After a spate of tragic accidents claimed the lives of dozens of workers at its huge Grasberg gold and copper mine in Indonesia, Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX ) was given the go-ahead by the government to reopen the mine despite that its investigations into the accidents is not yet completed.
Just last month the government had ordered the mine shut and said it would stay shut until it finished looking into what happened. Earlier this month, Freeport was forced to declare force majeure in a bid to extricate itself from its obligations to deliver gold and copper to customers. But Grasberg is a huge employer, with more than 8,700 workers, and 70 of them rioted and attacked the site last week saying they were starving because they had no food as a result of the work stoppage.
That was apparently enough to soften the government's stance and allow Freeport to�begin milling operations and open pit work, though underground operations remain closed.
While the force majeure declaration was not unexpected, it does raise the specter of a more fragile business than what investors might typically assume for the miner. As I've pointed out before, miners don't live off their immediate output and usually have several weeks worth of inventory to get over short-term humps. Freeport, though, had been coy about how much of a stockpile it had; the fact that it notified its customers of a force majeure event less than two weeks after the closure suggests its inventories might be lower than otherwise expected.
Hot Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2015: Tetra Technologies Inc.(TTI)
TETRA Technologies, Inc. operates as a diversified oil and gas services company. The company operates in three divisions: Fluids, Production Enhancement, and Offshore. The Fluids Division manufactures and markets clear brine fluids, additives, and other associated products and services to the oil and gas industry for use in well drilling, completion, and workover operations in the United States, as well as in various countries in Latin America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa; and markets liquid and dry calcium chloride products to non-energy markets. The Production Enhancement division offers production testing services in various oil and gas basins in the United States, as well as in Mexico, Brazil, northern Africa, and the Middle East; and wellhead compression-based production enhancement services in the onshore producing regions of the United States, as well as various onshore basins in Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, and Asia. The Offshore division pr ovides offshore services, including downhole and subsea oil and gas services, such as well plugging and abandonment, and wireline services; decommissioning and construction services utilizing heavy lift barges and various technologies for offshore oil and gas production platforms and pipelines; and conventional and saturated air diving services. It also engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas properties in the offshore and onshore U.S. Gulf Coast region. This division provides its services to oil and gas companies and independent operators. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in the Woodlands, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
What a ride it’s been for investors in�Tetra Technologies (TTI) today.
Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesShares of Tetra Technologies traded down as much as 16% this morning after the oil & gas services company reported a profit of 6 cents not including Maritech and other unusual items, missing analyst forecasts for 19 cents. Tetra Technologies also said it would make between 50 cents and 60 cents during fiscal 2014, below forecasts for 66 cents.
At 2:38 p.m., however, Tetra was trading down just 0.8% at $10.88. RBC’s Kurt Hallead and team explain why:
Tetra Technologies rallied after starting the day at -15%. We think there was an overreaction to the headline miss and�Tetra Technologies’ core operating business results, along with 2H14 guidance, were in line with expectations. Moving forward, the company has some key catalysts on the horizon that should lead to significantly improved operating performance and investor awareness. Key Catalysts:
1. Get Maritech (E&P P&A liability in GoM) off the books. Ideally by 3Q. Once this is done,�Tetra Technologies may implement a dividend or share repo program.
2. Broaden Production Testing customer base, which should lead to a ramp in margins.
3. Increase scale of Compressco through M&A, along with awareness of the MLP’s value to Tetra Technologies.
4. Sell the offshore services business to simplify business structure.
Shares of Tetra Technologies are down 12% in 2014.
- [By Seth Jayson]
When judging a company's prospects, how quickly it turns cash outflows into cash inflows can be just as important as how much profit it's booking in the accounting fantasy world we call "earnings." This is one of the first metrics I check when I'm hunting for the market's best stocks. Today, we'll see how it applies to TETRA Technologies (NYSE: TTI ) .
Top 5 Net Payout Yield Stocks To Watch For 2014: Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment PLC (BPTY)
bwin.party digital entertainment plc (bwin.party) is a holding company. The Company is an online gaming company. It operates in five segments: sports betting, casino & games, poker, bingo; and other (including network services, World Poker Tour, InterTrader.com, WIN.com, software services and the payment services business). Its sport betting segment includes bwin, betoto, Gamebookers, Gioco Digitale and PartyBets. It�� Casino & games segment includes PartyCasino, bwin and GD Casino. Its poker segment includes PartyPoker, bwin and GD Casino. Its Bingo segment includes Foxy Bingo, Cheeky Bingo, Gioco Digitale and Binguez. The Company�� subsidiaries include BES SAS, bwin Argentina SA, bwin Italia S.r.l., bwin.party Games AB and Cashcade Limited. Its subsidiaries are engaged in management and information technology (IT) services, marketing services, online gaming, transaction services, customer support services, marketing support services and Land-based poker events. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Namitha Jagadeesh]
Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Plc (BPTY) plunged 14 percent to 110 pence, the biggest drop since April 2011, after the online gaming company said 2013 sales will be 14 percent to 17 percent lower than last year�� figures. Analysts on average had forecast a sales drop of 9.2 percent.
Top 5 Net Payout Yield Stocks To Watch For 2014: First Trust Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund (FGB)
First Trust Speciality Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund, formerly First Trust/Gallatin Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund, is a non-diversified, closed-end fund that seeks a high level of current income. The Fund�� secondary objective is to seek total return. The Fund will seek to achieve its investment objectives by investing at least 80% of its managed assets in a portfolio of securities of specialty finance and other financial companies that offer opportunities for income and capital appreciation. The Fund will invest at least 25% of its total assets in securities of companies within industries in the financial sector. First Trust Advisors L.P. (First Trust Advisors) is the Fund's investment adviser.
Specialty finance companies provide capital or financing to businesses and consumers within specified market segments. Specialty finance companies often engage in asset-based and other forms of non-traditional financing activities. The Fund intends to invest primarily in business development company�� (BDC) shares, which are trading in the secondary market on a United States securities exchange but may, in certain circumstances, invest in an initial public offering of BDC shares or invest in certain debt instruments issued by BDCs. The Fund is not limited with respect to the specific types of real estate investment trusts (REITs), in which it invests and intends to invest primarily in REIT shares, which are trading in the secondary market on a United States securities exchange but may, in certain circumstances, invest in an initial public offering of REIT shares or invest in certain debt instruments issued by REITs.
The Fund may invest in commercial mortgage-related securities issued by corporations. These are securities that represent an interest in, or are secured by, mortgage loans secured by commercial property, such as industrial and warehouse properties, office buildings, retail space and shopping malls, multi-family properties and cooperati! ve apartments, hotels and motels, nursing homes, hospitals, and senior living centers. Other mortgage-related securities, in which the Fund may invest include mortgage pass-through securities, collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs), mortgage dollar rolls, CMO residuals (other than residual interests in real estate mortgage investment conduits), stripped mortgage-backed securities (SMBSs) and other securities that directly or indirectly represent a participation in, or are secured by and payable from, mortgage loans on real property. The Fund may invest in other types of asset-backed securities that are offered in the marketplace. Other asset-backed securities may be collateralized by the fees earned by service providers.
The principal industry groups of financial companies include banks, savings institutions, brokerage firms, investment management companies, insurance companies, holding companies of the foregoing, and companies that provide related services to such companies. Banks and savings institutions provide services to customers such as demand, savings and time deposit accounts and a variety of lending and related services. Brokerage firms provide services to customers in connection with the purchase and sale of securities.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Shaji Mathew]
JPMorgan also raised the price estimate of First Gulf Bank, (FGB) its top pick among banks in the Middle East and North Africa, to 18 dirhams from 13.50 dirhams. The overweight recommendation was maintained. The stock has risen 25 percent this year to 14.55 dirhams last week.
Top 5 Net Payout Yield Stocks To Watch For 2014: Exponent Inc.(EXPO)
Exponent, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides engineering and scientific consulting services worldwide. Its services include analysis of products, people, property, processes, and finances related to litigation, product recall, regulatory compliance, research, development, and design. The company offers approximately 90 different technical disciplines to solve complicated issues facing industry and government. It offers services in the areas of biomechanics, biomedical engineering, buildings and structures, civil engineering, construction consulting, defense technology development, ecological and biological sciences, electrical engineering and computer science, engineering management consulting, environmental and earth sciences, health sciences, human factors, industrial structures, materials and corrosion engineering, mechanical engineering, polymer science and materials chemistry, statistical and data sciences, thermal sciences, and vehicle analysis. The compa ny provides its services through a team of scientists, physicians, engineers, and business and regulatory consultants. It serves clients in automotive, aviation, chemical, construction, consumer products, energy, government, health, insurance, manufacturing, and technology sectors. The company was formerly known as The Failure Group, Inc. and changed its name to Exponent, Inc. in 1998. Exponent, Inc. was founded in 1967 and is based in Menlo Park, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Exponent (Nasdaq: EXPO ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
No comments:
Post a Comment