Why Newmont Mining Corp (NEM), Nordstrom, Inc. (JWN) and Intuit Inc. (INTU) are 3 of Today’s Best Stocks

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Reports of a deal struck between the eurozone and Greece to extend the Greek debt bailout another four months lifted Wall Street’s spirits today, sending two of its major indices to new record highs. The deal mandates reforms that still need to be hammered out by the end of April, but allows Greece the opportunity to work out further arrangements with creditors.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average set a new closing record of 18,140.44, rising nearly 0.9%, while the S&P 500 also touched a record at 2110.30, and was higher by 0.6%. The Nasdaq Composite also gained 0.6%. Leading sectors today were healthcare, industrials, and cyclical consumer goods.

Speaking of consumer goods, Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN) had quite a productive day, and along with Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM)  and Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU). Those three were among today’s best stocks.

Newmont Mining Corp (NEM)

Newmont soared more than 7% in the morning and held on to finish nearly 4.6% higher at the close after besting analysts’ estimates on fourth-quarter earnings and revenue. NEM posted adjusted earnings of 17 cents a share, down from 28 cents a share last year, but well ahead of the 10 cents per share the Street was expecting.

Full-year adjusted earnings of $1.09 was 12.8% lower than 2013, but also beat the estimates by a penny. Revenue fell 7.8% year over year to $2 billion, but was well ahead of the $1.8 billion prediction by analysts.

NEM’s sale of their stake in the Penmont joint venture was one of the reasons for the improved bottom line. NEM stock has been on a tear lately, up 35% since mid-December.

Intuit Inc. (INTU)

Intuit, the software creator of QuickBooks, gapped up 6% today after posting a fiscal second-quarter loss of 6 cents per share, which was 7 cents better than expected.  Revenue was up 3.3% to $808 million year-over-year, also well beyond analysts’ estimates of $783.6 million.

INTU said it added 102,000 subscribers to QuickBooks online this quarter, and upped its subscriber guidance between a range from 975,000 to 1 million by the end of the fiscal year in July.

Since November, INTU stock had traded in a range between $86 and $94 prior to today’s breakout to $96.72.

Nordstrom, Inc. (JWN)

Sometimes even when the earnings outlook isn’t great, the Street will still love a stock for other reasons. After Thursday’s bell, Nordstrom reported fourth-quarter earnings of $1.32 a share, 3 cents below analysts’ expectations. The company says that it spent heavily on technology upgrades to its e-commerce shopping platforms and store expansion, plus added more discounts during the holidays at its Rack brand stores.

The Street reacted favorably to the news, despite the lackluster earnings, and the stock bolted 6% higher today.

JWN said that it hopes the technology expense for their online platforms will begin to pay them back in 2016 or 2017. The stock has done fairly well, up about 22% since October. But today’s big gain is on the heaviest volume seen since November, and JWN stock set a new 52-week high at $81.74.

As of this writing, Ethan Roberts did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2015/02/why-newmont-mining-corp-nem-nordstrom-inc-jwn-and-intuit-inc-intu-are-3-of-todays-best-stocks/.

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