Five interesting things that Hodges Capital research analysts discovered this week...

#1 CORPORATE CASH USE: A recent report from Strategas highlights that cash used among the S&P 500 for share repurchases has returned year-to-date 9.2%. Furthermore, the annualized return for share repurchases from 2015-2022 has averaged 12.5% compared to 11.0% for cash used in merger and acquisition activity.

#2 USED CAR PRICES: Manheim recently released data that April wholesale used car prices ticked up slightly by 0.1% month-over-month but remained down 5.6% from a year ago.  

#3 SIZE MATTERS: As of May 1, the U.S. has had three commercial bank failures year-to-date, representing $552.3B in assets, compared to 140 bank failures in 2009, representing 169.7B in assets. (Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence)        

#4 GOLDEN HANDCUFFS: U.S. existing home inventory, published by the National Association of Realtors, is at its lowest level in several decades as homeowners are locked into fixed rates well below today's prevailing mortgage rates. Furthermore, weekly mortgage applications have recently reached the lowest levels since 1997.    

#5 PAUSE VERSUS RATE CUTS: According to a recent report from Credit Suisse, the S&P 500 has experienced a higher 12-month return following a Fed pause rather than an interest rate cut. The average return for the S&P 500 was 16.9% following the last rate hike versus a negative 1.0% following the first rate cut.

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