Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Top Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Invest In 2014

With shares of Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) trading around $36, is YHOO an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Yahoo is a technology company that provides search, content, and communication tools on the web and on mobile devices worldwide. It operates Yahoo.com, which offers Yahoo Search, Yahoo News, Yahoo Sports, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Entertainment and Lifestyles, and Yahoo Video. Being such a large content provider, Yahoo is able to reach a significant amount of consumers across the globe. As the internet attracts an increasing number of participants, look for Yahoo to continue to be a major player.

Yahoo has increased its stock buyback plan by $5 billion and will sell $1 billion in convertible debt that will mature in 2018, according to a statement from Yahoo seen by Bloomberg. In July, Yahoo repurchased 40 million shares from Third Point LLC. Overall, since 2012, Yahoo has repurchased $5.3 billion worth of its stock. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer also announced plans to hire a new head of design at a conference in San Francisco on Tuesday.

5 Best Quality Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Siemens AG (SI)

Siemens AG (Siemens), incorporated on August 28, 1996, is a globally operating technology company with core activities in the fields of energy, healthcare, industry and infrastructure. Siemens business activities focus on four sectors, Energy, Healthcare, Industry and Infrastructure & Cities. These sectors form four of Siemens reportable segments. In addition to the four sectors, Siemens has two additional reportable segments: Equity Investments and Siemens Financial Services (SFS). The Energy sector comprises four divisions: Power Generation, Wind Power, Power Transmission and Energy Service. The Healthcare Sector includes four divisions: Imaging & Therapy Systems, Clinical Products, Diagnostics and Customer Solutions; and one sector-led Business Unit, Audiology Solutions. The Industry sector consists of three divisions: Industry Automation, Drive Technologies and Customer Services; and one sector-led Business Unit, Metals Technologies. The Infrastructure & Cities sector consists of five divisions: Rail Systems, Mobility and Logistics, Low and Medium Voltage, Smart Grid, and Building Technologies. In July 2013 Siemens sold its stake in the Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) joint venture to Nokia and OSRAM Licht AG was spun off from Siemens.

Industry

The Industry Sector offers a broad spectrum of products, solutions and services that help customers use resources and energy. The Sector�� integrated technologies and holistic solutions primarily address industrial customers, particularly those in the process and manufacturing industries. The portfolio spans industry automation, industrial software, drive products and services, system integration, and solutions for industrial plant businesses. The Industry Sector consists of three Divisions: Industry Automation, Drive Technologies and Customer Services. The Sector also includes a sector-led Business Unit, Metals Technologies. In addition to its Sector-level financial results, Industry also breaks out financial results for the Indust! ry Automation Division and the Drive Technologies Division. The Industry Automation Division offers a range of standard products and system solutions for automation technologies used in the manufacturing and process industries. The Division�� offerings include automation systems and software, motor controls, machine-to- machine communication products, sensors, product and production lifecycle management products, and software for simulating and testing mechatronic systems. The Drive Technologies Division offers products and comprehensive systems across the entire drive train. These offerings are customized to the respective application and include numerical control systems, inverters, converters, motors (geared and gearless), drives and couplings. In addition, Drive Technologies supplies integrated automation systems for machine tools and production machines. The Division also offers integrated lifecycle solutions and services for industries such as shipbuilding, cement, mining, and pulp and paper. The Customer Services Division offers a comprehensive portfolio of services and supports industrial customers.

Energy

The Energy Sector offers a spectrum of products, solutions and services for generating and transmitting power, and for extracting, converting and transporting oil and gas. The Fossil Power Generation Division offers products and solutions for fossil-based power generation. The Division concentrates on products and solutions for gas and steam turbines, turbo generators, heat recovery steam generators including control systems, with an emphasis on combined-cycle power plants. It also develops solutions for instrumentation and control systems for all types of power plants and for use in power generation. The Wind Power Division manufactures wind turbines for onshore and offshore applications, including both geared turbines and direct drive machines. The product portfolio is based on four product platforms, two for each of the onshore and offshore applications. The Oil ! & Gas Div! ision has a comprehensive portfolio of rotating machinery (gas turbines, steam turbines, compressors with associated equipment) and electrical, instrumentation and telecommunication (EIT) solutions. The Power Transmission Division provides customers with turnkey power transmission solutions as well as discrete products, systems and related engineering and services. It covers high-voltage transmission solutions, power and distribution transformers, high-voltage switching and non-switching products and systems, and alternating and direct current transmission systems. The Energy Service Division offers comprehensive services for products, solutions and technologies, covering performance enhancements, maintenance services, customer trainings and consulting services for the Divisions Fossil Power Generation, Wind Power and Oil & Gas. The Wind Power Division is active in both the onshore and the offshore market segments globally. Power Transmission Division is expanding infrastructure in emerging countries, equipment replacement and modernization in mature economies, and integration of renewable energies.

Healthcare

The Healthcare Sector offers customers a comprehensive portfolio of medical solutions across the treatment chain-ranging from medical imaging to in-vitro diagnostics to interventional systems and clinical information technology systems-all from a single source. In addition, the Sector provides technical maintenance, professional and consulting services, and, together with Financial Services (SFS), financing to assist customers in purchasing the Sector�� products. The Healthcare Sector includes four Divisions: Imaging & Therapy Systems, Clinical Products, Diagnostics and Customer Solutions. The Sector also includes one sector-led Business Unit, Audiology Solutions. In addition to its Sector-level financial results, Healthcare also separately breaks out financial results for the Diagnostics Division.

The Imaging & Therapy Systems Division provides large-scale! medical ! devices for diagnostic imaging and for image-guided therapies. Imaging equipment includes computed tomographs, magnetic resonance imaging equipment, angiography systems for diagnostics, and positron emission tomography. The Clinical Products Division mainly comprises the business with ultrasound and X-ray equipment including mammography. The Diagnostics Division offers products and services in the area of in-vitro diagnostics. The Division�� product portfolio represents a comprehensive range of diagnostic testing systems and consumables, including offerings for clinical chemistry and immunodiagnostics, molecular diagnostics, hematology, hemostasis, microbiology, point-of-care testing and clinical laboratory automation solutions. The Customer Solutions Division provides healthcare information technology (HIT) systems. It is responsible for the Sector�� service business and customer relationship management on a global level.

Equity Investments

The Equity Investments comprises equity stakes held by Siemens that are accounted for by the equity method, at cost or as current available-for-sale financial assets and for strategic reasons are not allocated to a Sector, SFS, Centrally managed portfolio activities, Siemens Real Estate (SRE), Corporate items or Corporate Treasury. Its main investments within Equity Investments are its stake of 50% in BSH Bosch and Siemens Hausgerate GmbH (BSH), its stake of 17% in OSRAM Licht AG (OSRAM) as well as its 49% stake in Enterprise Networks Holdings B.V. (EN).

Financial Services

Financial Services provides a variety of financial services and products to other Siemens units and their customers and to third parties. SFS has three strategic pillars: supporting Siemens units with finance solutions for their customers, managing financial risks of Siemens and offering third-party finance services and products. SFS��business can be divided into capital business and fee business. The Commercial Finance Business Unit offers! a compre! hensive range of solutions for equipment financing, leasing, rental and related financing for equipment supplied by Siemens or third-party providers. The Venture Capital Business Segment�� main task, together with Siemens��Sectors, is to identify and finance young companies worldwide. The Treasury Business Unit operates the global Corporate Treasury of the Siemens Group, with SFS employee�� thereby managing liquidity, cash and financial risks (interest, foreign exchange, commodities) on behalf of Corporate Treasury. The Financing & Investment Management Business Unit manages fee-based receivables and offers investment management services. The Insurance Business Unit acts primarily as an insurance broker for Siemens and external customers.

Infrastructure & Cities

The Infrastructure & Cities Sector offers a range of technologies for the sustainability of metropolitan centers and urban infrastructures worldwide, such as integrated mobility solutions, building and security systems, power distribution equipment, smart grid applications and low and medium-voltage products. The Sector consists of five Divisions: Rail Systems; Mobility and Logistics; Low and Medium Voltage; Smart Grid; and Building Technologies. The Rail Systems Division comprises Siemens��rail vehicle business, encompassing the entire spectrum of rolling stock-including high-speed trains, commuter trains, passenger coaches, metros, people movers, light rail vehicles, locomotives, bogies, traction systems and rail-related services. The Mobility and Logistics Division primarily provides products, solutions (including IT solutions) and services for rail transportation operating systems, such as central control systems, interlockings and automated controls. The Division also provides offerings for road traffic, including traffic detection, information and guidance systems.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Louie Grint]

    A discouraging diagnosis
    Second, here's a well-known global leader in most of its key businesses: Siemens AG (NYSE: SI  ) .

    In this case, the company reported a lackluster fourth quarter, with a year-over-year decrease in both revenue and earnings. Revenue and orders dropped 1% to 21.2 billion euros and 21 billion euros, respectively.

  • [By Tim Brugger]

    When the rumors started swirling a couple of weeks ago that Siemens (NYSE: SI  ) was shopping around its 50% ownership stake in Nokia Siemens Networks, the profitable joint venture it has with Nokia (NYSE: NOK  ) , fans of the Finnish smartphone maker couldn't help but wonder how it would impact Nokia's turnaround efforts. It became clear when Nokia reported its fiscal 2013 Q1 earnings that NSN's fourth straight quarter of profitability was driving Nokia's surprisingly positive financial results.

  • [By Dan Carroll]

    Other industrial stocks are also hitting the red: Siemens (NYSE: SI  ) , Europe's largest engineering firm, has seen its stock dip more than 4% this year. That wasn't helped after CEO Peter Loescher offered a pessimistic sentiment �of his company's full-year profit a week ago, particularly as Siemens' margins trail other leading industrial conglomerates. With many leading economies still struggling for growth, it'll be tough for Siemens to outperform investor expectations -- particularly as Europe's crisis shows no signs of abating.

  • [By Dan Carroll]

    This all adds up to a risky bet for the German economy, which hangs on to growth by a thread. Leading German manufacturers are also in danger while exports are at risk. Siemens' (NYSE: SI  ) stock plunged more than 5% this week, as the global conglomerate's own Chinese business risks falling on the nation's downturn. Just a few years ago, Siemens' Chinese prospects were soaring, helped by the country's mass urbanization and need for manufactured goods and electronics. Now, however, the company's CEO says he sees "no momentum" from China, and the company has cut its sales outlook for this year. That's a bad omen for Germany from a diversified company often seen as a bellwether of the nation's economy.

Top Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Invest In 2014: Toshiba Corp (TOSBF)

TOSHIBA CORPORATION is a Japan-based manufacturer that operates in five business segments. The Digital Product segment manufactures and sells cellular phones, hard disc devices, optical disc devices, televisions among others. The Electronic Device segment provides general logic integrated circuits (ICs), optical semiconductors, power devices, large-scale integrated (LSI) circuits, among others. The Social Infrastructure segment manufactures and sells various generators, power distribution systems, water and sewer systems, transportation systems and station automation systems, among others. The Home Appliance segment provides refrigerators, drying machines, washing machines, cooking utensils, cleaners and lighting equipment, among others. The Others segment is involved in the provision of logistics services. In January 2014, Toshiba Corp purchased substantially all assets of OCZ Technology Group, and launched new subsidiary, OCZ Storage Solutions. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Bruce Kennedy]

    On Monday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced indictments against five officers in China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) for ��erious cybersecurity breaches��against six American firms: Westinghouse Electric, a division of Toshiba (OTC: TOSBF) , Alcoa (NYSE: AA),�Allegheny Technologies (NYSE: ATI), U.S. Steel (NYSE: X), the United Steelworkers Union and SolarWorld (OTC: SRWRY).

Top Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Invest In 2014: Orkla ASA (ORK)

Orkla ASA is a Norway-based company active in various sectors. The Company�� operations are structured into two segments: Branded Consumer Goods and Other Businesses. The Branded Consumer Goods segment is divided into five units: Orkla Foods, which comprises the Company�� food businesses in the Nordic region and the Baltics; Orkla Confectionery, which comprises five branded consumer goods businesses which serve the Nordic region and the Baltics as their home markets; Orkls Home & Personal consists of five branded consumer goods businesses, including Lilleborg, Lilleborg Profesjonell, the Axellus Group, Pierre Robert Group and House Care; Orkla Food Ingredients cover product categories, including margarine, marzipan, bread improvers and mixes, and yeast, and Orkla International includes branded consumer goods companies outside the Nordic region and the Baltics. The Other Businesses segment covers the Company�� operation in aluminum, real estate and hydropower sectors, among others. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jonathan Morgan]

    Orkla ASA (ORK), the Norwegian industrial conglomerate transforming itself into a consumer-goods producer, slumped 11 percent to 46.78 kroner, the largest drop since November 2011. The company reported second-quarter pretax profit of 514 million kroner ($86 million), missing estimates of 965 million kroner in a Bloomberg survey of analysts.

Top Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Invest In 2014: Smiths Group PLC (SMGKF.PK)

Smiths Group plc is a technology company. It has five divisions: Smiths Detection, Smiths Medical, John Crane, Smiths Interconnect and Flex-Tek. The Company and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture, sale and support advanced security equipment, including trace detection, millimeter-wave, infrared, biological detection and diagnostics; mechanical seals, seal support systems, engineered bearings, power transmission couplings and specialist filtration systems, and medical devices aligned to specific therapies, principally airway, pain and temperature management, and vascular access. It also develops, manufactures, sells and supports specialized electronic and radio frequency products for the global wireless telecommunications, aerospace, defense, space, medical, rail, test and industrial markets, and engineered components, including ducting, hose assemblies and heating elements. In May 2011, it acquired the entire issued share capital of SDBR Comercio De Equipamentos De Seguanca LTDA. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Daniel Lauchheimer]

    Currently, three main companies supply security equipment to the TSA - Safran (SAFRY.PK), Smiths (SMGKF.PK), and Level-3 Holdings (LLL). All three of these companies sell the whole range of their products to the TSA, with an ETD offering included. Recently, however, a new company, Implant Sciences Corporation (IMSC.PK) received approval from the TSA to begin selling their ETD equipment to airport security professionals. This approval has opened the door for IMSC to begin taking some market share away from the more established players in the US and beyond.

Top Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Invest In 2014: Wartsila Oyj Abp (WRT1V.HE)

Wartsila Oyj Abp is a Finland-based company. Its operations are divided into four segments: Power Plants, Ship Power, Services and PowerTech. The Power Plants segment offers multi-fuel solutions for power generation markets, such as gas power plants, dual-fuel power plants, oil power plants and liquid biofuel power plants, among others. The Ship Power segment offers a range of products and services to both shipyards and ship owners, such as medium-speed and low-speed engines, seals and bearings, automation systems, ship design and ballast water treatment systems, among others. The Services segment offers solutions, such as basic support, installation and commissioning, performance optimization and upgrades, among others. The PowerTech segment comprises research and development for medium-speed engines and other operations, with a focus on gas, environmental solutions and Smart Power Generation drives. It has operations in more than 160 locations in over 70 countries around the world. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Robert Wall var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach(fu]

    The British company tried to strengthen its maritime engine business through a $10 billion takeover of Finland�� W盲rtsil盲 Oyj (WRT1V.HE) which rebuffed Rolls-Royce’s preliminary approach. The attempted acquisition of a company of that size surprised investors who hadn�� realized expansion was on management�� agenda so soon after its full takeover of Tognum, a German engineering company originally acquired in partnership with Daimler.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Hot Defensive Companies To Own For 2015

Hot Defensive Companies To Own For 2015: Synergetics USA Inc.(SURG)

Synergetics USA, Inc., a medical device company, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of microsurgical instruments and consumables primarily for ophthalmology and neurosurgery markets in the United States and internationally. The company?s product lines focus upon precision engineered, microsurgical, handheld devices, and the microscopic delivery of laser energy, ultrasound, electrosurgery, aspiration, illumination and irrigation that are delivered in multiple combinations. It offers retinal surgical items, including handheld disposable and reusable forceps and scissors, fiberoptics for illumination and photocoagulation, cannulas, scrapers, and other reusable and disposable surgical devices. The company also provides bipolar electrosurgical generators; lesion generators used for minimally invasive pain treatment; and directional laser probes, as well as offers gauge instrumentation to the vitreoretinal surgical market. It sells its products through direct sale s employees, distributors, and independent sales representatives. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in O?Fallon, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Monica Gerson]

    Synergetics USA (NASDAQ: SURG) is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.03 per share on revenue of $17.32 million.

    Linear Technology (NASDAQ: LLTC) is expected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.54 per share on revenue of $372.59 million.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Synergetics USA (SURG) has dropped 4.8% to $4.75 after the medical device company said it earned 6 cents a share, in line with analyst forecasts.

    Team Inc. (TISI) has dropped 11% after the company missed its earnings forecast and lowered guidance.

  • source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com! /hot-defensive-companies-to-own-for-2015-3.html

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Top 5 Restaurant Companies To Buy For 2015

Top 5 Restaurant Companies To Buy For 2015: Planet Platinum Ltd (PPN)

Planet Platinum Limited is an Australia-based company engaged in the operation of Showgirls Bar 20 and the on-going rental of property in Elsternwick. The Company operates in two segments: hospitality and entertainment and property rental businesses. The Companys hospitality and entertainment segment comprises operations of Showgirls Bar 20 in Melbourne and is engaged in the nightclub through the provision of beverages and adult entertainment. Property segment comprise maintaining of rental property at Home Street, Elsternwick. The Company continues to receive lease rentals from its Home Street property. The investment property is located at 12 Home Street, Elsternwick Victoria. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Tabitha Jean Naylor]

    Americans consume a lot of chicken. It estimated that Americans consume about 81 pounds of poultry per year, per capita. With there being upwards of 310 million people living in the United States, it is no wonder why poultry production is big business. Two of the biggest names in poultry production are Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) and Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ: PPN).

  • source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-5-restaurant-companies-to-buy-for-2015-2.html

Friday, November 21, 2014

Top Prefered Companies To Invest In 2014

Fiesta Restaurant Group (FRGI) was the Fund's best performing position in the fourth quarter and for all of 2013. Over the past year the stock g ained over 240 percent and added 212 basis points of return. The fast-food chain has con tinued to restructure after spinning off Burger King restaurants and is now successfully ach ieving organic growth. We continue to believe the stock is undervalued and expect further growth ahead.

From John Keeley (Trades, Portfolio)'s Keeley All Cap Value Fund fourth quarter 2013 commentary.


Also check out: John Keeley Undervalued Stocks John Keeley Top Growth Companies John Keeley High Yield stocks, and Stocks that John Keeley keeps buying

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Top 5 Japanese Companies To Own For 2015: 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 Mike Deane]

    After the bell on Monday, Casey’s General Stores (CASY) announced its fiscal Q1 earnings, posting a strong increase in profits and overall revenues compared to the same time period last year.

    The Ankeny, IA-based convenience store company announced quarterly revenues of $2.11 billion, which were up from $1.87 billion in last year’s same quarter. Profits for the company came in at $55.71 million, or $1.43 per share, compared to $39.03 million, or $1.01 per share, in last year’s Q1.

    Both of these figures beat analysts’ estimates, which were EPS of $1.26 on revenues of $2.1 billion.

    CASY shares were up $1.01, or 1.49%, at market close on Monday. YTD, the stock is up more than 26%.

  • [By John Emerson]

    My selection of stocks was now almost entirely based upon themes. Instead of seeking out value in out-favor-sectors, I had temporarily diverted to the path of attempting to identify investing themes, although I would only purchase a stock if I deemed it to be a bargain. The major themes I had identified were natural gas related stocks, material stocks such as cement companies, and discounted Chinese growth stocks which made their money by selling their products to Chinese consumers. I also owned significant positions in some other purely American companies which included Casey�� (CASY) and Gray Television (GTN). Ultimately, Gray Television would turn out to be a colossal failure (more on GTN later).

Top Prefered Companies To Invest In 2014: Central Garden & Pet Company (CENTA)

Central Garden & Pet Company produces and sells various products for the pet, and lawn and garden supplies markets in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Pet, and Lawn and Garden. The Pet segment supplies products for dogs and cats comprising edible bones, edible and non-edible chews, dog and cat food and treats, toys, pet carriers, grooming supplies, and other accessories; and food, cages and habitats, toys, chews, and related accessories for birds, small animals, and specialty pets. It also offers animal and household health, and insect control products; aquariums, furniture and lighting fixtures, pumps, filters, water conditioners, food and supplements, and information and knowledge resources for fish, reptiles, and other aquarium-based pets; and products for horses and livestock. This segment sells its products to independent pet distributors, retail chains, grocery stores, mass merchants, and bookstores under various brand names, which include Ada ms, Aqueon, Avoderm, BioSpot, Farnam, Four Paws, Kaytee, Nylabone, Pinnacle, TFH, Zilla, Altosid, Comfort Zone, Coralife, Interpet, Kent Marine, Oceanic Systems, Pet Select, Pre-Strike, Super Pet, and Zodiac. The Lawn and Garden segment provides grass seeds; wild bird feed, bird feeders, bird houses, and other birding accessories; weed, grass, ant and other herbicide, insecticide, and pesticide products; and decorative outdoor lifestyle and lighting products, such as comprising potteries, trellises and other wood products, and holiday lighting products. This segment sells its products to retail chains, independent garden distributors, grocery stores, nurseries, and garden supply retailers under the AMDRO, GKI/Bethlehem Lighting, Ironite, Pennington, Sevin, Grant�s, Lilly Miller, Matthews Four Seasons, New England Pottery, Norcal Pottery, Over-N-Out, Smart Seed, and The Rebels brand names. The Company was founded in 1955 and is based in Walnut Creek, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Will Ashworth]

    At the end of the day, Liquidity Services is a business whose need is an ongoing one. With no debt and lots of cash, I like LQDT’s chances.

    Small Caps to Buy #3: Central Garden & Pet (CENTA)

    In addition to its stock dropping 36% in 2013, Central Garden & Pet (CENTA) has underperformed the S&P 500 by almost 18 percentage points during the past five years while everyone and their dog — small caps, large caps, whatever — has seen impressive gains over that same period.

  • [By Sean Williams]

    Green paw
    The month of May has been one to forget for shareholders of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ: CENT  ) (NASDAQ: CENTA  ) . The maker of pet products as well as seeds and herbicides for lawn care tumbled after it missed Wall Street's earnings estimates for a second straight quarter. The biggest downside pressure came from its lawn care segment, which saw expenses rise as fertilizer margins fell. However, now could be the time to consider jumping on board this interesting pet/lawn care hybrid company, as it has the potential to unlock shareholder value in a number of ways.

Top Prefered Companies To Invest In 2014: Inteliquent Inc (IQNT)

Inteliquent Inc, formerly Neutral Tandem, Inc., doing business as Inteliquent, incorporated on April 19, 2001, provides solutions for voice, data, and hosted services globally. With over 120 Ethernet sites across four continents, the Company is a global Ethernet interconnection provider, and has an Internet protocol version 6 (IPv6) network. Inteliquent is a network solutions provider, offering intelligent networking to solve interconnection and interoperability issues on a global scale. With multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) network, which is interconnected to carriers globally, it provides voice, Internet protocol (IP) transit and Ethernet solutions to carriers, service providers, and content management firms based in over 80 countries, across six continents. Its IP Transit provides bandwidth for Internet service providers (ISP), mobile operators, Telcos, enterprises and content providers. In September 2012, it announced the establishment of its Turkish subsidiary, as well as its strategic alliance with Turkey's Turkcell Superonline. In April 2013, Neutral Tandem Inc acquired the global data services business of Global Telecom & Technology Inc.

The Company simplifies the complexities of data networking by making interconnection. Its EtherCloud transforms and simplifies the delivery of Ethernet and virtual private local area network (LAN) service (VPLS) services over a global footprint. A layer-II platform, EtherCloud connects partner networks into a seamless Ethernet cloud, which delivers end-to-end connectivity globally. It relies on Inteliquent�� global MPLS backbone as a distributed switched network, which is accessible in 120 point of purchases (PoPs) across four continents, to interconnect partners��networks through standardized external network-to-network interfaces (E-NNIs). By interconnecting partner networks to create one holistic Ethernet cloud, EtherCloud enables you to both source and to sell Ethernet and VPLS connectivity. It provides a one-stop-shop to conne! ct globally.

The Company provides a range of voice services. Inteliquent's voice services include streamlined session initiation protocol (SIP) interconnection options for domestic and international long distance traffic. It offers terminating and originating access, which supports billions of minutes of billable traffic each month. Its services include Access Homing Tandem and Gateway Tandem Services. It has the first wholesale, white-label hosted collaboration solution to be resold by value added resellers (VAR) and system integrators (SI). The hosted collaboration solution (HCS) offers a range of unified communication products and services, including single number reach, integrated messaging and presence, video calling, and WebEx integration.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By The GeoTeam]

    The largest single event the company has achieved is the acquisition of Tinet from Inteliquent (IQNT) , which had been IQNT's global data business. IQNT provides services to telecom providers, helping them deliver their network reach. With the divestiture of Tinet, IQNT's major focus is the delivery of voice versus data services.

  • [By Rick Munarriz]

    Briefly in the news
    And now let's take a quick look at some of the other stories that shaped our week.

    Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG  ) hit a new 52-week high after posting stronger revenue than analysts were expecting. The burrito roller also indicated that menu price increases are on the way in a move that will increase margins. Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX  ) also landed a fresh 52-week high, but it doesn't report until next week. The big push for the leading video service was a dozen Emmy nominations for House of Cards and Arrested Development. There's always a model-affirming Emmy nod in the banana stand. Inteliquent (NASDAQ: IQNT  ) moved sharply higher after jacking up its revenue and adjusted EBITDA targets for the year. The provider of wholesale voice services had hosed down its outlook in May.

  • [By Steve Symington]

    In fact, I had one such moment last year when I finally sold my shares of Inteliquent (NASDAQ: IQNT  ) �around $12 per share after holding them for much less time than I had originally planned. At the time, the stock had already been beaten down from its 2009 highs over $30 per share, and I had high hopes that the company might eventually regain its former glory.

Top Prefered Companies To Invest In 2014: Whitestone REIT (WSR)

Whitestone REIT is a real estate investment trust (REIT) engaged in owning and operating commercial properties in culturally diverse markets in the metropolitan areas. The Company is internally managed and owns a real estate portfolio of 36 properties containing approximately three million square feet of leasable space, located in Texas, Arizona and Illinois. As of December 31, 2009, the Company had one property, which accounted for more than 10% of the total gross revenue and leasing of the properties. In December 2011, the Company announced that it had closed on the purchase of Phase I of Pinnacle of Scottsdale, a 113,108 square foot 100% leased Class A Community Center in North Scottsdale. In December 2011, it purchased shops at Starwood. In August 2012, the Company closed on the purchase of Paradise Plaza, a 125,898 square foot 100%-leased Community Center in Paradise Valley. In September 2012, the Company purchased Village Square at Dana Park, a 310,979 square foot Community Center located in the Mesa submarket of Phoenix, plus six developed pads (total of 2.9 acres) and the adjacent 4.7 acre parcel of development land to add another 200,000 square feet of leasable space. In December 2012, the Company closed on the off-market purchase of The Shops at Pecos Ranch. In April 2013, it closed on the off-market purchase of Headquarters Village, a 89,134 square foot (sf) Community Center located within the Preston Road retail corridor in Plano, Texas. Effective July 1, 2013, Whitestone REIT acquired Anthem Marketplace. In October 2013, Whitestone REIT completed the purchase of Fountain Hills Plaza, retail center in Fountain Hills, Arizona. In December 2013, Whitestone REIT purchased Market Street at DC Ranch in Scottsdale.

As of December 31, 2009, the Company owned a 64.7% interest in Whitestone REIT Operating Partnership, L.P. (the Operating Partnership). As of December 31, 2009, the Company owned a real estate portfolio consisting of 36 properties located in three states. As of December 3! 1, 2009, the occupancy rate at the operating properties was 82% based on leasable square footage.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Reuben Brewer]

    And, sometimes, being small is actually a good thing. Take, for example, Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR  ) . This company operates a portfolio of roughly 60 properties in Texas, Arizona, and Illinois. That said, it only has one property in Illinois, so it's really focused around just two markets.

  • [By Charles Sizemore]

    Returning to U.S. shores, the next of our monthly dividend stocks is Whitestone REIT (WSR), a smaller REIT that specializes in shopping centers.

    I should start by making one point very clear: while I like Whitestone, it is a very different kind of REIT than Realty Income or American Realty Capital Properties. Its property portfolio is far less geographically diversified (with properties in just three states), and it is a much smaller company by market cap ($290 million).

Top Prefered Companies To Invest In 2014: Guggenheim CurrencyShares Australian Dollar Trust (FXA)

Guggenheim CurrencyShares Australian Dollar Trust, formerly The CurrencyShares Australian Dollar Trust, is a grantor trust. The Trust issues shares (the Shares) in blocks of 50,000 (a Basket) in exchange for deposits of Australian Dollars and distributes Australian Dollars in connection with the redemption of Baskets. The investment objective of the Trust is for the Shares to reflect the price of Australian Dollars plus accrued interest, if any, less the expenses of the Trust�� operations. The Shares are intended to offer investors an opportunity to participate in the market for the Australian Dollar through an investment in securities. The Shares are bought and sold on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Arca like any other exchange-listed security.

The Trust holds Australian Dollars and, from time to time, issues Baskets in exchange for deposits of Australian Dollars and distributes Australian Dollars in connection with redemptions of Baskets. The Sponsor of the Trust oversees the performance of the Trustee and the Trust�� principal service providers. The Sponsor is Rydex Specialized Products LLC. The Sponsor is responsible for payment of administrative and marketing expenses. The Bank of New York Mellon serves as the Trustee. The Trustee is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Trust, including keeping the Trust�� operational records. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., London Branch is the Depository.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Fede Zaldua]

    The easiest way to go short Australia's currency and long the US dollar is through selling Australian dollar's ETF, the Currency Shares Australian Dollar Trust (FXA), which is still held by John Keeley. Even when the ETF is down by 15% since 2013 started, I believe there is still significant downside potential for the currency.

  • [By Dr. Duru]

    So, the slight change of wording in the first sentence of the statement is important in that it could be a precursor to other upside adjustments in the RBA's language. If this happens, the Australian dollar (FXA) could take off…exactly what the RBA does not want. In fact, its desire to contain the currency must underlie the strained attempts to contain enthusiasm over the economy.

  • [By Richard Cox]

    Finally, the Australian Dollar has moved to new lows for the year, and prices in the AUD/USD will be forced to contend with another 61.8% Fib retracement (of the move from 0.8060 seen in 2010). This suggests the declines are in need of a corrective bound and equates to a bearish bias in the CurrencyShares Australian Dollar Trust (FXA).

Top Prefered Companies To Invest In 2014: Monolithic Power Systems Inc.(MPWR)

Monolithic Power Systems, Inc., a fabless semiconductor company, designs, develops, and markets analog and mixed-signal semiconductors. It offers direct current (DC) to DC converter integrated circuits (IC) that are used to convert and control voltages of various electronic systems, such as portable electronic devices, wireless LAN access points, computers, set top boxes, televisions and monitors, automobiles, and medical equipments. The company also provides lighting control ICs for use in systems that offer the light source for liquid crystal display (LCD) panels in notebook computers, LCD monitors, car navigational systems, and LCD televisions. In addition, it provides audio amplifier ICs to amplify sound produced by audio processors; and Class-D audio amplifiers for plasma televisions, LCD televisions, and digital versatile disk players. The company serves consumer electronics, communications, and computing markets. Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. sells its products thr ough third party distributors and value-added resellers, as well as directly to original equipment manufacturers, original design manufacturers, and electronic manufacturing service providers. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

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 Monolithic Power Systems (Nasdaq: MPWR  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

  • [By Lee Jackson]

    Monolithic Power Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: MPWR) has a diverse market that includes communications, gaming and computing to continue to drive its growth, all markets that will pay a premium for its technology. The list of tech companies that use its chips is impressive. Deutsche Bank has a $30 target, the same as the consensus target.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Top Japanese Companies To Buy Right Now

Asian stocks dropped, with the regional benchmark index retreating from the highest level in 20 months, after Chinese economic growth and industrial production expanded less than economists��estimated.

Jiangxi Copper Co., China�� largest copper producer, slid 4.9 percent in Hong Kong. Nissan Motor Co. (7201), a Japanese carmaker that gets 32 percent of sales from North America, slid 3.9 percent, pacing declines among exporters after U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell. Mando Corp. tumbled 15 percent in Seoul as Midas International Asset Management Ltd. said it will sell its holdings after the auto-parts maker said it will bail out an unprofitable construction affiliate.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.7 percent to 137.22 as of 8:25 p.m. in Tokyo, with about three shares sliding for each that rose. Chinese gross domestic product expanded 7.7 percent in the first quarter, missing economists estimates, data released today showed.

��hile the medium-term outlook is OK, people are having to digest the fact that some of this short-term news flow isn�� quite as good,��Angus Gluskie, managing director at Sydney- based White Funds Management, which oversees more than $350 million, said before the release of the Chinese data. ��here�� no doubt China�� growth over the next five or six years is going to be at a more mature pace than it was over the last decade. We should be expecting lesser rates of growth.��

10 Best Computer Hardware Stocks To Invest In Right Now: National-Oilwell Inc.(NOV)

National Oilwell Varco, Inc. designs, constructs, manufactures, and sells systems, components, and products used in oil and gas drilling and production; provides oilfield services and supplies; and distributes products, and provides supply chain integration services to the upstream oil and gas industry worldwide. Its Rig Technology segment offers offshore and onshore drilling rigs; derricks; pipe lifting, racking, rotating, and assembly systems; rig instrumentation systems; coiled tubing equipment and pressure pumping units; well workover rigs; wireline winches; wireline trucks; cranes; and turret mooring systems and other products for floating production, storage and offloading vessels, and other offshore vessels and terminals. The company?s Petroleum Services & Supplies segment provides various consumable goods and services to drill, complete, remediate, and workover oil and gas wells and service pipelines, flowlines, and other oilfield tubular goods. It also manufacture s, rents, and sells products and equipment for drilling operations, including drill pipe, wired drill pipe, transfer pumps, solids control systems, drilling motors, drilling fluids, drill bits, reamers and other downhole tools, and mud pump consumables. In addition, this segment provides oilfield tubular services comprising the provision of inspection and internal coating services; equipment for drill pipe, line pipe, tubing, casing, and pipelines; and coiled tubing pipes and composite pipes. Its Distribution Services segment sells maintenance, repair and operating supplies, and spare parts to drill site and production locations. The company primarily serves drilling contractors, shipyards and other rig fabricators, well servicing companies, pressure pumping companies, oil and gas companies, supply stores, and pipe-running service providers. National Oilwell Varco, Inc. was founded in 1862 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Isac Simon]

    Some solid performance
    Oilfield services companies have been performing quite well and I believe will continue to do so. Halliburton (NYSE: HAL  ) has been up 23% in the past 12 months. The company's drilling and evaluation and well completion services have seen sustained demand thanks to the various complexities involved in shale oil drilling. National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV  ) , on the other hand, is the industry leader when it comes to offshore drilling equipment. This company is a seasoned player in the industry and through its three divisions -- rig technology, petroleum services and supplies, and distribution and transmission. In short, National is a one-stop shop for all oilfield-related services.

  • [By Selena Maranjian]

    Among holdings in which Fred Alger Management increased its stake were Two Harbors Investment (NYSE: TWO  ) and National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV  ) . The company reduced its stake in lots of companies, including Questcor�and Weatherford. Two Harbors is a mortgage REIT, or "mREIT," recently yielding a gargantuan 11.4%. It's a "hybrid" mREIT, though, investing in both government agency-backed mortgages and ones that are not so backed. Thus, it has more flexibility than some of its peers. Some worry about rising interest rates and prepayments on loans, but Two Harbors has apparently hedged against some of that. Insiders and institutions�have been buying shares in recent months.

Top Japanese Companies To Buy Right Now: TigerLogic Corporation(TIGR)

TigerLogic Corporation engages in the design, development, sale, and support of software infrastructure, Internet search enhancement tools, and a social media content aggregation platform in North America, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. The company offers Yolink, a search enhancement technology; and TigerLogic XDMS, an enterprise native XML database management server with data and document centric capabilities. It also provides multi-dimensional databases consisting of D3 data base management system that runs on various operating systems and allows application programmers to create new business solution software; mvEnterprise and mvBase, the multi-dimensional database solutions; and TigerLogic dashboard, which allows Pick UDM developers to create Web-based graphical displays of multi-value data. In addition, the company offers rapid application development tools that support the full life cycle of software application development and are used for rapid prototypin g, development, and deployment of graphical user interface client/server and Web applications. Further, it provides Postano, a real-time social media content aggregation platform, which allows users to collect content from various social media sources and display that content on Web pages hosted by the company or others. Additionally, the company offers technical support, consulting, continuing maintenance, customer support, professional, and training services. It serves independent software vendors and software developers, and corporate information technology departments. TigerLogic Corporation sells its products through OEMs, system integrators, specialized vertical application software developers, and consulting organizations, as well as directly to end user organizations and through its Web sites. The company was formerly known as Raining Data Corporation and changed its name to TigerLogic Corporation in April 2008. TigerLogic Corporation was founded in 1987 and is based in Irvine, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Monica Gerson]

    TigerLogic (NASDAQ: TIGR) is estimated to post its Q4 earnings.

    Posted-In: Earnings scheduleEarnings News Pre-Market Outlook Markets

Top Japanese Companies To Buy Right Now: Littelfuse Inc.(LFUS)

Littelfuse, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells circuit protection devices for use in the automotive, electronic, and electrical markets in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. The company offers electronic circuit protection products, such as fuses and protectors, positive temperature coefficient resettable fuses, varistors, polymer electrostatic discharge suppressors, discrete transient voltage suppression diodes, TVS diode arrays and protection thyristors, gas discharge tubes, and power switching components, as well as fuseholders, blocks, and related accessories under PICO II, and NANO2 SMF, TECCOR, SIDACtor, and Battrax brand names. It offers its electronic circuit protection products for use in wireless telephones, consumer electronics, computers, modems, telecommunications equipment, telephones, data transmission lines, and alarm systems. The company also provides automotive fuses that are used in automobiles, trucks, buses, and off-road equipment to protec t electrical circuits and the wires that supply electrical power to operate lights, heating, air conditioning, radios, windows, and other controls, as well as offers fuses for the protection of electric and hybrid vehicles. It markets its automotive fuse products under ATO, MINI, MAXI, MIDI, MEGA, MasterFuse, JCASE, and CablePro brand names. In addition, Littelfuse manufactures various low-voltage and medium-voltage circuit protection products, such as power fuses that are used in the protection from over-load and short-circuit currents in motor branch circuits, heating and cooling systems, control systems, lighting circuits, and electrical distribution networks to electrical distributors and their customers in the construction, original equipment manufacturers, and industrial maintenance and repair and operating supplies markets. Littelfuse sells its products through direct sales force and manufacturers? representatives. The company was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Smith]

    Littelfuse (NASDAQ: LFUS  ) has signed an agreement to acquire Key Safety Systems' Hamlin subsidiary for $145 million in cash, Littelfuse announced Monday.

Top Japanese Companies To Buy Right Now: Select Sector Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF)

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the Financial Select Sector of the S&P 500 Index (the Index). The Index includes financial service firms with diversified business lines ranging from investment management to commercial and investment banking.

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 Ben Levisohn]

    The�Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR�(XLY) has dropped 1.1% to $60.39, while the�Financial Select Sector SPDR(XLF) is off 0.9% at $20.23.� Hardest hit is the�Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU), which has dropped 1.6% to $37.32, while the Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) has fallen 1% to $46.49. The�Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) is the top performer: It�� down 0.5% at $32.39.

Top Japanese Companies To Buy Right Now: Centor Energy Inc (CNTO)

Centor Energy Inc, formerly Centor, Inc., incorporated on February 16, 2011, is an exploration-stage company. The Company is engaged in the business of mineral exploration.

On November 26, 2012, the Company entered into a purchase agreement with Bullnet Gold Resources Limited. As of May 31, 2013, the Company had not generated revenues. As of May 31, 2013, the Company had no mining operations.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By John Udovich]

    While the Bakken formation is already on most investor radars,�few American investors may realize that the formation stretches North into the oil and gas rich Canadian province of Saskatchewan where�stocks like Surge Energy Inc (TSE: SGY), Questerre Energy Corp (TSE: QEC), Crescent Point Energy Corp (TSE: CPG), Keyera Corp (TSE: KEY) and Centor Energy Inc (OTCBB: CNTO) have been pumping out a good flow of newsworthy news in recent weeks. I should mention that Canada�� oil reserves are ranked #3 after to Venezuela and Saudi Arabia with over 95% of these reserves being the oil sands of Alberta while the neighboring province of Saskatchewan (which the Bakken formation stretches into from South Dakota and Montana) along with offshore areas of Newfoundland also contain substantial production and reserves (Note:�Excluding oil sands, Alberta would have 39% of Canada�� remaining conventional oil reserves,�followed by�offshore Newfoundland with�28% and Saskatchewan with 27%).

  • [By James E. Brumley]

    Well, that answers that question. Questerre Energy Corp. (TSE:QEC) and Crescent Point Energy Corp. (TSE:CPG) likely knew they had some shale-oil mining neighbors in the Bakken Shale neighborhood in Saskatchewan, Canada, but they hadn't seen much of that competition. That's about to change soon. Adequately funded and eager to begin laying its final mining plans, Centor Energy Inc. (OTCBB:CNTO) is going to officially own 55% of a 21,000 acre shale oil property that's anywhere from just a few miles away to just a few meters away from and Crescent Point Energy's and Questerre Energy's operations in one of the oil-richest known areas in the Bakken formation. And to be clear, it's not like Centor Energy is just getting the ball rolling; the planning for this project has been underway for months. Once the property-acquisition deal is inked in mid-February, CNTO will likely finish up its feasibility study and begin the approval process for its facility later in the year. That's pretty quick, but as was noted, a great deal of the legwork has already been done.

  • [By James E. Brumley]

    What do Questerre Energy Corp. (TSE:QEC) and Crescent Point Energy Corp. (TSE:CPG) know about oil in Saskatchewan that Centor Energy Inc. (OTCBB:CNTO) doesn't? Absolutely nothing. All three companies know there's oil in the southern part of the Canadian province, and they know exactly how to go get it. The only difference between QEC, CPG, and CNTO is, Questerre Energy and Crescent Point Energy are further along the development of their operations there than Centor Energy.

  • [By James E. Brumley]

    Quick, what do Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK), Centor Energy Inc. (OTCBB:CNTO), and Total SA (NYSE:TOT) have in common? If you said "they're all energy companies" then technically you're right. It's not necessarily the meaningful answer that we were looking for, however. No, the more significant commonalty between TOT, CHK, and CNTO right now could be that (1) 20 years ago, nobody thought they'd be having any real success doing something they're all three now involved in.... shale mining. Yet, reality is reality. While Chesapeake Energy is best known as a natural gas play, its heavy fiscal lifting is actually being done by its oil shale mining efforts in Eagle Ford, Texas. Total SA is more of a tradition integrated oil and gas company, but it too has found success - and profits - in the shale business. What's that got to do with Centor Energy? Centor is simply following a well-proven oil shale lead. It's just doing so in a newly-proven region of the world that's rich in the resource.

Top Japanese Companies To Buy Right Now: Wartsila Oyj Abp (WRT1V.HE)

Wartsila Oyj Abp is a Finland-based company. Its operations are divided into four segments: Power Plants, Ship Power, Services and PowerTech. The Power Plants segment offers multi-fuel solutions for power generation markets, such as gas power plants, dual-fuel power plants, oil power plants and liquid biofuel power plants, among others. The Ship Power segment offers a range of products and services to both shipyards and ship owners, such as medium-speed and low-speed engines, seals and bearings, automation systems, ship design and ballast water treatment systems, among others. The Services segment offers solutions, such as basic support, installation and commissioning, performance optimization and upgrades, among others. The PowerTech segment comprises research and development for medium-speed engines and other operations, with a focus on gas, environmental solutions and Smart Power Generation drives. It has operations in more than 160 locations in over 70 countries around the world. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Robert Wall var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach(fu]

    The British company tried to strengthen its maritime engine business through a $10 billion takeover of Finland�� W盲rtsil盲 Oyj (WRT1V.HE) which rebuffed Rolls-Royce’s preliminary approach. The attempted acquisition of a company of that size surprised investors who hadn�� realized expansion was on management�� agenda so soon after its full takeover of Tognum, a German engineering company originally acquired in partnership with Daimler.

Monday, November 17, 2014

5 Best Dividend Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Popular Posts: 8 Keys (And 24 Stocks) To Build Wealth TodayIs Gold Safe to Buy? Here are 13 Gold Stocks Saying “No”3 Industrial Stocks Building on Strong Fundamentals Recent Posts: Take Walmart Stock Out of Your Portfolio Basket Get Ready for the Next Dividend Stock Rush Supermarket Stocks: Winners and Losers View All Posts

Welcome to the Stock of the Day. Everyone knows Wal-Mart (WMT) for its “Every Day Low Prices,” but shareholders didn’t bargain for a Q4 earnings report that would also send share prices lower at today’s open. But with warmer temperatures just around the corner and a new dividend hike, could this pullback be a buying opportunity?

10 Best Specialty Retail Stocks To Watch Right Now: RPM International Inc.(RPM)

RPM International Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and sells various specialty chemical products to industrial and consumer markets worldwide. The company?s Industrial segment offers waterproofing and institutional roofing systems used in building protection, maintenance, and weatherproofing applications; sealants, tapes, and foams; residential basement waterproofing systems; specialized roofing and building maintenance and related services; specialty industrial adhesives and sealants; and concrete and masonry additives, and related construction chemicals. It also offers polymer flooring systems, and offshore and marine structures; industrial and commercial tile systems; fiberglass reinforced plastic gratings and shapes; heavy-duty corrosion-control coatings, fireproofing products, and containment linings; specialty construction products, including bridge expansion joints, bridge deck and parking deck membranes, curb and channel drains, highway markings, protective coatings, and concrete repairs; and fluorescent colorants and pigments, waterproofing and flooring products, exterior insulating finishing systems, and shellac-based-specialty coatings for industrial and pharmaceutical uses, edible glazes, and food coatings. The company?s Consumer segment provides professional use and do-it-yourself products for a range of consumer applications, including home improvement and personal leisure activities. Its products include coating products; specialty products; deck and fence restoration products; metallic and faux finish coatings; hobby paints and cements; and caulks, sealants, adhesives, insulating foam, spackling, glazing, and other general patch and repair products. The company offers its products under the Carboline, DAP, EUCO, Fibergrate, Flecto, Flowcrete, Hummervoll, Universal Sealants, illbruck, Rust-Oleum, Stonhard, Tremco, Watco, and Zinsser brand names. RPM International was founded in 1947 and is headquarte red in Medina, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Marc Bastow]

    Specialty chemicals manufacturer RPM International (RPM) raised its quarterly dividend 6.7% to 24 cents per share, payable Oct. 31 to shareholders of record Oct. 21. The increase is the 40th consecutive year of annual dividend increases for RPM.
    RPM Dividend Yield: 2.57%

  • [By Laura Brodbeck]

    Next week investors will be waiting for several key earnings reports including�Lindsay Corporation (NYSE: LNN),RPM International Inc. (NYSE: RPM), ADTRAN, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTN), and Del Frisco�� Restaurant Group, Inc (NASDAQ: DFRG)

  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Specialty coatings manufacturer RPM International� (NYSE: RPM  ) announced today its second-quarter dividend of $0.225 per share, the same rate it's paid for the past three quarters after raising the payout almost 5% from $0.215 per share.

5 Best Dividend Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Nordson Corporation(NDSN)

Nordson Corporation manufactures equipment used for precision dispensing, testing and inspection, and surface preparation and curing. Its Adhesive Dispensing Systems segment manufactures equipment for applying adhesives, lotions, and liquids to disposable products; automated adhesive dispensing systems for the food and beverage, and packaged goods industries; hot melt and cold glue adhesive dispensing systems for the paper and paperboard converting industries; adhesive and sealant dispensing systems for bonding or sealing plastic, metal, and wood products; and laminating and coating systems to manufacture continuous-roll goods in the nonwovens, textile, paper, and flexible-packaging industries. The company?s Advanced Technology Systems segment comprises automated gas plasma treatment systems used to clean and condition surfaces for the semiconductor, medical, and printed circuit board industries; controlled manual and automated systems for applying materials in customer pr ocesses requiring precision and material conservation; ultraviolet equipment used in curing and drying operations for specialty coatings, semiconductor materials, and paints; and bond testing and automated optical and x-ray inspection systems used in the semiconductor and printed circuit board industries. Its Industrial Coating Systems segment provides automated and manual dispensing systems used for applying coatings, paint, finishes, sealants, and other materials. Nordson Corporation markets its products in the United States and internationally through a direct sales force, as well as through qualified distributors and sales representatives. It serves various markets, including the appliance, automotive, bookbinding, container, converting, electronics, food and beverage, furniture, life sciences and medical, metal finishing, non woven, packaging, and semiconductor industries. The company was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in Westlake, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Travis Hoium]

    What: Shares of industrial product manufacturer Nordson (NASDAQ: NDSN  ) dropped as much as 10% today after the company reported fiscal second-quarter earnings.

  • [By Lauren Pollock]

    Nordson Corp.'s(NDSN) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings fell 12% on weaker demand, though the maker of dispensing equipment noted improvement in recent order trends.

5 Best Dividend Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Sysco Corporation(SYY)

Sysco Corporation, through its subsidiaries, distributes food and related products primarily to the foodservice or food-away-from-home industry in North America and Europe. The company offers a line of frozen foods, such as meats, fully prepared entrees, fruits, vegetables, and desserts; a line of canned and dry foods; fresh meats, custom-cut fresh steaks, other meat, seafood, and poultry; dairy products; beverage products; imported specialties; and fresh produce. It also supplies various non-food items, including paper products, such as disposable napkins, plates, and cups; tableware, which include china and silverware; cookware comprising pots, pans, and utensils; restaurant and kitchen equipment and supplies; and cleaning supplies. In addition, the company offers personal care guest amenities, equipment, housekeeping supplies, room accessories, and textiles to the lodging industry. It serves restaurants, hospitals and nursing homes, schools and colleges, hotels and mote ls, lodging establishments, and other foodservice customers. Sysco Corporation was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Smith]

    Only five privately held firms will participate in this two-year contract (extendable up to five years). No publicly traded firms at all were chosen to participate -- but publicly traded firms did still win a few of the day's smaller contracts, among them:

    A $76.1 million contract modification awarded to the Bell-Boeing Joint Project Office, a joint venture between Textron� (NYSE: TXT  ) and Boeing (NYSE: BA  ) , which instructs the JPO to delivery one single additional CV-22 tiltrotor aircraft to the U.S. Air Force by December 2016. A $39.4 million fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract for Sysco (NYSE: SYY  ) to provide "prime vendor food and beverage support" to the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Job Corps in Florida through April 16, 2019. A $32.3 million option exercise for NuStar Energy L.P. (NYSE: NS  ) subsidiary Shore Terminals LLC to provide "petroleum storage services" to the U.S. Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps through Nov. 30, 2016. A $7.7 million undefinitized contract modification compensating Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT  ) for "non-recurring sustainment activities" performed on behalf of the government of the United Kingdom, related to the latter's purchase of F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jets. This contract has a completion date of June 201

5 Best Dividend Stocks To Invest In Right Now: 3M Company(MMM)

3M Company, together with subsidiaries, operates as a diversified technology company worldwide. The company?s Industrial and Transportation segment offers tapes, coated and non-woven abrasives, adhesives, specialty materials, filtration products, energy control products, closure systems for personal hygiene products, acoustic systems products, and components and products that are used in the manufacture, repair, and maintenance of automotive, marine, aircraft, and specialty vehicles. Its Health Care segment provides medical and surgical supplies, skin health and infection prevention products, inhalation and transdermal drug delivery systems, dental and orthodontic products, health information systems, and food safety products. The company?s Display and Graphics offers optical film solutions for LCD electronic displays; computer screen filters; reflective sheeting for transportation safety; commercial graphics sheeting and systems; and mobile interactive solutions, includin g mobile display technology, visual systems products, and computer privacy filters. The company?s Consumer and Office segment provides office supply products, stationery products, construction and home improvement products, home care products, protective material products, certain consumer retail personal safety products, and consumer health care products. Its Safety, Security and Protection Services segment offers personal protection products, safety and security products, cleaning and protection products for commercial establishments, track and trace solutions, and roofing granules for asphalt shingles. The company?s Electro and Communications segment provides packaging and interconnection devices; fluids that are used in the manufacture of computer chips, and for cooling electronics and lubricating computer hard disk drives; high-temperature and display tapes; insulating materials, including tapes and resins; and related items. The company was founded in 1902 and is based in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ben Rooney]

    Other notable movers: Caterpillar (CAT) shares fell after the construction equipment maker lowered the mid-point of its 2014 sales outlook, citing weakness in China. 3M (MMM) shares edged higher after the company reported earnings that met analysts' expectations.

  • [By Mike Deane]

    Nomura Securities upgraded 3M Co (MMM) to “Buy” from “Neutral” before the opening bell on Wednesday, and raised the company’s price target.

    Nomura boosted 3M’s price target to $150 from $128, suggesting an 18% upside to the stock’s current share price. Nomura had the following justification for its upgrade and PT raise: “Organic growth is accelerating, capital allocation is turning positive, and margins may even have room to rise a bit, all suggesting to us that EPS growth could surprise to the upside versus current consensus estimates for 2014 and 2015,” analyst Shannon O’Callaghan states. “We expect all of that to benefit 3M�� P/E, driving a potentially expanded and sustained higher multiple for 3M under the current Thulin/Meline management team.”

    Looking ahead, Nomura sees 3M’s FY2013 EPS coming in at $6.75 and FY2014 EPS coming in at $7.50.

    3M shares were down a fraction in pre-market trading. YTD, the company’s stock is up 34.57%.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Hot Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, freight container lessor TAL International (NYSE: TAL  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

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

TAL facts

Headquarters (founded)

Purchase, N.Y. (1963)

Market Cap

$1.3 billion

Industry

Trading companies and distributors

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$628.9 million

Top Supermarket Companies To Invest In 2015: Chalmers Ltd (CHR)

Chalmers Limited is an Australia-based company engaged in transport, logistic services, warehousing and container storage, repairs and sales. The Company operated in three segments: Transport, Containers and Property. Transport consists of road transport, predominantly import/export FCL containers and the interface with logistics/ warehousing/hubbing services. Containers represent the empty container park operations concerned with handling, storage, repairs, upgrades, pretrips and so on of empty containers on behalf of shipping and leasing company customers. Property represents the capital investment Chalmers has in freeholds located in Melbourne. The Company�� subsidiaries include Chalmers Industries Pty Ltd, Chalmers (Australia) Pty Ltd and Chalmers Industries (Brisbane) Pty Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Corinne Gretler]

    Chr. Hansen A/S (CHR) slid 1.7 percent to 186 kroner after Credit Suisse Group AG cut the stock to neutral, the equivalent of hold, from outperform. The brokerage said that profit from its natural-color business remains under pressure. The world�� biggest maker of dairy enzymes cut its full-year sales forecast on July 3 because of lower prices for the red pigment carmine.

Hot Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Con-way Inc (CNW)

Con-way Inc. (Con-way), incorporated in 1958, provides transportation, logistics and supply-chain management services for a wide range of manufacturing, industrial and retail customers. Con-way�� business units operate in regional and transcontinental less-than-truckload and full-truckload freight transportation, contract logistics and supply-chain management, multimodal freight brokerage, and trailer manufacturing. Con-way is divided into four segments: Freight, Logistics, Truckload, and Other. At December 31, 2011, Con-way Freight operated 286 freight service centers, of which 144 were owned and 142 were leased. At December 31, 2011, Con-way Freight owned and operated approximately 9,200 tractors and 26,400 trailers, including tractors held under capital lease agreements.

Freight

The Freight segment consists of the operating results of the Con-way Freight business unit. Con-way Freight is a less-than-truckload (LTL) motor carrier that utilizes a network of freight service centers to provide day-definite regional, inter-regional and transcontinental less-than-truckload freight services throughout North America. LTL carriers transport shipments from multiple shippers utilizing a network of freight service centers combined with a fleet of line-haul and pickup-and-delivery tractors and trailers. Freight is picked up from customers and consolidated for shipment at the originating service center. Freight is consolidated for transportation to the destination service centers or freight assembly centers. At Freight assembly centers, freight from various service centers can be reconsolidated for transportation to other freight assembly centers or destination service centers. From the destination service center, the freight is delivered to the customer. Typically, LTL shipments weigh between 100 and 15,000 pounds. In 2011, Con-way Freight�� average weight per shipment was 1,305 pounds.

Logistics

The Logistics segment consists of the operating results o! f the Menlo Worldwide Logistics business unit. Menlo Worldwide Logistics develops contract-logistics solutions, which can include managing complex distribution networks, and providing supply-chain engineering and consulting, and multimodal freight brokerage services. Menlo Worldwide Logistics��supply-chain management offerings are primarily related to transportation-management and contract-warehousing services. Transportation management refers to the management of asset-based carriers and third-party transportation providers for customers��inbound and outbound supply-chain needs through the use of logistics management systems to consolidate, book and track shipments. Contract warehousing refers to the optimization and operation of warehouses for customers using technology and warehouse-management systems to reduce inventory carrying costs and supply-chain cycle times. For several customers, contract-warehousing operations include light assembly or kitting operations.

Menlo Worldwide Logistics provides its services using a customer- or project-based approach when the supply-chain solution requires customer-specific transportation management, single-client warehouses, and/or single-customer technological solutions. However, Menlo Worldwide Logistics also utilizes a shared-resource, process-based approach that leverages a centralized transportation-management group, multi-client warehouses and technology to provide scalable solutions to multiple customers. Additionally, Menlo Worldwide Logistics segments its business based on customer type. At December 31, 2011, Menlo Worldwide Logistics operated 76 warehouses in North America, of which 55 were leased by Menlo Worldwide Logistics and 21 were leased or owned by clients of Menlo Worldwide Logistics. Outside of North America, Menlo Worldwide Logistics operated an additional 63 warehouses, of which 48 were leased by Menlo Worldwide Logistics and 15 were leased or owned by clients. Menlo Worldwide Logistics owns and operates a small fleet of tr! actors an! d trailers to support its operations, but primarily utilizes third-party transportation providers for the movement of customer shipments.

Truckload

The Truckload segment consists of the operating results of the Con-way Truckload business unit. Con-way Truckload is a full-truckload motor carrier that utilizes a fleet of tractors and trailers to provide short- and long-haul, asset-based transportation services throughout North America. Con-way Truckload provides dry-van transportation services to manufacturing, industrial and retail customers while using single drivers as well as two-person driver teams over long-haul routes, with each trailer containing only one customer�� goods. This origin-to-destination freight movement limits intermediate handling and is not dependent on the same network of locations utilized by LTL carriers. On average, Con-way Truckload transports shipments more than 800 miles from origin to destination. Under its regional service offering, Con-way Truckload transports truckload shipments of less than 600 miles, including local-area service for truckload shipments of less than 100 miles.

Con-way Truckload offers through-trailer service into and out of Mexico through all major gateways in Texas, Arizona and California. For a shipment with an origin or destination in Mexico, Con-way Truckload provides transportation for the domestic portion of the freight move, and a Mexican carrier provides the pick-up, linehaul and delivery services within Mexico. At December 31, 2011, Con-way Truckload operated five owned terminals with bulk fuel, tractor and trailer parking, and in some cases, equipment maintenance and washing facilities. In addition, Con-way Truckload also utilizes various drop yards for temporary trailer storage throughout the United States. At December 31, 2011, Con-way Truckload owned and operated approximately 2,700 tractors and 8,000 trailers, including tractors held under capital lease agreements.

Other

! The Other! reporting segment consists of the operating results of Road Systems, a trailer manufacturer, and certain corporate activities for which the related income or expense has not been allocated to other reporting segments, including results related to corporate re-insurance activities and corporate properties. Road Systems primarily manufactures and refurbishes trailers for Con-way Freight and Con-way Truckload.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    Navistar hasn't been entirely locked out of the trucking market, though. The company won several contracts from the Defense Department in support of its military vehicles, including its MaxxPro mine-resistant, ambush-protected armored vehicle. On the commercial front, Navistar won part of an order in May from trucking company Con-Way (NYSE: CNW  ) , which purchased 200 ProStar vehicles from the company. Still, the fact that rival Paccar (NASDAQ: PCAR  ) got an even bigger portion of the Con-Way order is just one more sign of the ongoing struggles Navistar faces.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Wunderlich’s Nicholas Bender thinks FedEx’s results bode well for Old Dominion (ODFL), Con-way (CNW) and Saia (SAIA):

    We expect all less-than-truckload carriers to benefit in 2Q14 from the same trends that carried FedEx Freight to a banner 4Q14. This includes Hold-rated Old Dominion, which will continue to grow at well above market rates, and Buy-rated Con-way, which we believe can leverage a strong 2Q14 to prime the pump on margin enhancement efforts. Our favorite name in the space remains Saia (SAIA-$42.92, Buy), which will once again see accelerating tonnage growth in 2Q14. Though tonnage growth will moderate in� 2H14 due to steeper comps, there remains considerable potential for the company to boost yield and continue winning incremental business with new accounts.

  • [By Rich Smith]

    Con-Way (NYSE: CNW  ) announced that after polling its drivers for feedback on various truck manufacturers and models, it has decided to refresh its truck fleet with 525 new tractors -- 325 Kenworth T680s from Paccar, and another 200 Navistar ProStars.

Hot Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now: TNT Express NV (TNTE)

TNT Express NV is the Netherlands-based express delivery company. It collects, transports and delivers documents, parcels and freight on a time-certain or day-definite basis. The Company operates worldwide with domestic, regional and intercontinental delivery. It has own operations in more than 60 countries and can deliver to more than 200 countries through own operations, subcontractors and agents. Its customers are international companies, as well as small and medium enterprises. The Company serves industries such as technology, automotive, industrial, healthcare and lifestyle, as well as financial institutions and governments. The Company operates interconnected international air and road networks. The air network consists of a central air hub in Liege, Belgium, and a fleet of more than 50 aircrafts. The road networks are operated in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and South America. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Robert Wall]

    One of the country�� largest employers with more than 150,000 staff, Royal Mail has shifted away from letters to more lucrative package shipping, competing with TNT Express NV (TNTE) of the Netherlands and Deutsche Post AG (DPW)�� DHL Express.

Hot Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Knight Transportation Inc (KNX)

Knight Transportation, Inc. (Knight), incorporated on August 31, 1989, is a provider of multiple truckload transportation services, which generally involve the movement of full trailer or container loads of freight from origin to destination for a single customer. The Company is a provider of multiple truckload transportation services with a nationwide network of service centers through which it operates one of the tractor fleets. In addition to its own fleet, the Company also partners with third-party equipment providers to provide truckload capacity and a broad range of solutions to truckload shippers. The Company has five operating segments comprised of three asset-based operating segments: dry van truckload, temperature-controlled truckload and port services and two non-asset-based operating segments brokerage and intermodal services. Through its asset-based and non-asset-based capabilities the Company is able to transport, or can arrange for the transportation of, general commodities for customers throughout the United States and parts of Canada and Mexico.

The Company's asset-based businesses generally include dry van truckload, refrigerated truckload, dedicated truckload, and drayage services. Its non-asset-based services generally include rail intermodal and truckload brokerage services. However, within its asset-based services, the use of independent contractors to provide tractors lowers the capital investment in its dry van and refrigerated operations. In addition, drayage operations generally involve less expensive tractors with longer lives and do not require a investment in trailering equipment. As of December 31, 2012, it operated 3,627 company-owned tractors with an average age of 1.9 years. It also had under contract 507 tractors owned and operated by independent contractors. Its trailer fleet consisted of 9,564 53-foot long trailers with an average age of 5.5 years and includes 1,092 temperature-controlled trailers.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Victor Nguyen]

    A report released Thursday morning, Citigroup analyst Christian Wetherbee upgrades Knight Transportation (NYSE: KNX) to BUY from NEUTRAL, increasing price target from $17 to $22.

  • [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 Knight Transportation (NYSE: KNX  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

  • [By Sean Williams]

    Swift Transportation (NYSE: SWFT  ) , for example, delivered a 4% increase in revenue this past quarter in spite of having fewer trucks in service. The company was able to realize better utilization of its existing fleet and actually saw fuel prices fall from the previous year. The results were even more robust for Knight Transportation (NYSE: KNX  ) , whose shareholders saw revenue rise by 7% as the company grew from the year-ago quarter for the 14th straight time and delivered growth from each of its business segments.

Hot Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Heartland Express Inc (HTLD)

Heartland Express, Inc. (Heartland), incorporated on August 8, 1986, is a short-to-medium haul truckload carrier. The Company provides regional dry van truckload services through its regional terminals plus its corporate headquarters. The Company transports freight for shippers and generally earns revenue based on the number of miles per load delivered. The Company�� primary traffic lanes are between customer locations east of the Rocky Mountains. The Company is a holding company of Heartland Express Inc. of Iowa, Heartland Express Services, Inc., Heartland Express Maintenance Services, Inc. and A & M Express, Inc. Heartland operates nine specialized regional distribution operations in Atlanta, Georgia; Carlisle, Pennsylvania; Chester, Virginia; Columbus, Ohio; Jacksonville, Florida; Kingsport, Tennessee; Olive Branch, Mississippi; Phoenix, Arizona, and Seagoville, Texas. The Company operates maintenance facilities at all regional distribution operating centers along with shop only locations in Fort Smith, Arkansas and O��allon, Missouri. In November 2013, Heartland Express Inc acquired 100% of the stock of Gordon Trucking, Inc.

The Company�� operations department is responsible for maintaining the continuity between the customer�� needs and Heartland�� ability to meet those needs by communicating customer�� expectations to the fleet management group. They are charged with development of customer relationships, ensuring service standards, coordinating proper freight-to-capacity balancing, trailer asset management, and daily tactical decisions pertaining to matching the customer demand with the appropriate capacity within geographical service areas. They assign orders to drivers based on well-defined criteria, such as driver safety and United States Department of Transportation (the DOT) compliance, customer needs and service requirements, on-time service, equipment utilization, driver time at home, operational efficiency, and equipment maintenance needs. Fleet management is r! esponsible for driver management and development. Their responsibilities include meeting the needs of the drivers within the standards that have been set by the organization and communicating the requirements of the customers to the drivers on each order to ensure successful execution. Serving the short-to-medium haul market (500 miles average length of haul in 2012) permits the Company to use primarily single, rather than team drivers and dispatch loads directly from origin to destination without an intermediate equipment change other than for driver scheduling purposes.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Heartland Express (HTLD) has dropped 2.2% to $19.12 after it was cut to Hold from Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.

    Allergan (AGN) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Shares of Heartland Express (HTLD) rose today despite being cut by Stifel Nicolaus for valuation reasons.

    Bloomberg News

    Shares of Heartland Express have gained 50% this year, trumping the 38% rise in Con-Way (CNW) and the 29% advance in J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) but lagging Old Dominion Freight Lines (ODFL) and Swift Transportation (SWFT).

    That big gain was enough for Stifel’s John Larkin say no mas and cut his rating on Heartland Express. They explain why:

    Downgrading from Buy to Hold as the company’s shares appear fully and fairly valued. In fact, shares have recently traded through our 12-month fair value estimate of $19 (or 16.0x our 2015 EPS estimate of $1.15 plus ~$0.68 per share NPV of future cash tax benefits).

    Rating change is primarily valuation based as well as from our view that most transportation equities are trading ahead of the still mediocre underlying freight market fundamentals.

    BB&T’s Thomas Albrecht and team, who upgraded Heartland Express to Buy from Hold yesterday, explain why they think the stock will do just fine regardless of the economy:

    Heartland is an intriguing play upon both a slow-growth economy and a rapidly growing one (along with tight capacity). Many carriers are only able to thrive in the latter environment. With HTLD we believe that even in a sluggish economy it has a self-generating EPS story through the integration and growth of Gordon. Q3’13, a very difficult quarter for TL carriers, saw HTLD post a 79.3% OR versus 83.3%.

    The timing of the Gordon deal seems ideal, similar to the Great Coastal acquisition in mid-2002. Back then the TL market was stabilizing, but had yet to really take off, which occurred in the back half of 2003. Those 4-5 quarters allowed HTLD to assess customers, integrate operations, consolidate facilities and get ready for the next cycle. By the time that occurred HTLD was ready to take advantage of the capacity

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Equities Trading UP
    Heartland Express (NASDAQ: HTLD) shot up 19.72 percent to $17.14 after the company reported that it has acquired Gordon Trucking for $300 million.

Hot Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Aurizon Holdings Ltd (QRNNF)

Aurizon Holdings Limited, formerly QR National Limited, is a rail freight operator. It owns and operates a coal network made up of 2,670 kilometers of heavy haul rail infrastructure. It provides specialist services in rail design, engineering, construction, management and maintenance, and offers supply chain solutions to a range of customers in Australia. Its business comprises three product lines. Coal business includes transport of coal from mines in Queensland and New South Wales to end customers and ports. Freight business includes transport of bulk mineral commodities, including iron ore, agricultural products, mining and industrial inputs and general freight throughout Queensland and Western Australia. Network Services business provides access to, and operation and management of the Central Queensland Coal Network. In January 2014 the Company announced that National Australia Bank Limited and its associated entities has ceased to be the substantial holder of the Company. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By MARKETWATCH]

    LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australia stocks enjoyed early Monday gains after an advance for commodities and U.S. stocks since the last session, with a relatively good reception for earnings. The S&P/ASX 200 (AU:XJO) improved by 0.4% to 5,376.30, with miners tracking gains in gold and copper. Rio Tinto Ltd. (AU:RIO) (RIO) added 1.3%, and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (AU:FMG) (FSUMF) traded 1.1% higher, while gold miners Newcrest Mining Ltd. (AU:NCM) (NCMGF) and Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd. (AU:KCN) (KSKGF) rallied 2.2% and 4.7%, respectively. Banks rose after Wall Street shares climbed on Friday, with National Australia Bank Ltd. (AU:NAB) (NAUBF) up 1% and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (AU:ANZ) (ANEWF) adding 0.9%, though Commonwealth Bank of Australia (AU:CBA) (CBAUF) dropped 2.4% as it traded without rights to its latest dividend. Coal transport firm Aurizon Holdings Ltd. (AU:AZJ) (QRNNF) tacked on 2.1% as its fiscal first-half underlying profit increased 18%, though net profit f

Hot Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Marten Transport Ltd (MRTN)

Marten Transport, Ltd. is a temperature-sensitive truckload carrier. The Company specializes in transporting and distributing food and other consumer packaged goods that require a temperature-controlled or insulated environment. It operates throughout the United States and in parts of Canada and Mexico. The Company operates in two segments: Truckload and Logistics. During the year ended December 31, 2011, approximately 81% of its truckload revenue resulted from hauling temperature-sensitive products and 19% from hauling dry freight. Its long-haul traffic lanes are between the Midwest and the West Coast, Southwest, Southeast, and the East Coast, as well as from California to the Pacific Northwest. It provides regional truckload carrier services in the Southeast, West Coast, Midwest, South Central and Northeast regions.

The Company derives truckload revenue from fuel surcharges, loading and unloading activities, equipment detention and other ancillary services. Its operating revenue also includes revenue reported within its Logistics segment, which consists of revenue from its internal brokerage and intermodal operations, and through its 45% interest in MW Logistics, LLC (MWL), a third-party provider of logistics services to the transportation industry. Brokerage services involve arranging for another company to transport freight for the Company�� customers, while it retains the billing, collection and customer management responsibilities. Intermodal services involve the transport of its trailers on railroad flatcars for a portion of a trip, with the balance of the trip using its tractors or, to a lesser extent, contracted carriers. It focuses on large food and consumer-packaged goods companies whose products require temperature-sensitive services and who ship multiple truckloads per week. As of December 31, 2011, its customers were General Mills and Kraft.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated a fleet of 2,281 tractors, including 2,233 company owned tractors and 48 t! ractors supplied by independent contractors. The average age of its company owned tractor fleet at December 31, 2011 was approximately 2.6 years. As of December 31, 2011, it operated a fleet of 4,124 trailers. Most of its trailers are equipped with Thermo-King refrigeration units, air ride suspensions and anti-lock brakes. The average age of its trailer fleet as of December 31, 2011 was approximately 2.4 years.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Monica Gerson]

    Marten Transport (NASDAQ: MRTN) is estimated to post its Q3 earnings at $0.23 per share on revenue of $168.28 million.

    CSX (NYSE: CSX) is expected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.43 per share on revenue of $2.95 billion.

  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Marten Transport (Nasdaq: MRTN  ) reported earnings on July 16. Here are the numbers you need to know.

    The 10-second takeaway
    For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Marten Transport missed estimates on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.