Top 5 Building Product Stocks For 2014

It's been a volatile year for the roofing industry, and over the last three months, investors have seen more downside. Roofing materials distributor Beacon Roofing Supply (NASDAQ: BECN  ) is down 11.5% in the last three months, and building products manufacturer Owens Corning (NYSE: OC  ) fell 5.5% in the same period -- all in a year when many commentators thought this sector would outperform.�

It's complicated
A resurgent housing market should lead to a marginal increase in new residential roofing demand, while the underlying reroofing demand should provide its usual support. Indeed, these conditions looked like they were in place for 2013, and analysts built a fair amount of optimism into their expectations. So what went wrong?

First, the US has had some unusual weather patterns in recent years. In previous years, hurricane Irene (and to a lesser extent Sandy) helped to generate reroofing demand, while this year's weather has been far more clement. Worse yet, according to Owens Corning, those storms pulled forward reroofing work that homeowners might otherwise have planned to do this year. And this spring's bout of wet weather further hurt roofing activity, because contractors simply couldn't work.

10 Best New Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Crosstex Energy Inc.(XTXI)

Crosstex Energy, Inc., through its partnership interests in Crosstex Energy, L.P., engages in the gathering, transmission, processing, and marketing of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and crude oil in the United States. The company connects the wells of natural gas producers in its market areas to its gathering systems; processes natural gas for the removal of NGLs; fractionates NGLs; and markets and transports natural gas and NGLs. It also purchases natural gas from natural gas producers and other supply sources; and sells that natural gas to utilities, industrial consumers, other marketers, and pipelines. In addition, the company operates processing plants that process gas transported to the plants by interstate pipelines or from its own gathering systems. Further, it purchases natural gas from producers not connected to its gathering systems for resale, as well as sells natural gas on behalf of producers; and through its crude oil terminal facilities in south L ouisiana provides access for crude oil producers. As of February 8, 2012, the company operated approximately 3,300 miles of pipeline, 9 processing plants, and 3 fractionators. Crosstex Energy, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Utilities sector was the only decliner in the US market today. Top losers in the sector included UIL Holdings (NYSE: UIL), off 2.1 percent, and Crosstex Energy (NASDAQ: XTXI), down 2.2 percent.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Utilities sector was the only decliner in the US market today. Top losers in the sector included UIL Holdings (NYSE: UIL), off 2.1 percent, and Crosstex Energy (NASDAQ: XTXI), down 2.2 percent.

Top 5 Building Product Stocks For 2014: Cameco Corporation(CCJ)

Cameco Corporation operates as a uranium producer, supplier of conversion services, and fuel manufacturer. The company?s Uranium segment is involved in the exploration for, mining, milling, purchase, and sale of uranium concentrate. Its operating uranium properties include the McArthur River and Key Lake, and Rabbit Lake located in Saskatchewan, Canada; the Crow Butte located in Nebraska and the Smith Ranch-Highland located in Wyoming; and the Inkai uranium deposit located in Kazakhstan. Cameco Corporation?s Fuel Services segment engages in the refining, conversion, and fabrication of uranium concentrate; and the purchase and sale of conversion services. Its products include uranium trioxide, uranium hexafluoride, and uranium dioxide. This segment also manufactures fuel bundles, reactor components, and monitoring equipment to Candu reactors; and provides nuclear fuel and consulting services to Candu operators. The company?s Electricity segment engages in the generation and sale of nuclear electricity, through its 31.6% interest in Bruce Power L.P. This segment operates four nuclear reactors at the Bruce B generating station in southern Ontario, Canada. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Saskatoon, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Reuben Brewer]

  Relatively weak demand for thermal coal in China has pushed coal prices lower in Australia. That's a problem for big miners like Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO  ) , BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP  ) , and Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU  ) . However it could add to the allure of uranium miner Cameco (NYSE: CCJ  ) .

• [By The Energy Report]

  JH: There are several companies that are in production that we follow in the U.S., such as Cameco Corp. (CCJ). Cameco produces at the Smith Ranch-Highland in the Powder River Basin. There's Uranium One, also in the Powder River Basin. There's Uranium Energy Corp. (UEC). A few near-term producers are rapidly coming online. Ur-Energy Inc. (URG) is one company we like in Wyoming.

• [By The Energy Report]

  DS: Two of our top picks are Cameco Corp. (CCJ) and Ur-Energy Inc. (URG). For Cameco, we've got a $25/share target and an outperform rating. This company is the industry's go-to, the blue chip uranium company. It's organically growing very low-cost operations, which are for the most part in very safe jurisdictions. It has a lower-risk approach to contracts, with a targeted pricing mix of about 40% fixed-pricing and 60% market-related pricing in the contract book. The company's got a solid balance sheet. We think it's going to end Q3/13 with about $800M in working capital and another $2 billion [$2B] in undrawn lines of credit. It's also diversified across the nuclear fuel chain, with exposure not only to its core uranium mining business but also with nuclear fuel services, like conversion and fuel fabrication. It's got a stake in the Bruce nuclear power plant as well as a newly bolted-on uranium trading business, so it's quite diversified. On top of that, Cameco pays a 2% dividend. We think it offers a very attractive risk/reward proposition at these levels.

Top 5 Building Product Stocks For 2014: Pinnacle Foods Inc (PF)

Pinnacle Foods Inc., incorporated on July 28, 2003, is a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of branded food products in North America. The Company operates in three segments: the Birds Eye Frozen Division, the Duncan Hines Grocery Division and the Specialty Foods Division. The Birds Eye Frozen Division and the Duncan Hines Grocery Division, which collectively represent its North America Retail operations, include the brands. Its brand portfolio enjoys household penetration in the United States, where its products can be found in approximately 85% of U.S. households. Its products are sold through supermarkets, grocery wholesalers and distributors, mass merchandisers, super centers, convenience stores, dollar stores, drug stores and warehouse clubs in the United States and Canada, as well as in military channels and foodservice locations. On June 24, 2011, the Company completed the sale of its Watsonville, California facility which had been recorded as an asset held for sale.

Birds Eye Frozen Division

The Company�� Birds Eye Frozen Division includes its steamed and non-steamed product offerings, with a 27.0% market share, making Birds Eye the recognized frozen vegetables brand in the United States. Birds Eye was the Company to capture a nationwide market share with a product that enables consumers to conveniently steam vegetables in microwaveable packaging.

Duncan Hines Grocery Division

Duncan Hines is the division�� brand and includes cake mixes, ready-to-serve frostings, brownie mixes, muffin mixes, and cookie mixes. During the fiscal year ended September 23, 2012, the Company added two additional items to the line. In February 2012, the Company introduced a line of frosting products, Duncan Hines Frosting Creations, which uses a patent pending frosting system to allow consumers to customize their frosting into one of 12 different flavors. The Company also offers a complete line of shelf-stable pickle products that we market and distribute n! ationally, primarily under the Vlasic brand, and regionally under the Milwaukee�� and Wiejske Wyroby brands. In 2012, the Company introduced Vlasic Farmers Garden, artisan-quality pickle line.

Specialty Foods Division

The Company�� snack products primarily consist of Tim�� Cascade, Snyder of Berlin and Husman��. These direct store delivery brands have local awareness and hold market share positions in their regional markets. The Company also manufactures and distributes certain products, mainly in the frozen breakfast, canned meat, and pie and pastry fruit filling categories, through food service channels. The Company also manufactures and distributes certain private label products in the canned meat, shelf-stable pickles and frozen seafood. As part of its ongoing strategic focus over the last several years, the Company has deemphasized the food service and private label businesses for the benefit of its higher margin branded food products.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Top Headline
  Hillshire Brands Co (NYSE: HSH) announced its plans to buy Pinnacle Foods (NYSE: PF) for around $6.6 billion including debt. Hillshire will offer $18.00 in cash and 0.50 shares of its common stock for each Pinnacle share.

• [By Sue Chang and Ben Eisen]

  Hillshire Brands (HSH) �jumped more than 8.9% as potential buyers courted the food-maker. Pilgrim�� Pride Corp. (PPC) �said Tuesday it would boost its bid to $55 a share in cash, raising the stakes after Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) �offered $50 a share last week. Pilgrim�� bid values the company at $7.7 billion, which is $1.3 billion more than its previous bid. Hillshire said it will hold talks with both bidders, but that it would not back away from its own plan to buy Pinnacle Foods Inc. (PF) .

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Toby Talbot/AP NEW YORK -- Hillshire Brands is at the center of a barnyard brawl. Tyson Foods, the largest U.S. meat processor, has made a $6.2 billion offer for the maker Jimmy Dean sausages and Ball Park hot dogs, topping a bid made two days earlier by rival poultry producer Pilgrim's Pride. Based in Greeley, Colorado, Pilgrim's Pride is owned by Brazilian meat giant JBS. The takeover bids for Hillshire Brands (HSH) by the two major meat processors are being driven by the desirability of brand-name processed products like Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches. The convenience foods are more profitable than fresh meat, such as chicken breasts, where there isn't as much wiggle room to pad prices. Selling more types of products also would give the companies a buffer from volatile price swings of fresh meat. When beef prices rise and shoppers turn to other meats, the companies can sell more chicken or bacon, for example. While both Tyson (TSN) and Pilgrim's (PPC) sell some prepared products like frozen fried chicken pieces, their main business has been as suppliers of fresh meat for supermarkets and restaurant chains. Both offers are contingent on Hillshire abandoning its plan to acquire Pinnacle Foods (PF), which makes Birds Eye frozen vegetables and Wish-Bone salad dressings. Hillshire had been trying to diversify its own portfolio by moving into other areas of the supermarket with the $4.23 billion acquisition. But some investors questioned whether combining with Pinnacle made sense, given the sharp differences in product categories and the outdated image of some Pinnacle brands, such as Hungry Man frozen dinners. Hillshire said earlier it strongly believes in its deal with Pinnacle Foods but would review Pilgrim's offer. In its latest statement Thursday, the Chicago-based company said it would review Tyson's offer as well and made no mention of its Pinnacle deal. Pilgrim's Pride said it is considering its options and will "update the markets in due cou

Top 5 Building Product Stocks For 2014: CPFL Energia SA (CPFE3)

CPFL Energia SA is Brazil-based holding company engaged in the distribution, generation and commercialization of electric energy in Brazil. The Company is involved in the generation of electric energy through hydroelectric plants, small hydropower plants and thermoelectric power stations. Through eight distribution subsidiaries, as of December 31, 2011, it served 559 municipalities and distributed electrical energy to approximately 6.9 million clients in Brazilian states of Sao Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Parana and Minas Gerais. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had a number of subsidiaries, such as Companhia Paulista de Forca e Luz, Rio Grande Energia SA, CPFL Geracao de Energia SA, CPFL Comercializacao Brasil SA and CPFL Jaguariuna SA, among others. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Patricia Lara]

  Tractebel leapfrogged Cia. Energetica de Minas Gerais, CPFL Energia SA (CPFE3) and Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA (ELET6) in the fourth quarter to become the biggest utility after sidestepping pressure to cut rates because its contracts don�� expire for at least 14 years. Florianopolis, Brazil-based Tractebel has gained 11 percent in the past year, less than Sabesp�� 36 percent rally, which is the most of any utility on the Bovespa index.