Top 5 Railroad Companies To Watch For 2014

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, regional freight railroad operator Genesee & Wyoming (NYSE: GWR  ) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Genesee & Wyoming, and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Genesee & Wyoming facts

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Headquarters (founded)

Greenwich, Conn. (1899)

Market Cap

$4.8 billion

Industry

Railroads

Top Transportation Stocks To Watch Right Now: Buckeye Partners L.P. (BPL)

Buckeye Partners, L.P. owns and operates refined petroleum products pipeline systems in the United States. Its Pipelines & Terminals segment transports refined petroleum products; and provides bulk storage and terminal throughput services in the continental United States. This segment owns and operates approximately 6,000 miles of pipeline serving approximately 110 delivery locations; and has 100 active products terminals with aggregate storage capacity of approximately 40 million barrels. The company’s International Operations segment provides marine terminal throughput, marine bulk storage, and other related services. This segment operates through two petroleum product terminals located on Grand Bahama Island, in The Bahamas and in Puerto Rico with an aggregate storage capacity of approximately 30 million barrels. Its Natural Gas Storage segment provides natural gas storage services through a facility with approximately 30 billion cubic feet of working natural gas storage capacity located in Northern California. The company’s Energy Services segment engages in the wholesale distribution of refined petroleum products, including gasoline; propane; ethanol; biodiesel; and petroleum distillates, such as heating oil, diesel fuel, and kerosene to wholesalers and commercial users. Its Development and Logistics segment provides contract operations, construction management, and asset development services to third-party pipeline and energy assets, and energy companies in the United States. This segment owns and operates 2 underground propane storage caverns with approximately 800,000 barrels of throughput and storage capability in Indiana and Illinois; and a 30-mile ammonia pipeline and 25 miles of pipeline in Texas. Buckeye GP LLC serves as the general partner of the company. Buckeye Partners, L.P. was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividends4Life]

  Buckeye Partners LP (BPL) is one of the largest independent U.S. pipeline common carriers of refined petroleum products, with over 6,000 miles of pipeline.
  Yield: 6.0% | Years of Dividend Growth: 18

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  Buckeye Partners (NYSE: BPL  )
  Earlier this month I participated in a Motley Fool roundtable discussion and made Buckeye my top pick. Needless to say, my reputation is at risk if Buckeye turns out to be a quick bust. While a poor earnings report could make that happen, that's not what has my attention.

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  Buckeye Partners (NYSE: BPL  ) is one of the more unique master limited partnerships in the business. Its pipeline and terminal business is solely focused on transporting and storing petroleum products. Even more unique to Buckeye is its international pipeline and terminal business which provided 23.6% of the company's adjusted EBITDA last year. That segment, which we'll take a closer look at, should grow to become a much larger portion of its income given the exceptional opportunities it has to grow.�

• [By Paul Ausick]

  This deal follows three midstream transactions already this month. Regency Energy Partners LP (NYSE: RGP) will acquire PVR Partners LP (NYSE: PVR) for $5.6 billion, Crestwood Midstream LP (NASDAQ: CMLP) will acquire Arrow Midstream LLC for $750 million, and Buckeye Partners LP (NYSE: BPL) will pay $650 million to Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) for 20 petroleum products terminals along the East Coast.

Top 5 Railroad Companies To Watch For 2014: Caseys General Stores Inc.(CASY)

Casey?s General Stores, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates convenience stores under the Casey?s General Store, HandiMart, and Just Diesel names in 11 Midwestern states, primarily Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois. Its stores offer foods, beverages, dairy and bakery products, sandwiches, fountain drinks, donuts, cookies, brownies, Danish rolls, ham and cheese sandwiches, pork and chicken fritters, sausage sandwiches, chicken tenders, popcorn chicken, breakfast croissants and biscuits, breakfast pizza, hash browns, quarter-pound hamburgers and cheeseburgers, and potato cheese bites. The company?s stores also provide nonfood items, which include tobacco products, health and beauty aids, school supplies, house wares, pet supplies, photo supplies, and automotive products. In addition, it offers gasoline or gasohol for sale on a self-service basis. As of July 31, 2011, the company operated 1,665 stores. The company was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Ankeny, Iowa.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sue Chang]

  Casey�� General Stores (CASY) �is likely to post fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of 53 cents a share. Strong merchandise sales were likely to have been offset by weaker fuel margin, according to analyst Ronald Bookbinder at Benchmark. He also maintained the stock�� price target at $86 on Friday.

• [By Chad Fraser]

  One chain that continues to match up well with the above criteria is Casey’s General Stores (NasdaqGS: CASY). We last highlighted the company’s strong prospects in a December 12 Investing Daily article. Since then, the stock has risen nearly 40%.

Top 5 Railroad Companies To Watch For 2014: Perfumania Holdings Inc(PERF)

Perfumania Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a wholesale distributor and specialty retailer of perfumes and fragrances in the United States and Puerto Rico. The company distributes designer fragrances to mass market retailers, drug and other chain stores, retail wholesale clubs, traditional wholesalers, and other distributors. It also owns and licenses designer and other fragrance brands. The company sells its products in retail stores on a consignment basis; and online through perfumania.com, an Internet retailer of fragrances and other specialty items. As of July 30, 2011, it operated a chain of 343 retail stores specializing in the sale of fragrances and related products. The company is based in Bellport, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Vitamin Shoppe Inc (NYSE: VSI), Books-A-Million, Inc (NASDAQ: BAMM) and Perfumania Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: PERF) have the dubious distinction of being�the worst performing small cap�specialty retail stocks for this year (according to Finviz.com) with losses of 4.85% and�3% and a gain of 0.61%, respectively, since the start of the year (See my previous article: This Year�� Best Performing Small Cap Specialty Retail Stocks? UNTD, TA & HZO). I should mention that the definition of specialty retail stocks might vary from one stock screener to another, but what�� clear is that these three small cap retail stocks have been heading in the wrong direction for investors for much of this year. �With that in mind, what sort of performance should investors expect from these small cap specialty retail stocks on Black Friday and for the all important holiday season? Here is what you need to be aware of:

Top 5 Railroad Companies To Watch For 2014: Williams Partners L.P.(WPZ)

Williams Partners L.P. focuses on natural gas transportation, gathering, treating and processing, storage, natural gas liquid fractionation, and oil transportation activities in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Gas Pipeline, and Midstream Gas and Liquids. The Gas Pipeline segment owns and operates approximately 13,900 miles of pipelines with annual throughput of approximately 2,700 trillion British thermal units of natural gas and delivery capacity of approximately 13 million dekatherms of gas. This segment also owns interests in joint venture interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline systems. The Midstream Gas and Liquids segment includes natural gas gathering, processing, and treating facilities; and crude oil gathering and transportation facilities that serve the producing basins in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, the Gulf of Mexico, and Pennsylvania. Williams Partners GP LLC serves as the general partner of the company. Williams Partners L.P . was founded in 2005 and is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  You'd be forgiven for thinking that natural gas pipeline owner Williams Partners (WPZ) is a commodity-driven stock. It certainly seems like one at first glance. But while this master limited partnership owns one of the largest midstream natural gas operations in the country, it's not a commodity-driven play. It's an income play.

  Williams owns one of the largest pipeline networks in the country, transporting natgas in huge volumes. It also operates a huge midstream operation that gathers and processes natgas with a focus on the lucrative Marcellus shale. But more than three-quarters of WPZ's cash comes from fee-based sources that aren't subject to swings in commodity prices (the firm makes most of its money by charging customers to transport their gas). That, and the tax advantages of a MLP, mean that this stock was basically purpose-built for building income. And a huge 7.05% dividend yield proves it.

  After spending several years in acquisition mode, Williams owns a mature portfolio of assets that should continue to pay off in the years to come. Hedge funds made a big bet on WPZ, buying up 6.22 million shares in the most recent quarter. Collectively, that entitles funds to a $62 million dividend payout in the year ahead.

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  When it comes to natural gas, Williams Partners (WPZ) is simply one of the biggest players. The firm is one of the leading midstream players in the prolific Marcellus shale. That dominance has WPZ�� network of pipelines carrying roughly 14% of all the natural gas consumed in the U.S.

• [By Dividend]

  Here are my most promising stocks from the list:
  
  Williams Partners (WPZ) has a market capitalization of $19.99 billion. The company employs 3,658 people, generates revenue of $7.320 billion and has a net income of $1.232 billion. Williams Partners�� earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $2.273 billion. The EBITDA margin is 31.05 percent (the operating margin is 20.72 percent and the net profit margin 16.83 percent).