Today's noteworthy initiations include: Agenus (AGEN) initiated with an Outperform at Oppenheimer... Atwood Oceanics (ATW) initiated with an Equal Weight at Barclays... Bristow Group (BRS) initiated with an Equal Weight at Barclays... Depomed (DEPO) initiated with an Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley... Diamond Offshore (DO) initiated with an Underweight at Barclays... E.W. Scripps (SSP) initiated with an Outperform at Wells Fargo... Ensco (ESV) initiated with an Equal Weight at Barclays... Frank's International (FI) initiated with an Equal Weight at Barclays... Freshpet (FRPT) initiated with a Perform at Oppenheimer... Hilton (HLT) initiated with a Buy at Brean Capital... HomeAway (AWAY) initiated with an Overweight at Stephens... Horizon Pharma (HZNP) initiated with an Overweight at Morgan Stanley... Hornbeck Offshore (HOS) initiated with an Overweight at Barclays... Libbey (LBY) initiated with an Overweight at Piper Jaffray... Mohawk (MHK) initiated with a Hold at Cantor... Noble Corp. (NE) initiated with an Underweight at Barclays... Ocean Rig UDW (ORIG) initiated with an Underweight at Barclays... Orchids Paper (TIS) initiated with a Buy at Craig-Hallum... Pacific Drilling (PACD) initiated with an Equal Weight at Barclays... PlasmaTech (PTBI) initiated with a Buy at Roth Capital... Rowan Companies (RDC) initiated with an Equal Weight at Barclays... Transocean (RIG) initiated with an Underweight at Barclays.

The company said, "The flooring industry appears to be at the bottom of this cycle, and we are managing the controllable aspects of our business to improve our results. We continue to reduce our costs through ongoing restructuring actions and additional productivity initiatives. We are aligning production with market demand to control working capital, which increases our unabsorbed overhead. To enhance sales and margins, we are upgrading our product offering with unique features and investing in new merchandising. This year we are completing our LVT, quartz countertop and premium laminate expansion projects to support our products with the greatest growth potential when the market recovers. Our other capital investments are focused on reducing cost, delivering product innovation or maintaining the business. Due to European vacation schedules, our second quarter sales are seasonally higher than the third quarter. Given these factors, we anticipate our second quarter adjusted EPS to be between $2.68 and $2.78, excluding any restructuring or other one-time charges. Residential flooring sales should lead the recovery as consumer confidence improves, the housing market strengthens, and postponed remodeling projects are initiated. Existing home sales will normalize and are a meaningful catalyst for flooring since homeowners replace it more often before listing a property or soon after completing a purchase. Across our geographies, housing has not kept pace with household formations, and substantial home construction will be required for many years to satisfy those needs. Additionally, as homes age, increased remodeling investments are required to maintain property values. As the world's largest flooring manufacturer, we expect to significantly benefit from our brand leadership, investments in new capabilities and recent acquisitions as the flooring market recovers. We have the products to inspire consumers, the infrastructure to deliver superior service and the balance sheet strength to invest in opportunities for the business."

Truist analyst C. Patrick Scholes raised the firm's price target on Hilton to $209 from $199 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares after its Q1 earnings beat. The company reported "powerful" earnings earnings growth in spite of the "choppy" RevPAR macro backdrop, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Truist adds however that while it continues to view Hilton's business model as among the best-in-class, it is retaining its Hold rating as it sees the stock being "fairly valued at a premium valuation".

Macquarie raised the firm's price target on Hilton to $205 from $192 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares following what the firm calls "another strong EBITDA beat" in Q1. Management also increased its 2024 EBITDA guidance, notes the firm, which still awaits a better entry point.

RBC Capital analyst Daniel Perlin raised the firm's price target on Fiserv to $180 from $158 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares after its earnings beat. The company has changed its business segmentation starting in Q1, but the durability of its growth remains undeterred, with Merchant Solutions segment generating 36% organic growth and Clover revenue growth of 30%, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

Reports Q1 revenue $2.573, consensus $2.55B. Q1 system-wide comparable RevPAR increased 2.0%, on a currency neutral basis, compared to the same period in 2023. Christopher J. Nassetta, President & CEO, said, "We are pleased to report a strong first quarter with bottom line results meaningfully exceeding our expectations, further demonstrating the power of our resilient, fee-based business model and strong development story. During the first quarter, system-wide RevPAR increased 2.0 percent as renovations, inclement weather and unfavorable holiday shifts weighed on performance more than anticipated. On the development side, we continued to see great momentum across signings, starts and openings. As a result of our record pipeline and the growth pace we've seen to-date, we expect net unit growth of 6.0%-6.5% for the full year, excluding the planned acquisition of the Graduate Hotels brand."