LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

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Shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB – Get Free Report) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $98.88.

A number of research firms have commented on LYB. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 8th. SpectralCast reaffirmed a “maintains” rating on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Thursday, June 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $121.00 to $116.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 7th.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on LyondellBasell Industries

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYB. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 11.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,008 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 1.0% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 10,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 0.5% during the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 23,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,165,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 1.0% during the second quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 10,545 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Coastal Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Coastal Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. 70.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of LYB stock opened at $99.16 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $92.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $32.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.22. LyondellBasell Industries has a twelve month low of $71.46 and a twelve month high of $101.30.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.14. LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 4.92% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The firm had revenue of $10.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.19 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 30.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that LyondellBasell Industries will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 30th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This is a positive change from LyondellBasell Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 26th. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.64%.

LyondellBasell Industries Company Profile

(Get Free Report

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. operates as a chemical company in the United States, Germany, Mexico, Italy, Poland, France, Japan, China, the Netherlands, and internationally. The company operates in six segments: Olefins and PolyolefinsAmericas; Olefins and PolyolefinsEurope, Asia, International; Intermediates and Derivatives; Advanced Polymer Solutions; Refining; and Technology.

Further Reading

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat’s editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Before you consider LyondellBasell Industries, you’ll want to hear this.

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While LyondellBasell Industries currently has a “Hold” rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here

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Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC Has $44.24 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 268,303 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 9,608 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 8.6% of Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $44,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 20.0% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 2,615,701 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $456,728,000 after acquiring an additional 435,891 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. raised its position in Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 240,628 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,016,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Markel Corp increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the first quarter. Markel Corp now owns 1,206,990 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $210,752,000 after buying an additional 8,450 shares during the period. Camden Capital LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Camden Capital LLC now owns 156,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $27,305,000 after purchasing an additional 13,200 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Island Capital LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Island Capital LLC now owns 135,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $23,629,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 57.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 15,419 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.56, for a total transaction of $2,753,216.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,363,619.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AAPL. Wedbush boosted their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. Loop Capital lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, May 22nd. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.86.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Apple

Apple Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $177.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average of $187.77 and a 200 day moving average of $169.93. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.17 and a fifty-two week high of $198.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The iPhone maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $81.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.79 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.68% and a return on equity of 164.92%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $90.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, August 14th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.13%.

Apple Company Profile

(Free Report)

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat’s editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Before you consider Apple, you’ll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street’s top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on… and Apple wasn’t on the list.

While Apple currently has a “Moderate Buy” rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here

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Legal scholars file amicus brief in support of Coinbase

A group of six legal scholars specializing in securities law and related fields submitted an amicus brief in favor of crypto exchange Coinbase in its ongoing legal battle against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

An amicus brief is a document filed in court by a party not directly involved with the related case. It is generally used to add supporting arguments to one side of the lawsuit and emphasizes how the case will have a broader impact beyond the involved parties.

The group of legal scholars filed the amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Aug. 11.

Screenshot of the amicus brief. Source: CourtListener

On the same day, Senator Cynthia Lummis also submitted an amicus brief in support of the crypto exchange.

The scholars behind the filing are Stephen Bainbridge of the University of California, Los Angeles; Tamar Frankel of Boston University School of Law; Sean Griffith of Fordham University School of Law; Lawrence Hamermesh of Widener University, Delaware Law School; Matthew Henderson of the University of Chicago Law School; and Jonathan Macey from Yale Law School.

Related: SEC punts on ARK 21Shares spot Bitcoin ETF, opens proposal to comments

In their filing, the legal scholars contended that federal precedents and the Howey test acknowledge that investment contracts necessitate anticipation of business income, profits or assets. The group has asked the court to adhere to the established legal definition of “investment contract” when interpreting its scope:

“An investor must be promised, by virtue of his or her investment, an ongoing contractual interest in the income, profits, or assets of the enterprise. In this section, we discuss some of these cases.”

The legal scholars clarified that their affiliations with universities or law schools are irrelevant to their involvement with the amicus brief.

Magazine: Crypto regulation: Does SEC Chair Gary Gensler have the final say?

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EnPro Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NPO) Short Interest Down 24.7% in July

EnPro Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NPO – Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 283,900 shares, a decrease of 24.7% from the July 15th total of 377,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 122,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

EnPro Industries Stock Performance

EnPro Industries stock opened at $134.13 on Friday. EnPro Industries has a fifty-two week low of $83.69 and a fifty-two week high of $144.86. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.79 and a current ratio of 4.03. The stock has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 1.50.

EnPro Industries (NYSE:NPO – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.10. EnPro Industries had a return on equity of 10.85% and a net margin of 15.54%. The company had revenue of $276.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $276.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that EnPro Industries will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EnPro Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 29th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. EnPro Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NPO. TheStreet raised shares of EnPro Industries from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 2nd. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of EnPro Industries from $145.00 to $158.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of EnPro Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd.

Read Our Latest Analysis on EnPro Industries

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EnPro Industries

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of EnPro Industries by 87.9% in the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 1,099 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of EnPro Industries by 1.8% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 43,294 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,231,000 after buying an additional 767 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of EnPro Industries by 148.8% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,876 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 2,916 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of EnPro Industries by 58.0% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 10,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,055,000 after buying an additional 3,962 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of EnPro Industries by 1.3% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 60,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,946,000 after buying an additional 774 shares during the period. 94.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EnPro Industries Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

EnPro Industries, Inc design, develops, manufactures, and markets proprietary, value-added products and solutions to safeguard critical environments in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Sealing Technologies and Advanced Surface Technologies. The Sealing Technologies segment offers single-use hygienic seals, tubing, components and assemblies; metallic, non-metallic, and composite material gaskets; compression packing products; hydraulic components; expansion joints; wall penetration products; and dynamic seals, resilient metal, elastomeric, and custom-engineered mechanical seals for chemical and petrochemical processing, pulp and paper processing, power generation, food and pharmaceutical processing, primary metal manufacturing, mining, water and waste treatment, heavy-duty trucking, aerospace, medical, filtration, and semiconductor fabrication industries.

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This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat’s editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Before you consider EnPro Industries, you’ll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street’s top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on… and EnPro Industries wasn’t on the list.

While EnPro Industries currently has a “Buy” rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here

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Here’s a Warren-Buffett hack for aiming to build wealth

Image source: The Motley Fool

Billionaire Warren Buffett is well-known as one of the most successful general investors the world has ever seen.

So who wants to invest like him? I do, for sure. But investors don’t always have the millions to commit to stocks and shares like he does. However, there’s a hack we can use to approximate his performance.

The portfolio size problem

Let me explain. Buffett is known for focusing funds on his best stock ideas. Sometimes he waits for ages to find them. But when he does, he grabs the idea by the throat and piles money in week after week and sometimes for years at a time.

And that approach often leads to some concentrated positions in his portfolio. For example, his company Berkshire Hathaway now has just under 50% of its invested equity assets in just one stock.

The company with almost half of Berkshire’s stock investment funds is Apple. However, the share price has risen a fair bit while he’s been holding it. Nevertheless, Berkshire Hathaway has invested billions into Apple.

However, there’s an important point to consider. I watched a video of Buffett. And he said Berkshire Hathaway’s total return performance will unlikely beat the S&P 500 index in the years ahead.

Really? Yes, he said that. And more than once. It’s all to do with the billions he must invest across the organisation these days. It’s a tough job to get market-beating overall returns when the sums involved are so large. And that’s why Buffett achieved his biggest annual gains in his early years as an investor – when he was dealing with smaller amounts of money.

Comparing the total returns from Berkshire Hathaway and from the S&P 500 index shows that there’s been little difference between them over around 15 years. So the problem has been with Buffett for some time. And that’s despite taking on concentrated positions in stocks.

An opportunity for smaller investors

So there’s an opportunity now for smaller investors like me. I can aim to keep up with Buffett’s performance in the coming years by investing monthly amounts into the S&P 500 index. And I’d do that with a low-cost, mechanically-managed tracker fund.

Story continues

It’s a neat trick. And it will help to ensure that at least a part of my portfolio matches the performance of a big chunk of the American market. And if Buffett is right with his prediction, it will likely be not far from the anticipated performance of Berkshire Hathaway too.

But I haven’t stopped there. I’m also investing in other trackers and managed funds for more diversification.

However, my strategy also involves aiming to copy some of the success that the younger Buffett enjoyed when he had smaller sums to invest. And to do that, I’m targeting selective shares of individual companies after doing my research.

However, positive outcomes are never guaranteed and all shares carry risks as well as opportunities.

Nevertheless, having smaller investment funds than Buffett’s billions is an advantage. And I’m trying to capitalise on that situation.

The post Here’s a Warren-Buffett hack for aiming to build wealth appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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Kevin Godbold has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Apple. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

Motley Fool UK 2023

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Migrant boat sinks in English Channel, leaving 6 dead

CNN
 — 

Six people died after a boat carrying migrants sank in the English Channel, authorities say, while two people could still be missing.

According to testimonies of survivors, 65 or 66 people were on board the boat which sank, local French authorities said. They added that more than 20 people were taken to Dover by British authorities.

Local mayor Franck Dhersin tweeted an image of some of the migrants who had been rescued aboard a rescue boat covered with gold aluminum blankets.

“Here is another catastrophe off the coast of Calais/Wissant with several drowned migrants. One day, we will have to stop simply recording the number of deaths in the Channel and the Mediterranean,” he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

All six people who drowned were Afghan men, according to Peymana Assad, a local councilor in the London Borough of Harrow.

“Afghans are running from Afghanistan because of the Taliban. They are on small boats because the UK government won’t open safe and legal routes for Afghans like they have for Ukrainians. Don’t even know what to say anymore,” she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The English Channel is one of the world’s busiest waterways and crossing on small boats is extremely dangerous.

Human traffickers typically overload vessels and deaths are common in the choppy seas.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak – whose governing Conservatives have been struggling in the polls – made stopping boats making the perilous crossing across the English Channel one of his top priorities.

But 755 migrants were detected crossing the channel to the UK Thursday, government figures showed. The figure is the highest recorded in a single day this year.

As of this week 100,000 migrants have crossed the Channel since 2018, including nearly 16,000 this year, figures show.

On Friday 39 asylum seekers were removed from a controversial barge meant to house hundreds of people after Legionella bacteria was discovered in the water.

French authorities have stepped up patrols and other deterrent measures after the UK agreed in March to send Paris hundreds of millions of euros annually.

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said in a tweet that her “thoughts are with the victims” of the migrant boat that capsized.

“I salute the commitment of the rescue teams mobilized around the (French Navy) who saved around fifty shipwrecked people,” she said in the post on X, formerly known as Twitter, adding that French secretary of state for the sea, Herve Berville, is heading to the scene.

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman also tweeted, writing, “My thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the tragic loss of life in the Channel today.”

“This morning I spoke with our Border Force teams who have been supporting the French authorities in response to this incident,” she added.

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These indicators muddy outlook for California’s economic future

In summary

With personal income growth stagnant and prices still rising, California’s economy is trailing many national trends moving the other direction.

Late last month, the Federal Reserve announced the latest incremental raise in its key interest rate, pushing it to the highest level in 22 years, as it continues to battle what it calls persistent inflation.

The increase, a quarter of 1%, renewed the debate among economists and politicians over whether the Federal Reserve’s anti-inflation actions will slow the economy into what’s termed a “soft landing,” or ignite a recession.

The recession that many economists thought would have happened by now hasn’t raised its ugly head, leading to I-Told-You-So’s from the ones who hadn’t seen a downturn on the horizon.

“Much to the chagrin of those who have been predicting otherwise, the U.S. economy has stubbornly continued to grow and 2023 is shaping up to be a better year than 2022,” one of the optimists, California economist Christopher Thornberg wrote recently.

“This isn’t to say that we don’t recognize signs of stress in the economy driven by higher interest rates and the recent bout of inflation,” Thornberg continued. “Rather, we’ve never viewed these issues as rising to the level of being systemic given that they were caused by the same thing that has kept consumer spending supercharged – the excessive stimulus thrown at the economy during the pandemic.

“The greatest risk, as we have seen it, was always the undue tightening by the Federal Reserve, which was implemented in response to their original sin of excessive loosening.”

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There are, however, two sides to the economic coin – one steeped in the numbers economists love and the other the admittedly unscientific concerns of ordinary citizens.

A recent Public Policy Institute of California poll found that Californians overwhelmingly believe that bad economic times lie ahead, based in part on experiences with inflation in housing, food, fuel and other living expenses.

Those sour expectations may be more than just emotion. While the nation as a whole seems to be doing fairly well, as President Joe Biden reminds us almost daily in anticipation of a re-election campaign next year, California’s economy is just so-so.

California’s unemployment rate in June was 4.6%, which doesn’t sound bad – certainly much lower than it was when the state’s economy shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, pushing the jobless rate to over 16%.

However, it was higher than it had been a year earlier and – this is rather sobering – was the second-highest of any state to Nevada’s 5.4%, and more than twice as high as New Hampshire’s nation-lowest 1.8%.

California’s other economic indices are similarly weak.

The Federal Bureau of Economic Analysis reported in June that California’s gross domestic product – the total of goods and services – in the first quarter was one of the nation’s slowest growing at 1.2%, roughly a third of the growth seen in rival states Texas (3%) and Florida (3.5%). Other states ranged to as high 12.4% in North Dakota.

The BEA’s quarterly report on personal income growth was similarly mediocre. Nationally, it grew by 5.1%, but in California it was scarcely a blip at .7%, very near the bottom. Texas saw 6.7% personal income growth and Florida 7.9%.

Anemic personal income growth has a real-world impact when it attempts to cope with inflation that’s still plaguing California’s families and it also is one of the underlying reasons the state is experiencing declines in personal income taxes and the resultant multibillion-dollar budget deficits.

Citing a “particularly muddy” economic outlook, the Legislature’s budget analyst, Gabe Petek, believes that the state faces bigger budget deficits than Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders have baked into their new budget.

It’s just as muddy for the family budgets of nearly 40 million Californians.

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Small business: Temuka Pottery continues its ceramics legacy

Temuka owner Paul Pepworth says the company aims to expand to new markets to keep the NZ-owned company going. Photo / Supplied

Temuka Pottery was bought by Decopot director Paul Pepworth in 2015, which he says has kept the business thriving through a diversified business model marketing to restaurants.

Now used in restaurants like Prego in Ponsonby,
Soul Bar, and Peter Gordon’s Homeland, Pepworth says the business aims to stay relevant in an ever-changing market.

What do you do at Temuka Pottery?

I’m the director and major shareholder of Deco Pot. Temuka Pottery is one of our brands.

I purchased Temuka Pottery about eight years ago in 2015.

Why did you purchase Temuka?

Decopot had been interacting with Temuka pottery for about 15 years. They were a customer of ours. Temuka pottery wasn’t sufficiently adaptable to continue being successful and thriving in the environment then and we felt we had something to offer.

So we bought the company, turned it upside down completely, discarded the gift ranges, pointed ourselves towards hospitality, and we’ve been modestly successful since then.

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Temuka Pottery and its sister brand the Alchemist’s Table presently produces mainly tableware for high-end restaurants.

Tell me about the Alchemist’s Table?

Originally it was my two daughters, Sarah and Lucy that started it but we’ve recently merged three businesses together.

They were too small to manage effectively as separate entities, so as of April this year, they all operate as a single under the umbrella of Deco Pot – general ceramics, manufacturing and material servicing company.

We import materials and produce formulated materials for the ceramic hobby and small business sectors. We are a supplier, service provider and technology provider for all things ceramic in New Zealand.

Paul and Lucy Pepworth, directors of Temuka Pottery and the Alchemist’s Table. Photo / Supplied

Where are you based?

We operate from Palmerston North.

Palmerston North is where I settled after immigrating to New Zealand 28 years ago. When we integrated the Temuka Pottery operation, we did it from the Palmerston North site.

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How did you get into ceramics yourself?

It’s a long, long story. It goes back about 45 years.

My partner and I were interested in ceramics as a pastime and I developed a passion for it, and I’ve made a living out of it ever since.

How has trading been over the last few years with the pandemic current economic downturn?

We’ve seen interesting changes in trading patterns. It’s been, more challenging to sell to restaurants because the restaurants themselves have been disadvantaged through lockdowns and border closures.

So the restaurant business has been static, but there’s been a resurgence in interest in ceramics. There are new craft pottery studios emerging all over New Zealand. One way or another we have a hand in supplying those studios either directly or through distribution channels.

Peter Gordon’s Homeland is one of many restaurants around the country that use Temuka crockery, says director Paul Pepworth. Photo / Michael Craig

What was your experience being at this year’s Food Show?

Our product is an artisan-crafted product. It’s appreciated by foodies.

When you go into a restaurant or when a meal is put in front of you in a restaurant, the first thing you do is get a visual impression of it. If it looks amazing, you’ll probably love it.

Presentation is important and so we’ve got a lot to contribute to the success of the hospitality sector by enabling them to present their food.

What are some of the bigger restaurants you supply?

Peter Gordon at Homeland is one of our customers. Soul Bar, Prego in Ponsonby are some of our customers.

There are frankly not many major restaurants that don’t in interact with us in some way.

Are you looking at expanding to overseas markets?

We are on the verge of entering some overseas markets, but it’s a bit premature to be talking about that.

What do you want to achieve from here on out with Temuka and the Alchemist’s Table?

I’m 68 years old so my main goal now is to enable another generation of business operators. My two daughters have, have a financial interest in the business. A number of our key staff have a financial interest in the business and we are positioning ourselves to expand the business as if we have just reached the half halfway mark.

So rather than thinking about retirement, we’re thinking about how do we refresh ourselves and use this as a springboard into the future.

It’s dynamic growth, new markets, new personnel, new marketing styles, including more business-to-consumer marketing.

We are very hospitality based at the moment, and hospitality pays discounted prices. If we sell everything at a discount, it’s hard to buy bread and milk.

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Be Sure To Check Out Delta Galil Industries Ltd. (TLV:DELG) Before It Goes Ex-Dividend

Readers hoping to buy Delta Galil Industries Ltd. (TLV:DELG) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company’s books in order to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important as the process of settlement involves two full business days. So if you miss that date, you would not show up on the company’s books on the record date. In other words, investors can purchase Delta Galil Industries’ shares before the 17th of August in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 30th of August.

The company’s next dividend payment will be US$0.27 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$1.02 to shareholders. Calculating the last year’s worth of payments shows that Delta Galil Industries has a trailing yield of 2.6% on the current share price of ₪148.8. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. So we need to investigate whether Delta Galil Industries can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

See our latest analysis for Delta Galil Industries

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable – hardly an ideal situation. Fortunately Delta Galil Industries’s payout ratio is modest, at just 30% of profit. Yet cash flow is typically more important than profit for assessing dividend sustainability, so we should always check if the company generated enough cash to afford its dividend. Luckily it paid out just 22% of its free cash flow last year.

It’s positive to see that Delta Galil Industries’s dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut.

Click here to see how much of its profit Delta Galil Industries paid out over the last 12 months.

TASE:DELG Historic Dividend August 13th 2023

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. For this reason, we’re glad to see Delta Galil Industries’s earnings per share have risen 11% per annum over the last five years. Earnings per share are growing rapidly and the company is keeping more than half of its earnings within the business; an attractive combination which could suggest the company is focused on reinvesting to grow earnings further. This will make it easier to fund future growth efforts and we think this is an attractive combination – plus the dividend can always be increased later.

Another key way to measure a company’s dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, 10 years ago, Delta Galil Industries has lifted its dividend by approximately 11% a year on average. Both per-share earnings and dividends have both been growing rapidly in recent times, which is great to see.

Final Takeaway

Should investors buy Delta Galil Industries for the upcoming dividend? It’s great that Delta Galil Industries is growing earnings per share while simultaneously paying out a low percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. It’s disappointing to see the dividend has been cut at least once in the past, but as things stand now, the low payout ratio suggests a conservative approach to dividends, which we like. Delta Galil Industries looks solid on this analysis overall, and we’d definitely consider investigating it more closely.

On that note, you’ll want to research what risks Delta Galil Industries is facing. In terms of investment risks, we’ve identified 2 warning signs with Delta Galil Industries and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

A common investing mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a full list of high-yield dividend stocks.

Valuation is complex, but we’re helping make it simple.

Find out whether Delta Galil Industries is potentially over or undervalued by checking out our comprehensive analysis, which includes fair value estimates, risks and warnings, dividends, insider transactions and financial health.

View the Free Analysis

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Europe’s thriving businesses face mounting windfall tax hit

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European governments are increasingly turning to windfall taxes to balance their books and tackle public uproar over companies making high profits during the worst cost of living crisis in decades.

The Italian government’s surprise levy on banks on August 8 was the latest example of a trend that began when power prices surged in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, delivering bumper revenues to energy companies.

The taxes were originally imposed on the energy industry. But they are increasingly spreading to other sectors as politicians, hit by the rise in interest rates and higher government spending, seek to plug budget deficits.

“We’ve got this European wave of windfall taxes and that’s clearly in response to revenue shortfalls in government,” said Grant Wardell-Johnson, head of global tax policy at KPMG.

Data from KPMG and the Tax Foundation show that more than 30 windfall taxes, several of which now cover multiple sectors, have been introduced or proposed across Europe since the start of 2022.

A total of 24 EU countries have announced, proposed or implemented a windfall tax on energy companies, which European Commission officials put forward after energy prices soared at the start of 2022. The UK has also imposed a levy on profits made from the extraction of oil and gas from the North Sea.

But banks have increasingly become a target, with the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Spain and now Italy imposing charges on the sector. Latvia could follow.

In other countries, the sectors covered by windfall taxes have become even more widespread. Hungary has imposed levies on all financial institutions, including insurance companies, as well as pharmaceutical groups. Portugal introduced a 33 per cent levy on food distributors with excess profits generated in 2022 and 2023.

Croatia has gone further still, introducing a windfall tax that potentially applies to all companies that report a revenue above K300mn (€40mn) for 2022. Bulgaria is also planning an economy-wide windfall tax.

Windfall taxes beyond banks and energy — Bulgaria and Hungary

Bulgaria

• Bulgaria is planning a windfall tax that will hit all sectors.

• In March 2023, the country’s finance ministry published a proposal for the introduction of a ‘temporary solidarity contribution’ on all businesses, in addition to the existing windfall tax on the country’s fossil fuel industry.

• The excess profits tax would apply to all corporate taxpayers as well as to sole traders at a rate of 33 per cent of extra profits generated between July and December 2023.

• Extra profits would be calculated as the taxable profits in accordance with corporate tax law that were above 50 per cent of the average taxable profit of the preceding four fiscal years increased by 20 per cent.

• Alternatively, taxpayers would be able to opt for an extra profits calculation based on 50 per cent of taxable profits in 2023 instead of all profits generated in the period July to December 2023.

HUngary

• Hungary’s most recent windfall taxes have targeted pharmaceutical and insurance companies, in addition to banks and energy producers.

• In November 2022, the country’s government published decrees modifying the windfall profits taxes introduced in July 2022 with a temporary tax surcharge of 1-7 per cent levied on insurance companies.

• In December 2022, the government published a decree to expand the scope of windfall profit taxes to the pharmaceuticals industry, applicable for 2022 and 2023. Windfall profits generated by pharmaceuticals producers became subject to an addition tax of 1-8 per cent depending on turnover, with companies with revenue over Ft150bn (around €390mn) paying the top rate.

Some industry experts have criticised governments for increasingly resorting to windfall taxes, with one adviser telling the Financial Times that the levies were generally “an admission of policy failure” and risked deterring future investment.

Cristina Enache, global tax economist at the Tax Foundation, a US think-tank, said such measures “would penalise domestic production and punitively target certain industries without a sound tax base”.

While the original EU-wide “solidarity contribution” from energy companies was set to run only until December 2023, countries including Spain, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic plan to levy them into 2024 and in some cases 2025. The UK’s levy is legislated to end in March 2028.

However, tax justice campaigners say governments are right to tax companies making record profits at a time when the rise in the cost of essentials such as power and food has left many people struggling financially.

“Windfall taxes appeal because they’re intuitively fair,” said Christian Hallum, tax justice policy lead at Oxfam. “We have a situation where millions of people are facing hardship and many corporations are making record profits. It’s simply not fair.”

The IMF has also argued in favour of levies on excess profits becoming a permanent feature of the tax system.

“[This] is superior to relying on ex-post one-off windfall taxes on particular firms or sectors,” said Shafik Hebous, deputy division chief of the IMF’s fiscal affairs department.

Windfall taxes beyond banks and energy — Portugal and Croatia

PORTUGAL

• Portugal’s parliament has targeted the food industry with its most recent windfall tax.

• In December 2022, a bill was approved that introduced of a ‘temporary solidarity contribution’ on the food distribution sector.

CROATIA

• In December 2022, the country’s parliament approved a law introducing a windfall tax prompted by EU regulation on high energy prices but broadened the scope significantly.

• The ‘Extra Profit Tax’ would be applicable in fiscal year 2022 to all corporate taxpayers with a total income exceeding K300mn (around €40mn) in that year.

• The tax would be levied at a rate of 33 per cent on extra profit generated in fiscal year 2022 with extra profit calculated as the taxable profit in accordance with corporate tax law that was above 20 per cent of the average taxable profit of the preceding four fiscal years.

Others in the industry agree that the shift in the economic climate has led to governments increasingly viewing windfall taxes as a viable option to raise revenues.

“What the pandemic did — apart from give rise to the need for cash for governments — was it produced winners and losers,” said Wardell-Johnson. “A windfall tax is much more attractive in that environment. As, if you were to raise taxes across the board, it would have a lot of economic damage.”

Before the outbreak of war in Ukraine, such taxes had not been widely used in decades. The levies were first introduced over a century ago in Europe during the first world war.

In 1915, Denmark introduced the Gulasch tax, named after the German stew, on Danish food exporters that continued to trade with Germany during the war. At least 22 countries, including the UK, US, France, Italy and Germany, adopted some form of extra tax on “excess” corporate profits during the conflict. The second world war also saw the use of windfall taxes by the UK, Canada and the US.

Other more recent examples include a windfall tax on crude oil enacted by the US government in 1980 and a 1981 one-off bank levy introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s British government. The UK’s Labour government also brought in a windfall tax on utilities in 1997, arguing that the previous Conservative government had sold off the companies cheaply.

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