Top 5 Construction Stocks To Own For 2014

"Our long national nightmare is over."

When President Gerald Ford said it after pardoning Richard Nixon in 1974, the line became fodder for a generation of wiseguys. But with today's jobs report, one really can say that our long national post-financial crisis nightmare is nearly over.

A bold call? Not really. Unemployment of 7% is the lowest number since November 2008, weeks after Lehman Brothers blew up. The trend of adding (broadly) 200,000 jobs a month -- this month's figure was 203,000 -- is now clearly established. With the economy needing about 125,000 new jobs to keep unemployment steady, this pace will drive the jobless rate down quickly, Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi said Friday.

And the jobs are coming from the right places: Construction added 17,000 jobs,and governments added 7,000. Those two have been laggards, and the jobs party couldn't get going until they joined in.

10 Best Financial Stocks To Watch For 2015: Stock Building Supply Holdings Inc (STCK)

Stock Building Supply Holdings, Inc., incorporated on April 16, 2009, is a diversified lumber and building materials (LBM) distributor and solutions provider that sells to new construction and repair and remodel contractors. The Company�� primary products are lumber & lumber sheet goods, millwork, doors, flooring, windows, structural components, such as engineered wood products (EWP), trusses, wall panels and other exterior products. The Company serves a customer base, including large-scale production homebuilders, custom homebuilders and repair and remodeling contractors. In addition, the Company provides solution-based services to its customers, including design, product specification and installation management services. The Company�� primary operating regions include the South and West regions of the United States.

The Company provides a balanced mix of products and services to the United States production and custom homebuilders and repair and remodel, multi-family and commercial contractors. The Company offer over 39,000 products sourced through its strategic network of suppliers, which together with its various solution-based services; represent approximately 50% of the construction cost of a new home.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Stock Building Supply Holdings (NASDAQ: STCK) dipped 1.53% to $19.95 in the pre-market session after the company prices 5.6 million shares at $19.50 per share by selling shareholders.

Top 5 Construction Stocks To Own For 2014: Arcadis NV (ARCAD)

Arcadis NV is a Netherlands-based international engineering and consultancy firm, providing consultancy, design, engineering and management services in infrastructure, water, environment and buildings. The Company develops, designs, implements, maintains and operates projects for companies and governments. The Company divides its business into four business lines: Infrastructure, which encompasses services for transportations, land development, energy and mining; Water, focused on water planning, wastewater and water management and consulting services; Environment, focused on activities that protect the environment and enhance sustainability, and Buildings, related to homebuilding as well as commercial and industrial buildings and facilities construction. Additionally, it works in partnership with UN-HABITAT, the United Nations agency for human settlements. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Companies like Expedia Inc. (EXPE), which provides online travel booking services, and Arcadis NV (ARCAD), a Dutch designer of bridges and dikes, are likely to increase profit at a faster pace than larger firms during an improving economy, Duret said. Smaller companies are also less leveraged, with U.S. mid-caps holding 46 percent less debt per share than firms listed on the S&P 500, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Top 5 Construction Stocks To Own For 2014: Armstrong World Industries Inc (AWI)

Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (AWI), incorporated on December 30, 1891, is a global producer of flooring products and ceiling systems for use in the construction and renovation of residential, commercial and institutional buildings. The Company designs, manufactures and sells flooring products (resilient and wood) and ceiling systems (mineral fiber, fiberglass and metal) globally. The Company segments includes: Building Products, Resilient Flooring and Wood Flooring. The Company�� Building Products, Resilient Flooring, Wood Flooring and Cabinets segments sell products for use in the home. Its products are used in new home construction and existing home renovation work. Its products, primarily ceilings and Resilient Flooring, are used in commercial and institutional buildings. On September 1, 2012, it sold Patriot Flooring Supply, Inc. to The Belknap White Group. Effective October 31, 2012, the Company sold of its cabinets business to American Industrial Partners.

Building Products

Building Products produces suspended mineral fiber, soft fiber and metal ceiling systems for use in commercial, institutional and residential settings. In addition, its Building Products segment sources complementary ceiling products. Its products, which are sold globally, are available in colors, performance characteristics and designs, and offer attributes, such as acoustical control, rated fire protection and aesthetic appeal. Commercial ceiling materials and accessories are sold to ceiling systems contractors and to resale distributors. Residential ceiling products are sold in North America to wholesalers and retailers, including home centers. Suspension system (grid) products manufactured by Worthington Armstrong Venture (WAVE) are sold by both the Company and WAVE.

Resilient Flooring

Resilient Flooring produces and sources a range of floor coverings for homes and commercial and institutional buildings. Manufactured products in this segment include vinyl sheet, v! inyl tile and linoleum flooring. In addition, its Resilient Flooring segment sources and sells laminate flooring products, vinyl tile products, vinyl sheet products, adhesives, and installation and maintenance materials and accessories. Resilient Flooring products are offered in a range of types, designs, and colors. It sells these products globally to wholesalers, home centers, retailers, contractors and to the manufactured homes industry.

Wood Flooring

The Company�� Wood Flooring segment produces and sources wood flooring products for use in new residential construction and renovation, with commercial applications in stores, restaurants and offices. The product offering includes pre-finished solid and engineered wood floors in various wood species, and related accessories. All of its Wood Flooring sales are in North America. Its Wood Flooring products are sold to independent wholesale flooring distributors and home centers.

The Company competes with Saint-Gobain, Chicago Metallic Corporation, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Knauf AMF GmbH & Co. KG, Lafarge SA, Odenwald Faserplattenwerk GmbH, Rockfon A/S, USG Corporation, Amtico International, Inc., Beaulieu International Group, N.V., Boa-Franc, Inc., Congoleum Corporation, Faus, Inc., Forbo Holding AG, Gerflor Group, Interface, Inc., IVC Group, Krono Holding AG, LG Floors, Mannington Mills, Inc., Metroflor Corporation, Mullican Flooring, L.P., Mohawk Industries, Inc., Nora Systems GmbH, Pfleiderer AG, Shaw Industries, Inc., Somerset Hardwood Flooring, Tarkett AG.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Armstrong World Industries (NYSE: AWI  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Top 5 Construction Stocks To Own For 2014: Eagle Materials Inc (EXP)

Eagle Materials Inc., incorporated on January 27, 1994, manufactures and distributes gypsum wallboard and also manufactures and sells cement. Gypsum wallboard is distributed throughout the United States with particular emphasis in the geographic markets nearest to its production facilities. The Company sells cement in six regional markets, including northern Nevada and California, the greater Chicago area, the Rocky Mountain region, the Central Plains region and Texas. Its gypsum wallboard business is supported by its recycled paperboard business, while its cement business is supported by its concrete and aggregates business. The Company operates in Cement and Concrete and Aggregates, and Gypsum Wallboard and Recycled Paperboard segments. As of March 31, 2013, the Company operated six cement plants (one of which belongs to its joint venture company), five gypsum wallboard plants, one recycled paperboard plant, seventeen concrete batching plants and four aggregates facilities. The Company�� products are used in the construction and renovation of houses, roads, bridges, commercial and industrial buildings and other, newer generation structures like wind farms.

Cement, Concrete and Aggregates Operations

The Company�� cement production facilities are located in or near Buda, Texas; LaSalle, Illinois; Laramie, Wyoming; Sugar Creek, Missouri; Tulsa, Oklahoma and Fernley, Nevada. The Company�� cement subsidiaries are wholly-owned except the Buda, Texas plant, which is owned by Texas Lehigh Cement Company LP, a limited partnership joint venture owned 50% by the Company and 50% by Lehigh Cement Company LLC, a subsidiary of Heidelberg Cement AG. Its LaSalle, Illinois plant operates under the name of Illinois Cement Company; the Laramie, Wyoming plant operates under the name of Mountain Cement Company; the Fernley, Nevada plant operates under the name of Nevada Cement Company and its Sugar Creek, Missouri and Tulsa, Oklahoma plants operate under the name Central Plains Cement Com! pany. The Company produces and distributes ready-mix concrete from Company-owned sites north of Sacramento, California; Austin, Texas and the greater Kansas City area. The Company�� activities in its frac sand business are in the Utica, Illinois area and in south Texas. The Company sells aggregates to building contractors and other customers engaged in a variety of construction activities.

Gypsum Wallboard and Recycled Paperboard Operations

The Company owns five gypsum wallboard manufacturing facilities. As of March 31, 2013, the Company�� gypsum wallboard production totaled 1,950 million square feet. Total gypsum wallboard sales were 1,909 million square feet during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013 (fiscal 2013). The Company also manufactures alternative products, including containerboard grades (such as linerboard and medium) and lightweight packaging grades (such as bag liner). In addition, recycled industrial paperboard grades (tube/core stock and protective angle board stock) are produced to maximize manufacturing efficiencies. The Company�� manufactured recycled paperboard products are sold to gypsum wallboard manufacturers and other industrial users.

The Company competes with USG Corporation, National Gypsum Company and Koch Industries.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Cement and building materials maker�Eagle Materials� (NYSE: EXP  ) �announced yesterday�its second-quarter dividend of $0.10 per share, the same rate it's paid since 2008.