Hot News – The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) , PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) , MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) , Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) Community Advisory Panel has increased contributions to its grant program. This year, Dow upped the program funding to $30,000, doubling its previous total. In 2013, six winners were awarded funding. The yearly competitive grant, which began in 2006, helps fund “sustainable community service projects” in East County. Each award ranges from $2,500 to $5,000.  The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) stock performance was 0.08% in last session and finished the day at $51.54. Traded volume was 4.64million shares in the last session and the average volume of the stock remained 7.53million shares. The beta of the stock remained 1.91. The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) insider ownership is 0.30%.

PulteGroup Inc (NYSE:PHM) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders purchased 6,945 put options on the company, Analyst Ratings News reports. This represents an increase of approximately 505% compared to the average volume of 1,147 put options. PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) rose 0.25 percent to $19.68 Tuesday on volume of 4.67million shares. The intra-day range of the stock was $19.54 to $19.73. PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) has a market capitalization of $7.45billion.

The casino operator MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) declined as did Las Vegas Sands after Sterne Agee raised its estimates for both companies. MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM)’s stock on July 15, 2014 reported a decrease of -0.74% to the closing price of $25.49. Its fifty two weeks range is $15.23 -$28.75. The total market capitalization recorded $12.51billion. The overall volume in the last trading session was 4.66million shares. In its share capital, MGM has 490.61million outstanding shares.

Family Dollar Stores and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) are among those that cater to low- and middle-income households and have struggled with falling sales. Chains such as Nordstrom’s that serve higher-end consumers are seeing rising sales. On Tuesday, shares of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) advanced 0.38% to close the day at $76.84. Company return on investment (ROI) is 14.10% and its monthly performance is recorded as 2.07%. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) quarterly revenue growth is -0.08%.