Essent Group ( ESNT ) declares $0.35/share quarterly dividend , 12.9% increase from prior dividend of $0.31. Forward yield 2.13% Payable March 23; for shareholders of record March 13; ex-div March 13. See ESNT Dividend Scorecard, Yield Chart, & Dividend Growth. More on Essent Group Essent Group GAAP EPS of $1.60 misses by $0.14, revenue of $312.4M in-line Essent Group Q4 2025 Earnings Preview Seek...
Essent Group ( ESNT ) declares $0.35/share quarterly dividend , 12.9% increase from prior dividend of $0.31. Forward yield 2.13% Payable March 23; for shareholders of record March 13; ex-div March 13. See ESNT Dividend Scorecard, Yield Chart, & Dividend Growth. More on Essent Group Essent Group GAAP EPS of $1.60 misses by $0.14, revenue of $312.4M in-line Essent Group Q4 2025 Earnings Preview Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Essent Group Historical earnings data for Essent Group Dividend scorecard for Essent Group
Dauch press release ( DCH ): Q4 Non-GAAP EPS of $0.07 beats by $0.09 . Revenue of $1.38B (flat Y/Y) misses by $20M . Dauch's full year 2026 financial targets which include a partial year contribution from Dowlais (as of February 3 close) are as follows: Sales in the range of $10.3 - $10.7 billion. Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $1.3 - 1.4 billion. Adjusted EBITDA includes synergy benefits of $50 ...
Dauch press release ( DCH ): Q4 Non-GAAP EPS of $0.07 beats by $0.09 . Revenue of $1.38B (flat Y/Y) misses by $20M . Dauch's full year 2026 financial targets which include a partial year contribution from Dowlais (as of February 3 close) are as follows: Sales in the range of $10.3 - $10.7 billion. Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $1.3 - 1.4 billion. Adjusted EBITDA includes synergy benefits of $50 - $75 million, equating to a run rate of greater than $100 million by the end of year one. Equity income from our China JV (which is included in Adjusted EBITDA) in the range of $65 - $75 million. Adjusted free cash flow in the range of $235 - $325 million. Capital expenditures in the range of 4.5% to 5% of sales. Restructuring cash payments of $110 - $150 million. Synergy implementation cash payments of $100 - $125 million. Shares -5% PM. More on Dauch American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (AXL) Presents at Bank of America Leveraged Finance Conference - Slideshow American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (AXL) Presents at UBS Global Industrials and Transportation Conference Transcript American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (AXL) Presents at Bank of America Leveraged Finance Conference Transcript American Axle & Manufacturing Q4 2025 Earnings Preview Cheap high flyer consumer discretionary stocks - high momentum and low valuation
SweetBunFactory/iStock via Getty Images Reviewing Zebra Technologies' Q4 Results I covered Zebra Technologies Corporation ( ZBRA ) only once, in June 2023 , and the stock hasn't moved in the direction I expected. It did rise as I anticipated, gaining almost 50% at one point, but then lost momentum and sold off again, losing about one-third of its value since the beginning of 2025. Yesterday, howev...
SweetBunFactory/iStock via Getty Images Reviewing Zebra Technologies' Q4 Results I covered Zebra Technologies Corporation ( ZBRA ) only once, in June 2023 , and the stock hasn't moved in the direction I expected. It did rise as I anticipated, gaining almost 50% at one point, but then lost momentum and sold off again, losing about one-third of its value since the beginning of 2025. Yesterday, however, we saw ZBRA's attempt to recover, supported by its stronger-than-anticipated Q4 results. Unfortunately for long-term holders and those buying the rip, ZBRA couldn't settle above its 200-day moving average and the medium-term downtrend line. TrendSpider Software, ZBRA, notes added Let's take a look at the fundamentals that came out yesterday to get a better understanding of what's going on under the hood, and what the odds are for the current "recovery attempt" to continue. Zebra reported $1.48 billion in revenues (+10.57% YoY) and $4.33 in adjusted EPS (+8.25% YoY) for Q4, beating on the top line by 0.6%, but reporting just in line with the consensus estimate on the bottom line. Despite reporting in line with the consensus, the firm actually beat its own guidance on the EPS level (vs. the high-end figure ). Also, the management issued bullish FY2026 guidance on the call , projecting 9-13% sales growth and non-GAAP EPS of $17.70-18.30 for the year, implying a YoY growth of ~13.63% (at the midpoint). Zebra's IR materials for Q4 But the analysts who cover ZBRA decided to downgrade their earnings estimates for the upcoming quarter, based on Seeking Alpha's data : Seeking Alpha, ZBRA Starting in Q4 2025, Zebra now reports through Connected Frontline ( CF ) and Asset Visibility & Automation ( AVA ) business segments after the decision to exit the autonomous mobile robotics business and focus mainly on higher-margin RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), machine vision, and the new Frontline AI Suite (also higher-margin compared to hardware assets). In the past, Zebra used to ...
hapabapa Wendy’s ( WEN ) experienced another challenging quarter for its U.S. franchises as both profits and sales for Q4 were lower than a year ago, while the company’s expectations for 2026 came in less than Wall Street anticipated. Shares are down another 7% in Friday’s premarket trading session, setting Wendy’s ( WEN ) up for a new 5 ½ year low. Amid the company’s efforts to reverse a deterior...
hapabapa Wendy’s ( WEN ) experienced another challenging quarter for its U.S. franchises as both profits and sales for Q4 were lower than a year ago, while the company’s expectations for 2026 came in less than Wall Street anticipated. Shares are down another 7% in Friday’s premarket trading session, setting Wendy’s ( WEN ) up for a new 5 ½ year low. Amid the company’s efforts to reverse a deterioration in its business that accelerated in 2024, Wendy’s “Project Fresh” initiative has yet to gain significant traction in reversing declining sales and eroding profits. In its most recent quarterly results, the hamburger chain realized another 5.5% drop in sales and a 36% decline in per share net income, both of which, however, were better than Wall Street feared. The decline in total revenue was largely attributed to lower advertising funds revenue, lower franchise royalty revenue, and a decrease in franchise fees. Adjusted EBITDA was down nearly 18% year-over-year to $113.3B, while a decrease in traffic, higher commodity prices, and increased labor costs compressed the company-owned profit margin by 380 basis points to 12.7%. "Our fourth quarter performance was in line with our expectations, reflecting the challenges we anticipated," said Ken Cook, Wendy’s interim CEO. While U.S. restaurants continued to struggle, sales at its international restaurants improved in Q4, with international systemwide sales up 6.2% compared to a 10.5% decline in the U.S. In 2025, international sales were up 8.1% versus negative 5.2% in the U.S. Comparable restaurant sales were down 2% in its international markets and down 11.3% in the U.S. for Q4. For 2026, Wendy’s anticipates adjusted EPS to be within the range of $0.56 and $0.60 per share, with the midpoint 46% below Wall Street’s estimates. The company also anticipated global systemwide sales growth to be flat from 2025 and adjusted EBITDA to be between $460M and $480M versus $522.4M in 2025. Free cash flow is seen declining further to $1...
Intercontinental Exchange ( ICE ) on Friday said that its interest rate derivatives markets saw record open interest of 42.3M contracts on February 11, up 45% year-over-year. The exchange's open interest across the futures and options markets hit a record 116.5M contracts. Open interest across Gilts, the benchmark for the U.K. government bond yield curve, is up 21% at 1.2M contracts. Shares were -...
Intercontinental Exchange ( ICE ) on Friday said that its interest rate derivatives markets saw record open interest of 42.3M contracts on February 11, up 45% year-over-year. The exchange's open interest across the futures and options markets hit a record 116.5M contracts. Open interest across Gilts, the benchmark for the U.K. government bond yield curve, is up 21% at 1.2M contracts. Shares were -0.55% pre-market to $149.00. More on Intercontinental Exchange Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) Presents at Bank of America Financial Services Conference 2026 Transcript Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) Presents at UBS Financial Services Conference 2026 Transcript Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript ICE launches FTSE South Korea RIC capped index futures ICE outlines $275M synergy target by 2028 with mid-single-digit recurring revenue growth in 2026
Marcus & Millichap press release ( MMI ): Q4 GAAP EPS of $0.34 beats by $0.13 . Revenue of $244M (+1.6% Y/Y) beats by $14.55M . Brokerage commissions of $205.3 million, an increase of 1.2% compared to $202.8 million Private Client Market brokerage revenue of $132.8 million, an increase of 10.3% compared to $120.4 million Middle Market and Larger Transaction Market brokerage revenue of $64.6 millio...
Marcus & Millichap press release ( MMI ): Q4 GAAP EPS of $0.34 beats by $0.13 . Revenue of $244M (+1.6% Y/Y) beats by $14.55M . Brokerage commissions of $205.3 million, an increase of 1.2% compared to $202.8 million Private Client Market brokerage revenue of $132.8 million, an increase of 10.3% compared to $120.4 million Middle Market and Larger Transaction Market brokerage revenue of $64.6 million, a decrease of 15.8% compared to $76.7 million Financing fees of $33.2 million, an increase of 6.5% compared to $31.2 million More on Marcus & Millichap Marcus & Millichap, Inc. (MMI) Discusses 2026 Outlook and Strategies for Maximizing Real Estate Investment Returns Transcript Marcus & Millichap: Cautious Optimism As Q3 2025 Gets Out Of The Red Marcus & Millichap: Not Much Value To Investors From This Cyclical Company Small-cap stocks with lowest dividend yield grade Top 10 small-cap stocks with highest dividend safety grade
Smile/DigitalVision via Getty Images In the consumer staples sector, short sellers remain heavily concentrated in the packaged foods and meats industry, alongside distillers and vintners and personal care products companies ranking among the most heavily shorted stocks in this sector. Brown-Forman ( BF.B ) and e.l.f. Beauty ( ELF ) ranked as the most shorted staple stock with a market capitalizati...
Smile/DigitalVision via Getty Images In the consumer staples sector, short sellers remain heavily concentrated in the packaged foods and meats industry, alongside distillers and vintners and personal care products companies ranking among the most heavily shorted stocks in this sector. Brown-Forman ( BF.B ) and e.l.f. Beauty ( ELF ) ranked as the most shorted staple stock with a market capitalization of over $2B, with a short interest of 15.05% and 13.46%, respectively. Brown-Forman ( BF.B ) gets a Seeking Alpha Quant rating of Hold with a score of 2.73 , while e.l.f. Beauty ( ELF ) gets a 3.25 score with Hold rating. Among the least shorted were Smithfield Foods ( SFD ) and Procter & Gamble ( PG ) with short interest of 0.67% and 0.82%, respectively. Both have an SA quant rating of Buy and Hold, respectively. The S&P 500’s consumer staples sector ( XLP ), which includes companies across food and staples retailing, beverages, food products, tobacco, and household and personal care products, gained ~14.8% YTD, whereas the broader S&P 500 lost a marginal 0.2% during the same period. The XLP ( XLP ) fund currently has a Buy SA quant rating with a score of 3.92 . "Staples companies in XLP offer resilience through pricing power, steady demand, and reliable dividends," wrote SA contributor half a year back, giving it a Buy rating. More recently, "I rate XLP as HOLD: it remains a defensive cushion in systemic shocks, but current valuations make it unattractive relative to alternatives like XLK or SPY," wrote another SA contributor. Short interest, which could potentially be an indicator of pessimism, calculates the number of shares sold against the company's float. ( Short Interest % = Number of Shares Sold Short ÷ Stock Float ). To note, consumer staples often underperform in rising markets but often beat the falls . Look at the top 5 most shorted consumer staple stocks, all with a market capitalization above $2B (as a % of shares outstanding): Brown-Forman ( BF.B ) - 15.0...
asbe/iStock via Getty Images By Kelvin Wong Since our last analysis , the Dow Jones Industrial Average ( DJI ) has managed to scale a fresh all-time high in February and hit our highlighted resistance of 50,265/50,335. US stock indices are the worst performers so far this week Fig. 1: Global stock indices week-to-date performances as of February 12, 2026 (Source: MacroMicro) Yesterday’s opening ho...
asbe/iStock via Getty Images By Kelvin Wong Since our last analysis , the Dow Jones Industrial Average ( DJI ) has managed to scale a fresh all-time high in February and hit our highlighted resistance of 50,265/50,335. US stock indices are the worst performers so far this week Fig. 1: Global stock indices week-to-date performances as of February 12, 2026 (Source: MacroMicro) Yesterday’s opening hours gains at the start of the US session evaporated and transformed into an almost broad-based selling across the board, except for the defensive sectors in the S&P 500 that bucked against the bearish trend; Consumer Staples (+1.4%) and Utilities (1.2%). The main catalyst for the weak performance has been renewed weakness seen in the technology stocks; the S&P 500 Technology sector was the worst-performing sector on Thursday (-2.6%), dragged down by Cisco Systems ( CSCO ), which plummeted by 12%, its worst single-day drop in nearly four years, with its warning that higher memory costs will adversely affect its profit margins. The short-term technical chart of the US Wall Street 30 CFD Index (a proxy of the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures) is now showing some signs of stabilization after yesterday’s sell-off. Let's examine the short-term trajectory of the US Wall Street 30 CFD Index and its supporting elements. Short-term trend (1 to 3 days): Potential recovery at 20-day moving average Fig. 2: US Wall Street 30 CFD index minor trend as of February 13, 2026 (Source: TradingView) Fig. 3: Ratio chart of S&P Banks ETF over S&P 500 ETF as of February 12, 2026 (Source: TradingView) On the flip side, a break below 49,265 invalidates the bullish scenario for a deeper minor corrective decline to extend further towards the next intermediate support at 48,900/48,710 (also the 50-day moving average) in the first step. Key elements to support the short-term bullish bias The hourly RSI momentum indicator of the US Wall Street 30 CFD index has flashed out a bullish divergence conditio...
Aluminum Futs Slide As Trump Weighs Metal Tariff Rollback In Affordability Push Aluminum futures in London slipped on Friday after a Financial Times report stated that the Trump administration is considering a partial rollback of steel and aluminum tariffs as it battles an affordability crisis (left over from the Biden-Harris regime years) ahead of November's midterm elections. The FT cited three ...
Aluminum Futs Slide As Trump Weighs Metal Tariff Rollback In Affordability Push Aluminum futures in London slipped on Friday after a Financial Times report stated that the Trump administration is considering a partial rollback of steel and aluminum tariffs as it battles an affordability crisis (left over from the Biden-Harris regime years) ahead of November's midterm elections. The FT cited three people familiar with internal discussions who said White House officials are reviewing steel and aluminum import tariffs of up to 50%, which affect a wide range of downstream consumer products such as appliances to soda cans. The plan would exempt some products, pause further expansions, and shift toward narrower, product-specific national security investigations. Trade officials at the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative believe these tariffs are already denting consumer sentiment by pushing up prices for goods such as drink cans and pie tins. The administration is mulling carve-outs for popular food products to tame grocery-store inflation amid affordability concerns this year. Last year, Trump called for a trade war with Beijing ahead of the U.S. midterm elections. News of the planned tariff rollback on aluminum and steel goods sent metal futures in London falling on Friday morning. Aluminum slid 1.3% to $3,059 a ton on the LME. Zinc dropped 1.4%, while copper fell by about half a percent after available LME inventories posted their largest increase since July. The Bloomberg Industrial Metals Subindex (core contracts: aluminum, copper, nickel, lead, and zinc futures) appears to have formed yet another peak since 2022 and is still trading well below its Covid-era high. What is clear for companies operating in this space is that navigating the U.S. tariff regime has become arduous, with tariffs appearing to change monthly. Tyler Durden Fri, 02/13/2026 - 08:20