Heritage Commerce (HTBK) Now Covered by Raymond James

Raymond James started coverage on shares of Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $19.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Brean Capital reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Heritage Commerce in a research report on Monday, April 16th. BidaskClub lowered shares of Heritage Commerce from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, May 14th. ValuEngine lowered shares of Heritage Commerce from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 18th. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Heritage Commerce from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, May 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Heritage Commerce from $17.50 to $19.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $18.63.

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Heritage Commerce traded up $0.02, reaching $16.96, during trading on Wednesday, according to MarketBeat Ratings. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 164,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,634. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Heritage Commerce has a 1 year low of $12.76 and a 1 year high of $18.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $680.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.62.

Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $28.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.45 million. Heritage Commerce had a net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 12.22%. equities analysts anticipate that Heritage Commerce will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In related news, Director Jack W. Conner sold 23,000 shares of Heritage Commerce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.98, for a total value of $390,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 61,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,049,567.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Eugene Benito sold 6,000 shares of Heritage Commerce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total transaction of $102,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 41,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $707,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,500 shares of company stock worth $552,110. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. John W. Rosenthal Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Heritage Commerce by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. John W. Rosenthal Capital Management Inc. now owns 229,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,789,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Heritage Commerce by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 63,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Heritage Commerce by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 386,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,374,000 after purchasing an additional 4,785 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in Heritage Commerce by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 98,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,510,000 after purchasing an additional 6,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Heritage Commerce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $165,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.11% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Commerce Company Profile

Heritage Commerce Corp operates as the bank holding company for Heritage Bank of Commerce that provides various commercial and personal banking services to residents and the business/professional community in California. It offers a range of deposit products for business banking and retail markets, including interest and non-interest bearing demand, savings accounts, certificate of deposit, money market accounts, and time deposits.

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How to Keep 2nd-Place Candidates Interested in Your Company

Every once in a lucky while, you'll reach the end of the interview process with two candidates who would both make a great addition to your company. While you might have a hard time deciding between them, ultimately something will tip the scales in one candidate's favor -- perhaps one has more experience under their belt, or possesses hard-to-find skills. It can be tough to let that other candidate know that you've chosen someone else for the job -- but the good news is, you don't need to let them go entirely.

It's always beneficial to nurture relationships with second-place candidates, says Gene Brady, Director at SCN �� Search Consulting Network. "'Second-place' candidates have many times been the one to receive the offer, for a wide variety of reasons -- the first-place candidate withdraws [...] or the first-place candidate doesn't pass the drug or background check. Also, the next assignment that comes in may fit the second-place candidate so nicely they become the first-place candidate for the role!

Image source: Getty Images.

But how exactly can you keep a second-place candidate interested if you don't have an opportunity for them at the moment? Here are a few of the top tips.

Let them down gently

An interested candidate never wants to hear that they didn't get the job, but if you message it correctly, you can leave them feeling good about themselves and open to future opportunities. It shouldn't feel artificially cheery or phony, though -- make sure you're authentic in your response.

"If we think the person is a good fit, we make that known," says Marc Prosser, co-founder of FitSmallBusiness.com. "Often, we, or our recruiter, will have a phone conversation with them that goes like this: 'We had lots of great candidates who applied for the position. We think you would be a great addition to our company, however, [we] have chosen to offer the position to another candidate. Would you be open to hearing from us in the future?'"

You may even want to share specific feedback on why they weren't selected for the role, says Paul Freed, co-founder of Herd Freed Hartz.

"Explain the decision to go with another candidate[...] Offer any interview feedback if needed, but also say it was a tough decision on the team and [we] would love to hire both but just don't have the budget right now and that you'd [like] to stay close for future opportunities," Freed says.

If you know a timeline of when that budget might come in, or when a role fitting their experience and skills may open, make sure to share that with them.

Establish ongoing communication

HR experts agree that the best way to keep a strong candidate interested in your company is to proactively engage with them.

"Emails where you check in are great for nurturing candidates. You can also call or text, asking how everything is going -- maybe asking something about what you discussed during interviews (pursuit of a degree, certification, or other topics)," says hiring and onboarding consultant Jen Teague. "Everyone wants to be memorable for the right reasons, and these modes of contact are a great way to do that. You don't have to become a buddy, just a reference or point of contact for the company. That way, you are fresh in the candidate's mind and he or she will be more likely to apply again the future."

Make sure that this outreach isn't just a one-time thing, though, cautions HR consultant and author Joshua M. Evans.

"Follow up with them every few weeks. This is often overlooked because it is cumbersome, but following up with a potential candidate every few weeks can not only keep [them] interested, it can also build their appreciation for your organization," Evans says.

Other creative ideas for staying in touch with a candidate include sending a monthly update, inviting them to a company open house or even sending them a small gift, Freed says. If you have the budget for it, you may even want to "consider adding this person for an advisory role or consultant for a special project."

And of course, keep candidates in the loop regarding new opportunities.

Message, "email or call the candidates periodically when new jobs are available, and encourage them to apply for jobs on a short-list if they meet qualifications. When there's news about an upcoming hiring phase, notify them and recommend applying if they are interested," says Tes Akhtar, recruiting and HR development consultant for Potent Pages.

Be honest on timing

It's understandable to want to keep a candidate on deck, but if you're interacting with them for months on end and have no idea when a relevant position will open, you need to let them know.

"One important caveat is to NOT lead [candidates] on. Do not give them false hope as your backup plan," Evans says. "Remember that if they were a good fit for your organization then they would probably be a good fit for someone else's. Don't hold them back from progressing their careers because you want them waiting in the wings."

For example, "if a position isn't going to be open for three months, we tell the person up front and let them know we will periodically check in with them," Freed says.

That being said, as long as you're open about what the candidate can expect, there's nothing wrong with engaging them as long as they're still interested.

"There are always future opportunities," Freed adds. "We value relationships, and look to maintain the good ones. Many times we've presented people with multiple opportunities through the years, and then bam -- one lines up well for them, they receive an offer, and it was our sustained relationship that kept the door wide open."

So the next time you have to choose between two stellar candidates, don't lament having to let one of them go -- see it as a valuable opportunity to grow your talent pool.

This article originally appeared on Glassdoor.com.

Zacks: Analysts Anticipate FMC Corp (FMC) Will Announce Quarterly Sales of $1.19 Billion

Brokerages forecast that FMC Corp (NYSE:FMC) will report $1.19 billion in sales for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks reports. Three analysts have provided estimates for FMC’s earnings, with the highest sales estimate coming in at $1.25 billion and the lowest estimate coming in at $1.09 billion. FMC reported sales of $656.80 million during the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year-over-year growth rate of 81.2%. The firm is scheduled to issue its next quarterly earnings report after the market closes on Wednesday, August 1st.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that FMC will report full year sales of $4.63 billion for the current fiscal year, with estimates ranging from $4.58 billion to $4.66 billion. For the next fiscal year, analysts anticipate that the company will post sales of $4.92 billion per share, with estimates ranging from $4.80 billion to $5.02 billion. Zacks Investment Research’s sales averages are a mean average based on a survey of analysts that cover FMC.

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FMC (NYSE:FMC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. FMC had a net margin of 26.54% and a return on equity of 22.69%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 103.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS.

FMC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Credit Suisse Group lifted their target price on shares of FMC from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 4th. Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of FMC from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the company from $98.70 to $98.00 in a report on Monday, May 14th. Bank of America set a $100.00 target price on shares of FMC and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 4th. Nomura lifted their target price on shares of FMC from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 11th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research raised shares of FMC from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, July 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. FMC presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $100.33.

Shares of FMC stock traded up $1.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $87.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,693,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,407,337. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.89, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.63. FMC has a fifty-two week low of $72.73 and a fifty-two week high of $98.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 29th will be given a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 28th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. FMC’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.35%.

In related news, CEO Pierre R. Brondeau sold 72,992 shares of FMC stock in a transaction on Monday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $6,364,172.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 407,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,528,791.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Paul W. Graves sold 3,615 shares of FMC stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.46, for a total transaction of $319,782.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 89,612 shares in the company, valued at $7,927,077.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of FMC by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 61,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,825,000 after purchasing an additional 9,616 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of FMC by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Inc. now owns 4,770 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FMC during the 4th quarter worth $3,932,000. AMP Capital Investors Ltd boosted its position in shares of FMC by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. AMP Capital Investors Ltd now owns 46,297 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FMC during the 4th quarter worth $313,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

FMC Company Profile

FMC Corporation, a diversified chemical company, provides solutions, applications, and products for the agricultural, consumer, and industrial markets worldwide. The company operates in two segments, FMC Agricultural Solutions and FMC Lithium. The FMC Agricultural Solutions segment develops, manufactures, markets, and sells crop protection chemicals, including insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides that are used in agriculture to enhance crop yield and quality by controlling a range of insects, weeds, and diseases, as well as in non-agricultural markets for pest control.

Featured Article: Book Value Per Share �� BVPS

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Top 10 High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now

tags:XPLR,BWEN,CZR,DGI,ABM,KRNY,IID,LTEA,KTEC,ADTN,

Readers sometimes ask where I find ideas for new stock recommendations.

The answer is everywhere. I read a lot of business news, both in hard copy and on-line. I watch some financial shows on TV. I talk to people. I do a lot of research. And sometimes the ideas flow from a casual dinner table conversation.

That happened last week. Through a mutual friend, I had the opportunity to sit down with Vitaliy Katsenelson, Chief Investment Officer of Investment Management Associates of Denver and the author of The Little Book of Sideways Markets (John Wiley and Sons, 2011).

Mr. Katsenelson is a value investor and, as such, he is finding it increasingly difficult to uncover reasonably priced stocks in this overheated market. Value managers traditionally look to downtrodden sectors of the market to find sensibly priced securities, but there aren't many of those around right now.

Top 10 High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Xplore Technologies Corp(XPLR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Xplore Technologies (NASDAQ: XPLR) and Echelon (NASDAQ:ELON) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership and valuation.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  A10 Networks (NYSE: ATEN) and Xplore Technologies (NASDAQ:XPLR) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, dividends and valuation.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Xplore Technologies (NASDAQ: XPLR) is one of 25 publicly-traded companies in the “Computer & office equipment” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Xplore Technologies to related businesses based on the strength of its dividends, profitability, earnings, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Xplore Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: XPLR) shares spiked on Thursday after it was announced that the company would be acquired by Zebra Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: ZBRA). The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018.

Top 10 High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Broadwind Energy Inc.(BWEN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Matthews International (NASDAQ: MATW) and Broadwind Energy (NASDAQ:BWEN) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, earnings and dividends.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Matthews International (NASDAQ: MATW) and Broadwind Energy (NASDAQ:BWEN) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Top 10 High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Caesars Entertainment Corporation(CZR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Baldwin]

  The press began hawking any public company that could have any ties to the newly legalized pastime. CNBC and other mainstream sites have been pumping the same 20 different companies from gaming-software firm Scientific Games Corp. (Nasdaq: SGMS) to the recently bankrupt Caesars Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: CZR).

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Casinos and gaming suppliers are tripping over themselves to show how excited they are about the Supreme Court overturning a law that banned sports betting in every state in the U.S. except Nevada. Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR), MGM Resorts (NYSE:MGM), and Scientific Games (NASDAQ:SGMS) all released statements in support of the potential of expanded sports betting with Scientific Games saying it could be the "greatest wave of gaming expansion in the United States in the past 20 years."�

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Others
  Rounding out the top 10 were Caesars Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ: CZR), Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT), Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: SGYP), and Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU). The standout stock here was Micron, with a drop of nearly 8% in the number of its shares short. Short interest moves in the others were modest.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Monday was a mixed day on Wall Street, as gains for major benchmarks contrasted with a decline in indexes tracking smaller companies. Many market participants focused on the White House's support of Chinese mobile device maker ZTE, which lifted several of the biggest stocks of Chinese technology giants that trade on U.S. exchanges. In general, investors seem to be pleased with the health of the global economy, and absent reasons to the contrary, the path of least resistance appears to be a bounce from the recent correction. Some individual companies received especially good news that lifted shares today. Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR), NXP Semiconductor (NASDAQ:NXPI), and Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC) were among the best performers on the day. Here's why they did so well.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Caesars Entertainment Co. Common Stock (CZR)

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

Top 10 High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: DigitalGlobe, Inc(DGI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  COPYRIGHT VIOLATION WARNING: “DigitalGlobe (DGI) Earning Somewhat Positive Press Coverage, Report Shows” was published by Ticker Report and is owned by of Ticker Report. If you are accessing this piece on another domain, it was stolen and republished in violation of US & international copyright & trademark laws. The original version of this piece can be read at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/3360325/digitalglobe-dgi-earning-somewhat-positive-press-coverage-report-shows.html.

Top 10 High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: ABM Industries Incorporated(ABM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Shares of�ABM Industries, Inc. (NYSE:ABM) jumped as much as 13.4% in trading Thursday after the�facility solutions provider reported fiscal second-quarter results that topped analyst expectations. The stock cooled off slightly at midday but was still up 11.3% at 11:05 a.m. EDT.�

Top 10 High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Kearny Financial(KRNY)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Kearny Financial (NASDAQ: KRNY) and Northrim BanCorp (NASDAQ:NRIM) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

• [By Max Byerly]

  HSBC (NYSE: HSBC) and Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 24th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.04 per share by the savings and loans company on Wednesday, June 20th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 5th. This is an increase from Kearny Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03.

Top 10 High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Voya International High Dividend Equity Income Fund(IID)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  ING International High (NYSE:IID) announced a monthly dividend on Wednesday, May 16th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 4th will be given a dividend of 0.052 per share on Friday, June 15th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 1st.

Top 10 High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Long Island Iced Tea Corp. (LTEA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Baldwin]

  William may be right about a sell-off in stocks… in the cryptocurrency space. Over the last week, companies that have billed themselves as blockchain-focused saw their stocks surge. One firm – Long Island Iced Tea changed its name to Long Island Blockchain and watched its stock surge more than triple digits. But today, firms with this exposure are cratering. MGT Capital Investments Inc. (OTCMKTS: MGTI), Long Island Iced Tea Corp. (Nasdaq: LTEA), Riot Blockchain Inc. (Nasdaq: RIOT), and Siebert Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: SIEB) all fell by more than 12% Friday.

• [By ]

  Long Island Ice Tea changed its name to Long Blockchain (Nasdaq: LTEA), sending shares 200% higher. It remains to be seen how a beverage maker will create shareholder value from blockchain technology -- not that its investors care.�

• [By ]

  5. Blockchain-Related Stocks
  Shorting blockchain-related stocks is an ideal way to not only short bitcoin but also short the entire cryptocurrency craze. Many such stocks exist, such as Riot Blockchain (Nasdaq: RIOT), Long Blockchain (Nasdaq: LTEA), and Longfin (Nasdaq: LFIN). Choose the one that you think is most overhyped and short away!

Top 10 High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Key Technology Inc.(KTEC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Press coverage about Key Technology (NASDAQ:KTEC) has been trending somewhat positive on Monday, according to Accern Sentiment. The research firm identifies positive and negative media coverage by monitoring more than 20 million blog and news sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Key Technology earned a coverage optimism score of 0.11 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news coverage about the industrial products company an impact score of 47.5851902672258 out of 100, indicating that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the near future.

Top 10 High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: ADTRAN Inc.(ADTN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  ADTRAN (NASDAQ: ADTN) and One Horizon Group (NASDAQ:OHGI) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, risk, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

• [By Max Byerly]

  ADTRAN, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADTN) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $19.38.

Kimco Realty Corp (KIM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Kimco Realty Corp (NYSE:KIM) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.10.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Boenning Scattergood reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Kimco Realty in a research note on Friday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Kimco Realty from an “overweight” rating to an “equal” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “hold” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Kimco Realty in a research report on Thursday, April 26th. ValuEngine raised shares of Kimco Realty from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Kimco Realty from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 15th.

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NYSE:KIM traded down $0.29 on Wednesday, hitting $16.43. The stock had a trading volume of 3,176,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,931,382. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.50. Kimco Realty has a 1 year low of $13.16 and a 1 year high of $21.24.

Kimco Realty (NYSE:KIM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $304.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $298.97 million. Kimco Realty had a net margin of 40.74% and a return on equity of 9.03%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. sell-side analysts forecast that Kimco Realty will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 2nd. Kimco Realty’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.26%.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Thompson Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Kimco Realty by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 219,920 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,736,000 after buying an additional 18,850 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Kimco Realty by 51.1% in the 2nd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 28,507 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 9,640 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kimco Realty by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 670,493 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,655,000 after buying an additional 27,134 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its holdings in Kimco Realty by 47.1% in the 1st quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 22,468 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 7,196 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Kimco Realty by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 214,163 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,084,000 after buying an additional 12,018 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Kimco Realty

Kimco Realty Corp. (NYSE: KIM) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) headquartered in New Hyde Park, N.Y., that is one of North America's largest publicly traded owners and operators of open-air shopping centers. As of December 31, 2017, the company owned interests in 492 U.S. shopping centers comprising 83 million square feet of leasable space primarily concentrated in the top major metropolitan markets.

Royce Funds Comments on Bio-Techne

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) was up about 16% through the end of May. It is one of the world’s largest producers of reagents (which are specialized proteins) used in drug research and development and clinical diagnostics. It’s a strong free cash flow business given the high incremental margin and annuity-like nature of the sales of these consumable products.

Equally important, the CEO has transformed the company in the five years since he came on board, taking a steady cash cow and turning it into a compounding growth machine by reinvesting in previously untapped opportunities such as faster and broader new product development, geographic expansion, salesforce growth, and acquisitions that supplemented its core business or enhanced its presence in the analytical instruments market.

The payoff from these actions has been evident in Bio-Techne’s robust financial results, and the market has rewarded the stock with valuation multiple expansion.

From Lauren Romeo on 4 Premier Quality Small-Caps.