Explainer: Companies consider force majeure as coronavirus spreads - Reuters

(Reuters) - As the coronavirus outbreak in China shows no signs of abating any time soon, some companies that buy and sell goods in the Chinese market are considering the legal defense of force majeure.

FILE PHOTO: Pedestrians wearing masks stand under a surveillance camera as they wait to cross a road after the extended Lunar New Year holiday caused by the novel coronavirus outbreak, in Beijing's central business district, China February 10, 2020. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

The death toll in China from the epidemic continues to climb and now stands above 1,000, more than the SARS epidemic two decades ago, with more than 42,000 confirmed cases in China and 319 cases in 24 other countries.

WHAT IS FORCE MAJEURE?

Force majeure refers to unexpected external circumstances that prevent a party to a contract from meeting their obligations.

The underlying event must be unforeseeable and not the result of actions undertaken by the party invoking force majeure. Natural disasters, strikes, and terrorist attacks can all be force majeure events.

Declaring force majeure may allow a party to a contract to avoid liability for nonperformance.

IS THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK A FORCE MAJEURE EVENT?

Legal experts said that the coronavirus likely qualifies, but any company invoking force majeure would need to show that it is effectively impossible to perform their contractual duties as a result of the outbreak.

In other words, a company is not excused from an obligation just because it has become more costly or time-consuming, said John Scannapieco, a Nashville, Tennessee-based lawyer who advises U.S. companies on Chinese transactions.

The coronavirus is “not carte blanche to say force majeure,” said Scannapieco, a shareholder at law firm Baker Donelson. “You have look at the facts and circumstances.”

HOW IS FORCE MAJEURE INVOKED?

Cross-border deals typically include clauses that allow for non-performance during force majeure events, said Vanessa Miller, a U.S. lawyer at Foley & Lardner. These clauses are sometimes “cut and paste” and “not reviewed as carefully as they ought to be,” Miller said.

Force majeure clauses rarely mention diseases, but more frequently provide relief in the event of unforeseen “acts of government,” Miller said. Chinese authorities have ordered lockdowns and closed factories in the wake of the coronavirus, so the “act of government” language could allow some firms to invoke force majeure, she said.

WHO DECIDES WHAT HAPPENS NEXT IF FORCE MAJEURE IS DECLARED?

Cross-border deals often stipulate that disputes arising out of the contract will be decided by a particular court or arbitration body.

In practice, foreign firms doing business in China may be better off avoiding litigation and negotiating a compromise, Scannapieco said.

HAVE ANY COMPANIES INVOKED FORCE MAJEURE OVER CORONAVIRUS?

China’s biggest importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), has invoked force majeure to suspend contracts with at least three suppliers, two sources told Reuters on Feb. 6, without specifying whether the coronavirus is what triggered the action.

French oil major Total (TOTF.PA) said a day later it had rejected a force majeure notice from an unnamed Chinese LNG buyer, the first global energy supplier to push back publicly against such an effort.

Also last week, two sources said a copper smelter in southwest China had also declared force majeure on deliveries of copper concentrate.

On Jan. 31, a Chinese international trade promotion agency said it would offer force majeure certificates to companies struggling to cope with the impact of the coronavirus on their business with overseas partners. It didn’t identify any companies affected, and didn’t disclose whether it had received any requests.

Legal experts said although these certificates carry significant weight, they do not rule out further negotiation or even litigation.

Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Sonya Hepinstall

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Buy Lyft Stock Because the Company Could Be an Acquisition Target, Analyst Says - Barron's

Wall Street analyst consensus calls for Lyft to post revenue of $984.2 million, with a loss of $1.36 a share. Photograph by Gabby Jones/Bloomberg

Lyft shares rose sharply Monday, one day ahead of the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report, after Northcoast Research analyst John Healy raised his rating on the ride-sharing company’s stock to Buy from Neutral, setting a price target of $60.

Among other things, he thinks Lyft (ticker: LYFT) could be a potential acquisition target.

Healy writes in a research note that his upgrade reflects three primary factors. One, he notes that Uber’s stronger-than-expected results for the quarter “provides us more confidence that competitive dynamics and unit economics of the ride business are sound.” Two, he says survey work suggests “[market] share momentum” at Lyft. And three, he thinks Lyft could be an acquisition target for autonomous-vehicle developers.

Healy notes that Uber both beat estimates for the quarter ended in December and pulled in the timeline for reaching profitability. He also says that checks on ride-hailing conditions “suggest a backdrop that was healthy at the margin with no meaningful slowdown.” And he asserts that “from our perspective, demand was more firm at Lyft compared to Uber.”

As for the potential that Lyft could be acquired, he is skeptical that consumers are going to get the chance to buy autonomous cars any time soon, given “uncertainties regarding insurance, compliance, and security.” Ergo, he thinks the first forms of autonomous technology “will be monetized in more of a network or public transportation model.” And he concludes that “a pure play network such as Lyft could be increasingly attractive from an M&A standpoint to the future winners of the autonomous race.”

Healy notes that the stock is off to a good start in 2020, rallying more than 20% year to date. But he sees more upside.

“While the company has highlighted that 2019 would mark the peak investment year along with a profitability goal by the end of 2021, we believe progress and execution towards these goals will make the shares work higher,” he writes. “Additionally, we see current valuation as attractive given the growth rate of the business and execution on this path to profitability.”

Wall Street analyst consensus calls for Lyft to post revenue of $984.2 million, with a loss of $1.36 a share, for the quarter ended in December. For the current quarter ending in March, consensus is $1.05 billion in revenue and a loss of $1.25 a share.

Lyft shares jumped 7.6% on Monday, to $53.72. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%.

Write to Eric J. Savitz at eric.savitz@barrons.com

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Why Outotec Oyj (HEL:OTE1V) Looks Like A Quality Company - Yahoo Finance

Many investors are still learning about the various metrics that can be useful when analysing a stock. This article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE). We'll use ROE to examine Outotec Oyj (HEL:OTE1V), by way of a worked example.

Our data shows Outotec Oyj has a return on equity of 19% for the last year. That means that for every €1 worth of shareholders' equity, it generated €0.19 in profit.

See our latest analysis for Outotec Oyj

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for return on equity is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

Or for Outotec Oyj:

19% = €73m ÷ €379m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2019.)

Most know that net profit is the total earnings after all expenses, but the concept of shareholders' equity is a little more complicated. It is all earnings retained by the company, plus any capital paid in by shareholders. The easiest way to calculate shareholders' equity is to subtract the company's total liabilities from the total assets.

What Does Return On Equity Mean?

Return on Equity measures a company's profitability against the profit it has kept for the business (plus any capital injections). The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. That means that the higher the ROE, the more profitable the company is. So, as a general rule, a high ROE is a good thing. That means it can be interesting to compare the ROE of different companies.

Does Outotec Oyj Have A Good ROE?

Arguably the easiest way to assess company's ROE is to compare it with the average in its industry. Importantly, this is far from a perfect measure, because companies differ significantly within the same industry classification. As you can see in the graphic below, Outotec Oyj has a higher ROE than the average (9.5%) in the Machinery industry.

HLSE:OTE1V Past Revenue and Net Income, February 11th 2020

That is a good sign. In my book, a high ROE almost always warrants a closer look. For example, I often check if insiders have been buying shares.

How Does Debt Impact Return On Equity?

Virtually all companies need money to invest in the business, to grow profits. That cash can come from retained earnings, issuing new shares (equity), or debt. In the case of the first and second options, the ROE will reflect this use of cash, for growth. In the latter case, the debt used for growth will improve returns, but won't affect the total equity. That will make the ROE look better than if no debt was used.

Combining Outotec Oyj's Debt And Its 19% Return On Equity

While Outotec Oyj does have some debt, with debt to equity of just 0.60, we wouldn't say debt is excessive. Its very respectable ROE, combined with only modest debt, suggests the business is in good shape. Judicious use of debt to improve returns can certainly be a good thing, although it does elevate risk slightly and reduce future optionality.

In Summary

Return on equity is one way we can compare the business quality of different companies. In my book the highest quality companies have high return on equity, despite low debt. If two companies have the same ROE, then I would generally prefer the one with less debt.

Having said that, while ROE is a useful indicator of business quality, you'll have to look at a whole range of factors to determine the right price to buy a stock. It is important to consider other factors, such as future profit growth -- and how much investment is required going forward. So you might want to take a peek at this data-rich interactive graph of forecasts for the company.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss thisfree list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.

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Energy regulators gave $500K contract to company that should have been ineligible - Bangor Daily News

Callaway Golf stock falls 10% after company posts wider quarterly loss - MarketWatch

Shares of Callaway Golf Co. ELY, +1.98% fell more than 10% in the extended session Monday after the maker of golf clubs and other equipment reported wider-than-expected GAAP and adjusted quarterly losses. Callaway said it lost $29.2 million, or 31 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $28.5 million, or 30 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, Callaway lost 26 cents a share in the quarter, compared with a loss of 32 cents a share a year ago. Sales rose to $312 million, from $181 million a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected a GAAP and adjusted loss of 24 cents a share on sales of $305 million. The company said the ongoing coronavirus outbreak will impact its business in terms of sales in Asia and on supplies. For the full-year 2020, Callaway guided for sales between $1.75 billion and $1.78 billion, and per-share earnings between 82 cents and 94 cents. The analysts surveyed by FactSet expect EPS of 88 cents on sales of $1.695 billion for the year. The guidance "reflects our best estimate of the impact of this outbreak on our business. It is very difficult, however, to provide an estimate with any degree of certainty given the dynamic nature of this crisis," the company said in a statement. Shares of Callaway ended the regular trading day up 2%.

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'American Factory,' Obama production company's first project, wins Oscar - NBCNews.com

"American Factory," the first title from Barack and Michelle Obama's production company, Higher Ground, won the Academy Award for best documentary feature Sunday — solidifying the Obamas’ status as budding media moguls.

The film, which premiered on Netflix in August, tells the story of a Chinese billionaire who opens a glass factory in a former General Motors plant in Dayton, Ohio, and examines the relationship between workers and employers in the 21st century globalized economy.

“Congrats to Julia and Steven, the filmmakers behind ‘American Factory,’ for telling such a complex, moving story about the very human consequences of wrenching economic change,” the former president tweeted Sunday. “Glad to see two talented and downright good people take home the Oscar for Higher Ground’s first release.”

Obama has developed a yearslong tradition of listing his favorite books, movies and music, and since leaving the White House, he and his wife have become even more prominent in the publishing and entertainment worlds. Michelle Obama’s memoir “Becoming” was the bestselling book of 2018, selling nearly 3.5 million copies, and last year, Higher Ground Productions landed both Netflix and Spotify deals.

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Why RHI Magnesita N.V. (LON:RHIM) Looks Like A Quality Company - Yahoo Finance

Many investors are still learning about the various metrics that can be useful when analysing a stock. This article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE). To keep the lesson grounded in practicality, we'll use ROE to better understand RHI Magnesita N.V. (LON:RHIM).

RHI Magnesita has a ROE of 28%, based on the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this, is that for each £1 of shareholders' equity it has, the company made £0.28 in profit.

See our latest analysis for RHI Magnesita

How Do You Calculate ROE?

The formula for return on equity is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

Or for RHI Magnesita:

28% = €243m ÷ €870m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2019.)

It's easy to understand the 'net profit' part of that equation, but 'shareholders' equity' requires further explanation. It is the capital paid in by shareholders, plus any retained earnings. You can calculate shareholders' equity by subtracting the company's total liabilities from its total assets.

What Does ROE Signify?

ROE looks at the amount a company earns relative to the money it has kept within the business. The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that the higher the ROE, the more profitable the company is. So, as a general rule, a high ROE is a good thing. That means ROE can be used to compare two businesses.

Does RHI Magnesita Have A Good Return On Equity?

Arguably the easiest way to assess company's ROE is to compare it with the average in its industry. The limitation of this approach is that some companies are quite different from others, even within the same industry classification. Pleasingly, RHI Magnesita has a superior ROE than the average (15%) company in the Basic Materials industry.

LSE:RHIM Past Revenue and Net Income, February 10th 2020

That's what I like to see. In my book, a high ROE almost always warrants a closer look. For example you might check if insiders are buying shares.

The Importance Of Debt To Return On Equity

Companies usually need to invest money to grow their profits. The cash for investment can come from prior year profits (retained earnings), issuing new shares, or borrowing. In the first and second cases, the ROE will reflect this use of cash for investment in the business. In the latter case, the debt used for growth will improve returns, but won't affect the total equity. In this manner the use of debt will boost ROE, even though the core economics of the business stay the same.

Combining RHI Magnesita's Debt And Its 28% Return On Equity

RHI Magnesita clearly uses a significant amount of debt to boost returns, as it has a debt to equity ratio of 1.31. I think the ROE is impressive, but it would have been assisted by the use of debt. Investors should think carefully about how a company might perform if it was unable to borrow so easily, because credit markets do change over time.

But It's Just One Metric

Return on equity is useful for comparing the quality of different businesses. Companies that can achieve high returns on equity without too much debt are generally of good quality. All else being equal, a higher ROE is better.

Having said that, while ROE is a useful indicator of business quality, you'll have to look at a whole range of factors to determine the right price to buy a stock. It is important to consider other factors, such as future profit growth -- and how much investment is required going forward. So you might want to check this FREE visualization of analyst forecasts for the company.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss thisfree list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.

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Facebook Buys 'Visual Positioning Service' Company - pymnts.com

Facebook has acquired London-based startup Scape Technologies, which is working on location-based technology that will expand GPS abilities, according to reports.

Regulatory filings show that Facebook now has control over more than three-quarters of the company. Though details on the specifics of the deal were unavailable, the deal could be for around $40 million based on other filings.

Two of Scape’s previous venture capital representatives have now been replaced by Facebook executives on the company’s board, according to documents.

Two of the company’s backers, Entrepreneur First and Fly Ventures, had exits to Facebook as well when the social media giant acquired Bloomsbury AI.

Scape was founded in 2017 and has been working on developing a “Visual Positioning Service” that will build on computer vision and offer developers capabilities far beyond the scope of normal GPS.

Initially it was only intended for augmented reality technology, but the implications of Scape’s work could also affect things like mobility, logistics and robotics in other areas, too. The company’s broad goal is to help machines that use cameras understand their surroundings.

Scape CEO and co-founder Edward Miller said the company’s intent was to create a “mapping pipeline” that could take real images and videos and turn them into 3D imaging. With that, cameras can access the tech and provide even more accurate location-mapping services than current GPS technology is able to do.

Facebook’s acquisition of Scape fits in with the social media site’s interest in next-generation tech such as AI and virtual reality.

The move is indicative of a trend that worries some analysts as U.S. tech firms continue to absorb U.K. companies in a way some could call anti-competitive. Since the U.K. recently left the European Union, their Competition and Markets Authority will take a more critical look at some such cases.

And in addition, Facebook’s costs have risen to $46 billion as of the last year. That number consists of marketing and sales spending.

——————————–

Featured PYMNTS Report: 

Individual gig workers can spend days — or even weeks — each year tracking down late payments for work sourced through online marketplaces. That’s why providing faster payouts is not just a perk, but a necessity for gig platforms to thrive. In the January 2020 Gig Economy Tracker, Yunyi Fu, head of product for travel platform kimkim, tells PYMNTS how the company wins the loyalty of its freelance travel experts in 70 countries via faster payments.

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Is Towngas China Company Limited's (HKG:1083) CEO Pay Justified? - Yahoo Finance

Peter Wong has been the CEO of Towngas China Company Limited (HKG:1083) since 2007. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.

Check out our latest analysis for Towngas China

How Does Peter Wong's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

Our data indicates that Towngas China Company Limited is worth HK$15b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as HK$6.3m for the year to December 2018. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at HK$1.2m. Importantly, there may be performance hurdles relating to the non-salary component of the total compensation. We examined companies with market caps from HK$7.8b to HK$25b, and discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was HK$4.4m.

Thus we can conclude that Peter Wong receives more in total compensation than the median of a group of companies in the same market, and of similar size to Towngas China Company Limited. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the pay is too high. We can get a better idea of how generous the pay is by looking at the performance of the underlying business.

You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Towngas China has changed over time.

SEHK:1083 CEO Compensation, February 10th 2020

Is Towngas China Company Limited Growing?

Over the last three years Towngas China Company Limited has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 15% per year (using a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 23% over last year.

This shows that the company has improved itself over the last few years. Good news for shareholders. This sort of respectable year-on-year revenue growth is often seen at a healthy, growing business. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has Towngas China Company Limited Been A Good Investment?

Towngas China Company Limited has served shareholders reasonably well, with a total return of 27% over three years. But they would probably prefer not to see CEO compensation far in excess of the median.

In Summary...

We examined the amount Towngas China Company Limited pays its CEO, and compared it to the amount paid by similar sized companies. As discussed above, we discovered that the company pays more than the median of that group.

However, the earnings per share growth over three years is certainly impressive. We also think investors are doing ok, over the same time period. So, considering the EPS growth we do not wish to criticize the level of CEO compensation, though we'd recommend further research on management. CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling Towngas China (free visualization of insider trades).

If you want to buy a stock that is better than Towngas China, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.

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Nasdaq acquires local software company - Brattleboro Reformer

By Bob Audette, Brattleboro Reformer

BRATTLEBORO — A local company that was founded after investors started asking for more transparency from businesses has been sold to Nasdaq, Inc., a multinational financial services corporation that owns and operates the Nasdaq stock market and eight European Stock Exchanges.

In the early 2000s, a new breed of investors was asking questions that companies were struggling to answer. These investors wanted to know about the impact businesses have on the environment and what their social polices were before they invested their money. These investors became known as socially responsible investors and their questions and demands taxed the resources of companies both big and small.

Seeing a need for a tool to help companies respond to these questions, local businessman Jay Falk launched OneReport in 2003, which now operates out of a small office on High Street in Brattleboro.

On Feb. 3, Nasdaq, Inc. announced it had acquired OneReport to "accelerate the delivery of Nasdaq's recently announced ESG [environmental, social and governance] reporting and workflow solution, to be named Nasdaq OneReport ... [which] is now available to companies as part of the suite of solutions offered by Nasdaq's Corporate Services business."

"This is very exciting," said Janice Warren, who came on board at OneReport in 2006 as sales and marketing director. In 2012, Warren became the president of OneReport after it split off from SRI World Group, which was started in 1998 by Falk, who lives in Williamsville.

Falk launched OneReport to help corporations publish progress reports on how they've been integrating the principles of the U.N. Global Compact into day-to-day business operations and practices. OneReport was targeted to companies that had been for years releasing their financial information for investors to review but found themselves struggling to provide non-financial information about their environmental, social and governance models.

"OneReport launched to satisfy the need of companies having to navigate this web of rating and reporting frameworks," said Warren. "It reflected the growing interest among investors that environmental, social and governance issues matter to a company's performance."

Thousands of companies now use the software program that was developed in Brattleboro when SRI World Group was located in the Cotton Mill. That software has continued to be refined over the years by OneReport's lead software engineer, Jeff Fournier, and his team in the office on High Street.

"Nasdaq OneReport will broaden our strategic engagement and collaboration with issuers who are seeking clarity on ESG reporting," stated Nelson Griggs, president of the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, in a press release announcing the acquisition. "We are strongly positioned to solve these challenges given the thousands of clients globally who rely on Nasdaq for counsel on a range of investor relations, governance, and sustainability-related issues."

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ESG data has increasingly become an important resource for investors seeking performance indicators, but also for public companies trying to increase operational efficiency, decrease resource dependency, and attract new customers and employees, states the press release.

"We provide support to mostly public companies that are navigating the world of environmental, social and governance reporting and responding to third parties asking those questions," said Warren, who spent 20 years working in Brattleboro at Boise Cascade, which later became Specialty Paperboard and finally FiberMark, before he became the marketing and communications manager for OneReport.

Warren said OneReport's software supports companies with reporting tools that help the companies collect the information needed to fill in the blanks on surveys conducted by the Global Reporting Initiative, the Carbon Disclosure Project, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Morgan Stanley Capital International, Sustainalytics, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc., and Ethisphere.

These organizations were asking multiple questions, and many of them were asking the same questions, including the ratio of CEO compensation to that of the median employee and the percentage of a company's board that is women or how ethnically diverse the board, or even the workforce, is. Investors also wanted to know what policies a company has to address social, human rights and environmental issues.

OneReport allows these companies to consolidate their information so they can provide reports that are responsive to investors and the multiple reporting agencies.

"The companies are doing it themselves using our platform, which supports their own work," said Warren. "OneReport allows them to answer investor questions and share metrics."

OneReport employs about 10 people, most of them right here in Brattleboro. Warren said while it's too early to say what the future might hold for OneReport, "We are certainly expecting to grow the business with the connections that Nasdaq has with public companies."

Falk started SRI World Group in 1999, a leading provider of online social investment and corporate social responsibility information services, and launched OneReport under its umbrella. SRI is also the parent company of CSRwire, a global newswire service for corporate responsibility press releases.

Bob Audette can be contacted at 802-254-2311, ext. 151, or raudette@reformer.com.

If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us. We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.

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52-Week Company Lows - Yahoo Finance

According to GuruFocus, these stocks have reached their 52-week lows.

Exxon Mobil

The price of Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) shares declined to close to the 52-week low of $61.47, which is 28.3% off the 52-week high of $83.49. The company has a market cap of $260.26 billion.

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• XOM 30-Year Financial Data
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Its shares traded with a price-earnings ratio of 18.31 and a price-sales ratio of 1.01 as of Feb. 7. The trailing 12-month dividend yield is 5.58%. The forward dividend yield is 5.66%. GuruFocus rated Exxon Mobil's business predictability at three out of five stars.

ExxonMobil is an integrated oil and gas company that explores for, produces and refines oil around the world. The company is the world's largest refiner and one of the world's largest manufacturers of commodity and specialty chemicals.

Net income for the fourth quarter of 2019 was $5.69 billion, compared to $6 billion for the prior-year quarter.

Chevron

The price of Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX) shares declined to close to the 52-week low of $108.94, which is 17.2% off the 52-week high of $127.34. The company has a market cap of $205.99 billion.

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Its shares traded with a price-earnings ratio of 70.74 and a price-sales ratio of 1.47 as of Feb. 7. The trailing 12-month dividend yield is 4.37%. The forward dividend yield is 4.74%. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 0.70% over the past five years.

Chevron is an integrated energy company with exploration, production and refining operations worldwide. With production of 2.6 million of barrels of oil equivalent a day (66% oil), it is the second-largest oil company in the U.S.

Fourth-quarter 2019 net loss was $6.67 billion compared to net income of $3.72 billion for the comparable period of 2018.

Enterprise Products Partners

The price of Enterprise Products Partners LP (NYSE:EPD) shares declined to close to the 52-week low of $25.56, which is 18.9% off the 52-week high of $30.87. The company has a market cap of $55.96 billion.

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Its shares traded with a price-earnings ratio of 12.26 and a price-sales ratio of 1.65 as of Feb. 7. The trailing 12-month dividend yield is 6.91%. The forward dividend yield is 6.96%. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 2.90% over the past five years. The price of the stock has increased by 0.35% since then.

Enterprise Product Partners is a master limited partnership that transports and processes natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals. It is one of the largest midstream companies, with operations servicing most producing regions in the lower 48 states in the U.S.

Fourth-quarter 2019 net income was $1.12 billion, compared to $1.30 billion for the fourth quarter of 2018.

Director and 10% owner Randa Duncan Williams bought 200,000 shares on Feb. 3 at a price of $25.62; 50,000 shares on Feb. 4 at a price of $26.15; 50,000 shares on Feb. 5 at a price of $26.4; 50,000 shares on Feb. 6 at a price of $26.05; and 50,000 shares on Feb. 7 at a price of $25.56. The price of the stock has not changed since then.

General Motors

The price of General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) shares declined to close to the 52-week low of $33.63, which is 21.3% off the 52-week high of $41.90. The company has a market cap of $48.06 billion.

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Its shares traded with a price-earnings ratio of 7.36 and a price-sales ratio of 0.35 as of Feb. 7. The trailing 12-month dividend yield is 4.52%. The forward dividend yield is 4.52%. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 17.10% over the past five years.

The automaker has eight brands and operates under three segments: GM North America, GM International and GM Financial. GM Financial became the company's captive finance arm in October 2010 via the purchase of AmeriCredit.

Net income for 2019 was $6.67 billion, compared to $8.01 billion for 2018.

DuPont de Nemours

The price of DuPont de Nemours Inc. (NYSE:DD) shares declined to close to the 52-week low of $52.55, which is 39.3% off the 52-week high of $83.72. The company has a market cap of $38.81 billion.

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Its shares traded with a price-earnings ratio of 78.79 and a price-sales ratio of 0.40 as of Feb. 7. The trailing 12-month dividend yield is 4.11%. The forward dividend yield is 2.28%. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 2.10% over the past 10 years.

Dupont de Nemours is a diversified global chemicals and materials company that was formed from the merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont and subsequent spinoffs of Dow Inc. (DOW) and Corteva (CTVA). Its portfolio includes basic chemicals, agriculture, automotive, electronics and communication, construction, health care and safety and protection.

Net income for the fourth quarter of 2019 was $188 million, compared to $520 million for the comparable period of 2018.

Williams Companies

The price of Williams Companies Inc. (NYSE:WMB) shares has declined to close to the 52-week low of $21.06, which is 30.4% off the 52-week high of $29.55. The company has a market cap of $25.53 billion.

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Its shares traded with a price-earnings ratio of 168.48 and a price-sales ratio of 3.08 as of Feb. 7. The trailing 12-month dividend yield is 7.22%. The forward dividend yield is 7.60%.

Williams is a large pipeline company that owns and operates the large Transco and Northwest pipeline systems and associated natural gas gathering, processing and storage assets.

Net income for the third quarter of 2019 was $220 million, compared to $129 million for the prior-year quarter.

Go here for the complete list of 52-week lows.

Disclosure: I do not own stock in any of the companies mentioned in the article.

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This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

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