Sunday, May 31, 2015

What goes into making a winning organization?

Q: Yo, bro ... I'll bet you $5 bucks that my San Antonio Spurs will beat your Portland Trailblazers in the second round of the playoffs. What say you? -- Rod

A: So, did I take my pal Rodney up on his bet? Let's see.

It is true that my Portland Trailblazers had a fantastic season, exceeding all expectations, winning 20 more games than they did last year and catapulting themselves into the second round of the NBA playoffs with an incredible buzzer beater by Damian Lillard that has already been dubbed "The Shot."

And it is also true that the team has a devoted fan base, a committed owner, and they were young and hungry and on a roll. So sure, what the heck, why not take the bet, it's only 5 bucks, right?

Wrong.

As you may know, the Spurs won the series. I would have lost the bet, but that's not the point. The point is that you don't bet against a good business, nay a great business. And that's what the Spurs are – a great business, and one that can teach us all something.

Anyone who follows the NBA knows the drill by now: "The San Antonio Spurs are the best organization in the whole league, maybe in all of sports." So, just what is it they do right? What is it about the Spurs organization that the Trailblazers and a half a dozen other NBA franchises admire and want to emulate?

1. Culture. The first thing is the Spurs hire and retain great talent. Whether it is David Robinson or Tim Duncan or Kawhi Leonard or coach Greg Popovich, the Spurs have installed a system that allows them to identify talent, and then, once identified, they do what is necessary to keep that talent and make them happy.

In the rest of the NBA, stars come and go, coaches are hired and fired. LeBron leaves Cleveland for Miami. Carmelo Anthony bolts Denver for New York. Mike Woodsen lasts three seasons in New York. But in San Antonio, people stick around. Why is that? Well, why do some companies attract and keep great talent, while others lose it? Why do people want to work at Apple?

! Culture.

Great businesses make working for them a hard-to-pass-up opportunity. When employees are respected and well-compensated, when the workplace is fun and interesting, when the work you do is appreciated, when the experience of work is far more positive than negative, employee loyalty is not the oxymoron that it is in other places.

2. Stability. An offshoot of their culture is that the Spurs are also a predictable, and predictably successful, organization. Because people stick around, and because Pop remains the coach, everyone not only knows what to expect, but they know what their roles are in the success of the whole.

Compare that with the small business that is constantly reaching for, but never getting, the brass ring. In response, it is constantly changes policies and employees and systems. This scatter-shot approach means that no one can ever master their job, no one feels secure and employees never really know what is expected of them.

3. The Success System. The amazing thing about watching the Spurs play basketball is that they can seemingly, and seemingly effortlessly, plug new people into their system and it still works to almost perfection. Patty Mills is a fine basketball player sure, but in the Spurs' system, he is a killer.

What is your success system? If you don't have one, you need to get one, and then you need to refine it, teach it, swear by it and stick with it. The more you do, the stronger and more stable your business will be.

4. Luck. Can we all agree that luck plays no small part in business success? For the Spurs, they were lucky that the year David Robinson was hurt, they got the first pick in the next draft, and then lucky again that it was the year that Tim Duncan came out of Wake Forest.

But Dodger GM Branch Rickey once observed that "luck is the residue of design," and Tony Robbins has stated that "the meeting of preparation with opportunity generates the offspring we call luck." Another team, one that did not have a success s! ystem in ! place, that did not have such a great culture, might have lucked into Duncan, but they wouldn't have him around 15 years later.

So yes, a lot goes into winning in basketball, and business, and what we hope is that we learn from the best. And with that, I can confidently say: Go Blazers!

Today's Tip: The latest issue of the Bank of America "Small Business Owner Report" (a company I do some work with) was released last week, and with a focus on women entrepreneurs, the results were quite interesting indeed. Among other things, the report found that female entrepreneurs this year are more optimistic about their businesses than small business owners generally, with 56% saying they planned on hiring more staff this year and fully 70% saying they expected revenues to increase this year. You can check out the full report here.

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Bill Nygren Comments on General Motors

Top 5 Undervalued Companies To Invest In Right Now

Our worst performer was General Motors (GM), down 15%, due to what we believe was the market's overreaction to GM's handling of a recent product recall.From Bill Nygren (Trades, Portfolio)'s Oakmark Fund first quarter 2014 commentary.
Also check out: Bill Nygren Undervalued Stocks Bill Nygren Top Growth Companies Bill Nygren High Yield stocks, and Stocks that Bill Nygren keeps buying

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Hot Medical Companies To Invest In 2016

Hot Medical Companies To Invest In 2016: Medizone International Inc (MZEI)

Medizone International, Inc. (Medizone), incorporated in January 31, 1986, is a development-stage company. The Company is engaged in research into the medical uses of ozone. Medizone focuses in the field of hospital sterilization. It is a research and development company engaged in developing its AsepticSure. The Company is developing an ozone-based technology (AsepticSure) for decontaminating and sterilizing hospital surgical suites, emergency rooms, and intensive care units.

The Company started hospital beta-testing of a prototype system utilizing the original technology. The first round of in-hospital beta-testing for this AsepticSure hospital disinfection system was completed at a Hotel Dieu hospital in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. In addition to the hospital disinfection system, it employs an ozone-destruct unit which is used following disinfection of the treated infrastructure to reverse the O3 gas in the space, and turn it back into O2 in a short period o f time. The Companys subsidiaries include Medizone Canada, Ltd. (MedCan). As of December 31, 2011, the Company had not generated any revenues.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By CRWE]

    Today, MZEI surged (+5.64%) up +0.0048 at $.0899 with 21,900 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 1:32PM EDT October 16, 2013).

    Medizone International, Inc. previously reported that its WHO award-winning green infection control technology, AsepticSure has been Granted a patent by the United States Patent and Trademark office. (US 61/223,219) titled “Healthcare Facility Disinfecting System”. The AsepticSure infection control system has repeatedly demonstrated 100% microbial kill rates when used to decontaminate hospital rooms of the causative agents of HAI (hospital acquired infections).

    “With patent protection now established in the United States, Canada and Singapore and pending applications in pro! cess for the 37 member countries of the EU as well as Korea, Japan, China, India, Brazil and Mexico, our patent momentum is clearly gaining strength,” stated Edwin Marshall, Medizone’s CEO.

  • source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/hot-medical-companies-to-invest-in-2016.html

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Don’t Overlook the Retirement Savers’ Tax Credit

You mentioned the retirement savers' tax credit in your article about President Obama's MyRA plan. How does this credit work, and who is eligible?

SEE ALSO: The Most-Overlooked Tax Deductions

The credit is 10%, 20% or 50% of your contribution to a retirement account, depending on your income, up to a maximum of $1,000 per person or $2,000 per couple. You can qualify for the retirement savers' tax credit if your adjusted gross income in 2014 is $60,000 or less if married filing jointly, $45,000 or less if filing as head of household, or $30,000 or less if you're a single filer. To qualify, you must contribute to a traditional or Roth IRA (MyRA's count), 401(k), 457, 403(b) or other retirement-savings plan.

If you are married filing jointly, for example, the credit can be worth 50% of your contribution (a $2,000 credit for a $4,000 contribution) if your joint income in 2014 is $36,000 or less. The credit is worth 20% of your contribution if you earn $36,001 to $39,000 and 10% if you earn $39,001 to $60,000. Married couples can't qualify for the credit if they earn more than $60,000. See the IRS factsheet for a table showing the income cutoffs for each level of the credit for joint filers, heads of household and singles for both 2013 and 2014 returns (the income numbers are slightly lower for 2013).

To qualify for the credit, you must be at least 18 years old and not a full-time student, and no one else (such as your parents) can claim an exemption for you on their tax return. You can qualify for this credit even if you make pretax contributions to an employer's retirement plan or nondeductible contributions to a traditional or Roth IRA, or if you get other tax breaks for your retirement-savings contributions -- such as a tax deduction for a traditional IRA contribution.

Keep in mind that this is a credit, not a deduction, so it lowers your income tax dollar for dollar. It is a nonrefundable tax credit, however, which means it cannot reduce your tax liability below zero. See IRS Publication 4703 for more information about the credit.

Complete IRS Form 8880 to determine the rate and amount of the credit, and file it with your income tax return. If you realize that you would have qualified for the credit in previous years but didn't claim it, you can file an amended return (Form 1040X) as far back as 2010 and still get the money. A 2010 amended return is due by April 15, 2014; a 2011 amended return is due by April 15, 2015; and a 2012 amended return is due by April 15, 2016. See Instructions for Form 1040X for more information about filing an amended return.

You still have until April 15, 2014, to contribute to an IRA for 2013 and qualify for the credit for 2013. See Often Overlooked Opportunities to Save in a Roth IRA for more information about Roth contributions if you're a nonworking spouse, retiree or freelance worker.

Got a question? Ask Kim at askkim@kiplinger.com.



Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Top 10 High Tech Stocks For 2016

Top 10 High Tech Stocks For 2016: Surge Energy Inc (ZPTAF.PK)

Surge Energy Inc. is an oil focused exploration and production (E&P) company. The Company has projects in Southern Saskatchewan/the Williston Basin, SE Alberta and Valhalla/Nipisi. In January 2014, Surge Energy Inc. announced the SE Saskatchewan light oil acquisition. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Value Digger]

    In late January 2013, I wrote an article about Surge Energy (ZPTAF.PK), an oil-weighted intermediate producer with operations in Canada and US. It was when the price dropped below $4. Actually, I recommended Surge Energy back then at $3.7, for the reasons mentioned here.

  • source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-10-high-tech-stocks-for-2016.html

Monday, May 25, 2015

Top 5 Low Price Companies To Own In Right Now

With shares of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) trading around $298, is AMZN an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Amazon serves its customers through its retail websites and focus on selection, price, and convenience. The company also manufactures and sells Kindle devices. Amazon offers programs that enables sellers to sell their products on the company’s websites — including the sellers’ own branded websites — and fulfill orders through them. It also offers platforms that allow authors, musicians, filmmakers, app developers, and others to publish and sell content. Online commerce has been on the rise because of the convenience, efficiency, and relatively low prices offered.

Amazon may be able to sell e-books for its popular Kindle e-readers for even less, now that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has lost a trial accusing the tech giant of colluding with publishers to raise the price of e-books. Apple has been found guilty of breaking anti-trust law, after the firm�� agreement with publishers forced Amazon to raise e-book prices or risk losing the rights to sell certain titles. Amazon is a leader in the Internet commerce space, so look for them to continue to see rising profits as more consumers and companies opt for this method of shopping and selling.

5 Best Rising Stocks To Own For 2016: Gruppa LSR OAO (LSRG)

Gruppa LSR OAO (LSR Group OJSC) is a Russia-based company involved in the real estate development and construction. It is also engaged in the production of various building materials, such as ceramic bricks, crushed granite, concrete and reinforced concrete products, ready-mix concrete and aerated concrete segments. The Company�� services comprise the development of residential, office and commercial buildings, as well as tower cranes and hoisting machinery services for use in real estate construction. It is also involved in the investment operations. Gruppa LSR OAO acts as a general and sub-contractor for the Russian Federation Government, Saint Petersburg Government, and as a general and sub-contractor for other developers, among pile-driving services. The Company operates through numerous subsidiaries located domestically, as well as one representative office in Moscow. In December 2013, it acquired a 100 % stake in OOO Gazstroy, an owner of Ryabovsky brick plant. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Zahra Hankir]

    Russian stocks declined to the lowest level in a month as builder LSR Group (LSRG) and power company OAO Inter RAO UES dropped after MSCI Inc. cut them from an index tracked by investors. The Borsa Istanbul National 100 Index tumbled 2.5 percent, the most in two months, as Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS led losses in lenders. Benchmark gauges in the Czech Republic and Poland retreated at least 0.7 percent.

Top 5 Low Price Companies To Own In Right Now: Compliance Energy Corp (CEC)

Compliance Energy Corporation (Compliance) is an exploration and development company. The Company is engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral resource properties. Compliance�� main projects are its freehold coal holdings on Vancouver Island, British Columbia and four non-coal exploration properties on Vancouver Island. Through the Comox Joint Venture (CJV), CEC owns 60% of the Raven Underground Coal project. The Company�� main properties are its approximately 29,000 hectares of freehold coal and mineral interests and 2,046 hectares of Crown Coal licenses in the Comox Coal Basin on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Through the Comox Joint Venture agreement, Compliance owns 60% of interests and Itochu International and LG International own 20% respectively. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Lauren Pollock]

    An affiliate of buyout firm Apollo Global Management LLC(APO) agreed to purchase CEC Entertainment Inc.(CEC), the parent of Chuck E. Cheese’s, for about $950 million, following a review of the company’s strategic alternatives by CEC’s board. Apollo plans to pay $54 in cash per CEC share. Shares topped the offer price in premarket trading, rising 13% to $54.59.

Top 5 Low Price Companies To Own In Right Now: ConocoPhillips(COP)

ConocoPhillips operates as an integrated energy company worldwide. The company?s Exploration and Production (E&P) segment explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and natural gas liquids. Its Midstream segment gathers, processes, and markets natural gas; and fractionates and markets natural gas liquids in the United States and Trinidad. The company?s Refining and Marketing (R&M) segment purchases, refines, markets, and transports crude oil and petroleum products, such as gasolines, distillates, and aviation fuels. Its Chemicals segment manufactures and markets petrochemicals and plastics. This segment offers olefins and polyolefins, including ethylene, propylene, and other olefin products; aromatics products, such as benzene, styrene, paraxylene, and cyclohexane, as well as polystyrene and styrene-butadiene copolymers; and various specialty chemical products comprising organosulfur chemicals, solvents, catalyst s, drilling chemicals, mining chemicals, and engineering plastics and compounds. The company?s Emerging Businesses segment develops new technologies and businesses. It focuses on power generation; and technologies related to conventional and nonconventional hydrocarbon recovery, refining, alternative energy, biofuels, and the environment. This segment also offers E-Gas, a gasification technology producing high-value synthetic gas. ConocoPhillips was founded in 1917 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Cameron Swinehart]

    Going forward I will be looking to add investments on my watchlist and trim other positions. It will be interesting to see how an overweight commodity portfolio will perform relative to the rest of the market.

     Cost Basis# SharesCurrent Price% of PortfolioCurrent ValueReturnMetal/Miners      Sprott Physical Gold Trust (PHYS)$12.4985$11.043.75%$938.40-13.13%Sprott Physical Silver Trust (PSLV)$7.95125$8.744.37%$1,092.509.04%FreePort-McMoran (FCX)$31.6731$33.874.20%$1,049.976.50%Ishares MSCI Global Gold Miners ETF (RING)$13.0695$10.644.04%$1,010.80-22.74%Energy      Statoil ASA(STO)$21.7940$22.683.63%$907.203.92%Vanguard Natural Resources LLC (VNR)$27.5636$27.874.01%$1,003.321.11%ConocoPhillips (COP)$63.6822.43$71.006.37%$1,592.5310.31%Agriculture      CVR Partner LP (UAN)$26.3630.9$18.932.34%$584.94-39.25%Adecoagro$6.78125$7.443.72%$930.008.87%Archer-Daniels Midland (ADM)$34.8030$37.244.47%$1,117.206.55%Mixed Commodity      Powershares DB Commodity Index (DBC)$26.3540$25.954.15%$1,038.00-1.54%Sprott Resource Corp$3.34400$2.714.34%$1,084.00-23.25%    Total % of portfolio49.40%               Cost Basis12,666.00      Current Value12,348.86      Return-2.50%  Source: Investing For The Future Surge In Commodity Prices

    Disclosure: I am long ADM, FCX, UAN, AGRO, RING, VNR, SCPZF.PK, COP, DBC, PHYS, PSLV. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. (More...)

  • [By Dividend Growth Investor]

    In May 2012, ConocoPhillips split into two separately traded companies: ConocoPhillips (COP), which focused on Exploration and Production for Oil and Natural gas and Phillips 66 (PSX), which focused on Refining and Marketing for crude and natural gas. The legacy ConocoPhillips company was paying a quarterly dividend of 66 cents/share, and had raised dividends since 2002. On the surface, through June 2013 it seemed that the company had not raised distributions since the 20% boost payable in March 2011. Shareholders as of April 30, 2012 received one share of the new upstream focused ConocoPhillips (COP) as well as half a share of the downstream focused Phillips 66 (PSX). However, although the new ConocoPhillips maintained its quarterly dividend of 66 cents/share, this was technically a dividend increase, since it was coming from a lower base. Some dividend investors didn't see it that way however, and worried about the perceived "lack of dividend increase". Most recently however, ConocoPhillipsraised quarterly distributions to 69 cents/share.

Top 5 Low Price Companies To Own In Right Now: NCI Building Systems Inc. (NCS)

NCI Building Systems, Inc. engages in the manufacture and marketing of metal products primarily for the nonresidential construction industry in North America. The company�s Metal Coil Coating segment involved in cleaning, treating, and painting various flat rolled metal coil materials, as well as in slitting and/or embossing the metal, before the steel is fabricated for use by various construction and industrial users. It also cleans, treats, and coats hot-rolled and light gauge metal coils for third parties for various applications, such as construction products, heating and air conditioning systems, water heaters, lighting fixtures, ceiling grids, office furniture, appliances, and other products; and provides toll coating services and painted metal package. This segment serves manufacturers of engineered building systems and metal components, as well as steel mills, metal service centers, and painted coil distributors. NCI Building Systems, Inc.�s Metal Components segm ent designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets metal components, including metal roof and wall systems, metal partitions, metal trims, doors, and other related accessories for construction, repair and retrofit, architectural, and engineered building system applications. It sells metal components directly to regional manufacturers, contractors, subcontractors, distributors, lumberyards, co-operative buying groups, and other customers. This segment also manufactures roll-up doors; and sells interior and exterior walk doors for use in self storage industry, and metal and other buildings. The company�s Engineered Building Systems segment offers engineered building systems and self-storage building systems for commercial, industrial, agricultural, governmental, and community markets. This segment sells its products to builders, general contractors, developers, private label companies, and end users through an in-house sales force. The company was founded in 1984 and is headqu artered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By John Udovich]

    Small cap building materials stock NCI Building Systems Inc (NYSE: NCS) fell yesterday after announcing a share offering plus its investors have (so-far) missed out on any ��ecovery��in construction���meaning it might be time to take a closer look at the stock along with potential performance benchmarks like the PowerShares Dynamic Building & Construction ETF (NYSEARCA: PKB) and the First Trust ISE Global Engineering and Construction Index Fund ETF (NYSEARCA: FLM)���both of which have had decent returns in recent years.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    NCI Building Systems (NCS) has dropped 17% to $10.00 after the close after reporting a loss 19 cents, far worse than analyst forecasts for a 3 cent loss.

Sunday, May 24, 2015

The Fed’s Labor Question

Print FriendlyEditor’s Note: With 2014 rapidly approaching, I wish all of our readers a safe and prosperous New Year!

Since the Federal Reserve decided to begin tapering its asset purchases last week, more data has come out bolstering its decision. In particular, the US Commerce Department released revised third quarter US gross domestic product (GDP) figures that showed even stronger growth than previously estimated.

When the unrevised data was initially released, it showed year-over-year growth of just 2.85 percent in the quarter, but that was quickly revised upward to 4.13 percent. Higher-than-estimated consumer spending, which the Commerce Department now says grew at a 2 percent annual rate over the summer, drove much of that upward revision.

Business spending, as measured by nonresidential fixed investment, also played a major role and was revised upward by more than 100 basis points, from 3.5 percent to a 4.8 percent annual rate.

Viewed through that lens, the Fed’s decision to slow its monthly bond purchases by just $10 billion might seem a bit too conservative, particularly since the unemployment rate is falling and the Fed’s measure of inflation is well within its comfort zone.

One of the reasons the Fed didn’t play its taper hand too aggressively was its desire to avoid the sell-off we saw when it just hinted at cutting its purchases earlier in the summer. But as the case has been for more than three years now, the labor force remains the problem.

While the US unemployment rate is falling towards 7 percent and is well off its nearly 10 percent high of late 2009, as you can see from the graph below a major reason unemployment has been falling is that workers have simply been dropping out of the labor force.

Only about 63 percent of those who could be participating in the US labor market actually are, the lowest level in more than two decades. When they&rsquo! ;re no longer seeking work, they no longer count as one of the unemployed.



The Fed is now betting that the low participation rate is largely due to cyclical factors—i.e., the economy simply isn’t growing fast enough to create sufficient jobs to lure back these discouraged workers. By that line of reasoning, the Fed could keep its monetary policy easy for an extended period of time since growth with high unemployment means no upward pressure on wages. That keeps inflation low and, under the Fed’s dual mandate, justifies continuing an accommodative policy.

But what if the drop off in labor force participation is structural, rather than cyclical? What if workers are choosing to remain outside of the labor forced for other, longer-lasting reasons?

If that’s the case, the Fed might have a problem.

When the economy is growing and creating jobs, yet workers still choose not to participate in the labor force, the unemployment rate will drop even faster. At the same time, as the labor market tightens, employers will be forced to offer higher wages to attract the workers they need.

While wages aren’t growing nearly as quickly as they were before the Great Recession, as you can see from the graph below, they have been steadily ticking up over the past two years, even as the labor force participation rate has been falling.



Evidence shows that workers haven’t routinely been receiving cost-of-living increases. For example, federal employees—who have some of the strongest unions in the US—haven’t had a pay hike in three years. They’re only receiving a 1 percent pay increase next year because it was part of the deal crafted to end October’s government shutdown.

That’s a good indication that potential employers are offering hi! gher wage! s to lure workers back into jobs, even as the labor force remains extremely slack. The upshot is that the low labor force participation rate is likely more structural than cyclical, leaving the Fed in a conundrum.

If the problem is indeed structural, any move by the Fed to substantially curb quantitative easing would have stalled the economy. However, an increase in the pace of wage growth would stoke inflation.

Consequently, even if the Fed continues to taper, it will be forced to hold down interest rates well into 2015.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Best Recreation Companies To Watch For 2015

The MLK Day shortened trading week saw a reduced number of insiders buys as measured by the number of companies with purchases. We identified just 50. Ah, but we have something to write about, like always.

Marijuana stocks have been in focus sine Colorado and Washington State legalized the drug for recreational use. At the moment, 20 states plus the District of Columbia made medical marijuana legal.

Now, iStock monitors insider buying activity on a regular basis. We don't recall seeing pot stocks finding their way onto our lists. That changed this week with Growlife Inc (OTCBB:PHOT). Director, Alan R. Hammer purchased 225,000 shares of the weed associated stock at $0.19 for a total investment of $42,746.60.

[Related -Medical Marijuana Inc (OTCMKTS:MJNA): A Look At Pot Stocks Offering Quick Bucks]

Best Integrated Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now: Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure Inc (DJRT)

Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure, Inc., incorporated on November 24, 1998, offers entertainment based oval driving schools and events. The Company owns several National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) type racecars. These classes are conducted at various racetracks throughout the country. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned 15 racecars, and had purchased six additional racecars for its Las Vegas hub. These racecars are classified as stock cars and are equipped for oval or round tracks only.

The Company offers five types of ride or drive programs for individuals and corporations. The Qualifier is a three lap ride with a professional driver, which lasts about five minutes, depending on the length of the track. The Season Opener is a half day training class culminating in the student driving 10 laps. The Rookie Adventure and Happy Hour are also half day driving classes with the students driving 20 or 30 laps, respectively. The Advanced Stock Car Adventure is a full day 60 lap class. The main purpose of each event is the thrill of actually driving the race car. It owns a Miller Semi Tractor Trailer to haul the cars from track to track. The Company also offers a range of add-on sale items, including compact disks (CDs) from its adventure cam located in the car, clothing, souvenirs and photography.

The Company competes with Richard Petty Driving Experience.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Peter Graham]

    Small cap stocks Alliance Creative Group Inc (OTCMKTS: ACGX), Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure Inc (OTCMKTS: DJRT), Inscor Inc (OTCMKTS: IOGA) and Solar Thin Films Inc (OTCMKTS: SLTZ) have all been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters and it should come as no surprise that two out of four of these stocks have been the subject of paid promotions ��which tend to benefit traders. However, two out of four of these stocks also have pretty good financials for being small cap OTC stocks and that might make them attractive to investors with a long term time horizon. So which of these stocks might make traders some profits in the short term and investors some profits over the longer term? Here is a closer look to help you decide:

Best Recreation Companies To Watch For 2015: Biglari Holdings Inc (BH)

Biglari Holdings Inc. is a holding company engaged in a range of diverse business activities. The Company, along with its subsidiaries, is engaged in investment management and the franchising/operating of restaurants. The Company's wholly owned subsidiaries include Steak n Shake Operations, Inc. (Steak n Shake), Western Sizzlin Corporation (Western) and Biglari Capital Corp. (Biglari Capital). Biglari Holdings, as a capital allocating vehicle, is also in the business of owning other businesses in whole and in part. In February 2014, Biglari Holdings Inc and Alpha Media Group announced that the wholly owned subsidiary of Biglari Holdings has acquired MAXIM.

On April 30, 2010, the Company completed the acquisition of Biglari Capital Corp. (Biglari Capital). On March 30, 2010, the Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Grill Acquisition Corporation, completed the acquisition of Western.

Steak n Shake

The Company is engaged in the ownership, operation, and franchising of Steak n Shake restaurants. Steak n Shake is a American brand serving burgers and milk shakes. Steak n Shake offers its patrons full-service dining with counter and dining room seating, as well as drive-thru and carry-out service. During the fiscal year ended September 29, 2010 (fiscal 2010), counter and dining room sales represented approximately 60% of the sales mix, while sales for off-premises dining represent approximately 40% of the sales mix.

Western Sizzlin

The Company is engaged in the franchising of restaurants. Western Sizzlin offers full service dining of signature steak dishes, as well as other classic American menu items. Western Sizzlin also operates other concepts, Great American Steak & Buffet, and Wood Grill Buffet consisting of hot and cold food buffet style dining.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Michael Lewis]

    The stellar report has the stock trading at its record highs, even in the face of some serious allegations from activist investor and QSR wizard Sardar Biglari of Biglari Holdings (NYSE: BH  ) . Does Biglari's argument still hold water in the face of the vastly improved Cracker Barrel?

  • [By Michael Lewis]

    Buffett-inspired Biglari Holdings (NYSE: BH  ) is not nearly as followed as its model business, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B  ) , but investors in the latter would be wise to keep an eye on the moves of this restaurant-focused holdings company.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Shares of Cracker Barrel have gained 0.9% to $113.29 and�Biglari Holdings (BH), Sandar Biglari’s holding company, has fallen 0.4% to $516.96, on a day when DineEquity has advanced 1% to $85.03, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (RRGB) has risen 0.5% to $76.64 and Denny’s (DENN) is up 0.7% at $7.45.

  • [By Ali Berri]

    Cyclical consumer goods & services shares dropped by 0.51 percent in today’s trading. Meanwhile, top decliners in the sector included Biglari Holdings (NYSE: BH), down 3 percent, and Dillard's (NYSE: DDS), off 6.3 percent.

Best Recreation Companies To Watch For 2015: Sealand Natural Resources Inc (SLNR)

Sealand Natural Resources Inc. (SLNR), incorporated on May 13, 2011, is a research and new product development company that manufactures, markets and sells new age functional beverages (SealandBirk), organic nutriceuticals, health supplements, medicinal raw materials and health food worldwide. SLNR specializes in research of natural new product development and mass market consumer product distribution. Its Products include Sealand BIRK, Sealand Living and Sealand research and development (R&D). Sealand Living Anew products offer supply of healing nutrients to athletic training.

Anew omega premium is a food supplement consists of shark cartilage powder, fish bone powder, and omega three polyunsaturated fatty acids. Anew omega premium is designed to reduce the decomposition, to stimulate resynthesis of the joint cartilage and to reduce pain. Omega Premium consists of shark cartilage powder, codfish backbone powder, and fish oil powder. Anew nutripeptin is a food supply. Sealand BIRK consists of five flavors original, elderflower, raspberry, blueberry, ginger and lime.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By CRWE]

    Last Friday, SLNR previously surged (+0.27%) up +0.02 at $7.43 with 425 shares in play at the close (ref. google finance July 26, 2013 ��Close).

    Sealand Natural Resources Inc. previously reported it has reached a distribution agreement with Nature’s Best.

    Nature’s Best, in business since 1969, is the largest privately owned wholesaler-distributor of health and natural food products in the Natural Products Industry. Nature’s Best provides a full-line of Certified Organic, Natural and Specialty products to retail stores throughout the Central, Southern and Western U.S., Alaska, Hawaii and Asia. Nature’s Best specializes in Retail Marketing Support, Web Services, Business Analysis Tools and Sales/Category Management Consulting.

  • [By CRWE]

    Today, The Company remains (0.00%) +0.000 at $7.35 with 125 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 10:01AM EDT July 22, 2013).

    Sealand Natural Resources Inc. previously reported it has reached a distribution agreement with Nature’s Best.

    Nature’s Best, in business since 1969, is the largest privately owned wholesaler-distributor of health and natural food products in the Natural Products Industry. Nature’s Best provides a full-line of Certified Organic, Natural and Specialty products to retail stores throughout the Central, Southern and Western U.S., Alaska, Hawaii and Asia. Nature’s Best specializes in Retail Marketing Support, Web Services, Business Analysis Tools and Sales/Category Management Consulting.

  • [By CRWE]

    Today, SLNR remains (0.00%) +0.000 at $7.23 with 100 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 10:29AM EDT June 24, 2013).

    Sealand Natural Resources Inc. previously reported recent company milestones as of May 31, 2013.

    Lars Poulsen, Chief Executive Officer of Sealand Natural Resources Inc., commented, ��ealand BIRK beverage has made significant progress on a number of important fronts. Sealand BIRK is a ‘first mover,’ in the market place offering a unique organic harvested beverage, packed with micro nutrients, no added sugar, less than 60 calories with health hydration attributes for consumers. In the market today, only extremes are available for consumers, ranging from water to high sugar, high calorie, nutritionally-deficient beverages. We organically harvest and deliver Sealand BIRK beverages for consumers that encourage improved health, while being clear that our products have key differentiating factors that set us apart from the competition.

  • [By CRWE]

    Today, SLNR has shed (-0.14%) down -0.01 at $7.27 with 125 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 11:13AM EDT June 28, 2013), but don�� let this get you down.

    Sealand Natural Resources Inc. previously reported recent company milestones as of May 31, 2013.

    Lars Poulsen, Chief Executive Officer of Sealand Natural Resources Inc., commented, ��ealand BIRK beverage has made significant progress on a number of important fronts. Sealand BIRK is a ‘first mover,’ in the market place offering a unique organic harvested beverage, packed with micro nutrients, no added sugar, less than 60 calories with health hydration attributes for consumers. In the market today, only extremes are available for consumers, ranging from water to high sugar, high calorie, nutritionally-deficient beverages. We organically harvest and deliver Sealand BIRK beverages for consumers that encourage improved health, while being clear that our products have key differentiating factors that set us apart from the competition.

Best Recreation Companies To Watch For 2015: Drew Industries Inc (DW)

Drew Industries Incorporated, incorporated on March 20, 1984, is a supplier of components for recreational vehicle (RVs) and manufactured housing. The Company operates in two segments: the RV products segment (RV Segment), and the manufactured housing products segment (MH Segment). The Company�� operations are conducted through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Lippert Components, Inc. and its subsidiaries (Lippert) and Kinro, Inc. and its subsidiaries (Kinro), each of which has operations in both the RV Segment and the MH Segment. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the RV Segment accounted for 87% of net sales and the MH segment accounted for 13% of net sales. On February 21, 2012, the Company acquired the business and certain assets of the United States RV entry door operation of Euramax International, Inc. In February 2014, the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Lippert Components, Inc has acquired Innovative Design Solutions, Inc. (IDS).

RV Segment

The Company through its wholly owned subsidiaries manufactures and markets a variety of products used in the production of RVs, including steel chassis for towable RVs, axles and suspension solutions for towable RVs, slide-out mechanisms and solutions, thermoformed bath, kitchen and other products, manual, electric and hydraulic stabilizer and lifting systems, aluminum windows and screens, chassis components, furniture and mattresses, entry, baggage, patio and ramp doors, entry steps, awnings, and other accessories. The Company also supplies certain of these products to the RV aftermarket, and to adjacent industries, including manufacturers of truck caps, buses and trailers used to haul boats, livestock, equipment and other cargo. Operations of the Company's RV Segment consist primarily of fabricating, welding, painting and assembling components into finished products. The Company's RV Segment operations are conducted at 23 manufacturing and warehouse facilities throughout the United States, located in proximity to the cus! tomers they serve. Of these facilities, six also conduct operations in the Company's MH Segment. It markets extruded aluminum parts to manufacturers in other industries. The Company's RV Segment products are sold primarily to manufacturers of RVs such as Thor Industries Forest River (a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, and other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and to distributors of aftermarket products.

MH Segment

The Company through its wholly owned subsidiaries manufactures and markets a variety of products used in the production of manufactured homes and to modular housing and mobile office units, including vinyl and aluminum windows and screens, steel chassis, steel chassis parts, axles, thermoformed bath and kitchen products, steel and fiberglass entry doors, and aluminum and vinyl patio doors. The Company also supplies windows, doors, and thermoformed bath products as replacement parts to the manufactured housing aftermarket, and to adjacent industries. MH Segment customers manufacture both manufactured homes and modular homes, and certain of the products manufactured by the Company are suitable for both types of homes. Operations of the Company's MH Segment consist primarily of fabricating, welding, thermoforming, painting and assembling components into finished products. The Company's MH Segment operations are conducted at 13 manufacturing and warehouse facilities throughout the United States, located in proximity to the customers they serve. Of these facilities, six also conduct operations in the Company's RV Segment. The Company's manufactured housing products are sold primarily to producers of manufactured homes such as Clayton Homes, Cavco Industries, Inc., Champion Home Builders, Inc., Skyline Corporation, and other OEMs, and to distributors of aftermarket products.

The Company competes with Kober Corporation and Dexter Axle Company.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By John Udovich]

    The CEO of recreation vehicle (RV) stock Winnebago Industries, Inc (NYSE: WGO) recently appeared on CNBC to say that the economy is improving for RV makers, meaning its time to take a closer look at the stock plus take a look at the performance of other small cap RV stocks like Drew Industries, Inc (NYSE: DW), Skyline Corporation (NYSEMKT: SKY) and Thor Industries, Inc (NYSE: THO).

  • [By Grace L. Williams]

    Shares of Winnebago have gained 4.4% to $28.47 today at 3pm. Thor Industries (THO), which also makes recreational vehicles, has ticked up 0.1% to $57.56, Drew Industries (DW) has risen 0.3% to $48.74, Arctic Cat (ACAT) has advanced 1% to $59.87 and Polaris Industries (PII) has fallen 0.3% to $132.08.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Billionaire Backers on a Shifting Sea of 52-Week Lows

In two months, the number of U.S. stocks on a 52-week low has dropped from over a thousand companies to today's 573 stocks. But the virtual sea of 52-week lows is by no means overfished. Check out the GuruFocus 52-week low screener to find not only U.S. stocks with possible deep value but also thousands of others around the world.

Utilities, banking and real estate investment trusts are three industry sectors that have changed dramatically in just 60 days. Here are some sector highlights on a 52-week low, with billionaire backers and in some cases, active insiders and yield.

Utilities – Regulated

Two months ago, this sector had 59 stocks out of 154 on a 52-week low. Today the regulated utilities sector has 24 stocks out of 155 on a 52-week low, and the low ratio is 0.15.

Highlight: Exelon Corp. (EXC)

The EXC share price is currently $28.01 or 25.9% off the 52-week high of $37.80. Its yield is 5.97%.

Down 22% over 12 months, Exelon Corp. has a market cap of $23.99 billion and is traded at a P/E of 20.70.

Incorporated in 1999, Chicago-based Exelon Corporation is a public utility holding company and one of the largest competitive power generators in the US. The company operates through its principal subsidiaries, ComEd, PECO and Generation, to deliver electricity and natural gas to approximately 6.6 million customers in Maryland, Illinois , and Pennsylvania. Exelon has operations and business activities in 47 states, the District of Columbia and Canada.

Guru Action: Twelve gurus hold EXC shares, as of June 30, 2013, and there is recent insider selling.

Hotchkis & Wiley is the top guru stakeholder, holding 14,208,753 shares or 1.66% of shares outstanding. The firm increased its position by 23.43% in the second quarter of 2013, buying 2,696,907 shares at an average price of $34.01, for a loss of 17.6%.

The five-year trading history shows all losing quarters. The firm averaged a loss of 39% on 15,056,534 shares bought at an average price o! f $46.25 per share. The firm also lost 38% selling 4,709,801 shares at an average price of $44.96 per share.

Tracking share price, revenue and net income:

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Banks

Two months ago, this sector had 94 stocks out of 657 on a 52-week low. Today the banking sector has 49 stocks out of 624 on a 52-week low, and the low ratio is 0.08.

Hot Integrated Utility Companies To Invest In Right Now

Highlight: Berkshire Bancorp (BERK)

The BERK share price is currently $7.83 or 13% off the 52-week high of $9.00. Its yield is 1.00%.

Down 6% over 12 months, Berkshire Bancorp has a market cap of $115.4 million and is traded at a P/E of 12.90.

Berkshire Bancorp Inc. is a bank holding company whose principal activity is the ownership and management of its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, The Berkshire Bank , a state-chartered commercial bank in New York.

Guru Action: As of June 30, 2013, one guru holds BERK shares and there is recent insider trading.

As of June 30, 2013, Jim Simons reduced his position by 4.67%, selling 500 shares at an average price of $8.22 per share, and taking a loss of 4.7%. Simons has held for two quarters, averaging a loss of 5% on 10,700 shares bought at an average price of $8.28 per share.

Tracking share price, revenue and net income:

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Real Estate Investment Trusts

At the end of August, this sector had 86 stocks out of 176 on a 52-week low. Today the REITs sector has 34 stocks out of 182 on a 52-week low, and the low ratio is 0.19.

Highlight: Gyrodyne Company of America (GYRO)

The GYRO share price is currently $73.85 or 35.7% off the 52-week high of $114.80. The company does not pay a dividend.

Down 31% o! ver 12 mo! nths, Gyrodyne Company of America has a market cap of $109.2 million and is traded at a P/B of 1.70.

Organized in 1946, Gyrodyne Company of America Inc. is a self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT). The company's primary business is the investment in and the acquisition, ownership and management of a geographically diverse portfolio of medical office and industrial properties. The company also develops industrial and residential properties.

Guru Action: As of June 30, 2013, two gurus hold GYRO shares. There is no recent insider trading to report.

As of June 30, 2013, Michael Price is the top guru stakeholders, holding 47,210 shares or 3.19% of shares outstanding.

His five-year trading history shows mixed results, making a rare gain of 1.5% holding 47,210 shares at an average price of $72.73 per share. Price averaged a loss of 12% on 45,019 shares bought at an average price of $83.59 per share. He also lost 16% selling 3,200 shares at an average price of $88.08 per share.

Tracking share price, revenue and net income:

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Check out the GuruFocus special feature 52-week low screener to find the stocks hitting new lows but are still held by top investor Gurus and Insiders.

Monday, May 18, 2015

Top 5 Integrated Utility Companies To Buy Right Now

Top 5 Integrated Utility Companies To Buy Right Now: Andatee China Marine Fuel Services Corporation(AMCF)

Andatee China Marine Fuel Services Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, storage, distribution, and wholesale purchase, and sale of blended marine fuel oil for cargo and fishing vessels primarily in Tianjin City, and Liaoning, Shandong, and Zhejiang Provinces in the People?s Republic of China. It sells its products through distributors, as well as to retail customers. The company was founded in 1997 and is based in Dalian, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Roberto Pedone]

    Another under-$10 energy player that's starting to move within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Andatee China Marine Fuel Services (AMCF), which is engaged in the production, storage, distribution and wholesale purchases and sales of blended marine fuel oil for cargo and fishing vessels. This stock has been in play with the bulls so far in 2013, with shares up big by 180%.

    If you take a look at the chart for Andatee China Marine Fuel Services, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending strong over the last month and change, with shares moving higher from its low of 98 cents per share to its recent high of $1.69 a share. During that move, shares of AMCF have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move is now starting to push shares of AMCF within range of triggering a big breakout trade above a key downtrend line.

    Market players should now look for long-biased trades in AMCF if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $1.69 to $1.80 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 215,352 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then AMCF will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance level! s at $1.98 to just above $2.20 a share. Any high-volume move above those levels will then give AMCF a chance to tag its 52-week high at $2.75 a share.

    Traders can look to buy AMCF off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right around some key near-term support levels at $1.29 or at $1.15 a share. One can also buy AMCF off strength once it starts to clear those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

  • source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-5-integrated-utility-companies-to-buy-right-now.html

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Top Specialty Retail Companies To Own For 2015

The specialty retailer announced solid second quarter results August 21. PetSmart's (Nasdaq:PETM) future seems exceptionally bright. Its stock, however, is another story up just 1% over the past 52 weeks. Is now the time to buy? I'll have a look.

Past Performance
Although the past year hasn't been particularly kind to PetSmart's stock; the same can't be said for the past decade. It's achieved an annualized total return over the past 10 years of 13.2%, 600 basis points higher than the S&P 500 and 325 basis points higher than its specialty retail peers. It's currently trading within 5% of its all-time high of $75.15. In every way it's done what you'd want a stock to do over the long haul.

So why has its stock stalled?

I suspect Barron's May 21 article that brought up investor concerns about online competition was enough to spook anyone considering taking a position. It certainly can't be its financial results. In the first and second quarters it beat earnings per share by two and three cents respectively. In terms of revenues, it missed the Q2 consensus estimate of $1.712 billion by $6 million and the Q1 consensus estimate of $1.72 billion by $10 million. Investors chose to ignore the fact PetSmart increased revenue by 5.3% in Q2 year-over-year and by 5% in Q1. Instead they've hung their hat on a combined revenue miss of $16 million in the first two quarters of the fiscal year��ess than 1% of $3.43 billion in revenue. That's just silly.

5 Best Mid Cap Stocks For 2016: Barnes & Noble Inc (BKS)

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (Barnes & Noble), incorporated on November 19, 1986, is a bookseller. The Company is a content, commerce and technology company that provides customers access to books, magazines, newspapers and other content across its multi-channel distribution platform. As of April 27, 2013, it operated 1,361 bookstores in 50 states, 686 bookstores on college campuses, and operates one of the Web eCommerce sites, and develops digital content products and software. Barnes & Noble operates in three segments: B&N Retail, B&N College and NOOK. The Company�� principal business is the sale of trade books (generally hardcover and paperback consumer titles), mass market paperbacks (such as mystery, romance, science fiction and other popular fiction), children�� books, eBooks and other digital content, NOOK and related accessories, bargain books, magazines, gifts, cafe products and services, educational toys & games, music and movies direct to customers through its bookstores or on barnesandnoble.com.

Of the Company�� 1,361 bookstores, 675 operate primarily under the Barnes & Noble Booksellers trade name. Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC (B&N College), a wholly owned subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, operates 686 college bookstores at colleges and universities across the United States. Barnes & Noble Retail (B&N Retail) operates the 675 retail bookstores. Retail also includes the Company�� eCommerce site and Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. (Sterling or Sterling Publishing), a leader in general trade book publishing.

B&N Retail

This segment includes 675 bookstores as of April 27, 2013, primarily under the Barnes & Noble Booksellers trade name. These stores generally offer a dedicated NOOK area, a comprehensive trade book title base, a cafe, and departments dedicated to Juvenile, Toys & Games, DVDs, Music, Gift, Magazine and Bargain products. The stores also offer a calendar of ongoing events, including author appearances and children�� activities. The B&! N Retail segment also includes the Company�� eCommerce website, barnesandnoble.com, and its publishing operation, Sterling Publishing. Barnes & Noble stores range in size from 3,000 to 60,000 square feet depending upon market size, with an overall average store size of 26,000 square feet. During the fiscal year ended April 27, 2013 (fiscal), the Company reduced the Barnes & Noble store base by 0.3 million square feet, bringing the total square footage to 17.7 million square feet. The Company�� B&N Retail segment purchases physical books on a regular basis from over 800 publishers and over 50 wholesalers or distributors. As of April 27, 2013, Barnes & Noble had stores in 162 of the total 210 Designated Market Area markets.

Sterling Publishing is a publisher of non-fiction trade titles. It is a range of non-fiction and illustrated books and kits across a range of imprints, in categories, such as health and wellness, music and culture, food and wine, crafts and photography, puzzles and games, history and current affairs, as well as a children�� books.

B&N College

B&N College sells new and used textbooks in campus bookstores and online. As of April 27, 2013, B&N College operated 686 stores nationwide. The Company�� customer base, which is mainly consisted of students and faculty, can purchase various items from their campus stores, including textbooks and course-related materials, emblematic apparel and gifts, trade books, computer products, NOOK products and related accessories, school and dorm supplies, convenience and cafe items.

As of April 27, 2013, B&N College operates 651 traditional college bookstores and 35 academic superstores, which are generally larger in size, offer cafes and provide a sense of community that engages the surrounding campus and local communities in college activities and culture. The traditional bookstores range in size from 500 to 48,000 square feet. The academic superstores range in size from 8,000 to 75,000 square feet. B&! N College! �� three customer constituencies are students, faculty members and campus administrators.

NOOK

This segment includes the Company�� digital business, which includes the Company�� eBookstore, digital newsstand and sales of NOOK devices and accessories to third party distribution partners, as well as to B&N Retail and B&N College. Barnes & Noble�� NOOK digital bookstore and Reading Apps provide customers the ability to purchase and read their digital content and access to their Lifetime Library on a range of digital platforms, including Windows 8 PCs and tablets, iPad, iPhone , Android smartphones and tablets, PC and Mac. Barnes & Noble has implemented features on its digital platform to ensure that customers can access their NOOK content from almost all of today�� most popular devices.

The Company competes with Target, Books-A-Million, Waldenbooks, Amazon.com, Apple, Wal-Mart and Costco.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Steve Symington and Erin Miller]

    Last Tuesday, shares of Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS  ) plummeted by around 17% after the company posted terrible quarterly results.

    However, the stock has risen nearly 9% so far this week on hopes the company might actually be able to turn things around.

  • [By Alyce Lomax]

    Amazon certainly contributed to the failure of Borders and has been contributing to Barnes & Noble's (NYSE: BKS  ) struggles. Although Barnes & Noble's Nook was long a strong contender to Amazon's Kindle, things have gotten a little less certain. Nooks did not move well during the holiday season, and fourth-quarter sales of the devices fell by 26%. Barnes & Noble's stockpiles of the devices led to discounts and writedowns of inventory, as well as a quarterly net loss.

  • [By Caroline Bennett]

    Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS  ) on Monday announced several significant changes to its executive lineup, including the immediate resignation of William Lynch as chief executive officer and director. Lynch had been CEO for three years.

Top Specialty Retail Companies To Own For 2015: Firstin Wireless Technology Inc (FINW)

Firstin Wireless Technology, Inc., formerly Passionate Pet, Inc., incorporated on September 30, 2010, is a mobile service provider. The Company is a software-based mobile service provider that enables enterprises and business users to make affordable and business-quality international long distance and roaming calls over its hybrid mobile VoIP (HY-mVoIPTM) technology. Its service does not replace a user�� existing wireless service, it augments it with global communication capabilities. The Company's application is free to download, and is available on Apple iPhone, Blackberry and Android smartphones.

The Company provides international long distance and roaming services to enterprises and business travelers over smartphones. Business users need to download the Firstin application onto their smartphones to allow them to place and receive international long distance and roaming calls from anywhere in the world for a fixed monthly fee and unlimited usage. The Company intends to revolutionize business mobile communications by spearheading the enterprise mobile VoIP revolution allowing for anywhere, anytime, business-quality and low-cost voice and data communications over smartphones.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Peter Graham]

    Small cap stocks Bonamour Inc (OTCBB: BONI), Firstin Wireless Technology Inc (OTCMKTS: FINW) and Microchannel Technologies Corp (OTCBB: MCTC) have been attracting attention from variosu investment newsletters lately with at least two of these stocks being the subject of paid promotions. Of course, there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed paid promotions or investor relation types of activities as its up to investors and traders alike to do their due diligence. So how hot are these small cap stocks? Here is a quick reality check that might cool your appetite:

Top Specialty Retail Companies To Own For 2015: West Marine Inc (WMAR)

West Marine, Inc., incorporated in September 1993, is a specialty retailer of boating supplies and accessories. The Company offers an assortment of merchandise for the boat and for the boater. It operates in three segments: Stores, Port Supply and Direct-to-Customer. The Company sells to both retail and wholesale customers in its Stores segment. In addition, the Company has three franchised stores in Turkey. The Company�� Port Supply segment is its wholesale segment. The Company�� Direct-to-Customer, which includes e-commerce, catalog and call center transactions. During the year ended December 31, 2011, Stores segment generated approximately 90% of its net revenues. During 2011, products shipped to Port Supply customers directly from its warehouses represented approximately 4% of its net revenues.

During 2011, its Direct Sales segment offered customers around the world more than 75,000 products and accounted for the remaining 6% of its net revenues. Private label products, which the Company sells under the West Marine, Black Tip, Third Reef, Pure Oceans, Lifesling, SeaVolt and Seafit brand names, usually are manufactured in Asia, the United States and Europe.

Stores Segment

During 2011, the Company opened six stores while closing 14 stores. In December 2011, it opened its Fort Lauderdale Boating Superstore, a 50,000 square foot flagship. Its flagship stores ranging in size from 21,000 to 50,000 square feet, offering an array of merchandise typically about 16,000 items, as well as displays designed to help customers make informed product selections. It also operates large format stores, standard-sized stores and smaller Express stores. Its large format stores range from 13,000 to 19,000 square feet and carry about 11,000 items. The standard-sized stores typically range from 6,000 to 12,000 square feet and carry over 6,000 items. Express stores typically range from 2,500 to 3,000 square feet and carry over 4,000 items, mainly hardware and other supplies needed! for day-to-day boat maintenance and repairs.

Port Supply Segment

Port Supply customers include businesses involved in boat sales, boat building, boat commissioning and repair, yacht chartering, marina operations and other boating-related activities. In addition, Port Supply sells to government and industrial customers who use its products for boating and non-boating purposes. Port Supply, the Company�� wholesale segment, serves wholesale customers seeking convenience and a larger assortment of products than those carried by typical distributors.

Direct-to-Customer Segment

The Company�� e-commerce Website provides its customers with access to a selection of approximately 75,000 products, product advisor tips and technical information, over 450 product videos and customer-submitted product reviews. This segment also provides customers with access to knowledgeable technical advisors who can assist its customers in understanding the various uses and applications of the products it sell. It operates a virtual call center from which its associates assist its customers by taking calls from their homes or from its support center in Watsonville, California. Its virtual call center supports sales generated through its e-commerce Website, catalogs and stores and provides customer service offerings.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Interactive Buyside]

    West Marine (Nasdaq: WMAR) is an undervalued retailer.  The company is going through a change in focus from a bricks and mortar boat product retailer to a fully integrated retail and wholesale business through bricks and clicks, targeting the boating and water enthusiast customer.   Recent results have been affected by a severe rainy and cool spring which hurt boat usage and delayed the start of the season.  The company has accelerated cash investments to build larger more productive stores and expand its ecommerce abilities, consequently affecting free cash flow short term.  The stock lacks sponsorship as there is only one research report written on the company by a small boutique firm.  The stock trades at only book value despite the company being the leading industry player with a solid balance sheet and significant net cash position. 

Top Specialty Retail Companies To Own For 2015: Puget Technologies Inc (PUGE)

PUGET TECHNOLOGIES, INC., incorporated on March 17, 2010, is a development-stage company. The Company is engaged in the distribution of luxury wool bedding sets produced in Germany. The Company�� product includes Lama Wool, Camel Wool, Cashmere Wool and Merino Wool.

The Company�� Lama Wool is consists of 50% Lama Wool hair, and 50% Merino wool hair. The Camel wool is consists of 50% Camel wool hair, and 50% Merino wool hair. The Cashmere wool is blended with Merino wool.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Peter Graham]

    Small cap stocks Inscor, Inc (OTCMKTS: IOGA), Puget Technologies Inc (OTCBB: PUGE) and PTA Holdings Inc (OTCMKTS: PTAH) have all been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters or investor alerts. However, two of these small caps have been the subject of paid promotions while the third is getting attention largely because its in the growing marijuana or cannabis business. With that in mind, are these stocks really all that hot or not? Here is a quick reality check:

Top Specialty Retail Companies To Own For 2015: Vitacost.com Inc (VITC)

Vitacost.com, Inc. (Vitacost), incorporated in May 20, 1994, is an online retailer of health and wellness products, including dietary supplements such as vitamins, minerals, herbs and other botanicals, amino acids and metabolites, as well as cosmetics, natural personal care products, pet products, sports nutrition and health foods. The Company sells these products directly to consumers primarily through its Website, www.vitacost.com. It offers its customers the selection of healthy living products. It offers its customers a selection of approximately 40,000 Stock Keeping Units (SKUs), from over 2,000 third-party brands, such as New Chapter, Nature�� Way, Twinlab, Source Naturals, Jarrow Formulas, Jason, Desert Essence, Atkins, Bob�� Red Mill, BSN, Optimum Nutrition, USP Labs and MuscleTech in addition to its own brands: Vitacost, Cosmeceutical Sciences Institute (CSI), Best of All, and Smart Basics. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had approximately 2.1 million customers.

The Company offers products in a range of potency levels and dosage forms, such as tablets, capsules, vegi-capsules, softgels, gelcaps, liquids and powders. It offers products that encompass four main categories: Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs and Supplements; Sports Nutrition; Beauty; and Natural and Organic Food.

Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs and Supplements (VMHS)

VMHS products are taken to maintain or improve health and address specific health conditions. In its dietary supplements category, the Company offers its offer its Vitacost branded products as well as third-party brands such as Nature�� Way, Twinlab, Jarrow, Carlson and Rainbow Light. Vitamin and mineral products include multi-vitamins, lettered vitamins, such as Vitamin A, C, D, E and B-complex, along with minerals such as calcium, magnesium, chromium and zinc.

Herbal products include whole herbs, standardized extracts, herb combination formulas and teas. Supplements include essential fatty acids, probiotics, anti-o! xidants, phytonutrients and condition-specific formulas.

Sports Nutrition

Sports nutrition products are used in conjunction with cardiovascular conditioning, weight training and sports activities. Major categories in sports nutrition include protein and weight gain powders, meal replacements, nutrition bars, sport drinks and pre and post-workout supplements. The Company offers bodybuilding and sports products from third parties, such as Optimum Nutrition, CytoSport and BSN as well as our Vitacost branded sports nutrition products.

Beauty

Natural care products consist of a variety of natural products for skin, body, hair and oral health. The Company offers hundreds of natural personal-care products from companies, such as JASON, and Kiss My Face, as well as its CSI-branded products. These products appeal to allergen-conscious and environmentally-conscious consumers seeking products that are made without harsh chemicals and additives.

Natural and Organic Food

Natural and organic food products consist of organic and specialty products such as organic peanut butter, gluten free foods and low mercury tuna and salmon. The Company offers third-party brands, such as Kashi, Eden Foods and Amy�� Organic, as well as its Best of All natural food products.

Under its Vitacost brand, the Company offers over 900 products including multivitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids, anti-oxidants and others. Under its CSI brand, it markets and sells health and beauty products such as facial cleanser, facial and body moisturizing creams and lotions, and other beauty and skincare products. Under its Best of All brand, it markets and sells organic food products such as banana chips, trail mix, almonds, cashews and more. Under its Smart Basics brand, it markets and sells organic fruit juices and extracts and related dietary supplements. Under its Walker Diet brand, it markets and sells low carb powders used to assist in weight loss and ! managemen! t.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Seth Jayson]

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

  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Margins matter. The more Vitacost.com (Nasdaq: VITC  ) keeps of each buck it earns in revenue, the more money it has to invest in growth, fund new strategic plans, or (gasp!) distribute to shareholders. Healthy margins often separate pretenders from the best stocks in the market. That's why we check up on margins at least once a quarter in this series. I'm looking for the absolute numbers, so I can compare them to current and potential competitors, and any trend that may tell me how strong Vitacost.com's competitive position could be.

Top Specialty Retail Companies To Own For 2015: CSS Industries Inc (CSS)

CSS Industries, Inc. (CSS), incorporated on November 5, 1923, is a company primarily engaged in the design, manufacture, procurement, distribution and sale of seasonal and all occasion social expression products, principally to mass market retailers. These seasonal and all occasion products include gift wrap, gift bags, gift boxes, gift card holders, boxed greeting cards, gift tags, decorative tissue paper, decorations, classroom exchange Valentines, decorative ribbons and bows, floral accessories, Halloween masks, costumes, make-up and novelties, Easter egg dyes and novelties, craft and educational products, stickers, memory books, stationery, journals, notecards, infant and wedding photo albums, scrapbooks, and other gift items that commemorate life�� celebrations. In September 5, 2012, it sold the Halloween portion of its Paper Magic business to Gemmy Industries (HK) Limited.

CSS��product provides its retail customers the opportunity to use a single vendor for much of their seasonal product requirements. A substantial portion of CSS��products are manufactured, packaged and/or warehoused in 10 facilities located in the United States, with the remainder purchased primarily from manufacturers in Asia and Mexico. The Company�� products are sold to its customers by national and regional account sales managers, sales representatives, product specialists and by a network of independent manufacturers��representatives. The Company�� principal operating subsidiaries include Paper Magic Group, Inc. (Paper Magic), Berwick Offray LLC (Berwick Offray) and C.R. Gibson, LLC (C.R. Gibson). CSS designs, manufactures, procures, distributes and sells a range of seasonal consumer products primarily through the mass market distribution channel. Christmas products include gift wrap, gift bags, gift boxes, gift card holders, boxed greeting cards, gift tags, decorative tissue paper and decorations. CSS��Valentine product offerings include classroom exchange Valentine cards and other related Valen! tine products, while its Easter product offerings include Dudley�� brand of Easter egg dyes and related Easter seasonal products. CSS also designs and markets decorative ribbons and bows, all occasion boxed greeting cards, gift wrap, gift bags, gift boxes, gift card holders, decorative and waxed tissue, decorative films and foils, stickers, memory books, stationery, journals, notecards, infant and wedding photo albums, scrapbooks, floral accessories and other gift and craft items to its mass market, craft, specialty and floral retail and wholesale distribution customers, and teachers' aids and other learning oriented products to the education market through mass market retailers, school supply distributors and teachers' stores. Key brands include Paper Magic, Berwick, Offray, C.R. Gibson, Markings, Creative Papers, Tapestry, Dudley��, Don Post Studios, Eureka, Learning Playground, Stickerfitti and iota. Key brands include Paper Magic, Berwick, Offray, C.R. Gibson, Markings, Creative Papers, Tapestry, Seastone, Dudley��, Eureka, Learning Playground and Stickerfitti.

CSS operates 10 manufacturing and/or distribution facilities located in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Alabama and Texas. Its boxed greeting cards are produced by Asian manufacturers to the Company�� specifications. Halloween make-up and Easter egg dye products are manufactured in Asia to specific formulae by contract manufacturers who meet regulatory requirements for the formularization and packaging of such products. Ribbons and bows are primarily manufactured and warehoused in seven facilities located in Pennsylvania, Maryland, South Carolina and Texas. Memory books, stationery, journals and notecards, infant and wedding photo albums, scrapbooks, and other gift items are imported from Asian manufacturers and warehoused and distributed from a distribution facility in Florence, Alabama. Floral accessories, including pot covers, foil, waxed tissue, shred, aisle runners, corsage bags and other paper! and film! products, are manufactured in a facility located in Milford, New Hampshire and Juarez, Mexico. Manufacturing includes gravure and flexo printing, waxing and converting. Products are warehoused and distributed from a distribution facility in Berwick, Pennsylvania. Other products including, but not limited to, decorative tissue paper, all occasion gift wrap, gift tags, gift bags, gift boxes, gift card holders, classroom exchange Valentine products, Halloween masks, costumes and novelties, Easter products, decorations and school products are designed to the specifications of CSS and are imported primarily from Asian manufacturers.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Gifts maker�CSS Industries� (NYSE: CSS  ) �announced yesterday its second-quarter dividend of $0.15 per share, the same rate it's paid since 2008.

Friday, May 15, 2015

Top 10 India Stocks To Own For 2016

Top 10 India Stocks To Own For 2016: Sify Technologies Limited(SIFY)

Sify Technologies Limited provides enterprise and consumer Internet services primarily in India. The company offers various corporate network/data services comprising e-commerce and network connectivity solutions, such as end-to-end services network, application, and security services; voice origination and termination services; co-location and managed hosting services; and system integration services for data centre build, hardware distribution, security solutions, and turnkey projects. It also provides application services, including SLEMS and Microsoft Exchange messaging platforms; I-test for online assessment and LiveWire, which enable management of training processes across the organization; document management system for the management of documents electronically; and Forum, a forward supply chain solution. In addition, the company operates e-Ports that offer browsing, chat, email, gaming, utility bill payment, travel ticketing, hotel booking, mobile recharge, Intern et telephony, and online share trading services; and portals, which provide news, views, reviews, interactions, and services in the areas of movies, sports, finance, food, videos, astrology, online games, shopping, and travel, as well as offers content offerings and broadband services. Further, it provides infrastructure management services, such as network management, datacenter and helpdesk outsourcing, desktop and storage outsourcing, IT security outsourcing, LAN and WAN outsourcing, database and telecom outsourcing, and application monitoring and management services to automotive, chemical, media, and financial enterprises; and virtualization design, integration, and deployment services for servers, storage, networks, and end user clients. Sify has approximately 1,278 e-Ports in 200 towns and cities; and serves 1,06,000 broadband subscribers through 1500 cable TV Operators. The company, formerly known as Sify Limited, was founded in 1995 and is based! in Chennai, India. Advisors' Opinion:

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Leading and Lagging Sectors
    Technology stocks gained Tuesday, with Ku6 Media Co (NASDAQ: KUTV) leading advancers. Among leading tech stocks, gains came from Rubicon Technology (NASDAQ: RBCN), Bitauto Holdings (NYSE: BITA) and Sify Technologies (NASDAQ: SIFY).

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Leading and Lagging Sectors
    Technology stocks gained Tuesday, with Ku6 Media Co (NASDAQ: KUTV) leading advancers. Among leading tech stocks, gains came from Rubicon Technology (NASDAQ: RBCN), Bitauto Holdings (NYSE: BITA) and Sify Technologies (NASDAQ: SIFY). Utilities shares dropped by 0.11 percent in the US market today.

  • source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-10-india-stocks-to-own-for-2016.html

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Invesco offers a new twist on risk parity

risk

Invesco Ltd. has opened up a new fund to financial advisers that takes its balanced-risk strategy and adds a tactical flair.

The Invesco Global Markets Strategy Fund (GMSDX) launched last September but was only made available to non-accredited investors this month. The fund is managed by the same portfolio management team as the $12.7 billion Invesco Balanced-Risk Allocation Fund (ABRZX).

The Balanced-Risk Allocation Fund is a flavor of risk parity, an increasingly popular alternative to the classic 60/40 portfolio of stocks and bonds.

Risk parity operates under the notion that in a classic portfolio stocks take up way more of the risk than their allocation, so the allocation to stocks is lowered and less risky assets such as bonds and commodities get a higher weighting. The historically less risky asset classes are then boosted by leverage to try and match the same returns as a 60/40 portfolio, with less overall risk.

The Global Markets Strategy Fund starts with the same basic notion but has more freedom to maneuver between asset classes.

Its goal is to derive about 80% of returns from tactical bets and 20% from asset allocation, which is the reverse of the balanced-risk allocation fund, portfolio manager Scott Wolle said.

It can even go short if the outlook for a particular asset class, such as bonds, is grim.

Top 5 Valued Stocks To Buy Right Now

“It can be better positioned within global markets if we have a large number of assets falling,” Mr. Wolle said.

The increased flexibility has paid off this year for the Global Markets Strategy Fund.

In the second quarter, when interest rates skyrocketed from 1.6% to about 2.5%, the balanced-risk allocation fund, which is long-only and has at least 16% of risk coming from bonds, lost more than 5%,

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global Takes Near 10% Stake in Children’s Retailer

Over the past week Chase Coleman's fund Tiger Global Management reported an increase in their holdings in the children's apparel company, Carter's. The fund made this increase on Oct. 24, as the company released their third quarter financial results.

Coleman's fund upped its stake in Carter's by 41.33% last week by purchasing a total of 1,653,031 shares of the company's stock. The fund bought these shares at an average price of $68.28 per share, and since then the price is down slightly to $68.11 per share.

Tiger Global now holds on to 5,653,031 shares of Carter's, representing 9.54% of the company's shares outstanding. Since the guru bought into Carter's during the first quarter, the company has seen average gains of 12%. Chase Coleman's holding history as of the close of the second quarter:

[ Enlarge Image ]

Tiger Global Management is the largest guru shareholder of Carter's stock.

Carter's is the largest marketer in the U.S. of apparel and related products exclusively for babies and young children. The company owns the Carter's and OshKosh B'gosh brands, which are two of the most recognized brands in the children's clothing marketplace. These brands can be found in department stores, national chains and specialty retailers through more than 400 company-operated stores and online.

Carter's historical revenue and net income:

[ Enlarge Image ]

Recent Happenings at Carter's

Carter's released their third quarter financials on Oct. 24 which reported:

· Net sales increased $91.5 million, or 13.7%, to $760 million.
· Operating income was $91.1 million, down 4.5% from last year.
· Net income decreased $2.8 million, or 4.7%, to $56.6 million, or $0.97 per diluted share.
· The adjusted net income increased $4 million, or 6.6%, to $65 million, or $1.12 per s! hare.

Chairman and CEO Michael Casey said regarding the results, "Our growth reflects the strength of our brands and multi-channel business model. We believe we are well-positioned with strong product offerings and compelling promotions heading into the holiday season and expect to achieve our growth objectives this year."

Earlier in the quarter Carter's announced a $400 million accelerated share repurchase program. The company announced this as part of its efforts to improve their capital structure and return capital to shareholders. The company will acquire these common shares under the $700 million share repurchase authorization announced on Aug. 22. All of the shares bought under the accelerated program will be retired.

During the quarter, the company bought back 226,400 shares for $16.4 million. Under the accelerated stock repurchase program the company bought back 4.6 million shares worth $328.4 million, as of Sep. 28, 2013.

During the third quarter Carter's opened 17 new Carter's retail stores and 7 new OshKosh B'gosh retail stores. This brings the total number of stores to 455 Carter's and 170 OshKosh B'gosh retail stores in the US.

Insider Trading Lawsuit

On Oct. 29, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil complaint against retired hedge-fund investment consultant, Dennis Rosenberg for an alleged insider trading scheme involving Carter's. The complaint states that Rosenberg was able to trade in advance of marketing-moving news based on tips he got from a former executive at the company between 2005 and 2010.

Rosenberg passed these tips along to other investment advisers at two other hedge funds, who also traded based on this information. The tips raked in $500,000 for Rosenberg. The former advisor received unlawful gains, avoided losses and consulting fees based on the information given to him.

All together, the individuals receiving the information supposedly banked about $2 million. While he hasn't verbally a! dmitted t! o anything yet, Rosenberg agreed to pay up $500,000, plus $108,000 in interest.

This is the second insider trading case coming from the alleged Carter's scheme. Another occurred in Aug. 2012, when the SEC sued the company's former VP of Investor Relations, Eric Martin. Martin's punishment required him to agree to a consent order banning him from serving as an officer or director at a public company.

GuruFocus Information

The analysis on Carter's reports that the company has a high Piotroski F-Score, indicating that the company is in a healthy situation.

The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently overvalued:

[ Enlarge Image ]

Carter's dividend yield is currently sitting at a historical high:

[ Enlarge Image ]

Top Wireless Telecom Stocks To Watch Right Now

According to the 10-Year Financials the company holds cash and cash equivalents of $201.8 million, a long-term debt of $586 million and shareholders' equity of $658.9 million.

The top guru shareholders of Carter's:

1. Chase Coleman: 5,653,031 shares, representing 9.54% of the company's shares outstanding.
2. Andreas Halvorsen: 2,953,095 shares, representing 4.98% of the company's shares outstanding and 1.2% of his total portfolio.
3. Alan Fournier: 2,740,000 shares, representing 4.63% of the company's shares outstanding and 3.8% of his total portfolio.

Carter's has a market cap of $3.79 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around $69.52 with a P/E ratio of 24.50, a P/S ratio of 1.60 and a P/B ratio of 4.00. Carter's had an annual average earnings growth of 11.80% over the past ten years.

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Top 5 Logistics Stocks To Own Right Now

On a slow day for defense contractors, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A  ) took home the Pentagon gold Wednesday.

After bidding for the rights to develop and manufacture an aircrew training system for the new KC-46 Boeing aerial refueling tanker, Berkshire subsidiary�FlightSafety International won a $78.4 million contract to produce the system. FlightSafety could have as long as until 2026 to complete work on the contract if all option-year extensions are exercised.

Berkshire's single contract win accounted for more than half the $149.4 million in contracts awarded Wednesday. Of the rest, only one went to another publicly traded company. General Dynamics' (NYSE: GD  ) Advanced Information Systems subsidiary won $31.5 million in the form of a five-year performance-based logistics requirements contract to support six mission computers used on F/A 18 E/F, EA-18G, and AV-8B aircraft. The completion date on this contract is April 2018.

Top Healthcare Technology Companies To Buy For 2015: Dolan Co (DM)

The Dolan Company, incorporated in March 2003, is a provider of necessary professional services and business information to legal, financial and real estate sectors in the United States. The Company operates through two operating divisions: its Professional Services Division and its Business Information Division. Its Professional Services Division consists of two segments: mortgage default processing services and litigation support services. Its Business Information Division produces legal publications, business journals, court and commercial media, other online information products and services, and operates Websites and produces events for targeted professional audiences in 21 geographic markets across the United States. Its information is delivered through a variety of methods, including approximately 60 print publications and 80 Websites. The Company also operates specialized information services covering legislative and regulatory activities and providing transcription, media monitoring and translation services. On July 25, 2011, it acquired substantially all of the assets of ACT Litigation Services, Inc. (ACT). In July 2013, the Company sold the assets of its NDeX South business to the law firm affiliates of that business.

Professional Services

The Company�� Professional Services Division consists of two operating segments: mortgage default processing services and litigation support services. Its mortgage default processing services segment consists of the operations of NDeX. Its litigation support services segment consists of the operations of DiscoverReady, its discovery management and document review services business, and Counsel Press, its appellate services business. The Company provides these support services to the legal profession. In addition, NDeX also provides its services directly to mortgage lenders and loan servicers on California foreclosure files. One of the litigation support services it provides is discovery management and document review services, ! including certain technology services related to processing and hosting the data. Discovery is the process by which parties use the legal system to obtain relevant information, primarily in litigation, regulatory, and governmental investigation matters. Some United States companies with in-house legal departments choose to perform or manage some portions of the discovery process in-house, rather than outsourcing them.

The Company provides appellate services to lawyers in connection with both state and federal appeals. It performs more state appellate work, as state appellate case volume generally is larger than federal case volume. There are typically about 300,000 state appeals filed each year, compared to approximately 58,000 federal appeals filed per year, according to information available to the Company from the Administrative Office of the United States Courts and the National Center for State Courts. NDeX also provides real estate title services to the Barrett Law Firm and provides loan modification and loss mitigation support on mortgage default files to its customers. During the year ended December 31, 2011, it received approximately 317,200 mortgage default case files for processing from its customers.

In 2011, its mortgage default processing services segment accounted for 46% of its total revenues and 63% of its Professional Services Division�� total revenues. The Company�� litigation support services professionals at Counsel Press provide clients with consulting services, including procedural and technical advice and support with respect to the United States state and federal appellate processes. During 2011, its litigation support services segment accounted for 27% of its total revenues and 37% of its Professional Services Division�� total revenues. In addition to its appellate services, Counsel Press provides additional tracking and professional services to its clients.

Business Information

The Company provides business informatio! n product! s to companies and professionals in the legal, financial, real estate and governmental affairs sectors primarily through print and online business journals and court and commercial newspapers, as well as other electronic media offerings. Its business journals generally rely on display and classified advertising as a significant source of revenue and provide content that is relevant to the business communities they target. Its court and commercial newspapers generally rely on public notices as their primary source of revenue and offer information to the legal communities they target. All of its business journals and court and commercial newspapers also generate circulation revenue to supplement their advertising and public notice revenue base. There were more than 230 local business journals and more than 350 court and commercial newspapers nationwide, which generated approximately $2 billion in revenues in 2011.

The Company sells packaged print and online advertising products to advertisers that desire to reach readers through different media. Dolan Media Newswires, its Internet-based, subscription newswire, is available at www.dolanmedianewswires.com for news professionals and represents the work of its journalists and contributors. It also operates online, subscription-based legislative information services that are used by lobbyists, associations, corporations, unions, government affairs professionals, state agencies and the media in Arizona, Minnesota and Oklahoma. Through DataStream, it offers customized access to legislative databases, which provide state and federal legislative and regulatory information. Through Federal News, the Company offers transcription services.

The Company provides commercial printing services and sells database information through royalty or licensing fee arrangements. During2011, its subscription-based and other revenues accounted for 8% of its total revenues and 28% of its Business Information Division�� total revenues. The Company prints se! ven of it! s business information publications at one of its three printing facilities located in Baltimore, Minneapolis and Oklahoma City.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Sally Jones]

    Dolan Co. (DM) ��Market Cap $81.8 Million

    Dolan Co. is down 42% over 12 months. The company has a market cap of $81.8 million; its trades at around $2.65 with a P/B ratio of 1.10.

Top 5 Logistics Stocks To Own Right Now: Select Medical Holdings Corporation(SEM)

Select Medical Holdings Corporation, through its subsidiary, Select Medical Corporation, operates specialty hospitals and outpatient rehabilitation clinics in the United States. The company?s Specialty Hospitals segment offers long term acute care hospital services and inpatient acute rehabilitative hospital care. This segment provides services for various medical conditions, such as respiratory failure, neuromuscular disorders, traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, strokes, non-healing wounds, cardiac disorders, renal disorders, and cancer. As of December 31, 2011, it operated 110 long term acute care hospitals and 9 inpatient rehabilitation facilities in 28 states. The Outpatient Rehabilitation segment operates clinics; and provides physical, occupational, and speech rehabilitation services. It offers medical rehabilitation services on a contract basis at nursing homes, hospitals, assisted living and senior care centers, schools, and worksites. This segment also pro vides specialized programs, such as functional programs for work related injuries, hand therapy, and athletic training services. As of December 31, 2011, it operated 954 outpatient rehabilitation clinics in 32 states and the District of Columbia. Select Medical Holdings Corporation was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jonas Elmerraji]

    2013 has been a pretty poor year for shareholders of Select Medical Holdings (SEM). Shares of the billion-dollar health care facilities stock have fallen around 10% since the calendar flipped over to January. That means that SEM is underperforming the S&P 500 by more than 36% year-to-date. But investors could be in store for a reprieve thanks to the bullish setup that's been forming in shares.

    SEM is currently forming an ascending triangle bottom, a bullish setup that's formed by a horizontal resistance level above shares at $9 and uptrending support to the downside. Basically, as shares of Select bounce in between those two technically-important levels, they're getting squeezed closer and closer to a breakout above our $9 price ceiling. When that happens, we've got a buy signal in shares.

    Select Medical broke its downtrend back in the summer, but $9 has held firm as resistance ever since. One potential early indicator of a breakout is going to be momentum: 14-day RSI has hit its head on 70 the last couple times SEM hit its head on $9. A breakout above 70 on the momentum gauge is likely to lead the price breakout.

  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Specialty hospitals and outpatient rehabilitation clinic operator�Select Medical� (NYSE: SEM  ) �announced yesterday that it had successfully completed the�private placement of�$600 million�worth of its 6.375% senior notes due in 2021.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Overvalued companies include MWI Veterinary (MWIV) and�Stericycle (SRCL), while companies with attractive valuations include Cardinal Health (CAH), Selected Medical (SEM). He’s not a fan of Intrexon (XON) but calls�Aratana (PETX) a “hidden gem.”

Top 5 Logistics Stocks To Own Right Now: California Water Service Group (CWT)

California Water Service Group, incorporated on August 2, 1999, is a holding company. The Company operates California Water Service Company (Cal Water), New Mexico Water Service Company (New Mexico Water), Washington Water Service Company (Washington Water), Hawaii Water Service Company, Inc. (Hawaii Water), and CWS Utility Services and HWS Utility Services LLC are collectively called Utility Services. Cal Water, New Mexico Water, Washington Water, and Hawaii Water are regulated public utilities. Utility Services provides non-regulated services to private companies and municipalities. The Company�� business is conducted through its operating subsidiaries. Its bulk business consists of the production, purchase, storage, treatment, testing, distribution and sale of water for domestic, industrial, public and irrigation uses, and for fire protection. It also provides non-regulated water-related services under agreements with municipalities and other private companies. The non-regulated services include full water system operation, billing and meter reading services. Non-regulated operations also include the lease of communication antenna sites, lab services, and promotion of other non-regulated services.

Regulated Business

California water operations are conducted by the Cal Water and CWS Utility Services entities, which provide service to approximately 473,100 customers in 83 California communities through 25 separate districts. Of these 25 districts, 23 districts are regulated water systems, which are subject to regulation by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Cal Water operates two leased water systems, the City of Hawthorne and the City of Commerce, which are governed through their respective city councils and are outside of the CPUC's jurisdiction. California water operations account for approximately 94% of its total customers and approximately 94% of its total consolidated operating revenue.

Hawaii Water provides service to approximately 4,2! 00 water and wastewater customers on the islands of Maui and Hawaii, including several resorts and condominium complexes. Hawaii's regulated operations are subject to the jurisdiction of the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission. Hawaii Water accounts for less than 1% of its total customers and approximately 3% of its total operating revenue.

Washington Water provides domestic water service to approximately 15,800 customers in the Tacoma and Olympia areas. Washington Water's utility operations are regulated by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. Washington Water accounts for approximately 3% of its total customers and approximately 2% of its total consolidated operating revenue.

New Mexico Water provides service to approximately 7,600 water and wastewater customers in the Belen, Los Lunas and Elephant Butte areas in New Mexico. New Mexico's regulated operations are subject to the jurisdiction of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. New Mexico Water accounts for approximately 2% of its total customers and approximately 1% of its total consolidated operating revenue.

Non-Regulated Businesses

Non-regulated activities consist primarily of operating water and waste water systems, which are owned by other entities; providing meter reading and billing services; leasing communication antenna sites on its properties; operating recycled water systems; providing lab services for water quality testing; billing of optional third-party insurance program to its residential customers; selling surplus property, and other services as requested by the client. The Company provides operating and maintenance, meter reading and customer billing services for several municipalities in California. It also provides sewer and refuse billing services to several municipalities. The Company leases antenna sites to telecommunication companies, which place equipment at various Company-owned sites. The antennas are used in cellular phone and personal communic! ation app! lications.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Richard Band]

    California Water Service (CWT) is the third-largest publicly traded water utility in the country��nd the largest west of the Mississippi River. The company has raised its dividend for 47 years in a row.

  • [By Marc Bastow]

    Utility holding company California Water (CWT) raised its quarterly dividend 1.5% to 16.25 cents per share, payable on Feb. 21 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 10.
    CWT Dividend Yield: 2.78%

Top 5 Logistics Stocks To Own Right Now: Kimberly-Clark Corporation(KMB)

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and marketing of various health care products worldwide. The company operates in four segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, K-C Professional & Other, and Health Care. The Personal Care segment provides disposable diapers, training and youth pants, and swimpants; baby wipes; and feminine and incontinence care products, and related products. It offers its products primarily for household use under various brand names, including Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, Kotex, Lightdays, Depend, and Poise. The Consumer Tissue segment offers facial and bathroom tissue, paper towels, napkins, and related products for household use under the Kleenex, Scott, Cottonelle, Viva, Andrex, Scottex, Hakle, and Page brands. The K-C Professional & Other segment offers facial and bathroom tissue, paper towels, napkins, wipers, and a range of safety products for the away-from-home marketplace und er Kimberly-Clark, Kleenex, Scott, WypAll, Kimtech, KleenGuard, Kimcare, and Jackson brand names. The Health Care segment offers disposable health care products, such as surgical drapes and gowns, infection control products, face masks, exam gloves, respiratory products, pain management products, and other disposable medical products under the Kimberly-Clark, Ballard, and ON-Q brand names. The company sells its products to supermarkets; mass merchandisers; drugstores; warehouse clubs; variety and department stores; retail outlets; manufacturing, lodging, office building, food service, and health care establishments; and high volume public facilities. It markets its products through wholesalers, distributors, and direct sales. The company was founded in 1872 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

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

    Top decliners in the sector included The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), off 0.3 percent, and Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB), down 1.8 percent.

    Top Headline
    McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) reported a drop in its first-quarter profit. McDonald's posted its quarterly profit of $1.20 billion, or $1.21 per share, down from $1.27 billion, or $1.26 per share, in the year-ago period. Its total revenue rose to $6.70 billion versus $6.61 billion, while operating income slipped to $1.94 billion versus $1.95 billion. However, analysts were estimating earnings of $1.24 per share on revenue of $6.71 billion. McDonald's global same-store sales climbed 0.5%, while US same-store sales declined 1.7%. Equities Trading UP
    Revance Therapeutics (NASDAQ: RVNC) shares shot up 14.01 percent to $32.63 after the company reported positive results from the RT002 Phase 1/2 study in glabellar (frown) lines.

  • [By Anora Mahmudova]

    Reporting ahead of the bell Monday, Halliburton Co. (HAL) , Hasbro, Inc. (HAS) � and Kimberly-Clark Corp. (KMB) beat Wall Street�� expectations. Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) � shares rose in aftermarket trade after earnings topped estimates.

  • [By Keith Speights]

    Additional competition comes from Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB  ) . The company is more well-known for its consumer products such as diapers, paper towels, and tissues, but it also has a large health care business segment. Last year, Kimberly-Clark generated sales topping $1.6 billion from its medical devices, surgical products, and infection prevention products. While this total represented less than 8% of total sales, the company intends to shift more resources to the health care unit in the future.�