Penn Mutual Life Insurance said Thursday that it had hit an important milestone in its work with Hearsay Social, a provider of social-media platforms, which could serve as a case study in how financial firms can rapidly and comprehensively embrace new technology.
“We have a roughly 50% adoption rate of Hearsay Social among our registered reps, and that is great for us,” said Robert Bonsall, assistant vice president of interactive marketing at Penn Mutual, in an interview. “We’ve been really pushing it.”
That’s not necessarily what some might expect would be the case for a 167-year-old insurance firm.
“It’s interesting. Companies with a long legacy of building businesses and client relations, like us, are embracing technology. We are being very progressive in how we enable advisors with tools like Hearsay Social,” Bonsall explained.
Penn Mutual worked with another social media vendor but switched to Hearsay to move “from the defensive aspect of being compliant by monitoring social media to being both compliant and engaging with consumers – playing defense and offense,” he said.
Top 10 Clean Energy Companies To Own For 2015: Amdocs Limited (DOX)
Amdocs Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides software and services for communications, media, and entertainment industry service providers worldwide. It offers revenue management products, including convergent charging and billing, mediation, partner management, service delivery, compact convergence, and machine-to-machine solutions that manage the end-to-end network services revenue stream from offer definition to cash-in-hand and spans the consumer, business, and partner domains. The company also provides customer management products comprising multichannel selling, multichannel care, and proactive insight products that enable service providers to simplify the customer experience in all interaction channels and touch points; operations support systems, such as network planning, service fulfillment, service assurance, inventory and discovery, business service capture, network navigator, and radio parameter manager for fixed line, wireless, and cable networks; and network control products consisting of service controllers, home subscriber servers, policy controllers, data and Wi-Fi experience solutions, and intelligent diameter routing agents. In addition, it offers digital services, which include connected home solutions, mobile payments, digital commerce solutions, personalization, and unified communications and foundation. Further, the company provides advertising and media solutions that comprise sales experience, business agility, small-medium business experience, and business content and advertising syndication solutions. Additionally, it offers business consulting, system integration, information technology outsourcing and value process operation managed services, managed transformation, and product support services. Amdocs Limited was founded in 1988 and is based in St. Peter Port, Channel Islands.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Omar Venerio]
The company has a current ROE of 19.09%, which is higher than the industry median and the ones exhibited by CGI Group (GIB) and Amdocs (DOX). In general, analysts consider ROE ratios in the 15-20% range as representing attractive levels for investment. So for investors looking those levels or more, Teradata (TDC) could be the option. For more attractive ROE, Gartner (IT) and Igate (IGTE) have extremely good ratios. It is very important to understand this metric before investing and it is important to look at the trend in ROE over time.
- [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Amdocs (NYSE: DOX ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below. - [By Ben Levisohn]
Shares of Iron Mountain have fallen 2.3% to $25.72 today, while comparable have been mixed. Leidos Holdings (LDOS) has ticked up 0.6% to $46.28 and Amdocs (DOX) has risen 0.8% to $37.20. Maximus (MMS), on the other hand, has fallen 1.2% to $46.22 and Xerox (XRX) is off 0.3% to $10.62.
Best Defensive Companies To Own In Right Now: PAREXEL International Corporation(PRXL)
PAREXEL International Corporation, a biopharmaceutical services company, provides a range of clinical research, medical communications, consulting, commercialization, and technology products and services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Clinical Research Services (CRS), PAREXEL Consulting and Medical Communications Services (PCMS), and Perceptive Informatics (Perceptive). The CRS segment offers clinical trials management, observational studies, patient/disease registries and post-marketing surveillance, data management and biostatistics, epidemiology and health economics/outcomes research, clinical logistics, and clinical pharmacology, as well as related medical advisory, patient recruitment, and investigator site services. This segment also manages various aspects of clinical trials, including study and protocol design; case report form design; paper or electronic questionnaires designed for use in clinical research; site and investigator recruitment; patient enrollment; study monitoring and data collection; data analysis; report writing; and medical services. The PCMS segment provides technical expertise and advice in various areas comprising drug development, regulatory affairs, product pricing and reimbursement, and GMP compliance; market development, product development, and targeted communications services in support of product launch. In addition, its consultants identify alternatives and propose solutions to address clients? product development, registration, and commercialization issues. The Perceptive segment provides information technology solutions comprising medical imaging and systems integration services; ClinPhone RTSM, CTMS, and EDC products; Web-based portals; systems integration; and patient diary applications. PAREXEL International Corporation was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on PAREXEL International (Nasdaq: PRXL ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
Best Defensive Companies To Own In Right Now: Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG)
Harley-Davidson, Inc. produces and sells heavyweight motorcycles, as well as offers motorcycle parts, accessories, and related services. It operates in two segments, Motorcycles and Related Products, and Financial Services. The Motorcycles and Related Products segment engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of primarily heavyweight cruiser and touring motorcycles primarily in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia/Pacific, and Latin America. It also provides a line of motorcycle parts and accessories, including replacement parts, and mechanical and cosmetic accessories; general merchandise, such as apparel and riding gear; and related services. This segment manufactures five families of motorcycles, including Touring, Dyna, Softail, Sportster, and VRSC; and offers its products under the Harley-Davidson brand name. The Financial Services segment provides wholesale and retail financing, and insurance and insurance-related programs to the company?s deal ers and retail customers in the United States and Canada. It involves in financing and servicing wholesale inventory receivables and retail consumer loans, principally for the purchase of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. This segment?s wholesale financial services comprise floorplan and open account financing of motorcycles, and motorcycle parts and accessories to Harley-Davidson dealers; and retail financial services include installment lending for the purchase of its new and used motorcycles. This segment also offers motorcycle insurance and property/casualty insurance, as well as sells extended service contracts, gap coverage, and debt protection products to motorcycle owners. Harley-Davidson sells its products through independent dealers and distributors. The company was founded in 1903 and is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jesse Solomon]
Meanwhile Harley Davidson (HOG) shares downshifted after the iconic motorcycle company beat earnings forecasts for the quarter but lowered its full year guidance for bike shipments.
- [By Lisa Levin]
Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG) shares touched a new 52-week high of $72.56 after the company reported a rise in its first-quarter profit.
Allergan (NYSE: AGN) shares reached a new 52-week high of $164.46 on buyout offer from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (NYSE: VRX).
- [By Rich Smith]
Want to buy a motorcycle? Don't have a lot of cash to pay for it? Then has Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG ) got a deal for you!
As Bloomberg points out, Harley-Davidson has historically been a big bike company. My Foolish colleague Rich Duprey writes: "[W]hen you think of a Harley, a big 1,440cc engine is what comes to mind." But to great fanfare, highway-hog Harley recently unveiled a pair of new street-bikes that could seriously change the company's image as a builder of bikes for "wealthy, middle-aged American white men."
Best Defensive Companies To Own In Right Now: Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc.(PCRX)
Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, engages in the development, commercialization, and manufacture of pharmaceutical products for use in hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers. The company develops pharmaceutical products based on its proprietary DepoFoam drug delivery technology. Its product portfolio includes EXPAREL, a long-acting non-opioid postsurgical analgesic for postsurgical pain management; DepoCyt for the treatment of lymphomatous meningitis, a cancer of the immune system; DepoDur for controlling post operative pain; DepoNSAID, which is in preclinical trials for the relief of acute pain; and DepoMethotrexate that is in preclinical trials for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis oncology. The company was formerly known as Pacira, Inc. and changed its name to Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in October 2010. Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Monday morning, the healthcare sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Nordion (NYSE: NDZ) and Pacira Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: PCRX). Utilities sector rose by just 0.19 percent in the US market today. - [By Selena Maranjian]
Pacira Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: PCRX ) surged 81%, and one of its directors might be thinking that it's overvalued, too, as he sold more than $2 million worth of shares recently. (He might simply have been generating cash for some other purpose, however. While insider buying is a bullish sign, insider selling can mean many things.) Several other insiders have also sold shares, though not quite so many. The company has a pain management treatment, Exparel, which is being studied to treat additional conditions, with promising results so far. Pacira's last quarter featured growing revenue but disappointing earnings. The stock has been downgraded by Wall Street, due in part to its debt, which is coupled with net losses and negative free cash flow.
- [By Seth Jayson]
Pacira Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: PCRX ) is expected to report Q1 earnings on May 8. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:
The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Pacira Pharmaceuticals's revenues will increase 69.4% and EPS will remain in the red.
Best Defensive Companies To Own In Right Now: Enphase Energy Inc (ENPH)
Enphase Energy, Inc. (Enphase), incorporated in March 20, 2006, designs, develops and sells microinverter systems for the solar photovoltaic industry. The Company sells its microinverter systems primarily to distributors who resell them to solar installers. It also sells directly to installers, as well as through original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The Company�� microinverter system consists of three components: Enphase microinverter, Envoy communications gateway and Enlighten Web-based software.
Enphase Microinverter
The Company�� Enphase microinverter delivers power conversion at the individual solar module level by introducing a digital architecture that incorporates custom application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) power electronics devices and an embedded software subsystem. A residential solar installation consists of 5 to 50 microinverters; a small commercial solar installation consists of 50 to 500 microinverters, and medium or larger commercial solar installation consists of 500 to 10,000 microinverters, or more.
Envoy Communications Gateway
The Company�� Envoy communications gateway is installed in the system owner�� home or business and serves as a networking hub that collects data from the microinverter array and sends the information to its hosted data center. One Envoy is typically sold with each solar installation and can support up to 500 Enphase microinverters.
Enlighten Software
The Company�� Enlighten Web-based software collects and analyzes this information to enable system owners to monitor and realize the performance of their solar photovoltaics (PV) system and also provides an online portal designed for installers to enable them to track and manage all of their Enphase enabled projects and monitor and analyze the performance of their installed systems.
The Company competes with SMA Solar Technology AG, Fronius International GmbH, Power-One, Inc., SunPower Corp.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Zacks]
Other stocks from the sector worth considering are Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH), First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) and Trina Solar Limited (NYSE: TSL). All these stocks currently carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Best Defensive Companies To Own In Right Now: Ormat Technologies Inc.(ORA)
Ormat Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the geothermal and recovered energy power business in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Electricity and Product. The Electricity segment develops, builds, owns, and operates geothermal and recovered energy-based power plants; and sells the electricity. The Product segment designs, manufactures, and sells power units for geothermal and recovered energy-based electricity generation; fossil fuel powered turbo-generators; and heavy duty direct-current generators. It also provides services relating to the engineering, procurement, construction, operation, and maintenance of geothermal and recovered energy power plants. This segment serves contractors and geothermal power plant owners and operators; and interstate natural gas pipeline owners and operators, gas processing plant owners and operators, cement plant owners and operators, and companies in other energy-intens ive industrial processes. The company was founded in 1965 and is based in Reno, Nevada. Ormat Technologies, Inc. is a subsidiary of Ormat Industries Ltd.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
Small cap Ocean Power Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: OPTT) just sank 34% on news that they have fired their CEO "for cause,��meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock to see if there is anything to salvage (shares were rising more than 6% in after hours) plus take a look at the performance of potential renewable energy related peers like Ormat Technologies, Inc (NYSE: ORA), Broadwind Energy Inc (NASDAQ: BWEN) and China Ming Yang Wind Power Group Ltd (NYSE: MY).
- [By Garrett Cook]
Utilities shares fell by 0.78 percent in Wednesday’s trading. Meanwhile, top decliners in the sector included Ormat Technologies (NYSE: ORA), down 3.8 percent, and AGL Resources (NYSE: GAS), off 3.1 percent.
- [By Seth Jayson]
Ormat Technologies (NYSE: ORA ) reported earnings on May 7. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Ormat Technologies met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.
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