Liberty Property Trust (LPT) Shares Bought by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Liberty Property Trust (NYSE:LPT) by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 387,171 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,658 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Liberty Property Trust were worth $17,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPT. OppenheimerFunds Inc. bought a new position in shares of Liberty Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth $227,000. AXA bought a new position in shares of Liberty Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth $246,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Liberty Property Trust by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 447,505 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $19,244,000 after purchasing an additional 84,179 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Liberty Property Trust by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 267,574 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,508,000 after purchasing an additional 15,837 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Liberty Property Trust by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC now owns 306,383 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,178,000 after purchasing an additional 15,025 shares during the period. 90.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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In related news, Director Frederick F. Buchholz sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.18, for a total value of $200,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 64,044 shares in the company, valued at $2,573,287.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

LPT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. ValuEngine cut shares of Liberty Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Liberty Property Trust from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Liberty Property Trust from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.00.

Liberty Property Trust stock opened at $43.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75 and a beta of 0.71. Liberty Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $37.77 and a fifty-two week high of $45.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Liberty Property Trust (NYSE:LPT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $190.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $145.62 million. Liberty Property Trust had a net margin of 49.95% and a return on equity of 8.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. sell-side analysts anticipate that Liberty Property Trust will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 2nd were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 29th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. Liberty Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.78%.

Liberty Property Trust Company Profile

Liberty Property Trust (NYSE:LPT) is a leader in commercial real estate, serving customers in the United States and United Kingdom, through the development, acquisition, ownership and management of superior industrial and office properties. Liberty's 101 million square foot operating portfolio provides productive work environments for 1,200 tenants.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LPT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Liberty Property Trust (NYSE:LPT).

FTSE 100 scores third straight win after weak retail sales throw August rate hike into question

U.K. stocks ended higher on Thursday and the pound tumbled after disappointing British retail sales stoked speculation the Bank of England may refrain from hiking interest rates in August.

What are markets doing?

The FTSE 100 index UKX, +0.10% �rose 0.1% to close at 7,683.97, marking a third straight session in positive territory.

Sterling GBPUSD, -0.2448% �slumped to an intraday low of $1.2958, hitting its lowest dollar level since early September last year. A weaker pound can boost the FTSE 100, as many of the index��s multinational companies generate most of their sales in other currencies.

What is driving the market?

The pound slump and FTSE rise came after a disappointing reading on U.K. retail sales in June. Sales fell 0.5% month-on-month, missing forecasts of a 0.3% rise. The quarterly data, however, painted a more rosy picture, with sales up 2.1% in the second quarter �� the largest increase since February 2015, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The mixed report comes after June inflation numbers out Wednesday missed forecasts, coming in at 2.4% versus the 2.6% expected. The disappointing reading raised questions as to whether the BOE will hike rates at its Aug. 2 meeting, as has been widely expected. Analysts said, however, that the central bank is still seen as raising rates next month, but then stay quiet on the tightening front for a while.

What are analysts saying?

��The latest retail sales data for June present a confusing picture for Mark Carney but he��s unlikely to lose much sleep over them. The wide range of forecasts ahead of today��s 0.5% reduction compared with May underscore the difficulty in reading much into the short-term signals from the High Street,�� said Tom Stevenson, investment director for Personal Investing at Fidelity, in a note.

��With only a short time to go before the next Monetary Policy Committee meeting, these figures probably won��t change the bank��s calculations. These will continue to focus on weaker-than-expected inflation and wage growth. An August rate hike is in the balance; whether or not one is delivered, the trajectory thereafter will be extremely shallow.��

Which stocks are in focus?

Shares of WPP PLC WPP, -2.93% �slid 2.9% after the advertising giant��s competitor Publicis Groupe SA PUB, -8.78% �missed revenue forecasts for the second quarter. Publicis shares closed down 8.8% in Paris.

SSE PLC SSE, -2.35% �fell 2.4% after the utility company reported core earnings below expectations, saying warm weather had weighed on gas demand.

Unilever PLC ULVR, +3.03% UL, +2.97% �rose 3% even after profit at the consumer goods giant declined in the first half of 2018.

Anglo American PLC AAL, -4.08% �gave up 4.1% after a production update. Overall, miners posted losses in London, tracking a selloff in metals prices. Shares of BHP Billiton PLC BLT, -1.85% BHP, -2.53% BHP, +0.12% �closed 1.9% lower, while Rio Tinto PLC RIO, -1.19% RIO, -2.70% RIO, +1.40% �fell 1.2%.

Sara Sjolin

Sara Sjolin is a MarketWatch reporter based in London. Follow her on Twitter @sarasjolin.

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Comment Related Topics United Kingdom London Stock Exchange London Markets Bank of England Europe European Markets Quote References UKX +7.69 +0.10% GBPUSD -0.0032 -0.2448% WPP -34.50 -2.93% PUB -5.12 -8.78% SSE -32.50 -2.35% ULVR +127.50 +3.03% UL +1.63 +2.97% AAL -69.00 -4.08% BLT -30.80 -1.85% BHP -1.26 -2.53% RIO -49.00 -1.19% Show all references MarketWatch Partner Center Most Popular One chart puts mega tech��s trillions of market value into eye-popping perspective Dennis Gartman: An ��exaggerated�� and ��stunning�� rally could be on the way Why Trump isn��t backing down in the trade fight �� in one chart Chase and Southwest have a new travel credit card, but is it a good deal? Thai Cave Rescue Boys Recount Their Ordeal Community Guidelines �� FAQs BACK TO TOP MarketWatch Site Index Topics Help Feedback Newsroom Roster Media Archive Premium Products Mobile Company Company Info Code of Conduct Corrections Advertising Media Kit Advertise Locally Reprints & Licensing Your Ad Choices   Dow Jones Network WSJ.com Barron's Online BigCharts Virtual Stock Exchange Financial News London WSJ.com Small Business realtor.com Mansion Global

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Domino's Pizza Extends Its Growth Streak

Domino's�Pizza (NYSE:DPZ) announced second-quarter earnings results this week that extended the pizza chain's impressive streak of growth in both its U.S. and international markets.

Here's a look at how the pizza delivery leader's headline results stacked up against the prior-year period:�

�Metric

Q2 2018

Q2 2017

Year-Over-Year Change

Revenue	$779 million	$629 million	24%
Net income	$77 million	$66 million	18%
EPS	$1.78	$1.32	35%

Data source: Domino's financial filings.

What happened this quarter?

Revenue rose 24% thanks to the combination of a quickly growing store base and robust sales gains at existing locations. Domino's profitability took a small step lower, though, as rising expenses outpaced savings from tax cuts to push margins down.

Image source: Getty Images.

Here are some of the key highlights from the quarter:

Comparable-store sales growth was a robust 7% in the core U.S. segment. That marked a slight slowdown from the prior quarter's 8% rate but easily kept Domino's among the best-performing fast-food companies around. The international segment slowed a bit, too, falling to a 4% increase from 5%. Yet this division stayed within management's target of between 3% and 6% for the year. Domino's added 156 stores to its global base, split between 43 locations in the U.S. and 113 new restaurants in outside markets. Operating costs expanded faster than sales, which pushed operating margin down to 16.2% of sales from 18% a year ago. Tax payments dove, but the reduced operating margin combined with higher interest payments to push bottom-line profitability down to 9.9% of sales from 10.5% of sales. The chain spent $219 million repurchasing its stock, which led per-share earnings to rise by 35% compared to the 18% growth in net income. Domino's ended the quarter with $158 million of cash and $3.5 billion in debt. What management had to say

CEO Ritch Allison, in his first quarter as the company's new leader, highlighted the chain's strong sales and store growth metrics." Global retail sales remain strong as we see our franchisees building new stores, growing same store sales and bringing customers back again and again," Allison said.

Management noted that customers reacted positively to tech initiatives like its recent "hotspots" program, which has created over 200,000 non-traditional delivery locations for places like beaches and parks that lack standard addresses. "I'm delighted to report that our franchisees and team members continued to deliver great results across the global Domino's system," Allison concluded.

Looking forward

Domino's doesn't issue specific sales guidance, but its recent results keep the company right on track to meet -- or exceed -- its long-term objectives. In fact, comps in the core U.S. market have been running ahead of management's annual target for the last six months, which suggests the chain has a good shot at improving on last year's 13% overall sales increase in 2018.

Profits are being pinched by increasing wages and higher commodity costs, particularly cheese. Domino's significant debt load, meanwhile, has kept interest payments at a hefty 4% of sales. Still, the chain has generated $166 million of net income through the first half of 2018, or 10.6% of sales, compared to $128 million, or 10.2% of sales in the prior-year period. As long as Domino's continues winning market share at home while expanding its store base internationally, shareholders can expect that profitability uptick to power robust earnings growth.

Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Edison International (EIX)

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 1,826 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 619% compared to the typical volume of 254 call options.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tiedemann Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Edison International by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Tiedemann Advisors LLC now owns 24,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 2,574 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Edison International by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,415,561 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $215,994,000 after purchasing an additional 150,064 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Edison International by 67.3% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 8,779 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $555,000 after purchasing an additional 3,533 shares in the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Edison International by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 689,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,613,000 after purchasing an additional 66,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Edison International in the 4th quarter valued at about $369,000. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

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A number of analysts recently commented on the company. ValuEngine cut Edison International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Edison International from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 1st. SunTrust Banks set a $72.00 price objective on Edison International and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 19th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Edison International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Edison International in a research report on Wednesday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Edison International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.36.

EIX opened at $65.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.16. Edison International has a 12 month low of $57.63 and a 12 month high of $83.38.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.49 billion. Edison International had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 10.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. sell-side analysts forecast that Edison International will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.605 dividend. This represents a $2.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 29th. Edison International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.78%.

Edison International Company Profile

Edison International, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in the United States. It generates electricity through hydroelectric, diesel/liquid petroleum gas, natural gas, nuclear, and photovoltaic sources. The company supplies electricity primarily to residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, and other customers, as well as public authorities through transmission and distribution networks.