Top Canadian Companies To Watch In Right Now

Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) filed notice to close its Pinnacle coal mine. Wells Fargo’s Sam Dubinsky calls the move “prudent” but doesn’t do anything about its much larger exposure to iron ore. He explains:

Reuters

We view the exit as a mixed bag as the mine was lower than average cost, but also had high exposure to the seaborne market, which has significantly more pricing volatility than the domestic market…

We estimate iron ore represents ~85% of revenue and is in a multi-year structural downturn due to ramping global supply, which is expected to outpace incremental steel demand by over 3:1 over the next few years. With new supply coming online at <$50/MT and Chinese steel production slowing at a fast pace, we see no reason why iron ore pricing will recover and expect Cliffs to burn cash. The only saving grace in our view would be the sale of high cost Canadian operations, but we are not convinced the company can find a buyer during a downturn.

Top 5 Net Payout Yield Stocks To Watch For 2016: BCE Inc. (BCE)

BCE Inc. provides communications solutions to residential, business, and wholesale customers primarily in Canada. The company offers local and long distance telephone services under the Bell Home Phone brand; direct-to-home satellite television (TV) services under the Bell TV name; Internet protocol TV services under the Bell Fibe TV brand; and personal video recorders and online access services. It also provides data services, including Internet access services under the Bell Internet name; Internet protocol based services; and information and communications technology solutions. In addition, the company engages in the rental, sale, and maintenance of business terminal equipment; sale of TV set-top boxes; and provision of network installation and maintenance services for third parties. Further, it offers wireless voice and data communications products and services, such as call display and voicemail, e-mail, Web browsing, social networking, text, picture and video messagi ng, music downloads, ring tunes, ringtones, games and applications, video streaming, live TV, mobile Internet, roaming, and global positioning system navigation services under the Bell and Virgin Mobile brands. Additionally, the company provides media services comprising TV programming services to broadcast distributors. It operates approximately 28 conventional over-the-air stations and 30 English and French-language specialty TV channels; 33 FM and AM radio stations and their related Websites; and Theloop.ca Website. As of December 31, 2012, the company served approximately 2.1 million high-speed Internet access customers through fiber-optic, digital subscriber line, or wireless broadband technology; and 7.7 million wireless customers. BCE Inc. offers its services through call centre representatives, independent dealer stores, and value-added resellers, as well as through its Websites. The company was founded in 1880 and is headquartered in Verdun, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Lam]

  BCE Inc. (BCE) dropped 1.3 percent to a February low, after Macquarie Group Ltd. said that phone shares are vulnerable amid increased regulation. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP) lost 4.4 percent to extend losses to a fourth day after its largest shareholder said it will sell part of its stake. WestJet Airlines Ltd. slid 2.3 percent after a measure of customers on its flights declined. A gauge of real estate investment trust fell for a seventh day, the longest streak in three years.

• [By Tom Taulli]

  BCE (BCE) is the largest telecom operator in Canada … and sports one whopper of a dividend.

  As should be no surprise, the traditional wired voice services segment continues to be weak for BCE, and that’s something we can expect in perpetuity. However, BCE has diversified into other businesses, such as broadband, IPTV, satellite television, radio and mobile, which is helping to smooth its transition.

• [By Alex Planes]

  Excel became the youngest company to earn a billion dollars annual revenue that year, and was also considered the fourth-largest long-distance carrier by the end of 1996. But the flaws in its business model became too great to ignore as more Americans shifted their calling preferences to mobile phones. Profits plummeted, and after the turn of the century Bell Canada (NYSE: BCE  ) , a major shareholder, acquired full control. Excel became a Bell Canada subsidiary, but was quickly spun off as a new privately held company, only to have this new corporate parent file for bankruptcy in 2004. After emerging from bankruptcy, the former Excel was eventually acquired by another privately held telecom provider. It wasn't the first or the fastest to go big and then go bust, but Excel's story highlights the risks any investor takes in buying up shares based on a very brief history of meteoric growth.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  The big news for Madison Square Garden has been the success of its key sports franchises. The New York Knicks basketball team made the playoffs and earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Even more importantly, the long-delayed National Hockey League season finally got going in January, helping resurrect what many had feared would be a lost season, sending shares of MSG, as well as Canadian venue/team-owners Rogers Communications (NYSE: RCI  ) and BCE (NYSE: BCE  ) , higher. As it turned out, MSG's New York Rangers made the playoffs and will go up against the Washington Capitals in the first round. Playoffs are an especially lucrative time for sports viewership, and usually translate into extra profits for the company's broadcast businesses.

Top Canadian Companies To Watch In Right Now: Eldorado Gold Corp(EGO)

Eldorado Gold Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the discovery, exploration, development, production, and reclamation of gold properties in Brazil, the People?s Republic of China, Greece, and Turkey. It operates the Kisladag gold mine in Turkey; the Jinfeng, Tanjianshan, and White Mountain gold mines in the People?s Republic of China; and the Vila Nova iron ore mine in Brazil. The company?s development projects include the Efemcukuru gold mine in Turkey, the Eastern Dragon gold mine in the People?s Republic of China, the Perama Hill gold project in Greece, and the Tocantinzinho gold project in Brazil. As of December 31, 2010, Eldorado Gold Corporation had 18.7 million ounces of proven and probable gold reserves. The company was formerly known as Eldorado Corporation Ltd. and changed its name to Eldorado Gold Corporation in April 1996. Eldorado Gold Corporation was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jack Adamo, Editor, Jack Adamo's Insiders Plus]

  Quarterly results are a real crap-shoot. With that in mind, let's examine the good and bad points at Eldorado Gold Corp. Ltd. (EGO).

  Eldorado has mines in Greece, Turkey, Brazil, China, and Romania. However, as of year-end 2012, 53% of production came from Turkey and 45% from China.

Top Canadian Companies To Watch In Right Now: Sun Life Financial Inc.(SLF)

Sun Life Financial Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides various life and health insurance, savings, investment management, retirement, and pension products and services to individuals and corporate customers. It offers individual life insurance policies, including individual term life, universal life, critical illness, disability, accident, and accidental death and dismemberment insurance policies; and group life insurance policies. The company also provides individual health insurance, long-term care insurance, group health benefits, dental benefits, and group insurance; and various individual and group annuity, retirement, and investment income products and services, such as mutual and pooled funds, variable and fixed annuities, savings, retirement and pension plans, and education savings. In addition, it offers asset management services for corporate retirement plans, separate accounts, public or government funds, and insurance company assets to institutional clients; and advisory services to individual investors. Further, the company provides run-off reinsurance services. Sun Life Financial Inc. distributes its products through direct sales agents, independent and managing general agents, financial intermediaries, broker-dealers, banks, pension and benefit consultants, and other third-party marketing organizations. The company operates primarily in Bermuda, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, the Philippines, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Sun Life Financial Inc. was founded in 1999 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Amanda Alix]

  Insurance companies have created an entire industry based upon risk, and except for AIG (NYSE: AIG  ) during the financial crisis, it has worked out pretty well. So, it's not a stretch to imagine a large life insurer like Canada's Sun Life Financial (NYSE: SLF  ) assuming the pension liability for the Canadian Wheat Board's defined benefit plan in a recent $147 million deal, the first such accord in Canada's history.

Top Canadian Companies To Watch In Right Now: EMC Corporation(EMC)

EMC Corporation develops, delivers, and supports the information and virtual infrastructure technologies and solutions. The company offers enterprise storage systems and software, which are deployed in storage area networks (SAN), networked attached storage (NAS), unified storage combining NAS and SAN, object storage, and/or direct attached storage environments, as well as provides backup and recovery, and disaster recovery and archiving solutions. It also offers information security solutions in various areas, such as enterprise governance, risk and compliance, data loss prevention, security information management, continuous network monitoring, fraud protection, identity assurance and access control, and encryption and key management. In addition, the company provides information intelligence software, solutions, and services, including EMC Captiva for intelligent enterprise capture; EMC Document Sciences for customer communications management; EMC Kazeon for e-discovery ; EMC Documentum xCP for building business solutions and an action engine for big data; and the EMC Documentum platform for managing and delivering enterprise information. Further, it offers virtual and cloud infrastructure products, such as virtualization and virtualization-based cloud infrastructure solutions that address a range of IT problems, as well as facilitate access to cloud computing capacity, business continuity, software lifecycle management, and corporate end-user computing device management In addition, the company provides consulting, technology deployment, managed, customer support, and training and certification services. EMC Corporation markets its products through direct sales and through multiple distribution channels in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, South Africa, and the Asia Pacific region. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  According to Reuters, Hewlett-Packard's (NYSE: HPQ) and EMC (NYSE: EMC) are no longer in talks for a merger after months of talks. Shares of Hewlett-Packard gained 1.74 percent, closing at $32.80 while shares of EMC lost 1.23 percent, closing at $27.27.

• [By Beth Piskora]

  They are listed below:

  Altera (ALTR)��yielding 1.7%
  
  Apple (AAPL)��yielding 2.5%
  
  Applied Materials (AMAT)��yielding 2.6%
  
  Cisco (CSCO)��yielding 2.9%
  
  EMC Corp. (EMC)��yielding 1.5%
  
  International Business Machines (IBM)��yielding 2.0%
  
  KLA-Tencor (KLAC)��yielding 3.2%
  
  Microchip Technology (MCHP)��yielding 3.6%
  
  Oracle (ORCL)��yielding 1.5%
  
  Qualcomm (QCOM)��yielding 2.1%
  
  Texas Instruments (TXN)��yielding 2.9%
  
  Xilinx (XLNX)��yielding 2.3%
  
  

  Subscribe to S&P's The Outlook here��

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Taking a two-part effort to return value to shareholders, cloud-based storage specialist EMC (NYSE: EMC  ) announced this morning it is increasing its stock buyback program sixfold while initiating a quarterly dividend payment to investors.

Top 5 Supermarket Companies To Own For 2016

Top 5 Supermarket Companies To Own For 2016: Kirkland's Inc.(KIRK)

Kirkland?s, Inc. operates as a specialty retailer of home decor and gifts in the United States. Its stores offer various merchandise, including framed art, mirrors, wall decor, candles and related items, lamps, decorative accessories, accent furniture, textiles, garden-related accessories, and artificial floral products. The company?s stores also provide an assortment of holiday merchandise during seasonal periods, as well as items suitable for gift-giving. It operates stores under the Kirkland?s, Kirkland?s Home, Kirkland?s Home Outlet, and Kirkland?s Outlet names. The company operates its stores in enclosed malls and various off-mall venues, including lifestyle centers, power strip centers, outlet centers, and freestanding locations. Kirkland?s, Inc. also sells its products through its Web site kirklands.com. As of March 08, 2012, it operated 299 stores in 30 states. The company was founded in 1966 and is based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Teresa Rivas]

  Other home furnishings retailers, including Bed, Bath & Beyond (BBBY), Restoration Hardware (RH) and Kirkland's (KIRK) were trading down in afternoon trading.

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Thursday

  Earnings Expected From: AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVEO), Kirkland's, Inc (NASDAQ: KIRK), Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG), Stein Mart, Inc. (SMRT: NASDAQ), Mattress Firm Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: MRFM), SeaWorld Entertainment (NYSE: SEAS), Vaalco Energy Inc (NYSE: EGY) Economic Releases Expected: Chinese retail sales, French CPI, Brazilian retail sales, US retail sales, Japanese industrial production

  Friday

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-supermarket-companies-to-own-for-2016.html

Best Consumer Service Stocks To Buy Right Now

Best Consumer Service Stocks To Buy Right Now: Metlife Inc (MET)

MetLife, Inc. (MetLife), incorporated on August 10, 1999, is a provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs, serving 90 million customers in over 50 countries. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife operates in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. It is organized into six segments: Insurance Products, Retirement Products, Corporate Benefit Funding and Auto & Home (collectively, U.S. Business), and Japan and Other International Regions (collectively, International). In addition, the Company reports certain of its results of operations in Corporate & Other, which includes MetLife Bank, National Association (MetLife Bank) and other business activities. U.S. Business provides insurance and financial services products, including life, dental, disability, auto and homeowner insurance, guaranteed interest and stable value products, and annuities through independent retail distribution channels, as well as a t the workplace. Outside the U.S., it operates in Japan and over 50 countries within Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. MetLife is the life insurer in Mexico and also holds positions in Japan, Poland, Chile and Korea. This business provides life insurance, accident and health insurance, credit insurance, annuities, endowment and retirement and savings products to both individuals and groups. In August 2012, it acquired Reynolds Plantation. In January 2013, the Company completed the sale of MetLife Bank, N.A.'s deposit business. Effective July 25, 2013, MetLife Inc acquired Broadstone Laurel Highlands, from Alliance Residential Fund I. In September 2013, MetLife Inc and Thayer Lodging Group acquired the 365-room Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in a joint venture.

Insurance Products

The Insurance Products segment offers a range of protection products and services aimed at serving the financ ial needs of its customers throughout their lives. These pro! ducts are sold to individuals and corporations, as well as other institutions and their respective employees. It is organized in three businesses: Group Life, Individual Life and Non-Medical Health.

The Group Life insurance products and services include variable life, universal life, and term life products. It offer group insurance products as employer-paid benefits or as voluntary benefits where all or a portion of the premiums are paid by the employee. These group products and services also include employee paid supplemental life and are offered as standard products or may be tailored to meet specific customer needs.

The Individual Life insurance products and services include variable life, universal life, term life and whole life products. Additionally, through its broker-dealer affiliates, it offers a full range of mutual funds and other securities products. The products within both Group Life and Individual Life include Variable Life, Universa l Life, Term Life and Whole Life. Variable life products provide insurance coverage through a contract that gives the policyholder the policyholder flexibility in investment choices and, depending on the product, in premium payments and coverage amounts, with certain guarantees. With variable life products, premiums and account balances can be directed by the policyholder into a variety of separate account investment options or directed to the Company's general account. In the separate account investment options, the policyholder bears the entire risk of the investment results.

Universal life products provide insurance coverage on the same basis as variable life, except that premiums, and the resulting accumulated balances, are allocated only to the Company's general account. Universal life products may allow the insured to increase or decrea! se the am! ount of death benefit coverage over the term of the contract and the owner to adjust the frequency and amount of premium payments.

Term life products provid! e a guara! nteed benefit upon the death of the insured for a specified time period in return for the periodic payment of premiums. Specified coverage periods range from one year to 30 years, but in no event are they longer than the period over, which premiums are paid. Death benefits may be level over the period or decreasing. Decreasing coverage is used principally to provide for loan repayment in the event of death. Premiums may be guaranteed at a level amount for the coverage period or may be non-level and non-guaranteed. Term insurance products are sometimes referred to as pure protection products, in that there are typically no savings or investment elements. Term contracts expire without value at the end of the coverage period when the insured party is still living.

Whole life products provide a guaranteed benefit upon the death of the insured in return for the periodic payment of a fixed premium over a predetermined period. Premium payments may be required for the e ntire life of the contract period, to a specified age or period, and may be level or change in accordance with a predetermined schedule. Whole life insurance includes policies that provide a participation feature in the form of dividends. Policyholders may receive dividends in cash or apply them to increase death benefits, increase cash values available upon surrender or reduce the premiums required to maintain the contract in-force.

The Non-Medical Health products and services include dental insurance, group short- and long-term disability, individual disability income, long-term care (LTC), critical illness and accidental death & dismemberment coverage. Other products and services include employer-sponsored auto and homeowners insurance provided through the Auto & Home segment and prepaid legal plans. The Company also sells administra! tive serv! ices-only (ASO) arrangements to some employers. The products in this area are Dental, Disability and Long-term Care (LT C). Dental products provide insurance and ASO plans that ass! ist emplo! yees, retirees and their families in maintaining oral health while reducing out-of-pocket expenses and providing superior customer service. Dental plans include the Preferred Dentist Program and the Dental Health Maintenance Organization. Disability products provide a benefit in the event of the disability of the insured. This benefit is in the form of monthly income paid until the insured reaches age 65. In addition to income replacement, the product may be used to provide for the payment of business overhead expenses for disabled business owners or mortgage payment protection. This is offered on both a group and individual basis. LTC products provide protection against the potentially high costs of LTC services. They generally pay benefits to insureds that need assistance with activities of daily living or have a cognitive impairment.

Retirement Products

The Retirement products segment includes a variety of variable and fixed annuities that are primarily sold to individuals and employees of corporations and other institutions. The products in this area are Variable Annuities and Fixed Annuities. Variable annuities provide for both asset accumulation and asset distribution needs. Variable annuities allow the contract holder to make deposits into various investment options in a separate account, as determined by the contract holder. The risks associated with such investment options are borne entirely by the contract holder, except where guaranteed minimum benefits are involved.

Fixed annuities provide for both asset accumulation and asset distribution needs. Fixed annuities do not allow the same investment flexibility provided by variable annuities, but provide guarantees related to the preservation of principal and interest credited.

Corporate Benefit Fun! ding

!

The Corporate Benefit Funding segment includes a range of annuity and investment products, including, guaranteed intere st products and other stable value products, income annuitie! s, and se! parate account contracts for the investment management of defined benefit and defined contribution plan assets. This segment also includes certain products to fund postretirement benefits and company, bank or trust owned life insurance used to finance non-qualified benefit programs for executives. The products in this area are Stable Value Products, Pensions Closeouts, Torts and Settlements, Capital Markets Investment Products and other Corporate Benefit Funding Products and Services. The Company offers general account guaranteed interest contracts, separate account guaranteed interest contracts, and similar products used to support the stable value option of defined contribution plans. It also offers private floating rate funding agreements that are used for money market funds, securities lending cash collateral portfolios and short-term investment funds.

The Company offers general account and separate account annuity products, generally in connection with the termination of defined benefit pension plans, both in the United States and the United Kingdom. It also offers partial risk transfer solutions that allow for partial transfers of pension liabilities and annuity products that include single premium buyouts. It offers strategies for complex litigation settlements, primarily structured settlement annuities. Under the Capital Markets Investment Products, the products offered include funding agreements, Federal Home Loan Bank advances and funding agreement-backed commercial paper. Under the Other Corporate Benefit Funding Products and Services, it offers specialized insurance products designed specifically to provide solutions for non-qualified benefit and retiree benefit funding purposes.

Auto & Home

The Auto & Home segment includes personal lines property a! nd casual! ty insurance offered directly to employees at their employer's worksite, as well as to individuals through a variety of retail distributi on channels, including independent agents, property and casu! alty spec! ialists, direct response marketing and the individual distribution sales group. Auto & Home primarily sells auto insurance, which represented 67% of Auto & Home's total net earned premiums in 2011. Homeowners and other insurance represented 33% of Auto & Home's total net earned premiums in 2011. The products in this area are Auto Coverages and Homeowners and Other Coverages. Auto insurance policies provide coverage for private passenger automobiles, utility automobiles and vans, motorcycles, motor homes, antique or classic automobiles and trailers. Auto & Home offers traditional coverage, such as liability, uninsured motorist, no fault or personal injury protection, as well as collision and comprehensive. Homeowners' insurance policies provide protection for homeowners, renters, condominium owners and residential landlords against losses arising out of damage to dwellings and contents from a variety of perils, as well as coverage for liability arising from ownership or occupancy. Other insurance includes personal excess liability (protection against losses in excess of amounts covered by other liability insurance policies), and coverage for recreational vehicles and boat owners. Most of Auto & Home's homeowners' policies are traditional insurance policies for dwellings, providing protection for loss on a replacement cost basis. These policies also provide additional coverage for reasonable, normal living expenses incurred by policyholders that have been displaced from their homes.

International

International provides life insurance, accident and health insurance, credit insurance, annuities, endowment and retirement & savings products to both individuals and groups. The Company focuses on markets primarily within Japan, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europ! e and the! Middle East. It operates in international markets through subsidiaries and affiliates. The Company operates in 22 countries in Latin America, with o perations in Mexico, Chile and Argentina. It operates in fou! r countri! es in Asia Pacific with operations in Korea, Hong Kong and Australia. It operates in 35 countries in Europe and the Middle East with operations in Poland, the United Kingdom, France, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as through a consolidated joint venture in India.

Corporate & Other

Corporate & Other contains the excess capital not allocated to the segments, which is invested to optimize investment spread and to fund company initiatives and various start-up and run-off entities. Mortgage products offered by MetLife Bank include forward and reverse residential mortgage loans. Residential mortgage loans are originated through MetLife Bank's national sales force, mortgage brokers and mortgage correspondents. The residential mortgage banking activities include the origination and servicing of mortgage loans. Mortgage loans are held-for-investment or sold primarily into Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corpo ration (FHLMC) or Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) securities. Deposit products include traditional savings accounts, money market savings accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs) and individual retirement accounts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Kingkarn Amjaroen]

  After almost all major insurance companies, including American International Group (NYSE: AIG  ) and MetLife (NYSE: MET  ) reported their quarterly earnings, Prudential Financial (NYSE: PRU  ) was among the last companies in the sector that reported their results last Thursday: And they were not as bad as many would want you to believe.

• [By Kingkarn Amjaroen]

  With earnings season in the insurance industry in full swing, MetLife Inc (NYSE: MET &nbs! p;) was ! among the companies that reported third quarter earnings on Thursday.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-consumer-service-stocks-to-buy-right-now-3.html

Hot Medical Stocks To Buy For 2016

Hot Medical Stocks To Buy For 2016: Bio-Matrix Scientific Group Inc (BMSN)

Bio-Matrix Scientific Group, Inc., incorporated on October 6, 1998, is a development stage company. The Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Regen BioPharma ,Inc., is engaged in the development of regenerative medical applications which it focuses to license from other entities up to the point of completion of Phase I and or Phase II clinical trials after which it would either attempt to sell or license those developed applications or, alternatively, advance the application further to Phase III clinical trials.

The Company has begun development of HemaXellerate, a cellular drug designed to heal damaged bone marrow. HemaXellerate I (TM) is a patient-specific composition of cells that have been demonstrated to repair damaged bone marrow and stimulate production of blood cells based on previous animal studies.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  A quick look at Amanasu Techno Holdings Corp reveals no revenues; net losses of $5k (most recent reported quarter), $18k and $3k and net income of $12k for the past four reported quarters; and $6k in cash to cover $361k in current liabilities at the end of September – meaning the company is a long way off from its capital raising goals.

  Bio Matrix Scientific Group Inc (OTCMKTS: BMSN) Plans a Special Dividend

  Small cap Bio Matrix Scientific Group is a biotechnology company focused on identifying undervalued regenerative medicine applications in the stem cell space and rapidly advancing these technologies through pre-clinical and Phase I/ II clinical trials. On Friday, Bio Matrix Scientific Group surged 42.31% to $0.0074 for a market cap of $21.84 million plus BMSN is down 32.11% over the past year and down 95.9% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  If you're a sm! all cap enthusiast looking for some budding ideas, you may not need to look any further than China GengSheng Minerals, Inc. (NYSEMKT:CHGS), Bio Matrix Scientific Group Inc. (OTCMKTS:BMSN), and MER Telemanagement Solutions Ltd. (NASDAQ:MTSL). All three have either pushed themselves to the brink of a breakout, if they haven't started one already. Here's a closer technical look at MTSL, BMSN, and CHGS, and what it's going to take to get them going if they're not going already.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-medical-stocks-to-buy-for-2016-2.html

Top 10 Construction Stocks To Buy Right Now

Top 10 Construction Stocks To Buy Right Now: Granite Construction Inc (GVA)

Granite Construction Incorporated (Granite), incorporated on January 24, 1990, is a diversified heavy civil contractors and construction materials producers in the United States. The Company operates in four segments: Construction, Large Project Construction, Construction Materials and Real Estate. The Company operates nationwide, serving both public and private sector clients. Within the public sector, it primarily concentrates on heavy-civil infrastructure projects, including the construction of roads, highways, mass transit facilities, airport infrastructure, bridges, dams and other infrastructure related projects. Within the private sector, it performs site preparation and infrastructure services for residential development, commercial and industrial buildings, and other facilities. The Company owns and leases substantial aggregate reserves and own a number of construction materials processing plants. It also has contractor-owned heavy construction equipment fleets in the United States. In December 2012, it purchased 100% interest of Kenny Construction Company (Kenny).

Construction

Revenue from its Construction segment was approximately 47% of its total revenue during the year ended December 31, 2012. Revenue from its Construction segment is derived from both public and private sector clients. The Construction segment performs various heavy civil construction projects with a large portion of the work focused on new construction and improvement of streets, roads, highways, bridges, site work and other infrastructure projects. These are typically bid-build projects completed within two years.

Large Project Construction

Revenue from its Large Project Construction segment was 41.4% of its total revenue in 2012. The Large Project Construction segment focuses on large, compl! ex infrastructure projects, which typically have a longer duration than its Construction segment work. These projects in clude major highways, mass transit facilities, bridges, tunn! els, waterway locks and dams, pipelines, canals and airport infrastructure. This segment primarily includes bid-build, design-build and construction management/general contractor contracts. It participates in joint ventures with other construction companies mainly on projects in its Large Project Construction segment. Joint ventures are typically used for large, technically complex projects, including design/build projects, where it is desirable to share risk and resources. Joint venture partners typically provide independently prepared estimates, shared financing and equipment and often bring local knowledge and expertise.

The Company also utilizes the design/build and construction management/general contract methods of project delivery. Under the construction management/general contract method of delivery, it contracts with owners to manage the design phase of the contract with the understanding that it will negotiate a contract on the construction phase when the design nears completion. Revenue from design/build and construction management/general contract projects represented 74.5% of Large Project Construction revenue in 2012.

Construction Materials

Revenue from its Construction Materials segment was 11.1% of its total revenue in 2012. The Construction Materials segment mines and processes aggregates and operates plants that produce construction materials for internal use and for sale to third parties. It has aggregate reserves that it has acquired by ownership in fee or through long-term leases. Aggregate products used in its construction projects represented approximately 42.7% of its tons sold during 2012.

Real Estate

Granite Land Company (GLC) is an investor in a diversified portfolio of land assets and provides real estate services for other Gran! ite opera! tions. GLC's investment portfolio consists of residential, as well as retail and office site development projects fo r sale to home and commercial property developers. The range! of its i! nvolvement in an individual project may vary from passive investment to management of land use rights, development, construction, leasing and eventual sale of the project. Generally, GLC has teamed with partners who have local knowledge and expertise in the development of each property. GLC's investments are located in Washington, California and Texas. Revenue from GLC was 0.2% of its total revenue in 2012.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Last week, the headlines reporting the U.S. Census Bureau's construction numbers for November were a little alarming. Overall construction spending  fell 03% -- a big deal for this particular industry -- suggesting heavy construction stocks like MasTec, Inc. (NYSE:MTZ) and Granite Construction Inc. (NYSE:GVA) were in big trouble after a lackluster 2014. The headlines were a little (perhaps more than a little) misleading, though.

• [By Louis Navellier]

  If we look at the sector using Portfolio Grader, we see that many of the big names in the group like Flour (FLR), Granite Construction (GVA) and KBR incorporated (KBR) are rated "sell." The anticipated spending for both government and private industry simply hasn't materialized, and the companies are not seeing revenue or profit growth.

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Some of the companies most dependent on government for revenue are Harris Corp. (HRS)  with 80% of revenue government-derived; Granite Construction Inc. (GVA)  with 58%; Flir Systems Inc. (FLIR)  with 54%; and Waste Management Inc. (WM)   and Republic Serv! ices Inc.! (RSG)  both with 50%, according to Goldman Sachs.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-10-construction-stocks-to-buy-right-now.html

Best Trucking Stocks To Buy For 2016

Best Trucking Stocks To Buy For 2016: Avnet Inc. (AVT)

Avnet, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, distributes electronic components, enterprise computer and storage products, and embedded subsystems in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. It operates in two segments, Electronics Marketing (EM) and Technology Solutions (TS). The EM segment markets and sells semiconductors; interconnect, passive, and electromechanical devices; and embedded products and embedded computing solutions, including technical design, integration, and assembly services to developers of application-specific computing solutions in the non-PC market. It also provides engineers with a host of technical design solutions in support of the sales process of complex products and technologies; engineering and technical resources to support product design, bill of materials development, design services, and technical education and training; and supply chain services focused on original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), el ectronic manufacturing services providers, and electronic component manufacturers. This segment primarily serves electronic component manufacturers in various markets, including automotive, communications, computer hardware and peripheral, industrial and manufacturing, medical equipment, military and aerospace, telecommunications, industrial, and digital editing. The TS segment markets and sells mid-to high-end servers, data storage, and software, as well as provides services required to implement such products and solutions to the value-added reseller channel. It also focuses on the worldwide OEM market for computing technology, system integrators, independent software vendors, and non-PC OEMs that require embedded systems and solutions, including engineering, product prototyping, integration, and other value-added services. The company was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Pho! enix, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  One electronics wholesales player that insiders are active in here is Avnet (AVT), which distributes electronic components, enterprise computer and storage products, IT solutions and services, and embedded subsystems in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia/Pacific. Insiders are buying this stock into modest weakness, since shares are down by 4.3% so far in 2014.

  Avnet has a market cap of $5.8 billion and an enterprise value of $6.9 billion. This stock trades at a reasonable valuation, with a trailing price-to-earnings of 12 and a forward price-to-earnings of 8.4. Its estimated growth rate for this year is 9.4%, and for next year it's pegged at 8.2%. This is not a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $928.97 million and its total debt is $2.08 billion. This stock currently sports a dividend yield of 1.4%.

  A director just bought 191,000 shares, or about $7.91 million worth of stock, at $41.43 per share.

  From a technical perspective, AVT is currently trending below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bearish. This stock recently formed a double bottom chart pattern at $40.90 to $40.77 a share. Following that bottom, shares of AVT have started to rip higher with strong upside volume flows.

  If you're bullish on AVT, then I would look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above that recent low of $40.77 and then once it breaks out above its 200-day at $42.71 and its 50-day at $43.59 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 661,673 shares. If that breakout begins soon, then AVT will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $43.95 to $45.24 a share, or $45.53 a share. Any high-volume move above $45.53 will then give AVT a chance to re-fill its previ! ous gap-d! own-day zone from April that started at

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  Avnet Inc (AVT)

  FPA Capital's fourth largest holding is in the company Avnet. The fund holds on to 1,722,400 shares of the company's stock, representing 1.29% of their shares outstanding and 9.2% of his total portfolio.

• [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 Avnet (NYSE: AVT  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  In an effort to help European businesses select the correct advanced flash memory early in the design cycle, Avnet Memec (NYSE: AVT  ) and Macronix International, a leading provider of non-volatile memory semiconductor solutions, are joining forces to bring NOR, NAND, and ROM technology to customers across the continent.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-trucking-stocks-to-buy-for-2016.html

Top Building Product Stocks To Buy Right Now

Do you honestly want to invest in stocks right now? It sure looks like the bull market is at least on spring break, if not over. But, if you are interested in putting some money to work just in case the pivot higher is right around the corner, then two firms say buy Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB).

Cantor Fitzgerald and Pivotal Research upgraded the social site leader to "Buy" from "Hold" recommendations. Both research teams set a price-target of $72, which is not a coincidence as they are both written by the same guy.

For the few who may not know, Facebook, Inc. (Facebook) is engaged in building products to create utility for users, developers, and advertisers. People use Facebook to stay connected with their friends and family, to discover what is going on in the world around them, and to share and express what matters to them to the people they care about. Developers can use the Facebook Platform to build applications and Websites that integrate with Facebook to reach its global network of users and to build personalized and social products. It offers advertisers a combination of reach, relevance, social context and engagement.

Top Industrial Disributor Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Canada Bread Company Ltd (CBY)

Canada Bread Company, Limited is a manufacturer and marketer of flour-based products in its various markets, including fresh bread in Canada, frozen partially baked bread in the United States and Canada, specialty bakery products, including fresh pasta and sauces, sweet goods and snack cakes in Canada, and bagels, croissants and other specialty baked goods in the United Kingdom. It operates in two segments: Fresh Bakery business includes pantry breads, rolls, flatbreads, artisan breads, sweet goods and snack cakes sold under a number of brands, including Dempster��, Villaggio, POM, Bon Matin and Ben��, and Frozen Bakery segment consists of frozen par-baked bakery products sold in North America and the United Kingdom bakery business, which specializes in bagels, croissants, and specialty breads. In November 2013, the Company clearanced and closed the sale of Olivieri Foods, to Ebro Foods SA. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Gerrit De Vynck]

  The Toronto-based food producer, which owns 90 percent of Canada Bread Co. (CBY), said in October it would explore options for the stake, including a possible sale as it divests assets to focus on its meat business. With several suitors evaluating the company, a sale is looking more likely, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. Maple Leaf hired Centerview Partners LLC and Royal Bank of Canada to look for buyers, the people said.

Top Building Product Stocks To Buy Right Now: Capstead Mortgage Corporation (CMO)

Capstead Mortgage Corporation operates as a self-managed real estate investment trust. It invests in leveraged portfolio of residential mortgage pass-through securities consisting of adjustable-rate mortgage securities issued and guaranteed by government-sponsored enterprises or by an agency of the federal government. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes. It generally would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Agency mortgage real estate investment trust�Capstead Mortgage (NYSE: CMO  ) announced this morning�its second-quarter dividend of $0.31�per share, the same rate it paid last quarter.

• [By Bryan Perry]

  Yes and no. I don’t like the risk/reward for fixed-rate mREITs. I’m concerned we could see a spike in the 10-year Treasury note to 3.5% if the economy picks up speed, which will put fixed-rate mREITs under pressure. That said, I think there are select adjustable-rate mREITs that are worthy of a spot in your portfolio. One I do recommend in my Cash Machine Aggressive High-Yield portfolio is Capstead Mortgage (CMO).

• [By Kingkarn Amjaroen]

  American Capital Mortgage is no exception here: The mortgage REIT trades at a 12% discount to its net asset value, while peer firm MFA Financial (NYSE: MFA  ) trades at a 6% book value discount and Capstead Mortgage (NYSE: CMO  ) already manages to trade at book value.

• [By Amanda Alix]

  As the spread between short-term and long-term�interest rates began to contract, strangling profits, competition for MBSes also caused prices to rise. Other agency mREITs were nervous, too. CYS Investments (NYSE: CYS  ) noted at the time that QE3 turned the Federal Reserve into the sector's biggest rival for mortgage bonds, and as spreads began to shrink, so did dividends. By December of last year, Annaly, Armour, and Capstead Mortgage (NYSE: CMO  ) had all trimmed their payouts.

Top Building Product Stocks To Buy Right Now: Peregrine Semiconductor Corp (PSMI)

Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation (Peregrine), incorporated in February 1990, is engaged in the design, manufacturing and marketing radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) for the aerospace and defense, broadband, industrial, mobile wireless device, test and measurement equipment, and wireless infrastructure markets. The Company is provider of RFICs. Its products include RF switches-antenna, RFswitches-broadband and general purpose, digital attenuators, synthesizers, mixers/upconverters, prescalers, variable gain amplifiers, digitally tunable capacitors, DC-DC converters and power amplifiers. Its UltraCMOS technology enables the design, manufacture, and integration of multiple radio frequency (RF), mixed signal, and digital functions on a single chip. Its solutions target a range of applications in the aerospace and defense, broadband, industrial, mobile wireless device, test and measurement equipment, and wireless infrastructure markets.

As of December 25, 2010, The Company offers a portfolio of more than 120 RFICs, including switches, digital attenuators, mixers/upconverters, and prescalers, and it is developing power amplifiers (Pas), digitally tunable capacitors (DTCs), and DC-DC converters. During the fiscal year ended December 25, 2010, its products were sold to more than 1,400 module manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), contract manufacturers, and other customers, including such companies as Amalfi Semiconductor, Inc., The Boeing Company, EPCOS AG, Ericsson AB, Hitachi Media Electronics Company, Ltd., Hitachi Metals, Ltd., Humax Co., Ltd., Itron, Inc., LG Innotek Co., Ltd., Mini-Circuits, Inc., Motorola, Inc., Murata Manufacturing Company, Ltd., Planet Technology Corp., Rockwell Collins, Inc., Rohde & Schwarz, Inc., SIPAT Co., Ltd., Skyworks Solutions, Inc., Sony Corporation, Source Photonics, Inc., and Thales Alenia Space.

RF switches-antenna

RF Switches are utilized in the RF section of mobile devices to route RF signals between! the antenna and the handset core, through one or more signal paths. For mobile handsets, its switch products offer up to 10 RF signal paths with integrated digital bus support and onboard voltage regulation.

RFswitches-broadband and general purpose

The Company�� broadband and general purpose RF switches deliver combination of broadband linearity, settling time, and isolation while routing RF signals to their respective transmit or receive paths. Its attributes are being used by the OEMs of LED and plasma digital televisions (DTVs), set top box, cable infrastructure, test and measurement devices

Digital Attenuators

The Company provides digital step attenuators that are used to control the amplitude of an RF or analog signal. The products include digital control circuitry integrated with an RF attenuator core and are used in third generation (3G) and fourth generation (4G) cellular base stations, repeaters, and point-to-point nodes.

Synthesizers

The Company�� frequency synthesizers provide an electronic system for generating any of a range of frequencies from a single fixed timebase or oscillator. Its synthesizers provide low-power, ultra-low phase noise, programmable frequency synthesis for defense, broadband, industrial, and wireless infrastructure markets.

Mixers/Upconverters

The Company�� mixers/upconverters are used to translate encoded voice/data signals from one frequency to another to enable radio transmission. Its mixers / upconverters are incorporated into mixer modules and provide industry linearity, which is a metric to maximizing wireless data transmission rates. These attributes are critical in 3G and 4G cellular base station designs.

Prescalers

The Company�� prescalers operate in the C, X, and Ku bands to divide the frequency of a wireless signal in order to extend the operating range of a synthesizer beyond its base capability. Its prescalers complem! ent its f! requency synthesizer line, providing its customers with design.

Variable Gain Amplifiers

The Company�� Variable Gain Amplifiers (VGAs) are used in both the receiving and transmitting path of a radio system to maintain a signal�� strength at a level necessary for other circuits to operate optimally. Its DVGA is the monolithic integrated circuit (IC) to integrate three functional blocks, including digital attenuators, RF/IF amplifiers and a common serial interface onto a single IC.

DC-DC Converters

The Company�� frequency-configurable DC-DC converters efficiently perform voltage conversion using a high frequency switching technique that minimizes system noise. Its DC-DC converters are designed to enable a distributed power management architecture designed for satellite applications, replacing inefficient drop out regulators and central converters.

Power Amplifiers

The Company�� PAs amplify RF signals in order to generate the necessary power required to establish a radio link between a base station and a mobile device. With its UltraCMOS technology the Company has the ability to integrate its PAs on a single chip with other RF, mixed signal, and digital components.

The Company competes with Hittite, M/A-COM, NEC, Renesas, RFMD, Skyworks, Sony, Toshiba and TriQuint Semiconductor.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Peregrine Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: PSMI) is a lesser known name that is a top stock to buy at Deutsche Bank. The company recently released a new radio frequency (RF) switch specifically designed for broadband cable systems. With HD content exploding, this could be a huge home run for the company. Deutsche Bank has a $14 price target for the stock, the same as the consensus target.

Top Building Product Stocks To Buy Right Now: ExamWorks Group Inc. (EXAM)

ExamWorks Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides independent medical examinations (IME), peer and bill reviews, and related services in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Its IME services are used by clients to confirm the veracity of claims by sick or injured individuals for workers� compensation, automotive, personal injury liability, and disability insurance coverage. The company also offers peer review services, including medical record reviews, nurse file reviews, and utilization reviews by members of its medical panel to provide medical opinion of a claimant�s condition and treatment; bill review services, such as physician and hospital bill reviews, and surgical cost estimates; and other IME related services comprising litigation support, medical record retrieval, administrative support services, and managed technology services. ExamWorks Group, Inc. provides its services through its medical panel of independently contract ed physicians and other medical providers. It serves property and casualty insurance carriers, law firms, third-party claim administrators, government agencies, and state funds. The company was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Examworks Group (EXAM) is a provider of independent medical examinations, peer and bill reviews and related services. This stock closed up 9.4% at $24.28 in Wednesday's trading session.

  Wednesday's Volume: 1.62 million
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 209,788
  
  Volume % Change: 583%

  From a technical perspective, EXAM exploded higher here right off some near-term support at $21.91 with heavy upside volume. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last six months, with shares soaring higher from its low of $13.79 to its intraday high of $24.40. During that uptrend, shares of EXAM have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. This move also pushed shares of EXAM into breakout territory, since the stock took out its former 52-week high at $23.56.

   

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in EXAM as long as it's trending above $23 or $22.50 and then once it sustains a move or close above Wednesday's high of $24.40 with volume that hits near or above 209,788 shares. If we get that move soon, then EXAM will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are $28 to $30.

Top Building Product Stocks To Buy Right Now: SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (SDY)

SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (the Fund) seeks to replicate the price and yield of the S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index (the Index). The Index is designed to measure the performance of 50 highest dividend yielding S&P Composite 1500 constituents that have followed a managed-dividends policy of consistently increasing dividends every year for at least 25 years. These stocks have both capital growth and dividend income characteristics.

The Fund utilizes a passive or indexing approach and attempts to approximate the investment performance of its benchmark index, by investing in a portfolio of stocks intended to replicate the Index. SSgA Funds Management, Inc. acts as the Adviser of the Fund.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By J. Royden Ward, Analyst, Cabot Heritage Corporation]

  Meanwhile, the SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (SDY) holds all the companies in the S&P 1500 Index that have raised their dividends every year for the past 20 years.

• [By John Maxfield]

  So what does this mean for investors? To me, this chart reveals the roadmap for a successful investment strategy. Assuming GDP grows at 2% to 3%, your investment portfolio could as well, simply by investing in the SPDR S&P 500 (NYSEMKT: SPY  ) ETF. Want to juice those returns? Go instead for the SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (NYSEMKT: SDY  ) , which tracks the S&P High-Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index. And in purchasing these, to control for the variations, it'd be prudent to use dollar-cost averaging -- that is, buying the same dollar amount of the index each month or year come rain or shine.

• [By John Maxfield]

  Plenty of investment products are specifically designed to reward lazy investors -- think passive exchange-traded funds such as the SPDR S&P 500 (NYSEMKT: SPY  ) or its higher-yielding counterpart, the SPDR S&P Dividend (NYSEMKT: SDY  ) . Alternatively, absent blind luck, few individual stocks will do the same.

• [By John Maxfield]

  And, more specifically, gradually anchor your portfolio in a broadly based dividend ETF using dollar-cost averaging (buying an equal and predetermined dollar amount every month, quarter, or year). Perhaps the best in this regard -- and the one dividend stock you should own -- is the SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (NYSEMKT: SDY  ) , which tracks the S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index. To be a dividend aristocrat, a company must be one of the 50 highest-yielding constituents on the S&P Composite 1500 Index and have increased its quarterly distribution every year for the past quarter-century.

Hot High Tech Companies To Own For 2016

Hot High Tech Companies To Own For 2016: Mad Catz Interactive Inc(MCZ)

Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. designs, manufactures, markets, sells, and distributes accessories for videogame platforms and personal computers (PC), as well as for iPod and other audio devices. Its products include videogame, PC, and audio accessories, such as control pads, video cables, steering wheels, joysticks, memory cards, light guns, flight sticks, dance pads, microphones, car adapters, carry cases, mice, keyboards, and headsets. It markets its products primarily under the Mad Catz, Saitek, Cyborg, Eclipse, Joytech, GameShark, Tritton, and AirDrives brands. The company also develops flight simulation software; operates flight simulation centers under its Saitek brand; operates a videogame content Website under its GameShark brand; publishes games under its Mad Catz brand; and distributes games and videogame products for third parties. It distributes its products through retailers in the United States, Europe, and Canada, as well as in Australia, Japan, Korea, New Zeal and, and Singapore. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in San Diego, California

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  If the name Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. (NYSEMKT:MCZ) rings a bell, it might be because yours truly penned some bullish thoughts on the video-gaming hardware (joysticks, control pads, headsets, etc.) back on August 20th. Neither MCZ nor my write-up were received as anything partially special at the time - it was just another stock dissected by just another guy, and you may or may not have given it a second thought. The 37% rally in the meantime, however, may garner a little more attention.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-high-tech-companies-to-own-for-2016-3.html

Disney Plans Massive Share Buyback (DIS)

Walt Disney Corporation (DIS) announced that it will be increasing its share buyback in fiscal 2014.

In the last few years, Disney has been buying back approximately $4 billion in shares every year, but that was planned to be $6 billion next year. The company has now announced that fiscal 2014 will see $8 billion in share buybacks, sending Disney’s stock surging for the day.

The company also promises to approach high budget films with a higher sense of caution after a disastrous summer movie season that saw films like “The Lone Ranger” flop; that film is now expected to lose around $190 million when all is said and done.

Disney shares were up $1.55, or 2.37%, at market close today. The stock is up over 31% this year.

10 Best Income Stocks To Invest In Right Now

10 Best Income Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Air Methods Corporation(AIRM)

Air Methods Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides air medical emergency transport services and systems in the United States. It transports persons requiring intensive medical care from either the scene of accident or general care hospitals to highly skilled trauma centers or tertiary care centers. The company operates through three segments: Community-Based Services, Hospital-Based Services, and United Rotorcraft. The Community-Based Services segment provides air medical transportation services, including aircraft operation and maintenance, medical care, dispatch and communications, and medical billing and collection services. This segment operates 201 helicopters and 15 fixed wing aircraft in 29 states. The Hospital-Based Services segment offers air medical transportation services, and medically equipped helicopters and airplanes for hospitals. It operates 212 helicopters and 6 fixed wing aircraft in 34 states. The United Rotorcraft segment designs, manufa ctures, installs, and certifies modular medical interiors, multi-mission interiors, and other aerospace and medical transport products for domestic and international customers, as well as provides quality assurance and certification services. Air Methods Corporation was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Luke Jacobi]

  Shares of Air Methods (NASDAQ: AIRM) saw a boost, shooting up 12.5 percent to $59.81 on upbeat quarterly results.

  NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) shares were also up, gaining 8.8 percent to $19 after the company posted higher Q2 earnings and issued a strong revenue forecast for the current quarter.

• [By Ali Berri]

  Shares of Air Methods (NASDAQ: AIRM) got a boost, shooting up 11.86 percent to $59.50 on upbeat quarterly results.
  

  NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) shares were also up, gaining 7.22 percent to $18.72 after the company posted higher Q2 earnings and issued a strong revenue forecast for the current quarter.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/10-best-income-stocks-to-invest-in-right-now-3.html

5 Best Life Sciences Stocks To Buy For 2016

5 Best Life Sciences Stocks To Buy For 2016: Labor Smart Inc (LTNC)

Labor Smart, Inc., incorporated in May 31, 2011, provides temporary blue-collar staffing services. The Company supplies general laborers on demand to the light industries, including manufacturing, logistics, and warehousing, skilled trades' people, and general laborers to commercial construction industries. It provides unskilled and semi-skilled temporary workers to its customers. It pays its workers the same day they perform the job. In May 2013, the Company acquired Qwik Staffing Solutions Inc.

The Company is a provider of temporary employees to the construction, manufacturing, hospitality, restoration and retail industries. At March 31, 2012, the Company operated four branches located in two states.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonathan Yates]

  For those looking to invest in real estate stocks, highly recommended is the Dr. Housing Bubble blog. In a recent posting, the "Dr." pointed out that there was a "Lost Generation" when it came to household income. That has not happened for those investing in staffing industry stocks such as Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX), Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI), TrueBlue, Inc. (NYSE: TBI), and Labor SMART (OTCBB: LTNC).

• [By Jonathan Yates]

  When looking at small cap stocks, it is useful to compare the company with others that have expanded in both share price and size. For those considering investing in the $100 billion staffing industry, the growth of TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI) shows what could be the potential path for Labor SMART (OTCBB: LTNC), as both operate in the $29 billion demand labor sector. Other firms have done well in the staffing industry include Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX) and ManPower Group (NYSE: MAN).

• [By Jonathan Yates]

  Even though the stock market rallied on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke! 's remarks with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA) and Standard & Poor's 500 Index (NYSE: SPY) surging, the long term winners will be stocks in the staffing industry such as Paychex(NASDAQ: PAYX), TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI), Robert Half (NYSE: RHI), and Labor SMART (OTCBB: LTNC).

• [By idahansen]

  Labor SMART (OTCBB: LTNC) is proving my pick right as it booked record revenues for August.

  The entire demand labor industry should do well as the US Department of Labor just reported that 169,000 more jobs were added to the American economy. The more work there is, the more demand there is for the services of staffing solutions firms such as Labor SMART, Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX), TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI), and Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI).

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/5-best-life-sciences-stocks-to-buy-for-2016.html

Top 5 Semiconductor Stocks To Buy Right Now

Top 5 Semiconductor Stocks To Buy Right Now: Broadcom Corporation(BRCM)

Broadcom Corporation designs and develops semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. It provides a portfolio of system-on-a-chip (SoC) and software solutions for the manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices, which enable the delivery of voice, video, data, and multimedia content to the home, office, and mobile environment. Its broadband communications products include cable modem SoCs; femtocell SoCs; MPEG/AVC/VC-1 encoders and transcoders; xDSL, passive optical network, and cable modem customer premises equipment and central office solutions; powerline networking SoCs; digital cable, direct broadcast satellite, terrestrial, and Internet protocol (IP) set-top box integrated receiver demodulators; high definition television and standard definition TV SoCs; and Blu-ray disc SoCs. The company?s mobile and wireless products comprise Wi-Fi and Bluetooth SoCs, wireless connectivity com bo chips, global positioning system SoCs, multimedia processors, applications processors, power management units, VoIP SoCs, mobile TV SoCs, and near field communications tags. Its infrastructure and networking products include Ethernet copper transceivers, Ethernet controllers and switches, backplane and optical front-end physical layer devices, security processors and adapters, and broadband processors. The company markets and sells its products through direct sales force, distributors, and manufacturers? representatives in the United States, as well as through regional offices, and a network of independent distributors and representatives in Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By FinanceGuru]

  Now that Broadcom (BRCM) has finally thrown in the towel on its cellular business after years of failing to succeed, the! company is trying to shop around the division. The company's management team claims that the product pipeline that was under development had significant technical merit, but that the economics of running that business just couldn't support a $700 million-a-year operating expense run rate. That said, if Broadcom can successfully shop the business, Apple (AAPL) seems the most likely buyer.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-5-semiconductor-stocks-to-buy-right-now-3.html

Top 10 Healthcare Technology Stocks To Buy Right Now

Top 10 Healthcare Technology Stocks To Buy Right Now: Liberty Media Corp (LMCB)

Liberty Media Corporation, formerly Liberty Spinco, Inc., incorporated on August 10, 2012, focuses on the media, communications and entertainment industries through its ownership of interests in subsidiaries and other companies. Its businesses and assets include consolidated subsidiaries, Atlanta National League Baseball Club, Inc. and TruePosition, Inc., its equity affiliates Sirius XM Radio Inc. and Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. and minority investments in public companies such as Barnes & Noble, Inc., Time Warner Inc., Time Warner Cable, Inc., Viacom Inc. and Sprint Nextel Corporation. On January 11, 2013, Liberty Media Corporation and Starz announced the completion of the spin-off of Liberty from Starz. In connection with the spin-off, Liberty changed its name from Liberty Spinco, Inc. to Liberty Media Corporation. In January 2013, the Company announced that it held approximately 50.7% interest of Sirius XM Radio Inc. In May 2013, Liberty Media Corp acquired a 27.38% stake in Charter Communications Inc.

Atlanta National League Baseball Club, Inc., or ANLBC, a wholly owned subsidiary, owns and operates the Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise and five minor league baseball clubs (the Gwinnett Braves, the Mississippi Braves, the Rome Braves, the Danville Braves and the GCL Braves). TruePosition is a wholly owned subsidiary that develops and markets technology for locating wireless phones and other wireless devices enabling wireless carriers, application providers and other enterprises to provide E-911 services domestically and other location-based services to mobile users both domestically and worldwide. Sirius XM Radio Inc. (Sirius) broadcasts its music, sports, entertainment, comedy, talk, news, traffic and weather channels in the United States on a subscription fee basis thro! ugh its two satellite radio systems. Subscribers can also receive certain of its music and other channels over the Internet, includin g through applications for mobile devices.

Sir! ius XM Radio Inc. satellite radios are primarily distributed through automakers (OEMs), retail locations nationwide, and through its Website. Sirius offers a dynamic programming lineup of commercial-free music, sports, entertainment, talk, news, traffic and weather. The channel line-ups for its services vary in certain respects and are available at siriusxm.com. Sirius offers a selection of music genres, ranging from rock, pop and hip-hop to country, dance, jazz, Latin and classical. Within each genre it offers a range of formats, styles and recordings. Sirius offers a range of national, international and financial news, including news from BBC World Service News, Bloomberg Radio, CNBC, CNN, FOX News, HLN, MSNBC, NPR and World Radio Network. Barnes & Noble, Inc., is a content, commerce and technology company providing customers easy and convenient access to books, magazines, newspapers and other content across its multi-channel distribution platform. As of April 28, 2012, Ba rnes & Noble operated 1,338 bookstores in 50 states, including 647 bookstores on college campuses, operates one of the Internet's e-Commerce sites and develops digital content products and software.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Liberty Media (LMCA)   (LMCB)  class A shares fell 3% to $141.06 on light volume.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-10-healthcare-technology-stocks-to-buy-right-now.html

S&P 1500 Pension Plan Funding at Highest Point Since 2008

Constant talk of underfunded pensions and municipal bankruptcies does little to quell anxiety in the topsy-turvy market, but a new report from research and consulting firm Mercer could lessen fears.

It finds funding levels of pension plans sponsored by S&P 1500 companies continued a strong rebound in 2013, with the aggregate deficit decreasing by $10 billion during the month of July to $212 billion. While deficits in the billions might seem worrisome, it’s actually the lowest level since the economic crisis first hit in 2008.

Equity markets staged a strong performance during the month with the S&P 500 index rising 5.1%. However, discount rates dropped back slightly in July after sharp increases in May and June, dampening the improvement slightly.

According to Mercer analysis, an estimated 17% of plan sponsors had assets in excess of their pension obligations as of July 31, compared to only 4% at Dec. 31, 2012. Mercer also estimates that if discount rates rose another 1%, the number of sponsors with fully funded pension obligations could exceed 40%.

“So far, plan sponsors are having a great year in terms of funded status improvement,” Jonathan Barry, a partner in Mercer’s Retirement consulting group, said in a statement.  “As a result, many sponsors are beginning to take preparatory steps not only in terms of asset allocation changes but also in preparing for pension buyouts and cash outs that entail a series of transition, legal and administrative steps. Sponsors don’t want to be caught napping as these opportunities arise“

The estimated aggregate value of pension plan assets of the S&P 1500 companies as of Dec. 31, 2012, was $1.59 trillion, compared with estimated aggregate liabilities of $2.14 trillion. Allowing for changes in financial markets through July 31, 2013, changes to the S&P 1500 constituents and newly released financial disclosures, the estimated aggregate assets were $1.76 trillion, compared with the estimated aggregate liabilities of $1.98 trillion.

-----

Check out The Hunt for a Pension Crisis Fix at ThinkAdvisor.

Best Low Price Companies To Buy For 2015

I have been getting a lot of questions lately about natural gas prices, so this seems like a good time to update the picture. This is a sneak preview �of a more comprehensive report that will appear in next week�� Energy Strategist.

Over the last 18 months my thesis has been that natural gas prices would have to move higher over the long term. But in December 2011, with natural gas prices above $3/million Btu (MMBtu), I predicted lower natural gas prices for 2012. The unusually warm winter that followed reduced demand even as shale production added to the supply glut, and the price fell below $2/MMBtu by April 2012. The average price for natural gas in 2012 was $2.75/MMBtu, the lowest in 13 years.

I did not feel that this low price could be sustained, so I began to recommend natural gas producers to investors. I wasn�� sure how long they would have to wait, but felt pretty certain that gas prices had to go up. We began adding natural gas producers to the various Energy Strategist portfolios.

Top 5 Energy Stocks For 2016: Alliance Capital Management Holding L.P. (AB)

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. provides investment management and related services in the United States and internationally. It offers institutional services, including separately-managed accounts, sub-advisory relationships, structured products, collective investment trusts, mutual funds, hedge funds, and other investment vehicles to unaffiliated corporate and public employee pension funds, endowment funds, domestic and foreign institutions, and governments. The company also provides retail services comprising retail mutual funds, sub-advisory relationships with mutual funds sponsored by third parties, and separately managed account programs sponsored by various financial intermediaries and other investment vehicles. In addition, it provides separately managed accounts, hedge funds, mutual funds, and other investment vehicles for private clients, including high-net-worth individuals, trusts and estates, charitable foundations, partnerships, and private and family corporat ions. Further, AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. offers research services to institutional investors through research, portfolio analysis, and brokerage-related services; and equity capital markets services to issuers of publicly-traded securities. Additionally, it provides distribution, shareholder servicing, and administrative services to its sponsored mutual funds. AllianceBernstein Corporation serves as the general partner of the company. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. was founded in 1987 and is based in New York, New York. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. operates as a subsidiary of AXA.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By J. Royden Ward]

  AllianceBernstein LP (AB), a master limited partnership, is one of the largest US investment advisors. It actively manages stock and bond accounts for institutions, mutual funds, and well-heeled clients.

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Investors had declared the stock of AllianceBernstein Holding LP (AB) a loser. From Jan. 1, 2010, to Aug. 23, 2012, it had declined 43 percent compared with a 33 percent gain for the Standard & Poor�� 500 Index. Nevertheless, on that day, Credit Suisse Group AG analyst Craig Siegenthaler lifted his rating on the New York-based money manager�� shares to a buy.

Best Low Price Companies To Buy For 2015: TriQuint Semiconductor Inc.(TQNT)

TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. provides radio frequency (RF) solutions and technology for communications, defense, and aerospace companies worldwide. The company designs, develops, and manufactures RF solutions with gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium nitride, bipolar high electron mobility transistor, surface acoustic wave (SAW), temperature compensated surface acoustic wave, bulk acoustic wave (BAW), copper flip, and wafer level packaging technologies. The company offers an array of filtering, switching, and amplification products for RF, microwave, and millimeter-wave applications. It sells electronic components for mobile phones, including transmit modules, RF filters, power amplifiers and power amplifier modules, duplexers, switches, other RF devices, and integrated products to mobile device manufacturers. The company also offers signal amplification and filtering products, including a portfolio of GaAs microwave monolithic integrated circuits and transistors, and SAW and BAW filter components that support the transfer of voice, data, and video across wireless or wired infrastructure. Its network products comprise millimeter wave power amplifiers, frequency converters, and voltage controlled oscillators. In addition, the company provides defense and aerospace devices, including packaged products, die-level integrated circuits (ICs), microwave monolithic ICs, and multi-chip modules to military contractors serving the U.S. government for use in various communications and phased array radar programs, such as ship-based, airborne, and battlefield systems, as well as sat-com, electronic warfare, and guidance applications. Further, TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. offers foundry services. The company sells its products through independent manufacturers? representatives, independent distributors, and direct sales staff. TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Among holdings in which Graham Capital Management increased its stake was TriQuint Semiconductor (NASDAQ: TQNT  ) . The stock recently received an upgrade to "buy" from analysts at Charter Equity, but my colleague Rich Smith thinks the stock is still overvalued. Anyone thinking the stock is on the rich side won't be happy about the company's stock-buyback plans. Its last earnings report was disappointing, but management sees better days ahead due to the introduction of many new products, along with a growing market.

• [By MONEYMORNING]

  RF Micro shares jumped 21% yesterday after the Greensboro, N.C.-based company agreed to buy rival TriQuint Semiconductor Inc. (Nasdaq: TQNT) for $1.59 billion, a so-called "merger of equals" that should return the company to profitability.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  TriQuint Semiconductor (Nasdaq: TQNT  ) reported earnings on April 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 30 (Q1), TriQuint Semiconductor met expectations on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

Best Low Price Companies To Buy For 2015: Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc (APAM)

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc., incorporated on October 25, 2012, is an independent investment management company that provides a range of 12 equity investment strategies spanning different market capitalization segments and investing styles in both United States and non-United States markets. It manages investments primarily through mutual funds and separate accounts. It offers its investment management capabilities primarily to institutions and through intermediaries that operate with institutional-like decision-making processes and have longer-term investment horizons. It manages separate accounts for pension and profit sharing plans, trusts, endowments, foundations, charitable organizations, governmental entities, investment companies and similar pooled investment vehicles, and also provide investment management and administrative services to Artisan Funds, a family of mutual funds. Its operations are based principally in the United States, but it is expanding its operations outside the United States.

As of December 31, 2012, Artisan Funds consisted of 53%, of the Company�� assets under management. It also serves as the investment manager and promoter of Artisan Global Funds. The Company manages separate accounts primarily for institutional clients, such as pension and profit sharing plans, trusts, endowments, foundations, charitable organizations, governmental entities, investment companies and similar pooled investment vehicles. Separate accounts consisted of 47%, of its assets under management as of December 31, 2012. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 (fiscal 2012), fees from separate accounts, including United States -registered mutual funds, non- United States funds and collective investment trusts it sub-advises, represented 33%, of its revenues. The Company derives all of its revenues from investment management fees. The Company�� clients access its investment strategies through mutual funds and separate accounts, which include mutual funds and non-United ! States funds it sub-advises, as well as collective investment trusts that pool retirement plan assets together in a single portfolio maintained by a bank or trust company and are managed by it on a separate account basis.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Will Ashworth]

  WisdomTree�� future appears bright. In the December ETF Deathwatch list, only five of its ETFs appeared out of the total 61. Like all asset managers, it�� not perfect, but it is the only publicly traded ETF pure-play available. So if you believe in ETFs, as I do, this is the bet to make.

  Artisan Partners Asset Management (APAM)

  With approximately $97 billion in assets under management,�Artisan Partners Asset Management (APAM) uses a decentralized and autonomous investment style that has made it very successful among asset managers. The stock went public in March 2013 at $30 per share, so investors who still held at the end of December were sitting on unrealized gains of 117% in just 10 months. That�� good in anybody�� book.

Best Low Price Companies To Buy For 2015: Viasystems Group Inc.(VIAS)

Viasystems Group, Inc. provides multi-layer printed circuit boards (PCBs) and electro-mechanical solutions worldwide. The company?s products and services are used in a range of applications, including, automotive engine controls, data networking equipment, telecommunications switching equipment, complex medical, technical and industrial instruments, and flight control systems. Its PCBs products include circuitry and mounting surfaces to interconnect discrete electronic components, such as integrated circuits, capacitors, and resistors. The company?s electro-mechanical solutions comprise assembly of backplanes, assembly of printed circuit boards, fabrication of custom and standard metal enclosures, cabinets, racks, sub-racks and bus bars; systems integration; final assembly; and product testing and fulfillment. It also offers various manufacturing services consisting of design and prototyping, PCB and backpanel fabrication, backpanel assembly, PCB assembly, custom metal e nclosure fabrication, full system assembly and test, packaging and global distribution, after-sales support, and supply chain management. The company markets its products and services to original equipment manufacturers and contract electronic manufacturers in automotive, industrial and instrumentation, telecommunications, computer and data communications, and military and aerospace markets through its own sales and marketing organization, and through relationships with independent sales agents. The company was formerly known as Circo Technologies, Inc. and changed its name to Viasystems Group, Inc. in January 1997. Viasystems Group, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.

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 Viasystems Group (Nasdaq: VIAS  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Best Low Price Companies To Buy For 2015: Simplicity Bancorp Inc (SMPL)

Simplicity Bancorp Inc., formerly K-Fed Bancorp, is a federally-chartered stock holding company. K-Fed Bancorp is a wholly owned subsidiary of K-Fed Mutual Holding Company (the MHC), a federally-chartered mutual holding company. K-Fed Bancorp operates through its subsidiary, Kaiser Federal Bank (the Bank), a federally chartered stock savings bank, which provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals and business customers from its nine branch and financial service center locations throughout California. The Bank is a community-oriented financial institution offering a variety of financial services. The Bank�� principal business activity consists of attracting retail deposits from the general public and originating primarily loans secured by first mortgages on owner-occupied one-to-four family residences and multi-family residences located in its market area and, to a lesser extent, automobile and other consumer loans. Its revenues are derived principally from interest on loans and mortgage-backed and related securities. It also generates revenue from service charges and other income. The Bank offers a variety of deposit accounts having a range of interest rates and terms, which generally include savings accounts, money market accounts, demand deposit accounts and certificate of deposit accounts with varied terms ranging from 90 days to 5 years.

Lending Activities

The Bank originates consumer loans, primarily automobile loans. As of June 30, 2010, its net loan portfolio totaled $758 million, which constituted 87.4% of its total assets. As of June 30, 2010, the Bank�� first lien one-to-four family residential mortgage loans totaled $335.6 million, or 43.5%, of its gross loan portfolio. It originates one-to-four family mortgage loans on a fixed rate and adjustable rate basis. As of June 30, 2010, the Bank�� one-to-four family adjustable rate mortgage loan portfolio totaled $58.6 million, or 7.6% of its gross loan portfolio. As of June 30, 2010, the fixed r! ate one-to-four family mortgage loan portfolio totaled $276.9 million, or 35.9% of its gross loan portfolio. Included in non-accrual loans at June 30, 2010, were $2.9 million in adjustable rate one-to-four family mortgage loans and $21.9 million in fixed rate one-to-four family mortgage loans.

The Bank also offers multi-family residential real estate loans. These loans are secured by real estate located in its primary market areas, within the state of California. As of June 30, 2010, multi-family residential loans totaled $278.4 million, or 36.1%, of its gross loan portfolio, and consists of 415 loans outstanding with an average loan balance of approximately $670,000. It offers a variety of secured consumer loans, including home equity lines of credit, new and used automobile loans, and loans secured by savings deposits. It also offers a limited amount of unsecured loans. At June 30, 2010, the Bank�� consumer loan portfolio, exclusive of automobile loans, totaled $13.8 million, or 1.8%, of its gross loan portfolio.

Investment Activities

The Bank is authorized to invest in various types of liquid assets, including the United States Treasury obligations, securities of various federal agencies, certain certificates of deposit of insured banks and savings institutions, certain bankers��acceptances, repurchase agreements and federal funds. At June 30, 2010, the Bank�� investment portfolio totaled $6 million and consisted principally of investment grade collateralized mortgage obligations and mortgage-backed securities. It invests in mortgage-backed securities insured or guaranteed by Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) or Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae). As of June 30, 2010, it also had an investment in an affordable housing fund totaling $1.2 million.

Sources of Funds

The Bank�� sources of funds are deposits, payment of principal and interest ! on loans,! interest earned on or maturity of investment securities, borrowings, and funds provided from operations. It offers a variety of deposit accounts to consumers with a range of interest rates and terms. Its deposits consist of time deposit accounts, savings, money market and demand deposit accounts. The Bank�� borrowings consist of advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. It may obtain advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco upon the security of its mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities. As of June 30, 2010, the Bank had $137 million in Federal Home Loan Bank advances outstanding. At June 30, 2010, it had available additional advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) of San Francisco in the amount of $219.1 million.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Melvin]

  HBCP stock is trading at 94% of book value and is very attractive at the current price.

  Simplicity Bancorp (SMPL)

  Simplicity Bancorp (SMPL) in Covina, Calif., started out decades ago as a credit union for employees of the Kaiser Foundation Hospital. It has since grown to a nine-branch bank with $834 million in assets. SMPL had its conversion IPO back in 2010, and is an extremely attractive takeover target right now. The bank’s equity-to-asset ratio is 16, and nonperforming assets are less than 2% of the total, so that’s a solid financial condition to be in.

Top 10 Oil Service Companies To Invest In 2016

Top 10 Oil Service Companies To Inve st In 2016: Sally Beauty Holdings Inc.(SBH)

Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution and retail of professional beauty supplies primarily in North America, South America, and Europe. The company operates in two segments, Sally Beauty Supply and Beauty Systems Group. The Sally Beauty Supply segment operates a chain of cash and carry retail stores that provide various third-party branded and exclusive-label professional beauty supplies, including hair color products, hair care products, hair dryers and hair styling appliances, skin and nail care products, and other beauty items to retail consumers and salon professionals. This segment sells various third-party brands, such as Clairol, Revlon, and Conair, as well as a selection of exclusive-label merchandise. The Beauty Systems Group segment distributes professional brands of beauty products directly to salons and salon professionals through its sales force and professional-only stores. This segment operates stores under the Co smoProf service mark. It sells a range of third-party brands, such as Paul Mitchell, Wella, Sebastian, Goldwell, Joico, and TIGI. As of September 30, 2011, the company operated a multi-channel platform of 4,128 company-owned stores, 181 franchised stores, and 1,116 professional distributor sales consultants in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Chile, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, France, Germany, and Spain. Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Denton, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another earnings short-squeeze prospect is professional beauty supplies specialty retailer Sally Beauty (SBH), which is set to release numbers on Thursday before the market open. Wall Street analysts, on average, expect Sally Beauty to report revenue of $945.38 mil! lion on earnings of 40 cents per share.

  The current short interest as a percentage of the float for Sally Beauty is notable at 4.6%. That means that out of 146.18 million shares in the tradable float, 6.77 million shares are sold short by the bears. The bears have also been increasing their bets from the last reporting period by 1.3%, or by 91,000 shares. If the bears get caught pressing their bets into a strong quarter, then shares of SBH could easily rip higher post-earnings as the bears scramble to cover some of their positions.

  From a technical perspective, SBH is currently trending above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bullish. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last four months, with shares moving higher from its low of $24.09 to its recent high of $29.73 a share. During that uptrend, shares of SBH have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of SBH within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade above some key overhead resistance levels.

  If you're bullish on SBH, then I would wait until after its report and look for long-biased trades if this stock manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $29.53 to $29.73 a and then above its 52-week high at $31.86 a share with high volume. Look for volume on that move that registers near or above its three-month average action of 939,032 shares. If that breakout develops post-earnings, then SBH will set up to trend towards $35 to $40 a share.

  I would simply avoid SBH or look for short-biased trades if after earnings it fails to trigger that breakout and then drops back below some

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  From a practical perspective, the biggest issue concerns what this means for Home Depot’s near-term traffic. In a very low case, if we assume that Home Depot comps are down -1% to flat in 3Q (vs. our current est. of a 5% gain; a big change), it could shave $0.! 05-$0.10 ! off our current estimate of $1.12. However, we don’t think the fallout will be that severe. We believe Home Depot was comping in the mid-to-high single digit range through Labor Day and the next two months represent a smaller pro rata share of the quarter. Also, the fact that multiple breaches have occurred at several different retailers probably means that consumers are less likely to put the blame on each subsequent victim. Said another way, there’s a growing chance consumers increasingly accept the idea that fraud is a cost of the digital economy. We have no proof, but suspect that will be the case…For some context, we looked at Target (TGT), Sally Beauty Holdings (SBH), Michaels Co mpanies (MIK), and others who have experienced data breaches. We found that most companies saw a sequential comp improvement in the quarter subsequent to the breach. But, the average stock performance lagged the S&P in the 2 months following the announcement.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  AlamyWebsites can help direct you to beauty-related freebies. Inner beauty matters most in my book, but trying to look your best outwardly can be important, too. Striving for beauty on the outside by using beauty products can help boost your confidence and show others that you take good care of yourself. On average, Americans spend more than $400 a year on personal care products. Although cosmetics and beauty products can add up to a pretty penny, beauty doesn't need to come with a hefty price tag. Here are some tips to manage beauty on a budget. 1. Free Samples Marketers love giving out free samples so consumers have the chance to try new products and fall in love with their products. The hope is that if you try a little, you'll like it enough to buy the full-size product at its full retail price. For frugal shoppers, free samples can be a tool that allows us the chance to stretch our dollars. By taking advantage of a variety of free beauty samples from many manufacturers, over time we c! an end up! with enough free sample products to replace a few full-size ones. One woman who has perfected the search for freebies is Heather Hernandez, founder of Freebies4Mom.com. She started her site, which curates the best free samples available online, back in 2007. By signing up for her free e-mail newsletter you can be notified when new free samples are available and where to get them. Besides visiting Freebies4Mom.com, Heather shares two of her favorite sources for online freebies: SampleSource and PinchMe. SampleSource.com is a relatively new site that allows users to get free brand name samples. She recently received a free shampoo and new toothbrush from their site, which is free to join. PinchMe.com allows consumers to try free products in exchange for providing feedback on a short survey. On her last visit to the site, she got to select a free nail polish in the color of her choice PinchMe has become very popular, so she recommends that you "pay attention to

• [By John Kell and Tess Stynes var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); p]

  Sally Beauty Holdings Inc.(SBH) on Monday said credit-card data from fewer than 25,000 customer records were illegally accessed and may have been stolen. The beauty-supplies company said it is working with the U.S. Secret Service on the agency’s preliminary investigation of the situation. The company also said it continues to work with Verizon Communications Inc.(VZ), which has helped with Sally Beauty’s internal probe since the breach was identified.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-10-oil-service-companies-to-invest-in-2016.html