Bes Stocks To Buy 2014, Best Stocks For 2014: 4/20/14

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Week In FX Asia â€“ PBoC Sets Yuan Fix Higher

S&P did not limit its focus to Russia on Friday. The rating agency noted that China shipbuilding, metal, mining and building material companies are vulnerable to defaults.

“A slowing economy and tough operating conditions in some leveraged industries facing cyclical downturns and overcapacity will lead to more missed payments” noted the agency.

However on the positive side, S&P does not see a “Lehman moment” because banks are predominately funded with retail and business deposits. However, it cannot rule out distress and credit losses over the next couple of years. Markets can expect Beijing to continue to support the financial system (especially banks) at least until authorities can administer orderly closings of troubled entities.

Last week's Q1 GDP report from China was significant, it not only revealed a slowdown in GDP growth to +7.4%, but also indicated that economy wide inflation slumped further towards outright “deflation.” There is a fear that deterioration in Chinese economic data will lead to exporting deflation via unavoidable Chinese currency devaluation.

The RMB is ending the week on a sour note, extending losses despite the PBoC setting the yuan fix stronger for the third consecutive session. At one point during Friday's intraday session the yuan happened to fall to its lowest level in 16-months. The central parity is set at 6.1576 vs. Thursdays 6.1589 (offshore NDF's 6.2669). It seems that the PBoC is deliberately setting the rate higher to perhaps give the perception that they are not intently weakening the yuan. Dealers still expect the Yuan to remain weak in Q2 on concerns of China's slowing economy.

China's Big Banks Using use their own Capital Ratios Models Japan Leads Asian Equities Lower China Watches Obama Japan Visit Closely China May Still Lag Japan RBNZ Signals More Tightening NZD/USD at 0.8630 on hawkish RBNZ USD/JPY around 102.50 Before Tokyo CPI Obama Reaffirms Japan Commitment During Visit BOJ Governor Says Inflation Might Beat Expectations BOJ Says 90% of Japanese Banks Increased Risky Assets After QE China Opens 80 Projects to Private Investment Asian Equities Mixed after China PMI Signs China is Stabilizing after PMI Data Asian Equities Mixed after China Data China PMI Contracts for Fourth Month Yen's Safe Haven Status Under Threat Asian Equities Weaker following China's Lead Japan Open for Business Japan Could Ask US To Increase Shale Gas Export Japan-US To Resume TPP Talks Tuesday Japan Trade Deficit Balloons Due to Energy Imports

WEEK AHEAD

* GBP Gross Domestic Product
* EUR German Consumer Price Index
* USD Consumer Confidence
* EUR German Unemployment Rate
* EUR Euro-Zone Consumer Price Index
* CAD Gross Domestic Product
* USD Gross Domestic Product
* USD Federal Open Market Committee Rate Decision
* USD ISM Manufacturing
* USD Change in Non-farm Payrolls
* USD Unemployment Rate

The post Week In FX Asia – PBoC Sets Yuan Fix Higher appeared first on MarketPulse.

The following article is from one of our external contributors. It does not represent the opinion of Benzinga and has not been edited.

Posted-In: Forex Markets

Originally posted here...

Most Popular Facebook Earnings Breakdown: After A Blowout Quarter, Could The Momentum Continue? 5 Companies That Apple Should Buy Shares of Amazon.com Plummet Following Results, Analysts Maintain Confidence Market Wrap For April 24: Apple's Smashing Earnings Overshadowed By Ukraine Concerns Shares Of Growlife Down 50 Percent After Two-Week Halt Wells Fargo Securities Sees Good Things Ahead for Apple Related Articles () Do You Know When to Sell? - Weekend Wisdom This Week's Momentum Stocks (MU)(MYGN) - Video Blog This Week's Aggressive Growth Stocks (MPAA)(CSIQ) - Video Blog Will Motorola Solutions (MSI) Miss Earnings Estimates? - Analyst Blog ABB Coverage Initiated with Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) - Analyst Blog Will Xylem (XYL) Surprise This Earnings Season? - Analyst Blog Around the Web, We're Loving... AOL, Microsoft Offer Premium Content Lightspeed Trading Presents: Effective Scalping with Rifle Charts on the Lightspeed Trader Platform

JP Morgan Offering a 17.6% pretax yield

Company History and Business

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is a global finacial service firm and banking institution operating in 50 countries. It is engaged in investment banking, financial sevices for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial trancactions processing, asset management and private equity. It is a well-run moneymaking machine that =brought in $24 billion in revenues with $2.5 trillion in assets in the last quarter. With a outstanding CEO in Jamie Dimon who has lead the company through the financial crisis, the London Whale Losses, government investigations and a first first quarter 2014 loss, while still ensuring that the earning power of the firm isn't harmed or impaired by these problems.

Jamie Dimon has been the CEO of JPM since 2005 and Chairman of the Board since Dec. 31, 2006. Under his leadership, JPM has become the leading bank in domestic assets under management and market valuation, and the top credit card provider in the U.S. Dimon led JPM through the financial crisis and acquired Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual for pennies on the dollar, increasing JPM in size and scope. But the acquistion of Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual came with mortage-backed securities and potional government lawsuits by the Justice Department. Forseeing that JPM has injected $28 billion into its legal reserves, since the end of 2009. Starting with the London Whale losses, the bank has had the Justice Department investigate the company, resulting in penalties up to $20 billion, most of this happened within the past year.

Finances

Balance Sheet

2013

31/12

2012

31/12

2011

31/12

2010

31/12

Total Current Assets

Total Assets

2415689

2359141

2265792

2117605

Cash & Due from Banks	39771	53723	59602	27567
Other Earning Assets, Total	1404299	1358307	1271811	1174042
Net Loans	722154	711860	696111	660661
Property/Plant/Equipment, Total - Net	14891	14519	14041	13355
Property/Plant/Equipment, Total - Gross	-	-	-	-
Accumulated Depreciation, Total	-	-	-	-
Goodwill, Net	48081	48175	48188	48854
Intangibles, Net	11232	9849	10430	17688
Long Term Investments	-	-	-	-
Other Long Term Assets, Total	-	-	-	-
Other Assets, Total	175261	162708	165609	175438

Total Current Liabilities

Total Liabilities

2204511

2155072

2082219

1941499

Accounts Payable	194491	195240	202895	170330
Payable/Accrued	-	-	-	-
Accrued Expenses	-	-	-	-
Total Deposits	1287765	1193593	1127806	930369
Other Bearing Liabilities, Total	-	-	-	-
Total Short Term Borrowings	267005	322106	287071	346332
Current Port. of LT Debt/Capital Leases	-	-	-	-
Other Current liabilities, Total	-	-	-	-
Total Long Term Debt	317506	312215	322752	348302
Long Term Debt	317506	312215	322752	348302
Capital Lease Obligations	-	-	-	-
Total Debt	584511	634321	609823	694634
Deferred Income Tax	-	-	-	-
Minority Interest	-	-	-	-
Other Liabilities, Total	137744	131918	141695	146166

Total Equity

211178

204069

183573

176106

Redeemable Preferred Stock, Total	-	-	-	-
Preferred Stock - Non Redeemable, Net	11158	9058	7800	7800
Common Stock, Total	4105	4105	4105	4105
Additional Paid-In Capital	93828	94604	95602	97415
Retained Earnings (Accumulated Deficit)	115756	104223	88315	73998
Treasury Stock - Common	-14868	-12023	-13193	-8213
ESOP Debt Guarantee	-	-	-	-
Unrealized Gain (Loss)	2798	-	-	-
Other Equity, Total	-1599	4102	944	1001

Total Liabilities & Shareholders' Equity

2415689

2359141

2265792

2117605

Total Common Shares Outstanding

3756.11

3803.95

3772.7

3910.3

Total Preferred Shares Outstanding

1.12

0.91

0.78

Income Statments

2013

31/12

2012

31/12

2011

31/12

2010

31/12

Net Interest Income

43319

44910

47689

51001

Interest Income, Bank	52996	56063	61293	63782
Total Interest Expense	9677	11153	13604	12781

Loan Loss Provision

225

3385

7574

16639

Net Interest Income After Loan Loss Provision

43094

41525

40115

34362

Non-Interest Income, Bank

53287

52121

49545

51693

Non-Interest Expense, Bank

-70467

-64729

-62911

-61196

Net Income Before Taxes

25914

28917

26749

24859

Provision for Income Taxes

7991

7633

7773

7489

Net Income After Taxes

17923

21284

18976

17370

Minority Interest

Equity In Affiliates

U.S GAAP Adjustment

Net Income Before Extraordinary Items

17923

21284

18976

17370

Total Extraordinary Items

Net Income

17923

21284

18976

17370

Total Adjustments to Net Income

-1330

-1407

-1408

-1606

Income Available to Common Excluding Extraordinary Items

16593

19877

17568

15764

Dilution Adjustment

Diluted Net Income

16593

19877

17568

15764

Diluted Weighted Average Shares

3814.9

3822.2

3920.3

3976.9

Diluted EPS Excluding Extraordinary Items

4.35

5.2

4.48

3.96

DPS - Common Stock Primary Issue

1.36

1.2

0.2

Diluted Normalized EPS

6.27

5.95

5.37

5.26

For fiscal year 2013, the firm interest income decreased 5% to $53 billion and net interest income after loans after loan loss provision increased 4% to $43.09 billion. It earned $17 billion and had revenues of $96.billon for 2013. The company had legal expenses after taxes of $8.6 billion you the year. Total deposite of $453 billion up 10% from the prior year.

Financial Assets and Liquidity

Ratio's	2013	2011
Debt to Equity	1.68	1.62
Total Equity to Total Assets	0.09	0.09
LT Debt to Total Assets	0.12	0.12
Tier 1 Capital	11.9	12.6
Tier 1 Common	10.7	11.0
Total Capital	14.4	15.3

JPM Pretax Earnings

	Net Common Income to Shareholders	Income Tax	Pretax Income
1Q2013	6,121	2,553	8,684
2Q2013	6,101	2,802	8,903
3Q2013	5,346	2,278	7,624
4Q2013	5,322	1,258	6,580

JPM 12 month pretax earnings after adding back taxes paid is $31.8 billion. It trades at around $57 with 3.8 billion shares outstanding, giving JPM a market cap of $213 billion that a 14.6% pretax yield. Buying JPM stock at today's price will give a pretax return of 14.6%compaired to the 2.5% on treasury is pretty good.

What JP Morgan Considers Normal Range For Earnings

Under normalize environment JP Morgan net income of $24 billion with growth initiative that will allow the firm to earn more than $24 billion over time. With the growth initiative in place target for earnings of $27 billon. Using the $27.5 billion "normalize" figure with growth initiative and $1.3 billion in benefit from a 100 basis point increase in interest rates that would come to $39.3 billion pretax. Assuming a 30% tax rate and deducting $1.5 billion in preferred dividends thats leaves $37.8 billion. This implices a 17.8% pretax yield based on shares out standing and the current stock price.

Risk to JPM

There are risks to JPM mainly from the Department of Justice and its investigations of the bank. With $28 billion in its legal reserve it can weather the penalities from the Department of Justice. JPM has penalties totaling $20 billion from the Department of Justice. Department of Justice penalties broken down:

$2 billion civil penalties to settles DOJ claims under the Finacial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement. $1.4 billion to settle federal and state securities claim by the National Credit Union Administration $515.4 million to federal and state securities claims by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation $4 billion to federal and stater securities claims by the Federal Housing Agency $298.8 million to claims by the state of California $19.7 million to claims by the state of Delaware $100 million to claims by the state of Illionois $34.4 million to claims by the state of Massachusetts $613.8 million to claims by the stae of New York

JPM said about $7 billion of its penalties were tax-deductable, because of these penalties it earnings fell flat for the four quarter. JPM still has legal risk, but there is little risk to its business model, and earning power.

JPM Valuation

The firm is selling for 13x its earnings, 2.5x free cash flow, and 1.00x book value which shows that the company isn't cheap, but it is selling below its intrinsic value based on its pretax earnings, free cash flow and book value. JPM offers a 14.6% pretax return plus it's worth $86/share base on 10x its pretax earnings. By using $37.8 billion pretax earning or $9.94 per share at 10x will give you a $99.40 per share value and a 17% pretax return. JPM will continue to grow its earnings and make more money on its loans as interest rate moves up. Compared to Wells Fargo which offers a 12.8% pretax return, you'll getting one the best managed banks in the world with a higher return. JPM didn't just survived the 2008 crisis it thrived on it, making the bank one of the most stable and sound banks in the world. If JP Morgan traded at the same price to free cash flow as Wells Fargo then the company would sell for $130.00 per share or at the same price to book value $95.04 per share. Based on all of this it is very clear that JP Morgan intrinsic value is $99.40 per share and offers a 17% pretax yield which make it a great Long-Term Play for potential investors.

http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ONE/3120446062x0x742266/2bd13119-52d2-4d78-9d85-a433141c21ae/01-2013AR_FULL_09.pdf

http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ONE/3120447064x0x652147/a734543b-03fa-468d-89b0-fa5a9b1d9e5f/JPMC_2012_AR.pdf

http://money.cnn.com/2014/04/11/investing/premarkets/

About the author:Cody Eustice

Visit Cody Eustice's Website

Currently 5.00/512345

Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote)

Voters:

Subscribe via Email RSS Feeds

Subscribe RSS Comments Please leave your comment:
More GuruFocus Links

Latest Guru Picks	Value Strategies
Warren Buffett Portfolio	Ben Graham Net-Net
Real Time Picks	Buffett-Munger Screener
Aggregated Portfolio	Undervalued Predictable
ETFs, Options	Low P/S Companies
Insider Trends	10-Year Financials
52-Week Lows	Interactive Charts
Model Portfolios	DCF Calculator
RSS Feed	Monthly Newsletters
The All-In-One Screener	Portfolio Tracking Tool

Friday, April 25, 2014

Top 5 Mid Cap Companies To Buy For 2015

Despite some volatility lately, performances for stocks have been pretty good to start 2013. The S&P 500 was up double digits through the first six months of the year, even with surging bond yields and concerns over the Fed�� tapering of bond purchases.

Yet while SPY's 14% return is certainly impressive��specially for just six months��his pales in comparison to what investors have seen in a few choice sectors. These market segments have risen roughly twice as much as what we have seen in the S&P 500 in the same time period, suggesting that these have been excellent picks for investors during this six month time frame (read 3 Top Ranked Mid Cap ETFs to Buy Now).

Plus, these sectors appear to be well-positioned in the second half of the year, as the trends that propelled the space higher to begin 2013 are still in place. For this reason, investors might want to take a closer look at the top performing ETFs in the best sectors below, as they could provide for some great ideas to close out 2013 as well.

Top 5 Mid Cap Companies To Buy For 2015: Iconix Brand Group Inc (ICON)

Iconix Brand Group, Inc. (Iconix), incorporated in 1978, is a brand management company engaged in licensing, marketing and providing trend direction for a portfolio of consumer brands. The Company is the owner of the brands through its wholly owned subsidiaries: Candie's, Bongo, Badgley Mischka, Joe Boxer, Rampage, Mudd, London Fog, Mossimo, Ocean Pacific/OP, Danskin/Danskin Now, Rocawear, Cannon, Royal Velvet, Fieldcrest, Charisma, Starter, Waverly, Zoo York and Sharper Image, which it licenses directly to retailers (herein referred to as direct-to-retail), wholesalers and suppliers for use a range of product categories, including apparel, footwear, sportswear, fashion accessories, home products and decor, beauty and fragrance, and, in the case of Sharper Image brand, consumer electronics and novelty products. In July 2011, the Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary ZY Holdings, purchased the Zoo York brand and related assets from its IPH Unltd joint venture, increasing its ownership in the Zoo York brand from 51% to 100%. In October 2011, the Company acquired Sharper Image. In December 2012, the Company acquired Umbro brand and related intellectual property assets from NIKE Inc. In February 2013, the Company acquired a 51% stake in the Buffalo David Bitton brand. In February 2013, the Company acquired Lee Cooper. In May 2013, the Company acquired 49% interest in IP Holdings Unltd LLC (IPHU), owner of the Ecko Unltd. and Marc Ecko Cut & Sew.

Scion, a joint venture in which the Company has a 50% investment, owns the Artful Dodger brand; Hardy Way, a joint venture in which the Company has an 85% investment, owns the Ed Hardy brand; IPH Unltd, a joint venture in which the Company has a 51% investment, owns the Ecko portfolio of brands; MG Icon, a joint venture in which the Company has a 50% investment, owns the Material Girl and Truth or Dare brands; and Peanuts Holdings, a joint venture in which the Company has an 80% investment, owns the Peanuts brand and characters through its whol! ly owned subsidiary Peanuts . Products bearing the Company�� brands are sold across a range of distribution channels through direct-to-retail and wholesale licenses, from the mass tier to the luxury market. The Company also continues to arrange, as agent, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Bright Star, for the manufacture of footwear products for mass market and discount retailers under their private label brands.

As of December 31, 2011, the combined brand portfolio of the Company and its joint ventures consisted of iconic consumer brands Candie��, Bongo, Badgley Mischka, Joe Boxer, Rampage, Mudd, London Fog, Mossimo, Ocean Pacific/OP, Danskin, Rocawear, Cannon, Royal Velvet, Fieldcrest, Charisma, Starter, Waverly, Zoo York and Sharper Image. Candie�� is a junior lifestyle brand, with products in the footwear, apparel and accessories categories. The primary licensee for Candie�� is Kohl�� Department Stores, Inc. (Kohl��) with a multi-category line of Candie�� lifestyle products, including sportswear, denim, footwear, handbags, intimate apparel, children�� apparel, fragrance and home accessories. The Candie�� brand is also sold through Candie�� retail stores being developed in Greater China through its Iconix China joint venture and is also licensed in South Korea and the Philippines. The Bongo brand is positioned as a California lifestyle brand, with a range of women�� and children�� casual apparel and accessories, including denim, sportswear, eyewear, footwear and watches. The Bongo brand is also licensed in categories in Latin America and Canada. The Badgley Mischka brand is an eveningwear brands. Badgley Mischka products are sold in the United States through luxury department and specialty stores, including Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, with its retail categories being women�� apparel, footwear, handbags and other accessories. Joe Boxer is an underwear, sleepwear and loungewear brand. The brand is also licensed in Mexico, Europe, Lat! in Americ! a, Singapore, Malaysia and the Middle East. Rampage products are sold through department stores, such as Macy��, with the retail categories being sportswear, footwear, intimate apparel and swimwear. The brand is also licensed in Canada, Latin America, South Korea, Thailand and the Middle East. Mudd is a junior lifestyle brand, particularly in the denim, footwear and accessories categories.

London Fog is a classic brand known for the Company's outerwear, cold weather accessories, umbrellas, luggage and travel products. The brand is sold in a range of categories through wholesale licenses in the United States, through the department store channel. The Company has a direct-to-retail license agreement for London Fog with Hudson�� Bay Corporation in Canada, covering apparel, accessories and lifestyle products and the brand has also been licensed in South Korea and Mexico. Mossimo is known as a contemporary, active and youthful lifestyle brand and is an apparel brands in the United States. Target Corporation (Target) has held the Mossimo license in the United States, covering apparel products for men, women and children, including casual sportswear, denim, swimwear, bodywear, watches, handbags and other fashion accessories. The brand is also licensed on a direct-to-retail basis to Falabella Retail S.A. in Argentina, Columbia, Chile and Peru and to licensees in Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, India and Japan.

Ocean Pacific and OP are global action-sports lifestyle apparel brands. The brand is distributed by Wal-Mart in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Argentina, and through licensees in Europe, the Middle East and Chile. In addition, the brand is licensed in Japan and its surrounding territories through its OP Japan joint venture.

Danskin is a brand of women's activewear, legwear, dancewear, yoga apparel and fitness equipment. The primary license for the Danskin brand is a direct-to-retail license with Wal-Mart for Danskin Now covering a range of women�! � and gi! rl�� apparel, footwear, accessories and fitness equipment. Rocawear is an urban lifestyle apparel brand established by Shawn Jay-Z Carter and his partners. The Rocawear brand is licensed in the United States in a range of categories, including men��, women�� and kids��apparel, outerwear, footwear, jewelry, handbags and fragrance. Rocawear products are sold through department and specialty stores. Cannon is a brand in home textiles.

Royal Velvet is a luxury home textile brand. Royal Velvet products include towels, sheets, rugs and shams. Fieldcrest is a brand for bed and bath textiles that are classic in style. Charisma home textiles are known for their classic designs. The brand is also licensed in the United States and Canada for distribution through better department stores, such as Bloomingdales. In addition, the brand is licensed in Australia and New Zealand. Starter is a brand in licensed team sports merchandise and is a brand of athletic apparel and footwear. Waverly is a home fashion and lifestyle brand in home decor. Waverly has a direct-to-retail agreement in the United States with Lowe�� Companies, Inc. for Waverly Home Classics for a range of select home furnishings. Zoo York is an East Coast based action lifestyle brand. Zoo York has licenses with wholesalers covering a range of products, including men��, women�� and kids��apparel and footwear. The brand is also licensed in Canada, Europe, Latin America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, South Africa, the Middle East and parts of Southeast Asia. Sharper Image is a brand in the consumer electronics industry. Its licenses for Sharper Image cover a range of products, including audio and video electronics, travel gear, personal home products, kitchen and bath accessories, massage products, air purification products and giftables, and in territories including the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, Latin America, Japan, Turkey and the Middle East.

Bright Star provides design direction and arr! anges for! the manufacturing and distribution of men�� private label footwear products primarily for Wal-Mart under its private labels. Bright Star acts solely as an agent. During the year ended December 31, 2011, Bright Star�� agency commissions represented less than 1% of the Company�� revenues.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Louis Navellier]
Iconix Brand Group (ICON) is in the business of licensing, marketing, and providing trend direction for a portfolio of consumer and entertainment brands. The company owns 33 well-known brands like Candie’s, Bongo, Joe Boxer, London Fog and Starter. It licenses the name for use in products like apparel, footwear, fashion accessories, home products and beauty products.
[By Marshall Hargrave]
If we narrow these comps down to some of GIII's fellow small-cap apparel peers, we see just how cheap the stock is. GIII trades at an 8.4x EV/EBITDA multiple, while QuikSilver (ZQK) trades at 16.2x, Iconix Brand (ICON) at 11.5x and Jones New York (JNY) 8.8x.

Top 5 Mid Cap Companies To Buy For 2015: H&R Block Inc. (HRB)

H&R Block, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides tax preparation, retail banking, and various business advisory and consulting services. It operates in three segments: Tax Services, Business Services, and Corporate. The Tax Services segment offers H&R Block At Home, an income tax preparation software, as well as a range of online tax services, including tax advice, professional and do-it-yourself tax return preparation, and electronic filing services through its Web site at hrblock.com primarily in the United States, Canada, and Australia. This segment also provides the H&R Block Prepaid Emerald MasterCard and Emerald Advance lines of credit through H&R Block Bank, as well as other retail banking services, including checking and savings accounts, individual retirement accounts, and certificates of deposit; and sells refund anticipation loans and refund anticipation checks offered by third-party lending institutions, as well as offers income tax return preparation course s to the public. The Business Services segment provides tax and consulting services, wealth management, and capital markets services to middle-market companies. The Corporate segment engages in various operations, which include interest income from the United States passive investments, interest expense on borrowings, net interest margin and gains or losses relating to mortgage loans held for investment, real estate owned, residual interests in securitizations and other corporate expenses principally related to finance, legal, and other support departments. The company was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By U.S. News]
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP If you don't make much money, you might assume doing your taxes will be simple. After all, there isn't much information you need to give the Internal Revenue Service, given your meager paycheck. But, of course, some people who find it tough to make ends meet don't have just one job -- they have two or three, and perhaps they earn extra money working at home, which can complicate a tax form. Additional challenges: Some taxpayers are part of a blended family, or part of a family unit that isn't quite family. So while you may not earn much, it doesn't necessarily mean your taxes will be simple. Fortunately, many low- to moderate-income individuals can get free professional help to do their taxes. "There's a wide swath of low- to moderate-income taxpayers who can get their taxes done for free -- approximately 100 million taxpayers who are eligible," says Tim Hugo, executive director of the Free File Alliance, a coalition of companies that work with the IRS to provide free tax preparation and filing. So if you can't afford to hire someone to do your taxes or buy software, you may not have to go it alone. Here are the questions you likely have -- and the answers. Who qualifies? Generally, if your adjusted gross income is $52,000 or less, you probably qualify for help. Adjusted gross income, for those who need a refresher, is your gross income after exemptions and deductions. Your gross income is all your income -- not just your salary, but alimony, proceeds from a car you sold and so on. So if your income is close to $52,000, you might not actually know if you qualify until you do your taxes and see what number you land on. To take advantage of free tax software -- more on that in a moment -- your adjusted gross income will generally need to be $58,000 or less. Where do I go? You will probably want to find a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, known as VITA, or a Tax Counseling for the Elderly program, known as TCE. Both are
[By Louis Navellier]
Of course, I’d also like to alert you to these big blue chips that have fallen in the eyes of the analyst community before they disappoint with their earnings reports.
Avon Products (AVP): In the past three months, analysts have slashed their estimates by 19%. Avon Products is expected to see sales fall 8.1% and earnings plunge 18.9%. AVP is a sell. Coach (COH): In the past three months, analysts have reduced their estimates by 11%. Coach is now headed towards a 1.1% drop in sales and an 8.9% drop in earnings. COH is a sell. Hess (HES): In the past three months, analysts have slashed their estimates by 19%. Hess is due to post a 75% year-on-year drop in sales and just 7.5% annual earnings growth. HES is a hold. H&R Block (HRB): In the past two months, analysts have slashed their estimates from a profit of 1 cent per share to a loss of 8 cents per share. HRB is a hold. Target (TGT): In the past two months, analysts have cut their estimates by 15%. Target is now expected to see sales retreat 2.8% over last year and earnings fall nearly 16%. TGT is a sell.
Now a lot can happen in the weeks between now and these earnings announcements, so there is a chance that some of these will firm up before then. However, in the meantime I see no reason to hold stocks that are underperforming their peers, especially when so many premium stocks are still on sale.
[By Credit.com]
Getty Images Tax time can be stressful enough without worrying about whether your tax issues will spill over to your credit reports and affect your scores. The good news is that simply filing an extension or finding that you owe the IRS a chunk of money come tax time shouldn't affect your credit reports. It's only when you don't have the money to pay what you owe that it can affect your credit. Following are five ways that your yearly payment to Uncle Sam can affect your credit. Going Into Hock to Pay Taxes Many years ago, in my first year of self-employment, my accountant calculated my estimated taxes but forgot about the "self-employment tax" -- the portion of taxes that cover Medicare and Social Security. As a result, I learned on April 14 (!) that I owed a much bigger tax bill than I expected. At that time there was no option to pay by credit card, and I didn't want to drain my savings entirely to pay it. I ended up taking out a personal loan from my bank at a low interest rate and paid it off fairly quickly. It worked out OK. The loan, however, did appear on my credit reports. It didn't create any problems for me, but if you are going to borrow from another source such as credit cards or a personal loan to pay your taxes, keep in mind that debt can affect your credit scores. How much it will hurt (or help) your scores depends on everything else in your credit reports. Keep it in perspective, though. After all, you may find it's better to owe a credit card issuer than to owe the IRS. Another option is to enter into an installment agreement with the IRS where you pay them monthly until your balance is paid off. In most cases, these payment plans don't appear on your credit. However, if you owe a large amount, you could wind up with a Notice of Federal Tax Lien filed against you, and that will definitely affect your credit. (More on that later.) Quick Refund Woes If you need your refund fast, you may be tempted to take advantage of a "refund

Best Energy Stocks To Watch Right Now: Andatee China Marine Fuel Services Corporation(AMCF)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Roberto Pedone]
Andatee China Marine Fuel Services (AMCF) is engaged in the production, storage, distribution and wholesale purchases and sales of blended marine fuel oil for cargo and fishing vessels. This stock closed up 4.1% to $1.27 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $1.22-$1.32

52-Week Range: $0.45-$2.75

Thursday's Volume: 150,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 193,369

From a technical perspective, AMCF spiked sharply higher here with lighter-than-average volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of AMCF within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if AMCF manages to take out Thursday's high of $1.32 to its 50-day moving average of $1.39 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in AMCF as long as it's trending above some key near-term support levels at $1.15 or at $1.09 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 193,369 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then AMCF will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $1.80 to $1.98. Any high-volume move above those levels will then give AMCF a chance to re-test its 52-week high at $2.75.

Top 5 Mid Cap Companies To Buy For 2015: Remy International Inc (REMY)

Remy International, Inc. (Remy), incorporated on November 22, 1993, is a global vehicular parts designer, manufacturer, remanufacturer, marketer and distributor of aftermarket and original equipment electrical components for automobiles, light trucks, heavy-duty trucks and other vehicles. Remy sells its products worldwide primarily under the Delco Remy, Remy, and World Wide Automotive brand names. The Company�� products include light-duty and heavy-duty starters and alternators for both the original equipment and the remanufactured markets, and hybrid power technology. These products are principally sold or distributed to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for both original equipment manufacture and aftermarket operations, as well as to warehouse distributors and retail automotive parts chains. The Company sells its products principally in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. In January 2014, Remy International, Inc. acquired all assets of USA Industries.

The Company�� original equipment division consists of three primary channels: automotive, heavy-duty vehicles and electric motors for electric and hybrid applications. Remy is a supplier for such original equipment manufacturers as General Motors, DaimlerChrylser, Toyota, Honda and Hyundai/Kia. The Company is a supplier of original equipment and aftermarket starters and alternators for heavy-duty vehicles in North America. Remy is an independent production electric motor supplier and in many aspects of hybrid and electric vehicle technology, including the patented hairpin stator technology. Its original equipment (OE) business has operations in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, China and Korea.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Rich Smith]
On Monday, auto parts maker Remy International (NASDAQ: REMY ) announced that it is taking 100% control of its Remy Hubei Electric Co. (REH) joint venture, buying out partner Hubei Super Electric Auto Motor Company's 49% interest in the JV.

Top 5 Mid Cap Companies To Buy For 2015: Orbitz Worldwide Inc.(OWW)

Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. operates as an online travel company worldwide. It enables leisure and business travelers to search for and book a range of travel products and services. The company offers various products and services comprising air travel, hotels, vacation packages, car rentals, cruises, travel insurance, as well as destination services, such as ground transportation, event tickets, and tours. Its brand portfolio includes Orbitz, CheapTickets, The Away Network, and Orbitz for Business in the United States; ebookers in Europe; and HotelClub and RatesToGo internationally. Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. also licenses its technology and business services to third parties, such as airlines and hotel partners and provides them various private label solutions, including building and hosting of custom Websites and supplying content feeds to partners' Websites. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. is a subsidiary of Trav elport Limited.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Lisa Levin]
Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE: OWW) slipped 7.93% to $8.24 after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock from Neutral to Sell.

Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) shares tumbled 3.44% to $37.51 after the company reported weaker-than-expected fiscal third-quarter earnings. Oracle's quarterly profit surged to $2.57 billion, or $0.56 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $2.5 billion, or $0.52 per share. Its revenue jumped to $9.31 billion versus $8.96 billion. Its adjusted profit came in at $0.68 per share.
[By Louis Navellier]
For the current quarter, JetBlue is expected to post 120% annual earnings growth��early five times higher than the industry average (25%). This outperformance is expected to continue through the end of the year, with 73% forecast growth for the following quarter and 37% growth for FY 2014. JBLU shares are currently trading just over $9 and are a B-rated Buy.
Top Travel Stocks: Orbitz (OWW)
Headquartered in Chicago, Orbitz Worldwide (OWW) is best known for operating online travel booking website Orbitz.com. This website alone facilitates 1.5 million flight searches and one million hotel searches each day! On top of this, the company also operates online travel companies CheapTickets and ebookers in Europe.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Downgrades Drag on the Dow

As some investors focus their attention on Capitol Hill today, others are paying more attention to what really matters: business fundamentals. We have heard Ben Bernanke talk and talk over the past few weeks, and it's all been more or less the same speech: Quantitative-easing programs will remain in place for a number of years, with bond-buying programs lasting for the foreseeable future. Investors know this front and back now, so it's rather pointless to continue scrutinizing his congressional testimony today and tomorrow.

While investors may have been hoping for a different speech this morning, they didn't get it, and now it seems things are calming down on Wall Street. After an up-and-down morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) is up 14 points, or 0.09%, as of 12:55 p.m. EDT. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is up 0.35% and the NASDAQ has risen 0.36%.

Because we at the Fool believe in focusing on what matters, let's dig into a few stocks that are dropping for fundamentally significant reasons.

Shares of McDonald's (NYSE: MCD ) are down 0.8% this afternoon on news that a Janney analyst has downgraded the stock. Mark Kalinowski reduced the stock's rating from "buy" to "neutral" and lowered his earnings-per-share estimate for the year by $0.03 to $5.68. While the lower EPS estimate doesn't matter that much -- it was a small move, and the average analyst polled by FactSet pegs full-year earnings at $5.69 -- investors are worried because Kalinowski believes this summer's U.S. sales may come in much lower than what investors are currently predicting. Kalinowski lowered his same-store sales numbers from 2% to 1.1% for June and from 2% to 1.5% for July.

Shares of American Express (NYSE: AXP ) have been downgraded by Buckingham, which cites a high valuation. Buckingham also said the proposed transaction-fee cap of 0.2% that the European Commission may impose on credit and debit card purchases could cost American Express as much as $4.5 billion in fees. AmEx shares are down 2.2% today.

Profiting from our increasingly global economy can be as easy as investing in your own backyard. The Motley Fool's free report "3 American Companies Set to Dominate the World" shows you how. Click here to get your free copy before it's gone.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Top Warren Buffett Stocks For 2015

In times of uncertainty it�� often a good idea to revisit investment strategies that have proven to be profitable in the past. If investing were like literature, the idea would be to go back and re-read the classics; books like Great Expectations, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Iliad. The classics of investing are names like Benjamin Graham, Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch and Philip Fisher.

In this feature we have outlined the investment thesis and step-by- step stock picking methodologies of seven legendary investors. We have also tapped into the resources of the American Association Individual Investors Stock Investor Pro service, and pulled out several stocks favored by these gurus��strategies currently.

Given that most of the seven legendary investors we feature lean more toward the value side of the investing continuum, it is not surprising to learn that many of the stocks fitting their stringent criteria are from overseas where markets tend to be less picked over. Another value area that seems to be over weighted is energy.

Top Warren Buffett Stocks For 2015: AeroVironment Inc.(AVAV)

AeroVironment, Inc. designs, develops, produces, and supports unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), and efficient energy systems for various industries and governmental agencies. Its UAS provide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, including real-time tactical reconnaissance, tracking, combat assessment, and geographic data to the small tactical unit or individual war fighter. The UAS wirelessly transmit critical live video and other information generated by their payload of electro-optical or infrared sensors directly to a hand-held ground control system, enabling the operator to view and capture images during the day or at night on a hand-held ground control unit. AeroVironment also provides spare equipment, alternative payload modules, batteries, chargers, repair services, and customer support for the UAS. In addition, the company produces industrial productivity and clean transportation solutions for commercial and government customers, develops potential clean t ransportation solutions, and performs contract engineering services; offers PosiCharge electric vehicle charging systems for industrial electric material handling fleets, electric vehicle charging systems for passenger and fleet vehicles, and power cycling and test systems for developers and manufacturers of plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles, as well as battery packs, electric motors, and fuel cells; and supplies power cycling and test systems to research and development organizations that focus on developing electric propulsion systems, electric generation systems, and electricity storage systems. It supplies its UAS primarily to the organizations within the United States department of defense. AeroVironment, Inc. was incorporated in 1971 and is headquartered in Monrovia, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By John Kell and Lauren Pollock var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); ]
AeroVironment Inc.'s(AVAV) fiscal third-quarter profit nearly tripled as the pilotless-drones maker reported a sharp jump in revenue and booked a gain on an investment. Adjusted profit and revenue results for the latest quarter easily exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. Shares climbed 10% to $34.90 in light premarket trading.
[By Jon C. Ogg]
Aerovironment�Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) was maintained Neutral but its 2014 earnings estimates were cut by almost half after the company signaled order delays in its earnings report.
[By Blake Bos]
In the video below, Blake observes how smaller companies like iRobot� (NASDAQ: IRBT ) and AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV ) , as well as huge defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin� (NYSE: LMT ) and Northrop Grumman� (NYSE: NOC ) , are positioned to benefit from this trend.
[By Rich Smith]
Shares of unmanned aerial vehicle specialist-cum-battery fast-charger equipment maker AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV ) surged in early Wednesday trading, helped by kind words from a new investor that's just taken a substantial stake in the company.

Top Warren Buffett Stocks For 2015: American Public Education Inc.(APEI)

American Public Education, Inc., together with its subsidiary, American Public University System, Inc., provides online postsecondary education focusing on the needs of the military and public service communities. The company operates through two universities, American Military University (AMU) and American Public University (APU) serving approximately 110,000 students in the United States and internationally. The universities share a common faculty and curriculum, which includes 87 degree programs and 69 certificate programs in disciplines related to national security, military studies, intelligence, homeland security, criminal justice, technology, business administration, education, nursing, and liberal arts. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Charles Town, West Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By James Brumley]
American Public Education (APEI) has been one of the biggest victims of the DOE’s partial shutdown. The 41,000 individual online classes scheduled to begin a few days ago were reduced by 13,000 when many military and government employees lost their tuition assistance as of October 1st.

Top Oil Service Companies To Buy Right Now: ChemoCentryx Inc (CCXI)

ChemoCentryx is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing orally-administered therapeutics to treat autoimmune diseases, inflammatory disorders and cancer. The Company targets the chemokine system, a network of molecules, including chemokine ligands and their associated receptors, as well as related chemo-attractant receptors, all of which are known to drive inflammation. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had four drug candidates in clinical development. Its drug candidates include Traficet-EN (CCX282, GSK'786 or vercirnon), CCX140, CCX354, CCX168, CCX872, CCX507 and CCX662. The Company is also advancing several additional independent drug candidates through preclinical development. The Company�� wholly owned subsidiary is ChemoCentryx Limited.

The Company's drug candidate Traficet-EN (CCX282, GSK'786), is to control the inflammatory response underlying IBD by targeting the chemokine receptor known as CCR9. The Company has completed nine clinical trials with Traficet-EN in a total of 785 subjects, including five Phase I clinical trials (three in the United States and two in the United Kingdom), one thorough QT study in the United States (an assessment of cardiovascular safety which is required for regulatory approval), and three Phase II clinical trials (one in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States, one in Finland and one (PROTECT-1) in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, the Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Sweden and the United Kingdom). As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� Traficet-EN drug candidate is in four pivotal Phase III clinical trials being conducted by its partner Glaxo Group Limited (GSK).

The Company's independent drug candidate CCX140, targets the chemokine receptor known as CCR2. CCX140 is a potent and selective antagonist of CCR2 that is found on subsets of monocytes and macrophages, which are cells of th! e immune system. In January 2011, the Company completed a 159-patient randomized Phase II clinical trial, conducted in Australia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and New Zealand, to assess the safety and tolerability of CCX140 in patients with type 2 diabetes. In addition, CCX140 demonstrated biological activity through a dose-dependent decrease in fasting plasma glucose.

CCX354 targets the chemokine receptor known as CCR1. Synovial fluid from the joints of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients contains high levels of activated CCR1 chemokine ligands. The Company completed two Phase I clinical trials in a total of 84 healthy subjects, conducted in Switzerland followed by a Phase I/II clinical trial in 24 patients with stable RA, conducted in Belgium and Romania, and a Phase II proof-of-concept clinical trial in 160 patients with moderate-to-severe RA, conducted in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania and the Ukraine. GSK exercised its option to further develop and commercialize CCX354 in November 2011 and had an exclusive right to initiate a Phase II b clinical trial for CCX354 in RA.

CCX168 targets the chemo-attractant C5a receptor (C5aR), which binds to a biologically activated fragment of the complement protein known as C5. As of December 31, the Company completed a Phase I clinical trial for CCX168, conducted in Switzerland. The Company initiated a Phase II proof-of-concept clinical trial in AAV in the fourth quarter of 2011. Its CCX872 is an independent next generation CCR2 drug candidate for the treatment of metabolic diseases, its CCX507 is an independent drug candidate for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and CCX662 is an independent drug candidate for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

The Company competes with Abbott Laboratories, Amgen Inc, AstraZeneca plc, Biogen Idec Inc, Bayer AG, Elan Corporation plc, Glaxo Group Limited, Merck & Co Inc, Merck Serono, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Novartis AG! , Pfizer ! Inc, Reata Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Sanofi SA, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Incyte Corp and UCB Pharma.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By James E. Brumley]
The last few weeks haven't been particularly encouraging for Crohn's disease sufferers. In August, GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) and ChemoCentryx (NASDAQ:CCXI) reported that a jointly-developed Crohn's drug, vercirnon, had failed to meet its late-stage trial endpoints. Though the in-development drug isn't dead in the water (GSK and CCXI could rework the drug, the testing regimen, or use it for other indications), it doesn't look good. Then this month - just a few days ago - Coronado Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:CNDO) reported that its Phase 3 trials of Crohn's disease drug TSO had also failed to meet its primary endpoints as well. Like vercirnon, CNDO isn't completely out of luck here with the treatment, but forging ahead with further development of the treatment is grasping at straws. Crohn's sufferers don't need to give up home just yet, however - TNI Biotech Inc. (OTCMKTS:TNIB) appears to have a Crohn's treatment that works, and should be able to sidestep the problems that plagued ChemoCentryx, GlaxoSmithKline, and Coronado Biosciences.
[By CRWE]
ChemoCentryx, Inc. (Nasdaq:CCXI), reported that Thomas J. Schall, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, will present at the BioCentury NewsMakers in the Biotech Industry Conference on Friday, September 7, 2012, at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time at the Millennium Broadway Hotel & Conference Center in New York, NY.

Top Warren Buffett Stocks For 2015: M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings Inc (MTSI)

M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. (M/A-COM), incorporated on March 25, 2009, is a provider of high-performance analog semiconductor solutions for uses in wireless and wireline applications across the radio frequency (RF), microwave and millimeter wave spectrum. The Company manages has one segment, which is semiconductors. The Company offers over 2,700 standard and custom devices, which includes integrated circuits (IC), multi-chip modules, power pallets and transistors, diodes, switches and switch limiters, passive and active components and complete subsystems, across 37 product lines serving over 6,000 end customers in four primary markets. The Company's semiconductor products are electronic components that the Company's customers incorporate into their larger electronic systems, such as point-to-point wireless backhaul radios, radar, automobile navigation systems, digital cable television (CATV) set-top boxes, magnetic resonance imaging systems and unmanned aerial vehicles. In February 2014, M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings Inc announced that its subsidiary Mindspeed Technologies Inc completed the sale of assets of its wireless infrastructure business unit to Intel Corporation.

The Company's primary markets are Networks, which includes CATV, cellular backhaul, cellular infrastructure and fiber optic applications; Aerospace and Defense (A&D); Automotive, which includes global positioning system (GPS) modules sold to the automotive industry; and Multi-market, which includes industrial, medical, mobile communications and scientific applications. The Company operates a single Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) and silicon semiconductor fab at its Lowell, Massachusetts headquarters, which the Company is in the process of updating to include Gallium Nitride (GaN) fabrication operations as well. The Company also utilizes external semiconductor foundries to supply the Company with additional capacity in periods of high demand and to provide the Company access to additional process technolog! ies. The ability to utilize a broad array of internal process technologies as well as commercially available foundry technologies allows the Company to select the appropriate technology to solve the Company's customers' needs.

The Company offers high-performance analog semiconductor products for both wireless and wireline applications across the frequency spectrum from RF to millimeterwave. The Company regularly develops high-value products to serve its customers in four primary markets: Networks, A&D, Multi-market and Automotives.

Aerospace & Defense

In the A&D market, military applications require more advanced electronic systems, such as radar warning receivers, communications data links and tactical radios, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), RF jammers, electronic countermeasures and smart munitions. Military applications are becoming more sophisticated, favoring higher performance semiconductor ICs based on GaAs and GaN technology due to their high power density, improved power efficiency and broadband capability. Radar systems for mapping and targeting missions are undergoing a transition from existing mechanically-scanned radar products to a new generation of active electronically-scanned array (AESA) based products. Consisting of hundreds or thousands of transmit/receive modules commonly based on GaAs and increasingly on GaN technology, AESAs deliver greater speed, range, resolution and reliability over mechanically-scanned radar products that utilize a single transmitter and receiver with mechanical steering. Military communications employing wireless infrastructure and tactical radios in the field remain critical for allowing geographically dispersed users to exchange information quickly and efficiently. UAVs and their underlying semiconductor content requires designs to meet rigorous specifications for high performance, small size, and low power consumption.

Automotive

The Automotive category includes GPS modules the Company sel! ls to the! automotive industry. Semiconductor content in automobiles is projected to grow in order to offer connectivity, safety, performance and navigation features.

Multi-market

In Multi-market, the Company's products are used in industrial, medical, mobile communications, test and measurement and scientific applications. In the medical industry, the Company's custom designed non-magnetic diode product line is a critical component for certain MRI applications. The Company offers a broad range of standard and custom ICs, modules and complete subsystems across 37 product lines. The Company's product portfolio consists of more than 2,700 products including the key product platforms: power pallets and transistors, ICs, diodes, switches and switch limiters, passive and active components, multi-chip modules, and complete subsystems. Many of the Company's product platforms are leveraged across multiple markets and applications. For example, the Company's applications with regard to power transistor technology is leveraged across both scientific laboratory equipment applications and commercial and defense radar system applications. The Company's diode technology is used in switch filter banks of military tactical radios as well as medical imaging MRI systems.

The Company competes with Hittite Microwave Corporation, Sumitomo Electric Device Innovations, Inc., RF Micro Devices, Inc. (RFMD), Avago, Inc. (Avago), Aeroflex, Inc. (Aeroflex), Microsemi Corporation (Microsemi), TriQuint and Skyworks Solutions, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Lauren Pollock]
M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings Inc.(MTSI) agreed to acquire semiconductor manufacturer Mindspeed Technologies Inc.(MSPD) in a deal valued at $272 million, expanding the company’s markets to include enterprise applications. Mindspeed shares surged 70% to $5.04 premarket.

Top Warren Buffett Stocks For 2015: LCA-Vision Inc.(LCAV)

LCA-Vision Inc. provides fixed-site laser vision correction services through its LasikPlus vision centers. Its vision centers offer laser vision correction services for correcting nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. As of December 31, 2011, the company operated 53 LasikPlus fixed-site laser vision correction centers located in metropolitan markets in the United States. LCA-Vision Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Lisa Levin]
Medical Practitioners: This industry jumped 2.82% by 10:15 am. The top performer in this industry was LCA-Vision (NASDAQ: LCAV), which rose 2.9%. LCA-Vision's trailing-twelve-month revenue is $91.12 million.
[By Roberto Pedone]
LCA-Vision (LCAV) provides fixed-site laser vision correction services through its LasikPlus vision centers. This stock closed up 4.4% to $4 in Tuesday's trading session.

Tuesday's Range: $3.85-$4.04

52-Week Range: $2.67-$4.60

Tuesday's Volume: 162,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 47,256

From a technical perspective, LCAV bounced sharply higher here right above some near-term support levels at $3.75 to $372 with above-average volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of LCAV within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if LCAV manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $4.04 to $4.26 and then once it takes out its 52-week high at $4.60 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in LCAV as long as it's trending above some key near-term support levels at $3.75 to $3.72 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 47,256 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then LCAV will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $6.19 to $7.

Top Warren Buffett Stocks For 2015: comScore Inc.(SCOR)

comScore, Inc. provides a range of digital analytics solutions primarily in the United States, Europe, and Canada. The company offers its customers with information regarding usage of their online properties and those of their competitors, coupled with information on consumer demographic characteristics, attitudes, lifestyles, and offline behavior solutions through its digital media measurement platforms. Its digital media measurement platforms consist of proprietary databases and a computational infrastructure that measures, analyzes, and reports on digital activity. The company also provides audience analytics tools that measure the size, behavior, and characteristics of Internet users on PCs, mobile devices, and tablets, as well as insight into online advertising; and advertising analytics products, such as AdEffx, Media Planner 2.0, and Campaign Essentials, which provide solutions for developing, executing, and evaluating online advertising campaigns, as well as valida ted campaign essentials that provide intelligence regarding validated impressions. In addition, it offers Web analytics products and solutions, as well as Web analytics platform that integrates data from multiple sources, including Web, mobile, video, and social media interactions; and mobile and network analytics products, such as comprehensive market intelligence and network solutions to mobile carriers with information on network optimization and capacity planning, customer experience, and market intelligence. The company serves Internet service providers, investment banks, media and digital agencies, consumer banks, wireless carriers, pharmaceutical makers, credit card issuers, and consumer packaged goods companies. comScore, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Paul Ausick]
The data comes from the latest report on the U.S. smartphone market from comScore Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR).

On the operating system (platform) front, Apple gained 1.2% share in the three-month period to post a total of 41.8% of the platform market. Google Inc.�� (NASDAQ: GOOG) lost 0.3% share during the period, but continues to hold over half the platform market, with a 51.5% share. BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY) dropped 0.4% to post a 3.4% share, while Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) lost 0.2% to post a 3.1% share.
[By Associated Press]
RESTON, Va. ��Online research firm comScore (NASDAQ: SCOR ) has named Serge Matta president of the company.

Matta has spent 12 years at comScore. He most recently served as president of commercial solutions in which he led the company's sales force. Matta will report to CEO and co-founder Magid Abraham.
[By Paul Ausick]
The data was released Friday by research firm comScore Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) and excludes sales of cars, large corporate purchases, travel, and auction sales.
[By Evan Niu, CFA]
What: Shares of comScore (NASDAQ: SCOR ) scored major gains today, up by as much as 24% after the company reported first-quarter earnings.

Top Warren Buffett Stocks For 2015: Camtek Ltd (CAMT)

Camtek Ltd. (Camtek), incorporated in 1987, designs, develops, manufactures and markets automated solutions dedicated for enhancing production processes and yield for the semiconductor manufacturing and packaging and the printed circuit board (PCB) and integrated circuit (IC) substrate industries. Camtek also designs, develops, manufactures and markets automated optical inspection (AOI), systems and related products. The Company�� AOI systems are used to enhance both production processes and yields for manufacturers in the semiconductor manufacturing and packaging industry and PCB and IC Substrate industry. Through the acquisition of Printar's assets, it also engaged in developing, manufacturing, sale and marketing of direct digital material deposition systems and inks for the PCB industry, with two major fields of activity: Solder Mask and Legend. In addition, through the acquisition of Sela, it is also engaged in the development, manufacturing and marketing of automated scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) sample preparation equipment, primarily for the semiconductor industry.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company had sold more than 2,500 AOI systems in 34 countries worldwide. The Company's PCB customer base includes the majority of the 100 PCB manufacturers worldwide. As of December 31, 2011, it had sold over 300 Falcon systems to more than 25 semiconductor manufacturers, among them outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT), integrated device manufacturers (IDM) and wafer level packaging subcontractors, including eight out of the top 10 semiconductors companies.

Camtek�� AOI systems consist of an electro-optical assembly unit, either movable or fixed, which consists of a video camera, precision optics and illumination sources. The electro-optical unit captures the image of the inspected product; a precise, either movable or fixed table, that holds the inspected product, and an electronic hardware unit, which operates the! entire system and includes embedded components that process and analyze the captured image by using its algorithms. Its systems can also compile and communicate statistical reports of inspection findings through the customer�� factory information system. The Company offers a range of systems for automated optical inspection of semiconductor wafers, IC substrates and PCBs. These systems are used to enhance production yields and assist in controlling manufacturing processes at wafer fabrication, test and assembly houses, and PCB plants worldwide.

The Company�� Falcon systems are designed for the back end market of the semiconductor industry. The Falcon�� advanced algorithms and inspection capabilities enable its dedicated models to detect defects in the die, which, if left undetected, may cause failure. The Condor is designed to meet the current and future inspection needs of the semiconductor industry. The Condor, through algorithms and advanced hardware configuration, is designed to enhance two dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D) detection abilities and increased throughput. The Condor family includes models for: 3D and 2D metrology and inspection of bumped-wafer prepared for packaging in the flip-chip technology; 2D metrology and inspection of finished wafers at the end of their manufacturing process and in test houses; Post-dicing inspection of frame-mounted wafers at assembly and packaging facilities, where it adds the value of detecting dicing-related damage, and inspection and metrology of micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS) and other special applications.

Condor 5LED is an AOI system designed to provide solutions to a range of requirements that are to light emitting diode (LED) semiconductor manufacturers. The LED market�� special inspection requirements are characterized by 3-6 inch wafers, each of which may contain between 100 to over 200 thousand LED devices per wafer. Typically, the wafer is made of a translucent compound semiconductor, such as g! allium ar! senide, gallium phosphide and/or indium phosphide. The Gannet system is designed for the front end market of the semiconductor industry.

The Company�� AOI products for this industry consist of five product lines: the Phoenix, Dragon and Orion for the inspection of inner and outer layers of PCB panels and ultra-fine-line IC substrate; large area masks (LAM) dedicated for inspection of artwork; and the Pegasus for final inspection (AFI) of IC substrates and high density interconnect (HDI) panels. The Phoenix product family, introduced in November 2011, is designed to support a range of the demanding PCB and IC substrate applications, while keeping in pace with the dynamic technology changes in the industry. The Phoenix product family is enhanced with Spark - Camtek's and detection engine providing high detection capabilities, while minimizing false calls.

Dragon systems are high-throughput, automation-ready systems for inspection of all PCB types in a mass production environment. Dragon models are optimized for specific PCB technology ranges - from mainstream circuits of typically 100 (microns) conductor line width, up to high density substrates having 12 (microns) wide conductive lines. All Dragon models are designed to interface with automated material handling mechanisms provided by the Company or other automation suppliers. Orion systems are stand-alone AOI systems for high volume inspection of all PCB types designed to operate in inspectify mode of operation. Inspectify is a mode of operation enabling the operator to perform verification immediately after inspection on the same system, thus saving time and eliminating handling-related defects.

LAM is specially designed for main-stream LAM inspection. It offers unparalleled detection ability on LAM with down to 25 (microns) line/space width technology. The LAM incorporates advanced technology innovations to ensure the level of detection that these masks require at this critical production stage. Camtek offers! various ! stand-alone verification systems that enable verification of panels after inspection. The Pegasus line includes systems for automated inspection of finished IC substrates that are subsequently used in packaging of ball grid array (BGA) and Chip Scale Package (CSP) devices. The Pegasus inspects both sides of the substrate, detecting process and mechanical defects, in particular in the gold-plated areas, where the substrate will interconnect with the silicon die or the PCB, and in the solder-mask areas. Pegasus models handle substrates in strip format in magazines.

GreenJet is a SM digital printing system aimed to replace the conventional SM application lines for prototypes and high mix low volume production. The GreenJet system offers manufacturers flexible and digital SM printing technology solution. The LGP system incorporates PCB digital legend printing technologies with specially developed heat curable ink, resulting in output and system performance. Camtek has developed the inks for both LGP and GreenJet, which involves different chemicals mixed together in order to reach the required ink characterization.

The Company competes with Rudolph Technologies Inc., KLA-Tencor Corporation, Topcon Corporation, Toray Industries, Inc., Hitachi Ltd., Nidec Tosok Corporation., FEI Company, SII Nanotechnology Japan, Carl Zeiss, Inc., Orbotech Ltd., Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Company, Lloyd-Doyle Limited, Gigavis Co. Ltd., ATI Electronics Pty Ltd., Shirai Electronics Industrial Co. Ltd., First EIE SA and MicroCraft K.K.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By James E. Brumley]
Investors who've made a point of keeping tabs on the 3D printing craze this year will know that a pair of small caps in this space - Camtek LTD (NASDAQ:CAMT) and Voxeljet AG (NYSE:VJET) - have dominated the headlines in just the past few weeks. For CAMT, the big news was the recent announcement that it would be the first 3D printer maker to develop a product that could print circuit boards. As for VJET, news that it was going to greatly expand its on-demand-printing capacity (for customers that need smaller occasional jobs but don't want to buy a printer of their own) lit the stock up quite nicely.
[By Paul Ausick]
Then there�� Camtek Ltd. (NASDAQ: CAMT) with a far more modest forward multiple of 17.6 as of today. But Camtek doesn’t have a 3D printer for sale yet, it only referred to a 3D printer during its November earnings conference call, saying that it was still too early for the company to estimate the impact of a planned 2014 introduction for its 3D printing device that will produce printed circuit boards (PCBs).
[By Paul Ausick]
Stocks on the Move: Ingersoll-Rand is down 22.2% at $55.54 after completing a spin-off of Allegion plc. Canadian National Railway Co. (NYSE: CNI) is down 48.6% at $57.78 following a 2-for-1 stock split. Camtek Ltd. (NASDAQ: CAMT) is up 38.9% at $5.71.
[By James E. Brumley]
In retrospect, their pullbacks come as no real surprise. Neither Voxeljet AG (NYSE:VJET) nor Camtek LTD. (NASDAQ:CAMT) saw their shares soar on any news that was meaningfully sustainable, and after the "shoot first, ask questions later" market had a chance to start asking questions, it became clear that - even with the largest of glimmers of corporate progress unveiled a few weeks ago - CAMT and VJET both had been bid up more on hype and less on substance. Meanwhile (and this could be bitterly ironic to some), a small cap play in the same 3D printing space that (1) didn't beat the daylights out of its hype-drum, and (2) is actually much closer to bringing a revenue-bearing product to the market [per today's news - more on that below] isn't getting anywhere near the same attention. That company? Makism 3D Corp. (OTCBB:MDDD). The good news is, MDDD finally looks like it's revving its engine, while Camtek and Voxeljet AG shares continue to deteriorate.

Top Warren Buffett Stocks For 2015: Boise Cascade Co (BCC)

Boise Cascade Company, formerly Boise Cascade, L.L.C., incorporated on July 26, 2004, is a vertically-integrated wood products manufacturer and building materials distributor with operations throughout the United States and Canada. The Company operates in two segments: wood products segment and our building materials distribution segment. The Company manufactures engineered wood products, plywood, lumber, and particleboard and distributes a line of building materials, including wood products manufactured by the Company�� wood products division. The Company�� products are used primarily in new residential construction, residential repair and remodeling projects, light commercial construction and industrial applications. In September 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of Wood Resources LLC's Southeast Operations, which include Chester Wood Products LLC and Moncure Plywood LLC.

Wood Products

The Company�� wood products segment is a manufacturer of engineered wood products (EWP) and plywood in North America. It manufactures LVL, I-joists and laminated beams and also produces plywood, studs, particleboard and ponderosa pine lumber, a lumber grade sold primarily to manufacturers of specialty wood windows, moldings and doors. Most of its wood products are sold to wholesalers, including its building materials distribution segment, home improvement centers, retail lumberyards and industrial converters.

Building Materials Distribution

The Company is a wholesale distributor of building materials in the United States. Its nationwide network of 31 strategically-located distribution facilities sells a line of building materials, including EWP, oriented strand board OSB), plywood, lumber and general line items, such as framing accessories, composite decking, roofing, siding and insulation. It also operates a truss manufacturing plant located in Maine. Its products are used in the construction of new residential housing,! including single-family, multi-family and manufactured homes, repair and remodeling projects and the construction of light industrial and commercial buildings.

The Company markets its products primarily to retail lumberyards and home improvement centers that then sell the products to end customers, who are typically professional builders, independent contractors and homeowners engaged in residential construction projects. It also markets its products to industrial converters, which use its products to assemble windows, doors, agricultural bins and other products used in industrial and repair and remodel applications. The Company has more than 4,500 customers, which includes a diverse mix of wholesalers, home improvement centers, retail lumberyards and industrial converters. The Company supplies its customers through 49 located facilities (consisting of 18 manufacturing facilities and 31 distribution facilities).

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Matt Jarzemsky]
Installed Building Products��debut follows mixed performance from shares of some newly public building-products companies. Through Tuesday, siding manufacturer Ply Gem Holdings Inc.(PGEM)�� shares were down 39% from the offer price in its $381 May debut. Wood-products maker Boise Cascade Co.(BCC) was up 46% from its $284 million February IPO.
[By Blake Bos]
Investors searching for a lucrative investment to capitalize on a continued rebound in housing may have found the process to be quite precarious, as many companies have experienced significant run-ups in stock price. While most company valuations appear frothy,�Boise Cascade (NYSE: BCC ) �stands out as a possible cheaper alternative. In the video below, analyst Blake Bos shows you how to ask the right questions when deciding to invest and draws some valuable comparisons to competitor�Weyerhaeuser� (NYSE: WY ) .�

5 Stocks With Ugly Earnings Momentum â€” FNBN GYRO PNX CPN SHLD

Popular Posts: 7 Biotechnology Stocks to Buy Now10 Best “Strong Buy” Stocks — UA POWR QIHU and more10 Oil and Gas Stocks to Buy Now Recent Posts: 3 Packaged Foods Stocks to Buy Now 6 Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Now 4 Specialty Retail Stocks to Buy Now View All Posts

This week, these five stocks have the worst ratings in Earnings Momentum, one of the eight Fundamental Categories on Portfolio Grader.

FNB United () is a bank holding company. FNBN also gets F’s in Equity and Cash Flow. .

Gyrodyne Company of America, Inc. () leases industrial and commercial real estate to diversified entities. GYRO also gets F’s in Earnings Growth, Equity, Cash Flow and Operating Margin Growth. .

Phoenix Companies, Inc. () operates as a holding company, which offers life insurance and annuity solutions for its customers’ retirement and protection needs. PNX gets F’s in Earnings Growth and Sales Growth as well. Shares of the stock have declined 19.5% since January 1. This is worse than the S&P 500, which has remained flat. .

Calpine Corporation () is an independent wholesale power generation company engaged in the ownership and operation of natural gas-fired and geothermal power plants in North America. CPN also gets F’s in Earnings Growth and Operating Margin Growth. The stock currently has a trailing PE Ratio of 657.60. .

Sears Holdings Corporation () is a broadline retailer with full-line and specialty retail stores in the United States and Canada. SHLD gets F’s in Analyst Earnings Revisions, Equity, Cash Flow and Sales Growth as well. The price of SHLD is down 16.6% since the first of the year. .

Louis Navellier’s proprietary Portfolio Grader stock ranking system assesses roughly 5,000 companies every week based on a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. Stocks are given a letter grade based on their results — with A being “strong buy,” and F being “strong sell.” Explore the tool here.

Top 5 Defensive Stocks To Watch For 2015

LONDON -- Successful investors use a disciplined approach to picking stocks, and checklists can be a great way to make sure you've covered all the bases.

In this series, I am subjecting companies to scrutiny under the following five headings: prospects, performance, management, safety, and valuation. How does�Unilever� (LSE: ULVR ) (NYSE: UL ) measure up?

1.�Prospects
The consumer staples sector is defensive. Nevertheless, in Western markets, sales are under pressure from weak economic growth, so firms must continue to invest heavily in brands to maintain market share. Emerging markets are experiencing rapid growth, as vast populations with increasing disposable wealth are attracted to branded goods.

As the world's third-largest consumer staples firms, Unilever has market power with suppliers and buyers and the scale to invest heavily in marketing. In emerging markets, it enjoys the advantage of having moved in early.

Emerging markets currently account for 57% of sales, and at around 10% p.a. are growing at twice the rate of total sales. A broad spread of earnings from Europe, the Americas, and Asia Pacific adds to Unilever's robustness.

Top 5 Defensive Stocks To Watch For 2015: Solitron Devices Inc (SODI)

Solitron Devices, Inc., incorporated on March 12, 1987, designs, develops, manufactures and markets solid-state semiconductor components and related devices primarily for the military and aerospace markets. The Company manufactures a variety of bipolar and metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) power transistors, power and controls hybrids, junction and power MOS field effect transistors (Power MOSFETS), field effect transistors and other related products. It's products are custom made pursuant to contracts with customers whose end products are sold to the United States government. The Company�� semiconductor products can be classified as active electronic components. The Company�� active electronic components include bipolar transistors and MOS transistors.

The Company�� semiconductor products are used as components of military, commercial, and aerospace electronic equipment, such as ground and airborne radar systems, power distribution systems, missiles, missile control systems, and spacecraft. Its products have been used on the space shuttle and on the spacecraft sent to the moon, to Jupiter (on Galileo) and, to Mars (on Global Surveyor and Mars Sojourner).

Power Transistors

The Company manufactures a variety of power bipolar transistors for applications requiring currents in the range of 0.1 ampere to 300 ampere or voltages in the range of 30 volts to 1000 volts. It also manufactures power diodes under the same military specification. In addition, it manufactures power N-Channel and P-Channel MOSFET transistors and is expanding that line in accordance with customers��requirements.

Hybrids

The Company manufactures thick film hybrids, which generally contain discrete semiconductor chips, integrated circuits, chip capacitors and thick film or thin film resistors. The hybrids are of the high-power type and are custom manufactured for military and aerospace systems. Some of the Company�� hybrids include high power voltage regulators, p! ower amplifiers, power drivers, boosters and controllers. The Company manufactures both standard and custom hybrids.

Voltage Regulators

Voltage regulators provide the power required to activate electronic components such as the integrated circuits. These circuits are found in all electronic devices from radar and missile systems to smart phones.

Field Effect Transistors

The Company manufactures about 30 different types of junction and MOS field effect transistor chips. They are used to produce over 350 different field effect transistor types. The Company�� field effect transistors conform to standard Joint Electronic Device Engineering Council designated transistors, commonly referred to as standard 2N number types. It manufactures both standard and custom field effect transistors.

The Competes with IXYS Corporation, Motorola Inc., International Rectifier, Microsemi Corporation, M.S. Kennedy Corporation, Natel Engineering Company and Sensitron Semiconductor.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Geoff Gannon]
Solitron (SODI) sells at 74% of NCAV, has decent z- and f-scores, a FCF margin of 5.3% and an ROA of 12%.

Micropac (MPAD) sells at 83% of NCAV, has similar (slightly better) z- and f-scores, a FCF margin of 6%, but has ROA of 28%.

ADDvantage (AEY) sells at 95% of NCAV, has similar (in the ballpark) scores and FCF and ROA of 23%.

Top 5 Defensive Stocks To Watch For 2015: Perion Network Ltd (PERI)

Perion Network Ltd, incorporated in November 1999, is a digital media company. The Company's products include: IncrediMail, a communication client; Smilebox, a photo sharing and social expression product and service; and Sweet IM, an instant messaging application. The Company generates revenues primarily through search, the sale of products and services, and advertising. Its product is available in seven languages in addition to English. On November 30, 2012, the Company acquired SweetIM (a.k.a. SweetPacks).

Communication vertical

IncrediMail is its communication client, available over the Internet it its basic version free of charge, used for managing email messages and Facebook feeds, with many graphic and personalizing capabilities. However, most important is that it is safe, simple and easy to use. The premium version of this software offers, for an annual subscription fee, VIP support and enhanced graphic capabilities, as well as advanced anti-spam software for a separate annual subscription. SweetIM is free downloadable and easy to use software that enables users to enhance their messaging experience and express themselves in creative ways across online platforms, such as messenger and email.

Digital photo vertical

Smilebox is an Internet photo sharing service available for the desktop and smart-phone. On the desktop, Smilebox can be used both on the PC and the Mac, making it easy to create digital creations from personal photos using a range of digital designs including Invitations, Greetings, Collages, Scrapbooks, Photo Albums and slideshows. These creations can then be shared free of charge via email, Facebook, Twitter, Print, digital versatile disk (DVD) or photo frames. Smilebox is also available free of charge for the iPhone, making it easy to personalize and share photos in real time, directly from the device. Personalization options include captions, stickers and frames, and sharing options include email, Facebook and short message ser! vice (SMS).

The Company competes with America Online, Inc., QUALCOMM Incorporated , Mozilla Corporation and Microsoft Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Igor Novgorodtsev]
On the morning of 09/16, Perion (PERI) announced a long-rumored deal: an all stock "merger" with a much larger but private Conduit division Conduit Connect. The details of the deal are quite simple. Perion will issue 57 to 60 million additional shares, which would give current shareholders a 19% stake in the new company, Conduit and its shareholders will get the remaining 81%. The deal, expected to close in January 2014, is expected to be immediately accretive, assuming Conduit will continue to do as well as before the merger.

Top 5 Services Stocks To Watch Right Now: Fifth Street Senior Floating Rate Corp (FSFR)

Fifth Street Senior Floating Rate Corp., incorporated on May 22, 2013, is a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company. The Company investment objective is to maximize the Company�� portfolio�� total return by generating income from its debt investments while seeking to preserve its capital. The Company intends to achieve its investment objective by investing primarily in senior secured loans, including first lien, unitranche and second lien debt instruments, that pay interest at rates, which are determined periodically on the basis of a floating base lending rate, made to private middle market companies whose debt is rated below investment grade, which the Company refer to collectively as senior loans. The Company�� investment adviser is Fifth Street Management.

The Company may also invest in senior unsecured loans issued by private middle market companies and, to a lesser extent, subordinated loans issued by private middle market companies and senior and subordinated loans issued by public companies. Under normal market conditions, at least 80% of the value of its net assets plus borrowings for investment purposes will be invested in floating rate senior loans. Senior loans pay interest at rates, which are determined periodically on the basis of the London-Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) plus a premium. Senior loans in which the Company expects to invest are made to United States and, to a limited extent, non- United States corporations, partnerships and other business entities which operate in various industries and geographical regions.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Marc Bastow]
Management investment company Fifth Street Senior Floating Rate Corp. (FSFR) raised its quarterly dividend 15% to 23 cents per share, payable April 15 to shareholders of record as of March 31.
FSFR Stock�Dividend Yield: 6.88%

Top 5 Defensive Stocks To Watch For 2015: Stage Stores Inc.(SSI)

Stage Stores, Inc. operates as a specialty department store retailer that offers branded and private label apparel, accessories, cosmetics, and footwear for women, men, and children in the United States. The company also offers sportswear, dresses, intimates, home and gift products, outerwear, swimwear, and other products. It primarily focuses on consumers in small and mid-sized markets. The company operates stores under the names of Bealls, Goody?s, Palais Royal, Peebles, and Stage. Stage Stores, Inc. also sells its products through its Web site. As of March 06, 2012, it operated 819 stores in 40 states. Stage Stores, Inc. is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Dan Caplinger]
On Friday, Stage Stores (NYSE: SSI ) will release its latest quarterly results. The key to making smart investment decisions on stocks reporting earnings is to anticipate how they'll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you'll be less likely to make an uninformed knee-jerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.

Top 5 Defensive Stocks To Watch For 2015: Ecopetrol S.A.(EC)

Ecopetrol S.A. operates as an integrated oil company in Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and the U.S. Gulf Coast. The company engages in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas. As of December 31, 2010, its proved reserves of crude oil and natural gas consisted of 1,714.0 million barrels of oil equivalent. The company also transports crude oil, motor fuels, fuel oil, and other refined products, as well as mixture of diesel and palm oil. It owns transportation network consisting of 3,003 kilometers of crude oil pipeline directly, as well as an additional 2,178 kilometers of crude oil pipeline with its business partners; and 3,017 kilometers of multi-purpose pipelines for transportation of refined products from refinery to wholesale distribution points. As of the above date, Ecopetrol S.A. owned 58 stations with a nominal storage capacity of 19 million barrels of crude oil and 6 million barrels of refined products. In addition, the company owns and o perates refineries that produce a range of refined products, including gasoline, diesel, kerosene, jet fuel, aviation fuel, liquefied petroleum gas, sulfur, heavy fuel oils, motor fuels, and petrochemicals, including paraffin waxes, lube base oils, low-density polyethylene, aromatics, asphalts, alkylates, cyclohexane and aliphatic solvents, and refinery grade propylene, as well as provides industrial services to third parties. Further, it markets various refined and feed stock products, including regular and high octane gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, natural gas, and petrochemical products. The company was formerly known as Empresa Colombiana de Petroleos and changed its name to Ecopetrol S.A. in June 2003. Ecopetrol S.A. was founded in 1948 and is based in Bogota, Colombia.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Dividend]
Ecopetrol (EC) has a market capitalization of $94.96 billion. The company employs 8,087 people, generates revenue of $35.317 billion and has a net income of $7.863 billion. Ecopetrol�� earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $15.070 billion. The EBITDA margin is 42.67 percent (the operating margin is 35.23 percent and the net profit margin 22.26 percent).