Best US Companies To Own For 2014

With shares of Dish�Network (NASDAQ:DISH) trading around $49, is DISH 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

Dish Network is a pay-television provider that offers a range of local and national programming, featuring more national and local high-definition channels than most pay-TV providers. A rising number of consumers are opting for satellite services due to the reduced costs and increased coverage offered. Dish Network is poised to capitalize on this rise in consumer interest as entertainment takes center stage for consumers in the United States.

Dish�Network�reported revenue totaling $3.60 billion for the quarter ending Sept. 30, 2013 compared to $3.52 billion�for the corresponding period in 2012. Subscriber related revenue increased 6.1 percent to $3.47 billion from $3.27 billion in the�year-ago period.

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart Are Strong

Dish Network�stock has been steadily trending higher in the past several years. The stock is currently trading near all time highs and looks set to continue. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, Dish Network�is trading above its rising key averages which signal neutral to bullish price action in the near-term.

Top Rising Companies To Invest In 2015: Illinois Tool Works Inc.(ITW)

Illinois Tool Works Inc. manufactures a range of industrial products and equipment worldwide. The company?s Transportation segment offers metal and plastic components, fasteners, and assemblies; fluids and polymers; fillers and putties; polyester coatings, and patch and repair products; and truck remanufacturing and related parts and service. Its Industrial Packaging segment offers steel and plastic strapping and related tools and equipment; plastic stretch film and related equipment; paper and plastic products that protect goods in transit; and metal jacketing products. The company?s Food Equipment segment provides warewashing, cooking, refrigeration, and food processing equipment; and kitchen exhaust, ventilation, and pollution control systems. Its Power Systems & Electronics segment provides arc welding equipment; metal arc welding consumables; metal solder materials for PC board fabrication; equipment and services for microelectronics assembly; electronic components an d component packaging; and airport ground support equipment. The company?s Construction Products segment offers anchors, fasteners, and related fastening tools for wood, metal, and concrete applications; metal plate truss components, and related equipment and software; and packaged hardware and other products for retail. Its Polymers & Fluids segment provides adhesives, chemical fluids, epoxy and resin-based coating products, hand wipes and cleaners, and pressure-sensitive adhesives and components. The company?s Decorative Surfaces segment offers laminate for furniture, office and retail space, and countertops; and laminate flooring and worktops. In addition, the company offers plastic reclosable packages and bags, and consumables; plastic and metal fasteners, and components; foil and film products; product coding and marking, paint spray, and static and contamination control equipment; and swabs and mats. The company was founded in 1912 and is based in Glenview, Illinois. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Nicole Seghetti]

  1. Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW  ) This industrial goods manufacturer is a card-carrying member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, an elite group of blue chip companies that have raised their dividends for at least 25 consecutive years. Amazingly, Illinois Tool Works has increased its dividend for 49 straight years.�

Best US Companies To Own For 2014: Lowe's Companies Inc.(LOW)

Lowe's Companies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a home improvement retailer in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company offers a range of products for maintenance, repair, remodeling, home decorating, and property maintenance. It provides home improvement products in the categories of appliances, lumber, paint, millwork, building materials, lawn and landscape products, flooring, rough plumbing, seasonal living, tools, hardware, fashion plumbing, lighting, nursery, outdoor power equipment, cabinets and countertops, home organization, rough electrical, and home fashion, as well as boards, panel products, irrigation pipes, vinyl sidings, and ladders. The company also offers installation services through independent contractors in various product categories. Lowe's Companies serves homeowners and renters primarily consisting of do-it-yourself customers and do-it-for-me customers; and commercial business customers, who work in the construction, rep air/remodel, commercial and residential property management, or business maintenance professions. As of August 15, 2011, it operated approximately 1,725 home improvement stores in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company also offers its products through electronic product catalogs and Lowes.com. Lowe's Companies, Inc. was founded in 1952 and is based in Mooresville, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sally Jones]

  Lowe�� Companies Inc. (LOW) is up 52% over 12 months. Sears Holdings Corporation (SHLD) is down 10% over 12 months.

  With the Orchard Supply situation behind him, Edward Lampert�� reductions in the second and third quarters have focused on systematically reducing his long-time AutoNation Inc. (AN) holding. Since the beginning of the third quarter, Lampert has reduced his AN position five times. In his latest trade, as of Oct. 30, 2013, Edward Lampert slightly reduced his position by 0.02%, selling shares in the average price range of $48.00 per share. The current share price is $48.12, with a change from average at 0%. See GuruFocus Real Time Picks for more trade details.

• [By Kiplinger]

  Getty Images The Presidents Day holiday on Feb. 17 means a day off for some of us -- and the first big sales event of the year for retailers. Several retailers -- including Best Buy (BBY), Macy's (M) and Walmart (WMT) -- already have launched Presidents Day sales. And last year, some merchants continued their sales several days beyond the holiday, according to dealnews.com. So Presidents Day sales can actually last for two weeks, rather than just the three-day holiday weekend. But do these sales really offer good money-saving opportunities for consumers? As always, it depends on what you're buying. "Presidents Day sales are a great way to save on big-ticket items," says Offers.com Vice President Howard Schaffer. The sales are also a good opportunity to get deeply discounted cold-weather apparel for next winter for growing children by purchasing a size or two larger than what they currently wear, Schaffer says. However, he warns, watch out for new seasonal items such as spring clothing, grills and patio furniture that are promoted along with Presidents Day sales items because they'll actually be at their highest prices of the year. Here are several items you'll see on sale around Presidents Day, along with our advice on whether the discounts are worthwhile or just mediocre. Deep Discounts on Winter Apparel Most retailers already have put cold-weather clothing on clearance racks, with discounts as high as 70 percent. You can expect those sales to last through Presidents Day, but you should be able to find coupons from most merchants that will let you get an additional 10 to 25 percent off clearance items over the holiday weekend, according to dealnews.com. In the past, some retailers have offered coupons for as much as 70 percent off clearance items, according to dealnews.com. Download a coupon app, such as the one from RetailMeNot, before you head to the mall to see which merchants are having sales and offering coupons. Don't expect widespread sales on s

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) has fallen 1.7% to $58.35 today, the worst among SPDR’s sector ETFs. Big losers today include the Home Depot (HD), which has fallen 2.8% to $75.27, Lowes (LOW), which has dropped 2.3% to $43.98, and Johnson Controls (JCI) which has declined 2.7% to 40.71.

Best US Companies To Own For 2014: Vanguard Growth Index Fund (VUG)

Vanguard Growth ETF (the Fund), formerly known as Vanguard Growth VIPERs, is an exchange-traded share class of Vanguard Growth Index Fund. The Fund seeks to track the investment performance of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) US Prime Market Growth Index (the Index). The Index is designed to represent the large-cap growth segment of the United States equity market.

The Index represents the growth companies of the MSCI US Prime Market 750 Index. The MSCI US Prime Market 750 Index represents the universe of predominantly large-capitalization companies in the United States equity market. The Fund employs a passively managed, full-replication strategy in seeking to track the Index. The Fund invests in all of the Index stocks, holding each stock in approximately the same proportion as its weighting in the Index.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Exchange-traded funds offer a convenient way to invest in sectors or niches that interest you. If you'd like to add some growth stocks to your portfolio but don't have the time or expertise to hand-pick a few, the Vanguard Growth ETF (NYSEMKT: VUG  ) could save you a lot of trouble. Instead of trying to figure out which companies will perform best, you can use this ETF to invest in lots of them simultaneously.
  
  The basics
  ETFs often sport lower expense ratios than their mutual fund cousins. The Vanguard ETF's expense ratio -- its annual fee -- is a very low 0.10%.
  
  This ETF aspires to beat the S&P 500 soundly, but over the past three and five years, it has slightly underperformed and outperformed it, respectively. As with most investments, of course, we can't expect outstanding performances in every quarter or year. Investors with conviction need to wait for their holdings to deliver.

• [By Mark Salzinger]

  Our preferred large-cap growth ETF is Vanguard Growth (VUG), which we feature in all four of our core Best Buys model portfolios. It has fairly broad coverage of growth stocks, with more than 350 holdings. Its expense ratio is a miniscule 0.10%.

Best US Companies To Own For 2014: iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM)

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (the Index). The Index is designed to measure equity market performance in the global emerging markets. The Index was developed by Morgan Stanley Capital International Inc. as an equity benchmark for emerging market stock performance. The Index is a capitalization-weighted index that aims to capture 85% of the (publicly available) total market capitalization. Component companies are adjusted for available float and must meet objective criteria for inclusion in the Index. The Index is reviewed quarterly.

The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. The Fund's investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Benjamin Shepherd] As we’ve written on several occasions and as anyone who has invested in the emerging markets knows, this has been an extremely tough year, with the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NYSE: EEM) down by 8.1 percent year-to-date while the S&P 500 is up by more than 28 percent.
  
  Playing a huge role in the emerging markets underperformance are several structural factors, including rising wages, falling current account balances and higher exchange rates.

Best US Companies To Own For 2014: 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 Maria Armental var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach]

  Yingli Green said it will continue to fight a U.S. plan to close a loophole that allowed Chinese solar manufacturers to avoid tariffs by assembling their products outside China. Yingli shares dropped 6.4% to $2.76 premarket. Among the other Chinese solar stocks trading lower Wednesday are JinkoSolar Holding Co.(JKS), Trina Solar Ltd.(TSL) and JA Solar Holdings Co.(JASO)

• [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 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.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Big Earnings Movers: JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JKS) is up 12.9% at $33.29 after reporting better-than-expected earnings and a strong forecast. Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) is up 2.2% at $29.41 on good results. InterCloud Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ICLD) is up 48.5% at $14.05 following last Friday’s even bigger run-up in the shares.

Best US Companies To Own For 2014: Lexmark International Inc.(LXK)

Lexmark International, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacture, and supply of printing, imaging, document workflow, and content management solutions for offices in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, the Pacific Rim, and the Caribbean. It offers monochrome and color laser printers, laser multifunction products, inkjet all-in-one devices, dot matrix printers, and cartridges and other supplies; and services and solutions, including maintenance, consulting, and systems integration, as well as managed print services, such as asset lifecycle management, implementation and decommissioning services, consumables management, optimization services, and utilization management. The company also provides enterprise content management (ECM) software products, including ImageNow document management, document imaging, and workflow suite that allows users to capture, process, and collaborate on important documents and inform ation, protect data integrity throughout its lifecycle, and access precise content; and industry specific workflow solutions for the healthcare, higher education, government, and financial services industries, as well as for back office functions, including accounting, human resources, contracts, and records. Its software modules include Retention Policy Manager to manage the complete lifecycle of content from creation to destruction or disposition; Business Insight, which integrates IBM Cognos to provide industry and business process dashboards, operational and ad-hoc reporting, and report design tools; workflow software that automates processing steps, simplifies work tasks, and provides real-time monitoring; and eForms module, which enables the online entry and collection of raw data in electronic forms that are accessible from Web sites and portals. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Developer, manufacturer and printing supplies distributor Lexmark (LXK) raised its quarterly dividend 20% to 36 cents per share payable June 13 to shareholders of record May 30.
  LXK Dividend Yield: 3.45%

• [By Rex Crum]

  One of the day�� notable decliners was printing-technology company Lexmark International Inc. (LXK) , which fell more than 11% to close at $41.52

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Lexmark International Inc. (NYSE: LXK) is another name that has slowly, but surely, lost its cache as an industry leader. Once one of the premiere names in high-end printers, the company continues to lose market share. It also has very little to offer in terms of innovation and new and exciting products. The stock does pay shareholders a solid 2.9% dividend. The Merrill Lynch price target is $31, and the consensus price target is $31.75. That is far below Friday’s closing price of $41.12.

Best US Companies To Own For 2014: Broadwind Energy Inc.(BWEN)

Broadwind Energy, Inc. provides products and services to the energy, mining, and infrastructure sector customers, primarily in the United States. The company?s Towers and Weldments segment manufactures towers designed for two megawatt and larger wind turbines. This segment also manufactures specialty fabrications and weldments for mining and other industrial customers. Its Gearing segment engineers, builds, and remanufactures precision gears and gearing systems for wind, oil and gas, mining, and other industrial applications. The company?s Services segment offers a range of services, including non-routine blade and gearbox maintenance services for both kilowatt and megawatt turbines primarily to wind farm developers and operators. It also provides field services to the wind industry; dedicated drivetrain services; and industrial gearboxes precision repair and testing services. The company provides its products and services to various wind energy customers that include wi nd turbine manufacturers, wind farm developers, and wind farm operators, as well as oil and gas, mining, and other industries. It sells its products through its sales force and manufacturers' representatives. The company was formerly known as Tower Tech Holdings Inc. and changed its name to Broadwind Energy, Inc. in 2008. Broadwind Energy, Inc. is headquartered in Naperville, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap Ocean Power Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: OPTT) just sank 34% on news that they have fired their CEO "for cause,��meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock to see if there is anything to salvage (shares were rising more than 6% in after hours) plus take a look at the performance of potential renewable energy related peers like Ormat Technologies, Inc (NYSE: ORA), Broadwind Energy Inc (NASDAQ: BWEN) and China Ming Yang Wind Power Group Ltd (NYSE: MY).

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap wind stock Broadwind Energy Inc (NASDAQ: BWEN) is up 203.7% since the start of the year, but investors might want to contain their excitement when they look closer at the�stock and�consider its�long term performance along with the performance of other wind investments like First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF (NYSEARCA: FAN) and wind energy stocks Vestas Wind Systems (OTCMKTS: VWDRY) and China Ming Yang Wind Power Group Ltd (NYSE: MY) to see whether BWEN is just blowing more hot air.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Broadwind Energy (NASDAQ: BWEN) is projected to post a Q4 loss at $0.19 per share on revenue of $56.54 million.

  Orexigen Therapeutics (NASDAQ: OREX) is estimated to post a Q4 loss at $0.19 per share on revenue of $900.00 thousand.