Top 10 Consumer Companies To Buy For 2014

It sounds ridiculous to suggest that a $247 billion company could possibly fly under anyone's radar. But when you think of consumer staples stocks, chances are the usual suspects like Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG  ) come to mind. There's obviously good reason for this, since P&G is one of the biggest companies in America with dozens of universally known brands.

And yet, P&G is a smaller company than the one I'm referring to. The company I'm alluding to is Nestle (NASDAQOTH: NSRGY  ) , the largest consumer goods company in the world.

Despite its huge size and stature, Nestle might not be as well-known as some of its American counterparts. Nestle is headquartered in Switzerland, and doesn't trade on a major U.S. exchange. In fact, Nestle shares trade over the counter. But in no way does that make Nestle less deserving of your attention.

Brand strength and diversity provides scale
There's a reason Nestle has resisted calls to split itself or spin off certain brands. Management believes that operating a company of its size holds inherent advantages, particularly when it comes to research and development. R&D investments in one area of the business, such as in nutrition on the health sciences side, which can directly aid other groups. This allows it to keep overall costs low and produce strong profitability, even while sales growth remains modest.

Best Forestry Companies To Watch For 2015: Koss Corporation(KOSS)

Koss Corporation, together with its subsidiary, Koss Classics Ltd., designs, manufactures, and sells stereo headphones and related accessories primarily in the United States and Europe. It offers a line of high-fidelity stereo headphones, speaker-phones, computer headsets, telecommunications headsets, active noise canceling stereo headphones, wireless stereo headphones, and compact disc recordings of American Symphony Orchestras under the Koss Classics label. The company sells its products through national retailers, international distributors, audio specialty stores, the Internet, direct mail catalogs, regional department store chains, discount department stores, military exchanges, and prisons under the Koss name. It also sells its products to distributors for resale to school systems, and directly to other manufacturers. The company was founded in 1953 and is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Yesterday after the market closed, small cap audio stock Skullcandy Inc (NASDAQ: SKUL) reported earnings and began rising in after hours trading, meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock along with the performance of other audio stocks like mid cap Harman International Industries Inc (NYSE: HAR) and small caps Koss Corporation (NASDAQ: KOSS) and Parametric Sound Corp (NASDAQ: PAMT). I should mention that in�late 2012, Skullcandy had the dubious distinction of being the market�� most shorted stock (see: Long Live the Shorts or the Short Squeeze? SKUL, AM & UBNT) with short�interest of 86.47% and there would still be a lot of shorts out there who might start feeling the squeeze (Note: SKUL is at least no longer on the HighShortInterest.com list)

• [By Jason Rivera]

  Koss Corporation (KOSS) was no different because after looking over its balance sheet and profitability numbers I found substantial NOLs, little debt and reasonable profitability levels which usually are good signs that the company may be a good investment if the company is undervalued. This however is not an article about a company that I will ever invest in due to it being a grossly overvalued, dying company, which has major management concerns.

Top 10 Consumer Companies To Buy For 2014: Navistar International Corporation (NAV)

Navistar International Corporation, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells commercial and military trucks, buses, diesel engines, and recreational vehicles, as well as provides service parts for trucks and trailers worldwide. The company operates in four segments: Truck, Engine, Parts, and Financial Services. The Truck segment manufactures and distributes trucks and buses for the common carrier, private carrier, government, leasing, construction, energy/petroleum, military vehicles, and student and commercial transportation markets under the International and IC brands; assembles components; and produces sheet metal components, including truck cabs. This segment markets its products through its independent dealer network, and distribution and service network retail outlets comprising 784 in the United States and Canada, 86 in Mexico, and 292 internationally, as well as markets reconditioned used trucks to owner-operators and fleet buyers through its network of us ed truck centers. The Engine segment designs, manufactures, and sells diesel engines under the MaxxForce brand for use in the medium trucks, heavy trucks, and military vehicles, as well as for its IC branded school buses and other applications. The Parts segment provides customers with products required to support the company�s brands, as well as offers other truck, trailer, and engine service parts. The Financial Services segment provides and manages retail, wholesale, and lease financing services for products sold by the Truck and Parts segments and their dealers. It also operates as a private-label designer and manufacturer of diesel engines for the pickup truck, van, and sport utility vehicle markets. Navistar International Corporation was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Lisle, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alex Planes]

  This highly successful company became one of financier J. P. Morgan's major consolidation successes in 1902, when it was merged with several other agricultural equipment firms to form International Harvester. It became a member of the Dow in 1925 and remained until 1991, a few years after changing its name to Navistar (NYSE: NAV  ) . The current descendant of McCormick's reaping innovations bears little resemblance to the company he founded: International Harvester's agricultural-machinery division was sold off in 1984, and Navistar is now known primarily for producing trucks and buses.

• [By Nathalie Tadena]

  Activist investor Carl Icahn reported an increased holding in Navistar International Corp.(NAV) as of Sept. 30, according to a regulatory filing Thursday.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Navistar (NAV) has fallen more than 4% today after UBS cut its rating on the truck manufacturer.

  AP

  UBS analyst Steven Fisher and team explain why they downgraded Navistar:

  We see a slower ramp to improved profitability than we previously expected and we believe earnings could fall short of consensus expectations over the next couple of years. Warranty expense over the past four quarters exceeded our expectations; while we are forecasting a 2014 decline in expense, we now see that decline coming at a slower rate. NAV has also continued to lose Class 8 market share (R3M); softer pricing
  and/or incentives may be required to stem further share loss. We think NAV management is doing an admirable job cutting costs and improving its portfolio, but we believe prospects for improved profitability going forward are already reflected in current valuation. Accordingly, we downgrade shares to Neutral [from Buy].

  Shares of Navistar have dropped 4.1% to $31.89 at 2:02 p.m. today, while Oshkosh (OSK) has fallen 0.2% to $57.76 and Cummins (CMI) has gained 1.2% to $144.13.

• [By James Stack]

  With bond funds, however, there is no maturity date or par value. The fund's price, or (NAV), depends on the current value of the bonds in the underlying portfolio, and in a negative bond environment, that could be much lower than your initial investment.

Top 10 Consumer Companies To Buy For 2014: Generac Holdlings Inc. (GNRC)

Generac Holdings Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets a range of generators and other engine powered products for the residential, light commercial, industrial, and construction markets in the United States and Canada. It offers generators and other products fueled by natural gas, liquid propane, gasoline, diesel, and Bi-Fuel under the Generac and Magnum brands. The company�s product line includes residential power products, commercial and industrial power products, and other products. Its residential power products comprise automatic residential standby generators that range in output from 6kW to 60kW; air-cooled residential standby generators, which range in outputs from 6kW to 20kW; and liquid-cooled generators that range in outputs from 20kW to 60kW. The residential power product line also includes portable generators consisting of GP series ranging from 1,850W to 17,500W for homeowners; the XG series ranging from 4,000W to 10,000W for the premium homeowner market; the XP series ranging from 4,000W to 8,000W for the professional contractor market; and the iX series ranging from 800W to 2,000W for the recreational market. The company�s industrial and commercial power products comprise light-commercial standby generators ranging from 22kW to 150kW for grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants, gas stations, pharmacies, retail banks, and healthcare facilities; single-engine industrial generators, which range in output from 10kW to 600kW; and generator systems ranging from 20kW air-cooled generators to 3mW modular power system for the telecommunications market, as well as aftermarket service parts and RV generators. The company sells its generators through independent residential and industrial dealers, wholesalers, national accounts, private label arrangements, retailers, catalogs, e-commerce merchants, equipment rental companies and dealers, and construction companies. Generac Holdings Inc. was founded in 1959 and is headquartere d in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Generator maker Generac (NYSE: GNRC  ) announced this morning it had completed the refinancing of its senior secured�term loan credit facility and, as it previously promised, will use part of the proceeds to pay investors a special dividend of $5.00 per share,�payable on June 21�to stockholders of record on June 12.�

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Generac (NYSE: GNRC  ) has reached abroad for its latest asset buy. The company announced Thursday that it inked an agreement to acquire Tower Light, an Italy-based company that develops and sells mobile light towers.

Top 10 Consumer Companies To Buy For 2014: West Pharmaceutical Services Inc.(WST)

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. manufactures and sells components and systems for injectable drug delivery and plastic packaging, and delivery system components for the pharmaceutical, healthcare, and consumer products industries. The company?s Packaging Systems segment provides packaging components and systems used in injectable drug delivery. This segment offers elastomeric stoppers and discs, elastomeric plungers, needle shields, tip caps, aluminum seals and removable plastic buttons, elastomeric components, flashback bulbs and sleeve stoppers, elastomer and co-molded elastomer/plastic components, non-filled syringe components, and dropper bulbs, as well as pharmaceutical containers, closures, and dispensers. This segment also provides laboratory and other services comprising extractables and leachables testing, package/container testing, method development/validation, stability testing, process development, and problem resolution. Its Delivery Systems segment offer s healthcare devices, such as ready-to-use prefilled syringe systems and sterile vials. This segment also offers sterile devices and electronic patch injector systems; passive safety needle systems, disposable auto-injector systems, and safety systems for prefilled syringes; and contract manufacturing services for personal care and consumer products, including infant nurser assemblies, closures for beverage containers, and child-resistant and tamper-evident closures and dispensers. In addition, this segment engages in contract manufacturing and assembling injection molded components and devices for surgical, ophthalmic, diagnostic, and drug delivery systems. The company distributes its products through its sales force and distribution network, as well as through contract sales agents and regional distributors in the United States, Germany, France, and other European countries. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Lionville, Pennsylva nia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

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

Top 10 Consumer Companies To Buy For 2014: Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc (NSM)

Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. is a non-bank residential mortgage servicer with a range of services across the residential mortgage product spectrum. As of December 31, 2011, the Company serviced over 645,000 residential mortgage loans. The Company�� clients include national and regional banks, government organizations, securitization trusts, private investment funds and other owners of residential mortgage loans and securities. It is a partner of financial organizations, including government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) and other regulated institutions. The Company is a licensed servicer in all 50 states. In addition to its core servicing business, the Company has a fully integrated loan originations platform and suite of adjacent businesses.

Nationstar offers clients a range of services. The Company combines its mortgage servicing with a fully integrated loan originations platform. Nationstar offers clients a diversified array of residential mortgage services: Servicing, Originations and Other Related Services.

Servicing

The Company offers mortgage investors two primary ways to partner. A portion of its portfolio consists of owned mortgage servicing rights (MSRs). In this arrangement, the Company owns the right to collect the principal and interest due from a mortgage borrower, as well as manage the title and property insurance escrow of the collateral on behalf of mortgage investors in exchange for a monthly fee proportional to the unpaid principle balance (UPB) of the mortgage. The Company acquires MSRs either through its own origination of mortgages or by acquiring these rights from other MSR owners or the mortgage investor. It subservices multiple portfolios for federal agencies, Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) and large banks. For its subservicing clients, the Company is organized to serve its clients with an Investor Collections Professional and Senior Portfolio Manager(s) assigned to each portfolio.

Originations

The! Company offers a fully integrated loan origination platform. It also operates a wholesale origination channel capable of purchasing loans primarily from Financial Institutions operating as a broker.

Other Related Services

The Company offers a full suite of additional residential mortgage services to complement its servicing business and supporting originations platform. These businesses offer a range of ancillary services, including providing services for delinquent loans, managing loans in the foreclosure/real estate owned (REO) process and providing title insurance agency, loan settlement and valuation services on newly originated and re-originated loans. Nationstar is a part owner in NREIS, which is a provider of residential and commercial mortgage and real estate solutions in the United States. Their services include title insurance and property reports; real estate appraisals and alternative valuation products; settlement and closing services; commercial real estate services; default and property preservation services, and flood and tax certifications.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dakin Campbell]

  Servicing rights on at least $1 trillion of mortgages will trade in the next two years, Jay Bray, chief executive officer of Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. (NSM), a servicer majority owned by Fortress Investment Group LLC (FIG), said last month. The private-equity firm said in July it raised a $1.1 billion fund to buy the contracts.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading DOWN
  Shares of Nationstar Mortgage Holdings (NYSE: NSM) were down 17.33 percent to $40.69 after the company reported Q3 results. Stonegate Mortgage announced its plans to acquire Nationstar's wholesale lending channel.

Top 10 Consumer Companies To Buy For 2014: Hormel Foods Corporation (HRL)

Hormel Foods Corporation processes, markets, and sells consumer-branded meat and food products. The company operates in five segments: Grocery Products, Refrigerated Foods, Jennie-O Turkey Store, Specialty Foods, and International & Other. The Grocery Products segment offers shelf-stable food products, including canned luncheon meats, shelf-stable microwaveable meals, stews, chilies, hash, meat spreads, flour and corn tortillas, salsas, and tortilla chips in the retail market. The Refrigerated Foods segment provides branded and unbranded pork and beef products for retail, foodservice, and fresh product customers. The Jennie-O Turkey Store segment offers branded and unbranded turkey products for retail, foodservice, and fresh product customers. The Specialty Foods segment is involved in the packaging and sale of various sugar and sugar substitute products, salt and pepper products, liquid portion products, dessert mixes, ready-to-drink products, sports nutrition products, g elatin products, and private label canned meats to retail and foodservice customers. This segment also processes, markets, and sells nutritional food products and supplements to hospitals, nursing homes, and other marketers of nutritional products. The International and Other segment manufactures, markets, and sells its products internationally. Hormel Foods Corporation sells its products through sales personnel, as well as through independent brokers and distributors primarily in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, England, Japan, Mexico, Micronesia, the Philippines, and South Korea. The company was formerly known as George A. Hormel & Company and changed its name to Hormel Foods Corporation in January 1995. Hormel Foods Corporation was founded in 1891 and is based in Austin, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By The Part-time Investor]

  In January of 2010, again, due to stock sales (and buyouts) a further four new stocks were bought.

  Aflac (AFL)Colgate Palmolive (CL)Hormel (HRL)Wal-Mart (WMT)

  The following table shows all the stocks that were bought during the study period, the number of shares bought, the final number of shares held (due to reinvestment), and the final value either on 5/16/13 or when the stock was sold. Special situations are marked by asterisks and explained below.

• [By Sure Dividend]

  No matter how much information we have, people will always need to eat. One way to look at if an industry has managed to grow over decades is to see how many Dividend Aristocrats the industry claims. Dividend Aristocrats are businesses that have increased their dividend payments for 25 or more consecutive years, and meet certain size and liquidity requirements. These are businesses that have withstood all of the changes of the last 25 or more years, and managed to grow consistently and profitably. There are 54 Dividend Aristocrats. The list below shows the Dividend Aristocrats whose primary business relates to food and/or beverages:

  McDonald�� (MCD) Coca-Cola (KO) PepsiCo (PEP) McCormick & Co. (MKC) Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) Hormel Foods (HRL) Brown-Forman (BF.B) Sysco (SYY)

  Of the 54 Dividend Aristocrats, eight (~15%) make their money from food and/or beverages. Interestingly, six of the seven (ADM and SYY are the exception) make their money from branded consumer food and beverages. If you are looking for slow-changing businesses that grow year after year, branded food companies are a good place to search.

• [By Dividends4Life]

  Linked here is a detailed quantitative analysis of Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL). Below are some highlights from the above linked analysis:
  
  Company Description: Hormel Foods Corp. is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer-branded food and meat products.

Top 10 Consumer Companies To Buy For 2014: Cencosud SA (CNCO)

Cencosud SA (Cencosud) is a Chile-based holding company primarily engaged in the retail sector. The Company�� activities include the management and operation of a network of supermarkets, home centers, department stores and shopping malls, which operate under such names as Jumbo, Disco & Vea, Santa Isabel, Easy, Paris, Blaisten and GBarbosa, among others. The Company�� business also comprises the provision of consumer financial services and insurance brokerage, as well as it operates family entertainment centers and a travel agency. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, the Company has operations established in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru. As of December 31, 2010, the Company was a 25.74%-owned affiliate of Inversiones Quinchamali Limitada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Will Ashworth]

  In terms of growth, Asia is where the company is achieving its greatest success. Operating joint ventures in China, India and Japan, Aegon’s gross deposits in new markets grew 31% in fiscal 2013 to $19.8 billion. Its underlying earnings before tax have grown 28% over the last two fiscal years, with fee-based earnings representing a much bigger part of its business than in the past. That�� a good thing, because fee-based earnings don�� have nearly the same bite if things go south than assets on your own balance sheet. Its operations outside of Europe are getting stronger, providing the diversification necessary to survive financial hiccups. As far as insurers go, AEG is one of the best cheap stocks worth owning.

  Cheap Stocks to Buy: Cencosud S.A. (CNCO)

  Cencosud is one of the largest retailers in Latin America. It operates grocery stores, home improvement stores and department stores in five countries including Chile, its home base. Its stock is down 51% over the past year for several reasons, including a deal falling through that would have seen it sell 51% of its credit card operations in Chile and Argentina to Itau Unibanco (ITUB) and using the proceeds to reduce its heavy debt load. Add to that a major devaluation of the peso in Argentina, where it generates a quarter of its overall revenue, and you have investors in a full-on panic.