Hot Stocks To Buy For 2017: January 2014

Friday, January 31, 2014

Nasdaq 4000: This time it’s different (again)

The Nasdaq is back — for now.

But it's a very different Nasdaq than it was 13 years ago, the last time it visited the heady air above 4000, as it did on Monday.

That was the exhilarating era of the dot-com bubble, when analysts Mary Meeker and Henry Blodget commanded rock-star status on Wall Street; CMGI had its name on the New England Patriots' stadium; and networking gear maker JDSU Uniphase's stock jumped above $1,000 a share.

Thirteen years later, Meeker has faded into relative obscurity; Blodget has reinvented himself as an Internet publisher (although he is barred from the securities industry for life and was fined $4 million for misleading investors); Gillette picked up CMGI's naming rights; and many investors have no idea what JDS Uniphase is — and its stock trades at $12.

Nasdaq 4000. Same number. Different world. We've gone through a horrific terrorist attack on 9/11, two wars — one ongoing — two massive bear markets and two recessions.

(While the Nasdaq was able to get as high at 4,007.09 during the day, selling pressure eventually won out and left it up just 2.92 points at 3,994.57, just shy of the big round number.)

Tech investors in 2000 were right about the possibilities of the Internet and mobile computing. But they were dead wrong about which companies would be in the vanguard and how long those advances would take.

And they paid the price.

Returning to 4000 — first crossed in December 1999 and last seen in September 2000 — is a symbolic end to more than a decade of pain. Legions of investors plunged into the tech-stock craze of the late 1990s in search of easy riches and ended up falling victim to the worst crash since the Great Depression.

The Nasdaq fell 78% in 2½ years. Many investors worried it might be a long time before they got their money back. But few could have imagined it would be this long.

"It's taken 13 years to get back," says Jack Ablin of BMO Private Bank. "It just shows the magnitude of that bubb! le we expanded back in 1999 and 2000."

Then, 1000-point barriers fell roughly every two months, as investors piled into money-losing Internet companies. The technology firms that did make money commonly carried triple-digit valuations, meaning investors would pay $100 or more to own a claim to every dollar in profit the companies generated. This time it's been 21 months since the Nasdaq crossed 3000, and many leading tech stocks have P-Es in the teens, meaning now investors are paying a much more reasonable price, roughly $15 to own a claim to every dollar in companies' profits.

Top 10 Stocks To Buy Right Now

But while 4000 is cause for celebration for battle-scarred investors, the watershed doesn't erase the torment. While the broader indexes — the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 — have set all-time highs all year, the Nasdaq remains 20% below its high-water mark of 5049 set on March 10, 2000.

The recovery of the Nasdaq has been a complex tale of creative destruction, where old companies that once fueled the index have been pushed aside by new players. Factors include:

• The advent of non-tech. The words Nasdaq and technology were practically synonymous in 2000. But that largely changed after the tech bubble burst. Now, non-tech stocks are playing a more significant role. Tech is still critical for the Nasdaq, accounting for 42% of the index's market value. But that's down from 51% in March 2000, according to Nasdaq OMX, the company that owns and operates the exchange. And the supply of new stocks is coming from other industries. So far this year, technology trails health care and financials as the industries generating the most IPOs.

• The rise of new players. Back in 2000, Microsoft, Cisco Systems, Intel, Oracle and Sun accounted for 8.9%, 8.5%, 7.1%, 3.6% and 2.6%, respectively, of the value of the Nasdaq composite. Today, companies that were jus! t startin! g out or didn't even exist — think Google, Amazon and Facebook — are in the top 10, accounting for 4.7%, 2.7% and 1.5% of Nasdaq's value. Microsoft, Cisco and Intel's weight has fallen sharply. Apple, which wasn't in the top 10 in 2000, is a behemoth at 7.9%.

• More room at the top. The top 10 most valuable stocks in the Nasdaq in 2000 accounted for 40% of the Nasdaq composite value, Nasdaq OMX says. Today, the top 10 most valuable stocks command 32% of the index' value.

So is the Nasdaq enjoying a long overdue catch-up with the rest of the market, or is the broad market overpriced, with the Nasdaq being pulled along for the ride? Many investors soured on Nasdaq stocks after Apple went from a darling stock trading at more than $700 a share to crater to $400 in April, says Fane Lozman, a trader at market research firm Scanshift.com. But for now, investors are happy to jump back in.

"The Apple flush scared away investors," Lozman says. "But things have calmed down, and memories are short."

And the changing face of its leadership shows the Nasdaq's rise is being powered by fresh developments rather than a bounce back of failed ideas, says Doug Sandler of RiverFront Investment Group. "The reality is that the only thing that's the same from Nasdaq 4000 in 1999 and Nasdaq 4000 in 2013," he says, "is the number 4000."

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

House Passes Long-Overdue Farm Bill

Top Safest Stocks To Watch For 2015

APHouse Speaker John Boehner with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, at right, at Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington on Tuesday. WASHINGTON -- The U.S. House of Representatives passed a comprehensive farm bill on Wednesday that cuts payments for food stamps by about 1 percent and ends a direct subsidy to farmers, while expanding government-backed crop insurance programs. After months of negotiations and criticism from both sides of the political spectrum the measure passed easily, by 251 votes to 166, with 162 Republicans joining 89 Democrats in favor. The bill, which is supposed to be passed every five years, is more than a year overdue after congressional negotiators struggled to forge a compromise. A vote in the Democratic-run Senate could come as early as Thursday and the bill is expected to pass, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow told reporters Wednesday. White House spokesman Jay Carney said President Barack Obama would sign the legislation. The wide-ranging legislation affects about 16 million jobs in the country's agricultural sector and can have an impact on the business landscape for major agricultural companies. "This bill eliminates unnecessary subsidies, creates a more effective farm safety-net and strengthens our commitment to conservation of land and water," Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat, said in a statement. Stabenow was on the House floor Wednesday and was seen hugging some members on the House floor after the vote. The agriculture committees say the bill will save about $23 billion over 10 years, compared with current funding -- less than many conservative Republicans had hoped for. The Congressional Budget Office, using a different measurement, has estimated savings of $16.6 billion over a decade. "All Americans stand to benefit in some way from this farm bill," House Speaker John Boehner said after the vote. "This is an improvement over current law, and there are no earmarks." About $8 billion in savings over 10 years comes from cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps. That was well below the $40 billion cut advocated by the Republican-led House, which would have been the largest reduction in a generation, but it was still double the amount originally supported by Senate Democrats. Liberal lawmakers decried the cut of about 1 percent to the safety net program, which goes to about 47 million low-income people to buy food and accounts for more than three-quarters of the farm bill's spending. "This bill will make hunger worse in America," Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts said on the House floor. Conservative Pressure With congressional elections looming in November, Obama has highlighted social safety-net programs such as food stamps and unemployment insurance as a way to combat the widening income gap in the United States. Conservative pressure groups Heritage Action and Club for Growth said the bill was too expensive and had urged a "no" vote. The groups said they would include the results in their scorecards of members' voting records for 2014. The last farm bill, which passed in 2008, expired in September after being extended for one year while negotiators ironed out differences between measures approved in the House and Senate. The legislation ends so-called direct payment subsidies, which for years have been doled out to farmers and landowners -- to the tune of some $5 billion a year -- regardless of whether there is a need for support and whether they actually grew crops. Instead, agriculture insurance programs would be expanded to help producers manage risk. The bill also would establish permanent disaster assistance for livestock producers.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Wilbur Ross: Crisis in China's Banking System Overblown

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

Currently 4.67/512345

Rating: 4.7/5 (3 votes)

Subscribe via Email RSS Feeds

Subscribe RSS Comments Please leave your comment:
More GuruFocus Links

Latest Guru Picks	Value Strategies
Warren Buffett Portfolio	Ben Graham Net-Net
Real Time Picks	Buffett-Munger Screener
Aggregated Portfolio	Undervalued Predictable
ETFs, Options	Low P/S Companies
Insider Trends	10-Year Financials
52-Week Lows	Interactive Charts
Model Portfolios	DCF Calculator
RSS Feed	Monthly Newsletters
The All-In-One Screener	Portfolio Tracking Tool

Monday, January 27, 2014

Stocks Hitting 52-Week Highs

Santarus (NASDAQ: SNTS) shares surged 37.64% to touch a new 52-week high of $31.96 after Salix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SLXP) announced its plans to buy Santarus for around $2.12 billion. Santarus and Pharming also announced new data from open-label repeat treatment study with RUCONEST.

Kona Grill (NASDAQ: KONA) shares rose 2.76% to reach a new 52-week high of $14.95. Kona Grill shares have jumped 66.10% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 26.62% in the same period.

Salix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SLXP) shares jumped 15.26% to touch a new 52-week high of $82.19 after the company announced its plans to buy Santarus for around $2.12 billion. Janney Capital upgraded Salix from Neutral to Buy and lifted the price target from $60.00 to $95.00.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) shares gained 3.61% to create a new 52-week high of $12.91. KeyCorp's trailing-twelve-month revenue is $4.04 billion.

Posted-In: 52-Week HighsNews Intraday Update Markets Movers

Around the Web, We're Loving... Learn to Use Trading Platforms Like Hedge Fund Traders do Rumsfeld: Denial of Benefits to Fallen Soldiers' Families 'Inexcusable' Come See How the Pro's Trade in this Exclusive Webinar Facebook, Baidu Lead Big Caps Beating Shutdown What Should You Know About AMZN? Most Popular Did Twitter Make a Huge Mistake Pricing Shares at $26? Groupon Earnings Preview: In-Line Results Expected, US Booking Progress 3 Reasons to be Bullish about Gold Why an Apple iWatch Has Better Chances Than Google Glass Twitter Prices at $26; First Day's Trading Could Be Volatile Microsoft COO Another Internal Candidate for the Company's CEO Related Articles (KONA + KEY) Stocks Hitting 52-Week Highs Benzinga's Top Upgrades UPDATE: KeyCorp Q3 Profit Rises 8.5% Earnings Scheduled For October 16, 2013 Fitch Takes Rating Actions on Large Regional Bank Group Following Peer Review UPDATE: ISI Group Initiates Coverage on KeyCorp on Plenty of Capital, Subdued ROEs View the discussion thread. Partner Network #marketfy-ae-block { display: none; border: 2px solid #0a3f75; overflow: hidden; width: 300px; height: 125px; text-align: center; background-color: #45719E; position: relative; z-index: 1; } #marketfy-ae-block a { display: block; width: 300px; height: 125px; position: relative; z-index: 2; color: #ffffff; text-decoration: none; } #marketfy-ae-block-countdown-text { color: #f9fc99; padding: 0px 0 0 0; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px; } #marketfy-ae-block-countdown-text-start { font-size: 12px; } #marketfy-ae-block-countdown { padding: 5px 0 5px 0; font-size: 26px; } #marketfy-ae-block-signup { padding: 5px 47px; } #marketfy-ae-block-signup:hover { background-color: #457a1a; } #mar

Sunday, January 26, 2014

When Niki Lauda Ran an Airline

MIAMI (TheStreet) - For Niki Lauda, I imagine, running an airline made race car driving look easy.

Lauda, a world-famous, retired Formula One race car driver is about to become even more famous with the nationwide release of the movie Rush, which examines the rivalry between him and another driver, James Hunt.

On an October evening in 1995, Lauda came into The Miami Herald newsroom for an interview. We were in the Biscayne Bay building then, and Lauda wanted to drop by, rather than to meet somewhere else. I always had the impression that curious people liked to come to our newsroom, with its dramatic views and storied history.

I realized how famous Lauda was when, as we walked to a conference room, an editor asked for an autograph. It was the only time in my career I ever saw that happen. Lauda visited because Miami was the only U.S. destination for Lauda Air. The day he came in, he complained about two problems the airline was experiencing. First, his flight had been loaded too slowly in Munich, almost causing it to miss its slotted takeoff time. He told me that crews from Lufthansa, Lauda Air's partner, were responsible for loading. "We had to kick their butts," he said, according to my story in The Herald. Another problem occurred regularly at cramped Miami International Airport, where Lauda Air shared a gate with Lufthansa. Sometimes, Lauda said, the Lauda Air plane could not get into its gate in the afternoon because the Lufthansa plane hadn't left yet. "We need another gate," Lauda said. "This is unacceptable." But complaining to the airport made little difference. "They tell us we are Lufthansa's partner and we must share a gate," a Lauda Air spokesperson told The Herald. Put these two stories together and you can see why the airline business, which on the one hand is sufficiently inspiring to attract the Laudas of the world, is also immensely frustrating. A thunderstorm in Chicago can tear up an entire day's schedule for United (UAL) , the world's largest airline. Last week, a gunman's attack on the Washington Navy Yard temporarily halted departures from Washington Reagan National Airport, resulting in six cancellations and various delays for hub carrier US Airways (LCC). All too often, such exogenous events shape a carrier's fate.

Nevertheless, at Lauda Air, Lauda could also fully experience the joy of flying because he sometimes piloted the planes himself. "At Lufthansa, you don't see the chairman," he said in our interview. "But with me, being a person who is known -- you can strangle me."

Aviation consultant Bob Mann is a race fan who once worked as a volunteer race official and observed Lauda, from a distance, at half a dozen races. "The guy had a steely cold focus, which was remarkable," Mann said. "His gaze never strayed from the car or the engineers. He didn't do the autograph thing. He was single purpose, completely focused on driving as well as he could.

"It was interesting to see him start an airline," Mann said. "He was a technician, one of the foremost technicians among Formula One drivers, and he appreciated some of the engineering aspects of running an airline."

Lauda started Lauda Air in 1979. Seeking to offer better service than traditional European airlines did, he required that flight attendants check the bathrooms every 20 minutes to make sure they were clean, He hired Vienna's best restaurants as caterers and he sought to assure that flight attendants were "young and friendly" by setting an age limit of 36. When they passed 36, flight attendants were offered other jobs at the airline. "After 10 years in that job, you are burned out," he said in the interview. "If you stay longer, you don't get more friendly or more motivated." Lauda always faced competition with the larger, government-controlled Austrian Airlines. The Austrian government initially kept him at bay by not granting him route authorities, and Mann said he developed a distinct dislike for "Australian bureaucrats." Finally, in 1984, Lauda Air was awarded Vienna-Bangkok-Sydney. The airline "was designed to be a longhaul holiday airline, taking Germans and Austrians to exotic places like Thailand, Austria and Miami so they could lie in the sun," Mann said. Despite government resistance, Lauda Air began to grow. A major problem occurred in 1991, when a Lauda Air Boeing 767 crashed on the way from Bangkok to Vienna, killing all 223 passengers and crew members. An investigation determined that a design error caused the thrust reverser of the left engine to deploy during take-off.

Top Warren Buffett Companies To Watch In Right Now

In 1992, Lauda Air signed a partnership agreement with Lufthansa that fueled its growth. By 1995, the carrier operated 16 airplanes, employed 1,100 people and flew from Vienna and Salzburg to 10 European destinations as well as Miami, four cities in Asia and two in Australia. It regularly reported profits. In 1999, Lauda was ousted in a boardroom coup, and he sold his shares to Austrian. The carrier shut down in July 2013.

Lauda, meanwhile, started another airline, low-cost carrier Niki, in 2003: he sold his share to partner Air Berlin in 2011.

In the 1976 German Grand Prix, Lauda was involved in a crash, which is portrayed in the movie and which resulted in severe burns and permanent scarring to his head and face. The crash exposed him to 800 degree temperatures for 55 seconds. He told The Herald that the crash taught him a few lessons, including: Don't do stupid things that could threaten your life and don't drive while drunk or neglect to wear a seat belt.

When he woke up in a German hospital, Lauda was asked whether he wanted his last rites. He said yes but the priest, thinking he was already dead, made the sign of the cross on his shoulder and walked away. "I got so mad," Lauda said, in the interview. "I was lying there waiting, and nothing happened. I thought, 'This is unbelievable.' I knew I was going to die." "It changed me a lot," he said. "When you are used to living, you never think about what stupid things you do to yourself. I knew racing was dangerous, but after that crash I told myself I would never make a stupid mistake again (and) to be more responsible for my life." Follow @tedreednc -- Written by Ted Reed in Charlotte, N.C. >To contact the writer of this article, click here: Ted Reed

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Texas Industries Stock Stuck in Cement: Avoid TXI

Since Texas Industries (TXI) reported its fiscal 2014 second quarter results, consensus estimates have fallen for both this year and next. It is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) stock.

Shares of Texas Industries do not look cheap at 78x forward earnings. Although the company may be a buyout target, investors should consider waiting for the company’s earnings momentum to improve before buying the stock.

Texas Industries supplies cement, aggregate and consumer product building materials for all types of construction. Its primary markets are Texas and California.

Second Quarter Results

Texas Industries reported its fiscal 2014 second quarter results on January 8. Adjusted earnings per share came in at -35 cents, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of -22 cents. It was the company’s second straight earnings miss.

Net sales rose 25% to $208.9 million, but this was well below the consensus of $222.0 million. The company cited a number of “non-recurring and short-term factors” that negatively impacted its results, including “[a]bnormal periods of inclement weather in Texas”.

The company reported top-line growth in each segment (Cement, Aggregate and Concrete), but operating income fell -39% in ‘Cement’.

Estimates Falling

Following the Q2 miss, analysts revised their estimates lower for both 2014 and 2015. This sent the stock to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) stock. The 2014 Zacks Consensus Estimate is now -44 cents per share, down from -30 cents per share just 30 days ago. The 2015 consensus is currently $1.59, down from $1.65 over the same period.

In fact, falling estimates can be seen throughout the ‘Building – Cement, Concrete, Aggregate’ industry. It ranks 236 out of 265 industries based on earnings momentum, according to the Zacks Industry Rank. That puts it in the bottom 11%.

Premium Valuation

Shares of Texas Industries trade at a lofty 78x 12-month forward earnings, well above its historical forward multiple of 13x. One reason for this premium is because it was reported that the company is considering a sale. This news sent shares soaring.

The Bottom Line

Considering the industry headwinds and its premium valuation, investors should wait for earnings momentum to improve before buying Texas Industries.

Todd Bunton, CFA is the Growth & Income Stock Strategist for Zacks Investment Research and Editor of the Income Plus Investor service.

TEXAS INDS (TXI): Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research

Thursday, January 23, 2014

DAVOS: Adecco Can Profit from Pickup in Growth

Recruitment company Adecco (AHEXY) has been on a hot streak for more than a year – and it may not be over yet.

"I think we are in a good position to show good growth this year," said Chief Financial Officer Dominik de Daniel in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos. "I think there is no question that earnings have to grow faster."

The prospects of Adecco, which competes with the likes of Manpower (MAN) and Randstad Holding (RANJY), are closely tied to growth in gross domestic product, so an improvement in the economic outlook for Europe is good news. In the euro zone, comprising the 17 countries that use the common currency, GDP shrank 0.4% in 2013, according to forecasts. It is expected to grow 1.1% in 2014. That's an important turnaround: the euro zone has seen positive growth in on two of the past five years.

De Daniel's confidence in 2014 stems in part from the rebound in manufacturing in Germany and Spain in the third quarter of last year. He sees good opportunities "especially in the first half of the year, primarily in the industrial business, because the industrial business is the early indicator of a real recovery." A recovery in the professional sector will come in the second half.
Still, de Daniel reckons many of the new jobs will be temporary rather than permanent. The economy needs to grow by 1.5% to 1.8% a year for companies to hire workers on a permanent basis.

Glattbrugg, Switzerland-based Adecco has kept a lid on costs during the downturn, so it is in good shape. The stock has risen about 43% in value in the past 12 months, closing Thursday at 75.65 Swiss francs ($84.26). Despite that outstanding performance, rivals Manpower and Randstad Holding both did better, climbing roughly 80% and 57%, respectively.

Adecco's shares trade at 16.6 times forecast 2014 earnings of 4.55 Swiss francs per share, which is favorable compared with multiples of 18.3 at Manpower and 17.3 at Randstad. Adecco, which has a market value of more than 14 billion Swiss francs, is projected to earn 3.71 Swiss francs per share on revenue of almost 24 billion Swiss francs in 2013.

Adecco looks like it still has room to go higher. Its stock can add as much as 10% more in 2014, especially if it makes progress on improving its profit margin, which was about 4% in the first nine months of 2013. It is targeting 5.5% in 2015.

The company can benefit also from returning cash to investors. It has announced share buybacks in 2012 and 2013 totaling 650 million euros. With a clear focus on shareholders, there could be other opportunities along the road.

Adecco clearly is a work in progress.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

43% of Advisors Older Than 55: Cerulli

Nearly half of the advisor work force is at or near retirement, which means more firms must recruit younger advisors to accelerate their succession plans, and also puts BDs and custodians at risk of losing assets under management, according to a just-released study by Cerulli Associates.

“The average age of financial advisors is 50.9, and 43% are over the age of 55,” reports Kenton Shirk, associate director at Cerulli, in releasing the research firm’s newest study, "Advisor Metrics 2013: Understanding and Addressing a More Sophisticated Population."

“Nearly one-third of advisors fall into the 55 to 64 age range.”

Cerulli focuses on advisor trends and consumer information, including market sizing, advisor product use and preferences and advice delivery.

5 Best Bank Stocks To Watch For 2014

“As the advisor population ages, broker-dealers and custodians are at risk of losing AUM as advisors exit the industry,” Shirk explains in a statement. “The independent channels are most at risk because they have the oldest advisors on average.”

Broker-dealers, Shirk added, “continue to struggle to recruit new young advisors into the industry to offset those advisors who are nearing retirement.”

Cerulli says that firms should encourage “advisor teams to bring in junior advisors and train them in a specific area of expertise in order to increase the success rate of these new recruits.”

To guard against asset attrition, broker-dealers and custodians need to provide support and resources to help advisors tackle succession planning, and development of internal succession candidates.

---

Check out The Fatal Succession Planning Mistake on ThinkAdvisor.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Bull of the Day: Belo Corp (BLC) - Bull of the Day

Top China Companies To Invest In Right Now

Bull BLC 070713Belomight seem like an odd Bull of the Day bull of the day being that ithas agreedto be acquired by (merge with) GannetInc GCI,Zacks Rank #3. Even so, I thought it was important to dig alittle deeper into this deal and determine if Belo BLC (soonGannet) can remain astrong force in our world's changing media landscape and if Belo or GCIisworth your time.

Ialso consider it vital to clarify the deal and perhaps explain why Beloistrading above its purchase price of $13.75 as many retail investors maybe pilinginto a stock that has a firm ceiling that it would be able to climbabove.

BeloMeet Gannet…
BELO Corporation was, essentially the largestpure-play publicly-traded television station company in the nation. TheCompanyowns and operates twenty major television stations, including ABC, CBS,NBC,FOX, CW and MyNetwork TV affiliates reaching over14 percent of U.S.television households,and their associated Web sites, in 15 highly-attractive markets acrosstheUnited States. Belo stations rank firstor second in nearly all of their local markets.

Gannett Co., Inc.operates 22 televisionstations in the United States and is an international news andinformationcompany that publishes daily including USA TODAY, the nation'slargest-sellingdaily newspaper. The company also owns in excess of 400 non-dailypublicationsin the USA and USA WEEKEND, a weekly newspaper magazine. Gannett'ssubsidiaryNewsquest is the United Kingdom's second largest regional newspapercompany.

TheDeal
Gannett will acquire all outstanding sharesof Belo for $13.75 per share in cash, or approximately $1.5 billion,plus theassumption of $715 million in existing debt for an enterprise value ofapproximately$2.2 billion.

According to a recentpress release by Gannett,the combination of Belo and Gannet will create a broadcast "SuperGroup," catapulting Gannett ! into the nation's fourth-largest owner ofmajor network affiliates reaching nearly a third of all U.S.households.

After the deal iscomplete, Gannett's broadcastportfolio will almost double from 23 to 43 stations, including stationsto beserviced by Gannett through shared services or similar sharingarrangements. Gannett'snew broadcast segment will have greater geographic and revenuediversity, with21 stations in the top 25 markets and will become the #1 CBS affiliategroup,the #4 ABC affiliate group, and will expand its already #1 NBCaffiliate groupposition.

The transaction isexpected to close by theend of 2013 and will be subject to antitrust approval.

Isit Worth Your Investment?
Belo is already trading above the $13.75 cashacquisition price, after sharply rising after the merger announcementlastmonth. If gannet was utilizing a stockfor stock acquisition method, then shares of BLC could continue to riseif GCIstock increases as there would be a quantifiable connection between thetwo,but with this being an all cash deal, that's not the case.

Given the premium tooffer, you shouldprobably avoid the stock (BLC) here as its upside will be limitedunless ofcourse you're a merger arbitrage specialist. Gannett, on the other hand, stands to gain potential appreciation fromhere. While it's only a Zacks Rank #3now, that could change as the deal comes to an end.

Before theannouncement, both companies wereon the right earnings trajectory as of late as estimates were on therise, butboth were seeing year over year growth contraction. Bothcompanies were looking for moderateearnings growth in 2013, on a slight decline in revenues.

There is no doubtthat investors like theprospects of the combined entity as both stocks rallied sharply on thenews.

The company alsobelieves that this is awin-win; they anticipate that the transaction will generateapproximately ! $175milli! on in annual run-rate synergies within three years afterclosing. The transaction is additionally expected togenerate significant free cash flow and be accretive to non-GAAPearnings pershare by approximately $0.50 within the first 12 months.

The transactionvaluation implies a 9.4xaverage 2011/2012 EBITDA multiple prior to synergies, and a 5.4xmultipleassuming expected synergies (according to Belo).

Mark Fratrik, a vicepresident and chiefeconomist for BIA/Kelsey believes that this deal could propel Gannettintobecoming the number 3 local station owner in the United States, byrevenue. News Corporation ranks first with 27stationsand CBS Corporation, which owns 29 stations, is currently number 2.

This deal goes beyondthe local news. Gannett is invested heavily in advertizingsignage and perhaps most importantly, internet properties(websites). The acquisition of Belo will continue to addpricing and a competitive edge to Gannett's franchise.

While you might notget your local newspaperdelivered by the paperboy anymore, trusted information and qualityjournalismwill never go the way of the Dodo.

If you are going tobuy either company, lookto GCI for the longer term play despite the Zacks Rank of 3 as sharesof Belo shouldn'tbe going much higher from here. You might also wait for amove back into the $24.00 range for GCI as shares are slightlyoverboughthere.

JaredA Levy is one of the most highly sought after traders in the world anda formermember of three major stock exchanges. That is why you will frequentlysee himappear on Fox Business, CNBC and Bloomberg providing his timelyinsights toother investors. He has written and published two tomes, "YourOptions Handbook" and "TheBloomberg Visual Guide to Options". You candiscover more of hisinsights and recommendations through his two portfolio recommendationservices:

Zacks WhisperTrader- Learn to! buy stock! s likely to have robust earnings BEFORE they report.

Zacks TAZR Trader– Technical Analysis +Zacks Rank. Best of both worlds approach to find timely trades.

FollowJared A Levy on twitter at @jaredalevy

LikeJared A Levy on Facebook

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

What If Your Financial Planner Files for Bankruptcy?

By Hal M. Bundrick

NEW YORK (MainStreet) You trust your financial planner to be honest, knowledgeable and prudent, but financial setbacks can affect anyone even the wisest among us. What if your financial advisor files for bankruptcy? Would that impact your view of his advice?

Periodically, the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards releases a list of CFP professionals who have declared personal bankruptcy within the last five years. The planners are not subject to disciplinary action, and the CFP Board does not investigate the filings.

"The CFP Board verifies the bankruptcy and notes the bankruptcy filing on the CFP professional's public profile, which is available through the search functions on CFP Board's website," a statement with the disclosure says. "The release of the information does not constitute discipline of these individuals and is provided only for the purpose of providing consumers with adequate information to make an informed decision with regard to engaging a CFP professional to assist with financial decisions." Michael Shaw, managing director for Professional Standards for the CFP Board reiterated the policy in a statement to MainStreet. "CFP Board believes its approach of publicly disclosing the names of CFP professionals who have filed for bankruptcy protection allows consumers to make a fully informed decision when choosing to work with [a] CFP professional," he wrote. But not all financial planners agree with the disclosure standards. In an anonymous comment to an article addressing the matter on the Financial Advisor magazine website, a writer took issue with the policy. "As someone who had been a CFP since 1986, I was stunned when the CFP Board came out with their 'publicize' position on bankruptcy," wrote the commenter under the name FormerCFP. "As a successful professional, I was bled to death by three Florida family-law attorneys in a 4 1/2 year divorce that cost me over $800,000 and forced me to file bankruptcy to keep me from being incarcerated (the laws in New Jersey and other states are equally abusive)." The writer claimed the personal bankruptcy was not pertinent to his financial practice. "None of this had any impact on my clients or my profession," FormerCFP added. "Shame on you, CFP Board. You've overstepped your authority and the original purpose of the organization by doing this. I'd eliminate any action involving bankruptcies that can be tied to excessive medical bills or divorce proceedings. It's just not relevant to the certification." Some 42 certificants are listed on the CFP website's latest report as having filed for bankruptcy since 2008. But Andrew Wang, a portfolio manager and registered investment adviser in Mendham, N.J., believes the disclosure is not only proper, but necessary. "Because most CFP professionals fall under the jurisdiction of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and/or the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), consumers can and should perform a free search for their advisor at BrokerCheck," Wang told MainStreet. "Bankruptcy judgments within the past ten years are reportable events and will be reflected in the advisor's regulatory filings." "In my opinion, consumers deserve to know whether their financial advisor has filed for personal bankruptcy," Wang added. "Any blemish on an advisor's record should be taken seriously, because it has been reported that brokers have been able to successfully expunge black marks from their public records at an alarmingly high rate." Leanne Kramer, a CFP in Olympia, Wash., believes advisor credibility begins with being able to honestly say 'I walk my financial talk.' "In my opinion, a personal bankruptcy does not inspire confidence in the professional who is planning and managing the most important aspect of a client's life," Kramer says. "We are financial planners. We say 'live beneath your means, have emergency savings, have minimal debt, manage your risk, invest wisely.' If we are following our own advice, we should have a plan in place to weather many of the major life events. Isn't that what we tell our clients to do?"

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Top 5 Safest Stocks To Invest In Right Now

I'll admit it. The traditional grocery business isn't an exciting industry for investment potential. Profit margins are low, with almost zero chance of spiking higher. Meaningful sales growth is hard to find, too. And grocery stores suffer from the constant threat of having more nimble retailers push into their markets, as we saw with Amazon.com's latest expansion of its food delivery business.

However, the safest path to big investment returns is through buying into years of predictable growth at a reasonable price. That's why I think Kroger (NYSE: KR ) stock could be a great option for long-term investors right now.

Kroger chugs along
The grocer's latest earnings show the kind of steady results that most companies can only dream about. With a 3.3% boost in sales, Kroger notched its 38th consecutive quarter of growth at its existing stores. Customers responded to the company's investments in its locations by making more frequent visits, and by purchasing more products per trip. Packed register lines brought quarterly revenue to an all-time high $30 billion, and profits were up about 10%, to $481 million.

Top 5 Safest Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Fluor Corporation(FLR)

Fluor Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance, and project management services worldwide. Its Oil & Gas segment offers design, engineering, procurement, construction, and project management services to upstream oil and gas production, downstream refining, chemicals, and petrochemicals industries. This segment also provides consulting services comprising feasibility studies, process assessment, and project finance structuring and studies. The company?s Industrial & Infrastructure segment offers design, engineering, procurement, and construction services to the transportation, wind power, mining and metals, life sciences, manufacturing, commercial and institutional, telecommunications, microelectronics, and healthcare sectors. Its Government segment provides engineering, construction, logistics support, contingency response, management, and operations services to the United States government focusing on the Departme nt of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense. The company?s Global Services segment offers operations and maintenance, small capital project engineering and execution, site equipment and tool services, industrial fleet services, plant turnaround services, temporary staffing services, and supply chain solutions. Its Power segment provides engineering, procurement, construction, program management, start-up and commissioning, and operations and maintenance services to the gas fueled, solid fueled, plant betterment, renewables, nuclear, and power services markets. The company also offers unionized management and construction services in the United States and Canada. Fluor Corporation was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By The Energy Report]
JH: One of the areas where the U.S. for decades has been the leading technological power is in small nuclear reactors. We've used them on our aircraft carriers and on our nuclear submarines safely and efficiently. The U.S. has an advantage in understanding small modular nuclear reactors. One of the companies that we have followed for a long time that's working on that is Babcock & Wilcox Co. (BWC). There's also Fluor Corp. (FLR), which is working on small modular nuclear reactors. President Obama and the Department of Energy are funding research on the implementation of small modular nuclear reactors.
[By Rich Duprey]
South America has become an unsettled region to mine in. Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM ) had its Peruvian Conga project brought to a short stop over environmental concerns, while Vale (NYSE: VALE ) recently abandoned an Argentinean project because of the country's policies.�Costs for Pascua-Lama have ballooned over the past decade and now stand at about $8.5 billion, putting it at risk of becoming an albatross around the miner's neck even before the court decision. Barrick even resorted to bringing in engineering specialist Fluor (NYSE: FLR ) to expand the scope of its project management before the court order.
[By Louis Navellier]
If we look at the sector using Portfolio Grader, we see that many of the big names in the group like Flour (FLR), Granite Construction (GVA) and KBR incorporated (KBR) are rated ��ell.��The anticipated spending for both government and private industry simply hasn�� materialized, and the companies are not seeing revenue or profit growth.

Top 5 Safest Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(The)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides investment banking, securities, and investment management services to corporations, financial institutions, governments, and high-net-worth individuals worldwide. Its Investment Banking segment offers financial advisory, including advisory assignments with respect to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense, risk management, restructurings, and spin-offs; and underwriting securities, loans and other financial instruments, and derivative transactions. The company?s Institutional Client Services segment provides client execution activities, such as fixed income, currency, and commodities client execution related to making markets in interest rate products, credit products, mortgages, currencies, and commodities; and equities related to making markets in equity products, as well as commissions and fees from executing and clearing institutional client transactions on stock, options, and fu tures exchanges. This segment also engages in the securities services business providing financing, securities lending, and other prime brokerage services to institutional clients, including hedge funds, mutual funds, pension funds, and foundations. Its Investing and Lending segment invests in debt securities, loans, public and private equity securities, real estate, consolidated investment entities, and power generation facilities. This segment also involves in the origination of loans to provide financing to clients. The company?s Investment Management segment provides investment management services and investment products to institutional and individual clients. This segment also offers wealth advisory services, including portfolio management and financial counseling, and brokerage and other transaction services to high-net-worth individuals and families. In addition, it provides global investment research services. The company was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Best Casino Companies To Buy Right Now: Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras(PBR)

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. primarily engages in oil and natural gas exploration and production, refining, trade, and transportation businesses. The company?s Exploration and Production segment involves in the exploration, production, development, and production of oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas in Brazil. This segment supplies its products to the refineries in Brazil, as well as sells surplus petroleum and byproducts in domestic and foreign markets. Its Supply segment engages in the refining, logistics, transportation, and trade of oil and oil products; export of ethanol; and extraction and processing of schist, as well as holds interests in companies of the petrochemical sector in Brazil. The Gas and Energy segment involves in the transportation and trade of natural gas produced in or imported into Brazil; transportation and trade of LNG; and generation and trade of electric power. In addition, the segment has interests in natural gas transportation and d istribution companies; and thermoelectric power stations in Brazil, as well engages in fertilizer business. The Distribution segment distributes oil products, ethanol, and compressed natural gas in Brazil. The International segment involves in the exploration and production of oil and gas, as well as in supplying, gas and energy, and distribution operations in the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Further, the company involves in biofuel production business. Petroleo Brasileiro was founded in 1953 and is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By David Smith]
Think about it: 10 years ago the Gulf of Mexico was thought to be headed for oblivion, only to be revived mightily by technology that opened up the deepwater. Activity in Brazil was minimal, and now Diamond Offshore has a baker's dozen rigs working there, most in the deepwater and ultra-deepwater for Petrobras (NYSE: PBR ) .
[By Aimee Duffy]
Transocean is as good a bellwether as any, given it's the world's largest offshore driller. The company's most recent fleet status report shows that a number of rigs that were idle are now booked for work. Seadrill (NYSE: SDRL ) is no slouch either, with its fleet of 61 drillships and rigs. It just inked a massive $2.7 billion contract with Brazil's state-owned oil company, Petrobras (NYSE: PBR ) .
[By Eric Volkman]
Brazilian energy major Petrobras (NYSE: PBR ) is bulking up with a series of large-scale bond issues. The company said this week it aims to raise roughly $11 billion in a set of six flotations, to be issued by its subsidiary Petrobras Global Finance.

Top 5 Safest Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Under Armour Inc.(UA)

Under Armour, Inc. develops, markets, and distributes performance apparel, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and youth primarily in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers products made from moisture-wicking synthetic fabrics designed to regulate body temperature and enhance performance regardless of weather conditions. The company provides its products in three fit types: compression (tight fitting), fitted (athletic cut), and loose (relaxed) extending across the sporting goods, outdoor, and active lifestyle markets. Its footwear offerings comprise football, baseball, lacrosse, softball, and soccer cleats; slides; performance training footwear; and running footwear. The company also provides baseball batting, football, golf, and running gloves, as well as licenses bags, socks, headwear, custom-molded mouth guards, and eyewear that are designed to be used and worn before, during, and after competition. Under Armour sells its products through retai l stores, as well as directly to consumers through its own retail outlets and specialty stores, Website, and catalogs. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Nicole Seghetti]
Running-apparel and shoe makers Nike (NYSE: NKE ) and Under Armour (NYSE: UA ) are also likely beneficiaries of the race. Nike not only holds an enviable spot as the global market leader, but it also boasts the right strategy and investments to sustain its top position. Meanwhile, newer kid on the block Under Armour has evolved into a major player in the global athletic footwear and apparel market.
[By Teresa Rivas]
Safeway (SWY) was up nearly 4% after an upgrade to Outperform at Credit Suisse, which also upgraded lululemon (LULU), sending shares up 1%, and downgraded Under Armour (UA)��hares were down 1.6%.
[By Johanna Bennett]
Investors also�bid up shares of Under Armour (UA) to $80.31, a 1.5% rise. And athletic-gear retailer Finish Line (FINL) jumped 7.3% to $24.02 following their own earnings homerun.
[By Sean Williams]
Under Armour (NYSE: UA ) and Nike (NYSE: NKE ) have been two exceptional beneficiaries of this trend. Under Armour's first-quarter results, for instance, delivered a 27% jump in footwear sales thanks to innovative new running shoe designs. Nike, best known for its shoes made specifically for active individuals, also saw footwear sales jump by double digits in North America and Western Europe in a challenging third quarter.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Is CBS Still an A+?

With shares of CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS) trading at around $49.19, is CBS an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

C = Catalyst for the Stock's Movement

CBS relies heavily on entertainment. That being the case, let's begin with television shows. The list below consists of the most popular CBS television shows and their IMDb ratings.

CSI 8.6

NCIS 7.7

The Big Bang Theory 8.6

Two and a Half Men 7.0

How I Met Your Mother 8.5

Criminal Minds 8.1

Person of Interest 8.3

The Good Wife 7.8

NCIS: Los Angeles 6.4

Elementary 7.6

2 Broke Girls 6.8

The Amazing Race 7.6

Blue Bloods 7.0

For the most part, these are very impressive ratings This is important, because popular shows lead to increased monetization opportunities with reruns, cable, and online streaming.

CBS management is optimistic about future prospects due to strong demand for its content. Currently, CBS is enjoying higher advertisement revenues as well as an increase in affiliate subscription fees. This is in addition to decreased interest expenses. Does the story get even better, or is there danger lurking somewhere?

NEW! Discover a new stock idea each week for less than the cost of 1 trade. CLICK HERE for your Weekly Stock Cheat Sheets NOW!

The chart below shows some basic fundamentals for CBS, News Corp. (NASDAQ:NWS), and The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS).

	CBS	NWS	DIS
Trailing P/E	19.47	12.91	19.11
Forward P/E	14.52	16.62	16.01
Profit Margin	11.54%	16.68%	13.64%
ROE	17.56%	19.56%	15.43%
Operating Cash Flow	1.76B	3.83B	7.72B
Dividend Yield	1.00%	0.50%	1.20%
Short Position	2.60%	1.00%	2.40%

Let's take a look at some more important numbers prior to forming an opinion on this stock.

T = Technicals Are Strong

CBS has performed exceptionally well over the past three years. There have been no indications of a slowdown.

	1 Month	Year-To-Date	1 Year	3 Year
CBS	4.54%	30.44%	65.27%	252.1%
NWS	0.88%	23.20%	73.20%	114.3%
DIS	-1.25%	26.69%	44.25%	89.51%

Top Blue Chip Companies To Buy For 2014

At $49.19, CBS is trading above its averages.

50-Day SMA	48.08
200-Day SMA	42.65

E = Equity to Debt Ratio Is Strong

The debt-to-equity ratio for CBS is stronger than the industry average of 1.10.

	Debt-To-Equity	Cash	Long-Term Debt
CBS	0.69	409.00M	6.47B
NWS	0.49	9.32B	16.47B
DIS	0.38	3.95B	16.94B

E = Earnings Are Strong

CBS seems to be very focused on the bottom line, which is good news for investors.

NEW! Discover a new stock idea each week for less than the cost of 1 trade. CLICK HERE for your Weekly Stock Cheat Sheets NOW!

Fiscal Year	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Revenue ($) in millions	13,950	13,015	14,060	14,245	14,089
Diluted EPS ($)	-17.43	0.33	1.04	1.92	2.39

When we look at the last quarter on a year-over-year basis, we see improvements in revenue and earnings. Revenue and earnings have also improved on a sequential basis.

Quarter	Mar. 31, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2013
Revenue ($) in millions	3,924	3,476	3,418	3,698	4,040
Diluted EPS ($)	0.54	0.65	0.60	0.60	0.69

Now let's take a look at the next page for the Conclusion. Is this stock an OUTPERFORM, a WAIT AND SEE, or a STAY AWAY?

NEW! Discover a new stock idea each week for less than the cost of 1 trade. CLICK HERE for your Weekly Stock Cheat Sheets NOW!

Conclusion

Healthy EPS growth is likely for CBS. Revenue has been inconsistent on an annual basis, but it has been impressive over the past two quarters. Margins and cash flow are strong, and CBS is always looking to make strategic acquisitions to help fuel growth. Another positive is that analysts love the stock: 22 Buy, 7 Hold, 0 Sell. The biggest potential threat is a steep market correction (CBS isn't very resilient). For those looking for something safer, Disney is a much better option. For those looking to ride the momentum wave, CBS is an OUTPERFORM.

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Top 5 Canadian Companies To Invest In 2014

If you’re a regular Investing Daily reader, you likely know that we’ve long been bullish on investing in north of the border. Here are a few reasons why:

Many Canadian firms boast high—and rising—dividends: The best Canadian dividend stocks tend to have long records of making outsized payouts. Right now, for example, our Canadian Edge advisory’s portfolios include stocks with yields up to 10.3%.

Growing resource wealth: Canada’s oil reserves are the world’s third-largest, with production from the Alberta oil sands forecast to double, to 6.7 million barrels a day, by 2030, according to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

The sector got a shot in the arm after Warren Buffett took out a big stake in Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU), the largest oil sands producer, in the second quarter of 2013 and added to his stake in Q3.

“We think it is a positive for the sector,” Robert Bedin of ITG Investment Research recently told the Financial Post. “Suncor is probably a pretty good proxy for the Canadian oil price, and if Mr. Buffett is bullish on the oil price, it’s good across the board for Canadian names.”

Economic stability: The World Economic Forum has ranked Canada’s banking system No. 1 for six years in a row. The country didn’t experience any bank failures during the 2008/2009 crisis.

In addition, Canada’s federal government is on track to balance its books by April 2015. The country’s finance minister, Jim Flaherty, recently said the government plans to post a surplus of C$3.7 billion in the year starting April 2015, up from his earlier projection of C$800 million.

Low corporate taxes: In a recent PwC study, Canada ranked eighth in a global comparison of the most advantageous places to pay corporate taxes, far ahead of the U.S., in 69th spot. The country’s low tax rate—almost half that of the U.S.—is one reason why the best Canadian dividend stocks can offer such high yields.

Sunny Outlook for the Best Canadian Dividend Stocks

Top 5 Canadian Companies To Invest In 2014: Abbott Laboratories(ABT)

Abbott Laboratories engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of health care products worldwide. The company offers adult and pediatric pharmaceuticals for rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and Crohn's disease; dyslipidemia; HIV infection; prostate cancer, endometriosis and central precocious puberty, and anemia caused by uterine fibroids; respiratory syncytial virus; adult males who have low or no testosterone; secondary hyperparathyroidism; hypothyroidism; and pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, as well as anesthesia products. It also provides diagnostic products, such as immunoassay systems; chemistry systems; assays used for screening and/or diagnosis for drugs of abuse, cancer, therapeutic drug monitoring, fertility, physiological, and infectious diseases; instruments that automate the extraction, purification, and preparation of DNA and RNA from patient samples, and detect and measure infections agents; genomic-b ased tests; hematology systems and reagents; and point-of-care diagnostic systems and tests for blood analysis. In addition, the company offers a line of pediatric and adult nutritional products. Further, it provides coronary, endovascular, vessel closure, and structural heart devices, such as drug-eluting stent systems, coronary metallic stents, balloon dilatation products, coronary guidewires, vessel closure devices, carotid stent systems, percutaneous valve repair systems, and drug eluting bioresorbable vascular products. Additionally, the company provides blood glucose monitoring meters, test strips, data management software, and accessories for people with diabetes; and medical devices for the eye, including cataract surgery, lasik surgery, contact lens, and dry eye products, as well as branded generic pharmaceutical products. Abbott primarily serves retailers, wholesalers, hospitals, and health care facilities. Abbott was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Geoff Gannon]
I was looking at the fundamental of 18 stocks; I own 5 of them: Apple (AAPL), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Autodesk (ADSK), Cisco (CSCO) and Exelon (EXC). Others were ideas collected from places like news, etc.
[By The Part-time Investor]
The following stocks met the criteria in January of 2008 and were put into the initial portfolio:
Abbot Labs (ABT)Advanced data processing (ADP)Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC)Bank of America (BAC)BB&T Corp. (BBT)Bemis Company (BMS)Anheuser Busch (BUD)The Chubb Corporation (CB)Clorox (CLX)Comerica Inc. (CMA)Diebold Inc. (DBD)Emerson Electronics (EMR)First Dollar Corp. (FDO)First Third BanCorp. (FITB)Gannett Co, Inc. (GCI)General Electric (GE)Hershey (HSY)Illinois Tools Works (ITW)Johnson and Johnson (JNJ)Leggett and Platt (LEG)Eli Lilly (LLY)La-Z-Boy (LZB)McDonald's (MCD)Marsh and Ilsley (MI)M&T Bancorp (MTB)PepsiCo (PEP)Pfizer (PFE)Procter & Gamble (PG)Pentair Ltd. (PNR)Regions Financial Corp. (RF)Rohm and Haas (ROH)RPM International (RPM)Sherwin Williams (SHW)Sysco Corp. (SYY)UDR Inc. (UDR)
Historical quotes were taken from Yahoo Finance. $10,000 was put into each position, to the nearest whole share, so a total of $349,262.89 was invested. From 1/15/08 through 5/16/13 all dividends were reinvested back into the stock that paid them. If a dividend cut was announced, that stock was sold on the ex-div date of the new, lower dividend.

Top 5 Canadian Companies To Invest In 2014: KBR Inc. (KBR)

KBR, Inc. operates as an engineering, construction, and services company supporting the energy, hydrocarbon, government services, minerals, civil infrastructure, power, and industrial sectors worldwide. Its Downstream business unit provides front end engineering design; detailed engineering; engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC); EPC management; and program management services to petrochemical, refining, coal gasification, and syngas markets. The company?s Government and Infrastructure business unit provides program and project management, contingency logistics, operations and maintenance, construction management, engineering, and other services to military and civilian branches of governments and private clients. Its Services business unit delivers engineering, construction, construction management, fabrication, maintenance, and turnaround services. It also offers maintenance, construction, and drilling support services for offshore oil and gas producing facili ties using semisubmersible vessels. This segment serves oil, gas, petrochemicals, and hydrocarbon processing industries, as well as power, alternate energy, pulp and paper, industrial and manufacturing, and pharmaceutical industries. The company?s Technology business unit offers various process technologies, including value-added technologies in the coal monetization, petrochemical, refining, and syngas markets. Its Upstream business unit constructs liquefied natural gas, gas-to-liquids, onshore oil and gas production facilities, offshore oil and gas production facilities, and onshore and offshore pipelines. The company?s Ventures business unit invests in and manages projects, where the company provides engineering, construction, construction management or operations, and maintenance services. KBR, Inc. was founded in 1901 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Louis Navellier]
If we look at the sector using Portfolio Grader, we see that many of the big names in the group like Flour (FLR), Granite Construction (GVA) and KBR incorporated (KBR) are rated ��ell.��The anticipated spending for both government and private industry simply hasn�� materialized, and the companies are not seeing revenue or profit growth.
[By Monica Gerson]
KBR (NYSE: KBR) is expected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.70 per share on revenue of $1.99 billion.

Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA) is estimated to post a Q3 loss at $0.04 per share on revenue of $142.67 million.

Top Gold Stocks To Watch Right Now: S&P 500/Barra Value(SU)

Suncor Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated energy company. The company involves in the development of petroleum resource basins in Canada's Athabasca oil sands; acquisition, exploration, development, production, and marketing of crude oil and natural gas in Canada and internationally; transportation and refining of crude oil; and marketing of petroleum and petrochemical products primarily in Canada. Its Oil Sands segment produces bitumen recovered from oil sands through mining and in-situ technology, and upgrades it into refinery feedstock, diesel fuel, and by-products. This segment?s products include gasoline and distillates. The company?s Natural Gas segment acquires, explores, develops, and produces natural gas, natural gas liquids, oil, and by-products from reserves located primarily in western Canada, the Northwest Territories, Alaska, and the Arctic Islands. Its International and Offshore segment engages in the exploration and pro duction of oil and gas in offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, in the North Sea, and in Libya and Syria. The company?s Refining and Marketing segment refines crude oil at Suncor's refineries in Edmonton, Alberta; Montreal, Quebec; and Sarnia, Ontario in Canada, as well as in Commerce City, Colorado into a range of petroleum and petrochemical products for sale to retail, commercial, and industrial customers. It also transports crude oil through pipelines in eastern and western Canada, as well as through wholly-owned pipelines in Wyoming and Colorado; and produces specialty lubricants and waxes. In addition, this segment operates retail sites in Canada under the Petro-Canada brand; and in Colorado under Phillips 66 and Shell brands. Suncor Energy Inc. also engages in third-party energy trading activities. The company was formerly known as Suncor Inc. and changed its name to Suncor Energy Inc. in April 1997. Suncor Energy Inc. was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Calgary , Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Sara Murphy]
A recent report from sustainable business advocate Ceres found wide discrepancies in disclosure quality among oil and gas majors. Ceres found that BP (NYSE: BP ) , Suncor (NYSE: SU ) , and Eni (NYSE: E ) provided the best disclosure overall, while ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM ) and Apache (NYSE: APA ) did the worst.
[By Eric Lam]
Suncor Energy Inc. (SU) added 1.9 percent to C$36.06 as crude erased earlier losses to advance 1.3 percent in New York on signs of accelerating economic growth in Europe and unrest in the Middle East.
[By Selena Maranjian]
Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU ) shed 4%, and yields 1.8%. It's Canada's largest energy company, with expertise in deep oil sands. The company recently canceled its plans to upgrade its Voyageur plant in northern Alberta, due in part to competitive pressures. Thus, it will likely just ship more oil to refiners to do much of the processing work. The company is vulnerable to possible tightened regulations due to the recent pipeline oil spill in Arkansas. Some like its diversification beyond North America.

Top 5 Canadian Companies To Invest In 2014: Imperial Oil Limited(IMO)

Imperial Oil Limited engages in the exploration, production, and sale of crude oil and natural gas in Canada. The company operates through three segments: Upstream, Downstream, and Chemical. The Upstream segment engages in the exploration and production of conventional crude oil, natural gas, synthetic oil, and bitumen primarily in the Western Provinces, the Canada Lands, and the Atlantic Offshore. Its primary conventional oil producing asset includes the Norman Wells oil field in the Northwest Territories. The Downstream segment engages in the transportation and refining of crude oil, as well as blending, distribution, and marketing of refined products. It owns and operates crude oil, and natural gas liquids and products pipelines in Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario. The Chemical segment engages in the manufacture and marketing of various petrochemicals, including ethylene, benzene, aromatic and aliphatic solvents, plasticizer intermediates, and polyethylene resin. As of De cember 31, 2010, Imperial Oil Limited had 1,204 million oil-equivalent barrels of proved undeveloped reserves; maintained a nation-wide distribution system, including 24 primary terminals, to handle bulk and packaged petroleum products moving from refineries to market by pipeline, tanker, rail, and road transport; and sold petroleum products through 1,850 Esso retail service stations, of which approximately 510 were company owned or leased. The company was founded in 1880 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. Imperial Oil Limited operates as a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Arjun Sreekumar]
Cost overruns and abandoned projects
As a result of these factors, cost overruns have become quite common in Alberta. For instance, Imperial Oil (NYSEMKT: IMO ) said it exceeded its cost estimates for the first phase of its Kearl bitumen mining facility by about C$2 billion.�And some companies have even decided to abandon expensive projects altogether.

Top 5 Canadian Companies To Invest In 2014: Great Basin Gold Ltd.(GBG)

Great Basin Gold Ltd. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of precious metal deposits. It explores for gold, silver, and aggregate. The company has two material projects, including the Hollister gold project consisting of a total of 950 unpatented, federal mining claims, covering approximately 69 square kilometers located in Ivanhoe Mining District, Elko County, Nevada; and the Burnstone gold mine comprising mineral rights covering approximately 35,000 hectares located in the Witwatersrand Basin goldfields in South Africa. It also holds interests in early stage mineral prospects, such as the Tsetsera Property in Mozambique; and properties in Tanzania and the island of Kurils in eastern Russia. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Sandton, South Africa.

Friday, January 10, 2014

Get Ready for Higher Gas Prices

A perfect storm is about to hit the gasoline market, making it possible that gas prices will jump by up to 20 cents per gallon over the next few days. With oil prices spiking and the onset of the peak driving season, drivers need to be prepared for some pain at the pump. Gasoline prices could be up to a nationwide average price of more than $3.70 per gallon, with some suggesting prices could reach an average of over $4 by the end of the summer.

Photo Credit: Flickr

Oil prices, which typically make up about two-thirds of the price of gas, have been on the rise since the unrest in Egypt started heating up. In addition, output in neighboring Libya has been reduced, putting further pressure on world oil prices. Meanwhile, here in the U.S. our benchmark crude oil, West Texas intermediate, has risen to the point where it's within a few dollars of the global benchmark.

For the past few years, oil produced in the U.S. traded at a discount to world oil prices because of the lack of pipeline infrastructure. With new pipelines coming online and the boom in the transporting of crude oil by rail, that discount has narrowed from about $20 per barrel all the way down to nearly $2 per barrel. That is the lowest the spread has been in more than 31 months.

That tightening spread means pain not just for consumers, but also for refiners. Because refiners profit on the spread -- known as the "crack spread" -- between crude oil and gasoline, as that spread tightens, it also squeezes margins. That's exactly what's happening right now as oil prices are spiking but gas prices haven't quite caught up.

Because refiners must deal with the volatile pricing of both oil and refined products such as gasoline, investors could be in for a rough ride. Most will be at the ready when refiners such as Phillips 66 and Valero (NYSE: VLO ) report second-quarter earnings later this month. Those earnings probably won't be as robust as investors have come to enjoy. Valero, in fact, has already warned its investors to expect lower earnings this quarter as higher costs are eating into its profits. Further, given the current rise in oil prices, the outlooks given by both companies are likely to be pretty muted. Investors seem to be anticipating as much, as both stocks are down more than 12% over the past month.

On the other hand, Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR ) and EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG ) are two U.S.-focused oil producers that have been enjoying oil's price ride higher. Both companies are up by more than 10% over the past month, as these two are getting higher prices for the oil that's produced. Investors here have been well rewarded as both are trading around all-time highs.

The bottom line here is that it will be a rough summer for both drivers and refiners. Investors in oil producers, however, will probably continue to enjoy the ride as oil prices stay over $100 per barrel. The good news, though, is that it's not too late to invest in an oil stock to help offset your pain at the pump.

For those who do want to offset the pain at the pump by profiting from higher oil prices The Motley Fool's has prepared a special report detailing "3 Stocks for $100 Oil." For free access to this special report, simply click here now.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

An Undervalued Play on the Housing Rebound

Hot Financial Stocks To Invest In 2014

Following a multi-year decline, the housing market has been helping to fuel US economic growth in 2013, with double-digit, year-over-year increases in single-family home sales and median housing prices.

The supply of existing homes for sale is 5.2 months, or 2.21 million units, below the six-month level that most economists consider to be market equilibrium. Housing supply shortages in some areas present a challenge for prospective homebuyers, because they result in fewer homes to preview. Yet shortages are good for market dynamics, because they result in higher housing prices. The improving housing market is also a boom for building material companies.

Universal Forest Products (NASDAQ: UFPI) is one company benefiting from the rebounding housing market and home improvement business.

Universal Forest Products is a holding company that provides capital, management and administrative resources to subsidiaries that design, manufacture and market wood and wood-alternative products for building materials retailers and wholesalers, structural lumber and other products for the manufactured housing and residential construction markets, and specialty wood packaging and components and packing materials for various industries.

Universal just posted a 22 percent increase in sales and is projected to increase earnings by 77 percent in 2013. In addition, the company is still a value-based small cap relative to its peers. The company remains focused on its goals of growing sales by adding new products, new customers and new markets.

Universal Forest Products announced third quarter 2013 results, including a 22.2 percent increase in net sales to $651.8 million, up from net sales of $533.4 million in the third quarter of 2012. Net earnings for the third quarter of ! 2013 were $14.1 million, or $0.71 per diluted share, compared to net earnings of $4.2 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, for the same quarter of 2012.

Universal saw strong sales growth in each of its markets. Earnings from operations were $24.53 million compared to $8.31 million reported a year ago. Earnings before income taxes were $23.54 million compared to $7.66 million reported a year ago.

For the nine months, the company reported net sales of $1.9 billion compared to $1.5 billion reported a year ago. Net earnings attributable to controlling interest were $35 million or $1.76 per diluted share, compared to net earnings attributable to controlling interest of $26 million or $1.31 per diluted share for the same period of 2012.

Lumber prices, which have an impact on the company’s selling prices, were up in the third quarter: Overall lumber prices were up 6.9 percent; Southern Yellow Pine prices, which make up a significant portion of the company’s lumber purchases, were up 16.7 percent.

Significant volatility in the cost of commodity lumber products from primary producers also remains an impediment to growth for Universal Forest Products. An unusual rise in lumber costs will increase cost of inventory and limit margins on fixed priced lumber products, while a decrease in cost will result in lower profits by selling products which are indexed to the current lumber market.

Universal has an expansionary policy targeting development of its industrial business that is being carried out, as is the company s entry into the market without adding capacities and growth through acquisitions.

The acquisition of Nepa Pallet assets in Nov. 2012 strengthened the company’s foothold in the Northwest United States while the Custom Caseworks acquisition in Jan 2013 enabled growth of industrial business through new product offerings. Also, the addition of some assets of SE Panel in Nov. 2013 will enable the company to gain easy access to concrete forming and co! nstructio! n industries of the southeastern US.

On Oct. 8, Universal Forest Products announced it had signed an agreement, through one of its subsidiaries, to acquire some assets of SE Panel and Lumber Supply. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. The transaction is anticipated to be completed by mid-November. Universal Forest Products will gain from easy accessibility of the acquired assets to end markets served, especially the southeastern region of the US.

On Oct. 17, Universal Forest Products announced an increase of 5 percent in its annual dividend rate. The move aimed to reward the shareholders has been approved by the company’s board of directors. The new annual dividend rate has been fixed at $0.42, an increase of $0.02 over the previous rate of $0.40. The revised semi-annual dividend rate now stands at $0.21 per share and has been approved for payment on Dec. 15, 2013 to shareholders of record as on Dec. 1, 2013.

While the company has forecasted exceptional sales and earnings growth, it trades at only 0.44 times sales in the most recent quarter. Universal has a long-term debt to equity of 17 percent.

Universal is projected to have earnings per share of $1.93 in 2013 that is an increase of 77 percent from the previous year. Universal is projected to grow earnings by 56 percent to $3.00 in 2014. First Call consensus has a buy rating of 2.3 on the stock. Universal Forest Products has a 12-month price target of $75.

Greg Pugh, an income-investing expert, publishes a newsletter called Investing for Monthly Income.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Can These Hail Marys Save NVIDIA Stock?

Frustrated with its lack of wins in the mobile market, chip designer NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA ) came up with a new strategy: License your graphics designs to other mobile processor builders.

NVIDIA's high-performance graphics solutions tend to crush competing designs from Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM ) and PowerVR, but only in terms of raw performance. The picture is far murkier when you include factors like battery life and pricing. NVIDIA probably doesn't stand much of a chance at breaking into Qualcomm's products, given that the big Q likes to design its own graphics systems. But maybe Samsung or Apple would consider replacing their creaky PowerVR licenses with NVIDIA ones?

If that idea doesn't pan out, NVIDIA is also about to launch an Android-based handheld gaming system. Have you heard of the NVIDIA Shield, which launches on June 27? No? That's probably not a good sign. Nintendo can breathe easy; its dominant 3DS system's market share safe from harm this time.

NVIDIA stock has underperformed the market in the long run and traded sideways over the last year. The company could use a big win right now, or maybe two. In the video below, Fool contributor Anders Bylund explains what NVIDIA's pair of Hail Mary plays mean for investors. Spoiler alert: It's not good news.

Top 10 Tech Stocks To Invest In 2014

It's incredible to think just how much of our digital and technological lives are almost entirely shaped and molded by just a handful of companies. Find out "Who Will Win the War Between the 5 Biggest Tech Stocks?" in The Motley Fool's latest free report, which details the knock-down, drag-out battle being waged by the five kings of tech. Click here to keep reading.

Monday, January 6, 2014

3 Stocks Breaking Out on Big Volume

10 Best Performing Stocks To Watch Right Now

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Professional traders running mutual funds and hedge funds don't just look at a stock's price moves; they also track big changes in volume activity. Often when above-average volume moves into an equity, it precedes a large spike in volatility.

>>5 Stocks Poised for Breakouts

Major moves in volume can signal unusual activity, such as insider buying or selling -- or buying or selling by "superinvestors."

Unusual volume can also be a major signal that hedge funds and momentum traders are piling into a stock ahead of a catalyst. These types of traders like to get in well before a large spike, so it's always a smart move to monitor unusual volume. That said, remember to combine trend and price action with unusual volume. Put them all together to help you decipher the next big trend for any stock.

>>5 High-Yield Stocks Ready to Pay You More in 2014

With that in mind, let's take a look at several stocks rising on unusual volume today.

PGT

PGT (PGTI) engages in the manufacture and supply of residential impact-resistant windows and doors. This stock closed up 6.3% to $10.88 in Friday's trading session.

Friday's Volume: 1.51 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 551,829

Volume % Change: 173%

>>5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar

From a technical perspective, PGTI ripped higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $9.91 with above-average volume. This move pushed shares of PGTI into breakout territory, since the stock took out some near-term overhead resistance at $10.75. Shares of PGTI are now quickly moving within range of triggering another big breakout trade. That trade will hit if PGTI manages to take out some key overhead resistance levels at $11 to its 52-week high at $11.69 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in PGTI as long as it's trending above Friday's low of $10.24 or above its 50-day at $9.91 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 551,829 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then PGTI will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $13 to $15.

Rexford Industrial Realty

Rexford Industrial Realty (REXR) is a real estate investment trust that specializes in acquiring, owning and operating industrial properties in Southern California infill markets. This stock closed up 3.9% to $13.33 in Friday's trading session.

Friday's Volume: 370,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 117,694

Volume % Change: 184%

>>5 Rocket Stocks to Buy for 2014 Gains

From a technical perspective, REXR jumped higher here right above some near-term support at $12.80 with above-average volume. This move briefly pushed shares of REXR back above its 50-day moving average of $13.37. Shares of REXR closed just below its 50-day at $13.33. This move is quickly pushing shares of REXR within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if REXR manages to take out some key overhead resistance levels at $13.52 to $13.86 and then once it clears more resistance at $13.97 to $14.04 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in REXR as long as it's trending above near-term support at $12.80 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 117,694 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then REXR will set up to re-test or possibly take out its all-time-high at $14.60. Any high-volume move above that level will then give REXR a chance to trend well north of $15.

Medtronic

Medtronic (MDT) manufactures and sells device-based medical therapies worldwide. This stock closed up 1.9% to $58.34 in Friday's trading session.

Friday's Volume: 12.57 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 3.97 million

Volume % Change: 220%

>>5 Ways You Can Trade Like a Hedge Fund in 2014

From a technical perspective, MDT gapped up sharply here right off its 50-day moving average of $57.18 with strong upside volume. This move pushed shares of MDT into breakout territory, since the stock took out some near-term overhead resistance at $57.92. Shares of MDT are now quickly moving within range of triggering another big breakout trade. That trade will hit if MDT manages to clear some more near-term overhead resistance levels at $58.56 to its 52-week-high at $58.85 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in MDT as long as it's trending above Friday's low of $53.01 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 3.97 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then MDT will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are $65 to $67.

To see more stocks rising on unusual volume, check out the Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.