Why These Five Stocks Are in Spotlight on Monday

Crude futures are almost 2% in the red today as some traders remain concerned about the near-record inventories around the world. Nevertheless, the US stock market opened higher following an eventful evening.

Among the stocks trending this Monday are Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII), Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), InterOil Corporation (USA) (NYSE:IOC), CIGNA Corporation (NYSE:CI), and Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc (NYSE:KW). In this article, we take a closer look at the five companies and see what the investors from our database think about them.

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Lennox Reports Earnings

Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII) earned $2.53 per share on revenue of $1.02 billion for its second quarter, beating the bottom-line estimates by $0.18 per share but missing the top line expectations by $20 million. Sales rose by 2.8% year-over-year, led by strong demand from the company’s residential heating and cooling and refrigeration segments. Management estimates fiscal year 2016 adjusted EPS to be $6.50-$6.90 and for revenue to rise three to seven percent year-over-year on a constant currency basis. Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management raised its stake by 41% in Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII) to just over 221,000 shares at the end of March.

More Details on Exxon Mobil’s Bid For InterOil

Traders are watching InterOil Corporation (USA) (NYSE:IOC) today after the company’s board of directors announced that  Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)‘s unsolicited acquisition proposal was superior to Oil Search’s buyout offer. Under the terms of Exxon’s offer, InterOil shareholders will receive $45 of Exxon Mobil shares for each share of InterOil they own. InterOil shareholders will also receive a contingent resource payment of $7.07 in cash per share for each tcfe gross resource certification of the Elk-Antelope field above 6.2 tcfe, up to a maximum of 10 tcfe. Oil Search has until July 21 to make a better offer. Among the funds we track, 60 funds owned $2.5 billion worth of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)’s stock and 10 funds owned shares of InterOil Corporation (USA) (NYSE:IOC) at the end of the first quarter.

On the next page, we find out why CIGNA Corporation, and Kennedy-Wilson Holdings are trending.

Barron’s Likes CIGNA 

CIGNA Corporation (NYSE:CI) is 0.77% in the green this morning after Barron’s published a bullish article on the insurer. According to writer Robin Goldwyn Blumenthal, Cigna shares could surge by around 33% if the company’s merger with Anthem Inc (NYSE:ANTM) goes through (based on Anthem’s current stock price and the details of the merger proposal). If the merger doesn’t pass the regulatory test, Blumenthal notes that Cigna will receive a breakup fee of around $1.1 billion after taxes, a sum that management could do buybacks and make accretive acquisitions with. Based on its stand-alone basis, analysts estimate that Cigna could be worth around $165 per share over the next year, giving it substantial upside in either case. The number of funds from our database with holdings in CIGNA Corporation (NYSE:CI) fell by six quarter-over-quarter to 61 at the end of March.

Bullish Write-up For Kennedy-Wilson 

Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc (NYSE:KW) is a beneficiary of the ‘Barron’s bounce’ today as its shares have surged over 4% on the back of an optimistic article published over the weekend. According to the article, buying Kennedy shares could be a smart move as BTIG analyst Mark Palmer notes that the Brexit ‘is much more of an opportunity for the company than a threat, given its partial ownership of the company with expertise in investing in distressed real-estate assets’. Palmer has a $33 price target, giving shares substantial upside. A total of 18 investors tracked by Insider Monkey owned shares of Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc (NYSE:KW) at the end of March, up by one from the previous quarter.

Disclosure: none