Top 5 Stocks For 2019

tags:DRD,DGICB,PDM,SAIA,BANF, Brown-FormanCorp. (BFA) (2.3%)(BFA/BFB–$48.86/$49.01–NYSE) is a leading global distilled spirits producer. Spirits is an advantaged category that enjoys high margins, low capital requirements, strong free cash flow generation, and good pricing power. The company’s global brands include Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whiskey, Finlandia vodka, Woodford Reserve bourbon, and el Jimador and Herradura tequilas. Jack Daniel’s is one of the world’s most valuable spirits brands, enjoying strong growth both in the U.S. and internationally as consumers increasingly choose to drink American whiskies. The company has also successfully expanded the brand into the fast growing flavored whiskey category. While Brown-Forman does face some near term headwinds from negative foreign currency exposure, emerging market sales have returned to growth, and the company is positioned to grow revenues and profits substantially over the next several years, and has significant balance sheet flexibility. While the company is family controlled, we believe that if it ever became available for sale it would be highly coveted by other large global spirits players.

Top 5 Stocks For 2019: DRDGOLD Limited(DRD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  News stories about DRDGOLD (NYSE:DRD) have trended somewhat positive this week, Accern reports. The research firm rates the sentiment of news coverage by analyzing more than twenty million news and blog sources. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. DRDGOLD earned a media sentiment score of 0.09 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media coverage about the basic materials company an impact score of 45.4205191301077 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the near term.

• [By Jim Robertson]

  Greenfield African countries like Burkina Faso are starting to look very attractive for mining as the South African mining sector continues to face numerous headwinds. This week, shares of major South African mining stock like DRDGOLD Limited (NYSE: DRD), Gold Fields Limited (NYSE: GFI), Harmony Gold Mining Co (NYSE: HMY) and Sibanye-Stillwater (NYSE: SBGL) fell off amid news about further company retrenchments and a warning from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) against doing more job cuts.

Top 5 Stocks For 2019: Donegal Group, Inc.(DGICB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Media headlines about Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICB) have been trending somewhat positive on Thursday, Accern reports. Accern ranks the sentiment of press coverage by analyzing more than twenty million news and blog sources. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Donegal Group earned a news impact score of 0.13 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news stories about the insurance provider an impact score of 47.2596177658095 out of 100, meaning that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the near term.

Top 5 Stocks For 2019: Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc.(PDM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Swiss National Bank lowered its position in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM) by 7.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 235,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 17,900 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.18% of Piedmont Office Realty Trust worth $4,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Piedmont Office Realty Trust (PDM)

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

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,748 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,194 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 0.10% of Piedmont Office Realty Trust worth $2,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Headlines about Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) have been trending somewhat positive this week, according to Accern Sentiment. The research firm identifies negative and positive media coverage by monitoring more than twenty million blog and news sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Piedmont Office Realty Trust earned a daily sentiment score of 0.16 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news coverage about the real estate investment trust an impact score of 46.9712597210548 out of 100, meaning that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the stock’s share price in the next few days.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: PDM) is an owner, manager, developer, and operator of high-quality, Class A office properties in select sub-markets located primarily within eight major U.S. office markets. Its geographically-diversified, almost $5 billion portfolio is currently comprised of approximately 17 million square feet. The Company is a fully-integrated, self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) with local management offices in each of its major markets and is investment-grade rated by Standard & Poor's (BBB) and Moody's (Baa2). For more information, see www.piedmontreit.com.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Piedmont Office Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: PDM) dropped about 3.5% Tuesday to post a new 52-week low of $17.35. Shares closed at $17.98 on Monday and the stock’s 52-week high is $22.74. Volume was about 60% above the daily average of around 1.3 million shares. The company had no specific news.

Top 5 Stocks For 2019: Saia Inc.(SAIA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) was downgraded by equities researchers at BidaskClub from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Saia Inc (NASDAQ:SAIA) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,872 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $441,000.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Saia (SAIA)

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

Top 5 Stocks For 2019: BancFirst Corporation(BANF)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Community Bank System (NYSE: CBU) and BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  BidaskClub upgraded shares of BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

  BANF has been the subject of several other reports. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of BancFirst from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, April 23rd. ValuEngine upgraded shares of BancFirst from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a hold rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of BancFirst in a research report on Friday, April 20th.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its stake in shares of BancFirst Co. (NASDAQ:BANF) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,222 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P owned about 0.26% of BancFirst worth $5,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on BancFirst (BANF)

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

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on BancFirst (BANF)

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

How the European economy is raising fresh global growth fears

The Bank of England and the European Commission both offered downbeat outlooks on Thursday, reaffirming growing fears about the health of Europe's economy.

Although, the BOE left interest rates unchanged, as expected, it cut its forecast for 2019 gross domestic product to 1.2% versus its previous estimate of 1.7%, with its current level representing the weakest growth since 2009 when a crisis sparked by complex mortgage bonds cast a pall over the global financial system.

"Naturally, the uncertainty over Brexit means considerable uncertainty over the U.K. macro outlook, and therefore monetary policy," said Bill Diviney, senior economist at ABN Amro.

Read: Brexit Brief: Labour throws Theresa May a lifeline (with a catch)

Both the BOE and Diviney still see a soft Brexit — where Britain leaves the European Union with a trade agreement in place — as the most likely scenario, but the U.K. economy seems destined to slow, notwithstanding any expectations of a trade resolution. The British pound GBPUSD, +0.0154% as well as the FTSE 100 Index UKX, -1.11%  didn't initially absorb the news in stride. While sterling recovered after falling to a session low, the U.K. stock benchmark booked its worst decline so far this year, down 1.1%.

And it doesn't look rosy on either side of the English Channel.

On Thursday, the European Commission cut its forecast for 2019 eurozone growth to 1.3% in 2019, compared with the 1.9% expected in November. Underlining its forecast was weaker-than-expected industrial and manufacturing data for the eurozone's biggest economy Germany.

"We think there are a number of important take-aways," said Diviney. "First of all, despite the large downgrade in economic growth forecasts, they probably do not go far enough, and further revisions are likely."

The euro EURUSD, +0.0000%  found itself in negative territory for most of Thursday, and the pan-European Stoxx 600 Index SXXP, -1.49%  notched a 1.5% decline, representing its worst one-day drop in six weeks, according to FactSet data.

Also read: The euro is 20 years old — here's a look back at its tumultuous history

The Commission was still expecting 0.3% quarter-on-quarter growth between January and March 2019, which isn't consistent with projections from a number of other business indicators, Diviney said.

ABN Amro only expects 1.1% eurozone GDP growth, or possibly less. The European Central Bank's outlook was still at 1.7%, clearly in need of a cut.

"This will also have knock-on effects to [the ECB's] view on inflation," Diviney said. "The European Commission did not publish forecasts to core inflation, but it suggested in the written text that core inflation would not embark on an upward trend until 2020."

These headwinds could lead the ECB to refrain from lifting interest rates—as has been anticipated for the second half of 2019 — and possibly introduce a fresh round of stimulus for eurozone banks, known as targeted longer-term refinancing operations, or TLTROs.

Finally, "the downgrade to Italy's growth forecast points to worse public finance outcomes, which will trigger renewed tensions with European authorities," said Diviney. According to the European Commission report, Italy's GDP will only grow 0.2% in 2019.

Italy is the eurozone's third-largest economy but the health of its finances have been a worry to investors for a while, particularly as Italian officials proposed a budget that breached EU budget guidelines late last year, proposing a 2.4% deficit. Rome and Brussels reached a budget agreement in December. ABN Amro expects Italy's budget deficit to be closer to 3% in 2019.

Market participants also look at Italy's high debt burden and a decision by the ECB to stop buying Italian bonds as part of its quantitative-easing program with caution, as this could lead to funding shortfalls if conditions worsen.

Taken together, sluggish growth in the U.K. and eurozone may remind European investors that nagging problems persists beyond trade deals and China's own slowdown.

That doesn't bode well for 2019's global growth story.

Providing critical information for the U.S. trading day. Subscribe to MarketWatch's free Need to Know newsletter. Sign up here.

Anneken Tappe

Anneken Tappe is a markets reporter for MarketWatch. She is based in New York.

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Comment

Buy Cyient; target of Rs 719: Kotak Securities

Kotak Securities' research report on Cyient

Cyient 3QFY19 revenue de grew by 2.3% QoQ in USD term to USD 165mn below our estimate of USD 168mn. Services de grew by 1% QoQ and DLM revenue de grew by ~10% sequentially in USD terms. EBITDA margin expanded 100bps QoQ to 14.7% aided by favorable business mix during the quarter.

Outlook

We have cut our estimates for FY20, driven by slow services growth which is also a higher margin business for the company. We value stock at 15x FY20E earnings. We recommend BUY with a target price of Rs.719.

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 Feb 5, 2019 03:57 pm

Top Oil Stocks To Watch For 2019

tags:HAL,ECA,RRC,WPZ,WLL,

BP (NYSE:BP) has been in the news quite a bit, especially with regard to its investment plans. News of the company's plans in Australia surfaced earlier this week as BP announced it would withdraw from its position in the Great Australian Bight. Over the past few weeks, we have seen some news about BP's other investments surface as well, particularly in India and Argentina. Could these investments be better for BP? If yes, then how? This article will focus on discussing these news items and their potential impact on the company and its stock now and in the future.

Closing the Books on the Great Australian Bight Project

After months of back and forth with regard to the Great Australian Bight project, BP finally went ahead and made a final statement about closing the books on this one. The Great Australian Bight was believed to emerge as a new hydrocarbon basin in the world, subject to success in the drilling and exploration phase. The Australian Bight project, worth $1.4 billion, was likened to the Deepwater Horizon project -- one that didn't meet a very good end courtesy of the oil spill incident. The comparisons drawn to the Deepwater Horizon project raised concerns, especially from environmental activists. That said, you can imagine the pat on the back that BP received from this lot when it announced it was going to scrap the project altogether. BP's managing director for exploration and production in Australia assured the press that the decision to call off the project had little to do with environmental group pressures, and more with the inability of the project to compete for capital investment in the portfolio they already have.

Top Oil Stocks To Watch For 2019: Halliburton Company(HAL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  Selected examples: (AAL) , (CL) , (DRI) , (HAL) , (LUV) , (MCD) , (MMM) , (SBUX) . Darden and 3M are holdings in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS.

  What Trade War?

  Notes Goldman: "Firms expressed optimism that trade conflict would be resolved. Commentary emphasized the support for a free trade environment. Company management did not expect the disputes would escalate and affect global economic growth."

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Aristotle Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,886,928 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 230,408 shares during the quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC owned 0.56% of Halliburton worth $229,392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

  Not only are these pipeline issues impacting producers, but they're also starting to pinch the profits of oil-field service companies. Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), for example, recently said that while "we thought there would be a downturn in activity [in the Permian] due to budget constraints and takeaway issues... it's more than we expected." Because of those issues and some others, Halliburton's third-quarter results will come in $0.08 to $0.10 per share below expectations. Meanwhile, its outlook for 2019 is dimming due to the slowdown. 

• [By Lisa Levin] Companies Reporting Before The Bell Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $1.71 per share on revenue of $4.60 billion. Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.42 per share on revenue of $5.75 billion. Lennox International Inc. (NYSE: LII) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $1.09 per share on revenue of $815.16 million. Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE: ALK) is projected to report quarterly loss at $0.12 per share on revenue of $1.82 billion. Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.35 per share on revenue of $822.15 million. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: LECO) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.08 per share on revenue of $729.83 million. Tennant Company (NYSE: TNC) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.15 per share on revenue of $251.93 million. FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.67 per share on revenue of $3.43 billion. Koninklijke Philips NV (ADR) (NYSE: PHG) is estimated to report earnings for its first quarter. Bank of Hawaii Corporation (NYSE: BOH) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $1.23 per share on revenue of $162.39 million. Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.79 per share on revenue of $1.72 billion.

   

Top Oil Stocks To Watch For 2019: Encana Corporation(ECA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Encana Corp. (NYSE: ECA) may be one of the most undervalued companies in the energy patch. The Canadian energy player was given upside of almost 60% in a call from Merrill Lynch that noted the innovative shale leader has an infrastructure advantage and rising free cash flow.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Electra (CURRENCY:ECA) traded 8% higher against the U.S. dollar during the 1-day period ending at 22:00 PM ET on June 20th. In the last week, Electra has traded 12.6% higher against the U.S. dollar. Electra has a market capitalization of $34.87 million and $128,874.00 worth of Electra was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. One Electra coin can now be purchased for $0.0014 or 0.00000020 BTC on exchanges including Fatbtc, Novaexchange, CoinFalcon and CryptoBridge.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Sentinel Trust Co. LBA lessened its stake in shares of Encana Corp (NYSE:ECA) (TSE:ECA) by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 328,255 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 195,760 shares during the quarter. Encana accounts for about 1.0% of Sentinel Trust Co. LBA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Sentinel Trust Co. LBA’s holdings in Encana were worth $4,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  Today, however, many drillers are setting a high bar for new wells. EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) has been one of the leaders in disrupting the former way of thinking by establishing a high return hurdle rate for new wells of 30% after-tax at $40 oil. Others followed with similar return-focused approaches, including Encana (NYSE:ECA), which needs locations to achieve a 35% after-tax return at $50 oil to meet its premium hurdle rate. 

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Electra (CURRENCY:ECA) traded down 5.1% against the U.S. dollar during the 24-hour period ending at 15:00 PM E.T. on June 12th. Over the last seven days, Electra has traded down 25.7% against the U.S. dollar. Electra has a market cap of $34.53 million and approximately $134,011.00 worth of Electra was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. One Electra coin can currently be bought for $0.0013 or 0.00000020 BTC on exchanges including CryptoBridge, Fatbtc, CoinFalcon and Coinhouse.

Top Oil Stocks To Watch For 2019: 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 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 Tyler Crowe]

  Companies in this region have had more measured growth plans because of the lack of pipelines. As Miller mentioned, though, improved efficiency has resulted in most companies outpacing their production growth plans. The lack of takeaway capacity has led to much lower prices for in-basin production. Range Resources (NYSE:RRC), one of the larger producers in the region, has noted that its price realizations were 10% below benchmark prices because of a lack of takeaway capacity. 

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Media headlines about Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) have been trending somewhat positive on Saturday, Accern Sentiment Analysis reports. The research group identifies positive and negative press coverage by monitoring more than twenty million news and blog 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. Range Resources earned a daily sentiment score of 0.07 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave media headlines about the oil and gas exploration company an impact score of 46.3371462950661 out of 100, indicating that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the near future.

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

  So we asked three of our energy contributors to each highlight a stock they see in the oil and gas industry that would make a great buy today. Here's why they picked Diamond Offshore Drilling (NYSE:DO), Range Resources (NYSE:RRC), and Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN). 

Top Oil Stocks To Watch For 2019: Williams Partners L.P.(WPZ)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Carver Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: CARV) shares jumped 92.1 percent to $7.01. iPic Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: IPIC) gained 21.6 percent to $9.73. Baozun Inc. (NASDAQ: BZUN) shares jumped 18.7 percent to $53.49 after reporting Q1 results. World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE) shares jumped 15.9 percent to $50.50. The company's "Smackdown Live" may not be renewed at NBCUniversal network and the company's "Monday Night Raw" program could be worth three times its current value elsewhere, according to a report for The Hollywood Reporter. Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPPI) gained 14.7 percent to $ 20.46 after the company issued further details on Phase 3 ADVANCE study of ROLONTIS. Motus GI Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOTS) climbed 13.4 percent to $5.5009. Endocyte, Inc. (NASDAQ: ECYT) rose 13.3 percent to $ 14.23 after the company announced presentation of Phase 2 data from prostate cancer trial of 177Lu-PSMA-617 at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting. Diana Containerships Inc. (NASDAQ: DCIX) gained 12.9 percent to $1.7499 after the company announced the sale of Post-Panamax Container Vessel for $21 million. Essendant Inc. (NASDAQ: ESND) gained 12.7 percent to $12.43. Essendant confirmed receipt of unsolicited proposal from Staples of $11.50 per share in cash. Blink Charging Co (NASDAQ: BLNK) rose 11.8 percent to $8.04 after surging 31.68 percent on Wednesday. OptimumBank Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPHC) gained 11.5 percent to $5.15. Flotek Industries, Inc. (NYSE: FTK) shares climbed 10.7 percent to $3.74. Farmer Bros. Co. (NASDAQ: FARM) rose 7.9 percent to $25.95 after climbing 7.90 percent on Wednesday. Minerva Neurosciences Inc (NASDAQ: NERV) rose 6.5 percent to $6.93 after Journal of Clinical Psychiatry published positive results of cognitive performance from Phase 2B trial of roluperidone in schizophrenia patients. Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE: WPZ) rose 5.6 percent to $40
• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  Simpler organizational structures could yield significant benefits for individual investors. In addition to being easier to follow and understand, it will make it easier than ever to own some of the most important pieces of energy infrastructure in the United States. The proposed merger between Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) and Williams Partners LP (NYSE:WPZ) is a great example, as it owns some of the best natural gas infrastructure in the United States. Here's why investors should be bullish on the multi-billion dollar merger.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Williams Partners (NYSE: WPZ) and Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) are both large-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and valuation.

Top Oil Stocks To Watch For 2019: Whiting Petroleum Corporation(WLL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.GURUFOCUS.COM]

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

  These are the top 5 holdings of DFT Energy LPWhiting Petroleum Corp (WLL) - 400,000 shares, 18.19% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 2.56%Hess Corp (HES) - 170,000 shares, 11.57% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 30.77%Noble Energy Inc (NBL) - 200,000 shares, 8.15% of the total portfolio. Southwestern Energy Co (SWN) - 1,360,000 shares, 7.92% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 4.62%Anadarko Petroleum Corp (APC)
• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Whiting Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: WLL) was reiterated as Overweight and the target price was raised to $56 from $45 (versus a $50.78 close) at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Whiting Petroleum (WLL)

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

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Here are some of the media stories that may have impacted Accern Sentiment Analysis’s rankings:

  Get Whiting Petroleum alerts: Whiting Petroleum Corp (WLL) Expected to Post Earnings of $0.62 Per Share (americanbankingnews.com) Oil Edges Higher On Iran Fears – OIR 220818 (proshareng.com) Whiting Petroleum (WLL) Presents At EnerCom’s 23rd Annual Oil & Gas Conference – Slideshow (seekingalpha.com) Whiting Petroleum (NYSE: WLL) – Day One Breakout Notes (oilandgas360.com)

  Several analysts have issued reports on WLL shares. Bank of America raised shares of Whiting Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Whiting Petroleum from $50.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 29th. Imperial Capital increased their price objective on shares of Whiting Petroleum from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Piper Jaffray Companies reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Whiting Petroleum in a research report on Friday, July 20th. Finally, SunTrust Banks increased their price objective on shares of Whiting Petroleum to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 5th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Whiting Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.54.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Shares of Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the thirty-two ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation, fifteen have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.58.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Friday was a down day on Wall Street, but losses were generally small, and the market closed well above its lowest levels of the session. Initially, investors seemed concerned about further trade tensions between the U.S. and China, but upon further reflection, they appeared to draw comfort from considerable fundamental strength from key sectors of the industrial economy. Even with the overall market recovering from earlier weakness, some stocks still posted substantial declines. Whiting Petroleum (NYSE:WLL), Global Blood Therapeutics (NASDAQ:GBT), and First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) were among the worst performers on the day. Here's why they did so poorly.

Peek Under The Hood: The iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF Has 12% Upside

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image getty size-large wp-image-1125285757&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/1125285757/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;640&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Getty

Looking at the underlying holdings of the ETFs in our coverage universe at &l;a href=&q;https://www.etfchannel.com/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;ETF Channel&l;/a&g;, we have compared the trading price of each holding against the average analyst 12-month forward target price, and computed the weighted average implied analyst target price for the ETF itself.&a;nbsp; For the iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF, we found that the implied analyst target price for the ETF based upon its underlying holdings is $39.50 per unit.

With DGRO trading at a recent price near $35.25 per unit, that means that analysts see 12.04% upside for this ETF looking through to the average analyst targets of the underlying holdings. Three of DGRO&s;s underlying holdings with notable upside to their analyst target prices are Core Mark Holding, Advanced Drainage Systems and Simpson Manufacturing. Although CORE has traded at a recent price of $27.88/share, the average analyst target is 15.97% higher at $32.33/share. Similarly, WMS has 14.71% upside from the recent share price of $25.50 if the average analyst target price of $29.25/share is reached, and analysts on average are expecting SSD to reach a target price of $69.00/share, which is 12.41% above the recent price of $61.38.

Below is a summary table of the current analyst target prices discussed above:

&l;/p&g;&l;div class=&q;table-wrapper&q;&g;&l;table class=&q;hctblstyle&q; border=&q;0&q; cellspacing=&q;0&q; cellpadding=&q;0&q;&g;&l;tbody&g;&l;tr&g;&l;th&g;Name&l;/th&g; &l;th align=&q;center&q;&g;Symbol&l;/th&g; &l;th align=&q;right&q;&g;Recent Price&l;/th&g; &l;th align=&q;right&q;&g;Avg. Analyst 12-Mo. Target&l;/th&g; &l;th align=&q;right&q;&g;% Upside to Target&l;/th&g; &l;/tr&g;&l;tr&g;&l;td&g;&l;b&g;iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF&l;/b&g;&l;/td&g; &l;td align=&q;center&q;&g;&l;b&g;DGRO&l;/b&g;&l;/td&g; &l;td align=&q;right&q;&g;&l;b&g;$35.25&l;/b&g;&l;/td&g; &l;td align=&q;right&q;&g;&l;b&g;$39.50&l;/b&g;&l;/td&g; &l;td align=&q;right&q;&g;&l;b&g;12.04%&l;/b&g;&l;/td&g; &l;/tr&g;&l;tr&g;&l;td&g;Core Mark Holding Co Inc&l;/td&g; &l;td align=&q;center&q;&g;CORE&l;/td&g; &l;td align=&q;right&q;&g;$27.88&l;/td&g; &l;td align=&q;right&q;&g;$32.33&l;/td&g; &l;td align=&q;right&q;&g;15.97%&l;/td&g; &l;/tr&g;&l;tr&g;&l;td&g;Advanced Drainage Systems Inc&l;/td&g; &l;td align=&q;center&q;&g;WMS&l;/td&g; &l;td align=&q;right&q;&g;$25.50&l;/td&g; &l;td align=&q;right&q;&g;$29.25&l;/td&g; &l;td align=&q;right&q;&g;14.71%&l;/td&g; &l;/tr&g;&l;tr&g;&l;td&g;Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc.&l;/td&g; &l;td align=&q;center&q;&g;SSD&l;/td&g; &l;td align=&q;right&q;&g;$61.38&l;/td&g; &l;td align=&q;right&q;&g;$69.00&l;/td&g; &l;td align=&q;right&q;&g;12.41%&l;/td&g; &l;/tr&g;&l;/tbody&g;&l;/table&g;&l;/div&g;

Are analysts justified in these targets, or overly optimistic about where these stocks will be trading 12 months from now? Do the analysts have a valid justification for their targets, or are they behind the curve on recent company and industry developments? A high price target relative to a stock&s;s trading price can reflect optimism about the future, but can also be a precursor to target price downgrades if the targets were a relic of the past. These are questions that require further investor research.

&l;a href=&q;http://www.etfchannel.com/slideshows/ten-etfs-with-most-upside/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;Click here to find out 10 ETFs With Most Upside To Analyst Targets &a;raquo;&l;/a&g;