Tag Archives: stocks

3 Best-Ranked Legg Mason Mutual Funds

Founded in 1899, Legg Mason is one of the world’s largest asset managers with assets under management of $708 billion. Legg Mason and its affiliates currently manage 112 mutual funds across a wide range of categories, including both equity and fixed-income funds, with over $96.1 billion (excluding money market assets) invested in them. It uses a multi-affiliate business model that allows each affiliate to operate with a high degree of autonomy utilizing its unique approach and processes. The company provides an array of financial services to individual and institutional investors in 190 countries across six continents. Below, we share with you three top-rated Legg Mason mutual funds. Each has earned a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform its peers in the future. To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all Legg Mason mutual funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of Legg Mason mutual funds. ClearBridge Large Cap Value A (MUTF: SINAX ) seeks capital appreciation over the long run. SINAX invests a major chunk of its assets in securities of companies having a large market capitalization. SINAX primarily focuses on acquiring equity securities of companies. The ClearBridge Large Cap Value A fund has a three-year annualized return of 7.6%. SINAX has an expense ratio of 0.89% as compared to the category average of 1.11%. QS Legg Mason Moderate Growth A (MUTF: SCGRX ) primarily invests its assets in underlying funds. SCGRX is expected to allocate 55-85% of its assets in mutual funds, which in turn invest in equity securities. The remaining 15% to 45% is believed to be invested in fixed-income mutual funds. QS Legg Mason Moderate Growth A is a non-diversified fund with a three-year annualized return of 3.9%. As of December 2015, SCGRX held 17 issues with 11.95% of its assets invested in Western Asset Core Plus Bond IS. QS Legg Mason Conservative Growth A (MUTF: SBBAX ) seeks to maintain a balance between capital and income. SBBAX invests 35% to 65% of its assets in underlying funds that focus on acquiring equity securities. SBBAX’s investment in fixed income underlying funds may also vary from 35% to 65% of its assets. QS Legg Mason Conservative Growth A is a non-diversified fund with a three-year annualized return of 3.1%. Y. Wayne Lin is one of the fund managers of SBBAX since 2012. Original Post

2 Top Stocks Rally As The Force Awakens Them

Few industry groups escaped the market’s wrath Monday. IBD’s Leisure-Toys/Games group was one that did. It climbed more than 1%, fueled by a heavy-volume advance by Hasbro ( HAS ), which reported Q4 results ahead of the open. The Pawtucket, R.I.-based company earned $1.39 a share, up 14% from last year and 9 cents over views. Revenue climbed 13% to $1.465 billion, topping forecasts for $1.365 billion. Sales rose 23%, excluding pressure from the strong dollar. The 13% rise was Hasbro’s biggest quarterly sales gain in nearly five years. Results got a boost from toys based on Disney ‘s ( DIS ) “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” such as action figures, masks and lightsabers, and Universal Pictures’ “Jurassic World” products. Sales from boys’ toys jumped 35%, but girls’ toys fell 17%. Hasbro advanced 1.5% Monday, reclaiming its 200-day moving average as it works on the right side of a seven-month consolidation. It’s been an outperformer, rising 11% this year. Highly regarded Fidelity Contrafund owned shares as of Dec. 31. The Transformers and Nerf maker raised its quarterly dividend by 11% to 51 cents a share. For the full year, Hasbro’s EPS rose 11% to $3.51 a share. Analysts expect a 12% increase this year and 9% the next. Global rights to produce Disney’s “Frozen” and other Disney Princess dolls transferred to Hasbro from Mattel this year. IBD’s toys and games subgroup rallied to No. 17 in Monday’s issue, up from No. 151 six weeks ago. It spiked more than 5% intraday Thursday, after Bloomberg reports that the two major toy makers began discussing a possible merger late last year. On Monday, Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner said on the company earnings conference call that he is open to potential “add-on acquisitions.” Mattel ( MAT ), which makes “Star Wars”-based Hot Wheels toys, last week reported Q4 profit that increased 21% to 63 cents a share on flat sales of $1.99 billion, beating forecasts on both the top and bottom lines. It benefited from an 8% revenue increase in Barbie dolls and a 26% jump in its wheels segment, which includes Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars, on a constant-currency basis. The stock soared 14% Tuesday to a 14-month high, surpassing a 28.03 handle buy point in robust trade. It’s well extended past the entry. The El Segundo, Calif.-based company’s Q4 profit marked its first quarterly gain in more than two years. Analysts expect full-year EPS to resume growth at 12% this year and 25% in 2017, after big declines the past two years. Mattel leads Hasbro with respective Composite ratings of 92 and 90, but its EPS Rating  lags at 46 to 78. Mattel has a 97 RS, reflecting the stock’s 18% advance this year, while Hasbro’s RS is a respectable 87. Other stocks in the toy maker group include Jakks Pacific ( JAKK ), which is trading below 7 a share and near nine-month lows. It has a subpar 61 Composite Rating.