Thanks to new accounting rules, Berkshire Hathaway’s(NYSE:BRK-A)(NYSE:BRK-B) record first-quarter operating profit looks like a $1.1 billion loss. Confused? In this Industry Focus: Financials clip, Michael Douglass and Matt Frankel break down Berkshire’s first-quarter numbers for you.
A full transcript follows the video.
This video was recorded on May 7, 2018.
Michael Douglass: The first thing we’re going to talk about today is the fact that Berkshire actually reported a loss in earnings in the documentation leading up to the conference.
Matt Frankel: Yeah. Buffett said in his letter this year, about three months ago, that shareholders shouldn’t pay much attention to Berkshire’s earnings going forward. Basically, there’s an accounting change now that requires what they call unrealized gains on investments, meaning stocks they haven’t sold yet, to be included in earnings figures. As most listeners know, the stock market did not have a great first quarter to 2018. This was especially true for some of Buffett’s stocks. Wells Fargo had a particularly bad time. Coca-Cola, Kraft Heinz are all doing pretty poorly. This made Berkshire look like they lost over $1 billion, when in reality, their operating earnings, which is the earnings that are actually being generated by its businesses, grew to a record high level, up almost 50% year over year. It was actually about a $5 billion profit, and the change in value of the company’s stock portfolio made it look like a loss.
Hot Value Stocks To Buy For 2019: CF Industries Holdings, Inc.(CF)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Ethan Ryder]
Canaccord Genuity (TSE:CF) had its price target raised by Cormark from C$8.25 to C$9.00 in a report released on Friday.
Shares of Canaccord Genuity opened at C$6.77 on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. Canaccord Genuity has a 1-year low of C$4.08 and a 1-year high of C$7.49.
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CF Industries (NYSE:CF) had its target price trimmed by Bank of America from $40.00 to $38.00 in a report published on Friday. The brokerage currently has an underperform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.
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Canaccord Genuity Group Inc (TSE:CF) Director Dvaipayan Ghose sold 20,000 shares of Canaccord Genuity Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$7.17, for a total transaction of C$143,400.00.
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The stock posting the largest daily percentage loss in the S&P 500 ahead of the close was CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF) which fell about 3% to $43.04. The stocks 52-week range is $27.27 to $46.20. Volume was about 2.6 million compared to the daily average volume of 2.6 million.
- [By Max Byerly]
CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have assigned a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.09.
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Neuburgh Advisers LLC cut its stake in CF Industries (NYSE:CF) by 21.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,464 shares during the quarter. Neuburgh Advisers LLC’s holdings in CF Industries were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Hot Value Stocks To Buy For 2019: CareTrust REIT, Inc.(CTRE)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Jason Hall]
This steady, inexorable shift in the U.S. population represents an opportunity for investors, particularly with companies that provide resources that will only grow in demand as America’s baby boomers get older. Caretrust REIT Inc(NASDAQ:CTRE), andWelltower Inc(NYSE:WELL) should be very high on 50-something investors’ watchlists, offering solid value, strong dividend income, and the prospect of many years of growth as baby boomers transition from the workforce to retirement.
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Eversept Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Caretrust REIT Inc (NASDAQ:CTRE) by 21.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,264 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 30,000 shares during the quarter. Caretrust REIT comprises 0.7% of Eversept Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Eversept Partners LLC owned about 0.14% of Caretrust REIT worth $1,473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
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But that doesn’t mean you need to make risky bets to capture solid returns, either, and buying solid companies at reasonable prices can help create a margin of safety and improve your returns, while also decreasing your risk of permanent losses. Three stocks that meet these criteria are small healthcare real-estate specialistCaretrust REIT Inc(NASDAQ:CTRE), financial services giantPrudential Financial Inc(NYSE:PRU), and energy behemothExxonMobil Corporation(NYSE:XOM).
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Owning stocks that pay a dividend can make it much easier to hold on to them, particularly if they have the ability to steadily increase the payout and solid prospects to grow the business. To help find the best long-term dividend stocks out there, we asked three of our Motley Fool investors for a little help. They came back withGaming and Leisure Properties Inc(NASDAQ:GLPI),AES Corp(NYSE:AES), andCaretrust REIT Inc(NASDAQ:CTRE).
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This is especially true if you follow some simple rules: Only invest money in stocks if you can hold them for the long term. Don’t expose yourself too heavily to any single stock for income you have to have. Invest in high-quality companies with a substantial margin of safety in their ability to pay the dividend. Three that check all three boxes areTerraForm Power Inc.(NASDAQ:TERP),CareTrust REIT Inc.(NASDAQ:CTRE), andStarbucks Corporation(NASDAQ:SBUX).
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Brixmor Property Group (NYSE: BRX) and Caretrust REIT (NASDAQ:CTRE) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk and profitability.
Hot Value Stocks To Buy For 2019: Cable One, Inc.(CABO)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Ethan Ryder]
Cable One Inc (NYSE:CABO) major shareholder Donald Graham sold 4,316 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $662.60, for a total value of $2,859,781.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.
