Thursday, November 27, 2014

Top Warren Buffett Stocks To Buy For 2014

This is the week that we will get to see 13-D and 13-F filings from investment firms, and one notable one is always that of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A). Investors love Warren Buffett and they often copy his moves. It is presumed that General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) and DaVita Healthcare Partners Inc. (NYSE: DVA) will be larger holdings. There might even be more International Business machine Corp. (NYSE: IBM) and Suncor�Energy Inc. (NYSE: SU) as well.� Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) seems a shoe-in to be a larger equity stake yet again.

Before getting too excited or too demanding about what to expect, be advised that this cut-off date shown this week�will be for holdings as of September 30, 2013. Warren Buffett and his team at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) are not obligated at all to show any purchase or sale transactions during October or November.

Warren Buffett sometimes makes many purchases and many sales of companies in a quarter. Sometimes these are just adjustments higher or lower, and sometimes they are new positions or outright eliminations.

Best Promising Companies To Watch In Right Now: Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL)

Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL) is a bank holding company. The Company provides full-service banking and lending to locally owned businesses, professional firms, real estate developers and investors, local non-profit organizations, high net worth individuals and other consumers through its three wholly owned subsidiary banks (the Banks): Bank of Nevada (BON), operating in Southern Nevada; Western Alliance Bank (WAB), operating in Arizona and Northern Nevada, and Torrey Pines Bank (TPB), operating in California. In addition, the Company�� non-bank subsidiaries, Shine Investment Advisory Services, Inc. (Shine) and Western Alliance Equipment Finance (WAEF), offer an array of financial products and services to small to mid-sized businesses and their proprietors, including financial planning, custody and investments, and equipment leasing nationwide. It operates in four segments: Bank of Nevada, Western Alliance Bank, Torrey Pines Bank and Other.

The Company provides a range of banking services, as well as investment advisory services, through its consolidated subsidiaries. As of December 31, 2011, WAL owned an 80% interest in Shine. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned a 24.9% interest in Miller/Russell & Associates, Inc. (MRA), an investment advisor. MRA provides investment advisory services to individuals, foundations, retirement plans and corporations.

Lending Activities

Through the Company�� banking segments, the Company provides a variety of financial services to customers, including commercial real estate loans, construction and land development loans, commercial loans, and consumer loans. Loans to businesses consisted 89.2% of the total loan portfolio at December 31, 2011. Loans to finance the purchase or refinancing of commercial real estate (CRE) and loans to finance inventory and working capital that are additionally secured by CRE make up the majority of its loan portfolio. These CRE loans are secured by apartment buildings, professional of! fices, industrial facilities, retail centers and other commercial properties. As of December 31, 2011, 49% of its CRE loans were owner-occupied. Owner-occupied commercial real estate loans are loans secured by owner-occupied nonfarm nonresidential properties for which the primary source of repayment (more than 50%) is the cash flow from the ongoing operations and activities conducted by the borrower who owns the property. Non-owner-occupied commercial real estate loans are commercial real estate loans for which the primary source of repayment is nonaffiliated rental income associated with the collateral property.

Construction and land development loans include multi-family apartment projects, industrial/warehouse properties, office buildings, retail centers and medical facilities. Commercial and industrial loans include working capital lines of credit, inventory and accounts receivable lines, mortgage warehouse lines, equipment loans and leases, and other commercial loans. Commercial loans are primarily originated to small and medium-sized businesses in a variety of industries. Consumer loans are generally offered at a higher rate and shorter term than residential mortgages. Its consumer loans include home equity loans and lines of credit, home improvement loans, credit card loans, and personal lines of credit. As of December 31, 2011, its loan portfolio totaled $4.68 billion, or approximately 68.4% of its total assets.

Investment Activities

All of the Company�� investment securities are classified as available-for-sale (AFS) or held-to-maturity (HTM). As of December 31, 2011, the Company had an investment securities portfolio of $1.48 billion, representing approximately 21.7% of its total assets. As of December 31, 2011, its investment securities portfolio consisted of the United States Government sponsored agency securities, Municipal obligations, Adjustable-rate preferred stock, Mutual funds, Corporate bonds, Direct the United States obligation and government-! sponsored! enterprise (GSE) residential mortgage-backed securities, private label residential mortgage-backed securities, Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) investments, Trust preferred securities, Private label commercial mortgage-backed securities, and Collateralized debt obligations.

Sources of Funds

The Company offers a variety of deposit products, including checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts and other types of deposit accounts, including fixed-rate, fixed maturity retail certificates of deposit. As of December 31, 2011, the deposit portfolio consisted of 27.5% non-interest bearing deposits and 72.5% interest-bearing deposits. Non-interest bearing deposits consist of non-interest bearing checking account balances. In addition to its deposit base, it has access to other sources of funding, including Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) and Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) advances, repurchase agreements and unsecured lines of credit with other financial institutions.

Financial Products and Services

In addition to traditional commercial banking activities, the Company offers other financial services to customers, including Internet banking, wire transfers, electronic bill payment, lock box services, courier, and cash management services. Through Shine, a full-service financial advisory firm, the Company offers financial planning and investment management.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Investment Biker]

    Investment Summary: This article is on Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL), a growth-oriented commercial lender in the Southwest. The banks looks set to improve profitability supported by economic recovery in Last Vegas, industry-leading revenue performance and operating leverage supported by expense control. The credit profile of the bank looks excellent with limited exposure to residential mortgage and well poised to grow its loan portfolio by 20% annually over the next 3 years. It is also well set on a path to credit recovery with improving fundamentals that justifies premium valuation going forward.

Top Warren Buffett Stocks To Buy For 2014: S&P Smallcap 600(PH)

Parker Hannifin Corporation manufactures fluid power systems, electromechanical controls, and related components worldwide. Its Industrial segment offers pneumatic and electromechanical components, and systems; filters, systems, and instruments to monitor and remove contaminants from fuel, air, oil, water, and other liquids and gases; connectors that control, transmit, and contain fluid; hydraulic components and systems for builders and users of industrial and mobile machinery and equipment; critical flow components for process instrumentation, healthcare, and ultra-high-purity applications; and static and dynamic sealing devices. This segment sells its products to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and their replacement markets in the manufacturing, transportation, and processing industries. The company?s Aerospace segment provides flight control systems and components, including hydraulic, electrohydraulic, electric backup hydraulic, electrohydrostatic, and electro -mechanical components for precise control of aircraft rudders, elevators, ailerons, and other aerodynamic control surfaces. It also provides electronics thermal management heat rejection systems, and single-phase and two-phase heat collection systems for radar, ISAR, and power electronics. This segment markets its products primarily to OEMs in the commercial, military, and general aviation markets, as well as to end users. Its Climate and Industrial Controls segment offers systems and components primarily for use in the mobile and stationary refrigeration, and air conditioning industry; and in fluid control applications in various industries, such as processing, fuel dispensing, beverage dispensing, and mobile emissions. This segment serves OEMs and their replacement markets. Parker-Hannifin Corporation markets its products through direct-sales employees, independent distributors, wholesalers, and sales representatives. The company was founded in 1918 and is headquartered i n Cleveland, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Mani]

    Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH) has significant opportunities to expand its operating margins, especially within the Aerospace segment where significant longer term business has already been won, and aftermarket opportunities should increase.

Top Warren Buffett Stocks To Buy For 2014: Koninklijke Ahold NV (AHONY)

Koninklijke Ahold N.V. (Ahold), incorporated on April 29, 1920, is engaged in the operation of retail food stores in the United States and Europe through subsidiaries and joint ventures. Ahold�� retail operations are presented in four segments: Stop & Shop/Giant-Landover, Giant-Carlisle, Albert Heijn and Albert/Hypernova. During the fiscal year ended January 3, 2010 (fiscal 2009), it operated 2,909 stores. On February 8, 2010, Ahold�� Giant-Carlisle acquired 25 stores from Ukrop�� Super Markets.

Franchisees operated 783 of the Albert Heijn, Etos and Gall & Gall stores, 463 of which were either owned by the franchisees or leased independently from Ahold. Of the 2,446 stores, 20% were company-owned and 80% were leased. Ahold�� stores range in size from 20 to over 10,000 square meters. Albert Heijn is a food retailer in the Netherlands. Etos is a health and beauty retailer in the Netherlands. Gall & Gall is a wine and liquor specialist in the Netherlands. Stop & Shop is a supermarket brand, operating in six states in the northeast United States. Giant-Landover is a supermarket brand, operating in four states in the mid-Atlantic United States. Peapod is an online grocery delivery service working in partnership with Stop & Shop and Giant-Landover. It also serves the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Illinois; Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin, and the northern areas of Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Duprey]

    As mentioned, Kroger is still swallowing Harris Teeter and has said it needs time to make more acquisitions. Royal Ahold (NASDAQOTH: AHONY  ) is also said to be leery about doing large acquisitions these days, while Cerberus recently finished acquiring the Albertsons and Acme chains from SUPERVALU (NYSE: SVU  ) �for $3.3 billion.

Top Warren Buffett Stocks To Buy For 2014: ITT Industries Inc.(ITT)

ITT Corporation designs, manufactures, and sells a range of engineered products, and provides related services worldwide. Its Defense & Information Solutions segment develops tactical communications equipment, electronic warfare and force protection equipment, radar systems, integrated structures equipment, and imaging and sensor equipment, including night vision goggles, as well as weather, location, surveillance, and other related technologies for military and government agencies. It also provides services comprising air traffic management, information and cyber solutions, large-scale systems engineering, and integration and defense technologies; satellite-based imaging payloads for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance solutions; and high-resolution commercial imaging systems with earth and space science applications, climate and environmental monitoring sensors and systems, and GPS navigation and software applications designed for image and data processing and dissemination. The company?s Fluid Technology segment provides water transport and wastewater treatment systems, pumps and related technologies, and other water and fluid control products with municipal, residential, commercial, and industrial applications. Its Motion & Flow Control segment manufactures shock absorbers and brake friction materials for the transportation industry; switch applications for the industrial and aerospace industries; electrical connectors used in telecommunications, computers, aerospace, medical, and industrial applications; and a range of pumps and tailored products for marine, food and beverage, and general industrial markets. The company was formerly known as ITT Industries, Inc. and changed its name to ITT Corporation in July 2006. ITT Corporation was founded in 1920 and is based in White Plains, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By MONEYMORNING]

    This 85-year-old forest products company operates as a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) after being first acquired, then later spun off, by ITT Corp. (NYSE: ITT).

  • [By Aaron Levitt]

    Spun-off from industrial giant ITT (ITT) a few years ago, Xylem (XYL) could be a great starting point for investors looking at water stocks. Aside from its cool and appropriate name, XYL provides host of equipment — pumps, controllers and filtration devices — for wastewater treatment plants across the globe.

  • [By Stephen Simpson, CFA]

    This is a logical deal for SKF on multiple fronts. For starters, Kaydon will meaningfully expand the company's U.S. presence - something it could have done on its own eventually, but certainly not without spending money. With that, there is the possibility of using Kaydon's existing U.S. footprint to sell more SKF products and further trouble rivals like RBC Bearings (ROLL) and ITT (ITT).

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Top Logistics Companies To Own For 2014

Cryoport, Inc. (CYRX)

Today, CYRX has shed (-10.00%) down -0.050 at $.450 with�179,695 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 12:35PM EDT October 4, 2013).

Cryoport, Inc. and OCASA, Inc. have previously entered into a master services agreement to provide global cold chain logistics solutions for life science and biotech commodities requiring cryogenic temperatures. OCASA will have access to Cryoport�� full range of cryogenic business solution capabilities including its proprietary Cryoport Express庐 Shippers and cloud-based logistics management software platform, the CryoportalTM. Cryoport will leverage OCASA�� global logistics network to provide more complete global services to its customers. In conjunction with Cryoport and OCASA providing each other with logistics solutions, the Companies will engage in co-marketing, joint sales activities, and a wide range of customer-driven support requirements to provide comprehensive and seamless solutions to the life sciences and biotech industries

Hot Trucking Stocks To Own Right Now: Penford Corporation(PENX)

Penford Corporation engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of specialty natural-based ingredient systems for food and industrial ingredient applications primarily in the United States. It develops and manufactures ingredients with starch as a base. The starch products are manufactured primarily from corn and potatoes, and are used as binders and coatings in paper and food production, as well as an ingredient in fuel. The company?s Industrial Ingredients segment provides specialty starches to the paper and packaging industries in ethylated, oxidized, and cationic forms. Its ethylated and oxidized starches are used in coatings and as binders, providing printability to fine white, magazine, and catalog paper; and cationic and other liquid starches are used in the paper forming process in paper production, providing the bonding of paper fibers and other ingredients. This segment also produces and sells fuel grade ethanol. The company?s Food Ingredients segmen t offers specialty starches and dextrins to the food manufacturing and food service industries. Its specialty starches are used in coatings for various products, such as French fries sold in restaurants, as well as used as moisture binders in a range of foods, including canned products, sauces, whole and processed meats, dry powdered mixes, and other food and bakery products. Penford Corporation sells its products through a direct sales force, as well as through distributor agreements to manufacturers and processors. The company was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Centennial, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

    Murray Close, Warner Bros./AP From a major banking institution kicking off the new earnings season to the most-anticipated theme park debut of the year staging its grand opening, here are some things that will help shape the week that lies ahead on Wall Street. Monday -- Food for Thought The market's going to get off to a slow start on the news front. That's not a surprise given that it was closed Friday for Independence Day. One company that will be in the news on Monday is food and industrial products maker Penford (PENX). Penford's wide range of products include food ingredients, pet and animal products, sustainable bioproducts, starches for paper and packaging products and biofuels. Analysts see Penford earning 21 cents a share, but keep in mind that it has come up short against Wall Street expectations in each of the three previous quarters. Tuesday -- Harry Potter Central Florida will be a bit busier than usual on Tuesday when Comcast's (CMCSK) Universal Orlando has its grand opening of the new Diagon Alley expansion to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It's been a rough start. July 8 wasn't the opening date that the park originally wanted, judging by the fact that it had "The Tonight Show" and "Today" run weeklong tie-ins a few weeks ago. Conveniently for Comcast, it owns both the Universal theme parks and NBC. However, with the expansion's indoor coaster proving unreliable -- and even Universal pass holders being denied early access to attractions outside of the new Hogwarts Express train ride -- it could be an interesting debut. The crowds should be huge, the expectations lofty. Wednesday -- Mopping Up WD-40 (WDFC) reports on Wednesday afternoon. This is the company behind the multi-use lubricant. It also offers industrial cleaners, toilet sanitizers and other compounds. WD-40 didn't work out for its shareholders last time out. It posted better than expected 9 percent growth in revenue, but earnings fell just short of expectations. WD-4

Top Logistics Companies To Own For 2014: Isramco Inc.(ISRL)

Isramco, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, development, production, and exploration of onshore oil and natural gas properties in the United States. It owns various working interests in oil and gas wells in Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado; and operates approximately 589 wells principally in Texas and New Mexico. The company sells its oil and natural gas products to independent marketers, oil and natural gas companies, and gas pipeline companies. As of December 31, 2010, its estimated total proved reserves were approximately 9,031 thousand barrels of oil equivalent, which included 3,318 thousand barrels of oil, and 23,701 million cubic feet of natural gas, and 1,763 thousand barrels of natural gas liquids. The company was founded in 1982 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Calling all cash flows
    When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Isramco (Nasdaq: ISRL  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Calling all cash flows
    When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Isramco (Nasdaq: ISRL  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Yet when you think about it, there should be oil there. It's been found on all sides of Israel. Total� (NYSE: TOT  ) �found�oil north of the Sinai Peninsula in the 1980s, but the wells subsequently went dry;�Isramco� (NASDAQ: ISRL  ) found oil off the coast of Tel Aviv, but never enough to make it profitable; and�Noble found a large gas deposit in the Tamar field of the Levant basin. Several Israeli companies have also found oil and gas, but Zion keeps striking out.

Top Logistics Companies To Own For 2014: Cardica Inc.(CRDC)

Cardica, Inc. engages in the development of an endoscopic microcutter product line for use by thoracic, bariatric, colorectal, and general surgeons primarily in the United States and internationally. Its microcutter product line under development includes Microcutter XPRESS 30, a multi-fire endolinear microcutter device based on the company?s proprietary ?staple-on-a-strip? technology; Microcutter XPRESS 45, a multi-fire endolinear microcutter device with a 45 millimeter staple line; Microcutter XCHANGE 30, a cartridge based microcutter device; Microcutter FLEXCHANGE 30, a cartridge based microcutter device with a flexible shaft to facilitate endoscopic procedures requiring cutting and stapling; and Microcutter XPRESS 60, a cutting and stapling device for the bariatric and thoracic surgery markets. The company also designs, manufactures, and markets automated anastomotic systems for use by cardiac surgeons to perform coronary bypass surgery. It offers C-Port Distal Anas tomosis Systems, such as C-Port xA Anastomosis System to perform an end-to-side distal anastomosis by attaching the end of a bypass graft to a coronary artery downstream of an occlusion or narrowing; C-Port Flex A Anastomosis System to enable automated anastomoses to be performed as part of coronary artery bypass grafting procedures; C-Port X-CHANGE System, a cartridge-based reloadable C-Port system; and PAS-Port Proximal Anastomosis System to perform an end-to-side proximal anastomosis between a saphenous vein and the aorta. In addition, the company licenses its intellectual property in the robotics field in diagnostic or therapeutic medical procedures. Cardica, Inc. sells its products through direct sales force, as well as through independent distributors and manufacturers? representatives. The company was formerly known as Vascular Innovations, Inc. and changed its name to Cardica, Inc. in November 2001. Cardica, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Redwood C ity, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Bryan Murphy]

    Neither Acorn Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:ACFN) nor Cardica, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRDC) may look all that compelling with just a passing glance. The longer one examines CRDC and ACFN, however - and really gets a grasp of their underlying stories - the more compelling each one becomes. In fact, newcomers may want to go ahead and put both budding stocks on their watchlists, if not in their portfolios.

Top Logistics Companies To Own For 2014: EPAM Systems Inc (EPAM)

EPAM Systems, Inc. (EPAM), incorporated on December 18, 2002, is a global information technology (IT) services provider focused on software product development services, software engineering and vertically-oriented custom development solutions. EPAM has been serving independent software vendors (ISVs), and technology companies. These companies produce advanced software and technology products that demand software engineering talent, tools, methodologies and infrastructure to deliver solutions. Its service offerings cover the full software development lifecycle from complex software development services through maintenance and support, custom application development, application testing, enterprise application platforms and infrastructure management. Its key service offerings include software product development services, custom application development services, application testing services, enterprise application platforms, application maintenance and support and infrastructure management services. In December 2012, the Company acquired Empathy Lab.

Software Product Development Services

EPAM provides a set of software product development services, including product research, design and prototyping, product development, component design and integration, full lifecycle software testing, product deployment and end-user customization, performance tuning, product support and maintenance, as well as porting and cross-platform migration. The Company focuses on development services for enterprise software products covering a range of business applications, as well as product development for multiple mobile platforms and embedded software product services.

Custom Application Development Services

EPAM offers custom application development services. The Company�� range of services includes business and technical requirements analysis, solution architecture creation and validation, development, component design and integration, quality assurance and testing, d! eployment, performance tuning, support and maintenance, legacy applications re-engineering/refactoring, porting and cross-platform migration and documentation.

Application Testing Services

The Company�� application testing services include software application testing, including test automation tools and frameworks, and testing for enterprise IT, including test management, automation, functional and non-functional testing, as well as defect management. It also includes and consulting services focused on helping clients improve their existing software testing and quality assurance practices.

Enterprise Application Platforms

As a provider of software product development services to ISVs, EPAM has developed industry standard technology and business application platforms and their components in such areas as customer relationship management and sales automation, enterprise resource planning, enterprise content management, business intelligence, e-commerce, mobile, Software-as-a-Service and cloud deployment. The Company offers services around Enterprise Application Platforms, which include requirements analysis and platform selection, deep and complex customization, cross-platform migration, implementation and integration, as well as support and maintenance.

Application Maintenance and Support

EPAM delivers application maintenance and support services. The Company�� application maintenance and support offerings meet rigorous CMMI and SAS 70 Type II requirements. Its services include incident management, fault investigation diagnosis, work-around provision, application bug fixes, release management, application enhancements and third-party maintenance.

Infrastructure Management Services

EPAM service offerings cover infrastructure management services. The Company has implemented large infrastructure monitoring solutions, providing real-time notification and control from the low-level infrastructure up! to and i! ncluding applications. Its solutions cover the lifecycle of infrastructure management, including application, database, network, server, storage and systems operations management, as well as incident notification and resolution.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Seth Jayson]

    EPAM Systems (NYSE: EPAM  ) reported earnings on May 9. Here are the numbers you need to know.

    The 10-second takeaway
    For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), EPAM Systems met expectations on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

Top Logistics Companies To Own For 2014: American Science and Engineering Inc.(ASEI)

American Science and Engineering, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells X-ray inspection and other detection products for detection and security screening solutions in the United States and internationally. It offers cargo inspection systems comprising non-intrusive inspection products, which are primarily used for the screening of trucks, cars, cargo containers, pallets, and air cargo at border crossings, seaports, military bases, airports, and cargo and transportation hubs. The cargo inspection systems include OmniView gantry system, a cargo and vehicle inspection system; Z Portal system, a drive-through inspection system for scanning cargo and vehicles; Z Gantry system, a Z Backscatter inspection system for scanning cars, vans, trucks, and their cargo; Sentry Portal system, a drive through transmission X-ray inspection system; and MobileSearch High-Energy, a mobile inspection system for scanning trucks, cargo containers, and ve hicles. The company also provides Z Backscatter systems, including Z Backscatter Van, a mobile X-ray screening system to produce photo-like images of plastic explosives or other anomalies; and ZBV Military Trailer, a rugged X-ray screening system built on military trailer. In addition, it offers parcel and personnel screening inspection system that comprises Gemini system, a parcel and baggage inspection system; and SmartCheck system, a personnel screening system for screening threats hidden under a person?s clothing. Further, the company provides contract research and development programs for agencies of the United States government; and maintenance, warranty, engineering, and training services. It serves authorities responsible for port and border security, customs agencies, military organizations, high threat commercial and government facilities, aviation security agencies, and law enforcement agencies. The company was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in Billerica, M assachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Smith]

    An unidentified "government agency" has awarded American Science & Engineering (NASDAQ: ASEI  ) a $60 million contract to supply X-ray inspection systems, the company (partially) revealed Tuesday.

Top Logistics Companies To Own For 2014: Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP)

Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the Consumer Staples Select Sector of the S&P 500 Index (the Index). The Index includes companies that are primarily involved in the development and production of consumer products that cover food and drug retailing, beverages, food products, tobacco, household products and personal products.

The Fund utilizes a passive or indexing investment approach to invest in a portfolio of stocks that seek to replicate the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is SSgA Funds Management, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Chris Ciovacco]

    The damage from Wednesday's session did little to disturb the market's longer-term risk tolerance profile, which is easy to understand when you consider the S&P 500 is still up 3 points for the week. However, we have seen some emerging cracks over the past two weeks. Demand for bonds has not surpassed stocks, but there is evidence of an attempt to mount a more formidable charge relative to stocks. Recent interest in defensive consumer staples (XLP) also tells us to keep an open mind about a "give back" after the S&P 500 gained 129 points from the October 9 low to the recent high. The observable evidence in the table above aligns with a growth-oriented allocation, including exposure to broad U.S. stock market (VTI), emerging markets (EEM), foreign stocks (EFA), and technology (QQQ).

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    The exception to the strong defensive performance: consumer staples. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) has dropped 2.9% this year, making it the worst-performing sector in the S&P 500. Barclays’ Barry Knappexplains what’s gone wrong:

  • [By Markos Kaminis]

    Capital flows into equity funds have mostly found safe bets this year, with consumer staples, utilities and healthcare shares doing well. You can see this in the charts of the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU), Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV).

  • [By Jon C. Ogg]

    4. Cyclical stocks outperform defensive stocks – This puts consumer discretionary, energy, financials, industrials, technology and materials all doing better than consumer staples, healthcare, telecom, and utilities. Doll also prefers a free cash flow yield to dividend yield and dividend growth over dividend yield.

    ETF Recommendation(s): Financial Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLF), Technology Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLK), Market Vectors Oil Services ETF (NYSEArca: OIH)… Avoid Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLP) and Utilities Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLU).

    5. Dividends, stock buy-backs, capex, and M&A all increase at a double-digit rate – This is led by a lot of cash flow, underleveraged balance sheets, and possible great places to use cash. The argument for higher cap-ex is as follows: “Pent-up demand and aging of plant, equipment and technology argue for increases in those key areas.”

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Top Industrial Disributor Stocks To Watch Right Now

Top Industrial Disributor Stocks To Watch Right Now: Kennametal Inc. (KMT)

Kennametal Inc. manufactures and supplies tooling, engineered components, and advanced materials consumed in production processes worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Industrial and Infrastructure. It offers standard and customized technologies for metalworking, such as metal cutting tools, tooling systems, and services, as well as materials, including cemented tungsten carbide products, super alloys, coatings, and investment castings. It also manufactures and markets a line of tool holders, tool-holding systems, and rotary-cutting tools by machining and fabricating steel bars and other metal alloys; and tungsten powders, tungsten heavy alloys, tungsten carbide materials, and tungsten carbide cutting tools. In addition, the company produces compacts and metallurgical powders; products made from tungsten carbide or other hard materials that are used for custom-engineered and applications, including mining and highway construction; and engineered components and s urface technology solutions with proprietary metal cladding capabilities, as well as process technology and materials that focus on component deburring, polishing, and effecting controlled radii. The Industrial segment serves customers primarily in the aerospace, defense, transportation, and general engineering market sectors, as well as the machine tool industry; and offers its products and services for use in the manufacture of engines, airframes, automobiles, trucks, ships, and various types of industrial equipment. The Infrastructure segment serves customers in energy and earthworks sectors who support primary industries, such as oil and gas; power generation; food and beverage; chemicals; underground, and surface and hard-rock mining, highway construction, and road maintenance. The company sells its products through direct sales force; network o! f independent distributors and sales agents; and Internet. Kennametal Inc. was founded in 1938 and is headquartered in Latrobe , Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Monica Wolfe]

    Kennametal (KMT)

    Richard Snow (Trades, Portfolio)'s fifth largest position is in Kennametal where he holds on to 1,872,839 shares of the company's stock. This position represents 3.3% of his total portfolio as well as 2.41% of the company's shares outstanding.

  • source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-industrial-disributor-stocks-to-watch-right-now.html

Friday, November 21, 2014

Top Long Term Stocks To Own For 2014

There’s been a lot of talk that investors are ready to shed their pessimistic views on airline stocks like Alaska Air (ALK) Delta Air Lines (DAL), United Continental Holdings (UAL) and American Airlines (AAL) and embrace them for the long term. The only problem: There’s no sign that they actually are.

Getty Images

Mutual funds own only 32% of ownership of US airline stocks like American Airlines, United� Continental, Delta Air Lines and Alaska Air, just two percentage points more than in 2009, according to�Wolfe Research’s Hunter Keay. Hedge funds, meanwhile, own just 16%, three percentage points higher than in 2009. That suggests that the “smart money” investors hasn’t been quick to embrace he “new” airlines, Keay says. He explains:

Although it may seem like it�� becoming more popular to invest in airlines, data would show that it�� not. Optimism appears confined to a small group. Multiples are still compressed and the prior stats indicate that there still isn�� a lot of long-term capital invested in the space. We also haven�� seen many major ��hale��investors like Warren Buffett put money to work. But Mr. Buffett was once skeptical of railroads, too, prior to his purchase of BNSF. Imagine what it would mean if he or another similar investor bought an airline?

Top Consumer Companies To Invest In Right Now: International Speedway Corporation(ISCA)

International Speedway Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, promotes motorsports themed entertainment activities in the United States. The company?s motorsports themed event operations consist of racing events at its motorsports entertainment facilities. Its motorsports entertainment facilities promoted approximately 100 stock car, open wheel, sports car, truck, motorcycle, go-kart racing, and other racing events. The company is also involved in souvenir merchandising operations; food and beverage concession operations; the provision of catering services in suites and chalets; creation of motorsports-related programming content, including national satellite radio service; the usage of its track facilities for testing for teams, driving schools, riding experiences, car shows, auto fairs, concerts and settings for television commercials, print advertisements, and motion pictures; and rents show cars for promotional events. As of November 30, 2011, it owned and/or op erated 13 motorsports entertainment facilities. The company was formerly known as Daytona International Speedway Corporation and changed its name to International Speedway Corporation in 1968. International Speedway Corporation was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Michael Flannelly]

    Before the opening bell on Thursday, motorsports and entertainment company International Speedway Corporation (ISCA) reported that its third quarter loss widened compared to the previous year despite an increase in revenues. The higher losses were mostly due to a number of one-time costs.

    The Daytona Beach, Florida-based company posted a third quarter net loss of $7.9 million, or 17 cents per share, versus last year’s third quarter loss of $1.04 million, or 2 cents per share.

    Excluding various one-time items, International Speedway Corp. said its adjusted net income came in at $2.3 million, or 5 cents per share, in the third quarter. According to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, the company was expected to see an adjusted loss of 1 cent per share for the quarter.

    International Speedway’s third quarter revenues were $117.05 million, up slightly from the $115.93 million in revenues posted last year. On average, analysts were expecting the company to post revenues of $118.6 million in the quarter.

    “We remain encouraged with our quarter and year-to-date financial results; generating increased total revenue for the periods,” stated ISC Chief Executive Officer Lesa France Kennedy. “Adjusting for comparable events, our attendance revenue, which has been our principal risk, was down less than one percent for the quarter delivering results within our range of expectations and showing further signs of stabilization in our business.”

    Looking forward, the company maintained its fiscal 2013 guidance. It expects full year revenues to come in between $610.0 million and $625.0 million, with adjusted earnings coming in between $1.35 and $1.55 per share. However, the company said it feels more comfortable expecting full year results to be at the low-to-mid range of this guidance.

    International Speedway Corp shares were inactive during pre-market trading on Thursday. The stock is up 20.76% year-to-date

  • [By Patricio Kehoe] hem. This market giant operates 13 motorsports stadiums, including the infamous Daytona 500 and Talladega Superspeedway and hosts over 100 events during the racing season. The firm relies on the motorsport segment for 70% of its revenue, and is majority owned by the France family, which also owns the privately held NASCAR. However, this once popular sport has lost some of its fame from the 2000s and today, it might not be the most profitable business. Let�� take a look at what might have motivated investment guru David Dreman (Trades, Portfolio) to sell out his company shares.

    Back and Forth in a Monopoly

    The motorsports industry is a natural monopoly at the local level, since only one racetrack can hold NASCAR events in each market, and until now, International Speedway has won this battle. Nevertheless, over the past five years, this company has suffered under declining ticket and concession spending, due to a weak demographic fan base located in troubled geographies. Although recent racetrack changes and customer stabilization will leave ISCA well positioned when spending power increases once again, this is bound to happen at a slow pace. However, the distinct properties of each racetrack attract high brand loyalty, and have compelled competitors like Speedway Motorsports Inc. (TRK) to focus business on completely different markets, therefore posing no real threat to ISCA.

    Given that a recession or high oil prices could lead to a strong decline in admissions and concessions revenue, as well as corporate sponsorships, the motorsport giant has been making active efforts to counterbalance its vulnerability. After the 2009 recession cut down on sales by 40% and motorsports lost some popularity, causing ROIC metrics to plummet from 17.7% (quarter four of 2008) to 6.2% in fiscal 2013, ISCA focused on improving its capital allocation strategy. The new Hollywood Casino at the Kansas Speedway racetrack, which the company is building in a joint ventu

Top Long Term Stocks To Own For 2014: Tumi Holdings Inc (TUMI)

Tumi Holdings, Inc. (Tumi), incorporated in September 2004, offers a range of travel and business products and accessories in various categories. The Company designs its products for, and markets its products to, professionals, travelers and individuals. As of December 31, 2011, the Company distributed its products worldwide in over 70 countries through approximately 1,600 points of distribution. The Company sells its products worldwide to consumers through both direct and indirect channels and manages its business through four operating segments: Direct-to-Consumer North America, Direct-to-Consumer International, Indirect-to-Consumer North America and Indirect-to-Consumer International.

Tumi utilizes an array of channels, including retail, wholesale and e-commerce. The Company�� retail stores are located in retail venues worldwide, including New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Paris, London, Rome, Tokyo, Munich, Moscow, Milan and Barcelona. The Company designs its products in its United States design studios. The Company sells its products directly to consumers through a worldwide network of approximately 100 company-owned locations, consisting of full-price stores located in retail malls or street venues, outlet stores in outlet malls and its e-commerce Websites. During the year ended December 31, 2011, Direct-to-Consumer sales consisted approximately 48% of its net sales.

The Company sells its products indirectly to consumers through various channels that include partner stores (wholesale accounts operated by local distributors or retailers that carry only Tumi products), its worldwide wholesale distribution network of specialty luggage retailers, department stores and business-to-business channels, retail concessions within department stores and third-party e-commerce sites, such as Amazon.com, Zappos.com. Indirect-to-Consumer sales consisted of approximately 52% of its net sales during 2011. Tumi offers travel and business products, as well as accessories. Travel produc! ts include wheeled and soft carry-on luggage, garment bags, totes, duffels, wheeled packing cases and travel kits. Business products include business cases, day bags and totes. Its accessories include agendas and planners, passport cases, umbrellas and travel accessories, such as electric current adapters, key fobs, packing accessories, toiletry kits and foldable travel totes. Its accessories also include belts, outerwear and sunglasses and eyewear.

Direct-to-Consumer North America

The Company sells its products directly to consumers through a network of 83 company-owned retail stores consisting of full-price stores and outlet stores located in retail malls or street venues. It also sells its product directly to consumers through its e-commerce Website.

Direct-to-Consumer International

As of December 31, 2011, the Company sold directly to consumers through a network of 14 company-owned full-price and outlet stores in street venues and select malls in international locations. It also sells its products directly to consumers through its two international e-commerce Websites.

Indirect-to-Consumer North America

As of December 31, 2011, the Company sold to wholesale customers in North America through approximately 700 doors, including specialty luggage retailers, department stores and business-to-business channels. Many of its wholesale customers also operate their own e-commerce Websites through which it sells. The Company�� products are also sold in partner stores operated by local distributors or retailers that carry only Tumi products.

Indirect-to-Consumer International

The Company sells its products to wholesale customers through approximately 800 doors, approximately 59% of which are in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, 39% of which are in the Asia-Pacific region, and 2% of which are in the Central and South America region. It has distribution channels in Australia, China, Europe, Hong Kon! g, the Mi! ddle East, South Africa, South Korea, Southeast Asia and Taiwan. Its products are also sold in partner stores operated by local distributors or retailers that carry only Tumi products. The Company also operates concessions in department stores throughout Europe and the Middle East. Many of its wholesale customers also operate their own e-commerce Websites through which they sell its products.

Tumi competes with Rimowa, Samsonite, Bally, Burberry, Dunhill, Ferragamo, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Montblanc, Porsche, Prada, Victorinox, Briggs and Riley, Mandarina Duck, Piquadro, Porter, Ace Brand, and Coach.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Luke Jacobi]

    Tumi Holdings (NYSE: TUMI) was also up, gaining 6.09 percent to $20.55 after the company signed a licensing agreement with David Peyser Sportswear.

  • [By Michael Lewis]

    Luxury luggage brand Tumi (NYSE: TUMI  ) , a little more than one year since its IPO, has failed to achieve much in the way of capital appreciation. The company came out of the gates with a rich valuation, heavily influenced by the then-recent success of other high-line brands such as Michael Kors. Tumi is growing, and will continue to grow -- much of its performance (or lack thereof) in the market has been the typical story of overvaluation and overhype. In the just-released earnings, there is plenty of evidence of a fundamentally strong company with a long runway for growth, even if Wall Street analysts were expecting a little more. With a long-term mind-set, is Tumi a good stock?

Top Long Term Stocks To Own For 2014: PGT Inc.(PGTI)

PGT, Inc. engages in the manufacture and supply of residential impact-resistant windows and doors. The company offers impact-resistant products, including heavy-duty aluminum or vinyl frames with laminated glass to provide protection from hurricane-force winds and wind-borne debris. It also provides a range of non-impact-resistant aluminum and vinyl frame windows and doors; Architectural Systems line of products, which offer protection from hurricane-force winds and wind-borne debris for mid-and high-rise buildings; and non-glass vertical and horizontal sliding panels for porch enclosures, such as vinyl-glazed and aluminum-framed products used for enclosing screened-in porches that provide protection from inclement weather. The company markets its products under the WinGuard, PremierVue, PGT Architectural Systems, Eze-Breeze, and SpectraGuard brand names. PGT, Inc. offers its products to residential new construction, and home repair and remodeling end markets through windo w distributors, building supply distributors, window replacement dealers, and enclosure contractors. It operates in the southeastern United States, the Gulf Coast, Coastal mid-Atlantic, the Caribbean, Central America, and Canada. The company was formerly known as JLL Window Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to PGT, Inc. in January 2004. PGT, Inc. was founded in 1980 and is based in North Venice, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Eric Volkman]

    A larger-than-previously announced block of PGT's (NASDAQ: PGTI  ) shares is up for grabs. Major stockholder JLL Partners Fund has increased the size of its sale; it is now offering an even 10 million shares in an underwritten secondary public offering priced at $7.75 per share. Also, the issue's underwriters have been granted a 30-day option to buy up to an additional 1.65 million shares from the seller.

Top Long Term Stocks To Own For 2014: PDF Solutions Inc.(PDFS)

PDF Solutions, Inc. provides infrastructure technologies and services for the design and manufacture of integrated circuits (IC) in Asia, the United States, and Europe. It offers manufacturing process solutions that include process research and development, and process integration and yield ramp; volume manufacturing solutions; and design-for-manufacturability (DFM) solutions, such as logic DFM, circuit level DFM, memory DFM, and pdBRIX Physical IP solutions. The company also offers characterization vehicle (CV) infrastructure, which includes CV test chips, pdCV analysis software, and pdFasTest electrical wafer test system; Yield Ramp Simulator software that analyzes an IC design to compute its systematic and random yield loss; and Circuit Surfer software, which estimates the parametric performance yield and manufacturability of analog/mixed-signal/RF blocks. In addition, it provides pdBRIX platform, which includes software for identifying and developing a set of physical IP building blocks that are tailored to a given manufacturing process and target product application; dataPOWER YMS platform that collects yield data, loads, and stores it in an integrated database and allows product engineers to identify and analyze production yield issues; FDC software, which provides fault detection and classification capabilities to identify sources of process variations and manufacturing excursions by monitoring equipment parameters; and YA-FDC service and software platform that allows online modeling to create real-time virtual measurements of final product attributes during processing. PDF Solutions sells its technologies and services through direct sales force, sales representatives, and strategic alliances to integrated device manufacturers, fabless semiconductor design companies, and foundries in the microprocessors, memory, graphics, image sensor solutions, and communications segments. The company was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in San Jo se, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Magic Diligence]

    Liberator is a direct-to-consumer provider of medical supplies, primarily urological catheters, ostomysupplies, mastectomy fashions, and diabetic supplies, aimed at Medicare-eligible seniors. The company has an attractive revenue growth ramp, with sales growing at a 5-year average of nearly 50%. This has leveraged costs, leading margins up from just 5% in 2011 to 18% today. Liberator pays a 4.3% dividend yield and has a solid balance sheet with $20 million in cash and just $3 million in debt. Below $3, the stock is at the bottom of its 52-week range.

    PDF Solutions Inc (PDFS)

    Far from an electronic document company, PDF Solutions provides software, IP, hardware, and services designed to speed the process and lower the cost of designing and manufacturing custom integrated circuits (ICs), especially in the area of yield improvements. PDFS has booked solid 3-year average revenue growth of 18%, has exploded operating margins from 2% in 2010 to over 35% today, generates free cash flow in excess of net income, and has no debt with a nice cash cushion of $65 million. At under $13, the stock is more than 50% below its 52-week high and carries a bargain 12% earnings yield.

  • [By Roberto Pedone]

    PDF Solutions (PDFS) provides infrastructure technologies and services to improve yield and optimize performance of integrated circuits. This stock closed up 2.6% at $21.51 in Friday's trading session.

    Friday's Volume: 543,000

    Three-Month Average Volume: 112,159

    Volume % Change: 393%

    From a technical perspective, PDFS trended up here right above some near-term support at $20.50 and into new 52-week-high territory with above-average volume. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last three months, with shares moving higher from its low of $14.95 to its intraday high on Friday of $21.64. During that move, shares of PDFS have been consistently making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has also been accompanies by heavy upside volume flows since mid-July.

    Traders should now look for long-biased trades in PDFS as long as it's trending above some near-term support at $20.50 or above its 50-day at $19.06 and then once it sustains a move or close above Friday's high of $21.64 with volume that's near or above 112,159 shares. If we get that move soon, then PDFS will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $25 to $28.

Top Long Term Stocks To Own For 2014: TRW Automotive Holdings Corporation(TRW)

TRW Automotive Holdings Corp., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells automotive systems, modules, and components for automotive original equipment manufacturers and related after-markets. It operates in four segments: Chassis Systems, Occupant Safety Systems, Electronics, and Automotive Components. The Chassis Systems segment offers product lines relating to steering gears and systems, foundation brakes, modules, brake controls, and linkage and suspension. The Occupant Safety Systems segment provides airbags, seat belts, steering wheels, and occupant restraint systems. The Electronics segment offers various products comprising safety electronics, radio frequency electronics, chassis electronics, powertrain electronics, and driver assist systems. The Automotive Components provides body controls, engine valves, and engineered fasteners and components. The company offers its products for passenger cars, light trucks, and commercial vehicles worldwid e. TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. was founded in 1904 and is based in Livonia, Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Vera Yuan]

    On the morning of September 15, TRW Automotive Holdings (TRW) announced it was going to be acquired by ZF Friedrichshafen for $105.60 per share. This was of more than a passing interest to us because at the time TRW was the largest holding in Oakmark Select. It was also the culmination of a process we applauded because TRW stock began 2012 at $33 per share, and was only up to $74 at the end of 2013. Over the years, takeovers have contributed significantly to Oakmark and Oakmark Select�� returns. In 2014 both Funds benefited when AT&T offered to buy DirecTV and when Actavis purchased Forest Laboratories. Additionally, Oakmark Fund owned Covidien, which increased from $72 to $92 after announcing its merger with Medtronic. Obviously, we welcome takeover activity in any of our holdings.But when TRW announced news of the acquisition at 8:16 a.m. Chicago time, it took less than an hour ��9:04 to be exact ��for the first law firm to announce its threat to sue TRW for accepting too low a price. Within 10 days I had counted at least 27 similar press releases from various law firms purporting to represent shareholders, threatening legal action to block the takeover. How do you square the law firms all jumping in to protect the shareholders while as a large shareholder ourselves, we were cheering the news?Merger objection lawsuits aren�� unique to the TRW deal. In fact, each of the takeovers we were invested in had multiple law firms trying to block the deals, alleging that shareholders weren�� getting paid a high enough price. And it isn�� just those takeovers. Within minutes of almost any takeover announcement, many law firms race to file press releases. Ten years ago, less than 10% of announced acquisitions of public companies were followed by merger objection suits. Today, almost every deal produces multiple suits. The overwhelming majority of these suits result in zero benefit to the shareholders, but almost all result in payments to law firms. Effecti

  • [By Vera Yuan]

    During the quarter, the Fund initiated positions in eight companies and strategically added to positions in sixteen companies. Over the same time period, the Fund eliminated its holdings in six companies and strategically decreased its holdings in another five companies. Positions initiated during the last three months include: Dorman Products, Inc. (DORM), Dover Corp. (DOV), DSW Inc. (DSW), First Niagara Financial Group (FNFG), Packaging Corporation of America (PKG), Patterson Companies, Inc. (PDCO), The Travelers Companies Inc. (TRV), and Universal Health Services Inc (UHS). Positions eliminated during the past quarter include: ABB Ltd. (ABB), Ann Inc. (ANN), Baxter International (BAX), International Game Technology (IGT), TRW Automotive Holdings (TRW), and URS Corporation (URS).

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Cooper Tire & Rubber (CTB) has gained 1% to $24.86 today, but its trading more on whether investors expect its acquisition by Apollo Tyres to be completed. Car-part companies, however, are also exhibiting weakness today. TRW Automotive (TRW) has fallen 0.8% to $77.91, Lear (LEA) has dipped 0.4% to $74.78 and American Axel and Manufacturing (AXL) is off 0.5% to $18.99.

Top Long Term Stocks To Own For 2014: Johnson Outdoors Inc.(JOUT)

Johnson Outdoors Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets seasonal outdoor recreation products used primarily for fishing, diving, paddling, and camping. Its Marine Electronics segment offers battery powered fishing motors for trolling or primary propulsion; sonar and GPS equipment for fish finding and navigation; downriggers for controlled-depth fishing; leisure boat navigation technology; and lake charts. The company?s Outdoor Equipment segment provides consumer tents, sleeping bags, camping furniture, and other recreational camping products; commercial tents, such as party tents and accessories, including lighting systems, interior lining options, and mounting brackets; heavy-duty tents and lightweight backpacking tents for the military, including modular general purpose tents, rapid deployment shelters, and lightweight one and two person tents; and military tent accessories, such as fabric floors, as well as field compasses and digital instruments, and performance measurement instruments. This segment also acts as a subcontract manufacturer for other providers of military tents. It primarily serves camping and backpacking specialty stores, sporting goods stores, catalog and mail order houses, general rental stores, and tent erectors. Its Watercraft segment offers canoes, kayaks, accessories, paddles, and personal flotation devices. The company?s Diving segment manufactures and markets a line of underwater diving and snorkeling equipment, including regulators, buoyancy compensators, dive computers and gauges, wetsuits, masks, fins, snorkels, and accessories for technical and recreational divers. This segment also offers diving gear to dive training centers, aquariums, and resorts. Johnson Outdoors Inc. operates primarily in the United States, Europe, Canada, and the Pacific Basin. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Racine, Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Peter Graham]

    The Q3 2014 earnings report for small cap golf stock Callaway Golf Co (NYSE: ELY), a potential peer of sporting goods or sporting equipment stocks like Toronto listed�Performance Sports Group Ltd (NYSE: PSG) and Johnson Outdoors Inc (NASDAQ: JOUT), is scheduled for after the market closes on Thursday (October 23rd). Aside from the Callaway Golf earnings report, it should be said that Performance Sports Group Ltd reported Q1 2015 on October 9th (revenues were up 28% to $197.1 million) while the estimated release date for the Q4 2014 Johnson Outdoors Inc earnings report is�October 31st. However, Callaway Golf is the last publicly traded�pure play golf equipment stock�giving investors direct exposure to the game���especially since Dicks Sporting Goods Inc (NYSE: DKS)�recently took a $20.4 million pretax golf restructuring charge and plans to focus more attention on other sports.

Top Long Term Stocks To Own For 2014: Intermolecular Inc (IMI)

Intermolecular, Inc. (Intermolecular), incorporated on June 16, 2004, is engaged in research and development and time-to-market for the semiconductor and clean-energy industries. The Company, through paid collaborative development programs (CDPs) with its customers, develops technology and intellectual property (IP) for its customers focused on advanced materials, processes, integration and device architectures. The Company provides its customers with technology through various fee arrangements and grants them rights to associated IP, primarily through royalty-bearing licenses. Through paid CDPs and its own development, the Company has established a portfolio of greater than 1,000 patents and patent applications. Its approach is broadly applicable to high-volume integrated device markets, which include the markets for semiconductors, flat glass coatings and glass-based devices, solar cells, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), flat-panel displays, advanced batteries and other energy efficiency applications.

As of December 31, 2012, the Company targets large, high-volume semiconductor and high-growth emerging clean energy markets, including DRAM, non-volatile memory (including flash memory and embedded memory), complex logic, flat glass coatings and glass-based devices, solar cells, LEDs and other energy efficiency applications. The Company�� customers include ATMI, Inc. (ATMI), Elpida Memory, Inc. (Elpida), First Solar. Inc. (First), GLOBALFOUNDRIES Singapore Pte. Ltd (GLOBALFOUNDRIES), Guardian Industries Corp. (Guardian), SanDisk Corporation (SanDisk), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Toshiba Corporation (Toshiba). For the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company has received the majority of its revenue from customers in DRAM, flash memory, complex logic and energy-efficient applications in flat glass. The elements in HPC platform include Tempus HPC processing, automated characterization, and informatics and analysis software. Tempus HPC processing are used to process ! different experiments consisting of combinations of materials, processing parameters, sequencing and device structures. Automated characterization systems are used to characterize the substrates processed by its Tempus HPC processing tools. Informatics and analysis software are used to automate experiment generation, characterization, data analysis and reporting.

The Company�� HPC platform consists of its Tempus HPC processing tools, automated characterization and informatics and analysis software. The Company�� platform is purpose-built for Research and Development (R and D) using combinatorial process systems. Combinatorial processing is a methodology for discovery and development that employs parallel and other high-throughput experimentation, which allows R and D experimentation to be performed at speeds up to 100 times faster than traditional methods. The Company�� processing tools allows performing up to 192 experiments on a single substrate.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Leading and Lagging Sectors
    Technology shares gained about 0.68 percent in today's trading. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Intermolecular (NASDAQ: IMI), up 38.3 percent, and Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN), up 9.4 percent. In trading on Monday, utilities shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.68 percent.

  • [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

    ARM Holdings Plc (ARM) lost 2.6 percent, leading European technology companies lower before it publishes half-year results next week. IMI Plc (IMI) gained 2 percent as Citigroup Inc. listed the engineering company among its most preferred stocks.

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Leading and Lagging Sectors
    Technology shares gained about 0.68 percent in today's trading. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Intermolecular (NASDAQ: IMI), up 38.3 percent, and Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN), up 9.4 percent. In trading on Monday, utilities shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.68 percent.

  • [By Lisa Levin]

    Intermolecular (NASDAQ: IMI) shares touched a new 52-week low of $4.84. Intermolecular shares have dropped 45.09% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 26.39% in the same period.

5 Stocks With Big Insider Buying

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Corporate insiders sell their own companies' stock for a number of reasons. 


Must Read: Warren Buffett's Top 10 Dividend Stocks

They might need the cash for a big personal purchase such as a new house or yacht, or they might need the cash to fund a charity. Sometimes they sell as part of a planned selling program that they have put in place for diversification purposes, which allows them to sell stock in stages instead of selling all at one price.

Other times they sell because they think their stock is overvalued and the risk/reward is no longer attractive. Some even dump their own stock because they have inside knowledge that a competitor is eating their lunch and stealing market share. 


But insiders usually buy their own shares for one reason: They think the stock is a bargain and has tremendous upside.

The key word in that last statement is "think." Just because a corporate insider thinks his or her stock is going to trade higher, that doesn't mean it will play out that way. Insiders can have all the conviction in the world that their stock is a buy, but if the market doesn't agree with them, the stock could end up going nowhere. Also, I say "usually" because sometimes insiders are loaned money by the company to buy their own stock. Those loans are often sweetheart deals and shouldn't be viewed as organic insider buying.

At the end of the day, it's institutional money managers running big mutual funds and hedge funds that drive stock prices, not insiders. That said, many of these savvy stock operators will follow insider buying activity when they agree with the insider that the stock is undervalued and has upside potential. This is why it's so important to always be monitoring insider activity but twice as important to make sure the trend of the stock coincides with the insider buying.

Recently, a number of companies' corporate insiders have bought large amounts of stock. These insiders are finding some value in the market, which warrants a closer look at these stocks. Here's a look five stocks whose insiders have been doing some big buying per SEC filings.

Must Read: 12 Stocks Warren Buffett Loves in 2014

Jive Software

One technology player that insiders are active in here is Jive Software (NS), which provides a social business software platform to businesses, government agencies, and other enterprises. Insiders are buying this stock into massive weakness, since shares are down sharply by 43% so far in 2014.

 

Jive Software has a market cap of $446 million and an enterprise value of $365 million. This stock trades at a fair valuation, with a price-to-sales of 2.68 and a price-to-book of 5.67. Its estimated growth rate for this year is 45.5%, and for next year it's pegged at 30%. This is a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $98.18 million and its total debt is $6.60 million.

 

A director just bought 260,819 shares, or about $1.71 million worth of stock, at $6.53 to $6.60 per share.

 

From a technical perspective, JIVE is currently trending just above its 50-day moving average and below its 200-day moving average, which is neutral trendwise. This stock recently pulled back off its short-term high of $7.14 a share with heavy downside volume flows. That drop has now pushed the stock to right above its 50-day moving average at $6.10 a share.

If you're bullish on JIVE, then I would look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above its 50-day at $6.10 a share and then once it breaks out above some key near-term overhead resistance levels at $7.14 a share to its 200-day moving average of $7.43 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 557,678 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then JIVE will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels $8.50 to $9 a share, or even $9.50 to $10 a share.

Must Read: 10 Stocks George Soros Is Buying

Groupon

Another technology player that insiders are jumping into here is Groupon (GRPN), which operates online local commerce marketplaces that connect merchants to consumers by offering goods and services at a discount worldwide. Insiders are buying this stock into strength, since shares have rallied higher by 19% over the last three months.

Groupon has a market cap of $4.9 billion and an enterprise value of $4.2 billion. This stock trades at a premium valuation, with a trailing price-to-earnings of 49. Its estimated growth rate for this year is -54.5%, and for next year it's pegged at 200%. This is a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $855.17 million and its total debt is zero.

The CEO just bought 454,166 shares, or around $3.62 million worth of stock, at $7.85 per share.

From a technical perspective, GRPN is currently trending just above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bullish. This stock recently gapped up sharply higher from $5.70 to over $7.50 with strong upside volume flows. Shares of GRPN have now pulled back off its recent high of $8.28 a share and the stock is starting to approach both its 200-day and 50-day moving averages.

If you're in the bull camp on GRPN, then I would look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above its 200-day at $7.03 or its 50-day at $6.77 a share and then once it breaks out above some key near-term overhead resistance levels at around $7.75 to $8.28 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that registers near or above its three-month average action of 15.59 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then GRPN will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance level at $9 a share. Any high-volume move above $9 will then give GRPN a chance to re-fill some of its previous gap-down-day zone from February that started near $11 a share.

 

Must Read: 7 Stocks Warren Buffett Is Selling in 2014

 

3D Systems

One technology player that insiders are loading up on here is 3D Systems (DDD), which operates as a provider of 3D printing centric design-to-manufacturing solutions in the U.S., Germany, the Asia-Pacific, and other European countries. Insiders are buying this stock into major weakness, since shares have dropped big by 61% so far in 2014.

3D Systems has a market cap of $3.9 billion and an enterprise value of $3.5 billion. This stock trades at a premium valuation, with a trailing price-to-earnings of 178 and a forward price-to-earnings of 34. Its estimated growth rate for this year is -14.1%, and for next year it's pegged at 42.5%. This is a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $377.33 million and its total debt is $9.89 million.

A director just bought 26,479 shares, or about $881,000 worth of stock, at $33.09 to $33.20 per share.

From a technical perspective, DDD is currently trending well below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bearish. This stock has been downtrending badly for the last five months, with shares sliding sharply lower from its high of $69.56 a share to its new 52-week low of $32.64 a share. During that downtrend, shares of DDD have been making mostly lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That said, shares of DDD have now started to rebound off that $32.64 low and it's beginning to move within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade.

If you're bullish on DDD, then I would look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above its new 52-week low of $32.64 a share and then once it breaks out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $37.10 to $38.66 a share and then above $39.15 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above that level with volume that registers near or above its three-month average volume of 3.16 million shares. If that breakout develops soon, then DDD will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap-down-day zone from October that started at $44.27 a share.

Must Read: 10 Stocks Carl Icahn Loves in 2014

Generac

One diversified machinery player that insiders are snapping up a decent amount of stock in here is Generac (GNRC), which designs, manufactures, and markets power generation equipment and other engine powered products for the residential, light commercial, industrial, and construction markets in the U.S., Canada, and internationally. Insiders are buying this stock into weakness, since shares have dropped notably by 22% so far in 2014.

Generac has a market cap of $3 billion and an enterprise value of $3.8 billion. This stock trades at a fair valuation, with a trailing price-to-earnings of 17.6 and a forward price-to-earnings of 12.7. Its estimated growth rate for this year is -27%, and for next year it's pegged at 8.9%. This is not a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $173.16 million and its total debt is $1.11 billion.

A director just bought 25,000 shares, or about $1.05 million worth of stock, at $42.17 per share.

From a technical perspective, GNRC is currently trending above its 50-day moving average and below its 200-day moving average, which is neutral trendwise. This stock recently formed a triple bottom chart pattern at $39.08, $38.75 and $38.64 a share. Following that bottom, shares of GNRC have started to rebound sharply higher as the stock has pushed back above its 50-day moving average of $42.41 a share. That move has now pushed shares of GNRC within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade.

If you're bullish on GNRC, then I would look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above its 50-day at $42.41 a share or above more near-term support at $40 a share and then once it breaks out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $45 to $45.72 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that registers near or above its three-month average action of 1.17 million shares. If that breakout kicks off soon, then GNRC will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $48.27 to $50 a share, or even $54 a share.

Must Read: 10 Stocks Billionaire John Paulson Loves in 2014

ConocoPhillips

One final stock with some decent insider buying is ConocoPhillips (COP), which explores for, develops, and produces crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and natural gas liquids worldwide. Insiders are buying this stock into modest weakness, since shares have traded off by 9.6% over the last three months.

ConocoPhillips has a market cap of $88 billion and an enterprise value of $103 billion. This stock trades at a fair valuation, with a trailing price-to-earnings of 9.5 and a forward price-to-earnings of 13.2. Its estimated growth rate for this year is 3.3%, and for next year it's pegged at -8%. This is not a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $5.78 billion and its total debt is $21.19 billion. This stock currently sports a dividend yield of 4.1%.

A vice president just bought 9,000 shares, or about $629,000 worth of stock, at $69.95 per share.
From a technical perspective, COP is currently trending below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bearish. This stock has been uptrending over the last month, with shares moving higher from its low of $63.56 to its recent high of $73.22 a share. During that uptrend, shares of COP have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of COP within range of triggering a major breakout trade above some key near-term overhead resistance levels.

If you're bullish on COP, then I would look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above some near-term support levels at $69.54 or $68.21 a share and then once it breaks out above some key near-term overhead resistance levels at $73.22 to its 200-day moving average of $74.53 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average volume of 6.76 million shares. If that breakout materializes soon, then COP will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $78 to $80 a share.

To see more stocks with notable insider buying, check out the Stocks With Big Insider Buying portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

Must Read: Warren Buffett's Top 10 Dividend Stocks

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.


Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including CNBC.com and Forbes.com. You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.

 


Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Top 10 Defensive Companies For 2014

Nokia� (NYSE: NOK  ) is notably hanging on to its wide patent portfolio instead of selling it to�Microsoft� (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) , opting to license its IP to the software giant instead. To date, the company has primarily used its patents defensively.

Nokia's IP is a valuable asset that it can continue to monetize, and the company could potentially pursue Google� (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) Android OEMs aggressively for royalties.�If so, that would add yet another layer of costs for Android vendors looking to bring devices to market.

Even within Nokia's existing cross-licensing agreements, the company can effectively eliminate its outgoing royalty payments since it will no longer sell handsets, and keep the incoming royalty checks flowing in.�

In the following video, Erin Kennedy discusses Nokia's possible patent strategy with Evan Niu, CFA, and Eric Bleeker, CFA.�

The tech world has been thrown into chaos as the biggest titans invade one another's turf. At stake is the future of a trillion-dollar revolution: mobile. To find out which of these giants is set to dominate the next decade, we've created a free report called "Who Will Win the War Between the 5 Biggest Tech Stocks?" Inside, you'll find out which companies are set to dominate, and we'll give in-the-know investors an edge. To grab a copy of this report, simply click here -- it's free!

Top 5 Telecom Stocks To Watch Right Now: PriceSmart Inc.(PSMT)

PriceSmart, Inc. owns and operates membership shopping warehouse clubs in the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Its warehouse clubs sell perishable foods and consumer goods at low prices to individuals and businesses, as well as offers ancillary services, which include food courts, tire centers, and photo centers. The company operates its warehouse clubs under the brand name of PriceSmart. As of August 31, 2011, it operated 29 warehouse clubs in 12 countries and 1 U.S. territory, including 5 in Costa Rica, 4 each in Panama and Trinidad, 3 each in Guatemala and in the Dominican Republic, 2 each in El Salvador and Honduras, and 1 each in Colombia, Aruba, Barbados, Jamaica, Nicaragua, and the United States Virgin Islands. PriceSmart, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    Costco's biggest growth opportunity is outside its North American base, where it already has hundreds of warehouse locations. By contrast, less than 10% of its stores are outside the U.S., and it has room to grow its presence in the European and Asia-Pacific region as well. Moreover, PriceSmart (NASDAQ: PSMT  ) has had success in Latin America and the Caribbean with its similar business model, and looking southward could also be a potential growth avenue for Costco going forward.

Top 10 Defensive Companies For 2014: Franklin Street Properties Corp. (FSP)

Franklin Street Properties Corp. provides real estate and investment banking/investment services in the United States. The company�s Real Estate Operations segment involves in real estate rental operations, leasing, and secured financing of real estate for interim acquisition or other property financing, as well as provides asset management, property management, property acquisitions, dispositions, and development. As of December 31, 2008, it owned and operated a portfolio of 29 real estate properties, which include 28 office buildings and 1 industrial use property. The company�s Investment Banking/Investment Services segment involves in the structuring of real estate investments and broker/dealer services that include the organization of Sponsored real estate investment trusts (REITs), the acquisition and development of real estate on behalf of Sponsored REITs, and the raising of capital to equitize the Sponsored REITs through sale of preferred stock in private placemen ts. This segment offers investment banking/investment services primarily to institutions and high net-worth individuals. The company has elected to be taxed as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. As a REIT, it would not be subject to federal income tax, provided it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its shareholders. Franklin Street Properties Corp. was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Wakefield, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Lawrence Meyers]

    I would consider BLE stock a somewhat risky choice, but not as crazy risky a full-on junk bond portfolio. It�� well-diversified, trades at $14 and certainly is a high-yield qualifier at roughly 7% annually.

    High-Yield Stocks: Franklin Street Properties (FSP)

    FSP Dividend Yield: 6.1%

  • [By , DividendChannel.com]

    So when stocks turn up that see insider buying, and are also top ranked, investors are wise to take notice. One such company is Franklin Street Properties (FSP), which saw buying by Director John N. Burke.

Top 10 Defensive Companies For 2014: Southern Pacific Resource Corp (STPJF.PK)

Southern Pacific Resource Corp. (Southern Pacific) is engaged in the acquisition and development of heavy oil and bitumen producing properties, with a focus on thermal extraction in-situ oil sands projects in the Western Canadian sedimentary basin. Southern Pacific has two principal assets STP-McKay and STP-Senlac. The Company also holds additional oil sands leases in the McMurray and Peace River sub-basins in northeastern Alberta. The Company has 100% working interest in approximately 37,760 acres, of oil sands leases in McKay Block. Southern Pacific has its 100% working interest SAGD thermal heavy oil asset near Unity, Saskatchewan, STP-Senlac. In September 2013, the Company announced the closing of a disposition of non-core assets related to its Leismer property. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Stephan Dube]

    Cold Lake's most notable producers:

    Husky Energy (HUSK.PK), see article here.Pengrowth Energy Corporation (PGH), see article here.Southern Pacific Resource (STPJF.PK), see article here.Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ), see article here.Devon Energy (DVN), see article here.Imperial Oil (IMO), see article here.Baytex, see article here.Bonavista Energy (BNPUF.PK), see article here.

    Athabasca's most notable producers:

Top 10 Defensive Companies For 2014: WebMD Health Corp (WBMD)

WebMD Health Corp. provides health information services to consumers, physicians and other healthcare professionals, employers, and health plans through its public and private online portals, mobile platforms, and health-focused publications in the United States. The company?s public portals enable consumers to obtain health and wellness information, including information on specific diseases or conditions; check symptoms; locate physicians; store individual healthcare information; receive periodic e-newsletters on topics of individual interest; and participate in online communities with peers and experts. Its public portals for physicians and healthcare professionals provide access to clinical reference sources; stay abreast of the latest clinical information; learn about new treatment options; earn continuing medical education credit; and communicate with peers. The company also provides mobile health information applications for use by consumers and physicians. In addit ion, WebMD Health Corp. offers e-detailing promotion and physician recruitment services, content syndication and distribution, and information services, as well as print services, including the advertisements in WebMD the Magazine, a consumer magazine distributed to physician office waiting rooms. The public portals? sponsors and advertisers include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, and consumer products companies. The company?s private portals enable employers and health plans to provide their employees and members with access to personalized health and benefit information and decision support technology that helps them to make more informed benefit, treatment, and provider decisions. Further, it offers telephonic health coaching services on a per participant basis across an employee or plan population for clients of its private portals. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Brian Pacampara]

    What: Shares of medical website operator WebMD (NASDAQ: WBMD  ) soared 27% today after the company's preliminary quarterly results and outlook easily topped Wall Street expectations. �

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Leading and Lagging Sectors
    In trading on Monday, technology shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 1.18 percent. Among the leading sector stocks, gains came from WebMD Health (NASDAQ: WBMD) and 21Vianet Group (NASDAQ: VNET). Telecommunications services shares gained by just 0.35 percent in the US market today.

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    WebMD Health (NASDAQ: WBMD) was down, falling 3.14 percent to $41.97 after Stifel Nicolaus downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold and removed the target price of $55.

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    WebMD Health (NASDAQ: WBMD) was down, falling 3.65 percent to $41.75 after Stifel Nicolaus downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold and removed the target price of $55.

Top 10 Defensive Companies For 2014: Chilean Metals Inc (CMX)

Chilean Metals Inc, formerly International PBX Ventures Ltd., is an exploration-stage company. The Company is engaged in exploring for gold, silver, copper and molybdenum on its various properties located in Chile through its wholly owned subsidiaries in Chile, Minera IPBX Limitada, Minera Tierra de Oro Limitada, Minera Palo Negro Limitada and Minera Sierra Pintada Limitada. The Company owns 100% interest in Copaquire Project. The Copaquire property is approximately 20 kilometer west of the Collahuasi mine and 8 kilometer west of the Quebrada Blanca copper-molybdenum mine properties. The Tierra de Oro property lies about 30 kilometers south of the Candelaria copper-gold-silver mines. Through its 100% owned Chilean Metals Exploration Ltd. the Company owns six Gold-Copper properties strategically located in the prolific IOCG belt of Chile. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Johanna Bennett]

    It�� a good day for auto dealer stocks. CarMax (CMX) got engines revving on Wall Street when it posted blowout quarterly results. And Goldman Sachs upgraded AutoNation (AN) from Neutral to Buy and set a six-month price target of $65, citing the company�� growth prospects, margins and balance sheet.

    The AutoNation upgrade was actually part of a broader industry call by analysts Patrick Archambault and David Tamberrino. In a 32-page note published today,�the pair raised estimates for auto dealers, citing increased SAAR projections for 2014 through 2016 and growth opportunity�� from M&A. Archambault and Tamberrino write:

    The combination of these factors drives up our 2015/2016 EPS estimates to 2.4% and 6.1% above the Street which we believe is understating the sector�� growth potential. M&A is the key growth opportunity. About 2 points of our 3% profit revision comes from M&A. With $2.4bn of dry powder, a still very fragmented dealer group, and reasonable valuations on the private side we think the risk is to the upside for acquisitions. M&A has added 2.4% to dealer revenue growth annually over the past 5 years which we assume continues.

    AutoNation rose 2.7% to $58.04, while CarMax surged 15.6% to $52.32

Top 10 Defensive Companies For 2014: Homeowners Choice Inc.(HCII)

Homeowners Choice, Inc., an insurance holding company, provides property and casualty insurance in Florida. The company provides property and casualty homeowners? insurance, condominium owners? insurance, and tenants? insurance to individuals owning property. It serves approximately 59,500 policyholders primarily through independent agents. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By CRWE]

    Homeowners Choice, Inc. (Nasdaq:HCII), a Florida-based insurance holding company, reported that its board of directors has declared cash dividends of 5.833 cents per share on its Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (“HCIIP”) for the months ending September 30, October 31 and November 30, 2012.

Top 10 Defensive Companies For 2014: Fifth Third Bancorp (FFH)

Fifth Third Bancorp (the Bancorp), incorporated on October 7, 1974, is a diversified financial services company. As of December 31, 2011, the Bancorp had $117 billion in assets, operated 15 affiliates with 1,316 full-service Banking Centers, including 104 Bank Mart locations open seven days a week inside select grocery stores, and 2,425 automated teller machines (ATMs) in 12 states throughout the Midwestern and Southeastern regions of the United States. The Bancorp operates in four business segments: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending and Investment Advisors. The Bancorp also has a 49% interest in Vantiv Holding, LLC.

Commercial Banking

Commercial Banking offers credit intermediation, cash management and financial services to large and middle-market businesses and government and professional customers. In addition to the traditional lending and depository offerings, Commercial Banking products and services include global cash management, foreign exchange and international trade finance, derivatives and capital markets services, asset-based lending, real estate finance, public finance, commercial leasing and syndicated finance.

Branch Banking

Branch Banking provides a range of deposit and loan and lease products to individuals and small businesses through 1,316 full-service Banking Centers. Branch Banking offers depository and loan products, such as checking and savings accounts, home equity loans and lines of credit, credit cards and loans for automobiles and other personal financing needs, as well as products designed to meet the specific needs of small businesses, including cash management services.

Consumer Lending

Consumer Lending includes the Bancorp�� mortgage, home equity, automobile and other indirect lending activities. Mortgage and home equity lending activities include the origination, retention and servicing of mortgage and home equity loans or lines of credit, sales and securitizations of t! hose loans, pools of loans or lines of credit, and all associated hedging activities. Indirect lending activities include loans to consumers through mortgage brokers and automobile dealers.

Investment Advisors

Investment Advisors provides a range of investment alternatives for individuals, companies and not-for-profit organizations. Investment Advisors is made up of four main businesses: Fifth Third Securities (FTS), an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Bancorp; Fifth Third Asset Management, Inc. (FTAM), an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Bancorp; Fifth Third Private Bank; and Fifth Third Institutional Services. FTS offers full service retail brokerage services to individual clients and broker dealer services to the institutional marketplace. FTAM provides asset management services and also advises the Bancorp�� family of mutual funds. Fifth Third Private Bank offers holistic strategies to affluent clients in wealth planning, investing, insurance and wealth protection. Fifth Third Institutional Services provide advisory services for institutional clients including states and municipalities.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Bloomberg]

    Mattel (MAT), the world's largest toymaker, agreed to buy Mega Brands (MB) for $460 million, acquiring the biggest challenger to Lego A/S in the construction-toy market. Mattel is offering C$17.75 ($16) a share, according to a statement today, a 36 percent premium over yesterday's closing price. The board of Montreal-based Mega Brands unanimously approved the transaction, and investors holding 39 percent of the stock, including Chief Executive Officer Marc Bertrand and Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH), agreed to the deal. The purchase of Mega Brands, the world's second-largest maker of snap-together blocks, will fill a product hole for Mattel. It doesn't have its own construction line, locking it out of a $4 billion market in the U.S. and Europe. The category also is a bright spot in a toy industry that has seen growth stall in the U.S. Mattel considered starting its own construction line, then opted instead to buy Mega Brands because it would be faster and less risky, Mattel CEO Bryan G. Stockton said on a call with reporters. Mattel got its first taste of construction in 2012 when it debuted blocks for its Barbie brand through a licensing deal with Mega Brands. Mattel realized that replicating this kind of expertise would take years, Stockton said. 'About Growth' "This acquisition is all about growth," Stockton said. "We see an opportunity to expand our brands in this category across boys, girls and preschool." Mattel shares rose 0.8 percent to $37.44 at 10:34 a.m. in New York. They had declined 9 percent over the past year through yesterday. Shares of Montreal-based Mega Brands surged 36 percent to C$17.73 today in Toronto. Mattel is coming off a lackluster holiday season, with sales sinking 6.3 percent -- the biggest quarterly drop since 2009. The El Segundo, California-based toymaker has looked to acquisitions to boost sales in the past. In February of 2012, it paid $680 million to buy HIT Entertainment, owner of Thomas the Tank Engine. It also acq

  • [By gurufocus]

    Prem Watsa, highly regarded CEO of Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (FFH), wrote in March that ��e continue to fully hedge our common stock portfolios as our concerns about the United States��� You would think he has been wrong with the hedging as he is losing money with them. But the last time he was losing with hedging was during the last bull market from 2004 to 2006. He then made a killing with the hedges in 2007 and 2008.

  • [By Riddhi Kharkia]

    Last year, Blackberry investors were not quite pleased with the collapse of a $4.7 billion buyout by Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (FFH) because the management had clearly highlighted the vulnerable cash position of the company and an uncontrollable rate of cash burn that reduced the time available to the company to bounce back. However, in retrospect, the decision made by FairFax to abandon the deal and instead fund the company with $1 billion in convertible bonds along with the appointment of a new management team proved to be beneficial for the struggling giant. In a bid to create superior products and innovate on the existing products, the current management has sparked reasonable hope among investors of a possible comeback.