Top 5 Up And Coming Companies To Own In Right Now

By David Sterman

In any industry, the only way to avoid price wars is to offer a superior product or service.

Customers will pay full price only if they think your offering is top-notch. And you'll find no clearer example to that approach than Verizon Wireless, a subsidiary of Verizon (NYSE: VZ). In most consumer surveys, Verizon repeatedly comes out on top in terms of customer satisfaction, even as its service is often the most expensive choice.

On the flip side, Verizon's key rivals -- Sprint (NYSE: S) and AT&T (NYSE: T) -- are learning what happens when you skimp on network investments. Both of these firms garner inferior consumer ratings, and despite billions being spent to upgrade their networks now, they still can't close the perception gap against Verizon.

Yet even as Sprint and AT&T evaluate how to catch up to Verizon, behind-the-scenes discussions may upend the entire wireless service industry. That may help explain why short sellers are now targeting both Sprint and AT&T in a big way.

Hot Solar Stocks To Own Right Now: T. Rowe Price Group Inc.(TROW)

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. is a publicly owned asset management holding company. The firm primarily provides its services to individual and institutional investors, retirement plans, and financial intermediaries. Through its subsidiaries it manages separate client-focused equity, fixed income, and balanced portfolios along with mutual funds. It also provides advisory services. The firm invests in the public equity, venture capital, and fixed income markets across the globe. T. Rowe Price Group was founded in 1937 and is based in Baltimore, Maryland with additional offices in London, United Kingdom; Central Hong Kong, Hong Kong; Tokyo, Japan; and Singapore.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Hibah Yousuf]

  According to data from Morningstar, nutual fund giant T. Rowe Price (TROW), which began investing in Twitter in 2009, has shares of the company in several of its own mutual funds as well as funds on which it serves as a subadviser.

Top 5 Up And Coming Companies To Own In Right Now: Ingles Markets Incorporated(IMKTA)

Ingles Markets, Incorporated operates a supermarket chain in the southeast United States. Its supermarkets offer food products, including grocery, meat and dairy products, produce, frozen foods, and other perishables; and non-food products, such as fuel, pharmacy products, health and beauty care products, and general merchandise, as well as provides private label items. The company?s stores also offer products and services, such as home meal replacement items, delicatessens, bakeries, floral departments, video rental departments, and greeting cards, as well as a selection of organic, beverage, and health-related items. In addition, it engages in the fluid dairy processing and shopping center rental businesses. The company operates 203 supermarkets, including 74 in Georgia, 69 in North Carolina, 36 in South Carolina, 21 in Tennessee, 2 in Virginia, and 1 in Alabama. As of September 24, 2011, it operated 74 in-store pharmacies and 70 fuel centers; owned and operated 70 shop ping centers of which 58 contain an Ingles supermarket; and owned 94 additional properties that contain a free-standing Ingles store; and owned 13 undeveloped sites. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Black Mountain, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Russ Krull]

  Ingles Markets (NASDAQ: IMKTA  ) rang up $700 million from 10-year, 5.75% high-yield notes. The money will fund a tender offer for all $575 million of its 2017 8.75% notes. At the tender offer price, retiring all the existing debt will cost about $600 million, and the deal will save Ingles about $10 million per year in debt service. Any money left after paying for the tender offer goes "to repay certain other debt, to fund capital expenditures and for general corporate purposes."

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Ingles Markets (NASDAQ: IMKTA  ) will release its quarterly report on Monday, and investors have been pleased to see shares of the regional grocery-store chain rise to levels not seen since before the financial crisis. Yet from its vantage in the Southeastern U.S., Ingles Markets has to be concerned about the impact that Kroger's (NYSE: KR  ) proposed buyout of Harris Teeter (NYSE: HTSI  ) might have on the competitive landscape in the region, with a potential threat to Ingles' future prospects looming over the company's stock.

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  To understand a grocer ��any grocer ��it helps to have an understanding of the industry. Of all the real life ways different species of grocers differ. It helps to be able to look at Arden and Village and Ingles (IMKTA). It helps to see three different approaches. And see which elements of each work and which don��.

Top 5 Up And Coming Companies To Own In Right Now: iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR)

iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF, formerly iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Index Fund, seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Standard & Poor's SmallCap 600 Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of publicly traded securities in the small-capitalization sector of the United States equity market. The Index serves as the underlying index for the S&P 600/Citigroup Growth and Value Index series. The component stocks are weighted according to the total float-adjusted market value of their outstanding shares. The component stocks in the Index have a market capitalization between $300 million and $1 billion (which may fluctuate depending on the overall level of the equity markets), and are selected for liquidity and industry group representation. The Index is adjusted to reflect changes in capitalization resulting from mergers, acquisition, stock rights, substitutions and other capital events.

The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Index Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Ciovacco]

  In Thursday's ETF analysis, evidence is presented that supports increasing demand for assets that get a tailwind from a weak U.S. dollar, including emerging markets (EEM) and foreign stocks (EFA). Casting a wider economic net, our market model told us to start buying stocks last week even with the threat of a U.S. default. Wednesday, we continued with our incremental allocation shifts by adding some exposure to the energy sector. Thursday, we sat tight holding long positions in small caps (IJR), Europe (FEZ), emerging markets and technology (QQQ). The upper bounds of the bullish S&P 500 trend channel shown below may offer some resistance to the market's near vertical ascent.

• [By John Udovich]

  One of the most famous scenes in the cult classic, the Graduate, was when Mr. McGuire�took Dustin Hoffman�� character aside and said�"Ben, I want to say one word to you, just one word: Plastics"; but what about the Berry Plastics Group Inc (NYSE: BERY) and its performance verses that of the�iShares S&P 500 Index ETF (NYSEARCA: IVV), iShares Russell Midcap Index Fund ETF (NYSEARCA: IWR) and iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Index ETF (NYSEARCA: IJR)? I should mention that plastics and the Berry Plastics Group was not the place to be yesterday as the stock took a tumble on reduced guidance.

Top 5 Up And Coming Companies To Own In Right Now: K&S AG (KPLUY)

K&S AG is a Germany-based holding company which is active in the chemical sector. The Company divides its activities into four main business segments. The Potash and Magnesium Products segment is engaged in the crude potash and magnesium salts extraction and in processing raw materials into products for industrial, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industries. The Nitrogen Fertilizers business segment distributes fertilizers for almost all agricultural crops, and products for home and garden, plant care and plant protection, specialty fertilizers for public green areas, tree nurseries, horticulture and various special crops are offered. The Salt segment offers food grade salt, industrial salt and salt for chemical use, as well as de-icing salt applied to ensure road safety. The Complementary Business segments include recycling activities and the disposal and reutilization of waste salt mines, granulation of CATASAN, logistics, and trading in different basic chemicals. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Yet, Europe's leading potash player K+S (NASDAQOTH: KPLUY  ) just said that, because of the upheaval that's occurred in the market, it was slashing its dividend by 82% for 2013,�reducing the payout ratio to just 11% of adjusted after tax�earnings, a far cry from the miner's usual�ratio of between 40% and 50%. Could this signal a new era of austerity that will ultimately see Potash,�Agrium (NYSE: AGU  ) , and Mosaic (NYSE: MOS  ) �end up whacking their payouts, as well?