a range of premium salts and peppers. In France, we launched a range of Ducros, grown in France herbs for the French consumer who values provenance and local sourcing.

And in China, we are relaunching our packaging of new graphics that drive premium perception and better shelf visibility. With this inconvenience remaining a key driver of consumer trends, we are offering consumers convenience with flavor. In the U.S., we've launched new Grill Mates marinade flavors, which provide a convenient way to introduce bold flavors to grilling, and French's dipping sauces, which deliver fantastic taste with the convenience of ready to eat. We've also launched Zatarain's frozen entrees rice bowls, made with clean ingredients and leveraged the popularity of cilantro lime with shrimp and chicken.

And we'll be launching our ONE product platform, a set of one-dish recipe mix flavors to make dinners easy, which includes new flavors created using the combination of artificial intelligence and our consumer insights. And finally, we continue to introduce new flavors and varieties to drive flavor exploration and experimentation. In Canada, we're innovating our line of La Grille barbecue sauces with a new bottle and reformulated flavors. In the U.K., we're targeting the millennial consumer with the launch of a new range of rapid recipe mixes, which capitalize on the sandwich wraps trend at home and in restaurant menus.

And also targeting the millennial consumer, we're launching a new range of co-branded Tasty-McCormick recipe mix blends in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., which I will expand on further in a few minutes. Turning to flavor solutions on Slide 9. While we do not get specific with our product development in this segment, we're continuing to capitalize on our culinary foundation and customer collaboration, both of which differentiate us with customers. This unique combination allows us to continue our new product momentum as our customers continue to move their portfolios to on-trend flavors and more natural and better-for-you product, while ensuring that taste is not compromised.

We have a broad portfolio of product platforms and technologies to deliver a range of natural solutions for our customers. Along the natural flavor spectrum, clean flavor is the next emerging space. We're excited to have relaunched our new clean and natural platform, FlavorReal. McCormick is setting the benchmark for development of on-trend, organic, non-GMO and better-for-you products with our unparalleled natural ingredient supply chain and technologies enabling clean label transparency.

To support the consumer movement to healthier and more natural, our proprietary modulation technology called FlavorFull solves common flavor challenges, including masking bitter or sour notes and enhancing sweet, salt or fat. We can solve for any low or no challenge without sacrificing iconic flavor. And finally, our two flavor delivery technologies deliver optimal flavor experiences. Our patented FlavorCell is a controlled-release encapsulation technology designed to deliver flavor where and when and how you need it, while our FlavorSpice technology delivers flexible natural replacements for ground spices and herbs for increased concentration and solubility.

Our strategy to begin with understanding real food and beverage to create authentic flavors, combined with the breadth of our product platforms and technologies, is driving our new product wins with our customers with sales from product launches a key growth driver on our first-quarter results. Now I'd like to highlight some recent news on Slide 10. As announced in early February, McCormick has partnered with IBM to pioneer the application of artificial intelligence, or AI, for flavor and product development. We're entering in a new era of flavor innovation.

This proprietary cutting-edge technology, which we have previously discussed as computational creativity, sets McCormick apart across our consumer and flavor solutions segments. Our product developers are now able to explore flavor territories across the globe more quickly and efficiently, utilizing technology to extract key insights for millions of data points across sensory science, consumer preference and flavor palette. As we continue to expand the use of this system, we've launched our first AI-enabled consumer product platform, ONE, which I mentioned a few moments ago, in my new product comment. I also mentioned earlier a new range of co-branded Tasty products, which I'd like to expand on further.

During the first quarter, we launched a global partnership with BuzzFeed Tasty, the No. 1 cooking video website in the world for millennials and Gen Z with over 2 billion views a month. This partnership allows us to gain significant reach as we are now the official spice in the videos and recipes these generations use, while seeking recipe inspiration through social media. In the second quarter, we will be launching our Seasoning Blends range, which will be available both through the direct-to-consumer channel and retail.

We're thrilled with this new partnership, which will deliver substantial incremental impressions and reach to an audience primarily under 35 years of age and further accelerate our digital platform. In February, we were recognized on Barron's 2019 100 Most Sustainable Companies list for the second straight year. At McCormick, we're driven to do the right thing for people, communities and our planet and as such, we're recognized as a leader in sustainability. On a final note, I'd like to acknowledge Mike Fitzpatrick, who is retiring from our board of directors after serving as a director since 2001.

We sincerely appreciate Mike's contributions to our success over the last 18 years and thank him for his service. Now I'd like to provide a few summary comments, as seen on Slide 11, before turning it over to Mike. At the foundation of our sales growth is the rising consumer demand for flavor. We are aligned with the consumer's increased interest in bolder flavors, demand for convenience and focus on fresh, natural ingredients as well as with emerging purchase drivers such as greater transparency around the sourcing and quality of food.

With this increased interest, flavor continues to be an advantaged global category, which combined with our execution against effective strategies, will drive strong results. We have a solid foundation in an environment that continues to be dynamic and fast paced. We're ensuring we remain agile, relevant and focused on sustainable growth. Our experienced leaders and employees are executing against our strategies, which are designed to build long-term value for our shareholders.

Our first-quarter financial results across both our consumer and flavor solutions segments were a great start to the year. We delivered these results according to our plans and are excited by our momentum. Our fundamentals are strong and we're confident the initiatives we have under way position us to continue our growth trajectory. We're balancing our resources and efforts to drive sales with our work to lower cost to build fuel for growth and higher margins.

We have confidence in our fiscal-year outlook and are well-positioned to deliver another strong year in 2019. Around the world, McCormick employees are driving our momentum and our success, and I thank them for their efforts and engagement. Thank you for your attention, and it is now my pleasure to turn it over to Mike for additional remarks on our first-quarter financial results and 2019 outlook.

Mike Smith -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Thanks, Lawrence, and good morning, everyone. As Lawrence indicated, we delivered strong growth with our first-quarter results. I'll begin with a discussion of our results and then follow with details of our full-year 2019 financial outlook. Turning on Slide 13.

We grew sales 4% in constant currency. And as Lawrence mentioned earlier, this was entirely organic growth driven by the base business and new products as we had no acquisition impact in the quarter. Both our consumer and flavor solutions segments delivered strong top-line constant currency growth driven by volume and product mix. The consumer segment grew sales 3% in constant currency with growth in all three regions.

On Slide 14, consumer segment sales in the Americas rose 3% in constant currency versus the first quarter of 2018. As Lawrence described earlier, this increase was primarily driven by higher volume and product mix across several product lines, spices and seasonings, dry recipe mixes and frozen products. Pricing related to the incremental impact of 2018 actions also contributed to the increase. In EMEA, constant currency consumer sales were up 1% from a year ago.

Higher volume and product mix were driven by new products, distribution gains and promotional activities. This growth was partially offset by pricing actions, including those related to planned trade promotional activity for new products and the holiday season. We grew consumer sales in the Asia Pacific region 4% in constant currency, led by China growth, with strength in new World Flavor sauces and chicken bouillon as well as herbs and spices. Turning to our flavor solutions segment in Slide 17.

We grew first-quarter constant currency sales 6%, attributable to a strong growth in the EMEA and Americas regions. In the Americas, flavor solutions constant currency sales increased 7% with broad-based growth across the portfolio, driven by quick service restaurants and continued flavors momentum. New products, expanded distribution and our customers' promotional activities all contributed to the sales increase. In EMEA, we grew flavor solutions sales 9% in constant currency, driven by new products and volume growth on the base business.

Sales increased to both packaged food companies and quick service restaurants, partially due to their promotional activity and spend across all categories. In the Asia Pacific region, flavor solutions sales in constant currency were flat to the year-ago period due to the timing of our quick service restaurant customers' promotional activities. Across both segments, adjusted operating income, which excludes special charges, and for 2018 the transaction and integration cost related to the acquisition of our Frank's and French's brands, rose 4% in the first quarter versus the year-ago period. Excluding the impact of unfavorable currency, rose 6%.

Adjusted operating income in the consumer segment rose to $135 million. And in the flavor solutions segment, we rose to $64 million, both of which were a 4% increase. In constant currency, adjusted operating income increased 6% in the consumer segment and 7% in the flavor solutions segment. For each segment, the increase was driven by higher sales and CCI-led cost savings.

As seen on Slide 22, in the first quarter, we expanded adjusted operating margin 40 basis points. This expansion was driven by leverage from sales growth, CCI-led cost savings and lower brand marketing, partially offset by investments to drive future growth. Turning to income taxes on Slide 23. Our first-quarter adjusted effective income tax rate was 13.9% as compared to 18.9% in the year-ago period.

Our first-quarter adjusted rate was favorably impacted by discrete tax items, primarily one related to our entity structure as we mentioned in our January earnings call. We continue to project our full-year 2019 adjusted effective tax rate to approximate 22%. Income from unconsolidated operations was $10 million compared to $8 million in the first quarter of 2018 with the increase led by our joint venture in Mexico. For 2019, we continue to expect a low single-digit increase in our income from unconsolidated operations.

At the bottom line, as shown on Slide 25, first-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings per share was $1.12, up 12% from $1 for the year-ago period, mainly due to higher adjusted operating income and the lower adjusted income tax rate. And this increase included an unfavorable impact from currency. On Slide 26, we summarized highlights for cash flow and the quarter-end balance sheet. Our cash flow provided from operations was $104 million in the first quarter of 2019 compared to an outflow of $21 million in the first quarter of 2018.

This increase was driven by higher operating income and working capital improvements. As we execute against programs to achieve working capital reductions such as extending supplier payment terms and inventory management programs, we continue to see improvements in our cash conversion cycle, finishing the first quarter down four days versus our fiscal year-end. We returned $75 million of cash to shareholders through dividends and used $25 million for capital expenditures this period. We expect 2019 to be another year of strong cash flow driven by profit and working capital initiatives.

And our priority is to continue to have a balanced use of cash, making investments to drive growth, returning a significant portion to our shareholders through dividends and to pay down debt. Let's now move to our current financial outlook for 2019 on Slide 27. We are reaffirming our 2019 outlook for another year of strong performance with our broad and advantaged flavor portfolio, effective growth strategies and focus on profit realization. We continue to estimate, based on prevailing rates, a 2-percentage-point unfavorable impact from currency rates on net sales, adjusted operating income and adjusted earnings per share.

We expect unfavorable currency impact will be greater in the first half of the year than in the second half. At the top line, we reaffirm our guidance to grow sales 1% to 3%, which in constant currency is a 3% to 5% projected growth rate. As a reminder, this will be entirely organic growth-driven, primarily by higher volumes and product mix as well as the impact of pricing to offset any anticipated low single-digit cost increase. We continue to project our 2019 gross profit margin to be 25 to 75-basis-point higher than in 2018, in part driven by our CCI-led cost savings.

We reaffirm our adjusted operating income growth of 7% to 9% from $930 million in 2018, which in constant currency is a 9% to 11% projected growth rate and reflects our continued focus on profit realization. Our cost-savings target is approximately $110 million, and we expect brand marketing to be comparable to 2018. As I previously mentioned, we continue to expect our 2019 adjusted effective income tax rate to approximate 22% based upon our estimated mix of earnings by country, in addition to our state tax rates. This projection is lower than our underlying effective tax rate of 24% due to the favorable first-quarter discrete impact I mentioned a few moments ago.

Our full-year 22% outlook versus our 2018 adjusted effective tax rate of 19.6% is approximately a 300-basis-point headwind to our 2019 adjusted earnings-per-share growth. We reaffirm our guidance for the adjusted earnings per share in 2019 of $5.17 to $5.27. This compares to $4.97 of adjusted earnings per share in 2018 and represents a 4% to 6% increase, which in constant currency is a 6% to 8% increase. This increase includes the expected tax headwind I just mentioned.

In summary, we are projecting strong growth in our 2019 constant currency outlook for sales, adjusted operating profit and adjusted earnings per share following record double-digit performance across each objective in 2018. I'd like to now turn it back to Lawrence for some additional remarks before we move to your questions.

Lawrence Kurzius -- Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Mike. Now that Mike has shared our financ

The Financial Media Looks Like Stalin-Era Soviet Propaganda

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Oh, it's been a long while since a piece of economic propaganda masquerading as journalism made me want to laugh, curse, and wince – all at the same time.

I owe this unusual feeling to a March 14 puff piece in Bloomberg, co-authored by Simon Kennedy and Zoe Schneeweiss: "Why the Worst May Already Be Over for the Global Economy."

Rarely have I seen so much dangerous drivel under a single, misleading headline.

It's a desperate – but creative – attempt to put lipstick on a fundamentally broken economic pig. The authors deserve high marks for organizing, then spinning, statistics and adjectives with a careful disregard for trivial obstacles like "context" and "reality."

Indeed, their article has all the false hope, lies of omission, and misleading confidence of the propaganda ministries of losing armies.

You know the story: Whenever it becomes numerically obvious that defeat is inevitable, the losing side always steps up the "have no fear" puff pieces to boost morale on the home front.
That's exactly what we have here, like something cooked up in the bowels of the U.S.S.R.'s Pravda or China's People's Daily.

Let me show you what's really happening here…

Join the conversation. Click here to jump to comments…

Buy LIC Housing Finance; target of Rs 600: Motilal Oswal

Motilal Oswal's research report on LIC Housing Finance

Our strategist recently increased the weightage of LIC Housing Finance (LICHF) in our model portfolio. In our view, after a span of two years, the business environment is turning favorable for LICHF. With liquidity tightening, we expect players with stronger parentage to disproportionately benefit v/s peers. The benefit to such players will be two-fold; (a) they will have access to larger quantum of capital from the debt markets at more competitive rates, and (b) lower-rated peers would now be less aggressive, thus, reducing competition as well as balance transfer pressure. LICHF sailed through the past quarter with relative ease owing to its parentage and granular balance sheet (94% of loans are to individuals). It raised INR200b from NCDs, INR90b from CPs and INR10b from deposits in the quarter. While core home loan growth was moderate, we expect it to accelerate over the ensuing quarters.

Outlook

At CMP, the stock trades at 1.4x FY20 BVPS - this is close to its decadal low of 1.1x. With steady-to-improving core home loan growth, stable spread and asset quality, LICHF is set to deliver 1.5%/16% RoA/RoE over the medium term. Key risks stem from the increasing GNPL ratio of the retail loan book. Maintain BUY with a target price of INR600 (1.5x Dec 2020E BVPS).

For all recommendations report, click here

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

Read More First Published on Mar 19, 2019 02:56 pm

Goldman says boost from tax cut 'behind us' so buy these companies that can grow on their own

Stock profits will be harder to come by in 2019 as corporations will no longer get a boost from lower corporate tax rates, according to Goldman Sachs.

David Kostin, the bank's chief U.S. equity strategist, said in a note Friday that an increase in the S&P 500's return on equity "appears unlikely" this year. Return on equity, usually abbreviated as "ROE," is a measure of profitability that is calculated by dividing net income by shareholders' equity. Kostin added the S&P 500's ROE increased by 2.37 percentage points to 18.6 percent last year, its highest level since 2000.

"Lower tax rates accounted for two thirds of the improvement in ROE but fundamentals were strong even excluding tax reform," Kostin said. "High tax rate stocks rallied in 2018. However, consensus expects corporate tax rates will actually rise in 2019, driving some of the weakness in the 2019 profitability outlook."

S&P 500 earnings grew by at least 25 percent in the first three quarters of 2018 and by more than 13 percent in the fourth quarter, FactSet data show.

The expansion was driven in large part by a massive tax bill signed by President Donald Trump in late 2017 that slashed the federal corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent. Trump signing the tax bill was widely anticipated as investors pushed the S&P 500 higher by nearly 20 percent in 2017.

However, corporate taxes are expected to rise in some sectors, especially in the communications services group which includes Netflix and Disney. This could put pressure on corporate profits in 2019, Kostin said.

Another headwind for companies this year could be rising wages, the strategist added. "Surveys suggest that wages and other costs are rising faster than companies are raising prices. Historically, this pattern has presaged declines in EBIT margins." He said S&P 500 margins should remain flat through 2020 with risks "tilted to the downside."

"The boost from lower tax rates is likely behind us," Kostin said. "We recommend investors focus on companies that are best-equipped to withstand cost pressures in 2019."

What to buy

The Goldman strategist highlighted a basket of 50 stocks he expects will have strong return on equity this year. The basket includes TripAdvisor, Cisco Systems, Cabot Oil and Under Armour. Goldman estimates return on equity for TripAdvisor and Cisco will grow by 16 percent and 40 percent, respectively. The bank also sees Cabot's ROE expanding by 35 percent and Under Armour's by 44 percent.

So far, the basket has outperformed the S&P 500 by 5 percentage points in 2019 and 72 percent of its members have also outpaced the broad index. The S&P 500 is up 12.6 percent this year through Friday's close.

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Top 5 Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now

tags:COP,RRC,PTEN,IO,CPE, What happened

Shares of Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE) slumped more than 10% by 10:15 a.m. EDT on Monday after the company agreed to a strategic combination with Canadian rival Raging River Exploration (TSX:RRX).

So what

Baytex Energy has agreed to merge with Raging River in an all-stock deal. The company will exchange 1.36 of its shares for each share of Raging River, valuing it at 2.8 billion Canadian dollars ($2.1 billion). The transaction will create a CA$5 billion Canadian oil company that will retain the Baytex name and produce more than 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day next year.

Image source: Getty Images.

Aside from the increased scale, the deal will strengthen the combined company's financial profile and growth prospects. Baytex believes that it can generate CA$1 billion in fund flow next year, which is the Canadian equivalent of operating cash flow. That will provide the company with enough money to grow production 5% to 10% annually while generating significant free cash, which it can use to repay debt, pursue additional acquisitions, and possibly reinstate a dividend.

Top 5 Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now: ConocoPhillips(COP)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Lange]

  The number of ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) shares short dropped to 18.27 million from the previous level of 21.33 million. Shares were trading at $70.01 within a 52-week range of $42.27 to $71.71.

• [By Chris Lange]

  The number of ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) shares short fell to 11.83 million from the previous 12.60 million. Shares were trading at $71.30, within a 52-week range of $45.65 to $74.73.

• [By Rich Smith]

  And yet, a funny thing has been happening in the market for oil stocks over this past week. All of a sudden, Wall Street analysts are talking up free cash flow as a reason to buy oil stocks. In fact, they can't seem to shut up about it. Over just the past few days, I've seen free cash flow mentioned prominently in the analyses of Wall Street bankers on no fewer than three separate oil stocks: ExxonMobil, Chevron (NYSE:CVX), and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP).

• [By Logan Wallace]

  ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) insider Don E. Jr. Wallette sold 59,432 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,271,377.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 83,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,968,587.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) was started with an Outperform rating at BMO Capital Markets with a $74 price target. The Wall Street consensus target for the oil giant is set at $74.35. The shares ended trading Friday at $69.43.

Top 5 Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Range Resources Corporation(RRC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Range Resources Corp. (NYSE:RRC) – Equities research analysts at Seaport Global Securities raised their Q4 2018 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Range Resources in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, May 23rd. Seaport Global Securities analyst M. Kelly now anticipates that the oil and gas exploration company will post earnings per share of $0.12 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $0.11. Seaport Global Securities has a “Neutral” rating on the stock. Seaport Global Securities also issued estimates for Range Resources’ Q1 2019 earnings at $0.36 EPS, Q3 2019 earnings at $0.18 EPS, Q4 2019 earnings at $0.26 EPS and FY2019 earnings at $0.98 EPS.

• [By Chris Lange]

  The stock posting the largest daily percentage gain in the S&P 500 ahead of the close Monday was Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC) which rose about 6% to $16.05. The stock's 52-week range is $11.93 to $25.96. Volume was 8.6 million compared to the daily average volume of 7.4 million.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  OppenheimerFunds Inc. lowered its holdings in Range Resources Corp. (NYSE:RRC) by 68.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 30,532 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 65,576 shares during the quarter. OppenheimerFunds Inc.’s holdings in Range Resources were worth $444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Range Resources Corp. (NYSE:RRC) – Research analysts at Piper Jaffray Companies upped their Q1 2019 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Range Resources in a report issued on Monday, August 27th. Piper Jaffray Companies analyst D. Kistler now anticipates that the oil and gas exploration company will post earnings of $0.43 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.42. Piper Jaffray Companies has a “Buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Jaffray Companies also issued estimates for Range Resources’ Q2 2019 earnings at $0.35 EPS, Q4 2019 earnings at $0.44 EPS, FY2019 earnings at $1.61 EPS, Q2 2020 earnings at $0.39 EPS and FY2020 earnings at $1.93 EPS.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Range Resources Corp. (NYSE:RRC) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirty ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.11.

Top 5 Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc.(PTEN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lee Jackson]

  This company remains a top oil services pick across Wall Street. Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: PTEN) is the second largest land driller in North America and a large pressure pumping provider. Its operations are particularly focused in the Marcellus and in Texas.

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  The oil services industry, as a whole, has been a challenging one over the past few years as exploration and production companies have drastically scaled back capital spending. Within the industry, the two segments that have been some of the most difficult to make money in are drilling and pressure pumping (fracking). For Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN), weakness in these segments has been a double-whammy because they are Patterson's two largest businesses. This past quarter was particularly tough because many producers finished their capital spending plans for 2018 early and might not start back up again until later in 2019.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Patterson-UTI (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 31.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,073,057 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 741,573 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Patterson-UTI were worth $53,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN)

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

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN)

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

Top 5 Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Ion Geophysical Corporation(IO)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Shares of Ion Geophysical Corp (NYSE:IO) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $35.00.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Ion Geophysical (IO)

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

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Ion Geophysical (NYSE: IO) and Pembina Pipeline (NYSE:PBA) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and risk.

Top 5 Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Callon Petroleum Company(CPE)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Here are some of the media headlines that may have effected Accern’s analysis:

  Get Callon Petroleum alerts: Callon Petroleum (CPE) Expected to Post Earnings of $0.22 Per Share (americanbankingnews.com) Callon Petroleum (CPE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages (americanbankingnews.com) Basic Materials Stock Recap: Callon Petroleum Company (CPE) (stockdigest.info) Head-To-Head Analysis: Callon Petroleum (CPE) vs. CNOOC (CEO) (americanbankingnews.com) Callon Petroleum (CPE) Short Interest Update (americanbankingnews.com)

  CPE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. ValuEngine lowered Callon Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 7th. B. Riley set a $12.00 target price on Callon Petroleum and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 9th. Piper Jaffray Companies reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Callon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, March 15th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $18.00 target price on Callon Petroleum and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $20.00 target price on Callon Petroleum and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $15.88.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  This is one of the small cap stocks that the Jefferies team feels comfortable about currently. Callon Petroleum Company (NYSE: CPE) is an independent oil and natural gas company. The Company is engaged in the exploration, development, acquisition and production of oil and natural gas properties. The Company focuses on the acquisition and development of unconventional oil and natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Callon Petroleum (NYSE:CPE) – Stock analysts at Capital One Financial issued their FY2018 EPS estimates for Callon Petroleum in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, August 7th. Capital One Financial analyst P. Johnston expects that the oil and natural gas company will post earnings of $0.85 per share for the year. Capital One Financial also issued estimates for Callon Petroleum’s Q4 2018 earnings at $0.24 EPS and FY2019 earnings at $1.33 EPS.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Shares of Callon Petroleum (NYSE:CPE) traded down 5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $12.47 and last traded at $12.48. 6,420,719 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 45% from the average session volume of 4,431,217 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.14.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  ValuEngine upgraded shares of Callon Petroleum (NYSE:CPE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

  A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. TheStreet raised shares of Callon Petroleum from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 4th. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Callon Petroleum from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Jefferies Group reissued a buy rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Callon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Mizuho set a $15.00 price target on shares of Callon Petroleum and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, SunTrust Banks reissued a buy rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Callon Petroleum in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $16.42.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers Zoe's Kitchen, Inc. (NYSE: ZOES) fell 27.8 percent to $10.45 in pre-market trading after the company reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its first quarter. The company also lowered its FY18 sales outlook from $358million-$368 million to $345 million-$352 million. Hibbett Sports, Inc. (NASDAQ: HIBB) shares fell 15.6 percent to $24.50 in pre-market trading after the company reported weaker-than-expected results for its first quarter. Rockwell Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: RMTI) fell 15.5 percent to $5.02 in the pre-market trading session after the company disclosed that its President and CEO Robert Chioini was terminated. BG Staffing Inc (NYSE: BGSF) shares fell 12.7 percent to $19.00 in pre-market trading after reporting a common stock offering. 8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT) fell 9.3 percent to $20.00 in pre-market trading after reporting downbeat quarterly earnings. Asia Pacific Wire & Cable Corporation Limited (NASDAQ: APWC) fell 7.7 percent to $2.35 in pre-market trading after rising 3.88 percent on Thursday. Gap, Inc. (NYSE: GPS) shares fell 7.5 percent to $30.49 in pre-market trading after the company posted downbeat earnings for its first quarter on Thursday. Comps were up 1 percent in the quarter. California Resources Corporation (NYSE: CRC) fell 6.4 percent to $33.91 in pre-market trading. Buckle Inc (NYSE: BKE) fell 4.9 percent to $24.50 in pre-market trading following weak quarterly sales. China Rapid Finance Limited (NYSE: XRF) shares fell 4.9 percent to $3.13 in pre-market trading after climbing 11.53 percent on Thursday. Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) fell 4.8 percent to $78.98 in pre-market trading. Ross Stores reported upbeat earnings for its first quarter, but issued weak forecast for the current quarter. Callon Petroleum Company (NYSE: CPE) shares fell 4.7 percent to $11.90 in pre-market trading after the company reported pricing of common

The list: Who has been charged in admissions…

Actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin might be the most well-known figures in a nationwide college admissions scam, but they're not alone.

They're joined by 31 other parents, including a few CEOs and other business executives who were charged in a $25 million college admissions cheating scheme, according to a list released by the U.S. Attorney's Office Tuesday. 

Athletic coaches and college exam administrators were also charged.

The indictment alleges that between 2011 and 2019, William "Rick" Singer "conspired with dozens of parents, athletic coaches, a university athletics administrator, and others, to use bribery and other forms of fraud to secure the admission of students to colleges and universities including Yale University, Georgetown University, Stanford University, the University of Southern California, and Wake Forest University, among others."

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Here's the full list of who has been charged:

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Felicity Huffman arrives at the 76th Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton on an 6, 2019. Huffman was charged with fraud and conspiracy on March 12, 2019, along with dozens of others in a scheme that according to federal prosecutors saw wealthy parents pay bribes to get their children into some of the nation's top colleges. DAN MACMEDAN, USA TODAY FullscreenActress Lori Loughlin arrives at the TV Land Icon Awards in Santa Monica, Calif. on April 10, 2016. Loughlin was charged with fraud and conspiracy on March 12, 2019, along with dozens of others in a scheme that according to federal prosecutors saw wealthy parents pay bribes to get their children into some of the nation's top colleges. RICH FURY, Invision via APFullscreenDesigner Mossimo Giannulli attends Target's model-less fashion show at Vanderbilt Hall Grand Central Terminal on Nov. 06, 2007 in New York City. Giannulli and his wife, actress Lori Loughlin were charged along with nearly 50 other people Tuesday in a scheme in which wealthy parents bribed college coaches and other insiders to get their children into some of the most elite schools in the country, federal prosecutors said. SCOTT WINTROW, Getty ImagesFullscreenWilliam "Rick" Singer leaves Boston Federal Court after being charged with racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and obstruction of justice on March 12, 2019 in Boston. Singer is among several charged in alleged college admissions scam. SCOTT EISEN, Getty ImagesFullscreenRudy Meredith , Yale's women's head soccer coach, gives pointers to players during a scrimmage in Ocala, Fla. in Sept. 2016. According to the federal indictments unsealed on March 12, 2019, former Yale soccer coach Rudy Meredith put a perspective student who didn't play soccer on a school list of recruits, doctored her supporting portfolio to indicate she was a player, and later accepted $400,000 from the head of a college placement company. DOUG ENGLE, Star-Banner via APFullscreenTexas men's tennis coach Michael Center walks away from the United States Federal Courthouse in Austin, Texas, on March 12, 2019. Center is among a few people in the state charged in a scheme that involved wealthy parents bribing college coaches and others to gain admissions for their children at top schools, federal prosecutors said. RICARDO B. BRAZZIELL, Austin American-Statesman via APFullscreenStanford sailing coach John Vandemoer arrives at Boston Federal Court for an arraignment on March 12, 2019, in Boston. John Vandemoer is among several charged in alleged college admissions scam. SCOTT EISEN, Getty ImagesFullscreenGregory Abbott, founder and chairman of International Dispensing Corporation, leaves after appearing in federal court in New York on bribery charges March 12, 2019. Abbott is among dozens of people who were charged in a scheme in which wealthy parents allegedly bribed college coaches and other insiders to get their children into some of the nation's most elite schools. BEBETO MATTHEWS, APFullscreenUCLA coach Jorge Salcedo reacts during the first half of an NCAA College Cup championship soccer game against Virginia in Cary, N.C. on Dec. 14, 2014. Salcedo was charged on March 12, 2019, in a scheme in which wealthy parents bribed college coaches and insiders at testing centers to get their children into some of the most elite schools in the country, federal prosecutors said. UCLA said that Salcedo has been placed on leave pending a review and will have no involvement with the team. GERRY BROOME, APFullscreenInterested in this topic? You may also want to view these photo galleries:Replay1 of 92 of 93 of 94 of 95 of 96 of 97 of 98 of 99 of 9AutoplayShow ThumbnailsShow CaptionsLast SlideNext SlideMultiple charges

William "Rick" Singer, 58, of Newport Beach, California, owner of the Edge College & Career Network and CEO of the Key Worldwide Foundation, was charged in an information with racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and obstruction of justice.

Mark Riddell, 36, of Palmetto, Florida, was charged in an information with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud as well as conspiracy to commit money laundering.

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Rudolph "Rudy" Meredith, 51, of Madison, Connecticut, the former head women's soccer coach at Yale University, was charged in an information with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and honest services wire fraud as well as honest services wire fraud.

John Vandemoer, 41, of Stanford, California, the former sailing coach at Stanford University, was charged in an information with racketeering conspiracy.

David Sidoo, 59, of Vancouver, British Columbia, was charged in an indictment with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Sidoo was arrested Friday in San Jose, California, and appeared in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Monday. A date for his initial appearance in federal court in Boston has not been scheduled.

Michael Center, 54, of Austin, Texas, head coach of men's tennis at the University of Texas at Austin, was charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.

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William "Rick" Singer leaves Boston Federal Court after being charged with racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and obstruction of justice on March 12, 2019 in Boston. Singer is among several charged in alleged college admissions scam.  (Photo: SCOTT EISEN, Getty Images)

Coaches and school officials

The following were charged in an indictment with racketeering conspiracy:

Igor Dvorskiy, 52, of Sherman Oaks, California, director of a private elementary and high school in Los Angeles and a test administrator for the College Board and ACT.

Gordon Ernst, 52, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, former head coach of men and women's tennis at Georgetown University.

William Ferguson, 48, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, former women's volleyball coach at Wake Forest University.

Martin Fox, 62, of Houston, president of a private tennis academy in Houston.

Donna Heinel, 57, of Long Beach, California, the senior associate athletic director at the University of Southern California.

Laura Janke, 36, of North Hollywood, California, former assistant coach of women's soccer at the University of Southern California.

Stanford sailing coach John Vandemoer arrives at Boston Federal Court for an arraignment on March 12, 2019, in Boston. John Vandemoer is among several charged in alleged college admissions scam.  (Photo: SCOTT EISEN, Getty Images)

Ali Khoroshahin, 49, of Fountain Valley, California, former head coach of women's soccer at the University of Southern California.

Steven Masera, 69, of Folsom, California, accountant and financial officer for the Edge College & Career Network and the Key Worldwide Foundation.

Jorge Salcedo, 46, of Los Angeles, former head coach of men's soccer at the University of California at Los Angeles.

Mikaela Sanford, 32, of Folsom, California, employee of the Edge College & Career Network and the Key Worldwide Foundation.

Jovan Vavic, 57, of Rancho Palos Verdes, California, former water polo coach at the University of Southern California.

Niki Williams, 44, of Houston, assistant teacher at a Houston high school and test administrator for the College Board and ACT.

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The parents

The following were charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud:

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Gregory Abbott, 68, of New York, founder and chairman of International Dispensing Corp., a food and beverage packaging company.

Marcia Abbott, 59, of New York.

Gamal Abdelaziz, 62, of Las Vegas, the former senior executive of resort and casino operator of Wynn Macau resort in Macau, China.

Diane Blake, 55, of San Francisco, an executive at a retail merchandising firm.

Todd Blake, 53, of San Francisco, an entrepreneur and investor.

Jane Buckingham, 50, of Beverly Hills, California, founder and CEO of Trendera boutique marketing company.

Gordon Caplan, 52, of Greenwich, Connecticut, co-chairman of New York-based Willkie Farr & Gallagher, an international law firm.

I-Hin "Joey" Chen, 64, of Newport Beach, California, operates a provider of warehousing and related services for the shipping industry.

Amy Colburn, 59, of Palo Alto, California.

Gregory Colburn, 61, of Palo Alto, California.

Robert Flaxman, 62, of Laguna Beach, California, founder and CEO of real estate development firm Crown Realty & Development.

Mossimo Giannulli, 55, of Los Angeles, fashion designer and founder of Mossimo fashion company (also married to Lori Loughlin).

Elizabeth Henriquez, 56, of Atherton, California.

Manuel Henriquez, 55, of Atherton, California, founder, chairman and CEO of Hercules Technology Growth Capital, a publicly traded specialty finance company.

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Lori Loughlin (left) and Felicity Huffman (right) were among the 50 people charged March 12 in what federal officials say is the nation's largest-ever college admissions bribery case prosecuted by the Justice Department. We're looking back at more celebrities who've been in hot water recently.  Frazer Harrison, Getty ImagesFullscreen"Empire" actor Jussie Smollett filed a police report on Jan. 29, alleging he was physically attacked by two men who also used homophobic and racial slurs. After speculation arose that Smollett had hired the men to stage an attack, the actor was indicted in March by a grand jury on 16 felony accounts accusing him of lying to the police.  Matt Marton, APFullscreenR&B star R. Kelly was arrested in February  and charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, with multiple alleged acts dating back to 1998. Court documents showed three of the victims were between the ages of 13 and 17.  "Thirty years of my career and you try to kill me?" he said on "CBS This Morning" in his first televised interview since the arrest. "This isn't about music; I'm trying to have a relationship with my kids and I can't do it." JAKE BARLOW, EPA-EFEFullscreenRapper Bow Wow was arrested in February after a fight. Leslie Holden and Bow Wow, whose real name is Shad Moss, both had "visible minor injuries" and it was unclear who the "primary aggressor " was, so they were both charged with battery, police said.  Bryan Steffy, Getty Images for ShowtimeFullscreenJoey Gaydos Jr. (right), best known for his 2003 role as Zack in "School of Rock," was arrested in March for stealing guitars and music equipment in Florida.  ANDREW SCHWARTZ, PARAMOUNT PICTURESFullscreenRapper YNW Melly, whose real name is Jamell Demons, was charged in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, with two counts of first degree murder on Feb. 13. Police allege he shot Christopher Thomas Jr. and Anthony Williams, two other Florida-based rappers.  Handout, Getty ImagesFullscreen"Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Peter Thomas was arrested in March for allegedly writing fraudulent checks. His attorney, Keith Doley, claimed the situation was "an unfortunate misunderstanding" and after delivering a $4,000 check, the DA's office dropped the charges.  Bennett Raglin, Getty Images for Ashley StewartFullscreenWhile filming a new Comedy Central show at a Board of Regents meeting in the Georgia Capitol Building on Feb. 12, comedian Jordan Klepper and members of his crew were arrested for tresspassing.   Kris Connor, Getty Images for Comedy CentralFullscreen26-year-old Atlanta-based rapper 21 Savage, born in the U.K. as She'yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, was taken into ICE custody over a visa that allegedly expired in 2006.  Amy Harris/Invision/APFullscreen"Real Housewives of Orange County" star Gina Kirschenheiter faced an arrest warrant late in February after she failed to appear in court for a DUI arrest hearing. The warrant has since been dropped and Kirschenheiter's arraignment is scheduled for April 16. Paul Archuleta, Getty ImagesFullscreenInterested in this topic? You may also want to view these photo galleries:Replay1 of 102 of 103 of 104 of 105 of 106 of 107 of 108 of 109 of 1010 of 10AutoplayShow ThumbnailsShow CaptionsLast SlideNext Slide

Douglas Hodge, 61, of Laguna Beach, California, former CEO of investment management company Pacific Investment Management Co.

Felicity Huffman, 56, of Los Angeles, actress.

Agustin Huneeus Jr., 53, of San Francisco, owner of wine vineyards in Napa Valley and listed as co-founder of the Quintessa vineyard estate.

Bruce Isackson, 61, of Hillsborough, California, president of a real estate development firm WP Investments.

Davina Isackson, 55, of Hillsborough, California.

Michelle Janavs, 48, of Newport Coast, California, former executive of a large food manufacturer.

Elisabeth Kimmel, 54, of Las Vegas, owner and president of First Busey, a media company.

Marjorie Klapper, 50, of Menlo Park, California, co-owner of jewelry business.

Lori Loughlin, 54, of Los Angeles, actress.

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Toby MacFarlane, 56, of Del Mar, California, former senior executive at a title insurance company.

William McGlashan Jr., 55, of Mill Valley, California, senior executive at a global equity firm TPG Capital.

Marci Palatella, 63, of Healdsburg, California, CEO of a liquor distribution company.

Peter Jan Sartorio, 53, of Menlo Park, California, president and co-founder of Elena's Food Specialties.

Stephen Semprevivo, 53, of Los Angeles, executive at Cydcor, a privately held provider of outsourced sales teams.

Devin Sloane, 53, of Los Angeles, founder and CEO of aquaTECTURE LLC, a provider of drinking and wastewater systems.

John Wilson, 59, of Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, founder and CEO of private equity and real estate development firm.

Homayoun Zadeh, 57, of Calabasas, California, an associate professor of dentistry. 

Robert Zangrillo, 52, of Miami, founder and CEO of private investment firm Dragon Global.

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