Saturday, February 28, 2015

How to Save Money on Your Thanksgiving Meal

This year, Americans can be thankful that the cost of preparing a Thanksgiving meal will take a smaller bite out of their wallets. The average price of a feast for ten will be $49.04 this year versus $49.48 in 2012, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation's informal price survey of items typically served for Thanksgiving dinner.

SEE ALSO: Best Buys at Warehouse Clubs, Grocers and Big-Box Stores

Admittedly, the price drop is small -- but if you pair it with other money-saving strategies, you can significanlty lower the cost of a Thanksgiving meal. Here's how:

Look for special turkey sales and promotions. The turkey is the priciest item, by far, on the table at Thanksgiving. The American Farm Bureau Federation found that a 16-pound turkey costs $21.76, on average, this year. But there are ways to get one for less. Some grocery stores, such as ShopRite, are running promotions that allow customers with the store's club or rewards card to get a free turkey after spending a certain amount during the weeks before Thanksgiving. Waiting until the last minute to buy a turkey also might help you get it at a bargain price, according to AFBF.

Save on all the fixings. Manufacturers often release coupons for Thanksgiving-related food items and grocery stores often have sales on popular feast ingredients. To make sure you're getting the best deal, you can use a free mobile app such as Favado app (iPhone, Android). It lets you compare deals at local stores, find coupons and search for the lowest prices on the items you need. For more tips to keep costs down, see 10 Ways to Save on Groceries Without Coupons.

Don't go overboard. Leftovers are common at many Thanksgiving gatherings. So unless you really enjoy scouring cookbooks or recipe sites to find creative ways to use all that turkey and stuffing that wasn't consumed, you'll save money by buying only enough to feed each guest with just a little left over for seconds. Butterball has a portion calculator to help you figure out what size turkey to buy based on the number of adults and kids you'll be serving, whether they're big or light eaters and whether you want leftovers.

Make it potluck. Rather than foot the entire bill for your feast, ask guests to bring a side dish or dessert. Based on the AFBF figures, you'll cut your costs by more than 50% if you just spring for the turkey.

Don't let wine bust your budget. You don't have to spend a fortune to serve good wine with your Thanksgiving meal. For example, you can find good prices on wine at warehouse clubs such as Costco. If you buy several bottles at a wine or liquor store, ask about a discount for buying in bulk. Usually you can get up to 15% off the price on purchases of six or 12 bottles. For more tips, see How to Save Money on Wine.



Thursday, February 26, 2015

Top Internet Stocks To Own Right Now

With shares of Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) trading around $3, is SIRI 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�� Movement

Sirius XM Radio broadcasts its music, sports, entertainment, comedy, talk, news, traffic, and weather channels in the United States on a subscription fee basis through its two satellite radio systems. Subscribers can also receive music and other channels over the Internet, including through applications for mobile devices. Audio entertainment has always pleased consumers and is a medium that is growing in popularity. Sirius XM Radio is looking to expand its audio entertainment channels to every audio medium possible, which will surely translate to rising profits.

Shares are up recently after Sirius XM Radio��board confirmed an additional $2 billion stock repurchase. The satellite radio provider announced that it will pay for the repurchases through available cash, future cash flow from operations, and future borrowings. Sirius XM Radio can purchase the shares on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, including potential arrangements with Liberty Media�(NASDAQ:LMCA) and its affiliates, from which the company also said that it will repurchase $500 million shares.

Top Wireless Telecom Stocks To Own Right Now: Yahoo! Inc.(YHOO)

Yahoo! Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital media company that delivers personalized digital content and experiences through various devices worldwide. It offers online properties and services to users; and a range of marketing services to businesses. The company?s communications and communities offerings include Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Messenger, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, Flickr, and Connected TV, which provide a range of communication and social services to users and small businesses enabling users to organize into groups and share knowledge, common interests, and photos. Its search products comprise Yahoo! Search and Yahoo! Local, available free to users to navigate the Internet and discover content. The company?s marketplaces offerings and services include Yahoo! Shopping, Yahoo! Travel, Yahoo! Real Estate, Yahoo! Autos, and Yahoo! Small Business, which allow users to research specific topics, products, services, or areas of interest by review ing and exchanging information, obtaining contact details, or considering offers from providers of goods, services, or parties with similar interests. Its media offerings comprise Yahoo! Homepage, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Sports, Yahoo! Finance, My Yahoo!, Yahoo! Toolbar, Yahoo! Entertainment & Lifestyles, Yahoo! Contributor Network, and Yahoo! Pulse, which are designed to engage users with online content and services on the Web. The company also offers marketing services, such as display and search advertising, listing-based services, and commerce-based transactions to advertisers. In addition, it provides software and platform offerings for third-party developers, advertisers, and publishers, such as Yahoo! Developer Network, Yahoo! Open Strategy, Yahoo! Application Platform, Yahoo! Updates, Yahoo! Query Language, and Yahoo! Search BOSS. The company has strategic alliances with Nokia and ABC News, Inc. Yahoo! Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Californi a.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By William L. Watts]

    It isn�� all banking and finance. After all, a belief in the transformative, globalizing power of technology is a tenet of the Davos mind-set. The chief Yahoo (YHOO) , Marissa Mayer, is a co-chair of this year�� event. Other high-profile techies in attendance include Facebook (FB) �COO Sheryl Sandberg, Cisco Systems (CSCO) �CEO John Chambers and Google (GOOG) Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt.

  • [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

    Fresh-Faced Tech CEO No. 1: Marissa A. Mayer, Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO)

    Yahoo was one of the great plays of the early Internet age and still counts some 800 million regular users. But growth had slowed significantly. Much worse for investors, shares had remained in a downtrend for years.

  • [By Alex Dumortier, CFA]

    Time to exit Yahoo?
    Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO  ) announced yesterday that it had agreed to repurchase 40 million of its own shares from activist hedge fund manager Third Point, led by Dan Loeb. Yahoo! will pay $29.11 per share (last Friday's closing price), and the transaction reduces Third Point's position by approximately two-thirds to roughly 20 million shares (less than 2% of the common shares outstanding). The three Yahoo! directors nominated by Third Point, including Loeb himself, will step down from the board at the end of the month.

Top Internet Stocks To Own Right Now: Symantec Corporation(SYMC)

Symantec Corporation provides security, storage, and systems management solutions internationally. The company?s Consumer segment delivers Internet security, PC tune-up, and online backup solutions and services to individual users and home offices. Its Security and Compliance segment provides solutions for endpoint security and management, compliance, messaging management, data loss prevention, encryption, and authentication services to large, medium, and small-sized businesses, as well as offers solutions through its software-as-a-service (SaaS) security offerings. This segment?s products enable customers to secure, provision, and remotely manage their laptops, PCs, mobile devices, and servers. The company?s Storage and Server Management segment provides storage and server management, backup, archiving, and data protection solutions across heterogeneous storage and server platforms, as well as solutions delivered through its SaaS offerings to large, medium, and small-s ized businesses. Symantec?s Services segment offers implementation services and solutions, including consulting, business critical services, education, and managed security services. The company also provides various enterprise support offerings, such as annual maintenance support contracts, including content, upgrades, and technical support. It sells its products through its eCommerce platform, as well as through distributors, direct marketers, Internet-based resellers, system builders, ISPs, and retail locations worldwide. Symantec markets and sells its products through distributors, retailers, direct marketers, Internet-based resellers, original equipment manufacturers, system builders, and Internet service providers; and its e-commerce channels, as well as direct sales force, value-added and large account resellers, and system integrators. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

    Judith Collins/Alamy WASHINGTON - Home improvement retailer Home Depot (HD) has been in contact with the U.S. Secret Service about an alleged major breach of customer and credit card data that came to light this week, a law enforcement source told Reuters on Thursday. Any investigation by the Secret Service appears to be at a very early stage, the source said. The Secret Service, which declined comment, usually is the lead agency in federal criminal investigations into complex breaches of credit card and other consumer data. Another law enforcement source said the FBI, which also sometimes participates in such investigations, doesn't appear to be involved. It is unclear whether the U.S. Department of Justice is playing any role. Customer data could have been stolen from nearly all of Home Depot's 2,200 stores in the United States, according to information released Wednesday by security blog Krebs on Security. Home Depot hasn't confirmed that a breach occurred and it remains unclear whether or how many customers were impacted. If confirmed, the Home Depot incident could be among the most widespread in the string of security breaches at U.S. retailers in the recent past. Spokeswoman Paula Drake said Wednesday that the retailer is working with IT security firms, including Symantec (SYMC) and FishNet Security, to investigate whether there has been a data breach. A Symantec spokeswoman confirmed that Symantec was assisting with the investigation but didn't elaborate. Home Depot sought to comfort its consumers, promising free identity-protection services, including credit monitoring, to any potentially impacted customers and reassuring that the retailer or the banks that issued the cards will be responsible for any fraudulent charges. Home Depot shares were up 1.6 percent at $90.39 Thursday morning on the New York Stock Exchange. Concerns about a potential Home Depot data theft follow a major breach at retailer Target (TGT), where hackers late last yea

Top Internet Stocks To Own Right Now: Google Inc.(GOOG)

Google Inc. maintains an index of Web sites and other online content for users, advertisers, and Google network members and other content providers. It offers AdWords, an auction-based advertising program; AdSense program, which enables Web sites that are part of the Google Network to deliver ads from its AdWords advertisers; Google Display, a display advertising network that comprises the videos, text, images, and other interactive ads; DoubleClick Ad Exchange, a real-time auction marketplace for the trading of display ad space; and YouTube that provides video, interactive, and other ad formats for advertisers. The company also provides Google Mobile that optimizes Google?s applications for mobile devices in browser and downloadable form; and enables advertisers to run search ad campaigns on mobile devices, as well as Google Local that provides local information on the Web; and Google Boost for small businesses to participate in the ads auction. In addition, it offers And roid, an open source mobile software platform; Google Chrome OS, an open source operating system; Google Chrome, a Web browser; Google TV, a platform for the consumers to use the television and the Internet on a single screen; and Google Books platform to discover, search, and consume content from printed books online. Further, the company provides Google Apps, a cloud computing suite of message and collaboration tools, which includes Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, and Google Sites; Google Search Appliance that offers real-time search of business and intranet applications, and public Web sites; Google Site Search, a custom search engine; Google Commerce Search for online retail enterprises; Google Checkout to make online shopping and payments streamlined and secure; Google Maps Application Programming Interface; and Google Earth Enterprise, a firewall software solution for imagery and data visualization. Google Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Steve Symington]

    And Mayer would know, especially�after�more than 13 years at�Google� (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) �which just so happens to have topped Fortune's list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in both 2012 and 2013. In fact, at the time she instituted the ban, Google was generating almost $932,000 in revenue per employee, compared to just under $345,000 per employee at Yahoo!. Curiously enough, that gap has narrowed since then to about $993,000 and $419,000 in revenue per employee for Google and Yahoo!, respectively. �

  • [By ICRAOnline]

    In the past quarter, sales of iPad dropped 16% year over year. According to management, the decline was driven by channel inventory changes. Though the obvious reasons could be -- cheaper offerings from Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOG) and Samsung, and higher preference for a phone upgrade than a tablet upgrade. iPad is Apple�� second largest revenue contributor, and if the company fails to boost sales total revenue will be severely hit.

  • [By Philip Springer]

    Just last week, the major US stock averages hit all-time highs, led by large-cap stocks, including some that had been lagging for many years. But it’s been a different story in March-April for stocks that had the biggest gains of 2013 and early this year.

    This week brought more bad news for the stock market’s two most overvalued sectors, biotechnology and information technology. Worse, when the paddy wagon came, as usual it took the good stocks with the bad, to rephrase an old Wall St. aphorism in politically correct terms.

    Yesterday, the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 3.1 percent, its �biggest one-day drop in nearly 2陆 years. This dragged the broader market sharply lower, as investors resumed selling biotechnology stocks in general and many technology stocks. As of April 10, the Nasdaq Composite was 7 percent off its 14-year high, which was reached last month. Yet the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average remain not far from their all-time record peaks, down 3 percent and 2.5 percent respectively.

    There are many reasons for the decline of both the junk and the good growth stocks. First, the broad market has been long overdue for a 10 percent correction, which still hasn’t occurred.

    Second, the high fliers were much more overdue for a reality check. These particularly include extremely overvalued companies in social media, the “cloud,” 3d printing, biotechnology and more.

    Third, the new-issues market, which naturally has consisted primarily of info tech and biotech issues, created too much new supply that inevitably dampened investor demand for the more established companies in those sectors.

    The increased importance of trading exchange-traded funds, as both a way to invest and to hedge against market declines, inevitably adds to the downward pressure in this situation.� Reason: Shares of all of their components are sold, regardless of each stock’s relative me

Top Internet Stocks To Own Right Now: CYNK Technology Corp (CYNK)

Cynk Technology Corp., formerly Introbuzz, Inc., is a development stage-company. The Company intends to develop a social network business. Social networks are Web based services that allow individuals to post a profile and link their profile to other friends and organizations.

The Company intends to develop a database of professional and other business persons, as well as other interested persons in providing and utilizing contacts. As of November 14, 2012, the Company had not generated any revenue.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

    CYNK Technology (CYNK), the mysterious over-the-counter stock that at one point broke a $6 billion market cap, dropped roughly 80 percent in its first trades after a Securities and Exchange Commission halt. The SEC halted CYNK for two weeks following a massive rise in the stock's value -- it had been worth only a few cents per share in June, but it jumped above $21 on July 10. The Belize-based CYNK Technology supposedly operates a social networking site, but filings indicate it only has one employee and virtually no assets. Experts told CNBC the week of the SEC halt that they expected CYNK to fall precipitously after reopening, and its first day of trading is proving those predictions correct. When it was halted, the stock was worth just less than $14 per share, and is now below $3 a share after briefly hovering around $5 earlier Friday morning. An OTC Markets spokeswoman told Reuters that CYNK's shares were not trading on its platform, but were occurring over the phone. Earlier this week Reuters reported that OTC's CEO did not expect CYNK to trade on its platform at all after reopening, as no brokerages would file the required paperwork for the stock to trade on their exchanges. An SEC spokesman said that the organization cannot comment on the status of a company after a suspension period ends, citing an online explanation of the process. That document notes that broker-dealers may not solicit investors to trade the previously suspended OTC stock until they satisfy several regulatory requirements. The SEC warned, however, that "unsolicited" trading may occur after a reopening -- as CYNK is now seeing -- but "even though such trading is allowed, it can be very risky for investors without current and reliable information about the company."

Top Internet Stocks To Own Right Now: Propell Technologies Group Inc (PROP)

Propell Technologies Group, Inc., incorporated on February 04, 2008, offers enhanced oil recovery technology and services. These services are offered through its wholly owned subsidiary Novas Energy USA, Inc., through commercial application of a Plasma-Pulse Technology.

The Company�� technology is designed to be suitable for oil wells as deep as 12,000 feet. Novas�� Plasma-Pulse Treatment is an Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) technology and process. The treatment uses no chemicals.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By John Udovich]

    Although oil prices are at multi year lows, now�might be the time to start taking a closer look at�small cap gas compression or enhanced oil recovery (EOR) stocks like TETRA Technologies, Inc (NYSE: TTI), Exterran Holdings, Inc (NYSE: EXH) and Propell Technologies Group Inc (OTCBB: PROP)�as oil and natural gas prices will�inevitably rise once again. To start with, natural gas compression services are�needed to transport natural gas from low-pressure wells into gathering systems, storage and processing facilities�as well as to maintain production as reservoir pressure declines. In addition, compression services�are used to extract gas from�unconventional natural gas sources like shale plays. As for so-called enhanced oil recovery or EOR, its�a generic term for the techniques used for increasing the amount of crude oil that can be extracted from an oil field with these potential methods including steam flood and water flood injection�or hydraulic fracturing�(so-called fracking). Naturally,�demand for compression services and EOR technologies are impacted by (the temporary)�low oil and gas commodity prices and so are the share prices for publicly traded stocks in the space.

  • [By John Udovich]

    Mid cap oil services stocks Dresser-Rand Group Inc (NYSE: DRC) and�Flowserve Corp (NYSE: FLS) and small cap Propell Technologies Group Inc (OTCBB: PROP) are all direct or indirect players in the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) sector among other niches. Of course, it might seem strange to be talking about oil services or enhanced oil recovery stocks when the bottom has fallen out from under the price of oil but consider the following two charts from WTRG Economics�and Gasbuddy.com:

  • [By James E. Brumley]

    Truth be told, oil giant Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) and major oil player Denbury Resources Inc. (NYSE:DNR) aren't likely worried about little ol' Propell Technologies Group Inc. (OTCBB:PROP)... at least not yet. Their lack of concern may end up being a big mistake, though. Propell Technologies Group has developed a new piece of oil well technology that can rejuvenate a struggling oil flow that might just make names like Denbury Resources and Halliburton green with envy.

  • [By John Udovich]

    Although oil prices ended the year at multi year lows, now would be the time to take a closer look at�small cap gas compression or enhanced oil recovery (EOR) stocks like�Usa Compression Partners LP (NYSE: USAC), CSI Compressco LP (NASDAQ: CCLP) and Propell Technologies Group Inc (OTCBB: PROP) before oil and gas prices inevitably rise again. To begin with, natural gas compression services are used to transport natural gas and specifically to get�natural gas from low-pressure wells into gathering systems, storage and processing facilities�as well as to maintain production as reservoir pressure declines. Compression services�are also used to extract gas from�unconventional natural gas sources like shale plays. Meanwhile,�so-called enhanced oil recovery or EOR is just a generic term for the techniques used for increasing the amount of crude oil that can be extracted from an oil field with potential methods including steam flood and water flood injection�or hydraulic fracturing�(so-called fracking). Naturally, demand for compression services and EOR technologies would be impacted by oil and gas commodity prices.

Top Internet Stocks To Own Right Now: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA)

Alibaba Group Holding Limited, incorporated on June 28, 1999, is an online and mobile commerce company. The Company operates its ecosystem as a platform for third parties. The Company operates Taobao Marketplace, China�� online shopping destination, Tmall, China�� third-party platform for brands and retailers and Juhuasuan, China�� group buying marketplace. In addition to its three China retail marketplaces, the Company operates Alibaba.com, China�� global online wholesale marketplace, 1688.com, its China wholesale marketplace, and AliExpress, its global consumer marketplace, as well as provides cloud computing services. As a platform, the Company provides the fundamental technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help businesses leverage the power of the Internet to establish an online presence and conduct commerce with consumers and businesses. Effective August 01, 2014, Alibaba Investment Ltd, a unit of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, acquired a 10.193% interest n Singapore Post Ltd.

The buyers and sellers discover, select and transact with each other on the Company�� platform. Third-party service providers add value to its platform through service offerings that make it easier for buyers and sellers to do business. The third-party participants in its ecosystem include a payment services provider, logistics providers, retail operational partners, marketing affiliates, independent software vendors and various professional service providers. The Company has developed policies and procedures that maintain the health and sustainability of its marketplaces, including consumer protection programs, marketplace rules, qualification standards for merchants and buyer and seller rating systems. As its ecosystem expands, new jobs are created.

Taobao Affiliate Network is powered by Alimama, its online marketing technology platform. Through this platform, sellers place marketing displays on its marketing affiliates��websites and mobile apps, and sellers pay a performance-b! ased marketing fee primarily based on cost-per-click (CPC), and cost-per-sale (CPS), models. Through China Smart Logistics, the Company provides real-time information to its logistics partners, including key operating metrics, such as distribution center utilization rates, route planning data and order volume forecasts. Independent software vendors (ISVs) provide software tools, as well as systems integration services to sellers.

Tmall is an online platform featuring brands and retailers with each seller having an identifiable online storefront. Users may access Tmall anytime, anywhere through the Tmall Website and the mobile apps and mobile-optimized websites provided by Taobao Marketplace and Tmall. The physical product categories on Tmall include apparel and accessories, electronics and appliances, home furnishings, home appliances, maternity and baby products. Juhuasuan is an online group buying marketplace in China. Juhuasuan offers quality products at discounted prices by aggregating demand from numerous consumers. Juhuasuan mainly does this through flash sales, which make products available at discounted prices for a limited period of time. Juhuasuan offers group buying channels featuring branded and private label products, products made to custom specifications and local services.

AliExpress is a consumer marketplace enables consumers from around the world to buy directly from wholesalers and manufacturers in China. On AliExpress, consumers have access to a variety of products. In addition to the global English-language site, AliExpress operates two local language sites in Russia and Brazil. The product categories on AliExpress.com include apparel and accessories, phones and communications products, beauty and health, computer networking, jewelry and watches. Alibaba.com is an online commerce platform. Sellers on Alibaba.com may pay for an annual Gold Supplier membership to host a premium storefront with product listings on the marketplace.

The Company��! marketin! g technology platform, Alimama, offers sellers on its marketplaces marketing services for both personal computer and mobile devices, which include P4P marketing service and display marketing. Alimama also offers its sellers these marketing services through third parties through the Taobao Affiliate Network. The Taobao Ad Network and Exchange (TANX) automates the buying and selling of billions of advertising impressions on a daily basis by third parties. The Company also offer a data management platform (DMP), connected to TANX. Its DMP allows participants on TANX to evaluate and select online advertising inventory using both behavioral data they provide, as well as data from browsing behavior and shopping history. Its Cloud Computing supports its commerce ecosystem by providing a distributed computing infrastructure to handle the large volume of traffic and data generated on its online marketplaces. Its cloud computing platform offers service offerings, including elastic computing, database services and storage and large scale computing services.

The company offer search functions on all of its Web pages, mobile apps and many of its marketing affiliates��websites and apps to make it easy for buyers to find products and services within its marketplaces. The Company offers Aliwangwang, a personal computer-based instant messenger that supports text, audio and video communication. The Company developed Aliwangwang to facilitate open communication between buyers and sellers on Taobao Marketplace and Tmall. Buyers and sellers use it as a tool for a range of tasks, including negotiation of prices, customer services and delivery notification, in addition to the basic messaging functions. It offer Qianniu , an integrated platform for communication and productivity tools which allows sellers on Taobao Marketplace and Tmall to manage their operations more efficiently.

Alipay, the Company�� related company, provides payment and escrow services for transactions on Taobao Marketplace, Tm! all, 1688! .com and certain of its other sites, as well as to third parties in China. The Company�� small and medium enterprise (SME) loan business provides micro loans to sellers on its wholesale and retail marketplaces through lending vehicles licensed by the local government.

The company competes with Tencent and Baidu.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Riddhi Kharkia]

    Again, to give you a big example on this, Costco has already made its way into one of the largest retail markets in the world i.e China, even without opening a single store. The company has opened a store on T-Mall, an online marketplace Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba�(BABA) operates alongside the Taobao bazaar. The store, where consumers can buy Costco baby care goods, beauty items, dietary supplements as well as household products, will mail purchases directly from the U.S. to consumer doorsteps, a process that takes five to 20 days, according to the store website. Though the competitive pressure is quite high in the market yet, the fact that Costco has entered the market is a big win.

  • [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

    And one of the best current examples of "history being made" is the looming initial public stock offering (IPO) of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA), the Chinese Internet heavyweight whose shares are scheduled to price tomorrow and begin trading Friday.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Best Canadian Companies To Buy Right Now

Best Canadian Companies To Buy Right Now: Piper Jaffray Companies(PJC)

Piper Jaffray Companies provides investment banking, institutional brokerage, asset management, and related financial services to corporations, private equity groups, public entities, non-profit entities, and institutional investors in the United States, Asia, and Europe. The company raises capital through equity financings; provides advisory services, primarily relating to mergers and acquisitions for its corporate clients; underwrites debt issuances; and offers financial advisory and interest rate risk management services. Its public finance investment banking capabilities focus on state and local governments, as well as healthcare, higher education, housing, hospitality, transportation, and commercial real estate industries, as well as operates in business and financial services, clean technology and renewables, consumer, and industrial growth, as well as media, telecommunications, and technology industries. The company also offers equity and fixed income advisory and t rade execution services for institutional investors, and government and non-profit entities; and is involved in proprietary trading, as well as has equity sales and trading relationships with institutional investors. In addition, it provides asset management services to separately managed accounts, private funds or partnerships, and open-end and closed-end registered investment companies or funds; and offers an array of investment products comprising small and mid-cap value equity, and master limited partnerships focused on the energy industry, as well as fixed income. Further, the company engages in merchant banking activities, which comprises proprietary debt or equity investments in late stage private companies, and investments in private equity and venture capital funds, as well as other firm investments and forfeiture of stock-based compensation. Piper Jaffray Companies was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By victorselva]

    The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW) is a savings and loan holding company. The company is engaged, through its subsidiaries, in securities brokerage, banking, money management, and financial advisory services. Its subsidiaries include Charles Schwab & Co. (a leading discount broker-dealer), Charles Schwab Investment Management (a mutual fund investment advisor) and Charles Schwab Bank.In this article, let's take a look at this brokerage firm and try to explain to investors the reasons this is an apparently appealing investment opportunity.The FocusThe company provides financial services to individuals and institutional clients through two segments: Investor Services and Institutional Services. The Investor Services segment provides retail brokerage and banking services to individual investors. The Institutional Services segment provides custodial, trading, and support services to independent investment advisors. The Institutional Services segment also provides retir ement plan services, specialty brokerage services, and mutual fund clearing services. The company seeks to meet the financial services needs of investors, advisers and employers. It focuses on building client loyalty with the goal of attracting new clients and serving them. Additionally, Schwab麓s strengths through shared core processes and technology advances which help create services that are scalable and consistent with the business.Interest Rates, Capital Structure and Debt-to-Capital RatioThe results are dependent on short-term interest rates, as 37% of its top line came from net interest income in the first quarter of 2014.The broker has been making significant efforts to become less dependent on interest rates, which we expect Federal Reserve will raise them in late 2014 or 2015. Also, the company麓s plan is to reach a low-cost capital structure and targets a long-term debt-to-total financial capital ratio of less than 30%.Lucrative Derivatives Trading In 2011, t! he c omp! any acquired Compl

  • source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/best-canadian-companies-to-buy-right-now.html

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Top 10 Oil Companies To Buy Right Now

Top 10 Oil Companies To Buy Right Now: Cosan Ltd (CZZ)

Cosan Limited (Cosan), incorporated on April 30, 2007, is a holding company. The Company is engaged in the production of ethanol and sugar, the marketing and distribution of fuel and lubricants in Brazil, and logistics services in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Company imports, exports, produces and sells ethanol, sugar, sugarcane and other sugar by-products. It distributes and sells fuel and other fuel by-products. The Company produces and markets electricity, steam and other co-generation by-products. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011 (fiscal 2011), it operated 24 mills. On February 18, 2011, Cosan, through its subsidiary Cosan S.A. Acucar e Alcool acquired 100% of the voting corporate capital of Cosan Araraquara Acucar e Alcool Ltda., (Usina Zanin).

The Company operates in three in segments: sugar and ethanol (S&E), fuel distribution and lubricants (CCL) and sugar logistics (Rumo Logistica). The sugar and ethanol segment operates and produce s a range of sugar products, including raw, organic, crystal and refined sugars and consumer products under the Da Barra and Uniao brands, which are sold to a range of customers in Brazil and abroad, as well as produces and sells hydrous, anhydrous and industrial ethanol, which are sold to the Brazilian market. The sugar and ethanol segment also includes energy co-generation activities and land development businesses. Its fuel distribution and lubricants segment includes the distribution and marketing of fuels, mainly through franchised network of service stations under the brand Esso throughout the national territory, and production, distribution and marketing of lubricants licensed from ExxonMobil International Holdings B.V.. Its sugar logistics segment provides logistics services for the transport, storage and port lifting of sugar.

Sugar and Ethanol segment

!

As of March 31, 2011 the Company leased 437,698 hectares, through 2,128 land lease contr acts with an average term of five years. During fiscal 2011,! it harvested from owned or leased lands 27.4 million tons, of the sugarcane and purchased from third-party growers the 26.8 million tons of sugarcane. During fiscal 2011, its accumulated sugar extraction was 139.0 kilograms of total sugar recovered (TSR) per ton of sugarcane and its agricultural yield was 91.4 tons of sugarcane per hectare. It produces ethanol through a chemical process called yeasting. It produces and sells three types of ethanol: hydrous ethanol and anhydrous ethanol for fuel and industrial ethanol. It sells ethanol through gasoline distributors in Brazil mainly at the mill that sell it to retailers that then sell it at the pump to customers.

During fiscal year 2011, the Company sold 4.3 million tons of sugar. The Company produces a range of standard sugars, including raw sugar, crystal sugar and organic sugar, and refined sugars, including granulated refined white sugar, amorphous refined sugar, refined sucrose liquid sugar and refined inve rted liquid sugar. Its Sao Francisco mill and the Da Barra mill produce refined sugar. It also sells industrial alcohol, which is used in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors. It sells sugar to a range of customers in Brazil and in the international markets. Its customers in Brazil include retail supermarkets, foodservice distributors and food manufacturers, for which it sells refined and liquid sugar.

Fuel distribution and lubricants

The Company's fuel distribution business is engaged in sourcing, storing, blending and distributing primarily gasoline, ethanol, diesel and fuel oil through its retail network of approximately 4,500 Esso and Shell-branded stations. During fiscal 2011, it sold approximately 1.03 billion liters of fuels, consisting of 96.0% diesel and 4.0% gasoline, ethanol and other fuels to its industrial and wholesale clients. D! uring fis! cal 2011, Cosan Combustiveise Lubrificantes S.A. (CCL) sold a total of 166.4 million liters o f lubricants. Its lubricant operations consist of a wholly o! wned Lubr! icants Oil Blending Plant (LOBP), located in Rio de Janeiro, with annual production capacity of 1.4 million barrels of lubricants per year, including 48,000 barrels of grease per year.

Sugar Logistics

The Company owns and operates a sugar-loading terminal at the Port of Santos in the State of Sao Paulo through its subsidiary Rumo Logistica. It offers logistics solution to sugar producers located in the Center South of Brazil by transporting sugar from the mill by truck or rail to be loaded at its bulk sugar port terminal in Santos. It also offer sugar storage services.

The Company competes with Copersucar, Sudzucker AG, Petrobras, Ultrapar S.A., Shell Brasil Ltda. and AleSat Combustiveis S.A.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Monica Gerson]

    Cosan (NYSE: CZZ) is estimated to post its Q1 earnings at $0.16 per share.

    ViaSat (NASDAQ: VSAT) is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.11 per share on revenue of $348.98 million.

  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    ADM's renewable-fuel business grabs most of the attention from investors. The drought has also had a big impact in this segment as well, as ADM has had to idle ethanol production facilities because of low corn supplies following the drought. Moreover, with sugar-based ethanol competitors Bunge (NYSE: BG  ) and Cosan (NYSE: CZZ  ) already benefiting from pricing disparities between sugar and corn, prospects of potential tariffs on U.S. ethanol in Europe could give Brazilian sugar-based ethanol a competitive advantage, further hurting ADM.

  • [By Maxx Chatsko]

    Partnership outlook
    I am still hoping that Codexis will be tapped by Raizen, a joint venture between Shell and sugar giant Cosan (NYSE: CZZ  ) , as its exclusive cellulase enzyme provider. Raizen ! has not b! een shy about its cellulosic ethanol ambitions -- planning a 10 million gallon per year facility -- but has yet to choose an enzyme technology. Investors should be careful not to assume that Codexis is a lock for the partnership (Raizen is the largest investor in Codexis), but with more than 580 million gallons of first-generation ethanol capacity the opportunity is enormous.

  • source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-10-oil-companies-to-buy-right-now-2.html

Monday, February 16, 2015

10 Best Life Sciences Stocks To Buy Right Now

Small cap robotic stock Adept Technology (NASDAQ: ADEP) has put in a very good performance this month verses its immediate peer�iRobot Corporation (NASDAQ: IRBT) as well as against medical robotic stocks like MAKO Surgical (NASDAQ: MAKO), Accuray Incorporated (NASDAQ: ARAY) and Hansen Medical, Inc (NASDAQ: HNSN). I should also mention that we have recently added Adept Technology to our SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) portfolio (we are up 9% since last week) because we feel robotics is an improving sector as companies aim to reduce overhead and improve efficiencies through machine to machine (M2M) automation.

What is Adept Technology?

Founded in 1983, small cap Adept Technology is the largest US based manufacturer of industrial robots. More specifically, Adept Technology�� product lines include industrial robots, configurable linear modules, machine controllers for robot mechanisms and other flexible automation equipment, machine vision, and systems and applications software. In addition, the company�provides specialized, cost-effective robotics systems and services to high-growth markets including Packaged Goods, Life Sciences, Disk Drive/Electronics and Semiconductor/Solar plus to�traditional industrial markets�which include�machine tool automation and automotive components.

Top Food Stocks To Own Right Now: Susser Holdings Corporation(SUSS)

Susser Holdings Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates convenience stores in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. The company operates in two segments, Retail and Wholesale. The Retail segment operates convenience stores that offer merchandise, food service, and motor fuel, as well as provides other services, including car washes, lottery, ATM, money orders, prepaid phone cards and wireless services, and movie rentals. As of January 1, 2012, it operated 541 convenience stores under the Stripes brand name. The Wholesale segment distributes motor fuel to its retail convenience stores, contracted independent operators of convenience stores, unbranded convenience stores, unattended fueling facilities, and other end users in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. The company also offers environmental, maintenance, and construction management services to the petroleum industry; and sells and installs motor fuel dispensers and tanks, as well as provides a range of environmental consulting services, such as hydrocarbon remediation, and Phase I and II site assessments for its stores and outside customers. Susser Holdings Corporation is based in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Equities Trading UP
    Susser Holdings (NYSE: SUSS) shares shot up 35.74 percent to $77.41 after Energy Transfer Partners LP (NYSE: ETP) announced its plans to acquire Susser Holdings in a deal valued at around $1.8 billion.

  • [By Lauren Pollock var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach]

    Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Monday’s session are AstraZeneca(AZN.LN) PLC,�Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Susser Holdings Corp.(SUSS)

10 Best Life Sciences Stocks To Buy Right Now: Reclaim Industries Ltd (RCM)

Reclaim Industries Limited is engaged in the manufacture of recycled rubber and its associated products. The principal activities of the Company include rubber recycling and manufacturing to convert used rubber tires into commercially surfacing, molded and granule products for a range of industries in both domestic and international markets. The Company operates in three segments: collections, manufacturing and sales. Collections, which is engaged in the pickup of tires from customers. Manufacturing, which is the processing of tires into rubber granule or baled tires. Sales, which is engaged in the laying of the rubber soft-fall surfaces or selling of rubber crumb and associated products to wholesale markets. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Holly LaFon]

    Whitney George is Director of Investments, Managing Director, and a Portfolio Manager of Royce & Associates, LLC, investment advisor to The Royce Funds. He serves as portfolio manager for Royce Premier Fund (RPR), Royce Low-Priced Stock Fund (RLP), Royce Global Value Fund (RGV), Royce SMid-Cap Value Fund (RSV), and Royce Focus Trust (FUND). He also serves as assistant portfolio manager for Royce Micro-Cap Fund (RMC), Royce Value Fund (RVV), Royce Value Plus Fund (RVP), Royce Focus Value Fund (RFV), and Royce Capital Fund ��Micro-Cap Portfolio (RCM). Mr. George's thoughts in this interview concerning the stock market are solely his own and, of course, there can be no assurance with regard to future market movements.

10 Best Life Sciences Stocks To Buy Right Now: Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. (BIN)

Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. operates as a vertically integrated non-hazardous solid waste management company in North America. It operates through three segments: Canada, the U.S. south, and the U.S. northeast. The company provides waste collection, transfer, recycling, and disposal services to commercial, industrial, municipal, and residential customers in 13 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and 6 Canadian provinces. It also owns and operates a power generating plant fuelled by landfill gas; and generates and sells methane gas. The company was formerly known as IESI-BFC Ltd. and changed its name to Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. in May 2011. Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. was founded in 2001 and is based in Vaughan, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Sean Williams]

    Keep in mind, though, this is a sectorwide problem, not just one affecting Waste Management. Canada's Progressive Waste Solutions (NYSE: BIN  ) delivered an 11% increase in first-quarter revenue but succumbed to a decrease of 0.5% in recycling revenue because of lower realized metal prices. �

10 Best Life Sciences Stocks To Buy Right Now: Regus plc (RGV)

Regus plc is a Luxembourg-based provider of global office outsourcing services. Its primary activity and business segment is the provision of global workplace solutions. There are three parts to the Company�� business: Mature, New and Third Place. The Company�� products and services include outsourcing, workplace recovery, business lounges, businessworld, meeting rooms, video communications, offices and virtual offices. It offers bespoke packages for starting a business, home based business, mall and medium business, international business and corporate workspace solutions. It has some 1,203 locations across 550 cities in 94 countries serving more than a million customers. Its principal geographical segments include Americas; Europe, Middle East and Africa; Asia Pacific; and the United Kingdom. In June 2013, Regus plc announced that it has launched its business centre in Nepal. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Holly LaFon]

    Whitney George is Director of Investments, Managing Director, and a Portfolio Manager of Royce & Associates, LLC, investment advisor to The Royce Funds. He serves as portfolio manager for Royce Premier Fund (RPR), Royce Low-Priced Stock Fund (RLP), Royce Global Value Fund (RGV), Royce SMid-Cap Value Fund (RSV), and Royce Focus Trust (FUND). He also serves as assistant portfolio manager for Royce Micro-Cap Fund (RMC), Royce Value Fund (RVV), Royce Value Plus Fund (RVP), Royce Focus Value Fund (RFV), and Royce Capital Fund ��Micro-Cap Portfolio (RCM). Mr. George's thoughts in this interview concerning the stock market are solely his own and, of course, there can be no assurance with regard to future market movements.

10 Best Life Sciences Stocks To Buy Right Now: Guggenheim Invest S&P MidCap 400 Pure Value ETF (RFV)

Guggenheim S&P MidCap 400 Pure Value ETF (the Fund) seeks to replicate as closely as possible the performance of the S&P MidCap 400/Citigroup Pure Value Index (the Index). The Index is narrow in focus, containing only those S&P MidCap 400 companies with strong value characteristics as selected by Standard & Poor��.

The Fund uses a passive management strategy to track the performance of the Index. The Fund invests in substantially all of the securities in the Index in approximately the same proportions as in the Index. The Fund's investment advisor is Rydex Investments.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Holly LaFon]

    Whitney George is Director of Investments, Managing Director, and a Portfolio Manager of Royce & Associates, LLC, investment advisor to The Royce Funds. He serves as portfolio manager for Royce Premier Fund (RPR), Royce Low-Priced Stock Fund (RLP), Royce Global Value Fund (RGV), Royce SMid-Cap Value Fund (RSV), and Royce Focus Trust (FUND). He also serves as assistant portfolio manager for Royce Micro-Cap Fund (RMC), Royce Value Fund (RVV), Royce Value Plus Fund (RVP), Royce Focus Value Fund (RFV), and Royce Capital Fund ��Micro-Cap Portfolio (RCM). Mr. George's thoughts in this interview concerning the stock market are solely his own and, of course, there can be no assurance with regard to future market movements.

10 Best Life Sciences Stocks To Buy Right Now: Applied Industrial Technologies Inc. (AIT)

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. distributes industrial products for maintenance, repair, and operational needs, as well as original equipment manufacturing applications primarily in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. The company offers bearings, power transmission components, fluid power components and systems, industrial rubber products, linear motion components, tools, safety products, and other industrial supplies; and fluid power products, such as hydraulic, pneumatic, lubrication, and filtration components and systems. It also operates regional fabricated rubber shops, which modify and repair conveyor belts and make hose assemblies; and rubber service field crews to install and repair belts and rubber linings at customer locations. In addition, the company assembles fluid power systems and components; performs equipment repair; offers technical advice to customers; and provides maintenance training, and inventory and stor eroom management solutions. It serves various industries, such as agriculture and food processing, automotive, chemical processing, forest products, industrial machinery and equipment, mining, primary metals, transportation, and utilities, as well as to government entities. The company offers industrial products through a network of service centers; and fluid power products directly to customers. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Marc Bastow]

    Industrial components distributor Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) raised its quarterly dividend 8.7% to 25 cents per share, payable on Feb. 28 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 14.
    AIT Dividend Yield: 1.98%

  • [By Dividends4Life]

    Fair Value: In calculating fair value, I consider the NPV MMA Differential Fair Value along with these four calculations of fair value, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description:

    1. Avg. High Yield Price
    2. 20-Year DCF Price
    3. Avg. P/E Price
    4. Graham Number

    GWW is trading at a premium to all four valuations above. The stock is trading at a 10.0% premium to its calculated fair value of $219.95. GWW did not earn any Stars in this section.

    Dividend Analytical Data: In this section there are three possible Stars and three key metrics, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description:

    1. Free Cash Flow Payout
    2. Debt To Total Capital
    3. Key Metrics
    4. Dividend Growth Rate
    5. Years of Div. Growth
    6. Rolling 4-yr Div. > 15%

    GWW earned three Stars in this section for 1.), 2.) and 3.) above. A Star was earned since the Free Cash Flow payout ratio was less than 60% and there were no negative Free Cash Flows over the last 10 years. The stock earned a Star as a result of its most recent Debt to Total Capital being less than 45%. GWW earned a Star for having an acceptable score in at least two of the four Key Metrics measured.

    Rolling 4-yr Div. > 15% means that dividends grew on average in excess of 15% for each consecutive 4 year period over the last 10 years (2003-2006, 2004-2007, 2005-2008, etc.) I consider this a key metric since dividends will double every 5 years if they grow by 15%. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1965 and has increased its dividend payments for 42 consecutive years.

    Dividend Income vs. MMA: Why would you assume the equity risk and invest in a dividend stock if you could earn a better return in a much less risky money market account (MMA) or Treasury bond? This section compares the earning ability of this stock with a high yield MMA. Two items are considered in this section, see page 2 of the linked

  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Industrial distributor�Applied Industrial Technologies� (NYSE: AIT  ) announced today its third-quarter dividend of $0.23�per share, the same rate it's paid for the past two quarters after raising the payout 9.5% from $0.21 per share.

10 Best Life Sciences Stocks To Buy Right Now: Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (VAC)

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, incorporated on June 21, 2011, is a developer, marketer, seller and manager of vacations ownership and related products under the Marriott Vacation Club and Grand Residences by Marriott brands. The Company is also the global developer, marketer and seller of vacations ownership and related products under the Ritz-Carlton Destination Club brand, and the Company has the non-exclusive right to develop, market and sell whole ownership residential products under the Ritz-Carlton Residences brands. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. (Ritz-Carlton), a subsidiary of Marriott International, generally provides on-site management for Ritz-Carlton branded properties.

As of December 28, 2012, the Company had 64 vacation ownership resorts in the United States and nine other countries and territories and approximately 421,000 owners of its vacation ownership and residential products. The Company offers the majority of its products through two points-based ownership programs: Marriott Vacation Club Destinations(MVCD) and Marriott Vacation Club, Asia Pacific.

The Company designs , build, manage and maintains its properties at upscale and luxury levels in accordance with the Marriott and Ritz-Carlton brand standards that the Company must comply with under the License Agreements. The Company offers its products under four brands: Marriott Vacation Club, Grand Residences, Ritz-Carlton Destination Club and Ritz-Carlton Residences.

The Marriott Vacation Club brand is the Company's signature offering in the upscale tier of the vacation ownership industry. Marriott Vacation Club resorts typically combine many of the comforts of home, such as spacious accommodations with one, two and three bedroom options, living and dining areas, in-unit kitchens and laundry facilities, with resort amenities such as feature swimming pools, restaurants and bars, convenience stores, fitness facilities and spas, as well as sports and recreation facilities appro! priate for each resort's location.

Grand Residences by Marriott is an upscale tier vacation ownership and whole ownership residence brand. The accommodations for this brand are similar to those the Company offers under the Marriott Vacation Club brand. The time period for each Grand Residences by Marriott vacation ownership interest ranges between three and thirteen weeks. The Company also offers whole ownership residential products under this brand.

The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club is a luxury tier vacation ownership brand. The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club provides luxurious vacation experiences commensurate with the legacy of the Ritz-Carlton brand. Ritz-Carlton Destination Club resorts typically feature two, three and four bedroom units that generally include marble foyers, walk-in closets and custom kitchen cabinetry, and luxury resort amenities, such as feature pools and access to full service restaurants and bars. The on-site services, which usually include daily maid service, valet, in-residence dining, and access to fitness facilities as well as spa and sports facilities as appropriate for each destination, are delivered by Ritz-Carlton.

The Ritz-Carlton Residences is a luxury tier whole ownership residence brand. The Ritz-Carlton Residences include whole ownership luxury residential condominiums and home sites for luxury home construction co-located with Ritz-Carlton Destination Club resorts. Owners can typically purchase condominiums that vary in size from one-bedroom apartments to spacious penthouses. Ritz-Carlton Residences owners can avail themselves of the services and facilities that are associated with the co-located Ritz-Carlton Destination Club resort on an a la carte basis. On-site services are delivered by Ritz-Carlton.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By GuruFocus]

    Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (VAC): President and CEO Stephen P. Weisz Bought 8,000 Shares

    President and CEO of Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (VAC) Stephen P. Weisz bought 8,000 shares during the past week at an average price of $43.60. Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation is a Delaware Corporation. Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp has a market cap of $1.54 billion; its shares were traded at around $43.60 with a P/E ratio of 30.67 and P/S ratio of 0.94.

Sunday, February 15, 2015

5 Best Promising Stocks To Buy For 2015

5 Best Promising Stocks To Buy For 2015: Chanticleer Holdings Inc (HOTR)

Chanticleer Holdings, Inc., incorporated in 1999, is a business operator focused on expanding the Hooters casual dining restaurant brand in international markets. Chanticleer has rights to develop and operate Hooters restaurants in South Africa and has joint ventured with the current franchisee in Australia. The company also has franchise rights to develop Hungary and parts of Brazil while evaluating several additional opportunities internationally. During the year ended December 31, 2011, Chanticleer and a group of private equity investors acquired Hooters of America, Inc. (HOA). HOA is the franchisor and operator of over 450 Hooters restaurants in 44 states and 28 foreign countries. In October 2013, Chanticleer Holdings Inc purchased American Roadside Burgers, Inc. In December 12, 2013, Chanticleer Holdings Inc acquired a 51% interest in JF Restaurants LLC, an owner and operator of restaurants. In February 2014, it acquired Hooters' United States Pacific Northwest franch ise rights and two existing restaurants in Oregon and Washington.

The Company operates in two business segments: Hooters franchise restaurants, and investment management and consulting services businesses. Hooters has also branched out to other areas, including licensing its name to a golf tour and the sale of packaged food in supermarkets. Its subsidiaries include Chanticleer Advisors, LLC, (Advisors), Avenel Ventures, LLC (Ventures), Avenel Financial Services, LLC (AFS), Chanticleer Holdings Limited (CHL), Chanticleer Holdings Australia Pty, Ltd. (CHA), Chanticleer Investment Partners, LLC (CIP), DineOut SA Ltd. (DineOut), Kiarabrite (Pty) Ltd (KPL), Dimaflo (Pty) Ltd (DFLO), Tundraspex (Pty) Ltd (TPL), Civisign (Pty) Ltd (CPL), Dimalogix (Pty) Ltd (DLOG) and Crown Restaurants Kft. (CRK).

South Africa

As of December 31, 201! 1, the Company had four Hooters locations in South Africa in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg (two locations), which are owned by four companies, which it control. The Com! pany formed a management company to operate the current South African Hooters locations. It owns 80% of the management company, with two members of local management owning the remaining 20%. The management company charges a management fee of 5% of net revenues to the Hooters locations in South Africa.

Other Countries

The Company has acquired development rights for Hooters in five states of Brazil, which would include Rio de Janeiro. It has applied to HOA for franchise rights in Hungary, where it own 80% of the entity the Company anticipate will hold the franchise rights and its local partner owns the remaining 20%. The Company has partnered with the Hooters franchisee in a joint venture in which it owns 49% and its partner 51%. The first Hooters restaurant under this joint venture (which would be the third Hooters restaurant open in Australia) opened in January 2012 in Campbelltown, a suburb of Sydney. It has a non-binding letter of intent with a fr anchisee to purchase 100% of an existing Hooters location.

Management and consulting services

The Company provides management and consulting services for small companies, which are seeking to become publicly traded. The Company also provides management and investment services for Investors LLC and Investors II, which are affiliates of the Company.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Chris Isidore]

    Restaurant chains are trying to hold the line on prices. Mark Allison, senior vice president of culinary operations at Chanticleer Holdings (HOTR), which operates the American Roadside Burger chain, said his chain raised prices about 12%, even though their beef costs are up even more than that.

  • [By Konrad Kuhn]

    Chanticleer Holdings (HOTR), a franchisee of international Hooters restaurants, has! exploded! through its upside target prices; however, in our view, the stock has a long way to go, as it expands its restaurants abroad, and in the US.

  • source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/5-best-promising-stocks-to-buy-for-2015-4.html

Friday, February 13, 2015

Sleep’ keeps bumper crop of apples fresh

DETROIT -- A bumper crop of Michigan apples, combined with a high-tech storage process that can keep the fruit fresh longer, is expected to offer grocers worldwide plenty of the crisp fruit all year — and at a lower price.

This year's crop is so robust, some Michigan apple growers and packers said they're filling up their storerooms and they rented space to handle all the extra apples coming in.

"This is going to be — knock on wood — our biggest season ever," said Tony Kramer, the controller for BelleHarvest Sales in Belding.

BelleHarvest and other shippers and packers are relying on controlled atmosphere storage, a process some farmers describe as "putting the apples to sleep" until the fruit is ready to be sold.

The scientific storage method that growers call CA lets packers preserve the fruit for up to a year in cold, dark rooms with almost no loss of taste to the fruit, growers say. In the sealed storage room, oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, as well as temperature and humidity, are regulated to keep the apples in a kind of suspended animation.

"It slows the respiration of the fruit and preserves it in a way that we can enjoy almost as if it just came out of the orchard," said Ken Nye of the Michigan Farm Bureau. "We've refined the process so you can enjoy apples year round. You can't look at it as an old apple."

Researchers at Michigan State University perfected the process by determining the best time to pick the apple and refining the gaseous mix. They've consulted with corporations to improve CA storage machinery and helped farmers grow apples that last longer in storage — and even taste better after being in storage.

The CA process and the bumper crop this year mean Michigan apples will reach foreign markets in the offseason; and apples from the good harvest won't go bad because they can't be eaten fast enough.

When the packers are ready to sell the apples, they are taken out of storage, sorted by size, color and condition — and broug! ht to market.

High quality, low price

Last year was one of Michigan's worst growing seasons in more than a half-century.

Spring frosts killed buds and destroyed about 90% of the state's crop. The crop yielded less than 3 million bushels.

The crop was so bad at BelleHarvest, just outside Grand Rapids and one of the largest shippers in the state, that not one apple ended up in CA storage.

But this season, Michigan is expected to harvest about 30 million bushels.

"In general, the overall volume of production has been very good," Nye said. "And thanks to favorable weather and abundant rainfall, the quality has also been very good so far this year."

Growers hope this will help make up for last year's loss. The average economic impact of apples in Michigan is between $700 million and $900 million annually, according to the Michigan Apple Committee.

Some packers estimate, the grocery store price for fresh apples could drop as much as 50 cents a pound because of the abundant harvest.

Apples are washed before being sorted at BelleHarvest Sales in Belding, Mich. A process called controlled atmosphere storage keeps the apples preserved until they are ready to be sold.(Photo: Kathleen Galligan, Detroit Free Press)

BelleHarvest recently invested about $2 million into its operation. It estimates it will produce more than 1 million bushels of apples, eight times last year's amount and about 15% more than an average year for the operation. Of that, the company anticipates about 70% of the apples will end up in the specialized CA storage.

In fact, to accommodate all the extra apples, the company plans to rent storage rooms throughout the state. As the apples come out of storage, they will be shipped thr! oughout t! he Midwest, and in the U.S. as far as Wyoming, Texas and the Carolinas. The company is exporting apples to Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico and Brazil, and possibly to Europe.

Science, some magic

CA storage, initially developed about 150 years ago, has been refined in the past half-century.

"Michigan State has definitely been at the forefront of this technology," said Randy Beaudry, an MSU professor who spoke at an international conference earlier this year.

For decades, MSU professors conducted groundbreaking research on post-harvest physiology, authored significant studies and presented papers at national and international gatherings. They worked with growers to enhance an apple's color, firmness and sweetness.

MSU research even helped companies like McDonald's develop a way to put apple slices in small packets without the slices turning brown.

A lot of science goes into storing apples.

"If they are picked at the right time, you won't know a difference between the fresh and stored apples," said Abby Jacobson, who owns an orchard in Macomb County with her sister. "If you pick them too early, they'll taste green. If you pick them too late, you can't keep them from ripening."

And a little magic goes into the storage process, too.

"We are putting the apples to sleep naturally," Jacobson said. She repeated a couple of lines as if she were hypnotizing her crop: "You're going to sleep. You're going to sleep."

----

Apples are prepared for shipping in a refrigerated area of BelleHarvest Sales. Many shippers and packers are relying on controlled atmosphere storage to preserve apples.(Photo: Kathleen Galligan, Detroit Free Press)

Controlled atmosphere storage

What: The storage method — ! sometimes! called CA — lets growers preserve the fruit for months with only a limited loss of quality. In this process, oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, and the temperature and humidity, are regulated.

How it works: It's like putting the fruit to sleep. In a sealed room, the oxygen that the fruit takes in and gives off as carbon dioxide is reduced, slowing the ripening process. Oxygen is replaced by nitrogen gas. Temperatures are reduced and kept in the low to mid-30s. Apples can be stored for about a year, depending on the variety.

History: Benjamin Nyce made the first recorded attempts of CA storage for apples in Ohio in 1865. Researchers in England studied these techniques from the 1920s-40s. Michigan farmers began using controlled atmosphere storage in the 1950s — and the state has been a leader in research on this process.

Source: Washington Apple Commission

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Top 10 Regional Bank Stocks To Own Right Now

Top 10 Regional Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: ZELTIQ Aesthetics Inc (ZLTQ)

ZELTIQ Aesthetics, Inc. (ZELTIQ), incorporated on March 22, 2005, is a medical technology company. The Company is focused on developing and commercializing products utilizing its controlled-cooling technology platform. Its commercial product is the CoolSculpting System that reduces stubborn fat bulges. The Company generates revenues from capital sales of its CoolSculpting System and from procedure fees its physician customers pay for each CoolSculpting procedure they perform. As of March 31, 2011, it had an installed base of 346 and 475 CoolSculpting Systems worldwide and over 88,000 CoolSculpting procedures had been sold to its physician customers. The Company markets CoolSculpting to the dermatologists, plastic surgeons, and aesthetic specialists. As of March 31, 2011, ZELTIQs North American direct sales force consisted of 23 professionals, and over 88,000 CoolSculpting procedures were sold to ZELTIQs physician customers.

CoolSculpting System

ZELTIQ generates revenues from capital sales of its CoolSculpting System and from procedure fees its physician customers pay for each CoolSculpting procedure they perform. Capital sales of ZELTIQs CoolSculpting System include the CoolSculpting control unit and its CoolSculpting vacuum applicators. ZELTIQ generates procedure fees through sales of CoolSculpting procedure packs, which include its consumable gelpads and liners and a disposable computer cartridge that it markets as the CoolCard. The CoolCard contains enabling software that permits its physician customer to perform a fixed number of CoolSculpting procedures.

The CoolSculpting control unit is the base of the CoolSculpting System. ZELTIQs CoolSculpting control unit also contains software that tracks and collects data about each procedure performed and any error messages that may be generated during the procedure. CoolSculpting System includes three CoolSculpting vacuum applicator! s. ZELTIQs CoolSculpting procedure packs facilitate the pay-per-procedure feature of its CoolSculpting System. Its CoolSculpting procedure packs include CoolCard and its consumable gelpads and liners.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    ZELTIQ Aesthetics (NASDAQ: ZLTQ) was also up, gaining 6.44 percent to $18.68. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on the stock with a Buy rating and a $28.00 price target.

  • [By Garrett Cook]

    Wednesday morning, the healthcare sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from ZELTIQ Aesthetics (NASDAQ: ZLTQ) and Aegerion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AEGR).

  • [By Sean Williams]

    Zeltiq Aesthetics (NASDAQ: ZLTQ  )
    Last, but certainly not least, we have Zeltiq Aesthetics, which utilizes its proprietary medical devices for the selective reduction of fat in patients. Understandably, we're not talking about a pharmacological solution here or even a long-term one necessarily. This is more of an aesthetic solution in cases where diet and exercise aren't meeting the patients' goal, but it should be noted that people will pay top dollar to look healthier and thinner, so Zeltiq's target audience is actually very large.

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    ZELTIQ Aesthetics (NASDAQ: ZLTQ) was also up, gaining 6.92 percent to $18.76. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on the stock with a Buy rating and a $28.00 price target.

  • source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-10-regional-bank-stocks-to-own-right-now-2.html

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Top 10 Building Product Companies To Buy For 2014

Axiall Corp (NYSE:AXLL) is screaming higher. Shares of the basic materials company's shares are up more than 10% thanks to an upgrade from Goldman Sachs. And according to analyst, Brian Maguire, there could be a lot more days like today.

Maguire tells investors that AXLL's earnings could double and rates Axiall as a "Buy," up from "Neutral," with a price-target of $60; another 29.7% upside as we type.

Axiall Corporation operates as an integrated chemicals and building products company in North America and Asia. Its products are used in various applications, including plastics, pulp and paper production, packaging, chemical intermediates, pharmaceuticals, medical and agricultural applications and paints, acrylics, and varnishes. The company was formerly known as Georgia Gulf Corporation and changed its name to Axiall Corporation in January 2013.

Top 5 Transportation Stocks To Invest In 2015: Koninklijke Ahold NV (AHONY)

Koninklijke Ahold N.V. (Ahold), incorporated on April 29, 1920, is engaged in the operation of retail food stores in the United States and Europe through subsidiaries and joint ventures. Ahold�� retail operations are presented in four segments: Stop & Shop/Giant-Landover, Giant-Carlisle, Albert Heijn and Albert/Hypernova. During the fiscal year ended January 3, 2010 (fiscal 2009), it operated 2,909 stores. On February 8, 2010, Ahold�� Giant-Carlisle acquired 25 stores from Ukrop�� Super Markets.

Franchisees operated 783 of the Albert Heijn, Etos and Gall & Gall stores, 463 of which were either owned by the franchisees or leased independently from Ahold. Of the 2,446 stores, 20% were company-owned and 80% were leased. Ahold�� stores range in size from 20 to over 10,000 square meters. Albert Heijn is a food retailer in the Netherlands. Etos is a health and beauty retailer in the Netherlands. Gall & Gall is a wine and liquor specialist in the Netherlands. Stop & Shop is a supermarket brand, operating in six states in the northeast United States. Giant-Landover is a supermarket brand, operating in four states in the mid-Atlantic United States. Peapod is an online grocery delivery service working in partnership with Stop & Shop and Giant-Landover. It also serves the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Illinois; Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin, and the northern areas of Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Duprey]

    As mentioned, Kroger is still swallowing Harris Teeter and has said it needs time to make more acquisitions. Royal Ahold (NASDAQOTH: AHONY  ) is also said to be leery about doing large acquisitions these days, while Cerberus recently finished acquiring the Albertsons and Acme chains from SUPERVALU (NYSE: SVU  ) �for $3.3 billion.

Top 10 Building Product Companies To Buy For 2014: Natus Medical Incorporated(BABY)

Natus Medical Incorporated provides neurodiagnostic and newborn care products worldwide. The company offers healthcare products used for the screening, detection, treatment, monitoring, and tracking of common medical ailments in newborn care, hearing impairment, neurological dysfunction, epilepsy, sleep disorders, and balance and mobility disorders. Its product offerings include neurodiagnostic systems for audiology, neurology, polysomnography, and neonatology; newborn care products, such as hearing screening systems, phototherapy devices for the treatment of newborn jaundice, head-cooling products for the treatment of brain injury in newborns, and incubators to control the newborn?s environment; and software systems for managing and tracking disorders and diseases. The company provides newborn hearing screening product lines consisting of the ALGO, ABaer, AuDX, and Echo-Screen newborn hearing screeners; and hearing screening supply products that are used with newborn hea ring screening devices. It also offers diagnostic hearing assessment product lines, which include the Navigator Pro system, the Scout sport portable diagnostic device, and the AuDX PRO; and diagnostic hearing supply products. In addition, the company provides monitoring systems, balance and mobility products, newborn brain injury diagnostic products, thermoregulation products, and jaundice management products. Further, it offers photometers, radiometers, patient warming lamps, neonatal heatshields, pediatric scales, blanket warming cabinets, exam lights, oxygen hoods, restraining boards, and newborn circumstraints; neonatal noise attenuators, phototherapy eye masks, and x-ray shields for reproductive organs; and newborn screening data management products. The company serves hospitals, clinics, laboratories, physicians, nurses, audiologists, and governmental agencies. Natus Medical Incorporated was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in San Carlos, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Sean Williams]

    We could always blame Europe for the shortfall; I mean everyone else is doing it, right? Just yesterday, niche diagnostic and device maker for infants and newborns Natus Medical (NASDAQ: BABY  ) warned that its revenue would be short of the Street's estimates because of tepid European demand for its products. Even having products with little competition in a niche category (infants and newborns) wasn't enough to save Natus Medical; could that be the reason Intuitive is faltering?

Top 10 Building Product Companies To Buy For 2014: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc.(GMCR)

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. engages in the specialty coffee and coffee maker business. The company sources, produces, and sells approximately 200 varieties of coffee, cocoa, teas, and other beverages in K-Cup portion packs and coffee in traditional packaging, including whole bean and ground coffee selections in bags and ground coffee in fractional packs for use in at-home (AH) and away-from-home (AFH). It sells its products primarily in North America through supermarkets, club stores, and convenience stores; in restaurants and hospitality; and to office coffee distributors, as well as directly to consumers through its Website. The company also manufactures gourmet single-cup brewing systems and brewing equipment. In addition, it sells AH single-cup brewers; accessories; and coffee, tea, hot cocoa, and other beverages in K-Cup portion packs, as well as offers other licensed roasters to retailers, department stores, and mass merchandisers. Further, the company sells AFH single-cup brewers to distributors for use in offices. It provides its products under the Van Houtte, Br�erie St. Denis, Br�erie Mont-Royal, and Orient Express brands, as well as licensed Bigelow and Wolfgang Puck brands. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in Waterbury, Vermont.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Shares of Keurig Green Mountain (GMCR) have powered higher in after-hours trading after the coffee maker reported better-than-forecast earnings.

    REUTERS

    Keurig Green Mountain reported a profit of $1.03, beating FactSet forecasts for 88 cents, on sales of $1.1 billion, ahead of the Street consensus of $1.05 billion. Keurig also said it expects 2014 earnings to come in between $3.63 and $3.73 a share–analysts were predicting $3.72–while revenue would grow in the high single digits.

    Keurig Gren Mountain CEO Brian Kelly had this to say in the company’s press release:

    Short term, we are focused on successfully introducing� our Keurig 2.0 hot system; adding a number of additional brands as new Keurig partners; and, preparing for the launch of our Keurig cold system in fiscal year 2015. Longer term, continued investment in innovation across all facets of our business ��from new product development to merchandising ��will power a robust pipeline of new products, drive financial performance and fuel continued consumer passion for the Keurig brand.

    Shares of Keurig Green Mountain have gained 6.4% to $98.10 at 5:10 p.m. in after-hours trading.

Top 10 Building Product Companies To Buy For 2014: Sabine Royalty Trust(SBR)

Sabine Royalty Trust receives a distribution of royalty and mineral interests from Sabine Corporation. Its royalty and mineral interests, include landowner?s royalties, overriding royalty interests, minerals, production payments, and other non-participatory interests in various producing and proved undeveloped oil and gas properties in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The company was founded in 1982 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Lawrence Meyers]

    The Sabine Royalty Trust (SBR) is diversified from a geographical perspective, with interests spreading across both producing and undeveloped gas properties in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.� It essentially operates as a holding company into which all the royalties get deposited and all the money gets distributed to shareholders via its 9.2% yield.

Top 10 Building Product Companies To Buy For 2014: Emergent Biosolutions Inc. (EBS)

Emergent BioSolutions, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, engages in the development, manufacture, and commercialization of specialized products for use in defense and commercial markets in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Biodefense and Biosciences. It markets BioThrax, an FDA licensed vaccine for the prevention of anthrax disease; and RSDL (decontamination lotion) product for removal or neutralization of chemical warfare agents from the skin. The company�s development pipeline includes Anthrivig (Human Anthrax Immunoglobulin), a polyclonal anthrax therapeutic candidate; PreviThrax, a recombinant anthrax vaccine candidate, NuThrax (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed with CPG 7909 Adjuvant); BioThrax with a novel adjuvant; and Thravixa (Fully Human Anthrax Monoclonal Antibody), a therapeutic being studied for use against symptomatic anthrax infection. In addition, it develops TRU-016, a humanized anti-CD37 therapeutic candidate, ba sed on its ADAPTIR (Modular Protein Technology) platform that is in Phase I/II clinical trials to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Further, the company develops preclinical product candidates targeted for solid tumors, inflammatory bowel disease, graft versus host disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and a human vaccine to protect against influenza caused by a range of circulating H5 influenza strains. Emergent BioSolutions, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Traders Reserve]

    I discovered Emergent Bio Solutions (EBS) when I ran my proprietary P/E Gap model at the end of December. Without getting into the details, P/E Gap identifies stocks that have the potential to rally based on being significantly undervalued.

  • [By Stephen Quickel]

    Emergent BioSolutions (EBS) is a far smaller specialist in bio-medical products for the military and commercial markets, including anthrax vaccine and decontamination agents. With revenues nearing $400 million, EBS is acquiring Canada's Cangene Corp. to expand its product line.

Top 10 Building Product Companies To Buy For 2014: Partner Communications Company Ltd.(PTNR)

Partner Communications Company Ltd. provides various telecommunications services in Israel. It offers cellular telephony services on GSM/GPRS and UMTS/HSDPA networks. The company also provides basic services, including domestic mobile calls, international dialing, roaming, voice mail, short message services, intelligent network services, content based on its cellular portal, data and fax transmission, and other services. In addition, it offers Internet services provider services that provides access to the Internet, as well as home WiFi networks; value added services, such as anti-virus and anti-spam filtering; and transmission services; and Web video on demand services, music tracks, and games. Further, the company provides voice over broadband and primary rate interface fixed-line telephone services; and data capacity services. Additionally, it offers content services comprising voice mail, text, and multimedia messaging, as well as downloadable wireless data application s, including ring tones, music, games, and other informational content; and sells handsets, phones, routers, and related equipment. The company markets its products through its sales centers, business sales representatives, traditional networks of specialized dealers, and non-traditional networks of retail chains and stores under the Orange brand name. Partner Communications Company Ltd. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Rosh Ha-ayin, Israel.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Garrett Cook]

    Telecommunications services shares jumped around 1.19 percent in today’s trading. Top gainers in the sector included NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ), China Unicom (Hong Kong) (NYSE: CHU), and Partner Communications Company (NASDAQ: PTNR).

  • [By Eddie Staley]

    Telecommunications services shares jumped around 1.19 percent in today’s trading. Top gainers in the sector included NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ), China Unicom (Hong Kong) (NYSE: CHU), and Partner Communications Company (NASDAQ: PTNR).

  • [By Garrett Cook]

    In trading on Monday, telecommunications services shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.35 percent. Meanwhile, top decliners in the sector included Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE: CEL), down 5 percent, and Partner Communications Company Ltd. (NASDAQ: PTNR), off 3.9 percent.

Top 10 Building Product Companies To Buy For 2014: Comtech Telecommunications Corp.(CMTL)

Comtech Telecommunications Corp. engages in the design, development, production, and marketing of products, systems, and services for advanced communications solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: Telecommunications Transmission, Mobile Data Communications, and RF Microwave Amplifiers. The Telecommunications Transmission segment provides satellite earth station equipment and systems, over-the-horizon microwave systems, and forward error correction technology, which are used in various commercial and government applications, including backhaul of wireless and cellular traffic, broadcasting (including HDTV), IP-based communications traffic, long distance telephony, and secure defense applications. The Mobile Data Communications segment provides mobile satellite transceivers, and computers and satellite earth station network gateways and associated installation, training, and maintenance services; supplies and operates satellite pac ket data networks, including arranging and providing satellite capacity; and offers microsatellites and related components. The RF Microwave Amplifiers segment designs, develops, manufactures, and markets satellite earth station traveling wave tube amplifiers (TWTA) and broadband amplifiers. Its amplifiers are used in broadcast and broadband satellite communication; defense applications, such as telecommunications systems and electronic warfare systems; and commercial applications comprising oncology treatment systems, as well as to amplify signals carrying voice, video, or data for air-to-satellite-to-ground communications. The company serves satellite systems integrators, wireless and other communication service providers, broadcasters, defense contractors, military, governments, and oil companies. Comtech markets its products through independent representatives and value-added resellers. The company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Melville, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Monica Gerson]

    Comtech Telecommunications (NASDAQ: CMTL) reported upbeat fiscal fourth quarter results and issued a strong full-year outlook. Comtech shares jumped 11.12% to $26.77 in the after-hours trading session.

Monday, February 9, 2015

5 Best Shipping Stocks To Buy Right Now

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- The stock market is once again under heavy selling pressure today, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average off by 139 points, the S&P 500 down by 13 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq trending lower by 32 points.

>>3 Stocks Breaking Out on Big Volume

Despite the weak action in the markets, there's one group of stocks that traders continue to come after with force. That group is what I like to call "horrible charts." These oversold, beaten-down stocks with poor-looking technicals are where all the money is being made right now as large traders chase this group looking for quick rebound moves. This is a theme and pattern in the markets that I think is going to continue to play out, since there are so many candidates for this chart pattern.

Take, for example, the run we've seen in shipping player NewLead Holdings (NEWL) over the last few days. You'll be hard-pressed to find a worse-looking chart then NEWL over the last six months. Things got so bad for this company that last Thursday it announced a 1-for-50 reverse stock split for its common shares so that the company could maintain its compliance with being listed on the Nasdaq. Shares of NEWL are soaring higher today by 80% in a tough tape -- and the stock is up much more than that when you consider that its post-split low was 39 cents per share.

Top Value Companies To Invest In 2015: Baoye Group Co Ltd (BKG)

Baoye Group Company Limited is engaged in the provision of construction service, manufacture and distribution of building materials and development and sale of properties. The Company three segments: construction, which includes provision of construction services; property development, which includes development and sale of properties, and building materials, which includes manufacture and distribution of building materials. Its subsidiaries include Zhejiang Baoye Construction Group Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Baoye Curtain Wall Decoration Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Baoye Infrastructure Construction Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Guangyi Construction and Decoration Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Baoye Real Estate Group Co., Ltd., Shaoxing Baoye Four Seasons Garden Real Estate Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Baoye Building Materials Industrialisation Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Baoye Steel Structure Co., Ltd. and others. During the year ended 31 December 2011, the Company acquired three parcels of new land in Wuhan, Shanghai, and Henan. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Inyoung Hwang]

    Berkeley Group Holdings Plc (BKG) surged 8.3 percent after saying first-half profit rose 22 percent. London Stock Exchange Group Plc (LSE) climbed 2.4 percent after Bank of America Corp.�� Merrill Lynch unit recommended buying the stock. Givaudan SA (GIVN) lost 1.3 percent after Nestle SA said it will sell $1.27 billion of shares in the world�� largest flavorings maker.

5 Best Shipping Stocks To Buy Right Now: Murphy Oil Corp (MUR)

Murphy Oil Corporation, incorporated on June 29, 1964, is a worldwide oil and gas exploration and production company with retail and wholesale gasoline marketing operations in the United States and refining and marketing operations in the United Kingdom. In August 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the spin-off of its United States retail marketing business into an independent public company called Murphy USA Inc.

Murphy's exploration and production activities are subdivided into five geographic segments, including the United States, Canada, Malaysia, the Republic of the Congo and all other countries. Murphy's refining and marketing activities are subdivided into segments for the United States and the United Kingdom.

Exploration and Production

During the year ended December 31, 2012, Murphy's principal exploration and production activities were conducted in the United States by wholly owned Murphy Exploration & Production Company - USA (Murphy Expro USA), in Malaysia, Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Suriname, Australia, Brunei, the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Cameroon, Vietnam and Equatorial Guinea by wholly owned Murphy Exploration & Production Company - International (Murphy Expro International) and its subsidiaries, in Western Canada and offshore Eastern Canada by wholly owned Murphy Oil Company Ltd. (MOCL) and its subsidiaries, and in the U.K. North Sea and the Atlantic Margin by wholly owned Murphy Petroleum Limited.

Murphy's crude oil and natural gas liquids production in 2012 was in the United States, Canada, Malaysia, the Republic of the Congo and the United Kingdom; its natural gas was produced and sold in the United States, Canada, Malaysia and the United Kingdom. MOCL owns a 5% undivided interest in Syncrude Canada Ltd. in northern Alberta, one of the producers of synthetic crude oil. Murphy's worldwide crude oil, condensate and natural gas liquids production in 2012, averaged 112,591 barrels per day. The Company's worldwi! de sales volume of natural gas averaged 490 million cubic feet per day in 2012.

In the United States, Murphy primarily has production of oil and/or natural gas from fields in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, in the Eagle Ford Shale area of South Texas and onshore in South Louisiana. The Company produced approximately 26,100 barrels of oil per day and 53 million cubic feet of natural gas per day in the U.S. in 2012. During 2012, approximately 54% of total U.S. hydrocarbon production was produced at fields in the Gulf of Mexico. The Company holds a 60% interest at Medusa in Mississippi Canyon Blocks 538/582, which produced total daily oil and natural gas of about 4,300 barrels and for million cubic feet, respectively, in 2012. At December 31, 2012, the Medusa field had total proved oil and natural gas reserves of approximately 9.2 million barrels and 9.4 billion cubic feet, respectively. Murphy has a 62.5% working interest in the Front Runner field in Green Canyon Blocks 338/339. Oil and natural gas production at Front Runner averaged about 3,900 barrels of oil per day and four million cubic feet per day in 2012. The Company also acquired additional working interests in the Thunder Hawk field in Mississippi Canyon Block 734 in 2012 and holds 62.5% of this field. In 2012 oil production from this field averaged 2,800 barrels per day and 1.7 million cubic feet per day and 3.2 million cubic feet per day due to a new well completed in 2012.

The Company is primarily concentrating drilling efforts in the areas of the Eagle Ford where oil is the primary hydrocarbon produced. Totals for 2012 oil and natural gas production in the Eagle Ford area were approximately 13,300 barrels per day and 13 MMCF per day, respectively. On a barrel of oil equivalent basis, Eagle Ford production accounted for 44% of total U.S. production volumes in 2012. At December 31, 2012, the Company's proved reserves in the Eagle Ford Shale area totaled 113.6 million barrels of oil and 108.7 billion cubic feet of natural! gas. Tot! al proved U.S. oil and natural gas reserves at December 31, 2012 were 142.6 million barrels and 209.7 billion cubic feet, respectively. The Company is developing the Dalmatian field located in DeSoto Canyon Blocks 4 and 48 in the Gulf of Mexico.

In Canada, the Company owns an interest in three non-operated assets - the Hibernia and Terra Nova fields offshore Newfoundland in the Jeanne d'Arc Basin and Syncrude Canada Ltd. in northern Alberta. In addition, the Company owns interests in one heavy oil area, two natural gas areas and light oil prospective acreage in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB). Murphy has a 6.5% working interest in Hibernia, while at Terra Nova the Company's working interest is 10.475%. Oil production in 2012 was about 5,300 barrels of oil per day at Hibernia and 1,700 barrels per day at Terra Nova. Total proved oil reserves at December 31, 2012 at Hibernia and Terra Nova were approximately 10.6 million barrels and 5.9 million barrels, respectively.

Murphy owns a 5% undivided interest in Syncrude Canada Ltd., a joint venture located about 25 miles north of Fort McMurray, Alberta. Syncrude utilizes its assets, which include three coking units, to extract bitumen from oil sand deposits and to upgrade this bitumen into a synthetic crude oil. Production in 2012 was about 13,800 barrels of synthetic crude oil per day. Total proved reserves for Syncrude at year-end 2012 were 119.1 million barrels. Daily production in 2012 in the WCSB averaged about 7,500 barrels of mostly heavy oil and about 217 million cubic feet of natural gas. Through 2012, the Company has acquired approximately 144 thousand net acres of mineral rights in the Montney area, including Tupper and Tupper West.

In Malaysia, the Company has majority interests in six separate production sharing contracts (PSCs). The Company serves as the operator of all these areas other than the Kakap field. The production sharing contracts cover approximately 2.79 million gross acres. Murphy h! as an 85%! interest in discoveries made in two shallow-water blocks, SK 309 and SK 311, offshore Sarawak. About 7,400 barrels of oil per day were produced in 2012 at Blocks SK 309/311, with almost 75% of this at the West Patricia field and the remainder mostly associated with gas liquids produced at other Sarawak fields. Total net natural gas sales volume offshore Sarawak was about 174 million cubic feet per day during 2012 . Total proved reserves of oil and natural gas at December 31, 2012 for Blocks SK 309/311 were 10.3 million barrels and 284.7 billion cubic feet, respectively.

The Company made a discovery at the Kikeh field in deepwater Block K, offshore Sabah, Malaysia. Total gross acreage held by the Company in Block K as of December 31, 2012 was 80,000 acres. Production volumes at Kikeh averaged 44,900 barrels of oil per day during 2012. Total proved reserves booked in Block K as of year-end 2012 were 85.4 million barrels of oil and 72.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas.Total proved reserves booked in Block K in 2012, were 85.4 million barrels of oil and 72.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas. Total gross acreage held by the Company at year-end 2012 in Block H was 1.40 million acres. Murphy has a 75% interest in gas holding agreements for Kenarong and Pertang discoveries made in Block PM 311, located offshore peninsular Malaysia.

The Company had interests in Production Sharing Agreements (PSA) covering two offshore blocks in Republic of the Congo - Mer Profonde Sud (MPS) and Mer Profonde Nord (MPN) during 2012. These interests covered approximately 1.33 million gross acres with water depths ranging from 490 to 6,900 feet, and the Company operated both blocks. Total oil production in 2012 averaged 2,100 barrels per day at Azurite for the Company's 50% interest. Anticipated production in 2013 is 1,500 barrels per day.

The Company holds six exploration permits in Australia and serves as operator of four of them. Block NT/P80 in the Bonaparte Basin, offshore northwester! n Austral! ia, was acquired in June 2009 and covers approximately 1.20 million gross acres. In May 2012, Murphy was awarded permit WA-476-P in the Carnarvon Basin, offshore Western Australia. The Company holds 100% working interest in the permit which covers 177,000 gross acres. In August 2012, Murphy was awarded permit WA-481-P in the Perth Basin, offshore Western Australia. The permit covers approximately 4.30 million gross acres, with water depths ranging from 20 to 300 meters. The Company holds a 40% working interest. The work commitment calls for tw0- dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) seismic acquisition and processing, geophysical work and three exploration wells. In November 2012, Murphy acquired a 20% non-operated working interest in permit WA-408-P in the Browse Basin. This block is adjacent to AC/P36 and is in the midst of a two-well exploration campaign. The permit comprises approximately 417,000 gross acres.

The Company has interests in four exploration licenses in Indonesia and serves as operator of all these concessions. . Following contractually mandated acreage relinquishment in 2012, the block covers approximately 745 thousand gross acres. The Company has a 28.3% interest in the block which covers about 543 thousand gross acres after a required partial relinquishment of acreage during 2012. The permit calls for a 3D seismic program and three exploration wells. Murphy has a 100% interest in the block which covers 1.22 million gross acres. In November 2012, the Company signed a production sharing contract with Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group and PetroVietnam Exploration Production Company, whereby it acquired 65% interest and operatorship of Blocks 144 and 145. The blocks cover approximately 4.42 million gross acres and are located in the outer Phu Khanh Basin. In late 2012, the Company was granted Vietnam's government approval to acquire a 60% working interest and operatorship of Block 11-2/11.

The Company operates and holds a 50% interest in the block. The Ce! ntral Doh! uk block covers approximately 153 thousand gross acres and is located in the Dohuk area of the Kurdistan region in Iraq. The Company shot seismic in 2011 and drilled an unsuccessful exploration well in 2012.The Company acquired a 100% working interest and operatorship of Block 48 offshore Suriname. The block encompasses 794 thousand gross acres with water depths ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 meters. Murphy relinquished Block 37 in July 2012.

Murphy was granted government approval to acquire a 50% working interest and operatorship of the NTEM concession. The working interest was acquired from Sterling Cameroon Limited (Sterling) via a farm-out agreement of the existing production sharing contract. Sterling retained a 50% non-operated interest in the block. The NTEM block, situated in the Douala Basin offshore Cameroon, encompasses 573 thousand gross acres, with water depths ranging from 300 to 1,900 meters. In October 2012, Murphy signed an agreement with Perenco Cameroon to acquire a 50% interest in the Elombo production sharing contract, immediately adjacent to the NTEM concession. The Company received government approval to acquire the acreage in December 2012. Perenco retained a 50% operating interest in the block. The Elombo block, situated in the Douala Basin offshore Cameroon, between the shoreline and the NTEM block, encompasses 594 thousand gross acres with water depths ranging up to 1,100 meters.

In December 2012, Murphy signed a production sharing contract for block W offshore Equatorial Guinea. Murphy has a 45% working interest and has been designated the operator. The government is expected to ratify the contract early in 2013. The block is located offshore mainland Equatorial Guinea and encompasses 557 thousand gross acres with water depths ranging from 60 to 2,000 meters. The initial exploration period of five years is divided into two sub-periods, a sub-period of three years and a second sub-period of two years. The sub-period may be extended one year and with this! extensio! n is the obligation to drill one well. Murphy has produced oil and natural gas in the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea for many years. In 2012, Murphy entered into several contracts to sell all of its oil and gas properties in the United Kingdom.

Murphy's total proved undeveloped reserves at December 31, 2012 increased 42.0 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBOE) from a year earlier. Approximately 44.0 MMBOE of proved undeveloped reserves were converted to proved developed reserves during 2012. During 2012, there were 26.6 million barrels of oil per day of positive revisions for proved undeveloped reserves. At December 31, 2012, proved reserves are included for several development projects that are ongoing, including natural gas developments at the Tupper West area in British Columbia and offshore Sarawak Malaysia, and an oil development at Kakap, offshore Sabah Malaysia. Total proved undeveloped reserves associated with various development projects at December 31, 2012 were approximately 219 million barrels of oil per day, which is 36% of the Company's total proved reserves.

Murphy Oil USA, Inc. (MOUSA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Murphy Oil Corporation and markets its refined products through a network of Company stations, unbranded wholesale customers and bulk products customers in a 30-state area, primarily in the Southern and Midwestern United States. Murphy's Company stations are located in 23 states and are primarily located in the parking lots of Walmart Supercenters using the brand name Murphy USA. The Company stations also include stand-alone locations using the Murphy Express brand. During 2012, Company stations sold over 3.8 billion gallons of motor fuel. At December 31, 2012, the Company marketed fuel and convenience merchandise through 1,165 Company stations. Of these Company stations, 1,015 are located on parking lots of Walmart Supercenters or other Walmart stores and 150 are stand-alone Murphy Express locations.

The Company owns land und! erlying 9! 08 of the Company stations on Walmart parking lots. No rent is payable to Walmart for the owned locations. For the remaining 104 Company stations located on Walmart property that are not owned, Murphy has master agreements that allow the Company to rent land from Walmart. The master agreements contain general terms applicable to all rental sites on Walmart property in the United States. In addition to the motor fuel sold at the Company's Company stations, its stores carry a broad selection of snacks, beverages, tobacco products, and other non-food merchandise. The Company's merchandise offerings include two private label products, an isotonic drink offered in several flavors and a private label energy drink. In 2012, the Company purchased more than 88% of its merchandise from a single vendor, McLane's Company, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.

Murphy owns an interest in a crude oil pipeline that connects storage at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) at Clovelly, Louisiana, to the formerly owned Meraux refinery. Murphy owns a 40.1% interest in its 22 miles of this pipeline from Clovelly to Alliance, Louisiana, and 100% of the remaining 24 miles from Alliance to Meraux. Murco Petroleum Limited (Murco), a wholly owned U.K. subsidiary, owns 100% interest in a refinery at Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, Wales. The refinery is located on a 938 acre site owned by the Company; 430 acres are used by the refinery and the remainder is rented for agricultural use. The refinery consistently performed near nameplate capacity during 2012. Murphy has announced its intention to sell the Milford Haven refinery and United Kingdom marketing assets.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By The Value Investor]

    Shareholders in Murphy Oil (MUR) have to check their broker statements today. After the spin-off of its former retail marketing business is complete, shareholders now hold shares in both the former Murphy Oil as well as in the newly formed Murphy USA.

  • [By Joshua Bondy]

    Murphy Oil (NYSE: MUR  ) has already spun off its US retail operations into Murphy Oil USA�and�is exploring the possibility of spinning off its U.K. refining operations. Divesting its refineries will help direct excess cash to developing new fields.�

5 Best Shipping Stocks To Buy Right Now: New Mountain Finance Corp (NMFC)

New Mountain Finance Corporation, formerly New Mountain Guardian Corporation, will be a holding company with no direct operations of its own, and its only business and sole asset will be its ownership of common membership units of New Mountain Guardian Holdings, L.L.C. (NMG LLC), the operating company for its business. NMG LLC will be an externally managed finance company, which will own all of the existing assets, and will have assumed all of the existing liabilities, of the Guardian Entities following this offering.

NMG LLC will be managed by New Mountain Guardian Advisors BDC, L.L.C, a wholly-owned subsidiary of New Mountain Capital, L.L.C. (New Mountain). New Mountain focuses on investing in high-quality, defensive growth companies across its private equity, public equity and credit investment vehicles.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By alicet236]

    CEO, President and Director of New Mountain Finance Corp (NMFC) Robert Hamwee bought 15,000 shares on Aug. 13, 2013, at an average price of $14.65. The total transaction amount was $219,750.

  • [By Monica Gerson]

    New Mountain Finance (NYSE: NMFC) fell 2.33% to $14.23 after the company priced 3.5 million shares at $14.57 per share for net proceeds of $51 million.

5 Best Shipping Stocks To Buy Right Now: Renaissance Oil Corp (ROE)

Renaissance Oil Corp, formerly San Antonio Ventures Inc., is developing a diversified shale and mature fields portfolio for development in Mexico and Spain. The Company is partnered with Grupo SAMCA, a diverse industrial with operations in energy, mining, industrial minerals, agriculture, environmental and various other business lines in Spain. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Canadian Value]

    Financials were hit extremely hard during the 2008��009 financial crisis, and US and European bank valuations plunged to levels only seen twice before in the past 120 years, notably during the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Inflation Crisis of the 1970s. Over the past few years, many banks have rebuilt their balance sheets, altered their business mixes and cut costs. Financial valuations have tracked returns very closely, and both have recovered from the lows reached in mid-2011. We do not believe return on equity (ROE) will likely recover to prior peaks, but our analysis shows that bank holdings have potential to improve further, particularly as business conditions begin to normalize and lending activities (at some point in the cycle) resume.

  • [By ovenerio]

    In this article, let麓s see one of the most important financial ratios applying to stockholders, the best measure of performance for a firm's management: the Return on Equity (ROE), and we are going to analyze it in the case of Oracle Corporation (ORCL), the leading provider of enterprise technology solutions, offering software, services and hardware.ROE is calculated as net income applicable to common shares divided by the average book value of common equity: ROE = Net Income / Av. Book ValueA higher ROE is viewed as a positive aspect for the company, but the reason behind it should be examine. From the equation above, we can see that if book value is decreasing more rapidly than net income, the ratio will increase, but this is not good for the firm.Dupont AnalysisThis approach can be used to analyze the ROE. With some algebra we can break down ROE into a function of different ratios. Firstly, we are going to consider the original approach:Original Dupont Equation: Three-Part DupontTaking the ROE equation: ROE = net income / shareholder's equity and multiplying ROE by (revenue / revenue), and rearranging terms we get:ROE = (net income / revenue) * (revenue / shareholder's equity)We now have ROE broken into two parts, the first is net profit margin, and the second is the equity turnover ratio. Now we can expand this by multiplying these terms by (assets / assets), and rearranging we end up with the three-step DuPont equation.ROE = (Net Income / Revenue) * (Revenue / Assets) * (Assets / Shareholder's Equity)This equation for ROE breaks it into three widely used and studied components:ROE = (Net profit margin)* (Asset Turnover) * (Leverage ratio)The first term is what we called previously net profit margin, the second term is asset turnover and the third tem is a financial leverage ratio. If we have a low ROE, one of the following must be true:The firm has a poor profit marginThe firm has a poor asset turnoverThe firm has a little leverageROE (%) 3 StepMay-05May-0