Indraprastha Gas Q1 PAT seen up 10.2% YoY to Rs. 178 cr: KR Choksey

KR Choksey has come out with its first quarter (April-June�� 18) earnings estimates for the Oil & Gas sector. The brokerage house expects Indraprastha Gas to report net profit at Rs. 178 crore up 10.2% year-on-year (up 12.2% quarter-on-quarter).

Net Sales are expected to increase by 25.9 percent Y-o-Y (up 7.1 percent Q-o-Q) to Rs. 1,320.6 crore, according to KR Choksey.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) are likely to rise by 9.9 percent Y-o-Y (up 10.7 percent Q-o-Q) to Rs. 304.8 crore.

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

Read More First Published on Jul 22, 2018 07:32 pm

Waste Management, Inc. (WM) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,903,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gables Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter worth $102,000. Bruderman Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter worth $127,000. Rainier Group Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter worth $135,000. Trust Department MB Financial Bank N A purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth $138,000. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 8,276.6% during the first quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 152,621 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 150,799 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.99% of the company’s stock.

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Several research firms have issued reports on WM. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Waste Management from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $90.89.

Waste Management stock opened at $82.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.65 billion, a PE ratio of 25.68, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.69. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.48 and a fifty-two week high of $89.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 20th. The business services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.57 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 14.06% and a return on equity of 26.73%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 8th were issued a $0.465 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 7th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 57.76%.

In related news, Director Patrick W. Gross sold 406 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.22, for a total value of $33,787.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,009,679.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Barry H. Caldwell sold 10,844 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.00, for a total value of $910,896.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,641,548. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides waste management environmental services to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in North America. It provides collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns, develops, and operates landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States, as well as owns and operates transfer stations.

See Also: What does RSI mean?

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Air Lease Corp (AL) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Air Lease Corp (NYSE:AL) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $53.81.

AL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Air Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Air Lease from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 12th. Finally, ValuEngine cut shares of Air Lease from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 23rd.

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Shares of Air Lease traded up $0.84, reaching $43.85, during mid-day trading on Friday, according to MarketBeat.com. 6,003 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 588,971. Air Lease has a 52 week low of $38.46 and a 52 week high of $50.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.74.

Air Lease (NYSE:AL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 10th. The transportation company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.05. Air Lease had a net margin of 50.86% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The company had revenue of $381.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $379.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. analysts forecast that Air Lease will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 5th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 4th. Air Lease’s payout ratio is presently 10.96%.

In other Air Lease news, EVP John D. Poerschke sold 12,144 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.98, for a total value of $546,237.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,956,630. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marc H. Baer sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.52, for a total transaction of $227,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 132,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,049,198.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 44,144 shares of company stock worth $1,990,187. 9.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Air Lease by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,555,116 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $364,619,000 after purchasing an additional 239,216 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Air Lease by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,024,171 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $171,509,000 after purchasing an additional 54,450 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Air Lease by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,127,392 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $48,050,000 after purchasing an additional 11,507 shares in the last quarter. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Lease by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LLC now owns 868,182 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,002,000 after purchasing an additional 24,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its stake in shares of Air Lease by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 588,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,099,000 after purchasing an additional 25,720 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.98% of the company’s stock.

Air Lease Company Profile

Air Lease Corporation, an aircraft leasing company, engages in the purchase and leasing of commercial jet transport aircraft to airlines worldwide. The company also sells aircraft from its operating lease portfolio to third parties, including other leasing companies, financial services companies, and airlines.

Featured Story: Book Value Of Equity Per Share �� BVPS Explained

Twitter shares up 50% since late April means most upside priced in, analyst says in downgrade

Macquarie Research lowered its rating on shares of Twitter to "neutral" from "buy" on Wednesday, saying the best is behind the stock after moving nearly 50 percent move higher since the firm upgraded the stock in April.

"After [the] recent rise in the stock, valuation will likely limit upside from current levels," the firm said in a note to investors.

Twitter stock fell nearly 1 percent in premarket trading Wednesday. The company's shares are up 86 percent this year at Tuesday's close of $44.71 per share.

"While product improvements are a positive for current users, we don't see it having dramatic impacts on Twitter's ability to attract new users," Macquarie Research said.

Macquarie said its Twitter rating raise in April was for five reasons: "negative headlines created a buying opportunity," the company's business had both strong momentum and an attractive valuation, while Twitter was also improving both its profitability and its product.

"While we expect business fundamentals to continue to improve ... the valuation, after the recent rise in the stock, will likely limit upside from current levels," Macquarie said.

The firm also raised its price target on Twitter shares to $42 from $36.

Nuclear Energy Just Got A Big Vote Of Confidence

A consortium of countries spearheaded by the United States has just formed an international pact to explore new ways to promote the responsible growth of nuclear energy. According to Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette, the initiative seeks to "highlight the value of nuclear energy as a clean, reliable energy source."�

This new alliance was announced at a clean energy forum last week in Denmark. Other members of the pact include Argentina, Canada, Japan, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

My View: After the devastating destruction of Japan's Fukushima power plant in 2011, critics started writing the obituary for nuclear energy. In the years that followed, the industry was indeed battered and bruised. Amid mounting opposition, some nuclear plants went into early retirement, while new construction projects around the globe were postponed or scrapped.�

A number of countries decided to gradually phase out nuclear energy altogether. Germany, for example, has reduced its dependency from 25% of the power grid (17 reactors) in 2011 to just 12% (seven reactors) today. Just look at a long-term chart of uranium prices, and it's easy to see the damage inflicted by changing government policies.�

Yet, the industry is still standing. And if anything, the wounds are mending, not getting worse. Policy often gives way to pragmatism. Poland, for instance, wants to cut its reliance on Russian and oil and gas, and it has found nuclear power the best and most economical way to reach that goal.�

In the aftermath of Fukushima, France (a big nuclear proponent) decided to trim its nuclear power share from 75% to 50% by 2025. But after realizing there wasn't enough fossil fuels or renewable plants to make up the difference, the plan was quickly abandoned.�

More recently, Japanese safety regulators have just granted unanimous approval for Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) to restart two reactors at the massive Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant. This complex is the world's largest nuclear facility, with eight reactors that generate 8.2 million kilowatts of electricity -- enough to power 16 million homes.

It's highly encouraging to see this facility (which has been mothballed since 2011) re-open and start meeting Japan's growing energy needs.�

And that brings us to the recent announcement. The new initiative not only endorses existing reactors but also ongoing investment to spur new technologies. That includes the development of hybrid nuclear-renewable systems, which utilize reliable nuclear sources to pick up the slack from solar or wind farms, whose output can be variable.

Nothing will change overnight -- nuclear energy projects require a long lead-time from drawing board to completion. Still, the market finds this vote of confidence from big energy consumers like the United States and Japan reassuring. From a long-term investment perspective, this is unmistakably bullish.�

Action To Take: While controversial, nuclear energy is still a clean and efficient source of electricity that can't easily be replaced. This initiative is yet another sign that the sleeping industry is finally beginning to re-awaken.�

There are company-specific wildcards for uranium giant Cameco (NYSE: CCJ), including a tax dispute with Canada's Internal Revenue Agency and the upcoming Tepco breach-of-contract arbitration hearing.�

But there are 56 new nuclear power reactors currently under development around the globe (a third of them in China) with an appetite for uranium fuel. And Cameco remains a best-in-class option for investors seeking exposure. Once the issues above are resolved, it may be worth revisiting the stock.

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PIMCO Income Opportunity Fund (PKO) to Issue Monthly Dividend of $0.19 on August 1st

PIMCO Income Opportunity Fund (NYSE:PKO) declared a monthly dividend on Monday, July 2nd, NASDAQ reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 13th will be given a dividend of 0.19 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, August 1st. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.23%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 12th.

PIMCO Income Opportunity Fund has decreased its dividend by an average of 5.4% annually over the last three years.

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PIMCO Income Opportunity Fund opened at $27.72 on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. PIMCO Income Opportunity Fund has a 1-year low of $24.50 and a 1-year high of $27.98.

About PIMCO Income Opportunity Fund

PIMCO Income Opportunity Fund (the Fund) is a diversified closed-end management investment company. The Fund’s investment objective is to seek current income as a primary focus and also capital appreciation. The Fund invests a substantial portion of assets in a variety of mortgage-related securities and may hold common stocks, including those received from conversion of other portfolio securities.

The 5 Best Restaurant Stocks of 2018 (So Far)

This year hasn't been great for the broader restaurant industry. Leading companies, including Starbucks�and McDonald's, have been struggling with negative customer traffic trends as more diners opt to stay closer to home, or to have their food delivered.

A few restaurant chains have managed to buck that downtrend, though, and their business success has contributed to market-beating stock-price gains for shareholders.

Below, we'll take a closer look at a few of these outperforming chains.

Image source: Getty Images.

Domino's Pizza: Up 48%

Investors had been worried that Domino's�(NYSE:DPZ) impressive growth streak was coming to an end, but the pizza chain put those fears to rest in its fiscal first-quarter earnings report. That announcement revealed that sales gains sped up to an 8% pace from 4% in the prior quarter thanks to market share gains in both the U.S. and international segments. Domino's franchised business model, meanwhile, continued to show off its strength as operating margin jumped to 38% of sales from 31%. The company is hoping to continue expanding sales at existing locations at a healthy clip, but its long-term growth plans�center on building out its store base to an even deeper penetration in the U.S. and in other countries around the world. ��

Fiesta Restaurant Group: Up 53%

Fiesta Restaurant Group�(NASDAQ:FRGI), home of the Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana fast-casual chains, is back in Wall Street's good graces after a tough 2017 that was marked by falling sales at existing locations and an overall net loss. Its rebound plan, which includes cost cuts, menu improvements, and increased marketing investments, appears to be working. Sales returned to modest growth in the Pollo Tropical segment and are looking better at Taco Cabana. Those gains represent just the first small step in bringing the business back toward the nearly 10% operating margin shareholders saw in 2015, up from roughly 3% today.�

Chipotle Mexican Grill: Up 55%

Former highflier Chipotle�(NYSE:CMG) has had an impressive rally this year. Investors are happy to see both sales and profits headed in the right direction after a brutal multiyear stretch of declines that was brought on by food safety issues in 2015. In the fiscal first quarter, revenue rose 2.2% as higher menu prices offset slight traffic declines. Profit margin jumped to 20% of sales from 18% a year ago. Investors betting on the stock today have to hope that new CEO Brian Niccol can extend those modestly positive results through a risky turnaround plan that includes new menu items and a revamped loyalty program.

BJ's Restaurants: Up 69%

California-based brewhouse chain BJ's Restaurants�(NASDAQ:BJRI) has had a good year so far. Comparable-store sales rose 4.2% in the first quarter, and while most of those gains came from higher menu prices, the restaurant was also aided by modestly higher customer traffic. BJ's has seen many of its newest menu initiatives, including slow-roast prime rib, hit a chord with in-store diners even as its delivery sales spike. CEO Greg Trojan and his team are hoping to press both of those advantages over the coming quarters, but investors are even more optimistic about the company's balanced approach to store launches. It plans to open six restaurants this fiscal year, down from 10 in 2017, and surpass 200 locations across just over 26 U.S. states.

Noodles & Co.: Up 131%

It might seem odd that the industry's biggest winner so far this year isn't growing. In fact, Noodles & Co. (NASDAQ:NDLS) recently posted a quarterly net loss while revenue decreased 5%. But that result still shot past investors' expectations by showing surprising progress in the casual-dining chain's recovery efforts. Noodles & Co. has lots of work ahead of it before it can snap out of its four-year stretch of annual net losses. Yet, with shares having fallen by over 80% since 2013, even modestly good news proved to be enough to spark at least a short-term rally in the stock.

Picking favorites

The above list offers investment opportunities that include powerful, established franchises in addition to struggling rebound candidates. If you prefer the first category, you might want to take a closer look at industry leader Domino's. As for those riskier turnaround options, Chipotle offers an attractive mix of brand power and modest growth expectations that could lay the foundation for solid long-term returns from here.