Equities Research Analysts’ updated eps estimates for Monday, August 14th:
Antofagasta plc (LON:ANTO) had its sell rating reiterated by analysts at Berenberg Bank. They currently have a GBX 650 ($8.46) price target on the stock.
Babcock (NYSE:BW) was downgraded by analysts at UBS AG from a buy rating to a hold rating. They currently have $3.00 target price on the stock.
Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) had its buy rating reiterated by analysts at UBS AG. The firm currently has a $450.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $380.00.
CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) was downgraded by analysts at Morgan Stanley from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating. They currently have $21.00 target price on the stock. They noted that the move was a valuation call. The analysts noted that the move was a valuation call.
Crispr Theraptc (NASDAQ:CRSP) had its buy rating reiterated by analysts at Chardan Capital. The analysts wrote, “We calculated the CRISPR sector enterprise value (EV) by discounting Chardan target sector EVs of companies in the AAV (assumed 3 years ahead) and small RNA (assumed 3 years ahead) gene therapy sectors; we applied a discount rate of 20%, which we believe is reasonable for preclinical biotech firms. Giving CRSP a CRISPR sector valuation distribution of 15% of the calculated CRISPR sector EV (based on our view of the firm’s relative IP weakness balanced by potential first entry of a CRISPR therapy into the clinic) and adding $272.3 mm in cash, we project a CRSP market cap range of $866 mm-$901 mm.””
Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) had its overweight rating reissued by analysts at J P Morgan Chase & Co. They currently have a $19.00 price target on the stock.
Dimension Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DMTX) had its hold rating reissued by analysts at Chardan Capital.
Dicerna Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:DRNA) had its hold rating reiterated by analysts at Chardan Capital.
Eco Animal Health Group Plc (LON:EAH) had its corporate rating reissued by analysts at N+1 Singer.
Experian plc (LON:EXPN) was downgraded by analysts at Morgan Stanley to an equal weight rating. They currently have GBX 1,550 ($20.18) price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of GBX 1,680 ($21.88).
Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) was downgraded by analysts at Evercore ISI from an in-line rating to an underperform rating.
Fifth Street Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:FSC) had its buy rating reiterated by analysts at National Securities. National Securities currently has a $7.00 target price on the stock. The analysts wrote, “• For fiscal 3Q17, Fifth Street posted NII/share of $0.14/share, besting our estimate by a penny and ahead of the $0.125/share quarterly dividend payable in fiscal 4Q17. NAV/share decreased by 0.9% linked Q/Q to $7.17 which came out ahead of our estimate of $7.04 largely as a result of realized losses being less than we had forecast. While we continue to expect NAV/share to decline to $6.90 for the end of fiscal 2017, the following quarter will be the last (we hope) during which FSC will be managed by Fifth Street Asset Management (NASD: FSAM – NR – $3.70). The atrocious manner in which FSAM has run FSC has been the biggest overhang on the stock and we continue to think that when Oaktree (NYSE: OAK– NR – $46.55) takes over both the optics and operations for FSC will improve dramatically.
• Non-accruals remained flat on the quarter at $190.5 million at amortized cost (10.1% of the portfolio) across seven different companies from $190.1 million the quarter prior. We expect non-accruals to remain stable although realized losses will likely increase as previous non-accruals are sold and/or restructured.
• We are revising our fiscal 2017 NII/share estimate to $0.57 from $0.55 and our fiscal 2018 NII/share estimate to $0.56 from $0.54. “
FS Investment Corporation (NYSE:FSIC) had its neutral rating reaffirmed by analysts at National Securities. They currently have a $10.00 target price on the stock. The analysts wrote, “• For 2Q17, FSIC had adjusted NII/share of $0.19 versus our estimate of $0.20 with the quarterly dividend at a rate of $0.22275/share currently. The dividend was reduced to $0.19/share for 4Q17. We had previously modeled a cut to $0.19/share in 2Q18. Beginning in 4Q17 and lasting four quarters, FSIC’s external manager will waive 25 bps of the base fee.
• While the fee waiver is good and we are happy to see the company come to terms with reality and cut the dividend, there are a few things that disappoint us with FSIC. The dividend should have been cut a while back, given the company’s increased first lien focus, general spread compression, and the fact that the dividend was only being earned with outsized prepayment fee income. The dividend should be set at a level where it can be earned with minimal to no nonrecurring fee income. With over $16 billion in AUM across the platform, we are baffled as to why FSIC won’t just follow the rest of the industry and cut the base fee to 150 bps of gross assets permanently. The company could easily cut the base fee to even 125 bps permanently and not at all impair the platform’s ability to operate as it currently does while boosting the earnings power of FSIC significantly. Lastly, with FSIC already operates in the upper middle market (UMM) can easily establish a JV to use increased leverage on lower yielding assets in the JV structure, boosting earnings significantly.
• We are revising our 2017 adjusted NII/share estimate to $0.82 from $0.84 and our 2018 NII/share estimate to $0.85 from $0.86.”
Garrison Capital (NASDAQ:GARS) had its neutral rating reaffirmed by analysts at National Securities. They currently have a $10.00 price target on the stock. The analysts wrote, “• Non-accruals at cost increased to $36.2 million or 9.5% of the portfolio from $31.2 million or 8.3% of the portfolio linked Q/Q. Rooster Energy was placed on non-accrual with a cost of $5.0 million, Walnut Hill and Badlands were written-down further as well. This lead to a 1.3% Q/Q decline in NAV/share to $11.75, generating an economic return (annualized) of only 4.3%.
• We think Garrison’s focus on the UMM and unwillingness to do repurchases will get the stock a lower valuation. Aside from the lower yields that come with the UMM loans, Garrison is purchasing a significant amount of lightly syndicated and club deals in this segment of the market. The more a BDC tends to purchase assets as opposed to directly originate them, the lower the valuation of said BDC becomes. Additionally, with the stock at a 31% NAV discount and current dividend yield of 13.9%, we fail to see how management can justify doing more of these purchases as opposed to allowing repayments to free up cash and complete substantial repurchases. While we respect management, we cannot fathom why they are doing what they are doing here.
• We are revising our 2017 adjusted NII/share estimate to $1.11 from $1.10 and our 2018 adjusted NII/share estimate to $1.01 from $1.09. “
G4S plc (LON:GFS) was downgraded by analysts at Morgan Stanley to an equal weight rating. They currently have GBX 315 ($4.10) price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of GBX 330 ($4.30).
Gulf Keystone Petroleum Limited (LON:GKP) had its buy rating reaffirmed by analysts at Peel Hunt. Peel Hunt currently has a GBX 230 ($3.00) price target on the stock.
General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) had its sell rating reiterated by analysts at Berenberg Bank. Berenberg Bank currently has a $31.00 price target on the stock.
Golfsmith International Holdings (NASDAQ:GOLF) had its hold rating reiterated by analysts at Forward View. They currently have a $16.00 price target on the stock.
L-3 Communications Holdings (NYSE:LLL) had its buy rating reaffirmed by analysts at Cowen and Company. They currently have a $190.00 target price on the stock. The analysts wrote, “LLL’s loss of its SOF GLSS bid is a modest disappointment given we’d assessed a 30%.””
Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) had its hold rating reiterated by analysts at Cowen and Company. They currently have a $295.00 target price on the stock. The analysts wrote, “LMT’s recompete win of SOF GLSS is a nice plus given it accounts for an estimated.””
Luxoft Holding (NYSE:LXFT) had its buy rating reiterated by analysts at Berenberg Bank. The firm currently has a $60.00 price target on the stock.
Medley Capital Corporation (NYSE:MCC) had its neutral rating reiterated by analysts at National Securities. National Securities currently has a $6.00 target price on the stock. The analysts wrote, “• For fiscal 3Q17 Medley had $0.18/share of NII, matching our estimate and coming in at 2 cents above the quarterly dividend. However, we note that that the incentive fee was not earned during the quarter and we do not expect it to be earned until fiscal 2Q18. We think earnings will still remain above the $0.16/share quarterly dividend after the incentive fee resumption as we think that less credit quality issues creating a drag on effective yield and increased capital allocated to the joint venture (JV) bode well for earnings.
• Non-accruals finished the quarter at $121.5 million or 12.8% of the portfolio at amortized cost, down from $172.3 million the quarter prior but Medley realized losses of $55.1 million during the quarter.
• NAV/share will likely take another leg down, in our opinion, before it has a steady improvement. Although there were no new non-accruals on the quarter we believe there is a strong likelihood that further losses are incurred.
• We are revising our fiscal 2017 NII/share estimate to $0.69 from $0.70 and our fiscal 2018 NII/share estimate to $0.72 from $0.67.”
Signal Genetics (NASDAQ:MGEN) had its buy rating reiterated by analysts at Chardan Capital.
Everspin Tech (NASDAQ:MRAM) had its buy rating reissued by analysts at Canaccord Genuity. The firm currently has a $18.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $12.00.
Monroe Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:MRCC) had its buy rating reaffirmed by analysts at National Securities. National Securities currently has a $17.00 target price on the stock. The analysts wrote, “• Monroe reported $0.35/share of adjusted NII, a penny shy of our estimate of $0.36. The incentive fee waiver was equal to a penny per share for the period, as the external manager made the dividend match adjusted NII through this. We expect much of the earnings miss was attributable to the secondary offering in 2Q17 and that earnings should increase in 3Q17.
• Non-accruals at cost increased slightly Q/Q to $23.1 million from $22.2 million, with Rocket Dog Brands being added to non-accrual. TPP was also marked down further for the quarter. Rockdale BlackHawk’s equity (zero cost-basis) took a significant write-down during the quarter as well, all bringing NAV/share down to $14.05 from $14.34 Q/Q.
• The robust portfolio growth we model the balance of 2017 and through 2018 should drive NII/share higher, assisting the company in out-earning its dividend with what we believe will be in conjunction with stable asset quality; both serving to bolster NAV/share and thus generate strong economic returns for shareholders.
• We are revising our 2017 adjusted NII/share estimate to $1.40 from $1.46 and our 2018 adjusted NII/share estimate to $1.50 from $1.57.”
Newriver Reit PLC (LON:NRR) had its buy rating reiterated by analysts at Peel Hunt. Peel Hunt currently has a GBX 365 ($4.75) target price on the stock.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) had its buy rating reiterated by analysts at UBS AG. The firm currently has a $180.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $168.00.
New York Mortgage Trust (NASDAQ:NYMT) had its hold rating reissued by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. They currently have a $6.00 target price on the stock.
NASDAQ Other Finance (NASDAQ:OTHER) had its buy rating reissued by analysts at HC Wainwright.
Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) was downgraded by analysts at Maxim Group from a buy rating to a hold rating. Maxim Group currently has $15.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $20.00.
Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) had its market perform rating reaffirmed by analysts at BMO Capital Markets.
Sophiris Bio (NASDAQ:SPHS) had its buy rating reaffirmed by analysts at Maxim Group. They currently have a $6.00 target price on the stock.
Serabi Gold PLC (LON:SRB) had its under review rating reaffirmed by analysts at Peel Hunt.
TICC Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:TICC) had its sell rating reaffirmed by analysts at National Securities. National Securities currently has a $6.00 target price on the stock. The analysts wrote, “• For 2Q17, TICC posted core NII/share of $0.18 versus the dividend of $0.20 and our estimate of $0.22. The variance from our estimate was primarily due to the fact that we had modeled CLO equity additional taxable income of $4.0 million for the quarter versus the actual result of $1.7 million. It is noteworthy that the refinances and resets completed by TICC should bolster cash yields on its CLO equity positions, which will serve to augment this measure going forward. Additionally, TICC ended the quarter with an outsized cash position of $88.8 million (and another $61.1 million of restricted cash) to pay for its maturing convertible notes in 3Q17. We expect core NII to improve going forward as a result of lower funding costs and the tailwind of CLO equity refinances and resets.
• NAV/share was down only 2 cents Q/Q to $7.51 as loan markets remain strong and we expect this to the be the case through the remainder of 2017. However, we expect renewed loan market volatility to hit NAV/share and thus economic return in 2018, although this should concomitantly benefit CLO equity economics.
• We are revising our core NII/share estimate for 2017 to $0.96 from to $1.02 and our 2018 core NII/share estimate to $1.06 from $1.03.”
ThyssenKrupp AG (FRA:TKA) had its buy rating reaffirmed by analysts at DZ Bank AG.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) had its outperform rating reiterated by analysts at Robert W. Baird. Robert W. Baird currently has a $411.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $368.00.
TT Electronics plc (LON:TTG) had its buy rating reissued by analysts at Berenberg Bank. Berenberg Bank currently has a GBX 245 ($3.19) target price on the stock.
Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) was downgraded by analysts at Evercore ISI from an in-line rating to an underperform rating.
The Ultimate Software Group (NASDAQ:ULTI) had its outperform rating reiterated by analysts at Credit Suisse Group. They currently have a $245.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $260.00.
Vitec Group plc (LON:VTC) had its buy rating reiterated by analysts at Berenberg Bank. The firm currently has a GBX 1,150 ($14.98) target price on the stock.
Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) had its market perform rating reaffirmed by analysts at BMO Capital Markets.
Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) was downgraded by analysts at JMP Securities from an outperform rating to a market perform rating. The firm currently has $36.00 price target on the stock.
XLMedia PLC (LON:XLM) had its buy rating reaffirmed by analysts at Berenberg Bank. Berenberg Bank currently has a GBX 170 ($2.21) price target on the stock.
