Latest news with #GregMelich
CNBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Top Wall Street analysts prefer these dividend stocks for consistent returns
Earnings of major U.S. companies and the uncertainty around tariffs continued to impact investor sentiment this week. While the stock market remains volatile, investors seeking consistent returns could add some attractive dividend stocks to their portfolios. In this regard, stock picks of top Wall Street analysts can be helpful, as the recommendations of these experts are based on in-depth analysis of a company's financials and ability to pay dividends. Here are three dividend-paying stocks, highlighted by Wall Street's top pros, as tracked by TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance. This week's first dividend pick is Home Depot (HD). The home improvement retailer reported mixed results for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 but reaffirmed its full-year guidance. The company expressed its intention to maintain its prices and not increase them in response to tariffs. Home Depot declared a dividend of $2.30 per share for the first quarter of 2025, payable on June 18, 2025. At an annualized dividend of $9.20 per share, HD stock offers a dividend yield of 2.5%. Following the Q1 FY25 results, Evercore analyst Greg Melich reiterated a buy rating on HD stock with a price target of $400. The analyst thinks that the risk/reward profile of Home Depot stock is one of the best in Evercore's coverage. Melich contends that while Home Depot's headline results appear ordinary, he believes that a notable inflection has begun. The analyst highlighted certain positives in Home Depot's Q1 performance, including stabilizing traffic, improving shrink (inventory lost due to theft or other reasons) rates, and acceleration in online sales growth to 8% after staying lower than 5% since Q3 FY22. "HD remains a benchmark retailer, investing in technology, multichannel and stores, even while current demand remains low," concluded Melich. He continues to believe that once the macro environment improves, Home Depot could be the "next great Consumer/Retail breakout multiple stock" like Costco in 2023 and Walmart in 2024. Melich ranks No. 607 among more than 9,500 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 68% of the time, delivering an average return of 12%. See Home Depot Ownership Structure on TipRanks. Next on this week's list is Diamondback Energy (FANG), an independent oil and gas company that is focused on onshore reserves, mainly in the Permian Basin in West Texas. FANG delivered better-than-expected first-quarter results. However, given the ongoing commodity price volatility, Diamondback reduced its full-year activity to maximize free cash flow generation. Meanwhile, the company returned $864 million to shareholders in Q1 2025 through stock repurchases and a base dividend of $1.00 per share. FANG's Q1 2025 capital return represented roughly 55% of adjusted free cash flow. Based on the base and variable dividends paid over the past 12 months, FANG stock offers a dividend yield of nearly 3.9%. In a recent research note, RBC Capital analyst Scott Hanold reaffirmed a buy rating on FANG stock with a price target of $180. Hanold noted that while the company lowered its 2025 capital budget by $400 million or 10% to $3.4 - $3.8 billion, the production outlook was cut by only 1%. The analyst stated that Diamondback's move to reduce its capital spending plan increased his free cash flow estimate by 7% over the next 18 months. Hanold thinks that the company's decision will not weigh on its operational momentum or the ability to efficiently return to its 500 Mb/d productive capacity. Commenting on FANG's free cash flow priorities, Hanold noted that the company is tracking ahead of its 50% minimum shareholder return target, thanks to stock buybacks amid the pullback in shares, mainly during early April. He expects the company to use the remaining free cash flow to pay down the $1.5 billion term loan related to its Double Eagle-IV acquisition in the Midland Basin, which was announced in February. Overall, Hanold's bullish thesis on FANG stock remains intact, and he believes that "FANG has one of the lowest cost structures in the basin and a corporate cash flow break-even (including dividend) that is among the best in the industry." Hanold ranks No. 17 among more than 9,500 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 67% of the time, delivering an average return of 29.1%. See Diamondback Energy Insider Trading Activity on TipRanks. Another dividend-paying energy stock in this week's list is ConocoPhillips (COP). The oil and gas exploration and production company reported market-beating earnings for the first quarter of 2025. Given a volatile macro environment, the company reduced its full-year capital and adjusted operating cost guidance but maintained its production outlook. In Q1 2025, ConocoPhillips distributed $2.5 billion to shareholders, including $1.5 billion in share repurchases and $1.0 billion via ordinary dividends. At a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share (annualized dividend of $3.12), COP stock offers a yield of about 3.7%. Following investor meetings with management in Boston, Goldman Sachs analyst Neil Mehta reiterated a buy rating on COP stock with a price target of $119. Mehta highlighted that management sees significant uncertainty in oil prices in the near term due to concerns about economic growth and voluntary production cuts by OPEC+. That said, the company is bullish about long-term gas prices. Meanwhile, the analyst expects COP's breakeven to shift lower in the times ahead, with major growth projects on track. Mehta stated that while the benchmark price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil – also known as WTI – breakeven (before dividend) is in the mid $40s in 2025, he sees the breakeven heading towards the low $30s once COP's LNG spending comes down and production at its Willow project in Alaska comes online in 2029. Commenting on COP's shareholder returns, Mehta stated that management acknowledged that their decision not to stick with the $10 billion capital return target led to short-term volatility in COP stock. That said, COP still offers a "compelling" return, which Mehta estimates will be 8%. Mehta ranks No. 568 among more than 9,500 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 59% of the time, delivering an average return of 8.6%. See ConocoPhillips Hedge Fund Trading Activity on TipRanks.
Business Insider
26-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Bj's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ) Gets a Hold from Evercore ISI
In a report released on May 23, Greg Melich from Evercore ISI maintained a Hold rating on Bj's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ – Research Report), with a price target of $115.00. The company's shares closed last Friday at $116.48. Confident Investing Starts Here: Melich covers the Consumer Cyclical sector, focusing on stocks such as Advance Auto Parts, Costco, and Genuine Parts Company. According to TipRanks, Melich has an average return of 12.0% and a 67.20% success rate on recommended stocks. In addition to Evercore ISI, Bj's Wholesale Club Holdings also received a Hold from Loop Capital Markets's Laura Champine in a report issued on May 23. However, on the same day, Wells Fargo maintained a Buy rating on Bj's Wholesale Club Holdings (NYSE: BJ). The company has a one-year high of $121.10 and a one-year low of $76.33. Currently, Bj's Wholesale Club Holdings has an average volume of 2.18M. Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 64 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is negative on the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase of insiders selling their shares of BJ in relation to earlier this year. Earlier this month, Eddy Robert W. , the President & CEO of BJ sold 17,900.00 shares for a total of $2,103,093.15.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Home Depot Earnings Preview: Evercore Sees Rebound Potential
Ahead of the company's May 20 first-quarter earnings release, a team of Evercore ISI analysts, led by Greg Melich, added Home Depot Inc.(NYSE:HD) to their Tactical Outperform list on May 19. Rob Wilson / The analyst firm anticipates that Home Depot Inc.(NYSE:HD) will restate its 2025 guidance for a 2% decline in earnings per share, or approximately $14.95, which aligns with market estimates of $14.98 and Evercore's own forecast of $15. Moreover, the firm believes that sustaining guidance and indicating positive trends may be sufficient to push the shares back toward the $400 mark. Although the stock has seen a 2% drop since the year began, Evercore believes that reiterating guidance and emphasizing potential gains in comparable sales over the course of the year could improve HD's performance. This is particularly true given that Home Depot is putting itself in a position to profit from a future housing market recovery by continuing to invest in technology, customer service, and the opening of new stores. In a note, the analysts stated: "HD remains a benchmark retailer, investing in technology, multichannel and stores, even while current demand remains depressed. With hopes rising for an improving Home Improvement market in 2025, we think investors would be well served by having real exposure to the turn." While we acknowledge the potential of HD to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than HD and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. Read Next:and . Disclosure: None.
Globe and Mail
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Globe and Mail
Analysts Have Conflicting Sentiments on These Consumer Cyclical Companies: AutoZone (AZO) and Lowe's (LOW)
Companies in the Consumer Cyclical sector have received a lot of coverage today as analysts weigh in on AutoZone (AZO – Research Report) and Lowe's (LOW – Research Report). Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks straight to you inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter AutoZone (AZO) Evercore ISI analyst Greg Melich initiated coverage with a Buy rating on AutoZone today and set a price target of $3950.00. The company's shares closed last Friday at $3786.42, close to its 52-week high of $3838.00. According to Melich is a 5-star analyst with an average return of 11.7% and a 67.6% success rate. Melich covers the NA sector, focusing on stocks such as Academy Sports and Outdoors, Floor & Decor Holdings, and Genuine Parts Company. ;'> Currently, the analyst consensus on AutoZone is a Strong Buy with an average price target of $3877.05, representing a 3.1% upside. In a report issued on May 6, Truist Financial also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a $3995.00 price target. Lowe's (LOW) Stifel Nicolaus analyst W. Andrew Carter maintained a Hold rating on Lowe's on May 16 and set a price target of $250.00. The company's shares closed last Friday at $234.23. According to Carter is a 4-star analyst with an average return of 5.6% and a 49.1% success rate. Carter covers the Industrial Goods sector, focusing on stocks such as SiteOne Landscape Supply, Builders Firstsource, and Hayward Holdings. ;'> The word on The Street in general, suggests a Moderate Buy analyst consensus rating for Lowe's with a $268.10 average price target, a 15.3% upside from current levels. In a report issued on May 12, TD Cowen also maintained a Hold rating on the stock with a $245.00 price target.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Best Buy beat fourth quarter earnings as the chain braces for tariff impact
Best Buy (BBY) is turning around a three-year decline in sales growth. On Tuesday before market open, the electronics retailer reported fourth quarter results that beat Wall Streets' expectations. Same-store sales jumped 0.50%, compared to the 1.45% decrease anticipated. This comes after 12 consecutive quarters of negative same-store sales growth. 'I am pleased to report better-than-expected sales for the fourth quarter driven by strong growth in computing as well as improved sales performance in other categories,' Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said in the release. This coming fiscal year, the company expects revenue of $41.4 billion to $42.2 billion. Wall Street expected guidance of $41.69 billion. Same-store sales are expected to be flat to up 2.0%, compared to estimates of a 1.44% increase. Adjusted earnings per share is projected to be $6.20 to $6.60; Wall Street had estimated $6.55. Guidance does not include the impact of tariffs. The replacement cycle is kicking in around laptops, notebooks, and phones, especially as innovation around AI ramps up. Evercore analyst Greg Melich called the year a "sweet spot" for the four-to-five-year replacement cycle since the pandemic spending spree started in 2020. "We continue to see a consumer that is willing to spend on high price point products when they need to or when there is technology innovation," CFO Matt Bilunas said in the release. In pre-market, shares are slightly down as investors digest the better-than-expected numbers, but also consider the uncertainty of tariffs and ongoing inflation. As of market close Monday, Best Buy's stock was up nearly 5% year to date, ahead of the S&P 500's (^GSPC) 1.2% gain. Here's what Best Buy posted in the fourth quarter, compared to Bloomberg estimates: Adjusted earnings per share: $2.58, versus $2.40 Net sales: $13.95 billion, versus $13.69 billion Same-store sales growth overall: 0.50%, versus -1.45% Total US same-store sales growth: 0.20%, versus -1.34% Sales growth for: Appliances: -11.40%, versus -8.9% Entertainment: -10.90%, versus -7.47% Consumer electronics: -2.20%, versus -4.38% Computing and mobile phones: 6.50%, versus 4.13% Services: 9.90%, versus 4.38% International: 3.80% versus -1.95% The company also shared full-year results. For the fiscal year, same-store sales fell 2.3%, less than the previous projected range of a 2.5% to 3.5% decline. The Street expected a 2.93% decline. Revenue was $41.53 billion, above the guidance range of $41.1 billion to $41.5 billion. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $6.37, compared to the guidance range of $6.10 to $6.25. "We are focused on strengthening our position in retail as the leading omni-channel destination for technology and expanding our operating income rate while building and scaling incremental profit streams, including Best Buy Marketplace and Best Buy Ads, that we believe will drive robust returns in the future," Barry said. A second round of tariffs from Donald Trump started on Tuesday, with new duties on America's top three trading partners: Canada, China, and Mexico. The president imposed 25% duties on Canadian and Mexican imports following a 30-day pause. He also implemented a second round of 10% duties on Chinese imports. Barry told reporters on a third quarter media call that vendors have "very, very small margins in this industry, which means the vast majority of that tariff will probably be passed on to the consumer as a price increase." Roughly 60% of Best Buy's products come from China, and Mexico is its second-largest supplier. Many companies have moved production of larger items to the country in the past five years. Items produced in Mexico include appliances, desktop computers, and large TVs. The business doesn't import from Canada. Other electronics that could be affected include tablets, phones, and some TVs. Best Buy did not specify at the time what sort of price increase would go into effect. Brooke DiPalma is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@ Click here for all of the latest retail stock news and events to better inform your investing strategy Sign in to access your portfolio
