Top 10 Consumer Companies To Own For 2014

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) --�Everything's hunky-dory over in the market right now. The S&P 500 has extended its year-to-date gains to more than 28%, consumer sentiment numbers are the highest they've been in months, and investors are feeling good again about the New Year.

>>5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar

But that doesn't mean that investors are bullish on everything right now. In fact, there's a long list of stocks they hate.

Hate is a powerful emotion in the markets. It's powerful because, more often than not, it's wrong. The fact is, the stocks that investors want to give coal to this Christmas are really the ones that could hand over the most gains in 2014. I realize that sounds anti-intuitive, but historically, buying Wall Street's hate list has paid off.

Over the last decade, buying the most hated and heavily shorted large and mid-cap stocks (the top two quartiles of all shortable stocks by market capitalization) would have beaten the S&P 500 by 9.28% each and every year. That's some material outperformance during a decade when decent returns were very hard to come by.

Top Sliver Companies To Own For 2015: Compania Cervecerias Unidas S.A. (CCU)

Compa帽ia Cervecerias Unidas S.A., through its subsidiaries, produces, bottles, sells, and distributes beverages primarily in Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. It offers super-premium, premium, medium-priced, and popular-priced brands of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beer under 12 proprietary brands and 4 licensed brands, such as Royal Guard; Royal Light; Heineken; Budweiser; Paulaner; Austral; Kunstmann; D'olbek; Cristal; Cristal Cero 0掳; Cristal Black Lager; Cristal Light; Escudo; Morenita; Lemon Stones; and Dorada brands. The company also produces and markets ultra-premium, reserve, varietal, and popular-priced wines under the brand families comprising Vi帽a San Pedro Tarapac谩, Vi帽a Santa Helena, Vi帽a Misiones de Rengo, Vi帽a Mar, Vi帽a Alta茂r, Bodega Tamar铆, Finca la Celia, and Vi帽a Leyda. In addition, it offers cider and spirits under the brand names of Real, La Victoria, Saenz Briones 1888, and El Abuelo; pisco, rum, and ready-to-drink cocktails under the Control C , Mistral, Campanario, Sierra Morena, Pisco Bauz谩 and Havana Club, Chivas Regal, and Absolut Vodka brand names; and home-made sweet snacks products under the Calaf, Natur, and Nutrabien brand names. Further, the company produces and sells tea; sports and energy drinks; carbonated beverages, including cola and non-cola, as well as non carbonated beverages; fruit juices; mineral water, sparkling and still water, purified water, and home and office delivery water products; and nectars. It serves small and medium sized retail outlets; retail establishments, such as restaurants, hotels, and bars for on-premise consumption; wholesalers; and supermarket chains. Compa帽ia Cervecerias Unidas S.A. also exports its products to Europe, Latin America, the United States, Canada, and others. The company was founded in 1850 and is based in Santiago, Chile. Compa帽ia Cervecerias Unidas S.A. is a subsidiary of Inversiones y Rentas S.A.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Patricio Kehoe] s largest brewer (with about 80% of the market�� share) and No. 2 in the Argentine market, behind Quilmes, which owns 75% of that market. With investment gurus Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) and Manning & Napier Advisors buying the company�� shares this past quarter, I believe this company�� business model is worth a deeper look.

  Running the Market

  As the only brewer in Chile with a nationwide distribution network, United Breweries benefits from significant economies of scale, in addition to its brand power. The company�� product portfolio not only features the Cristal beer brand, but also includes wine, spirits and company-owned non-alcoholic beverages. In addition to this, the firm benefits from licenses to sell PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) and Heineken beverages, while also importing Anheuser Busch Inbev SA (ADR) (BUD)�� Budweiser beer to Chile and Argentina. This strong market position has allowed the firm to generate excess returns on invested capital above 20%, making it an attractive investment.

  Furthermore, United Breweries��business model is focused on market expansion, and in 2013 the company raised 15% of its market capital (CLP 340 billion) in order to fun acquisitions in Paraguay and Argentina. This latter country has been particularly endorsing the firm�� growth, boosting 2006�� 16% market share to 23% in 2012. This raise is probably due to the CLP 27 billion that the brewer spent on capital expenditures in Argentina. Looking forward, the company is set on expanding its core businesses by targeting the non-alcoholic Argentine market, the Chilean snack and dairy industry, as well as expanding into nearby markets of Peru, Uruguay, Colombia or Ecuador. And although the risk of an overpayment for acquisitions remains, I believe the company�� cost advantage in serving the Southern region of Chile will allow for margins to stay intact.

  Valuation and Risks

  Nevertheless, United Breweries��market dominance in Chile t

Top 10 Consumer Companies To Own For 2014: Virco Manufacturing Corporation(VIRC)

Virco Mfg. Corporation engages in the design, production, and distribution of furniture for the commercial and education markets in the United States. The company offers seating products, including cantilever chairs, tablet arm chairs, rockers, hard plastic seats, backrests, work surfaces, task chairs, classroom chairs, stack chairs, folding chairs, upholstered stack chairs, plastic stack chairs, and upholstered ergonomic chairs, as well as provides various seating product for students in college, university, other adult education settings, and on high school campuses. It also offers folding and banquet tables, activity tables, office tables, computer tables, and mobile tables, as well as table products for working and learning environments, seminars, and conferences; and computer furniture, including keyboard mouse trays, CPU holders, support columns, desks and workstations, and specialty tables and other products for computing applications. In addition, the company provi des chair desks, combo units, teacher desks, and tablet arm units, as well as a collection returns and credenzas. Further, it offers administrative office furniture, such as desks, returns, and bookcases; laboratory furniture, including steel-based science tables, table bases, lab stools, and steel foot-rings for biology and chemistry classes, and other school and college based lab settings; and mobile furniture comprising mobile tables for school cafeterias and mobile chairs for school settings and offices, as well as provides handling and storage equipment and manufactures stackable storage trucks. The company?s brand portfolio primarily includes ZUMA, ZUMAfrd, Ph.D., I.Q. Virtuoso, Classic Series, Martest 21, Lunada, Plateau, Core-a-Gator, Future Access, Sigma, Metaphor, Telos, TEXT, and Parameter. It also serves convention centers and arenas, hospitality providers, government facilities, and places of worship. Virco Mfg. Corporation founded in 1950 and is based in Torra nce, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap office furniture stock Steelcase Inc (NYSE: SCS) jumped 11.66% after beating earnings expectations, meaning it might be time to take a closer look at the stock along with potential office or commercial furniture stock peers like�HNI Corp (NYSE: HNI), Knoll Inc (NYSE: KNL) and Virco Mfg. Corporation (NASDAQ: VIRC). After all, the performance of any company selling office or commercial furniture would tend to give some insights into the office or employment markets.

Top 10 Consumer Companies To Own For 2014: Shiner International Inc.(BEST)

Shiner International, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the research and development, manufacture, sale, and distribution of technology driven advanced packaging film products. Its products include coated films, tobacco films, anti-counterfeit laser holographic films, color printed products, and water-based latex products. The company also offers biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films for printing, lamination, and over-wrap packaging; and BOPP tobacco films for packaging appearance, product freshness, and clear optics. In addition, it provides color printing services that consist of surface printing and reverse printing services for consumer goods manufacturers and beverage companies. The company sells its products to companies in the various industries, such as food, tobacco, chemical, agribusiness, medical, pharmaceutical, personal care, electronics, automotive, construction, graphics, music and video publishing, and other consumer goods in China, Asia, A ustralia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America. Shiner International has a strategy alliance with The Treofan Group. The company based in Haikou City, China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sally Jones]

  Looking through a kaleidoscope of facts about J. Kyle Bass, this guru quickly takes on a colorful and larger-than-life mythos. Hailing from the big-thinking state of Texas, Bass is often described as a big dreamer with a studious and practical streak. His career blossomed almost overnight when he reportedly made around a half a billion dollars betting against subprime CDOs in 2007. Bass comes across as a visionary who asks why not instead of why. He told CNBC that he likes to reduce email time and cut out the noise by learning about world markets through symbiotic relationships with friends like Alan Fournier and other billionaires. Every year Bass invites his notable friends to his ranch in Larue, Texas, for a special event called The Barefoot Economic Summit, Texas (BEST). Bass said he learns more in two days of the summit than in two months of emails.

Top 10 Consumer Companies To Own For 2014: Tredegar Corporation(TG)

Tredegar Corporation, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells plastic films and aluminum extrusions worldwide. The company offers apertured film and nonwoven materials for use in feminine hygiene products, baby diapers, and adult incontinence products under the SoftQuilt, ComfortAire, SoftAire, and FreshFeel names; breathable, embossed, and elastic materials for use as components for baby diapers, adult incontinence products, and feminine hygiene products under the ExtraFlex, FabriFlex, StretchTab, FlexAire, and FlexFeel names; and absorbent transfer layers for baby diapers and adult incontinence products under the AquiDry and AquiSoft names. It also provides single and multi-layer surface protection films under the UltraMask and ForceField names for protecting components of flat panel displays; a line of packaging films for food packaging and industrial applications; and apertured films, breathable barrier films, and laminates that regulate fluid or vapor transmi ssion. In addition, the company offers soft-alloy aluminum extrusions primarily for building and construction, distribution, transportation, electrical, consumer durables, and machinery and equipment markets; and manufactures mill, anodized, and painted aluminum extrusions for fabricators and distributors to produce curtain walls, storefronts, windows and doors, hurricane shutters, tub and shower enclosures, heatsinks and components for light emitting diode (LED) lighting, and automotive and light truck aftermarket parts. Further, it develops and produces microstructure-based optical films for the LED and fluorescent lighting markets; and develops, owns, and operates mitigation banks. Tredegar Corporation was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  It's certainly not as big as Berry Plastics Group Inc. (NYSE:BERY). It's not even as big as Tredegar Corporation (NYSE:TG). There's one big way AEP Industries (NASDAQ:AEPI) can certainly compete head-on with BERY and TG right now, however... as an investment opportunity. Thanks to the bullish bump AEPI gave us last week, a long-standing selloff has been revered, and there's a whole lot of ground to make up.

Top 10 Consumer Companies To Own For 2014: Cobra Electronics Corporation(COBR)

Cobra Electronics Corporation engages in the design and marketing of two-way mobile communication and mobile navigation products in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It operates in two segments, Cobra Consumer Electronics and Performance Products Limited. The Cobra Consumer Electronics segment principally offers radar detection products, photo-enforcement and safety detection products, citizens band radios, power inverters and jumpstarters, two-way radios, and marine electronics, as well as mobile navigation for professional drivers. It sells its products directly to retailers, such as mass marketers, consumer electronics specialty stores, department store chains, warehouse clubs, television home-shopping and internet retailers, direct-response merchandisers, home centers, specialty stores, and travel center, as well as through two-step wholesale distributors that carry its products to fill orders for travel centers, small department stores and appliance dealers, duty -free shops on cruise lines, and export and marine products. The Performance Products Limited segment offers personal navigation devices under the Snooper Truckmate, Snooper Ventura, Snooper Sapphire Plus, and other trade names; GPS-enabled speed camera location detectors under the Snooper My Speed, Snooper 3 Zero, and other trade names; proprietary AURA database that provides drivers with advance notice of upcoming speed camera and hazard locations; E-Bike, a compact folding electric bike; and WPT250M tracker, a tracking device that uses GPS, GPRS, and GSM technology to monitor the location of boats, vehicles, pets, or individuals with an accuracy of 2.5 meters. The company was founded in 1961 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sally Jones]

  Check here for more Guru trading details.
  
  Cobra Electronics Corporation (COBR)

  The current COBR share price is $2.56, or 52.6% off the 52-week high of $5.40.

Top 10 Consumer Companies To Own For 2014: Craft Brew Alliance Inc (BREW)

Craft Brew Alliance, Inc., incorporated on May 4, 1981, is an independent craft brewer. The Company is engaged in brewing, marketing and selling of craft beers in the United States. The Company operates two segments: Beer related operations and Pubs and Other. Beer related operations include the brewing and sale of craft beers from its five breweries. Pubs and Other operations primarily include its five pubs, four, of which are located adjacent to its breweries. The Company brews its Widmer Brothers, Redhook and Kona beers in each of its three mainland production breweries, including New Hampshire Brewery, Oregon Brewery and Washington Brewery. The Company also owns and operates a small manual style brewery, primarily used for small batch production at the Rose Quarter in Portland, Oregon. The Company�� beer portfolio is consisted of the Widmer Brothers, Redhook and Kona brand families. On May 2, 2011, the Company sold 42% interest in Fulton Street Brewery, LLC.

The Company�� Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen is a golden, cloudy wheat beer with a pronounced citrus aroma and flavor. This beer is usually served with a lemon slice. Its Drifter Pale Ale is brewed with generous amounts of summit hops. It also includes Drop Top Amber Ale and Rotator India Pale Ale. Initial beers in the series 924 series include the Nelson Imperial IPA and the Pitch Black IPA, which is a Pacific Northwest twist on a traditional IPA, brewed in the style of a Cascadian Dark. Beers in this brand are offered as a draft product and as a four pack for bottles. Widmer Brothers beers include Brothers��Reserve and Alchemy Project. Widmer Brothers seasonal beers are Citra Blonde, Okto, Brrr and W series.

The Redhook family of beers is consisted of sessionable (lower alcohol by volume) and approachable beers. Its Long Hammer IPA is the beer within the brand family and is English pub-style bitter ale with a bold hop aroma and profile that is not overpoweringly bitter. Its

Redhook Pilsner is a crisp, easy-! drinking, golden lager that is modeled after beers originally brewed in Plzen, Czechoslovakia. Redhook ESB is rich, full-bodied amber ale with a smooth flavor profile featuring toasted malts and a pleasant finishing sweetness. Its Copperhook Ale is copper-colored ale with caramel notes and a clean refreshing finish. The Company�� Blueline Series brand is offering from the Redhook brand family for the West Coast beer drinker. These beers are hand crafted by the brewers and are available at its Washington Brewery pub, as well as at select restaurants, bottle shops and public houses in the Seattle, Washington area. Its Brewery Backyard Series is produced at its New Hampshire brewery as a draft product available at the brewery�� pub and at select local establishments. Redhook seasonal beers include Nut Brown Ale, Winterhook Winter Ale and Wit.

The Company�� Kona Beers brand family is consisted of beers that deliver the essence of the Hawaiian Islands that is Always Aloha. The Company�� Longboard Island Lager is a traditionally brewed lager with a delicate, slightly spicy hop aroma that is complimented by a fresh, malt-forward flavor and a smooth, refreshing finish. Its Fire Rock Pale Ale is a crisp, Hawaiian Style pale ale with pronounced citrus and floral hop aromas and flavors that are backed up by a generous malt profile.

Kona seasonal beers include Koko Brown Ale, American brown ale with a deep amber color and rich mahogany hues. This ale has a smoky, roasted nut aroma and flavor, with a coconut twist. Koko Brown Ale is Kona�� spring seasonal. Its Pipeline Porter is smooth and dark, with a roasty aroma and earthy flavor. This ale is brewed with fresh 100% Kona coffee. Its Wailua Wheat is golden, sun-colored ale with a bright, citrusy flavor. This beer is brewed with a touch of tropical passion fruit to impart a slightly tart and crisp finish. Kona offers two variety packs: Island Hopper variety 12-packs and Big Kahuna variety 24-packs. Both packages include the brewe! ry�� Lo! ngboard Island Lager along with Fire Rock Pale Ale and then two of its Aloha series seasonal offerings: Koko Brown, Wailua Wheat and Pipeline Porter.

The Company competes with Heineken, Corona Extra and Guinness.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Katje]

  Publicly traded Craft Brew Alliance (BREW) is the owner of three key craft beer brands. The company, through two mergers, owns the brands Redhook, Widmer, and Kona. One of those brands (Redhook) has a partnership coming with Buffalo Wild Wings that could create coverage of the company's stock and blow revenue estimates out of the water.

• [By Louis Navellier]

  The fantastic performance and growth of this company was noted by Portfolio Grader back in August and the stock was upgraded to an A. Shares of SAM stock remain a “strong buy” at the current price. When it comes to beer stocks to buy now, this is one of the most tempting.

  Best Booze Stocks to Buy Now -�Craft Brew Alliance (BREW)

  Craft Brew Alliance (BREW) makes craft beers under three very popular brands for beer aficionados. The Widmar Brothers, Redhook and Kona brands of beer have all received rave reviews … and that’s just one reason BREW is one of the best beer stocks to buy now.

Top 10 Consumer Companies To Own For 2014: China New Borun Corporation (BORN)

China New Borun Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production and distribution of corn-based edible alcohol in the People�s Republic of China. Its edible alcohol products are primarily sold as ingredients to producers of baijiu, which a grain-based alcoholic beverage to further blend them into finished products that are sold under various brand names in retail stores, bars, banquet halls, restaurants, and other locations. The company also produces distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) feed, corn germ, crude corn oil, and liquid carbon dioxide as by-products during the production of edible alcohol. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Shouguang, the People's Republic of China. China New Borun Corporation is a subsidiary of King River Holding Limited.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  With a market cap of only $60 million and practically no trading volume until last month, odds are good you and most of your trading friends have ever even heard of China New Borun Corp. (NYSE:BORN). That doesn't mean it can't become a good trading opportunity, however. In fact, BORN has become a good trading opportunity, especially this week.