The top stocks to watch today (Thursday) are Unilever Plc. (NYSE ADR: UL), Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBY), and Yum China Holdings Inc. (NYSE: YUMC).
President Trump is meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping today. The meeting will take place at Mar-a-Largo and extend into tomorrow. It is expected the two presidents will discuss trade and North Korea extensively.
Yesterday, the FOMC meeting minutes from March were released. They indicated the U.S. Federal Reserve plans on reducing its $4.5 trillion balance sheet this year, but it is unclear how much of the balance sheet will be shed. Its balance sheet ballooned when the Fed was trying to stimulate the economy with quantitative easing.
Now that we know what's moving markets, here are the three top stocks to watch today...
Top Stocks to Watch Today: Unilever Plc. (NYSE ADR: UL)
Unilever stock is up 1.2% in early morning trading after announcing shareholder rewards.
The announcement came as a result of the company trying to show it can generate better returns as an independent company after a takeover bid from Kraft Heinz Co. (NYSE: KHC).
The offer from Kraft was for $143 billion. In response, Unilever announced a $5.3 billion share buyback program along with a 12% increase in its dividend.
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UL stock is currently trading at $49.11 for a gain of 20.7% so far this year.
Top Stocks to Watch Today: Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBY)
Bed Bath & Beyond stock is up 3.4% in early morning trading after beating earnings estimates.
The retailer posted earnings of $1.84 per share for Q4. Analysts' expectations were earnings per share (EPS) of $1.77.
In addition to beating earnings estimates, Bed Bath & Beyond announced it will increase its dividend from $0.12 a share to $0.15.
BBBY stock is trading at $37.80 for a decline of 7% year to date.
Top Stocks to Watch Today: Yum China Holdings Inc. (NYSE: YUMC)
Yum China stock is up 11.5% in early morning trading after reporting better than expected earnings.
The Chinese spin-off of Yum Brands had revenue of $1.28 billion, beating the $1.27 billion expectation. The company reported EPS of $0.44, while analysts expected $0.38.
Same-store sales grew 1% as opposed to the 0.7% decline expected.
YUMC stock is currently trading at $28.18 for a gain of 7.9% so far this year.
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