Hot New Stocks To Watch Right Now

If you've experienced a recent flight delay or service disruption, then you probably know that for better or worse, no one says "I'm sorry" like an airline.

A well-crafted apology is often just the beginning. Gift cards, credits and loyalty points ��lots of loyalty points ��frequently follow. And the mea culpas appear to work. Most passengers accept them and move on.

Well, maybe they shouldn't.

A closer look at the airline industry's "sorries" suggests they sometimes lack sincerity and show a remarkable unwillingness to fix the problem that caused the complaint in the first place. In other words, it's more like hush money than an apology.

Airline apology innovations may not sound like big news, but they are. Take the form letter, for example. A few years ago, these e-mails were riddled with typos and grammatical errors. But almost overnight, they began to look almost literary. Sure enough, one airline vice president admitted to me that his company had hired English majors to write the letters. Brilliant.

5 Best Restaurant Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Ceres Inc (CERE)

Ceres, Inc. (Ceres), incorporated in March 1996, is an agricultural biotechnology company selling seeds to produce renewable biomass feedstocks that can enable the large-scale replacement of petroleum and other fossil fuels. The Company�� large-scale commercial products are sweet sorghum varieties that can be used as a drop-in feedstock to extend the operating season of Brazilian sugarcane-to-ethanol mills. Its products include sweet sorghum, high biomass sorghum, switchgrass, miscanthus and row crops. Its energy crops can also be used for the production of second-generation biofuels and bio-based chemicals, including cellulosic ethanol, butanol, jet fuel, diesel-like molecules and gasoline-like molecules, from non-food biomass. Baseload utility scale electric power can also be generated from the biomass feedstocks grown from its seeds. Ceres has started marketing sweet sorghum seeds in Brazil and has sold switchgrass and high biomass sorghum seeds in the United States under its brand, Blade Energy Crops (Blade). In January 2010, the Company incorporated a subsidiary, Ceres Sementes do Brasil Ltda.

The Company generates its revenues from government grants, research and development collaboration agreements and from product sales. Product sales primarily consists of sales of seeds. Collaborative research revenues consist of payments for research and development activities for specific projects. Government grant revenues consist of payments from government entities. Ceres markets its seeds and traits directly to ethanol mills, utilities, independent power producers, cellulosic biofuel companies, individual growers and grower cooperatives. It also works with technology providers and other market participants, such as equipment manufacturers and enzyme or fermentation technology companies. The Company markets its products to biorefineries and biopower facilities.

Ceres�� activities in cellulosic biofuels encompass a range of activities, including field trials, co-evolution agr! eements, and commercial sales. Its products have been tested in the conversion processes of EdeniQ, Inc., Choren USA LLC, Gruppo M&G, ICM, Inc., and UOP, LLC (a Honeywell company), among others. The Company has also conducted joint trials with, or sold seed to, AGCO Corporation, EdeniQ, Inc. and Hawai�� BioEnergy, LLC, among others. It has begun collaboration with Valero Services, Inc. to further evaluate feedstock supply strategies with energy crops. Ceres also works with refining technology companies to optimize feedstock for their refining processes. These collaborators include Novozymes North America, Inc. and ThermoChem Recovery International, Inc.

Drop-in Products

The Company�� products are drop-in solutions as they can be planted, harvested and processed using existing agricultural equipment with little or no modification and are being developed to be drop-in for all conversion technologies using sugarcane or biomass feedstocks, facilitating their rapid adoption. In collaboration with Boa Vista/Nova Fronteira, which is a joint venture of ethanol producers Grupo Sao Martinho, S.A. and Petrobras Biofuels, the Company has completed a commercial-scale trial on approximately 250 hectares of its sweet sorghum, which was planted and harvested using existing planting and harvesting equipment, fermented into ethanol without retrofitting or altering the existing mill and the remaining biomass combusted for electricity production, using existing boilers. It has also conducted smaller trials using its other energy crops with numerous industry participants engaged in cellulosic biofuels and biopower production. The Company�� products have been tested in the conversion processes of Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc., Choren USA LLC, EdeniQ, Inc., Gruppo M&G, ICM, Inc., Novozymes North America, Inc., ThermoChem Recovery International, Inc. and UOP, LLC (a Honeywell company), among others. DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC (DDCE) also plans to validate the Company�� products in th! eir conve! rsion process.

Sweet Sorghum

Sweet sorghum is a type of sorghum that accumulates free sugars in its stalk. It is sown by seed, and requires less water and nitrogen fertilizer to grow to harvestable maturity. Sweet sorghum plants can be harvested in 90 to 140 days after sowing. Because sweet sorghum is an annual crop, multiple harvests or crop rotations may be possible during the season.

High Biomass Sorghum

High biomass sorghum is a type of sorghum, which is primarily developed for biomass yield. As such, high biomass sorghum is suited for the generation of renewable electric power and the creation of cellulosic biofuels. High biomass types are seed propagated, and requires less water and nitrogen fertilizer. As an annual crop, sorghum is harvested the year it is planted. This provides bioenergy facilities with a growing and flexible source of biomass, and a complementary feedstock to perennials, such as sugarcane or switchgrass. The Company�� ES 5200 and ES 5201 products contains its Skyscraper trait. These hybrids, developed through its partnership with Texas A&M University, are designed for single-cut production systems.

Switchgrass

Switchgrass is a perennial grass indigenous to North America that offers high biomass yield potential. It requires less water and nitrogen fertilizer, and can grow under semi-arid conditions. Switchgrass is seed propagated. As a perennial, switchgrass is not harvested for sale during the first year when the crop is being established. A properly managed stand of switchgrass may persist for a decade. During the year ended December 31, 2010, it introduced three products: EG 1101, EG 1102 and EG 2101. These high-yielding varieties is developed through its partnership with The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation.

Miscanthus

Miscanthus x giganteus is a tall perennial grass that grows well in cooler climates. It is vegetatively propagated. It has been used as an energy crop on ! a small s! cale across Europe. The Miscanthus genus includes several perennial species that has energy crops. The variety adopted in the United States and Europe, miscanthus x giganteus, is a sterile hybrid of M. sinensis and M. sacchariflorus. This miscanthus hybrid requires about the same water as corn, but up to two-thirds less nitrogen depending on crop management practices. As a perennial crop, miscanthus is not harvested for sale during the first year when the crop is being established. Ceres is also working on extending the region of adaptation. To these ends, the Company is collaborating with the Institute of Biological, Environmental, and Rural Sciences of Aberystwyth University in Wales, the United Kingdom.

The Company competes with Advanta India Limited, The Dow Chemical Company, Monsanto Company, Pioneer Hi-Bred (DuPont), KWS and Syngenta.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another renewable energy player that looks ready to trigger a big breakout trade is Ceres (CERE), which sells seeds to produce renewable biomass feedstocks that can enable the large-scale replacement of petroleum and other fossil fuels. This stock has been hammered by the bears so far in 2013, with shares off sharply by 66%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Ceres, you'll notice that this stock has just started to trend back above its 50-day moving average of $1.45 a share with heavy upside volume flows. Volume so far today has already registered over 1.15 million shares, which is well above its three-month average action of 670,538 shares. This spike back above its 50-day is now quickly pushing shares of CERE within range of triggering a big breakout trade.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CERE if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $1.67 to $1.68 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 670,538 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then CERE will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $2 to $2.50 a share. Shares of CERE could even tag $3 if this breakout triggers with strong volume.

  Traders can look to buy CERE off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below $1.40 a share. One could also buy CERE off strength once it takes out those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

Hot New Stocks To Watch Right Now: Osage Exploration and Development Inc (OEDV)

Osage Exploration and Development, Inc. (Osage) is an oil and natural gas exploration and production company with reserves and production in the country of Colombia and the state of Oklahoma. The Company�� pipeline is located in Colombia. The Companys focuses on developing its 28,000-acre Horizontal Mississippian block along the Nemaha Ridge in Logan County, Oklahoma, with their partners Slawson Exploration, and U.S. Energy Development Corp. The Company generates oil sales from its production operations in Colombia and in the state of Oklahoma and pipeline revenues from its Cimarrona property in Colombia. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company drilled two salt water disposal wells and commenced drilling the Wolfe#1-29H, the Company�� horizontal Mississippian well in Logan County, Oklahoma. In January 2012, the Company began drilling the Krittenbrink 2-36H, the Company�� second well in Logan County.

The Company�� subsidiary, Cimarrona LLC, owns a 9.4% interest in certain oil and gas assets in the Guaduas field, located in the Dindal and Rio Seco Blocks that consist of 21 wells, of which seven are producing, that covers 30,665-acres in the Middle Magdalena Valley in Colombia, as well as a pipeline with a capacity of approximately 30,000 barrels of oil per day. The Cimarrona property, but not the pipeline, is subject to an Ecopetrol Association Contract (the Association Contract) whereby the Company pays Ecopetrol S.A. (Ecopetrol) royalties of 20% of the oil produced.

The Company has acquired oil and gas leases in Logan County, Oklahoma targeting the Mississippian formation. The Mississippian formation is located on the Anadarko Shelf in northern Oklahoma and south-central Kansas. The top of this expansive carbonate hydrocarbon system is encountered between 4,000 and 6,000 feet and lies stratigraphically between the Pennsylvanian-aged Morrow Sand and the Devonian-aged Woodford Shale formations. The Mississippian formation reach 600 feet in gross thickness a! nd the targeted porosity zone is between 50 and 300 feet in thickness. The Company owns 100% of the working interest in certain producing oil and natural gas leases located in Osage County, Oklahoma (Hopper Property). The Property consists of 23 wells, 10 of which are producing wells, on 480 acres.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, OEDV surged (+1.96%) up +0.03 at $1.56 with 178,129 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 12:28PM EDT August 30, 2013).

  Osage Exploration and Development, Inc. previously reported preliminary production results on the Mallard 1-16H Horizontal Mississippian well in Logan County, Oklahoma. The well, located in Section 16-17N-3W, achieved a 24-hour peak initial production rate of 705 barrels of oil plus associated natural gas on an electric submersible pump and a 48/64��choke.

• [By CRWE]

  Today, OEDV surged (+6.78%) up +0.08 at $1.26 with 39,220 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 11:56AM EDT August 22, 2013).

  Osage Exploration and Development, Inc. previously reported financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2013 and provided an update on field operations. For the quarter, the Company reported a 75.8% increase in revenues of $2.4 million compared to the same period in 2012, and operating income of $1.2 million versus a loss of $274,563 for the period ending June 30, 2012.

  Osage participated in drilling ten wells during the second quarter, bringing the total number of wells in which Osage has an interest to twenty-nine as of June 30, 2013. Additionally, the Company reported average daily production roughly in-line with first quarter production.

Hot New Stocks To Watch Right Now: Solar Thin Films Inc (SLTZ)

Solar Thin Films, Inc. is engaged in the business of designing, manufacturing and installation of thin-film amorphous silicon (a-Si) photovoltaic manufacturing equipment. The equipment is used in plants that produce photovoltaic thin-film a-Si solar panels or modules. The Company operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, Kraft Elektronikai Zrt (Kraft). Kraft is engaged in the design, development, manufacture, and installation of a-Si photovoltaic manufacturing equipment. The primary buyers of photovoltaic thin-film manufacturing equipment are businesses, as well as investment partnerships, engaged in the production of photovoltaic thin-film modules. In May 2010, the Company acquired Atlantis Solar LLC. In May 2013, Solar Thin Films Inc acquired Quality Resource Technologies Inc. In October 2013, Solar Thin Films Inc announced the sale of all of its ownership stake of Hungarian subsidiary, Kraft, R.t. (Kraft), to GJR Collectibles LLC.

Kraft has been providing equipment that is incorporated into a single manufacturing line capable of manufacturing a-Si solar modules that produce approximately 5megawatt (MW) of solar power annually. The Company focuses, directly and through joint ventures or alliances with other companies or governmental agencies, to sell equipment for and participate financially in solar power facilities using thin film a-Si solar modules or metallurgical and other crystalline solar modules as the power source to provide electricity to municipalities, businesses and consumers.

The Company competes with Applied Materials and Oerlikon.

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:

Hot New Stocks To Watch Right Now: Gevo Inc (GEVO)

Gevo, Inc., incorporated in June 2005, is a renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels company. The Company is focused on the development and commercialization of alternatives to petroleum-based products. The Company operates in two segments: Gevo, Inc. Segment and Gevo Development/Agri-Energy Segment. Gevo, Inc. Segment is responsible for all research and development activities related to the future production of isobutanol, maintaining and protecting its intellectual property portfolio, developing future markets for its isobutanol and providing corporate oversight services. Its Gevo Development/Agri-Energy Segment is responsible for the production of ethanol and related products. In September 2010, the Company acquired a 22 MGPY ethanol production facility in Luverne, Minnesota that the Company intends to retrofit to produce isobutanol.

The Company�� isobutanol can also be converted by its customers into a range of hydrocarbons, which form the basis for the production of many products, including plastics, fibers, rubber and other polymers and hydrocarbon fuels, including jet and diesel fuel. Its technology platform consists of biocatalysts and a isobutanol separation unit. Together these technologies form the Gevo Integrated Fermentation Technology (GIFT). GIFT is designed to allow relatively low capital expenditure retrofits of existing ethanol facilities, enabling isobutanol production from a range of renewable feedstocks. The Company�� biocatalysts are microorganisms that have been designed to metabolize sugars to produce isobutanol.

GIFT consists of two components, biocatalysts which convert sugars derived from multiple renewable feedstocks into isobutanol through fermentation, and a separation unit which is designed to continuously separate isobutanol from water during the fermentation process. The Company developed its technology platform to be compatible with the existing approximately 20 BGPY of global operating ethanol production capacity, as estimated by the R! enewable Fuels Association (RFA).

The Company competes with Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC (Butamax), BP p.l.c. (BP), E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Butalco GmbH, Cathay Industrial Biotech Ltd., METabolic EXplorer S.A., TetraVitae Bioscience, Inc., Cobalt Technologies, Inc., Green Biologics Ltd. Shell Oil Products US (Shell Oil), BP, DuPont-Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC, Abengoa Bioenergy, S.A., POET, LLC, ICM, Mascoma, Range Fuels, Inbicon A/S, INEOS New Planet BioEnergy LLC, Coskata, Archer Daniels Midland Company, BlueFire Ethanol, Inc., KL Energy Corporation, ZeaChem Inc., Iogen Corporation, Qteros, Inc., and AE Biofuels, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  I imagine the company has made headway since its initial press release, especially with commissioning for its Moema, Brazil, biorefinery looming. When updates are given on commercial achievements in the months ahead, will you be able to digest the important information that affects your investments? Heading into the homestretch of the first wave of commercial buildout, it is crucially important to understand what Solazyme, Gevo (NASDAQ: GEVO  ) , and�Amyris� (NASDAQ: AMRS  ) spill in press releases -- and the greater detail given in SEC filings.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  It was already hanging by a thread, and then only because it bounced back from an early-November plunge. But, with the action we've seen from Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ:GEVO) since that now-failed recovery effort, it's pretty safe to say GEVO is beyond help/hope, if it falls under one more big line in the sand.... and it's looking like it's only a matter of time before that happens.

Best Retail Stocks To Invest In 2014

With shares of Kohl�� (NYSE:KSS) trading around $53, is KSS an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework.

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Kohl’s operates department stores in the United States. Its stores offer private, exclusive, and nationally branded apparel, footwear, and accessories for women, men, and children; soft home products, such as sheets and pillows; and housewares targeted at middle-income customers. As of June 14, it operated 1,155 stores in 49 states. The company also provides online shopping through its website.

Kohl�� reported third-quarter earnings Thursday morning, and, like Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT), the company�� results showed that the retail landscape is still challenging leading up to the holiday shopping season. Kohl�� earnings came in at 81 cents per share, down 10 cents from a year earlier. Kohl�� revenue fell 1 percent, to $4.44 billion. Kohl�� and Wal-Mart both plan to open their stores early for Black Friday this year. Analysts believe that this holiday season could be a big strain for retailers, as they will be forced to offer large discounts in order to attract shoppers, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Hot Defense Stocks To Own For 2015: L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. (LLL)

L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiary, L-3 Communications Corporation, provides command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C3ISR) systems; aircraft modernization and maintenance; and government services in the United States and internationally. Its C3ISR segment offers fleet management sustainment and support, such as procurement, systems integration, sensor development, modifications, and periodic depot maintenance for signals intelligence and communications intelligence systems; strategic and tactical signals intelligence systems; secure data links; secure terminal and communication network equipment and encryption management; and communication systems. The company?s Government Services segment provides communication software support, information technology services, and various engineering development services and integration support; engineering and information systems support services; teaching and training; h uman intelligence support services; command and control systems and software services; and technical and management services. Its Aircraft Modernization and Maintenance segment offers modernization and refurbishments, upgrades and sustainment, maintenance, and logistics support services, as well as turnkey aviation life cycle management services for military and various government and commercial customers. The company?s Electronic Systems segment provides components, products, subsystems, systems, and related services across various business areas, including power and control systems, electro-optic/infrared, microwave, simulation and training, precision engagement, warrior systems, security and detection, propulsion systems, avionics and displays, telemetry and advanced technology, undersea warfare, and marine services. L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vinay Singh] company provides various security solutions in the United States and internationally.

  It has $3.75 per share in cash and enough short-term receivables to take care of its entire long-term debt. Analysts expect $8.34 in EPS for the next fiscal year, and the current stock price is only 9 times that figure, compared to a peer average of 17 times, suggesting L-3 Communications is significantly undervalued.

  Impressively, it has similar margins on both EBITDA and operating cash flow in the low double-digits, and its enterprise value implied by the current stock price is only 6.6 times trailing EBITDA. With a free cash flow margin of around 10%, the company should be able to further increase its cash reserve by $14.25 per share next year. **

  Also, the company recently raised its quarterly dividend by 10% and authorized the repurchase of as much as $1.5 billion of its stock in a bid to boost shareholder returns. It's no wonder the share count has fallen from 122 million in fiscal 2008 to 94 million at the end of 2012, and considering the management's plans on buybacks, this trend should continue.

  Long-term sales growth is where the estimates get tricky. The company faces revenue declines from the winding down of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and defense spending cuts due to the rising focus on deficit reduction.

  Nevertheless, I expect a steady improvement in free cash flow generation. All told, I think L-3 Communications can grow its free cash flow at a 2-4% rate for the long-term. Discounting that back, it suggests a fair value of about $95.

  Raytheon (RTN)

  This company also provides various security solutions in the United States and internationally.

  It has $12.39 per share in cash and a current ratio of 1.57; the company is liquid. Analysts expect $5.44 in EPS for the next fiscal year, and the current stock price is less than 10 times that figure, compared to a peer average of 17 times, suggesting Raytheon is s

• [By Rich Smith]

  Around the globe and Down Under it, L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL  ) landed a pair of new contracts this week.

  On Thursday, the Australian Defence Force announced that it has signed two contracts with L-3's Oceania subsidiary, ordering up "off-the-shelf" satellite communications terminals.

• [By Rich Smith]

  The Department of Defense issued $1.3 billion worth of new contract awards Friday. However, a single, $950 million award for engineering services accounted for the bulk of the spending -- and that one went to a series of privately held companies. Publicly traded names fared less well. Among the few winners:

Best Retail Stocks To Invest In 2014: CarMax Inc(KMX)

CarMax, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer of used vehicles in the United States. It also sells vehicles that do not meet its retail standards to licensed dealers through on-site wholesale auctions, as well as sells new vehicles under franchise agreements. In addition, the company provides customers financing alternatives through its finance operation, CarMax Auto Finance, as well as through its third-party financing providers. Further, it offers a range of other related products and services, including the sale of extended service plans, guaranteed asset protection, and accessories; the appraisal and purchase of vehicles directly from consumers; and vehicle repair services. As of December 21, 2011, the company operated 107 used car superstores in 52 markets. CarMax, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Hill]

  In this installment, our analysts explain why they're watching Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO  ) and CarMax (NYSE: KMX  ) .

  The relevant video segment can be found between 5:54 and 6:52.

Best Retail Stocks To Invest In 2014: Dollar General Corporation(DG)

Dollar General Corporation operates as a discount retailer of general merchandise in the southern, southwestern, midwestern, and eastern United States. The company offers consumables, including paper towels, bath tissue, paper dinnerware, trash and storage bags, laundry, and other home cleaning supplies; packaged food and perishables; beverages and snacks, such as candies, cookies, crackers, salty snacks, and carbonated beverages; over-the-counter medicines and personal care products; and pet supplies and pet food products. It also provides seasonal products consisting of decorations, toys, batteries, small electronics, greeting cards, stationery, prepaid cell phones and accessories, gardening supplies, hardware, and automotive and home office supplies; home products comprising kitchen supplies, cookware, small appliances, light bulbs, storage containers, frames, candles, craft supplies, and bed and bath soft goods; and apparel products, such as casual everyday apparel for infants, toddlers, girls, boys, women and men, as well as offers socks, underwear, disposable diapers, shoes, and accessories. In addition, the company holds a license to Bobbie Brooks clothing, as well as the Fisher Price brand for various items of children's clothing. As of May 25, 2011, it operates approximately 9,500 stores in 35 states. The company was formerly known as J.L. Turner & Son, Inc. and changed its name to Dollar General Corporation in 1968. Dollar General Corporation was founded in 1939 and is based in Goodlettsville, Tennessee.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Traders Reserve]

  I do believe as Wal-Mart gets hurt, the dollar stores will do a little better ��especially Dollar General (DG), but don�� overlook� Dollar Tree (DLTR). Wall Street is worried about Costco (COST) but I believe it will actually outperform expectations. Costco seems to have figured out how to grow much faster than Wal-Mart and still provide affordable health insurance for most employees.

• [By J. Royden Ward]

  Dollar General (DG) is the largest discount retailer in the US, with 11,000 neighborhood stores in 40 states. Because of its large size, Dollar General is able to offer an ample array of products from America's largest manufacturers, including Procter & Gamble, Kimberly Clark, Kellogg's, PepsiCo, and Coca-Cola.

Best Retail Stocks To Invest In 2014: REX American Resources Corp (REX)

Rex American Resources Corporation (REX), incorporated in 1984, is a holding company to succeed to the entire ownership of three affiliated corporations, Rex Radio and Television, Inc., Stereo Town, Inc. and Kelly & Cohen Appliances, Inc. As of January 31, 2012, the Company had lease agreements, as landlord, for six owned former retail stores and had 16 vacant former retail properties. The Company also owns one former distribution center that is partially leased, partially occupied by its corporate office personnel and partially vacant. The Company is marketing these vacant properties to lease or sell. As of January 31, 2012, the Company invested in five ethanol production entities, two of which the Company has a majority ownership interest in. These properties include One Earth Energy, LLC, NuGen Energy, LLC, Patriot Renewable Fuels, LLC, Levelland Hockley County Ethanol, LLC, and one group consisting of Big River Resources, LLC-W Burlington, Big River Resources, LLC-Galva and Big River United Energy, LLC. It operates through two business segments: alternative energy and real estate.

On November 1, 2011, the Company acquired an additional 50% equity interest in NuGen Energy, LLC. In December 2011, Big River acquired a 100% interest in an ethanol production facility located in Boyceville, Wisconsin.

Alternative Energy

As of January 31, 2012, all of the entities the Company is invested in are operating except for Levelland Hockley County Ethanol, LLC (Levelland Hockley). As of January 31, 2011, the Company held a 74% interest in One Earth Energy, LLC. The plant has an annual nameplate capacity of 100 million gallons of ethanol and 320,000 tons of dried distillers grains (DDG). The Company owns a 23% interest in Patriot Renewable Fuels, LLC (Patriot). The plant is located in Annawan, Illinois and has a nameplate capacity of 100 million gallons of ethanol and 320,000 tons of DDG per year.

As of January 31, 2012, all of the entities the Company is in! vested in are operating except for Levelland Hockley County Ethanol, LLC (Levelland Hockley). As of January 31, 2011, the Company held a 74% interest in One Earth Energy, LLC. The plant has an annual nameplate capacity of 100 million gallons of ethanol and 320,000 tons of dried distillers grains (DDG). The Company owns a 23% interest in Patriot Renewable Fuels, LLC (Patriot). The plant is located in Annawan, Illinois and has a nameplate capacity of 100 million gallons of ethanol and 320,000 tons of DDG per year.

Levelland Hockley is located in Levelland, Texas. The plant has a nameplate capacity of 40 million gallons of ethanol and 135,000 tons of dried distillers grains (DDG) per year. The plant was shut down in January 2011. On January 31, 2011, the Company sold 814,000 of its membership units to Levelland Hockley, reducing its ownership interest in Levelland Hockley to 49%. As a result, it no longer has a controlling financial interest in Levelland Hockley.

Real Estate Operations

As of January 31, 2011, the Company had lease agreements, as landlord, for all or parts of eight owned former retail stores (88,000 square feet leased and 10,000 square feet vacant). It had 22 owned former retail stores (281,000 square feet) that were vacant as of January 31, 2011. The Company is marketing these vacant properties to lease or sell. In addition, one former distribution center is partially leased (266,000 square feet), partially occupied by its corporate office personnel (10,000 square feet) and partially vacant (190,000 square feet). A typical lease agreement has an initial term of five to twenty years with renewal options. Most of its lessees are responsible for a portion of maintenance, taxes and other executory costs.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tristan R. Brown]

  Three months ago I wrote that the stock performance YTD of independent ethanol producer Pacific Ethanol (PEIX) was an "aberration", especially in light of the performance of its industry peers' shares. The discrepancy between Pacific Ethanol's share price and those of its peers has only grown more pronounced since July (see figure). Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE) and REX American Resources (REX) have continued to greatly outperform the S&P 500. Even Biofuel Energy, which fell behind on its interest and debt payments over the summer and is facing a shareholder-ruining liquidation, has seen its share price perform significantly better than Pacific Ethanol's in 2013. The oddest part about the stock's performance over the last three months, however, is that the period has been marked by multiple positive announcements from the company. It late July it reported its first positive EPS in almost two years for Q2 (0.07). Its Q2 EBITDA of $3.8 million was its highest since Q4 2011. Its current ratio is well above its previous lows, its ratio of total assets to total liabilities is increasing, and its total shareholders' equity is at a 3-year high. Despite these improvements, the company's price/book ratio is a mere 0.77.

Top Paper Stocks To Watch Right Now

Only little people pay income taxes, in the immortal words ascribed to Leona Helmsley. Big people avoid them with sophisticated loss-harvesting schemes.

Let us suppose that you bought 1,000 shares of Barrick Gold (ABX) two years ago at $50. With the stock down to $18, you��e looking at a $32,000 paper loss. You could sell the stock, capturing a capital loss deduction. But you don�� want to sell out at what may be a bottom. You are sure that shares of the gold miner will recover as soon as soft-money advocate Janet Yellen takes over at the Federal Reserve.

Sell for the loss and then buy right back? That doesn�� work. Congress thought of that trick and, close to a century ago, defined a ��ash sale��as the repurchase within 30 days of what was sold at a loss. Someone with a wash sale cannot deduct the loss immediately; instead, the loss gets added to the cost basis of the new position. It�� as if the two trades didn�� happen.

Best Solar Stocks To Watch For 2015: Bemis Company Inc (BMS)

Bemis Company, Inc., incorporated on May 18, 1885, is a manufacturer of packaging products and pressure sensitive materials. The Company's business activities are organized around its three reportable business segments, U.S. Packaging , Global Packaging and Pressure Sensitive Materials. The majority of the Company�� products are sold to customers in the food industry. Other customers include companies businesses, such as chemical, agribusiness, medical, pharmaceutical, personal care, electronics, automotive, construction, graphic industries and other consumer goods. In July 2013, Bemis Company Inc acquired all of the common stock of Foshan New Changsheng Plastics Films Co., LTD.

The Company�� flexible packaging businesses has a technical base in polymer chemistry, film extrusion, coating, laminating, printing, and converting. The Company�� pressure sensitive materials business specializes in adhesive technologies. On August 22, 2012, the Company acquired two flexible packaging businesses in Australia and New Zealand.

U.S. Packaging segment

The U.S. Packaging segment represents all food, consumer, and industrial products packaging-related manufacturing operations located in the United States. This segment manufactures multilayer polymer, blown and cast film structures to produce packaging sold for food and personal care product applications as well as non-food applications. Additional products include custom thermoformed packaging, and multiwall paper bags. Markets for these products include processed and fresh meat, liquids, frozen foods, cereals, snacks, cheese, coffee, condiments, candy, pet food, bakery, seed, lawn and garden, tissue, fresh produce, personal care and hygiene, disposable diapers, agribusiness, and minerals. This segment has 35 manufacturing plants located in 16 states, of which 32 are owned directly by the Company or its subsidiaries and three are leased from outside parties.

Global Packaging segment

The ! Global Packaging segment includes all packaging-related manufacturing operations located outside of the United States as well as global medical device and pharmaceutical packaging manufacturing operations. This segment manufactures multilayer polymer, blown and cast film structures to produce packaging sold for a variety of food, medical, pharmaceutical, personal care, and industrial applications. Additional products include injection molded plastic and folding carton packaging. Markets for these products include processed and fresh meat, liquids, snacks, cheese, coffee, condiments, candy, bakery, tissue, fresh produce, personal care and hygiene, disposable diapers, agribusiness, pharmaceutical, and medical devices. This segment has 32 manufacturing plants located in three United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and ten non-United States countries, of which 26 are owned directly by the Company or its subsidiaries and six are leased from outside parties.

Pressure Sensitive Materials segment

The Pressure Sensitive Materials segment is a global manufacturer of pressure sensitive adhesive coated paper and film substrates sold into label, graphic, and technical product markets. Products for label markets include narrow-Web rolls of pressure sensitive paper, film, and metalized film printing stocks used in high-speed printing and die-cutting. Products for graphic markets include pressure sensitive films used for decorative signage through computer-aided plotters, digital and screen printers, and photographic overlaminate and mounting materials including optically clear films with built-in ultraviolet (UV) inhibitors. Products for technical markets include micro-thin film adhesives used in delicate electronic parts assembly and pressure sensitive applications utilizing foam and tape based stocks to perform fastening and mounting functions. This segment has seven manufacturing plants located in three states and two non-United States countries, all of which are owned directly b! y the Com! pany or its subsidiaries.

The Company competes with Amcor Limited, Berry Plastics Corporation, Bryce Corporation, Exopack Company, Hood Packaging Corporation, Printpack, Inc., Sealed Air Corporation, Sonoco Products Company, Wihuri OY, Winpak ltd, 3M, Acucote, Inc., Avery Dennison Corporation, FLEXcon Corporation, Green Bay Packaging Inc., Ricoh Company, Ltd., Ritrama Inc., Spinnaker Industries, Inc., Technicote Inc., UPM-Kymmene Corporation, and Wausau Coated Products Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jessica Alling]

  Leaders and laggards
  Merck (NYSE: MRK  ) is at the top of the class this morning with a 5.19% gain following some extremely encouraging news about its latest experimental drug,�lambrolizumab. Aimed at unleashing the powers of a patient's own immune system, the drug disables the immune system cells' prevention method that curbs its attack on cancer cells -- a protein called the programmed death 1 receptor, or PD-1. Merck's drug has shown a 38% rate in tumor reduction in patients with advanced melanoma, and up to 52% in patients who received the highest dosage of the drug. Though the patients have not undergone the trial for a long enough period yet, the results are attracting attention for matching the current treatments from two Bristol-Meyers Squibb (NYSE: BMS  ) drugs, Yervoy and nivolumab, with potentially milder side effects. The news is great for Merck investors, as the company has only played a small part in oncology treatments to date.

• [By The Part-time Investor]

  The following stocks met the criteria in January of 2008 and were put into the initial portfolio:

  Abbot Labs (ABT)Advanced data processing (ADP)Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC)Bank of America (BAC)BB&T Corp. (BBT)Bemis Company (BMS)Anheuser Busch (BUD)The Chubb Corporation (CB)Clorox (CLX)Comerica Inc. (CMA)Diebold Inc. (DBD)Emerson Electronics (EMR)First Dollar Corp. (FDO)First Third BanCorp. (FITB)Gannett Co, Inc. (GCI)General Electric (GE)Hershey (HSY)Illinois Tools Works (ITW)Johnson and Johnson (JNJ)Leggett and Platt (LEG)Eli Lilly (LLY)La-Z-Boy (LZB)McDonald's (MCD)Marsh and Ilsley (MI)M&T Bancorp (MTB)PepsiCo (PEP)Pfizer (PFE)Procter & Gamble (PG)Pentair Ltd. (PNR)Regions Financial Corp. (RF)Rohm and Haas (ROH)RPM International (RPM)Sherwin Williams (SHW)Sysco Corp. (SYY)UDR Inc. (UDR)

  Historical quotes were taken from Yahoo Finance. $10,000 was put into each position, to the nearest whole share, so a total of $349,262.89 was invested. From 1/15/08 through 5/16/13 all dividends were reinvested back into the stock that paid them. If a dividend cut was announced, that stock was sold on the ex-div date of the new, lower dividend.

Top Paper Stocks To Watch Right Now: International Paper Co (IP)

International Paper Company (International Paper), incorporated on June 23, 1941, is a global paper and packaging company, with primary markets and manufacturing operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. The Company operates in four segments: Industrial Packaging, Printing Papers, Consumer Packaging and Distribution. As of December 31, 2012, in the United States, the Company operated 28 pulp, paper and packaging mills, 187 converting and packaging plants, 18 recycling plants and three bag facilities. Production facilities as of December 31, 2012 in Europe, Asia, Latin America and South America included 11 pulp, paper and packaging mills, 65 converting and packaging plants, and two recycling plants. It distribute printing, packaging, graphic arts, maintenance and industrial products principally through over 88 distribution branches in the United States and 32 distribution branches located in Canada, Mexico and Asia. As of December 31, 2012, it owned or managed approximately 327,000 acres of forestland in Brazil and had, through licenses and forest management agreements, harvesting rights on government-owned forestlands in Russia. On July 2, 2012, it sold Ontario and Oxnard (Hueneme), California containerboard mills to New-Indy Containerboard LLC, and its New Johnsonville, Tennessee containerboard mill to Hood Container Corporation. On January 3, 2013, it acquired joint venture partner, Sabanci Holding.

Industrial Packaging

International Paper is a manufacturer of containerboard in the United States. Its production capacity is about 14 million tons annually. The Company�� products include linerboard, medium, whitetop, recycled linerboard, recycled medium and saturating kraft. About 80% of its production is converted domestically into corrugated boxes and other packaging by its 178 United States container plants. In addition, it recycles approximately one million tons of old corrugated containers (OCC) and mixed and white paper through ! our 20 recycling plants. In Europe, our operations include one recycled fiber containerboard mill in Morocco and 20 container plants in France, Italy, Spain, and Morocco. In Asia, its operations include 19 container plants in China and additional container plants in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Its container plants are supported by regional design centers, which offer total packaging solutions and supply chain initiatives.

Printing Papers

International Paper is a producer of printing and writing papers. Products in this segment include uncoated and coated papers, uncoated bristols and pulp. This business produces papers for use in copiers, desktop and laser printers and digital imaging. End use applications include advertising and promotional materials, such as brochures, pamphlets, greeting cards, books, annual reports and direct mail. Uncoated papers also produce a variety of grades that are converted by its customers into envelopes, tablets, business forms and file folders. Uncoated papers are sold under private label and International Paper brand names that include Hammermill, Springhill, Williamsburg, Postmark, Accent, Great White, Chamex, Ballet, Rey, Pol and Svetocopy. The mills producing uncoated papers are located in the United States, France, Poland, Russia, Brazil and India. The mills have uncoated paper production capacity of approximately five million tons annually.

Pulp products include fluff, and southern softwood pulp, as well as southern and birch hardwood paper pulps. These products are produced in the United States, France, Poland, Russia, and Brazil and are sold around the world. International Paper facilities have annual dried pulp capacity of about 1.7 million tons.

Consumer Packaging

International Paper is a producer of solid bleached sulfate board with annual United States production capacity of about 1.7 million tons. Its coated paperboard business produces coated paperboard for a variety of packag! ing and c! ommercial printing end uses. Its Everest, Fortress, and Starcote brands are used in packaging applications for everyday products, such as food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, computer software and tobacco products. Its Carolina brand is used in commercial printing end uses, such as greeting cards, paperback book covers, lottery tickets, direct mail and point-of-purchase advertising. Its United States capacity is supplemented by about 365,000 tons of capacity at its mills producing coated board in Poland and Russia and by its International Paper & Sun Cartonboard Co., Ltd. joint venture in China, which has annual capacity of 1.0 million tons. Its Foodservice business produces cups, lids, food containers and plates through three domestic plants and four international facilities.

Distribution

xpedx, the Company�� North American merchant distribution business, distributes products and services to a number of customer markets, including commercial printers with printing papers and graphic pre-press, printing presses and post-press equipment; building services and away-from-home markets with facility supplies; manufacturers with packaging supplies and equipment, and to a number of customers, it provides distribution capabilities, including warehousing and delivery services. xpedx is the wholesale distribution marketer in these customer and product segments in North America, operating 108 warehouse locations in the United States and Mexico.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anna Prior]

  International Paper Co.(IP) said Tuesday its board approved an expansion of the company’s existing share-repurchase program by as much as $1.5 billion.

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  On Wednesday, Jefferies analyst Philip Ng reported that he sees additional upside for International Paper Company (IP).

  On Tuesday, IP announced a $1.5 billion share buyback program and a 17% dividend increase. Following these reports, the analyst reported that he believes this buyback program has not reflected analyst earnings estimates.

  Ng commented: “While IP is up 24% YTD (S&P 500: up 18%), it has lagged its containerboard peers and we believe now that the mgmt has proved it’s committed in returning cash back to shareholders, the stock should break out of its trading range.”

  Jefferies currently has a “Buy” rating and $60 price target on IP. This price target suggests an 18% increase from the stock’s current price of $49.27.

  International Paper shares were mostly flat during pre-market trading Wednesday. The stock is up 24% YTD.

• [By Jacob Roche]

  The increased demand is bad for homebuilders, but it's also bad for paper companies. They could at least use the beetle-bored wood that homebuilders don't want, since it would just be ground to pulp and bleached anyway. But with power companies buying up even wasted sawdust, International Paper (NYSE: IP  ) , one of the largest paper companies, has seen its margins compressed, as some operational improvements have been offset by lower sales prices and higher input costs.

Top Paper Stocks To Watch Right Now: Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund(CFP)

Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund is a closed-ended equity fund of fund launched and managed by Cornerstone Advisors, Inc. The fund invests funds investing in the public equity markets of the United States. It invests in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund was formed on April 26, 2007 and is domiciled in the United States.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  But you can see in several places the consequences of the stampede toward high yield. Here are just a few:

  Closed-end funds Cornerstone Progressive (NYSEMKT: CFP  ) and Pimco High Income (NYSE: PHK  ) both make fixed payments back to fund shareholders on a monthly basis, and their distribution yields are truly extraordinary, at about 17% and 12%, respectively. Those dividends have enticed shareholders to pay $1.30 to $1.40 or more for each $1 of assets in the funds. Yet during most months, a substantial portion of those distribution payments has simply been a return of investor capital rather than true income from the funds' investments. A recent study discussed in The Wall Street Journal found that returns on a portfolio with a combined value and dividend-income strategy outperformed a strategy focused more exclusively on maximizing dividends by an average of 1.7 percentage points per year, a huge edge in long-run returns. In the dividend ETF arena, most funds tend to focus on maximizing yield. Although the popular Vanguard Dividend Appreciation (NYSEMKT: VIG  ) ETF bucks the trend by screening first for consistent dividend growth and only then looking at yield as a factor, many rival ETFs start with high-yielding stocks as their baseline and only then consider other desirable traits. Others focus solely on high-dividend niches of the market, such as iShares FTSE NAREIT Mortgage-Plus (NYSEMKT: REM  ) and its concentration on high-yield mortgage REITs.

  When dividend stocks get too popular, their prices get out of line with both their dividend income and the fundamentals of the businesses that underlie those stocks. In simpler terms, when dividend stocks become bad values, it's time to consider looking elsewhere for a margin of safety.

Top Paper Stocks To Watch Right Now: Resolute Forest Products Inc (RFP)

Resolute Forest Products Inc., AbitibiBowater Inc., is a global forest products company. The Company�� products include newsprint, commercial printing papers, market pulp and wood products. The Company owns or operates pulp and paper mills and wood products facilities in the United States, Canada and South Korea. On November 7, 2011, it began doing business as Resolute Forest Products. As of December 31, 2011, it owned or operated 18 pulp and paper mills and 23 wood products facilities in the United States, Canada and South Korea. The Company�� segments include newsprint, coated papers, specialty papers, market pulp and wood products. On January 14, 2011, it acquired the noncontrolling interest in Augusta Newsprint Company (ANC). In April 2012, the Company held approximately 48.8% of the outstanding shares of Fibrek Inc. In December 2012, the Company purchased Bowater Mersey Paper Company Limited. oklyn Power Corporation. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By George Putnam]

  Resolute Forest Products (RFP), formerly known as AbitibiBowater, entered into bankruptcy in early 2009, weighed down by roughly $6 billion in debt.

• [By Saibus Research]

  Consolidation has been incremental in the paper and forest products industry. In May 2012, Resolute Forest Products (RFP) (formerly AbitibiBowater) announced that it had acquired 50.1% of Fibrek and acquired the remaining 49.9% in August. 2011 saw International Paper (IP) announce a hostile takeover of Temple-Inland and after offering $32/share in cash as well as the assumption of $600M of TIN's debt, IP was able to close the deal in February 2012. 2011 also saw Rock-Tenn (RKT) acquire Smurfit-Stone to create the number two player in the linerboard segment with 20% market share, trailing only International Paper's 40%. We see these moves as a prudent step to consolidation in the industry as certain types of paper such as newsprint and uncoated free sheet (office paper) are seeing falling demand due to increased use of digital resources.

Top Paper Stocks To Watch Right Now: UPM-Kymmene Corporation (UPM1V)

UPM-Kymmene Corporation is a Finland-based paper and forest products company. The Company operates, along with its subsidiaries, in three segments: the Energy and Pulp segment is divided into three units: Energy, which includes the Company�� hydropower plant and shares in energy companies; Pulp, which includes the Company�� pulp mills, and Foster and Timber, which includes forests, wood procurement, sawmills and further processing; the Paper segment includes the Company�� paper mills, producing magazine paper, newsprint, fine papers, and specialty papers, and the Engineered materials segment is structured into two units: Label, which includes label-stock factories and slitting, and distribution terminals, and Plywood, which includes plywood mills. The Company�� other operations include the wood plastic composite unit, development units and logistic services. On October 2, 2013, it completed the sale of the wood processing mill in Aigrefeuille d'Aunis, to Groupe FP Bois. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Corinne Gretler]

  UPM-Kymmene Oyj (UPM1V) fell 3.9 percent to 12.18 euros. UBS AG lowered Europe�� second-largest papermaker to sell from neutral. The brokerage said that demand for the company�� product will not recover in Europe and that the industry will probably reduce its capacity next year.

• [By Tom Stoukas]

  UPM-Kymmene (UPM1V), a rival maker of paper, dropped 1.9 percent to 10.23 euros.

  Aryzta surged 4 percent to 60.45 Swiss francs, the biggest gain since March 28. The owner of bakery brands including Delice de France and Otis Spunkmeyer posted full-year revenue of 4.5 billion euros ($6.1 billion), beating analysts��estimates of 4.43 billion euros. The company also forecast a double-digit percentage gain in 2014 earnings.

Top Paper Stocks To Watch Right Now: Greif Inc (GEF)

Greif, Inc., incorporated on January 25, 1926, is a producer of industrial packaging products and services with manufacturing facilities located in over 50 countries. The Company offers a line of industrial packaging products, such as steel, fiber and plastic drums, rigid intermediate bulk containers, closure systems for industrial packaging products, transit protection products, water bottles and reconditioned containers, and services such as container lifecycle management, blending, filling and other packaging services, logistics and warehousing. It also produces containerboard and corrugated products for niche markets in North America. It sells timber to third parties from its timberland in the south-eastern United States. It has four segments: Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services, Flexible Products & Services, Paper Packaging and Land Management.

Rigid Industrial Packaging and Services

In the Rigid Industrial Packaging and Services, the Company is a provider of rigid industrial packaging products, including steel, fiber and plastic drums, rigid intermediate bulk containers, closure systems for industrial packaging products, transit protection products, water bottles and reconditioned containers, and services, such as container lifecycle management, blending, filling and other packaging services, logistics and warehousing. It sells industrial packaging products to customers in industries, such as chemicals, paints and pigments, food and beverage, petroleum, industrial coatings, agricultural, pharmaceutical and mineral, among others.

Flexible Products and Services segment

In the Flexible Products and Services segment, the Company is a producer of flexible intermediate bulk containers and a North American provider of industrial and consumer multiwall bag products. Its flexible intermediate bulk containers consist of a polypropylene-based woven fabric that is partly produced at its production sites, as well as sourced from strategic regional sup! pliers. Its industrial and consumer multiwall bag products are used to ship a range of industrial and consumer products, such as seed, fertilizers, chemicals, concrete, flour, sugar, feed, pet foods, popcorn, charcoal and salt, primarily for the agricultural, chemical, building products and food industries.

Paper Packaging segment

In the Paper Packaging segment, the Company sells containerboard, corrugated sheets and other corrugated products to customers in North America in industries such as packaging, automotive, food and building products. Its corrugated container products are used to ship such products as home appliances, small machinery, grocery products, building products, automotive components, books and furniture, as well as numerous other applications. Operations related to industrial and consumer multiwall bag products have been reclassified to Flexible Products and Services segment.

Land Management segment

In the Land Management segment, the Company is focused on the active harvesting and regeneration of the United States timber properties to achieve long-term yields. It also sells, from time to time, timberland and special use land, which consists of surplus land, HBU land and development land. As of October 31, 2013, it owned approximately 252,475 acres of timber property in the southeastern United States and approximately 10,300 acres of timber property in Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  For those of you wondering if Greif Brothers Cooperage has any relation to Greif (GEF) ��yes. It has every relation. It�� the same exact company. And it�� still in pretty much the same business. They used to just make barrels. Now they make all kinds of different drums, containers, etc. That�� not a very big change for a company to make over 60 years or so.

Top 10 Industrial Disributor Companies To Own In Right Now

According to industry watchdog Wohlers Associates, the 3-D printing industry brought in about $2.2 billion in revenues in 2012 -- peanuts compared to the trillions in GDP the global manufacturing industry produces each year. Clearly, 3-D printing has a long way to grow before it'll even make up 1% of the worldwide manufacturing base. Applications involving 3-D printing will have to expand greatly in the future for 3-D printing to truly become a disruptive force in manufacturing.

In order to get some perspective on what some of the biggest opportunities are today for 3-D printing companies, I turned to Rich Stump, principal of FATHOM, a highly experienced Stratasys (NASDAQ: SSYS  ) reseller and 3-D printing service center. The way Stump sees it, a major driver of future 3-D printing growth will be downstream and one-off applications. In other words, finished products and customized solutions will likely fuel 3-D printing growth in the years ahead. This line of thinking aligns with Wohlers Associates, which believes the 3-D printing industry will grow by 19.3% a year through 2021 to become a $10.8 billion industry.

Top Recreation Stocks To Buy For 2015: Digital River Inc.(DRIV)

Digital River, Inc. provides end-to-end global cloud-commerce and marketing solutions. The company offers a range of services that enables its customers to establish an online sales channel. Its services include design, development, and hosting of online stores and shopping carts; store merchandising and optimization; order management; denied parties screening; export controls and management; tax compliance and management; fraud management; digital product delivery via download; physical product fulfillment; subscription management; online marketing, including email marketing; management of affiliate programs; paid search programs; payment processing services; Web site optimization, Web analytics, and reporting; and CD production and delivery services. The company also provides paid search advertising, search engine optimization, affiliate marketing, store optimization, multi-variant testing, and Web analytic and e-mail optimization services. In addition, it offers a range of payment processing services, such as multiple payment methods, fraud management, tax management, cloud-based billing, and other payment optimization services. The company sells its products and services through Internet and direct sales force. It serves software, consumer electronics, and computer and video game product manufacturers, as well as online channel partners, including retailers and affiliates in the United States, Austria, Brazil, China, Germany, Korea, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. Digital River, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Digital River (Nasdaq: DRIV  ) is expected to report Q2 earnings on July 30. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

  The 10-second takeaway
  Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Digital River's revenues will expand 0.4% and EPS will wane -85.0%.

• [By Alex Planes]

  What: Shares of Digital River� (NASDAQ: DRIV  ) are trading 8% higher in the afternoon after rocketing to an opening-bell gain of over 11% on Wednesday morning. Investors have cheered Digital River's strong first-quarter earnings and are reacting favorably to respectable (though not strong) guidance issued for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Top 10 Industrial Disributor Companies To Own In Right Now: The Bon-Ton Stores Inc.(BONT)

The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates department stores in the mid-size and metropolitan markets of the United States. Its stores offer brand-name fashion apparel and accessories for women, men, and children, as well as provide cosmetics, home furnishings, and footwear. As of November 1, 2011, the company operated 275 stores under various nameplates, including the Bon-Ton, Bergner?s, Boston Store, Carson Pirie Scott, Elder-Beerman, Herberger?s, and Younkers in 23 northeastern, midwestern, and upper Great Plains states; and under the Parisian nameplate in Detroit, Michigan. The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in York, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Tuesday

  Earnings Expected: The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: BONT), American Eagle Outfitters, Inc (NYSE: AEO), Codexis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDXS), Verifone Systems, Inc. (NYSE: PAY), Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ: CZR) Economic Releases Expected: Indian trade balance, German trade balance, British industrial production, British manufacturing production

  Wednesday

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Notable earnings released on Tuesday included:

  Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ: CZR) reported a fourth quarter loss of $1.49 on revenue of $2.08 billion, compared to last year�� loss of $3.75 on revenue of $2.02 billion. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc (NYSE: AEO) reported fourth quarter EPS of $0.27 on revenue of $1.04 billion, compared to last year�� EPS of $0.55 on revenue of $1.12 billion. The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc.�(NASDAQ: BONT) reported fourth quarter EPS of $3.04 on revenue of $914.90 million, compared to last year�� EPS of $3.73 on revenue of $1.03 billion.

  Pre-Market Movers

Top 10 Industrial Disributor Companies To Own In Right Now: Westpac Banking Corp (WEBNF)

Westpac Banking Corporation is a banking company. It operates through three divisions: Australian Financial Services (AFS), Westpac Institutional Bank (WIB) and Westpac New Zealand. AFS consists of Westpac�� retail and business banking operations in Australia, and includes Westpac Retail & Business Banking (Westpac RBB), St.George Banking Group and BT Financial Group Australia (BFTG). Westpac RBB is responsible for sales and service for consumer, small-to-medium enterprise customers and commercial customers under the Westpac brands. St.George is responsible for sales, and service for its consumer, business and corporate customers in Australia under brands, such as St.George and BankSA. BTFG is Westpac�� Australian wealth management division. In January 2014, the Company completed the acquisition of Lloyds Banking Group Plc�� Australian asset finance business, Capital Finance Australia Limited, and its Australian corporate loan portfolio, BOS International (Australia) Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australian stocks rose in early Monday trading, helped by Wall Street's gains Friday, with the S&P/ASX 200 (AU:XJO) climbing 0.8% to 5,362.40 after closing the previous session at its highest level since before the start of the 2008 financial crisis. Miners were broadly improving, as Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (AU:FMG) (FSUMF) rose 1.3%, BHP Billiton Ltd. (AU:BHP) (BHP) added 0.9% ahead of its quarterly production report Tuesday, and Newcrest Mining Ltd. (AU:NCM) (NCMGF) also climbed 0.9% despite a loss for gold at the end of last week. Financials saw gains as well, with many analysts now tipping the U.S. Federal Reserve to maintain its current level of easing through the end of the year. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (AU:ANZ) (ANEWF) advanced 1.1%, while Westpac Banking Corp. (AU:WBC) (WEBNF) and Macquarie Group Ltd. (AU:MQG) (MCQEF) rose 1.2% each. On the downside, shares of Qantas Airways Ltd. (AU:QAN) (QUBSF) fell 4.2% after the company warned of rough business conditions on Friday.

• [By Daniel Inman]

  Earnings season continued in Australia as Westpac Banking Corp. (AU:WBC) � (WEBNF) �fell 1.2% after the country�� second-largest bank by market value reported lower-than-expected revenue, offsetting a cash profit that exceeded forecasts.

Top 10 Industrial Disributor Companies To Own In Right Now: HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC)

HSBC Holdings plc (HSBC), incorporated on January 1, 1959, is a global banking and financial services organizations. As of December 31, 2010, it provided a range of financial services to around 95 million customers through two customer groups, Personal Financial Services (PFS), including consumer finance, and Commercial Banking (CMB), and two global businesses, Global Banking and Markets (GB&M), and Global Private Banking (GPB). Its international network covers 87 countries and territories in six geographical regions; Europe, Hong Kong, Rest of Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, North America and Latin America. As of December 31, 2010, the Company had an international network of some 7,500 offices in 87 countries and territories in six geographical regions; Europe, Hong Kong, Rest of Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, North America and Latin America. PFS incorporates the Company�� consumer finance businesses, which include HSBC Finance Corporation (HSBC Finance). In April 2011, the Company closed its retail banking operation in Russia. In July 2011, the Company sold its unsecured written-off personal loan and credit card portfolio to J M Financial Asset Reconstruction Co. Pvt. Ltd. On May 20, 2012, HSBC Holdings PLC's wholly owned subsidiary HSBC Bank USA, N.A. and other wholly owned subsidiaries, sold 195 retail branches to First Niagara Bank, N.A. (First Niagara). In May 2012, the Company�� 70.03% owned subsidiary, HSBC Bank Malta plc, sold its card acquiring business to HSBC Merchant Services Ltd. In June 2012, the Company�� indirect wholly owned subsidiary, HSBC Iris Investments (Mauritius) Ltd, sold its 4.73% interest in Axis Bank Limited and 4.74% interest in Yes Bank Limited. In July 2012, its subsidiary, HSBC Europe (Netherlands B.V.), sold its 100% interest in HSBC Credit Zrt, to CentralFund Kockazati Tokealap. On March 31, 2013, Enstar Group Ltd�� subsidiary completed the acquisition from Household Insurance Group Holding Company of HSBC Insurance Company of Delaware and Household Life Insur! ance Company of Delaware, as well as its three subsidiary insurers.

The Company�� principal banking operations in Europe are HSBC Bank plc in the United Kingdom, HSBC France, HSBC Bank A.S. in Turkey, HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c., HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) S.A. and HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt AG. Through these operations it provides a range of banking, treasury and financial services to personal, commercial and corporate customers across Europe. HSBC�� banking subsidiaries in Hong Kong are The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited and Hang Seng Bank Limited.

The Company offers a range of banking and financial services in the People�� Republic of China, mainly through its local subsidiary, HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited. It also participates indirectly in the People�� Republic of China through its four associates. Outside Hong Kong and the People�� Republic of China, it conducts business in 22 countries and territories in the Rest of Asia-Pacific region, through branches and subsidiaries of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, with coverage in Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

In the Middle East, the Company has network of branches of HSBC Bank Middle East Limited, together with HSBC�� subsidiaries and associates. Its North American businesses are located in the United States, Canada and Bermuda. Operations in the United States are conducted through HSBC Bank USA, N.A., which is concentrated in New York State, and HSBC Finance, a national consumer finance company based near Chicago. HSBC Markets (USA) Inc. is the intermediate holding company of, inter alia, HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. HSBC Bank Canada and HSBC Bank Bermuda operate in their respective countries.

The Company�� operations in Latin America consists of HSBC Bank Brasil S.A.-Banco Multiplo, HSBC Mexico, S.A., HSBC Bank Argentina S.A. and HSBC Bank (Panama) S.A. In addition to banking services, it operates insurance businesses in Brazil, Mexi! co, Argen! tina, Panama and a range of smaller markets.

Personal Financial Services

PFS offers the Company�� products and services to customers based on their individual needs. Premier and Advance services are for customers who value international connectivity and benefit from its global reach and scale. It offers a range of banking products and services reflecting local requirements. In addition, it issues card globally, offering HSBC branded cards, co-branded cards with selected partners and private label (store) cards. Its customer offerings include personal banking products, including current and savings accounts, mortgages and personal loans, credit cards, debit cards and local and international payment services, and wealth management services, including insurance and investment products and financial planning services.

HSBC Premier provides preferential banking services to high net worth customers and their immediate families with a relationship manager, wealth advice and solutions. Customers can access emergency travel assistance, telephone banking and an online global view of their Premier accounts globally with free money transfers between them. HSBC Advance provides a range of preferential products and services customized to meet local needs. With a telephone service, access to wealth advice and online tools to support financial planning, it gives customers an online global view of their Advance accounts with money transfers between them. Wealth Solutions & Financial Planning process designed for global individual customer needs to help its clients to protect, grow and manage their wealth through investment and wealth insurance products manufactured by in-house partners, including Global Asset Management, Global Markets and HSBC Insurance, and by selected third party providers. During 2010, PFS provided 92 million individual and self-employed customers with financial services in over 60 markets globally.

Commercial Banking

The Company ! segments ! its CMB business into Corporate, to serve both Corporate and Mid-Market companies, and Business Banking, to serve the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME��) sector. It provides support to companies as they expand both domestically and internationally, and ensures a focus on the business banking segments. It offers a range of financing, both domestic and cross-border, including overdrafts, receivables finance, term loans and syndicated, leveraged, acquisition and project finance. Asset finance is offered in selected sites, focused on leasing and instalment finance for vehicles, plant and equipment. It is a provider of domestic and cross-border payments and collections, liquidity management and account services globally, delivered through its e-platform, HSBC net. It provides international trade products and services, to both buyers and suppliers, such as export finance, guarantees, documentary collections and forfeiting to improve efficiency and help mitigate risk throughout the supply chain.

CMB customers are volume users of its foreign exchange, derivatives and structured products. Capital markets & advisory is raising capital on debt and equity markets and provide advisory services. Commercial cards issuing helps customers enhance cash management, credit control and purchasing. Card acquiring services enable merchants to accept credit and debit card payments in person or remotely. CMB offers key person, employee benefits and a range of commercial risk insurance, such as property, cargo and trade credit. Direct channels include online and direct banking offerings, such as telephone banking, HSBCnet and Business Internet Banking.

Global Banking and Markets

GB&M provides tailored financial solutions to government, corporate and institutional clients and private investors globally. Managed as a global business, GB&M operates a long-term relationship management approach to build a understanding of clients��financial requirements. Sector-focused client service! teams co! nsisting of relationship managers and product specialists develop financial solutions to meet individual client needs. GB&M is managed as four principal business lines: Global Markets, Global Banking, Global Asset Management and Principal Investments.

Global Markets operations consist of treasury and capital markets services. Products include foreign exchange; currency, interest rate, bond, credit, equity and other derivatives; government and non-government fixed income and money market instruments; precious metals and exchange-traded futures; equity services; distribution of capital markets instruments, and securities services, including custody and clearing services and funds administration to both domestic and cross-border investors. Global Banking offers financing, advisory and transaction services. Its products include capital raising, advisory services, bilateral and syndicated lending, leveraged and acquisition finance, structured and project finance, lease finance and non-retail deposit taking; international, regional and domestic payments and cash management services; and trade services for large corporate clients.

Global Asset Management offers investment solutions to institutions, financial intermediaries and individual investors globally. Principal Investments includes its relationships with third-party private equity managers and other investments. GB&M is a global business, which provides financial solutions to government, corporate and institutional clients globally.

Global Private Banking

GPB works with the Company�� high net worth clients to offer ways to manage and preserve wealth. HSBC Private Bank is the principal marketing name of its international private banking business, GPB. GPB works with its clients to offer both ways to manage and preserve wealth while optimising returns. GPB accesses six advisory centers in Hong Kong, Singapore, Geneva, New York, Paris and London. Private Banking services consist of multi-currency depo! sit accou! nts and fiduciary deposits, credit and specialist lending, treasury trading services, cash management, securities custody and clearing. GPB works to ensure that its clients have access to other products and services available in HSBC, such as credit cards, Internet banking, corporate banking and investment banking.

Private Wealth Management consists of both advisory and discretionary investment services. A range of investment vehicles is covered, including bonds, equities, derivatives, options, futures, structured products, mutual funds and alternatives (hedge funds, private equity and real estate). Corporate Finance Solutions helps provide clients with solutions for their companies, working in conjunction with GB&M. Private Wealth Solutions consist of planning, trustee and other fiduciary services to protect wealth and preserve it for future generations. Its expertise includes trusts, foundation and company administration, charitable trusts and foundations, insurance, family office advisory and philanthropy.

Other

The Company�� Other contains the results of certain property transactions and unallocated investment activities. It also includes centrally held investment companies, movements in fair value of own debt, HSBC�� holding company and financing operations.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alyce Lomax]

  Bloomberg's data on bank CEO pay is even more interesting because 2012 actually wasn't a great year for financial companies' reputations. The London Whale controversy at JPMorgan remains at top of mind given Jamie Dimon headlines. However, let's not forget HSBC's (NYSE: HBC  ) $1.9 billion settlement to the U.S. related to money laundering accusations.

• [By Mark Rogers]

  Today I'm looking at the earnings per share (EPS) forecasts for�HSBC� (LSE: HSBA  ) (NYSE: HBC  ) , the FTSE 100 banking giant. All my figures are courtesy of S&P Capital IQ.

Top 10 Industrial Disributor Companies To Own In Right Now: QuickLogic Corporation(QUIK)

QuickLogic Corporation, a fabless semiconductor company, develops and markets low power customizable semiconductor solutions for tablets, smartbooks, netbooks, cloudbooks, smartphones, datacards, and mobile enterprise products. Its solutions enable original equipment manufacturers and original design manufacturers to add new features, extend battery life, and enhance the visual experience of their handheld mobile devices. The company designs customer specific standard products, which are customer-specific solutions that include a combination of silicon solution platforms, Proven System Blocks (PSBs), customer-specific logic, software drivers, and firmware. It primarily offers two platform families, ArcticLink and PolarPro, which are standard silicon products. The company?s PSBs include Visual Enhancement Engine and Display Power Optimizer technologies; SDHD/eMMC Host Controllers; USB 2.0 On-The-Go with PHY; MDDI Client with PHY; high speed UARTs; pulse width modulators; S PI and I2C hosts, display-specific functions, such as RGB-split and frame recyclers; and Data Performance Manager for accelerated sideloading times. QuickLogic?s PSBs allows system designers to combine multiple discrete chips onto a single CSSP, simplifying design and board layout, lowering bill of materials cost, and accelerating time-to-market. The programmable fabric of the platforms is used for adding differentiated features, as well as provide flexibility to address hardware-based product requirements. The company markets its products through a direct sales force and has sales offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, and Taiwan; and has development offices in Canada and India. QuickLogic Corporation was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul McWilliams]

  QuickLogic (QUIK) has posted exceptional new product growth in 2013, and now claims Samsung as a direct customer.

  While I think the drivers that delivered the goods in 2013, will continue to work to QuickLogic's favor in 2014, the real kicker in this equation is, QuickLogic is the only company in the world that has developed a sensor hub that is low enough power to deliver the vast benefits we can realize from Always-on Context Aware sensor fusion.

Top 10 Industrial Disributor Companies To Own In Right Now: Golden Valley Bank (GVYB)

Golden Valley Bank is owned and operated commercial bank serving the needs of individuals and businesses in northern California. The Bank provides personal services, such as checking and savings and IRAs. The Bank�� business includes checking, savings, commercial lending, online banking and eDeposit.

The Bank provides business owners; commercial developers and investors, and residential builders and developers. Golden Valley Bank's business online banking service provides account management, bill pay and transactions services.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, GVYB remains (0.00%) +0.000 at $9.00 thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 11:59AM EDT July 17, 2013).

  Golden Valley Bank headquartered in Chico, California previously reported June 30, 2013 financials. The company also announced their $.05 per share second quarter cash dividend.

  2nd Quarter 2013 Financial Highlights: Year to date net profit $683,911 compared to $514,030 year to date in 2012; Assets up $14.9 million to $136.7 million, or 12.2%, over the second quarter of 2012; Loans up $6.2 million to $89.5 million, or 7.4%, over the second quarter of 2012; Deposits up $14.6 million to $118.6 million, or 14%, over the second quarter of 2012

  The results of the Gravity Survey will be released once they are available

Top 10 Industrial Disributor Companies To Own In Right Now: DigitalGlobe Inc (DGI)

DigitalGlobe, Inc. provides commercial earth imagery products and information services worldwide. It collects imagery products and services through its QuickBird, WorldView-1, and WorldView-2 satellites, as well as aerial and satellite imagery from third party suppliers. The company offers a range of online and offline distribution options, including desktop software applications; Web services, which provide direct online access to the company�s image library; file transfer protocol; physical media, such as CD, DVD, and hard drive; and direct access program that facilitates certain customers to task and download data from its WorldView-1 and WorldView-2 satellites. Its imagery products and services support various uses, including defense, intelligence and homeland security, mapping and analysis, environmental monitoring, oil and gas exploration, and infrastructure management. DigitalGlobe, Inc. serves defense contractors; civil government agencies; providers of location-b ased services; and various companies in energy, telecommunications, utility, forestry, mining, financial services, environmental, and agricultural industries through direct and indirect channels. The company was formerly known as EarthWatch, Incorporated and changed its name to DigitalGlobe, Inc. in August 2002. DigitalGlobe, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Longmont, Colorado. DigitalGlobe, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Telecommunications services shares dropped about 0.48 percent in trading on Friday. Top decliners in the sector included DigitalGlobe (NYSE: DGI), down 5.7 percent, and NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ), off 3.8 percent.

• [By James Miller Phd]

  The company has a current ratio of 13.05% which is higher than the one registered by Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR), Digital Globe Inc. (DGI), EchoStar Corp (SATS), Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (GILT) and Intelsat SA (I).

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Telecommunications services shares dropped about 0.48 percent in trading on Friday. Top decliners in the sector included DigitalGlobe (NYSE: DGI), down 5.7 percent, and NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ), off 3.6 percent.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  DigitalGlobe (NYSE: DGI  ) reported earnings on May 7. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), DigitalGlobe missed estimates on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Top Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014

Popular Posts: 3 Small-Cap Green Energy Stocks to Buy3 Department Stores to Put in Your Shopping Bag5 Things Driving DIS Stock Through the Roof Recent Posts: 5 Cheap Stocks Under $10 to Buy Now CZR: Time to Turn Out the Lights at Caesars Entertainment? 5 Things Driving DIS Stock Through the Roof View All Posts

Ben Graham loved buying cheap stocks full of value. Unfortunately, with the bull market five years old, it�� getting harder to find those cheap stocks Graham would find so dear. Goldman Sachs (GS) equity strategist David Kostin believes the S&P 500 is currently way overvalued; he�� probably right.

Best Asian Stocks To Own For 2015: CVS Corporation(CVS)

CVS Caremark Corporation operates as a pharmacy services company in the United States. The company?s Pharmacy Services segment provides a range of pharmacy benefit management services, including mail order pharmacy services, specialty pharmacy services, plan design and administration, formulary management, and claims processing; and drug benefits to eligible beneficiaries under the Federal Government?s Medicare Part D program. This segment primarily serves employers, insurance companies, unions, government employee groups, managed care organizations and other sponsors of health benefit plans, and individuals. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 44 retail specialty pharmacy stores, 18 specialty mail order pharmacies, and 4 mail service pharmacies located in 25 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. This segment operates business under the CVS Caremark Pharmacy Services, Caremark, CVS Caremark, CarePlus CVS/pharmacy, CarePlus, RxAmerica, Accordant, and TheraCom names. The company?s Retail Pharmacy segment sells prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, beauty products and cosmetics, seasonal merchandise, greeting cards, and convenience foods through its pharmacy retail stores and online, as well as offers film and photo finishing, and health care services. This segment operated 7,182 retail drugstores located in 41 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia; and 560 retail health care clinics in 26 states and the District of Columbia under the MinuteClinic name. It has a strategic alliance with Alere, L.L.C. for the management of disease management program offerings that cover chronic diseases, such as asthma, diabetes, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease. CVS Caremark Corporation was founded in 1892 and is based in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD  ) will release its quarterly report on Thursday, and investors who bucked the popular consensus that the drugstore chain was doomed to failure have reaped the rewards this year, with shares rising nearly sixfold from this time a year ago. But the question remains whether Rite Aid can truly pose a long-term challenge to CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS  ) and Walgreen (NYSE: WAG  ) , especially with the extensive debt that Rite Aid still has to address.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Consumer Staples: CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS)�surprised by a small 1%. However on almost every metric that stock is extremely cheap and continues to gain share across the United States. The forward five-year price-to-earnings/growth (PEG) ratio is an extremely low 1.05, which bodes well for patient investors. The consensus price target is $66. Shareholders�are paid a 1.6% dividend.

Top Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014: International Business Machines Corporation(IBM)

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide. Its Global Technology Services segment provides IT infrastructure and business process services, including strategic outsourcing, process, integrated technology, and maintenance services, as well as technology-based support services. The company?s Global Business Services segment offers consulting and systems integration, and application management services. Its Software segment offers middleware and operating systems software, such as WebSphere software to integrate and manage business processes; information management software for database and enterprise content management, information integration, data warehousing, business analytics and intelligence, performance management, and predictive analytics; Tivoli software for identity management, data security, storage management, and datacenter automation; Lotus software for collaboration, messaging, and so cial networking; rational software to support software development for IT and embedded systems; business intelligence software, which provides querying and forecasting tools; SPSS predictive analytics software to predict outcomes and act on that insight; and operating systems software. Its Systems and Technology segment provides computing and storage solutions, including servers, disk and tape storage systems and software, point-of-sale retail systems, and microelectronics. The company?s Global Financing segment provides lease and loan financing to end users and internal clients; commercial financing to dealers and remarketers of IT products; and remanufacturing and remarketing services. It serves financial services, public, industrial, distribution, communications, and general business sectors. The company was formerly known as Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. and changed its name to International Business Machines Corporation in 1924. IBM was founded in 1910 and is based in Armonk, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jim Jubak]

  This quarter, big economic bellwether stocks such as IBM (IBM) and Kellogg (K) have shown signs that the days of being able to use stock buybacks and cost cutting to generate growth in earnings per share, even when revenue isn't growing, may be numbered. Or, at least, that the market's enthusiasm might be waning.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Big Earnings Movers: International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) is down 6.4% at $174.83 and gets the blame for dragging the DJIA down today. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) is down 2.5% at $158.14 on lighter revenues. UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) is down 5.1% at $71.36 after so-so earnings and a cautious outlook.

Top Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014: Capstone Turbine Corporation(CPST)

Capstone Turbine Corporation develops, manufactures, markets, and services turbine generator sets and related parts for use in stationary distributed power generation applications. Its stationary distributed power generation applications include cogeneration combined heat and power (CHP), integrated (CHP), resource recovery, and secure power, as well as combined cooling, heat, and power; and its products are used as battery charging generators for hybrid electric vehicle applications. The company primarily offers microturbine units, subassemblies, and components. It also provides various accessories, including rotary gas compressors with digital controls, heat recovery modules for CHP applications, dual mode controllers that allow automatic transition between grid connect and stand-alone modes, batteries with digital controls for stand-alone/dual-mode operations, power servers for multipacked installations, and protocol converters for Internet access, as well as frames, ex haust ducting, and installation hardware. Further, it remanufactures microturbine engines; and provides after-market parts and services, scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, and factory and on-site training services. The company?s microturbines can be fueled by various sources, including natural gas, propane, sour gas, landfill or digester gas, kerosene, diesel, and biodiesel. It primarily sells its products directly to end users, as well as through distributors in North America, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Russian Federation, and South America. Capstone Turbine Corporation was founded in 1988 and is based in Chatsworth, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Capstone Turbine (NASDAQ: CPST  ) will release its quarterly report on Monday, and investors have been increasingly optimistic about the microturbine maker's immediate prospects. Yet, even though the company's stock rose recently to its best levels in almost three years, Capstone still has to demonstrate that its niche offerings give it a viable market that is too insignificant for larger rivals General Electric (NYSE: GE  ) and Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) to go after.

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Fisher reduced its stake in lots of companies, including Capstone Turbine (NASDAQ: CPST  ) and Nokia (NYSE: NOK  ) . Capstone is a smallish company, making low-emission microturbines used in power generation. Its top line has been growing by double digits over the past few years, and it's poised to profit from huge interest in shale oil, but it remains in the red. Still, it has recently announced a bunch of promising deals and some think the many folks short the stock will end up burned.

Top Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014: The Travelers Companies Inc.(TRV)

The Travelers Companies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various commercial and personal property and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals primarily in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Business Insurance; Financial, Professional, and International Insurance; and Personal Insurance. The Business Insurance segment offers property and casualty products and services, such as commercial multi-peril, property, general liability, commercial auto, and workers? compensation insurance. It operates in six groups: Select Accounts, which serves small businesses; Commercial Accounts that serves mid-sized businesses; National Accounts, which serves large companies; Industry-Focused Underwriting that serves targeted industries; Target Risk Underwriting, which serves commercial businesses requiring specialized product underwriting, claims handling, and risk management services; and Special ized Distribution that offers products to customers through licensed wholesale, general, and program agents. The Financial, Professional, and International Insurance segment provides surety and financial liability coverage, which uses a credit-based underwriting process; and property and casualty products primarily in the United States., the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada. The Personal Insurance segment offers property and casualty insurance covering personal risks, primarily automobile and homeowners insurance to individuals. It distributes its products through independent agents, sponsoring organizations, joint marketing arrangements with other insurers, and direct marketing. The company was founded in 1853 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Myra Ramdenbourg]

  Travelers Companies Inc (TRV): Vice Chairman and CFO Jay S Benet sold 5,361 Shares

  On Feb. 20, Vice Chairman and CFO Jay S Benet sold 5,361 shares at an average price of $83.74. The price of the stock has increased by 9.03% since. Travelers Companies Inc has a market cap of $31.72 billion and its shares were traded at around $91.30. The company has a P/S ratio of 8.80 and P/S ratio of 1.26 with a dividend yield of 2.19%. Over the past 10 years, Travelers Companies Inc had an annual average earnings growth of 1.60%. GuruFocus rated Travelers Companies Inc the business predictability rank of 2-star.