Earnings, Other News Have These 5 Stocks In Motion Today

After opening close to flat, Wall Street is now firmly in the red as all three indexes are lower in afternoon trading and the Dow’s run of nine straight trading sessions in the green poised to come to an end. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at five stocks that are showing more volatility than the indexes this afternoon. Those stocks are Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK), Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI), Insteel Industries Inc (NASDAQ:IIIN), Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC), and Del Taco Restaurants Inc (NASDAQ:TACO). We’ll see what’s up with these stocks today and also use SEC filings to see how hedge funds are positioned among them.

Hedge fund sentiment is an important metric for assessing the long-term profitability. At Insider Monkey, we track over 765 hedge funds, whose quarterly 13F filings we analyze and determine their collective sentiment towards several thousand stocks. However, our research has shown that the best strategy is to follow hedge funds into their small-cap picks. This approach can allow monthly returns of nearly 95 basis points above the market, as we determined through extensive backtests covering the period between 1999 and 2012 (see the details here).

Chesapeake Pops on Momentum

Although crude futures are almost 2% lower, traders are buying Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) today, mainly for technical reasons. Shares of the company recently passed the $5 resistance level before retreating slightly. Also adding to the bullishness on the name is rising natural gas prices; near month futures for the heating commodity are up by around 0.50% today as many traders remain optimistic on the improving demand and supply fundamentals for the sector. Carl Icahn‘s Icahn Capital LP reported owning a stake of more than 73 million shares of Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) as of the end of March.

Trueblue Reports Earnings

Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) shares have surged by 11% today after the company reported second quarter EPS of $0.51 on revenue of $672.61 million. TrueBlue’s earnings results came in $0.08 per share ahead of analysts’ consensus estimate, while its revenue missed the estimated mark by just $2.72 million. Guidance was pretty strong, as management expects EPS of $0.73-to-$0.78 on revenue of $717 million-to-$733 million for the third quarter. Adjusted EBITDA is projected to come in at $51 million-to-$54 million for the same time period. 12 funds in our database owned shares of Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) at the end of March, down by two funds from the close of the previous quarter.

On the next page we’ll examine why Insteel Industries, Marriott Vacations Worldwide, and Del Taco Restaurants are trending this afternoon.

Insteel Profit Outpaces Expectations

Insteel Industries Inc (NASDAQ:IIIN) is 8% in the green today after the company reported fiscal third quarter earnings of $0.71 per share on revenue of $115.63 million, beating the consensus estimate by $0.19 per share for the bottom-line but missing by $3.72 million for the top-line. Net sales dropped by 1.2% year-over-year, mainly due to a 10% decrease in average selling prices which was mitigated to a large degree by a 9.8% increase in shipments. Cash flow from operations rose to $21.9 million from $18.1 million a year earlier. Management expects strong results for the fiscal fourth quarter. The number of funds in our system with holdings in Insteel Industries Inc (NASDAQ:IIIN) rose by three quarter-over-quarter to 17 as of the end of March.

Marriott Vacations Profit Beats

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC) has soared by 11% on the back of strong second quarter earnings results. Although its revenue missed expectations by $6.55 million, coming in at $429.95 million, Marriott Vacations Worldwide’s profit per share beat the consensus mark by $0.06 per share as it delivered EPS of $1.08. Adjusted EBITDA rose by 4.1% year-over-year to $64.2 million and the company repurchased around 1.5 million shares in the quarter. For the full 2016 year, the company expects adjusted fully diluted EPS of $4.43-to-$4.78 and adjusted free cash flow of $135 million-to-$155 million. Of the 766 active funds that we track, 14 funds owned $76.74 million in Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC) positions, down from 15 funds with holdings worth $102.48 million on December 31.

Del Taco Surges on Results

Traders are watching Del Taco Restaurants Inc (NASDAQ:TACO) today after the restaurant chain reported earnings of $0.13 per share on revenue of $100 million, beating the consensus earnings estimate by $0.01 per share for the line that matters most (the bottom), while missing by $0.6 million on the top-line. System-wide comparable-restaurant sales growth came in at 3.3%, while company-owned comparable-restaurant sales growth rose for the 16th consecutive quarter to come in at 3.1%. Management reiterated its 2016 guidance of system-wide same-store sales growth of 2.5%-to-4.5% and diluted earnings per share of $0.53-to-$0.56. 20 funds in our database were long Del Taco Restaurants Inc (NASDAQ:TACO) at the end of March, a drop of six funds from the end of the prior quarter.

Disclosure: None