Gold Stocks To Buy 2018: March 2015

Monday, March 30, 2015

Best Healthcare Technology Companies For 2014

Full-time staff compensation rose 2.1% last year, to a median of $72,000, according to the Council on Foundations’ 2012 Grantmakers Salary and Benefits Report.

Foundations in the Mid-Atlantic states reported the highest median salary ($82,200), followed by the Pacific states ($78,000).

Chief executives at U.S. foundations received a median salary of $145,000 last year, according to the report.

It noted that independent and family foundations paid higher median CEO salaries ($190,000 and $163,000, respectively), while public and community foundations had lower median salaries ($143,000 and $113,000).

Ninety-six percent of respondents offered voluntary benefits to full-time staffers, and 89% of these provided medical benefits.

Researchers based their findings on an online survey with 893 grant makers, which reported salaries for 7,614 full-time employees. The respondents represented a total of $196 billion in assets and $12 billion in giving in 2012.

Top 10 Construction Stocks To Own For 2015: Alliance Creative Group Inc (ACGX)

Alliance Creative Group Inc. (ACG), incorporated on June 1, 2000, is a printing, packaging, product development, management, marketing and consulting company. The Company comprises of five key components: Creative & Design, Printing & Packaging, Product Development, Event Marketing and Business Consulting & Strategic Marketing. It maintains and operates six Websites, including: alliancecreativegroup.com, stlouispackaging.com, stlgraphics.com, snapgraphics.com, IMAGEchicago.com and TicketHotLink.com.

Creative & Design

The Company offers graphic design services. It specializes in print and Web design solutions. The Company�� Creative & Design services include advertising campaigns, brand identity, brochures, business cards, catalogs, direct mail, flyers, logos, manuals/media kit, marketing materials, package design, POP display, postcards, PowerPoint template design, sales kit, stationary and Websites.

Printing & Packaging

The Company�� printing division, STL Graphics Group offers printing services from design to delivery. Snap Graphics is a commercial printing company specializing in off-set, large format, silk screen, and digital printing. It printing services include design support, digital printing, direct mail, inventory management, mailing services, media, packaging, sheet-fed, and Web. The Company�� Bindery services include collating, drilling, folding, GBC binding, padding, saddle stitching and tabbing. Its Logistics services include local, regional, and national warehousing, inventory control and analysis, multi carrier freight, auto replenishment, automated and manual pick and pack, around-the-clock distribution, order tracking, assembly and kit building, order consolidation and direct field requisition.

The Packaging division at ACG (St. Louis Packaging) provides a variety of solutions. It offers options catered to individual needs, as well as over 10,000 stock supplies for everyday use. It offe! rs a range of standard supplies used in everyday packing and shipping, from corrugated boxes to fasteners and adhesive. The Company offers over 10,000 products from brands, such as 3M, Sealed Air, Intertape, Rubbermaid and Ivex. St. Louis Packaging offers a variety of products, including recycled cartons, recycled stuffing and wrapping papers and recycled polyethylene.

Product Development

Alliance Creative Group has created a product development division focused on getting products to retail and building brand equity for clients. ACG offers services in every phase of the product life cycle, including creation, marketing, placement, distribution and management. It offers services, such as product creation, product marketing, product placement, product distribution and brand management.

Event Marketing

The Company�� event marketing division has experience in strategy, creative, production, promotion, execution, and evaluation of events ranging from 20-4000 attendees. Its services include Creative design, Entertainment, Email blasts, Event planning and marketing, Event strategy, Food and drinks, Mobile marketing, Partnerships, Site selection and venue contacting Survey and evaluation, Theme development and Ticket Brokering.

Business Consulting & Strategic Marketing

Alliance Creative Group (ACG) is the Company�� consulting division. The division offers business advisory, consulting and marketing services. ACG develops business and marketing plans, draft press releases, create and maintain social media campaigns, provide funding, make introductions to investment bankers or other funding and take companies public. ACG helps with Business Development, Strategic Planning, Marketing and Product Development.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Peter Graham]
Small cap stocks Alliance Creative Group Inc (OTCMKTS: ACGX), Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure Inc (OTCMKTS: DJRT), Inscor Inc (OTCMKTS: IOGA) and Solar Thin Films Inc (OTCMKTS: SLTZ) have all been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters and it should come as no surprise that two out of four of these stocks have been the subject of paid promotions ��which tend to benefit traders. However, two out of four of these stocks also have pretty good financials for being small cap OTC stocks and that might make them attractive to investors with a long term time horizon. So which of these stocks might make traders some profits in the short term and investors some profits over the longer term? Here is a closer look to help you decide:

Best Healthcare Technology Companies For 2014: Furmanite Corp (FRM)

Furmanite Corporation (Furmanite), incorporated on January 23, 1953, is an on-site industrial plant turnaround maintenance and on-line contractor engineered services. The Company operates in two segments: Technical Services and Engineering & Project Solutions. Technical Services provides specialized technical services, including on-line, off-line and other services. The Engineering & Project Solutions segment includes Furmanite Technical Solutions (FTS), provides project planning, professional engineering, downstream non-destructive testing and inspection, construction management, mechanical integrity, field support, quality assurance and plant asset management services, as well as certain other inspection and project management services. The Company provides on-line repairs of leaks (leak sealing) in valves, pipes and other components of piping systems and related equipment used in flow-process industries.

The Company�� Technical Services segment�� On-line services include leak sealing, hot tapping, line stopping, line isolation, composite repair, valve testing and certain non-destructive testing and inspection services, while off-line services include on-site machining, heat treatment, bolting, valve repair and other non-destructive testing and inspection services. Other services include smart shim services, concrete repair, engineering services, valves and other products and manufacturing. The Engineering & Project Solutions segment�� customers include refining and petrochemical operators, as well as maintenance, and engineering and construction contractors servicing the downstream and midstream oil and gas markets, substantially, all of which are in the Americas.

The Company provides off-line services, including on-site machining, bolting, valve repair, heat treating, ultrasonic, radiography, phased array, tube testing and repair on such systems and equipment. These services tend to complement leak sealing and other on-line services since these off-line services a! re usually performed while a plant or piping system is not operating. In addition, the Company provides concrete repair, engineering services, valve and other products and manufacturing. The Company�� on-line; leak sealing services are performed on a range of flow-process industry machinery, often in difficult situations. The Company�� customer base includes petroleum refineries, chemical plants, mining operations, offshore energy production platforms, subsea piping systems, steel mills, nuclear and conventional power stations, pulp and paper mills, food and beverage processing plants and other flow-process facilities in more than 50 countries.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Roberto Pedone]

Furmanite (FRM), together with its subsidiaries, provides specialized technical services. This stock closed up 2.2% to $7.78 in Tuesday's trading session.

Tuesday's Range: $7.52-$7.83

52-Week Range: $6.90-$12.70

Tuesday's Volume: 639,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 150,022

From a technical perspective, FRM trended higher here right above some near-term support at $7.21 with heavy upside volume flows. This stock has been downtrending badly for the last three months, with shares plunging lower from its high of $12 to its new 52-week low of $6.90. During that downtrend, shares of FRM have been consistently making lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That said, shares of FRM have now started to rebound higher off that $6.90 low and it's quickly moving within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if FRM manages to take out Tuesday's intraday high of $7.83 to some more near-term overhead resistance at around $8 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in FRM as long as it's trending above some key near-term support at $7.21 or above its 52-week low of $6.90 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 150,022 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then FRM will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $8.50 to its 50-day moving average of $9.16, or even $9.50.

Best Healthcare Technology Companies For 2014: SeaWorld Entertainment Inc (SEAS)

SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc., incorporated on October 2, 2009, is a theme park and entertainment company. The Company is engaged in delivering personal, interactive and educational experiences that blend imagination with nature and enable its customers to celebrate, connect with and care for the natural world. The Company own or license a portfolio of globally recognized brands including SeaWorld, Shamu and Busch Gardens. The Company has built a diversified portfolio of 11 destination and regional theme parks that are grouped in key markets across the United States. Its theme parks feature a diverse array of rides, shows and other attractions with broad demographic appeal which deliver memorable experiences and a strong value proposition for its guests. In addition to its theme parks, it has recently begun to leverage its brands into media, entertainment and consumer products.

The Company generates revenue primarily from selling admission to its theme parks and from purchases of food, merchandise and other spending. During the year ended December 31, 2012, it hosted more than 24 million guests in its theme parks, including approximately 3.5 million international guests from over 55 countries and six continents. In 2012, the Company opened new attractions in seven of its theme parks. In November 2012, the Company acquired Knott�� Soak City, a standalone Southern California water park, from an affiliate of Cedar Fair L.P. The Company�� products and services include Admission Tickets, Theme Park Operations, Culinary Offerings , Merchandise , Licensing and Consumer Products , Group Events and Conventions and Corporate Sponsorships and Strategic Alliances.

Admission Tickets, which generate most of its revenue from selling admission to its theme parks. The Company also offers a Fun Card at select theme parks that allows additional visits throughout that calendar year. In addition, visitors can purchase vacation packages with preferred hotels, behind-the-scenes tours, specialt! y dining packages and front of the line access to enhance their experience. Theme Park Operations delivers a level of service, safety and security at its theme parks. It comprised of rides, shows and attractions operations, safety, security, environmental, water park and guest arrival services (including parking, tolls, admissions, guest relations, entry and exit), the theme park operations team manages the planning and execution of the overall theme park experience on a daily basis.

Culinary Offerings delivers a variety of high quality, creative and memorable culinary experiences to its guests. Culinary operations are strategically organized into five key guest-oriented disciplines designed to drive in-park per capita spending: restaurants, catering, carts and kiosks, specialty snacks and vending. The Company�� culinary team focuses on providing creative menu offerings that appeal to our diverse guest base. Merchandise offers guests the opportunity to capture memories through its products and services, including through traditional retail shops, game venues and customized photos and videos. It focuses on effort to leverage the emotional connection of the theme park experiences, capitalize on trends and optimize brand alignment with its merchandise product offerings.

Licensing and Consumer Products capitalize on its brands, it has begun to leverage its intellectual property and content through media and consumer strategic licensing arrangements. It extended the reach of its brands through outbound media licensing in areas such as films, television programs and digital e-books, as well as its first-ever multi-platform mobile app game, TurtleTrek, which launched on iTunes in November 2012. Group Events and Conventions host a variety of different group events, meetings and conventions at its theme parks both during the day and at night. Its venues offer indoor and outdoor space for meetings, special events, entertainment shows, picnics, teambuilding events, group tours and spec! ial group! ticket packages. Park buy-outs allow groups to enjoy exclusive itineraries, including meetings and shows, up-close encounters with animals and behind the scenes tours. Corporate Sponsorships and Strategic Alliances seek to secure long-term corporate sponsorships and strategic alliances with companies and brands that share its core values, deliver brand marketing value and influence and drive mutual business gains. Its current corporate sponsors include, among others, Southwest Airlines, which has been a sponsor for over 20 years, and The Coca-Cola Company.

SeaWorld.

SeaWorld is recognized as the marine-life theme park brand in the world. Its SeaWorld theme parks, located in Orlando, San Antonio and San Diego, each rank among the most highly attended theme parks in the industry and offer up-close interactive experiences and a variety of live performances, including shows featuring Shamu in specially designed amphitheaters. It offers its guests numerous animal encounters, including the opportunity to work with trainers and feed marine animals, as well as themed thrill rides and theatrical shows that creatively incorporate its animal collection.

Busch Gardens

Its Busch Gardens theme parks are family-oriented destinations designed to immerse guests in foreign geographic settings. They are renowned for their beauty and landscaping and gardens and allow its guests to discover the natural side of fun by offering a family experience featuring a range of attractions and rollercoasters in a richly-themed environment. Busch Gardens Tampa presents its collection of animals from Africa, Asia and Australia.

Aquatica

Its Aquatica branded water parks are premium, family-oriented destinations that are based in a South Seas-themed tropical setting. Aquatica water parks build on the aquatic theme of its SeaWorld brand and feature high-energy rides, water attractions, white-sand beaches ande entertaining presentation of marine and terrestrial an! imals. Th! e Company positions its Aquatica water parks as companion water parks to its SeaWorld theme parks in Orlando and San Diego and it has an Aquatica water park situated within its SeaWorld San Antonio theme park.

Discovery Cove

Discovery Cove is a reservations only, all-inclusive, marine-life day resort adjacent to SeaWorld Orlando. Discovery Cove offers guests personal, signature experiences, including the opportunity to swim and interact with dolphins, take an underwater walking reef tour and enjoy pristine white-sand beaches and landscaped private cabanas. Discovery Cove presently limits its attendance to approximately 1,300 guests per day and features premium culinary offerings in order to provide guests with a more relaxed, intimate and high-end luxury resort experience.

Sesame Place

Sesame Place is the only United States theme park based entirely on the television show Sesame Street. It is located between Philadelphia and New York City, Sesame Place is a destination where parents and children can share in the spirit of imagination and experience Sesame Street together through whirling rides, water slides, colorful shows and furry friends. In addition, it has introduced Sesame Street brands in its other theme parks through Sesame Street-themed rides, shows, children�� play areas and merchandise.

The Company competes with The Walt Disney Company, Universal Studios, Six Flags, Cedar Fair, Merlin Entertainments and Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Johanna Bennett]
SeaWorld Entertainment (SEAS) suffered a whale of an earnings miss today, sending the stock falling 9.78% to $16.78.

The operator of SeaWorld and Busch Gardens reported a profit of $1.01 a share, down from $1.34 a share a year earlier and below the $1.13 a share expected by the Street. Revenue fell 7.9% to $495.8 million.

To blame? Continued bad publicity following the 2013 release of the documentary film “Blackfish” and increased competition in the Florida market from the likes of Disney (DIS) and UniversalStudios, owned by Comcast (CMCSA)

Park attendance fell 5.2% during the quarter, typically the biggest of the year for SeaWorld, compared with a year before. Through the first nine months of the year attendance has fallen 4.7%.

According to FBR Capital Markets analyst Barton Crockett, Disney reported a 4% rise in attendance and a 6% rise in per cap spending at its domestic parks, driven mainly by Disney World in Orlando. Universal reported 17% revenue growth in its parks segment, thanks in part to positive reception for the new Harry Potter Diagon Alley attraction that opened July 8 in Orlando.

But Crockett notes that SeaWold maintained its full year guidance. He writes:

��ull year guidance was maintained, suggesting a better than anticipated trend in 4Q14, with a YOY EBITDA increase of 5% to 24%, perhaps tied to a better-than-expected cost-cutting initiative generating $50 million of savings versus previous suggestions for at least $40 million.

SeaWorld, which operates 11 theme parks, said in August it would build new, larger killer-whale facilities, with the first set to open in San Diego in 2018.

That plan hasn�� appeased animal-rights groups opposed to captive breeding of the whales or their use in shows.

SeaWorld has fallen more than 50% since hitting a 52-week high in March at $35.22 a share.
[By John Udovich]
Theme park stocks Cedar Fair, L.P. (NYSE: FUN), Six Flags Entertainment Corp (NYSE: SIX),�SeaWorld Entertainment Inc (NYSE: SEAS)�and up�and coming�Independent Film Development Corporation (OTCMKTS: IFLM) have all been producing their share of news lately ranging from hot to neutral to cold for investors and traders alike��meaning it might be time to take a look�at what the sector might have to offer:
[By John Udovich]
SeaWorld Entertainment Inc (NYSE: SEAS) had its IPO earlier in the year to join other amusement park stocks like Six Flags Entertainment Corp (NYSE: SIX) and Cedar Fair, L.P. (NYSE: FUN) on the NYSE. Moreover, the SeaWorld Entertainment IPO has�been a killer whale of a deal for the Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX), its biggest shareholder, but what about for ordinary�investors?

Best Healthcare Technology Companies For 2014: Overstock.com Inc.(OSTK)

Overstock.com, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an online retailer offering discount brand name, non-brand name, and closeout merchandise in the United States and internationally. The company?s merchandise include bed-and-bath goods, furniture, home decor, kitchenware, watches and jewelry, shoes, electronics and computers, sporting goods, apparel, designer accessories, home and garden products, media, music, luggage, health and beauty products, baby products, crafts and sewing products, office products, gifts and flowers, toys and hobbies, and pet products. It also operates online car listing service that allows sellers to list vehicles for sale and allows buyers to review vehicle descriptions; travel shopping site, which offers discount travel packages, flights, rental cars, and other travel-related products and services; and insurance shopping service for auto and home insurance, as well as provides books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, and video games. The comp any markets its products and services through its operating Internet websites, which include overstock.com, o.co, and o.biz. The company was formerly known as D2-Discounts Direct and changed its name to Overstock.com, Inc. in October 1999. Overstock.com, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By DailyFinance Staff]
Stocks rallied again on Friday, completing one of the market's best weeks of the year. This rally is tied to growing signs that the pace of U.S. economic growth is finally picking up. The government reported a 4.1 percent jump in GDP over the summer. That was much stronger than expected, and substantially higher than the previous estimate. That came on top of strong reports this month on jobs, manufacturing and housing. At a news conference, President Obama said 2014 could be "a breakthrough year" for the U-S economy. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) rose 42 points, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) gained 9 -- both ending at record highs yet again. The Nasdaq composite index (^IXIC) rallied 46 points. For the week, the Dow was up about 3 percent. Some retail stocks bounced higher as stores brace for the final weekend before Christmas. J.C. Penney (JCP) rose 4.5 percent, Urban Outfitters (URBN) gained 2 percent and American Eagle (AEO) gained 1.5 percent. And Target (TGT) edged higher, one day after acknowledging a massive security breach that exposed the personal information of millions of customers to hackers. It was also a good day for online retailers. Amazon (AMZN) and eBay (EBAY) both rose by about 2 percent and Overstock.com (OSTK) gained 3 percent. And how do we pay for all of those last minute gifts? Credit cards, of course. MasterCard (MA) and American Express (AXP) each gained 1.5 percent, and Visa (V) edged higher. One of the day's best gainers was Blackberry (BBRY). It shares soared 15 percent even though the smartphone maker posted a bigger loss than expected. But the company's new CEO forecast a profit by 2016 and announced a partnership with the Taiwanese phone maker Foxconn. A big green arrow for software maker Red Hat (RHT). It rallied 14 percent as earnings jumped, easily beating expectations. Textron (TXT) gained 10 percent. The Financial Times reports the company is on the verge of buying the a
[By MONEYMORNING.COM]
On Monday, Overstock.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: OSTK) Chief Executive Officer Patrick Byrne made the stunning announcement that his proposal to build a stock exchange based on Bitcoin technology had graduated from a wiki page to an actual project called "Medici."
[By Daniel Jones]
April 25 was a bad day to own shares of Amazon.com� (NASDAQ: AMZN ) . Despite revenue that exceeded forecasts and earnings that fell in line with what analysts anticipated, shares of the e-tailer plummeted 10% to close at $303.83 on a mixed outlook. Since then, shares have inched up less than 1%. �Now, with the company's shares trading at a 26% discount to their 52-week high, should the Foolish investor consider buying the business, or would rivals like�eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY ) �or Overstock.com� (NASDAQ: OSTK ) serve as more appealing prospects?
[By MONEYMORNING.COM]
That's one reason why merchants like Overstock.com Inc. (Nasdaq: OSTK) started accepting Bitcoin.

Imagine what will happen to the Bitcoin stock losers when the digital currency goes mainstream over the next few years - a decade at most. Those billions in annual fees will start to decline. It will start slowly, but will suddenly accelerate as Bitcoin usage becomes commonplace.

Best Healthcare Technology Companies For 2014: Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp (WAB)

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (Wabtec), doing business as Wabtec Corporation, is a providers of value-added, technology-based equipment and services for the global rail industry. It provides its products and services through two business segments: the Freight Group and the Transit Group, both of which have different market characteristics and business drivers. Effective November 18, 2011, Wabtec acquired Fulmer Company, a manufacturer of motor components for rail, power generation and other industrial markets. Effective November 3, 2011, Wabtec acquired Bearward Engineering, a manufacturer of cooling systems and related equipment for power generation and other industrial markets. On June 29, 2011, the Company acquired an aftermarket transit parts business from GE Transportation, a parts supply business for propulsion and control systems for the passenger transit car aftermarket in North America. On February 25, 2011, the Company acquired Brush Traction Group, a provider of locomotive overhauls, services and aftermarket components. In July 2012, it acquired Tec Tran Corp. and its affiliates. In October 2012, it acquired LH Group. Effective July 30, 2013, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp acquired Turbonetics Inc, a manufacturer of turbochargers and components. Effective September 24, 2013, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp acquired Longwood Industries Inc.

The Freight Group manufactures and services components for freight cars and locomotives, builds new switcher locomotives, rebuilds freight locomotives, supplies railway electronics, positive train control equipment, signal design and engineering services, and provides related heat exchange and cooling systems. Its customers include railroads, leasing companies, manufacturers of original equipment, such as locomotives and freight cars, and utilities. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Freight Group accounted for 61% of its total sales, with about 75% of its sales in North America and the remainder! to international customers.

The Transit Group manufactures and services components for new and existing passenger transit vehicles, which include subway cars and buses, builds new commuter locomotives and refurbishes subway cars. Customers include public transit authorities and municipalities, leasing companies, and manufacturers of subway cars and buses globally. During 2011, the Transit Group accounted for 39% of its total sales, with about half of its sales in North America and the remainder to international customers. During 2011, about 66% of the Transit Group�� sales are in the aftermarket and the remainder in the original equipment market.

The Company�� specialty products and electronics include positive train control equipment and electronically controlled pneumatic braking products; railway electronics, including event recorders, monitoring equipment and end of train devices; signal design and engineering services; freight car truck components; draft gears, couplers and slack adjusters; air compressors and dryers; heat exchangers and cooling products for locomotives and power generation equipment, and track and switch products. Its brake products include railway braking equipment and related components for freight and transit applications, and friction products, including brake shoes and pads. Its remanufacturing, overhaul and build products include new commuter and switcher locomotives, and transit car and locomotive overhaul and refurbishment. Its transit products include rail and bus door and window assemblies; accessibility lifts and ramps for buses and subway cars, and traction motors.

The Company competes with Knorr-Bremse AG, Electro-Motive Diesel, GE Transportation Systems and Faiveley Transport.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Holly LaFon]
Another area that is intriguing to us is the North American energy sector which looks to have a number of interesting catalysts currently. While the energy sector is at present only a modest overweight in the portfolios, we have been encouraged by several trends taking place for a number of years. These positive developments are also having an impact that goes far beyond the energy sector itself. Many believe that the U.S. will become energy independent and possibly a net exporter of natural gas and oil (currently restricted by law) in the next decade. This opinion is based primarily on the development of new drilling techniques (i.e. horizontal drilling, and high pressure fracking) that have enabled companies to access oil and natural gas reserves in shale formations that were previously not economically viable. The ability to tap into this acreage is a game-changer in our view and is already having a tremendous impact on the economy. Employment rates in these mostly rural areas surrounding the shale basins are very high and companies thus find hiring extremely competitive. Strong labor markets tend to create strong local economies. Oil States International (OIS) has been able to capitalize on this trend by providing housing and other services to oil service workers that are in demand in the area. CST Brands (CST) operates gas stations in Texas, but it is increasingly looking to broaden its product offering beyond fuel. Rail companies like Union Pacific (UNP), Canadian Pacific (CP), Kansas City Southern (KSU) and Genesee and Wyoming (GWR) have also benefited substantially. Given that shale areas are rural and often lacking infrastructure, substantial investment must be made to support drilling and production activities. Without pipelines in place, railroads have been the primary takeaway mechanism for moving production to the various clusters of refining capacity around the United States. In order to serve this demand, massive investment in railcars has been nee

Best Healthcare Technology Companies For 2014: Boston Properties Inc. (BXP)

Boston Properties, Inc., a real estate investment trust (REIT), together with its subsidiaries, engages in the ownership and development of office properties. Its properties are located in Boston, Massachusetts; Washington, D.C.; midtown Manhattan, New York; San Francisco, California; and Princeton, New Jersey. As of December 31, 2008, the company owned interests in 147 properties, totaling approximately 49.8 million net rentable square feet and structured parking for vehicles containing approximately 11.2 million square feet. Its properties also included 143 office properties, 1 hotel, and 3 retail properties. In addition, the company owned or controlled an undeveloped land totaling approximately 509.3 acres. Boston Properties, Inc. has elected to be taxed as REIT under the Internal Revenue Code and would not be subject to federal income taxes, if it distributes approximately at least 90% of its taxable income to its shareholders. The company was founded in 1970 and is ba sed in Boston, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Markus Aarnio]
Owens Realty Mortgage's competitors include American Assets Trust (AAT), Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) and Boston Properties (BXP). American Assets Trust has seen five insider buy transactions and four insider sell transactions this year. American Assets Trust has a dividend yield of 2.78%. Alexandria Real Estate Equities has seen 14 insider sell transactions this year. Alexandria Real Estate Equities has a dividend yield of 4.10%. Boston Properties has seen one insider buy transaction and four insider sell transactions this year. Boston Properties has a dividend yield of 2.43%.

Sunday, March 29, 2015

T. Rowe Price Group Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS

T. Rowe Price Group (Nasdaq: TROW ) reported earnings on April 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), T. Rowe Price Group met expectations on revenues and beat slightly on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased. GAAP earnings per share grew significantly.

Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
T. Rowe Price Group recorded revenue of $815.7 million. The 14 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated a top line of $817.9 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 12% higher than the prior-year quarter's $728.7 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.91. The 22 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.89 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.91 for Q1 were 21% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.75 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 62.6%, 140 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 45.7%, 230 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 29.7%, 260 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $857.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.96.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $3.47 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.88.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 376 members out of 405 rating the stock outperform, and 29 members rating it underperform. Among 124 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 119 give T. Rowe Price Group a green thumbs-up, and five give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on T. Rowe Price Group is outperform, with an average price target of $72.10.

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Add T. Rowe Price Group to My Watchlist.

5 Best Diversified Bank Stocks To Own For 2015

5 Best Diversified Bank Stocks To Own For 2015: Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd.(QIHU)

Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. provides Internet and mobile security products in the People's Republic of China. Its principal products include 360 Safe Guard, an Internet security product for Internet security and system optimization; 360 Anti-Virus, an anti-virus application to protect users? computers against trojan horses, viruses, worms, adware, and other forms of malware; and 360 Mobile Safe, a security program for the Google Android, Apple iOS, and Nokia Symbian smartphone operating systems. The company?s platform products comprise 360 Safe Browser, a Web browser; 360 Personal Start-up Page, a default homepage of 360 Safe Browser and a key access point to popular and preferred information and applications; 360 Application Store, a key access point to securely obtain and manage software and applications; and 360 Safebox, a solution that protects users against thefts of personal account information. It also provides online advertising services, including online marketi ng services and search referral services; and Internet value-added services comprising the operation of Web games developed by third-parties, remote technical support, and cloud-based services. The company was formerly known as Qihoo Technology Company Limited and changed its name to Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. in December 2010. Qihoo 360 Technology Co. was founded in 2005 and is based in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Rick Munarriz]
According to Li, Baidu's planned payouts to union members would equal to 13.7% of Citi's revenue target for Baidu this year, up sharply from last year's 8.7% cut. Is Baidu being more generous to keep webmasters close? This doesn't seem necessary. Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU ) is just starting to monetize its search engine, so it will be a long time before advertisers are willing to pay up for leads through Qihoo 360's network. Qihoo ! 360's move for an in-house solution means less action for its ad-serving partner Google, and that weakens another potential Baidu rival.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/5-best-diversified-bank-stocks-to-own-for-2015-2.html

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Best Communications Equipment Stocks To Own For 2015

Best Communications Equipment Stocks To Own For 2015: Location Based Technologies Inc (LBAS)

Location Based Technologies, Inc. (LBT), incorporated on April 20, 2006, designs, develops, and sells personal, pet, and vehicle locator devices and services including PocketFinder People, PocketFinder Pets and PocketFinder Vehicles. The Company markets and sells consumer and commercial location devices and services. Its devices utilize Assisted Global Positioning System (A-GPS) and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technologies in conjunction with its technologies designed to enhance the families to interact and stay connected around the world. The Company is a developer of the PocketFinder family of products and the PocketFinder Network. The PocketFinder family of products includes the PocketFinder People, PocketFinder Vehicle, PocketFinder Pets, PocketFinder Luggage, PocketFinder Mobile and PocketFinder Fleet. The PocketFinder is a small location device that enables a user to locate a device, person, or pet, at anytime from almost anywhere. PocketFinder personal locat or devices are wireless.

The Company generate revenue by selling its products and charging customers an ongoing service fee, for which it offers monthly and annual subscription plans. The Companys product, PocketFinder, is a small, waterproof and wireless location device that enables users to locate anyone or anything they care about, from a computer or Web-enabled device. Its products deliver critical information to users, such as: device location, longitude, latitude, heading speed and 60 days of location history. This information can be viewed passively through a users account or can be sent to a user via email or push notification if the user sets an alert. The target markets for the PocketFinder include: young children, seniors, people with special needs and people who need to track valuable assets such as luggage or sporting equipment. In addition to the PocketFinder, it also sell the PocketFinder Pet and the P! ocketFinder Vehicle products. The Pocke tFinder Pet is designed for pets weighing 15 pounds or more, and it markets the PocketFinder Vehicle to families with new drivers, car enthusiasts, motorcycle owners, watercraft owners and business fleets. The PocketFinder Vehicle attaches directly to a battery or fuse box, so it has a constant supply of power. All PocketFinder products operate on the same user interface, which enables its customers receive the same features, functionality and user-experience, regardless of which product they own. To access their account or locate their devices, users can logon to the Companys Website at www.pocketfinder.com or use its native iPhone, iPad or Android Apps.

The Companys products are sold through various brick-and-mortar and online retailers and through its Website. It provides customer service and support in the United States through existing call centers owned by Affinitas. It provides wireless location based solutions for global positioning products along with its friendly user interface software system. PocketFinder and PocketFinder Vehicle devices are being sold in the United States and in Canada through the Apple Online Store and Apple Retail Stores. PocketFinder devices for Pets are available for purchase on its Website.

The Company competes with Geospatial Platform Providers, Application Developers, Garmins GTU-10, Qualcomms Tagg, Lo-Jack, SpotLight, Fleetmatics, NetworkFleet, and Qualcomm.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By CRWE]
Today, LBAS has shed (-7.69%) -0.010 at $.120 with 95,100 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 12:21PM EDT August 15, 2013).

Location Based Technologies, Inc. previously reported it has signed a distribution agreement with Beijing Lava Technology Co. Ltd., an Apple approved distributor for its online, brick and mortar stores, and authorized distributors in Asia. The agreement is one of the final steps preceding the launch of LBTs GPS products into the Asian mar! kets. Bei! jing Lava Technology Co. Ltd. serves China, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

LBT estimates that it will begin selling its PocketFinder devices in Singapore through Apples online store and authorized distributors in the near future with other Asian countries to follow thereafter.
[By CRWE]
Today, LBAS surged (+10.27%) up +0.015 at $.160 with39,780 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 11:41AM EDT July 5, 2013).

Location Based Technologies, Inc. and EE, Ltd., the U.K.s most advanced communications company, have previously entered into a purchase agreement which will allow LBT to embed EE SIM technology into LBTs worlds best GPS products for immediate purchase throughout Europe and in additional areas around the world.

EEs relationship with LBT continues to grow. The companies began their relationship earlier this year when EE launched PocketFinder Personal GPS Locators in their London flagship stores (https://explore.ee.co.uk/pocket-finder). With this latest agreement, LBT now has the capability to sell devices into Europe using a local SIM, thereby greatly reducing the monthly service fee charged to customers.

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/best-communications-equipment-stocks-to-own-for-2015-5.html

Friday, March 27, 2015

5 Best Prefered Stocks To Watch Right Now

5 Best Prefered Stocks To Watch Right Now: Arotech Corporation(ARTX)

Arotech Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides defense and security products. It operates in three divisions: Training and Simulation, Battery and Power Systems, and Armor. The Training and Simulation division develops, manufactures, and markets multimedia and interactive digital solutions for use-of-force training and driving training of military, law enforcement, security, and other personnel; provides simulators, systems engineering, and software products to the United States military, government, and private industry; and offers specialized use of force training for police, security personnel, and the military. The Battery and Power Systems division manufactures and sells lithium and zinc-air batteries for defense and security products and other military applications; and develops and sells rechargeable and primary lithium batteries and smart chargers to the military and to private defense industry. This division also develops, manufactures, and markets primary zinc-air batteries, rechargeable batteries, and battery chargers for the military; and produces water-activated lifejacket lights for commercial aviation and marine applications. The Armor Division manufactures military and paramilitary armored vehicles, and employs sophisticated lightweight materials to produce aviation armor; and uses engineering concepts to produce combat armored military vehicles and up-armor civilian commercial vehicles. This division also uses lightweight armoring materials and advanced engineering processes to provide ballistic armor kits for rotary and fixed wing aircraft. Arotech sells its products primarily in the United States, Israel, Taiwan, Canada, England, Germany, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Mexico, India, Spain, Singapore, and Japan. The company was formerly known as Electric Fuel Corporation and changed its name to Arotech Corporation in September 2003. Arotech Corporation was founded in 1990 and is based in Ann! Arbor, Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Thomas Rice]
Arotech Corp. (ARTX) is a defense and security products and services firm; it provides simulation for military, law enforcement, and commercial markets.
[By Wallace Witkowski]
Arotech Corp. (ARTX) shares rose 10% to $3.70 on moderate volume after the defense and security-products company reported a first-quarter profit of 5 cents a share on revenue of $22.4 million. The one analyst who covers Arotech was forecasting 2 cents a share on revenue of $21.3 million, according to FactSet.
[By Monica Gerson]
Arotech (NASDAQ: ARTX) shares declined 10.98% to $3.97 after falling 1.55% on Monday.

Bebe Stores (NASDAQ: BEBE) shares declined 10.40% to $5.77 after the company reported a 5.7% drop in its Q3 same-store sales and issued a downbeat Q3 outlook.
[By James E. Brumley]
If you're reading this, then odds are you already know Arotech Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTX) shares are up big-time today. You probably also know why ARTX is soaring... last quarter's results. What may not be fully appreciated about this defense contractor, however, is that its stock - even with today's huge advance - has a lot more upside to go before the bulls slow down.

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/5-best-prefered-stocks-to-watch-right-now.html

Thursday, March 26, 2015

7 Alternative Investments You Should Think Twice About

It's hard to get rich with collected items. Source: Flickr user Masked Builder.

For one reason or another, many of us will occasionally turn our gazes to alternative investments. We may have grown impatient with our stock portfolio or been dazzled by spectacular performance in some niche sector, or we have been persuaded by some breathless email or newsletter. In any case, it's worth remembering that many alternative investments are not as great as they may seem, and some are rather dangerous.

First, though, what exactly is an alternative investment? Well, conventional investments include stocks, bonds, cash, and savings accounts, to name a few. Now let's review a handful of alternative investments and what makes them riskier than investors may realize.

Penny stocks
Although they are stocks, penny stocks are something of an alternative investment because they're a unique kind of stock with particular qualities. Penny stocks are tantalizing to naive investors who love the idea of owning 20,000 shares of a stock for a total of just $1,000. They don't appreciate that a $200-per-share stock might in fact be a better bargain and that they'd be far better off spending that $1,000 on five shares of it. Penny stocks are often tied to extra-risky, unproven companies with captivating stories (a cure for cancer! An imminent big oil discovery!), no profits, and armies of con artists making money by hyping them up and then selling them. Remember that a $2 stock can quickly become a $0.20 one -- and often does.

Gold hasn't been the best long-term investment. Source: Flickr user Bullion Vault.

Gold
Investing in gold is not a new idea, but the precious metal is volatile and doesn't have the best long-term track record. Wharton Business School professor Jeremy Siegel's data shows that while gold delivered an inflation-adjusted average annual return of 11.8% between 2000 and 2012, it averaged close to 2% between 1926 and 2012. Many choose it as a hedge against inflation, but it doesn't always offer much protection. Over the past three years, for example, the SPDR Gold ETF (NYSEMKT: GLD ) has lost an annual average of 9.3%. Over the past five years, it has averaged a 1% gain.

Further, as Warren Buffett has noted, gold is an "unproductive asset": While you can invest in companies that provide real goods and services for money, gold just sits there, with few practical uses outside of jewelry. Some think of it as a "safe" investment, but its value fluctuations are unpredictable.

Hedge funds
It might seem as if hedge fund investors are making big money, but that's often not the case. In 2014, for example, they gained about 2%, on average, while the S&P 500 advanced about 14%. Most of us can't invest in hedge funds period, as they tend to be restricted to "qualified investors" who are generally wealthy. Investors are typically charged "2 and 20," meaning they fork over 2% of their invested assets each year as a management fee (whereas managed stock mutual funds charge fees closer to 1%, while index funds frequently charge less than 0.25%), and then they also fork over 20% of any gains. Ouch.

The rationale for the high fees is that hedge funds deliver outstanding returns -- except many of them don't. Some are charging less these days, but even half of "2 and 20" is exorbitant. You can get great performance for far less.

Real estate generally doesn't grow in value as briskly as stocks. Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Real estate
If you want to buy a home in order to have a nice place to live, go right ahead. But if you're thinking of your home as a great investment, think again. Nobel-prize-winning economist Robert Shiller is famous for his studies of the housing market, and per his data, housing prices have grown at a compound annual rate of just 0.3% over the past century (inflation-adjusted), while the S&P 500 has averaged roughly 6.5%. And that's just an average; those who bought in the wrong places at the wrong time fared even worse.

Worse still, real estate has some big drawbacks compared to, say, stocks. For one thing, you can't liquidate a home quickly, and you can't sell off part of your home in order to generate some needed funds. If you're thinking of buying property in order to rent it out, give a lot of thought to how easily you'll take to being a landlord and dealing with late-night emergency repairs and tenants who don't pay. It's not for everyone, and when you crunch the numbers, it may not even be that lucrative for you.

Commodities
Those who recommend investing in commodities -- i.e., raw materials or agricultural products such as grains, pork bellies, oil, copper, coffee, and sugar -- often explain that they offer diversification and a hedge against inflation. On the other hand, they commodities be very volatile. They're about twice as volatile as an S&P 500 index fund (remember that the S&P 500 is capable of big drops, too -- such as its 37% plunge in 2008) and nearly four times as volatile as a bond fund benchmark. You can lose a lot of money in commodities, especially if you're not familiar with them.

Hot Food Companies To Invest In 2015

Forex
The foreign exchange market, or "Forex," has attracted many investors with its steep leverage capabilities. Whereas you can only have 2-to-1 leverage in stocks, you can have 50-to-1 in foreign currencies. This means you can make a lot with a little -- and you can also lose a lot more than you may realize you're putting at risk. You're also involved in making bets on currencies, and you may not understand interest rate movements, global economics, or how the fast-moving, volatile market works well enough to succeed in it.

Collectibles
Let's end with collectibles, as some people out there are filling drawers and cupboards with baseball cards, comics, wines, coins, and so on. Such collections might give you great pleasure, but they won't necessarily make you rich. Again, you need to research and understand the market on a deep level. Rare items can indeed develop great value, but many items produced today are produced in great quantities, making them less likely to fetch much in the future.

There are other alternative investments out there, too. Remember that oftentimes, what seems too good to be true is simply not true. Money can be made in many alternative investments, but those investments shouldn't be taken lightly. Fortunately, though stocks are pretty "mainstream," they've nonetheless made a lot of people wealthy over the long run.

1 great stock to buy for 2015 and beyond
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Best Financial Stocks To Own Right Now

Best Financial Stocks To Own Right Now: Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG)

Lloyds Banking Group plc, incorporated on October 21, 1985, is a holding company. The Company is a financial services group providing a range of banking and financial services, primarily in the United Kingdom, to personal and corporate customers. The Company operates in four segments: Retail, Commercial Banking, Wealth, Asset Finance and International and Insurance. Retail provides banking, mortgages and other financial services to personal customers in the United Kingdom. Commercial Banking provides banking and related services to business clients, from small businesses to large corporate. Wealth, Asset Finance and International provides private banking and asset management and asset finance in the United Kingdom and overseas and operates the Companys international retail businesses. Insurance provides long term savings, protection and investment products in the United Kingdom and Europe and provides general insurance to personal customers in the United Kingdom.

Retail

The Retail division operates the retail bank in the United Kingdom and is a provider of current accounts, savings, personal loans, credit cards and mortgages. This includes a range of current accounts including packaged accounts and basic banking accounts. It is also the provider of personal loans in the United Kingdom, as well as being the United Kingdoms credit card issuer. Retail is the private sector savings provider in the United Kingdom. It is also a general insurance and bancassurance distributor, offering a range of long-term savings, investment and general insurance products.

Commercial Banking

The Commercial Banking division supports the Companys business clients from small businesses to corporate. Commercial Banking provides support to corporate clients through the provision of core banking products, such as lending, deposits and transaction banking services whilst also offering clients exper! tise in capita l markets (private placements, bonds and syndicated loans), ! financial markets (foreign exchange, interest rate management, money market and credit) and private equity.

Wealth, Asset Finance and International

Wealth, Asset Finance and International consists of the Companys the United Kingdom and international wealth businesses, the Companys the United Kingdom and international asset finance and online deposit businesses along with its international retail businesses. The Wealth business consists of private banking and asset management. Wealths private banking operations cater to the range of wealth clients from affluent to Ultra High Net Worth within the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, and internationally. Asset Finance consists of a number of leasing and speciality lending businesses in the United Kingdom, including Lex Autolease and Black Horse Motor and Personal Finance along with its leasing and specialty lending businesses in Australia and its European online deposit business. T he international business comprises its non-core banking business outside the United Kingdom, with the exception of corporate business written through the Commercial Banking division. This primarily consists of Ireland, Retail Europe and Asia.

Insurance

The Insurance division provides long-term savings, protection and investment products and general insurance products to customers in the United Kingdom and Europe. The United Kingdom Life, Pensions and Investments business provides long-term savings, protection and investment products distributed through the bancassurance, intermediary and direct channels of the Lloyds TSB, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows brands. The European Life, Pensions and Investments business distributes products primarily in the German market under the Heidelberger Leben and Clerical Medical brands. The General Insurance business is a distributor of home insurance in the United Kingdom, with products ! sold thro! ugh the branch network, direct channels and strategic corporate! partners! . It operates primarily under the Lloyds TSB, Halifax and Bank of Scotland brands.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Sam Robson]
LONDON --Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY ) (NYSE: LYG ) this morning announced the latest disposal in its continued "non-core asset reduction," in the form of selling a portfolio of US residential mortgage-backed securities to a number of different institutions for a cash consideration of 拢3.3 billion.
[By Alanna Petroff]
4. A financial giant: Shares in British financial institutions based in Scotland, such as Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds (LYG), have been battered by concerns that a vote in favor of independence could damage their business. RBS has said it could hurt its credit rating and raise costs.

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/best-financial-stocks-to-own-right-now.html

Monday, March 23, 2015

3 Reasons Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.'s Stock Could Rise

As much as I'd love to analyze the earnings results and conference calls from different quarters of 2014, Hertz Global Holdings (NYSE: HTZ ) still hasn't reported any. Normally, that in and of itself would be a red flag of epic proportions, but here are three basic reasons the stock price could still step on the gas and drive uphill anyway.

Reason 1: Uncertainty is worse than bad news
Hertz's is currently undergoing accounting work to restate certain errors and audit reviews dating back to 2011. While it's highly doubtful that whatever changes come out of it has any effect on cash flow, the market has always hated uncertainty, especially when the consequence is a delay in more current 2014 results. Investors are investing in Hertz with somewhat of a partial blindfold on.

Hertz hasn't given a hard date of when it can expect to be caught up on its financials, so either the financials themselves or at least guidance for same could theoretically come literally any day. With financials come certainty, and with certainty the potential pool of investors widens.

As an example of uncertainty getting priced in, competitor Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ: CAR ) trades with a P/E of around 14 based on analyst estimates for fiscal 2015. Meanwhile, Hertz trades with a cheaper P/E of 12 based on estimates for the same timeframe, despite having higher growth expectations based on both revenue and sales. A return to certainty may result in a higher trading multiple, assuming analysts remain confident in their figures.

Reason 2: Icon Carl Icahn
Whenever billionaire hedge-fund manager and activist Carl Icahn seemingly falls from the sky and gets directly involved in a big name like Hertz, it's rarely a bad sign. He doesn't use the term "activist" lightly. In a filing on Aug. 20, Icahn and his Icahn Enterprises (NASDAQ: IEP ) revealed that it acquired an 8.48% stake in Hertz. The filing stated, in part:

The Reporting Persons acquired their positions in the Shares in the belief that they were undervalued. The Reporting Persons intend to have discussions with representatives of the Issuer's management and board of directors relating to shareholder value, accounting issues, operational failures, underperformance relative to its peers and the Reporting Persons' lack of confidence in management. The Reporting Persons may also seek shareholder board representation if appropriate.

At the time of the filing, the stock was over $30 per share and now sits under $24. Icahn has since won the board seats he wanted in a definitive agreement with Hertz. What's next on Icahn's possibly secret agenda is anybody's guess beyond improving the company in the ways listed, but quite often he strives for a buyout at a substantial premium, and also quite often he gets his wish.

Reason 3: Fill 'er up for less
Real simple: Cheap gas means more travel and more demand for rental cars, since most car rentals are done at airports. Not only does cheaper fuel inevitably lead to cheap airline tickets, but the perception of affordability for travel also improves.

Oil prices are now firmly under $100 per barrel and actually under $90 at the time of this writing. As a result, gas prices are now at a four-year low and could be dropping further. Lower oil and gas prices should help provide fuel to lift Hertz, Avis Budget Group, and the stocks of others in their industry.

Another factor to keep in mind with cheap gas is that the temptation is far higher to upgrade to that gas-guzzling $80-per-day SUV rather than sticking with the discount $15 to $25 fuel-efficient car. According to Neil Abrams of Abrams Consulting Group, $4 gas beats up the demand for SUV rental. It stands to reason, then, that the discount at the pump will help lift average ticket sales, and profits at Hertz could act as a catalyst for upward stock price movement.

Top 5 China Companies For 2015

Warren Buffett's worst auto-nightmare (Hint: It's not Tesla)
A major technological shift is happening in the automotive industry. Most people are skeptical about its impact. Warren Buffett isn't one of them. He recently called it a "real threat" to one of his favorite businesses. An executive at Ford called the technology "fantastic." The beauty for investors is that there is an easy way to ride this megatrend. Click here to access our exclusive report on this stock.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Why Dividends Matter

Over the last several years Dividend Stocks have become immensely popular. It seems that every financial adviser or financial publication is proclaiming that you should own dividend stocks. Each are singing the virtues of dividend stocks from their own perspective. To that I have two questions:

1. What took you so long? 2. Do you really understand why dividend stocks are such a good long-term investment? I am entertained that many "experts" are now recommending dividend stocks based on his or her investing makeup. Some are recommending dividend stocks as part of their sector rotation, or as the next hot fad, - stay tuned and they will tell you when to jump out. Others are recommending dividend stocks as substitutes for bonds since yields on fixed income investments have all but dried up. All arrived at what I consider to be the correct conclusion, but do they really understand why dividends matter? Below are 11 reasons why dividends matter in all markets:

1. In a troubled market, dividends provide investment opportunity

While everyone else is panicked about their portfolio's decline, dividend investors see a downturn as an incredible buying opportunity. The lower a stock's price goes the higher its dividend yield. In a down-market it is a lot easier to buy a stock that pays you an increasing dividend than one that doesn't. Simply put, the dividend stock is paying you to wait on its recovery, while the non-payer may continue to decline of remain stagnate for years.

2. Unlike earnings, dividends can't be manipulated or faked

From an accounting standpoint, it is relatively easy through fraud and manipulation to make an income statement look quite impressive. There is no faking the cash that shows up in your brokerage account. Companies with long histories of dividend increases are less likely to take extreme risks that could potentially jeopardize their streak.

3. Dividends provide continuous feedback

As time passes dividend investors see their income steadily grow. You do not have to wait five to ten years to determine if the strategy is working. Each dividend and dividend increase provides the investor with reassurance that the strategy is working.This reassurance helps investors to the right thing in troubled markets.

4. Reinvested dividends provided a significant portion of the historical equity returns

Performance in any given year is driven by capital appreciation, but long-term returns are largely the result of reinvested dividends. John Bogle, the founder and retired CEO of The Vanguard Group, once wrote: "An investment of $10,000 in the S&P 500 Index at its 1926 inception with all dividends reinvested would by the end of September 2007 have grown to approximately $33,100,000 (10.4% compounded). If dividends had not been reinvested, the value of that investment would have been just over $1,200,000 (6.1% compounded) – an amazing gap of $32 million. Over the past 81 years, then, reinvested dividend income accounted for approximately 95% of the compound long-term return earned by the companies in the S&P 500."

5. Good dividend companies grow their dividends

You expect your employer to give you a raise periodically. Why wouldn't you expect the same from your investments? Healthy companies are growing earnings and share price, thus to pay a competitive yield the company must also grow its dividend.

6. Spending dividends in retirement, does not harm your principle investment

Stock prices do not move in a straight line. There are protracted periods were the market moves down. Having to sell more shares in a down market to cover rising expenses, will have a long-term negative effect on your wealth even after the market recovers. In addition, a good dividend portfolio can be left to your children and their children.

7. A dividend portfolio is relatively low maintenance

You may not want to spend your retirement managing and worrying about your portfolio. Careful selection of quality blue-chip Dividend Growth Stocks will provide you a lifetime of growing earnings with very little maintenance needed.

8. Dividends help identify well-managed companies

Companies that grow their dividend on a regular basis tend to be those in better off financially and are able to sustain earnings growth. I(t is no accident that some of the very best companies have been growing their dividends for 30, 40, 50 or more years.

9. Dividend-paying stocks provide a built-in return

Companies that pay a sustainable and growing dividends, are more resilient in down markets. Investors in Dividend Growth Stocks aggressively buy in downturns, which provides support to the stock's price. In the up markets investors enjoy capital appreciation as earnings grow to support the increasing dividend.

10. Dividend Growth Stocks are an inflation hedge

Eagle Asset Management, in an April 2010 whitepaper noted, "Dividend-paying equities historically have generated income that has kept pace with inflation, an important factor for many investors." Inflation is inevitable. If our income isn't growing, then we are falling behind and our buying power is being eroded.

11. Qualified dividends are taxed at a lower rate

Starting in 2013 the federal tax rates on qualified dividends are 0%, 15% and 20%. The 20% rate is for taxpayers in the 39.6% tax bracket. For those in the 10% and 15% brackets, there is no tax on qualified dividends. In contrast, ordinary income is taxed at rates up to up to 39.6%. Below are several stocks that have consistently paid dividends through depressions, recessions, world wars, and other political and economic upheavals:WGL Holdings Inc. (WGL) provides natural gas service in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area and surrounding regions, including Maryland and Virginia. Yield: 4.1% | Paid Dividends Since: 1852Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), formed through the merger of Exxon and Mobil in late 1999, is the world's largest publicly owned integrated oil company. Yield: 2.7% | Paid Dividends Since: 1882Consolidated Edison, Inc. (ED) is an electric and gas utility holding company serves parts of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Yield: 4.4% | Paid Dividends Since: 1885The Procter & Gamble Company (PG) is a leading consumer products company that markets household and personal care products in more than 180 countries. Yield: 3.2% | Paid Dividends Since: 1891The Coca-Cola Company (KO) is the world's largest soft drink company, KO also has a sizable fruit juice business. Yield: 2.9% | Paid Dividends Since: 1893General Mills, Inc. (GIS) is a major producer of packaged consumer food products, include cereal, yogurt and Betty Crocker desserts/baking mixes. Yield: 3.0% | Paid Dividends Since: 1898Avista Corp. (AVA) generates, transmits and distributes energy as well as engages in energy-related businesses in the United States and Canada. Yield: 3.0% | Paid Dividends Since: 1899MGE Energy Inc. (MGEE) is a public utility holding company that supplies electric service to apx. 140,000 customers; and natural gas service to apx. 145,000 customers in Wisconsin (as of December 2012). Yield: 2.8% | Paid Dividends Since: 1909Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL) offers energy-related products and services to 3.4 million electricity customers and 1.9 million natural gas customers in eight western and midwestern states. Yield: 3.8% | Paid Dividends Since: 1910Middlesex Water Co. (MSEX) primarily provides regulated water utility service in parts of New Jersey and Delaware, as well as operates wastewater systems and conducts municipal contract operations. Yield: 3.9% | Paid Dividends Since: 1912Chevron Corporation (CVX) is a global integrated oil company (formerly ChevronTexaco) has interests in exploration, production, refining and marketing, and petrochemicals. Yield: 3.2% | Paid Dividends Since: 1912 Try telling these companies that dividends don't matter and see what kind or reaction you get. Or more importantly, try telling these companies' shareholders that dividends don't matter. A healthy and wealthy retirement comes from building a secure portfolio, not watching for the next fad.Full Disclosure: Long XOM, ED, PG, KO, CVX in my Dividend Growth Portfolio and long AVA in my High-Yield Portfolio. See a list of all my dividend growth holdings here.Related Articles - 9 High-Rated Dividend Stocks With Above Target Returns - 9 High-Yielding Utilities With A Growing Dividends - My 5 Largest Dividend Stock Positions Have Double-Digit Lifetime Returns - The Best Dividend Stocks In The World - 12 Dividend Stocks With 50+ Years of Consecutive Increases

About the author:Dividends4LifeVisit Dividends4Life at: http://www.dividend-growth-stocks.com/

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Wednesday, March 18, 2015

10 Best Quality Stocks To Buy For 2015

10 Best Quality Stocks To Buy For 2015: ViroPharma Incorporated(VPHM)

ViroPharma Incorporated, a biotechnology company, develops and commercializes therapeutic products that address serious diseases in the United States and internationally. It focuses on developing products used by physician specialists or in hospital settings. The company markets and sells Cinryze, a C1 esterase inhibitor therapy for the routine prophylaxis against angioedema attacks in adolescent and adult patients with hereditary angioedema, a life-threatening genetic disorder; and Vancocin HCl capsule, an oral capsule formulation for the treatment of C. difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD) and to treat enterocolitis caused by staphylococcus aureus, including methicillin-resistant strains. It also offers Plenadren, an orphan drug for treatment of adrenal insufficiency in adults; Buccolam, a oromucosal solution for treatment of prolonged, acute, and convulsive seizures in infants, toddlers, children, and adolescents; and maribavir, an antiviral compound for the treatment o f CMV disease through a license agreement with GlaxoSmithKline. The company?s primary development programs include Cinryze, a C1 esterase inhibitor for management of hereditary angioedema; and VP 20621, a non-toxigenic strain of C. difficile. Its clinical stage drug candidate comprises VP-20629 for the treatment of Friedreich?s Ataxia. The company sells its products directly to wholesale drug distributors and specialty pharmacies/distributors. ViroPharma Incorporated was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Sean Williams]
Beyond clinical data, rare disease-focused biopharmaceutical company ViroPharma (NASDAQ: VPHM ) rose after a Reuters report noted multiple unnamed pharmaceutical companies showing early interest in acquiring the company. Although ViroPharma itself may not be interested in selling itself, big pharmaceutical companies with aging pipelines cert! ainly have to like the way sales of hereditary angioedema drug Cinryze have exploded higher. In addition, ViroPharma received orphan drug status in Europe for maribavir, its anti-cytomegalovirus drug, just over a week ago. Even if a buyout isn't on the table, there are plenty of reasons ViroPharma should be on your Watchlist.
[By David Williamson and Alison Southwick]
In this segment from Monday's episode, health-care analyst David Williamson discusses Shire (NASDAQ: SHPG ) , a biopharmaceutical company focusing on rare diseases, that just beat out several rivals with its bid of $4.2 billion to acquire ViroPharma (NASDAQ: VPHM ) . ViroPharma sells the successful hereditary angioedema drug Cinryze, which is used in prophylactic treatment of the disease. Shire sees this as an immediately complementary fit with its drug Firazyr, which is for patients already suffering from the active disease.

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/10-best-quality-stocks-to-buy-for-2015-4.html

Monday, March 16, 2015

Top 5 Internet Companies To Own In Right Now

Networking equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) has been selected by privately- owned web hosting provider, OVH.com to provide its Aggregation Services Router (ASR) 9000 Series for expansion of its Internet Protocol (IP) network in cloud-based services.

Roubaix, France-based OVH was founded by Octave Klaba in 1999. It provides dedicated servers, mutual hosting, domain names and VOIP telephony services. It owns 150,000 dedicated servers in 12 data centers. OVH.com through its own infrastructure provides high-speed connections globally.

Cisco�� router will provide highly resilient IP connectivity, which will be able to support OVH�� entire network. Further, OVH will be able to provide speeds of up to 2 Tbps in Europe and 8 Tbps in the U.S. Thus, Cisco�� ASR may be able to support different types of traffic without any delays and hindrances, which is quite critical in transferring video and audio files.

According to the Cisco Visual Networking Index, IP traffic may grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23% from 2012 to 2017. Further, global IP traffic may surpass 1.4 zettabytes by 2017.

Top Medical Stocks To Own For 2015: eBay Inc.(EBAY)

eBay Inc. provides online platforms, services, and tools to help individuals and merchants in online and mobile commerce and payments in the United States and internationally. Its Marketplaces segment operates ecommerce platform eBay.com; vertical shopping sites, such as StubHub, Fashion, Motors, and Half.com; and classifieds Websites, including Den Bl�Avis, BilBasen, Gumtree, Kijiji, LoQUo, Marktplaats.nl, mobile.de, Alamaula, Rent.com, eBay Anuncios, eBay Kleinanzeigen, and eBay Annunci, as well as provides advertising services. The company?s Payments segment offers payment and settlement services for consumers and merchants on and off eBay Websites and other merchant Websites. This segment operates PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to send and receive payments online and through mobile devices; Bill Me Later that enables the United States merchants to offer, the United States consumers to obtain, credit at the point of sale for ecommerce and mobile tra nsactions; Zong, which allows users with mobile phones to purchase digital goods and have the transactions charged to their phone bill; and BillSAFE that enables customers pay for purchases upon receipt of an invoice. Its GSI segment offers an ecommerce services suite for enterprise clients that operate in general merchandise categories, including apparel, sporting goods, toys and baby, health and beauty, and home; and marketing services comprising full-service digital agency, enterprise email marketing, mobile advertising, affiliate marketing, advertisement retargeting, and in-depth analytics services. The company also offers X.commerce platform that provides software developers access to the company?s applications programming interfaces to develop functionality for various merchants; and Magento Connect, which allows developers to market and sell add-on functionality and solutions to merchants that use a Magento storefront. eBay Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquarter ed in San Jose, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Laura Brodbeck]
Wednesday
Earnings Expected: Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT), US Bancorp (NYSE: USB), St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE: STJ), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC), BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK), eBay Inc. (NYSE: EBAY), Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) Economic Releases Expected: US industrial production, US PPI, US oil inventory data, British unemployment rate, Italian trade balance
Thursday
[By Dan Caplinger]
But Visa faces two major threats. One comes from electronic payments, as eBay's (NASDAQ: EBAY ) PayPal division has done an excellent job of boosting its volumes not just from online payments but also by tapping the rapidly growing mobile space. PayPal's success has spurred many other companies to follow suit, ranging from major tech companies like Google and Amazon to tiny upstarts like Square. Visa has taken steps to defend its traditional payment-processing territory, but even the credit card industry's joint efforts might not be enough to hold off PayPal in the long run.
[By Chris Mydlo]
Now that the second quarter portfolios have been filed with the SEC, I used the GuruFocus S&P 500 Grid to get a look at what the hedge fund gurus have been buying. I prefer to use ��et buys��over ��uys��because it also factors in what the hedge fund gurus have been selling. When using the S&P 500 Grid, I adjusted the settings to only include the hedge fund gurus and examined the results for both S&P 500 and non-S&P 500 companies. The top results were MasterCard (MA), eBay (EBAY), Occidental Petroleum (OXY), Ally Financial (ALLY), Actavis (ACT), and Allergan (AGN).
[By Benjamin Pimentel]
Shares of eBay Inc. (EBAY) �shed 0.8% to close at $58.31. The company�� battle with Carl Icahn continued as eBay director Marc Andreessen defended his role at the company, calling the billionaire�� allegations ��alse and misleading.��

Top 5 Internet Companies To Own In Right Now: CYNK Technology Corp (CYNK)

Cynk Technology Corp., formerly Introbuzz, Inc., is a development stage-company. The Company intends to develop a social network business. Social networks are Web based services that allow individuals to post a profile and link their profile to other friends and organizations.

The Company intends to develop a database of professional and other business persons, as well as other interested persons in providing and utilizing contacts. As of November 14, 2012, the Company had not generated any revenue.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]
CYNK Technology (CYNK), the mysterious over-the-counter stock that at one point broke a $6 billion market cap, dropped roughly 80 percent in its first trades after a Securities and Exchange Commission halt. The SEC halted CYNK for two weeks following a massive rise in the stock's value -- it had been worth only a few cents per share in June, but it jumped above $21 on July 10. The Belize-based CYNK Technology supposedly operates a social networking site, but filings indicate it only has one employee and virtually no assets. Experts told CNBC the week of the SEC halt that they expected CYNK to fall precipitously after reopening, and its first day of trading is proving those predictions correct. When it was halted, the stock was worth just less than $14 per share, and is now below $3 a share after briefly hovering around $5 earlier Friday morning. An OTC Markets spokeswoman told Reuters that CYNK's shares were not trading on its platform, but were occurring over the phone. Earlier this week Reuters reported that OTC's CEO did not expect CYNK to trade on its platform at all after reopening, as no brokerages would file the required paperwork for the stock to trade on their exchanges. An SEC spokesman said that the organization cannot comment on the status of a company after a suspension period ends, citing an online explanation of the process. That document notes that broker-dealers may not solicit investors to trade the previously suspended OTC stock until they satisfy several regulatory requirements. The SEC warned, however, that "unsolicited" trading may occur after a reopening -- as CYNK is now seeing -- but "even though such trading is allowed, it can be very risky for investors without current and reliable information about the company."

Top 5 Internet Companies To Own In Right Now: Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN)

Amazon.com, Inc. operates as an online retailer in North America and internationally. It operates retail Web sites, including amazon.com and amazon.ca. The company serves consumers through its retail Web sites and focuses on selection, price, and convenience. It also offers programs that enable sellers to sell their products on its Web sites, and their own branded Web sites. In addition, the company serves developer customers through Amazon Web Services, which provides access to technology infrastructure that developers can use to enable virtually various type of business. Further, it manufactures and sells the Kindle e-reader. Additionally, the company provides fulfillment; miscellaneous marketing and promotional agreements, such as online advertising; and co-branded credit cards. Amazon.com, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]
Bustling marketplace
eBay's marketplace also logged strong results, breaking $2 billion in sales and growing to more than 120 million users. Sure, that business is well behind Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN ) , which had 209 million customers at last count. But eBay is expanding into Amazon's territory. Fixed-price sales, as opposed to auctions, grew faster than total sales again this quarter and now make up almost 70% of eBay's volume.
[By Garrett Cook]
Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) shares tumbled 11.09 percent to $318.84 after the company reported a wider-than-expected loss for the second quarter. For the third quarter, Amazon projected sales of $19.7 billion to $21.5 billion. Analysts at B Riley downgraded Amazon from Buy to Neutral and lowered the target price from $425 to $350.

Top 5 Internet Companies To Own In Right Now: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA)

Alibaba Group Holding Limited, incorporated on June 28, 1999, is an online and mobile commerce company. The Company operates its ecosystem as a platform for third parties. The Company operates Taobao Marketplace, China�� online shopping destination, Tmall, China�� third-party platform for brands and retailers and Juhuasuan, China�� group buying marketplace. In addition to its three China retail marketplaces, the Company operates Alibaba.com, China�� global online wholesale marketplace, 1688.com, its China wholesale marketplace, and AliExpress, its global consumer marketplace, as well as provides cloud computing services. As a platform, the Company provides the fundamental technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help businesses leverage the power of the Internet to establish an online presence and conduct commerce with consumers and businesses. Effective August 01, 2014, Alibaba Investment Ltd, a unit of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, acquired a 10.193% interest n Singapore Post Ltd.

The buyers and sellers discover, select and transact with each other on the Company�� platform. Third-party service providers add value to its platform through service offerings that make it easier for buyers and sellers to do business. The third-party participants in its ecosystem include a payment services provider, logistics providers, retail operational partners, marketing affiliates, independent software vendors and various professional service providers. The Company has developed policies and procedures that maintain the health and sustainability of its marketplaces, including consumer protection programs, marketplace rules, qualification standards for merchants and buyer and seller rating systems. As its ecosystem expands, new jobs are created.

Taobao Affiliate Network is powered by Alimama, its online marketing technology platform. Through this platform, sellers place marketing displays on its marketing affiliates��websites and mobile apps, and sellers pay a performance-b! ased marketing fee primarily based on cost-per-click (CPC), and cost-per-sale (CPS), models. Through China Smart Logistics, the Company provides real-time information to its logistics partners, including key operating metrics, such as distribution center utilization rates, route planning data and order volume forecasts. Independent software vendors (ISVs) provide software tools, as well as systems integration services to sellers.

Tmall is an online platform featuring brands and retailers with each seller having an identifiable online storefront. Users may access Tmall anytime, anywhere through the Tmall Website and the mobile apps and mobile-optimized websites provided by Taobao Marketplace and Tmall. The physical product categories on Tmall include apparel and accessories, electronics and appliances, home furnishings, home appliances, maternity and baby products. Juhuasuan is an online group buying marketplace in China. Juhuasuan offers quality products at discounted prices by aggregating demand from numerous consumers. Juhuasuan mainly does this through flash sales, which make products available at discounted prices for a limited period of time. Juhuasuan offers group buying channels featuring branded and private label products, products made to custom specifications and local services.

AliExpress is a consumer marketplace enables consumers from around the world to buy directly from wholesalers and manufacturers in China. On AliExpress, consumers have access to a variety of products. In addition to the global English-language site, AliExpress operates two local language sites in Russia and Brazil. The product categories on AliExpress.com include apparel and accessories, phones and communications products, beauty and health, computer networking, jewelry and watches. Alibaba.com is an online commerce platform. Sellers on Alibaba.com may pay for an annual Gold Supplier membership to host a premium storefront with product listings on the marketplace.

The Company��! marketin! g technology platform, Alimama, offers sellers on its marketplaces marketing services for both personal computer and mobile devices, which include P4P marketing service and display marketing. Alimama also offers its sellers these marketing services through third parties through the Taobao Affiliate Network. The Taobao Ad Network and Exchange (TANX) automates the buying and selling of billions of advertising impressions on a daily basis by third parties. The Company also offer a data management platform (DMP), connected to TANX. Its DMP allows participants on TANX to evaluate and select online advertising inventory using both behavioral data they provide, as well as data from browsing behavior and shopping history. Its Cloud Computing supports its commerce ecosystem by providing a distributed computing infrastructure to handle the large volume of traffic and data generated on its online marketplaces. Its cloud computing platform offers service offerings, including elastic computing, database services and storage and large scale computing services.

The company offer search functions on all of its Web pages, mobile apps and many of its marketing affiliates��websites and apps to make it easy for buyers to find products and services within its marketplaces. The Company offers Aliwangwang, a personal computer-based instant messenger that supports text, audio and video communication. The Company developed Aliwangwang to facilitate open communication between buyers and sellers on Taobao Marketplace and Tmall. Buyers and sellers use it as a tool for a range of tasks, including negotiation of prices, customer services and delivery notification, in addition to the basic messaging functions. It offer Qianniu , an integrated platform for communication and productivity tools which allows sellers on Taobao Marketplace and Tmall to manage their operations more efficiently.

Alipay, the Company�� related company, provides payment and escrow services for transactions on Taobao Marketplace, Tm! all, 1688! .com and certain of its other sites, as well as to third parties in China. The Company�� small and medium enterprise (SME) loan business provides micro loans to sellers on its wholesale and retail marketplaces through lending vehicles licensed by the local government.

The company competes with Tencent and Baidu.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Jayson Derrick]
Analysts at Brean Capital initiated coverage of Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) with a price target raised to $13 from a previous $11. Shares lost 1.06 percent, closing at $87.91.
[By MONEYMORNING.COM]
Give me Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) stock at $70, Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock at $200, and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) at $80.