Why HSBC, Texas Roadhouse, Clorox and Two Other Stocks Are Trending Today

Markets tumbled on Tuesday amid a fall in oil prices and sell-offs in several stocks. On the other hand, earnings season continues and among the companies that have announced their quarterly earnings reports are HSBC Holdings plc (ADR) (NYSE:HSBC), Texas Roadhouse Inc (NASDAQ:TXRH), Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI), Clorox Co (NYSE:CLX), and Mylan NV (NASDAQ:MYL). Let’s have a closer look at their earnings reports and assess the smart money sentiment towards them.

At Insider Monkey, we track around 785 hedge funds and other institutional investors. Through extensive backtests, we have determined that imitating some of the stocks that these investors are collectively bullish on can help retail investors generate double digits of alpha per year (see more details about our small-cap strategy).

HSBC Reports Bad Quarter Due to Market Volatility

HSBC Holdings plc (ADR) (NYSE:HSBC)’s stock has lost more than 1% after the company reported an 18% decline in profits before tax for the first quarter, following massive market uncertainty at the beginning of the year, which dented its investment banking and wealth management businesses. Pre-tax profit fell to $6.1 billion from $7.1 billion a year earlier, but beat the estimates of $4.3 billion. HSBC’s net profit in the first quarter was $4.3 billion, down from $5.26 billion in the first quarter of 2015. Total revenue in the quarter stood at $13.9 billion, a 4% decline year over year. Revenue fell 6%, less than the 14% forecast. In a statement, Stuart Gulliver, CEO of the company, said that the tough market conditions affected the entire banking sector. He added that the company’s performance was “resilient” in the given environment. At the end of the fourth quarter of the last year, eight funds that we track held $537.9 million worth of HSBC Holdings plc (ADR) (NYSE:HSBC)’s shares in aggregate.

Texas Roadhouse’s Sales Increase

Texas Roadhouse Inc (NASDAQ:TXRH)’s stock was moving 3.7% in the green today after the company posted first-quarter revenue of $515.5 million, almost in-line with the estimated $516 million. The restaurant company’s EPS of $0.50 narrowly missed the Street’s consensus estimate of $0.54. Texas Roadhouse’s comparable-restaurant sales grew by 4.6% in the quarter, whereas franchise outlets’ growth was 3.1%. Overall, 15 funds from our database held stakes in Texas Roadhouse Inc (NASDAQ:TXRH) at the end of 2015, including Steven Richman’s East Side Capital (RR Partners), which reported holding 1.1 million shares in its last 13F filing.

On the next page, we will discuss earnings of Pitney Bowes, Clorox and Mylan.

Pitney Bowes Misses Estimates

Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI)’s stock plunged more than 9% this morning after the company posted EPS of $0.34 on revenue of $845 million, missing the analysts’ estimates of $0.41 and $870.62 million, respectively. Pitney Bowes’ shut down its direct operations in Mexico, South Africa and several markets in Asia, which seriously affected the company’s revenue in the quarter. Marc B. Lautenbach, Pitney Bowes’ CEO, said in a statement that the company completed major milestones in its transformation process. He added that the company’s Mailing and Presort Services business performed well, while global eCommerce business experienced a growth in revenue. Among the funds we track, 16 funds had stakes in Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) at the end of the fourth quarter of 2015. As of December 31, David Cohen and Harold Levy’s Iridian Asset Management owned more than 14.6 million shares of the company.

Clorox Co Beats Estimates

Shares of Clorox Co (NYSE:CLX) surged more than 4% after the company beat the analysts’ estimates with the third quarter EPS of $1.21, up from $1.08 in the first quarter last year. Analysts expected EPS of $1.11. The revenue for the quarter rose 2.1% on the year to $1.43 billion. This was up from $1.40 billion last year. The Oakland-based manufacturer’s revenue increased by 2.1% in the quarter to $1.43 billion. For the full year, the company now expects EPS in the range of $4.85 to $4.95. Clorox announced today that it is going to acquire digestive supplement maker, Renew Life. In a statement, the company said that this acquisition is in-line with its strategy to acquire leading brands to tap into fast growing categories. A total of 26 funds from our database reported stakes in Clorox Co (NYSE:CLX) as of the end of 2015, including Andy Brown’s Cedar Rock Capital, which owned 3.08 million shares.

Mylan NV Reports Growth in Generic Sales

Mylan NV (NASDAQ:MYL)’s stock is trading higher after the company reported first quarter EPS of $0.76, better than the expected $0.76. However, the company’s revenue of $2.19 billion was shy of the Street’s expectations of $2.23 billion. Mylan’s generic drug sales rose by 17% on the year to $1.94 billion. In a statement, the company’s CEO, Heather Bresch, said that the company plans to scale its organic and inorganic initiatives and increase penetration in new markets. Bresch reiterated the company’s plans to acquire Meda AB. which could reduce the company’s reliance on generic sales. For the full fiscal 2016, the company expects EPS in the range of $4.85 to 5.15 range. A total of 60 funds out of those tracked by us held $3.2 billion worth of stock in Mylan NV (NASDAQ:MYL) at the end of the last year. John Paulson’s Paulson & Co. reported ownership of 22.79 million shares in its last 13F filing.

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