Shares of Bunge Ltd. tumbled 11% in premarket trading Wednesday after the oilseed and grain products and ingredients company reported a surprise first-quarter loss, revenue that fell below expectations and provided a downbeat full-year outlook, saying that while it didn't experience a significant disruption to its business from the COVID-19 pandemic, it did start to see the negative impact of a change in consumer behavior in its edible oils business in March. The company swung to a net loss of $184 million, or $1.46 a share, from net income of $45 million, or 26 cents a share, in the year-ago period amid mark-to-market losses on oilseed crushing contracts and forward hedges related to its oil pipeline. Excluding non-recurring items, the company reported an adjusted loss per share of $1.34, compared with the FactSet consensus for earnings of 67 cents a share. Sales fell to $9.17 billion from $9.94 billion, while the FactSet consensus was for a rise to $10.19 billion. "Our underlying business performed well during the quarter, and the mark-to-market adjustments we incurred are expected to reverse in the coming quarters," said Chief Executive Greg Heckman. The company said it expects 2020 EPS to be lower than its original expectation. The stock has dropped 29.3% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has lost 14.3%.
Image source: The Motley Fool. Bunge Ltd (NYSE: BG)Q1 2020 Earnings CallMay 6, 2020, 8:00 a.m. ETContents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks: OperatorGood morning and welcome to the Bunge First Quarter 2020 Earnings Release and Conference Call.
Bunge (BG) delivered earnings and revenue surprises of -309.38% and -6.56%, respectively, for the quarter ended March 2020. Do the numbers hold clues to what lies ahead for the stock?
In a financial environment riddled with unprecedented levels of uncertainty, investors are at wits’ end. When it comes to finding an investment strategy that will yield returns, traditional methods might not be as dependable. So, how should investors get out of the rut? In times like these, a more comprehensive stock analysis can steer investors in the direction of returns. Rather than looking solely at more conventional factors like fundamental or technical analyses, other metrics can play a key role in determining whether or not a particular stock is on a clear path forward. TipRanks offers a tool that does exactly that. Its Smart Score measures eight key metrics including fundamentals and technicals while also taking into account analyst, blogger and news sentiment as well as hedge fund and corporate insider activity. After analyzing each metric, a single numerical score is generated, with 10 being the best possible result. Using the Best Stocks to Buy tool, we were able to pour through TipRanks’ database, filtering the results to show only the names that have earned a “Perfect 10” Smart Score. We found seven that managed to tick all of the boxes. Let’s jump right in. Limelight Networks, Inc. (LLNW) Limelight Networks is best known for being a content delivery network (CDN) service provider, with its solutions enabling organizations to deliver digital assets that are fast, reliable and secure. With the growth story set to get even better, it’s no wonder LLNW has scored fans out on the Street. Among the bulls is Northland Capital analyst Michael Latimore. After hosting a call with the company’s management team, he told clients that he walked away even more positive on the stock. “LLNW is a company with improving growth rates, expanding margins, and top tier customers; and getting a little help via work-from-home. We believe management remains confident in growth patterns, especially given new customers coming on board, and a healthy additional tailwind via work-from-home,” the analyst commented. To support his bullish thesis, Latimore highlights the fact that going forward into Q2 and Q3, new customer launches should drive significant sequential growth, more so in full year 2021 than full year 2020. Online gaming updates as well as new sports content could also help propel the stock forward. Latimore added, “Traffic related to work-from-home peaked at the end of March, but LLNW is managing more traffic than ever on a daily basis... LLNW has perfected its platform for OTT video and is in every conversation among new meaningful OTT video and live event providers.” As its top 20 customers, which account for 77% of revenue, are financially sound, the deal is sealed for Latimore. To this end, the five-star analyst left an Outperform rating and $8 price target on LLNW, implying 51% upside potential. (To watch Latimore’s track record, click here)Do other analysts agree with Latimore? As it turns out, they do. With 100% Street support, or 4 Buy ratings to be exact, the message is clear: LLNW is a Strong Buy. At $7.50, the average price target is less aggressive than Latimore’s, but still suggests 41% upside potential. See the LLNW stock analysis. Krystal Biotech, Inc. (KRYS) Using its STAR-D platform, Krystal Biotech develops and commercializes innovative therapies that target various dermatologic conditions. On the heels of its recent data release, some Wall Street pros believe that now is the time to snap up shares. During the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) virtual meeting, the company presented positive in vitro preclinical data for replication-defective HSV-1-based gene therapy (GT), KB407, in cystic fibrosis (CF), the most common inherited genetic disorder in the U.S. Based on the update, the asset was able to infect small airway epithelial cells (SAECs) and generate a robust expression of functional, full-length human CFTR protein that properly traffics to the cell membrane. Commenting on this result for Chardon Capital, five-star analyst Gbola Amusa stated, “This result suggests KB407 has overcome the issues of limited-capacity GT vectors not infecting the appropriate cells of the lungs.” He also pointed out that KB407 went head-to-head with Orkambi (G418) in relevant mutations, but also worked broadly on functional correction of the cystic phenotype of organoids. Amusa added, “We thus see the KB407 in vitro data as a good start en route to Krystal testing KB407 for other issues that have held back GTs for CF, namely: (1) redosing (B-VEC data suggest Krystal's vectors can be re-dosed), and (2) delivery (upcoming mouse nebulizer data will shed light).” It should be noted that Vertex Pharmaceuticals is already well positioned within the space, but Amusa argues that a therapy for the 10% of CF patients with class I mutations, which cause the most severe phenotypes, still isn’t available, leaving the door wide open for KRYS. Based on all of the above, Amusa calls the stock a Top Pick for 2020. Along with a Buy rating, the $100 price target remains unchanged. This target puts the upside potential at 89%. (To watch Amusa’s track record, click here) What does the rest of the Street think about Krystal Biotech’s long-term growth prospects? It turns out that other analysts also have high hopes. Only Buy ratings, 6, in fact, have been received in the last three months, so the consensus rating is a Strong Buy. In addition, the $81 average price target indicates 53% upside potential. See the KRYS stock analysis. Celsius Holdings, Inc. (CELH) Celsius Holdings offers a portfolio of fitness drinks under the flagship CELSIUS brand that provide healthy energy while accelerating the metabolism and burning body fat. Following its Q1 2020 earnings release, the analyst community is singing its praises. On May 12, CELH reported revenue of $28.2 million, which flew past the Street’s $13.4 million call and reflected a whopping 94.6% year-over-year gain. Up 660 basis points year-over-year, gross margin also surpassed the consensus estimate. The driver of this impressive quarterly performance? Maxim Group’s Anthony Vendetti believes it was “the continued momentum and traction CELH is gaining as its products expand both nationally and abroad.” Even though he acknowledges that consumer purchasing behaviors have changed, the analyst highlights the fact that functional beverage demand is holding up strong. In addition, COVID-19 played a role during the first quarter. “CELH has seen a surge in grocery deliveries and online orders and, in response, has stockpiled inventory and secured additional distribution and co-packer agreements. Additionally, the company has pivoted its marketing resources to digital programs, better reflecting the current macro environment. Although we believe that CELH has received a short-term sales bump from COVID-19, we remain positive in the long-term as the company continues to expand its distribution network and highlight itself as a 'lifestyle brand,' where active, routine customers continue to drive growth,” Vendetti explained. All of the above combined with a compelling valuation prompted Vendetti to maintain a Buy recommendation. On top of this, the four-star analyst bumped up the price target from $8 to $12, bringing the upside potential to 33%. (To watch Vendetti’s track record, click here) Looking at the consensus breakdown, 4 Buys and no Holds or Sells give CELH a unanimous Strong Buy analyst consensus. Not to mention the $11.31 average price target suggests 26% upside potential. See the CELH stock analysis. NeoPhotonics Corporation (NPTN) NeoPhotonics is one of the top manufacturers of ultra-pure light lasers and optoelectronic products that transmit, receive and switch the highest speed over distance digital optical signals for cloud and hyper-scale data center internet content provider and telecom networks. After tuning in to the company’s recent webinar, one analyst thinks its future is bright. Needham’s Alex Henderson cites a few key takeaways from the webinar discussing “Optical Technology Trends and Capacity in IP over DWDM”. “The primary points of the presentation is the shift to higher speeds and the emergence of standardization enabling Pluggables strengthens Neo's competitive position should drive increased market share and improve margins,” he commented. Part of what makes NPTN a stand-out, in Henderson’s opinion, is that it has a diverse product lineup that’s ready to accelerate in new arenas. It has also already been seeing traction with its more advanced capabilities. This translates to a significant competitive advantage for NPTN. Additionally, the company believes that its speeds will reach 400G and above, which will give it the chance to capture even more market share. On top of this, the expansion into the C++ extended spectrum bands is producing design wins. Henderson explained, “Neo's ability to use the same components and to take advantages of the ultra-clean signal enables Neo to offer as much as a 50% increase in spectral capacity using C++. This is an important advantage. Neo is already seeing considerable traction particularly in China for this technology.” Taking all of this into consideration, Henderson stayed with the bulls. Along with a Buy rating, he reiterated a $12 price target. This target conveys the five-star analyst’s confidence in NPTN’s ability to surge 45% in the next twelve months. (To watch Henderson’s track record, click here) In general, other analysts echo Hendersons’s sentiment. 7 Buys and 1 Hold add up to a Strong Buy consensus rating. A twelve-month rise of 45% could be in store if the $12.07 average price target is met. See the NPTN stock analysis. Bunge Limited (BG) Counting itself as the world’s largest soybean processor, Bunge Limited operates as an agribusiness and food company. Connecting farmers and consumers, the company is also involved in food processing, grain trading and fertilizer. Sure, 2020 has not been kind to this stock, with shares down 38% year-to-date, but several analysts see a turnaround on the horizon. The recent negative sentiment surrounding BG can be attributed to its most recent quarterly performance. Looking at revenue, the figure came in at $9.2 billion, missing the consensus estimate by 8.6%. It also didn’t help that a loss of $1.46 per share was reported. That being said, Baird analyst Ben Kallo is looking at the glass half full. Speaking to its recent portfolio optimization, the five-star analyst believes the company has “unlocked substantial value.” Additionally, the stock is trading at levels that are less than book value. As a result, he argues that now is the time for investors to “get more constructive on the longer-term earnings power story, enabled by BG's leading (and underappreciated) asset footprint.” It should also be noted that last week, BG declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.50 per common share as well as a $1.22 per share quarterly dividend on its 4.9% cumulative convertible perpetual preference shares. With everything that Bunge has going for it, it’s clear why Kallo is optimistic. Giving the stock a thumbs up, the analyst upgraded his rating from Neutral to Outperform. At $46, his price target suggests shares could climb 30% higher in the twelve months ahead. (To watch Kallo’s track record, click here) Turning now to the rest of the Street, most other analysts are on the same page. Out of 4 analysts that have thrown an opinion into the mix, 3 were bullish, making the consensus rating a Strong Buy. To top it all off, the $57.50 average price target speeds past Kallo’s and brings the upside potential to 63%. See the BG stock analysis. PetIQ, Inc. (PETQ) Through retail channels across the U.S., PetIQ offers affordable pet health and wellness products as well as veterinary services. While the company, like the broader market, has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, some analysts believe gains are in store post-virus. Writing for Oppenheimer, five-star analyst Brian Nagel tells clients that PETQ is well-positioned to stage a post-COVID-19 rebound. “We are increasingly optimistic that the products and services businesses of PETQ should prove situated well to capitalize upon improved underlying consumer demand, given a recent surge in pet adoptions and rescues amid broad-based shelter in place orders across the U.S.,” he said. Adding to the good news, PETQ just unveiled its telehealth platform. As part of the collaboration with whiskerDocs, prior PetIQ service customers will have access to various telehealth services, with a more comprehensive digital experience for new and existing customers coming later down the road. To conclude, Nagel opined, “In our view, PETQ represents one of the most compelling, early stage small-cap growth stories to emerge in the consumer sector in a long while. A few key factors underpin our initial positive stance on the shares: 1) Potential for sustained, outsized topline expansion, owing to a still small market share, a unique consumer proposition, and favorable industry dynamics; 2) Already compelling free cash flow generation and the opportunity for rapidly expanding sales to leverage largely fixed operating expenses; and 3) An attractive valuation.” It should come as no surprise, then, that Nagel kept an Outperform call and $50 price target on the stock. Given this target, shares could jump 73% in the next year. (To watch Nagel’s track record, click here) Like Nagel, other analysts also like what they’re seeing. With 3 Buys and no Holds or Sells, the word on the Street is that the stock is a Strong Buy. In addition, the $39 average price target implies 35% upside potential. See the PETQ stock analysis. Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (OCUL) Last but not least on our list of Perfect 10s we have Ocular Therapeutix, which leverages its formulation expertise to develop cutting-edge treatments. With the company dosing the first patient in the Phase 1 open-label trial of OTX-CSI, its bioresorbable insert designed to release drug to the ocular surface for up to three months as a treatment of dry eye disease (DED), it’s clear why Wall Street focus has locked in on this healthcare name. Looking more closely at the trial, it’s being conducted in a single center in the U.S., with it slated to enroll five patients and follow them for four months. As for why OCUL is garnering so much attention, it comes down to the design of the therapy. OTX-CSI enables preservative-free delivery of a constant dose of cyclosporine, which could be less irritating than eye drop formulations. In addition, blocking the punctum may provide immediate relief for dry eye symptoms. H.C. Wainwright analyst Yi Chen acknowledges that there’s already a treatment available for DED called RESTASIS, which generated sales of $1.1 billion in 2019. However, the analyst points out that the irritating side effects and slow onset of efficacy have led to high patient dropout rates. Expounding on this, Chen stated, “In our view, an intracanalicular insert approach could be a better route of administration for chronic DED treatment; OTX-CSI could be less irritating and faster-acting compared to RESTASIS, in addition to eliminating the burden of twice-daily eye drop instillation required for RESTASIS.” It should be noted that OCUL also faces competition from Oyester Point Pharma and its OC-01 candidate, but its recent data readout revealed lackluster levels of efficacy. “OC-01’s efficacy on DED symptom is a mixed bag at best, in our view, and neither dose met the symptom endpoint twice in the two studies. In addition, neither dose met the secondary symptom endpoint,” Chen mentioned. All in all, Chen believes OCUL’s long-term growth prospects are strong. As a result, the five-star analyst reiterated a Buy rating and $10 price target, suggesting 39% upside potential. (To watch Chen’s track record, click here) When it comes to other analysts, they take a similar approach. Two other analysts have published a review in the last three months, and both rated the stock a Buy, so the consensus rating is a Strong Buy. Based on the $9.67 average price target, the upside potential lands at 34%. See the OCUL stock analysis.
Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG) today announced that its Chief Financial Officer, John Neppl, will participate in a fireside chat at Goldman Sachs Industrials & Materials Conference on Friday, May 15, 2020, at 11:20 AM ET.
ALRM earnings call for the period ending March 31, 2020.
Last week, you might have seen that Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) released its quarterly result to the market. The early...
Agricultural commodities trader Bunge Ltd reported a first-quarter loss on Wednesday and lowered its full-year forecast as the coronavirus crisis hammered demand for fuel and upended global food supply chains, sending shares plunging 11%. Demand for edible oils fell toward the end of the January-to-March period as the crisis shuttered restaurants and suspended travel, while crashing Brazilian ethanol prices and whipsawing currency markets dented Bunge's outlook for its sugar and bioenergy unit. "We expect to see a greater impact from COVID-19 in our business in the second quarter, primarily in our edible oils business."
RDS.A, RDS.B earnings call for the period ending March 31, 2020.
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Confectionery players now have a solution at hand to achieve unprecedented levels of sugar reduction without the worry of compromising on product taste. Bunge Loders Croklaan (BLC), a world leader in edible specialty oils and fats announces the launch of Sweetolin; a patent-pending total fat system with solutions in confectionery coatings and fillings applications, enabling up to 50% sugar reduction in the final product.
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Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG) today announced that Greg Heckman, Chief Executive Officer, will participate in a fire side chat at the BMO Capital Markets 15th Annual Farm to Market Conference on Wednesday, May 13, at 10:40AM ET.
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BG earnings call for the period ending March 31, 2020.
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Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG) announced that its Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.50 per common share. The dividend is payable on September 1, 2020 to shareholders of record on August 17, 2020.
By Geoffrey Smith
The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 rose above 71,000 on Wednesday, as President Donald Trump appeared to back off his announcement that he would phase out the government task force created to manage the pandemic
Q1 2020 Bunge Ltd Earnings Call
Brazil recorded a $19.7 billion maritime trade surplus in the first four months of the year as imports by value fell as the real currency weakened and exports of agriculture goods remained strong, a port operators group said on Monday. The surplus is 14.56% wider than in the same period of 2019 despite the crisis caused by the novel coronavirus, which has disrupted transport systems worldwide, said ATP, which represents Brazilian private-sector terminal operators including miner Vale and grain merchant Bunge. The widened surplus reflects the fact that Brazilian ports have operated regularly amid the pandemic, ATP said in a statement.
(Bloomberg) -- The world’s largest agricultural commodities traders, already contending with the closure of restaurants, now have one more thing to worry about: the slowdown of American meat plants.Lockdowns from New York to Los Angeles already meant people were eating more at home, hitting demand for cooking oil made from soybeans. Now shutdowns and slowdowns at American meat plants are forcing farmers to cull their animals, cutting the need for soy meal, a key ingredient in feed rations.Bunge Ltd., the top processor of soybeans globally, has already slowed crushing operations in the U.S. by 10%, according to Chief Executive Officer Greg Heckman. Rival Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. reduced utilization rates of its factories in North America by 5 percentage points, the company said last week.“We’ll run for margin and we’ll run the crush to meet demand,” Heckman said in an earnings call Wednesday. In the U.S., between maintenance and adjusting to demand, “we’ve cut crush almost 10%,” he said.Soybean processing yields oil, which is used for cooking and biodiesel, as well as the meal that goes into animal feed. With both markets being upended by the novel coronavirus, profits from crushing the oilseed have already tumbled to their lowest level in about six months.President Donald Trump recently ordered meat plants to stay open and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said facilities that previously closed should be up and running in 10 days. Still, many will operate at slower-than-usual rates for social distancing, meaning producers will continue to euthanize animals. As many as 7 million pigs are expected to be killed in the second quarter, according to CoBank, a lender to the agriculture industry.Bunge reduced crush rates in the U.S. to match supply and demand and because it had deferred maintenance from the first quarter. ADM ran at “extremely strong rates” in the first quarter, matching the previous record for the period and, while it has reduced production, it’s still running at “relatively strong utilization rates,” it said in emailed response to questions.Soybean meal buyers are also opting to pick up supplies in the spot market “and not filling the pipelines as much,” Bunge said by email.The lack of meal demand is adding to the backup of soybean oil, with stockpiles in the U.S. rising 7.8% in March from a month earlier, according to National Oilseed Processors Association data released by Thomson Reuters. That’s prompted a squeeze for storage space in the U.S.“There’s a lot of people fighting for liquid storage these days in North America,” ADM CEO Juan Luciano said in an earnings call last week. “We’re comfortable with the level of adjustment in production that we have at this point.”For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG) will hold its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on Thursday, May 21, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. Central Time. As part of the Company's effort to maintain a safe and healthy environment at its Annual General Meeting and to protect the well-being of its shareholders, its employees and communities, this year's meeting will be a "virtual-only" meeting and will be conducted exclusively online via live audio webcast that can be accessed at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/BG2020.
The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 rose above 71,000 on Wednesday, as President Donald Trump appeared to back off his announcement that he would phase out the government task force created to manage the pandemic
The historic 66% dividend cut caught many investors by surprise.
Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG) announced the preliminary results of its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, which was held as a virtual meeting conducted on May 21, 2020 via live audio webcast.
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The S&P 500 has spent the month of May bouncing in the range between 2,800 and 3,000. While the index remains 11% below its all-time high, there is a cautious sense of optimism, that the worst of the bear market is behind us.Investors may be feeling upbeat, and anticipating a recovery in 2H20, but times are still volatile. To make sense of them, TipRanks offers the Smart Score, a comprehensive tool which analyzes every stock in the TipRanks database according to 8 interrelated factors. The data is measured and collated by sophisticated AI algorithms, and used to generate a single score for each stock. Shown on a 1 to 10 scale, the Smart Score is based on analyst, blogger, and investor sentiment, and collective indicators such as hedge activity and insider trading. Today, we’ll look at three high-yield dividend stocks that have earned a ‘perfect 10’ from the Smart Score. For investors seeking a clear forward path, the data shows that these are the picks most likely to bring solid returns. Each of these stocks combines its perfect Smart Score with a reliable dividend history, giving investors a secure income stream. Let’s dive in.Bunge, Ltd. (BG)First up is Bunge, an important company in the world’s food and agriculture food chain. Chances are, the food you eat depends on Bunge. The company specializes in oils and milled grains used by commercial brands and restaurants around the world. Bunge also deals in storage, transport, and processing of raw materials for end products in high-protein livestock feed. Other operations include corn, sugarcane, and wheat growing and processing.Since we all need to eat, Bunge benefits from occupying an essential niche. Even so, the coronavirus pandemic found ways to hit the company. The various lockdown and shutdown policies enacted globally in Q1 slowed restaurant and commercial food businesses almost to a halt. BG saw reported income swing from a $1.27 per share profit in Q4 to a $1.34 per share net loss in Q1. BG shares have underperformed in recent months, and are still down 31% from February levels.Despite the earnings slide, Bunge’s management has chosen to maintain the company’s dividend – a dividend that has been paid out regularly since 2001. At 50 cents quarterly, the current payment annualizes to $2.00, and gives an impressive yield of 5.65%. This is almost triple the 2% average yield found among peer companies in the industrial good sector.The Smart Score on BG shares gets its boost from the ‘sentiment’ factors. As may be expected in a difficult market environment, the technical and fundamental analysis factors are negative – but insiders have purchased $9.9 million worth of BG shares in recent months, and hedge fund activity has also increased. The professional stock watchers, both analysts and bloggers, are also strongly positive on this stock. These upbeat indicators outweigh the negatives in this case.Covering BG shares for BMO Capital, 5-star analyst Kenneth Zaslow writes, “BG remains our "Top Pick" for 2020, as BG's underlying business fundamentals relative to its value appear to be largely misunderstood… BG’s internal operational improvements, nimble risk management framework, and underlying fundamentals enable BG to maintain its Agribusiness outlook… Despite BG's stock reaction, BG's economic earnings reduction represents less than 5% on EBITDA (i.e., majority is non-cash) and likely is temporary.”In line with his position that this stock has a fundamentally sound foundation, Zaslow gives it a Buy rating. His $72 price target indicates his confidence, suggesting a 91% upside in the coming year. (To watch Zaslow’s track record, click here)Wall Street is in general agreement that Bunge represents a buying opportunity. The Strong Buy analyst consensus rating is based on 4 reviews, including 3 Buys and a single Hold. Shares are priced at $35.53, while the average price target of $57.50 implies a health upside of 61%. (See Bunge stock analysis at TipRanks)Hudson Pacific Properties (HPP)Next up, Hudson Pacific, is a real estate investment trust, a type of company well-known for offering high-yield dividends. REITs operate by buying, managing, and leasing a range of residential and commercial properties, or by offering and investing in mortgages and mortgage-backed securities. HPP focuses on office space, in the lucrative Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Vancouver markets. The company’s assets include 15 million square feet of leasable office space, located in prime high-tech development areas. Among Hudson’s clients are Alphabet and Netflix.Q1 has been difficult for the REIT sector. With economic activity mainly shut down, business income streams have slowed to a trickle – which trickles down, as no income makes expenses, like rent, hard to meet. HPP reported EPS of 54 cents in Q1, down 2% from Q4, and Q2 is forecast at 50 cents. The company has maintained its dividend during the downturn – but this is no surprise, as the payout ratio is only 46% and REITs are required by tax code to return a high proportion of profits directly to shareholders. The 25-cent quarterly dividend represents a yield of 4.7%, more than double that found among peer companies.Hudson shares many of the same Smart Score advantages as Bunge, above. Analyst and blogger sentiment are both positive, and hedge and insider purchases are both increasing. While most of the technical and fundamentals are in the red, one of them – asset growth – is highly positive. Asset growth is up 6.39% over the past 12 months. All of this adds up to a perfect 10 on the Smart Score.Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Goldfarb is deeply impressed by HPP’s potential looking forward. He sees the company as uniquely well-positioned to benefit as the economy reopens: “We are even more bulled up by the prospects of increased demand for HPP's studio and media-oriented assets coupled with its ability to re-imagine space for the gaming and entertainment industries. HPP stands alone in its material exposure to these industries (17% ABR to media and entertainment), which have a pressing need to return to production for new content in the wake of the binge consumption occurring during COVID... With talent hesitant to travel, car-loving LA makes HPP well positioned to not only re-open soon but also with the office product in high demand.”Goldfarb puts a Buy rating on HPP, and his $28 price target implies a healthy upside potential of 21% for the coming 12 months. (To watch Goldfarb’s track record, click here)The Street’s consensus on HPP is a Strong Buy, based on 5 Buy ratings and 1 Hold set in recent weeks. Hudson’s shares are selling for $23.14, and the average price target is slightly more bullish than Goldfarb’s; at $28.20, it indicates a 22% upside potential. (See Hudson Pacific stock analysis on TipRanks)CVS Health Corporation (CVS)Last on our list is a company you’re likely familiar with. CVS is well-known for its pharmacy chain, an asset that has proven especially valuable in the current climate. Unlike most companies – and the overall market – which saw declines in Q1 2020, CVS actually reported a quarterly earnings sequential gain. While the company had been expected to show a decline to $1.62 per share, EPS was reported at $1.91. This was up 10% from Q4, and an even stronger 19% year-over-year. The demand for pharmacy goods and service should be obvious to all.Solid earnings support a solid dividend. CVS is paying out 50 cents quarterly, or $2 per year, on each share. The company has kept its dividend payments reliable for the last 15 years, in good times or bad, adding to the dividend’s allure. The current yield is 3.2%, which beats the 2.5% average yield found among peers in the consumer goods sector.The Smart Score for CVS includes favorable views from analysts and bloggers, and heavy purchase activity from insiders and hedges. A good example of the positive analyst sentiment comes from Credit Suisse analyst A.J. Rice. Rice has upgraded his stance on this stock, raising his view from Neutral to Buy. His $75 price target suggests room for a solid 17% upside this year. (To watch Rice’s track record, click here)Backing his view on CVS, Rice writes, “CVS’ Pharmacy Services Segment is Outperforming Expectations, as PBM Selling Season Shaping up Nicely. CVS is seeing an easing of rebate guarantee pressures which it saw peak in 2019, become less of a headwind in 2020, and are expected to be de minimis in 2021… CVS has remained on track-to-ahead of its synergies, modernization, and transformation initiatives, which could provide future upside.”CVS shares have 13 recent reviews, breaking down to 10 Buys and 3 Holds and making the analyst consensus rating a Strong Buy. Shares are trading for $64.64, and the average price target of $79.50 implies a strong 23% upside potential for the stock over the next one year. (See CVS stock analysis on TipRanks)To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- There’s one obvious culprit in the looming U.S. meat crisis being driven by the spread of Covid-19: The decline of the American slaughterhouse. Despite being the world’s second-largest meat consumer after China, the country stuns, kills and dismembers almost all of its annual production of 130 million pigs, 33.6 million cows and 2.3 million sheep in just over 800 facilities. Five decades ago there were more than 10 times as many.(1)If anything, those figures understate quite how concentrated the slaughter industry is. About two-thirds of America’s pork passes through the 24 giant facilities owned by Smithfield Foods Inc., JBS SA, Tyson Foods Inc. and Clemens Family Corp. More than 80% of beef comes from about a dozen abattoirs owned by Tyson, JBS, Cargill Inc. and Marfrig Global Foods SA.That presents a bottleneck for the American meat trade not unlike the one causing such ructions in the country’s oil business. It’s worryingly easy for disease outbreaks to spread among slaughter-plant staff, who work for low wages, in close quarters, in long shifts, and often share tightly packed break rooms and transportation around the site.Once one plant becomes a Covid-19 hotspot, the knock-on effects can be profound. Supply chains aren’t configured for pigs and cows to leave the site except in the form of chilled cuts, so it’s not easy to move them elsewhere. Read more: A Pork Panic Won’t Save Our BaconThose who expect the current situation will lead to a revival of smaller-scale abattoirs forget how America’s meat industry ended up this way in the first place. If the current shape of the livestock supply chain is a result of anything, it’s been the interplay of more than a century of food-safety regulation, logistics and labor force arbitrage. The coronavirus will just move that process another step forward.Scale, and the problems it engenders, has always been a central feature of the industry. When canals and rail routes through Chicago first joined the Midwestern farm belt to the populous East Coast in the mid-19th century, the slaughterhouse at the juncture — Union Stock Yards — grew to be the world’s largest. Conditions in the yards were notorious, with little regard for the safety of either the meat produced or the low-wage, immigrant workforce. Upton Sinclair’s 1906 novel “The Jungle” attempted to draw attention to the latter, but its most lasting result was the regime of federal slaughterhouse regulations. Now there’s approximately one government food inspector for every 10 employees in slaughtering and packing.Over the past 40 years, tighter oversight, better transport and economies of scale have driven slaughterhouses out of America’s cities to giant facilities across the Midwest, Great Plains and South. More than a dozen of these little-known sites are about as large as the Union Stock Yards. Modern slaughter plants are built close to feedlots and the grain and soy fields that supply them. That means most meat is transported in the form of cuts, which pound-for-pound cost about a hundred times as much as live animals. Located in rural areas, they can pay their workers less than would be expected in the city, too.It’s hard to see how making these facilities more resilient to infectious outbreaks among workers would reverse the concentration of previous decades. After all, better hygiene and humane standards for meat, and the (worthwhile) regulatory burden that entails, are one of the main reasons so many small-scale slaughterhouses have closed down in recent decades. The sorts of changes that would be needed post-coronavirus — spacing workers further apart and separated by screens, staggering shift periods and providing more break rooms — are likely to be easiest for larger plants to implement. To the extent that better practices help improve the meager wages of abattoir workers, that, too, will probably benefit the meat producers with the biggest market share and ability to pass on costs to consumers.Returns at the biggest businesses are sufficient to cover their capital costs, but hardly excessive. Investors generally prefer grains processors such as Bunge Ltd. and Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. Red meat consumption in the U.S. has fallen by a quarter since the 1970s. The concentration of America’s meat packing industry is ultimately a symptom of its weakness, rather than its strength.(1) We're counting only federally inspected slaughter plants, which make up more than 95% of the industry, as they're the only ones allowed to transport their product across state lines. There are also about 300 federally inspected poultry plants, in addition to several thousand downstream plants where carcasses are further jointed and processed.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.David Fickling is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering commodities, as well as industrial and consumer companies. He has been a reporter for Bloomberg News, Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and the Guardian.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
HON earnings call for the period ending March 31, 2020.
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Agricultural commodities trader Bunge Ltd reported a quarterly loss on Wednesday compared with a year-ago profit, impacted by a $385 million charge in its agribusiness segment. Bunge's agribusiness unit is involved in the purchase, processing and sale of agricultural commodities like oilseeds and grains. About 33% of the grain merchant's processing capacity is located in South America.