Market Newsdesk

E*TRADE Advisor Services Study Reveals Bullish Sentiment Skyrockets Among RIAs to Close Out 2020

Amid positive sentiment, market volatility remains top risk to client portfolios

ARLINGTON, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
E*TRADE Advisor Services, a provider of integrated technology, custody, and practice management support for registered investment advisors (RIAs), today announced results from the most recent wave of its Independent Advisor Tracking study, which covers advisor views on the market, the industry, their business, and clients.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201216005870/en/

• Advisors are significantly more bullish heading into 2021. Nearly three out of four RIAs (74%) said they are bullish looking ahead to the first quarter—increasing 26 percentage points since August.
• Yet market volatility looms large. Advisors are actively managing market volatility (74%), followed by tax policy and regulation changes (55%), and interest rate risk (51%). Similarly, nearly three in four advisors (74%) think market volatility will stay the same or rise as a result of the election.
• New administration driving client calls. Advisors say clients are contacting them most about the new presidential administration (41%), followed by pandemic concerns (28%), and market volatility (19%).
• COVID uncertainty is the top business challenge in 2021. Nearly half of RIAs (46%) feel pandemic-related uncertainty is their number one business challenge heading into the New Year.

“We are about to close the chapter on a year that won’t be forgotten soon, marked by whipsawing markets, surging client inquiries, and an overnight transformation of advisors’ work environments,” said Matthew Wilson, President of E*TRADE Advisor Services. “Advisors are entering 2021 with eyes wide open—ready for volatility, the portfolio implications of a new presidential administration, and the persistently low interest rate environment. In times like these, emotional decision-making is certainly tempting among clients. This is where an advisor’s value proposition can truly shine. Advisors can offer a more measured view on long-term performance and strategic counsel specific to a client’s risk tolerance and time horizon.”

To learn more about E*TRADE Advisor Services, visit etrade.com/advisorservices.

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About the Survey

This survey was conducted in-house from December 4 to December 10, 2020, among a convenience sample of 303 independent registered investment advisors.

About E*TRADE Financial and Important Notices

E*TRADE Advisor Services is a provider of integrated technology, custody, and practice management support for registered investment advisors (RIAs). E*TRADE Advisor Services is dedicated to helping RIAs realize their full potential and provide them the support they need to manage their practices and clients’ financial futures. More information is available at etrade.com/advisorservices.

E*TRADE Financial and its subsidiaries provide financial services including brokerage and banking products and services to retail customers. Bank products and services are offered by E*TRADE Bank, and RIA custody solutions are offered by E*TRADE Savings Bank doing business as “E*TRADE Advisor Services,” both of which are federal savings banks (Members FDIC). Securities products and services are offered by E*TRADE Securities LLC (Member FINRA/SIPC). Commodity futures and options on futures products and services are offered by E*TRADE Futures LLC (Member NFA). Managed Account Solutions are offered through E*TRADE Capital Management, LLC, a Registered Investment Adviser. More information is available at www.etrade.com.

E*TRADE Financial, E*TRADE, and the E*TRADE logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of E*TRADE Financial, LLC. ETFC-G

ETFC

© 2020 E*TRADE Financial, LLC, a business of Morgan Stanley. All rights reserved.

Referenced Data

When it comes to the market in the next three months, are you?
	August 2020	December 2020
Bullish	48%	74%
Bearish	52%	26%

What risks are you actively managing right now when it comes to client portfolios? Select all that apply.
	December 2020
Market volatility	74%
Tax policy and regulation changes	55%
Interest rates	51%
Political instability	34%
Inflation	31%
Recession	29%
Steepening yield curve	17%
Armed conflict, war, or terrorism	5%
Other	4%
None of these	3%

As a result of the presidential election, do you think market volatility will…
	December 2020
Greatly increase	3%
Somewhat increase	25%
Stay the same	46%
Somewhat decrease	24%
Greatly decrease	2%

When it comes to the market, what are your clients contacting you most about?
	December 2020
New presidential administration	41%
Coronavirus and other pandemic concerns	28%
Market volatility	19%
Recession	3%
Gridlock in Washington	2%
Softening job market	1%
Federal reserve monetary policy	0%
US trade tensions	0%
Economic weakness abroad	0%
Steepening yield curve	0%
Inflation	0%
Other, please specify:	2%
None	3%

What do you see as the biggest challenge to your business in 2021?
	December 2020
Covid-related uncertainty	46%
Technology improvements	11%
Client retention	10%
Company culture amid the virtual environment	9%
Succession planning	7%
Consolidation in the RIA industry	7%
None	6%
Other	4%

 

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201216005870/en/

E*TRADE Media Relations

646-521-4418

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: United States North America Virginia

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Banking Professional Services Finance

MEDIA:

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B&G Foods Announces Closing of Credit Agreement Refinancing

PARSIPPANY, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE: BGS) announced today the closing of its previously announced credit agreement refinancing. The refinancing includes a $300.0 million add-on tranche B term loan facility under the Company’s existing senior secured credit facility. The tranche B term loan facility was issued at a price equal to 99.00% of its face value. The add-on term loans, which have the same terms as, and are fungible with, B&G Foods’ existing $371.6 million of tranche B term loans, will bear interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 2.50%, with a 0.00% LIBOR floor, and have a maturity date of October 10, 2026. As part of the refinancing, the Company also increased the revolver capacity from $700.0 million to $800.0 million and extended the maturity date of its revolving credit facility from November 21, 2022 to December 16, 2025.

B&G Foods used the proceeds of the add-on term loans to repay a portion of B&G Foods’ borrowings under its revolving credit facility and to pay related fees and expenses.

About B&G Foods, Inc.

Based in Parsippany, New Jersey, B&G Foods and its subsidiaries manufacture, sell and distribute high-quality, branded shelf-stable and frozen foods across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. With B&G Foods’ diverse portfolio of more than 50 brands you know and love, including Back to Nature, B&G, B&M, Cream of Wheat, Crisco, Dash, Green Giant, Las Palmas, Le Sueur, Mama Mary’s, Maple Grove Farms, New York Style, Ortega, Polaner, Spice Islands and Victoria, there’s a little something for everyone. For more information about B&G Foods and its brands, please visit www.bgfoods.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical or current fact constitute “forward-looking statements.” Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unknown factors that could cause the actual results of B&G Foods to be materially different from the historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition to statements that explicitly describe such risks and uncertainties readers are urged to consider statements labeled with the terms “believes,” “belief,” “expects,” “projects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “assumes,” “could,” “should,” “estimates,” “potential,” “seek,” “predict,” “may,” “will,” or “plans” and similar references to future periods to be uncertain and forward-looking. Factors that may affect actual results include, without limitation: whether and when the Company will be able to realize the expected financial results and accretive effect of the recently completed Crisco acquisition, and how customers, competitors, suppliers and employees will react to the acquisition; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s business, including, without limitation, the ability of the Company and its supply chain partners to continue to operate manufacturing facilities, distribution centers and other work locations without material disruption; the Company’s substantial leverage; the effects of rising costs for the Company’s raw materials, packaging and ingredients; crude oil prices and their impact on distribution, packaging and energy costs; the Company’s ability to successfully implement sales price increases and cost saving measures to offset any cost increases; intense competition, changes in consumer preferences, demand for the Company’s products and local economic and market conditions; the Company’s continued ability to promote brand equity successfully, to anticipate and respond to new consumer trends, to develop new products and markets, to broaden brand portfolios in order to compete effectively with lower priced products and in markets that are consolidating at the retail and manufacturing levels and to improve productivity; the risks associated with the expansion of the Company’s business; the Company’s possible inability to identify new acquisitions or to integrate recent or future acquisitions or the Company’s failure to realize anticipated revenue enhancements, cost savings or other synergies; tax reform and legislation, including the effects of the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the U.S. CARES Act; the Company’s ability to access the credit markets and the Company’s borrowing costs and credit ratings, which may be influenced by credit markets generally and the credit ratings of the Company’s competitors; unanticipated expenses, including, without limitation, litigation or legal settlement expenses; the effects of currency movements of the Canadian dollar and the Mexican peso as compared to the U.S. dollar; the effects of international trade disputes, tariffs, quotas, and other import or export restrictions on the Company’s international procurement, sales and operations; future impairments of the Company’s goodwill and intangible assets; the Company’s ability to successfully complete the implementation of additional modules and the integration and operation of a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system; the Company’s ability to protect information systems against, or effectively respond to, a cybersecurity incident or other disruption; the Company’s sustainability initiatives and changes to environmental laws and regulations; and other factors that affect the food industry generally. The forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to other risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in B&G Foods’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including under Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2019 filed on February 26, 2020 and in its subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. B&G Foods undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201216005867/en/

Investor Relations:

ICR, Inc.

Dara Dierks

866.211.8151

Media Relations:

ICR, Inc.

Matt Lindberg

203.682.8214

KEYWORDS: New Jersey United States North America

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Supermarket Retail Other Retail Food/Beverage

MEDIA:

Posted on December 16, 2020 4:08 pm

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. Announces Closing of Senior Notes Offering and Settlement of Tender Offer

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. Announces Closing of Senior Notes Offering and Settlement of Tender Offer

BATON ROUGE, La.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: HEES) (the “Company” or “H&E”) today announced the closing of an offering of $1,250 million aggregate principal amount of 3.875% senior notes due 2028 (the “New Notes”) in an unregistered offering through a private placement and the settlement of its previously announced cash tender offer (the “Tender Offer”) with respect to its existing 5.6250% senior notes due 2025 (the “Old Notes”).

The New Notes and related guarantees were offered in a private placement solely to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers in reliance on Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or outside the United States to persons other than “U.S. persons” in compliance with Regulation S under the Securities Act. The New Notes and related guarantees have not been registered under the Securities Act or the securities laws of any other jurisdiction and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements thereunder.

As of the expiration of the tender offer at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on December 11, 2020 (the “Expiration Time”), approximately $553.6 million of the $950 million aggregate principal amount of Old Notes, or approximately 58.3% of the aggregate principal amount outstanding, had been validly tendered and not withdrawn. The complete terms and conditions of the Tender Offer were set forth in the Offer to Purchase dated November 30, 2020 (the “Offer to Purchase”) that was made available to eligible holders of the Old Notes.

The net proceeds of the offering of the New Notes, after deducting estimated offering expenses, were approximately $1,238.4 million, which will be used to fund the purchase of Old Notes tendered and accepted in the Tender Offer prior to the Expiration Time and the redemption of any Old Notes remaining after the consummation of the Tender Offer. The Company expects to use the remaining portion of the net proceeds from the sale of the New Notes to pay fees and expenses incurred in connection with the foregoing and otherwise for general corporate purposes.

In accordance with the terms of the Offer to Purchase, the Company made a cash payment to all holders who validly tendered their Old Notes in the Tender Offer of $1,043.75 per $1,000 principal amount of Old Notes tendered plus accrued and unpaid interest from the last interest payment date up to, but not including, the payment date of December 14, 2020.

Effective as of December 16, 2020, the Company (i) has provided notice of the redemption of all remaining Old Notes that were not validly tendered in the Tender Offer at the Expiration Time and (ii) satisfied and discharged the indenture governing the Old Notes in accordance with its terms. The redemption price of any Old Notes so redeemed is 104.2188% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest up to the date of redemption. The Company has deposited with the trustee sufficient funds to redeem, on the redemption date of December 30, 2020, any and all of the Old Notes that were not tendered and validly accepted prior to the Expiration Time. Old Notes subject to redemption are to be surrendered to the trustee in exchange for payment of the redemption price. Questions relating to, and requests for additional copies of, the notice of redemption should be directed to The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., 4655 Salisbury Road, Suite 300, Jacksonville, Florida 32256, Attention: Corporate Trust Administration.

This press release does not constitute an offer to purchase the Old Notes.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts, including statements about H&E’s beliefs and expectations, are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and expectations are forward-looking statements. Statements containing the words “may”, “could”, “would”, “should”, “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “estimate”, “target”, “project”, “intend”, “foresee” and similar expressions constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Such factors include, but are not limited to plans to redeem the Old Notes and the use of proceeds of the offering and other factors discussed in our public filings, including the risk factors included in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. Investors, potential investors and other readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, we are under no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements after the date of this release. These statements are based on the current beliefs and assumptions of H&E’s management, which in turn are based on currently available information and important, underlying assumptions. H&E is under no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements after this press release, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise. Investors, potential investors, security holders and other readers are urged to consider the above mentioned factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201216005644/en/

Leslie S. Magee

Chief Financial Officer

225-298-5261

[email protected]

Kevin S. Inda

Vice President of Investor Relations

225-298-5318

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: Louisiana United States North America

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Other Construction & Property Residential Building & Real Estate Commercial Building & Real Estate Construction & Property

MEDIA:

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Ring Energy Announces Executive Management Changes

MIDLAND, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Ring Energy, Inc. (NYSE American: REI) (“Ring”) (“Company”) announced today executive management changes effective December 31, 2020.

The Company has announced the promotion of Mr. Alex Dyes to Executive Vice President of Engineering and Corporate Strategy, the promotion of Mr. Marinos Baghdati to Executive Vice President of Operations, and the promotion of Hollie Lamb to Vice President of Compliance and General Manager of the Midland, Texas office. Mr. Dyes and Mr. Baghdati will report directly to Paul D. McKinney, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board and Ms. Lamb will report to Mr. Dyes.

Additionally, Mr. David A. Fowler will step down from his position as President, but will remain in Midland, Texas in a consulting capacity with the Company taking over for Bill Parsons managing Investor Relations. In this new role, Mr. Fowler will also be assisting Mr. Dyes with Business Development. Mr. Danny Wilson, who has served the Company as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer since 2013, will be leaving the Company following the conclusion of a transition period to explore new professional opportunities.

Paul D. McKinney, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, commented, “I would like to thank Bill Parsons for his many years of service to this company and its shareholders and wish him the very best in retirement. I would also like to thank David Fowler and Danny Wilson for their contribution to the Ring Energy story since its early days in 2013. The conventional, low decline, and long-life producing assets that form the foundation of this company is the result of their foresight, knowledge, and experience on what it takes to build a great oil and gas company. We are grateful for the opportunity to build upon their success and continue building shareholder value.” Additionally, Mr. McKinney said, “I would like to congratulate and thank Mr. Alex Dyes, Mr. Marinos Baghdati, and Ms. Hollie Lamb for accepting their new executive roles working with me to forge the path to greater profitability and growth.”

About Ring Energy, Inc.

Ring Energy, Inc. is an oil and gas exploration, development, and production company with current operations in Texas and New Mexico. www.ringenergy.com

Safe Harbor Statement

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements involve a wide variety of risks and uncertainties, and include, without limitations, statements with respect to the Company’s strategy and prospects. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties which are disclosed in the Company’s reports filed with the SEC, including its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, its Form 10Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020 and its other filings with the SEC. Readers and investors are cautioned that the Company’s actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the Company’s ability to acquire productive oil and/or gas properties or to successfully drill and complete oil and/or gas wells on such properties, general economic conditions both domestically and abroad, and the conduct of business by the Company, and other factors that may be more fully described in additional documents set forth by the Company.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201216005960/en/

David Fowler

Ring Energy, Inc.

Office: (432) 682-7464

Bill Parsons

K M Financial, Inc.

(702) 489-4447

KEYWORDS: Texas United States North America

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Oil/Gas Energy

MEDIA:

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Members 1st FCU partners with Open Lending to expand auto loan offerings to more members