Saturday, March 14, 2015

Best Gas Stocks To Own For 2014

Dividend stocks are everywhere, but many just downright stink. In some cases, the business model is in serious jeopardy, or the dividend itself isn't sustainable. In others, the dividend is so low, it's not even worth the paper your dividend check is printed on. A�solid dividend�strikes the right balance of growth, value, and sustainability.

Today, and one day each week for the rest of the year, we're going to look at one dividend-paying company that you can put in your portfolio for the long term without too much concern. This isn't to say that these stocks don't share the same macro risks that other companies have, but they are a step above your common grade of dividend stock. Check out�last week's selection.

This week, we'll turn out attention to the gambling sector to a company that has been anything but a gamble for investors, Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS  ) , and discuss why it makes for an excellent dividend stock you can buy right now.

Always bet on red
The knock against the casino sector is twofold. First, the capital investment needed to build resorts and casinos is phenomenally high, which often puts casinos deeply into debt. If the cash flow is there and the equity level is high, this isn't a problem. In other cases it's downright scary. Take Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR  ) , for example, which has roughly $19.5 billion in net debt and could have trouble keeping up with its interest payments if it takes on any additional debt.

Top 10 Forestry Companies To Own In Right Now: Pioneer Exploration Inc (PIEX)

Pioneer Exploration Inc. (Pioneer) is an exploration-stage company. The Company is primarily engaged in the acquisition and exploration of mining properties.

As of August 31, 2012, the Company has not generated any revenue. As of August 31, 2012, the Company does not have any manufacturing facilities, operations, suppliers, products, or customers.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Peter Graham]

    Small cap stocks Metrospaces Inc (OTCMKTS: MSPC), LEEP INC (OTCMKTS: LPPI) and Pioneer Exploration Inc (OTCMKTS: PIEX) have been getting some attention lately due to either promotions or share trading activity. Unfortunately, there are still unanswered questions about these three ��ark horse��stocks which make it more difficult for investors and traders alike to evaluate. With that in mind, let�� try to shine the light on what we know about all three small caps:

Best Gas Stocks To Own For 2014: TC PipeLines LP (TCP)

TC PipeLines, LP (the Partnership), incorporated on December 16, 1998, acquires, owns and participates in the management of energy infrastructure businesses in North America. The Company�� pipeline systems transport natural gas in the United States. The Partnership is managed by the Company�� General Partner, which is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of TransCanada. The Company has equity ownership interests in four natural gas interstate pipeline systems. The Company�� pipeline systems include Great Lakes, Northern Border, GTN, Bison, North Baja and Tuscarora. The Company owns 46.45% interest in Great Lakes. Great Lakes connect with the TransCanada Mainline at the Canadian border near Emerson, Manitoba, Canada and St. Clair, Michigan, near Detroit. Great Lakes are a bi-directional pipeline that can receive and deliver natural gas at multiple points along its system. In July 2013, TC PipeLines, LP announced the closing of its acquisition of an additional 45% interest in each of Gas Transmission Northwest LLC (GTN) and Bison Pipeline LLC (Bison) from subsidiaries of TransCanada Corporation.

The Company owns 50% interest in Northern Border. Northern Border Extends between the Canadian borders near Port of Morgan, Montana to a terminus near North Hayden, Indiana, south of Chicago. Northern Border is capable of receiving natural gas from Canada, the Williston Basin and Rockies Basin. The Company owns 25% interest in GTN. GTN extends between an interconnection near Kingsgate, British Columbia, Canada at the Canadian Border to a point near Malin, Oregon at the California border. The Company owns 25% interest Bison. Bison extends from a location near Gillette, Wyoming to Northern Border's pipeline system in North Dakota. The Company owns 100% interest in North Baja. North Baja extends between an interconnection with the El Paso Natural Gas Company pipeline near Ehrenberg, Arizona to an interconnection with a natural gas pipeline near Ogilby, California on the Mexican border. The Compa! ny owns 100% interest in Tuscarora. Tuscarora extends between GTN near Malin, Oregon to its terminus near Reno, Nevada and delivers natural gas in northeastern California and northwestern Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Robert Rapier]

    Next week�� issue will tackle the three remaining questions: one on MLP equivalents in Canada and Australia, one on Enbridge Energy Partners (NYSE: EEP) �and TC Pipelines (NYSE: TCP), and a third query on Access Midstream Partners (NYSE: ACMP), Crestwood Midstream Partners (NYSE: CMLP) and Mid-Con Energy Partners (Nasdaq: MCEP).

  • [By Rich Duprey]

    For holders of TCF Financials' (NYSE: TCP  ) non-convertible perpetual�7.5% Series A stock, the board of directors announced yesterday investors will receive $0.05 per share on August 30�to holders of record at the close of business on August 15.

  • [By Dividends4Life]

    TC PipeLines LP (TCP) has interests in over 5,550 interstate natural gas pipelines, including a 46.5% stake in Great Lakes Gas Transmission L.P.
    Yield: 6.3% | Years of Dividend Growth: 14

  • [By Robert Rapier]

    Last week,�TC PipeLines�(NYSE: TCP) outperformed all other MLPs, rising more than 20%. Another partnership sponsored by a Canadian midstream giant,�Enbridge Energy Partners�(NYSE: EEP), rallied 10%.

Best Gas Stocks To Own For 2014: MineralRite Corp (RITE)

MineralRite Corporation, formerly Royal Quantum Group Inc., incorporated on October 22, 1996, is a development-stage company. The Company is engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and gas and mineral properties. During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company acquired a 36% interest in the drilling and development of the Gleason 4-16 well located in Oklahoma. In April 2013, it acquired the entire share capital of Goldfield International Inc.

The Company owns 100% interest in 1,540 acres that consist of 77 claims of prospective uranium property. The prospective uranium property is located adjacent to the Sheep Mountain Mine in Fremont County, Central Wyoming, approximately 90 miles southwest of Casper, Wyoming.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Peter Graham]

    Small cap stocks MineralRite Corp (OTCMKTS: RITE), New China Global Inc (OTCMKTS: NCGI) and Metrospaces Inc (OTCMKTS: MSPC) have all been getting some extra attention lately in various investment newsletters thanks to a few paid promotions. Of course, there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed promotions or investor relations type of activities, but they can and often do backfire on unwary investors and traders alike. So how hot are these three small caps for investors? Here is a quick reality check:

Best Gas Stocks To Own For 2014: Western Gas Equity Partners LP (WGP)

Western Gas Equity Partners, LP, incorporated on September 11, 2007, was formed to own three types of partnership interests in Western Gas Partners, LP (WES). WES is a limited partnership formed by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation to own, operate, acquire and develop midstream energy assets. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had no independent operations. On January 13, 2012, WES acquired 100% interest of Mountain Gas Resources LLC (MGR). On August 1, 2012, WES acquired 24% interest of Chipeta Processing LLC (Chipeta).

WES is engaged in the business of gathering, processing, compressing, treating and transporting natural gas, condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and crude oil for Anadarko, as well as third-party producers and customers. The assets of WGP, through its partnership interests in WES, include thirteen gathering systems, seven natural gas treating facilities, ten natural gas processing facilities, two NGL pipelines, one interstate gas pipeline, one intrastate gas pipeline, and three separate interests in Fort Union, White Cliffs Pipeline, LLC (White Cliffs) and Rendezvous Gas Services, LLC (Rendezvous). These assets are located in East and West Texas, the Rocky Mountains (Colorado, Utah and Wyoming), and the Mid-Continent (Kansas and Oklahoma). WES also has facilities under construction in South Texas and northeast Colorado. During the year ended December 31, 2011, WES completed the construction of a cryogenic processing train at its Chipeta facility , which had a designed capacity of approximately 300 million cubic feet of natural gas per day and was placed into service in October 2012.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jonas Elmerraji]

    The exact same setup is potentially giving traders a reason to jump into shares of $8.5 billion midstream gas company Western Gas Equity Partners (WGP). Just like Flotek, WGP is forming a textbook channel up. And this week, Western Gas is testing trendline support.

    It's a little too early to call WGP's trendline buyable here. At some point, all trends eventually fail -- and when this one does, you don't want to be left holding the bag. A bounce this week will be a good indication that WGP can still catch a bid at this price level. When and if that happens, I'd recommend keeping a tight protective stop in place just below WGP's most recent swing low at $38.

    While the 50-day moving average has been crossing paths with WGP quite a bit in the last month, I'd recommend ignoring it. The average hasn't acted as a meaningful support or resistance level to date. In the case of this particular name, it's just not technically relevant.

Best Gas Stocks To Own For 2014: UGI Corporation (UGI)

UGI Corporation distributes, stores, transports, and markets energy products and related services in the United States and internationally. It distributes propane to approximately 2.3 million residential, commercial/industrial, motor fuel, agricultural, and wholesale customers in 50 states through 2,100 propane distribution locations; and sells, installs, and services propane appliances, including heating systems. The company also distributes liquid petroleum gas (LPG) to residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, and automobile fuel customers for space and water heating, cooking, process heat, forklifts, transportation, construction work, manufacturing, crop drying, power generation, and irrigation; and provides logistic and storage services to third-party LPG distributors. In addition, it distributes natural gas to approximately 600,000 customers primarily in the portions of 46 eastern and central Pennsylvania counties through its distribution system of 12,000 mi les of gas mains; and supplies electricity to approximately 60,000 customers in northeastern Pennsylvania through 2,100 miles of transmission and distribution lines, and 13 transmission substations. Further, the company is involved in the retail sale of natural gas, liquid fuels, and electricity to approximately 18,000 commercial and industrial customers at approximately 43,000 locations. Additionally, it operates electric generation facilities, which include solar and landfill gas facilities; a natural gas liquefaction, storage, and vaporization facility; propane storage and propane-air mixing stations; and rail transshipment terminals. The company also manages natural gas pipeline and storage contracts; and develops, owns, and operates pipelines, gathering infrastructure, and gas storage facilities. In addition, it provides heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, and electrical contracting services. The company was founded in 1882 and is based in King of Pru ssia, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Laura Brodbeck]

    Monday

    Earnings Releases Expected: UGI Corporation (NYSE: UGI), Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), First Bancorp. (NYSE: FBP) Economic Releases Expected: �Indian services PMI, Spanish services PMI, Italian services PMI, German services PMI, eurozone services PMI, British services PMI, German CPI, US ISM non-manufacturing PMI

    Tuesday

  • [By Laura Brodbeck]

    Monday

    Earnings Releases Expected: Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN), UGI Corporation (NYSE: UGI), Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE: CRM Economic Releases Expected: Hong Kong unemployment rate, eurozone current account, Spanish current account

    Tuesday

  • [By Rich Smith]

    AmeriGas Propane, the general partner of AmeriGas Partners (NYSE: APU  ) and subsidiary of propane distributor UGI (NYSE: UGI  ) , announced Monday that it has promoted its treasurer, Hugh J. Gallagher, to the position of company vice president for finance, and chief financial officer.

Friday, March 13, 2015

Hot Shipping Stocks To Own Right Now

Hot Shipping Stocks To Own Right Now: Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc (ARCO)

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc., incorporated on December 9, 2010, is a McDonalds franchisee. As of December 31, 2010, the Company operated or franchised 1,755 McDonalds-branded restaurants, which represented 6.7% of McDonalds total franchised restaurants globally. It operates McDonalds-branded restaurants under two different operating formats, Company-operated restaurants and franchised restaurants. As of December 31, 2010, of its 1,755 McDonalds-branded restaurants in the territories, 1,292 (or 74%) were Company-operated restaurants and 463 (or 26%) were franchised restaurants. It generates revenues from two sources: sales by Company-operated restaurants and revenues from franchised restaurants, which consist of rental income, which is based on the greater of a flat fee or a percentage of sales reported by franchised restaurants. As of December 31, 2010, it owned the land for 510 of its restaurants (totaling approximately 1.2 million square meters) and the bui ldings for all but 12 of its restaurants. It divides its operations into four geographical divisions: Brazil; the Caribbean division, consisting of Aruba, Curacao, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands of St. Croix and St. Thomas; North Latin America division (NOLAD), consisting of Costa Rica, Mexico and Panama, and South Latin America division (SLAD), consisting of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. As of December 31, 2010, 35.1% of its restaurants were located in Brazil, 29.7% in SLAD, 27.1% in NOLAD and 8.1% in the Caribbean division. The Company conducts its business through its indirect, wholly owned subsidiary Arcos Dorados B.V.

Company-Operated and Franchised Restaurants

The Company operates its McDonalds-branded restaurants under two basic structures: Company-operated restaurants operated by the Company and franchised restaurants operated by franchisee! s. Und er both operating alternatives the real estate location may either be owned or leased by the Company. It owns, fully manages and operates the Company-operated restaurants and retains any operating profits generated by such restaurants, after paying operating expenses and the franchise and other fees owed to McDonalds under the Master Franchise Agreements (MFAs). In Company-operated restaurants, it assumes the capital expenditures for the building and equipment of the restaurant and, if it owns the real estate location, for the land as well. Under its franchise arrangements, franchisees provide a portion of the capital required by initially investing in the equipment, signs, seating and decor of their restaurants, and by reinvesting in the business over time. It is required by the MFAs to own the real estate or to secure long-term leases for franchised restaurant sites. It subsequently leases or subleases the property to franchisees.

In exchange for the lease and services, franchisees pay a monthly rent to the Company, based on the greater of a fixed rent or a certain percentage of gross sales. In addition to this monthly rent, it collects the monthly continuing franchise fee, which generally is 5% of the United States dollar equivalent of the restaurants gross sales, and pays these fees to McDonalds pursuant to the MFAs. However, if a franchisee fails to pay its monthly continuing franchise fee, it remains liable for payment in full of these fees to McDonalds. As of December 31, 2010, it was engaged in several joint ventures, which collectively owned 24 restaurants, in Argentina, Chile and Colombia.

Restaurant Categories

The Company classifies its restaurants into one of four categories: freestanding, food court, in-store and mall stores. Freestanding restaurants are the type of restaurant, which have ample indoor seating and include a drive-through area. Food court restaurants are located in malls and consist of a front counter and kitchen and do not! have the! ir own seating area. In-store restaurants are part of a larger building and resemble freestanding restaurants, except for the lack of a drive-through area. Mall stores are located in malls like food court restaurants, but have their own seating areas. As of December 31, 2010, 808 (or 46.2%) of its restaurants were freestanding, 359 (or 20.5%) were food court, 265 (or 15.1%) were in-stores and 319 (or 18.2%) were mall stores. In addition, it has four non-traditional stores, such as food carts.

Reimaging

As of December 31, 2010, the Company had completed the reimaging of 308 of 1,569 restaurants. Many of the reimaging projects include the addition of McCafe locations to the restaurant. It has developed system-wide guidelines for the interior and exterior design of reimaged restaurants.

McCafe Locations and Dessert Centers

McCafe locations are stylish, sep arate areas within restaurants where customers can purchase a range of customizable beverages, including lattes, cappuccinos, mochas, hot and iced premium coffees and hot chocolate. As of December 31, 2010, there were 267 McCafe locations in the Territories, of which 12% were operated by franchisees. Argentina, with 71 locations, has McCafe locations, followed by Brazil, with 67 locations. In addition to McCafe locations, it has Dessert Centers. Dessert Centers operate from existing restaurants, but depend on them for supplies and operational support. As of December 31, 2010, there were 1,306 Dessert Centers in the Territories.

Product Offerings

The Companys menus feature three tiers of products: affordable entry-level options, such as its Big Pleasures, Small Prices or Combo del Dia (Daily Extra Value Meal) offerings, core menu options, such as the Big Mac, Happy Meal and Quarter Pounder, and premium options, such as Big Tasty or Angus premium hamburgers and chicken sandwiches and low-calorie or low-sodium products, which are marketed through common platforms rather tha! n as indi! vidual items. These platforms can be based on the type of products, such as beef, chicken, salads or desserts, or on the type of customer targeted, such as the childrens menu.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    Next Tuesday, Arcos Dorados (NYSE: ARCO  ) will release its latest quarterly results. The key to making smart investment decisions on stocks reporting earnings is to anticipate how they'll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you'll be less likely to make an uninformed knee-jerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.

  • [By Asit Sharma]

    Arcos Dorados' (NYSE: ARCO  ) stock has remained basically flat this year, as a strong U.S. dollar has weakened the company's earnings, which are derived almost entirely from Latin America. As an example, the company's Brazilian division sales were up almost 11% in 2012 versus the prior year on an organic basis, from $1.8 billion to more than $2.0 billion. However, due to the depreciation of the Brazilian real, the division's revenues actually decreased by $93 million in dollar terms. In the accompanying video, Fool contributor Asit Sharma discusses Arcos' recent results, and why he sees a buying opportunity in Arcos Dorados stock.

  • [By Roberto Pedone]

    Arcos Dorados (ARCO) operates and franchises McDonald's restaurants in Latin America. This stock closed up 7.7% to $13.33 in Wednesday's trading session.

    Wednesday's Volume: 3.81 million

    Three-Month Average Volume: 856,761

    Volume % Change: 333%

    From a technical perspective, ARCO soared higher here back above both its 50-day moving average at $12.31 and its 200-day moving average at $12.86 with heavy upside volume. This move has now taken shares of ARCO out of its downtrend and the stock closed strong near the highs of the day. Shares of ARCO are now moving within rang! e of trig! gering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if ARCO manages to take out its intraday high of $13.42 and then once it clears more resistance at $14.35 with high volume.

    Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ARCO as long as it's trending above its 200-day at $12.86 or its 50-day at $12.31 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 856,761 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then ARCO will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $15.52 to its 52-week high at $16. Any high-volume move above those levels will then give ARCO a chance to tag $18 to $19.

  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Latin American McDonald's franchiseeArcos Dorados (NYSE: ARCO  ) announced today its second-quarter dividend of $0.0596per share on its Class A and Class B stock, slightly lower than the steady rate of $0.0597 per share it's paid since 2011.

  • source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/hot-shipping-stocks-to-own-right-now.html

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Top 10 Promising Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Popular Posts: 3 Well-Known Stocks to Sell13F Filings – Don’t Follow Warren Buffett Blindly5 Biotech Stocks Promising Future Rewards Recent Posts: Apollo (APOL), DeVry (DV) Stay Ahead of the Class Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) Is a Buy After Solid Earnings These 2 Stocks Will Win Back-to-School View All Posts Apollo (APOL), DeVry (DV) Stay Ahead of the Class

While students all over the U.S. head back to school, government regulators and investigators seem like the only ones showing up at for-profit education campuses. The for-profit education industry has been under fire for several years now for its marketing and financing programs, and the hits just keep coming.

Top 10 Solar Companies To Watch In Right Now: Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (PBR.A)

Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras (Petrobras) is a Brazilian integrated oil and gas company. It operates in five segments: exploration and production; refining, commercialization and transport of oil and natural gas; petrochemicals; distribution of derivatives, electrical energy, biofuels and other renewable energy sources. Directly or through its subsidiaries, Petrobras is engaged in the research, extraction, refining, processing, commercialization and transport of oil from wells, shales and other rocks, its derivatives, natural gas and other liquid hydrocarbons, as well as in activities related to energy, promoting research, development, production, transport, distribution and commercialization of all forms of energy. As of December 31, 2010, it had 132 production platforms, 16 refineries, 291 vessels, 29,398 kilometers of pipelines, six biofuel plants, 16 thermoelectric plants, one pilot wind farm, 8,477 service stations and two fertilizer plants, as well as presence in 30 countries.

Exploration and Production

The domestic oil and gas exploration and production efforts are focused on the three basins offshore in Southeastern Brazil: Campos, Espirito Santo and Santos. The Campos Basin, which covers approximately 115,000 square kilometers (28.4 million acres) is the oil and gas basin in Brazil. At December 31, 2009, the Company was producing from 41 fields at an average rate of 1,693.6 mbbl/d of oil and held proved crude oil reserves representing 90% of the total proved crude oil reserves in Brazil. At December 31, 2009, the Company held proved natural gas reserves in the Campos Basin representing 53% of the total proved natural gas reserves in Brazil. It operated 38 floating production systems, 14 fixed platforms and 5,472 kilometers (3,400.3 miles) of pipeline and flexible pipes in water depths from 80 to 1,886 meters (262 to 6,188 feet). At December 31, 2009, the Company held exploration rights to 21 blocks in the Campos Basin, comprising 5884 square kilometers (1.4 millio! n acres)..

Petrobras have made discoveries of light oil and natural gas in the Espirito Santo Basin, which covers approximately 75000 square kilometers (18.5 million acres) offshore and 14,000 square kilometers (3.5 million acres) onshore. At December 31, 2009, the Company was producing from 46 fields at an average rate of 40.9 thousand barrels per day (mbbl/d) and held proved crude oil reserves, representing 1% of the total proved crude oil reserves in Brazil. On December 31, 2009, the Company held exploration rights to 23 blocks, six onshore and 17 offshore, comprising 8623 square kilometers (2.1 million acres).

The Santos Basin covers approximately 348,900 square kilometers (86 million acres) off the city of Santos, in the State of Sao Paulo. At December 31, 2009, the Company produced oil from two fields and one exploration area at an average rate of 14.4 mbbl/d and held proved crude oil reserves representing 1% of the total proved crude oil reserves in Brazil. It produces hydrocarbons and hold exploration acreage in eight other basins in Brazil.

Refining, Transportation and Marketing

As of December 31, 2009, the Company operated 92% of Brazil�� total refining capacity and supplied almost all of the refined product needs of third-party wholesalers, exporters and petrochemical companies. As of December 31, 2009, the Company owned and operated 11 refineries in Brazil, with a total net distillation capacity of 1,942 mbbl/d. It operates an infrastructure of pipelines and terminals and a shipping fleet to transport oil products and crude oil to domestic and export markets. The refineries are located near the crude oil pipelines, storage, facilities, refined product pipelines and petrochemical facilities, facilitating access to crude oil supplies and other users.The segment also includes petrochemical and fertilizer operations. As at December 31, 2009, the refining capacity in Brazil was 1,942 mbbl/d and the average throughput was 1,791 mbbl/d.

T! he Company owns and operates a network of crude oil and oil products pipelines in Brazil that connect the terminals, refineries and other primary distribution points. On December 31, 2009, the onshore and offshore, crude oil and oil products pipelines extended 13,996 kilometers (8,698 miles). It operates 27 marine storage terminals and 20 other tank farms with nominal aggregate storage capacity of 65 million barrels. The marine terminals handle an average 10,000 tankers annually.

The Company operates a fleet of owned and chartered vessels. It provides shuttle services between the producing basins offshore Brazil and the Brazilian mainland, domestic shipping and international shipping to other parts of South America, the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, Europe, West Africa and the Middle East. The fleet includes double-hulled vessels and single-hulled vessels, which operate in South America and Africa only.

Distribution

The distribution segment sells oil products, which are produced by the supply operations. At December 31, 2009, the BR network included 7,221 service stations, or 19.2% of the stations in Brazil. The Company supplies and operates Petrobras Distribuidora S.A., which accounts for 38% of the total Brazilian distribution market. BR distributes oil products, ethanol and biodiesel, and vehicular natural gas to retail, commercial and industrial customers. In 2009, BR sold the equivalent of 767.4 mbbl/d of oil products and other fuels to wholesale and retail customers.

The Company also distributes oil products and biofuels under the BR brand to commercial and industrial customers. The customers include aviation, transportation and industrial companies, as well as utilities and government entities. It also sells oil products produced by the Supply operations to other retailers and to wholesalers.

Gas and Power

The natural gas business includes four activities: transportation (building and operating natural gas pipel! ine netwo! rks in Brazil), acquisition and regasification of LNG, equity participation in distribution companies, which sell natural gas to the users, and commercialization (purchase and resale). In January 2009, the Company completed construction of two LNG terminals, one in Rio de Janeiro with a send-out capacity of 20 mmm3 /d (706 mmcf/d).

International

The Company have operations in 24 countries outside Brazil, which encompasses all phases of the energy business. It is focusing the international upstream activities in the Gulf of Mexico and West Africa. During 2009, the Company conducted exploration and production activities in 21 countries outside Brazil (Angola, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, the United States, India, Iran, Libya, Mexico, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Portugal, Senegal, Tanzania, Turkey, Uruguay and Venezuela). At December 31, 2009, the total assets of the International Segment represented 7.4% of the Company�� total assets.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rudy Martin]

    In addition, we recommend buying shares in Brazilian energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras S.A. (PBR.A).

    Despite a gradual rise in crude oil prices, problems with Brazil's economy, compounded by obstacles in Petrobras's scramble to finance significant on-shore and off-shore hydrocarbon discoveries, have ganged up to erode PBR.A's stock price this year.

Top 10 Promising Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Sally Beauty Holdings Inc.(SBH)

Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution and retail of professional beauty supplies primarily in North America, South America, and Europe. The company operates in two segments, Sally Beauty Supply and Beauty Systems Group. The Sally Beauty Supply segment operates a chain of cash and carry retail stores that provide various third-party branded and exclusive-label professional beauty supplies, including hair color products, hair care products, hair dryers and hair styling appliances, skin and nail care products, and other beauty items to retail consumers and salon professionals. This segment sells various third-party brands, such as Clairol, Revlon, and Conair, as well as a selection of exclusive-label merchandise. The Beauty Systems Group segment distributes professional brands of beauty products directly to salons and salon professionals through its sales force and professional-only stores. This segment operates stores under the Co smoProf service mark. It sells a range of third-party brands, such as Paul Mitchell, Wella, Sebastian, Goldwell, Joico, and TIGI. As of September 30, 2011, the company operated a multi-channel platform of 4,128 company-owned stores, 181 franchised stores, and 1,116 professional distributor sales consultants in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Chile, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, France, Germany, and Spain. Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Denton, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Grace L. Williams]

    Investors got ugly on beauty supplier Sally Beauty Holdings (SBH) and shares tumbled 14.4% in trading after it reported a disappointing fiscal third quarter.

    For the period ended June 30, Sally Beauty reported earnings of $72.5 million, or of 42 cents a shares, up from $69.5 million, or 37 cents, a year prior. Sally Beauty also reported revenue of $912.1 million.

    Analysts polled by Factset forecasted earnings of $930.5 million.

    In a press release on the company�� website, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gary Winterhalter noted some of the headwinds from the quarter and said, ��tore traffic from the non-Beauty Club Card customer in the Sally U.S. business was soft. We��e launched several initiatives specifically to address this customer and remain optimistic that traffic will recover over the next few months.��/p>

    Shares are up 16% in the past year.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    From a practical perspective, the biggest issue concerns what this means for Home Depot’s near-term traffic. In a very low case, if we assume that Home Depot comps are down -1% to flat in 3Q (vs. our current est. of a 5% gain; a big change), it could shave $0.05-$0.10 off our current estimate of $1.12. However, we don’t think the fallout will be that severe. We believe Home Depot was comping in the mid-to-high single digit range through Labor Day and the next two months represent a smaller pro rata share of the quarter. Also, the fact that multiple breaches have occurred at several different retailers probably means that consumers are less likely to put the blame on each subsequent victim. Said another way, there’s a growing chance consumers increasingly accept the idea that fraud is a cost of the digital economy. We have no proof, but suspect that will be the case…For some context, we looked at Target (TGT), Sally Beauty Holdings (SBH), Michaels Companies (MIK), and others who have experienced data breaches. We found that most companies saw a sequential comp improvement in the quarter subsequent to the breach. But, the average stock performance lagged the S&P in the 2 months following the announcement.

Top 10 Promising Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Dover Corp (DOV)

Dover Corporation (Dover), incorporated in 1947, manufactures a range of specialized products and components and also offers related services and consumables. The Company operates in four segments: Communication Technologies, Energy, Engineered Systems, and Printing & Identification. In July 2011, it acquired Sound Solutions from NXP Semiconductors N.V. In September 2011, the Company sold Crenlo, LLC and Paladin Brands of Cedar Rapids. In October 2011, the Company acquired Oil Lift Technology. In November 2011, it acquired Advansor A/S. In November 2011, the Company realigned into four business segments, which includes Communication Technologies, Energy, Engineered Systems and Printing & Identification. In December 2011, the Company sold Heil Trailer International. In March 2012, the Company acquired Maag Group (Maag).

Communication Technologies

Dover Communication Technologies is engaged in the design and manufacture of products and components in the communications, life sciences, aerospace/industrial, defense, and telecommunication/other markets. The Company�� Communication Technologies focuses on markets, such as life sciences, aerospace/industrial, defense and telecommunication/other. Communication Technologies��products are manufactured primarily in North America, Europe and Asia. Its businesses serves the communications market design, manufacture and assemble micro-acoustic audio input and output components for use principally in personal mobile handsets. Life sciences businesses serves the life sciences market manufacture advanced miniaturized receivers and electromechanical components for use in hearing aids, connectors for use in a variety of medical devices and bio processing applications, and specialized components for use in implantable devices and medical equipment. Its aerospace/industrial businesses serves the aerospace/industrial markets manufacture precision engineered components and aftermarket parts across a range of market applications. In the commerci! al aerospace market, its businesses design and manufacture specialty hydraulics, fasteners, bearings, switches and filters sold to both original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and as aftermarket products. It also design and manufacture frequency control components, electromechanical switches, multi-layered capacitors, filters and quick disconnect couplings serving the general industrial markets. Its defense businesses serves the defense market manufacture specialty hydraulics, mechanical and frequency control communication components, serving shipboard applications, strategic mission critical parts on key Airborne programs and Command and Control communications. Its telecommunication/other businesses serves the telecommunication/other markets manufacture frequency control components for wired and wireless network base station communications that ensure precise signal timing and filters for non-interrupted access across high speed networks.

Energy

The Company�� Energy segment serves the oil, gas and power generation industries. It consists of lines of business, which include drilling, production and downstream. The drilling businesses serves the drilling market design and manufacture products, including long-lasting polycrystalline diamond cutters (PDCs) for applications in down-hole drilling tools and quartz pressure transducers and hybrid electronics used in down-hole tools and monitoring devices. Its production businesses serves the production market design and manufacture products and components that facilitate the extraction and movement of fuel from the ground, including steel sucker rods, down-hole rod pumps, progressive cavity pumps and drive systems, plunger lifts, and accessories used in artificial lift applications in oil and gas production; pressure, temperature and flow monitoring equipment used in oil and gas exploration and production applications, and control valves and instrumentation for oil and gas production. In addition, these businesses manufacture vario! us compre! ssor parts that are being used in the natural gas production, distribution and oil refining markets; and winches, hoists, gear drives, swing drives, auger drives, slewing ring bearings, hydraulic pump and electronic monitoring solutions for energy, infrastructure and recovery markets worldwide. Its downstream businesses serve the downstream market produce systems and products that support transportation and handling of fuel, hazardous liquids and dry-bulk commodities. Vehicle fuel dispensing products include conventional, vapor recovery, and clean energy (liquid petroleum gas (LPG), compressed natural gas, and Hydrogen) nozzles, swivels and breakaways, as well as tank pressure management systems. Products manufactured for the transportation, storage and processing of hazardous liquid and dry-bulk commodities include relief valves, loading/unloading angle valves, rupture disc devices, actuator systems, level measurement gauges, swivel joints, butterfly valves, lined ball valves, aeration systems, industrial access ports, manholes, hatches, collars, weld rings and fill covers. In addition, it offer bearings, bearing isolators, seals and remote condition monitoring systems that are used for rotating machinery applications, such as turbo machinery, motors, generators and compressors used in energy, utility, marine and other industries.

Engineered Systems

Dover Engineered Systems is engaged in the fluids systems, refrigeration and food equipment, waste and recycling, and industrial markets. Dover Engineered Systems combines its engineering technology, product advantages, and applications to address market needs and requirements.

The Fluid Solutions platform designs and manufactures pumps, compressors, and chemical proportioning and dispensing products. The pumps and compressors are used to transfer liquid and bulk products and are sold to a wide variety of markets, including the refined fuels, LPG, pulp and paper, wastewater, food/sanitary, military, transportation and ! chemical ! process industries. The pumps include centrifugal, reciprocating (double diaphragm) and rotary pumps that are used in demanding and specialized fluid transfer process applications. The chemical portioning and dispensing systems are used to dilute and dispense concentrated cleaning chemicals and are sold to the food service, health care, supermarket, institutional, school, building service contractor and industrial markets. In addition, the platform manufactures copper-brazed compact heat exchangers, and designs software for heating and cooling substations. Fluid Solutions products are manufactured in the United States, South America, Asia and Europe. Its refrigeration and food equipment businesses manufacture refrigeration systems, refrigeration display cases, walk-in coolers and freezers, electrical distribution products and engineering services, commercial foodservice equipment, cook-chill production systems, custom food storage and preparation products, kitchen ventilation systems, conveyer systems, beverage can-making machinery, and packaging machines used for meat, poultry and other food products. The waste and recycling business in the solid waste management market provides products and services for the refuse collection industry and for on-site processing and compaction of trash and recyclable materials. Products are sold to municipal customers, national accounts and independent waste haulers through a network of distributors and directly in certain geographic areas. The Company also serves the vehicle service and industrial automation markets, providing a range of products and services that are utilized in vehicle services, maintenance, washing, repair and modification. The businesses in the industrial automation market provide a range of modular automation components including manual clamps, power clamps, rotary and linear mechanical indexers, conveyors, pick and place units, glove ports and manipulators as well as end-of-arm robotic grippers, slides and end effectors. These products serve a ra! nge of ma! rket, including food processing, packaging, paper processing, medical, electronic, automotive, nuclear, and general industrial products. These products are produced in the North America, Europe and Asia.

Printing & Identification

Dover Printing & Identification is a supplier of precision marking and coding, dispensing, printing, soldering, coating, inspection and testing equipment and related consumables and services. It provides its services in fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), industrial, and electronics.

FMCG businesses serves this market primarily design and manufacture marking and coding products used for printing variable information, such as date codes and serial numbers on food, beverage, consumer goods, and pharmaceutical products. Its industrial products used by the industrial market are primarily marking and coding, bar code and portable printers, and fluid dispensing related products serving a number of industrial end markets, including aerospace, cable, military, material packaging, industrial assembly, and medical devices. Additional products include a range of marking solutions leveraged for secondary packaging, such as cartons and pallets for use in warehouse logistics operations, and bar code printers and portable printers.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Monica Gerson]

    Dover (NYSE: DOV) is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $1.01 per share on revenue of $1.87 billion.

    Pepsico (NYSE: PEP) is estimated to report its Q1 earnings at $0.75 per share on revenue of $12.40 billion.

  • [By Vera Yuan]

    During the quarter, the Fund initiated positions in eight companies and strategically added to positions in sixteen companies. Over the same time period, the Fund eliminated its holdings in six companies and strategically decreased its holdings in another five companies. Positions initiated during the last three months include: Dorman Products, Inc. (DORM), Dover Corp. (DOV), DSW Inc. (DSW), First Niagara Financial Group (FNFG), Packaging Corporation of America (PKG), Patterson Companies, Inc. (PDCO), The Travelers Companies Inc. (TRV), and Universal Health Services Inc (UHS). Positions eliminated during the past quarter include: ABB Ltd. (ABB), Ann Inc. (ANN), Baxter International (BAX), International Game Technology (IGT), TRW Automotive Holdings (TRW), and URS Corporation (URS).

  • [By Monica Gerson]

    Dover (NYSE: DOV) is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $1.50 per share on revenue of $2.31 billion.

    The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $2.43 per share on revenue of $7.36 billion.

Top 10 Promising Stocks To Invest In Right Now: ONEOK Partners L.P.(OKS)

ONEOK Partners, L.P. engages in the gathering, processing, storage, and transportation of natural gas in the United States. The company?s Natural Gas Gathering and Processing segment gathers and processes natural gas produced from crude oil and natural gas wells located in the Mid-Continent region; and gathers natural gas in the Williston Basin, which spans portions of Montana and North Dakota, and the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. Its Natural Gas Pipelines segment primarily owns and operates regulated natural gas transmission pipelines, natural gas storage facilities, and natural gas gathering systems for non-processed gas. It also provides interstate natural gas transportation and storage services. This segment?s interstate natural gas pipeline assets transport natural gas through FERC-regulated interstate natural gas pipelines in North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. In addition, it transports intra state natural gas through its assets in Oklahoma; and owns underground natural gas storage facilities in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. Its Natural Gas Liquids segment gathers, fractionates, and treats natural gas liquids (NGLs), as well as stores NGL products primarily in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. This segment owns FERC-regulated natural gas liquids gathering and distribution pipelines in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Wyoming, and Colorado; terminal and storage facilities in Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois; and FERC-regulated natural gas liquids distribution and refined petroleum products pipelines in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana that connect its Mid-Continent assets with Midwest markets, including Chicago, Illinois. ONEOK Partners GP serves as the general partner of the company. The company was formerly known as Northern Border Partners, L.P. and changed its name to ONEOK Partners, L.P. in May 2006. The company was founded in 1993 and is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jim Jubak, Senior Markets Editor, MoneyShow.com]

    Units of ONEOK Partners (OKS), a member of my Dividend Income portfolio, have dropped 12.2% from March 28 to the close on August 23. That's brought the yield on this MLP (master limited partnership) to 5.69%.

  • [By Matt DiLallo]

    Midstream operator Oneok Partners (NYSE: OKS  ) announced last week that two of its many Bakken growth projects are now on line. The projects, the Bakken NGL Pipeline and the Stateline II natural gas processing plant, are providing much-needed natural gas infrastructure to the oil-focused Bakken. These two projects are just the beginning of the company's plans in the high-growth Bakken.

  • [By Seth Jayson]

    ONEOK Partners (NYSE: OKS  ) is expected to report Q1 earnings on April 30. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

    The 10-second takeaway
    Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict ONEOK Partners's revenues will expand 4.7% and EPS will decrease -35.2%.

  • [By Chris Hill]

    In honor of Father's Day, Ron and James share the best advice their fathers ever gave them and discuss why they're looking at shares of Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN  ) and ONEOK Partners (NYSE: OKS  ) .

Top 10 Promising Stocks To Invest In Right Now: ExactTarget Inc (ET)

ExactTarget, Inc. is a global provider of cross-channel, interactive marketing software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions. The Company�� solutions provide marketers with a suite of integrated applications. The Company�� suite of cross-channel, interactive marketing applications include e-mail, mobile, social media and sites, is built on its flexible multi-tenant SaaS platform. These channel applications are integrated with its campaign management, calendaring, dashboard, integrated reporting, marketing automation and data management tools. The Company also provides open application programming interfaces (APIs) and developer tools that allow third parties to embed its technology into their solutions and build applications on its platform. The Company generates revenue through the sale of subscriptions to its suite of cross-channel, interactive marketing SaaS solutions and the delivery of professional services. It serves a range of clients across many industries and sizes. Professional services revenue consists primarily of fees associated with training, implementation, integration, deliverability, campaign services and strategic consulting. In October 2012, it acquired iGoDigital.

The Company�� direct client base consisted of over 4,700 organizations as of June 30, 2012, ranging from enterprises to small businesses in numerous industries, including retail and e-commerce, media and entertainment, travel and hospitality, financial services and insurance, technology, daily-deal and flash-sale and marketing service providers. Among its direct clients are the United States-based companies, such as Ally Financial, Inc., Angie�� List, Inc., CareerBuilder, LLC, Groupon, Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, Oakley, Inc., OneAmerica Financial Partners, Inc., One King�� Lane, Inc., Papa John�� International, Inc., priceline.com Incorporated, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, Tommy Hilfiger Group, WellPoint, Inc. and Zappos.com, Inc. Companies also include Abril Gro! up (Brazil), Fairfax Media Limited (Australia), Icelandair Group (Iceland) and Telegraph Media Group Limited (United Kingdom).

Interactive Marketing Hub

The Interactive Marketing Hub provides marketers with a solution to engage in cross-channel marketing. The Interactive Marketing Hub integrates its e-mail, mobile, social media and sites Channel Applications with data management and marketing automation Hub Applications. Built on its cloud-based FUEL platform, these applications integrate with Hub Tools, which include a calendar, campaigns, dashboards and integrated reporting. Channel Applications provide interactive marketing engagement solutions to plan, automate, deliver and optimize messages across e-mail, mobile, social media and sites. The Company�� core edition is designed for small and medium-sized organizations, as well as departments within enterprises and provides content management tools, segmentation tools and reporting, such as opens, clicks, bounces and other performance metrics.

The Advanced Edition includes content syndication, dynamic content, relational data, advanced marketing automation, triggered and transactional communications for e-statements, alerts and order confirmations and advanced reporting. The Advanced Edition also provides full access to its FUEL platform�� open integration framework and developer tools that facilitates integration with other business systems and applications. Enterprise Edition is built for large, distributed enterprises that need centralized control and compliance for e-mail marketing communications. The Enterprise Edition includes international sending, advanced role and permission administration, content locking and sharing, and enterprise analytics and reporting. The Enterprise Edition can also include its Xpress Sending interface that enables non-technical users within distributed marketing organizations to create and send e-mails using pre-approved content via defined templates.

The Company� �s mobil! e applications enable marketers to create, automate, deliver personalized inbound and outbound short message service (SMS) mobile messages and support messaging in more than 80 countries worldwide. Through these applications, clients can easily create polls, quizzes, surveys, contests, mobile tickets, coupon redemption, SMS alerts and mobile opt-in for e-mail campaigns. Its social media applications provide solutions to manage engagement on social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook and integrate social data and interactions into cross-channel campaigns. SocialEngage (powered by CoTweet) provides a social media management application that enables teams to manage multiple social media accounts with administrator-defined user permissions and roles.

SocialPages provides a drag and drop interface that allows marketers to create, publish and manage branded Facebook pages and tabs that display content and incorporate engaging features, such as forms, YouTube videos, Flickr galleries and the Facebook Like button. The Company�� sites application provides a solution to drag and drop interface microsites into cross-channel marketing campaigns. Hub Applications provide capabilities for advanced cross-channel marketing automation, data management, customer data segmentation and analysis. Audience Builder provides a drag-and-drop interface that enables marketers to explore multiple data scenarios through filtering and segmentation to create target audiences in for any campaign or automated messaging series.

Automation Studio provides a drag and drop interface to plan, create and execute complex, multi-stage, recurring cross-channel campaigns based on consumer behavior, time or custom attributes. Automated communications can be triggered by events, such as product purchases, online registrations or Website browsing behavior. The Company�� Hub Tools enable integrated planning, cross-channel campaign management and reporting. Calendar provides a single view of planned and completed camp! aigns, ev! ents and interactions across e-mail, mobile, Facebook, Twitter and Websites. Campaigns enables marketers to define interactive marketing campaigns and associated content and interactions across e-mail, mobile, Facebook, Twitter and Websites.

Pulse provides dashboards that display information, such as the number of Facebook fans, Twitter followers, e-mail subscribers and current status of automated programs and engagement metrics, such as opens, clicks and conversions. Integrated Reporting provides contextual and reporting throughout its Interactive Marketing Hub. The Company�� applications are built and delivered on its cloud-based FUEL platform. FUEL provides an open integration framework, enabling clients and third-party application providers to integrate data from systems, such as customer relationship management (CRM), Web analytics, and e-commerce through its partner ecosystem of productized integrations with providers, such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM, salesforce.com, inc., SAP, and Adobe Omniture.

Common Data Model creates a cross-channel view of each consumer by aggregating online behavioral data, channel engagement history, communication preferences and other online or offline data. Security provides a single sign-on environment for all Interactive Marketing Hub applications secured by multiple technologies, including but not limited to two-factor authentication, Internet protocol (IP) whitelisting and IP blocking, and enables monitoring and alerting of system activity.

Developer Tools provide a library of user interface controls and APIs that enable developers to build applications with a common look and feel on its cloud-based platform. Integration Framework provides a suite of integration capabilities that include its open APIs, CRM and Web analytics integrations, Embedded/Xpress Marketing and HubExchange. Its Embedded/Xpress Marketing solution enables independent software vendors and developers to embed the functionality of its e-mail and mobile applic! ations di! rectly into their technology offerings. The Company�� HubExchange enables marketing technology providers to develop and sell applications built on its platform.

Services

The Company complements its suite of cross-channel, interactive marketing SaaS solutions with a range of professional services. Its collaborative and full-service offerings include Training, Implementation, Integration, Deliverability, Campaign Services and Strategic Consulting. The Company offers a variety of methods of introduction to its products, including self-help resources, Web-based and on-site training, enterprise workshops and train the trainer programs. Clients who purchase implementation services are assigned an implementation consultant who works with them to adopt and deployment its solutions. Through its platform�� integration framework, the Company�� applications can be integrated with CRM, Web analytics, e-commerce and other business systems. It provides consulting and program management to help clients define, develop and implement interactive communication strategies.

The Company competes with Aprimo, Inc., CheetahMail Inc., e-Dialog Inc., Eloqua Limited, Epsilon Data Management, LLC, Marketo, Inc., Responsys, Inc., Silverpop Systems Inc., StrongMail Systems, Inc., Unica Corporation, Yesmail, Buddy Media, Inc. and Radian6 Technologies, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Brian Pacampara]

    What: Shares of ExactTarget (NYSE: ET  ) soared 52% today after cloud technologist salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM  ) agreed to acquire the marketing software company for $2.5 billion.

  • [By Evan Niu, CFA]

    What: Shares of ExactTarget (NYSE: ET  ) missed the mark today, down by as much as 16% after the company reported earnings with weak guidance.

  • [By The GeoTeam]

    Our recent 2013 articles on SaaS companies Selectica (SLTC), E2open (EOPN), Responsys (MKTG), Vocus (VOCS), and ExactTarget (ET) highlighted such opportunities. The average return since the inception of our coverage currently stands at around 34% (55% at their highs).

  • [By GURUFOCUS]

    ExactTarget Inc. (ET) is a provider of cross channel interactive marketing solutions based in Indianapolis, IN. The company went public in November of 2012 at $19 and on June 4, 2013 received a $33.75 cash tender offer from Salesforce.com, a global leader in cloud computing based CRM software. The two companies had partnership agreements in the past, and this combination represents Saleforce.com's largest acquisition to date. The $2.5 billion offer, which came at a premium of over 50% to the previous close of ExactTarget shares, closed on July 12, 2013 for an annualized return of 1.74%.�
    From Mario Gabelli's third quarter 2013 commentary.

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

    Currently 0.00/512345

    Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes)

Top 10 Promising Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Pacific Biosciences of California Inc.(PACB)

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc., a development stage company, develops, manufactures, and markets an integrated platform for genetic analysis. The company engages in developing a technology platform that enables single molecule, real-time (SMRT) for the detection of biological processes. It primarily focuses on the deoxyribonucleic acid sequencing market. The company?s product includes the PacBio RS, a sequencing platform, which consists of an instrument platform that uses its proprietary consumables, such as SMRT Cells and reagent kits. The company?s customers include genome centers, genomics service providers, and agricultural companies, as well as clinical, government, and academic institutions. Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Geoff Gannon]

    1. Steel Excel (SXCL)
    2. FormFactor (FORM)
    3. Imation (IMN)
    4. Tuesday Morning (TUES)
    5. Pacific Biosciences (PACB)
    6. Maxygen (MAXY)
    7. Westell (WSTL)
    8. Volt Information Sciences (VISI)
    9. Yasheng Group (YHGG)

  • [By Alex Planes]

    However, Fool biotech expert Brian Orelli points out one big caveat: Once sequencing companies make these tests accessible, margins may collapse beyond the ability of volume sales to make up the difference. At least Illumina (and Life Tech) are in the driver's seat on margins, as it's unlikely that lesser-funded sequencing competitors Affymetrix (NASDAQ: AFFX  ) and Pacific Biosciences (NASDAQ: PACB  ) can muster the resources to push out sequencing at cost-effective scale before their peers.

Top 10 Promising Stocks To Invest In Right Now: PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio (PBW)

PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio (the Fund) is based on the WilderHill Clean Energy Index and seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund�� fees and expenses) of that equity index. The sectors covered by the Fund include Energy-Alternate Sources, Semiconductors, Electrical Components and Equipment, Chemicals, Electric, Electronics, Computers, Auto Parts and Equipment, Biotechnology and Agriculture. PowerShares Capital Management LLC is the Fund's investment adviser.

PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio�� top 10 holdings include SunPower Corp., Class A, Echelon Corp., Cypress Semiconductor Corp., Cree, Inc., First Solar, Inc., OM Group, Inc., Universal Display Corp., KYOCERA Corp. ADR (Japan), Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. ADR (Cayman Islands) and Applied Materials, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Selena Maranjian]

    Exchange-traded funds offer a convenient way to invest in sectors or niches that interest you. If you'd like to add some clean-energy-related stocks to your portfolio, the PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio ETF (NYSEMKT: PBW  ) could save you a lot of trouble. Instead of trying to figure out which companies will perform best, you can use this ETF to invest in lots of them simultaneously.

    The basics
    ETFs often sport lower expense ratios than their mutual fund cousins. The PowerShares ETF's expense ratio -- its annual fee -- is 0.70%. The fund is fairly small, too, so if you're thinking of buying, beware of possibly large spreads between its bid and ask prices. Consider using a limit order if you want to buy in.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Top 5 Income Companies To Invest In 2014

Last week, Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX  ) handed in an excellent second quarter, emphasizing the strengths that it has as a business, and pointing out the road that it has ahead of it. Wall Street wasn't blown away, and the stock dropped about 1% over the course of Friday. That's OK, though, because Starbucks met expectations, and proved that its current strategy is going along just fine.

In fact, it was more than just an average quarter, and comparable sales extended their long run of big gains. Revenue, operating margin, and income were all up as well, and management increased its fiscal-year guidance based on that strength. There are still some challenges ahead, but it looks more and more like those will turn into new sources of revenue as the company continues to grow.

Starbucks' strategy
Start with 1,500 new stores in the U.S., and you have a good idea of what the plan looks like. Starbucks has no intention of slowing down its expansion. More than 300 of those locations will be open this year, and we're not even talking about China yet. The company had an 8% increase in comparable sales in China, last quarter. That result helped Starbucks to global comparable-store sales growth of 6%, which made it the 13th quarter that the company exceeded 5% growth globally.

Top 5 Construction Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Unit Corporation(UNT)

Unit Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the contract drilling, oil and natural gas, and mid-stream businesses in the United States. The company?s Contract Drilling segment engages in land contract drilling of onshore oil and natural gas wells for oil and natural gas companies in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Montana, and North Dakota. Its Oil and Natural Gas segment is involved in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas properties located primarily in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, and North Dakota, as well as in Arkansas, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, Michigan, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and a small portion in Canada. As of December 31, 2011, this segment had approximately 121 gross proved undeveloped wells. The company?s Mid-Stream segment buys, sells, gathers, processes, and treats natural gas. It operates 3 natural gas treatment plants, 10 operating processing plants, 35 active gathering systems, and 934 miles of pipeline in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The company operates a fleet of 127 drilling rigs. Unit Corporation was founded in 1963 and is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Robert Rapier]

    Having said that, I can’t find anything in the article archives about Unit Corp. (NYSE: UNT). Unit describes itself as a diversified energy company engaged in the exploration for and production of oil and natural gas, the acquisition of producing oil and natural gas properties, the contract drilling of onshore oil and natural gas wells, and the gathering and processing of natural gas.

Top 5 Income Companies To Invest In 2014: RF Micro Devices Inc.(RFMD)

RF Micro Devices, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and markets radio frequency (RF) components and compound semiconductor technologies in the United States and internationally. Its products enable mobility, as well as provide connectivity and support functionality in the cellular handsets, wireless infrastructure, wireless local area networks, cable television /broadband, Smart Energy/advanced metering infrastructure, and aerospace and defense markets. The company offers products that range from single-function components to highly integrated circuits and multi-chip modules (MCMs). Its integrated circuit products include gain blocks, low noise amplifiers, power amplifiers (PAs), receivers, transmitters, transceivers, modulators, demodulators, attenuators, switches, frequency synthesizers, and voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs); MCM products consist of PA modules, switch-filter modules, active antenna products, VCOs, phase-locked loops, coaxial resonator oscillators , active mixers, variable gain amplifiers, hybrid amplifiers, power doublers, and optical receivers; and passive components consist of splitters, couplers, mixers, and transformers, as well as isolators and circulators. The company markets its products to original equipment manufacturers and original design manufacturers. RF Micro Devices, Inc. was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Selena Maranjian]

    Finally, Soros's biggest closed positions included JPMorgan Chase�and General Electric. Other closed positions of interest include RF Micro Devices (NASDAQ: RFMD  ) , which specializes in high-performance radio-frequency technology. The company received an analyst upgrade in March, due to its successful diversification away from Nokia�and its profitable growing presence in Samsung and Apple�devices. Since then, the stock has hit a 52-week high, and some are hoping that it will do a lot of business in China. Its recently reported fourth quarter featured revenue up 49%�over year-ago levels, but its free cash flow has been falling, while net income has also shrunk.

  • [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

    NXP isn't the only stock we believe will benefit from this iPhone 6 rollout. In a recent report, we also said that chipmaker RF Micro Devices Inc. (Nasdaq: RFMD) - another previous Private Briefing recommendation - figures to benefit in a big way, too.

  • [By Timothy Green]

    RF Micro Devices (NASDAQ: RFMD  ) , an RF component supplier to the smartphone industry, has made investors in the company happy this year. The stock has risen roughly 135% year to date, and an extremely positive earnings report along with a few other catalysts could mean further gains in the future. However, there are still plenty of risks facing RF Micro, and any one of these could stop the stock's rise in its tracks.

Top 5 Income Companies To Invest In 2014: Union Pacific Corporation(UNP)

Union Pacific Corporation, through its subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad Company, provides rail transportation services in North America. It has approximately 31,953 route miles linking Pacific Coast and Gulf Coast ports with the Midwest and eastern United States gateways, and provides several corridors to Mexican gateways. The company offers freight transportation services for agricultural products, including whole grains and related commodities, food, beverage products, corn for ethanol products and its by-products, animal feeds, fruits and vegetables, frozen meat, and poultry products; and automotive products, such as imported and finished vehicles, and automotive parts and materials. It also provides transportation services for chemicals, such as industrial chemicals, plastics, and liquid petroleum products; energy products comprising coal and coke; industrial products, including lumber products, paper and consumer goods, furniture and appliances, and nonferrous and i ndustrial minerals, as well as steel and construction products, such as rock, cement, and roofing materials; and intermodal containers. Union Pacific Corporation was founded in 1862 and is based in Omaha, Nebraska.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Monica Gerson]

    Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) is estimated to report its Q1 earnings at $2.37 per share on revenue of $5.70 billion.

    Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $1.20 per share on revenue of $11.49 billion.

  • [By Doug Ehrman]

    Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP  ) has the type of one-year stock chart that dreams are made of, marching steadily higher with very little volatility. Moving stuff around the country is a great business, and one that appears to produce the type of steady returns we'd all like to see in our portfolios. Unfortunately for holders of Union Pacific stock, Warren Buffett may be angling to spoil all of that.

  • [By Chuck Saletta]

    Speaking of those goals...
    Last week, two companies paid their dividends to the iPIG portfolio: railroad giant Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP  ) and car parts magnate Genuine Parts (NYSE: GPC  ) . Union Pacific's dividend added $4.14 to the iPIG portfolio's coffers, while Genuine Parts' added $12.36. Union Pacific has held its dividend steady for three quarters, while Genuine Parts has paid two dividends at its current level. Both companies have track records of annual increases, and the iPIG portfolio looks forward to seeing if that trend continues.

Top 5 Income Companies To Invest In 2014: Nuvo Research Inc (NRI)

Nuvo Research Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company. The Company is engaged in building a portfolio of products for the treatment of pain through internal research and development (R&D), in-licensing and acquisition. The Company�� product portfolio includes Pennsaid, Pliaglis and Synera. Through its subsidiary Nuvo Research AG, the Company is also developing the compound WF10, for the treatment of immune related diseases. The Company�� Pain Group located in West Chester, Pennsylvania is focused on the development and commercialization of topically delivered pain products, including Pennsaid. On May 12, 2011, the Company obtained control of ZARS Pharma, Inc. On December 13, 2011, the Company acquired remaining 40% interest in Nuvo Research AG. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By GuruFocus]

    There are at least three kinds of P/E ratios used by different investors. They are Trailing Twelve Month P/E Ratio or P/E (ttm), forward P/E, or P/E (NRI). A new P/E ratio based on inflation-adjusted normalized P/E ratio is called Shiller P/E, after Yale professor Robert Shiller.

Monday, March 9, 2015

Top Life Sciences Companies To Own For 2014

With shares of Corning (NYSE:GLW) trading around $17, is GLW an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework.

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Corning produces and sells specialty glasses, ceramics, and related materials worldwide. It operates in five segments: Display Technologies, Telecommunications, Environmental Technologies, Specialty Materials, and Life Sciences. Corning has launched Corning Lotus Glass, an environmentally friendly display glass for organic LED and LCD displays that are used in portable devices such as smartphones, tablets, and notebook computers. Smart phones, tablets, notebook computers, and their related materials are seeing explosive growth in developed and developing countries around the world.

Corning on Tuesday announced its results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2013.�Core earnings per share were 29 cents, an increase of 4 percent over last year�� fourth quarter and better than expected. GAAP earnings per share were 30 cents.�Core sales were $2 billion, a 2 percent decline from the comparable period last year.��013 was a very successful year for Corning,��Wendell P. Weeks, chairman, chief executive officer, and president, said in the earnings report. ��e achieved the company�� primary performance goal of restoring earnings growth. This was accomplished by regaining positive momentum in our LCD business and growing the earnings in our other segments. We also delivered on our commitment to enhance shareholder value by increasing the cash dividend and executing more than $1.5 billion in share repurchases. The company�� performance was recognized by a 41% improvement in the year�� share price, a result with which we are delighted.��/p>

Top Industrial Conglomerate Companies For 2015: Teekay Corporation(TK)

Teekay Corporation engages in the marine transportation of crude oil and gas in Bermuda and internationally. Its Shuttle Tanker and FSO segment operates shuttle tankers, and floating storage and off-take (FSO) units for offloading and transportation of cargo from oil field installations to onshore terminals; and provides floating storage services for oil field installations. The company?s FPSO segment provides floating production, processing, and storage services through floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) units. Its Liquefied Gas segment comprises liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas carriers. The company?s Conventional Tanker segment operates conventional crude oil and product tankers that are employed on long-term fixed-rate time-charter contracts. As of December 31, 2010, its fleet consisted of 151 vessels, including 11 vessels under construction. The company serves energy and utility companies, oil traders, oil and LNG consumers, p etroleum product producers, government agencies, and various other entities that depend upon marine transportation. Teekay Corporation was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Shares of Teekay (TK) have surged more than 15% this morning after the shipping company announced a new dividend policy after yesterday’s close. Deutsche Bank’s Amit Mehrotra think the news is good enough to be worthy of an upgrade for Teekay:

    Reuters

    We are upgrading our recommendation on shares of Teekay Corp. to Buy from Hold, and raising our 12-month price target to $90 from $68. The revision reflects the company’s bold new dividend strategy outlined after today’s market close and ahead of its analyst day tomorrow. The new plan includes an 80% increase in its annual dividend effective 1Q15 (to $2.25 at the midpoint vs. $1.265 today), and a policy aimed at linking future div increases to cash flow growth at its two MLP subsidiaries [Teekay LNG Partners (TGP) & Teekay Offshore Partners (TOO)]. The result should be 20%/year grow in Teekay’s dividend for the foreseeable future, which together with today’s increase, easily justify a $90+ share price in the relatively near-term.

    Investors clearly like the news. Shares of Teekay have soared 15% to $67.40 at 10:56 a.m., while Teekay LNG Partners has tricked up 0.3% to $43.56 and Teekay Offshore Partners is off 1.3% at $33.48.

  • [By Lisa Levin]

    Teekay (NYSE: TK) shares rose 13.26% to reach a new 52-week high of $66.10 after the company adopted a new dividend policy and announced its plans to increase dividend by 75%-80%.

  • [By Lisa Levin]

    Teekay (NYSE: TK) surged 14.67% to $66.92. The volume of Teekay shares traded 1390% higher than normal. Teekay adopted a new dividend policy and announced its plans to increase dividend by 75%-80%.

Top Life Sciences Companies To Own For 2014: MRG Metals Ltd (MRQ)

MRG Metals Limited is engaged in mineral exploration and production in Western Australia. The Company�� projects include the Xanadu gold project, the Mulgul copper prospect, the Braemore Battery prospect-Leonora, Diorite-Leonora and the Bellchambers. The Xanadu project consists of 14 prospecting license applications cover a total area of 26.7 square kilometers. The Mulgul exploration license application covers 336 square kilometers and is located 200 kilometers north of Meekatharra. The Company is acquiring nine granted prospecting licenses covering an area of 14.8 square kilometers, located five kilometers north of Leonora in the North-eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. Diorite is located 25 kilometers north of Leonora. There are three granted prospecting licenses covering an area of 5.42 square kilometers of greenstone lithologies. Effective June 28, 2013, MRG Metals Ltd (MRG) acquired Sasak Resources Australia Pty Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Magic Diligence]

    Neustar's Lines of Business1) Numbering Services: 53% of total revenue, grew 7% in most recent quarter (mrq). These consist of databases that allow number portability - allowing customers to keep the same phone number even when changing cellular carriers or moving to a new address in the same area. Neustar is currently the sole provider of these services to the number portability administration center, or NPAC. We'll come back to this important fact later.

  • [By Chuck Carnevale]

    In addition to rewarding their shareholders through dividend increases and capital appreciation, Aflac has also been using its prodigious cash flows to purchase shares and reduce share count. Fewer shares outstanding support their ability to grow earnings per share to the benefit of shareholders. Common shares outstanding have fallen from 531 million shares in fiscal 1998 to 466 million shares in their most recent quarter (MRQ).

Top Life Sciences Companies To Own For 2014: Quest Diagnostics Inc (DGX)

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (Quest Diagnostics), incorporated in 1990, is a provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, providing insights that enable patients and physicians to make healthcare decisions. Quest Diagnostics offers United States patients and physicians the access to diagnostic testing services through its nationwide network of laboratories and Company-owned patient service centers. The Company provides interpretive consultation through the medical and scientific staff. The Company is a provider of clinical testing, including gene-based and esoteric testing and anatomic pathology services, and the provider of risk assessment services for the life insurance industry. The Company also is a provider of testing for clinical trials and testing for drugs of abuse. Its diagnostics products business manufactures and markets diagnostic test kits and specialized point-of-care testing. On April 4, 2011, the Company acquired Athena Diagnostics (Athena). On May 17, 2011, the Company acquired Celera Corporation (Celera). In January 2012, the Company acquired S.E.D. Medical Laboratories. In December 2012, the Company sold all of the assets of OralDNA Labs salivary-diagnostics business to Access Genetics. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (Quest Diagnostics) is a provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, providing insights that enable patients and physicians to make healthcare decisions. Quest Diagnostics offers United States patients and physicians the access to diagnostic testing services through its nationwide network of laboratories and Company-owned patient service centers. The Company provides interpretive consultation through the medical and scientific staff. The Company is a provider of clinical testing and the provider of risk assessment services for the life insurance industry. The Company also is a provider of testing for clinical trials and testing for drugs of abuse. In January 2012, it acquired S.E.D. Medical Laboratories. In December 2012, it sold all of the ! assets of OralDNA Labs salivary-diagnostics business to Access Genetics. In January 2013, the Company acquired the Worcester -based clinical outreach laboratory business of UMass Memorial Medical Center.

Clinical Testing

The Company is a commercial clinical testing company. Physicians use clinical tests to assist in the detection, diagnosis, evaluation, monitoring and treatment of diseases and other medical conditions. Clinical testing is generally categorized as clinical laboratory testing and anatomic pathology services. The Company offers customers the access to the test menu of clinical laboratory and anatomic pathology tests in the United States. Clinical laboratory testing generally is performed on whole blood, serum, plasma and other body fluids, such as urine, and specimens such as microbiology samples.

The Company is a provider of routine clinical testing, including testing for drugs of abuse. The Company performs routine testing through its network of laboratories and rapid response laboratories. The Company also performs routine testing at hospital laboratories that the Company manages. The Company operates laboratories round the clock. The majority of test results are delivered electronically. Routine tests measure various bodily health parameters, such as the functions of the kidney, heart, liver, thyroid and other organs. Commonly ordered tests include blood chemistries, including cholesterol levels; complete blood cell counts; urinalysis; pregnancy and other prenatal tests, and routine microbiology testing.

The Company is a provider of anatomic pathology services in the United States, through its AmeriPath, Dermpath Diagnostics and Quest Diagnostics brands. Anatomic pathology involves the diagnosis of cancer and other diseases and medical conditions through examination of tissue and cell samples taken from patients. The Company provides inpatient anatomic pathology and medical director services at hospitals throughout the country, and through ! its labor! atories. The Company provides a range of services to all anatomic pathology subspecialties. The Company provides integrated, reports that include both anatomic pathology and clinical pathology tests, enabling its pathologists to offer patients and physicians a complete analysis. The Company introduced the Leumeta family of tests for leukemia and lymphoma.

The Company is a provider in the United States of gene-based and esoteric testing. Esoteric tests include procedures in the areas of molecular diagnostics, protein chemistry, cellular immunology and advanced microbiology. Commonly ordered esoteric tests include viral and bacterial detection tests, drug therapy monitoring tests, genetic tests, autoimmune panels and complex cancer evaluations. During the year ended December 31, 2011, it acquired Athena Diagnostics, a provider of neurology testing. Its esoteric laboratories provide reference testing services to physicians, academic medical centers, hospitals and other commercial laboratories. The Company also offers gene-based tests for the predisposition, diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of cancers. The Company develops tests at its laboratories, such as Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute. It also develops techniques and services in anatomic pathology.

In 2011, the Company introduced its melanoma treatment selection mutation panel, which is designed to assist in the personalized selection of patient therapies. The Company introduced its thyroid cancer mutation panel, which assists in the diagnosis of thyroid cancer and aids physicians and surgeons as they plan surgery and other therapies to treat and attempt to cure thyroid cancer. During 2011, it enhanced its SureSwab Vaginosis/Vaginitis Plus test. The Company introduced Accutype IL28b, a test designed to aid in the prediction of patient response to peginterferon alpha-based therapy for treating hepatitis C virus infection. In 2011, it introduced testing for very long chain fatty acids, to assist in diagnosis and monitori! ng of inh! erited disorders of fatty acid metabolism. It also introduced high resolution chromosomal analysis testing with oligonucleotide microarrays to enhance its testing services in the pre-natal and post-natal genetics areas. During 2011, the Company released a test for therapeutic drug monitoring of dabigatran, an oral anti-coagulant. The Company also released genetic testing for SLC01B1, which helps identify patients at risk for myopathy from Simvastatin therapy for cholesterol reduction. Through Athena Diagnostics, it launched several molecular genetic tests for stroke, neuromuscular diseases and mitochondrial disorders.

Healthcare Information Technology

The Company provides interoperable technologies that help healthcare organizations and physicians enter, share and access clinical information without costly information technology (IT) implementation or workflow disruption, including through its Care360 suite of products and its ChartMaxx electronic document management system for hospitals. These solutions offer access to a national healthcare provider network, including approximately 200,000 networked physicians and clinicians using Quest Diagnostics��Care360 connectivity products. The Care360 products, including its Care360 Labs and Meds, enable physicians electronically to order diagnostic tests and review test results from Quest Diagnostics and electronically to prescribe medication. As of December 31, 2011, prescriptions were written through Care360 ePrescribing at an annualized rate of 32 million medications. Using its Care360 connectivity products, physicians can securely provide diagnostic and other data to a patient�� account. It offers Gazelle, a secure mobile health platform that allows users to receive their Quest Diagnostics laboratory results, manage their personal health information, find a Quest Diagnostics location and schedule appointments directly from their smartphone.

Clinical Trials Testing

The Company is a provider of central l! aboratory! testing performed in connection with clinical research trials on new drugs, vaccines and certain medical devices. It has clinical trials testing centers in the United States and the United Kingdom, and it provides clinical trials testing in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, the People�� Republic of China and Singapore through affiliated laboratories. The Company has biomarker capabilities. In 2011, it acquired Celera, enhancing its ability to provide biomarker discovery and develop IVD test kits.

Life Insurer Services

The Company is a provider of risk assessment services to the life insurance industry in North America. It also provides risk assessment services for insurance companies doing business in many countries outside the United States. Its risk assessment services comprise underwriting support services to the life insurance industry, including laboratory testing, electronic data collection, specimen collection and paramedical examinations, medical record retrieval, case management, motor vehicle reports, telephone inspections, prescription histories and credit checks. The laboratory tests that it performs and data it gathers are designed to assist insurance companies to objectively evaluate the mortality risks of policy applicants. The majority of the testing is performed on specimens of life insurance applicants, but also includes specimens of applicants for other types of insurance. Most of its specimen collections and paramedical examinations are performed by its network of approximately 5,000 contracted paramedical examiners at the applicant�� home or workplace. The Company also offers paramedical examinations through approximately 500 of its patient service centers, and operate approximately 80 locations other than patient service centers in the United States and Canada where the Company provides paramedical examinations, bringing to approximately 580 the total number of sites where it can provide these examinations. The Company also contracts with third parties at over! an addit! ional 200 locations globally to coordinate providing these exams.

Employer Services

The Company is a provider of testing to employers for the detection of employee use of drugs of abuse. Its Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index, which is an annual report of its aggregate drug testing results, is used by employers, the federal government and the media to help identify and quantify drug abuse among the nation�� workforce. It provides a range of solutions for drugs of abuse, including urine, hair, blood and oral fluid tests. In 2011, it introduced Oral-Eze, its own oral fluid collection system that simplifies the collection of oral samples for routine drug testing. The Oral-Eze Oral Fluid Collector provides all the advantages of previous collection systems, with the added benefit of its indicator window technology. The Company provides wellness testing and analytic services to employers.

Diagnostic Products

Diagnostic Products include point-of-care, or near-patient and testing. The Company develops and manufactures products that enable healthcare professionals to make healthcare diagnoses, including products for point-of-care, or near-patient, testing for the professional market. The Company has several companies, including Focus Diagnostics, HemoCue and Celera. Focus Diagnostics is a provider of infectious disease testing. Focus Diagnostics develops, manufactures and markets diagnostic products, such as HerpeSelect ELISA tests that detect patient antibodies to specific types of herpes simplex virus, which can be performed on a variety of instrument platforms. Focus Diagnostics sells its diagnostic products to academic medical centers, hospitals and commercial laboratories globally. Focus Diagnostics has an agreement with 3M Corporation for global human diagnostic rights to a compact integrated bench-top instrument for use with real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. These tests are sold under the Simplexa brand name. In 2011, Focus Diagnostic! s receive! d the CE mark to offer Simplexa tests in Europe, including tests for Cytomegalovirus, Epstein Barr virus, BK virus and clostridium difficile. Focus Diagnostics offers molecular transplant-testing menus in Europe.

HemoCue manufactures and distributes point-of-care testing products globally. HemoCue is a global provider in point-of-care testing for hemoglobin, with a growing market share for glucose, microalbumin and white blood cell testing. HemoCue offers its White Blood Cell Differential System in Europe. Celera offers complexity molecular diagnostic products in segments, such as HIV-1 drug resistance testing, reproductive genetics, transplantation and cardiovascular genetics. It also manufactures and offers the InSure fecal immunochemical test (FIT) for screening for colorectal cancer.

The Company competes with Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Eric Volkman]

    Quest Diagnostics'� (NYSE: DGX  ) �first-quarter results have been released. For the quarter, net revenues were just under $1.79 billion, a drop from the $1.91 billion in the same period the previous year. Attributable net profit also declined, to $136 million ($0.85 per diluted share) from Q1 2012's result of $159 million ($0.99).

  • [By Peter Graham]

    The Q3 2014 earnings report for molecular diagnostic company Myriad Genetics, Inc (NASDAQ: MYGN) is due out after the market closes on Tuesday and things could get ugly since unlike potential diagnostic stock peers such as Rosetta Genomics Ltd (NASDAQ: ROSG) and mid cap diagnostic stock Quest Diagnostics Inc (NYSE: DGX), it�� the most shorted stock on the Nasdaq with short interest of 52.07%. Aside from the Myriad Genetics earnings report, it should be said that Rosetta Genomics Ltd last reported earnings on March 31st and those�earnings were for the full year 2013 while�Quest Diagnostics reported Q1 2014 earnings on April 24th that were a disappointment due to restructuring costs and harsh winter weather. However, Myriad Genetics has been the more interesting stock as Medicare reimbursement rate increases and the lost of a court bid to block competition while a patent-infringement case is pending have sent its shares all over the place.

  • [By Bryan Murphy]

    What do Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE:DGX) and Affymetrix, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFFX) know that the rest of the healthcare industry doesn't seem to know yet? In simplest terms, AFFX and DGX seem to have come to grips with the reality that there's so much information out there in the diagnostic and treatment world that caregivers are actually stumbling over it. The end result is not only care that's not better than it was in the recent past, but perhaps less effective than it used to be simply because of information overload and/or a lack of understanding of what to do with all sorts of data.

  • [By Charles Carlson]

    If you are new to DRIP investing, treat yourself to a few DRIPs this holiday season. Trust me��t'll change your life.

    American Water Works (AWK)��ielding 2.7% with a DRIP minimum of $100

    Cincinnati Financial (CINF)��ielding 3.2% with a DRIP minimum of $25

    CVS Caremark (CVS)��ielding 1.4% with a DRIP minimum of $100

    Dominion Resources (D)��ielding 3.4% with a DRIP minimum of $40

    Domino's Pizza (DPZ)��ielding 1.2% with a DRIP minimum of $65

    Eaton (ETN)��ielding 2.3% with a DRIP minimum of $100

    Flowserve (FLS)��ielding 0.8% with a DRIP minimum of $100

    Kellogg (K)��ielding 3.0% with a DRIP minimum of $50

    New Jersey Resources (NJR)��ielding 3.7% with a DRIP minimum of $100

    Quest Diagnostics (DGX)��ielding 2.0% with a DRIP minimum of $100

    Tim Hortons (THI)��ielding 1.7% with a DRIP minimum of $25

    Subscribe to Dow Theory Forecasts here��/p>

Top Life Sciences Companies To Own For 2014: Potomac Electric Power Company(POM)

Pepco Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the transmission, distribution, and supply of electricity. The company also distributes and supplies natural gas. It distributes electricity to approximately 1.8 million customers in the mid-Atlantic region and delivers natural gas to approximately 123,000 customers in Delaware. In addition, the company involves in the retail supply of electricity and natural gas; provision of energy efficiency services to federal, state, and local government customers; and designs, constructs, and operates combined heat and power and central energy plants, as well as owns and operates two oil-fired generation facilities. Further, it offers high voltage electric construction and maintenance services, low voltage electric construction and maintenance services, and streetlight construction and asset management services to utilities, municipalities, and other customers in the Washington, District of Columbia. Additionally, the company holds investments in eight cross-border energy leases. Pepco Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1896 and is based in Washington, District of Columbia.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Sean Williams]

    Powering up
    It's pretty rare for stocks in the electric utility sector to see a prolonged dip given that electricity is a necessity product, but that's what we've seen from Mid-Atlantic electric utility provider Pepco Holdings (NYSE: POM  ) .

Top Life Sciences Companies To Own For 2014: Nuance Communications Inc.(NUAN)

Nuance Communications, Inc. provides voice and language solutions for businesses and consumers worldwide. It offers dictation and transcription solutions and services, which automate the input and management of medical information; and speech recognition solutions for radiology, cardiology, pathology, and related specialties that help healthcare providers dictate, edit, and sign reports without manual transcription. The company also offers mobile and consumer solutions and services comprising an integrated suite of voice control and text-to-speech solutions, desktop and portable computer dictation applications, predictive text technologies, mobile messaging services, and emerging services, such as dictation, Web search, and voicemail-to-text for manufacturers and suppliers of mobile phones, automotive products, personal navigation devices, computers, and other consumer electronics. In addition, it provides customer service business intelligence and authentication solutions for enterprises in the telecommunications, financial services, travel, entertainment, and government sectors to support, understand, and communicate with their customers. Further, the company offers document imaging, print management, and PDF solutions to multifunction printer manufacturers, home offices, small businesses, and enterprise customers; software development toolkits for independent software vendors; and licenses its software to multifunction printer manufacturers. Nuance Communications, Inc. markets and sells its products through direct sales force; its e-commerce Web site; and a network of resellers, including system integrators, independent software vendors, value-added resellers, hardware vendors, telecommunications carriers, and distributors. The company was formerly known as ScanSoft, Inc. and changed its name to Nuance Communications, Inc. in November 2005. Nuance Communications, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts. Advisors' Opinion:

  • [By Anna Prior]

    Activist investor Carl C. Icahn on Wednesday disclosed he increased his stake in Nuance Communications Inc.(NUAN) by 6.5 million shares. Mr. Icahn now owns a total of 58.9 million shares in the company, or a stake of nearly 19%, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

  • [By Selena Maranjian]

    Tudor Investment reduced its stake in lots of companies, including Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: NUAN  ) . Nuance, specializing in speech-recognition software, took a dive in April after posting disappointing earnings. The company is threatened by weak demand, shrinking margins, and intensifying competition, as well as a change in how it's compensated, with more focus on usage. The stock's low valuation, with a forward P/E near 13 comparing favorably with its five-year average P/E of 42, makes it look attractive, but some doubt how quickly Nuance can grow. Notable investor Carl Icahn sees potential in it, though, perhaps intrigued by its potential in the health-care field, helping doctors create or update electronic health records.

  • [By Selena Maranjian]

    Other companies didn't do as well last year, but could see their fortunes change in the coming years. Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: NUAN  ) , a major developer of speech-recognition software, shed 19%, in part due to some disappointing earnings. Nuance is threatened by weak demand, shrinking margins, and intensifying competition. Carl Icahn has taken a big stake in the company, but some doubt the wisdom of that. With its seemingly low valuation, some see it as a buyout candidate, and bulls like its prospects in health care.

  • [By Laura Brodbeck]

    Next week investors will be waiting for several key earnings reports, �including�Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ), Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF), Nuance Communications, Inc.(NASDAQ: NUAN) and TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO).

Top Life Sciences Companies To Own For 2014: Aussie/New Zealand (AR)

Antero Resources Corporation operates as an oil and natural gas exploration and production company. The company focuses on the acquisition, development, and production of unconventional oil and liquids-rich natural gas properties primarily in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. It was formerly known as Antero Resources Appalachian Corporation and changed its name to Antero Resources Corporation in June 2013. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in Denver, Colorado with district offices in Mount Clare, West Virginia; and Marietta, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Robert Rapier]

    In February,�Antero Resources�(NYSE: AR) filed an S-1 with the SEC for the initial public offering of an MLP comprised of its midstream assets.�The filing�indicated that Antero Resources Midstream LLC would be converted into a limited partnership named Antero Midstream Partners LP with a valuation of up to $500 million. Assets include a network of natural gas gathering pipelines and compressor stations that collects raw natural gas from Antero’s operations in the Marcellus and Utica shales. Also included: two independent water distribution systems used for well completions in the Marcellus and Utica shales.

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Equities Trading DOWN
    Shares of Antero Resources (NYSE: AR) were down 3.64 percent to $60.92 after the company announced a 105% y/y gain in its Q1 preliminary gas production.

  • [By Robert Rapier]

    Supply, meanwhile, is constrained by the fact that, even at the current elevated price, few gas projects outside of the bountiful Marcellus shale can compete with the returns available in crude oil. Our favorite Marcellus drillers are Cabot Oil & Gas (COG) and Antero Resources (AR).

Top Life Sciences Companies To Own For 2014: Dynegy Inc (DYN)

Dynegy Inc. (Dynegy), incorporated in 2007, is a holding company and conducts the business operations through its subsidiaries. Dynegy�� primary business is the production and sale of electric energy, capacity and ancillary services from the fleet of 16 operating power plants in six states totaling approximately 11,600 megawatts of generating capacity. The Company sells electric energy, capacity and ancillary services on a wholesale basis from its power generation facilities. Its customers include Regional Transmission Organization (RTOs) and Independent System Operators (ISOs), integrated utilities, municipalities, electric cooperatives, transmission and distribution utilities, industrial customers, power marketers, financial participants, such as banks and hedge funds, and other power generators. Dynegy operates in three segments: the Coal segment (Coal), the Gas Segment (Gas) and the Dynegy Northeast Segment (DNE). In September 2011, it acquired direct ownership of Dynegy Coal Holdco, LLC. In July 2012, the Company announced that it has filed a voluntary petition to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, Poughkeepsie Division. It emerged from bankruptcy, on October 1, 2012. In May 2013, the Company sold its Roseton power generation facility (Roseton) to a subsidiary of Castleton Commodities International LLC (CCI).

Coal segment

Dynegy�� Coal segment consists of four operating coal-fired power generation facilities and two operating natural gas-fired peaker facilities in Illinois with a total generating capacity of 3,132 megawatts. On November 17, 2011, it permanently retired the 176 megawatts Vermilion power generation facility. As of December 31, 2011, the facilities operated entirely within MISO. Its Coal segment is primarily a fleet of baseload coal facilities, located in Illinois. The MISO market includes all of Wisconsin and portions of Michigan, Kentucky, Indian! a, Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana and Manitoba, Canada. MISO is as an independent RTO.

Gas Segment

Dynegy�� Gas segment consists of seven operating natural gas-fired power generation facilities located in California (two), Nevada (one), Illinois (one), Pennsylvania (one), New York (one), and Maine (one), and one fuel-oil fired power generation facility located in California, totaling 6,771 megawatts of electric generating capacity. On November 7, 2011, it deconsolidated DH, which indirectly owns all of its assets in the Gas segment. The PJM market includes all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. The Company�� Kendall and Ontelaunee facilities located in Illinois and Pennsylvania operate in PJM with an aggregate net generating capacity of 1,780 megawatts.

DNE Segment

Dynegy�� DNE segment consists of the Roseton and Danskammer facilities located in Newburgh, New York, with a total capacity of 1,693 megawatts. Its total of 1,570 megawatts of generation capacity relates to leased units at the two facilities. The Company�� Roseton and Danskammer facility sites are adjacent and share common resources, such as fuel handling, a docking terminal, personnel and certain associated systems.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Bram de Haas]

    Dynegy Inc (DYN) emerged from bankruptcy last year. The share price didn't really go anywhere. In the meantime 2013 free cash flow guidance is being revised upward to $190 million - $215 million and a deal to take over capacity from Ameren Corp (AEE) is likely to be finalized in the 4th quarter. On the basis of current cash flow, the company is fairly valued. If the Ameren facilities are added in, the cash flow of the combined facilities is greatly undervalued.

  • [By Justin Loiseau]

    Beyond the numbers
    Duke Energy Corp is undergoing a major renovation. After an initial "intent-to-sell" press release in February, Duke officially announced in August that it would sell its merchant generation business to Dynegy (NYSE: DYN  ) for $2.8 billion. CEO Good made clear that Duke didn't see a place for the "volatile low returns" it's recently experienced.�

  • [By Justin Loiseau]

    Regulatory resilience
    Ameren (NYSE: AEE  ) and Dynegy (NYSE: DYN  ) aren't letting regulatory snafus get in the way of their plans. The two companies published a statement this week assuring investors that despite the Illinois Pollution Control Board's denial of a variance relief transfer, Dynegy still plans to acquire Ameren Energy Resources.

  • [By Jayson Derrick]

    Dynegy (NYSE: DYN) announced that it has acquired power generation assets from Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) and Energy Capital partners. In total, Dynegy acquired 12.5 megawatts of coal and gas generation, almost doubling its existing assets to nearly 26,000 megawatts. Dynegy expects the acquisitions will create synergy targets of more than $40 million per year, $200 million in collateral efficiencies translating to nearly $500 million in present value cash savings. The company expects its adjusted EBITDA accretion to be 125 percent, while its free cash flow accretion will be 220 percent in 2015. Shares gained 8.75 percent, closing at $32.32.