Why Are Investors Buzzing About These 5 Stocks Today?

It’s the start of another trading week today and investors are buzzing over the news that Australian Craig Wright might be the founder of Bitcoin. Some people, such as the writers at the BBC, believe Wright’s claim, while others on Reddit and elsewhere are waiting for more proof. Whether Mr. Wright is indeed the founder of bitcoin or not, one thing is for sure, that being that bitcoin’s blockchain technology will greatly affect future financial transactions for the better. Among the other companies buzzing this morning are SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY), Loews Corporation (NYSE:L), Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE:EEP), Cna Financial Corp (NYSE:CNA), and Helmerich & Payne, Inc (NYSE:HP). Let’s take a closer look at why these stocks are in the spotlight and see how the world’s greatest investors are positioned in each of them.

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SYSCO Beats Expectations

Shares of SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY), the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, are in the green by 2% after the company reported earnings of $0.46 per share on revenue of $12 billion for the third quarter of fiscal year 2016, exceeding the consensus estimates by $0.04 per share and $130 million, respectively. Sales inched up by 2.1% year-over-year while gross margin increased by 34 basis points to 17.9%. Adjusted operating income rose by 16% to $438 million. With respect to how the elite funds are positioned in SYSCO, our data shows that some hedge funds might have missed out on today’s gains. The number of top funds that held shares of SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY) fell to 22 from 30 quarter-over-quarter as of December 31.

Loews’ Earnings Fall Short of the Mark

Loews Corporation (NYSE:L) turned in net income of $102 million, or $0.30 per share for the three months ended  March 31, versus $109 million, or $0.29 per share, in the first quarter of 2015. Although Loews Corporation (NYSE:L)’s earnings were considerably lower than analysts’ expectations of $0.52 per share, the conglomerate’s stock has rallied today anyway, to the tune of 1.6% in morning trading. Part of the reason for the lower-than-expected earnings was lower income from CNA Financial, which turned in pre-tax income of $86 million, down from $304 million a year earlier. Overall Loews’ book value per share stayed relatively flat at $52.98, up a few cents from the previous quarter’s book value of $52.72 per share. 19 elite funds that Insider Monkey tracks owned 2.4% of the company at the end of December.

On the next page we examine what’s happening with Enbridge Energy Partners LP, CNA Financial, and Helmerich & Payne.