Tag: stock market

The American Petroleum Institute reported Tuesday that U.S. crude supplies rose 3.947 million barrels for the week ended Feb. 9, according to sources. The API data also showed an increase of 4.634 million barrels in gasoline stockpiles while inventories of distillates rose 1.1 million barrels, sources said. Supply data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Wednesday morning. March crude fell to $58.87 in electronic trading from settlement of $59.19 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Baidu Inc. U.S. shares rose in the extended session Tuesday after the Chinese internet company topped Wall Street estimates for the quarter. Baidu’s U.S. shares rose 4.2% to $235 after hours. The company reported fourth-quarter net income of $639 million, or $1.90 per U.S. share, on revenue of $3.62 billion. Adjusted earnings were $2.29 per U.S share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated $2.16 a share on revenue of $3.66 billion. For the first quarter, Baidu estimates revenue of $3.05 billion to $3.22 billion under new revenue accounting standards. Under the old standard, the forecast would have been $3.24 billion to $3,42 billion. Analysts expect revenue of $3.4 billion.

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Aflac Inc. said late Tuesday its board of directors has declared a two-for-one stock split in the form of a stock dividend payable March 16 to shareholders of record as of March 2. The move follows a year of “strong share price performance” and the split “enhances the liquidity of our shares, which is in addition to our efforts to increase shareholder value,” Aflac Chief Executive Daniel P. Amos said in a statement. Aflac shares have gained 21% in the last 12 months, compared with 14% gains for the S&P 500 index.

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Shares of Twitter Inc. soared 7.7% in active afternoon trade Tuesday, putting them on track to close at a 2 1/2-year high, to extend gains made after the company reported blowout results last week. Volume topped 46.6 million shares, compared with the full-day average of about 33.2 million shares, according to FactSet. The social media company did not release any news Tuesday, or issue any filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The stock has now rocketed 24% since Twitter reported before the Feb. 8 open fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations. It was on track for the highest close since July 28, 2015. It has more than doubled over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 14%.

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Two industry groups for small lenders on Tuesday wrote to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director asking that the agency help smaller lenders engaged in what it calls “plain-vanilla” mortgage lending to avoid “excessive regulation.” The Community Mortgage Lenders of America and Community Home Lenders Association asked CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney to commit to “tiered” regulation, in which regulatory burdens increase or decrease with the organization’s complexity and size. “Small lenders cannot absorb or amortize high fixed costs the way large banks are able to do,” said CMLA Acting Director Rob Zimmer. “In addition, many of these lenders have higher costs of funding due to their business models-they don’t get cheap deposit insurance money, cheap Fed window money, and they never took TARP funds.” The groups say they’re concerned that if small lenders don’t get relief, they may be forced to shut down, which would concentrate lending risk in increasingly large and complex entities.

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Oil prices turned finished lower Tuesday in up-and-down trade, as investors digested a report from the International Energy Agency forecasting strong global crude demand amid rising production from non-OPEC countries. March West Texas Intermediate crude oil finished off 10 cents, or 0.2%, at $59.19 a barrel. The IEA said an inundation of the market from outside of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, mostly driven by shale-oil producers in the U.S., might resemble a period back in 2014, when ballooning production capsized crude prices. The report also was upbeat on demand. Looking ahead, investors are awaiting the weekly U.S. petroleum supply and production report from the American Petroleum Institute later Tuesday and a similar report from the EIA due Wednesday.

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Guaranty Bancorp said Tuesday it was raising its quarterly dividend by 30% to 16.25 cents a share from 12.5 cents a share. The new dividend will be payable March 2 to shareholders of record on Feb. 23. The stock rose 0.4% in afternoon trade, after being down as much as 0.9% earlier in the session. At current share prices, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 2.33%, compared with the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF’s yield of 1.36% and the S&P 500’s implied yield of 1.91%, according to FactSet. Guaranty Bancorp’s stock has tacked on 1.5% over the past three months, whle the regional banking ETF has surged 10.0% and the S&P 500 has gained 5.1%.

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Apple Inc. Chief Executive Tim Cook said Tuesday at the company’s annual shareholder meeting that a special dividend is unlikely as Apple looks to spend $285 billion stashed overseas, according to a report. “Special dividends, I’m not really a fan of,” Cook said in response to a question, Reuters reported Tuesday. “But in terms of annual increases in the dividend, it is something that this board and management are committed to doing.” Apple stock is up less than 1% to $163.89 in afternoon trading. Cook said executives would update shareholders on the company’s capital return program on its April earnings call. Apple stock has gained 23% in the past 12 months, as the S&P 500 index rose 14%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average , of which Apple is a component, has gained 21% in the past year.

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Starz, owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. , said on Tuesday that it agreed to a new multi-year carriage deal with Altice USA Inc. . Lions Gate shares were up more than 5% during intraday trade on Tuesday. The deal gives Altice’s Optimum and Suddenlink cable systems access to Starz and Starz Encore full suite of linear channels, as well as on-demand and online services. Lions Gate shares have declined more than 5% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 14% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up nearly 21%. Altice USA shares began trading in June and are down more than 9% in the last three months.

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Xerox Corp. said Tuesday the allegations made in the lawsuit filed by shareholder Darwin Deason were “without merit,” and said it will “vigorously defend itself.” Deason said earlier that he was suing Xerox and its board member, and Fujifilm, in an effort to block the deal in which Fujifilm acquires a controlling stake in Xerox, alleging an “improper and fraudulently” concealed lockup agreement that Xerox entered into with Fujifilm 17 years ago that was never disclosed to shareholders. “It is unfortunate that Mr. Deason is seeking to interfere with Xerox shareholders’ right to decide and is relying on meritless legal claims,” Xerox stated in its response Tuesday. “Xerox has fully disclosed the joint venture agreements, and the company will respond to Mr. Deason’s legal claims through the appropriate legal channels in due course.” Xerox’s stock was down 1.7% in midday trade. It has gained 1.4% the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has climbed 13.8%.

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