Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Top High Tech Companies To Own In Right Now

LONDON (CNNMoney) Most British workers under 50 will have to work longer than expected after the government unveiled plans to introduce the highest retirement age in the developed world.

Under the reforms, which were presented as part of a bi-annual economic update on Thursday, the pension age will be linked to rising life expectancy and reflect the U.K. government's belief that workers should spend no more than a third of their adult life in retirement.

The state pension age of 68 will now be enforced in the mid 2030s, about 10 years earlier than planned. And by the late 2040s it will rise to 69.

The new regime will give the U.K. one of the highest pension ages in the world by the middle of the century, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Top Gas Utility Stocks To Invest In 2015: Darling International Inc. (DAR)

Darling International Inc. provides rendering, recycling, and recovery solutions to the food industry worldwide. It operates in two segments, Rendering and Restaurant Services. The Rendering segment engages in collecting and processing animal by-products and converting these into useable oils and proteins utilized by the agricultural, leather, and oleo-chemical industries. This segment offers various products, such as meat and bone meal, and bleachable fancy tallow. The Restaurant Services segment involves in the collection of used cooking oils from food service establishments and recycling them into similar products, such as high-energy animal feed ingredients and industrial oils. This segment provides grease trap servicing; and schedules services, such as fat and bone, and used cooking oil collection, as well as trap cleaning services for contracted customers. The company primarily sells its products to producers of oleo-chemicals, soaps, pet foods, leather goods, livest ock feed, and bio-fuels through commodities brokers, company agents, and directly. It was formerly known as Darling-Delaware Company, Inc. and changed its name to Darling International Inc. in December 1993. The company was founded in 1882 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Steve Symington and Alison Southwick]

    Darling International (NYSE: DAR  ) already stands tall as the nation's largest publicly traded rendering company, but Darling currently boasts another significant catalyst now that its two-years-in-the-making joint biodiesel venture with Valero (NYSE: VLO  ) is finally up and running, says Fool contributor Steve Symington in the following interview with the Fool's Alison Southwick.

  • [By Jonas Elmerraji]

    Nearest Resistance: $20��br>Nearest Support: $18.50��br>Catalyst: Share offering

    Waster recycling firm Darling International (DAR) is down more than 5% this afternoon following news that the firm would be offering 40 million shares of common stock at $19, a move designed to raise capital to pay for a planned acquisition. While investors took the news well (the acquisition should be accretive to DAR's business, after all), shares traded down to the offering price.

    If you own Darling right now, this might be a good opportunity to get out. That's because DAR is currently forming a head-and-shoulders top, a bearish setup that indicates exhaustion among buyers. While support exists at $18.50, it's weak enough to get taken out on the next round of selling. Buyer beware.

  • [By Jon C. Ogg]

    Darling International Inc. (NYSE: DAR) was raised to Buy from Hold and the price target was raised to $25 from $22 at Canaccord Genuity.

    Hasbro Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) was raised to Buy all the way from Sell by Citigroup.

Top High Tech Companies To Own In Right Now: Guggenheim Enhanced Equity Income Fund (GPM)

Old Mutual/Claymore Long-Short Fund (the Fund) is a diversified, closed-end management investment company. The Fund�� primary investment objective is to provide a high level of current income and current gains. The Fund�� secondary investment objective is to provide long-term capital appreciation. The Fund invests in a portfolio of equity securities and by selling securities short in the S&P 500 Index that it believes will under perform relative to the average stock in the S&P 500. The Fund will also write (sell) call options on equity indexes and, to a lesser extent, on individual securities held in the Fund�� portfolio.

The Fund�� investment adviser is Claymore Advisors, LLC. Analytic Investors, Inc. (Analytic) is the Fund�� sub-adviser. It invests in various sectors, including financials, information technology, industrials, healthcare, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, energy, materials, utilities and telecommunications.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Chuck Carnevale]

    Next, I turned to an evaluation of gross profit margin (gpm), net profit margin (npm), return on assets (roa), return on equity (roe) and return on invested capital (roi). The example below only includes gross and net profit margin, however, I review data on all the metrics stated above.

Top High Tech Companies To Own In Right Now: Genworth Financial Inc (GNW)

Genworth Financial, Inc., a financial security company, provides insurance, wealth management, investment, and financial solutions in the United States and internationally. The company offers various insurance and fixed annuity products, including life and long-term care insurance products; payment protection insurance products for consumers primarily to meet specified payment obligations; and wealth management products, such as managed account programs with advisor support and financial planning services. It also provides mortgage insurance products and related services to insure prime-based, individually underwritten residential mortgage loans or flow mortgage insurance; and mortgage insurance on a structured or bulk basis, as well as offers services, analytical tools, and technology that enable lenders to operate and manage risk. In addition, the company provides institutional products consisting of funding agreements, funding agreements backing notes, and guaranteed in vestment contracts. Genworth Financial, Inc. distributes its products and services through financial intermediaries, advisors, independent distributors, affinity groups, and sales specialists. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By James E. Brumley]

    Never let it be said I didn't follow up on my prior ideas and commentaries. In November of last year I said MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG), Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN), and Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE:GNW) were budding bullish idea.

    For those of you with good memories, you'll likely know why that sounds a little bit "off." Though GNW, MTG, and RDN had all three been quite bullish that particular day as well as flashed bursts of bullishness in the days leading up to that November 1st look, the market was still more than a little pessimistic on on insurers like Radian Group, MGIC Investment, and Genworth Financial. I'm sure glad I was willing to go out on a limb. All three stocks have gone on to make big - and surprising - gains.

    So do I come here to pound my chest on RDN, GNW, and MTG? Nope - not at all. I'm chiming in again today to let you know if you got in on my advice, it's now time to lock in those gains and get out.

    Just so there's no confusion, I don't see any particular overbearing problems hanging over the industry's head. It's just that these stocks have outlived their usefulness and opportunity for us.

    Take MGIC Investment Corp. for instance. MTG has advances 340% since then, yet still isn't profitable on a net trailing basis. Positive earnings are sill in the cards. But, priced at 27.6 times 2014's projected income, the value argument is gone, as well as the technical one.

    Ditto for Genworth Financial and Radian Group Inc. Both stocks have posted huge gains over the past ten months, and while their forward-looking ratios are more attractive, after a 118% and 200% runup, respectively - given the back stories and timing - you have to believe the best-case scenario has already been priced into RDN and GNW shares.

    Just for the record, I would be more than willing to buy back into any and all of these names once we get a healthy pullback and start to see decent evidence of a bullish reversal. While we

  • [By Dimitra DeFotis]

    Genworth Financial (GNW) stock was down more than 13% to $14.14 in afternoon trading.�Morgan �Stanley analysts�Nigel Dally,�Hayley Locker�and�Laura Sanchez, who� have an Underweight rating on the stock, reduced their price target by $3 to $16. But they say there could be further downside with the likelihood that Genworth takes a charge to account for increased loss reserves.

Top High Tech Companies To Own In Right Now: Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEC)

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. provides professional, technical, and construction services. Its services include engineering, design, and architectural services; construction and construction management services; operations and maintenance services; and process, scientific, and systems consulting services. The company serves a range of companies and organizations comprising industrial, commercial, and government clients across multiple markets and geographies. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. provides its services to various industries and markets consisting of oil and gas exploration, production, and refining; environmental programs; pharmaceuticals and biotechnology; chemicals and polymers; buildings; infrastructure; power; technology and manufacturing; consumer products; and pulp and paper. The company provides its services through its offices in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. was founded in 1947 and is based in Pa sadena, California.

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

    Top losers in the sector included Chart Industries (NASDAQ: GTLS), Jacobs Engineering Group (NYSE: JEC), and ABB (NYSE: ABB).

    Top Headline
    Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) reported a 7% rise in its first-quarter profit. Merck's quarterly profit surged to $1.71 billion, or $0.57 per share, compared to a year-ago profit of $1.59 billion, or $0.52 per share. Excluding certain items, Merck earned $0.88 per share, up from $0.85 per share Its revenue dropped 4% to $10.26 billion versus $10.67 billion. However, analysts were estimating earnings of $0.79 per share on revenue of $10.43 billion. Merck reiterated its full-year earnings forecast of $2.15 to $2.47 per share.

  • [By James E. Brumley]

    Most of the time, investors can figure out where the better investment opportunities are. Take the growth of heavy construction (commercial, manufacturing, energy production, institutional, etc) as an example. To capture the post-recession rebound in that segment of the construction market, most people have turned to names like Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. (NYSE:CBI) and Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC), both of which take on major construction projects. Big construction companies like Jacobs Engineering Group and Chicago Bridge & Iron Company aren't the only ways to play the recovery of the industry, though. Investors interested in looking one step beyond the obvious possibilities will find that a company like CES Synergies Inc. (OTCBB:CESX) is actually the better opportunity.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    The market is running in place today but the VIX continues to drop and that could be a good sign for Boeing (BA), Xerox (XRX), Jacobs Engineering (JEC), Consol Energy (CNX) and Morgan Stanley (MS).

Top High Tech Companies To Own In Right Now: MedAssets Inc.(MDAS)

MedAssets, Inc. provides technology enabled products and services for hospitals, health systems, and other non-acute healthcare providers in the United States. It operates in two segments, Spend and Clinical Resource Management, and Revenue Cycle Management. The Spend and Clinical Resource Management offers a suite of cost management services, supply chain analytics, and data capabilities; medical device and clinical resource consulting, which includes implantable physician preference items, utilization management, and service line consulting; supply chain outsourcing and procurement services; capital equipment lifecycle management; lean process and workforce optimization solutions; process improvement consulting; business intelligence tools; and performance analytics and data management tools, such as service line analytics, spend analytics and strategic information services, e-commerce, client master item file services, electronic contract portfolio catalog, and decision support services. The Revenue Cycle Management segment provides a suite of products and services spanning the revenue cycle workflow from patient access and financial responsibility; case management, coding, and documentation; charge capture and revenue integrity; strategic pricing; claims processing; denials management and reimbursement integrity; revenue cycle and supply chain integration; revenue recovery and accounts receivable management; and outsourced services. It delivers technology-enabled solutions primarily through the company-hosted software, software-as-a-service, or Web-based applications. As of December 31, 2011, the company served approximately 4,200 acute care hospitals and 100,000 ancillary or non-acute provider locations. MedAssets, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Javier Hasse, Insider Monkey]

    Fundamentally, ADT looks appealing. Its stock trades at 16.5 times the company�� earnings, versus an industry average of 29.4x, while it boasts industry leading margins and above average returns on equity and assets. However, above-average debt levels are concerning, so its financial standing must be further analyzed.

    MedAssets (MDAS)

    The second company in this list is MedAssets (MDAS), a $1.37 billion market cap provider of technology-enabled products and services.

Top High Tech Companies To Own In Right Now: Hooker Furniture Corporation(HOFT)

Hooker Furniture Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, imports, and markets residential wood, metal, and upholstered furniture products in North America. The company offers wood furniture products, including home entertainment, home office, accent, dining, bedroom, and bath furniture in the upper-medium price points sold under the Hooker Furniture brand, and sold at moderate price points under the Envision Lifestyle Collections by Hooker Furniture brand. It also provides youth bedroom furniture under the Opus Designs by Hooker brand; and motion and stationary leather furniture. In addition, the company offers various residential leather and fabric upholstered furniture under the Bradington-Young and Seven Seas upholstery brand; specializes in leather reclining and motion chairs, sofas, club chairs, and executive desk chairs; and offers upscale occasional chairs and other seating under the Sam Moore upholstery brand. It serves retailers of resident ial home furnishings, including independent furniture stores, specialty retailers, department stores, catalog and Internet merchants, interior designers, and national and regional retail chains. The company was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Martinsville, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dividends4Life]

    Memberships and Peers: LEG is a member of the S&P 500, a Dividend Aristocrat, a member of the Broad Dividend Achievers��Index and a Dividend Champion. The company's peer group includes: Hooker Furniture Corp. (HOFT) with a 2.7% yield, Flexsteel Industries Inc. (FLXS) with a 1.8% yield and Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (ETH) with a 1.6% yield.

  • [By Peter Graham]

    The Q4 2014 earnings report for La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE: LZB), a potential peer of other furniture stocks like Hooker Furniture Corporation (NASDAQ: HOFT) and Flexsteel Industries, Inc (NASDAQ: FLXS), is due out after the market closes on Tuesday. Aside from the La-Z-Boy Incorporated earnings report, it should be said that Hooker Furniture Corporation reported Q1 2015 on June 5th (they reported a double-digit income rise on higher sales in first quarter) and Flexsteel Industries, Inc reported Q3 2014 earnings on April 16th (they record net sales and net income). However and the last time around, investors did not like it when La-Z-Boy Incorporated reported quarterly profit of 32 cents a share that missed forecasts calling for a profit of 35 cents a share and they really did not like revenue�missing expectations by 7.7%. The company is also doing some restructuring.

Top High Tech Companies To Own In Right Now: Safeway Inc.(SWY)

Safeway Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a food and drug retailer in North America. The company operates stores that provide an array of grocery items, food, and general merchandise, as well as features specialty departments, such as bakery, delicatessen, floral, and pharmacy, as well as coffee shops and fuel centers. It also offers SELECT line of products that include baked goods, sparkling ciders and lemonades, salsas, whole bean coffees, frozen pizzas and entrees, and fresh and dry pastas and sauces, as well as an array of ice creams, hors d'oeuvres, and desserts; O ORGANICS line, which comprises milk, chicken, salads, juices, and entrees; Lucerne line of dairy products; Eating Right line of better-for-you products; Bright Green line of home care products; Total Pet Care line of pet foods and pet care products; and Value Red line of value-priced paper goods. As of December 31, 2009, Safeway operated approximately 1,725 stores in California, Oregon, Wash ington, Alaska, Colorado, Arizona, Texas, the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Mid-Atlantic region, as well as British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba/Saskatchewan. In addition, the company owns and operates GroceryWorks.com Operating Company, LLC, an online grocery channel, doing business under the names Safeway.com, Vons.com, and Genuardis.com; and Blackhawk Network Holdings, Inc., which provides third-party gift cards, prepaid cards, telecom cards, and sports and entertainment cards to North American retailers for sale to retail customers. Additionally, it engages in gift card businesses in the United Kingdom, France, Mexico, and Australia. Further, the company, through a 49% ownership interest in Casa Ley, S.A. de C.V. operates 156 food and general merchandise stores in Western Mexico. The company was formerly known as Safeway Stores, Incorporated and changed its name to Safeway Inc. in February 1990. Safeway was founded in 1915 and is based in Pleasanton, California. Advisors' Opinion:

  • [By Robyn Gearey]

    Getty Images No matter how budget-savvy you are, there's no avoiding the fact that having children is expensive. But with the help of your smartphone, you can cut your kid-related costs down considerably. Here are six apps that will help. Grocery iQ (free; iOS, Android): After housing and transportation, food is often the biggest chunk of a family's budget. Keep your grocery bill in check with this free app. Grocery iQ works with many major grocery chains, allowing you to organize your list around your favorite store's specific layout. Once you input your list, the app will calculate your total, so you can adjust it before you hit the checkout counter. Best of all, the app includes coupons (which can be linked with the store's loyalty card) to help you cut down your bill even more. Sample savings: 55 cents off Skippy peanut butter at my local Safeway (SWY). Out To Eat With Kids (free; iOS, Android): Don't feel like cooking tonight? Search this new app, which uses your location to find kid-friendly restaurant deals like "kids eat free" nights and seasonal promotions. It's also searchable by the day of the week. Most of the offers are for popular chain restaurants, but you can request that they add your family's favorite dinner spot. Sample savings: $4.79 off on a kid's meal during Moe's Southwest Grill's Tuesday night "Kids Eat Free" promotion. Chore Bank ($1.99; iOS): Why hire someone to rake the leaves or clean the house when you have free labor available right at home? Inspire your kids to pick up extra chores with Data Jedi's Chore Bank app, which allows parents to set a price for various tasks, then add that amount to the child's virtual account. The app can also track allowance and other money -- say, earnings from babysitting jobs or monetary gifts from relatives -- and deposits and withdrawals so your offspring can see where their money goes. You can even set an interest rate on savings to help kids learn the power of savings. Sample savings: $

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