Category: Stock Market News

Shares of Air Products & Chemicals Inc. rose 3.7% Tuesday, after the industrial gases company beat profit and sales estimates and raised its outlook for 2017. Lehigh, Pa.-based Air Products said it had net income of $102 million, or 46 cents a share, in the second quarter, down sharply from $354 million, or $347 million, or $1.59 a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $1.65, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $1.59. Sales rose 11% to $2.12 billion, also ahead of the FactSet consensus of $2.06 billion. The company raised its adjusted EPS forecast for the full year to $6.20 to $6.25, a 10 cents gain from prior guidance at the midpoint. Shares have gained 2.6% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 10.5%.

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Shares of engine maker Cummins Inc. slid 5% Tuesday and were the second-biggest decliner on the S&P 500, after the company missed profit estimates for the second quarter. Columbus, Ind.-based Cummins said it had net income of $424 million, or $2.53 a share, in the quarter, up from $406 million, or 2.40 a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue rose 12% to $5.1 billion. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of $2.58 and revenue of $4.8 billion. “Earnings increased due to solid operational performance, partially offset by higher warranty costs that resulted in second quarter EBIT that was below our expectations” Chief Executive Tom Linebarger said in a statement. However, due to stronger demand from truck and construction markets in North America and China, the company raised its full-year outlook. It now expects revenue to climb 9% to 11%, up from prior guidance of 4% to 7%. Shares have gained 25% in 2017, outperforming the S&P 500’s 10.6%.

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Shares of Ford Motor Co. dropped 2.9% in very active morning trade Tuesday, after the auto maker reported a sharp drop in car and truck sales in July. Volume topped 19 million shares within the first 30 minutes after the open, already more than half the full-day average, and enough to make the stock the most actively traded on the major U.S. exchanges. Ford said total vehicle sales for last month tumbled 7.5% from a year, as a 19.4% plunge in car sales and a 7.1% slide in truck sales offset a 2.2% rise in SUV sales. Separately, rival General Motors Co.’s stock slid 3% after reporting July vehicle sales fell 14%. Ford’s stock has now lost 10.2% year to date, while GM shares have edged up 0.2% and the S&P 500 has gained 10.5%.

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Athenahealth Inc. shares surged 4.2% in morning trade Tuesday after the company announced a slate of changes as part of a strategic review, including about $100 million in cost-saving opportunities. Athenahealth also plans to create a president role and separate the roles of chairman and CEO. The company said it would provide more information about cost-saving opportunities, including plans to “significantly” increase operating margins in 2018 and afterwards, by its third quarter earnings release, which is scheduled for October. Athenahealth shares have surged 37.3% year-to-date, compared with a 10.4% rise in the S&P 500 .

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The E.W. Scripps Company said on Tuesday it has acquired four national TV networks after buying the Katz broadcast networks in a deal worth $302 million. Scripps was already a 5% owner in part of Katz, so its net purchase price is $292 million, according to a news release. The four networks are expected to generate about $180 million in revenue and about $30 million in segment profit next year and Scripps expects it to be accretive to earnings in 2018 and beyond. The four networks are Bounce TV, Grit, Escape and Laff. “In today’s fragmented television ecosystem, a growing number of viewers are consuming content from new over-the-air networks as a complement to over-the-top services,” said Scripps Chief Executive Rich Boehne. “The entrepreneurs at Katz were among the first to take full advantage of this resurgence in over-the-air viewing. We were early investors in the company, and it’s a strategy and team we know well.” Scripps intends to pay for the deal with $250 million of new debt and about $50 million in cash on hand. The company expects the deal to close Oct. 2. Jonathan Katz, former programming executive at Turner Broadcasting, will continue to lead the Katz networks business. Shares of Scripps are up more than 2% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 10%.

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U.S. stock benchmarks kicked off trade on Tuesday in record territory, powered by better-than-expected, corporate quarterly results that have put the Dow within striking distance of a milestone at 22,000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened firmly higher, up 0.4% at 21,985, the S&P 500 index climbed 0.3% at 2,477, near an intraday record at 2,484.04. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.4% at 6,375, putting it in line to close at a new record. Solid earnings have been at the heart of the recent uptrend. As of last Friday, 73% of the S&P 500 companies that had reported earnings posted sales numbers above estimates, according to FactSet. That puts the second quarter on track to mark the highest percentage of companies beating sales forecasts since FactSet began tracking data in 2008. In corporate news, iPhone maker and the world’s biggest company by market value, Apple Inc. was set to report quarterly results after the close of Tuesday trade. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company can be a big influence on market sentiment and trade. On the economic front, consumer spending in June rose by the smallest amount in five months as income growth flat-lined, but lower gasoline prices also played a role.The personal-consumption expenditures index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, was flat in June. What’s more, the 12-month rate of inflation stood at 1.4%, down from 2.2% earlier in the year. Sluggish inflation is expected to decelerate the pace of the central bank’s rate-increase efforts.

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Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. said on Tuesday it has acquired four national TV networks after buying the Katz broadcast networks in a deal worth $302 million. Scripps, which is set to be acquired by Discovery Communications Inc. , was already a 5% owner in part of Katz, so its net purchase price is $292 million, according to a news release. The four networks are expected to generate about $180 million in revenue and about $30 million in segment profit next year and Scripps expects it to be accretive to earnings in 2018 and beyond. The four networks are Bounce TV, Grit, Escape and Laff. “In today’s fragmented television ecosystem, a growing number of viewers are consuming content from new over-the-air networks as a complement to over-the-top services,” said Scripps Chief Executive Rich Boehne. “The entrepreneurs at Katz were among the first to take full advantage of this resurgence in over-the-air viewing. We were early investors in the company, and it’s a strategy and team we know well.” Scripps intends to pay for the deal with $250 million of new debt and about $50 million in cash on hand. The company expects the deal to close Oct. 2. Jonathan Katz, former programming executive at Turner Broadcasting, will continue to lead the Katz networks business. Shares of Scripps are up more than 22% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 10%.

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The biggest drivers of the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s climb to its next 1,000-point milestone of 22,000 have been the shares of old-school components Boeing Co. and McDonald’s Corp. . Since the Dow first closed above 21,000 on March 1, 2017, when it closed at 21,115.55, Boeing’s stock has run up $58.55, or 32%, through Monday to add about 401 points to the Dow’s price. Over the same time, McDonald’s shares have rallied $26.09, or 20%, to account for about 179 Dow points. Boeing has been in the Dow since March 12, 1987 and McDonald’s has been a blue chipper since Oct. 30, 1985. Of the biggest drags on the Dow since the last milestone, International Business Machines’ stock , which has been a Dow component since June 29, 1979, has shed $37.28, or 20%, to shave 255 points off the Dow. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s stock , which entered the Dow in Sept. 23, 2013, has fallen $27.38, or 11%, to take off about 188 points. The Dow closed Monday at 21,891.12, and Dow futures were up 106 points.

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Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. ran up 1.8% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the air carrier was upgraded for a second straight day, this time by J.P. Morgan. Analyst Jamie Baker raised her rating to overweight from neutral, and her stock price target to $61 from $52. Baker believes that several initiatives, such as expansion of basic economy and higher paid load factors in the domestic premium cabin will drive higher returns and stronger unit revenue. “Additionally, American will host its first post-merger investor day in September, and we could envision several positive outcomes from that including more concrete longer term financial targets and improved capital allocation,” Baker wrote in a note to clients. On Monday, Cowen & Co.’s Helane Becker upgraded American to outperform, citing a “compelling” earnings outlook for next year. Baker also upgraded Spirit Airlines Inc. to outperform from neutral, saying the price war with United Continental Holdings Inc. is “less dire” than investors appear to believe. American’s stock has gained 8.0% year to date through Thursday while Spirit shares have tumbled 33%. Meanwhile, the NYSE Arca Airline Index has slipped 0.4% and the S&P 500 has gained 10%.

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Athenahealth Inc. shares surged 2.5% in premarket trade Tuesday after the company announced a slate of changes as part of a strategic review, including about $100 million in cost-saving opportunities. Athenahealth also plans to create a president role and separate the roles of chairman and CEO. The company said it would provide more information about cost-saving opportunities, including plans to “significantly” increase operating margins in 2018 and afterwards, by its third quarter earnings release, which is scheduled for October. Athenahealth shares have surged 31.5% year-to-date to $138.32, compared with a 10.3% rise in the S&P 500 .

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From:: Stock Market News