Top 5 Retail Companies To Invest In 2014

J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP) has been under a lot stress, for a long time. Goldman Sachs says the company is burning through cash and is at risk of bankruptcy. At the same time, JCP is hoping raise as much as $1 billion in new capital.

As the retailers fortunes have slumped, the company's short interest has rising. According to NASDAQ.com, since July 15th, the number of J. C. Penney Company shares sold-short has jumped from 38,587,878 to 71,720,285. That's a large percentage of the 220,564,447 shares outstanding.

Now, Forbes reports that 76% of JCP shares are held by "long-term oriented institutions," which leaves 24% of the stock effectively available for trading or 52,935,468 shares. Flashback a paragraph and can make the mental connection that more shares are sold short than available for trading. The combination could make for a powerful short squeeze if any positive news emerges.

Top 5 High Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now: Family Dollar Stores Inc.(FDO)

Family Dollar Stores, Inc. operates a chain of self-service retail discount stores primarily for low and middle income consumers in the United States. The company offers consumables, including household chemicals, paper products, candy and snack products, health and beauty aids, hardware and automotive supplies, and pet food products and supplies; and home products, which comprise domestics, housewares, giftware products, and home decor products. It also provides apparel products and accessories consisting of men?s and women?s clothing products, boys? and girls? clothing products, infants? clothing products, shoes, and fashion accessories; and seasonal products and electronics, such as toys, stationery and school supplies, seasonal goods, and personal electronics. As of August 11, 2011, the company operated approximately 7,000 stores in rural and urban settings across 44 states. Family Dollar Stores, Inc. was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Matthews, North Carolina .

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Family Dollar (FDO) became a must-have after Carl Icahn announced a 9.4% stake in the bargain retailer–and so did competitors like Dollar General (DG) and Dollar Tree (DLTR).

  REUTERS Carl Icahn

  Guggenheim’s John Heinbockel and Steven Forbes explain why they’re bullish on Family Dollar:

  Following Carl Icahn’s disclosure of a 9% stake in FDO, we reiterate our contrarian BUY, believing that significant shareholder value can be created in this well-positioned but underperforming and overcapitalized business. Our focus remains on a turnaround, not consolidation…

  We would note that the 100 basis points plus of EBIT margin expansion we have built into our model represents the recovery of only 50% of the erosion seen since 2011 and would still leave a level of profitability well below that of both Dollar General (DG, BUY, $57.99) and Dollar Tree (DLTR, NC, $55.14). There are opportunities beyond what we have modeled to the degree that costs are better controlled and pricing is better managed.

  The filing notes that the shares are ��ndervalued��and Icahn ��ees great long-term potential in the issuer�� (FDO��) industry��and that it ��ntends to seek to have conversations with senior management and the BOD.”��nything that further accelerates the pace of change is a positive.

  Family Dollar, however, has adopted measures to keep Icahn at arm’s length following the filing.

  Shares of Family Dollar have gained 14% to $68.78 at 3 p.m., while Dollar General has risen 7.5% to $62.32 and Dollar Tree has advanced 0.5% to $55.43.

• [By Melvin Backman]

  3. Dollar store drama and coffee surge: Shares in Dollar General (DG) are down more than 7% after CEO Rick Dreiling announced that he was retiring in 2015. Activist investor Carl Icahn has a 9.4% stake in Family Dollar (FDO), which many suspect he wants to merge with Dollar General. Family Dollar stock is down 2%. Related company Dollar Tree (DLTR) is slightly negative as well.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Indeed, 14 dividend stocks increased their payouts over the past week, including discount retailing giant Family Dollar (FDO). Here’s a look at the new dividend being paid out to FDO stock holders, as well as the improvements from other dividend stocks in the past week.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-305703{display:none}.cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-305703,#postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-305703{width:570px;height:411px;display:block} NEW YORK -- The fight for penny pinchers is intensifying. Dollar Tree (DLTR) said Monday it is buying rival discounter Family Dollar (FDO) for $8.5 billion, significantly broadening its reach as it looks to fend off Walmart, which has been stepping up its courtship of lower-income customers The deal makes Dollar Tree the biggest player in the dollar store segment, with its more than 13,000 combined locations eclipsing current leader Dollar General (DG), which has about 11,300. Dollar stores grew during the recession as people across income groups searched for cheaper options. To attract a broader array of customers, they also expanded their offerings to include more groceries and brand-name products, instead of just the party favors and other knickknacks people often associated with them. More recently, however, sales at dollar stores have been suffering because the lower-income customers who go to them are facing persistent job instability and slow wage growth in the aftermath of the recession. Walmart Stores (WMT) and Kroger (KR) also have been opening smaller store formats to directly compete with dollar stores. During its current fiscal year, Walmart plans to open 270 to 300 smaller outlets designed to cater to shoppers looking for more convenience. Brian Sozzi, CEO and chief equities strategist at Belus Capital Advisors, said because the Dollar Tree deal will allow the company to lower expenses by merging its operations, it will ultimately be able to lower prices to better compete with Walmart. "Now they're going to take the fight back to Walmart," Sozzi said. The deal also gives Dollar Tree more flexibility. Dollar Tree is true to its name, with everything in its stores costing just a buck. The fixed pricing has helped attract more customer

Top 5 Retail Companies To Invest In 2014: Inchcape PLC (INCH)

Inchcape plc is a global premium automotive distributor and retailer. The Company provides a professional and financed route to market for automotive manufacturers across five continents. Inchcape acts as a vehicle and parts distributor in 22 of its 26 markets. In these markets, the Company has responsibility for managing the value chain on behalf of a focused portfolio of premium and luxury brand partners. The Company�� responsibilities as a distributor include specifying vehicles to meet local market requirements, organizing logistics from the factory gate through to the retail center, appointing and performance managing the retail network and acting as the national marketer of the brand. The Company derives over two third of its profit from Asia Pacific and emerging markets. Its markets include Hong Kong, Singapore, Russia, Chile, Ethiopia, Australia and the United Kingdom. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Inchcape Plc (INCH) surged 9.9 percent to 645 pence, the highest level since June 2008. The largest publicly traded U.K. car retailer and wholesaler reported first-half adjusted pretax earnings increased 11 percent. The company also announced share buybacks of 100 million pounds in the next year.

Top 5 Retail Companies To Invest In 2014: Fast Retailing Co Ltd (FRCOF)

FAST RETAILING CO., LTD. is a Japan-based holding company primarily engaged in the clothing business. The Company operates in three business segments. The UNIQLO segment is engaged in the sale of casual clothing such as men's, women's, children's and babies' clothing, as well as other goods in domestic market and overseas markets under the brand name of UNIQLO. The Global Brand segment is engaged in the planning, manufacture and sale of clothing under the brands of COMPTOIR DES COTONNIERS, PRINCESSE TAM.TAM, Theory, Helmut Lang, PLST and others in domestic and overseas markets. The Others segment is involved in the leasing of real estate and others. As of August 31, 2012, the Company had 91 consolidated subsidiaries and six non-consolidated subsidiaries. In December, 2012, it acquired a 80.1% stake in United States-based J Brand Holdings, LLC. In September 2013, it established a wholly owned subsidiary, J Brand Japan Co., Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks weakened in early Thursday trading as the yen rose and Wall Street ended mixed, with the Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) falling 1.2% to 15,929.74 after a 1.9% advance a day earlier. With the yen (USDJPY) slightly firmer than in the previous session, some investors sold currency-sensitive exporters, with Fanuc Corp. (JP:6954) (FANUF) down 2%, Kyocera Corp. (JP:6971) (KYOCF) off 1.9%, and Fujitsu Ltd. (JP:6702) (FJTSY) losing 2.3%. News that China would lift a ban on some sales of videogame consoles had sent shares of Nintendo Co. (JP:7974) (NTDOF) shooting 11% higher on Wednesday, but apparent profit-taking sent the stock down 4.2% in early Thursday action. Shares of rival Sony Corp. (JP:6758) (SNE) , however, followed with a 4% rise, also possibly buoyed by a Nikkei Asian Review report that it was planning a "smartphone offensive" in the U.S. and China. Canon Inc. (JP:7751) (CAJ) fell 2% on a separate Nikkei report that the company's 2013 operating profit would miss forecasts. Toshiba Corp. (JP:6502) (TOSYY)

Top 5 Retail Companies To Invest In 2014: Yum! Brands Inc.(YUM)

YUM! Brands, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a quick service restaurant company in the United States and internationally. It develops, operates, franchises, and licenses a system of restaurants, which prepare, package, and sell various food items, as well as operates Chinese casual dining concept restaurants. The company?s restaurants specialize in chicken, pizza, and Mexican-style food categories. It operates approximately 37,000 restaurants in 110 countries and territories under the KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell brands, as well as approximately 450 casual dining concept restaurants in China. The company was formerly known as TRICON Global Restaurants, Inc. and changed its name to YUM! Brands, Inc. in May 2002. YUM! Brands, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By vinaysingh]

  Yum! Brands (YUM), the holding company of popular brands like KFC and Pizza Hut has been facing constant issues with its KFC brand in China. The media in the region has tainted the brand for using illegal drugs for fattening chicken besides other allegations. While Yum has made all efforts to meet quality standards in order to sustain growth in this key market, it has limped on ever since the first allegation. Yum has also not been the best investment for investors as it churned out total returns of 11.8% over the last year as compared to S&P 500 total return of 24.7%.

• [By Chris Hill]

  In this installment of Investor Beat, our analysts explain why they're watching Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) and Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM  ) .