Stonehill, a strategy and transformation consultancy in Tampa, was named the 2019 Emerging Business of the Year by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The award recognizes a start-up company that has attained outstanding business achievement with fewer than 25 employees and less than three years of full-time operation, a news release said. Stonehill's selection was announced at the Chamber's Dream Big Awards Celebration last week in Washington, D.C. Stonehill was founded by Doug Pace, who was recently recognized by the American Business Awards as Entrepreneur of the Year.
First Citrus Bancorporation (OTC: FCIT) reported net earnings of $781,000, or 37 cents a share, for the third quarter of 2019, compared to net earnings of $920,000, or 46 cents a share, for the same quarter in 2018. The company said in a news release that the 15 percent dip in earnings was due to increased personnel costs and expansion activities in the Pinellas County market. First Citrus Bank expects to open its first branch in more than a decade in downtown St. Petersburg in 2020. For the first nine months of 2019, the Tampa-based bank, with $416 million in total assets, reported net earnings of nearly $2.8 million, or $1.34 a share, up 6 percent from the first nine months of 2018.
Raymond James has raised its target stock price for Apple Inc. from $250 a share to $280 a share. Analysts at the St. Petersburg-based financial services firm cited more favorable data on sales of the iPhone 11, according to CNBC. Raymond James also is optimistic about the 5G iPhone expected next year, SeekingAlpha said. Raymond James maintained an outperform rating on Apple. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is a major customer of both Tech Data (Nasdaq: TECD) and Jabil (NYSE: JBL), the No. 1 and No. 2 largest companies, respectively, in the Tampa-St. Pete area. Apple shares closed Friday, before the Raymond James report came out, at $236.41 and were trading higher before the market opened Monday.
More than four out of 10 people who got an email with an urgent message to check a password fell for the scheme in simulated phishing tests by KnowBe4 in Q3 2019. Hackers are playing into employees' desires to be security-minded, according to the Clearwater cybersecurity firm, which trains workers to be "human firewalls" for their companies. Other email subject lines in simulated phishing tests that were clicked-on included "a delivery attempt was made," "deactivation of email in process," and "new food trucks coming to [company name]."
The Florida Aquarium announced a new, multi-year partnership with Corona Extra, one of the brands in the Corona beer portfolio. The Florida Aquarium has named its outdoor cantina Corona Cove, and Corona has committed to donate $1 for every case of Corona Extra cans sold in Hillsborough County during June and July. It's the first time Corona will partner with an aquarium and their first partnership with a not-for-profit in the Tampa Bay region, a news release said. "Having a globally-recognized brand invest in our mission of conservation, education and entertainment allows us to do even more important work on behalf of our community and our blue planet," Roger Germann, president and CEO of The Florida Aquarium, said in the release.
Franklin Street brokered the sale of four apartment communities in St. Petersburg and Clearwater. The properties are: Gateway Place at 528 88th Av. N., Delmar Terrace at 433 Delmar Terrace S., and Tropic Aire at 135 8th Ave. N.E., all in St. Petersburg; and Lakeview/Westbridge on South Betty Lane in Clearwater. The total portfolio sold for $7.193 million, or $80,820 per unit, Franklin Street said. The properties were sold by an estate that was liquidating assets and were purchased in four separate transactions involving two New York-based buyers and one local buyer. Franklin Street Real Estate Services in Tampa represented all three private buyers, and Franklin Street Insurance Services insured three of the four assets involved.
The Vinik Family Foundation will make a $5 million gift to the endowment for the Tampa Museum of Art. The gift, the largest to the endowment fund in the institution's history, will name and endow the position of executive director, whose title will be known as the Penny and Jeff Vinik Executive Director of the Tampa Museum of Art. Penny Vinik is vice-chair of the museum’s board of trustees. The gift is a way to celebrate the museum’s upcoming centennial anniversary, Jeff Vinik, Tampa Bay Lightning owner, said in a news release.
Two Tampa startups made it to the top five in the recently concluded Startup of the Year global competition and summit. The local finalists, Immertec, a medical technology company, and Fruutfull, with a patent pending design for better-fitting bras, were two of the eight Tampa firms at the event in Memphis, profiled earlier this week by the St. Pete Catalyst. The winner of the competition was re:3D Inc., a 3D printing company based in Texas.
Congrats to the Top 5 @StartupofYear Finalists - @fruutfull @IMMERTEC @re3Dprinting Route @SecondKeysInc! Cheers for your incredibale innovations! pic.twitter.com/ITS2dxxVEz
— Startup of the Year (@StartupofYear) October 17, 2019
Proof Network Ventures Inc., a technology development and data solutions company serving the global beverage alcohol industry, has rebranded with a new name and website. The company is now named Bridge, reflecting its objective to bridge the gap between brands, retailers and consumers across the restrictive global beverage alcohol industry, a news release said. The company is planning an enhanced product suite that includes a turnkey web-based version of its existing mobile ecommerce solution and a data-driven intelligence dashboard to help brands better understand market and account-level sales through advanced analytics.
Kathleen Walters, a retired executive at Georgia-Pacific Corp., was named to the Jabil Inc. board of directors. Walters previously served as an independent director on Jabil’s board from 2005-2011, when she served as the chair of the compensation committee and on other special committees of the board, a news release said. Walters said in the release that she has closely followed the Jabil (NYSE: JBL), a St. Petersburg-based manufacturing solutions provider, and its success over the past nine years. "During that time, the company has grown considerably and now serves several new and exciting end-markets. Moving ahead, I believe my background in both manufacturing and consumer products aligns well with the strategic direction of the company and I welcome another opportunity to contribute as a member of the board," Walters said.
United Insurance Holdings Corp. expects to incur about $46 million pre-tax of net retained catastrophe losses from storms and other events for the third quarter of 2019. United (Nasdaq: UIHC), a property and casualty insurer headquartered in St. Petersburg, said in a news release that the projected losses were due to Tropical Storms Barry and Imelda and Hurricane Dorian. Increased retention from non-tropical events related to its reinsurance program was another factor in the expected loss, the company said. United, which does business as UPC Insurance, also said it will report $15 million pre-tax of adverse reserve development stemming from catastrophe losses in prior accident years. The company expects to release its Q3 2019 financial results on Oct. 30.
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, named Mother Kombucha as the U.S. Senate Small Business of the Week. Mother Kombucha, a St. Petersburg company launched in 2014 by Tonya Donati and Joshua Rumschlag, now employs nearly 20 people and packages around 7,500 bottles a day, selling kombucha and switchel wholesale to retailers such as Whole Foods, Publix, and Winn-Dixie, said Rubio, who tweeted about his visit to the company last week. Mother Kombucha is among the featured companies on PitchLyst.
Sneak Peak: Chairman Marco Rubio visited @motherkombucha of #StPete #Florida. This startup was the first licensed kombucha brewer in Florida!
Keep an eye out for when they're honored as the Senate Small Business of the Week very soon. 👀 pic.twitter.com/6XrXSfQaLr — Senator Rubio Press (@SenRubioPress) October 10, 2019
