Cover story: Positive on Royal Dutch Shell: After its acquisition of BG Group, oil major slashed spending on projects and sold low-return businesses, and announced a capital plan that calls for more asset sales and a limit on capital spendinga makeover that could raise shares by 20% in a year.
Tech Trader: Virtual reality devices such as FBs Oculus Rift may offer powerful hardware, but the software still feels rudimentary; Theme parks such as SIX are ramping up efforts to integrate VR into their rides; Cycling game Zwift may have a transformative impact on the VR industry.
Trader: Tradition Capital Management chief investment officer Benjamin Halliburton says that its hard to see significant upside in the stock market going forward; Positive on GILD: The pharma company faces a number of concerns, but if just one or two fall away the stock could rise about 25% during the next two years; Positive on TSN, MDLZ, MSFT, ACN, INTU, XL, HIG: U.S. blue-chip dividends are expected to rise 7% in the third quarter, down from the 11.6% third-quarter growth seen over the past three years.
Profile: Jim Cullen and Jennifer Chang, co-managers, Cullen High Dividend Equity fund, take a value investing approach that focuses on low P/E stocks with the potential to raise their dividends (top 10 holdings: NEE, T, JNJ, RTN, HCN, CSCO, MO, KMB, GE, MRK).
Interview: Charles de Vaulx and Chuck de Lardemelle of International Value Advisors take a value-oriented approach with a focus on absolute, not relative, value (picks: BAC, Astellas Pharma, Samsung Electronics).
Features:
1) Positive on MSG: Companys assets include two prime sports teams, a refurbished sports arena, and substantial air rights, but despite these trophy properties, shares are sharply undervalued;
2) Barrons first-half stock picks beat the S&P 500 but trailed, as a group, the benchmarks against which they were tracked;
3) Positive on CI: Managed-care provider could have plenty of upside, even if its merger with ANTM doesnt go through, with the potential for a 27% gain during the next 12 months.
Small Caps: Positive on KW: Company has a $2B real estate portfolio, including multifamily buildings in the U.S., Japan, and Europe, and an impressive track record of creating value from of out-of-favor properties.
Follow-Up: Positive on Nintendo: The impact of the companys Pokemon Go game could go far beyond mobile, giving bricks-and-mortar stores a boost through sponsorships and paving the way for similar games on wearables.
European Trader: European banks are too risky for many investors, and Italys hold more danger than most, even after a sharp drop in their share prices in 2016.
Asian Trader: Positive on Charoen Pokphand Foods: Agribusiness and food company has a vertically integrated operation, and should benefit from surging pork prices and a better shrimp business.
Emerging Markets: The military coup attempt in Turkey will take a toll on stocks and put the countrys bankswhich already faced concerns about bad debt at further risk.
Commodities: Gas prices have started to drag down oil prices, and that could continue through the third quarter.
Streetwise: The lunge at defensive stocks might seem like a contrarian signal that buying power isnt yet exhausted, though Doug Ramsey of Leuthold Group isnt so sure.
