Earnings, iPhone Boost Integrated Stock

Following strong fourth-quarter earnings results in early May and the technology sector’s big rally, Integrated’s (NSDQ: IDTI) stock finished May up nearly 20% from $19.70 to $23.60.

Reports of higher-than-expected Apple iPhone 7 production might keep the momentum going for the California-based chipmaker. Taiwan’s Economic Daily reported that Apple ordered enough components to produce 72 million to 78 million iPhone 7’s, 15% higher than analysts’ estimates of 65 million. Since Integrated gets 15% of its revenue from supplying chips to Apple’s iPhones, a successful iPhone 7 launch in September could mean more sales for Integrated.

On April 13 we discussed a bogus acquisition bid that sent the stock up as much as 24%. Well last week the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced that they charged Pakistani man, Nauman Aly, who illegally traded Integrated stock options, with connection to the bogus takeover bid. The SEC said it received a court order to freeze the $425,000 of profits that Aly made on his trades.

Consumer Spending Bodes Well for Ethan Allen

Consumer spending increased 1% in April over the prior month, the fastest one-month increase since Aug. 2009. Spending was flat in March and increased 0.2% in February according to the Commerce Department.

Spending on durable goods, products that customers don’t buy often, was up 2.3% for the month, largely on improving auto sales. Other durable goods include home appliances and furniture, and if this trend continues it should mean increased revenue for furniture maker Ethan Allen (NYSE: ETH).

Head of U.S. macroeconomics at Oxford Economics Gregory Daco said that there should be “upbeat momentum for the second half of the year.”  He said that decreasing unemployment, increasing wages and now increasing consumer spending are “good news for the economy.”

Supreme Industries Hikes Dividend

The mid-size truck body maker (NYSE: STS) announced a 3.5 cent quarterly dividend last week. The dividend will be paid out on June 16 to those holding Supreme stock by June 7.

The 3.5-cent dividend is up nearly 16.7% over last quarter’s dividend of 3 cents. Fiscal 2016 earnings-per-share estimates of 94 cents are up more than 9% from 86 cents in March.