Author: therawinformant

Chewy, Inc. (NYSE:CHWY) defied analyst predictions to release its quarterly results, which were ahead of market…

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Wall Street observers hoped recent gains signaled the arrival of blue skies, but the COVID-19 storm is thundering on. Stocks started shedding gains this week on fears of a possible second wave of coronavirus infections and a grim forecast for the economy from the Federal Reserve.A situation like this is tailor-made for defensive stock plays – and that will naturally bring investors to look at high-yield dividend stocks. But not all dividend stocks are created equal. Top analysts from Oppenheimer have chimed in – and they are recommending high-yield dividend stocks for investors looking to find protection for their portfolio. Using TipRanks database, we’ve pulled up the details on some of Oppenheimer's recommendations. These are stocks with a specific set of clear attributes, that frequently indicate a strong defensive profile: a high dividend yield, over 8%; a Moderate Buy consensus view; and a considerable upside potential — over 20%. So let’s take a closer look at three of Oppenheimer's picks.Monroe Capital (MRCC)We’ll start in the financial sector, with Monroe Capital. This private equity firm invests in the healthcare, media, retail, and tech sectors. These companies promote demographics that have less access to traditional capital resources; Monroe has stepped in to address the need.The company’s earnings took a hit in Q1, which was no surprise. The coronavirus economic hit was broad based and deep, so it was no surprise that MRCC reported 33 cents per share, or 5.7% below the forecasts. Revenue, at $16.2 million, was 2.5% below estimates, but up 8% year-over-year. Through all of that, Monroe has maintained its dividend payment. The company has an 8-year history of keeping the dividend reliable – an enviable record. Current earnings were not enough to keep the dividend at its 35-cent quarterly level; the next payment, due out on June 12, will be 25 cents per share. The downward adjustment is to keep the dividend in line with earnings. Even with the reduction, the dividend gives an annual yield of 12.2%, which is just plain stellar. Oppenheimer's Chris Kotowski sees plenty of reasons for optimism in MRCC’s long-term prospects. The 5-star analyst writes of the company, "We see relatively comfortable coverage in the next several quarters, a ~$10 NAV by year-end 2021 and see the stock as oversold relative to those expectations.""…management expects payment in 2Q20 on its $19M Rockdale Blackhawk position (currently in bankruptcy) following a favorable judgment. Proceeds will boost investment income once rotated into yielding assets or paying down debt. In addition, MRCC had ~$82M of liquidity at 3/31 across cash on balance sheet and its SBIC and the remaining draw on its credit facility, exceeding the unfunded commitment balance of $38.3M,” the analyst added.Kotowski gives MRCC a Buy rating, and his $10 price target suggests an upside of 31% for the coming year. (To watch Kotowski’s track record, click here.)Overall, MRCC shares have a Moderate Buy rating from the analyst consensus, based on 1 Buy and 2 Holds set in recent months. Rapid appreciation in the last couple of sessions has pushed the stock price near the $8 average price target. (See Monroe Capital stock analysis on TipRanks)Solar Senior Capital (SUNS)Next up is another finance company, Solar Senior Capital. SUNS is management investment company, in the externally managed non-diversified segment. Its primary investments are senior secured loans in mid-market companies with credit ratings below investment grade. Solar Senior invests first and second lien debt, as well as unitranche instruments.Solar avoided the big earnings hit that pummeled so many companies in Q1, and reported 35-cents EPS for the fifth quarter in a row. Along with the positive earnings, SUNS reported $234.1 million in net assets for the quarter, and $220 million in available capital.In area, SUNS did respond to the coronavirus epidemic. Starting in May, the company reduced its long-time stable dividend from 12 cents monthly to 10 cents. Management announced that the June payment will also be 10 cents per share. The reduced dividend payment annualizes to $1.20, and gives a yield of 9%. SUNS was reviews by Oppenheimer's Chris Kotowski, who saw reasons for buying in now. “The good news,” he wrote, “is that starting with an underlevered balance sheet and $21M of net repayments in the quarter and a well-priced debt issuance, SUNS has ample capital and liquidity to take advantage of the current market dislocation.”Kotowski rates SUNS a Buy and maintains a $15 price target, which implies a 21% upside potential. (To watch Kotowski’s track record, click here)SUNS has just two recent analyst reviews, but both are Buys, making the Moderate Buy analyst consensus rating unanimous. Shares are priced at $12.40, and the $16 average price target indicates room for 29% upside growth over the next 12 months. (See Solar Senior stock analysis on TipRanks)Outfront Media, Inc. (OUT)Last on our list is Outfront Media, a marketing company with a specialty in billboards and posters. The company uses electronic tech to update these traditional marketing staples, which remain an important part of urban marketing; billboard and posters, especially transit posters, have potential audiences in the millions. Outfront is, technically, a real estate investment trust – it owns advertising location properties, and leases them to the marketers.The economic slump in Q1 was hard on Outfront. The combination of social lockdowns and business and travel restrictions prevented normal operations, and outdoor advertising – which in these conditions did not pay for itself – took deep cuts. Even with that, OUT beat the Q1 earnings estimates. The company reported 28 cents per share, down 62% sequentially but beating the forecast by 33%. Looking ahead, however, analysts see SUNS entering a trough, with Q2 earnings estimated at a 21-cent net loss per share. On the dividend front, OUT paid out 38 cents per share in March, increasing the dividend from its long-term value of 36 cents. The new payment makes the yield 8.76%, a strong attraction for any income-minded investor.Covering this stock for Oppenheimer, analyst Ian Zaffino believes that Outfront holds a good position for long-term recovery, writing, “We continue to view June/July as the bottom and estimate a return to near preCOVID-19 levels sometime in 4Q20. Given OUT’s heavy exposure to the larger markets and national advertisers, it should enjoy a more aggressive recovery than its more local-focused peers.”Zaffino puts a $20 one-year price target on OUT, indicating a 32% upside to go along with his Buy rating. (To watch Zaffino’s track record, click here)What do other analysts say about the ad firm? It’s almost split. TipRanks analytics shows out of 5, 3 analysts are bullish on OUT stock, while 2 are sidelined. The consensus price target of $17.40 shows a potential upside of 14%. (Click here to see OUT's price targets and ratings)To find good ideas for dividend stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.

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Ackman, whose New York-based hedge fund has more than $10 billion in assets under management, is working with investment banks Jefferies, UBS Group AG and Citigroup Inc on the IPO, referred to on Wall Street as a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), the sources said. The sources requested anonymity because the IPO is still confidential.

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We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. Unfortunately, there are…

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On the heels of the blowout May jobs report, market participants got another update on how the U.S. Labor Market is faring amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis with the weekly jobless claims report Thursday morning.

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Moderna Inc on Thursday confirmed it plans to start a trial of 30,000 volunteers of its much-anticipated coronavirus vaccine in July as the company enters the final stage of testing. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech said the primary goal of the study would be to prevent symptomatic COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The key secondary goal would be prevention of severe disease, as defined by keeping people out of the hospital.

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Menlo Therapeutics Inc.'s (NASDAQ:MNLO): Menlo Therapeutics Inc., a pharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and…

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(Bloomberg Opinion) — Copper has been on a steady upward trend, charging into a bull market and toward $6,000 per metric ton. That’s going to be tough to sustain. China’s stimulus efforts are being felt most strongly in infrastructure and construction. They have been less marked in other metal-intensive corners of the market: consumer goods and exports, which are still waiting for Europe and the U.S. to rally. Meanwhile, disruptions to supply from Latin America’s unfolding coronavirus disaster haven’t been enough yet to offset annualized demand loss. What happens next will be determined by whether Chile, Peru and producers like Indonesia, home to the world’s second-largest copper mine, can do better at controlling the epidemic than resource-rich Brazil.An economic bellwether, copper crumpled earlier this year as the scale of the pandemic became clear, falling by late March to its lowest levels since late 2016. The metal has clawed most of that back and with no large market surpluses in sight, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is among brokers that have raised price forecasts. The comeback has been largely driven by China, which consumes half the world’s copper and has been steadily eating through stockpiles as industrial production restarts and building resumes. There’s plenty of encouraging evidence: Inventories, after soaring when the pandemic began, have tumbled back. Cancelled warrants, which represent metal earmarked for delivery and so suggest appetite for the physical commodity, have shot up since late May. Hiccups in mine activity are lending support. Shipments from Peru, which has seen perhaps the longest lockdown among top producers, are down by almost a fifth so far this year, according to UBS Group AG. Add in Covid- and price-related closures, project slowdowns and cuts to spending budgets, and the combination is telegraphing tight supply. Enthusiasm is visible among previously bearish money managers, who are turning bullish and adding to long positions.Is all of that enough to keep copper running high? Not necessarily. While consultancy Wood Mackenzie Ltd. estimates 2020 refined production will be down more than 1%, it expects refined consumption to contract by over 3%. The shape of China’s stimulus and recovery offers one reason for caution, as the effects of pent-up demand begin to fade. Take grid spending, usually a major driver of copper demand: After a contraction at the start of the year, investment has increased and the budget is expected to expand from a year earlier. Yet the emphasis is on ultra-high voltage electricity lines to cover long distances, which tend to use lighter aluminum. Production of consumer appliances like air conditioners is also still under pressure. Though better property and auto sales figures are encouraging, there was no significant real estate stimulus out of the recent National People’s Congress meeting. And measures to support the electric vehicle sector and its charging infrastructure may not be enough.More worrying is the weakness in the China’s exports, as seen in the May manufacturing purchasing managers’ index. About 30% of China’s apparent consumption of refined copper is actually exported, according to Cru Group, so extended lockdowns in India and elsewhere matter.It would be foolish to  underestimate China’s ability to throw money at the problem. Still, the bigger unknown for the coming weeks is how the coronavirus spreads in copper’s biggest producers. Peru has already seen exports drop but so far Chile, which accounts for about a third of global production, has continued to operate largely unscathed. That was easier when there were fewer cases in the wider population, but now the country is in the grip of a significant outbreak.Brazil, now with the second-highest case number in the world after the U.S., offers a cautionary tale. With case rates rising at and near mines, iron ore producer Vale SA has already been forced to suspend work at one complex, Itabira, and concerns are growing about the country’s north. Near its Carajas operations there, the local town of Parauapebas has 5,734 cases for a population of roughly 200,000.Indonesia is another worry, says Nick Pickens, copper research director at Wood Mackenzie, given the importance of the Freeport-McMoRan Inc.-operated Grasberg mine to additional supply into 2021. Reuters reported last month that the mine was now working with a skeletal team after a rise in coronavirus infections in the area, including in workers’ living quarters. That would add uncertainty further out, not least given the degree to which miners have cut capital expenditure, discretionary spending and care and maintenance, as Cru principal analyst Craig Lang points out. That leaves them less prepared if something goes wrong, and increases the risk of disruption. For now, though, it may take more to feed the bull run.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Clara Ferreira Marques is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering commodities and environmental, social and governance issues. Previously, she was an associate editor for Reuters Breakingviews, and editor and correspondent for Reuters in Singapore, India, the U.K., Italy and Russia.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.

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