Saturday, June 21, 2014

Top 10 Performing Companies To Own In Right Now

Top 10 Performing Companies To Own In Right Now: TSR Inc.(TSRI)

TSR, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides contract computer programming services to commercial customers, and state and local government agencies in the metropolitan New York area, New England, and the mid-Atlantic region. It offers technical computer personnel to supplement in-house information technology capabilities. The company provides its staffing services in the areas of mainframe and mid-range computer operations, personal computers and client-server support, Internet and e-commerce operations, voice and data communications, and help desk support capabilities. TSR, Inc. was founded in 1969 and is based in Hauppauge, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Geoff Gannon] ay.

    TSRI is typical of the kinds of net-nets you find on this list. The number of net-nets with five straight years of profits is about a dozen stocks. TSR is one of them. It is controlled by the founder. He formed the company 42 years ago. And he still owns 46% of the company today.

    Other companies on the list of profitable net-nets also involve one man (or one family) control. These include:

    路 Micropac (MPAD)

    路 ADDvantage Technologies (AEY)

    路 Solitron Devices (SODI)

    路 OPT-Sciences (OPST)

    Micropac

    Micropac is 76% owned by Heinz-Werner Hempel. Hes a German businessman. You can see the German company he founded here. Hes had control of Micropac for a long-time. I dont have an exact number in front of me. But I would guess its been something like 25 years.

    ADDvantage

    ADDvantage Technologies is controlled by the Chymiak brothers. See the companys April 4 press release explaining their decision to turn over the CEO position to an outsider. Regardless, the Chymiaks still control 47% of the company. Ken Chymiak is now chairman. And David Chymiak is still a director and now the companys chief technology officer. Clearly, its still their company.

    By! the way, the name ADDvantage Technologies has nothing to do with the Chymiaks. Todays AEY really traces its roots to a private company called Tulsat. The Chymiak brothers acquired that company about 27 years ago. So, effectively, when you buy shares of AEY you are buying into a 27-year-old family-controlled company.

    Thats pretty typical in the world of net-nets.

    Solitron

    Solitron Devices is 29% owned by Shevach Saraf. He has been the CEO for 20 years. The post-bankruptcy Solitron has never known another CEO. Before the bankruptcy, Solitron was a much bigger, much different company. So even though we are not talking about the founder here and even though 70% of the companys shares ar e not held by the CEO

  • source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-10-performing-companies-to-own-in-right-now.html

Friday, June 20, 2014

Top 5 India Stocks To Own For 2015

More than 20% of total rail carloads stem from the coal industry. Because of this reliance on coal shipments, CSX (NYSE: CSX  ) and Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC  ) each saw revenues from coal shipments drop by double digits in the first quarter of 2013 versus the same quarter last year. This also can't be great news for Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A  ) , as it owns BNSF railroads, which holds a 33% market share in coal shipments by rail, according to 2012 data.

These companies cater to the eastern United States, which has seen its coal industry hurt to a much greater degree than miners out west, such as Peabody Energy and its Powder River Basin thermal coal production. Coal from this region is produced further down the cost curve and is competitive with much lower natural gas prices than the Appalachian output.

Because exports are becoming a much bigger part of the domestic coal landscape, CSX has chosen to focus on providing greater access to a variety of export terminals. Peabody Energy is just one company that has deals in place to get its cheaper coal from the Powder River and Illinois basins to India, China, and the EU. For investors looking to capitalize on a rebound in the U.S. coal market, The Motley Fool has authored a special new premium report detailing exactly why Peabody Energy is perhaps most worthy of your consideration. Don't miss out on this invaluable resource -- simply click here now to claim your copy today.

Top 5 India Stocks To Own For 2015: Tata Motors Ltd(TTM)

Tata Motors Limited, an automobile company, engages in the manufacture and sale of commercial and passenger vehicles primarily in India. The company offers cars, utility vehicles, trucks, buses and coaches, and defense vehicles, as well as develops electric and hybrid vehicles for personal and public transportation. It also involves in distributing and marketing cars; and financing the vehicles sold by the company. In addition, the company engages in the provision of engineering and automotive solutions, as well as machine tools and factory automation solutions; construction equipment manufacturing; automotive vehicle components manufacturing and supply chain activities; tooling and plastic and electronic components for automotive and computer applications; and automotive retailing and service operations. It offers its products and services through its dealership, sales, services, and spare parts network. The company also markets its commercial and passenger vehicles in Eu rope, Africa, the Middle East, South East Asia, South Asia, and South America. The company was formerly known as Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company Limited and changed its name to Tata Motors Limited in July 2003. Tata Motors Limited was founded in 1945 and is based in Mumbai, India.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By John Rosevear]

    Ever since India's Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM  ) bought Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford (NYSE: F  ) in 2008, one big question has been asked: Would Tata be willing (and able) to make the big investments needed to make Jaguar a competitive global luxury brand?

  • [By Dividend King]

    Earnings per share (TTM) came in at $3.48, compared to -$0.33, $1.46, and $4.17 for competitors General Growth Properties Inc. (GGP), Macerich Co. (MAC) and Vornado Realty Trust (VNO), respectively.

  • [By Trey Thoelcke]

    The rise of VW could hit GM particularly hard, both in terms of reputation and in earnings. GM said it was looking to introduce four new Chevrolet models in China next year, as well as to expand its low-cost Baojun brand. Chinese buyers could already be looking elsewhere though, given the rise of VW and of Tata Motors Ltd. (NYSE: TTM), which sells cars under the Jaguar and Range Rover brands. Sales of Tata vehicles have risen sharply in the past year, and the company is set to begin producing cars in China.

  • [By Justin Loiseau]

    2. Gimme those car keys
    Sniff ... they grow up so fast. Before we know it, little Georgie's going to be ready to sit his royal tuckus in the driver seat. Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM  ) offers a flashback to the days of British colonialism, although this time it's India with the ownership. Although the South Asian automaker is most famous for its Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car, Prince George would probably have his eyes set on Tata's Jaguar Land Rover subsidiary.

Top 5 India Stocks To Own For 2015: Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd(RDY)

Dr. Reddy?s Laboratories Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a pharmaceutical company. It produces finished dosage forms, active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates, and biotechnology products. The company also conducts research in the areas of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular, inflammation, and bacterial infection. In addition, it involves in the contract manufacture generic prescription and over-the-counter products for branded and generic companies in the United States. The company primarily focuses on therapeutic categories of cardiovascular, diabetes management, gastro-intestinal, and pain management. It markets its products in India, the United States, Europe, and the Russian Federation. The company has a co-development and commercialization agreement with Rheoscience A/S for the development and commercialization of Balaglitazone/DRF 2593, a partial PPAR-gamma agonist for the treatment of type 2 diabetes; an agreement with ClinTec Internatio nal for the development of an anti-cancer compound, DRF 1042; collaboration with the National Cancer Institute in Maryland; and an agreement with Argenta Discovery Limited for the joint development and commercialization of a novel approach to the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It also has an agreement with 7TM Pharma for drug discovery collaboration on selected drug targets; and an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline plc to develop and market pharmaceuticals for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, oncology, gastroenterology, and pain management. Dr. Reddy?s Laboratories Limited was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Hyderabad, India.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dan Carroll]

    The company's generic drug segment should also help push emerging market sales. Abbott markets generic pharmaceuticals outside the U.S. only, and while the division isn't growth-oriented -- sales actually fell around 2% for the quarter -- it provides an entry for the company to push into lucrative new markets such as India, where generics make up the large majority of the country's retail market. The company will face tougher competition in this industry, however: Firms such as India-based Dr. Reddy's (NYSE: RDY  ) have also pushed hard into emerging markets lately, and Dr. Reddy's in particular should benefit from its being headquartered in one of the industry's top locales.

  • [By Benjamin Shepherd] We’re now into day 15 of the US government shutdown, as House Republicans stubbornly try to defund Obamacare. No matter what sort of deal is eventually struck, health care costs aren’t likely to come down any time soon. And that’s good news for generic drug makers.

    Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (NYSE: RDY) is one of the biggest players in generic drugs, offering more than 200 off-brand medications in the areas of cardiovascular disease, pain management and oncology, among others. In fact, this India-based company has become one of the largest makers of generics in the world, helping to drive more than 20 percent annual compounded earnings growth at the company over the past decade.
  • [By Monica Gerson]

    Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (NYSE: RDY) is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.52 per share.

    YuMe (NYSE: YUME) is estimated to post a Q1 loss at $0.15 per share on revenue of $35.36 million.

  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (NYSE: RDY  ) reported earnings on May 14. Here are the numbers you need to know.

    The 10-second takeaway
    For the quarter ended March 31 (Q4), Dr. Reddy's Laboratories beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Top Defensive Stocks To Own For 2015: 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). Utilities shares dropped by 0.11 percent in the US market today.

  • [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).

Top 5 India Stocks To Own For 2015: Infosys Technologies Limited(INFY)

Infosys Ltd. provides information technology (IT) and consulting services worldwide. It offers IT services, such as application, architecture, independent validation and testing, information management, infrastructure, packaged application, SOA, systems integration, and knowledge services; product engineering services, manufacturing process and plant solutions, and product lifecycle management services; and consulting services in the areas of information and technology strategies, product innovation, next generation commerce, process excellence, and learning and complex change. The company also provides business process outsourcing solutions in the areas of business platforms, customer service outsourcing, finance and accounting, human resources outsourcing, legal services, sales and fulfillment, and sourcing and procurement outsourcing. In addition, it offers collaborative analytics solutions; digital consumer platform; Finacle universal banking solution; iProwe, a Web ac cessibility assessment product; mConnect, a real-time enterprise middleware; and research and analytical support services. Further, the company offers unified communications and collaboration solution that streamlines business processes between employees, customers, and suppliers; iTransform that helps healthcare organizations accelerate transition to new platforms; and supply chain visibility and collaboration product suite. It serves aerospace and defense, airlines, automotive, banking, capital markets, communication services, consumer packaged goods, manufacturing, education, energy, healthcare, high technology, hospitality and leisure, insurance, life sciences, logistics and distribution, publishing, resources, utilities, and retail industries. Infosys Ltd. has a strategic partnership with Alstom SA. The company was formerly known as Infosys Technologies Limited and changed its name to Infosys Ltd. on June 16, 2011. Infosys Ltd. was founded in 1981 and is headquartered i n Bengaluru, India.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    Infosys (NYSE: INFY  ) will release its quarterly earnings report next Monday, but investors are already skittish about how well the IT services company will be able to perform. In a sluggish environment for global economic growth generally and for IT spending in particular, the entire outsourcing and consulting industry has felt the pressure, and as a primary beneficiary of more positive trends in the industry over the years, Infosys is potentially vulnerable to a reversal in those trends.

  • [By Aaron Smith]

    The government accused software developer Infosys (INFY) of using workers with B-1 visas, which only allow temporary entry into the U.S. for business purposes, to perform skilled labor jobs.

Top 5 India Stocks To Own For 2015: Stewart Information Services Corporation(STC)

Stewart Information Services Corporation provides title insurance and related information services required for settlement by the real estate and mortgage industries. It operates in two segments, Title Insurance-Related Services and Real Estate Information. The Title Insurance-Related Services segment offers services that include searching for and examining documents, such as deeds, mortgages, wills, divorce decrees, court judgments, liens, paving assessments, and tax records, as well as provides titles insurance for residential and commercial properties, undeveloped acreage, farms, ranches, and water rights. This segment serves attorneys, builders, developers, home buyers and home sellers, lenders, and real estate brokers. The Real Estate Information segment offers products and services, which primarily include lender services, title technology, foreign and domestic government services, mapping, title information, Internal Revenue Code Section 1031 tax-deferred property e xchanges, pre-employment services, and online filing and transaction management. Its customers include mortgage lenders and servicers, mortgage brokers, mortgage investors, government entities, commercial and residential real estate agents, land developers, builders, title insurance agencies, and others interested in obtaining property information, as well as accountants, attorneys, investors, and employers. The company has operations primarily in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, central Europe, Mexico, central America, and Australia. Stewart Information Services Corporation was founded in 1893 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By James Fink]

    My housing pick is Houston-based Stewart Information Services (STC), a 120-year-old real estate business founded in 1893, that is still owned and managed by the founding family.

Hot Gold Stocks To Own Right Now

In the previous week's report we continued to see registered COMEX gold inventories drop, but we did start to see a rise in eligible gold inventories held at the COMEX. This week's COMEX data shows that this turnaround has been reversed as more gold was withdrawn from the COMEX as both registered and eligible inventories decline.

This is something that should be very relevant to investors who own physical gold and the gold ETFs (GLD, PHYS, and CEF) because any abnormal inventory declines may signify extraordinary events behind the scenes that would ultimately affect the gold price.


(Click to enlarge)

Source: http://www.sharelynx.com

As you can see on the chart above, both registered and eligible gold stocks have been declining significantly since the beginning of 2013, though they seem to have begun to stabilize. We will take a closer look at these numbers but let us first explain the COMEX a little more for investors who are unfamiliar with it.

Hot Gold Stocks To Own Right Now: CME Group Inc.(CME)

CME Group Inc. operates the CME, CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX regulatory exchanges worldwide. The company provides a range of products available across various asset classes, including futures and options on interest rates, equity indexes, energy, agricultural commodities, metals, foreign exchange, weather, and real estate. It offers various products that provide a means of hedging, speculation, and asset allocation relating to the risks associated with interest rate sensitive instruments, equity ownership, changes in the value of foreign currency, credit risk, and changes in the prices of commodities. CME Group owns and operates clearing house, CME Clearing, which provides clearing and settlement services for exchange-traded contracts and counter derivatives transactions; and also engages in real estate operations. Its primary trade execution facilities consist of its CME Globex electronic trading platform and open outcry trading floors, as well as privately negotiated transact ions that are cleared and settled through its clearing house. In addition, the company offers market data services comprising live quotes, delayed quotes, market reports, and historical data services, as well as involves in index services business. CME Group?s customer base includes professional traders, financial institutions, institutional and individual investors, corporations, manufacturers, producers, and governments. It has strategic partnerships with BM&FBOVESPA S.A., Bursa Malaysia Derivatives, Singapore Exchange Limited, Green Exchange, Dubai Mercantile Exchange, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, S.A.B. de C.V., as well as joint venture agreement with Dow Jones & Company. The company was formerly known as Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. and changed its name to CME Group Inc. in July 2007. CME Group was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Roberto Pedone]

    One financial market player that's starting to move within range of triggering a major breakout trade is CME Group (CME), which offers products across all major asset classes based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities, metals, weather and real estate. This stock has been in play with the bulls so far in 2013, with shares up sharply by 48%.

    If you take a look at the chart for CME Group, you'll notice that this stock recently formed a triple bottom chart pattern at $70.42, to $69.88 and $70.28 a share. Following that bottom, shares of CME have now started to trend back above its 50-day moving average of $72.70 a share. That move is quickly pushing CME within range of triggering a major breakout trade.

    Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CME if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $75.50 to $77.65 a share and then once it clears its 52-week high at $79.45 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 1.84 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then CME will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory above $79.45, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $90 to $100 a share.

    Traders can look to buy CME off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its 50-day at $72.70 a share or just below more support at $70 a share. One can also buy CME off strength once it takes out those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

  • [By Lee Jackson]

    CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes, including futures and options. CME Group brings buyers and sellers together through its Globex electronic trading platform and its trading facilities in New York and Chicago. The company also operates CME clearing, one of the world’s leading central counterparty clearing providers, which offers clearing and settlement services across asset classes for exchange-traded contracts and over-the-counter derivatives transactions. Investors are paid a solid 2.5% dividend. The consensus price target is $81.54. CME closed Wednesday at $75.71.

Hot Gold Stocks To Own Right Now: NEW GOLD INC.(NGD)

New Gold Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, extraction, processing, and reclamation of mineral properties. The company primarily explore for gold, silver, and copper deposits. Its operating properties include the Mesquite gold mine in the United States; the Cerro San Pedro gold-silver mine in Mexico; and the Peak gold-copper mine in Australia. The company also has development projects, including the New Afton gold, silver, and copper project in Canada; and a 30% interest in the El Morro copper-gold project in Chile. The company was formerly known as DRC Resources Corporation and changed its name to New Gold Inc. in June 2005. New Gold Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Bridges favorite stocks include Goldcorp, Newmont, Eldorado Gold (EGO) and New Gold (NGD).

    Note, however, that these recommendations are all qualified in one way or another. Investors should keep that in mind before going all in on the gold miners.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    One group of stocks not feeling the optimism today: Gold miners. With fewer concerns that a U.S. attack on Syria will be disruptive and more evidence that tapering will begin this month, the price of the precious metal has dropped 1.6% to $1,388.90 an ounce–and gold stocks are falling with it. New Gold (NGD), for one, has dropped 3% to $6.55, while Barrick Gold (ABX) has fallen 1.3% to $19.25.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Even bad news has failed to dent the rise in gold stocks today. NewGold (NGD), for instance, has gained 1.8% to $7.49 despite the fact that the wall of one of its mines collapsed. The Wall Street Journal has the details:

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Hamed singles out Goldcorp (GG) and Yamana Gold (AUY) as two companies that have strong production growth, falling costs, declining capital obligations and less debt than competitors. New Gold (NGD), meanwhile, should have the lowest all-on costs in the group at $731 an ounce, but its capital spending is likely to notes, Hamed says. Hamed rates Goldcorp and Yamana Overweight, while New Gold is rated Equal Weight.

10 Best Wireless Telecom Stocks To Own For 2015: Golden Star Resources Ltd(GSS)

Golden Star Resources Ltd., a gold mining and exploration company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of gold properties. It owns and operates the Bogoso/Prestea gold mining and processing operation that covers approximately 40 kilometers of strike along the southwest-trending Ashanti gold district in western Ghana; and the Wassa open-pit gold mine located to the east of Bogoso/Prestea in southwest Ghana. The company also has an 81% interest in the Prestea underground gold mine located in Ghana. In addition, it holds interests in various gold exploration projects in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Cote d?Ivoire, as well as holds and manages exploration properties in Brazil in South America. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Littleton, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Patricio Kehoe] ating price of the commodity, along with the geopolitical risks involved in mining in African nations such as Ghana, are just two of the obstacles the firm is facing. In addition, as one of the smallest gold mining firms in the industry, with a market cap of just $122 million, Golden Star has had a very difficult time financing its latest expansion projects. With share prices tumbling towards all-time lows, gurus such as Steven Cohen, Chuck Royce and Arnold Schneider have already sold out their positions in the troubled firm.

    Why Have Gurus Lost Faith in Golden Star?

    Despite aggressive expansion over the past decade, the Toronto-based gold mining firm has not been able to take advantage of its increased production output. Gold prices might have exploded over a ten-year period, yet the recent six-month decline has put a huge strain on Golden Star. The expedited maturation of its mines is particularly troubling, since the accelerated extraction rates, which allowed for short-term profits, are now falling considerably. The impact of the company�� excessive overproduction on profits and growth is clear: decreasing gold reserves mean less production, and thus reduced revenue for the gold miner. When the decline in metal prices are taken into account, the outlook is even more grim.

    In addition to overexpansion at the wrong time, Golden Star�� position has weakened due to its comparably less efficient operations. Unlike industry peers, such as IamGold Corp. (IAG) or Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI), the majority of the Toronto-based miner�� assets contain refractory ore, which is far more expensive to extract than non refractory ore. And, in an attempt to switch production to the lower cost gold ore, and thus increase margins, Golden Star has depleted its mines��non refractory ore. With low reserves and mounting cash costs, the firm inevitably turned to new acquisitions.

    Overpriced Acquisitions and Geopolitical Risk

    The purchase

  • [By Sean Williams]

    Golden Star Resources (NYSEMKT: GSS  )
    It's simple physics: The bigger they are, the harder they fall. When gold prices nosedived earlier this week, gold miners with historically higher operating costs took the brunt of the hit. For the most part, that meant that development-stage miners, and those operating in Africa, where labor and political costs make cost-effective mining a challenge, took it on the chin. Possibly no stock was hammered more than Golden Star Resources, a gold miner in Ghana, which lost about one-quarter of its value on Monday alone.

  • [By Patricio Kehoe] some future and gave several reasons for my bearish stance towards the stock. A small market, high geopolitical risk in some of the countries the firm operates, along with overexpansion in times of fluctuating gold prices gave tune to the massive shedding of shares by investment gurus. Five months have past since I last considered Golden Star�� potential, and everything indicates the situation has not changed.

    Guru Activity Shows a Clear Tendency

    Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio) and Arnold Schneider (Trades, Portfolio), had already sold their entire holdings in the company by October 2013, indicating they had little faith in the gold miner�� recovery. By the end of the year, Jim Simons' (Trades, Portfolio) Renaissance Technologies took a similar decision, reducing its stake in the firm by 32%. This tendency towards the sale of Golden Star stock was duly noted by investors and analysts alike, and concurs with the company�� poor performance.

    A Look at the Numbers

    In an industry plagued by fluctuating metal prices, operating with lofty margins can be quite helpful. Yet Golden Star cannot afford such luxuries. With an operating margin of 0.1% and a net margin of -56.8% the firm is in a tight spot, especially when compared to the industry average. Unlike its industry peers��median, which are of 2.26% and -0.09%, respectively, the Toronto-based gold miner is struggling to generate decent cash flow levels. Further metrics depict a even worse situation for shareholders: return on equity is currently at -370% and revenue growth is estimated to reach a poor 2.5%. Purchasing overpriced assets, relative to current gold prices, is surely one of the reasons for such grim figures, as financial losses have taken their toll on Golden Star.

    The announcement of its 2013 full year, and fourth quarter earnings only helped to add to shareholders��concerns. A 15% decline in revenue was expected by those

Hot Gold Stocks To Own Right Now: Goldcorp Incorporated(GG)

Goldcorp Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of precious metal properties in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central and South America. It produces and sells gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc. The company was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Doug Ehrman]

    In the following video below, Fool.com contributor Doug Ehrman discusses the impact that expansionary monetary policy has had on miners such as Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX  ) and Goldcorp (NYSE: GG  ) , and he looks at what the end of this era could mean for those companies.

  • [By Doug Ehrman]

    Goldcorp (NYSE: GG  ) recently reported quarterly earnings per share of $0.31, falling well short of analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 and the $0.50 EPS the company earned in same period a year ago. Despite the miss, President and CEO Chuck Jeannes confirmed the company's full-year guidance, focusing on positive results, favorable growth prospects, and controlled costs. Goldcorp has faced the same pressures that have plagued the two top gold producers, Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX  ) and Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM  ) ��weakening gold prices and escalating costs. Ultimately, Jeannes believes the 12-year bull market remains intact, which, if true, makes recent weakness in the stock a buying opportunity.�

Hot Gold Stocks To Own Right Now: Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited(AEM)

Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited, through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral properties in Canada, Finland, and Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as silver, copper, zinc, and lead. Its flagship property includes the LaRonde mine located in the southern portion of the Abitibi volcanic belt, Canada. The company was founded in 1953 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Daniel Putnam]

    The second factor working in gold stocks��favor is that analysts are growing optimistic again. Yesterday, HSBC put out a bullish note on gold and upgraded Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM), Yamana Gold (AUY), Barrick Gold, Iamgold (IAG), and Goldcorp. Most gold stocks are ranked ��old��or ��uy��(as opposed to ��trong Buy�� by the majority of analysts, meaning that there�� plenty of room for continued positive news flow on this front.

  • [By GuruFocus]

    George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) just reported his first quarter portfolio. He buys Citrix Systems Inc, Baker Hughes Inc, Comcast Corp, Spansion Inc, etc during the 3-months ended 03/31/2014, according to the most recent filings of his investment company, Soros Fund Management LLC. As of 03/31/2014, Soros Fund Management LLC owns 305 stocks with a total value of $10.1 billion. These are the details of the buys and sells.New Purchases: BHI, CODE, CTRP, CLI, AVB, COMM, CNQ, AGO, AUY, ATML, ASH, BXMT, CSTM, AEM, CMA, ARE, CHKP, AUQ, BEAV, CX, ADSK, AALCP, BLK, AIG, BIIB, ADEP, AMRI, ARWR, ATHX, BALT, BCRX, BEAT, CFX, CLFD, CUR, CODE,Added Positions: CTXS, CMCSA, CNP, ALTR, BRCD, CBS, CRM, CHTR, CCJ, CIEN, BIDU, ALLE, ABT, CDNS, ACT,Reduced Positions: AAPL, CCI, AMT, ABBV, AAL, BITA, AL, ANGI, ARIA, CBST, BA, BIRT, EXAR,Sold Out: C, BAC, CRI, AMZN, AGN, CF, BRCM, COTY, BMY, AMCX, CAR, A, ADBE, AFL,For the details of George Soros (Trades, Portfolio)'s stock buys and sells, go to http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=George+SorosThis is the sector weightings of his portfolio:Technology18.9%Energy14%Healthcare8.3%Consumer Defensive8.2%Communication Services8.1%Consumer Cyclical5.4%Industrials5.1%Basic Materials4.9%Financial Services2.5%Real Estate1.9%Utilities0.5%These are the top 5 holdings of George Soros (Trades, Portfolio)1. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TEVA) - 10,310,041 shares, 5.4% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 10.67%2. Herbalife Ltd (HLF) - 4,901,337 shares, 2.8% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 52.9%3. EQT Corp (EQT) - 2,573,814 shares, 2.5% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 3.27%4. Adecoagro SA (AGRO) - 25,915,076 shares, 2.1% of the total portfolio.5. Halliburton Co (HAL) - 3,596,353 shares, 2.1% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 20.73%New Purchase: Baker Hughes Inc (BHI)George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) initiated holdings in Baker Hughes Inc. His purchase prices were between $51.82 and $65.27, with an estimated

Hot Gold Stocks To Own Right Now: First Majestic Silver Corp.(AG)

First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the production, development, exploration, and acquisition of mineral properties with a focus on silver in Mexico. The company owns interests in La Encantada Silver Mine comprising 4,076 hectares of mining rights and 1,343 hectares of surface land located in Coahuila; La Parrilla Silver Mine consisting of mining concessions covering an area of 69,867 hectares; and San Martin Silver Mine comprising approximately 7,841 hectares of mineral rights and approximately 1,300 hectares of surface land rights located in Jalisco. It also holds interests in Del Toro Silver Mine consisting of 393 contiguous hectares of mining claims and an additional 129 hectares of surface rights located in Zacatecas; Real de Catorce Silver Project comprising 22 mining concessions covering 6,327 hectares located in San Luis Potosi state; and Jalisco Group of Properties consisting of mining claims totalling 5,240 hectares located in Jalisco. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Doug Ehrman]

    It is no secret that precious metals companies have been taking a pounding for some time now. The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEMKT: GLD  ) and iShares Silver Trust (NYSEMKT: SLV  ) , the gold and silver ETFs, have been hard hit and operating companies like First Majestic (NYSE: AG  ) and Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX  ) have been hit even harder. Through all of these struggles, and in some cases because of them, one precious metals company continues to look attractive for the long term: Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW  ) .

  • [By Doug Ehrman]

    While many precious-metals companies have been in a slump of late, there is one that belongs perpetually in your portfolio: Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW  ) . The company is not like other miners -- including Pan American Silver (NASDAQ: PAAS  ) and First Majestic (NYSE: AG  ) -- in that it has a unique business plan that insulates it against many of the vagaries of the mining business. Moreover, because silver will always have a significant industrial demand component, even with the heightened volatility you see in the silver market, maintaining exposure to silver is appropriate.

  • [By Doug Ehrman]

    In terms of individual companies, there are several good choices, but these can behave very differently. Pan American Silver (NASDAQ: PAAS  ) , for example, missed revenue expectations and beat earnings expectations in its last earnings release. But despite the beat, EPS shrank considerably from a year earlier on a GAAP basis. The stock has been fairly flat ever since. Conversely, First Majestic (NYSE: AG  ) reported strong revenue growth and a small bump in profits, sending the stock higher since the announcement. First Majestic reported increased cash costs and tightening margins, largely driven by lower silver prices. Each of these companies faces pressure from increasing production costs and environmental concerns.

Hot Gold Stocks To Own Right Now: Iamgold Corporation(IAG)

IAMGOLD Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral resource properties worldwide. It primarily explores for gold, silver, zinc, copper, niobium, diamonds, and other metals. The company holds interests in eight operating gold mines, a niobium producer, a diamond royalty, and exploration and development projects located in Africa and the Americas. Its advanced exploration and development projects include the Westwood project in Canada; and the Quimsacocha project, which consists of 3 mining concessions covering an aggregate area of approximately 8,030 hectares in Ecuador. The company was formerly known as IAMGOLD International African Mining Gold Corporation and changed its name to IAMGOLD Corporation in June 1997. IAMGOLD Corporation was founded in 1990 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Aaron Levitt]

    At just $6.50, AKS is still one of the cheap stocks, but it may not be cheap for long.

    Cheap Stocks to Buy Now: Iamgold (IAG)

    Without a doubt, the most hated metals and mining sector has to be gold mining stocks. Faced with rising costs and falling gold prices, many of the precious metals miners have tanked, moving them into the cheap stocks category.

  • [By Namitha Jagadeesh]

    HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA), Europe�� largest bank, slid 2.1 percent. International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) declined 2 percent as it canceled some of its flights following a disruption caused by one of its planes at Heathrow airport. Next Plc (NXT) retreated 2.4 percent as Morgan Stanley cut its recommendation on the shares.

  • [By Rich Duprey]

    IAMGOLD (NYSE: IAG  ) still has an interest in the�Quimsacocha gold mine it sold to INV Metals last year, which has an indicated mineral resource estimated at 3.3 million ounces gold. China's�Ecuacorriente is also pursing a major copper project at Panantza-San Carlos, and International Minerals will seek out gold and silver at Rio Blanco.

Hot Gold Stocks To Own Right Now: Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc.(TC)

Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in mining, milling, processing, and marketing molybdenum products in the United States and Canada. The company?s principal properties include the Thompson Creek Mine and mill in Idaho; a metallurgical roasting facility in Langeloth, Pennsylvania; and a joint venture interest in the Endako Mine, mill, and roasting facility in British Columbia. It also holds interests in development projects comprising the Davidson molybdenum property and the Berg copper-molybdenum-silver property located in northern British Columbia; the Howard?s Pass property, a lead and zinc project situated in the Yukon territory-northwest territories border; and the Maze Lake property, a gold project located in the Kivalliq district of Nunavut. The company produces molybdenum products, primarily molybdic oxide and ferromolybdenum, as well as soluble technical oxide, pure molybdenum tri-oxide, and high purity molybdenum disulfide. As o f December 31, 2010, its consolidated recoverable proven and probable ore reserves totaled 462.2 million pounds of contained molybdenum in the Thompson Creek Mine and the Endako Mine. The company was formerly known as Blue Pearl Mining Ltd. and changed its name to Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. in May 2007. Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. is based in Denver, Colorado.

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

    Leading and Lagging Sectors
    Basic Materials shares gained around 0.24 percent in trading on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Harmony Gold Mining Company (NYSE: HMY), up 4.1 percent, and Thompson Creek Metals Company (NYSE: TC), up 3.8 percent. In trading on Wednesday, cyclical consumer goods & services shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.36 percent.

  • [By Selena Maranjian]

    Beaten-down companies that you think are likely to recover strongly are also good candidates. Molybdenum miner Thompson Creek Metals (NYSE: TC  ) , for example, sports average annual losses of 35% over the past five years, and carries substantial debt, but molybdenum's long-term outlook is promising, with price increases likely, and the company has a promising gold and copper mine on track to start producing by the end of the year. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX  ) is another major molybdenum player, with considerable operations in other metals, as well -- along with new investments in oil and gas production.

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Top losers in the sector included Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF), down 4 percent, and Thompson Creek Metals Company (NYSE: TC), off 3 percent.

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Top losers in the sector included Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF), down 4 percent, and Thompson Creek Metals Company (NYSE: TC), off 3 percent.

Hot Gold Stocks To Own Right Now: Australian Dollar(AU)

AngloGold Ashanti Limited primarily engages in the exploration and production of gold. It also produces silver, uranium oxide, and sulfuric acid. The company conducts gold-mining operations in South Africa; continental Africa, including Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Namibia, and Tanzania; Australia; and the Americas, which include Argentina, Brazil, and the United States. It also has mining or exploration operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, and Colombia. As of December 31, 2010, the company had proved and probable gold reserves of 71.2 million ounces. The company has a strategic alliance with Thani Dubai Mining Limited to explore, develop, and operate mines across the Middle East and parts of North Africa. AngloGold Ashanti Limited, formerly known as Vaal Reefs Exploration and Mining Company Limited, was founded in 1944 and is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Sean Williams]

    I think the answer to this is yes, but it's definitely going to need some help from gold spot prices, and it'll need to formulate solidly structured contracts with its labor force in Africa. Last year, AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU  ) was forced to come to a pay raise agreement with some 10,000 striking workers, after a strike that completely closed its TauTona and Mponeng mines for months. AngloGold understands that higher labor costs are never welcomed from a business perspective, but the alternative of mine closures is even worse.

  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    We've seen the flip side of that trend play out in recent years, as rock-bottom interest rates in the U.S. have encouraged investment in higher-yielding income investments in places like Australia, Brazil, and South Africa. Interest from foreign investors got to be so extensive in Brazil that the federal government imposed a tax on foreign investors in bonds in order to curb demand and slow the pace of the Brazilian real's appreciation. Exchange-rate issues also likely played a role in the health of the commodities markets, as mining giants BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP  ) and Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO  ) in Australia benefited from increased demand largely for base metals. Similarly, South African gold miners AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU  ) and Gold Fields (NYSE: GFI  ) outperformed rivals from elsewhere in the world, benefiting from strength in the South African rand currency.

  • [By Profit Confidential]

    Graham Ehm, Executive Vice President of South African-based AngloGold Ashanti Limited (NYSE: AU), one of the biggest gold producers in the global economy, stated the company is looking to save $500 million over the next 18 months, as capital expenditures will only be going towards their highest-quality assets. (Source: Mining Weekly, August 5, 2013.)

  • [By Daniel Putnam]

    First, and most important, earnings estimates are stabilizing. In the past sixty days, 2013 estimates for the major gold miners have begun to tick up. In most cases, the increase is very modest. For instance, Goldcorp‘s (GG) EPS estimates have climbed from $0.91 to $0.95, while Barrick Gold‘s (ABX) have inched up from $2.57 to $2.64. Newmont Mining (NEM), Anglogold Ashanti (AU), and Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI) have shown similar gains. This positive rate of change marks a significant departure from the steady stream of bad news investors have had to endure in recent years.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Top Low Price Stocks To Buy For 2015

Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT), the world�� largest retailer, is one of a growing number of Fortune 500 companies that�� found it pays to buy American.

The Bentonville, Ark. company, whose pursuit of low prices has been blamed for the decimation of the U.S. manufacturing base, now seems just as passionate about buying goods made in its home country. It has pledged to spend $50 billion more on buying American over the next decade.

Though Reuters notes that the pledge isn�� particularly onerous for a company with annual sales topping $466 billion, it will certainly be a big deal for those companies that do business with Wal-Mart. Oftentimes, the retailer becomes the sole customer for these small manufacturers.

��t reinforces our belief that we can revitalize American manufacturing and help rebuild the middle class with good-paying jobs that will allow employees to be a part of the American dream again,�� said Bill Simon, president and chief executive for Walmart USA, in a recent press release.

Top Low Price Stocks To Buy For 2015: Shaw Communications Inc.(SJR)

Shaw Communications Inc., a diversified communications company, provides broadband cable television, Internet, digital phone, telecommunications, and satellite direct-to-home (DTH) services primarily in Canada and the United States. It offers cable television services, including analog and digital video services with access to HD channels, premium and VOD channels, music channels, and an interactive program guide. The company provides high speed Internet access services to residential and small business subscribers, as well as various Internet services for small and medium sized business customers. Its digital phone services include local and long distance calling, as well as calling features. The company also manages fiber network that serves as the primary Internet backbone for its broadband Internet customers, and provides Internet, data, and voice connectivity services to large and medium businesses, and other organizations. In addition, it distributes digital video an d audio signals to residences and businesses; and redistributes television and radio signals via satellite to cable and other operators, as well as provides uplink and network management services for conventional, specialty, and pay broadcasters on a contract basis. Further, the company provides satellite tracking and messaging services to the trucking industry, as well as integrates and manages satellite data networks with land-based telecommunications; and owns and leases satellite transponders that receive and amplify digital signals and transmit them to receiving dishes located within the footprint covered by the satellite. It serves approximately 3 million customers. The company was formerly known as Capital Cable Television Co. Ltd. Shaw Communications was founded in 1966 and is based in Calgary, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Laura Brodbeck]

    Earnings Expected From: Family Dollar Stores, Inc (NYSE: FDO), Pier 1 Imports, Inc (NYSE: PIR), Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD), Shaw Communications Inc (NYSE: SJR)

  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Canadian cable TV provider�Shaw Communications� (NYSE: SJR  ) announced yesterday�three months of dividend payments on its Class A and Class B stock. It said the payouts would be $0.085 per share on the Class B shares and�$0.084792�per share on the Class A shares.

  • [By GURUFOCUS]

    Shaw Communications Inc. (SJR) provides broadband cable television, Internet, home phone, telecommunication, and satellite direct-to-home services in Canada and the United States. Yield: 4.1%

Top Low Price Stocks To Buy For 2015: Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund (ETY)

Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund (the Fund) is a diversified, closed-end management investment company. The Fund's primary investment objective is to provide current income and gains, with a secondary objective of capital appreciation. The Fund invests primarily in a diversified portfolio of common stocks. The Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in a combination of dividend paying common stocks, and common stocks the value of which is subject to covered written index call options. It seeks to generate current earnings in part by writing (selling) stock index call options on the S&P 500 Index and investing in dividend-paying common stock. The Fund invests in sectors, such as financials, energy, information technology, industrials, healthcare, consumer staples, telecommunication services, consumer discretionary, materials and utilities.

The Fund�� investment advisor is Eaton Vance Management (EVM). Its sub-advisor is Rampart Investment Management. The Fund may invest in Cash Management Portfolio, an affiliated investment company managed by Boston Management and Research (BMR), a subsidiary of EVM.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Robert Carlson]

    This recommended fund is Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Diversified Equity Income (ETY). The options that the fund writes give buyers the right to buy the stocks from the fund at fixed prices by a certain date.

Top Restaurant Companies To Buy Right Now: Siebert Financial Corp.(SIEB)

Siebert Financial Corp., through its subsidiary, Muriel Siebert & Co., Inc., engages in the retail discount brokerage and investment banking operations in the United States. The company provides Internet and traditional discount brokerage and related services to retail investors; independent retail execution services; and retail customer services. It also offers various self-directed retirement accounts, for which it acts as agent on various transactions; and lends customers a portion of the market value of certain securities held in the customer?s account through its clearing agent. In addition, the company, through its other subsidiary, Siebert Woman?s Financial Network, Inc., provides products, services, and information to serve women?s financial needs. Further, Siebert Financial Corp. offers equity execution services on an agency basis, as well as equity and fixed income underwriting and investment banking services to institutional investors, and issuers of equity a nd fixed-income securities. The company provides its discount brokerage services through a broker on the telephone, through a wireless device, or via the Internet. It maintains seven retail discount brokerage offices in New York; Jersey City, New Jersey; Boca Raton, Surfside, West Palm Beach, and Naples, Florida; and Beverly Hills, California. The company was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jon C. Ogg]

    Muriel Siebert, founder of Siebert Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: SIEB), passed away over the weekend. Many new investors may not know her nor may they know just how important and influential she was on Wall Street and in the financial services industries. Ms. Siebert died at the age of 80 years old, and we wanted to list some of her accomplishments that have led to at least more equality among women in what had been a men-only club before she came on the stage.

Top Low Price Stocks To Buy For 2015: athenahealth Inc.(ATHN)

athenahealth, Inc., a business services company, provides ongoing billing, clinical-related, and other related services to medical group practices primarily in the United States. It provides services through the athenaNet, a proprietary Internet-based practice management application. The company primarily offers athenaCollector, a revenue cycle management service that automates and manages billing-related functions for physician practices, and includes a practice management platform. The athenaCollector assists its physician clients with the handling of claims and billing processes to help manage reimbursement. The company also provides Anodyne Analytics, a business intelligence application, which provides physicians and practice managers with insight into practice performance. In addition, it offers athenaClinicals, an electronic health record service that automates and manages medical-record-management-related functions for physician practices, as well as assists medical groups with the handling of physician documentation, orders, and related inbound and outbound communications. Further, the company provides athenaCommunicator that allows practices to manage patient communication tasks electronically, including the use of automated reminder calls; the creation of a self-service patient portal for registration, appointment requests, bill payments, and general communication; automatic generation of emails to patients; and patient education tools. It sells its products through a direct sales force, as well as through channel partners. The company was formerly known as athenahealth.com, Inc. and changed its name to athenahealth, Inc. in November 2000. athenahealth, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts.

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

    athenahealth (NASDAQ: ATHN) shares tumbled 12.96 percent to $110.35 after Greenlight Capital's David Einhorn said that athenahealth's stock price could decline as much as 80%.

  • [By Brian Stoffel]

    For a more recent example, look at Athenahealth (NASDAQ: ATHN  ) . Every year, almost $800 billion is lost due to medical billing errors. Enter the company's AthenaCollector system for smaller medical practices. The company helps keep health-care costs in check by keeping doctor's bills paid.

  • [By Keith Speights]

    One company working to help make physicians more efficient is athenahealth (NASDAQ: ATHN  ) . In June, health-care research firm KLAS named the company's electronic medical record system as the top-ranked system for physicians in terms of usability, efficiency, and effectiveness. The stock is up 44% year-to-date.

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    athenahealth (NASDAQ: ATHN) was down, falling 5.80 percent to $137.14 after the company reported downbeat quarterly results. Morgan Stanley analyst Ricky R. Goldwasser removed the $133.00 price target on athenahealth.

Top Low Price Stocks To Buy For 2015: LTX-Credence Corporation(LTXC)

LTX-Credence Corporation designs, manufactures, markets, and services automated test equipment solutions for the wireless, computing, automotive, and consumer markets. The company?s product portfolio includes Diamond platform, a package for testing microcontrollers and cost sensitive consumer devices; X-Series platform that offers configurations for optimal testing of ASSP and ASIC, power, automotive, mixed signal, and RF applications; and ASL platform, which is used for testing linear, low-end mixed signal, precision analog, and power management devices. The company also provides various services, including installation and maintenance of test systems, servicing of spare parts, parts and labor warranties on test systems, and training on the maintenance and operation of test systems. LTX-Credence Corporation sells its products through direct sales organization and distributors in the United States, Taiwan, China, Japan, Korea, and southeast Asia. The company was founded i n 1976 and is headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By CRWE]

    LTX-Credence Corporation (Nasdaq:LTXC), a global provider of market focused, cost-optimized ATE solutions, reported that it will present at the Barclays Capital Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 4:15 PM EDT. This event will be available over the Internet via live webcast.

Top Low Price Stocks To Buy For 2015: Global X China Industrials (CHII)

Global X China Industrials ETF (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the S-BOX China Industrials Index (the Underlying Index). The Underlying Index is a free float adjusted, liquidity tested and market capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure performance of the investable universe of companies in the Industrials sector of the Chinese economy, as defined by Structured Solutions AG. Global X Management Company, LLC serves as the investment adviser to the Fund. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By pamatlarge]

    Investors looking to short a particular sector can choose from several Global X long ETFs. The Global X China Consumer ETF (CHIQ) concentrates its investments in consumer cyclical goods and consumer defense goods. The Global X China Energy ETF (CHIE) primarily holds stocks in coal, oil and utility companies. The Global X China Financials ETF (CHIX) only invests in financial services companies and real estate companies. The Global X China Industrials ETF (CHII) holds stocks in industrial companies and basic materials companies. The Global X China Materials ETF (CHIM) invests in basic materials stocks. The Global X China Technology ETF (CHIB) holds technology stocks as the core of its investments. All of these ETFs are particularly sensitive to sector downturns and general economic contractions.

Top Low Price Stocks To Buy For 2015: Poseidon Nickel Ltd (POS)

Poseidon Nickel Limited is an Australia-based company engaged in exploration, mining and production of Nickel and other minerals. The Company�� Windarra nickel project, includes an implied ore reserve (mineable resource) of 3,446,000 ore tons at an average grade of 1.79% nickel for 61,500 nickel metal tons and has a mine life of six years. Cerberus is closely located to Poseidon�� existing operations approximately 10.5 kilometers south of the Mt Windarra nickel mine. In September 2011, Poseidon entered into an earn-in agreement with Magma Metals Limited (Magma) for nickel, copper and PGE rights to a tenement package adjoining its Windarra Nickel Project (WNP). The new tenements cover 203 square kilometers. The Company�� subsidiaries include Poseidon Nickel Atlantis Operations Pty Ltd, Poseidon Nickel Olympia Operations Pty Ltd and Wells Gold Corporation (International) Pty Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By jaggom]

    NetSuite acquired Retail Anywhere recently that sells point of sale (POS) retail software and software solutions to multi-channel retail stores. The acquisition allowed NetSuite to grow its presence in stores. Retail Anywhere�� cloud capabilities will compile transactions from across stores, and integrate them with back-end support systems of businesses and offer customers a complete solution.

Top Low Price Stocks To Buy For 2015: Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd. (NVMI)

Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, produces, and sells integrated process control metrology systems and stand-alone metrology solutions used in the manufacturing process of semiconductors. Its metrology systems measure various thin film properties and critical circuit dimensions during various steps in the semiconductor manufacturing process. The company provides metrology systems for thin film measurement that is used in chemical mechanical polishing and chemical vapor deposition applications; optical CD and metal line thickness systems for use in post-copper chemical mechanical polishing applications; and optical critical dimension systems for lithography and etches applications. It also offers integrated thickness monitoring systems for chemical mechanical polishing process control that enable wafer-to-wafer closed loop control. The company serves various sectors of the integrated circuit manufacturing industry, including logic, ASIC, foundries, and memory manufactures, as well as process equipment manufacturers. Instruments Ltd. sells its products in the United States, Europe, Japan, and rest of the Asia Pacific region. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Rehovot, Israel.

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 Nova Measuring Instruments (Nasdaq: NVMI  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Top Low Price Stocks To Buy For 2015: SPDR KBW Bank Etf (KBE)

SPDR KBW Bank ETF (the Fund), formerly KBW Bank ETF, seeks to replicate as closely as possible the performance of the KBW Bank Index (the Index). The Index is a float-adjusted, modified-market capitalization weighted index of geographically diverse companies representing national money center banks and regional banking institutions listed on United States stock markets. It is created and maintained by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc.

The Fund utilizes a passive or indexing approach, and attempts to approximate the investment performance of its Index, by investing in a portfolio of stocks intended to replicate the Index. The Fund�� investment manager is SSgA Funds Management, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Mary Anne & Pamela Aden]

    So, for now, the US stock market is the best overall market. So continue holding the stocks you have, which are mostly doing very well. If you want to buy new positions and increase your stock allocation, the following ETFs are among the strongest ETFs, and we recommend them for purchase: SPDR KBW Bank (KBE)

    Consumer Discretionary SPDR (XLY)

    Merrill Lynch Retail HOLDRS (RTH)

    iShares Dow Jones US Financial Service (IYG)

    PowerShares Dynamic Leisure & Entertainment (PEJ)

    Subscribe to The Aden Forecast here��/P>

Top 5 India Companies To Own For 2015

Top 5 India Companies To Own For 2015: 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 bas! ed 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).

  • source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-5-india-companies-to-own-for-2015.html

Top 5 Restaurant Companies To Watch For 2015

It is safe to say that Ruby Tuesday� (NYSE: RT  ) has not had a good year so far. Year-to-date, the company's share price has fallen 3.5%, and it is down 23% from its 52-week high. In addition, the company has not been profitable for the last two years. However, I believe that Ruby still has plenty going for it.

For a start, a key point to note is that Ruby's losses over the past two years have been due to several non-cash goodwill impairment charges. These charges have resulted in the company reporting a three-year cumulative pre-tax loss under GAAP rules.

That said, the company is working hard to get itself back on track and return to profitability. Unfortunately, this has resulted in the operating margin falling as the company discounts and promotes heavily. During the company's fiscal fourth quarter, the restaurant's operating margin fell 2.6% year-on-year.

However, the company did note wider earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization�margins (up 3.5%) as a promotional TV advertising campaign ended. Interest costs also fell as the company paid off some of its mortgage debt. All in all, the company's year-over-year fiscal 2013 revenue fell 4.6%, and same-store sales declined 1% as Ruby Tuesday closed eight restaurants during the period.

Top 5 Restaurant Companies To Watch For 2015: BAB Inc (BABB)

BAB, Inc., incorporated on July 12, 2000, franchises and licenses bagel and muffin retail units under the Big Apple Bagel (BAB) and My Favorite Muffin (MFM) trade names. At November 30, 2012, the Company had 100 franchise units and 6 licensed units in operation in 24 states. The Company additionally derives income from the sale of its trademark bagels, muffins and coffee through nontraditional channels of distribution including under licensing agreements with Kohr Bros. Frozen Custard, Kaleidoscoops, Green Beans Coffee, Sodexo and through direct home delivery of specialty muffin gift baskets and coffee. The Company has two wholly owned subsidiaries: BAB Systems, Inc. (Systems) and BAB Operations, Inc. (Operations). At November 30, 2012, the Company had 100 franchise units and six licensed units in operation in 24 states.

The Company additionally derives income from the sale of its trademark bagels, muffins and coffee through nontraditional channels of distribution including under licensing agreements with Kohr Bros. Frozen Custard, Kaleidoscoops, Green Beans Coffee, Sodexo and through direct home delivery of specialty muffin gift baskets and coffee. The BAB franchised brand consists of units operating as Big Apple Bagels, featuring daily baked bagels, flavored cream cheeses, premium coffees, gourmet bagel sandwiches and other related products. Licensed BAB units serve the Company's par-baked frozen bagel and related products baked daily. BAB units are primarily concentrated in the Midwest and Western United States. The MFM brand consists of units operating as My Favorite Muffin, featuring a variety of freshly baked muffins, coffees and related products, and units operating as My Favorite Muffin and Bagel Cafe, featuring these products as well as a variety of specialty bagel sandwiches and related products.

The Company�� BAB offering franchises in all 50 states, its initial development focus is targeted for the Midwest, specifically Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio. A! s part of its introductory development plan, BAB will be donating 10% of the initial franchise fee from its 50 SweetDuet units to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, of which BAB is a corporate sponsor. SweetDuet, as its name implies, is a fusion concept, pairing self-serve frozen yogurt with BAB's exclusive line of My Favorite Muffin gourmet muffins, broadening the shop's offering and therefore differentiating itself from the numerous frozen yogurt outlets already populating the market. SweetDuet shops include BAB's Brewster's Coffee and a streamlined breakfast menu. The concept is designed to work in 1600 square feet of space.

BAB franchised stores daily bake a variety of fresh bagels and offer up to 11 varieties of cream cheese spreads. Stores also offer a variety of breakfast and lunch bagel sandwiches, salads, soups, various dessert items, fruit smoothies, gourmet coffees and other beverages. A typical BAB store is in an area with a mix of both residential and commercial properties and ranges from 1,500 to 2,000 square feet. The Company's current store design is approximately 1,800 square feet, with seating capacity for 20 to 30 persons, and includes approximately 750 square feet devoted to production and baking. A satellite store is typically smaller than a production store, averaging 800 to 1,200 square feet. Although franchise stores may vary in size from other franchise stores, store layout is generally consistent.

MFM franchised stores daily bake 20 to 25 varieties of muffins from over 250 recipes, plus a variety of bagels. They also serve gourmet coffees, beverages and, at My Favorite Muffin and Bagel Cafe locations, a variety of bagel sandwiches and related products. The typical MFM store design is approximately 1,800 square feet, with seating capacity for 20 to 30 persons.The Company advertises its franchising opportunities in directories, newspapers and the Internet.

The Company competes with Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Panera Bread Company and Brue! gger's Ba! gel Bakery.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By CRWE]

    Today, BABB remains (0.00%) +0.000 at $.800 thus far (ref. google finance July 11, 2013).

    For the quarter ended May 31, 2013, BAB had revenues of $658,000 and net income of $125,000, or $0.02 per share, versus revenues of $826,000 and net income of $267,000, or $0.04 per share, for the same quarter last year. For the quarter ended May 31, 2012, the Company received a $171,000 payment for the buyout of the Franchise Agreement from its Minot, ND franchisee so the franchisee could pursue its other business interests associated with the local energy boom. In that acceptance by the Company of the voluntary buyout is unique, no such transaction occurred nor was such income earned in the quarter ended May 31, 2013.

Top 5 Restaurant Companies To Watch For 2015: Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc (PLKI)

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc, formerly AFC Enterprises, Inc. incorporated on July 27, 1992, develops, operates, and franchises quick-service restaurants (QSRs or restaurants) under the trade names Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (collectively Popeyes). Within Popeyes, it manages two business segments: franchise operations and ompany-operated restaurants. Within the QSR industry, Popeyes distinguishes itself with a Louisiana style menu, which features spicy chicken, chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, fried shrimp and other seafood, red beans and rice and other regional items. As of December 25, 2012, the Company operated and franchised 2,104 Popeyes restaurants in 47 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Cayman Islands and 26 foreign countries. As of December 25, 2012, of its 1,634 domestic franchised restaurants, approximately 70% were concentrated in Texas, California, Louisiana, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Georgia, Virginia and Mississippi. Of its 425 international franchised restaurants, approximately 60% were located in Korea, Canada, and Turkey. Of its 45 Company-operated restaurants, approximately 80% were concentrated in Louisiana and Tennessee. In November 2012, the Company acquired 27 restaurants in Minnesota and California.

As of December 25, 2012, the Company had 340 franchisees operating restaurants within the Popeyes system. During the fiscal year ended December 25, 2012 (fiscal 2012), the Popeyes system opened 141 restaurants, which included 75 domestic and 65 international restaurants. During fiscal 2011, the Popeyes system permanently closed 75 restaurants, resulting in 66 net restaurant openings, compared to 65 net openings. As of December 25, 2012, it leased 12 restaurants and subleased 44 restaurants to franchisees. In addition, it leased three properties to unrelated third parties. Of the restaurants leased or subleased to franchisees, 29 were located in Texas and 16 were located in Georgia. On November 7, 2012,! the Company entered into a new agreement with the King Features Syndicate Division of Hearst Holdings, Inc., licensor of the Popeye the Sailorman and associated cartoon characters.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Sue Chang]

    Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc. (PLKI) �is expected to report first-quarter earnings of 45 cents a share.

  • [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]

    Alamy Fried chicken and waffles is a staple menu item at countless soul food and comfort food restaurants, but that's not stopping Burger King (BKW) from trying to give the meal a fast-food spin. Burger King is testing a new sandwich in the Northeast that takes the breaded chicken patty used in its Classic Crispy Chicken Sandwich from its King Deals Value Menu and replaces the bun with a split waffle. Burger King's Chicken & Waffle Sandwich isn't as hearty as the meal that it's based on. It's selling for as little as $2.29. But the chain's latest attempt to turn heads with a unique menu item will at least attract curious nibblers if it does decide to broaden the offering across the country. Waffling About Burger King isn't the first popular chain to attempt to reinvent this classic dish. As Nation's Restaurant News points out, last summer, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (PLKI) offered Chicken Waffle Tenders -- consisting of chicken tenders dipped in a vanilla maple-scented waffle batter, served with a honey maple dipping sauce. DineEquity's (DIN) IHOP did it three years ago by combining its chicken strips with Belgian waffle quarters. Yum! Brands (YUM) tried to breathe new life into its breakfast business last summer by testing a Waffle Taco -- an egg, sausage, and waffle breakfast sandwich. Even if it doesn't succeed -- and some of the early taste tests haven't been very flattering to the chain's new sandwich -- it's at least comforting to see that Burger King isn't just copying McDonald's (MCD) the way that it has for the past couple of years. Burger King followed McDonald's in offering fancy coffee drinks, fresh fruit smoothies, and popcorn chicken. It has gone on to roll out doppelgangers of the Egg McMuffin and McRib sandwiches. In November, it introduced the Big King, which any patron will quickly recognize as a body double to the Big Mac. Then again, it's not as if following McDonald's lead is such a clever idea right now. The world's largest re

  • [By Mark Yagalla]

    As the fast-food wars heat up, restaurants are getting more creative with their menu items. One item that is getting a lot of attention is the waffle. Two restaurant chains that have introduced their own variations of the waffle are Taco Bell, owned by Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM  ) �and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (NASDAQ: PLKI  ) . Taco Bell has made the Waffle Taco a centerpiece of its new breakfast menu. Meanwhile, Popeyes is bringing back its popular Chicken Waffle Tenders. Could the waffle be the answer and boost same-store sales for these restaurants? If it is the answer, expect to see more variations of the waffle on many more menu boards.

Best Trucking Companies To Invest In Right Now: Country Style Cooking Restaurant Chain Co Ltd (CCSC)

Country Style Cooking Restaurant Chain Co., Ltd. (CSC Cayman), incorporated on August 14, 2007, is a quick service restaurant chain in China. The Company offers delicious, everyday Chinese food. The Company conducts all of its restaurant operations through CSC China and its subsidiaries. As of June 30, 2012, it had 256 restaurants, including 124 restaurants in Chongqing municipality and 85 restaurants in Sichuan province.

Chongqing municipality and Sichuan province cover a region of 110 million people in Southwest China. CSC Cayman directly operates all of its restaurants. Its standard menu features its main dishes prepared in the Sichuan style, as well as a selection of other dishes, appetizers, desserts and beverages. The Company periodically offers new dishes and seasonal menu selections.

The Company competes with McDonald��, KFC and Yoshinoya.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By CRWE]

    Country Style Cooking Restaurant Chain Co., Ltd (NYSE:CCSC), a fast-growing quick service restaurant chain in China, plans to release its unaudited second quarter 2012 financial results on Tuesday, August 14, 2012, after the market closes.

Top 5 Restaurant Companies To Watch For 2015: DineEquity Inc (DIN)

DineEquity, Inc., incorporated on May 07, 1976, owns franchise and operate two restaurant concepts: Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar, (Applebee's), in the bar and grill segment of the casual dining category of the restaurant industry, and International House of Pancakes (IHOP), in the family dining category of the restaurant industry. As of December 31, 2012, the franchise operations segment consisted of 2,011 restaurants operated by Applebee's franchisees in the United States, one United States territory and 15 foreign countries and 1,569 restaurants operated by IHOP franchisees and area licensees in the United States, two United States territories and five foreign countries. As of December 31, 2012, the Company restaurant operations segment consisted of 23 Applebee's Company-operated restaurants, 10 IHOP Company-operated restaurants and two IHOP restaurants reacquired from franchisees and operated by IHOP on a temporary basis until refranchised. Financing operations revenue primarily consists of interest income from the financing of franchise fees and equipment leases, as well as sales of equipment associated with refranchised IHOP restaurants and a portion of franchise fees for restaurants taken back from franchisees not allocated to IHOP intellectual property. In October 2012, it completed the refranchising program and completed the transitioning to a 99% franchised restaurant system.

Applebee's

The Company develops, franchises and operates restaurants in the bar and grill segment of the casual dining category of the restaurant industry under the name Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar. As of December 31, 2012, 68 franchise groups operated 2,011 of these restaurants and 23 restaurants were Company-operated. The restaurants were located in 49 states, one United States territory and 15 countries outside of the United States. During the year ended December 31, 2012, 20 domestic franchise restaurants opened, six domestic franchise restaurants closed. 154 Company-operated! restaurants were franchised. The number of restaurants held by an individual franchisee ranges from one to 438 restaurants. As of December 31, 2012, it is focusing on international franchising primarily in Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Mediterranean/Middle East. As of December 31, 2012, there were 149 international Applebee's franchise restaurants. During 2012, 14 international franchise restaurants opened and 13 international franchise restaurants closed.

IHOP

The Company develops franchises and operates restaurants in the family dining category of the restaurant industry under the names IHOP and International House of Pancakes. As of December 31, 2012 there were a total of 1,581 IHOP restaurants of which 1,404 were subject to franchise agreements, 165 were subject to area license agreements, 10 were Company-operated restaurants and two restaurants were reacquired from franchisees and operated by IHOP on a temporary basis. The Company owns and operates 10 IHOP restaurants in the Cincinnati market area primarily to test new remodel programs, operating procedures, products, technology, cooking platforms and service models. IHOP restaurants are located in all 50 states of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands and internationally in Canada, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates. As of December 31, 2012, the area licensee for the state of Florida and certain counties in Georgia operated or sub-franchised a total of 152 IHOP restaurants, and the area licensees for the province of British Columbia, Canada operated or sub-franchised a total of 13 IHOP restaurants. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had signed commitments and options from franchisees to build 245 IHOP restaurants over the next 17 years, comprised of 5 restaurants under single-restaurant or non-traditional development agreements, 120 restaurants under multi-restaurant development agreements and 63 restaurants! under in! ternational development agreements. As of December 31, 2012, there were 1,525 domestic IHOP franchise and area license restaurants. During 2012, its franchisees and area licensees opened 40 domestic franchise restaurants and 17 domestic franchise and area license restaurants were closed. As of December 31, 2012, there were 44 international IHOP franchise and area license restaurants. During 2012, its franchisees opened eight international franchise restaurants and no restaurants were closed.

The Company competes with Chili's, T.G.I. Friday's, Ruby Tuesday's, Denny's, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Bob Evans Restaurants.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]

    Alamy Companies can make brilliant moves, but there are also times when things don't work out quite as planned. From an automaker committing to add thousands of high-paying jobs in the new year to a home craft icon's payroll going the other way, here's a rundown of the week's most interesting moves in the business world. Sysco (SYY) -- Winner Leave it to a food company to eat the competition. Sysco is the country's largest food service company, providing restaurants, schools, and other institutions with their edibles. It's about to get bigger. Sysco kicked off the week by announcing a deal valued at $3.5 billion in cash and stock for its nearest competitor, US Foods. There isn't likely to be a lot of regulatory hassle over the combination. This is a highly fragmented sector, with Sysco commanding just 18 percent of the overall market. It will be 27 percent after completing the deal. Given the nature of the business, there are advantages of being big, and Sysco is about to get substantially bigger at a reasonable price relative to its own valuation. lululemon athletica (LULU) -- Loser Shares of Lululemon stumbled 12 percent on Thursday after the retailer of high-end yoga apparel offered up a gloomy outlook for the holiday quarter. The Canadian chain spooked investors by forecasting flat comparable-store sales for the period. Its profit guidance also fell short of expectations. For a hot growth stock like Lululemon, proving ordinary after years of heady store-level sales growth isn't enough. Ford (F) -- Winner Things have been going well for automakers, and things are about to get even better for Ford. The popular automaker revealed in a presentation on Thursday that it plans to hire 3,000 salaried workers in 2014 -- and we're not talking about low-paying jobs here. Most of these new jobs will be in engineering and product development. Ford is also opening three plants overseas, but the stateside job creation will be significant. Martha Stewart Living Om

  • [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]

    Alamy Fried chicken and waffles is a staple menu item at countless soul food and comfort food restaurants, but that's not stopping Burger King (BKW) from trying to give the meal a fast-food spin. Burger King is testing a new sandwich in the Northeast that takes the breaded chicken patty used in its Classic Crispy Chicken Sandwich from its King Deals Value Menu and replaces the bun with a split waffle. Burger King's Chicken & Waffle Sandwich isn't as hearty as the meal that it's based on. It's selling for as little as $2.29. But the chain's latest attempt to turn heads with a unique menu item will at least attract curious nibblers if it does decide to broaden the offering across the country. Waffling About Burger King isn't the first popular chain to attempt to reinvent this classic dish. As Nation's Restaurant News points out, last summer, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (PLKI) offered Chicken Waffle Tenders -- consisting of chicken tenders dipped in a vanilla maple-scented waffle batter, served with a honey maple dipping sauce. DineEquity's (DIN) IHOP did it three years ago by combining its chicken strips with Belgian waffle quarters. Yum! Brands (YUM) tried to breathe new life into its breakfast business last summer by testing a Waffle Taco -- an egg, sausage, and waffle breakfast sandwich. Even if it doesn't succeed -- and some of the early taste tests haven't been very flattering to the chain's new sandwich -- it's at least comforting to see that Burger King isn't just copying McDonald's (MCD) the way that it has for the past couple of years. Burger King followed McDonald's in offering fancy coffee drinks, fresh fruit smoothies, and popcorn chicken. It has gone on to roll out doppelgangers of the Egg McMuffin and McRib sandwiches. In November, it introduced the Big King, which any patron will quickly recognize as a body double to the Big Mac. Then again, it's not as if following McDonald's lead is such a clever idea right now. The world's largest re

  • [By Peter Graham]

    The Q4 2014 earnings report for restaurant stock Bob Evans Farms Inc (NASDAQ: BOBE), a potential peer of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRL), Denny's Corporation (NASDAQ: DENN) and DineEquity Inc (NYSE: DIN), is scheduled for after the market closes on Tuesday. Aside from the Bob Evans Farms report, it should be said that Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc reported Q3 2014 earnings on May 28th (revenues and profit�rose on�lower expenses); Denny's Corporation reported Q1 2014 earnings on April 28th (they had their strongest quarter of same-store sales at company restaurants in over seven years); and DineEquity Inc reported Q1 2014 on May 1st (earnings rose on stronger sales). However, Bob Evans Farms�recently replaced�three board members with new independent directors after�facing criticism from shareholder Sandell Asset Management Corp.

Top 5 Restaurant Companies To Watch For 2015: Burger King Worldwide Inc (BKW)

Burger King Worldwide, Inc., incorporated on April 2, 2012, is a fast food hamburger restaurant, under the Burger King brand. The Company generates revenues from three sources: franchise revenues, consisting primarily of royalties based on a percentage of sales reported by franchise restaurants and fees paid by franchisees; property income from properties that it leases or subleases to franchisees, and retail sales at Company restaurants. In September 2012, it sold 41 Company-owned BURGER KING restaurants in Singapore to Rancak Selera Sdn Bhd. As of December 31, 2012, it owned or franchised a total of 12,997 restaurants in 86 countries and United States territories. In April 2013, it announced the sale of Burger King Restaurants of Canada (BKRC), including 94 Company owned BURGER KING restaurants in the Canada market to Redberry Investments Corp.

The Company operates in the FFHR category of the quick service restaurant (QSR), segment of the restaurant industry. In the United States, the QSR segment is the segment of the restaurant industry and has demonstrated steady growth over a long period of time. The Company launched four new menu platforms (salads, wraps, smoothies and desserts) and expanded its chicken, coffee and ancillary menu platforms. It has established a data driven marketing process, which is focused on driving restaurant sales and traffic, while targeting a broader consumer base with more inclusive messaging to reach women, parties with children and seniors.

United States and Canada (U.S. and Canada)

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 7,293 franchise restaurants and 183 Company restaurants in the U.S. and Canada. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company refranchised 752 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada, bringing the region to 98% franchised. During the year ended December 31, 2012, it also continued to implement its Four Pillars strategy to improve comparable sales growth and franchise profitability by enhancing its Menu, Marke! ting Communications, Image, and Operations.

Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA)

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 2,989 franchise restaurants and 132 Company restaurants in EMEA. While in Germany continues with 684 restaurants as of December 31, 2012, Turkey and Russia are two of its growing markets with net openings of 78 restaurants and 47 restaurants, respectively, during the year ended December 31, 2012.

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 1,290 franchise and 100 Company restaurants in LAC. In 2011, the Company entered into a joint venture agreement with Vinci Partners for Brazil and granted franchise and development rights to the joint venture. The Company received a minority stake and board seats in the joint venture without deploying its own capital.

Asia Pacific (APAC)

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 1,007 franchise and 3 Company restaurants in APAC. As of December 31, 2012,the Company had 357 restaurants in Australia. It contributed 44 Company restaurants in China. In September 2012, the Company sold 38restaurants to Rancak Selera, the Burger King franchisee in Malaysia.

The Company competes with McDonald�� Corporation, Wendy�� Company, Carl�� Jr., Jack in the Box and Sonic.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Brian O'Connor]

    Alamy When you're trying to save money, the first piece of advice any financial expert will offer is, "Cut back on your entertainment spending." Movies, dinners out, drinks before the theater -- they all seem extravagant when you're trying to stretch every dollar. If you're carrying credit card debt, aren't saving enough for retirement, or don't have an adequate emergency fund, you probably need to cut back on the good times now to avoid bad times later. And if you've seen your income drop or if you've lost your job, it's even more important. But first, you need to be having some fun you can cut back on. So far in The $1,000 Challenge, I've shown you how I cut more than $600 from six of my family's Top 10 spending categories. (If you missed any of the previous sections here on DailyFinance.com, check out the series so far.) But when I got to entertainment spending, I didn't want to spend less –- I wanted to spend more. Sure, we were spending a decent amount in this category. The problem was that we weren't getting a whole lot of fun for our funds. Scanning our list of entertainment spending, a few things were missing: limos, fine restaurants, concerts, plays, nightclubs and -- vitally -- babysitters. Instead were the local sports pub, the diner and, seventh on the list, McDonald's (MCD). All exceedingly family-friendly, and all places we regularly take my boy, Funny Money Jr. or, as I call him, Lil' Money ('cuz that's all he leaves us.) But entertaining Lil' Money was leaving his parents with Lil' Fun. Less than one-sixth of our entertainment spending was on real date nights. Instead of whispering sweet nothings into my money honey's ear on the dance floor, I'd been shouting above the din of the Burger King (BKW) playground. A good spending plan isn't just about cutting back –- it's also about getting the best value for the money you do spend. In the first installments of this budget-cutting challenge, we looked at eliminating the sorts of spen

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Top 5 Gas Companies To Watch In Right Now

Early Monday morning, General Electric (NYSE: GE  ) announced that it would be acquiring Lufkin Industries (UNKNOWN: LUFK.DL  ) for around $3.3 billion. This acquisition continues the trend that we have seen start with GE in 2007; since that time, it has spent $11 billion to purchase companies in the energy space.

Nothing artificial about what Lufkin brings to GE
What GE is getting with Lufkin Industries is a company that is heavily involved in artificial lift. This service has proven vital to the oil and natural gas industry due to its ability to increase well efficiency once pressure inside the well has dropped. Estimates are that 95% of wells worldwide utilize some form of artificial lift, so this segment could provide a nice boost to GE's business as global drilling continues to pick up.

Artificial lift is a critical service and is just one part of Halliburton's portfolio
Domestic oil and gas service companies have taken a hit in the recent past due to a slowdown in the natural gas drilling boom of the last couple of years. As this market looks to rebound, investors would be wise to consider Halliburton, one of the top companies in the business and one of those most in tune with the domestic market. To access The Motley Fool's new premium research report on this industry stalwart, simply click here now and learn everything you need to know about how Halliburton is positioning itself both at home and abroad.

Top 5 Gas Companies To Watch In Right Now: Zargon Oil & Gas Ltd (ZARFF.PK)

Zargon Oil & Gas Ltd. (Zargon), formerly Zargon Energy Trust, is engaged in the business of oil and natural gas exploration, exploitation, development, acquisition and production in Canada and the United States. During the year ended December 31, 2010, Zargon�� average daily production were 9,879 barrels of oil equivalent. Its properties are concentrated within the Western Provinces in Canada and in North Dakota in the United States. Its Williston Basin core area encompasses a portion of southeast Saskatchewan, southwest Manitoba and three counties of North Dakota. During 2010, it accounted 51% of its oil and liquids production. During 2010, its Alberta Plains South core area contributed 27% of its oil and liquids production. In June 2012, the Company sold 275 barrels of oil per day pertaining to all of its southwest Manitoba assets and selected properties in the Elswick area of southeast Saskatchewan. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By MLP Trader]

    Here are the current top five companies in the list:

    CompanySymbolEV/BOEPD/NetbackPrice/NAVEV/DACFPinecrest(PNCGF.PK)53564%4.0XLightstream(LSTMF.PK)131753%4.5XNovus(NOVUF.PK)133290%4.1XZargon(ZARFF.PK)138664%5.6XTwin Butte(TBTEF.PK)155885%5.5X

    Of the larger companies, one that remains obstinately near the top of the list is Lightstream . Lightstream trades at 40% of its book value and a whopping 13.4% yield.

Top 5 Gas Companies To Watch In Right Now: Western Gas Partners LP (WES)

Western Gas Partners, LP (the Partnership) is a master limited partnership (MLP) organized by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation to own, operate, acquire and develop midstream energy assets. The Partnership operates in East and West Texas, the Rocky Mountains (Colorado, Utah and Wyoming) and the Mid-Continent (Kansas and Oklahoma) and are engaged primarily in the business of gathering, processing, compressing, treating and transporting natural gas, condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and crude oil for Anadarko and third-party producers and customers. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� assets consist of 11 gathering systems, seven natural gas treating facilities, seven natural gas processing facilities, one NGL pipeline, one interstate pipeline, and interests in a gas gathering system and a crude oil pipeline. Its assets are located in East and West Texas, the Rocky Mountains (Colorado, Utah and Wyoming), and the Mid-Continent (Kansas and Oklahoma). In August 2012, it has acquired an additional 24% membership interest in Chipeta Processing LLC from Anadarko Petroleum Corporation.

On January 13, 2012, the Partnership completed the acquisition of Anadarko�� 100% ownership interest in Mountain Gas Resources, LLC, which owns the Red Desert Complex (Red Desert), a 22% interest in Rendezvous Gas Services, LLC (Rendezvous) and related facilities. Red Desert includes the Patrick Draw processing plant, the Red Desert processing plant, 1,295 miles of gathering lines and related facilities. Rendezvous owns a 338-mile mainline gathering system serving the Jonah and Pinedale Anticline fields in south-western Wyoming, which delivers gas to the Granger complex and other locations. In July 8, 2011, the Company acquired the Bison gas treating facility from Anadarko. In February 28, 2011, it acquired a natural gas gathering system and cryogenic gas processing facilities, collectively referred to as the Platte Valley assets, financed with borrowings under its revolving credit facility. On February 28,! 2011, Kerr-McGee Gathering LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Western Gas Partners, LP (the Partnership), acquired midstream assets from Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. These assets are located in the Denver-Julesburg Basin, northeast of Denver, Colorado, and consist of an approximately 1,054-mile natural gas gathering system and related compression and other ancillary equipment, and gas processing facilities with current cryogenic capacity of 84 one million cubic feet per day.

Rocky Mountains

The Bison treating facility consists of three amine treaters with a combined treating capacity of 450 million cubic feet per day located in the north-eastern corner of Wyoming. The assets also include three compressors with a combined compression of 5,230 horsepower and five generators with combined power output of 6.5 megawatts. The Company operates and has a 100% working interest in the Bison assets, which provide carbon dioxide (CO2) treating services for the coal-bed methane gas gathered in the Powder River Basin. During the year ended December 31, 2011, Anadarko provided approximately 73% of the throughput at the Bison treating facility, and the remaining throughput was from one third-party producer. The Bison treating facility treats and compresses gas from the coal-bed methane wells in the Powder River Basin. The Bison Pipeline, operated by TransCanada, is connected directly to the facility, which is the only inlet into the pipeline. The Bison treating facility also has access to the Ft. Union and Thunder Creek pipelines.

The Company is the managing member of Chipeta, a limited liability company owned by the Partnership (51%), Ute Energy Midstream Holdings LLC (25%) and Anadarko (24%). The Chipeta complex includes a natural gas processing plant with two processing trains, the Natural Buttes plant, and a 100% Partnership-owned 17-mile natural gas liquid (NGL) pipeline connecting the Chipeta plant to a third-party pipeline. The Chipeta assets has cryogenic and refrigeration ! processin! g capacity of 670 million cubic feet per day. These assets provide processing and transportation services in the Greater Natural Buttes area in Uintah County, Utah. During 2011, Chipeta began construction of a second cryogenic train at the Chipeta plant with processing capacity of approximately 300 million cubic feet per day. During 2011, Anadarko is a customer on the Chipeta system with approximately 94% of the system throughput. The Chipeta system has access to Anadarko and third-party production in the area with excess available capacity in the Uintah Basin. Anadarko controls approximately 217,000 gross acres in the Uintah Basin. Chipeta is connected to both Anadarko�� Natural Buttes gathering system and to the Three Rivers gathering system owned by Ute Energy and a third party. The Chipeta plant delivers NGLs through its 17-mile pipeline to the Mid-America Pipeline (MAPL), which provides transportation through the Seminole pipeline in West Texas and ultimately to the NGL markets at Mont Belvieu, Texas and the Texas Gulf Coast. The Chipeta plant has natural gas delivery points through the pipelines, which includes Colorado Interstate Gas Company (CIG), Questar Pipeline Company�� pipeline, and Wyoming Interstate Company, Ltd.

The 47-mile Clawson gathering system, located in Carbon and Emery Counties of Utah, to provide gathering services for Anadarko�� coal-bed methane development of the Ferron Coal play. The Clawson gathering system provides gathering, dehydration, compression and treating services for coal-bed methane gas. The Clawson gathering system includes one compressor station, with 6,310 horsepower, and a CO2 treating facility. During 2011, Anadarko is the shipper on the Clawson gathering system with approximately 97% of the total throughput delivered into the system, and the remaining throughput on the system was from one third-party producer. Clawson Springs Field has approximately 7,000 gross acres and produces primarily from the Ferron Coal play. The Clawson gathering s! ystem del! ivers into Questar Transportation Services Company�� pipeline. The Fort Union system is a 324-mile gathering system operating within the Powder River Basin of Wyoming, starting in west central Campbell County and terminating at the Medicine Bow treating plant. The Fort Union gathering system consists of three parallel pipelines and includes CO2 treating facilities at the Medicine Bow plant. At CO2 levels, the system is capable of treating and blending over one billion cubic feet per day while satisfying the CO2 specifications of downstream pipelines. Fort Union Gas Gathering, LLC is a partnership among Copano Pipelines/Rocky Mountains, LLC (37.04%), Crestone Powder River LLC (37.04%), Bargath, Inc. (11.11%) and the Partnership (14.81%). Anadarko is the field and construction operator of the Fort Union gathering system. The NGLs have market access to Enterprise�� Mid-America Pipeline Company (MAPCO), which terminates at Mont Belvieu, Texas, as well as to local markets.

The 810-mile natural gas gathering system and gas processing facility is located in Sweetwater County, Wyoming. The Granger system includes eight field compression stations with 41,950 horsepower. The processing facility has a cryogenic capacity of 200 million cubic feet per day and refrigeration capacity of 100 million cubic feet per day with NGL fractionation. During 2011, Anadarko is the customer on the Granger system with approximately 54% of throughput, and the remaining throughput was primarily from five third-party shippers. The Granger system is supplied by the Moxa Arch, the Jonah field and the Pinedale anticline across, which Anadarko controls approximately 568,000 gross acres. The Granger gas gathering system has approximately 690 receipt points. The residue gas from the Granger system can be delivered to the pipelines, which includes CIG, Kern River and Mountain Gas Transportation, Inc (MGTI) pipelines through a connect with Rendezvous Pipeline Company, Northwest Pipeline Co (NWPL), Overthrust Pipeline OTTCO, a! nd Questa! r Gas Management Company (QGM).

The 67-mile Helper gathering system, located in Carbon County, Utah, built to provide gathering services for Anadarko�� coal-bed methane development of the Ferron Coal play. The Helper gathering system provides gathering, dehydration, compression and treating services for coal-bed methane gas. The Helper gathering system includes two compressor stations with a combined 14,075 horsepower and two CO2 treating facilities. Anadarko is the shipper on the Helper gathering system. The Helper Field and Cardinal Draw Fields are Anadarko-operated coal-bed methane developments on the south-western edge of the Uintah Basin that produce from the Ferron Coal play. The Helper Field covers approximately 19,000 acres as of December 31, 2011 and Cardinal Draw Field, which lies immediately to the east of Helper Field, also covers approximately 20,000 acres. The Helper gathering system delivers into the Questar Transportation Services Company�� pipeline. Questar provides transportation to regional markets in Wyoming, Colorado and Utah and also delivers into the Kern River Pipeline, which provides transportation to markets in the western United States, primarily California.

The 1,056-mile Hilight gathering system, located in Johnson, Campbell, Natrona and Converse Counties of Wyoming, built to provide low and high-pressure gathering services for the area�� conventional gas production and delivers to the Hilight plant for processing. The Hilight gathering system has 11 compressor stations with 32,263 combined horsepower. The Hilight system has a capacity of approximately 30 million cubic feet per day and utilizes a refrigeration process and provides for fractionation of the recovered NGL products into propane, butanes and natural gasoline. Gas gathered and processed through the Hilight system is from numerous third-party customers, with the nine producers providing approximately 75% of the system throughput during 2011. The Hilight gathering system serves the g! as gather! ing needs of several conventional producing fields in Johnson, Campbell, Natrona and Converse Counties. The Hilight plant delivers residue gas into its MIGC transmission line.

The MIGC system is a 256-mile interstate pipeline regulated by FERC and operating within the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. The MIGC system traverses the Powder River Basin from north to south, extending to Glenrock, Wyoming. The MIGC system is well positioned to provide transportation for the natural gas volumes received from various coal-bed methane gathering systems and conventional gas processing plants throughout the Powder River Basin. MIGC offers both forward-haul and backhaul transportation services and is certificated for 175 million cubic feet per day of firm transportation capacity. During 2011, Anadarko is the firm shipper on the MIGC system, with approximately 86% of throughput, with the remaining throughput from 11 third-party shippers. As of December 31, 2011, Anadarko has a working interest in over 1.7 million gross acres within the Powder River Basin. Anadarko�� gross acreage includes substantial undeveloped acreage positions in the expanding Big George coal play and the multiple seam coal fairway to the north of the Big George play. MIGC volumes are redelivered to the Glenrock, Wyoming Hub, which accesses the interstate pipelines, which includes CIG, Kinder Morgan Interstate Gas Transportation Company, Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Company, and Wyoming Interstate Gas Company. Volumes are also delivered to Anadarko�� MGTC, Inc. (MGTC) intrastate pipeline, a Hinshaw pipeline that supplies local markets in Wyoming.

The 179-mile Newcastle gathering system, located in Weston and Niobrara Counties of Wyoming, was built to provide gathering services for conventional gas production in the area. The gathering system delivers into the Newcastle plant, which has gross capacity of approximately two million cubic feet per day. The plant utilizes a refrigeration process and provides for frac! tionation! of the recovered NGLs into propane and butane/gasoline mix products. The Newcastle facility is a joint venture among Black Hills Exploration and Production, Inc. (44.7%), John Paulson (5.3%) and the Partnership (50.0%). The Newcastle gathering system includes one compressor station with 560 horsepower. The Newcastle plant has an additional 2,100 horsepower for refrigeration and residue compression. Gas gathered and processed through the Newcastle system is from 12 third-party customers, with the four producers providing approximately 92% of the system throughput during 2011. The producer, Black Hills Exploration, provided approximately 62% of the throughput during 2011. The Newcastle gathering system and plant primarily service gas production from the Clareton and Finn-Shurley fields in Weston County. Propane products from the Newcastle plant are typically sold locally by truck, and the butane/gasoline mix products are transported to the Hilight plant for further fractionation. Residue gas from the Newcastle system is delivered into Anadarko�� MGTC pipeline for transport, distribution and sale.

The Platte Valley system, located in the Denver-Julesburg Basin, consists of a processing plant with current cryogenic capacity of 100 million cubic feet per day, two fractionation trains, a 1,099-mile natural gas gathering system and related equipment. The Platte Valley gathering system has 13 compressor stations with a combined 17,011 of operating horsepower. During 2011, approximately 8% of the Platte Valley system throughput was from Anadarko and the remaining throughput was from various third-party customers, the EnCana Corporation. There are 713 receipt points connected to the Platte Valley gathering system as of December 31, 2011. The system is connected to its Wattenberg gathering system. The Platte Valley system is primarily supplied by the Wattenberg field and covers portions of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Elbert, and Weld Counties, Colorado. The Platte Valley system de! livers NG! Ls through the pipelines, which includes local markets, ONEOK Overland Pass Pipeline, and the Wattenberg Pipeline owned and operated by DCP Midstream (formerly the Buckeye Pipeline). In addition, the Platte Valley system can deliver to the CIG and Xcel Energy residue gas pipelines.

The Wattenberg gathering system is a 1,781-mile wet gas gathering system in the Denver-Julesburg Basin, north and east of Denver, Colorado, and includes six compressor stations and combined 72,579 of operating horsepower. The Fort Lupton processing plant has two trains with combined processing capacity of 105 million cubic feet per day. During 2011, Anadarko-operated production represented approximately 66% of system throughput. Approximately 29% of Wattenberg system throughput was from two third-party producers and the remaining throughput was from various third-party customers. There are 2,129 receipt points and over 5,900 wells connected to the gathering system as of December 31, 2011. The Wattenberg gathering system is primarily supplied by the Wattenberg field and covers portions of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield and Weld counties. Anadarko controls approximately 762,000 gross acres in the Wattenberg field. Anadarko drilled 472 wells and completed 2,090 fracs at the Wattenberg field during 2011, and had identified 1,200 to 2,700 opportunities to increase production, including new well locations, re-fracs and recompletions. The Wattenberg gathering system has five delivery points, with the primary delivery points, which includes Anadarko�� Wattenberg processing plant, Fort Lupton processing plant, and Platte Valley processing plant.

The White Cliffs pipeline consists of a 526-mile crude oil pipeline that originates in Platteville, Colorado and terminates in Cushing, Oklahoma. It has an approximate capacity of 80,000 barrels per day. At the point of origin, it has a 100,000-barrel storage facility and a truck-loading facility with an additional 220,000 barrels of storage. The pipeline is a! joint ve! nture owned by SemCrude Pipeline LP (51%), Plains Pipeline LP (34%), Noble Energy, Inc. (5%) and the Partnership (10%). The White Cliffs pipeline has two throughput contracts with Anadarko and Noble Energy. During 2011, Anadarko was the shipper on the White Cliffs pipeline. The White Cliffs pipeline is supplied by production from the Denver-Julesburg Basin and is the only direct route from the Denver-Julesburg Basin to Cushing, Oklahoma. The White Cliffs pipeline delivery point is SemCrude�� storage facility in Cushing, Oklahoma, a major crude oil marketing center, which ultimately delivers to the mid-continent refineries.

Mid-Continent

The 1,953-mile Hugoton gathering system provides gathering service to the Hugoton field and is primarily located in Seward, Stevens, Grant and Morton Counties of Southwest Kansas and Texas County in Oklahoma. The Hugoton gathering system has 44 compressor stations with a combined 92,097 horsepower of compression. Anadarko is the customer on the Hugoton gathering system with approximately 76% of the system throughput, during 2011. During 2011, approximately 19% of the throughput on the Hugoton system was from one third-party shipper with the balance from various other third-party shippers. The Hugoton field is a natural gas fields in North America. The Hugoton gathering system is connected to DCP Midstream�� National Helium plant, which extracts NGLs and helium and delivers residue gas into the Panhandle Eastern pipeline. The system is also connected to the Satanta plant, which is owned by Pioneer Natural Resources Corporation (51%) and Anadarko (49%), for NGLs and helium processing and delivers residue gas into Kansas Gas Services and Southern Star pipeline.

East Texas

The 323-mile Dew gathering system is located in Anderson, Freestone, Leon and Robertson Counties of East Texas. The Dew gathering system has 10 compressor stations with a combined 36,175 horsepower of compression. Anadarko is the only shipper on the ! Dew gathe! ring system. As of December 31, 2011, Anadarko has approximately 833 producing wells in the Bossier play and controls approximately 122,000 gross acres in the area. The Dew gathering system has delivery points with Pinnacle Gas Treating LLC, which is the primary delivery point and is described in more detail below, and Kinder Morgan�� Tejas pipeline.

The Pinnacle gathering system includes the Partnership�� 266-mile Pinnacle gathering system and its Bethel treating plant. The Pinnacle system provides sour gas gathering and treating service in Anderson, Freestone, Leon, Limestone and Robertson Counties of East Texas. The Bethel treating plant, located in Anderson County, has total CO2 treating capacity of 502 million cubic feet per day and 20 long tons per day of sulfur treating capacity. During 2011, Anadarko was shipper on the Pinnacle gathering system with approximately 90% of system throughput and the remaining throughput on the system was from four third-party shippers. The Pinnacle gathering system provide gathering and treating services to the five-county area over, which it extends, including the Cotton Valley Lime formations, which contain concentrations of sulfur and CO2. The Pinnacle gathering system is connected to Atmos Texas pipeline, Enbridge Pipelines (East Texas) LP pipeline, Energy Transfer Fuels pipeline, Enterprise Texas Pipeline, LP�� pipeline, ETC Texas Pipeline, Ltd pipeline, and Kinder Morgan�� Tejas pipeline. These pipelines provide transportation to the Carthage, Waha and Houston Ship Channel market hubs in Texas.

West Texas

The 118-mile Haley gathering system provides gathering and dehydration services in Loving County, Texas and gathers a portion of Anadarko�� production from the Delaware Basin. During 2011, Anadarko�� production represented approximately 69% of the Haley gathering system�� throughput, and the remaining throughput is attributable to Anadarko�� partner in the Haley area. As of December 31, 2011, in the great! er Delawa! re basin, Anadarko has access to approximately 355,000 gross acres, is a portion of which is gathered by the Haley gathering system. The Haley gathering system has multiple delivery points. The primary delivery points are to the El Paso Natural Gas pipeline or the Enterprise GC, LP pipeline for delivery into Energy Transfer�� Oasis pipeline. It also delivers into Southern Union Energy Services��pipeline for further delivery into the Oasis pipeline. The pipelines at these delivery points provide transportation to both the Waha and Houston Ship Channel markets.

The Company competes with QEP Field Services Company, El Paso Midstream Group, Inc., XTO Energy, ETC Texas Pipeline, Ltd, Enbridge Pipelines (East Texas) LP, Kinder Morgan Tejas Pipeline, LP, MIGC, Thunder Creek Gas Services, Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Company, TransCanada, Williams Field Services, Enterprise Gas Processing, LLC, Jonah Gas Gathering Company, QEP Field Services Company, Anadarko�� Delaware Basin JV Gathering LLC, Enterprise GC, LP, Targa Midstream Services LLC, Southern Union Energy Services Company, DCP Midstream, Merit Energy, ONEOK Gas Gathering Company, Pioneer Natural Resources and AKA Energy.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By David Fickling]

    Wesfarmers Ltd. (WES), Australia�� largest private-sector employer, fell the most in more than two years in Sydney trading after it said earnings from its Target department stores would drop as much as 43 percent from a year earlier.

Top Dividend Stocks To Invest In 2015: Turcas Petrol AS (TRCAS)

Turcas Petrol AS (Turcas) is a Turkey-based integrated energy holding company that operates in the fields of fuel distribution, oil refining, power generation & trading, and import & wholesale of natural gas. The joint venture company, Shell & Turcas Petrol AS (STAS), carries out the Company�� fuel distribution activities through a network of gas stations, delivering services across Turkey. Its Oil refining and petroleum production is undertaken by SOCAR & Turcas Energy (STEAS). The Company operates its power generation, trading and distribution activities through Turcas Energy Holding. The import, export and wholesale of natural gas are handled by Turcas Gas Trading. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Lyubov Pronina]

    Akbank sank 4.2 percent in Istanbul, falling for a sixth straight day, the longest streak in almost two months. Turcas Petrol AS (TRCAS) lost 1.6 percent after the Turkish energy company said Finance Ministry officials started an inspection at its venture with Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

Top 5 Gas Companies To Watch In Right Now: SM Energy Co (SM)

SM Energy Company (SM Energy), incorporated in 1915, is an independent energy company. The Company is engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (referred to as oil, gas, and NGLs) in onshore North America. The Company�� operations are focused on five operating areas in the onshore United States. In December 2011, the Company closed on its acquisition and development agreement with Mitsui E&P Texas LP (Mitsui), an indirect subsidiary of Mitsui & Co. Ltd., which transferred 12.5% of its working interest in certain non-operated oil and gas assets in South Texas. In August 2011, the Company sold approximately 15,400 net operated acres in LaSalle and Dimmit Counties, Texas to Talisman Energy USA Inc. and Statoil Texas Onshore Properties LLC (collectively, Talisman/Statoil). In June 2011, the Company completed the divestiture of certain assets located in its Mid-Continent region. In January 2011, it completed the divestiture of certain assets located in its Rocky Mountain region. In December 2013, SM Energy Co announced that it had closed its previously announced Anadarko Basin divestiture package.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company had working interests in 1,353 gross (741 net) productive oil wells and 2,928 gross (1,060 net) productive gas wells. All of its drilling activities are conducted using independent drilling contractors. As of December 31, 2011, it had 415.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent of proved undeveloped reserves.

South Texas & Gulf Coast Region

Operations for the South Texas & Gulf Coast region are managed from its office in Houston, Texas. The Company�� operations in South Texas & Gulf Coast Region focus primarily on its Eagle Ford shale program. Its acreage position covers a portion of the western Eagle Ford shale play, including acreage in the oil, the NGL-gas, and the dry gas windows of the play. During the year ended December 31, 2011, it had approx! imately 250,000 net acres in the play, which consisted of an approximate 165,000 net acre operated position in Webb, Dimmit, and LaSalle Counties, Texas and an approximate 85,000 net acre non-operated position in Maverick, Dimmit, LaSalle, and Webb Counties, Texas. As of December 31, 2011, it had approximately 196,000 net acres in the play. During 2011, the production was 69.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent.

Rocky Mountain Region

Operations for the Company�� Rocky Mountain region are managed from its office in Billings, Montana. During 2011, the Company focused on Bakken/Three Forks formations in the North Dakota portion of the Williston Basin, where it had approximately 87,000 net acres.

Mid-Continent Region

Operations for the Company�� Mid-Continent region are managed from its office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Company�� operations in the Mid-Continent region are primarily focused on the horizontal development of the Granite Wash formation in western Oklahoma. Its Mid-Continent region also manages its Woodford shale assets. In 2011, its Mid-Continent region's production was 31.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent. Proved reserves during 2011 were 234.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent.

ArkLaTex Region

The Company�� focus on the ArkLaTex region has been the horizontal development of its Haynesville shale acreage. In 2011, production in its ArkLaTex region was 30.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent.

Permian Region

Operations for the Company�� Permian region are managed from its office in Midland, Texas. The Company�� Permian region covers western Texas and eastern New Mexico. Its primary area of development focus in this region is the Wolfberry tight oil play. During 2011, the region�� production was 11.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent.

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

    A pair of insiders at SM Energy (SM) also caught our eye. General Counsel David Copeland bought 3,500 shares for $252,400 and President and COO Javan Ottoson conducted his first transaction and bought 1,000 shares for $71,900. InsiderScore notes:

  • [By Victor Selva]

    Competitors such as Sandridge Energy Inc. (SD), Penn Virginia Corp. (PVA), Newfield Exploration Co. (NFX) also have a negative ROE. An alternative could be Cabot Oil &Gas Corp. (COG), Range Resources Corp. (RRC), SM Energy Co. (SM), Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) or Whiting Petroleum Corp (WLL), Berry Petroleum Co. (BRY), but for investors searching for a higher ratio, Continental Resources Inc. (CLR) will be the best option.

  • [By Aaron Levitt]

    Since launching in 2011, HFC has managed to return about $2.2 billion worth of cash back to shareholders via dividends and buybacks. The latest was special 50-cent dividend, in addition to upping its regular payout by 6.7%. HFC stock currently yields 2.6% and trades for a forward P/E of less than 10. As far as midcap energy stocks go, HFC is on its way to becoming a dividend champion.

    Midcap Energy Stocks To Buy #3: SM Energy Company (SM)

    Ask any investor to name the hottest shale formations in the U.S. and odds are the words Bakken and Eagle Ford would be at the top of their lists. Add in the prolific Permian Basin and you have a trifecta of shale oil and natural gas liquids (NGLs) that can power profits for years to come.

Top 5 Gas Companies To Watch In Right Now: Legacy Oil + Gas Inc (LEGPF.PK)

Legacy Oil + Gas Inc. (Legacy) is engaged in exploration, exploitation and development drilling for oil and natural gas reserves. Legacy's wholly owned subsidiary, Legacy Oil & Gas ND, Inc., holds properties and operates in the State of North Dakota. Its Southeast Saskatchewan properties are located in an area ranging from approximately 130 to 290 kilometers southeast of the city of Regina, Saskatchewan. Legacy has an average working interest of approximately 75% in 24,576 gross (18,647 net) acres of undeveloped land at Taylorton. It has an average working interest of approximately 70% in 32,959 gross (22,938 net) acres of undeveloped land in the Viewfield Bakken play with properties at Stoughton, Heward and Star Valley. On January 1, 2011, it amalgamated with its wholly owned subsidiaries Legacy VRI Ltd. and Legacy TV Ltd. In April 2013, it closed the acquisition of Villanova Oil Corp. (Villanova) and the acquisition of light oil assets. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Value Digger]

    To open up new Cardium opportunities, Manitok is also expanding to the Southern Alberta Foothills, where it plans to drill the first well of the farm-in with Legacy Oil & Gas (LEGPF.PK) before year end. Legacy Oil has a 99% average working interest in the Farm-in Lands prior to Manitok earning. Manitok will pay 100% of the cost to drill, complete and equip one horizontal Cardium oil well in order to earn 70% of Legacy's working interest, in a small block of land within the Farm-in Lands. If Manitok drills, completes and equips 3 horizontal Cardium oil wells at 100% of the cost, it will earn the entire 70% of working interest in Legacy's Farm-in Lands.