Whirlpool (WHR) Q3 2017 results

Whirlpool (WHR) reported Q3 2017 earnings of $3.83 below street expectations of $3.94.  Margins fell mainly due to raw material inflation and product mix.  For 2017, the company has lowered guidance 7% to 13.60-13.90.  Positives for the quarter were solid performance in N. America, strong share buybacks and announcement of cost and price initiatives.  WHR is trading down 10% today. Continue reading “Whirlpool (WHR) Q3 2017 results”

TIREX – Q3 2017 Market Commentary

TIAA CREF Real Estate Securities had a strong quarter, outperforming its benchmark by over 30 bps. The team has been able to outperform significantly this year, due in part to its ability to underweight regional malls within the retail sector. They are now beginning to pair back the underweight given the attractive valuations within the sector but will focus on A-tier malls with longer term growth potential.

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Schlumberger ($SLB.US) Q3: Results in line with expectations

Q3 results were in line with expectations as SLB reported EPS of $.42/share. This was driven mostly by the strength of the North America land market and growth in key international markets like Russia, the North Sea, and Asia. SLB continues to invest through Schlumberger Production Management (SPM) and yesterday announced a definitive agreement to purchase the Palliser Block in Canada from Cenovous Energy. Technological advancement continues to be a driving force for growth as SLB looks to partner up with Google and Microsoft to capitalize on the latest advances in digital technology. Energy price recovery has been slow and the timing and pace remain an unknown. On the call, management talked down guidance for North American growth in Q4.

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HLMEX – Q3 2017 Commentary

Harding Loevner EM returned over 7% during the third quarter, slightly lagging its index on a total return basis. This underperformance is to be expected during such a large market rally as the portfolio has a relatively low beta. The team maintains its strong risk-adjusted performance posting higher sharpe ratios than the benchmark over 3, 5, and 10 year periods.

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Travellers Q3 2017 earnings

Travelers (TRV) reported Q3 EPS of $.91, well above consensus of $0.42. Earning expectations had dropped due to expected losses from hurricanes. Travelers’ hurricane losses were only 2% of book value which is lowest of all the major insurers, showing excellent risk management. Traveler’s combined ratio was 103.2%, excluding catastrophic losses the ratio was 92.9%. Travelers is a high quality, disciplined underwriter of insurance that is focused on returning capital to shareholders. Continue reading “Travellers Q3 2017 earnings”

Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ.US) 3Q17 earnings recap: beat and raise top and bottom lines

JNJ reported strong Q3 2017 results with a beat and raise on top and bottom lines. Sales came in nearly $360M above estimates and cash EPS of $1.90 was 13% ahead of street estimates. Solid performance was driven mostly by better than expected results in pharmaceuticals. Excluding the impact of acquisitions and divestitures and forex, worldwide sales were up 3.8%. Price Target remains unchanged.

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