With the market no longer on sale, the best way to make money is to own quality growth companies with sustainable competitive advantages and leading market positions within niche markets, suggests Jim Oberweis, editor of The Oberweis Report.
Indianapolis-based Interactive Intelligence Group (ININ) develops software for contact center infrastructure and unified communications software.
Across verticals like banking, insurance, government, utilities, and retail, Interactive Intelligence's software helps companies manage their call centers and associated client interactions, irrespective of whether by phone, email, web, or fax. The firm is benefitting from three drivers.
First, call centers are moving en masse from traditional PBX-based systems to cutting edge Internet-based (IP) systems.
Second, communications systems are shifting to the cloud, with market growth of 18% for hosted systems, versus 2% for on-premise systems.
Third, customer service is an area of focus for world-class enterprises. From a product standpoint, Interactive's products play to each of these trends.
LIN TV Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a local television and digital media company. It operates or services 32 network-affiliates, television station Websites, and mobile products in 15 U.S. markets. The company?s television stations, which are affiliated with a national broadcast network, deliver local news and community stories, as well as sports and entertainment programming to 7.4% of U.S. television homes. It is also involved in the convergence of local broadcast television and the Internet through its television station Websites and local online technologies. In addition, LIN TV Corp. offers its content online and on mobile applications. The company was formerly known as Ranger Equity Holdings Corporation and changed its name to LIN TV Corp. in February 2002. LIN TV Corp. was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on LIN TV (NYSE: TVL ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
Top Quality Companies To Watch In Right Now: Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA)
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (the Bank) is engaged in the provision of a range of banking and financial products and services to retail, small business, corporate and institutional clients. The Bank is a provider of integrated financial services, including retail, business and institutional banking, superannuation, life insurance, general insurance, funds management, broking services and finance company activities. Its operating segments include Retail Banking Services, Business and Private Banking, Institutional Banking and Markets, Wealth Management, New Zealand, Bankwest and Other. Its retail banking services include home loans, consumer finance, retail deposits and distribution. Its business and private banking include corporate financial services, regional and agribusiness banking, local business banking, private bank and equities and margin lending. The Bank and its subsidiaries ceased to be a substantial holder in Ten Network Holdings Limited, as of September 12, 2012.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Toshiro Hasegawa]
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) fell 1.1 percent to A$73.73. Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (ST) retreated 1.1 percent to S$3.78 today after posting earnings.
- [By Michael Ugulini]
Investors can take away that Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) is experiencing growth in all brands as noted by the company's President of Commercial Operations, Mr. Andy Thomas in an August Earning's Call, "For the first time in CBA's history, CBA's quarterly growth was propelled by growth in all brand families and across all CBA sales divisions. Our overall plus 12% STR growth came from a healthy blend of plus 23% growth for Kona, plus 14% growth for Redhook, and plus 1% growth for Widmer Brothers; all accompanied by the continued expansion of Omission in our international markets."
- [By Yoshiaki Nohara]
Panasonic Corp., Japan�� largest consumer electronics maker, climbed 6.8 percent after posting profit that beat estimates. STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. (067250) jumped 15 percent in Seoul after agreeing to restructure it debt. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the nation�� biggest lender, fell 1.5 percent, pacing losses among the nation�� financial shares on a report the government will impose a new tax on banks.
- [By Jan Schalkwijk]
M-Pesa, the system that revolutionized mobile payments in Kenya and beyond, is not capital intensive for Safaricom, but the company has to pay 10% of revenues to Vodafone, which runs the system's technology backbone. Safaricom is planning to take this job on itself going forward, which should increase profitability, though there would be some operational risk if they can't deliver the same level of service. M-Pesa has now spawned M-Shwari, which is the same concept but adds mobile banking services such as the provision of credit. This new service is delivered in partnership with the unlisted Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA).
Top Quality Companies To Watch In Right Now: Imagination Technologies Group PLC (IGNMF.PK)
Imagination Technologies Group plc is engaged in multimedia and communication technologies. The Company operates in two segments: Technology business and the Pure business. The Company�� Technology business segment is engaged in the development of embedded graphics, video, display and multi-threaded processor and multi-standard broadcast receiver and connectivity technologies for licensing to semiconductor companies for incorporation into silicon devices. The Company�� Pure business segment is engaged in the development and marketing of consumer products to showcase the technologies of the Technology business and to develop markets for such technologies. In March 2012, Toumaz Ltd completed the exchange of Imagination Technologies Group plc's interest in Toumaz Ltd�� Toumaz Microsystems subsidiary. In February 2013, it acquired the operating business and certain patent properties of MIPS Technologies, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Ashraf Eassa]
However, I expect that Intel is at risk of having a significant marketing problem trying to sell a dual core product into a world of quad core phones, even if the dual core part delivers better performance/watt. I further expect that from what is currently known about Bay Trail's GPU (4 EU Gen7 GPU), it is unlikely that -- unless Intel is either using Imagination's (IGNMF.PK) next generation PowerVR 6 or a beefed up Gen7 design for the "Merrifield" SoC -- it will be as competitive with the Snapdragon 800 on the GPU side of things, which could pose as an additional headwind to adoption. I also believe that the Q1 2014 launch curtails any hope that there will be a 14nm smartphone product launched in 2014 (although Mr. Krzanich's comments about "acceleration" could be a source of optimism here), which means that the company's process lead could ultimately prove to be ephemeral in this particular end market. Fortunately, product cycles in this space are short, so it may be okay to have Merrifield be reasonably short lived.
Top Quality Companies To Watch In Right Now: Omega Protein Corporation(OME)
Omega Protein Corporation, a nutritional ingredient company, engages in the processing, marketing, and distribution of fish meal, oil, and soluble products. The company produces and sells various protein and oil products derived from menhaden, a herring-like species of fish found in the U.S. coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Its fish meal products include the Special Select, a premium grade fish meal that is targeted for monogastrics, including baby pigs, pets, shrimps, and fish; SeaLac, a premium grade fish meal that is targeted for the ruminant industry; and Fair Average Quality Meal, a commodity grade fish meal that is used in protein blends for catfish, pets, and other animals. Omega Protein Corporation?s fish oil products comprise crude unrefined fish oil, refined fish oil, and food grade oils. Its oil products are used in food production, feed production, certain industrial applications, and dietary supplements. The company?s fish solubles in clude Neptune fish concentrate that is used as the attractant in commercial baits, as well as in shrimp and finfish diets; OmegaGrow, a liquid soil or foliar-applied fertilizer for plant nutrition; and OmegaGrow Plus, a liquid foliar-applied fertilizer for plant nutrition that also helps to control insect and fungus problems. The company sells its products in the United States Mexico, Europe, Canada, Asia, and South and Central America. Omega Protein Corporation was founded in 1998 and is based in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Monica Gerson]
Omega Protein (NYSE: OME) is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.32 per share on revenue of $69.47 million.
Douglas Dynamics (NYSE: PLOW) is estimated to post its Q4 earnings at $0.25 per share on revenue of $57.68 million.
Top Quality Companies To Watch In Right Now: Affymetrix Inc.(AFFX)
Affymetrix, Inc. engages in the development, manufacture, sale, and servicing of consumables and systems for genetic analysis in the life sciences and clinical healthcare markets primarily in the United States, Europe, Japan. The company provides integrated GeneChip microarray platform, which includes disposable DNA probe arrays (chips) consisting of nucleic acid sequences, certain reagents for use with the probe arrays, a scanner and other instruments used to process the probe arrays, and software to analyze and manage genomic or genetic information obtained from the probe arrays. It also offers GeneTitan, an instrument system that runs genotyping and gene expression array plates; and GeneAtlas, an instrument for low-to-medium throughput that provides hybridization and array processing with microwell-based labware, as well as a line of multiplex assays to serve the discovery and the validation markets. In addition, the company provides reagent kits, including ExoSAP-IT fo r a reagent for the clean-up of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products used in downstream applications, such as DNA sequencing or single-nucleotide polymorphisms analysis; and HotStart-IT reagents that utilize a novel primer binding protein to inhibit primer dimer formation with results in sensitive and consistent amplification for PCR. Its products are used primarily in genotyping and gene expression applications. The company sells its products directly to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agrichemical, diagnostics, and consumer products companies; academic research centers, government research laboratories, private foundation laboratories, and clinical reference laboratories in North America and Europe, as well as through life science supply specialists acting as authorized distributors in Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific regions. Affymetrix, Inc. was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.
Advisors' Opinion: Top Quality Companies To Watch In Right Now: Barratt Developments PLC (BDEV)
Barratt Developments PLC is a holding company. The Company�� principal activities consists of acquiring and developing land, planning, designing and constructing residential property developments and selling the homes it builds. The Company operates in two segments: housebuilding and commercial developments. The Company operates across a spectrum of the market from flats to family homes and urban regeneration schemes. The Company also has a focused commercial developments business. The Company builds a range of homes ranging from those for first-time buyers, to family homes, to high-rise flats and affordable housing. The Company�� housebuilding business trades under the Barratt Homes, David Wilson Homes and Ward Homes brands. The Company�� subsidiaries include BDW Trading Limited, BDW North Scotland Limited, David Wilson Homes Limited and Wilson Bowden Developments Limited.
Advisors' Opinion:
