Access National Co. (ANCX) Receives $31.00 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Access National Co. (NASDAQ:ANCX) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $30.50.

Several research firms have commented on ANCX. BidaskClub downgraded shares of Access National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 14th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Access National from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 10th. Stephens reissued a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Access National in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Access National in a report on Monday.

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Shares of Access National traded up $0.25, hitting $28.13, during midday trading on Friday, according to MarketBeat. 27,562 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 50,668. Access National has a 52 week low of $24.36 and a 52 week high of $30.99. The company has a market capitalization of $575.09 million, a PE ratio of 17.34 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Access National (NASDAQ:ANCX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.01). Access National had a net margin of 19.04% and a return on equity of 8.11%. The company had revenue of $32.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.20 million. sell-side analysts expect that Access National will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. This is a boost from Access National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 8th. Access National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.27%.

In other Access National news, CEO Michael W. Clarke bought 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.61 per share, for a total transaction of $110,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 716,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,779,251.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have bought a total of 4,807 shares of company stock worth $132,552 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 14.08% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ANCX. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of Access National by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 212,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,910,000 after buying an additional 6,806 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Access National by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 109,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,042,000 after buying an additional 9,966 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Access National by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 773,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,526,000 after buying an additional 4,056 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Access National by 53.1% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 16,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $465,000 after buying an additional 5,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Access National by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 14,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 3,731 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.55% of the company’s stock.

About Access National

Access National Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Access National Bank that provides credit, deposit, mortgage, and wealth management services to small and medium sized businesses, professionals, and associated individuals primarily in the greater Washington, DC Metropolitan Area. The company operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, Mortgage Banking, and Wealth Management.

Further Reading: Earnings Per Share (EPS)

Papa John's hires Ari Emanuel's ad agency to get past N-word controversy

Papa John's said it has hired a new ad agency to help redefine the brand as it parts ways with controversial founder John Schnatter.

The pizza chain hired Endeavor Global Marketing, which is part of a massive media conglomerate headed by Hollywood heavyweight Ari Emanuel. The deal with Endeavor will replace the company's previous deal with an ad agency called Laundry Service, a Papa John's spokesman confirmed.

Schnatter resigned as the company's chairman last month hours after he apologized for using the N-word on a conference call in May with representatives from Laundry Service. Papa John's removed Schnatter from its commercials and marketing materials and kicked him out of office space at its headquarters.

In his initial statement, Schnatter apologized. But he later expressed remorse over his decision to walk away from the company, and he accused Laundry Service of trying to extort him. Schnatter also accused the board of not "doing any investigation" and said its decision to remove him as chairman was based on "rumor and innuendo," according to a letter he sent to the board earlier this month.

In a lawsuit filed last week, Schnatter's lawyers say he is seeking to inspect company documents "because of the unexplained and heavy-handed way in which the company has treated him since the publication of a story that falsely accused him of using a racial slur."

Schnatter remains on the board as a director. He owns 29% of Papa John's stock.

To prevent the former CEO from gaining more control of the company, the board of directors recently approved a so-called poison pill provision, which could dilute Schnatter's stake if he buys more of the company's stock.

Schnatter claims Laundry Service wanted to hire rapper Kanye West to represent Papa John's in advertising materials, but Schnatter wasn't on board with the idea because West uses the N-word in his lyrics. Schnatter says the agency asked if he was racist, and he used the N-word in describing how KFC's Colonel Sanders used to talk.

AMD is leaving the rest of the chip stocks in the dust, but the move could fade

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices are on fire this year, but some traders and strategists are wary about stepping into the name after its hefty 91 percent rally.

AMD is the top-performing stock in the S&P 500's semiconductor industry group this year, outpacing peers like Micron, Nvidia and Texas Instruments by a wide margin. Much of AMD's rally has come in recent months, with an 80 percent gain since May. The stock surged 4 percent Monday after Cowen raised its price target on AMD and forecast better-than-expected profits next year.

Still, others are less confident in the outlook for the name. Semiconductors' exposure to tariff feuds between the U.S. and China place companies like AMD in a bad position, said Larry McDonald, macro strategist and editor of the Bear Traps Report.

"We're really facing, in the next 20 to 40 days, unprecedented supply chain risk for the semiconductor industry, and the stocks are telling you something," McDonald said Friday on CNBC's "Trading Nation," highlighting that the broader semiconductor tracking SMH ETF is up 5 percent in the last eight months relative to the S&P 500's 9.5 percent rally in the same time period.

The Trump administration will likely grow more aggressive in trade talks with China, McDonald forecast, and "that's going to be front and center. That's going to draw down the semis."

Others are more sanguine on the state of Advanced Micro Devices specifically, but would wait to buy.

"I'm more of a short-term trader. In fact, just more than 15 years ago AMD was the first stock I ever traded, and I really like it here. I like how it's outpaced its peers. However I'm not necessarily buying it here," said Bill Baruch, president of Blue Line Futures, Friday on CNBC's "Trading Nation."

While Baruch sees AMD rising into year-end, he'd wait to buy around $17.75 or $18 per share, representing an 8 to 9 percent decline from current levels.

"The high that we saw in the middle of June down to the low heading into July gave us a range reversal with about $20 being the ceiling. So I think you've got to be patient here, let it settle in just a bit, and I think you'll find some value below $18 for that next move to $22.50 before the end of the year," he added.

AMD shares were trading higher at $19.63 per share Monday, hitting a 52-week high.

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