Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Top 10 Mid Cap Companies To Invest In 2014

The Q3 2014 earnings report for large cap toy stock Mattel, Inc (NASDAQ: MAT), a potential peer of mid cap�Hasbro, Inc (NASDAQ: HAS) and small cap JAKKS Pacific, Inc (NASDAQ: JAKK), is scheduled for before the market opens on Thursday (October 16th). Aside from the Mattel, Inc earnings report, it should be said that Hasbro, Inc will report Q3 2014 earnings on October 20th (Next Monday)�before the market opens while�JAKKS Pacific, Inc will report Q3 2014 earnings before the market opens on October 23rd (Thursday). Mattel, Inc, like other toy stocks, has struggled to remain relevant in an age when many kids prefer to play video, mobile and computer games rather than with physical toys.

What Should You Watch Out for With the Mattel, Inc�Earnings Report?

First, here is a quick recap of Mattel, Inc�� recent earnings history along with EPS estimate trends from the Yahoo! Finance analyst estimates page:

10 Best Logistics Stocks To Watch For 2015: Nordic American Tanker Ltd (NAT)

Nordic American Tankers Limited is an international tanker company. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned 20 Suezmax tankers. The Company�� vessels include Nordic Harrier, Nordic Hawk, Nordic Hunter, Nordic Voyager, Nordic Freedom, Nordic Fighter, Nordic Discovery, Nordic Saturn, Nordic Jupiter, Nordic Apollo and Nordic Moon. Its vessels also include Nordic Cosmos, Nordic Sprite, Nordic Grace, Nordic Mistral, Nordic Passat, Nordic Vega, Nordic Breeze, Nordic Aurora and Nordic Zenith. In September 2011, the Company acquired the vessel, Nordic Aurora. It chartered all of its vessels in the spot market pursuant to a cooperative arrangement with Gemini Tankers LLC until November 24, 2011. In November 2011, the Orion Tankers pool was established with Orion Tankers Ltd. as pool manager and its vessels were transferred from the Gemini Tankers LLC arrangement to the Orion Tankers pool. On December 17, 2012, the Company acquired 100% interest in Scandic American Shipping Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Taylor Muckerman]

    As for the competition, not many companies have fared much better. For example, another Bermuda-based oil carrier, Nordic American Tankers (NYSE: NAT  ) , has seen its cash from operations fall below sea level the past two years. In Nordic's case, its fleet size of 20 double-hull Suezmax tankers isn't nearly as diverse as Teekay's, but Suezmax tankers are capable of toting up to 1 million barrels of oil per voyage.

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Nordic American Tankers (NASDAQ: NAT) was also up, gaining 10.05 percent to $8.87 after the Dow Jones Global Shipping Index showed strength throughout the session on Wednesday.

  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Shipping magnate�Nordic American Tankers (NYSE: NAT  ) announced today its second-quarter dividend of $0.16 per share, the same rate it's paid for the past two quarters after slashing the payout 47% from $0.30 per share. Even so, it marks the 64th consecutive quarterly dividend payment the tanker operator has made.

Top 10 Mid Cap Companies To Invest In 2014: Mdu Res Group Inc (MDU)

MDU Resources Group, Inc. operates as a diversified natural resource company in the United States. The company�s Electric segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. As of December 31, 2012, this segment provided its electric services to approximately 131,000 residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in 177 communities and adjacent rural areas. Its Natural Gas Distribution segment distributes natural gas in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming, as well as in Idaho, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington. This segment served approximately 859,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in 334 communities and adjacent rural areas. The company�s Pipeline and Energy Services segment provides natural gas transportation, underground storage, processing, and gathering services, as well as oil gathering through regulated and nonregulated pipeline systems primarily in the Rocky Mountain and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. This segment also provides cathodic protection and other energy-related services. Its Exploration and Production segment engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas in the Rocky Mountain and Mid-Continent regions of the United States and in and around the Gulf of Mexico. The company�s Construction Materials and Contracting segment mines, aggregates, and markets crushed stone, sand, gravel, and related construction materials, including ready-mixed concrete, cement, asphalt, liquid asphalt, and other value-added products. This segment also provides utility excavation services and inside electrical wiring, cabling, and mechanical services; sells and distributes electrical materials; and manufactures and distributes specialty equipment. MDU Resources Group, Inc. was founded in 1924 and is based in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Richard Stavros]

    Created with YCharts


    In addition to beating the market since the beginning of the year, diversified energy utilities, such as MDU Resources Group Inc (NYSE: MDU), Dominion Resources Inc (NYSE: D) and Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), significantly outperformed pure-play or predominantly all-electric utilities, such as Duke Energy Corp (NYSE: DUK) and Entergy Corp (NYSE: ETR), by as much as several percentage points (See Chart B).

    Interestingly, among top performers, there was no dominant strategy for exploiting natural gas demand, as these firms were involved in all aspects of the value chain–from exploration and production to distribution and storage. These companies have not only been benefiting from a natural gas surplus, but also from the pressing need to expand US energy infrastructure to deliver this newfound bounty to businesses and households.

    Chart B: Diversified Energy Utilities Outperformed Electric-Only Peers

Top 10 Mid Cap Companies To Invest In 2014: Heartland Express Inc (HTLD)

Heartland Express, Inc. (Heartland), incorporated on August 8, 1986, is a short-to-medium haul truckload carrier. The Company provides regional dry van truckload services through its regional terminals plus its corporate headquarters. The Company transports freight for shippers and generally earns revenue based on the number of miles per load delivered. The Company�� primary traffic lanes are between customer locations east of the Rocky Mountains. The Company is a holding company of Heartland Express Inc. of Iowa, Heartland Express Services, Inc., Heartland Express Maintenance Services, Inc. and A & M Express, Inc. Heartland operates nine specialized regional distribution operations in Atlanta, Georgia; Carlisle, Pennsylvania; Chester, Virginia; Columbus, Ohio; Jacksonville, Florida; Kingsport, Tennessee; Olive Branch, Mississippi; Phoenix, Arizona, and Seagoville, Texas. The Company operates maintenance facilities at all regional distribution operating centers along with shop only locations in Fort Smith, Arkansas and O��allon, Missouri. In November 2013, Heartland Express Inc acquired 100% of the stock of Gordon Trucking, Inc.

The Company�� operations department is responsible for maintaining the continuity between the customer�� needs and Heartland�� ability to meet those needs by communicating customer�� expectations to the fleet management group. They are charged with development of customer relationships, ensuring service standards, coordinating proper freight-to-capacity balancing, trailer asset management, and daily tactical decisions pertaining to matching the customer demand with the appropriate capacity within geographical service areas. They assign orders to drivers based on well-defined criteria, such as driver safety and United States Department of Transportation (the DOT) compliance, customer needs and service requirements, on-time service, equipment utilization, driver time at home, operational efficiency, and equipment maintenance needs. Fleet management is r! esponsible for driver management and development. Their responsibilities include meeting the needs of the drivers within the standards that have been set by the organization and communicating the requirements of the customers to the drivers on each order to ensure successful execution. Serving the short-to-medium haul market (500 miles average length of haul in 2012) permits the Company to use primarily single, rather than team drivers and dispatch loads directly from origin to destination without an intermediate equipment change other than for driver scheduling purposes.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Lauren Pollock]

    Heartland Express Inc.(HTLD), a trucking firm steered by the Gerdin family, agreed to acquire another family controlled peer, Gordon Trucking Inc., in a transaction valued at about $300 million. Shares climbed 12% to $16.05 in light premarket trading.

  • [By CRWE]

    Heartland Express, Inc. (Nasdaq:HTLD) reported that on Wednesday, May 30, 2012, members of its management team will participate in the 2012 KeyBanc Capital Markets Industrial, Automotive and Transportation conference.

Top 10 Mid Cap Companies To Invest In 2014: Microvision Inc.(MVIS)

MicroVision, Inc. engages in the development of miniature laser display and imaging engines based upon its proprietary PicoP display engine technology. Its technology uses two dimensional micro-electrical mechanical systems, lasers, optics, and electronics to create a video or still image from a small form factor device. The company offers Pico projector displays intended to be used for users of mobile consumer devices, such as smartphones, media players, tablet PCs, and other consumer electronics products. Its products also comprise automotive head-up displays that project high-resolution images onto the windshield of an automobile providing the driver with information consisting of GPS mapping images, audio controls, and other automobile instrumentation information related to the car's operation. In addition, the company offers near-eye wearable display platform to provide personal viewing of information from a mobile device through a wired or wireless connection. Furthe r, it offers ROV hand held bar code scanners, and bar code scanner enabled enterprise solutions through distributors and original equipment manufacturers, as well as directly to end users through its online store. The company serves customers operating in the consumer, defense, industrial, and medical markets. MicroVision, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Redmond, Washington.

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

    Did you miss the first big runup from Microvision, Inc. (NASDAQ:MVIS) a couple of weeks ago? If you were regretting it then, it may have all worked out for the best. Though MVIS jumped from a close of $1.35 on the 19th to a peak of $3.38 on the 21st, it was also on the 21st that the weight of that big gain started to bear down. By the 25th, Microvision shares hit a low of $2.01, basically cutting in half the 150% gain that has been made in just a couple of days.

  • [By Charley Blaine]

    Shares of MicroVision Inc. (NASDAQ: MVIS) were jumping for a second day in a row Friday on the heels of Sony Inc.’s (NYSE: SNE) introduction of a new handheld projector that uses Microvision’s technology.

  • [By Bryan Murphy]

    If the cash you have available is money you absolutely need to invest safely and wisely because you need it (and its appreciation) to love on in retirement, then let me stop you right now - the rest of what you're about to read probably isn't for you. On the other hand, if you and your qualified financial adviser agree you've got some money you can gamble with [i.e. if you lose it all, it won't matter], then may I direct your attention to Microvision, Inc. (NASDAQ:MVIS)? Long story made short, MVIS has dropped hints of a brewing rebound.

Top 10 Mid Cap Companies To Invest In 2014: Genel Energy PLC (GEGYF.PK)

Genel Energy plc, formerly Vallares PLC, is an exploration and production company. It is an independent oil producer in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The Group has two reportable business segments, which are its oil and gas exploration and production business in the KRI and its oil and gas exploration business in Africa. The Company had operational bases in Ankara, Turkey; in Taq Taq, Erbil and Suleimaniah in the Kurdistan Region, and in London. The Company�� oil producing fields of Taq Taq (in which it held a 44% interest) and Tawke (25% interest) had estimated gross proven and probable reserves of 1.2 billion barrels of oil and proven, probable and possible reserves of 1.9 billion barrels of oil. The Company�� subsidiaries include: Genel Energy Holding Company Ltd, Genel Energy Somaliland Limited, A&T Petroleum Limited, Genel Energy UK Services Limited, Genel Energy Netherlands Holding 2 B.V. and Genel Energy Somaliland Limited. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Street Smart Investor]

    DNO International is an independent E&P company, geographically focused on the Middle East and North Africa with operations in Yemen, the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Tunisia, Oman, Ras Al Khaimah and Somaliland. The company's asset portfolio currently stands at 20 assets in six countries. For the year ended December 2012, DNO International has proven and probable reserves of 520.3 MMboe with 90% of the reserves in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The company's reserves in Kurdistan come from the Tawke oil block, which is among the largest oil blocks in Kurdistan. DNO International has a 55% stake in the Tawke block with Genel Energy PLC (GEGYF.PK) holding a 25% stake. The remaining 20% stake is held by the Kurdistan Regional Government. For the first half of 2013, DNO International had a production rate of 33,917 boepd, which includes production from Kurdistan, Oman and Yemen.

Top 10 Mid Cap Companies To Invest In 2014: Neogenomics Inc (NEO)

NeoGenomics, Inc. (NeoGenomics) operates a network of cancer-focused testing laboratories. The Company offers testing services, including Cytogenetics testing, which is the study of normal and abnormal chromosomes and their relationship to disease; fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) testing, which is a branch of cancer genetics that focuses on detecting and locating the presence or absence of specific deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequences and genes on chromosomes; flow cytometry testing, which is a way to measure the characteristics of cell populations; immunohistochemistry (IHC) testing, this is the process of identifying cell proteins in a tissue section utilizing the principle of antibodies binding specifically to antigens, and molecular testing, which is a cancer diagnostic tool focusing on the analysis of DNA and ribonucleic acid (RNA), as well as the structure and function of genes at a molecular level.

The cancer testing services, that the Company offers to community-based pathologists are designed to be a natural extension of, and complementary to, the services that they perform within their own practices. In areas where the Company does not provide services to community-based pathology practices, it may directly serve oncology, dermatology, urology and other clinician practices that prefer to have a direct relationship with a laboratory for cancer-related genetic and molecular testing services. NeoGenomics services these types of clients with a global service offering where it performs both the technical and professional components of the tests ordered.

The Company offers tech-only flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry testing services. These types of testing services generally allow the professional interpretation component of a test to be billed separately from the technical component. Its NeoFISH, NeoFLOW and other tech-only service offerings allow properly trained and credentialed community-based pathologists to extend their own practices by performing ! professional interpretations services.

The Company's tech-only services are designed to give pathologists the option to choose, on a case by case basis, whether they want to order just the technical information and images relating to a specific test so they can perform the professional interpretation, or order global services and receive a test report, which includes a NeoGenomics Pathologist�� interpretation of the test results.

The Company also offers a set of global services to meet the needs of those clients who are not credentialed and trained in interpreting genetic tests and who are looking for specialists to interpret the testing results for them. In its global service offerings, its lab performs the technical component of the tests and its doctor of medicine (M.D.s) and doctor of philosophy (Ph.D) s to provide the interpretation services. Its genetic pathology solutions (GPS) report summarizes all relevant case data from its global services on one summary report.

The Company competes with General Electric Healthcare Services and Novartis, A.G.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By John Udovich]

    One way or the other, Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: MACK), Covidien plc (NYSE: COV), NeoGenomics, Inc (NASDAQ: NEO) and�CollabRx Inc (NASDAQ: CLRX) are targeting Barrett's Esophagus�or�esophageal cancer�(the former often leads to the latter) ��a form of cancer that may not be on the top of your list of cancers but is nevertheless on the rise. Approximately 3 million Americans suffer from Barrett's Esophagus, �a condition that�develops as a result of chronic injury from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) where the�normal esophageal lining is replaced with abnormal cells (known as Barrett�� tissue), putting patients at greater risk of developing cancer of the esophagus. And although less than 1% of these patients develop cancer each year, esophageal carcinoma is frequently not detected until later stages, at which point therapy options are limited, extremely invasive, and often ineffective.�This means that�early detection is important�along with�regular surveillance is recommended.�

Top 10 Mid Cap Companies To Invest In 2014: Medical Properties Trust Inc (MPW)

Medical Properties Trust, Inc., incorporated on August 27, 2003, is a self-advised real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investing in and owning net-leased healthcare facilities. The Company conducts substantially all of its business through MPT Operating Partnership, L.P. The Company acquires and develops healthcare facilities and leases the facilities to healthcare operating companies under long-term net leases, which require the tenant to bear the costs associated with the property. The Company also makes mortgage loans to healthcare operators collateralized by their real estate assets. In addition, the Company selectively makes loans to certain of its operators through its taxable REIT subsidiaries. In September 2013, Medical Properties Trust Inc completed the acquisition of the real estate of three acute care hospitals operated by IASIS Healthcare LLC.

As of February 18, 2013, the Company's portfolio consists of 82 properties: 69 facilities (of the 74 facilities that the Company owns) are leased to 23 tenants, five are under development, and the remainder are in the form of mortgage loans to three operators. The Company's owned facilities consist of 27 general acute care hospitals, 24 long-term acute care hospitals, 15 inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, two medical office buildings, and six wellness centers. The non-owned facilities on which the Company has made mortgage loans consist of three general acute care facilities, two long-term acute care hospitals, and three inpatient rehabilitation hospitals. At December 31, 2012, no one property accounted for more than 5% of the Company's total assets.

At December 31, 2012, the Company had leases with 22 hospital operating companies, eight mortgaged loans, six under development, and one property under re-development covering 82 facilities. Ernest leased 12 of these facilities pursuant to a master lease agreement. The master lease agreement has a 20-year term with three five-year extension options and provides for ! an initial rental rate of 9%, with consumer price-indexed increases, limited to a 2% floor and 5% ceiling annually thereafter. At December 31, 2012, these facilities had an average remaining lease term of approximately 19 years. In addition to the master lease, the Company holds a mortgage loan on four facilities owned by affiliates of Ernest.

Affiliates of Prime Healthcare Services, Inc. (Prime) leased 11 facilities pursuant to master lease agreements. The master leases are for 10 years commencing July 3, 2012 and contain two renewal options of five years each. The initial lease rate is generally consistent with the blended average rate of the prior lease agreements. However, the annual escalators, which in the prior leases were limited, have been increased to reflect 100% of CPI increases, along with a 2% minimum floor. The master leases include repurchase options substantially similar to those in the prior leases, including provisions establishing minimum repurchase prices equal to the Company's total investment. In addition to leases, the Company holds mortgage loans on three facilities owned by affiliates of Prime.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Eric Volkman]

    It was an impressive quarter for Medical Properties Trust (NYSE: MPW  ) . In its Q1 report, revenues amounted to $58 million, up 42% from the $41 million in the same period the previous year. Attributable net profit advanced much more strongly, growing 148% to $26 million ($0.18 per diluted share) from Q1 2012's figure of $11 million ($0.08). Funds from operations -- a key metric for real estate investment trusts -- came in at $35 million ($0.25 per diluted share) on a normalized basis, compared with $22 million ($0.18) in the year-ago quarter.

  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Real estate investment trust�Medical Properties Trust� (NYSE: MPW  ) �announced yesterday�its second-quarter dividend of $0.20 per share, the same rate it's paid since 2008.

  • [By Brad Thomas]

    A Bank of America (BOA) downgrade sends Medical Properties Trust (MPW) tumbling. The bank cut the shares to Underperform from Neutral citing the REIT's YTD outperformance relative to the sector overall (it has outpaced healthcare REITs two to one). Put simply, funds from operations "multiple expansion has exceeded fundamental trends." SA contributor Brad Thomas claims MPW is an example of mispriced risk.

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