Friday’s Headline-Making Stocks: Sony, Lions Gate, UBS, and 2 Others

It’s shaping up to be a rough close to the week for the markets today, as all three major indexes are firmly in the red this morning, with the Dow getting the worst of it, down by 0.42%. Among the stocks that have investors and analysts buzzing this morning are Sony Corp (ADR) (NYSE:SNE), ArcelorMittal SA (ADR) (NYSE:MT), UBS Group AG (USA) (NYSE:UBS), Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (USA) (NYSE:LGF), and Newell Brands Inc (NYSE:NWL). Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at why each stock is trending and see what the world’s greatest investors think of these five companies.

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Sony Corp Reports Results

Sony Corp (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) shares are a hearty 7.63% in the green this morning after the electronics conglomerate reported first quarter of fiscal year 2016 EPS of ¥16.44 ($0.16) on sales of ¥1.61 trillion ($15.68 billion), despite those figures being well below the ¥70.36 ($0.69) and ¥1.808 trillion ($17.53 billion) marks respective that it pulled in during the first quarter of fiscal year 2015. Management sees net income attributable to stockholders of ¥80 billion ($779 million) for the full fiscal year, down from the previous estimate of ¥147.8 billion ($1.44 billion). Jim Simons‘ Renaissance Technologies owned almost 2.00 million shares of Sony Corp (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) at the end of the first quarter.

ArcelorMittal Earnings Ahead of Estimates

Shares of ArcelorMittal SA (ADR) (NYSE:MT) have popped by almost 5% today after the company reported strong second quarter earnings of $0.38 per share, beating analyst consensus estimate by $0.31 per share. Although revenue missed by $450 million to come in at $14.75 billion for the period, sales nevertheless increased quarter-over-quarter as the more supportive pricing environment benefited the top-line. Due to improved market conditions, ArcelorMittal expects cash flows from operating activities to exceed capex in 2016. Of the 766 active hedge funds that we track, 21 funds owned $235.21 million in ArcelorMittal SA (ADR) (NYSE:MT) positions on March 31, up from 16 funds with $194.79 million worth of holdings on December 31.

On the next page we’ll examine the latest concerning UBS Group, Lions Gate Entertainment, and Newell Brands.

UBS Delivers

UBS Group AG (USA) (NYSE:UBS) is 3% in the green today after the bank reported earnings of CHF0.27 ($0.28) per share on operating income of CHF7.4 billion ($7.62 billion) for its second quarter. Annualized adjusted return on tangible equity was 10.1%, while management achieved exceptional performance in its Personal & Corporate Banking division. The bank’s fully applied CET1 capital ratio was an excellent 14.2%. The number of funds that we track which had holdings in UBS Group AG (USA) (NYSE:UBS) fell by one quarter-over-quarter to 12 as of the end of March.

Lions Gate Trending on the Back of Starz Results

Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (USA) (NYSE:LGF) is in the spotlight after its merger partner Starz (NASDAQ:STRZA) reported revenue falling by 3.6% year-over-year and operating income retreating by 5% during its second quarter. Profit at the premium subscription service company was in-line with estimates at $0.54 per share. Although the merger between the film studio and distribution channel could unlock substantial synergies, some investors worry about the profit sustainability of the company’s franchises. Shares of Lions Gate are down by almost 40% year-to-date. 32 funds in our database owned shares of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (USA) (NYSE:LGF) at the end of March, up by one from the end of the prior quarter.

Strong Results at Newell 

Traders are watching Newell Brands Inc (NYSE:NWL) today after the consumer goods company reported strong second quarter results. For the period, Newell announced earnings of $0.78 per share on revenue of $3.86 billion, beating the consensus estimates by $0.06 per share and $100 million respectively. Core sales grew by 5% year-over-year while normalized gross margin came in at 37.2%, a notable dip from the 40% figure that it stood at last year.  Guidance is on track, as management reiterated its previous outlook for the 12 months ended December 31, consisting of normalized EPS of $2.75-to-$2.90 and 3%-to-4% core sales growth. The number of funds in our system long Newell Brands Inc (NYSE:NWL) rose by five quarter-over-quarter to 33 as of the end of March.

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