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Globe and Mail
12 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Analysts Are Bullish on Top Technology Stocks: NEC (NIPNF), CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD)
There's a lot to be optimistic about in the Technology sector as 3 analysts just weighed in on NEC (NIPNF – Research Report), CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD – Research Report) and Couchbase (BASE – Research Report) with bullish sentiments. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter NEC (NIPNF) Goldman Sachs analyst Chikai Tanaka maintained a Buy rating on NEC today and set a price target of Yen4160.00. The company's shares closed last Friday at $27.52. According to Tanaka is a 3-star analyst with an average return of 8.9% and a 56.0% success rate. Tanaka covers the Technology sector, focusing on stocks such as Nomura Research Institute, NS Solutions, and Trend Micro. ;'> Currently, the analyst consensus on NEC is a Strong Buy with an average price target of $26.56, representing a -3.5% downside. In a report issued on May 22, Morgan Stanley also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a Yen4000.00 price target. CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) Rosenblatt Securities analyst Catharine Trebnick reiterated a Buy rating on CrowdStrike Holdings today and set a price target of $515.00. The company's shares closed last Friday at $471.37. According to Trebnick is ranked 0 out of 5 stars with an average return of -4.3% and a 44.1% success rate. Trebnick covers the Technology sector, focusing on stocks such as Zoom Video Communications, Palo Alto Networks, and CyberArk Software. ;'> CrowdStrike Holdings has an analyst consensus of Strong Buy, with a price target consensus of $440.06, representing a -4.8% downside. In a report issued on May 18, RBC Capital also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a $500.00 price target. Couchbase (BASE) Rosenblatt Securities analyst Blair Abernethy maintained a Buy rating on Couchbase today and set a price target of $20.00. The company's shares closed last Friday at $18.07. According to Abernethy is a 5-star analyst with an average return of 7.7% and a 60.4% success rate. Abernethy covers the Technology sector, focusing on stocks such as RedCloud Holdings plc, Bentley Systems, and Cadence Design. ;'> Couchbase has an analyst consensus of Strong Buy, with a price target consensus of $19.00, which is a 4.7% upside from current levels. In a report issued on May 18, RBC Capital also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a $22.00 price target.
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Auerbach on Hoya Capital High Dividend Yield ETF (REIT)
Hoya Capital CIO David Auerbach discusses the Hoya Capital High Dividend Yield ETF (ticker: RIET). He speaks with Scarlet Fu, Katie Greifeld and Eric Balchunas on 'ETF IQ.' (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Investors Could Be Concerned With Mach Natural Resources' (NYSE:MNR) Returns On Capital
Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. In light of that, when we looked at Mach Natural Resources (NYSE:MNR) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled. Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit. Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. The formula for this calculation on Mach Natural Resources is: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) 0.14 = US$275m ÷ (US$2.2b - US$282m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2025). Thus, Mach Natural Resources has an ROCE of 14%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Oil and Gas industry average of 9.8% it's much better. Check out our latest analysis for Mach Natural Resources Above you can see how the current ROCE for Mach Natural Resources compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Mach Natural Resources for free. We weren't thrilled with the trend because Mach Natural Resources' ROCE has reduced by 73% over the last three years, while the business employed 309% more capital. However, some of the increase in capital employed could be attributed to the recent capital raising that's been completed prior to their latest reporting period, so keep that in mind when looking at the ROCE decrease. It's unlikely that all of the funds raised have been put to work yet, so as a consequence Mach Natural Resources might not have received a full period of earnings contribution from it. While returns have fallen for Mach Natural Resources in recent times, we're encouraged to see that sales are growing and that the business is reinvesting in its operations. However, despite the promising trends, the stock has fallen 18% over the last year, so there might be an opportunity here for astute investors. So we think it'd be worthwhile to look further into this stock given the trends look encouraging. One more thing: We've identified 2 warning signs with Mach Natural Resources (at least 1 which is potentially serious) , and understanding these would certainly be useful. If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
The Latest Debt Downgrade Is Our Shot At Cheap 9% Dividends
This latest US debt downgrade is a buying opportunity for us contrarians. I say that because we had the same (profitable) setup the last three times the ratings agencies took Uncle Sam's credit rating down a peg. You might find that last sentence surprising. Three times? Indeed, the US government has seen its debt downgraded on three different occasions: 2011, 2023 and most recently a couple of weeks ago. You can be forgiven for not remembering all of these: In some cases (2023 comes to mind), they didn't really make headlines. In others, they set up a small dip in stocks (and stock-focused closed-end funds yielding 8%+) that was well worth buying. Let's go through all three occasions and see what they can tell us. We'll also look at how they affected the performance of the Adams Diversified Equity Fund (ADX), a holding in my CEF Insider service. ADX pays a roughly 9% dividend as I write this and sports a discount to net asset value (NAV, or the value of its underlying portfolio) of around 8%. The fund holds some of the biggest (and most credit-worthy!) US stocks, like Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT) and Visa (V), not to mention top-quality lenders like JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM). Let's start in August 2011, when debt-ceiling wrangling in Congress prompted Standard & Poor's to downgrade US government debt. At the time, this move was historic: No agency had ever downgraded the US government's credit, which was considered incredibly safe. What happened next? US long-term Treasuries (in blue below) surged some 20% from the day of the downgrade through the end of 2011. The S&P 500 (in orange) also had a good run, returning nearly 6% over those few months. ADX (in purple) trailed behind, but as we'll see next, this lag made it the best opportunity of the three. ADX 2011 Ycharts Buying the S&P 500 was clearly a smart move here. But playing the contrarian and buying bonds after the downgrade delivered even faster returns. Over the long run, however, it was ADX (in purple below) that won out, with dividends reinvested: ADX Total Returns Ycharts Now let's look at the next downgrade, in August 2023. This time it was Fitch that cut Uncle Sam to the agency's second-highest rating. ADX 2023 Ycharts ADX (in purple above) has returned about 44% since then, as of this writing, well ahead of the S&P 500's 30% gain (in orange). Meantime, Treasuries (in blue) are in the red. Why the difference in government-bond action between this downgrade and the first one? That's another article on its own, but suffice it to say, it had more to do with slower-than-expected Fed rate cuts than the downgrade. The most recent downgrade, just a couple weeks ago, did cause a dip in stocks, ADX and bonds, however—though ADX has fallen the least as I write this. These declines are likely the result of tariff uncertainty, which has caused more anxiety than we saw in late 2023, when stocks were recovering from the 2022 pullback. ADX 2025 Ycharts As you can see above, all three stayed flat until falling a little on May 20, then falling sharply the next day, when Walmart warned about price increases (and therefore lower consumer spending), and Target reported disappointing sales. The smart money did not sell when the news was first released on the 16th, but we are probably seeing more selling pressure as the retailers' warnings have added anxiety. In the coming days, we could see stocks go flat or slightly negative if the sour attitude sticks around. But that would be a buying opportunity—especially for equity CEFs like ADX—similar to the openings we saw in 2023 and 2011. Another important point: the downgrade doesn't impact all US assets. In its announcement, Moody's makes clear that the downgrade impacts America's 'long-term issuer and senior unsecured' debt, but 'the US long-term local- and foreign-currency country ceilings remain at Aaa.' In other words, the downgrade applies to US Treasuries greater than one year in duration (government bonds, basically, up to and including 30-year issues). Those bonds now have the second-highest rating from all three ratings agencies. At the same time, non-government debt issuers in the US can still have the top rating—including American companies. In fact, Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) still have the Aaa rating from Moody's. (Note that ADX holds Apple and Microsoft, so it's a good pick if you're still concerned about credit quality.) Michael Foster is the Lead Research Analyst for Contrarian Outlook. For more great income ideas, click here for our latest report 'Indestructible Income: 5 Bargain Funds with Steady 8.6% Dividends.' Disclosure: none
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Better Buffett Stock: American Express vs. Visa
American Express and Visa are both long-term Berkshire investments. Visa's lightweight business model allows it to expand more quickly than American Express. But American Express is better insulated from rising interest rates than Visa. 10 stocks we like better than American Express › Warren Buffett will step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) by the end of this year, and many investors are likely wondering whether his successor, Greg Abel, can maintain the growth rates of this conglomerate's closely watched stock portfolio. Abel, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, has been with the company for 25 years, but he isn't a celebrated stock picker. He probably won't stray too far from Buffett's playbook of investing in undervalued and cash-rich businesses with wide moats, but he may also miss some big opportunities. So, instead of focusing on what Abel might or might not invest in, let's look back at two of Buffett's long-term plays on the financial sector: American Express (NYSE: AXP) and Visa (NYSE: V). Buffett didn't sell either of these stocks as he trimmed his positions in Apple, Bank of America, and his other top holdings to raise more cash over the past year. Let's see whether either one of these resilient stocks is still worth buying in this volatile market. Warren Buffett initially invested in American Express in 1964, but he didn't significantly boost Berkshire's stake in the financial services giant until 1991. Today, Berkshire owns 21.6% of the company through its 151.6 million shares, worth roughly $44.4 billion. That accounts for 15.9% of Berkshire's portfolio, making it its second-largest position after Apple. Buffett started accumulating shares of Visa in 2011, three years after its public debut. It now owns 8.3 million shares, which are worth about $3 billion and give it a 0.4% stake in the company. That position accounts for 1.1% of Berkshire's portfolio and ranks much lower as its 17th-largest holding. American Express and Visa are typically known as credit card companies, but they operate under different business models. American Express is a bank that issues its own cards, handles its own accounts, and operates its own payment processing network. Visa isn't a bank and doesn't issue any of its own cards. It only partners with banks and other financial institutions to issue co-branded cards that are compatible with its payment processing network. American Express has fewer cardholders than Visa because it approves its cards only for lower-risk, higher-income customers. Visa has a much broader reach because it issues its cards through over 14,500 financial institutions worldwide. Those partners, who are responsible for the debt, may approve their cards for riskier and lower-income customers. Visa generates most of its revenue by charging its merchants "swipe fees" (usually 2%-3% of the transaction amount). American Express also charges similar swipe fees, but it generates a lot of its revenue from its interest payments and annual fees. Visa and American Express are both sensitive to higher interest rates, which curb consumer spending. However, higher rates will also boost American Express's net interest income on its credit card loans to offset some of the pressure from slower consumer spending. Its focus on more affluent customers should also insulate it from protracted economic downturns. Visa doesn't have those safety nets because it's not a bank, but its global diversification could protect it from regional recessions. American Express, Visa, and Mastercard all face constant pressure from individual businesses, merchant groups, and government regulators to reduce their swipe fees. However, Visa and Mastercard (which operates a similar business model to Visa) are arguably bigger targets because they control much bigger slices of the global credit card market than American Express. From 2024 to 2027, analysts expect American Express and Visa to both grow their earnings per share (EPS) at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 13%. However, American Express stock only trades at 19 times this year's earnings and pays a forward yield of 1.1%. Visa stock appears a lot pricier at 34 times forward earnings and pays a lower forward yield of 0.7%. Both stocks still look like evergreen investments. But if I had to pick one over the other, I'd pick American Express because its business is more resistant to interest rate swings, faces less antitrust pressure, and looks cheaper relative to its growth potential. That's probably why Berkshire still owns significantly more shares of American Express than it does of Visa. Before you buy stock in American Express, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and American Express wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $638,985!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $853,108!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 978% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. American Express is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Leo Sun has positions in Apple and Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Bank of America, Berkshire Hathaway, Mastercard, and Visa. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Better Buffett Stock: American Express vs. Visa was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
