NEW YORK (The Deal) -- Just a day after Carl Icahn publicly waved the white flag in his fight over the fate of Dell (DELL), it was announced that HP (HPQ) would be unceremoniously booted from the Dow Jones Industrials Average.
And, just like that, it became clear to investors, executives and everyone else that tech 1.0 is over.
That was followed by the hard fought win on Thursday, Sept. 12, of Dell founder Michael Dell and backer Silver Lake to take the PC maker private at $13.75 per share in a deal worth almost $25 billion.
For years, the vise-like grip Microsoft (MSFT) held on the technology industry muddled lines between products, since so many PCs were wholly dependent on the Seattle-based company. Now, no different than Dell or HP., Microsoft is going through changes of its own, as the advent of iOS and Android created a secular shift away from everything Steve Ballmer tried to protect, one reason he is on the way out as CEO. But that was tech 1.0. "All the marketing in the world can't get you out of having a bad product in this industry," a tech industry executive said. "Brands matter a lot less than people think, and products matter a lot more than people think." And the brand atop each Dell PC is the very name of its founder. Neither Apple (AAPL), Microsoft nor HP are as entwined with their current leadership as Dell is today. Michael Dell will have overseen his company's rise, from a $1,000 balance sheet in his dorm room at the University of Texas, to its 1988 initial public offering and a zenith of a $100 billion market cap a dozen years later, to, ultimately, an leveraged buyout for around $25 billion. Dell's final act as CEO will be to determine the ultimate fate of the company: whether it's services juxtaposed against consumer products, or, a combination of both. Of course, his stated intention is to revitalize his company that has been coasting downward for more than a decade. But there's another side to the Dell success, decline and potential rebirth story and that is of LBO backer Silver Lake.
Hot Regional Bank Companies To Own For 2015: Ralcorp Holdings Inc.(RAH)
Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. engages in manufacturing, distributing, and marketing private-brand food products, ready-to-eat cereal products, and other regional and value-brand food products. Its products include ready-to-eat and hot cereals; nutritional and cereal bars; snack mixes, corn-based chips, and extruded corn snack products; crackers and cookies; snack nuts; chocolate candy; salad dressings; mayonnaise; peanut butter; jams and jellies; syrups; sauces; frozen griddle products, including pancakes, waffles, and French toast; frozen biscuits and other frozen pre-baked products, such as breads and rolls; frozen and refrigerated doughs; and dry pasta. The company offers its products under various brands, including Post, Honey Bunches of Oats, Pebbles, Post Selects, Great Grains, Spoon Size, Grape-Nuts, Honeycomb, 3 Minute Brand, Ralston, Parco, Lofthouse, Krusteaz, Panne Provincio, Major Peters?, Medallion, Ry Krisp, Champagne, Monet, Rippin? Good, Hoody?s, Linette, JERO, Flavor House, Nutcracker, Pennsylvania Dutch, Heartland, Golden Grain, Anthony?s, Pasta Lensi, Ronco, and Mueller?s. It also develops, manufactures, and markets emulations of various types of branded food products to retailers, mass merchandisers, and drug stores to sell under their own store brands or under value-brands. Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. sells its products to retail chains, mass merchandisers, grocery wholesalers, warehouse club stores, drugstores, restaurant chains, and foodservice distributors in the United States, as well as in Canada, Europe, and southeast Asia. It offers its products through a broker network, internal sales staff, independent sales agency, a network of third party warehouses, and independent truck lines. The company was founded in 1995 and is based in St. Louis, Missouri.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Will Ashworth]
Post’s debt has risen substantially since its separation from Ralcorp (RAH) in February 2012. Including its $370 million acquisition of the Dakota Growers Pasta Company announced Sept. 16, Post has spent $717 million moving into other areas of the food industry beyond cereal.
Top Consumer Stocks To Own Right Now: Reeds Inc.(REED)
Reed?s, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of natural non-alcoholic and New Age beverages, candies, and ice creams primarily in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. The company?s New Age beverages product line includes natural soda, fruit juices and fruit drinks, ready-to-drink teas, sports drinks, and water. It also offers six Reed?s Ginger Brew flavors, including extra, original, premium, cherry ginger, raspberry ginger, and spiced apple ginger; five Virgil?s beverages comprising root beer, cream soda, orange cream soda, black cherry cream soda, and real cola; four zero calorie Virgil?s versions; two China Cola regular and cherry beverages; and two Sonoma Sparkler sparkling juices. In addition, the company offers three types of ginger candies, including crystallized ginger, ginger chews, and peanut butter ginger chews; and three flavors of ginger ice cream comprising original, green tea, and cho colate. Further, it provides Reed?s Natural Energy Elixir, an energy drink; and Reed?s Nausea Releif, a ginger brews based product with added B vitamins. Reed?s, Inc. sells its products to specialty gourmet and natural food stores, supermarket chains, retail stores, and restaurants through a network of natural, gourmet, and independent distributors, as well as through a direct sales team and independent sales representatives. The company was formerly known as Original Beverage Corporation and changed its name to Reed?s, Inc. in 2001. Reed?s, Inc. was founded in 1987 and is based in Los Angeles, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Tabitha Jean Naylor]
Reed's (NYSE: REED)
The story goes that Reed’s beverage company got its beginning when Chris Reed found a 100-year-old beverage recipe in the UCLA library, and decided to brew it as an experiment. The company sold its first beverages to the public in 1989, which included a Caribbean style “homebrewed” ginger soda.
- [By John Udovich]
If you are looking for the next small cap beverage stock that could turn into the next Monster Beverage Corp (NASDAQ: MNST), under the radar beverage�companies like small caps National Beverage Corp (NASDAQ: FIZZ), Reed's, Inc (NYSEMKT: REED) and Konared Corp (OTCBB: KRED) could be just what you are looking for. I should point out that the beverage space is often a battle between David and Goliath as everyone, and especially�smaller players, must fight for every inch of shelf space. Nevertheless, the following small cap beverage stocks are at least holding their ground and putting up a good fight leading to profits for investors:
Top Consumer Stocks To Own Right Now: Vector Group Ltd (VGR)
Vector Group Ltd is a holding company. The Company operates in Tobacco and Real Estate. The Tobacco segment consists of the manufacture and sale of cigarettes. The Real Estate segment includes the Company�� investments in consolidated and non-consolidated real estate businesses. The Company is engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the United States through its Liggett Group LLC (Liggett) and Vector Tobacco Inc. (Vector Tobacco) subsidiaries, and the real estate business through its New Valley LLC (New Valley) subsidiary, which is seeking to acquire additional operating companies and real estate properties. New Valley has real estate-related investments, including Douglas Elliman Realty, LLC (Douglas Elliman Realty) (50% interest), New Valley Oaktree Chelsea Eleven LLC (40% interest) and Fifty Third-Five Building LLC (50% interest), Sesto Holdings S.r.L (7.2% interest), MS/WG 1107 Broadway Holdings LLC (1107 Broadway) (5% interest), NV SOCAL LLC (26% interest) and HFZ East 68th Street (18% interest), where other partners hold interests.
As of February 15, 2012, 52 of the 54 units in the Chelsea Eleven LLC real estate development had been sold. During the year ended December, 31, 2011, New Valley invested in MS/WG 1107 Broadway Holdings LLC for an approximate indirect 5% interest. In September 2011, MS/WG 1107 Broadway Holdings LLC acquired the 1107 Broadway property in Manhattan, New York. In February 2011, New Valley invested in Lofts 21 LLC for an approximate 12% interest. In October 2011, New Valley invested in Hill Street Partners LLP (Hill) for an approximate 17.39% interest. Hill purchased a 37% interest in Hill Street SEP (Hotel Taiwana), which owns a hotel located in St. Barts, French West Indies. The hotel consists of 30 suites, six pools, a restaurant, lounge and gym. The purpose of the investment is to renovate and the sell the hotel in its entirety or as hotel-condos. In December 2011, New Valley invested in a condominium conversion project for an approximate 1! 8% interest. The building is a 12-story, 105,000 square foot residential rental building located on 68th Street between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue in Manhattan, New York.
Tobacco Operations
Liggett is the operating successor to Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company. During 2011, Liggett was a manufacturer of cigarettes in the United States. Liggett�� manufacturing facilities are located in Mebane, North Carolina where it manufactures most of Vector Tobacco�� cigarettes pursuant to a contract manufacturing agreement. As of December 31, 2011, Liggett and Vector Tobacco have no foreign operations. The Company�� tobacco subsidiaries manufacture and sell cigarettes in the United States. Liggett produces cigarettes in approximately 118 combinations of length, style and packaging. Liggett�� brand portfolio includes PYRAMID, GRAND PRIX , LIGGETT SELECT , EVE and USA and various Partner Brands and private label brands.
Liggett Vector Brands LLC (LVB), which coordinates its tobacco subsidiaries��sales and marketing efforts, along with certain support functions, has an agreement with Circle K Stores, Inc., which operates more than 3,300 convenience stores in the United States under the Circle K and Mac�� names, to supply MONTEGO, a deep discount brand, exclusively for the Circle K and Mac�� stores. The MONTEGO brand was offered under LVB's Partner Brands program. LVB also has an agreement with Sunoco Inc., which operates approximately 675 Sunoco APlus branded convenience stores in the United States, to manufacture SILVER EAGLE. SILVER EAGLE, a deep discount brand, is exclusive to Sunoco and was the second brand to be offered under LVB's Partner Brands program. Liggett also manufactures BRONSON cigarettes as part of a multi-year Partner Brands agreement with QuikTrip, a convenience store chain with more than 580 stores.
New Valley LLC
New Valley is engaged in the real estate business and is seeking to acquire additional real estate properties an! d operati! ng companies. New Valley owns a 50% interest in Douglas Elliman Realty, LLC, which operates residential brokerage company in the New York City metropolitan area. New Valley also holds an investment in a 450-acre approved master planned community in Palm Springs, California (Escena), holds investment interests in various real estate projects in Manhattan, New York, southern California and Milan, Italy through both debt and equity investments.
Douglas Elliman Realty, LLC
Douglas Elliman Realty is engaged in the real estate brokerage business through its two subsidiaries which conduct business as Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate. The two brokerage companies have 62 offices with approximately 3,975 real estate agents in the metropolitan New York area. The Long Island brokerage operation, is the residential brokerage company on Long Island with 44 offices and approximately 1,850 real estate agents. During 2011, the Long Island brokerage operation closed approximately 6,163 transactions. Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate acts as a broker in residential real estate transactions.
Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate also offers relocation services to employers, which provide a variety of specialized services primarily concerned with facilitating the resettlement of transferred employees. These services include sales and marketing of transferees��existing homes for their corporate employer, assistance in finding homes, moving services, educational and school placement counseling, customized videos, property marketing assistance, rental assistance, area tours, international relocation, group move services, marketing and management of foreclosed properties, career counseling, spouse/partner employment assistance, and financial services. Clients can select these programs and services on a fee basis according to their needs. DE Capital Mortgage LLC primarily originates loans for purchases of properties located on Long Island, New York City and Westchester. Approx! imately o! ne-half of these loans are for home sales transactions, in which Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate acts as a broker.
Douglas Elliman Realty is also engaged in the management of cooperatives, condominiums and apartments though its subsidiary, Residential Management Group, LLC, which conducts business as Douglas Elliman Property Management and is a manager of apartments, cooperatives and condominiums in the New York metropolitan area. Residential Management Group provides service third-party fee management for approximately 350 properties, representing approximately 47,000 units in New York
The Company competes with Philip Morris USA Inc., Reynolds America Inc., Lorillard Tobacco Company, Commonwealth Brands, Inc., Century-21, ERA, RE/MAX, Coldwell Banker, GMAC Home Services and NRT LLC.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Brian Pacampara]
Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, cigarette maker Vector Group (NYSE: VGR ) has received a distressing two-star ranking.
- [By Sean Williams]
But, it isn't just Lorillard's premium brands that are doing the talking! Lorillard's discount brands, such as Maverick and Old Gold, are giving discount-only brand Vector Group (NYSE: VGR ) , as well as traditionally bigger tobacco producers Altria and Reynolds American a run for their money. This helped push Lorillard's overall cigarette market share up 0.4% year over year to 14.9%. Not surprisingly, Lorillard has delivered market share increases in each of the past 10 years!�
- [By Alex Planes]
At the time of the breakup, the American Tobacco Trust controlled or held significant interests in 65 subsidiary companies in the United States, as well as two British companies. These interests were eventually separated into 14 different tobacco companies, of which four became an American tobacco oligopoly to replace the monopoly: R. J. Reynolds (now Reynolds American), Liggett and Myers (now Vector Group (NYSE: VGR ) ), Lorillard (NYSE: LO ) , and a diminished American Tobacco.
- [By Dan Dzombak]
Vector Group (NYSE: VGR ) is the third-highest-yielding dividend stock in June with a trailing yield of 9.9%. The company has two main businesse: tobacco and real estate. The company manufactures and sells cigarettes through its Liggett Group and Vector Tobacco subsidiaries under the Pyramid, Grand Prix, Liggett Select, and Eve brands. The company is the fourth-largest cigarette manufacturer in the U.S. behind giants Altria (NYSE: MO ) , Lorillard, and Reynolds American. There are some advantages to being small. Vector has a cost advantage stemming from the settlement between Vector and the U.S.: The company does not have to make annual payments unless its market share exceeds 1.65% of the U.S. market. As such, the company positions its brands as discount cigarettes to capitalize on its advantage.
Top Consumer Stocks To Own Right Now: Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation(RL)
Ralph Lauren Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, marketing, and distribution of lifestyle products. The company offers men?s, women?s, and children?s clothing; and accessories comprising footwear, eyewear, watches, jewelry, hats, and belts, as well as leather goods, including handbags and luggage. It also provides products for homes, including bedding and bath products, furniture, fabric and wallpaper, paint, tabletop, and giftware; and fragrance products for women men. In addition, the company licenses its products, such as men?s sportswear, men?s tailored clothing, men?s underwear and sleepwear, eyewear, fragrances, cosmetics, and color and skin care products. It offers its products under the Polo by Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Ralph Lauren Women?s Collection, Black Label, Blue Label, Lauren by Ralph Lauren, RRL, RLX, Rugby, Ralph Lauren Childrenswear, American Living, Chaps, and Club Monaco brand names. Ralph Lauren sells its products to department stores, specialty stores, and golf and pro shops; full-price retail stores, factory retail stores, and concessions-based shop-within-shops; and online through RalphLauren.com and Rugby.com. As of April 3, 2010, it operated 179 full-price retail stores and 171 factory stores worldwide, as well as 281 concessions-based shop-within-shops and 2 e-commerce Websites. The company was formerly known as Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation and changed its name to Ralph Lauren Corporation in August 2011. Ralph Lauren Corporation was founded in 1967 and is based in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Shares of Ralph Lauren (RL) are all dressed up and they definitely have somewhere to go–up–after beating earnings forecasts today.
Associated PressMarketWatch has the details:
For the period ended Sept. 28, Ralph Lauren reported a profit of $205 million, or $2.23 a share, down from $214 million, or $2.29 a share, a year earlier. Analysts recently expected $2.20…
The company raised the lower end of its estimated revenue range for the year by one percentage point and now projects an increase of 5% to 7%. For the current quarter, the company forecast revenue growth of 8% to 10%, in line with recent estimates of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters for an increase of 9%.
Ralph Lauren also unveiled a quarterly dividend increase of 13% to 45 cents a share.
Citigroup’s�Kate McShane likes what she sees:
RL shares are trading higher today on a more bullish outlook through the rest of the FY, w/ increased top-line expectations driving plans to further accelerate SG&A investments in key LT initiatives. While the retail environment remains challenging (weak US traffic, proactive reductions in Europe, and F/X & dept store headwinds in Japan), mgmt maintained expectations of an acceleration from 1H to 2H and expressed confidence from strong Q2 performance across channels/regions (esp luxury accessories), contributions from new DTC, share gains, & Asia (+DD in Q2 ex-Japan). RL�� integration of the Chaps/Australia/NZ licenses & multi-year SAP rollout are also on track. We reiterate our Buy as our LT thesis on RL�� global secular growth remains intact, driven by int�� expansion, DTC, & category growth.
Shares of Ralph Lauren have gained 5.2% to $180.07 at 3:33 p.m. today, and they’ve even boosted other apparel companies. PVH (PVH) has gained 0.7% to $125.75, Hanesbrands (HBI) has advanced 1.3% to $68.25 and VF Corp. (VFC) is up 0.9% to $2221.78.
- [By Jonathan Berr]
During the company’s recent earnings conference call, CEO Carol Meyrowitz struck a positive note, adding that TJX is “confident that we will become a substantially bigger company, driving both the top and bottom line. ”
#2 – Ralph Lauren (RL)YTD: 16%
P/E: 22
Average 52-week price target: $195.60 (12% potential upside)
Top Consumer Stocks To Own Right Now: Seven & i Holdings Co Ltd (SVNDY)
Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. is a Japan-based holding company. The Company operates in six business segments. The Convenience Store segment operates convenience stores under the name 7-Eleven through direct operation and franchising. The Super Store segment operates general supermarkets, food supermarkets and specialty stores. The Department Store segment operates department stores with a focus on Seibu. The Food Service segment is engaged in the restaurant business, the contract food business and the fast food business. The Financial-related segment is engaged in the banking service, credit card and electronic money services. The Others segment is engaged in the information technology (IT) business. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jim Jubak]
If you're a trader, you try to catch these ups and downs. If you're a longer term trader, you sort of go with Japanese equities. The one that I've got in Jubak's Picks is Toyota Motor, (TM), which trades in New York as an ADR. You can also go with something like Torre Industries (TRYIF), which trades as an ADR in New York as well as on the Tokyo exchange. They're the world's largest maker of carbon fiber, good play on exports to the aircraft and car industries. Or you can do something like Seven & I (SVNDY), the Japanese company that owns 7-Elevens around the world. So, those would be my ways to play a weak yen if you want to use Japanese equities for the week and the year ahead.
Top Consumer Stocks To Own Right Now: Sharp Corp (SRP)
Sharp Corporation is a Japan-based company mainly engaged in the manufacture and sale of electric telecommunication, electric and electronic equipment. The Company operates in two business segments. The Electronics Equipment segment offers audio and video (AV) and communication products, including liquid crystal color televisions, projectors and various telephones; health and environmental equipment, including refrigerators, microwaves and air conditioners, as well as information equipment, such as handy terminal equipment, electronic registers, information displays and copy machines. The Electronic Component segment provides liquid related products such as liquid crystal display modules, solar cells, as well as other electronic devices, such as parts for satellite broadcasting, regulators and optical sensors. The Company withdrawed from solar battery production in United Kingdom by end of Feb. 2014. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sofia Horta e Costa]
Vivendi SA climbed 2.7 percent after posting better-than-estimated third-quarter profit and saying it plans to spin off its French phone carrier SFR by July 2014. Serco Group Plc (SRP) increased 1.7 percent as UBS AG upgraded the stock. Safran SA (SAF) lost 3.2 percent as its largest shareholder sold a stake.
Top Consumer Stocks To Own Right Now: Global-Tech Advanced Innovations Inc. (GAI)
Global-Tech Advanced Innovations Inc., an investment holding company, manufactures and sells consumer electrical products primarily in the United States, Europe, and the People�s Republic of China. Its Electronic Components segment produces complementary metal oxide semiconductor camera modules primarily for sale to cellular phone and tablet manufacturers in Mainland China. The company�s Electronic Manufacturing Services segment engages in the provision of surface mount technology processing services for printed circuit boards; and assembly services for cellular phone marketers in Mainland China. Its Others segment is involved in the manufacture and sale of disposable medical devices. Global-Tech also engages in the trading of raw materials, and electronic and optical components; and in the provision of consultation services. The company was formerly known as Global-Tech Appliances Inc. and changed its name to Global-Tech Advanced Innovations Inc. in December 2008. Globa l-Tech Advanced Innovations Inc. was founded in 1963 and is based in Aberdeen, Hong Kong.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sally Jones]
According to the GuruFocus Value Screen for finding 52-Week Lows, Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. (TRQ), Global-Tech Advanced Innovations (GAI) and Rentech Nitrogen Partners LP (RNF) are companies on a low and still held by billionaire investors. All three companies are on a 52-week low, and more than 64% off a 52-week high.
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