Category Archives: Companies
A Brief Update on StoneMor
StoneMor Partners, L.P. has passed a few milestones since my previous update in late September. These accomplishments have advanced its turnaround, but more is needed including a significant rebound in its profitability before the effort can be declared a success.
NJR Adjusts to Meet Its Challenges and Opportunities
Under new CEO Steve Westhoven, the business portfolio of New Jersey Resources (NJR) has evolved as it typically does in response to changes in its operating environment. Its regulated utility operations, New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) and its Midstream segment, … Continue reading
Brightcove’s Prospects Look Brighter
A key change at Brightcove since my last post has been the turnover at the top. In August 2017, after three consecutive quarters of earnings misses, Dave Mendels, who had served as CEO for more than four years, agreed with … Continue reading
Notes and Analysis from HPE’s 2019 Securities Analyst Meeting
At its 2019 Securities Analyst meeting (SAM) held in New York City on October 23, the senior management of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) said that the company was poised to enter the third phase of its evolution: pivoting to sustainable, … Continue reading
SNH Still Seems Behind Goal on Asset Sales
SNH has set a goal of $900 million in announced or closed asset sales in 2019. With more than nine months of the year gone, it has completed only $119.1 million in asset sales and has an estimated $125 million … Continue reading
Eliminating the RMR Discount
The five publicly-traded REITs that are managed by the RMR Group, Inc. (RMR), a Newton, Mass.-based property manager, have often traded at significant discounts to their peers. The discount has been attributed to the nature of the relationship between RMR … Continue reading
NYT Magazine Article on the Boeing 737 Max
The cover story in this week’s Sunday New York Times Magazine is “What Really Caused the Deadly Crashes of the Boeing 737 Max?“. While acknowledging that malfunctions caused the crashes, it also documents in detail the errors made by the … Continue reading
StoneMor’s Rights Offering
This week, StoneMor Partners, L.P. (STON) announced that it has set a record date of September 26, 2019 for its upcoming rights offering. Soon thereafter, once the SEC declares the registration statement to be effective, the partnership will mail a … Continue reading
A Review of the Markopolos Report on General Electric
On August 15, 2019, Harry Markopolos, who gained fame as the person who exposed the fraud perpetrated by Bernie Madoff, released a 175-page report entitled “General Electric, A Bigger Fraud Than Enron.” GE’s stock fell 11.3% on the day; but … Continue reading
A Reset for Senior Housing Properties Trust
In response to the financial difficulties of its primary tenant, Five Star Senior Living (FVE), Senior Housing Properties Trust (SNH) has been forced to negotiate a change in the structure of their business relationship. Specifically, SNH has agreed to cancel … Continue reading