Eaton Vance (EV) Cut to Hold at ValuEngine

ValuEngine downgraded shares of Eaton Vance (NYSE:EV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

EV has been the subject of a number of other reports. Deutsche Bank reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton Vance from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 6th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Eaton Vance from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, May 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a hold rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Eaton Vance in a research report on Wednesday, April 11th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton Vance from $63.50 to $65.50 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Credit Suisse Group lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton Vance from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $59.06.

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Eaton Vance opened at $54.98 on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 8.05 and a quick ratio of 9.40. Eaton Vance has a one year low of $45.06 and a one year high of $60.95. The firm has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.70.

Eaton Vance (NYSE:EV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, hitting the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.77. Eaton Vance had a net margin of 19.82% and a return on equity of 33.96%. The firm had revenue of $414.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $421.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. sell-side analysts anticipate that Eaton Vance will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 27th. Eaton Vance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton Vance by 8.1% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 25,532 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,421,000 after buying an additional 1,914 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton Vance by 4.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 523,934 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,167,000 after buying an additional 21,855 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton Vance during the first quarter worth $490,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton Vance by 13.6% during the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 500,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,835,000 after buying an additional 60,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton Vance by 11.5% during the first quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 260,541 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $14,504,000 after buying an additional 26,948 shares in the last quarter. 68.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eaton Vance Company Profile

Eaton Vance Corp., through its subsidiaries, engages in the creation, marketing, and management of investment funds in the United States. It also provides investment management and counseling services to institutions and individuals. Further, the company operates as an adviser and distributor of investment companies and separate accounts.

To view ValuEngine’s full report, visit ValuEngine’s official website.

Safestore (SAFE) Sets New 52-Week High at $554.00

Safestore Holdings Plc (LON:SAFE)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as GBX 554 ($7.43) and last traded at GBX 554 ($7.43), with a volume of 525524 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 554 ($7.43).

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Peel Hunt restated a “hold” rating on shares of Safestore in a research note on Thursday, April 5th. Numis Securities restated an “add” rating and set a GBX 570 ($7.65) price target on shares of Safestore in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Liberum Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a GBX 560 ($7.51) price target on shares of Safestore in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Safestore presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 515.83 ($6.92).

In related news, insider Andy Jones sold 58,583 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 496 ($6.66), for a total transaction of 拢290,571.68 ($389,872.11).

About Safestore

Safestore is the UK's largest self-storage group with 146 stores, comprising 120 wholly owned stores in the UK (including 67 in London and the South East with the remainder in key metropolitan areas such as Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Bristol) and 26 wholly owned stores in the Paris region.

Dollar pulls back from 2018 high as traders eye threat of fresh tariffs

The U.S. dollar declined on Thursday, pulling back from a 2018 high on renewed trade-war jitters after the Trump administration said it was investigating whether to slap import tariffs on cars.

Meanwhile, the U.K. pound gained strength on the back of better-than-expected retail sales data, while the Turkish lira resumed its selloff even after the country��s central bank hiked interest rates.

What are currencies doing?

The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -0.13% �dropped 0.2% to 93.785, after rising to its highest level since mid-December on Wednesday.

The pound GBPUSD, +0.3971% �climbed to $1.3399, from $1.3348 late Wednesday in New York. In Wednesday��s session, sterling fell to a fresh 2018 intraday low, as an unexpected drop in U.K. inflation cast doubt on the chances of an August interest rate rise from the Bank of England.

The euro EURUSD, +0.1624% �rose to $1.1722, from $1.1699 on Wednesday.

The dollar also fell against the yen, buying 楼109.70, compared with 楼110.08 on Wednesday.

The Turkish lira USDTRY, +4.2022% �dropped more than 4% against the dollar, resuming its selloff, which appeared to have been stemmed only for a while by Wednesday��s interest-rate hike. The renewed slide makes it more likely that Turkey��s central bank will act on rates again, analysts said.

What is driving the market?

The pullback in the dollar came after news that President Donald Trump is asking for new tariffs of as much as 25% on vehicle and auto-parts imports. The move, a further sign of his administration��s protectionist approach, is seen as potentially ramping up trade tensions.

Check out: Trump��s tariff threat vexes global auto makers, sending shares lower

Earlier in the week, the greenback rallied on signs the U.S. and China were moving closer to an agreement on narrowing the trade gap between the two countries. The deal is seen as lowering the risk of a full-blown trade war.

What are strategists saying?

��Early in the Asian session, news broke that the Trump administration is going to open an investigation into auto imports on national security grounds, like the steel the aluminum actions. As one would expect, the auto sector traded heavily in Asia,�� said analysts at BBH in a note.

��Past protectionism, dollar-fluctuations, and the desire to be near an important customer base have encouraged Asian and European automakers to locate production facilities inside the U.S. However, broadening of US protectionist thrust on national security grounds keeps the breakdown of the liberal trading system very much in focus, despite some optimism that had crept from a de-escalation of US-China tensions,�� they added.

Sara Sjolin

Sara Sjolin is a MarketWatch reporter based in London. Follow her on Twitter @sarasjolin.

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EU's Corn-Buying Spree Is Boosting Rare Trade With South Africa

Europe’s hunger for corn is giving South Africa a surprising destination to sell more of its record crop.

Africa’s top corn grower typically doesn’t export much to the European Union due to the long shipping distance and uncompetitive cost. But last year’s big harvest has cut prices, and should help South Africa ship more to the EU than in the previous six years combined, according to Strategie Grains.

Unusual Trade

EU corn imports from South Africa are set to climb to a seven-year high

Source: Strategie Grains

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The increased trade comes as EU imports surged 41 percent this season amid strong demand for animal feed and cheap grain from more traditional suppliers such as Ukraine, Brazil and the U.S. Spain has accounted for all of the EU’s recent purchases from South Africa, whose last harvest more than doubled from a year earlier when the worst drought on record hurt crops.

“We have already seen a corn shipment from South Africa to Spain and several more are expected in May and June, which is very unusual,” Strategie Grains analyst Laurine Simon said. The “EU is not a usual market for South African corn because most of the time it’s too expensive to buy corn from South Africa. Even when South Africa exports, it usually does so to neighboring countries.”

Spain and Italy are forecast to import a combined 260,000 tons from South Africa in the 12 months ending September, the most in seven years, Strategie Grains estimates. South African prices have slumped at least 37 percent in the past two years, underperforming Ukrainian, U.S. and French grain.

More South African Supply

Nation has shipped more to the EU after harvesting a record crop

Source: South African Grain Information Service

NOTE: Output for 2017-18 is a government estimate

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South African corn exports to Spain, the EU’s biggest grain importer and which is also recovering from a drought, have in the first two weeks of May already surpassed the entire previous 12-month period, South African Grain Information Service data show. Italy and Portugal have also imported in the past decade.

“Spain really surprised us by buying huge quantities of South African white corn because in the past it has not been a big market for us,” said Wandile Sihlobo, head agricultural economist at the Pretoria-based Agricultural Business Chamber. “We will be watching with interest to see how this evolves as we expect to see continued good demand for South African corn.”

The imports of South African corn are still a fraction of the amount the EU buys from Ukraine or Brazil. The African country recently started collecting its new harvest, which is expected to be close to the average over the past decade.

— With assistance by Liezel Hill

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Brokerages Anticipate Ingersoll Rand Inc. (IR) Will Announce Earnings of $1.70 Per Share

Wall Street brokerages expect Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE:IR) to report $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Seven analysts have issued estimates for Ingersoll Rand’s earnings. The lowest EPS estimate is $1.64 and the highest is $1.75. Ingersoll Rand posted earnings of $1.49 per share in the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive year over year growth rate of 14.1%. The business is scheduled to announce its next quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 25th.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Ingersoll Rand will report full-year earnings of $5.29 per share for the current year, with EPS estimates ranging from $5.25 to $5.35. For the next year, analysts anticipate that the business will report earnings of $5.93 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $5.80 to $6.10. Zacks’ earnings per share averages are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side research analysts that cover Ingersoll Rand.

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Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. Ingersoll Rand had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 17.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.57 EPS.

Several research firms recently issued reports on IR. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Ingersoll Rand from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 26th. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Ingersoll Rand from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 3rd. Barclays began coverage on shares of Ingersoll Rand in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ingersoll Rand to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of Ingersoll Rand to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Ingersoll Rand has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.77.

Shares of Ingersoll Rand traded up $1.68, hitting $91.59, during trading hours on Monday, according to MarketBeat. 1,415,907 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,852,700. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.35. Ingersoll Rand has a 1-year low of $79.63 and a 1-year high of $97.67.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 29th. Investors of record on Friday, June 8th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 7th. Ingersoll Rand’s payout ratio is 39.91%.

In related news, insider Paul A. Camuti sold 1,678 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.15, for a total value of $142,881.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael W. Lamach sold 58,284 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total transaction of $5,263,045.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 67,522 shares of company stock valued at $6,088,519. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ingersoll Rand during the fourth quarter valued at $112,000. Resources Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ingersoll Rand by 218.6% during the fourth quarter. Resources Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Ingersoll Rand during the first quarter valued at $118,000. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its stake in shares of Ingersoll Rand by 61.3% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,790 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ingersoll Rand by 140.7% during the first quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. now owns 1,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ingersoll Rand Company Profile

Ingersoll-Rand plc designs, manufactures, sells, and services industrial and commercial products. It operates through Climate and Industrial segments. The Climate segment offers building management, bus, rail, and multi-pipe HVAC, control, container and cryogenic, diesel-powered, ductless, geothermal, package heating and cooling, rail and self-powered truck refrigeration, temporary heating and cooling, trailer refrigeration, unitary, and vehicle-powered truck refrigeration systems.

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Somewhat Positive News Coverage Somewhat Unlikely to Impact Caterpillar (CAT) Stock Price

News stories about Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) have been trending somewhat positive recently, according to Accern. The research group ranks the sentiment of press coverage by analyzing more than twenty 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. Caterpillar earned a media sentiment score of 0.10 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news headlines about the industrial products company an impact score of 45.8923338010314 out of 100, indicating that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the next several days.

These are some of the news headlines that may have effected Accern’s rankings:

Get Caterpillar alerts: Tent Caterpillar population decreasing in Saskatchewan (620ckrm.com) Invasion of toxic caterpillars closes parts of seaside town (bbc.co.uk) Insider Q&A: Should investors worry about ‘peak earnings?’ (marketbeat.com) Britain’s toxic moth caterpillar invasion forces closures in resort over fears of irritating skin rashes and asthma (mirror.co.uk) Gardeners warned invasive moth is spreading across Britain after warm weather (telegraph.co.uk)

Shares of Caterpillar traded up $2.02, reaching $155.71, during mid-day trading on Friday, MarketBeat reports. 3,889,339 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,837,434. The firm has a market cap of $93.11 billion, a PE ratio of 22.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.36. Caterpillar has a twelve month low of $101.27 and a twelve month high of $173.24.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $12.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.99 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 4.59% and a return on equity of 34.38%. Caterpillar’s revenue was up 30.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar will post 10.72 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, April 23rd were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 20th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 45.35%.

CAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. TheStreet raised shares of Caterpillar from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 24th. Vetr raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.44 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. UBS boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $189.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Seaport Global Securities raised shares of Caterpillar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $170.90 to $195.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $172.55.

In related news, CFO Joseph E. Creed sold 4,532 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.67, for a total value of $705,496.44. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,554 shares in the company, valued at $397,581.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Thomas A. Pellette sold 54,481 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.17, for a total transaction of $8,181,411.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives for construction, resource, and energy and transportation industries. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, backhoe loaders, compactors, cold planers, compact truck and multi-terrain loaders, forestry excavators, feller bunchers, harvesters, knuckleboom loaders, motorgraders, pipelayers, road reclaimers, site prep tractors, skidders, skid steer loaders, telehandlers, track-type loaders, wheel excavators, and track-type tractors.