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  • EV Stocks With Long-Term Potential
    Business
    Benzinga

    EV Stocks With Long-Term Potential

    Despite 2020 being an unprecedented year due to the pandemic, it will also be remembered as the year for the EV revolution. While EV companies, led by Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA), have been around for a while, 2020 was the year the markets officially became infatuated with its potential to disrupt the traditional automakers. Tesla shares are up nearly 600% for the year, and a number of up-and-comers have shown strong performances and even greater promises.Although this performance might not be sustainable over the long-run, the potential of electrification is real. Traditional automakers such as the German giant Volkswagen A G (OTC: VWAGY) know it and are investing heavily to catch the electric wave. But despite such 'safe-bets', there are also many other up-and-comers such as Li Auto Inc. (NASDAQ: LI), NIO Inc (NYSE: NIO), and Xpeng Inc (NYSE: XPEV) who show great potential.The SUV SpecialistLi Auto went public only in late July, but the shares of the Chinese maker of electric SUVs are up 142% in just four months since then. Its market cap at $34 billion is in line with that of Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) despite having one-tenth of the revenue.Li might be selling only one vehicle at the moment, family-sized SUV named the Li One, but it has four additional SUVs planned. More importantly, the Li One also comes with an onboard gasoline generator that supplements the battery and acts as a range extender, removing the range anxiety for its customers as the charging infrastructure is yet to catch up. Li Auto expects to sell about 30,000 vehicles this year, but Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) analyst Fei Fang finds Li has what it takes to manufacture up to about 500,000 annually by 2025 and without much-added construction cost.But even if there could be some near-term turbulence, Li has positioned itself well in an attractive niche in the Chinese market with a product that is selling well.A Well-Positioned Chinese EV Maker China is the world's largest new-vehicle market with the government pushing the adoption of electric vehicles. According to Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC), NIO and Tesla together have about 90% of the market for premium electric vehicles in China. Nio is the homegrown favorite and that counts for something. Moreover, after a near-bankruptcy experience early in 2020, it's now the cash and resources to increase production. It's a safe bet to expect that big sales growth is coming given its production plan.Next-Generation Autonomous EVsFrom barely $1 million in sales in 2018, XPeng has booked more than half a billion dollars in sales over the last 12 months. By 2022, data from S&P Global Market Intelligence reports that analysts project XPeng will tip the scales at a mind-boggling $4.1 billion. If this ends up being the case, it means XPeng will go from $1 million to more than $4 billion in sales in less than four years.Last week, it unveiled a "next-generation autonomous driving architecture" with which its EVs will become increasingly autonomous. This self-driving feature will be accomplished through cameras, radar, ultrasonic sensors, and lidar. Lidar is a laser for imaging, detection, and ranging. According to its press release will be the first car company in the world to incorporate lidar into a production-ready car, beginning with vehicles in its 2021 lineup.Such ground-breaking technological leadership should help XPeng secure a strong position in the Chinese automotive market, where EV sales are expected to grow 43% annually over the next five years.Volkswagen's New EVThe German giant aims to produce 1.5 million electric cars by 2025. In November, it increased its planned investment in electrification to $86 billion over the next half of a decade. The carmaker increased the proportion of hybrid and electric vehicles in its European car sales from a previous target of 40% to 60% by 2030.To boost its sales in the EV era, Volkswagen is bringing forward the development of a small electric car for the mass market in anticipation of tougher EU climate regulations, according to plans seen by Reuters. A "Small BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle)" will be available in the range between $24,000 and $30,000. This would make it cheaper than Volkswagen's ID.3 electric car that was launched for sale in September. Besides revealing it will be around the size of a Polo, no information was provided regarding its look, launch date or the place where it will be built.With Great Risk Comes Great Reward There's a lot of risk involved in EV stocks, but also a lot of potential as a whole new era is ahead. The above four companies are well-positioned to benefit from this super trend.This article is not a press release and is contributed by a verified independent journalist for IAMNewswire. It should not be construed as investment advice at any time please read the full disclosure. IAM Newswire does not hold any position in the mentioned companies. Press Releases - If you are looking for full Press release distribution contact: press@iamnewswire.com Contributors - IAM Newswire accepts pitches. If you're interested in becoming an IAM journalist contact: contributors@iamnewswire.comThe post EV Stocks With Long-Term Potential appeared first on IAM Newswire.Photo by Eduardo Arcos on UnsplashSee more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Autodesk Is Firing On All Cylinders, But Its Mastermind Is Joining Cisco * The COVID-19 Vaccine Front Runner Updates(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  • Business
    MarketWatch

    A ‘severe’ drop is imminent, this stock market is signaling, says contrarian strategist

    Investors are crowding into the stock market right now, and they aren't seeing the big signals that indicate they are about to get caught up in a rough period of selling, says our call of the day from contrarian investor Steven Jon Kaplan.

  • Workhorse Shares Fall On Delayed USPS Mail Truck Decision
    Business
    Benzinga

    Workhorse Shares Fall On Delayed USPS Mail Truck Decision

    Shares of Workhorse Group (NASDAQ: WKHS) are down in after-hours trading Tuesday on news of a delay for the long-awaited U.S. Postal Service contract.What Happened: The USPS is delaying its contract decision on the USPS replacement vehicles, according to Trucks.com.The USPS told Trucks it expects to make a decision in the second fiscal quarter of 2021. This decision has been delayed multiple times already and now puts pressure on Workhorse, one of three finalists for the contact."Amid continuing Covid-19 concerns, and in order to provide for capital investment activities and required approvals, the program schedule has been revised and a decision is now planned for quarter 2 of fiscal year 2021," the USPS said in a statement.Related Link: Workhorse CFO Steve Schrader On The Status Of The USPS ContractWhy It's Important: The USPS is set to award a $6 billion contract for 180,000 delivery vehicles. Workhorse Group is one of the finalists along with Turkey-based Krsan and Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK).Shares of Workhorse are up over 700% in 2020 and investors could sell the delay news.WKHS Price Action: Shares of Workhorse fell 14% to $21.75 in after-hours trading.See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Why Barstool, MGM Could Be Big Winners With Michigan Online Sports Betting * Musk Wants Tesla Employees To Pinch Pennies For Profitability(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  • 2 Big Dividend Stocks Yielding 10%; Raymond James Says ‘Buy’
    Business
    TipRanks

    2 Big Dividend Stocks Yielding 10%; Raymond James Says ‘Buy’

    Dividend stocks are the Swiss army knives of the stock market.When dividend stocks go up, you make money. When they don’t go up — you still make money (from the dividend). Heck, even when a dividend stock goes down in price, it’s not all bad news, because the dividend yield (the absolute dividend amount, divided by the stock price) gets richer the more the stock falls in price.Knowing all this, wouldn’t you like to find great dividend stocks? Of course you would. Raymond James analysts have chimed in – and they are recommending two high-yield dividend stocks for investors looking to find protection for their portfolio. These are stocks with a specific set of clear attributes: a dividend yield of 10% and Strong Buy ratings.Kimbell Royalty Partners (KRP)We’ll start with Kimbell Royalty Partners, a land investment company operating in some of the US’ major oil and gas producing regions: the Bakken of North Dakota, Pennsylvania’s Appalachian region, the Colorado Rockies, and several formations in Texas. Kimbell owns mineral rights in more than 13 million acres across these regions, and collects royalties from over 95,000 active wells. Over 40,000 of those wells are in the Permian Basin of Texas, the famous oil formation that has, in the past decade, helped turn the US from a net importer of hydrocarbons to a net exporter.The coronavirus crisis hit Kimbell directly in the pocketbook, knocking down share prices and earnings as economic restrictions, social lockdowns, and the economic downturn all struck at production and demand. The situation has only begun to revive, with the Q3 revenues growing 44% sequentially to reach $24.3 million.Kimbell has long been a reliable dividend payer, with a twist. Where most dividend stocks keep their payouts stable, typically making just adjustment in a year, Kimbell has a history of reevaluating its dividend payment every quarter. The result is a dividend that is rarely predictable – but is always affordable for the company. The last declaration, for the third quarter, was 19 cents per common share, or up 46% from the previous quarter. At that rate, the dividend yields ~10%,Covering the stock for Raymond James, analyst John Freeman noted, “Despite a strong quarterly performance and a nearly 50% distribution raise in 3Q, the market continues to under appreciate the unique value proposition of Kimbell's assets, in our view. Kimbell has a best-in-class 13% base decline, exposure to every major basin and commodity, as well as a very manageable leverage profile…”Regarding the possible anti-hydrocarbon stance of a Biden Administration, Freeman sees little reason for worry, saying, “Investors concerned about a potential Biden presidency (which appears increasingly likely) have little to fear in KRP. The company has less than ~2% of acreage on federal lands, meaning a frac ban on those properties would not have a material impact on KRP's business and might actually help them if it improved the overall supply impact."In line with these comments, Freeman rates KRP a Strong Buy, and his $9 price target implies it has room for 25% growth going forward. (To watch Freeman’s track record, click here)Wall Street appears to agree with Freeman, and the analyst consensus view is also a Strong Buy, based on 5 unanimous positive reviews. This stock is priced at $7.21, and its $11 average target is even more bullish than Freemans, suggesting a one-year upside of ~52%. (See KRP stock analysis on TipRanks)NexPoint Real Estate Finance (NREF)NexPoint inhabits the real estate trust niche, investing in mortgage loans on rental units, both single- and multi-family occupancy, along with self-storage units and office spaces. The company operates in the US, across major metropolitan hubs.NexPoint held its IPO in February this year, just before the coronavirus pandemic inspired an economic crisis. The offering saw 5 million shares sell, and brought in some $95 million in capital. Since then, the shares are down 13%. Earnings, however, have posted gains in each full quarter that the company has reported as a public entity, coming in at 37 cents per share in Q2 and 52 cents in Q3. The Q3 number was 30% above the forecast.The dividend here is also solid. NexPoint started out with a 22-cent per share payment in Q1, and raised it in Q2 to its current level of 40 cents per common share. This annualizes to $1.60, making the yield an impressive ~10%.Stephan Laws, 5-star analyst with Raymond James, is impressed with what he sees here. Laws writes of NexPoint, “Recent investments should drive significant core earnings growth, which is reflected in the increased 4Q guidance range of $0.49-0.53 per share (up from $0.46-0.50 per share). The guidance incorporates the full quarter impact of the new 3Q investments as well as new mezz investments made in October. We are increasing our 4Q and 2021 estimates, and we have increased confidence in our forecast for a 1Q21 dividend increase, which we now forecast at $0.45 per share…”Following these sentiments, Laws puts a Strong Buy rating on NREF. His $18 price target suggest the stock has a 9% upside potential for the year ahead. (To watch Laws’ track record, click here)With 2 recent Buy reviews, the analyst consensus on NREF shares is a Moderate Buy. The stock’s $18 average price target matches Laws’, implying 9% growth. (See NREF stock analysis on TipRanks)To find good ideas for dividend stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.