Canadian Stocks For 2016: April 2014

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

10 Best Specialty Retail Stocks To Watch Right Now

10 Best Specialty Retail Stocks To Watch Right Now: Firstin Wireless Technology Inc (FINW)

Firstin Wireless Technology, Inc., formerly Passionate Pet, Inc., incorporated on September 30, 2010, is a mobile service provider. The Company is a software-based mobile service provider that enables enterprises and business users to make affordable and business-quality international long distance and roaming calls over its hybrid mobile VoIP (HY-mVoIPTM) technology. Its service does not replace a user's existing wireless service, it augments it with global communication capabilities. The Company's application is free to download, and is available on Apple iPhone, Blackberry and Android smartphones.

The Company provides international long distance and roaming services to enterprises and business travelers over smartphones. Business users need to download the Firstin application onto their smartphones to allow them to place and receive international long distance and roaming calls from anywhere in the world for a fixed monthly fee and unlimited usage. The Co mpany intends to revolutionize business mobile communications by spearheading the enterprise mobile VoIP revolution allowing for anywhere, anytime, business-quality and low-cost voice and data communications over smartphones.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Peter Graham]
Small cap stocks Bonamour Inc (OTCBB: BONI), Firstin Wireless Technology Inc (OTCMKTS: FINW) and Microchannel Technologies Corp (OTCBB: MCTC) have been attracting attention from variosu investment newsletters lately with at least two of these stocks being the subject of paid promotions. Of course, there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed paid promotions or investor relation types of activities as its up to investors and traders alike to do their due diligence. So how hot are these small cap stocks? Here is a quick reality check that! might cool your appetite:
[By Peter Graham]
A look at SofTech, Inc's financials reveals revenues of $1,375k (most recent reported quarter), $1,558k, $1,458k and $1,772k for the past four quarters along with net losses of $266k (most recent reported quarter), $51k and $14k and net income of $252k. At the end of August, SofTech, Inc had $828k in cash to cover $2,717k in current liabilities and $5,445k in total liabilities. Given the recent Asset Purchase Agreement and the deal with lenders, it would be good to wait for some more financials to see how SofTech, Inc's balance sheet has improved.
Firstin Wireless Technology Inc (OTCMKTS: FINW) Has Been Quiet Since February
Small cap Firstin Wireless Technology is a mobile communications company that is leading the shift to the enterprise mobile VoIP revolution through its mobile telephony platform and apps, including a flagship Firstin solution that allows for anywhere, anytime mobile communications at significant cost reductions. On Friday, Firstin Wireless Technology closed at $0.255 for a market cap of $8.57 million plus FINW is down 3,087.5% over the past year and down 78.7% since August 2011 according to Google Finance.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/10-best-specialty-retail-stocks-to-watch-right-now.html

Monday, April 28, 2014

Hot Solar Stocks To Buy For 2015

As we begin a brand new year, it's natural to look out across the horizon and consider what the next 365 days may have in store. We humans are inclined toward prediction, but we're pretty terrible at it. Fortunately, science can offer insight founded on data and expertise, which may be a bit closer to the mark.

Writing in Trends in Ecology & Evolution, a group of scientists just released their fifth annual "horizon scan " of pressures that they expect to be relevant in the coming year, but which haven't yet reached the attention of the mainstream.

1. Carbon Solar Cells

One of the big challenges associated with existing solar photovoltaic technologies is that they generally depend on silicon, which makes them expensive to produce. Some technologies also depend on various metal inputs that are either rare and expensive, or highly toxic.

Hot Solar Stocks To Buy For 2015: EMCORE Corporation(EMKR)

EMCORE Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides compound semiconductor-based products for the broadband, fiber optics, satellite, and solar power markets. The company operates in two segments, Fiber Optics and Photovoltaics. The Fiber Optics segment offers broadband products, including cable television, fiber-to-the-premises, satellite communication, video transport, and defense and homeland security products; and digital products comprising telecom optical, enterprise, laser/photodetector component, parallel optical transceiver and cable, and fiber channel transceiver products. This segment?s products enable information that is encoded on light signals to be transmitted, routed, and received in communication systems and networks. The Photovoltaics segment provides gallium arsenide (GaAs) multi-junction solar cells, covered interconnected cells, and solar panels for satellite applications; and concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) power systems for commercial and utility scale solar applications, as well as GaAs solar cells and integrated CPV components for use in other solar power concentrator systems. The company markets its products through its direct sales force, external sales representatives and distributors, and application engineers worldwide. EMCORE Corporation was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By CRWE]
EMCORE Corporation (Nasdaq:EMKR), a leading provider of compound semiconductor-based components and subsystems for the fiber optic and solar power markets, reported that it is ramping production and shipping the Opticomm-EMCORE NEXTGEN OTP-1DVI2A1SU insert cards for the Optiva platform.

Hot Solar Stocks To Buy For 2015: Canadian Solar Inc.(CSIQ)

Canadian Solar Inc. engages in the design, development, manufacture, and sale of solar power products in Canada and internationally. The company offers solar cell and solar module products that convert sunlight into electricity for various uses. Its products include a range of standard solar modules for use in a range of residential, commercial, and industrial solar power generation systems. The company also designs and produces specialty solar modules and products consisting of customized modules that its customers incorporate into their products, such as solar-powered bus stop lighting; and specialty products, such as portable solar home systems and solar-powered car battery chargers. In addition, it sells solar system kits, a package consisting of solar modules produced by it and third party supplied components, such as inverters, racking system, and other accessories, as well as implements solar power development projects. The company sells its products under the Canad ian Solar brand name. Canadian Solar Inc. offers its standard solar modules through a direct sales force and sales agents primarily to distributors, system integrators, and original equipment manufacturer customers, as well as to solar projects; and specialty solar modules and products to the automotive, telecommunications, and light-emitting diode lighting sectors. The company was founded in 2001 and is based in Kitchener, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Justin Loiseau]
Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ ) announced today that it has won a contract to supply Asia-based Soleq Solar with modules totaling 91 MW for solar power for projects in Thailand.
[By Jeremy Bowman]
What: Shares of Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ ) were flaring up today, falling as much as 14% after the company found itself implicated in an SEC fraud investigation.
[By Travis Hoium]
JinkoSolar (NYSE: JKS ) �and Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ ) have slightly better balance sheets and they're focusing on expanding into systems, which will smooth out demand. JinkoSolar has a $1 billion financing deal with the China Development Bank to build projects, not just manufacturing capacity, which will help demand. Canadian Solar has built a huge systems business in Canada, including a $310 million, 130 MW project last month, and signed 18 MW of deals in South Carolina last week. The systems business generates stable demand and allows companies to compete more than on price alone, which helps margins.�
[By Travis Hoium]
The company's systems backlog has fallen from $9.4 billion�to end 2011 to $8.0 billion after Q1 2013, which isn't a good sign because the company is almost 100% reliant on systems. The high-margin systems that come with projects signed years ago will also likely evaporate as First Solar competes on cost per watt against SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR ) , Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ ) , and others. But the biggest challenge is the company's panels. �

Top 10 Communications Equipment Stocks To Watch Right Now: First Solar Inc.(FSLR)

First Solar, Inc. manufactures and sells solar modules using a thin-film semiconductor technology. It also designs, constructs, and sells photovoltaic solar power systems. The company?s solar modules employ a thin layer of semiconductor material to convert sunlight into electricity. Its integrated solar power systems activities include the project development; engineering, procurement, and construction services; operating and maintenance services; and project finance. The company sells solar modules to project developers, system integrators, and operators of renewable energy projects; and solar power systems to investor owned utilities, independent power developers and producers, and commercial and industrial companies, as well as other system owners. It operates in the United States, Germany, France, Canada, and internationally. The company was formerly known as First Solar Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to First Solar, Inc. in 2006. First Solar was founded in 1999 a nd is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Dan Caplinger]
First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR ) , up 83%
Until recently, First Solar was stuck in the doldrums along with the rest of the solar industry, which was suffering from overcapacity and concerns about its future economic viability. Yet last month, First Solar gave an incredibly positive outlook, arguing that it would post sales between 20% and 30% higher than analysts had expected. Even when its most recent earnings release tempered those expectations somewhat going forward, investors still feel much more confident about the solar leader than they did two months ago.

Hot Solar Stocks To Buy For 2015: Hanwha SolarOne Co. Ltd.(HSOL)

Hanwha Solarone Co., Ltd., an investment holding company, engages in the manufacture and sale of silicon ingots, silicon wafers, and PV cells and modules. The company also offers mono crystalline and multi crystalline silicon cells; and provides PV module processing services. It sells its products to solar power system integrators and distributors primarily in Germany, Italy, Australia, the United States, the Czech Republic, Spain, and China. The company was formerly known as Solarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Hanwha SolarOne Co., Ltd. in December 2010. Hanwha Solarone Co., Ltd. was founded in 2004 and is based in Qidong, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Travis Hoium]
News and notes
Hanwha SolarOne (NASDAQ: HSOL ) announced another $100 million in financing this week, this time a term loan from the Export-Import Bank of Korea. �
[By Rebecca McClay]
The tech market's news today includes a plunge in Hanwha SolarOne Co. Ltd. (Nasdaq: HSOL) shares, which are down 5% in morning trade after its second-quarter loss narrowed to $0.32 per share from a loss of $0.43 in Q1.
[By Paul Ausick]
Big Earnings Movers: Hanwha SolarOne Ltd. (NASDAQ: HSOL) is down 6.8% at $3.68. Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: HOV) is up 2.2% at $5.15.

Stocks on the move: Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) is up 9.3% at $21.74 after being adding to the S&P 500 index. BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY) is up 6.4% at $11.53 on reports that a former board member has nearly lined up financing to take the company private. Molex Inc. (NASDAQ: MOLX) is up 31.6% at $38.60 following an agreement to be acquired by Koch Industries Inc.

Hot Solar Stocks To Buy For 2015: JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited(JKS)

JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of solar power products in China and internationally. The company provides solar modules, silicon wafers and ingots, and solar cells, as well as processing services, including silicon wafer tolling services. It sells its products under the JinkoSolar brand name. The company?s customers include distributors, project developers, and system integrators. It trades its products under short-term contracts and by spot market sales. The company also produces accessory materials for solar power products, such as solar aluminum frame, solar junction box, aluminum materials windows, and other metal component parts. JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. was founded in 2006 and is based in Shangrao, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Wall Street Strategies]
Naturally the news is a big positive for the industry, with Chinese solar names like Yingli (YGE), Trina (TSL), Canadian Solar (CSIQ) -- which is actually Chinese despite its name -- JinkoSolar (JKS), JA Solar (JASO), and LDK Solar (LDK) each up more than 10% at midday. The Guggenheim Solar ETF (TAN), which tracks several global solar companies, was up 8%, breaking to a new 52-week high.
[By Aaron Levitt]
And already, the price rise is beginning to take shape. According to its latest report, GTM shows that Chinese solar producers like JinkoSolar (JKS) have priced their modules at 80 to 85 cents per watt for new deliveries. That compares to just to 70 cents per watt at the end of 2013.

Hot Solar Stocks To Buy For 2015: Peabody Energy Corporation(BTU)

Peabody Energy Corporation engages in the mining of coal. It mines, prepares, and sells thermal coal to electric utilities and metallurgical coal to industrial customers. The company owns interests in 30 coal mining operations located in the United States and Australia, as well as owns joint venture interest in a Venezuela mine. It is also involved in marketing, brokering, and trading coal. In addition, the company develops a mine-mouth coal-fueled generating plant; and Btu Conversion projects that are designed to convert coal to natural gas or transportation fuels; and clean coal technologies. As of December 31, 2011, it had 9 billion tons of proven and probable coal reserves. The company was founded in 1883 and is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Tyler Crowe]
Looking at these trends might lead one to believe that the glory days of coal are numbered, and these companies are�certainly�priced to fail. All four of the country's largest coal companies trade at values well below the average for the S&P 500.
Company Price to Tangible Book Value P/E Ratio (TTM) S&P 500 5.40 17.7 Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU ) 1.09 9.22 Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI ) 0.41 N/A Alliance Resource Partners� (NASDAQ: ARLP )
2.52
[By Aaron Levitt]
Already, the broad Market Vectors Coal ETF (KOL) is down about 21% year-to-date, while individual companies have fared much worst. Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) ��hich is the largest U.S. producer — has fallen from more than $70 a share back in April 2011 to less than $19 a share today. Meanwhile, chief rival Arch Coal (ACI) has seen its stock price fall from $35 to less than $5 a share in the same time frame.
[By Sean Williams]
Topping the charts today with a gain of 5% is coal producer Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU ) , which reported a 13% decline in revenue to $1.73 billion and a profit of $0.33 per share, which was helped by heavy cost-cutting efforts and a lower-than-expected effective tax rate. By comparison, Wall Street was looking for $1.82 billion in revenue, but an EPS loss of $0.05. Peabody further said it plans to reduce its capital expenditures budget this year by another $100 million to a range of $350 million to $450 million. Although I'd rather see expansion than cost-cutting driving gains, this was a decent quarter for Peabody, all things considered.
[By Dan Caplinger]
Conditions in the coal market continue to be tough, but many companies are adapting to the difficult situation in the industry. Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU ) has benefited from its low-cost coal supplies and has taken advantage of lucrative export markets, where natural gas prices are far less competitive and coal much more popular. Peers Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI ) and CONSOL Energy (NYSE: CNX ) have done their best to follow Peabody's lead into the export markets, with Arch signing a deal to give it greater export capacity and CONSOL owning its own terminal in Baltimore. By contrast, James River hasn't really pursued exports as an option, leaving it much more exposed to harsher regulation and plentiful natural gas supplies.

Hot Solar Stocks To Buy For 2015: Renesola Ltd.(SOL)

ReneSola Ltd, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of solar wafers and solar power products. It offers virgin polysilicons, monocrystalline and multicrystalline solar wafers, and photovoltaic cells and modules. The company also provides cell and module processing services. Its products are used in a range of residential, commercial, industrial, and other solar power generation systems. The company sells its solar wafers primarily to solar cell and module manufacturers. It principally operates in Mainland China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, India, Australia, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, France, the Czech Republic, and the United States. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Jiashan, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By James Brumley]
Which solar power stocks are the proverbial picks of the litter, though? Here are the first five a newcomer might want to consider.
ReneSola Ltd. (SOL)
While most solar stocks have done incredibly well so far in 2014, ReneSola (SOL) wasn’t one of them. In fact, SOL stock is a bit unusual in that it’s trading well under its October high of $6 per share. That’s not a bad thing, though. In fact, it may work to your advantage because it gives new buyers a chance to scoop up ReneSola shares at a bargain price before their next big run-up.

Hot Solar Stocks To Buy For 2015: LDK Solar Co. Ltd.(LDK)

LDK Solar Co., Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of photovoltaic (PV) products; and development of power plant projects. It offers solar-grade and semiconductor-grade polysilicon; and multicrystalline and monocrystalline solar wafers to the manufacturers of solar cells and solar modules. The company also provides wafer processing services to monocrystalline and multicrystalline solar cell and module manufacturers; and sells silicon materials, such as ingots and polysilicon scraps. In addition, it engages in the production and sale of solar cells and modules to developers, distributors, and system integrators; and design and development of solar power projects in Europe, the United States, and China, as well as provides engineering, procurement, and construction services. LDK Solar Co., Ltd. operates in Europe, the Asia Pacific, and North America. The company was founded in 2005 and is based in Xinyu City, t he People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Travis Hoium]
China continues to prop up solar
Suntech Power and LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK ) have both defaulted on loans, but that doesn't appear to be a clear sign that China is willing to let its solar industry consolidate. These two companies along with countless others would be bankrupt in the U.S. or Europe but investments from state-owned entities and loans from state-owned banks have propped up the entire industry.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Get A Paycheck From America's Next Great Shale Field

These days, you can do a lot of investment research from home. Nearly every financial document and economic report can be accessed online.

But I still believe in the benefits of "boots on the ground."

If I'm investigating a retail stock, I visit store locations. If I'm researching an equipment manufacturer, I want to see its products operate and talk to its customers. And given my master limited partnership (MLP) holdings, a recent trip to one of the nation's top shale plays was long overdue.

In the late 19th century, Williamsport, Penn. was known as the "lumber capital of the world," and had more millionaires per capita than anywhere else in the country. The street where the lumber barons built their homes, on a hill overlooking the Susquehanna River, is still called "Millionaire's Row."

Lumber may have built Williamsport over a hundred years ago, but it is natural gas that is responsible for its riches in this century.

In 2010, Williamsport was the seventh-fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States. As I traveled around the city, I saw the signs of this growth. Hotels were booked. Old warehouses were being converted into riverfront loft apartments. Store parking lots were full.

Williamsport is located in the Marcellus Shale, a geological rock formation that spans parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and West Virginia. In 2005, the very first hydraulically fractured well started producing natural gas. Today, the Marcellus Shale produces 7 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Current production from the Marcellus Shale will keep MLPs busy for years. But new production from the Marcellus is starting to slow. In June 2011, Pennsylvania had 111 drilling rigs working to uncover new wells. In June 2012, the number of rigs had dropped to 85. During my trip, only 58 rigs were working to develop new wells in the state.

I spoke with a young man who worked for oil and gas services company Halliburton (NYSE: HAL). He had spent the last year traveling throughout the Marcellus Shale. But he said he would likely spend the next year in Ohio. He told me Halliburton was having trouble keeping up with all the new demand in Ohio's Utica Shale.

He explained that there was still plenty of gas to be found in the Marcellus Shale. But all the big players were moving to the Utica Shale because the gas was "wetter" and therefore more valuable.

Dry gas is what it sounds like -- mostly just natural gas. It takes little ! to process it before it's ready for market. Wet gas is rich with natural gas liquids (NGLs) such as ethane, propane and butane. While wet gas has to be processed to separate the liquids, the liquids are valuable in today's market. On average, a typical dry gas well can generate $13,000 in revenue per day. The daily revenue of a wet gas well can top $35,000.

Who's Who in the Utica Shale

It is still a bit early to invest in the Utica Shale, but I wanted to share the names of two stocks I am keeping my eye on as this important resource develops.

You can't mention shale properties without mentioning Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK). It was one of the first companies to recognize the opportunities in shale. But being a pioneer has turned into a mixed blessing. Chesapeake spent a fortune buying up drilling leases before the rest of the industry knew what hit it. But Chesapeake underestimated just how much the price of natural gas would fall with all the additional supply. It soon became painfully obvious that CHK overpaid for the leases it bought.

In June 2008, CHK traded above $60 per share and the price of natural gas was more than $10 per thousand cubic feet. CHK's stock is now $21.40 per share while the price of natural gas is just under $3.70 per thousand cubic feet.

In 2012, CHK sold more than $11 billion of its leases and pipelines in an effort to cut its losses. CHK has already sold another $3.6 billion of assets this year. Chesapeake could now be a turnaround story in the marking. But its 1.7% dividend yield won't tempt many income investors.

Thankfully, there are better yield opportunities involved in the Utica Shale.

A number of pipeline companies are building transportation systems to service the Utica Shale. But Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD), which I already own in my Daily Paycheck portfolio, is likely to have the most cost-efficient solution.

EPD is building a 369-mile ethane pipeline from Ohio to Indiana. From ther! e, EPD wi! ll use an existing underutilized 861-mile pipeline that runs from Indiana to the Texas Gulf Coast. It will need just another 55-mile pipeline extension in the Gulf Coast to give shippers access to EPD's natural gas liquids storage facility in Mont Belvieu, Texas.

Commercial operation of the pipeline is scheduled to begin in the first quarter in 2014. EPD has already received commitments from ethane producers to use the pipeline for at least the next 15 years.

On July 10, EPD raised its quarterly distribution to $0.68, up from $0.67 per unit. This was EPD's 36th consecutive quarterly distribution increase. At current prices, EPD has a yield of 4.3%.

Until Chesapeake's turnaround is further along, I'd be reluctant to recommend it to income investors. Enterprise Products Partners, however, has the kind of consistent track record I look for when selecting a security for my advisory, The Daily Paycheck. EPD has been a solid performer in my portfolio since May 2011, returning 66%. While there will be a number of pipeline companies servicing the Utica Shale over time, I doubt any will do it as cost-effectively as EPD.

[Note: EPD is not the only stock I am considering as the Utica Shale comes online. I am also looking at two other picks that are poised to capitalize as more oil starts getting pumped out of the ground. One is a top oil producer that pays a 5.2% yield, while another is a 5%-yielding MLP that could make good additions to The Daily Paycheck soon. To learn how to get access to all my latest research, click here.]

Best Construction Material Companies To Own In Right Now

P.S. -- Great yielding stocks that have plenty of cash for dividend growth are the foundation for my "Daily Paycheck" investing strategy. To see how I've used this strategy to earn $49,000 in dividend checks since 2010, click here.

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Why the Dow Closed at an All-Time High Today

While the S&P 500 Index slipped Tuesday, breaking a four-day rally that had sent it to an all-time closing high, the 30-stock, price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) reached new closing records of its own today on strong earnings. A weak manufacturing outlook in the mid-Atlantic region and a warning from House Speaker John Boehner that more spending cuts will be needed for further debt ceiling increases later this year held stocks in check. Still, the Dow was able to add 22 points, or 0.1%, ending at 15,567, an all-time high.

United Technologies (NYSE: UTX ) led all blue-chip gainers, surging 3% as earnings per share rocketed 27%. Because United Technologies is the fifth-heaviest weighted stock in the index, this earnings beat played a vital role in keeping the Dow in the green. Of course, no one's complaining about a surprisingly robust quarter, but investors always want to know if they can expect more to come. As luck would have it, the company also boosted full-year 2013 projections, earning the proverbial applause of Wall Street.

PC maker Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ ) , up a remarkable 80% this year after a miserable 2012 that saw the stock register as the Dow's worst performer, gained 0.9%, continuing its recent bullish trajectory. Today's advance comes as the company unveils new "Z series" workstations. The line of high-functioning desktops was designed with professionals like engineers, architects, designers, and photographers in mind, as well as other "knowledge workers and specialists" with high demands for image quality and performance, according to HP's press release.

McDonald's (NYSE: MCD ) continued the slump it began yesterday after failing to impress with its latest earnings report; the stock lost another 0.8% after yesterday's 2.7% slump. Mickey D's cited higher advertising costs and escalating price competition as two of its biggest setbacks in the quarter, apparently both sentiments that rival Wendy's vouched for today. Overshadowing that, however, was the fact that Wendy's was able to beat profit estimates while McDonald's was not.

Lastly, property and casualty insurer Travelers (NYSE: TRV ) sank 3.8% to end at the bottom of the Dow. You'd never guess it after considering the shellacking the stock took today, but the company actually blew away Wall Street estimates, earning $2.41 per share when analysts were looking for just $1.64 per share. So why the shellacking? Well, it appears Travelers was somehow able to overcharge customers for an entire quarter, and, because people are starting to notice, the insurer has to quickly lower its prices before things get ugly.

The Motley Fool's chief investment officer has selected his No. 1 stock for this year. Find out which stock it is in the special free report: "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2013." Just click here to access the report and find out the name of this under-the-radar company.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Unless You Own a Business, You've Missed Out on the Recovery

The National Employment Law Project released a report showing just how slow of a recovery it has been since the Great Recession. It's been so slow, in fact, that wages have moved backward: Averaged across every job, real median hourly wages have fallen 2.8% since 2009:

Source: "The Inequality of Declining Wages During the Recovery," National Employment Law Project.

And the lowest earners, including restaurant cooks, food preparation workers, and housekeepers, have taken the brunt of declines, with median wages dropping more than 5%.

With all this talk of recovery, yet no improvement in our bank accounts, you may have sought professional help to sort out this contradiction -- after all, psychiatrists are one of the few professions actually earning more (about 8% more) since 2007. But it's not a mystery: With wages falling and corporate profits still near historical highs as a proportion of GDP, it's clear that unless you have a share in the profits of a business, the recovery has passed you over.

Here's why.

Supply and demand
First, to get a wider picture of wages, we can look at wages as a percentage of economic activity, here measured by GDP:

From a high near 54% in 1970, wages now amount to only 44% of GDP. This fell as low as 43.6% in the third quarter of last year -- the lowest reading since the Department of Commerce began measuring wages in 1947.

Companies can get away with paying less in wages because the supply of labor outstrips the demand. The widely reported unemployment rate still sits at a not-horrible 7.6%. But the unemployment rate that includes the "marginally attached," or those unemployed who have looked for work in the past 12 months, as well as those working part-time jobs but desiring full time work, hovers around a dizzying 14%:

Simply put, if a company knows you don't have much of a chance of finding a different job, it also knows you'll stick around even if your pay is cut.

The good news is that you don't have to own a business outright to grab a share of the high corporate profits. After all, a share of stock entitles you to a share of those profits.

And how have corporations performed over the same time frame? the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) is up nearly 80% since 2009. Part of this is because earnings for the index improved from $256 at the beginning of 2009 to $937 today. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC ) is up nearly 90% over the same time, with its own earnings improving from $13 in 2009 to $87 in 2012.

The bad news: A majority of Americans don't own any stocks and therefore completely missed the upswing in the market. These Americans are simply on the losing end of the tug-of-war between corporate profits and wages. One thing that can end decreasing wages -- a stronger labor market -- seems a long way off in the distance.

For investors, corporations may find it difficult to keep squeezing higher profits from lower wages, and the fight to increase corporate earnings will have to face already historically high earnings and a lack of consumer spending power.

If you want to help hedge your declining wages and are one of the 53% of Americans without any stock holdings, take a look at our brand-new special report, "Your Essential Guide to Start Investing Today." In it, the Motley Fool's personal-finance experts show you why investing is so important and what you need to do to get started. Click here to get your copy today -- it's absolutely free.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

HNI Corp: Thursday Selloff Undeserved, Time to Buy?

Last week, HNI Corp. (HNI) beat earnings forecasts and promptly fell 3.4%. Raymond James, however, thinks the selloff was undeserved and raised its rating on the office-furniture maker, helping HNI Corp. to make back its loss.

Raymond James analysts Budd Bugatch and Bobby Griffin explain why they upgraded HNI Corp.:

We are upgrading HNI to Outperform from a Market Perform rating and establishing a $36.00 price target following the company's 1Q14 earnings release and management conference call. As stated in an earlier note, HNI delivered a "clean" 1Q14 EPS beat; and we are puzzled by Thursday's trading activity. HNI historically trades at a premium to the office furniture peer group, but following the shares' recent pullback (down ~3.5% on Thursday before the Good Friday holiday and down 14% YTD compared to +0.8% for the SPX YTD), this is no longer the case and gives us reason for a more constructive rating.

Shares of HNI Corp. have gained 4.9% to $35.17 at 1:45 p.m., while Steelcase (SCS) has risen 0.8% to $16.93, Knoll (KNL) has advanced 2.5% to $18.74 and Herman Miller (MLHR) has ticked up 0.3% to $30.57.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Why Ford's 2014 Escape Will Dominate Competition

Ford's 2014 Escape. Photo: Ford.

If you spend any time on the road, you've probably noticed a huge increase in the number of Ford (NYSE: F ) Escapes driving around. The Escape is one of Ford's many huge wins in the U.S. market since the Great Recession, and it's been an absolute hit with critics and consumers alike. It's on pace to top 300,000 in vehicle sales this year, which hasn't been done since the late '90s and early 2000s, when Americans were in love with gas-guzzling massive SUVs. This time, with a popular EcoBoost option and MPG that ranges between 22 in the city and 33 on the highway -- depending on which trim and engine you buy -- it's a night-and-day difference between the SUVs of old.

Here are the details on the Ford Escape, why it's winning over consumers, and why happy consumers equal happy investors.

Revving up
As the old saying goes, "if it aint broke, don't fix it" -- and that applies very well to the 2014 Escape. Sales have absolutely taken off and Ford figures this trend will continue.

Information from Automotive News DataCenter. 2013 is projected from sales through May.

The Escape has set monthly records almost all year, including its best March and April months in its entire history.

For the new model year, the Escape has a few small tweaks, including a backup camera and SYNC infotainment system on all trim levels. The price on its premium trim, the Titanium, has been dropped slightly, which is good, because if you load up on options, the Escape can become one of the more expensive models in the SUV segment -- although consumers willingly pay the price in droves.

Through May, the Escape was the best-selling SUV in the U.S. market and was a very impressive 29.7% increase over last year. Edmunds.com -- a great place to review vehicles -- calls it one of their favorite standouts in a segment full of worthy competitors.

Its exterior has an aggressive look to it, with a unique grille and sleek styling. "The Ford Escape combines outstanding fuel economy, versatility and helpful, intuitive technology in a sleek package to make it the 'smarter utility vehicle,'" said Ford group VP Raj Nair in a press release. "This is a hot and competitive segment, and we've added more reasons for customers to consider Escape."

It's a surprisingly agile ride, and its specially engineered torque converter and revised gear ratios give it a balanced feel in any driving situation. That basically means it delivers incredible handling on pavement as well as off-road -- not that many consumers will be trekking the mountainside with their new ride.

The Escape also has a handful of safety features that have been a hit with consumers. Its Blind Spot Information System, or BLIS, displays an alert in the mirror if a vehicle is detected. It also has a parallel parking feature, with which, at the press of a button, it steers itself into the space while you control the gas and brake.

Also, according to Edmunds.com, in government crash tests the Escape performed well and received four out of five stars for frontal-impact crash protection and five stars for side impact protection.

All the hype isn't limited to the Escape's safety and exterior. The interior is impressive as well.

Interior of Ford's 2014 Fusion. Photo: Ford.

Its dash and interior are made with great materials and have an excellent finished look. When you step in, you really get a sporty and modern impression.

One of the only knocks on the Escape, as pointed out in a recent study by J.D. Power & Associates, is the MyFord Touch system. While the 8-inch display has a nice look, it still has many tweaks to be made for it to quit frustrating consumers. This is to be expected and is often the case with new infotainment technology; expect it to improve over the next couple of years.

Investing takeaway
The Escape is part of a huge push in what Ford calls the "Super Segment." It's basically four segments that Ford expects to surge in the coming years, represented by the Fusion, Focus, Fiesta, and Escape. In this case, a happy consumer equals happy investors, because the Escape brings in a higher transaction price than standard cars, and with premium options, it brings in better margins as well.

Ford is also years ahead of rival General Motors in consolidating its global platforms, which is partially why Ford's margins in North America came in at 11% last quarter compared with GM's 6.2%. The Escape also represents a push by Ford to change consumer perception -- this is no longer the same Ford that produced poor-quality vehicles for years and years. It will take time to change that stereotype, but it is clear that the Escape is the best-selling SUV this year, and Ford's best SUV since the Explorer dominated a decade ago.

America still has plenty of room for growth with its annual sales rate well below what we saw before the recession and the average age of vehicles at record highs. As our economy continues to grow and access to credit is available, expect sales for Ford's popular vehicles to drive top-line revenues and bottom-line profits -- a huge win for savvy investors.

Ford share sits at a decent price today, nowhere near as undervalued as it was six months ago, but still a great opportunity for investors who are patient to watch its developments improve in Europe and China. I believe we could see Ford's net income improve 50% by late 2015, and that would send the share price soaring -- only time will tell, but Ford deserves to be on any investor watchlist.

Just how big is Ford's opportunity in China? It's huge -- China is already the world's largest auto market – and it's set to grow even bigger in coming years. A recent Motley Fool report, "2 Automakers to Buy for a Surging Chinese Market", names two global giants poised to reap big gains that could drive big rewards for investors. You can read this report right now for free – just click here for instant access.

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Menâ€™s Wearhouse Is a Better Prospect Than Jos. A. Bank

Top Promising Stocks To Own Right Now

Jos. A. Bank (JOSB) and The Men's Wearhouse (MW) are two companies that have entered into a battle of one-upmanship through various unilateral proposals of buyout bids thrown at each other.

The apparel retail industry is challenged with various headwinds such as macroeconomic difficulties, bad weather conditions and volatile currency headwinds. Most of these companies were expecting lower results as the men's apparel market segment was projected to decline by 3.62% during the holiday season in the last quarter. In spite of these projections and other market dynamics, let's look for the companies that can be a better fix for your portfolio.

Jos. A. Bank's Performance

To start with, Jos. A. Bank looks like a better investment avenue as it progressed well in the third quarter. However, rival Men's Warehouse puts forward a proposal to buy the bargain-suit and menswear retailer for $55 per share. As a result, the stock advanced to $56.84 per share from $50.60 per share and thereafter held ground after the third-quarter earnings report.

Jos. A. Bank performed well and its results exceeded Wall Street's expectations on both EPS and revenue. The growth in sales was primarily driven by direct marketing sales and Omni-Channel sales strategies.

Jos also made concrete and strategic investments in search engine optimization that fueled the growth of Internet sales, consequently helping the company to gain around 8% in active customers for both stores and online. The company has more than 4 million active customers and the count is continuously increasing due to these strategic initiatives.

Jos. A. Bank sees huge potential in the international market. It ships to 90 countries worldwide as compared to 70 in the same quarter a year ago. Besides, the tuxedo rental program is also growing at a good pace since it started in 2010.

Fight with Men's Wearhouse

The battle between the two started as Jos. A. Bank abandoned the takeover bid from Men's Wearhouse and later, Men's Wearhouse strategically initiated a bid to acquire the former. As a result, Men's Wearhouse stock surged and is trading at 52-week highs.

Men's Wearhouse reported its 15th consecutive quarter of positive comparable-store sales growth. Its adjusted diluted earnings were in line with estimates as well.

In the future, the company significantly sees huge opportunity for 100 full-line Men's Wearhouse stores and 100 outlet stores. In addition, the company is also planning to open 50 stores by the end of 2016 and will monitor its results at various stages to ensure better yields from its strategies.

Conclusion

The ideal investor, who wishes to buy a cheap stock, can definitely include both Men's Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank, as both of these stocks trade at 52-week highs, but Men's Wearhouse is cheaper at a P/E of 27 while Jos. A. Bank trades at almost 29 times earnings. In addition, Men's Wearhouse also pays a dividend with a yield of 1.50% while Jos. A. Bank doesn't. Hence, investors looking for value in the men's apparel space will be better off looking at Men's Wearhouse as it is relatively cheap and pays a dividend.

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Saturday, April 19, 2014

Top 10 Regional Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now

On Jul 6, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Why the Upgrade?

Capital One has been witnessing rising earnings estimates following the announcement of a new share repurchase program, hike in dividend and better-than-expected first-quarter results. Moreover, this regional bank has a long-term earnings growth forecast of 8.0%.

On Jul 2, Capital One announced a share repurchase authorization of up to $1.0 billion, subsequent to the Federal Reserve�� approval of its capital plan in Mar 2013. However, the company will be allowed to undertake the repurchase program after it successfully completes the sale of Best Buy Co.�� credit-card business to Citigroup Inc. (C). The company expects this deal to close in the third quarter of 2013.

Further, on May 2, Capital One hiked its quarterly dividend by 500% to $0.30, which was paid on May 23 to shareholders of record as on May 13. Moreover, in Apr 2013, the company�� first-quarter 2013 earnings easily surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate, driven by a fall in operating expenses, partially offset by decline in revenues.

Top 10 Regional Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Noble Corp (NE)

Noble Corporation is an offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. The Company performs contract drilling services with its fleet of 79 mobile offshore drilling units and one floating production storage and offloading unit (FPSO) located globally. As of December 31, 2011, its fleet consisted of 14 semisubmersibles, 14 drillships, 49 jackups and two submersibles. Its fleet includes 11 units under construction, which include five ultra-deepwater drillships, and six jackup rigs. As of February 15, 2012, approximately 84% of its fleet was located outside the United States in areas, which included Mexico, Brazil, the North Sea, the Mediterranean, West Africa, the Middle East, India and the Asian Pacific. During the year ended December 31, 2011, it completed construction on the Noble Bully I, a drillship, owned through a joint venture with a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc; completed construction on the Noble Bully II, a drillship, and it completed construction of Globetrotter-class drillship. As of February 15, 2012, it had 10 rigs under contract in Mexico with Pemex Exploracion y Produccion (Pemex).

During 2011, the Company conducted offshore contract drilling operations, which accounted for over 98% of its operating revenues. It conducts its contract drilling operations in the United States Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, Brazil, the North Sea, the Mediterranean, West Africa, the Middle East, India and the Asian Pacific. During 2011, revenues from Shell and its affiliates accounted for approximately 24% of its total operating revenues. During 2011, revenues from Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) accounted for approximately 18% and 19% of its total operating revenues. Revenues from Pemex accounted for approximately 15%, 20% and 23% of its total operating revenues.

Semisubmersibles

Semisubmersibles are floating platforms which, by means of a water ballasting system, can be submerged to a predetermined depth so that a substantial portion of the hull is b! elow the water surface during drilling operations. As of December 31, 2011, the semisubmersible fleet consisted of 14 units, including five Noble EVA-4000 semisubmersibles; three Friede & Goldman 9500 Enhanced Pacesetter semisubmersibles; two Pentagone 85 semisubmersibles; two Bingo 9000 design unit submersibles; one Aker H-3 Twin Hull S1289 Column semisubmersible, and one Offshore Co. SCP III Mark 2 semisubmersible.

Drillships

The Company�� drillships are self-propelled vessels. These units maintain their position over the well through the use of either a fixed mooring system or a computer controlled dynamic positioning system. Its drillships are capable of drilling in water depths from 1,000 to 12,000 feet. The maximum drilling depth of its drillships ranges from 20,000 feet to 40,000 feet. As of December 31, 2011, the drillship fleet consisted of 14 units, including four drillships under construction with Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. (HHI); three Gusto Engineering Pelican Class drillships; two Bully-class drillships to be operated by it through a 50% joint venture with a subsidiary of Shell; one dynamically positioned Globetrotter-class drillship that left the shipyard during the fourth quarter of 2011; one Globetrotter-class drillship under construction; one moored Sonat Discoverer Class drillship capable of drilling in Arctic environments; one NAM Nedlloyd-C drillship, and one moored conversion class drillship.

Jackups

As of December 31, 2011, the Company had 49 jackups in its fleet, including six jackups under construction. The rig hull includes the drilling rig, jacking system, crew quarters, loading and unloading facilities, storage areas for bulk and liquid materials, helicopter landing deck and other related equipment. All of its jackups are independent leg and cantilevered. Its jackups are capable of drilling to a maximum depth of 30,000 feet in water depths up to 400 feet.

Submersibles

The Company has two su! bmersible! s in the fleet, which are cold-stacked. Submersibles are mobile drilling platforms, which are towed to the drill site and submerged to drilling position by flooding the lower hull until it rests on the sea floor, with the upper deck above the water surface. Its submersibles are capable of drilling to a depth of 25,000 feet in water depths up to 70 feet.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Double Dividend Stocks]
London-based Ensco plc, (ESV), provides offshore contract drilling services to the oil and gas industry worldwide, and operates a drilling rig fleet of approximately 74 rigs, including 9 drill ships, 13 dynamically positioned semisubmersible rigs, 6 moored semisubmersible rigs, and 46 jackup rigs. ESV currently has the world's second largest offshore rig fleet, behind only Transocean, which has 95 rigs, and just ahead of Noble, (NE), which has 73 rigs. Ensco has the newest fleet of Ultradeepwater rigs, with 3, and, has 4 more on order, which are already contracted.

Top 10 Regional Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Sify Technologies Limited(SIFY)

Sify Technologies Limited provides enterprise and consumer Internet services primarily in India. The company offers various corporate network/data services comprising e-commerce and network connectivity solutions, such as end-to-end services network, application, and security services; voice origination and termination services; co-location and managed hosting services; and system integration services for data centre build, hardware distribution, security solutions, and turnkey projects. It also provides application services, including SLEMS and Microsoft Exchange messaging platforms; I-test for online assessment and LiveWire, which enable management of training processes across the organization; document management system for the management of documents electronically; and Forum, a forward supply chain solution. In addition, the company operates e-Ports that offer browsing, chat, email, gaming, utility bill payment, travel ticketing, hotel booking, mobile recharge, Intern et telephony, and online share trading services; and portals, which provide news, views, reviews, interactions, and services in the areas of movies, sports, finance, food, videos, astrology, online games, shopping, and travel, as well as offers content offerings and broadband services. Further, it provides infrastructure management services, such as network management, datacenter and helpdesk outsourcing, desktop and storage outsourcing, IT security outsourcing, LAN and WAN outsourcing, database and telecom outsourcing, and application monitoring and management services to automotive, chemical, media, and financial enterprises; and virtualization design, integration, and deployment services for servers, storage, networks, and end user clients. Sify has approximately 1,278 e-Ports in 200 towns and cities; and serves 1,06,000 broadband subscribers through 1500 cable TV Operators. The company, formerly known as Sify Limited, was founded in 1995 and is based in Chennai, India. Advisors' Opinion:

[By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Technology stocks gained Tuesday, with Ku6 Media Co (NASDAQ: KUTV) leading advancers. Among leading tech stocks, gains came from Rubicon Technology (NASDAQ: RBCN), Bitauto Holdings (NYSE: BITA) and Sify Technologies (NASDAQ: SIFY). Utilities shares dropped by 0.11 percent in the US market today.

Top Casino Companies To Buy Right Now: Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc (ICPT)

Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., incorporated on September 4, 2002, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics to treat chronic liver diseases utilizing its bile acid chemistry.The Company�� product candidates treat orphan and more prevalent liver diseases for which there are limited therapeutic solutions. The Company�� product candidate, obeticholic acid, or OCA, is a bile acid analog, a chemical substance that has a structure based on a naturally occurring human bile acid. It is developing OCA initially for primary biliary cirrhosis, or PBC, as a second line treatment for patients who have an inadequate response to or who are unable to tolerate standard of care therapy and therefore need additional treatment. The Company is conducting a Phase 3 clinical trial of OCA in PBC, which it calls the POISE trial, that serves as the basis for seeking regulatory approval in the United States and Europe. As of December 19, 2012, the Company completed enrollment of the POISE trial with 217 patients.

The Company�� clinical focus is on the development of OCA, orally administered, first-in-class FXR agonist that has broad liver-protective properties and may a variety of chronic insults to the liver that cause fibrosis, which can eventually lead to cirrhosis, liver transplant and death. The Company owns worldwide rights to OCA outside of Japan and China, where it has licensed the compound to Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma, or DSP, and granted it an option to license OCA in certain other Asian countries.The Company is sponsoring an independent study involving more than ten leading PBC centers in North America and Europe, or collectively the Global PBC Study Group, that are pooling their long-term patient data to evaluate the relationship between biochemical and clinical endpoints.

The Company competes with Eli Lilly, Exelixis, Inc., Phenex Pharmaceuticals AG, , Johnson & Johnson, NovImmune SA, Dr. Falk Pharma GmbH, Galmed Medical Researc! h Ltd., Immuron Ltd., Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., NasVax Ltd. , Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp. Astellas Pharma US, Inc., AstraZeneca, Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Tioga Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Ben Levisohn]
In what’s turned into a bad day for biotech stocks, Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT) is among the worst performers.
REUTERS
Shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals have dropped 8.3% to $295, lagging the 3.3% drop in the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) and the 4.7% decline in the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI). Gilead Sciences (GILD) has fallen 2.1% to $72.44 and Amgen (AMGN) is off just 1.8% at $121.88.

Blame SAC’s decision to drastically cut its position and a secondary offering for Intercept’s decline.

Wedbush’s Liana Moussatos explains the purpose of the secondary offering:

Intercept raised approximately $183.3MM in a follow-on offering of 600,000 shares at $320/share. We project runway into Q3 2016 from Q3 2015, which covers major milestones, including regulatory review and potential approval of OCA in PBC in 2015…

Reiterate OUTPERFORM rating and acquisition value of $493. Our acquisition value is calculated by applying a 30% annual discount to our net peak WW revenues for each drug/indication and applying a 1-10x multiple depending on stage of development to reflect risk. Each combination is added in a sum-of-parts to calculate an acquisition value for [Intercept Pharmaceuticals] and projected to the end of 2015 to include the time frame we see for potential acquisition.

Just expect a heck of a lot of volatility before then.

Top 10 Regional Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Discovery Communications Inc(DISCA)

Discovery Communications, Inc. operates as a non fiction media and entertainment company worldwide. The company provides original and purchased programming across various distribution platforms. Its content covers science, exploration, survival, natural history, sustainability of the environment, technology, docu-series, anthropology, paleontology, history, space, archaeology, health and wellness, engineering, adventure, lifestyles, forensics, civilization, and current events. The company owns and operates nine national television networks in the United States, including Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Investigation Discovery, Military Channel, Planet Green, Discovery Fit & Health, and Velocity. Discovery Communications also has interests in Oprah Winfrey Network, a pay-television network and Web site; The Hub that features original programming, game shows, and live-action series and specials; and 3net, a three-dimensional network. In addition, it o ffers network branded Web sites, and mobile and video-on-demand services; and distributes various national and pan-regional television networks. Further, the company develops and sells curriculum-based products and services to public and private K-12 schools, such as access to an online VOD service that includes curriculum-based tools, professional development services, and student assessment and publication of hardcopy curriculum-based content; and postproduction audio services to motion picture studios, independent producers, broadcast networks, cable channels, advertising agencies, and interactive producers. As of December 31, 2011, it operated approximately 150 distribution feeds in 40 languages. The company is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By MONEYMORNING]
Consider the case of Discovery Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA), the world's leading creator of documentary-style content. The company recently said it wants to upgrade to 4K for shows it runs on such networks as the Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, and Science.
[By Will Ashworth]
Somebody will buy Scripps Networks Interactive (SNI), given that HGTV and Food Network are both in the top 20. It looked momentarily like Discovery Communications (DISCA) might be the suitor, but the company backed out of talks this past week, preferring to focus on overseas expansion.
[By Harold L. Vogel]
*Includes AMC (AMCX), Cablevision (CVC), Charter, Comcast Cable (CMCSA) and networks, Discovery (DISCA), Disney (DIS) cable networks, Time Warner Cable (TWC) and cable networks, Viacom (VIAB) networks.

Top 10 Regional Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Seadrill Limited(SDRL)

Seadrill Limited, an offshore drilling contractor, provides offshore drilling services to the oil and gas industries worldwide. It also offers platform drilling, well intervention, and engineering services. As of March 31, 2011 the company owned and operated 54 offshore drilling units, which consist of drillships, jack-up rigs, semisubmersible rigs, and tender rigs for operations in shallow and deepwater areas, as well as in benign and harsh environments. Seadrill Limited was founded in 1972 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Travis Hoium]
A good way to play high oil prices is by buying the companies that supply equipment to the drilling industry. SeaDrill (NYSE: SDRL ) and Transocean (NYSE: RIG ) own rigs that are leased out in long-term contracts that can be for as much as $600,000 per day. They also pay lofty 8.5% and 4.6% dividends, respectively.
[By Tyler Crowe]
To get this infrastructure going, it is signing tons of deals. The company just recently signed a $2.7 billion, eight-year joint venture with Seadrill� (NYSE: SDRL ) and SapuraKencana. The two companies will build and operate pipe-laying ships beginning in 2016. The original eight years can be doubled to 16 if Petrobras sees fit. Also, FMC Technologies and GE (NYSE: GE ) have each received $500 million contracts from Petrobras for offshore equipment needed to get platforms up and running in the pre-salt formation.�
[By Ben Levisohn]
Last week, Barclays issued a very bearish report on offshore drillers, including Transocean (RIG), Seadrill (SDRL) and�Atwood Oceanics�(ATW). This week, Raymond James added its voice to the growing chorus of naysayers.

Top 10 Regional Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: NeuroMetrix Inc.(NURO)

NeuroMetrix, Inc., a science-based health care company, develops and markets products for the detection, diagnosis, and monitoring of peripheral nerve and spinal cord disorders, such as those associated with diabetes, carpal tunnel syndrome, lumbosacral disc disease, and spinal stenosis. The company focuses on diagnosis and treatment of the neurological complications of diabetes, including diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) and median neuropathy. Its marketed products include the ADVANCE NCS/EMG system, a platform for the performance of traditional nerve conduction studies and invasive electromyography procedures for the diagnosis and evaluation of CTS, low back and leg pain, and DPN; and the NC-stat DPNCheck, a device used to evaluate systemic neuropathies, such as DPN at the point-of-care, as well as consumables and accessories for use with its neurodiagnostic equipment. The company is also developing SENSUS pain therapy device, a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimul ator used in the management of chronic pain, such as that caused by DPN; and ADVANCE CTS, a version of the ADVANCE NCS/EMG device for the detection of CTS in people with diabetes. The company distributes its products directly through its direct sales force and independent sales representatives to physicians, clinics, and hospitals consisting of primary care, internal medicine, orthopedic and hand surgeons, pain medicine physicians, neurologists, physical medicine and rehabilitation, physicians, and neurosurgeons, as well as endocrinology/podiatry market in the United States and internationally. NeuroMetrix, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Bryan Murphy]
For the second time in as many days, I find myself supporting the purchase of a suddenly-bullish stock by saying "this time is different". Yesterday I was talking about OXiGENE Inc. (NASDAQ:OXGN), but today I'm using the term to describe the bullishness that's unfurling with Neurometrix Inc. (NASDAQ:NURO). And just for the record, yes, I know the perils of the "this time is different" argument. I tend to cringe when I hear it, as (too much) experience has taught me that things are rarely different - patterns within the market play themselves out over and over again. In the case of NURO as well as OXGN though, I can put my finger on something specific that we've not yet seen.
[By Bryan Murphy]
My recent love affair with Neurometrix Inc. (NASDAQ:NURO) hasn't exactly been a veiled secret. I first pointed out this diabetes-diagnostics stock was working on a technical breakout effort in early October, and I penned two more bullish-progress reports on NURO in November. Yet, the Neurometrix rally is still in its infancy, when you take a step back and look at the bigger weekly chart.

Top 10 Regional Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc.(KTOS)

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. provides mission critical products, services, and solutions in the United States. The company?s Kratos Government Solutions segment offers various services comprising weapon systems sustainment, lifecycle support, and extension; command, control, communications, computing, combat systems, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance services, including cybersecurity, cyberwarfare, information assurance, and situational awareness solutions; military range operations and technical services; missile, rocket, and weapons systems test and evaluation; mission launch services; modeling and simulation; unmanned aerial vehicle products and technology; advanced network engineering and information technology services; and public safety, security, and surveillance systems integration. Its Public Safety & Security segment provides independent integrated solutions for homeland security, public safety, critical information, and security and su rveillance systems. This segment?s solutions consists of designing, installing, and servicing building technologies that protect people, critical infrastructure, assets, information, and property in various areas, such as the design, engineering, and operation of command and control centers; design, engineering, deployment, and integration of access control; building automation and control; communications; digital and closed circuit television security and surveillance; fire and life safety; maintenance services; and product support services. The company primarily serves the United States government agencies, including the department of defense, classified agencies, intelligence agencies, other national security agencies, and homeland security related agencies. The company was formerly known as Wireless Facilities, Inc. and changed its name to Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. in September 2007. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in San Diego, Cali fornia.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By John Udovich]
Small cap security and surveillance stocks like Vimicro International Corporation (NASDAQ: VIMC), TASER International, Inc (NASDAQ: TASR), Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc (NASDAQ: KTOS)�and View Systems Inc (OTCBB: VSYM) have been producing a steady stream of news lately for investors and traders alike to digest. After all, the entire�security and surveillance industry is pretty vast as it would include everything from airport scanners to security cameras or monitoring equipment to actual weapons for domestic or national defense to software securing everyone�� personal or online data to the technology groups like the NSA and other "Big Brother" agencies use to spy on us. With that in mind, here is a look at the latest news from important small cap security and surveillance stocks:

Top 10 Regional Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: PDL BioPharma Inc.(PDLI)

PDL BioPharma, Inc. engages in intellectual property asset management and royalty bearing assets investment activities. The company is involved in the humanization of monoclonal antibodies and the discovery of a new generation of targeted treatments for cancer and immunologic diseases. It offers Queen et al. patents that cover humanized antibodies, methods for humanizing antibodies, polynucleotide encoding in humanized antibodies, and methods of producing humanized antibodies. The company was formerly known as Protein Design Labs, Inc. and changed its name to PDL BioPharma, Inc. in 2006. PDL BioPharma, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Incline Village, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Brian Orelli]
PDL BioPharma (NASDAQ: PDLI ) did much better with the spin out of its development stage program into Facet Biotech. The biotech started trading at $13�per share, and was eventually taken out by Abbott for $27. The main assets now reside in Abbott's aforementioned spinout AbbVie in conjunction with Biogen Idec, which was developing the drugs with PDL. If the drugs are successful, maybe the duo will spin them out into a joint venture, completing the cycle?

Top 10 Regional Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Birner Dental Management Services Inc.(BDMS)

Birner Dental Management Services, Inc., a dental business service company, provides dental practice management services to dental practice networks in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. The company offers business services to 64 dental practice offices that include 38 acquired offices and 26 internally developed ?de novo Offices?. Its affiliated dentist offices provide general dentistry services, including crowns and bridges, fillings, and aesthetic procedures, such as porcelain veneers and bleaching; cleanings and periodontal services, including root planning and scaling; and specialty dental services, such as orthodontics, oral surgery, pediatrics, endodontics, and periodontics at some of its offices. The company serves dentists, patients, and third-party payors. Birner Dental Management Services, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Geoff Gannon]
I could go down the list for each company that I thought was an especially oddly valued stock. For Birner Dental (BDMS), it�� possible people were paying more attention to earnings per share and dividends than EBITDA and share buybacks. For Bancinsurance, the company�� top management was under SEC investigation. For George Risk (RSKIA), it was a combination of not really cheap on a P/E basis and just barely cheap on a cash basis ��and it was connected to homebuilding.
[By Geoff Gannon]
For example, a company involved in a mundane business like running hair salons ��like Regis (RGS), dentist offices ��like Birner Dental (BDMS), grocery stores ��like Village Supermarket (VLGEA), or garbage dumps ��like Waste Management (WM), may be easy to estimate as essentially a no-growth business.

Top 10 Regional Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Lincoln National Corporation (LNC)

Lincoln National Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in multiple insurance and retirement businesses in the United States. The company operates in Annuities, Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, and Group Protection segments. It sells a range of wealth protection, accumulation, and retirement income products and solutions. These products include fixed and indexed annuities, variable annuities, universal life insurance (UL), variable universal life insurance (VUL), linked-benefit UL, term life insurance, employer-sponsored defined contribution retirement plans, mutual funds and group life, disability, and dental products. The company also provides employer-sponsored fixed and variable annuities, and mutual fund-based programs; single and survivorship versions of UL and VUL, including corporate-owned UL and VUL, and bank-owned UL and VUL products to small- to mid-sized banks, and mid- to large-sized corporations; and group non-medical insurance products, prin cipally term life, universal life, disability, dental, vision, accident, and critical illness insurance to the employer market place through various forms of contributory and non-contributory plans. Lincoln National Corporation distributes its products through consultants, brokers, planners, agents, financial advisors, third-party administrators, and other intermediaries. Lincoln National Corporation was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Ben Levisohn]
It’s been a good day for life insurers across the board today, thanks to speculation that the Fed could get more hawkish following today’s jobs report–and higher interest rates would benefit insurers. Shares of Prudential have gained 2% to $88.47 at 2:53 p.m. today, while Metlife (MET) has risen 1.3% to $53.04 and Lincoln National (LNC) has advanced 1.6% to $52.75. American International Group (AIG) has dropped 0.2% to $51.05.
[By Jonas Elmerraji]
Lincoln National (LNC) is a financial stock that's forming a channel of its own... But with a twist.

That's because the $12 billion wealth management firm is moving sideways in a range-bound trade called a rectangle. The setup gets its name because price action is essentially "boxed-in" by resistance above shares at $45, and support to the downside at $42. Instead of buying within the channel, rectangles are breakout trades – you want to trade this name when it breaks outside of the box.

That means that a move through the $45 level is a buy signal, and a move through support at $42 is an indicator that it's time to sell (or short) LNC. Right now, there's some extra bias to the upside – typically, rectangles are continuation patterns, and since Lincoln's preceding price action was up, it's likely next move is up as well. Still, it doesn't become a high probability trade until the breakout happens, so wait to get your direction from the market.
[By John Kell]
Lincoln National Corp.'s(LNC) fourth-quarter profit rose 9.7%, as it posted higher-than-expected operating revenue.

Marathon Oil Corp.(MRO) reported lower fourth-quarter sales volume, though the crude oil and natural gas producer’s bottom line grew 16% due to fewer income tax provisions.
[By Sean Williams]
Finally, shares of life insurance company Lincoln National (NYSE: LNC ) added 5.7% on the day despite no company-specific news. Today's move higher could very well just be carryover from its third-quarter results reported a little more than a week ago where it handily topped the consensus EPS and revenue forecast of analysts. Annuities and retirement planning services have been a big boost to the sector over the past couple of quarters, and a rising market is surely going to encourage investors, young and old, to consider jumping back in and investing for their futures.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Beef Prices Are High, Herd Size Is Down -- But That's Only Part Of The Story

The headlines have been scary, especially for the carnivores among us -- beef prices are at their highest level in decades and the overall U.S. cattle herd at its smallest since 1951.

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But industry experts say there's more to those numbers than meets the media's eye. Lance Zimmerman, an analyst at the Denver-based industry research group Cattlefax, says the combination of wide-spread drought conditions, along with rising demand, have indeed created challenges for the beef industry.

What's lost in that discussion, he tells Benzinga, is that the cattle industry is "able to produce today nearly twice as much beef from that cow herd as we did in the same one, from a head count perspective, in the 1950s," thanks to continued improvements in genetics, feeding technologies and animal husbandry.

Related: Watch Out, Mickey D's: Jack In The Box Is Making Some Serious Gains

Beef is also the victim of its own popularity. The drought may have decreased the cattle herd, "but...we've also seen increasing demand every single year coming out of the recession," said Zimmerman.

It's not just beef prices that are rising. U.S. pork producers are dealing with the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV). The disease has forced them to kill off millions of piglets and, at the same time, driven pork prices up 10 percent or more. Poultry operators, meanwhile, are trying to rebuild their chicken populations, taking advantage of relatively lower corn prices, in the face of growing consumer demand.

At the same time, Zimmerman says, demand for U.S. beef exports from its five key international markets – Japan, Mexico, Hong Kong, Canada and South Korea – has remained "relatively robust" through February, with the March trade data expected in several week's time.

Even though mainland China officially has a ban on U.S. beef, due to the industry's use of the feed additive ractopamine, a lot of American beef is apparently making its way into the People's Republic via Hong Kong and other neighboring countries.

"What is favoring beef from losing considerable market share, with these high prices, is that their competing meats are going to be increasing in price as well," Zimmerman notes. "So beef is actually going to remain relatively competitive to these other proteins – at least through the summer and into the early fourth quarter."

Posted-In: beef beef prices Canada cattle Cattlefax China corn food and beverage Food Prices Hong Kong Japan Lance Zimmerman Mexico porcine epidemic diarrhea virus Pork poultry South Korea U.S. beef exportsNews Commodities Retail Sales Restaurants Events Global Economics Markets General Interview Best of Benzinga

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Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Yahoo! Soars Following Q1 Beat, Alibaba Growth

Updated from 4:44 p.m. to include comments from the earnings call.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) Yahoo! (YHOO) reported first-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street estimates, sending shares higher in after-hours trading.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo! earned 38 cents a share on $1.087 billion in revenue, excluding traffic acquisition costs (TAC) for the first quarter.

For the quarter, the company noted that display revenue ex-TAC was $409 million, a 2% increase year over year, as the number of ads increased 7% year-over-year, but the price per ad continued to trend lower, falling 5% over the same time frame. Shares of Yahoo! were soaring in after-hours trading, gaining 6.1% to $36.30. Yahoo! shares closed higher in the regular trading session, gaining 2.3% to finish at $34.21.
WATCH: More market update videos on TheStreet TV Search revenue jumped 9% year-over-year, rising to $444 million excluding TAC, as paid clicks increased approximately 6% compared to the first quarter of 2013, and price-per-click increased approximately 8% during the same time frame. "I am really pleased by our first quarter performance, marking our best Q1 revenue ex-TAC since 2010. Buoyed by our 9th consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth in Search revenue ex-TAC and our first quarter of Q1 year-over-year growth in display revenue ex-TAC since 2011, Q1 was an early and important sign of growth in our core business," said Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. "And, with mobile pivotal to our future growth, we're delighted to now see more than 430 million monthly mobile users accessing Yahoo's new products." Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were looking for Yahoo! to earn 37 cents a share on $1.08 billion in revenue for the first quarter. Analysts surveyed by Estimize were looking for Yahoo! to earn 41 cents a share on almost $1.09 billion in revenue. At the end of the first-quarter, Yahoo! ended the quarter with $4.6 billion in cash, compared to $5 billion at the end of 2013, a draw down of $400 million. During the quarter, the company used $450 million to buy back 12 million shares and $22 million for acquisitions. Though display and search revenue rose year-over-year, the real stalwart of the earnings report were the results from Alibaba, which Yahoo! owns a 24% stake in. For the quarter, Alibaba earned $1.36 billion on $3.058 billion, a rise of 110% and 66% year-over-year, respectively.

For the second-quarter, Yahoo! said it expected revenue ex-TAC to be between $1.06 billion and $1.1 billion. It expects Adjusted EBITDA to be between $290 million and $330 million, with Non-GAAP operating income between $130 million and $170 million. On the earnings call, Mayer noted that core Yahoo! is accelerating, albeit very slowly. She noted that there will continue to be acquisitions, as Yahoo! looks to turn around the core business. There will be some "strategic acquisitions," and some tuck-in acquisitions, as Yahoo! has done in the past.

--Written by Chris Ciaccia in New York >Contact by Email. Follow @Chris_Ciaccia

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

3 Road and Rail Stocks to Sell Now

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For the current week, the overall ratings of three road and rail stocks are worse, according to the Portfolio Graderdatabase. Each of these rates a “D” (“sell”) or “F” overall (“strong sell”).

Kansas City Southern () ratings are on the decline this week as the company earns an F (“strong sell”). Last week, it received a D (“sell”). Kansas City Southern operates a railroad system that provides shippers with rail freight services in commercial and industrial markets of the United States and Mexico. The trailing PE Ratio for the stock is 30.70. .

Roadrunner Transportation Systems, Inc. () is having a tough week. The company’s rating falls from a D to an F. Roadrunner Transportation Systems offers truck freight transportation services. The stock gets F’s in Earnings Revisions and Earnings Surprise. .

Guangshen Railway Co. Ltd. Sponsored ADR Class H’s () rating falls to a D (“sell”) this week, down from C (“hold”) the week prior. Guangshen Railway is a provider of railroad passenger and freight transportation, as well as railway network usage and services. .

Louis Navellier’s proprietary Portfolio Grader stock ranking system assesses roughly 5,000 companies every week based on a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. Stocks are given a letter grade based on their results — with A being “strong buy,” and F being “strong sell.” Explore the tool here.

Monday, April 14, 2014

Protect Your Portfolio Against A Meltdown In Stocks With These 2 Bond Funds

I’ll never forget attending my first investing seminar with my uncle and grandfather back in the late 1970s. It was hosted by Charles Givens, who wrote the book "Wealth Without Risk."

I was about 15 at the time and had never seen a real Rolls-Royce, which Givens drove to the seminar, or an actual bona fide millionaire, so I was quite impressed and listened intently to what he had to say. Although Givens' business dealings were later proved not to have been completely legitimate, what he taught in his books and seminars are mostly solid, actionable ideas.

One of his favorite sayings at the seminar was "When rates are low, stocks will grow, and when rates are high, stocks will die." He went on to talk about stock and bond prices and how they move in cycles depending on interest rates and economic activity.

Remember, this was during the ultra-high-interest days of the '70s. Most of what Givens talked about was above my adolescent understanding, but I've always remembered what he said about that correlation.

So far in 2013, we've seen a soaring stock market and a seriously lackluster market in bonds. However, many investors believe the stock market's bullish run is nearly over, which may be building a bullish case for the bond market.

As investors take profits from the bullish stock market, stocks may decline. This would result in money shifting into the bond market, pushing it higher.

This scenario may or may not happen exactly as I've described, but allocating some of your portfolio to the bond market is always a wise decision. Right now, I like these two bond funds for diversification away from the overheated stock market.

PIMCO Emerging Local Bond Institutional (Nasdaq: PELBX)
This fund invests in local currency bonds rather than those denominated in U.S. dollars. The institutional shares presently yield 3.7%. With $15 billion in assets, it is the oldest and most established of the 16 bond funds in the sector.

PIMCO chief Bill Gross recently supported the local currency bond fund by saying the Mexican peso is a great currency due to Mexico’s low debt levels and interest rate stability. Technically, the price has dropped from over $11.20 to about $10.60, which is supported by the 200-day simple moving average.

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Metropolitan West Unconstrained (Nasdaq: MWCRX)
This is the bond fund you want to own if you believe interest rates are about to increase. The fund sells Treasurys short, meaning it's poised to profit if Treasurys drop. Therefore, rising interest rates will be a big positive for this bond fund. However, should Treasury yields fall, this fund will lose money. The shares currently yield 3.6%.

Twenty percent of its assets are in non-government-backed mortgages and 10% is allocated to junk bonds and emerging markets, adding some risk to the mix. Technically, this bond fund has also pulled back, making it an attractive buy at these levels.

Risks to Consider: These suggestions are merely ideas on how to use bonds to diversify your investment portfolio. Although it appears that interest rates have nowhere to go but higher, it is not known when this will happen. In addition, many political and economic risks of emerging markets create headwinds for both funds.

Action to Take --> I like both these funds for a small allocation of an investment portfolio, especially for diversification away from a potentially overheated stock market. Remember to use stops properly.

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