Ticker Reports for July 28th
These 3 Stocks Could Help You Compound Wealth for Years to Come
There are typically two participants in the stock market, those who enter and end each day on a flat note for their portfolios (meaning no positions) and rely on short-term intraday trading strategies to grow their capital, and then those who are out there hunting for the sort of businesses that will allow for a less volatile path forward for wealth creation. Those who focus on the long-term usually care about two things in their search for their next investment.
First of all, the company they choose to buy stock from must have an above-average level of profitability. Of course, profit only comes (and stays) when a business has achieved a strong enough position in its industry and offers, as far as products and services are concerned. Then every once in a while, these profitable companies will offer a new chance to buy in through attractive valuations.
Attractive valuations don’t necessarily mean low prices in terms of their current position on the chart, but rather low relative to their potential future value based on their profitability. Some of the most attractive compounders available today for investors are names like Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO), Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA), and Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ: ULTA), which are worth considering for the future of wealth creation.
Markets Agree, Altria Stock Is Cheap
Even after a 20% rally over the past 12 months, a rare achievement for a company not known for volatility or big moves, there are some signs that suggest Altria stock is still undervalued relative to where it should be trading in the future.
One way investors can gauge this is by examining the company's dividend payments.
Through a payout of $4.08 per share, Altria offers investors an annualized dividend yield of up to 6.9%, which exceeds both U.S. inflation rates and Treasury bond yields. Considering that the company’s yield has historically been closer to 4%, today’s elevated yield could be a sign that the stock is likely to return to higher prices shortly.
Driving the momentum behind that gap higher is the financial profile itself.
Altria generates up to 42.8% in returns on invested capital (ROIC), which is one of the main drivers behind annual stock price performance, allowing investors to potentially compound their capital in Altria stock at that rate over a long enough timeframe, not to mention collecting a nice dividend along the way as well.
Knowing that this setup significantly favors Altria buyers today, short sellers have recently left the scene, as investors have noticed a decline of up to 8.1% in the company’s short interest over the past month alone, indicating a clear sign of bearish capitulation.
Analysts Like Mastercard Stock
Investors can bet on one certainty for the future: consumers will keep spending on discretionary items and necessities alike.
At the center of this certainty are companies like Mastercard, which collect a piece of the spending pie every time a transaction is made, providing its shareholders a stress-free way to compound their returns.
In fact, this business model and incredible market penetration worldwide allow Mastercard to generate as much as 56.6% in ROIC. This factor can be seen in the stock chart in terms of how rare drawdowns are for Mastercard.
Any and all volatile periods are quickly bought in this company, as this certainty often results in a higher price being achieved almost immediately.
These features also make Mastercard a highly attractive stock for analysts to cover and build their reputations, which may be why Timothy Chiodo from the UBS Group decided to reiterate his Buy rating on Mastercard and set a valuation target of up to $670 per share.
Compared to today’s prices, Chiodo’s call implies that Mastercard can rally by as much as 21%, and there is a good chance the stock has a lot more steam left in it.
Ulta’s Business: The Ultimate Hedge
Most investors would see the skincare and makeup industry as part of the consumer discretionary sector, when in reality it is closer to being a staple of consumption.
Ulta’s consumer base will likely keep their budgets for these products, regardless of whether the economy is booming or struggling.
That’s why the business can keep up with these other names, achieving a 26.8% ROIC despite operating in a completely different space and size bracket. That high return profile, and a 32% rally over the past quarter alone, drove Ulta’s short interest down so much last month that there are virtually no short sellers left willing to bet against this company.
Following the bears' decision to give up the fight, Wall Street analysts are now boosting their price targets on Ulta as well. Michael Baker from DA Davidson was one of the first to express some bullish outlooks for Ulta as of early July 2025, with a Buy rating and a valuation target of up to $550 per share.
Even though the stock now trades at a new 52-week high, this analyst believes investors are in for an additional return of as much as 11%, and, like all names on this list, a high ROIC rate will likely push valuations significantly higher than that.
I'd rather trade news like this than gamble on hype
I'd rather trade news like this than gamble on hype
3 Value Stocks Flying Under the Radar—For Now
As a group, value stocks have tended to underperform their growth peers in recent quarters. This may position some companies in the value category as even more compelling, given that they may now trade at a deeper discount relative to their intrinsic value compared to some other popular names within the same industries.
Now may also be an opportune time for investors taking a longer view on value names, particularly given recent volatility and uncertainty about the broader economy. The three companies below all enjoy analyst support but may be unfamiliar to value investors.
Long View on Contracts, Supported by Fleet Management and Dividend Health
Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd. (NYSE: TEN) provides sea-based crude oil and petroleum transportation services. It got a modest boost on mixed earnings for the first quarter after it reported in mid-June. Earnings per share (EPS) beat analyst predictions handily but still came in below the prior-year quarter. Revenue was about half a million dollars shy of expectations, but this obscures the fact that the company has an impressive $3.7 billion in backlog with contracted employment averaging more than 12 years.
A longer contract horizon is only possible if Tsakos adequately maintains its fleet, and the company appears to be doing just that. The company is on track to sell off another six of its older vessels by the end of the year, following prior sales of 14 vessels, freeing up about $100 million for everything from new builds to dividend payouts.
Speaking of dividends, Tsakos' yield of 5.97% is achievable with a strong payout ratio of 26.7%, making the stock an attractive choice for passive income seekers as well. Despite growing by about 12% this year, shares of TEN may still be substantially undervalued; the company's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 4.5 is still significantly below the transportation sector as a whole, which has a P/E ratio of around 13.1.
Strategic Station Swap and Debt Refinancing Boost Gray's Prospects
Television broadcasting outfit Gray Media Inc. (NYSE: GTN) made headlines earlier in the summer when it agreed to swap stations with The E.W. Scripps Co. (NASDAQ: SSP) in markets in Michigan, Louisiana, and elsewhere. The deal should drive growth by creating a duopoly in Lansing and bulking up Gray's offerings in other locations.
The company also recently refinanced $700 million in debt, extending maturities until 2032, which should remove some of the near-term pressure on the company even as it must eventually reckon with higher interest rates. Nonetheless, investors should keep an eye on Gray's cash holdings and free cash flow, particularly as it may make additional acquisitions in the future.
Shares of GTN have already surged by some 58% year-to-date (YTD), threatening to eat away at the company's proposition as a value play. However, with a P/E ratio of 2.3, when the broader sector sits at 21.6, and analysts betting on upside potential of more than 16%, value investors may still find reason to consider Gray.
First-Quarter Revenue Decline for NCR Voyix Hides Firm's Success With Tariffs and ARR
Digital commerce tech firm NCR Voyix Corp. (NYSE: VYX) develops point-of-sale hardware and software, scanners, check processors, and more. Despite a middling first quarter in which revenue dropped about 13% year-over-year (YOY), the company still outperformed analyst predictions on both the top and bottom lines. This marks NCR's success at bypassing an expected tariff surcharge for the full year of up to $20 million.
NCR's annual recurring revenue (ARR) has grown as a percentage of its total revenue, now representing two-thirds of overall sales. This bodes well for the firm's anticipated launch of its cloud-native Voyage Commerce Platform later in the year, a move that will shift a substantial part of its customer base to a recurring subscription model.
VYX shares are up about 9% YTD, likely driven also by the company's steady stock repurchasing actions that could total as much as $200 million in this latest series. Despite these gains, NCR Voyix still trades at an attractive price-to-sales ratio of 0.71, and four out of five analysts deem it a Buy.
A new rule goes live in July — and the banks are quietly cashing in
A new rule goes live in July — and the banks are quietly cashing in
3 Reasons Tesla's Post-Earnings Hangover Looks Like a Buy
After a big earnings report last Wednesday, shares of Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) ended last week down 5% from their pre-earnings high. That might sound bearish, but context is everything. The stock had been rallying pretty steadily into Wednesday's report, and had gained 50% since April. So the pullback, especially one that started to reverse before the week even ended, feels more like a reset than a rejection.
That being said, at one point in the immediate aftermath of the earnings release, it looked like things could get ugly. The report showed revenue down almost 12% year-over-year, and it wasn't a blowout beat by any means. But with earnings landing in line at 40 cents per share and margins up compared to Q1, the results came in better than feared.
More importantly, the bears lost momentum almost immediately.
By Friday evening, though, the stock had bounced off a key trendline, the lower edge of a narrowing pennant formation developing since April. This technical pattern, which typically resolves with a breakout, is looking increasingly bullish now that earnings are out of the way and the uptrend remains intact.
The next move could be sharp and directional, and right now, the bulls look better positioned.
Let's look at why this pullback might actually be a solid buy.
1. Better-Than-Feared Results Set a Solid Foundation
Tesla's headline numbers were far from stellar, but they didn't disappoint either. Revenue still declined, but not by as much as expected, non-GAAP earnings held steady, and vehicle deliveries for Q2 were up on Q1.
Many investors would have been bracing for a disaster, but what they got was something actually quite manageable, even optimistic in parts. Margins improved, deliveries bounced, and the company reiterated that its next-gen affordable EV is still on track for the second half of 2025.
The fear trade that had driven volatility earlier in the year appears to be in the process of being replaced by cautious optimism. With the stock up already in the early part of Monday's session, there's a sense that much of the worst-case scenario is now built into the base case.
2. Momentum Remains With the Bulls
Despite the pullback, Tesla remains in a clearly defined uptrend, with its multi-month series of higher lows and higher highs intact. The stock bounced exactly where you'd expect it to last week, on the lower boundary of the narrowing pennant we've been tracking, and rallied through Friday to close well off the post-earnings lows.
In the early part of Monday's session, shares were up close to 4% and edging towards their pre-earnings level.
This pattern tells us the bulls are not done yet. With the near-term uncertainty around Q2 earnings removed, a breakout towards the $360 mark could soon be in play. Technicals aside, many analysts have remained firmly bullish.
Wedbush, for example, is holding firm on its $500 price target, with analyst Dan Ives pointing to the company's $1 trillion autonomy opportunity as a key driver of long-term value. The team at Canaccord Genuity Group also came out bullish after last week's report, reiterating its Buy rating and boosting its price target to $333.
3. Robotaxis and the Long Game
Love or hate him, Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, still knows how to command attention. Wednesday's report may have lacked fireworks, but Musk's comments on Tesla's autonomy roadmap are worth noting.
He reaffirmed plans for the robotaxi rollout to reach half of the U.S. population by the end of 2025 and hinted at European regulatory progress. For the naysayers out there, these aren't just PR stunts.
Instead, they reflect Tesla's ongoing pivot away from hardware-driven growth and towards a software-and-services model, one with the potential for that much sought-after recurring, high-margin revenue.
Tesla Stock Shakeout Sets the Stage for a Potential Breakout
The sell-off, such as it was, feels like a short-term shakeout. Sure, the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is still lofty, sitting north of 180, meaning expectations are still high. But Tesla doesn't need to be perfect to keep moving higher. It just needs to keep progressing, quarter by quarter.
A move back towards $340 is very much on the cards in the coming sessions, and would likely represent a major breakout signal for investors. After all, this is the same stock that rallied 60% after a horrible Q1 report. If that can happen after a miss, imagine what's possible after a beat.
REVEALED FREE: Our three TOP stocks of 2025 are …
REVEALED FREE: Our three TOP stocks of 2025 are …
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