Wealth Gap Widest in Large Affluent Cities

Wealth Gap Widest in Large Affluent Cities.  A new report indicates the gap between the wealthy and the poor is most extreme in several of the U.S.’s largest cities. The largest disparities in wealth where found to be in the democratically lead cities of Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Washington D.C.  Some economists are pointing out that many of these cities have higher immigrant and illegal alien populations and higher high school dropout rates that they say add to the wealth gap. Of the nation’s 50 biggest cities, just 18 experienced greater income inequality since the recession. The report also found that not all the 50 largest cities saw large wealth gaps. Some Western and Sun Belt cities, such as Mesa, AZ and Arlington, TX that have smaller downtowns had a noticeably smaller wealth gap than the national average.

Upgrades:

Seagate Tech (STX): RBC Capital raised their rating from Sector Perform to Outperform. Pre-market: 51.10 +1.08 (2.16%)

Tim Hortons (THI): Raymond James raised their rating from Market Perform to Outperform.

Total SA (TOT): Goldman Sachs raised their rating from Sell to Neutral. Pre-market: 62.36 +0.94 (1.53%)

Downgrades:

Columbia Sportswear (COLM): McAdams Wright lowered their rating from Hold to Sell.

Groupon (GRPN): RBC Capital lowered their rating from Sector Perform to Underperform and lowered their target price from $11.00 to $7.00. Pre-market: 9.00 -1.28 (-12.44%)

Wal-Mart (WMT): Stifel lowered their rating from Buy to Hold and placed a target price of $83.00 on the company. Pre-market: 73.26 -0.26 (-0.35%)

Earning Reports:

Charter Comm (CHTR): Reported EPS of $0.35 beating estimates by +$0.06.

DISH Network (DISH): Reported EPS of $0.63 beating estimates by +$0.22.

Groupon (GRPN): Reported EPS of $0.04 beating estimates by +$0.02. Pre-market: 9.00 -1.28 (-12.44%)

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ): Reported EPS of $0.90 beating estimates by +$0.06. Pre-market: 30.45 +0.26 (0.86%)

Intuit (INTU): Reported EPS of $0.02 in-line with estimates.

Priceline.com (PCLN): Reported EPS of $8.85 beating estimates by +$0.56. Pre-market: 1,315.93 +32.93 (2.57%)

Markets: 
Futures at 8:02: Dow +0.18%. S&P +0.19%. Nasdaq +0.19%. Crude -0.27% to $102.46. Gold +0.38% to $3121.90. U.S. 10 Year -5/32 to 2.768%

Europe: London +0.09%. Paris +0.27%. Frankfurt +0.13%. 

Asia: Japan +2.88% to 14866. Hong Kong +0.78% to 22568. China -1.17% to 2114. India +0.80% to 20701. 

#TopWealthManager #RLPaler #AnalystsRatings #EarningReports #WallStreet #FinancialPlaner 

Morning Coffee Pre-Market Wall Street News

Berkshire Hathaway Followers Ready for Pilgrimage.  Hordes of Warren Buffett followers are ready to descend on Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholders meeting this weekend. Prior to the meeting the company is expected to release their quarterly results. Wall Street analysts expect the company to report EPS of $1,995.50 per Class A share according to Thomson Reuters. One year ago for the same quarter the company reports EPS of $1,966. On Saturday Chairman Warren Buffett and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger will speak to the thousands of followers on topics ranging from the company’s performance, to the economy and general investing. Reports say that Hedge-fund manager Doug Kass will grill Buffett about Berkshire’s business. Kass is short Berkshire, meaning he expects the shares to fall in price. In a statement Kass said “My challenge is to ask some original questions, some that have never been asked, that might divulge new news and give people some insight.”

Upgrades

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ): Jefferies raised their rating from Underperform to Hold and raised their target price from $18.50 to $24.00. Pre-market: 23.18 +1.95 (9.19%)

Pacific Sunwear (PSUN): Wedbush raised their rating from Underperform to Neutral and raised their target price from $2.00 to $3.75. Pre-market: 3.20 +0.28 (9.59%)

Pacific Sunwear (PSUN): Topeka raised their rating from Hold to Buy and placed a target price of $4.50 on the company. Pre-market: 3.20 +0.28 (9.59%)

Seagate Tech (STX): Deutsche Bank raised their rating from Hold to Buy and raised their target price from $40.00 to $46.00. Pre-market: 42.03 -0.14 (-0.33%)

Downgrades

Blue Nile (NILE): RBC Capital lowered their rating from Outperform to Sector Perform and maintained a target price of $36.00 on the company. Pre-market: 33.55 -1.02 (-2.95%)

Comerica (CMA): Susquehanna lowered their rating from Neutral to Negative and placed a target price of $30.00 on the company.

Devon Energy (DVN): JPMorgan lowered their rating from Overweight to Neutral and lowered their target price from $62.50 to $61.50. Pre-market: 58.00 -1.15 (-1.94%)

E.I. DuPont de Nemours (DD): BGC Partners lowered their rating from Hold to Sell and placed a target price of $50.00 on the company. Pre-market: 54.97 -0.60 (-1.08%)

Coverage Initiated

Chipolte Mexican Grill (CMG): Credit Suisse initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $360.00. Pre-market: 368.00 -3.05 (-0.82%)

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): Credit Suisse initiated coverage with an Underperform rating and target price of $73.0. Pre-market: 87.19 -1.27 (-1.44%)

NVIDIA (NVDA): Topeka initiated coverage with a Hold rating and target price of $15.00. Pre-market: 14.15 -0.25 (-1.74%)

Earning Reports

Advance Auto (AAP): Reported EPS of $1.65 beating estimates by +$0.03. Pre-market: 86.15 +0.35 (0.41%)

Children’s Place (PLCE): Reported EPS of $0.83 beating estimates by +$0.22. Pre-market: 53.00 +1.53 (2.97%)

Dollar Tree (DLTR): Reported EPS of $0.59 beating estimates by +$0.02. Pre-market: 49.60 +1.23 (2.54%)

Hormel Foods (HRL): Reported EPS of $0.46 missing estimates by -$0.03.

Kirklands (KIRK): Reported EPS of $0.10 beating estimates by +$0.05.

Paterson Companies (PDCO): Reported EPS of $0.62 in-line with estimates. Pre-market: 37.22 -1.78 (-4.56%)

Perry Ellis (PERY): Reported EPS of $0.62 beating estimates by +$0.03.

Polo Ralph Lauren (RL): Reported EPS of $1.41 beating estimates by +$0.11. Pre-market: 180.51 -7.55 (-4.01%)

Toro (TTC): Reported EPS of $1.32 beating estimates by +$0.15.

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD):  Reported EPS of $1.92 in-line with estimates.

Markets: 
Futures at 8:06: Dow -0.79%. S&P -0.95%. Nasdaq: -0.93%. Crude -1.47% to $92.89. Gold +1.86% to $1393.00.

Europe: London -1.80%. Paris -2.50%. Frankfurt -2.65%. 

Asia: Japan: -6.80% to 14564. Hong Kong -2.54% to 22669. China -1.16% to 2276. India -1.93% to 19674.