E*TRADE (ETFC) Tops Q2 Estimates

E*TRADE Financial (ETFC ) just released its second quarter financial results, posting adjusted earnings of $0.95 per share and revenues of $710 million.

E*TRADE is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), which is subject to change based on today’s results. Shares of E*TRADE are up 59% over the last year but have dipped 3% during the last four weeks. ETFC saw its stock price slip 3.04% on Thursday to hit $61.21 per share prior to the release of its quarterly earnings results.

E*TRADE stock is currently down 0.64% to $61.60 per share in after-hours trading shortly after its earnings report was released.

ETFC:

Beat earnings estimates. The company posted earnings of $0.95 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.89 per share. Investors should note that this consensus projection has trended upward during the quarter.

Beat revenue estimates. The company saw revenue figures of $710 million, topping our consensus estimate of $704.95 million.

E*TRADE’s quarterly revenues jumped roughly 23% from $577 million in the year-ago period. The financial services company’s operating margin for the quarter was 49%. “Our Corporate Services team onboarded nearly $11 billion in new plan assets during the quarter, while replenishing a strong pipeline,” CEO Karl Roessner said in a statement.

“We completed the acquisition of Trust Company of America, and our initiatives to generate value from this powerful combination are well underway. Our strong operational execution translated to stellar financial performance, as E*TRADE once again delivered solid revenue, while expanding our adjusted operating margin for the seventh consecutive quarter to 46%.”

Here’s a graph that looks at ETFC’s Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise history:

E*TRADE Financial Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

E*TRADE Financial Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | E*TRADE Financial Corporation Quote

Check back later for our full analysis on ETFC’s earnings report!

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Why Wynn Resorts Will Be the Biggest Winner in Macau

Macau is the biggest gaming market in the world, generating $33 billion in annual revenue, about five times the gaming revenue of the Las Vegas Strip. The companies that have a presence there are likely to be big winners thanks to the scale of the market alone, but some companies will take more of the gains than others.�

One company that I think is starting to show its power in Macau is Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN). Wynn only has two resorts in Macau, but it serves the very top end of the gaming market, and as high rollers gamble more in Macau, it's set for better growth than rivals.�

Image source: Getty Images.

The players in Macau

There are six concessionaires in Macau: Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS), MGM Resorts (NYSE:MGM), Melco Resorts (NASDAQ:MLCO), SJM, and Galaxy. The last two aren't publicly traded in the U.S., so for the sake of this discussion, I'll leave them out of a comparison of gaming company growth.�

Of the other four, MGM Resorts gets the lowest percentage of its revenue from Macau at less than 20%, so it's not as useful for investors looking for exposure to Macau. Las Vegas Sands, Wynn, and Melco Resorts all get over half of their revenue from Macau and are highly dependent on the region. What separates them is where they're located, the markets they serve, and the age of their resorts.�

Why Wynn is best positioned in Macau

Like Las Vegas, location is everything in Macau. There are two main gaming regions in Macau: the Macau Peninsula, where older resorts are located (think Downtown Las Vegas) and the new Cotai region (similar to the Las Vegas Strip). Cotai is where the newest mega resorts are being built, and it's the new center of gravity for gaming in Macau.�

Las Vegas Sands has traditionally been the biggest player in Cotai with four major resorts there, and Melco Resorts follows with two properties. Wynn Resorts is the newest player in Cotai, but it's come in with a bang, generating $665.8 million in revenue and $211.9 million of EBITDA, a proxy for cash flow, from Wynn Cotai in the first quarter alone. You can see below that the resort has sucked market share from its biggest rivals on Cotai.�

Company	Q1 2018 Macau Revenue	Change Y/Y
Las Vegas Sands Macau	$2.16 billion	16.8%
Wynn Resorts Macau	$1.28 billion	27.8%
Melco Resorts City of Dreams	$1.16 billion	4.4%

Source: Company first-quarter earnings releases.�

You can see that Wynn is out-growing rivals in Macau, and Wynn Cotai is the biggest reason why. Not only is it riding Macau's 20.5% growth in the first quarter, it's also gaining market share, which is a trend I don't see stopping anytime soon. Wynn Resorts has a long history of generating disproportionately more revenue than neighbors, and Wynn Cotai is continuing that trend.�

Wynn's stock is set up for success

From an investment standpoint, Wynn Resorts also has leverage working in its favor (as long as results are improving). You can see below that Wynn has increased debt to build resorts like Wynn Cotai and Wynn Boston Harbor (set to open mid-2019), which adds leverage to the balance sheet and therefore the stock. At the same time, Las Vegas Sands and Melco Resorts have been reducing leverage.�

Wynn Resorts, Melco Resorts, and Las Vegas Sands Leverage, data by YCharts.

If Macau continues to grow and Wynn Cotai continues to take market share, Wynn Resorts is primed to outperform rivals by a wide margin. It's a riskier stock because of the leverage you see above. But in the world's biggest gaming market, this is leverage investors should be willing to accept.�

Analyzing National Research (NRCIA) & EXACT Sciences (EXAS)

National Research (NASDAQ: NRCIA) and EXACT Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) are both business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation, risk and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

Get National Research alerts:

National Research has a beta of 1.68, suggesting that its share price is 68% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, EXACT Sciences has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares National Research and EXACT Sciences’ revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
National Research	$117.56 million	6.99	$22.94 million	$0.58	57.84
EXACT Sciences	$265.99 million	30.58	-$114.39 million	($0.99)	-67.40

National Research has higher earnings, but lower revenue than EXACT Sciences. EXACT Sciences is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than National Research, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for National Research and EXACT Sciences, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
National Research	0	0	0	0	N/A
EXACT Sciences	0	3	10	0	2.77

EXACT Sciences has a consensus price target of $63.17, suggesting a potential downside of 5.34%. Given EXACT Sciences’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe EXACT Sciences is more favorable than National Research.

Profitability

This table compares National Research and EXACT Sciences’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
National Research	19.52%	27.45%	19.09%
EXACT Sciences	-38.61%	-20.92%	-15.73%

Dividends

National Research pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. EXACT Sciences does not pay a dividend. National Research pays out 69.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

33.6% of National Research shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.1% of EXACT Sciences shares are held by institutional investors. 5.7% of National Research shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.2% of EXACT Sciences shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

National Research beats EXACT Sciences on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

National Research Company Profile

National Research Corporation provides analytics and insights that facilitate measurement and enhancement of the patient and employee experience in the United States and Canada. Its portfolio of subscription-based solutions provide actionable information and analysis to healthcare organizations and payers across a range of mission-critical, constituent-related elements, including patient experience, satisfaction, community population health risks, workforce engagement, community perceptions, and physician engagement. The company offers market insights solutions that allow the tracking of awareness, perception, and consistency of healthcare brands; assessment of competitive differentiators; and enhanced segmentation tools to evaluate needs, wants, and behaviors of communities through real-time competitive assessments and enhanced segmentation tools. It also provides experience solutions, such as patient and resident experience, workforce engagement, health risk assessments, transitions, and improvement tools. The company offers transitions solutions, which enable organizations to identify and manage high-risk patients to reduce readmissions, increase patient satisfaction and support safe care transitions; and risk assessment solutions that enable clients to segment populations and manage care for those who are most at risk, engage individuals, enhance preventative care, and manage wellness programs. It provides transparency solutions that allow healthcare organizations to share picture of their organization and ensure content informs in consumer decision-making; and governance solutions for not-for-profit hospital and health system boards of directors, executives, and physician leadership. The company serves integrated health systems and post-acute providers, such as home health, long term care, hospice, and payer organizations. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska.

EXACT Sciences Company Profile

Exact Sciences Corporation, a molecular diagnostics company, focuses on developing products for the early detection and prevention of various cancers in the United States. The company offers Cologuard, a non-invasive stool-based DNA screening test for the early detection of colorectal cancer and pre-cancer. It has license agreements with MAYO Foundation for Medical Education and Research; and Hologic, Inc. Exact Sciences Corporation was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin.

Hot Tech Stocks For 2019

tags:CYBR,EBIX,ATU,MDCA,

FIL Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) by 70.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 282,719 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock after selling 688,612 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd’s holdings in NXP Semiconductors were worth $33,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NXP Semiconductors by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 19,595,554 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $2,294,444,000 after buying an additional 366,810 shares during the period. HBK Investments L P lifted its holdings in shares of NXP Semiconductors by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 14,858,400 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $1,739,770,000 after buying an additional 524,967 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NXP Semiconductors by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 7,815,000 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $915,058,000 after buying an additional 90,000 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of NXP Semiconductors by 71.7% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,508,068 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $878,444,000 after buying an additional 3,135,818 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of NXP Semiconductors by 35.5% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,251,504 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $380,719,000 after acquiring an additional 852,289 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.01% of the company’s stock.

Hot Tech Stocks For 2019: CyberArk Software Ltd.(CYBR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Lange]

  The short interest at CyberArk Software Ltd. (NASDAQ: CYBR) increased to 1.10 million shares from the previous level of 861,800. Shares were trading at $53.34, within a 52-week range of $39.34 to $55.63.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Short interest at CyberArk Software Ltd. (NASDAQ: CYBR) decreased to 827,000 shares from the previous level of 1.04 million. Shares were trading at $63.21, within a 52-week range of $39.34 to $67.65.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on CyberArk (CYBR)

  For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

Hot Tech Stocks For 2019: Ebix, Inc.(EBIX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Ebix (NASDAQ: EBIX) and Mattersight (NASDAQ:MATR) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends and valuation.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Shares of Ebix Inc (NASDAQ:EBIX) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $100.00.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Ebix (NASDAQ:EBIX) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The technology company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.01), MarketWatch Earnings reports. The business had revenue of $108.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $106.81 million. Ebix had a return on equity of 20.67% and a net margin of 27.65%. Ebix’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.8% on a year-over-year basis.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  ARS Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Ebix Inc (NASDAQ:EBIX) by 62.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 92,910 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,681 shares during the quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC owned 0.30% of Ebix worth $6,922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Ebix (NASDAQ: EBIX) and Godaddy (NYSE:GDDY) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and earnings.

Hot Tech Stocks For 2019: Actuant Corporation(ATU)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Actuant (ATU)

  For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

• [By Garrett Baldwin]
  After 111 years as a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) has been replaced on the index by Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.�(NYSE: WBA). According to David Blitzer, managing director and chair of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, the change is part of an effort to increase value and prominence of consumer goods, finance, healthcare, and technology firms on the U.S. economy. GE is the last original member to be removed from the index. Shares of Boeing Co.�(NYSE BA), DowDuPont Inc. (NYSE: DOW), and Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) are getting pounded on concerns that a full-blown trade war may accelerate and hurt major exporters to China. Yesterday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced he may seek tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese goods. Trump has asked U.S. trade representatives to identify potential products on which the United States could implement a 10% tariff. Recent trade volatility has erased all gains in the Dow Jones in 2018. Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) has raised its bid for�Twenty-First�Century Fox Inc.�(NYSE: FOXA) assets to $71.3 billion in cash and stock. The new offer tops the $35 all-cash offer proposed last week by cable and telecom giant Comcast Corp.�(Nasdaq: CMCSA). Three Stocks to Watch Today: MU, ORCL, SBUX Micron Technology Inc.�(Nasdaq: MU) will lead a light day of earnings reports Wednesday. The Chinese semiconductor giant is expected to report earnings per share (EPS) of $3.14 on top of $7.75 billion in revenue. While markets will be interested in this report, the greater focus will likely center on the impact of U.S. tariffs on the company's forward guidance. Oracle Corp.�(NYSE: ORCL) stock was off 3.7% despite news that the cloud computing giant topped Wall Street earnings expectations yesterday. The firm reported adjusted EPS of $0.99 on top of $11.25 billion in revenue. Those numbers beat average expectations of $0.94 on $11.18 billion. The stock slumped after
• [By Shane Hupp]

  Actuant Co. (NYSE:ATU) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $23.63.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Champlain Investment Partners LLC lowered its position in Actuant (NYSE:ATU) by 3.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,975,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 71,860 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Actuant were worth $45,926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Actuant (ATU)

  For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  Actuant Corporation (NYSE:ATU)Q3 2018 Earnings Conference CallJune 20, 2018, 11:00 a.m. ET

  Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks:

  Operator

Hot Tech Stocks For 2019: MDC Partners Inc.(MDCA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  Shares of MDC Partners (NASDAQ:MDCA) have gotten crushed today, down by a whopping 36% as of 11:45 a.m. EDT, after the company reported�first-quarter earnings results and lowered its outlook for organic revenue growth this year.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Shares of MDC Partners Inc. (NASDAQ: MDCA) were down 30 percent to $4.78 after a first-quarter earnings miss.

  Hudson Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: HDSN) was down, falling around 25 percent to $3.07 after the company reported downbeat Q1 earnings.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Shares of MDC Partners Inc. (NASDAQ: MDCA) were down 33 percent to $ 4.575 after a first-quarter earnings miss.

  Hudson Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: HDSN) was down, falling around 32 percent to $2.7799 after the company reported downbeat Q1 earnings.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers MDC Partners Inc. (NASDAQ: MDCA) fell 23.4 percent to $5.25 in pre-market trading after a first-quarter earnings miss. Hudson Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: HDSN) shares fell 15.1 percent to $3.48 in pre-market trading after the company reported downbeat Q1 earnings. Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) fell 14 percent to $13.15 in pre-market trading after the company posted downbeat Q2 earnings and lowered FY18 organic growth guidance. Myomo, Inc. (NYSE: MYO) fell 13.2 percent to $3.10 in pre-market trading after reporting downbeat quarterly results. Rowan Companies plc (NYSE: RDC) shares fell 10.7 percent to $14.13 in pre-market trading after climbing 8.50 percent on Wednesday. BT Group plc (NYSE: BT) fell 9 percent to $14.80 in pre-market trading after the company reported Q4 results and announced plans to cut 13,000 jobs over the next three years. Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXEL) fell 8.3 percent to $19.90 in pre-market trading after the company disclosed that IMblaze370 Phase 3 pivotal trial of atezolizumab and cobimetinib in patients with heavily pretreated locally advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer did not meet primary endpoint. Infinera Corporation (NASDAQ: INFN) fell 8.2 percent to $10.80 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. Synaptics, Incorporated (NASDAQ: SYNA) shares fell 7.4 percent to $43.00 in pre-market trading. Synaptics reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter, while sales missed estimates. Randgold Resources Limited (NASDAQ: GOLD) shares fell 7.4 percent to $76.23 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 earnings. Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: IART) shares fell 7 percent to $59.36 in pre-market trading. Integra LifeSciences priced its 5.25 million share public offering of common stock at $58.50 per share. Array BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY) shares fell 6.9 percent to $12.75 in pre-m
• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Here are some of the news stories that may have effected Accern’s analysis:

  Get MDC Partners alerts: $0.09 Earnings Per Share Expected for MDC Partners Inc (MDCA) This Quarter (americanbankingnews.com) Head-To-Head Review: MDC Partners (MDCA) vs. HAVAS (HAVSF) (americanbankingnews.com) Telaria (TLRA) & MDC Partners (MDCA) Head to Head Survey (americanbankingnews.com) Comparing WPP (WPP) & MDC Partners (MDCA) (americanbankingnews.com)

  Shares of MDC Partners traded up $0.15, reaching $4.80, during midday trading on Monday, according to Marketbeat.com. 391,100 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 478,690. The stock has a market cap of $278.13 million, a PE ratio of 7.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.13. MDC Partners has a 1-year low of $3.80 and a 1-year high of $12.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of -3.37, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

How To Make Your 401(k) Plan One Of The Best

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image shutterstock size-large wp-image-1123967666&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/1123967666/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;639&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Shutterstock

I recently read &l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlawton/2018/07/01/is-your-401k-plan-one-of-the-best-heres-how-to-tell/#7400269f7e2c&q;&g;this article&l;/a&g; about how to know if your 401(k) plan is one of the &a;ldquo;best.&a;rdquo; It suggests the key things to look for are index fund options, cost-efficient target date funds, investment advice, feedback on how you&a;rsquo;re doing, retirement plan calculators, an understanding of your plan among employees, and support from company management. That makes a lot of sense to me, but what if your plan is missing one, several, or even all of those elements?

First, don&a;rsquo;t make the perfect the enemy of the good. If your 401(k) lacks a lot of the features of the &a;ldquo;best&a;rdquo; plans, keep in mind all the benefits that it does have such as tax deferral or tax-free growth, the convenience of payroll deduction, and protection from creditors. Your plan may also offer free money in the form of a match. You probably don&a;rsquo;t want to give up those benefits by investing in a taxable account or even worse, not saving for retirement at all. Second, there are ways of turning a sub-optimal plan into one of the best.

&l;strong&g;1. Understand ALL the options available to you.&l;/strong&g;

If you have a self-directed brokerage account option, you&a;rsquo;re in luck. This feature allows you to invest in funds and in some cases, even ETFs and individual stocks, that aren&a;rsquo;t part of the core investment options in your plan. If your plan doesn&a;rsquo;t offer index funds or low cost target date funds, you can probably find them here. In fact, companies like Vanguard, Charles Schwab, Fidelity, and BlackRock all offer low cost target date funds that are composed of index funds. This is important since low fees have been &l;a href=&q;https://www.morningstar.com/articles/752485/fund-fees-predict-future-success-or-failure.html&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;found&l;/a&g; to be the &a;ldquo;most proven predictor of future fund returns.&a;rdquo;

If you don&a;rsquo;t have a brokerage option, see what the funds in your plan cost. You&a;rsquo;ll want to look for the fund&a;rsquo;s expense ratio, which can generally be found on the plan website or at least in the fund prospectus. An expense ratio of 1.4 means that the fund charges about 1.4% per year so the lower the number, the better. Even if none of your funds are index funds, they may still be relatively low cost since 401(k) plans often offer institutional funds with below average fees.

If most of your fund options have high fees, it doesn&a;rsquo;t mean you should abandon your 401(k). The tax breaks can still outweigh the advantage of lower cost funds in a taxable account. At the very least, you&a;rsquo;ll probably want to contribute enough to get your employer&a;rsquo;s match. After that, you can choose low cost funds in an IRA and an &l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/financialfinesse/2016/11/17/why-you-should-max-out-your-hsa-before-your-401k/#56a6a7d175ac&q;&g;HSA&l;/a&g; (if eligible) before investing more in your 401(k).

If you have investments outside the 401(k), you can use your 401(k) for the investments where you have low cost options and use your outside account(s) for the rest. Just make sure that you&a;rsquo;re comparing the cost of similar funds to each other since being diversified is more important than always picking the lowest cost funds. This brings us to&a;hellip;

&l;!--nextpage--&g;

&l;strong&g;2. Follow a model portfolio.&l;/strong&g;

There&a;rsquo;s nothing magical or even scientific about the investment recommendations offered in many 401(k) plans or anywhere else. No one knows exactly what mix of investments will do the best for a given level of risk. In fact, a &l;a href=&q;http://mebfaber.com/2016/05/18/institutional-asset-allocation-models/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;comparison&l;/a&g; of investment models from 40 different top money managers from 1973-2015 found that the difference between the best and the worst performer was just a little over half a percent per year. Another &l;a href=&q;http://mebfaber.com/2013/07/31/asset-allocation-strategies-2/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;comparison&l;/a&g; of model portfolios from various popular investment &a;ldquo;gurus&a;rdquo; found similar results.

Go ahead and pick one that you can implement using the options in your plan or use &l;a href=&q;https://secure.financialfinesse.com/go/2997&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;our guidelines&l;/a&g; based on your risk tolerance. There is no perfect or even best portfolio. The important thing is that you&a;rsquo;re reasonably diversified, stick to your plan through thick and thin, and keep your costs to a minimum since a slightly higher fee could easily turn the best performing portfolio into the worst one. (See #1 above.)

&l;strong&g;3. Use a standalone retirement calculator. &l;/strong&g;

While it&a;rsquo;s convenient to have a retirement tracking tool or calculator in your 401(k) web site pre-populated with your information, these are rarely complete and hence are often inaccurate. They may miscalculate your expected Social Security benefits, will not automatically include any outside investments you and your spouse may have, and may not correctly assume your retirement goals. Instead, you can use a similarly free retirement calculator like &l;a href=&q;https://ffcalcs.com/retirement_estimator&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;this one&l;/a&g; that allows you to include your entire picture. This can help you figure out how much you need to save to hit your goals and keep your focus on the long term rather than the daily fluctuations in your portfolio value.

&l;strong&g;4. Understand and support your 401(k) yourself.&l;/strong&g;

In a perfect world, every employee would understand their 401(k) and every employer would be supportive of it. Fortunately, you don&a;rsquo;t need to live in a perfect world. You just need to understand and support it yourself. You can find information on your plan from the 401(k) web site and by calling the plan provider. See if your employer offers access to a financial wellness program with unbiased financial planners who are familiar with your particular retirement plan.

For better or worse, 401(k) plans are all about personal responsibility. You decide how much you contribute, how the money is invested, and how you withdraw it. Whether your plans is one of the best depends on what you make of it.&l;/p&g;

$0.18 EPS Expected for Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP) This Quarter

Brokerages forecast that Energy Transfer Partners LP (NYSE:ETP) will report $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the current quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Three analysts have issued estimates for Energy Transfer Partners’ earnings, with the lowest EPS estimate coming in at ($0.08) and the highest estimate coming in at $0.30. Energy Transfer Partners reported earnings of ($0.04) per share in the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year-over-year growth rate of 550%. The business is expected to issue its next earnings report on Tuesday, August 14th.

On average, analysts expect that Energy Transfer Partners will report full year earnings of $1.07 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $0.66 to $1.43. For the next year, analysts expect that the company will post earnings of $1.32 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $1.02 to $1.74. Zacks Investment Research’s earnings per share calculations are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side research analysts that that provide coverage for Energy Transfer Partners.

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Energy Transfer Partners (NYSE:ETP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 9th. The pipeline company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.84 billion. Energy Transfer Partners had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 7.22%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ETP shares. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer Partners in a research report on Monday, March 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer Partners and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 6th. ValuEngine raised shares of Energy Transfer Partners from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, June 15th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer Partners from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Energy Transfer Partners currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.77.

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Energy Transfer Partners by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 511,719 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $9,170,000 after purchasing an additional 63,620 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer Partners during the 4th quarter valued at about $823,000. Haverford Trust Co. grew its position in Energy Transfer Partners by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Haverford Trust Co. now owns 58,488 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 4,519 shares during the last quarter. Edge Advisors LLC grew its position in Energy Transfer Partners by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Edge Advisors LLC now owns 173,502 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,109,000 after purchasing an additional 28,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Koch Industries Inc. purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer Partners during the 4th quarter valued at about $488,000. 62.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Partners stock traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $19.19. 115,519 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,866,193. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $22.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.03. Energy Transfer Partners has a 52-week low of $15.06 and a 52-week high of $21.68.

Energy Transfer Partners Company Profile

Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. engages in the natural gas midstream, and intrastate transportation and storage businesses in the United States. The company's Intrastate Transportation and Storage segment transports natural gas from various natural gas producing areas through connections with other pipeline systems, as well as through its ET Fuel System and HPL System.

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Qiagen (QGEN) Upgraded to “Buy” at ValuEngine

ValuEngine upgraded shares of Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on QGEN. DZ Bank reissued a neutral rating on shares of Qiagen in a report on Thursday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Qiagen from $39.00 to $37.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank reissued a buy rating and set a $40.00 price target (up from $38.00) on shares of Qiagen in a report on Tuesday, April 24th. Commerzbank reissued a buy rating on shares of Qiagen in a report on Thursday, May 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a neutral rating on shares of Qiagen in a report on Thursday, May 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $38.50.

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Shares of Qiagen stock opened at $36.13 on Monday. Qiagen has a one year low of $30.20 and a one year high of $37.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $343.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $340.10 million. Qiagen had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 3.79%. analysts forecast that Qiagen will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current year.

About Qiagen

QIAGEN N.V. provides sample to insight solutions that transform biological materials into molecular insights worldwide. The company offers sample technologies for plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) purification, ribonucleic acid purification and stabilization, genomic and viral nucleic acid purification, DNA cleanup after polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing, target enrichment, and library preparation for sequencing applications; and assay technology solutions.

To view ValuEngine’s full report, visit ValuEngine’s official website.