Why AK Steel Holding Corporation (AKS), Inter Parfums, Inc. (IPAR) and JetBlue Airways Corporation (JBLU) Are 3 of Today’s Best Stocks

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The Federal Reserve is meeting this week, and that is enough to prompt speculation about the central bank’s next steps when it comes to monetary policy. And that is enough to have stocks and other riskier assets hanging in the balance.

Why AK Steel Holding Corporation (AKS), Inter Parfums, Inc. (IPAR) and JetBlue Airways Corporation (JBLU) Are 3 of Today's Best StocksTwo of the three major U.S. indexes finished higher with the Dow Jones Industrial Average being the laggard with a loss of 0.1%. The S&P 500 rose 0.03% while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.24%.

On the back of bullish earnings reports, AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE:AKS), Inter Parfums, Inc. (NASDAQ:IPAR) and JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) were three of today’s best performers.

AK Steel Holding Corporation (AKS)

Ohio-based AK Steel Holding Corporation surged 14% on more than double the average daily volume after reporting a second-quarter profit. AKS earned 8 cents a share in the quarter compared with a year earlier loss of 36 cents. AKS said sales fell 12% to $1.49 billion.

Analysts expected AKS to post a quarterly loss of 2 cents a share on revenue of $1.53 billion. AKS is reducing its exposure to the spot steel market to focus on higher value coated products, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Shares of AKS are up more than 160% year-to-date, making the stock one of the best-performing members of the S&P 500.

Inter Parfums, Inc. (IPAR)

Fragrance maker Inter Parfums, Inc. soared 17% on about 10 times the usual turnover after saying second-quarter sales jumped 14.8% to $117.2 million from $102 million a year earlier. IPAR forecast 2016 earnings per share of $1.01 to $1.06 on sales of $500 million to $510 million.

IPAR’s portfolio of fragrance brands includes Abercrombie & Fitch, Agent Provocateur, Anna Sui, Balmain, Banana Republic, bebe, Boucheron, Coach, Dunhill, Hollister and Jimmy Choos.

“International distribution of our first new Abercrombie & Fitch men’s scent, First Instinct, and the Hollister duo, Wave, were major contributors to our top line growth. In the second half, distribution of these new scents will continue to roll out to additional International markets. Dunhill has been a consistent top performing brand and this reporting period is no exception, with comparable quarter sales up 23%, which was achieved in the absence of a new product launch,” said IPAR CEO Jean Madar in a statement.

JetBlue Airways Corporation (JBLU)

Shares of low-fare airline JetBlue Airways Corporation flew higher by 8% on more than double the average daily volume following the company’s second-quarter earnings report.

JBLU said its second-quarter EPS rose 18% to 53 cents a share from 44 cents a share last year.

JBLU said revenue increased to $1.64 billion from $1.61 billion. Analysts expected JBLU to earn 49 cents a share.

At the time of this writing, Todd Shriber did not own any of the aforementioned securities.

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Todd Shriber has been an InvestorPlace contributor since 2014.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2016/07/ak-steel-holding-corporation-aks-inter-parfums-inc-ipar-jetblue-airways-corporation-jblu-3-todays-best-stocks/.

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