As we noted earlier this week, a Fed rate hike in less than two weeks’ time was basically a “done deal” heading into today’s Non-Farm Payrolls report (see “Sector showcase: The utility of utilities for handicapping the Fed” for more). When the jobs figures were released, at least a few traders had to reevaluate that outlook. On…
Unemployment is LOW! As noted in the Fed’s Beige Book (which we discussed in Wednesday’s Live Trading Webinar), low unemployment is restraining growth due to a lack of qualified applicants. Low immigration isn’t helping either – to the point of crops rotting in the fields due to lack of laborers. The Fed is becoming very…
Return on invested capital (ROIC) is not only the most intuitive measure of corporate performance, but it is also the best. It measures how much profit a company generates for every dollar invested in the company. Return on gross invested capital (ROGIC) (seen in Figure 1) provides additional insights into the profitability of highly-capital intensive…
I am out of commission today following a small surgery, so I want to thank my new friends at Morningside Hill Capital Management for standing in for me with today’s posting. The question over the strength of today’s job market is key to understanding the durability of the economy and the markets going forward. Pavel Velkov,…
While the payrolls report (and wage gains) was an unmitigated disaster for anyone seeking “evidence” of an economic rebound (i.e., the Federal Reserve), there was some good news in the Unemployment rate which declined from 4.4% to 4.3%, the lowest going back to 2001. There is just one problem with the above “silver lining”: the…
The US unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 4.3%, a new multi-year low, but it is a misleading optic for what is a disappointing report. It is likely not weak enough to put much doubt into expectations for a Fed hike later this month, but it will reinforce the caution in the Beige Book and in recent…
Royalty trusts can be a good place to look for investors focused primarily on high dividend yields. And, many royalty trusts pay dividends each month. Hugoton Royalty Trust (HGT) is no exception – the company has a high dividend yield of 6.4% using its trailing twelve month dividends. You can see the full list of established…
A disappointing US jobs report on all fronts: only 138K jobs gained and wages are up 0.2% as expected but with a downwards revision. Year over year, salaries are stuck at 2.5%. The unemployment rate is down to 4.3% but the participation rate also falls to 62.7%. Revisions are negative but so is the real unemployment rate….
Here are four stocks with Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and strong value characteristics for investors to consider today, June 2: Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation (BGFV – Free Report) : This sporting goods retailer has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings soaring 16.8% over the last 60 days. Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation…
