Monday, September 1, 2014

Top 10 US Stocks For 2014

In this last issue of The Energy Letter for 2013, I take a look back at the year’s biggest stories in energy. Here are my top 10. They are mostly in no particular order, except I do think my #1 is the top energy-related story of the year.

1. Lac-Mégantic disaster


Devastation at Lac-Mégantic. Source: CTV News Montreal
On July 6, a train carrying crude from North Dakota’s Bakken oil fields to the Irving Oil Refinery in Saint John, New Brunswick, started to roll downhill after it was parked for the night. The train picked up speed and ultimately derailed in the heart of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. A wave of burning oil engulfed the town, killing 47. Businesses were destroyed, homes lost, and the center of the town ruined. The rail company involved — the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic (MMA) Railway – declared bankruptcy shortly after the disaster.

This story intersects many of the themes I cover. Growing oil production in new hydrocarbon basins has led to growing rail shipments, while pipeline projects race to catch up. I have written a great deal about this trend, as well as the relative safety of rail transport versus pipeline transport. But what makes this my top energy story of 2013 is the magnitude of the casualties. Any major loss of life that occurs during the procurement of energy is deeply troubling, but the fact that this accident killed so many innocent bystanders puts it at the top of my list.

Top 5 Construction Material Stocks To Watch Right Now: PetSmart Inc(PETM)

PetSmart, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer of products, services, and solutions for pets in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada. The company offers consumables, such as pet food, treats, and litter; and hardgoods, which include pet supplies and other goods comprising collars, leashes, health care supplies, grooming and beauty aids, toys, apparel, and pet beds and carriers, as well as aquariums and habitats, accessories, d�or, and filters for fish, birds, reptiles, and small pets. It also provides fresh-water fish, small birds, reptiles, and small pets; and pet services, such as grooming, including precision cuts, baths, nail trimming and grinding, and teeth brushing, as well as training, boarding, and day camp services. In addition, the company operates PetsHotels that offer boarding for dogs and cats; provides personalized pet care, an on-call veterinarian, temperature controlled rooms and suites, daily specialty treats and p lay time, and day camp services for dogs; and operates veterinary hospitals, which offer services comprising routine examinations and vaccinations, dental care, a pharmacy, and surgical procedures. As of January 29, 2012, it operated 1,232 retail stores; 192 PetsHotels; 791 veterinary hospitals under the trade name of Banfield, The Pet Hospital; and 8 hospitals operated through other third parties in Canada. The company also offers its products through an e-commerce and community site, PetSmart.com. PetSmart, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Sean Williams]

    The most logical choice to invest in a burgeoning and ongoing domestication of our pets is by looking into pet superstores like PetSmart (NASDAQ: PETM  ) . While online companies like PetMed Express (NASDAQ: PETS  ) offer the convenience of ordering medications from the comfort of your home, pets -- like humans -- need personalized care that you usually just can't get from the click of a mouse. This means that PetSmart is bound to stay busy with physical store visits from consumers who want only the best for Fido or their feline. And the proof is certainly in the pudding --PetSmart hasn't delivered an annual revenue decline once over the past decade with total sales up 125% since 2004.

  • [By Rick Munarriz]

    I went out on a limb last week, and now it's time to see how that decision played out.

    I predicted that Best Buy (NYSE: BBY  ) would close lower on the week. The consumer-electronics retailer had hit a new 52-week high heading into the report, and it didn't seem justifiable given the declining sales and cascading margins. Best Buy's quarterly report on Tuesday was mixed, and while there were a few positives in there, the market ultimately agreed with me. Why is a fading retailer trading at new highs? The stock fell 3.2% on the week. I was right. I predicted that the tech-heavy Nasdaq would outperform the Dow Jones Industrial Average. (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) . This has been a tricky call lately, so how did it play out this time? Well, the market finally took a breather this week, and secondary stocks led the way down, with the Nasdaq shedding 1.1% on the week. The Dow managed to close just 0.3% lower. I was wrong. My final call was for PetSmart (NASDAQ: PETM  ) to beat Wall Street's income estimates in its latest quarter. The pet supplies and services provider has been posting blowout quarterly results over the past year, and I was banking on a continuation of the trend. Analysts were looking for a profit of $0.96 a share during the quarter, and it came through with earnings of $0.98. I was right.

    Two out of three? I'll take it! That makes me 13 out of 15 over the past five weeks.

Top 10 US Stocks For 2014: OGE Energy Corporation(OGE)

OGE Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy and energy services provider that offers physical delivery and related services for electricity and natural gas primarily in the south central United States. The company is involved in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electric energy in Oklahoma and western Arkansas; and gathering, processing, transporting, storing, and marketing of natural gas. It furnishes retail electric service in 268 communities and their contiguous rural and suburban areas. OGE Energy Corp. operates coal-fired and natural gas-fired units, as well as wind-powered units. As of December 31, 2011, the company owned and operated 12 generating stations with an aggregate capability of 6,790 megawatts; and a transmission system comprising 51 substations and 4,258 structure miles of lines in Oklahoma, and 7 substations and 279 structure miles of lines in Arkansas. Its distribution system consisted of 353 substations , 27,854 structure miles of overhead lines, 1,895 miles of underground conduit, and 10,120 miles of underground conductors in Oklahoma, as well as 37 substations, 2,250 structure miles of overhead lines, 212 miles of underground conduit, and 572 miles of underground conductors in Arkansas. The company also owned approximately 6,019 miles of intrastate natural gas gathering pipelines in Oklahoma and Texas; approximately 2,250 miles of intrastate natural gas transportation pipelines in Oklahoma; and 2 underground natural gas storage facilities and 8 operating natural gas processing plants in Oklahoma. It serves residential, commercial, industrial, oilfield, public authorities, and street light operators. OGE Energy Corp. was founded in 1995 and is based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Robert Rapier]

    Enable Midstream Partners�(NYSE: ENBL), a joint venture by affiliates of�CenterPoint Energy�(NYSE: CNP),�OGE Energy�(NYSE: OGE) and ArcLight Capital Partners. Enable Midstream Partners is one of the largest midstream partnerships in the US, with oil and gas midstream assets that extend from western Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle to Alabama and from Louisiana to Illinois

  • [By Chuck Carnevale]

    OGE Energy Corp. (OGE): Another Utility with Slightly Higher Growth

    Our second example, OGE Energy Corp., differs from our first only by virtue of the fact that its earnings growth rate since 1998 has averaged over 5% per annum. Nevertheless, we once again discover that the PE ratio of 15 represents a strong proxy for this company�� valuation. During the short time intervals when price deviates from fair value PE of 15, it doesn�� take long for price to move back into alignment with earnings.

  • [By GURUFOCUS]

    OGE Energy Corp. (OGE) operates as an energy and energy services provider that offers physical delivery and related services for electricity and natural gas primarily in the south central U.S. Dec. 4, the company increased its quarterly dividend 7.8% to $0.225 per share. The dividend is payable Jan. 30, 2014, to shareowners of record Jan. 10, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.7%.

Top 10 US Stocks For 2014: ConocoPhillips(COP)

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

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Arjun Sreekumar]

    Thus�far, however, only two LNG export ventures have been approved by U.S. lawmakers: Cheniere Energy's (NYSEMKT: LNG  ) Sabine Pass terminal, which was given the green light in 2011, and the Freeport LNG project, an $11 billion facility in Texas whose general partner, Freeport LNG-GP, is 50% owned by ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP  ) , which was approved earlier this year.

Top 10 US Stocks For 2014: Bankrate Inc (RATE)

Bankrate, Inc. (Bankrate), incorporated on April 13, 2011, is a publisher, aggregator and distributor of personal finance content on the Internet. The Company provides consumers with personal finances editorial content across multiple vertical categories, including mortgages, deposits, insurance, credit cards, and other categories, such as retirement, automobile loans, and taxes. The Company provides financial applications and information to a network of distribution partners and through national and state publications. The Company develops and provides Web services to over 75 co-branded partners, including personal finance sites on the Internet such as Yahoo!, CNN Money, CNBC and Comcast. The Company licenses editorial content to over 100 newspapers on a daily basis, including including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Boston Globe. The Company offers services, including Mortgages and Home Lending, Deposits, Insurance, Credit Cards and Other financial products, including those related to retirement, tax, auto, and debt management.

The Company online publishing, is the sale of advertising, sponsorships, leads and hyperlinks, and lead generation within its Online Network through Bankrate.com, Interest.com, Bankaholic.com, Mortgage-calc.com, CreditCardGuide.com, Nationwidecardservices.com, Creditcardsearchengine.com, Feedisclosure.com, Insureme.com, Bankrate.com.cn (China), CreditCards.com, Creditcards.ca, Netquote.com, CD.com, CarInsuranceQuotes.com and InsWeb.com. The print publishing and licensing business is primarily engaged in the sale of advertising in the Mortgage Guide and CD & Deposit Guide.

Mortgages and Home Lending

The Company offers information on rates for different types of mortgages, home lending and refinancing options. The Company�� rate information is specific to geographic location and contains nearly 600 local markets, covering all 50 United States. Consumers can customize searches for mor! tgage rates by loan size, maturity, and location through its online portals. The Company also provides original articles that cover topics, such as trends in housing markets and refinancing perspectives to help consumers with their decision making.

Deposits

The Company offers rate information on different deposit products, such as money market accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit. It also provides online analytic tools to help consumers calculate investment value using customized inputs.

Insurance

The Company facilitates a consumer�� ability to receive multiple competitive insurance quotes for auto, business, home, life, health and long-term care based on a single application. It also provides advice and detailed descriptions of insurance terms, aiding consumers in deciding amongst a range of policy options. Insurance quotes can be customized by age, marital status and location. In addition, the Company provides articles on topical subjects, such as recent healthcare reforms, as well as the basics to understanding an insurance policy.

Credit Cards

The Company offers a selection of consumer and business credit and prepaid cards for visitors. It provides detailed credit card information and comparison capabilities, and allows consumers to search for cards that cater to their specific needs. It displays cards by bank or issuer, credit quality, reward program, or card limit. The Company further hosts news and advice on credit card debt and bank policies, as well as tools to estimate credit score and credit card fees.

Other Personal Finance Products

The Company offers information on retirement, taxes, auto, and debt management. The content provided on such topics include 401(k), Social Security, tax deductions and exemptions, auto loans, debt consolidation, and credit risk.

The Company sells leads to insurance agents, insurance carriers and credit card issuers. Its credit c! ard compa! rison marketplace is one of the third party online application sources for all issuers. The Company charges its advertisers on a per-lead basis based on the total number of leads generated for insurance products, and on a per-action basis for credit cards (upon approval or completion of an application). Advertisers that are listed in the Company�� rate tables have the opportunity to hyperlink their listings. In addition, advertisers can buy hyperlinked placement within its qualified insurance listings. It sells its hyperlinks on a per-click pricing model. The Company provides a variety of digital display formats. Its common digital display advertisement sizes are leader boards and banners, which are prominently displayed at the top or bottom of a page, skyscrapers, islands and posters. The Company charges for these advertisements based on the number of times the advertisement is displayed or based on a fixed amount for a campaign.

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

    Shares of Bankrate (NYSE: RATE) got a boost, shooting up 20.92 percent to $21.05 after the company reported better-than-expected Q4 results.

    Coty (NYSE: COTY) was also up, gaining 7.36 percent to $14.73 after the company reported strong Q2 revenue and announced a $200 million share buyback program.

  • [By Rich Smith]

    Meridian Studios, Getty Images It's no great secret that across the nation, insurance premiums are on the rise. Over the past five years, the cost of insuring a home against fire and other casualty has crept up about 10 percent a year -- every year. Health insurance increases, while they've been muted of late, still rose 4 percent this year. But if you think those hikes are steep, get a load of this next one. Congratulations! You're a Father! (Now Open Your Wallet) Kids are expensive. If you're a parent, you know this already. If you're a parent of a kid who hasn't turned 16 just yet, you're on track to get another lesson in how expensive they can be. Because once your offspring passes the driver's test and receive a license to drive from the state, he's going to need to be insured -- and that will cost you an extra $2,000 a year, on average. (By the way, if your kid is getting driver's license, your wallet won't take quite as big a hit, girls being 25 percent less expensive to insure than boys on average. But it'll still be some serious coin.) According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driving is a risky activity for teens. The are more prone to get into accidents -- about four times as likely as older, more experienced drivers, according to the Centers for Disease Control. And traffic accidents are the leading causes of death for Americans ages 16 to 19. Between lives lost and property destroyed, this all makes insurance companies very wary of insuring teen drivers. And when they do agree to insure a teen, they make you pay through the nose. According to a recent report posted on Bankrate.com's (RATE) InsuranceQuotes.com, across both genders, all age categories, and all 50 states, parents pay an average 84 percent more for their car insurance after adding a teen to their policy. Stay Between the (State) Lines Think that's bad? It might get worse. Unless you're fortunate enough to live in a state like North Carolina or Hawaii,

Top 10 US Stocks For 2014: TRW Automotive Holdings Corporation(TRW)

TRW Automotive Holdings Corp., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells automotive systems, modules, and components for automotive original equipment manufacturers and related after-markets. It operates in four segments: Chassis Systems, Occupant Safety Systems, Electronics, and Automotive Components. The Chassis Systems segment offers product lines relating to steering gears and systems, foundation brakes, modules, brake controls, and linkage and suspension. The Occupant Safety Systems segment provides airbags, seat belts, steering wheels, and occupant restraint systems. The Electronics segment offers various products comprising safety electronics, radio frequency electronics, chassis electronics, powertrain electronics, and driver assist systems. The Automotive Components provides body controls, engine valves, and engineered fasteners and components. The company offers its products for passenger cars, light trucks, and commercial vehicles worldwid e. TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. was founded in 1904 and is based in Livonia, Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By guruek]


    TRW Automotive Holdings Corp (TRW): Director Neil P. Simpkins Sold 10,273,062 Shares

    Director of TRW Automotive Holdings Corp (TRW) Neil P. Simpkins sold 10,273,062 shares on 08/05/2013 at an average price of $71.34.

  • [By Patricio Kehoe]

    Automobile manufacturers have been performing well as of late, largely due to increasing sales pushed by a recovering U.S. economy and growing emerging markets. Auto parts suppliers, such as TRW Automotive Holdings Corp (TRW) and Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI), are bound to benefit largely from rising sales, and thus present themselves as interesting investment opportunities. However, due to their focus on different industry segments, and their current stock valuation, investing in only one of these companies makes sense.

    Safety Sells

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Cooper Tire & Rubber (CTB) has gained 1% to $24.86 today, but its trading more on whether investors expect its acquisition by Apollo Tyres to be completed. Car-part companies, however, are also exhibiting weakness today. TRW Automotive (TRW) has fallen 0.8% to $77.91, Lear (LEA) has dipped 0.4% to $74.78 and American Axel and Manufacturing (AXL) is off 0.5% to $18.99.

Top 10 US Stocks For 2014: Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas SA (FCC)

Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas SA (FCC) is a Spain-based company, which is primarily engaged, together with its subsidiaries in the construction and environmental services sector. The Company�� activities include the collection, treatment and elimination of solid urban waste, street cleaning, sewer system maintenance, green areas and buildings maintenance, urban transport, treatment and elimination of industrial waste, full-service water supply management and cement manufacture. The Company is also active in the real estate development, as well as in the renewable energy industry. In addition, the Company is a parent of Grupo FCC, a group which comprises a number of controlled entities. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Quick Pen]

    The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Department of Justice (DoJ) do not want the number of players in the telecom sector to shrink below four ��Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile. To this Sprint�� Son argues that the industry already has four players ��Verizon that purchased Vodafone�� stake in it, AT&T which plans to acquire DirecTV (DTV), and Comcast (CMCSA); Sprint would be the fourth one. But these antitrust issues have been a challenge for Sprint.

  • [By Live Investor]

    What does the FCC have to say? The regulator�� reaction is nothing surprising. After Son met the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to convince them about the prospects of the proposed deal, Reuters reported that FCC chairman Tom Wheeler wasn�� quite impressed and had dubious thoughts on it.

Top 10 US Stocks For 2014: ConAgra Foods Inc.(CAG)

ConAgra Foods, Inc. operates as a food company primarily in North America. It operates in two segments, Consumer Foods and Commercial Foods. The Consumer Foods segment provides branded, private label, and customized food products, which are sold in various retail and foodservice channels. It offers products in various categories, such as meals, entrees, condiments, sides, snacks, and desserts in frozen, refrigerated, and shelf-stable temperature classes. This segment?s principal brands include Alexia, ACT II, Banquet, Blue Bonnet, Chef Boyardee, DAVID, Egg Beaters, Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Hunt?s, Marie Callender?s, Orville Redenbacher?s, PAM, Peter Pan, Reddi-wip, Slim Jim, Snack Pack, Swiss Miss, Van Camp?s, and Wesson. The Commercial Foods segment provides commercially branded foods and ingredients that are sold to foodservice, food manufacturing, and industrial customers. Its primary products consist of specialty potato products, milled grain ingredients, a ran ge of vegetable products, seasonings, blends, and flavors. This segment sells products under brands, such as ConAgra Mills, Lamb Weston, and Spicetec Flavors & Seasonings. The company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Louis Navellier]

    Welcome to the Stock of the Day. Before the opening bell Thursday, ConAgra Foods (CAG) shares rose after it reported surprisingly strong third-quarter earnings. Does this signal a turnaround for ConAgra, which has struggled in the increasingly competitive food industry?

  • [By Jon C. Ogg]

    ConAgra�Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

    E*TRADE Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC) was reiterated as Buy, but the price target was raised to $19.50 from $16.50, at Sterne Agee, making the third or fourth such price target upgrade in as many days, but what stands out here is that this appears to now be a “street-high” price target.

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