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*What in the world is wrong with Target?*

If you head into a Target store anywhere, you are impressed by the vast, attractive and reasonably priced inventory and, except perhaps at the holidays, the relatively fast checkout process. But investors can't help but ask why is Target's TGT stock such a disaster? And how does the stock get out of the rut? Perhaps on Nov. 15 they will get a signal from the company that it has turned the corner and that the stock really has bottomed. The company is set to issue its third-quarter report before financial markets open. The stock has fallen steadily since late 2021. When the company shocked Wall Street in the summer of 2022 with a big miss on quarterly results, the shares dropped 25% in just one day. As of Nov. 10, it was down 59% from an all-time high of $266.39 in November 2021. It fell 35.6% in 2022 alone and is down 27.3% in 2023 -- even after an 11% gain in the first quarter. Related: The year-end rally looks solid, but a grinch could derail it The stock is up 5.2% since hitting an intraday low of 102.93 on Oct. 6 but is off 2.2% for November. Maybe an analyst will probe the question of a turnaround during the company's Nov. 15 morning earnings call. The short answer will be something like the company's earnings and operations are still a mess but starting to improve. The current earnings estimate is for $1.48 a share for the quarter that ended Oct. 31, down from $1.54 a year ago. Revenue is forecast at $25.3 billion, down 4.6% from a year earlier. In its second-quarter earnings report, Target was projecting earnings of $1.20 to $1.60 a share and annual earnings of $7 to $8 a share for the year. Sales will be slipping "around a wide range in the mid-single digits" for the remainder of the year. The misery of 2022 and 2013 The problems the company has faced have been enormous: The Covid-19 pandemic and the inflation surge that erupted after the pandemic eased. Too much inventory in 2022 and, worse, inventory customers didn't want. More than half the inventory in 2022 was in discretionary goods. Target customers appreciate the big inventory of staples: toothpaste, detergents, basic clothings, school supplies and the like. Then, they want the fancy stuff.Competition from the likes of Walmart WMT, Costco, and Amazon.com AMZN, Dollar Tree.Shrinkage of inventory due to theft, including organized theft. Poor performances of stores in specific sorts of locations. Downtowns have been a particular problem. The company has been closing stores all year, including nine this fall in New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland. In addition to all those issues, it is possible that Target and others got caught in the bullish vibrancy of the pre-pandemic economy and just expanded too quickly. Just as office developers did. So, Target's earnings report and the conference call under CEO Brian Cornell have to show that the problems of the last two years are resolved -- or are about to be.Target is not an outlier Target has not been alone in its struggles in the last 18 months or so. Indeed, many of Target's problems are everyone else's, too. Target and Walmart are both part of the Consumer Staples sector of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. The sector is up 1.5% in November but down 6.5% for the year. The information technology sector, aka tech, is up 10% this month and up 47% for the year. Walmart, which is also a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, released similar second-quarter results to Targets in the summer of 2022. The retailer will announce its third-quarter results on Thursday. Walmart shares fell 2% in 2022 but are up 17% this year. Appliance-and-electronics retailer Best Buy BBY fell 21% in 2022 and are down 20.5% this year.
[Read more...](https://www.thestreet.com/retailers/what-in-the-world-is-wrong-with-target)
What in the world is wrong with Target?

If you head into a Target store anywhere, you are impressed by the vast, attractive and reasonably priced inventory and, except perhaps at the holidays, the relatively fast checkout process. But investors can't help but ask why is Target's TGT stock such a disaster? And how does the stock get out of the rut? Perhaps on Nov. 15 they will get a signal from the company that it has turned the corner and that the stock really has bottomed. The company is set to issue its third-quarter report before financial markets open. The stock has fallen steadily since late 2021. When the company shocked Wall Street in the summer of 2022 with a big miss on quarterly results, the shares dropped 25% in just one day. As of Nov. 10, it was down 59% from an all-time high of $266.39 in November 2021. It fell 35.6% in 2022 alone and is down 27.3% in 2023 -- even after an 11% gain in the first quarter. Related: The year-end rally looks solid, but a grinch could derail it The stock is up 5.2% since hitting an intraday low of 102.93 on Oct. 6 but is off 2.2% for November. Maybe an analyst will probe the question of a turnaround during the company's Nov. 15 morning earnings call. The short answer will be something like the company's earnings and operations are still a mess but starting to improve. The current earnings estimate is for $1.48 a share for the quarter that ended Oct. 31, down from $1.54 a year ago. Revenue is forecast at $25.3 billion, down 4.6% from a year earlier. In its second-quarter earnings report, Target was projecting earnings of $1.20 to $1.60 a share and annual earnings of $7 to $8 a share for the year. Sales will be slipping "around a wide range in the mid-single digits" for the remainder of the year. The misery of 2022 and 2013 The problems the company has faced have been enormous: The Covid-19 pandemic and the inflation surge that erupted after the pandemic eased. Too much inventory in 2022 and, worse, inventory customers didn't want. More than half the inventory in 2022 was in discretionary goods. Target customers appreciate the big inventory of staples: toothpaste, detergents, basic clothings, school supplies and the like. Then, they want the fancy stuff.Competition from the likes of Walmart WMT, Costco, and Amazon.com AMZN, Dollar Tree.Shrinkage of inventory due to theft, including organized theft. Poor performances of stores in specific sorts of locations. Downtowns have been a particular problem. The company has been closing stores all year, including nine this fall in New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland. In addition to all those issues, it is possible that Target and others got caught in the bullish vibrancy of the pre-pandemic economy and just expanded too quickly. Just as office developers did. So, Target's earnings report and the conference call under CEO Brian Cornell have to show that the problems of the last two years are resolved -- or are about to be.Target is not an outlier Target has not been alone in its struggles in the last 18 months or so. Indeed, many of Target's problems are everyone else's, too. Target and Walmart are both part of the Consumer Staples sector of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. The sector is up 1.5% in November but down 6.5% for the year. The information technology sector, aka tech, is up 10% this month and up 47% for the year. Walmart, which is also a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, released similar second-quarter results to Targets in the summer of 2022. The retailer will announce its third-quarter results on Thursday. Walmart shares fell 2% in 2022 but are up 17% this year. Appliance-and-electronics retailer Best Buy BBY fell 21% in 2022 and are down 20.5% this year.
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*I Tried This Martha Stewart’s Soup Recipe and It’s a New Cozy Staple*

It's soup season. READ MORE...
[Read more...](https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/martha-stewart-minestrone-soup-review-37338226?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Category%2FChannel%3A+main)
*A plane with missing windows accidentally took off (here's what happened)*

Before each new flight takes off, the pre-flight inspection involves everything from checking the brakes to going over the oil and fuel pressure. While it also includes the flight crew scanning the plane both inside and out to ensure that nothing appears physically off, windows are rarely the focus of such checks because functioning ones are usually taken for a given.Related: Another flight had turbulence so severe it caused injuries But a recent flight from London to Orlando on charter airline Titan Airways was already in the air when a flight attendant noticed that one of the portholes was missing a seal. The window seal on one of the windows of a jet was flapping in the airflow. Getty Images 'The cabin crew told the passengers to remain seated and keep their seatbelts fastened...' According to a report of the incident from United Kingdom's Air Accidents Investigation Branch, the Airbus EADSF A321neo had just taken off from London's Stansted Airport when some of the passengers started mentioning that the cabin was "noisier and colder than they were used to." More Travel:A new travel term is taking over the internet (and reaching airlines and hotels)The 10 best airline stocks to buy nowAirlines see a new kind of traveler at the front of the plane A flight crew member started inspecting the plane and noticed that the window seal on one of the windows "was flapping in the airflow and the windowpane appeared to have slipped down." When talking to investigators, the flight crew member described the cabin noise as "loud enough to damage your hearing." "Having inspected the window, it was agreed the aircraft should return to Stansted," reads the report. "The cabin crew told the passengers to remain seated and keep their seatbelts fastened, and reminded them about the use of oxygen masks if that became necessary." The plane landed safely and, upon an inspection that took place while the passengers sat in the plane, the technicians discovered that "two cabin windowpanes were missing and a third was dislodged" despite the flight crew initially only noticing one in the air.Lights that may have damaged plane were used to 'give the illusion of a sunrise' Inspectors' initial suspicion was that the windows were damaged by the high-powered food lights that were used when the plane was being filmed for a movie a day before. The lights were, according to the report, used to "give the illusion of a sunrise." "Whereas in this case the flight [...] was concluded uneventfully, a different level of damage by the same means might have resulted in more serious consequences, especially if window integrity was lost at higher differential pressure," the report concludes. The AAIB also said that it will be conducting more investigations to see what kinds of inspections happen after a plane is used for filming and how a similar slip-up can be prevented from occurring again. Titan Airways has not been responding to media requests for comment on the situation. Commercial aircraft are frequently used in a variety of films. Planes that are out of commission are often loaned or purchased by Hollywood studios for filming purposes but, occasionally, a smaller charter company will allow a plane to be leased for filming purposes during off hours as a separate income stream. In 2017, Singapore Airlines SINGF famously refused to allow the first-class cabin of one of its planes to be used for the filming of the movie "Crazy Rich Asians."
[Read more...](https://www.thestreet.com/travel/plane-with-missing-window-panes-took-off)
A plane with missing windows accidentally took off (here's what happened)

Before each new flight takes off, the pre-flight inspection involves everything from checking the brakes to going over the oil and fuel pressure. While it also includes the flight crew scanning the plane both inside and out to ensure that nothing appears physically off, windows are rarely the focus of such checks because functioning ones are usually taken for a given.Related: Another flight had turbulence so severe it caused injuries But a recent flight from London to Orlando on charter airline Titan Airways was already in the air when a flight attendant noticed that one of the portholes was missing a seal. The window seal on one of the windows of a jet was flapping in the airflow. Getty Images 'The cabin crew told the passengers to remain seated and keep their seatbelts fastened...' According to a report of the incident from United Kingdom's Air Accidents Investigation Branch, the Airbus EADSF A321neo had just taken off from London's Stansted Airport when some of the passengers started mentioning that the cabin was "noisier and colder than they were used to." More Travel:A new travel term is taking over the internet (and reaching airlines and hotels)The 10 best airline stocks to buy nowAirlines see a new kind of traveler at the front of the plane A flight crew member started inspecting the plane and noticed that the window seal on one of the windows "was flapping in the airflow and the windowpane appeared to have slipped down." When talking to investigators, the flight crew member described the cabin noise as "loud enough to damage your hearing." "Having inspected the window, it was agreed the aircraft should return to Stansted," reads the report. "The cabin crew told the passengers to remain seated and keep their seatbelts fastened, and reminded them about the use of oxygen masks if that became necessary." The plane landed safely and, upon an inspection that took place while the passengers sat in the plane, the technicians discovered that "two cabin windowpanes were missing and a third was dislodged" despite the flight crew initially only noticing one in the air.Lights that may have damaged plane were used to 'give the illusion of a sunrise' Inspectors' initial suspicion was that the windows were damaged by the high-powered food lights that were used when the plane was being filmed for a movie a day before. The lights were, according to the report, used to "give the illusion of a sunrise." "Whereas in this case the flight ... was concluded uneventfully, a different level of damage by the same means might have resulted in more serious consequences, especially if window integrity was lost at higher differential pressure," the report concludes. The AAIB also said that it will be conducting more investigations to see what kinds of inspections happen after a plane is used for filming and how a similar slip-up can be prevented from occurring again. Titan Airways has not been responding to media requests for comment on the situation. Commercial aircraft are frequently used in a variety of films. Planes that are out of commission are often loaned or purchased by Hollywood studios for filming purposes but, occasionally, a smaller charter company will allow a plane to be leased for filming purposes during off hours as a separate income stream. In 2017, Singapore Airlines SINGF famously refused to allow the first-class cabin of one of its planes to be used for the filming of the movie "Crazy Rich Asians."
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*If history repeats itself, what history is repeating right now?*

Society goes through these cycles that rhyme with each other, just wondering what our time today is similar to in the past submitted by /u/PunishedVariant to r/ask [link] [comments]
[Read more...](https://www.reddit.com/r/ask/comments/17u2eln/if_history_repeats_itself_what_history_is/)
If history repeats itself, what history is repeating right now?

Society goes through these cycles that rhyme with each other, just wondering what our time today is similar to in the past submitted by /u/PunishedVariant to r/ask link comments
Read more...
*Top Coca-Cola and Pepsi rival adds a bizarre new soda*

Soda companies pull a lot of stunts to get your attention. Coca-Cola has been inventing new flavors working with celebrities. That's not about creating the best soda possible, it's about getting fans of that artist to be more aware of the brand and buy some sodas they may never actually open. Nobody β€” even the electronic dance musician's β€” biggest fans really wanted Marshmello to create his take on Coke Zero Sugar. But, he has, and it's a well-done publicity stunt. It's not all that different from McDonald's offering Celebrity Meals so fans can order just like BTS or Cardie B.Related: Another fast-food operator files Chapter 11 bankruptcy Coca-Cola KO is, of course, not alone in pulling these kind of publicity stunts. Rival PepsiCo PEP also works its own stunts like partnering yearly with Little Caesars to bring back its Pineapple Pepsi and sometimes bringing back failed 80s products like Crystel Pepsi. There's a fine line, however, between novelty and good idea. Coke, for example, tried new flavors of Diet Coke, new energy drinks, and a line of coffee-based sodas. None of those actually worked, but the intent was for each one to be a serious attempt at extending the brand. Now, a rival of both Coke and Pepsi, Keurig Dr Pepper KDP, has a new soda flavor that's unlike anything offered by its two rivals. It's a bit of a publicity stunt, but it's also a subtle attempt to see if customers would like a soda with a different-than-usual flavor profile. Keurig Dr Pepper operates a number of well-known brands. Image source: Keurig Dr Pepper Keurig Dr Pepper tries a slightly spicy soda While Coke and Pepsi have worked to offer less sweet takes on their famous brands, neither company has used spicy as a way to counteract sweet. That's exactly what Keurig Dr Pepper is doing with its latest beverage. Popular Instagram personality Snackolator was able to try to limited-edition Dr. Pepper Hot Take, and they actually liked it. "This flavor takes everything that's great about @drpepper and kicks it up with spicy peppers to give it an extra punch. I was very lucky that Dr. Pepper sent me a sample and I have to say I love this β€” it has enough heat that you notice it but not too much that it hurts to drink it," they wrote. The social media influencer actually believes the drink, which is part of a special promotion, should be available year-round. "If you want a chance to grab a can, head over to drpepper.com and you can win this through their Pepper Perks program via an online scratch off ticket or by purchasing it with Pepper Perks points," they added. Dr. Pepper has been a growth product While Dr. Pepper may not have the cache of Coke or Pepsi, it has been a platform for the company that carries its name. Keurig Dr Pepper has steadily introduced variants of the popular soda to strong success. "In U.S. Refreshment Beverages, 82% of our business outpaced category growth in the quarter," said CEO Robert Gamgort. "Dr Pepper built on the momentum of Strawberries and Cream earlier in the year, with a successful sixth season of the iconic Fansville marketing campaign." The CEO made it clear that innovation would continue across the company's portfolio. "Our robust 2024 innovation pipeline has been well received by the trade and spans product, format, and packaging news. It captures a combination of value and premium price points as well as low and no calorie and indulgent beverages. We also continue to price nimbly across the entirety of our portfolio, including by leveraging our strong mix management capabilities," he added.
[Read more...](https://www.thestreet.com/restaurants/top-coca-cola-and-pepsi-rival-adds-a-bizarre-new-soda)
Top Coca-Cola and Pepsi rival adds a bizarre new soda

Soda companies pull a lot of stunts to get your attention. Coca-Cola has been inventing new flavors working with celebrities. That's not about creating the best soda possible, it's about getting fans of that artist to be more aware of the brand and buy some sodas they may never actually open. Nobody β€” even the electronic dance musician's β€” biggest fans really wanted Marshmello to create his take on Coke Zero Sugar. But, he has, and it's a well-done publicity stunt. It's not all that different from McDonald's offering Celebrity Meals so fans can order just like BTS or Cardie B.Related: Another fast-food operator files Chapter 11 bankruptcy Coca-Cola KO is, of course, not alone in pulling these kind of publicity stunts. Rival PepsiCo PEP also works its own stunts like partnering yearly with Little Caesars to bring back its Pineapple Pepsi and sometimes bringing back failed 80s products like Crystel Pepsi. There's a fine line, however, between novelty and good idea. Coke, for example, tried new flavors of Diet Coke, new energy drinks, and a line of coffee-based sodas. None of those actually worked, but the intent was for each one to be a serious attempt at extending the brand. Now, a rival of both Coke and Pepsi, Keurig Dr Pepper KDP, has a new soda flavor that's unlike anything offered by its two rivals. It's a bit of a publicity stunt, but it's also a subtle attempt to see if customers would like a soda with a different-than-usual flavor profile. Keurig Dr Pepper operates a number of well-known brands. Image source: Keurig Dr Pepper Keurig Dr Pepper tries a slightly spicy soda While Coke and Pepsi have worked to offer less sweet takes on their famous brands, neither company has used spicy as a way to counteract sweet. That's exactly what Keurig Dr Pepper is doing with its latest beverage. Popular Instagram personality Snackolator was able to try to limited-edition Dr. Pepper Hot Take, and they actually liked it. "This flavor takes everything that's great about @drpepper and kicks it up with spicy peppers to give it an extra punch. I was very lucky that Dr. Pepper sent me a sample and I have to say I love this β€” it has enough heat that you notice it but not too much that it hurts to drink it," they wrote. The social media influencer actually believes the drink, which is part of a special promotion, should be available year-round. "If you want a chance to grab a can, head over to drpepper.com and you can win this through their Pepper Perks program via an online scratch off ticket or by purchasing it with Pepper Perks points," they added. Dr. Pepper has been a growth product While Dr. Pepper may not have the cache of Coke or Pepsi, it has been a platform for the company that carries its name. Keurig Dr Pepper has steadily introduced variants of the popular soda to strong success. "In U.S. Refreshment Beverages, 82% of our business outpaced category growth in the quarter," said CEO Robert Gamgort. "Dr Pepper built on the momentum of Strawberries and Cream earlier in the year, with a successful sixth season of the iconic Fansville marketing campaign." The CEO made it clear that innovation would continue across the company's portfolio. "Our robust 2024 innovation pipeline has been well received by the trade and spans product, format, and packaging news. It captures a combination of value and premium price points as well as low and no calorie and indulgent beverages. We also continue to price nimbly across the entirety of our portfolio, including by leveraging our strong mix management capabilities," he added.
Read more...
*Morningstar's 8 undervalued stocks that are raising dividends*

When a company increases its dividend, that obviously means a higher payout for investors. It also often indicates financial strength for the company, as presumably it is earning more cash to pay for the dividend increase. With that in mind, Morningstar has put together a list of eight stocks that recently increased their dividends and are undervalued according to Morningstar fair value estimates β€œSince the stock market’s gains this year have been powered by just a handful of big-name technology stocks, many dividend-paying stocks have lagged,” wrote Tom Lauricella, chief markets editor for Morningstar. . β€œBut that poor performance is opening opportunities for long-term investors to find undervalued dividend payers, including those that have been raising their payouts.” For this list, Morningstar chose companies that have raised their dividend recently, as that can be a sign of a company’s confidence in its future finances, Lauricella said. Morningstar screened for stocks that increased their dividend at least 5% between July 1 and Oct. 31. It dumped any stock with a dividend yield under 2%. Among the remainder, Morningstar selected stocks that its analysts see as substantially undervalued. That created the elite eight. Here it is, starting with the company that lifted its dividend the most.Radio, Food, Motor Homes 1. Sirius XM Holdings SIRI Morningstar moat (durable competitive advantage) rating: narrow. Morningstar fair value estimate: $7. Friday’s closing price: $4.63. Recent dividend increase: 9.9%. Forward dividend yield: 2.3%. 2. McDonald’s MCD Morningstar moat rating: wide. Morningstar fair value estimate: $290. Friday’s closing price: $267.79. Recent dividend increase: 9.9%. Forward dividend yield: 2.49%. 3. Microchip Technology MCHP, a supplier of semiconductors that act as the brains in electronic devices Morningstar moat rating: wide. Morningstar fair value estimate: $90. Friday’s closing price: $77.56. Recent dividend increase: 7.1%. Forward dividend yield: 1.91% (the list came out on Nov. 9, and Microchip stock soared that day, pushing its yield below 2%). 4. Thor Industries THO, a motor home maker Morningstar moat: none. Morningstar fair value estimate: $139. Friday’s closing price: $91.32. Recent dividend increase: 6.7%. Forward dividend yield: 2.1%.Utilities and More Utilities 5. American Electric Power AEP, a utility Morningstar moat rating: narrow. Morningstar fair value estimate: $97. Friday’s closing price: $77.70. Recent dividend increase: 6%. Forward dividend yield: 4.53%. 6. Entergy ETR, a utility Morningstar moat rating: narrow. Morningstar fair value estimate: $120. Friday’s closing price: $96.61. Recent dividend increase: 5.6%. Forward dividend yield: 4.68%. 7. CenterPoint Energy CNP, a utility Morningstar moat rating: narrow. Morningstar fair value estimate: $30. Friday’s closing price: $27.12. Recent dividend increase: 5.3%. Forward dividend yield: 2.95%. 8. FirstEnergy FE, a utility Morningstar moat rating: narrow. Morningstar fair value estimate: $40. Friday’s closing price: $35.30. Recent dividend increase 5.1%. Forward dividend yield: 4.65% The author owns shares of McDonald’s and FirstEnergy.
[Read more...](https://www.thestreet.com/stocks/undervalued-stocks-raising-dividends-morningstar)