Why Viacom, E*TRADE, ConocoPhillips, and More Are Trending Thursday

The bull market is alive and well as the S&P 500 is in record territory while all three index futures are well in the green. Among the stocks traders are talking about today are E*TRADE Financial Corp (NASDAQ:ETFC), Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAB), SUPERVALU INC. (NYSE:SVU), Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST), and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP). In this article we’ll find out why each stock is in the spotlight this morning and see what elite funds think of the five stocks.

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E*TRADE On Watch Due to Harker Comments

Interest rate-sensitive stocks such as E*TRADE Financial Corp (NASDAQ:ETFC) are in the spotlight after Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker said that the U.S economy may need two interest rate hikes by the end of the year. Due to Britain’s vote to leave the EU last month and the political sensitivity of raising rates before an upcoming Presidential election, many traders had assumed that the Fed would keep interest rates lower for longer and only raise them once in 2016, in December. If the Fed raises them twice this year to avert higher inflation down the road, E*TRADE will benefit from higher interest income. 39 funds in our system owned shares of E*TRADE Financial Corp (NASDAQ:ETFC) at the end of March.

Viacom Talking With Dalian Wanda Over Paramount

Traders are talking about Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAB) today after Reuters reported that the media conglomerate has talked with Dalian Wanda Group about potentially selling the Chinese company a minority stake in Paramount Pictures. Although Paramount Pictures isn’t very profitable, it has iconic value and would be useful for Chinese companies in their push to improve the quality of their films. A partial sale of Paramount would unlock value for Viacom shares and provide it with capital to invest in other businesses. Although Viacom’s CEO might approve of the minority sale, it is unclear whether controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone and his daughter Shari Redstone will approve, however. The number of funds that we track with long positions in Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAB) fell by six quarter-over-quarter to 42 as of the end of March.

On the next page we’ll examine why SUPERVALU INC, Nexstar Broadcasting Group, and ConocoPhillips are making noise this morning.
SUPERVALU Expands Wholesale Business

SUPERVALU INC. (NYSE:SVU) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to buy 22 Food Lion grocery stores that are being divested in connection with a merger between Delhaize and Ahold. The 22 acquired stores will be converted into the company’s Shop ‘N Save format and are expected to benefit from SUPERVALU’s brand and marketing strategies. The deal is expected to close within the next 105 days, per FTC approval. Of the 766 active funds that we track, 28 funds owned $328 million in SUPERVALU INC. (NYSE:SVU) holdings on March 31, which accounted for 21.40% of the float.

Nexstar Announces Offering of Senior Notes

Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) is being watched today after the company announced the offering of $900 million of senior notes due 2024. The TV broadcaster will use the proceeds of the proposed offering, along with other resources, to fund its proposed acquisition of Media General Inc (NYSE:MEG) and to repay existing credit facilities. Traders hope management can unlock substantial synergies from the $4.6 billion Media General purchase. 47 funds in our system owned shares of Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) at the end of the first quarter.

A Major Energy Company Sells an Asset

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) has agreed to sell its 35% interest in three exploration blocks in offshore Senegal to Australia’s Woodside Petroleum Ltd for $350 million plus net customary adjustments of around $80 million. The divestment of the offshore assets furthers ConocoPhillips retreat from deep-water exploration in West Africa. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2016. ConocoPhillips carried the three offshore exploration blocks on its balance sheet with a net asset value of $250 million as of May 31. 45 funds that we follow owned shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) at the end of March, up by 14 funds from the end of December.

Disclosure: None