Hot Consumer Service Stocks To Invest In Right Now

LPL Financial (LPLA) said late Wednesday that it will close down its mass-market NestWise business unit on Sept. 1 to save costs.

The independent broker-dealer launched the program, led by LPL veterans Esther Stearns and Kandis Bates, last year. It aimed to recruit and train new financial advisors and explore direct-to-consumer operations for middle-market clients -- a strategy similar to that being pursued by Merrill Lynch, for instance, through its more upscale Merrill Edge platform aimed at the mass affluent.

“The NestWise program was extremely valuable in terms of developing workflow technologies and learning about advisor development and training,” the company, which is headed by Mark Casady, said in a statement shared with ThinkAdvisor.

“However, LPL Financial believes financial resources earmarked for NestWise can be more effectively deployed in other areas of the business and will be redeployed into our core business consulting activities for both advisors and institutions for training development,” it explained.

Hot Consumer Service Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp (WAB)

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (Wabtec), doing business as Wabtec Corporation, is a providers of value-added, technology-based equipment and services for the global rail industry. It provides its products and services through two business segments: the Freight Group and the Transit Group, both of which have different market characteristics and business drivers. Effective November 18, 2011, Wabtec acquired Fulmer Company, a manufacturer of motor components for rail, power generation and other industrial markets. Effective November 3, 2011, Wabtec acquired Bearward Engineering, a manufacturer of cooling systems and related equipment for power generation and other industrial markets. On June 29, 2011, the Company acquired an aftermarket transit parts business from GE Transportation, a parts supply business for propulsion and control systems for the passenger transit car aftermarket in North America. On February 25, 2011, the Company acquired Brush Traction Group, a provider of locomotive overhauls, services and aftermarket components. In July 2012, it acquired Tec Tran Corp. and its affiliates. In October 2012, it acquired LH Group. Effective July 30, 2013, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp acquired Turbonetics Inc, a manufacturer of turbochargers and components. Effective September 24, 2013, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp acquired Longwood Industries Inc.

The Freight Group manufactures and services components for freight cars and locomotives, builds new switcher locomotives, rebuilds freight locomotives, supplies railway electronics, positive train control equipment, signal design and engineering services, and provides related heat exchange and cooling systems. Its customers include railroads, leasing companies, manufacturers of original equipment, such as locomotives and freight cars, and utilities. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Freight Group accounted for 61% of its total sales, with about 75% of its sales in North America and the remainder! to international customers.

The Transit Group manufactures and services components for new and existing passenger transit vehicles, which include subway cars and buses, builds new commuter locomotives and refurbishes subway cars. Customers include public transit authorities and municipalities, leasing companies, and manufacturers of subway cars and buses globally. During 2011, the Transit Group accounted for 39% of its total sales, with about half of its sales in North America and the remainder to international customers. During 2011, about 66% of the Transit Group�� sales are in the aftermarket and the remainder in the original equipment market.

The Company�� specialty products and electronics include positive train control equipment and electronically controlled pneumatic braking products; railway electronics, including event recorders, monitoring equipment and end of train devices; signal design and engineering services; freight car truck components; draft gears, couplers and slack adjusters; air compressors and dryers; heat exchangers and cooling products for locomotives and power generation equipment, and track and switch products. Its brake products include railway braking equipment and related components for freight and transit applications, and friction products, including brake shoes and pads. Its remanufacturing, overhaul and build products include new commuter and switcher locomotives, and transit car and locomotive overhaul and refurbishment. Its transit products include rail and bus door and window assemblies; accessibility lifts and ramps for buses and subway cars, and traction motors.

The Company competes with Knorr-Bremse AG, Electro-Motive Diesel, GE Transportation Systems and Faiveley Transport.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  The board of directors of railroad products manufacturer Wabtec (NYSE: WAB  ) was busy yesterday, announcing it was increasing its quarterly dividend payment by 60% while simultaneously splitting the company's stock.

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Another area that is intriguing to us is the North American energy sector which looks to have a number of interesting catalysts currently. While the energy sector is at present only a modest overweight in the portfolios, we have been encouraged by several trends taking place for a number of years. These positive developments are also having an impact that goes far beyond the energy sector itself. Many believe that the U.S. will become energy independent and possibly a net exporter of natural gas and oil (currently restricted by law) in the next decade. This opinion is based primarily on the development of new drilling techniques (i.e. horizontal drilling, and high pressure fracking) that have enabled companies to access oil and natural gas reserves in shale formations that were previously not economically viable. The ability to tap into this acreage is a game-changer in our view and is already having a tremendous impact on the economy. Employment rates in these mostly rural areas surrounding the shale basins are very high and companies thus find hiring extremely competitive. Strong labor markets tend to create strong local economies. Oil States International (OIS) has been able to capitalize on this trend by providing housing and other services to oil service workers that are in demand in the area. CST Brands (CST) operates gas stations in Texas, but it is increasingly looking to broaden its product offering beyond fuel. Rail companies like Union Pacific (UNP), Canadian Pacific (CP), Kansas City Southern (KSU) and Genesee and Wyoming (GWR) have also benefited substantially. Given that shale areas are rural and often lacking infrastructure, substantial investment must be made to support drilling and production activities. Without pipelines in place, railroads have been the primary takeaway mechanism for moving production to the various clusters of refining capacity around the United States. In order to serve this demand, massive investment in railcars has been nee

Hot Consumer Service Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Koninklijke Philips NV (PHIA)

Koninklijke Philips NV, formerly Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV, is the Netherlands-based parent company of the Philips Group (Philips). The Company operates within three main business sectors, such as Healthcare, Consumer Lifestyle, and Lighting, as well as through the Innovation, Group & Services (IG&S) sector. The Healthcare sector offers both personal care and professional products, such as computer tomography equipment, radiography equipment and refurbished systems. Consumer Lifestyle sector offers a range of sound, vision, personal devices and household products, such as television, headphones, kitchen appliances, shavers and digital cameras, among others. Lighting sector offers lighting products, such as professional lamps, light-emitting diodes (LED), ballasts and luminaires, among others. The IG&S segment provides the operating sectors with support through shared service centers. It also includes projects which are not part of the operating sectors. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Corinne Gretler]

  European stocks rose for a fourth day, extending a seven-week high, as companies from UBS AG to Royal Philips (PHIA) Electronics NV reported increased profit.

Top 10 Computer Hardware Companies To Invest In Right Now: PURE Bioscience Inc.(PURE)

Pure Bioscience, Inc. engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of bioscience products principally in the United States. The company offers silver dihydrogen citrate (SDC) based antimicrobials. The silver dihydrogen citrate technology is an electrochemical process that allows the generation of ionized silver in the presence of organic acid. It provides PURE Hard Surface, a hard surface disinfectant and food contact surface sanitizer for use in food processing equipment, machinery, and utensils; Axen30, a hard surface disinfectant; Silv�ion, an antimicrobial formulation used as a raw material in the manufacturing of personal care products; and Axenohl, an antimicrobial formulation for use as a raw material in the manufacturing of environmental protection agency-registered products. The company also offers research and development services in food processing, agriculture, water treatment, pharmaceuticals, and oil and gas projects. It sells its products t hrough partners and distributors primarily to industrial and consumer markets. The company, formerly known as Innovative Medical Services, was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in El Cajon, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Glenwoods]

  According to the global market research company Mintel, stevia-based products have increased 400% globally between 2008 and 2012, with a rise of 158% from 2011 to 2012. Stevia has grown so much in demand that the world�� largest alfalfa grower, California-based S&W Seed (SANW), began growing stevia with high glycoside yields for PureCircle (LN:PURE), the world�� largest producer of stevia, in 2011 and on roughly 250,118 acres. Now some U.S. tobacco farmers have begun to switch from growing tobacco to stevia, as tobacco sales are sliding and stevia sales are growing.

• [By Glenwoods]

  While the fermentation-based method is still in its development stages, a Malaysian company, PureCircle (LON: PURE) (OTCMKTS: PCRTF), the world�� largest producer of stevia, continues to develop its stevia through farm-based methods.� Last September PureCircle, which also has offices in Oak Brook, Ill., signed a joint agreement with the Coca-Cola Coto investigate and develop a commercially viable stevia sweetener product; and earlier this month in a press release, the two companies announced they were developing what should be a better flavor profile than the much used Reb A with rebaudioside D (Reb D) and Rebaudioside X (Reb X).� Reb D, though roughly 10% less sweet than Reb A, has a significantly lower bitterness that Reb A and has been found to have a more desirable taste profile, especially in cola products where stevia previously has not worked well.� The issue with both Reb D and Reb X is that they are found in much smaller amounts than Reb A. Thus, at this time it will take a lot more stevia leaves to produce the extracts.

Hot Consumer Service Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Banco Santander S.A.(STD)

Banco Santander, S.A. provides a range of banking and financial products. It accepts customer demand, time, and notice deposits, and international and domestic interbank deposits, as well as offers auto financing, personal loans, and credit cards; and automated cash dispensers, savings books updaters, telephone banking services, and electronic and Internet banking services. The company also engages corporate banking, treasury, and investment banking activities. It provides transaction banking services in cash management, trade finance, and basic financing; and corporate finance services for mergers and acquisitions, and asset and capital structuring, as well as involves in the origination activities and risk management, and distribution of structured products and debt in the credit markets; structuring and trading activities in financial markets of interest rate and exchange rate instruments; and activities relating to the equity markets. In addition, it engages in the des ign and management of mutual and pension funds, and life and general insurance products. The company operates primarily in Spain, the United Kingdom, other European countries, Brazil and other Latin American countries, and the United States. As of December 31, 2010, it had 6,063 branch offices in continental Europe; 1,416 branches in the United Kingdom; 5,882 branches in Latin America; and 721 branches in the United States. The company was formerly known as Banco Santander Central Hispano S.A. and changed its name to Banco Santander, S.A. in June 2007. Banco Santander, S.A. was founded in 1857 and is based in Madrid, Spain.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Charlie: Yes, I have a question. Do you think the opportunity is more in stocks or in debt, or both? If you look at Spain, the biggest companies in Spain, one is a bank, Bank Santander (STD). The other is Telefonica (TEF), a phone company. What other opportunities do you see there?

• [By Chandan Dubey]

  This article will describe what a bank does. Then we will move on to reading the balance sheet of a bank. As an example, I take the balance sheet of one of my holdings, Banco Santander (STD).

Hot Consumer Service Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Informatica Corporation (INFA)

Informatica Corporation provides enterprise data integration and data quality software and services worldwide. Its software solutions include a set of technologies that enable various enterprise-wide data integration initiatives. The company offers PowerCenter, which integrates data virtually from business systems in various formats and delivers that data throughout the enterprise; PowerExchange that enables IT organizations to access the sources of enterprise data without having to develop custom data access programs; and Informatica Data Services for finding, integrating, and managing data across the enterprise. It also provides Data Quality, which delivers data quality to stakeholders, projects, and data domains; Master Data Management that provides consolidated business-critical data; and B2B Data Exchange software for multi-enterprise data integration. In addition, the company offers application information lifecycle management products to manage various phases of the data lifecycle, from development and testing to archiving and retirement; complex event processing to detect, correlate, analyze, and respond to data-driven events; Ultra Messaging products, which enables ultra low latency messaging; and Cloud that delivers purpose-built data integration cloud applications to allow business users to integrate data across cloud-based applications, and on-premise systems and databases. Further, it offers product-related customer support, consulting, and education services. Informatica Corporation serves aerospace, automotive, energy and utilities, entertainment/media, financial services, healthcare/life sciences, high technology, insurance, manufacturing, public sector, retail, services, telecommunications, and travel/transportation industries through its direct sales force, as well as through systems integrators, resellers, distributors, and original equipment manufacturer partners. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Red wood City, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Informatica Corp. (NASDAQ: INFA) is the world’s number one independent provider of data integration software and is specializing in data masking for security. Gartner analysts wrote in the Data Masking Technology report that, “A growing number of enterprises are taking a strategic approach to adopting data masking,” and that “new use cases in data masking implementation have emerged and are evolving rapidly: DDM [dynamic data masking] and SDM [static data masking] for big data platforms, and the use of data masking in cloud access security brokers to address data security in the cloud platform.” Continued strength in business analytics bodes well for the company as it goes after IBM business. The Baird price target for the stock is $47, and the consensus is posted at $45.02. Informatica closed Wednesday at $43.49.

• [By gurujx]

  Informatica Corporation (INFA): CFO, CAO, EVP-GCS, Secretary Earl Fry Sold 110,000 Shares

  CFO Earl Fry sold 110,000 shares of INFA stock on Oct. 31 at the average price of $38.68. Earl Fry owns at least 261,767 shares after this. The price of the stock has decreased by 1.45% since.

Hot Consumer Service Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Primoris Services Corporation(PRIM)

Primoris Services Corporation, a specialty contractor and infrastructure company, provides a range of construction, fabrication, maintenance, replacement, water and wastewater, and product engineering services in the United States and internationally. It offers construction services, including installation of underground pipeline, cable, and conduits for entities in the petroleum, petrochemical, and water industries; installation and maintenance of industrial facilities for petroleum, petrochemical, and water industries; installation of commercial and industrial cast-in-place structures; and construction of highways, as well as industrial and environmental constructions. The company also engages in designing, supplying, and installing high-performance furnaces, heaters, burner management systems, and related combustion and process technologies for clients in the oil refining, petrochemical, and power generation industries, as well as furnishes turnkey project management se rvices and delivers custom engineering solutions. It serves public utilities, petrochemical companies, energy companies, municipalities, state departments of transportation, and other customers. Primoris Services Corporation is based in Dallas, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon] ris is a contractor and infrastructure company founded in 1946. It provides services related to construction fabrication, maintenance, replacement, water and wastewater and engineering to clients that are typically major public utilities, petrochemical companies, energy companies, municipalities and others. It doubled its size in 2009 and 2010 when it purchased the James Construction Group and Rockford Corporation, respectively. Primoris��predecessor company, Rhapsody acquisition Corp., had its IPO in 2006, and Primoris merged with Rhapsody in 2008.

  Joel Greenblatt bought 59,076 shares at an average price of $13.56 in the fourth quarter. After being relatively flat since its IPO, Primoris��stock price began to rise dramatically in 2011, and Greenblatt bought on a dip in the fourth quarter. In the last year it has appreciated 87 percent.

  Primoris��free cash flow and revenue in 2010 bounced back from a down year in 2009 and EBITDA grew each year in the same span of time. Return on equity and return on assets have both declined over the three years, but in the third quarter of 2011 came back strongly. ROE increased to 29.3 percent from 16.1 at year-end 2010, and ROA has increased to 11.4 percent from 4.8 percent at year-end 2010.

  The third quarter was good in other ways. The company reached its highest revenue and net income in its 60-year history. However, fluctuations in revenue and earnings may occur over the next several quarters as it completes several major projects. On November 30, it announced $181 million in new contracts.

  Primoris��P/E, P/S and P/B ratios:

  PRIM pe,ps,pb Interactive Chart

  Caribou Coffee (CBOU)

  Caribou Coffee is a gourmet coffee company that owns the second-largest number of coffeehouses in the U.S. After rising significantly in the second quarter of 2011, its stock price dropped in the fourth quarter, when Joel Greenblatt purchased it. He bought 52,794 shares at an average price of $13.27.

Hot Consumer Service Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Hannover House Inc (HHSE)

Hannover House, Inc., formerly Target Development Group, Inc., is the parent company of Hannover House. Hannover House is a full service media company, specializing in the production and distribution of feature films onto the digital versatile disc (DVD) format for the North American retail marketplace. As of December 31, 2010, the Company had over 70 DVD titles in active distribution. In June 2012, the Company acquired nine feature films for video release in North America.

Retailers carrying Hannover House products include independently owned and operated retail video stores and book stores, including Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Blockbuster Video, Borders Group, Fred Meyer Group, Hastings, SAM�� Club, Transworld Group and Wal-Mart. It also includes Internet retailers.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap tech or media stocks Thinspace Technology Inc (OTCMKTS: THNS), Beamz Interactive Inc (OTCBB: BZIC) and Hannover House Inc (OTCMKTS: HHSE) have been getting some extra attention lately, but it appears that only one of these stocks has been the subject of a paid promotion. Nevertheless, all three stocks have been busy with press releases trying to get the attention of investors or traders. So are these three small cap tech or media stocks worth your attention? Here is a closer look along with a reality check:

Hot Consumer Service Stocks To Invest In Right Now: S&P Smallcap 600(PH)

Parker Hannifin Corporation manufactures fluid power systems, electromechanical controls, and related components worldwide. Its Industrial segment offers pneumatic and electromechanical components, and systems; filters, systems, and instruments to monitor and remove contaminants from fuel, air, oil, water, and other liquids and gases; connectors that control, transmit, and contain fluid; hydraulic components and systems for builders and users of industrial and mobile machinery and equipment; critical flow components for process instrumentation, healthcare, and ultra-high-purity applications; and static and dynamic sealing devices. This segment sells its products to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and their replacement markets in the manufacturing, transportation, and processing industries. The company?s Aerospace segment provides flight control systems and components, including hydraulic, electrohydraulic, electric backup hydraulic, electrohydrostatic, and electro -mechanical components for precise control of aircraft rudders, elevators, ailerons, and other aerodynamic control surfaces. It also provides electronics thermal management heat rejection systems, and single-phase and two-phase heat collection systems for radar, ISAR, and power electronics. This segment markets its products primarily to OEMs in the commercial, military, and general aviation markets, as well as to end users. Its Climate and Industrial Controls segment offers systems and components primarily for use in the mobile and stationary refrigeration, and air conditioning industry; and in fluid control applications in various industries, such as processing, fuel dispensing, beverage dispensing, and mobile emissions. This segment serves OEMs and their replacement markets. Parker-Hannifin Corporation markets its products through direct-sales employees, independent distributors, wholesalers, and sales representatives. The company was founded in 1918 and is headquartered i n Cleveland, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sue Chang and Ben Eisen]

  Parker-Hannifin Corp. (PH) �shares climbed 5.2% after the motion and control technologies company reported its first-quarter earnings rose to $1.61 a share from $1.57 a share.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The market in aggregate might have gone nowhere, but that wasn’t for lack of big moves from individual stocks. Parker-Hannifin (PH) gained 2.4% to $115.06 after it was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird, while Newmont Mining (NEM) gained 2.2% as gold miners headed higher today.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Motion and control systems manufacturer Parker-Hannifin (PH) raised its quarterly dividend 4.6% to 45 cents per share, payable on Dec. 6 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 8. The increase marks the 57th consecutive annual dividend increase.
  PH Dividend Yield:�1.55%

• [By Charles Mizrahi, President and CEO, Hampton Investors, Inc.]

  Parker Hannifin (PH) generates strong revenue from its aerospace division, while its primary industrial segment is lagging.

  Overall, we like the company's balanced portfolio. PH had solid order rates this past year with backlog of $3.6 billion between its industrial and aerospace segments.

Hot Consumer Service Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Bristow Group Inc (BRS)

Bristow Group Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides helicopter services to the offshore energy industry primarily in Europe, West Africa, North America, Australia, and internationally. Its helicopters are used principally to transport personnel between onshore bases and offshore platforms, drilling rigs, and installations, as well as to transport time-sensitive equipment to offshore locations. The company also offers helicopter flight training services to commercial pilots and flight instructors through its Bristow Academy with facilities in Titusville, Florida; Concord, California; New Iberia, Louisiana and Gloucestershire, England. In addition, it provides military training; and helicopter repair, engineering support, aircraft leasing, airport management, and search and rescue services. Bristow Group provides its helicopter services to integrated, national, and independent oil and gas companies. As of March 31, 2011, it operated a fleet of 569 aircraft. The comp any was founded in 1969 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Bristow Group (NYSE: BRS  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Hot Consumer Service Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Enersis S A(ENI)

Enersis S.A., an electric utility company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. It owns and operates hydroelectric, thermal, and wind power plants. As of December 31, 2010, it had 14,833 megawatts of installed capacity with 195 power plants; and 13.3 million distribution customers covering approximately 50 million inhabitants. The company was formerly known as Compania Chilena Metropolitana de Distribucion Electrica S.A and changed its name to Enersis S.A. in August 1988. Enersis S.A. was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in Santiago, Chile. Enersis S.A. is a subsidiary of Endesa Latinoamerica S.A.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  European stocks were little changed at a one-week high as companies from Eni SpA (ENI) to Volkswagen AG posted profit that exceeded estimates, while a gauge of telecommunications companies retreated.