One of our top dividend stocks just blew away expectations.
Just as we knew it would.
Back in June, we drew your attention to Becton, Dickinson and Co. (NYSE: BDX), the 120-year-old medical technology powerhouse that has increased its dividend every year for 45 years.
It is the quintessential “dividend aristocrat.”
Earlier this month, BDX reported a Q3 earnings per share of $2.40, beating analyst expectations by $0.03 and growing 13.2% since last year. Revenue for the quarter came in at $3.17 billion, another expectation beat.
It even beat one of our expectations. In June, we quoted analysts who gave BDX a one-year price target of $213.
Now, just five months later, BDX sits at around $220.
Here’s why BDX is still a buy – and why you should start accumulating shares sooner rather than later…
Becton Dickinson Is Riding Unstoppable Trends to Triple Digit Gains
Becton, Dickinson and Co. is, at its very core, a “must-have” company because it makes “must-have” products.
Best Medical Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Arista Networks, Inc.(ANET)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Motley Fool Staff]
Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Q1 2018 Earnings Conference CallMay. 3, 2018 4:30 p.m. ET
Contents:
Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants
Prepared Remarks:Operator
- [By Lisa Levin]
Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers
Losers
Check-Cap Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHEK) shares dipped 47.8 percent to $4.60. Check-Cap priced its upsized underwritten offering of public units at $5.50 per unit.
VivoPower International PLC (NASDAQ: VVPR) shares fell 41.5 percent to $2.57.
Universal Electronics Inc. (NASDAQ: UEIC) dropped 35.1 percent to $29.50 after the company posted downbeat quarterly results.
Euro Tech Holdings Company Limited (NASDAQ: CLWT) dropped 34.8 percent to $3.75 after climbing 155.56 percent on Thursday.
Integrated Media Technology Limited (NASDAQ: IMTE) fell 25.2 percent to $24.01 after surging 46.29 percent on Thursday.
Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) dropped 22.5 percent to $45.73 after the company reported downbeat earnings for its first quarter and lowered its profit outlook for the year.
AMN Healthcare Services, Inc (NYSE: AMN) shares fell 19.6 percent to $52.075 following Q1 earnings.
Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADVM) shares declined 18.1 percent to $5.20. Adverum Biotech disclosed that its CEO Amber Salzman is stepping down.
Newater Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: NEWA) dropped 17.2 percent to $12.83.
Basic Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE: BAS) fell 17.2 percent to $13.65 following Q1 results.
Xperi Corporation (NASDAQ: XPER) declined 15.8 percent to $19.40 after announcing Q1 results.
Sharing Economy International Inc. (NASDAQ: SEII) shares fell 15.1 percent to $3.649 after climbing 22.16 percent on Thursday.
Performant Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: PFMT) dropped 14.2 percent to $2.65.
Gogo Inc. (NASDAQ: GOGO) shares fell 13.2 percent to $8.32 after the company reported Q1 results and disclosed that it is withdrawing its FY18 outlook for adjusted EBITDA, airborne cash capex, airborne equipment inventory purchases and free cash flow.
Technical Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: TCCO) dropped 12.2 percent to $5.05.
Web.com Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: WEB) fell 9.7 percent - [By Dan Caplinger]
Wall Street had its Cinco de Mayo celebration a day early, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the session with a gain of more than 330 points. Investors were excited about what they saw as a Goldilocks-like reading on the U.S. economy in the April employment report, which featured modest job growth, rock-bottom unemployment rates, and slow enough wage growth to quell inflation fears and give the Federal Reserve latitude to raise interest rates more slowly going forward. Yet some companies still suffered at least perceived setbacks that sent their shares lower. Fluor (NYSE:FLR), Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET), and Appian (NASDAQ:APPN) were among the worst performers on the day. Here’s why they did so poorly.
- [By Simon Erickson]
Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) founder/Chairman Andy Bechtolsheim became a Silicon Valley legend after being one of the first investors in the company now called Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), cutting the company a $100,000 check in 1998 before it had even formally selected a name (he confirmed this investment has personally netted him more than $1 billion).
Arista’s customer count has increased sixfold during the past four years (from 570 in 2011 to more than 3,500 today) and their market share in high-speed data center switching has increased from 3% to 12% during the same time frame. Bechtolsheim owns 19% of Arista’s shares, with insiders collectively owning more than 44%. Due to massive amounts of data being transferred across the Internet (thanks to high-definition video, genomic sequencing, and a ton of other formats), investment in cloud-computing infrastructure is estimated to grow from $32.6 billion in 2015 to $53.1 billion by 2019.
Best Medical Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated(SYKE)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Lisa Levin]
Companies Reporting After The Bell
Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) is projected to post quarterly loss at $1.31 per share on revenue of $1.97 billion.
International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE: IFF) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $1.59 per share on revenue of $909.36 million.
Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZG) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.06 per share on revenue of $294.79 million.
General Cable Corporation (NYSE: BGC) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $0.15 per share on revenue of $980.61 million.
Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ: CENT) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.84 per share on revenue of $598.45 million.
Cabot Corporation (NYSE: CBT) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $1 per share on revenue of $746.42 million.
Fabrinet (NYSE: FN) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.71 per share on revenue of $319.71 million.
National General Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: NGHC) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.55 per share on revenue of $1.08 billion.
The Navigators Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NAVG) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $0.75 per share on revenue of $320.92 million.
Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. (NYSE: DPLO) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.22 per share on revenue of $1.29 billion.
Trex Company, Inc. (NYSE: TREX) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $1.19 per share on revenue of $172.22 million.
AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AMC) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.09 per share on revenue of $1.35 billion.
Envision Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: EVHC) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.64 per share on revenue of $2.02 billion.
Regal Beloit Corporation (NYSE: RBC) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $1.23 per share on revenue of $869.64 million.
Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.67 per share on revenue of $39
Best Medical Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Cannabis Science, Inc. (CBIS)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Matthew Briar]
Look out Cannabis Science Inc (OTCMKTS:CBIS), and step aside Medical Marijuana Inc (OTCMKTS:MJNA). There’s a new cannabis name on the scene…. Algae Dynamics Corp. (OTCMKTS:ADYNF). It may not be known (or named) like its marijuana peers, but give it time. This small cap company has a very big idea, and it’s going to sprout soon.
Yes, Algae Dynamics is an algae company. It’s not just an algae company though.
Algae Dynamics is the owner of the proprietary BioSilo ™ process. BioSilo is a way of growing algae quickly and effectively…. a mix of an open-pond system and a photobioreactor, which is a light-driven approach to growing algae. It can be viewed as a “best of both worlds” approach, lowering the typical cost of algae farming, while the modular design makes it easy to maintain.
The company could go a lot of directions with the technology, Most of the tens of thousands of species of algae are rather flexible in how they can be purposed, and what they can become. Algae Dynamics is first focused on the development of two kinds of products though…. Chlorella, and Omega-3.
Chlorella is a type of microalgae that can be processed into a consumable powder by drying it until it takes a powder form, similar to coffee. Chlorella is rich in minerals, prebiotics, vitamins, and other nutritional substances. It can be added to a baked goods and a number of other products, or taken as a supplement on its own. Chlorella is used in over 1,000 products in the food and beverage markets. Algae Dynamics estimates the global Chlorella market was $210.3 million in 2014 and is expected to reach $265.5 million in 2018.
Despite a market for Chlorella in North America, there are no commercial North American producers of it.
Due to its health benefits, Omega-3 oil can be added to a very wide range of products. Consumers are increasingly aware of these benefits too, leading to substantial growth in the industry; health supplements compr
- [By Jim Robertson]
When investors think of cannabinoid or marijuana stocks, they either think of better known stocks likeGW Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ: GWPH)and Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ZYNE) that trade on bigger exchanges orCannabis Science Inc (OTCMKTS: CBIS) and Medical Marijuana Inc (OTCMKTS: MJNA) that are stilllisted on the OTC. However, there are other more indirect ways to invest in growing cannabinoid or marijuana acceptance.
- [By Peter Graham]
A long term performance chart shows GW Pharmaceuticals PLC outperforming other small cap marijuana stocks like Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ZYNE), Cannabis Science Inc (OTCMKTS: CBIS) and Medical Marijuana Inc (OTCMKTS: MJNA), but that outperformance has come withconsiderable volatility:
Best Medical Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Extra Space Storage Inc(EXR)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Matthew Frankel]
The final REIT type I like right now is self-storage, particularly Extra Space Storage (NYSE:EXR).
First, I should mention that this could prove to be the most volatile company on the list. Self-storage isn’t as defensive as retail or healthcare simply because of its lease structure. Generally, you don’t sign a multi-year lease on a storage unit — you just pay each month that you want to keep it. This makes it easier for tenants to vacate the properties during tough times.
- [By Stephan Byrd]
Extra Space Storage, Inc. (NYSE:EXR) hit a new 52-week high and low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $93.95 and last traded at $93.32, with a volume of 318074 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $93.44.
- [By Jon C. Ogg]
Extra Space Storage Inc. (NYSE: EXR) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
ALSO READ: Jefferies Analysts Out With Top Stock Picks Before Global Tech Conference
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) was reiterated as Buy with a $36 price target (versus a $25.16 close) at Argus. The firm noted that the recent sell-off offers an attractive entry point.
Best Medical Stocks To Invest In Right Now: New Century Bancorp Inc.(NC)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Stephan Byrd]
Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR) and NACCO Industries (NYSE:NC) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.
- [By Lisa Levin]
Shares of NACCO Industries, Inc. (NYSE: NC) got a boost, shooting up 11 percent to $73.85. NACCO Industries disclosed that its subsidiary Hamilton Beach Brands has filed to trade as an independent company. The company announced the retirement of its CEO following Hamilton Beach Brands spin off.
Best Medical Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA (CFRHF)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By SEEKINGALPHA.COM]
That’s good news to the luxury goods sector – from Swiss watches to high fashion and expensive cognac – for which Chinese consumers make up around 30 percent of all global sales. In a note to investors, analysts at investment firm Exane BNP Paribas expects growth to continue to trend upwards during 2017, with Swatch Group (OTCPK:SWGAY), Richemont SA (OTCPK:CFRHF), and Burberry (OTCPK:BURBY) the companies most likely to gain.