Best Retail Companies To Own In Right Now

With shares of Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) trading around $7, is GRPN 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

Groupon offers online retail services. The company provides daily deals on the stuff to do, eat, see, and buy in more than 500 markets in 44 countries. It provides an online service that lets groups of people create campaigns to pool resources, including money and personal commitments to take action, and it allows users to sell products and transact business online. Groupon is poised to see rising traffic as it provides consumers with ways to save on common shopping experiences and activities. Look for Groupon to continue to grow and provide consumers and businesses with new opportunities.

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T = Technicals on the Stock Chart are Strong

Top 10 Undervalued Companies To Buy Right Now: Staples Inc.(SPLS)

Staples, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an office products company. The company offers various office supplies and services, office machines and related products, computers and related products, and office furniture under Staples, Quill, and other proprietary brands. It also provides copy and print services to retail and delivery customers, as well as technology services through its EasyTech business. The company sells and delivers office products and services directly to businesses and consumers through Internet retail, including Staples.com and Quill.com, as well as through contract sales force, direct mail catalog business, and retail stores. As of January 28, 2012, it operated 2,295 retail stores in 48 states and the District of Columbia in the United States; and 10 provinces and 2 territories in Canada, as well as in Belgium, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, the United Kingdom, China, Argentina, and Australia. The company also operated 124 distribution and fulfillment centers in 29 states in the United States; 7 provinces in Canada; and in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, China, Argentina, Brazil, and Australia. Staples, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is based in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jose Pagliery]

  The breach affects those who shopped at a small fraction of Staples (SPLS) stores nationwide between July 20 and Sept. 16 this year. Cybercriminals now know a shopper's name, card number, its expiration date and card verification code.

• [By Lawrence Meyers]

  The Office Depot-OfficeMax merger seems necessary to keep both chains afloat, but combining the entities in an environment where office supply needs are changing, where businesses continue to struggle in a weak economy, and where one can buy office supplies from not only competitors like Staples (SPLS), but Amazon (AMZN) and other e-tailers, does not bode well. It was a move made for survival.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Yet both companies need to keep their eyes on what rival Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS  ) will do. In March, Staples responded to a disappointing quarterly report by announcing cost-cutting measures that include eliminating big-box stores in Europe and the U.S. and refocusing on smaller stores geared more toward mobile products and services. With Staples waiting in the wings to take advantage of an eventual decision from OfficeMax and Office Depot to reduce their own store counts, investors need to be aware of the looming threat.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Top losers in the sector included Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS), down 16.6 percent, and Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS), off 12 percent.

  Top Headline
  Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS) reported a drop in its fiscal first-quarter profit. Staples posted its quarterly earnings of $96.2 million, or $0.15 per share, versus $169.9 million, or $0.26 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding certain items, it earned $0.18 per share. Its sales declined 2.8% to $5.65 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.21 per share on revenue of $5.61 billion. Staples expects Q2 adjusted earnings of $0.09 to $0.14 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $0.15 per share.

Best Retail Companies To Own In Right Now: Officemax Incorporated(OMX)

OfficeMax Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, distributes business-to-business and retail office products. Its Contract segment markets and sells office supplies and paper, technology products and solutions, office furniture, and print and document services directly to large corporate and government offices, as well as to small and medium-sized offices through field salespeople, outbound telesales, catalogs, Internet, and office products stores. As of December 31, 2011, this segment operated 38 distribution centers in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand; 4 customer service and outbound telesales centers in the United States; and 47 office products stores in Canada, Hawaii, Australia, and New Zealand. The company?s Retail segment markets and sells office supplies and paper, print and document services, technology products and solutions, and office furniture to small and medium-sized businesses and consumers through a network of reta il stores. As of December 31, 2011, this segment operated 978 stores in the United States and Mexico; 3 large distribution centers in the United States; and 1 small distribution center in Mexico. The company, formerly known as Boise Cascade Corporation, was founded in 1913 and is headquartered in Naperville, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Lewis]

  Office Depot (NYSE: ODP  ) scored a win in its merger with fellow big-box supply store retailer Office Max (NYSE: OMX  ) , but is the company out of the proverbial weeds? The Depot saw its shares decline more than 6% Wednesday due to an earnings report that came in under estimates and altogether left investors and analysts unimpressed. No one has any delusions as to the intense technology-fueled disruption facing Office Depot and its recently acquired competitor, but there are levers the company can pull to remain relevant in the future.

Best Retail Companies To Own In Right Now: Radioshack Corporation(RSH)

RadioShack Corporation engages in the retail sale of consumer electronic goods and services through its RadioShack store chain and kiosk operations. Its products include postpaid and prepaid wireless handsets and communication devices, such as scanners and global positioning system (GPS) products; home entertainment, wireless, music, computer, video game, and GPS accessories; media storage, power adapters, digital imaging products, and headphones; home audio and video end-products, personal computing products, residential telephones, and voice over Internet protocol products; digital cameras, digital music players, toys, satellite radios, video gaming hardware, camcorders, and general radios; general and special purpose batteries and battery chargers; and wires and cables, connectivity products, components and tools, and hobby products. The company also provides consumers access to third-party services, such as prepaid wireless airtime and extended service plans in its ser vice platform. In addition, it manufactures various products, including telephones, antennas, wires, and cable products, as well as various hard-to-find parts and accessories for consumer electronics products; and provides repair services. As of March 31, 2011, the company operated 4,467 company-operated retail stores under the RadioShack brand name in the United States; and 1,304 kiosks located in Target and Sam?s Club stores. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 211 company-operated stores under the RadioShack brand, 9 dealers, and 1 distribution center in Mexico; a network of 1,207 RadioShack dealer outlets, including 34 located outside of North America; and 4 distribution centers in the United States. Further, the company sells its products through its Website, radioshack.com. RadioShack Corporation was founded in 1899 and is based in Fort Worth, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  However, the shorts are optimistic about a payday because the stock is the 23rd most shorted stock on the NYSE with short interest of 30.07% according to HighShortInterest.com. It could be worst though because retailer RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) has short interest of�35.49% while hhgregg, Inc (NYSE: HGG) has short interest of 53.77%.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Big Earnings Movers: Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is down 9% at $322.99 after a stellar report and some cautionary comments from the CEO. VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) is up 2.9% at $85.01 after a very positive report. Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) is up 3.3% at $25.51 after a solid quarter. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) is up 3.7% at $36.35 on an earnings boost from its recent oil and gas acquisitions. RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) is down 17.9% at $2.89 after a reporting dismal results.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Usually, we’d expect a company’s shares to fall when it warns that it could be heading for bankruptcy, shares fall. Not RadioShack (RSH). Its shares have surged nearly 20% this morning after it warned that it was running out of cash and could be forced to file.

Best Retail Companies To Own In Right Now: Walgreen Co (WAG)

Walgreen Co. (Walgreens), incorporated on February 15, 1909, together with its subsidiaries, operates the drugstore chain in the United States. The Company provides its customers with access to consumer goods and services, pharmacy, and health and wellness services in communities across America. The Company offers its products and services through drugstores, as well as through mails, by telephone and online. The Company sells prescription and non-prescription drugs, as well as general merchandises, including household items, convenience and fresh foods, personal care, beauty care, photofinishing and candy. On August 2, 2012, it acquired 45% interest in Alliance Boots GmbH (Alliance Boots). In September 2012, the Company completed the purchase of a regional drugstore chain in the mid-South region of the United States that included 144 stores operated under the USA Drug, Super D Drug, May��, Med-X and Drug Warehouse names. In September 2012, WP Carey & Co LLC acquired five retail stores leased to Walgreen Co. In December 2012, the Company completed a transaction giving company a ownership stake in Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Pharmacy LLC.

The Company's pharmacy, health and wellness services include retail, specialty, infusion and respiratory services, mail service, convenient care clinics and worksite health and wellness centers. These services help improve health outcomes and manage costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems, pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. The Company's Take Care Health Systems subsidiary is a manager of worksite health and wellness centers and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 700 locations throughout the United States.

As of August 31, 2012, Walgreens operated 8,385 locations in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. In 2012, the Company opened or acquired 266 locations for a net increase of 175 locations after relocations and closings. As of August 31, 2012, the Com! pany had 7,930 of Drugstores, 366 of Worksite Health and Wellness Centers, 76 of Infusion and Respiratory Services Facilities, 11 of Specialty Pharmacies and two of Mail Service Facilities. The Company's drugstores are engaged in the retail sale of prescription and non-prescription drugs and general merchandise. General merchandise includes, among other things, household items, convenience and fresh foods, personal care, beauty care, photofinishing and candy.

The Company offers specialty pharmacy services that provide customers nationwide access to a variety of medications, services and programs for managing complex and chronic health conditions. In addition, the Company offers its customers infusion therapy services, including the administration of intravenous (IV) medications for cancer treatments, chronic pain, heart failure, and other infections and disorders which must be treated by IV. Walgreens provides these infusion services at home, at the workplace, in a physician's office or at a Walgreens alternate treatment site. The Company also provides clinical services, such as laboratory monitoring, medication profile review, nutritional assessments and patient and caregiver education.

Customers can also access the Company's e-commerce solutions, which extend the convenience to purchase most products available within its drugstores, as well as additional products sold exclusively online through its walgreens.com and drugstore.com Websites, including beauty.com and visiondirect.com. The Company's Websites allow consumers to purchase general merchandise including beauty, personal care, home medical equipment, contact lenses, vitamins and supplements and other health and wellness solutions. The Company's mobile applications also allow customers to refill prescriptions through their mobile device, download weekly promotions and find the nearest Walgreens drugstore. The Company also offers services through Take Care Health Systems, which manages its Take Care Clinics at select Wa! lgreens d! rugstores throughout the country.

Alliance Boots is a pharmacy-led health and beauty retailing and pharmaceutical wholesaling and distribution business. As of March 31, 2012, its fiscal year end, Alliance Boots had, together with its associates and joint ventures, pharmacy-led health and beauty retail businesses in 11 countries and operated more than 3,330 health and beauty retail stores, of which over 3,200 had a pharmacy. In addition, Alliance Boots had approximately 625 optical practices, approximately 185 of which operated on a franchise basis. Its pharmaceutical wholesale and distribution businesses, including its associates and joint ventures, supplied medicines, other healthcare products and related services to more than 170,000 pharmacies, doctors, health centers and hospitals from over 370 distribution centers in 21 countries.

Alliance Boots�� stores located in the United Kingdom, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Thailand and Lithuania and through its associates and joint ventures in Switzerland, China, Italy, Russia and Croatia. In addition, as of March 31, 2012, there were 58 Boots stores operated in the Middle East on a franchised basis. In its Health & Beauty Division, Alliance Boots has product brands such as No7, Soltan and Botanics, together with other brands, such as Boots Pharmaceuticals and Boots Laboratories. Through its Pharmaceutical Wholesale Division and several of its associates, Alliance Boots sells Almus, its line of generic medicines, in five countries and Alvita, its line of patient care products, in six countries.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  In response to the outrage at highlighting a terrorist instead of his victims, including 26-year-old MIT cop Sean Collier, who was killed in the shootout between the Tsarnaev brothers and the police, and 8-year-old Martin Richard, who was standing next to one of the bombs when it detonated, retailers including CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS  ) , which operates 7,300 stores nationwide, Walgreen (NYSE: WAG  ) , with more than 8,500 stores, and Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD  ) chain Kmart have all decided not to sell the new issue of the magazine.

• [By Alexander J. Poulos]

  With Tuesday's earnings announcement, the shares of Walgreen (WAG) were treated most unkindly tumbling by almost 6%. With the market showing strong gains Tuesday, I decided to investigate further to see if the selloff is an overreaction or a sign of further weakness ahead.

Best Retail Companies To Own In Right Now: CDC Point SpA (CDC)

CDC Point SpA is an Italy-based company engaged in the information technology (IT) sector. The Company structures its business into two main sectors: Production and Distribution of IT, and Business Value-Added. Through the Production and Distribution of IT sector, it is active in the manufacture of consumer desktop personal computers, as well as in the distribution and retail of computer hardware; peripheral equipment and accessories, such as keyboards, monitors, webcams, card readers, audio systems, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) accessories and routers, and software products. Through the Business Value-Added sector, it provides value added services and solutions, including voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) services; video surveillance and home automation technologies; software management and e-commerce solutions, and Web services, such as domain registering, hosting, server, email, positioning on search engines and Web marketing services. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By abirk]

  The people of America are becoming more and more health conscious as obesity is growing at a great pace. As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one third of US adults (35.7%) is obese. This point out the finger towards the fast-food industry as they are using trans fats (responsible for clogging arteries) in their products to make it more mouth watering.

• [By Canadian Value]

  (Mostly) Psychological��/p> The battle against ISIS in the Middle East. Ebola and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC): It appears that the Center is not prepared for disease control.

  All of this together resulted in stock market declines of 7-12% in a month, depending on which index you measure. The size of this ��orrection��was not unexpected, but the short time frame was unusual. On some days the forced selling appeared to feed on itself and bordered on panic liquidation. As I write this letter on 10/17, this selling has abated, at least for the time being. The good news is that we raised some cash coming into this period, and

Best Retail Companies To Own In Right Now: Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc.(SPB)

Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer products company worldwide. It offers consumer batteries, including alkaline and zinc carbon batteries, rechargeable batteries and chargers, and hearing aid batteries and other specialty batteries; pet supplies, such as aquatic equipment and supplies, dog and cat treats, small animal foods, clean up and training aids, health and grooming products, and beddings; and home and garden control products comprising household insect controls, insect repellents, and herbicides. The company also provides electric shaving and grooming devices; small appliances, including small kitchen appliances and home product appliances; electric personal care and styling devices; and portable lighting. Its sells its products through various trade channels, including retailers, wholesalers and distributors, hearing aid professionals, industrial distributors, and original equipment manufacturers primarily under t he Rayovac, Remington, Varta, George Foreman, Black & Decker, Toastmaster, Farberware, Tetra, Marineland, Nature?s Miracle, Dingo, 8-in-1, Littermaid, Spectracide, Cutter, Repel, Hot Shot, Black Flag, and TAT brands. The company was headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. As of January 7, 2011, Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Harbinger Group Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Energizer have jumped 15% to $112.37 at 10:24 a.m. today, while Spectrum Brands (SPB) has risen 1.4% to $76.88 and Kimberly Clark (KMB) has gained 1% to $112.14.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Consumer products manufacturer Spectrum Brands (SPB) raised its quarterly dividend 20% to 30 cents per share, payable on Mar. 18 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 19.
  SPB Dividend Yield: 1.58%

Review: Apple Mac Pro small but super powerful

LOS ANGELES -- Apple quietly slipped a shiny, new computer onto store shelves last week, and it's super fast and really small.

Geared towards pros as an engineering marvel, the new Mac Pro is clearly one of the great ones from the house of Apple. It's the fastest, most powerful computer Apple has ever produced, yet it fits easily on a shelf, replacing the old Mac towers.

It looks striking -- like an ultra shiny round trash can, but, oh, only if our trash cans had this kind of power.

I've been playing with an early review unit for the past few days, and can report that this new, top-of-the-line and pricey computer (starting at $2,999) is as fast as Apple says, and really quiet. It's a joy to use.

The specs are amazing: just 9.9 inches tall (that's smaller than the entry-level 11-inch MacBook Air laptop when extended fully), 6.6 inches in diameter and weighs 11 pounds. By comparison, the earlier Mac Pro model was 20 inches high, and weighed 40 pounds.

The new Mac Pro has quad-core or 6-core processors, depending upon your model and dual graphic cards. They start with 12 GB of RAM (compared to the 8 RAM that come standard on the top of the line iMac) and room for expansion up to 64 GB.

Apple promises a performance speed of two times faster -- which is what I found in my tests. For instance, it took 5 minutes to transfer a 20 GB folder of video onto the Mac Pro, versus 10 minutes on my souped-up iMac. An export of a video file from Final Cut Pro X video editing software took 3 minutes to complete on the Mac Pro, versus 6 minutes on the iMac.

The Mac Pro is aimed at the "creative professional," videographers and editors, photographers, architects, designers, animators -- folks who work with really big files and can't afford to wait around for their computers to process slowly.

Its release seems mostly oriented towards video professionals, many of whom Apple lost when the company re-jiggered its Final Cut video editing program to an easier to use prosumer program! in 2011..

The MacPro box.(Photo: Sean Fujiwara)

New Final Cut features were added to coincide with the release of the Mac Pro, most notably the ability to edit high resolution 4K video footage and export an uncompressed file for viewing directly onto one of those new, ultra HD 4K TVs. (Readers: the changes only work if you have Apple's latest operating system upgrade, Mavericks, which is available for free.)

In gearing up for the new Mac Pro, Apple says it designed the computer from the ground up, to take advantage of new technologies like 4K video.

The Mac Pro has an HDMI port on the back of the unit, but it's not the first Mac to have HDMI. Two MacBook laptops have them. But the Mac Pro/Final Cut combo is the only Mac solution to process uncompressed 4K footage and watch it that way on a TV monitor.

I don't have 4K footage lying around, but I did try several exercises suggested by Apple with Final Cut -- basically stuffing tons of clips and graphics on the video timeline to see if the computer could process and play them without hiccups. Mission accomplished. Consider me very impressed.

Additionally, Apple made another seemingly minor, but major change in Final Cut, introducing "Libraries," that house your work project instead of the previous Event/Project duo. Now, editors can hand off their projects and work side by side with them on multiple computers.

For a company that has always been favored by creative pros, Apple needed this new super Mac Pro badly. The company has for the first time been getting serious competition from the Windows world, which started to make inroads with creative pros looking for stronger computers to process complicated animation and 3D productions.

Apple produced a real winner with the Mac Pr! o, which, ! let's face it, is the first seriously innovative product to come from the Apple shop since the launch of the iPad in 2010. (Everything else has been marginal upgrades of previously released products.)

Could this mean the beginning of more innovation in 2014? Let's hope so.

Readers: will you be trading in your iMacs for MacPros? Let's discuss it on Twitter, where I'm @jeffersongraham.

What the Red Sox World Series run can teach inv…

The Boston Red Sox pulled off one of the most remarkable turnarounds in major league baseball history in 2013. For the first time in franchise history, they went from last to first, and are now just two games from winning the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

I watched dozens of Red Sox games this year, and have been following the team since 1967 – when coincidentally, they also played the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. The most striking thing about the turnaround this year is that it was pretty simple, and didn't require as many drastic changes as many people think. In a nutshell, here's how they did it:

• Core players were able to avoid injuries.

• The starting pitching didn't suck.

• Koji Uehara – our closer had one of the finest seasons ever for a reliever.

You'll note that there's no mention of beards or grizzled-veteran leadership or any other intangible factor. That's not to say the intangibles weren't important, but the list above was primary.

Jonah Keri, who writes for Grantland, came to a similar conclusion about the Red Sox this year. After looking at all of the data, he concluded that the Red Sox in 2013 were always a good team, but "it was just really tough to see for a while." This might not be a very profound observation, but it's potentially an invaluable insight for investors.

2013 vs. 2012: by the numbers

It's easy to see how the Red Sox did it when you consider some of the basic numbers.

The Sox won 28 more games in 2013 than they did in 2012, and their run differential (runs scored minus runs allowed) was a major league best 197. Perhaps most importantly, the team's ERA was almost a full run better in 2013.

It's tempting to explain this amazing turnaround by focusing on the decision to get rid of big names like Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, and Adrian Gonzalez, while bringing in team players like Shane Victorino and Mike Napoli. But the bigger reason for the Sox's success was that the traditiona! l core – David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, and Jacoby Ellsbury -- was healthy.

As Keri notes in his Grantland piece, Ortiz only played in 90 games in 2012, while Ellsbury only played in 88. Pedroia played in 141 games, but was essentially muscling through with a badly injured thumb. Just having all three back in the lineup for most of the season made a huge difference in 2013.

On the starting pitching front, something similar happened. Our two top pitchers – Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz – had a combined 20 wins and 22 losses in 2012 with ERAs of 4.82 and 4.56, respectively. In 2013, they were a combined 27 and 9 with ERAs of 3.75 and 1.74, respectively. What happened? They, um, pitched better.

The final piece of the turnaround was a bit unlikely. The Japanese setup man Koji Uehara was thrown into the closer job early in the season, and then something crazy happened. He had one of the finest seasons ever for a reliever. That was a huge piece of the puzzle, and signing him to a contract was an inspired decision by the Red Sox management team.

Top 5 Asian Stocks To Buy Right Now

Lessons for investors

So what does all of this mean for investors?

Let's stop and think about what happened to the Red Sox over the past couple years. In the last month of the 2011 season, the Sox lost 20 out of their final 27 games, and missed the playoffs after losing the last game of the season. Then in 2012, they had their worst season since 1965. Entering the 2013 season, the odds of them making the World Series were 28 to 1.

And yet, the team still had their core talent pretty much in place. Things looked bad for the Red Sox, but the team was much, much better than everyone thought. That's precisely the type of situation investors should be looking for.

In the investing world, a similar example might be Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX ) . In the summer of 2011, the company's share price had soar! ed to $30! 0 per share. But then, after some missteps by management and a realization by investors that the pivot to streaming video would be harder than expected, the share price plunged dramatically.

Of course, now we know that the market was confused about Netflix's future. As of today, the share price is back over $300 per share. For those lucky investors who bought shares in the summer of 2012, they now have a five-bagger. Ironically, Netflix's recent turnaround from 2011 through 2013 sort of parallels that of the Red Sox.

We now know that Netflix, after its shares cratered in 2011, represented a great opportunity for investors. The company still had enormous talent and its culture remained second to none. The demand for its offerings was still huge, and the company had a proven history of evolving and overcoming competitive threats. Given all of that, my colleague David Meier and I thought it was worth making a small investment in Netflix back July, 2012. It was still a great company – it was just cheaper than it had been before.

The Astros are another story altogether

Not all turnarounds are simple or successful, of course. J.C. Penney, for example, brought in former Apple superstar Ron Johnson, and things got even worse. The new strategy was probably too ambitious, and the company lost almost a billion dollars. Perhaps the challenge facing the company was too difficult.

The same is true in sports. Some teams, like the Houston Astros, have just too many problems, and are unlikely to go from last to first in just one season. The key to spotting turnarounds in baseball and investing is to find talented organizations that have somehow stumbled, despite retaining all of their previous advantages. This formula appears to be particularly promising, though it's unrealistic to expect five-baggers or World Series championships on a regular basis.

The Motley Fool is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news, analysis and commentary designed to help people take control o! f their f! inancial lives. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

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Best Stocks To Watch Right Now

U.S. stocks fluctuated, after the Standard & Poor�� 500 Index climbed to a record this week, as investors watched speeches from Federal Reserve policy makers for clues on when the central bank may scale back stimulus.

AK Steel Holding Corp. (AKS) plunged 8.6 percent, leading losses among steelmakers, after predicting a third-quarter loss. Rockwell Collins Inc. fell 4.9 percent after its projection missed analysts��estimates. Darden Restaurants Inc. dropped 5.5 percent after earnings trailed forecast. Apple Inc. rose 0.8 percent as its iPhone 5s and 5c handsets go on sale today.

The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1 percent to 1,721.90 at 10:51 a.m. in New York after earlier rising as much as 0.2 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 15.78 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,620.77.

��t�� probably a little confusing to the market what�� coming out of the Fed,��John Kvantas, a San Antonio, Texas-based executive director who helps manage more than $16 billion at USAA Investments, said in a phone interview. ��aybe the Fed is trying to send a message that ��eah we didn�� taper, but it doesn�� mean we will never taper and maybe actually will taper still quite soon.���

Top Restaurant Stocks To Buy For 2015: Lancaster Colony Corporation(LANC)

Lancaster Colony Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of consumer products focusing primarily on specialty foods for the retail and foodservice markets in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Specialty Foods, and Glassware and Candles. The Specialty Foods segment produces and sells food products, including salad dressings and sauces under the Marzetti, T. Marzetti, Cardini?s, Pfeiffer, and Girard?s brands; fruit glazes, vegetable dips, and fruit dips under T. Marzetti brand; Greek yogurt vegetable dips under the Otria brand; frozen breads under New York BRAND and Mamma Bella brands; frozen Parkerhouse style yeast dinner rolls and sweet rolls, as well as biscuits, under the Sister Schubert?s, Marshall?s, and Mary B?s brands; premium dry egg noodles under the Inn Maid and Amish Kitchen brands; frozen specialty noodles and pastas under the Reames and Aunt Vi?s brands; croutons and related products under the New York BRAND, Texas Toast , Chatham Village, Cardini?s, and T. Marzetti brands; and caviar under the Romanoff brand. This segment markets its products through sales personnel, food brokers, and distributors to retail, club store, foodservice, and industrial markets. The Glassware and Candles segment produces and markets candles, candle accessories, and other home fragrance products in various sizes, forms, and fragrance in retail markets to mass merchants, supermarkets, drug stores, and specialty shops under the Candle-lite brand name. This segment also sells candles, glassware, and various other products to customers in commercial markets, including restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and schools. The company was founded in 1961 and is based in Columbus, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Specialty-foods maker�Lancaster Colony� (NASDAQ: LANC  ) �announced yesterday�its second-quarter dividend of $0.40 per share, a 5% increase over the $0.38 per share payout it's made the last two quarters. It marks the 200th consecutive dividend payment it has made putting it in elite company, as only 16 other companies have�increased its regular cash dividend each year for 50 consecutive years.

Best Stocks To Watch Right Now: IMS Health Holdings Inc (IMS)

IMS Health Holdings, Inc., incorporated on October 23, 2009, is a global information and technology services company providing clients in the healthcare industry with comprehensive solutions to measure and improve their performance. It has collections of healthcare information in the world, spanning sales, prescription and promotional data, medical claims, electronic medical records and social media. Its scaled and data set, containing over 10 petabytes of data, includes over 85% of the world�� prescriptions by sales revenue and approximately 400 million comprehensive, longitudinal, anonymous patient records. It serves healthcare organizations and decision makers around the world, spanning the breadth of life science companies, including pharmaceutical, biotechnology, consumer health and medical device manufacturers, as well as distributors, providers, payers, government agencies, policymakers, researchers and the financial community.

The Company uses healthcare-specific global information technology (IT) infrastructure to process data from over 45 billion healthcare transactions annually and to collect data from over 780,000 fragmented feeds globally, which it organize in a structured fashion using methodologies. Its intelligent cloud, IMS One opens its global IT infrastructure to its clients and provides the ability to perform business analytics in the cloud with large amounts of complex data. Its principal offerings include National information offerings; Sub-national information offerings; Commercial services; Real-World Evidence (RWE) solutions; Commercial technology solutions, and Clinical solutions.

The Company�� national offerings includes services in more than 70 countries that provide consistent country level performance metrics related to sales of pharmaceutical products, prescribing trends, medical treatment and promotional activity across multiple channels including retail, hospital and mail order. Its sub-national offerings includes services in more than 50 ! countries that provide a consistent measurement of sales or prescribing activity at the regional, zip code and individual prescriber level. The Company provides a set of strategic, analytic and support services to help the commercial operations of life sciences companies transform their commercial models. It integrate information from medical claims, prescriptions, electronic medical records, biomarkers and government statistics into anonymous, longitudinal patient journeys that provide detailed views of treatment patterns, disease progression, therapeutic switching and concomitant diseases and treatments.

The Company provides a range of hosted and cloud-based applications and associated implementation services. The applications, hosted on IMS One, support a range of commercial processes including multi-channel marketing, customer relationship management (CRM), performance management, incentive compensation, territory alignment, roster management and call planning. It helps life sciences companies design and execute clinical trials, and for payers and providers, it enables risk-sharing, pay-for-performance and population health management.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  Now then, as much as we like several companies in this space, we think investors would do well to take a close look at IMS Health Holdings Inc. (NYSE: IMS).

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  IMS Health Holdings (NYSE: IMS) shares were also up, gaining 17.40 percent to $23.45 in their debut on the NYSE.

  Equities Trading DOWN
  Shares of Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: HALO) were down 25.40 percent to $8.65 after the company announced the temporary halt of Phase 2 trial enrollment.

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  After pricing its IPO at $20, shares of IMS Health (NYSE: IMS) began trading for the first time at $22.18, traded as high as $23.69 before closing the day at $23.00, up 15.00 percent.

Best Stocks To Watch Right Now: Casella Waste Systems Inc (CWST)

Casella Waste Systems, Inc., incorporated on March 1, 1993, is a vertically integrated solid waste, recycling, and resource management services company. The Company provide resource management and services to residential, commercial, municipal, and industrial customers, primarily in the areas of solid waste collection, transfer, disposal, recycling, and organics services. The Company operates in Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts, Maine, and Pennsylvania. As of May 31, 2013, the Company owned and/or operated 35 solid waste collection operations, 38 transfer stations, 16 recycling facilities, nine Subtitle D landfills, four landfill gas-to-energy facilities, one landfill permitted to accept construction and demolition, or C&D, materials.

The Company manages its solid waste operations on a geographic basis through two regional operating segments: the Eastern and Western regions, each of which includes a range of solid waste services, and its larger-scale recycling operations and commodity brokerage operations through its Recycling segment.

Solid Waste Operations

The Company solid waste operations consists a range of non-hazardous solid waste services, including collections, transfer stations, material recovery facility ( MRFs) and disposal facilities. A majority of its commercial and industrial collection services are performed under one to three-year service agreements, with prices and fees determined by such factors as collection frequency, type of equipment and containers furnished, type, volume and weight of solid waste collected, distance to the disposal or processing facility and cost of disposal or processing. Its residential collection and disposal services are performed either on a subscription basis. The Company transfer stations receive, compact and transfer solid waste collected primarily by various collection operations, for transport to disposal facilities by larger vehicles.

The Company�� MRFs, receive, sort, bale and res! ell recyclable materials originating from the municipal solid waste stream, including newsprint, cardboard, office paper, containers and bottles. The Company operates six MRFs in geographic areas served by its collection divisions. Revenues are received from municipalities and customers in the form of processing fees, tipping fees and commodity sales. The Company's MRFs, two of which are located in Vermont, two in Massachusetts and two in New York, are large-scale, high-volume facilities that process over 0.4 million tons per year of recycled materials delivered to them by municipalities and commercial customers under long-term contracts. The Company also operates MRFs as an integral part of its core solid waste operations, which generally process recyclables collected from its various residential collection operations.

Eastern region

The Eastern region consists of wastesheds located in Maine, southern and central New Hampshire and central and eastern Massachusetts. The Eastern region is vertically integrated, with transfer, landfill, organics and processing and recycling assets serviced by its collection operations. In February 2013, the Company aligned management of the NCES landfill with the Eastern region. NCES had been historically aligned with the Western region. In December, 2012 the Company acquired BBI Waste Services (BBI), which gave the Company additional hauling and transfer capacity in southern Maine.

Western region

The Western region includes wastesheds located in Vermont, north and south western New Hampshire and eastern New York that were previously included in the eliminated Central region. The portion of New York served by the Western region includes Clinton (operation of the Clinton County landfill), Franklin, Essex, Warren, Washington, Saratoga, Rennselaer and Albany counties. The Western region also consists of wastesheds in upstate New York (which includes Ithaca, Elmira, Oneonta, Lowville, Potsdam, Geneva, Auburn, Dunkirk, Jame! stown and! Olean). Its collection operations include leadership positions in nearly every rural market outside of the larger metropolitan markets, such as Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo and Albany.

Recycling

Recycling is the processors and marketers of recycled materials in the eastern United States, consists six MRFs that process and then market recyclable materials that municipalities and commercial customers deliver to them under long-term contracts. Three of the 6 MRFs are leased, the other three are owned. During fiscal year ended April 30, 2013, Recycling segment processed and/or marketed approximately 0.5 million tons of recyclable materials including tons marketed through the Company's commodity brokerage operation. Recycling facilities are located in Vermont, New York and Massachusetts.

The Company competes with Waste Management, Inc, Republic Services, Inc, Waste Connections, Inc., Owens Corning, CertainTeed Corporation and Johns Manville.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James Miller Phd]

  As we can see, the firm has a higher ROE than it peers: Sharps Compliance, Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (CWST), Donaldson Company, Inc. (DCI) and GSE Holding Inc. (GSEH).

Best Stocks To Watch Right Now: Fidelity National Information Services Inc (FIS)

Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (FIS), incorporated on March 2, 2001, is a global provider of banking and payments technologies. The Company operates in four segments: Financial Solutions Group (FSG), Payment Solutions Group (PSG), International Solutions Group (ISG) and Corporate and Other Segment. The Company is engaged in payment processing and banking solutions, providing software, services and outsourcing of the technology. The Company offers financial institution core processing, card issuer and transaction processing services, including the NYCE Network, a national electronic funds transfer (EFT) network. FIS serves more than 14,000 institutions in over 100 countries. In February 2011, FIS acquired GIFTS Software, Inc., a provider of integrated funds transfer, Web-based cash management systems and anti-money laundering (AML) solutions. In April 2012, it acquired ICS Risk Advisors and Memento, Inc. In August 2012, the Company completed the sale of its Healthcare Solutions business to an investment fund affiliated with Lightyear Capital LLC. In March 2013, it announced the acquisition of mFoundry.

Financial Solutions Group

FSG is to provide the software and services for the core processing, customer channel, treasury, cash management, wealth management and capital market operations of its financial institution customers in North America. The Company services the core and related ancillary processing needs of North American banks, credit unions, automotive financial companies, commercial lenders, and independent community and savings institutions. FIS offers a selection of in-house and outsourced solutions to banking customers that span the range of asset sizes. Its solutions in this segment include Core Processing and Ancillary Applications, Channel Solutions, Decision and Risk Management Solutions, Syndicated Loan Applications, Global Commercial Services and Strategic Consulting Services.

The Company�� processing software applications are de! signed to run banking processes for its financial institution clients, including deposit and lending systems, customer management, and other central management systems. The Company also offers a number of services that are ancillary to the primary applications listed above, including branch automation, back office support systems and compliance support. In addition, its wealth management services offer a set of Internet-enabled services to financial services providers that address the specific needs of markets, as well as commercial clients. These solutions address asset and liability aggregation, trust and investment account management, client and regulatory reporting, and employee retirement benefit services. The Company also offers an application suite that assists automotive finance institutions in evaluating loan applications and credit risk, and allows automotive finance institutions to manage their loan and lease portfolios.

The Company�� suite of retail delivery applications enables financial institutions to integrate customer-facing operations and back-office processes, thereby improving customer interaction across all channels (branch offices, Internet, automated teller machine (ATM), call centers). Its Consumer Electronic Banking and Business Internet Banking both provide a set of cash management capabilities, enabling customers to manage banking and payments through the Internet, mobile devices, accounting software and telephone. Corporate Electronic Banking solutions provide commercial treasury capabilities, including cash management services and multi-bank collection and disbursement services that address the specialized needs of corporate customers. FIS systems provide accounting and reconciliation for such transactions, serving as the system of record and providing regulatory compliance, risk assessment and fraud management tools.

The Company�� decision solutions offers a spectrum of options that cover the account lifecycle from helping to identify qualified! account ! applicants to managing mature customer accounts and fraud. Its applications include know-your-customer, new account decisioning, new account opening, account and transaction management, fraud management and collections. Its risk management services utilize its risk management models and data sources to assist in detecting fraud and assessing the risk of opening a new account or accepting a check at either the point-of-sale, a physical branch location, or through the Internet. Its systems utilize a combination of advanced authentication procedures, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence modeling and shared databases to assess and detect fraud risk for deposit transactions for financial institutions.

The Company�� syndicated loan applications are designed to support wholesale and commercial banking requirements necessary for all aspects of syndicated commercial loan origination and management. Its global commercial services include solutions, both onshore and offshore, designed to meet the technology challenges facing principally Unites States based clients, large or small. Its technology solutions range in scope from consulting engagements to application development projects and from operations support for a single application to management of information technology infrastructures. The Company also provides outsourcing teams todeliver customer service. With the The Capital Markets Company NV (Capco) acquisition, it provides integrated consulting, technology and transformation services. Capco specializes in banking; capital markets; wealth and investment management; finance, risk and compliance, and technology. Capco's North American operations are included in FSG.

Payment Solutions Group

PSG provides a set of software and services for the EFT, card processing, item processing, bill payment, and government and healthcare payments processing needs of its customers in North America. PSG is focused on servicing the payment and electronic funds transfer needs o! f North A! merican headquartered banks and credit unions, commercial lenders, independent community and savings institutions and healthcare and government institutions. Its solutions in this segment include Electronic Funds Transfer, Item Processing and Output Services, Credit Card Solutions, Government and Healthcare Payments Solutions, ePayment Solutions and Check Authorization.

The Company�� electronic funds transfer and debit card processing businesses offer settlement and card management solutions for financial institution card issuers. It provides traditional ATM- and personal identification number (PIN)-based debit network access and emerging real-time payment alternatives through NYCE. It is also a provider of prepaid card services, which include gift cards and reloadable cards, with end-to-end solutions for development, processing and administration of stored-value programs.

The Company�� item processing services furnish financial institutions with the equipment needed to capture data from checks, transaction tickets and other items; image and sort items; process exceptions through keying, and perform balancing, archiving and the production of statements. Its item processing services are utilized by more than 1,500 financial institutions. Its solutions include distributed ( non-centralized) data capture, check and remittance processing, fraud detection, and document and report management. Its Endpoint Exchange Network enables United States financial institutions to clear their check-based transactions by allowing for the exchange of check images between member institutions. The Company offers a number of output services that are ancillary to the primary solutions it provide, including print and mail capabilities and card personalization fulfillment services. Its CSF Designer document composition software is used by many clients in various industries to furnish printed or electronically produced invoices and statements for customized customer communication. Its print and mail! services! offers computer output solutions for the creation, management and delivery of print and fulfillment needs. The Company provides its card personalization fulfillment services for branded credit cards and branded and non-branded debit and prepaid cards. More than 5,200 financial institutions utilize a combination of its technology and/or services to issue VISA, MasterCard or American Express branded credit and debit cards or other electronic payment cards for use by both consumer and business accounts. Its services range from card production and activation to a range of fraud management services to value-added loyalty programs designed to increase card usage and fee-based revenues.

FIS healthcare payments solutions facilitate the exchange of information and funds among patients, payers, providers and financial institutions. With Web-enabled tools, a Health Savings Account (HSA) platform, multi-purse benefit debit cards that cover multiple spending accounts with a single card and combined eligibility/payment cards, FIS enables consumers and third-party benefits administrators to have integrated benefit account management of HSAs, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), Health Reimbursement Agreements (HRA) and dependent care and transportation accounts. It also provides customized electronic service applications for government agencies, including Internal Revenue Service (IRS) payment services. It also facilitates the collection of state income taxes, real estate taxes, utility bills, vehicle registration fees, driver�� license renewal fees, parking tickets, traffic citations, tuition payments, court fees and fines, hunting and fishing license fees, as well as various business licenses.

The Company provides bill publishing and bill consolidation technology for its customers, generating millions of monthly bills and servicing both billers and financial institution customers. Online bill payment functionality includes credit and debit card-based expedited payments. Its end-to-end prese! ntment an! d payment solution provides an all-in-one solution to meet billers��needs for the distribution and collection of bills and other customer documents. FIS also provides automated clearing house (ACH) processing. Its check authorization business provides check risk management and related services to businesses accepting or cashing checks. Its services assess the likelihood (and often provide a guarantee) that a check will clear.

International Solutions Group

The Company provides core banking applications, channel solutions, card and merchant services, item processing and check risk management solutions to financial institutions, card issuers and retailers. Its international operations leverage existing applications and provide services for the specific business needs of its customers in targeted international markets. Services are delivered from 28 operations centers around the world. Its payment solutions services include outsourced card-issuer services and customer support, payment processing and switching services, prepaid and debit card processing, item processing, software licensing and maintenance, outsourced ATM management and retail point-of-sale check warranty services. Its financial solutions services include fully outsourced core bank processing arrangements, application management, software licensing and maintenance, facilities management and consulting services, including Capco's international operations.

Corporate and Other Segment

The Corporate and Other segment consists of the corporate overhead costs that are not allocated to operating segments. These include costs related to human resources, finance, legal, accounting, domestic sales and marketing, merger and acquisition activity and amortization of acquisition-related intangibles and other costs that are not considered when management evaluates operating segment performance.

The Company competes with Fiserv, Inc., Jack Henry and Associates, Inc., Open Solutions, Inc., In! ternation! al Business Machines Corporation (IBM), Accenture Ltd., Alliance Data Systems Corporation, DST Systems, Harland Financial Solutions, Inc., SEI Investments Company, S1Corporation, SunGard Data Systems, Inc., Alnova Technologies Corporation, Oracle Financial Services Software Limited, Misys plc, Infosys Technologies Limited, Temenos Group AG, MasterCard Incorporated, Visa Inc., First Data Corporation, Total System Services, Inc., HP Enterprise Services, Payment Systems for Credit Unions (PSCU), Heartland Payments Systems, Inc. and Global Payments, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Banking and payments services and support company Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) raised its quarterly dividend 9% to 24 cents per share, payable on Mar. 31 to shareholders of record as of Mar. 17.
  FIS Dividend Yield: 1.90%

Best Stocks To Watch Right Now: MedAssets Inc.(MDAS)

MedAssets, Inc. provides technology enabled products and services for hospitals, health systems, and other non-acute healthcare providers in the United States. It operates in two segments, Spend and Clinical Resource Management, and Revenue Cycle Management. The Spend and Clinical Resource Management offers a suite of cost management services, supply chain analytics, and data capabilities; medical device and clinical resource consulting, which includes implantable physician preference items, utilization management, and service line consulting; supply chain outsourcing and procurement services; capital equipment lifecycle management; lean process and workforce optimization solutions; process improvement consulting; business intelligence tools; and performance analytics and data management tools, such as service line analytics, spend analytics and strategic information services, e-commerce, client master item file services, electronic contract portfolio catalog, and decision support services. The Revenue Cycle Management segment provides a suite of products and services spanning the revenue cycle workflow from patient access and financial responsibility; case management, coding, and documentation; charge capture and revenue integrity; strategic pricing; claims processing; denials management and reimbursement integrity; revenue cycle and supply chain integration; revenue recovery and accounts receivable management; and outsourced services. It delivers technology-enabled solutions primarily through the company-hosted software, software-as-a-service, or Web-based applications. As of December 31, 2011, the company served approximately 4,200 acute care hospitals and 100,000 ancillary or non-acute provider locations. MedAssets, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Javier Hasse, Insider Monkey]

  Fundamentally, ADT looks appealing. Its stock trades at 16.5 times the company�� earnings, versus an industry average of 29.4x, while it boasts industry leading margins and above average returns on equity and assets. However, above-average debt levels are concerning, so its financial standing must be further analyzed.

  MedAssets (MDAS)

  The second company in this list is MedAssets (MDAS), a $1.37 billion market cap provider of technology-enabled products and services.

Top 5 Valued Stocks To Watch Right Now

It's official: Warren Buffett is the new Master of Ketchup. In a special meeting convened for the purpose, H.J. Heinz (NYSE: HNZ  ) stockholders today voted overwhelmingly in favor of being acquired by a consortium led by the veteran investor�Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A  ) (NYSE: BRK-B  ) . Roughly 95% of the votes, representing around 60% of Heinz's outstanding stock, were in support of the buyout.

The deal was announced this past February. Berkshire Hathaway, in collaboration with an investment fund associated with 3G Capital, will purchase the condiments maker for a transaction valued at $28 billion. This amount includes the assumption of Heinz's debt. Heinz shareholders will receive $72.50 in cash per share in the transaction.

The deal is expected to close in either Q2 or Q3 of this calendar year. It is subject to customary closing conditions and approval from the relevant regulatory bodies.

Top 10 Chemical Stocks For 2015: Schlumberger N.V.(SLB)

Schlumberger Limited, together with its subsidiaries, supplies technology, integrated project management, and information solutions to the oil and gas exploration and production industries worldwide. The company?s Oilfield Services segment provides exploration and production services; wireline technology that offers open-hole and cased-hole services; supplies engineering support, directional-drilling, measurement-while-drilling, and logging-while-drilling services; and testing services. This segment also offers well services; supplies well completion services and equipment; artificial lift; data and consulting services; geo services; and information solutions, such as consulting, software, information management system, and IT infrastructure services that support oil and gas industry. Its WesternGeco segment provides reservoir imaging, monitoring, and development services; and operates data processing centers and multiclient seismic library. This segment also offers variou s services include 3D and time-lapse (4D) seismic surveys to multi-component surveys for delineating prospects and reservoir management. The company?s M-I SWACO segment supplies drilling fluid systems to improve drilling performance; fluid systems and specialty tools to optimize wellbore productivity; production technology solutions to maximize production rates; and environmental solutions that manages waste volumes generated in drilling and production operations. Its Smith Oilfield segment designs, manufactures, and markets drill bits and borehole enlargement tools; and supplies drilling tools and services, tubular, completion services, and other related downhole solutions. The company?s Distribution segment markets pipes, valves, and fittings, as well as mill, safety, and other maintenance products. This segment also provides warehouse management, vendor integration, and inventory management services. Schlumberger Limited was founded in 1927 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Fede Zaldua]

  Halliburton now trades at 11.7 times 2014 earnings and 5.9 times EV/EBITDA. One of its closer competitors in the oil and gas services industry, Schlumberger (SLB) sells for 15.1 times 2014 earnings and 8.6 EV/EBITDA. Its true that Halliburton's third quarter did not impress investors at all. As a matter of fact, the stock reacted negatively when results were released despite the small EPS beat the company achieved ��$0.83 versus $0.82 analysts were expecting. The stock's reaction was related to lower than expected growth (above all in Latin America) and smaller than expected margins in North America. That said, I believe those issues ��slower growth and declining margins ��were given by temporary issues such as the flooding in Colorado which is not an operational issue but a weather-related issue. Once again, I agree with Soros. Halliburton should continue outperfoming and beating its self-imposed targets.
  
  Currently 0.00/512345

  Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes)

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  Schlumberger NV (SLB)

  Manning & Napier Advisors��largest position is in Schlumberger where they maintain 8,882,428 shares. Their position in Schlumberger represents 3.6% of their total portfolio and 0.67% of the company�� shares outstanding. During the first quarter the fund made a reduction of -3.32% by selling 305,133 shares of the company�� stock. They sold these shares in the first quarter price range of $86.16 to $97.96, with an estimated quarterly price of $90.27. Since then the price per share is up approximately 13.1%. Manning & Napier�� historical holding history:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  We see several potential sources of continued activity as: (i) Schlumberger (SLB) may look to recapture #1 spot in revenues if Halliburton/Baker Hughes do merge; (ii) Halliburton/Baker Hughes may look to plug their seismic service gap (seismic has been the worst-performing industry sub-segment this year); (iii) Halliburton/Baker Hughes may be forced to divest US assets in order to pass antitrust review. Other potential buyers could include oilfield pure-plays, which may be looking to shift exposure away from offshore rigs and more towards completion/production technologies, or large diversified industrials seeking to capitalize on their strong relative share price performance vs. the energy industry.

Top 5 Valued Stocks To Watch Right Now: Caterpillar Inc.(CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives worldwide. It operates through three lines of businesses: Machinery, Engines, and Financial Products. The Machinery business offers construction, mining, and forestry machinery, including track and wheel tractors, track and wheel loaders, pipelayers, motor graders, wheel tractor-scrapers, track and wheel excavators, backhoe loaders, log skidders, log loaders, off-highway trucks, articulated trucks, paving products, skid steer loaders, underground mining equipment, tunnel boring equipment, and related parts. It also manufactures diesel-electric locomotives; and manufactures and services rail-related products and logistics services for other companies. The Engines business provides diesel, heavy fuel, and natural gas reciprocating engines for Caterpillar machinery, electric power generation systems, marine, petrol eum, construction, industrial, agricultural, and other applications. It offers industrial turbines and turbine-related services for oil and gas, and power generation applications. This business also remanufactures Caterpillar engines, machines, and engine components; and offers remanufacturing services for other companies. The Financial Products business provides retail and wholesale financing alternatives for Caterpillar machinery and engines, solar gas turbines, and other equipment and marine vessels, as well as offers loans and various forms of insurance to customers and dealers. It also offers financing for vehicles, power generation facilities, and marine vessels. The company markets its products directly, as well as through its distribution centers, dealers, and distributors. It was formerly known as Caterpillar Tractor Co. and changed its name to Caterpillar Inc. in 1986. Caterpillar Inc. was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  )
  Let's talk construction equipment. Caterpillar is the major player in construction and mining equipment. From backhoes to excavators, Caterpillar is responsible for a lot of moving ground.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  For one day at least, this CAT is not a dog.

  Caterpillar (CAT) has gained 2% to $86.22 today, its largest gain since in a month and the largest gain among the Dow components. The machinery manufacturer has dropped 11% during the past six months, however, as a slowdown in China and cost-cutting at mining companies have hit its shares.

  Bloomberg

  Susquehanna’s Ted Grace offers reasons for optimism, even as he lowers his 12-month price target to $97 from $104:

  CAT remains Positive rated with 15% upside to our $97 price target and upside-downside of 1.2-to-1 (which, like most of our machinery names, is admittedly shy of the 2-to-1 or better ratio we prefer). Despite our 2014-15 EPS being ~6% below consensus, we view our updated estimates as closer to buyside expectations while noting that consensus appears to embed a low tax rate that explains over half of the variance. While there remains plenty of uncertainty on 2014/15, particularly in mining, we believe CAT shares currently discount reasonable top-line expectations while recent meetings with mgmt suggest potential for structural cost savings that could drive better than expected margins/ incrementals. While difficult to identify discernible catalysts, if CAT’s framework for flat-to-better RI revenue growth in 2014 proves correct (admittedly not assumed in our estimates), this would almost certainly debunk the core of the bear thesis and be meaningfully positive for shares.

  Investors waiting for the stock to actually, you know, rise can take comfort in Caterpillar’s $2.40 dividend per share and its more than $3 per share in buybacks in 2013, Grace says.

  Caterpillar’s 2% gain has trumped the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s 0.04% rise, and United Technology’s (UTX) 0.1% drop, while competitor Deere (DE) has gained 1.9% to $83.22.

Top 5 Valued Stocks To Watch Right Now: Dollar Tree Inc.(DLTR)

Dollar Tree, Inc. operates discount variety stores in the United States and Canada. Its stores offer merchandise primarily at the fixed price of $1.00. The company operates its stores under the names of Dollar Tree, Deal$, Dollar Tree Deal$, Dollar Giant, and Dollar Bills. Its stores offer consumable merchandise, including candy and food, and health and beauty care, as well as household consumables, such as paper, plastics, household chemicals, in select stores, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise, which includes toys, durable housewares, gifts, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, and other items; and seasonal goods, such as Easter, Halloween, and Christmas merchandise. As of April 30, 2011, it operated 4,089 stores in 48 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 88 stores in Canada. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brendan Byrnes]

  Brendan: Not a problem at all. What about the surprising amount of dollar-store companies that are public? You have Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO  ) , Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR  ) , Dollar General (NYSE: DG  ) . You mention, in particular, Family Dollar, which is the lowest market cap out of all of those, as doing the best, an exceptional company. Why?

• [By Steven Russolillo]

  WATCH FOR:�Weekly Jobless Claims (8:30 a.m. Eastern Time): seen 310K; previously 297K. May Markit “Flash” PMI (9:45). April Existing Home Sales (10:00): seen +2.0% at 2.68M; previously -0.2% at 4.59M. April Leading Index (10:00): seen +0.5%; previously +0.8%. May Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Survey (11:00): seen 8; previously 7. Aeropostale, Best Buy(BBY), Borcade, Buckle, Dollar Tree(DLTR), GameStop(GME), Gap(GPS), Hewlett-Packard(HPQ), Marvell Tech(MRVL), Mentor Graphics(MENT), Ross Stores(ROST) and TiVo are among companies scheduled to report quarterly results.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Richard Levine/Alamy These aren't the best of times for discount retailers, but it certainly seems as if Family Dollar (FDO) has become the belle of the marked-down ball. Two chains catering to thrifty-minded shoppers have entered into an unlikely bidding war for Family Dollar, and it's shaping up to be a bit more interesting than your typical love triangle between three retailers with the name "Dollar" in their monikers. The story began late last month when Family Dollar announced that it would be acquired by Dollar Tree (DLTR) in an $8.5 billion transaction. It seemed like a simple enough transaction. Dollar Tree would be paying a reasonable 22 percent premium for Family Dollar. The deal would create a discounting behemoth with 13,000 stores across North America. The combined companies would eventually result in trimming $300 million in annual overhead. It seemed like a great way out for frustrated Family Dollar shareholders. The deep discounter had missed Wall Street's profit targets for three consecutive quarters. Analysts see declining profitability on flat sales for its fiscal year that ends this week. It seemed as if Dollar Tree would have Family Dollar all to itself, but then it got some unexpected company. Turning Down a Fistful of Dollars Dollar General (DG) stepped into the picture last week, offering to pay even more for Family Dollar. It offered an all-cash deal valued closer to $9 billion. The deal seemed to be clearly superior on the surface, but Family Dollar's board shot it down. This wouldn't be the first time that a board sided with a friendly buyout offer to a higher hostile one. Arranged deals often mean cushier positions for the acquired company. However, there was a method to the board's madness this time. Family Dollar declined Dollar General's offer because it felt that antitrust regulators wouldn't let that particular buyout go through. Dollar General rings up more than twice as much in sales as Dollar Tree. The bigger the riv

• [By ANUP SINGH]

  Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR  ) is among the most successful single-price-point retailers in the U.S. It operates more than 4,842 stores across 48 states in the U.S. and five Provinces in Canada. The chart below shows that the company has been performing consistently well over the past five years.

Top 5 Valued Stocks To Watch Right Now: Tupperware Corporation(TUP)

Tupperware Brands Corporation operates as a direct seller of various products across a range of brands and categories through an independent sales force. The company engages in the manufacture and sale of kitchen and home products, and beauty and personal care products. It offers preparation, storage, and serving solutions for the kitchen and home, as well as kitchen cookware and tools, children?s educational toys, microwave products, and gifts under the Tupperware brand name primarily in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific, and North America. The company provides beauty and personal care products, which include skin care products, cosmetics, bath and body care, toiletries, fragrances, nutritional products, apparel, and related products principally in Mexico, South Africa, the Philippines, Australia, and Uruguay. It offers beauty and personal care products under the Armand Dupree, Avroy Shlain, BeautiControl, Fuller, NaturCare, Nutrimetics, Nuvo, and Swissgar de brand names. The company sells its Tupperware products directly to distributors, directors, managers, and dealers; and beauty products primarily through consultants and directors. As of December 26, 2009, the Tupperware distribution system had approximately 1,800 distributors, 61,300 managers, and 1.3 million dealers; and the sales force representing the Beauty businesses approximately 1.1 million. The company was formerly known as Tupperware Corporation and changed its name to Tupperware Brands Corporation in December 2005. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Kell]

  Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Wednesday’s session are Dow Chemical Co.(DOW), Tupperware Brands Corp.(TUP) and Yahoo Inc.(YHOO)

• [By Teresa Rivas]

  We think KMB will be perceived as the safest of the multinationals. Its sales outside the US are about 55% of total; this compares to 65%-70% for Procter & Gamble (PG) and Coty (COTY) and 80%-90% for Colgate (CL), Avon and Tupperware (TUP). In general, its risk to the most volatile currencies is below average (its exposure to Eastern Europe is less than 2% of sales), though it is still translating results in Venezuela (about 3% of sales and profit) at the official rate of 6.3 VEF/$ (the parallel rate just hit 175 VEF/$) and Argentina (also 3% of sales) may devalue again. The cost of important raw materials has started to weaken; as they follow oil�� decline they could boost gross margins in 2H15. Of note, polypropylene and natural gas are off 17% 4Q-to-date; pulp prices, while not declining much, seem manageable.

• [By Oliver Pursche]

  European large-cap pharmaceuticals like Novartis (NVS) �and Bristol Meyers Squibb (BMY) �count amongst some of our favorite stocks right now, as do U.S. multinationals that are growing revenue and margins in Asia ��Tupperware (TUP) �is a shining example. Stay away from utilities and energy stocks, as they are likely to be the laggards over the next year.

Weekly Guru Bargains Highlights

According to GuruFocus updates, these stocks have declined the most since Gurus have bought.

Macromill (3730): Down 53% Since Matthews Japan Fund Bought In the Quarter Ended on 2013-06-30 Matthews Japan Fund initiated holdings in during the quarter ended June 30. His purchase prices were between $537 and $1670, with an estimated average price of $1268.42. Since then the prices of Macromill Inc shares have declined by -53% from the estimated average. Matthews Japan Fund owned 574,600 shares of Macromill Inc as of the close of the second quarter.

Security Bank Corp (SECB): Down 26% Since Wasatch International Growth Bought In the Second Quarter
Wasatch International Growth added to his holdings in by 67.98% during the quarter ended June 30. His purchase prices were between $140 and $202.2, with an estimated average price of $181.84. Since then the prices of Security Bank Corp shares have declined by -26% from the estimated average. Wasatch International Growth owned 3,107,353 shares of Security Bank Corp as of the second quarter.

Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, Inc. (POT): Down 21% Since Jean-Marie Eveillard Bought In the Quarter Ended on 2013-06-30 Jean-Marie Eveillard added to his holdings in Specialty Chemicals company Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan by 22.42% during the quarter ended June 30. His purchase prices were between $38.02 and $43.78, with an estimated average price of $40.86. Since then the prices of Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan shares have declined by -21% from the estimated average. Jean-Marie Eveillard owned 14,633,953 shares of Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan as of 2013Q2.

Potash Corporation Of Saskatchewan has a market cap of $27.97 billion; its shares were traded at around $32.24 with a P/E ratio of 12.47 and P/S ratio of 3.52. The dividend yield of Potash Corporation Of Saskatchewan stocks is 3.26%. Potash Corporation Of Saskatchewan had an annual average earnings growth of 34.3% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Potash Corporation ! Of Saskatchewan the business predictability rank of 3-star.

Jean-Marie Eveillard owns 14,633,953 shares as of 06/30/2013, an increase of 22.42% from the previous quarter. This position accounts for 1.7% of the $32.18 billion portfolio of First Eagle Investment Management, LLC.

Director or Senior Officer of Insider or Subsidiar Brent Heimann, bought 6,000 shares of POT stock on Aug. 6 at the average price of 28.95. Brent Heimann, owns at least 23,087 shares after this. The price of the stock has increased by 11.36% since.

Calpine Corp (CPN): Down 27% Since Matthews Pacific Tiger Fund Bought In the Quarter Ended on 2013-06-30 Matthews Pacific Tiger Fund added to his holdings in Electricity company Calpine Corp by 96.26% during the quarter ended June 30. His purchase prices were between $41 and $104, with an estimated average price of $65.7. Since then the prices of Central Pattana Public Company Limited shares have declined by -27% from the estimated average. Matthews Pacific Tiger Fund owned 130,207,600 shares of Central Pattana Public Company Limited as of the second quarter.

Calpine Corp has a market cap of $8.57 billion; its shares were traded at around $19.51 with a P/E ratio of 26.18 and P/S ratio of 1.45.

John Burbank owns 2,093,756 shares as of June 30, an increase of 65.39% from the previous quarter. This position accounts for 1.5% of the $3.04 billion portfolio of Passport Capital. Jean-Marie Eveillard owns 1,000 shares as of June 30, a decrease of 99.93% of from the previous quarter. This position accounts for 0.0001% of the $32.18 billion portfolio of First Eagle Investment Management, LLC.

Director David C Merritt bought 10,000 shares of CPN stock on Aug. 19 at the average price of 18.69. David C Merritt owns at least 36,375 shares after this. The price of the stock has increased by 4.39% since.

Daiken Medical Co., Ltd. (7775): Down 47% Since Matthews Japan Fund Bought In the Quarter Ended on 2013-06-30 Matthews Japan Fund initiated holdings in! Electric! ity company during the quarter ended June 30. His purchase prices were between $1558 and $4970, with an estimated average price of $3632.45. Since then the prices of Daiken Medical Ltd. shares have declined by -47% from the estimated average. Matthews Japan Fund owned 70,000 shares of Daiken Medical Co., Ltd. as of June 30.
Related links:Jean-Marie EveillardThe business predictability rank of 3-star

5 Best Defense Stocks To Own Right Now

The Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) finished the week on a losing note, falling 140 points on Friday and ending with a weekly loss of about a third of a percent. Along with the onslaught of earnings results announced today, many market commentators blamed the increasing chance of armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia as justifying the market's drop. But if that were the case, you'd expect to see defense stocks rise -- yet neither United Technologies (NYSE: UTX  ) nor Boeing (NYSE: BA  ) managed to gain ground on the day despite their defense-industry ties, and purer-play defense stocks also posted losses today. Why weren't defense stocks the right play for fears of war?

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The peace dividend and your investments
The problem with this line of thinking is that investors want the best of both worlds. On one hand, when it became clear that defense spending would be on a downward trajectory over the long run, Boeing and United Technologies did an especially good job of diversifying their businesses and emphasizing the non-defense areas of their respective conglomerates. Boeing, in particular, reemphasized the importance of its commercial aircraft division, spending billions on research and development in order to come out with new models of aircraft that were more fuel-efficient and represented good value for airlines seeking to update and expand their fleets. United Technologies has not only grown its own aerospace exposure accordingly in order to accommodate the rising demand for aircraft, but it also has continued looking to its Otis elevator division and its UTC Building & Industrial Systems business for growth in the commercial economy.

Top Telecom Stocks To Own Right Now: 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 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:

5 Best Defense Stocks To Own Right Now: Air Industries Group Inc (AIRI)

Air Industries Group, Inc. (AIRI), incorporated on January 13, 2006, is an aerospace and defense company. The Company designs and manufactures structural parts and assemblies that focus on flight safety, including landing gear, arresting gear, engine mounts, flight controls, throttle quadrants and other components. It also provides sheet metal fabrication of aerostructures, tube bending and welding services. AIRI�� products are deployed on a range of military and commercial aircraft, including Sikorsky's UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter, Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Northrop Grumman's E2D Hawkeye, Boeing's 777, Airbus' 380 commercial airliners, and the US Navy F-18 and USAF F-16 fighter aircraft. On July 1, 2013, Air Industries Group Inc announced that it has acquired certain assets and the business of Decimal Industries (Decimal) of Copiague, Long Island, New York. On June 20, 2012, the Company, through a newly created subsidiary, Nassau Tool Works, Inc. (NTW), acquired from an unrelated company formerly known as Nassau Tool Works, Inc. (Old Nassau Tool) and its shareholders (the NTW Sellers) all of the assets of Old Nassau Tool. In November 2013, the Company announced that it has acquired Miller Stuart Inc of Hauppauge, Long Island, New York.

Air Industries Machining Corp.

AIM manufactures aircraft structural parts and assemblies principally for prime defense contractors in the defense/aerospace industry, including, Boeing, Goodrich Landing Gear, Sikorsky, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman. During the year ended December 31, 2012, approximately 90% of AIM's revenues were derived from sales of parts and assemblies for military applications. AIM's parts are installed onboard Sikorsky's U/MH - 60M/S Helicopters, known as The BlackHawk, Lockheed�� F35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), Northrop Grumman�� E2-C/D Hawkeye, the Airbus A-380 Super Jumbo airliner, and the C-17 Globemaster.

AIM is also a manufacturer of mechanical and electro-mechanical suba! ssemblies and an engineering integrator. As of December 31, 2012, AIM produced over 2,400 individual products (SKU's) that are assembled into electromechanical devices, mixer (primary flight control) assemblies, rotor-hub components for Blackhawk helicopters, arresting gear for the E2C/D Hawkeye, C2A Greyhound and United States Navy Fighters, vibration absorbing assemblies for Sikorsky helicopters, landing gear components for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), and many other subassembly packages.

Welding Metallurgy, Inc.

Welding Metallurgy, Inc. (WMI) provides specialty welding services and metal fabrications to the defense and commercial aerospace industry. Its customers include GKN Corporation, Sikorsky, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman. WMI�� product and service offerings include tube bending and metal fabrications of aircraft structures. WMI�� services and products are principally provided to prime contractors, aerospace engine manufacturers and to other subcontractors to aerospace manufacturers throughout the United States. Welding Metallurgy is a primary supplier on the Northrop Grumman E-2 C/D Hawkeye Program producing approximately 300 different parts annually. During 2012, nearly 100% of WMI�� revenues were derived from sales of parts and assemblies for military applications. WMI produces the inlet housing and the auxiliary long and short beams for the Sikorsky BlackHawk helicopter and various welded door and panel assemblies for the Boeing CH-47 Chinook Helicopter. WMI also provides environmental tubing to Lockheed for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Nassau Tool Works, Inc.

NTW�� principal business is the fabrication and assembly of landing gear components and complete landing gear for fighter aircraft for the United States and foreign governments. NTW also performs sub-contract machining for other aerospace manufacturers, including Air Industries. NTW is a manufacturer of complete landing gear and landing gear components! for the ! F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-18 Hornet aircraft of the United States Air Force and Navy. In addition NTW specializes in deep hole gun-drilling and trepanning and performs sub-contract machining services for prime contractors in the defense and aerospace industries.

The Company competes with Sterling Machine, Stellex Aerospace, Triumph Aerospace Group, Heroux Aerospace and Magellan Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Diane Alter]

  Dividend Stocks That Increased Payout in September

  Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) announced a 14.8%, or $0.12 per share, increase to its semiannual dividend. The management consulting firm will now pay a semiannual dividend of $0.93. Shares yield 2.53%. Agruim Inc. (NYSE: AGU) boosted its dividend by $1.00 per share to a total dividend of $3.00 on an annualized basis. Shares of the global retailer of agricultural products now sprout a 3.54% yield. Air Industries Group Inc. (NYSE: AIRI) doubled its dividend to $0.125 per share. The maker of airplane and helicopter parts now floats a lofty yield of 6.6%. Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. (NYSE: ARE) upped its dividend 4.6% to $0.68 per quarter for a yield of 4.21%. Banner Corp. (Nasdaq: BANR) boosted its quarterly dividend 25% to $0.15 per share. The parent company of Banner and Islander Bank serves the Pacific Northwest region. Brady Corp. (NYSE: BRC) lifted its quarterly dividend 2.6% to $0.78 per share. It was the 28th straight dividend increase from the identification solutions company. Shares yield 2.57%. Campbell Soup Co. (NSE: CPB) raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 per share, up from $0.29. The company last raised its dividend in November 2010. Shares yield a hearty 3.06%. CLARCOR Inc. (NYSE: CLC) raised its quarterly dividend 26% to $0.17 per share. It's the largest percentage increase from the Tennessee-based diversified marketer of mobile filtration and packaging products in the last 20 years, and it continues the company's consecutive streak of increasing dividends for the last 30 years. Franklin Resources Inc. (NYSE: BEN) boosted its quarterly dividend 2.6% to $0.10 per share. Frisch's Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: FRS) increased its quarterly dividend 12.5% to $0.18. Shares yield 3.10% The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: GT), in a move that suggests good times are ahead, reinstated its dividend at $0.05 per share. Good
• [By Louis Navellier]

  Air Industries (AIRI) is an example of a company with great fundamentals that also pays a solid dividend right now. Air Industries makes flight-critical products including flight safety parts, landing gear and components, arresting gear, flight controls, sheet metal fabrications and ground support equipment. At the current price AIRI stock is yielding 6.32% after Air Industries raised the dividend back in March.

5 Best Defense Stocks To Own Right Now: Exelis Inc (XLS)

Exelis Inc. (Exelis), incorporated on May 4, 2011, is engaged in Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) related products and systems and information and technical services, which the Company supplies to military, government and commercial customers in the United States and globally. The Company's customers include the United States Department of Defense (DoD), including the United States Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force, and its prime contractors, the United States Government intelligence agencies, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), allied foreign governments and domestic and foreign commercial customers. As a prime contractor, subcontractor, or preferred supplier, the Company participates in many high priority defense and non-defense programs in the United States. In January 2013, it acquired C4i Pty. Ltd. In February 2014, Exelis, Inc purchased FareSight, ARC's Web-based tool for corporate air travel optimization.

The Company operates in two segments: C4ISR Electronics and Systems, and Information and Technical Services. The Company's C4ISR Electronics and Systems segment provides communications, electronic warfare, imaging and image-processing, radar and sonar systems, space systems, and aerostructures for government and commercial customers globally. The Company's Information and Technical Services segment provides a range of systems integration, network design and development, cyber, intelligence, operations, sustainment, advanced engineering, logistics, space launch and range-support solutions for a range of the United States military and government agency customers. The Company has successfully completed and integrated several acquisitions over the last five years, which has broadened its product and technology portfolio and expanded its customer base.

C4ISR Electronics and Systems

Integrated Electronic Warfare Systems (IEWS) is a Electro! nic Warfare Countermeasures (ECM) and engaged in space microelectronics, mine-defense solutions and antennas. IEWS develops, produces and sells electronic warfare solutions to DoD services, classified customers and to allied nations. IEWS is a key player on platforms, such as the strike fighter, the F-18, and Special Operations Forces (SOF) MH-60s and MH-47, and also holds electronic warfare positions on the B-1B, B-52, CV-22, C-130 and F-16 (International) platforms. The Company is a provider of mechanical and combined influences mine sweeping devices to the United States Navy. IEWS is engaged in Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA), fielding systems on the B-1, B-52, F-16, F-18, SOF C-130s and the EA-6B. Communication Systems and Force Protection Systems (CFPS) is a engaged in the design and manufacture of radio frequency (RF)-based systems. The business has fielded more than 25,000 CREW Vehicle Receiver/Jammer (CVRJ) systems, in use by the United States Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force. The Company also specializes in tactical, satellite, wireless and special mission communications systems; information assurance and cryptographic systems; Global Positioning Systems (GPS); mobile ad hoc networking (MANET) solutions, and integrated C3 solutions for the United States and allied forces, as well as many government agencies. Products include SINCGARS, deployed military tactical radio program globally with more than 650,000 units in use in more than 35 countries. CFPS is also the developer of the Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW).

The Company's Night Vision and Imaging business is a engaged in image intensification, sensor fusion and digital night vision technology, integrated power and sensing devices, and decision support software and services solutions, which manage, exploit, analyze, visualize, interpret, and disseminate image related data. The Company is a developer, producer, and supplier of Generation 3 images intensification technology for the United States and allied military forces, as ! well as t! he federal homeland security market, and the Company is a producer of night vision products globally. The Company provides AN /PVS-14 and AN /PVS-7 ground night visions goggles and spare image intensifier tubes to the the United States military and allies, through foreign military sales, and the Company is a supplier to the United States military for the AN/AVS-6 and AN/AVS-9 aviation night visions goggle, which provides rotary- and fixed-wing pilots the ability to operate in extreme low-light situations. The Company is a supplier of the 2nd generation ENVG(O) system, the Spiral Enhanced Night Vision Goggle (SENVG), to the United States military. In addition the Company offers integrated software solutions, which scientists, defense and intelligence professionals, Geographic Information System users, researchers, and medical researches professionals use to turn complex data into useful information. The Company delivers streaming imagery and video data in an environment challenged by information overloads.

The Company's Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Systems business serves a range of government, civil and commercial customers with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems, provide actionable data, and protect property and human life. The Company's capabilities include remote sensing payloads for ground, air and space, offering active and motion imaging, which provide data processing, exploitation, and dissemination and system performance modeling and simulation. The Company also provides solutions, which map and monitors the earth for a range of commercial and governmental users. The Company's sensors provide the commercial resolution space-based imagery in the United States.

Radar, Reconnaissance and Acoustic Systems (R2A) provides radio frequency (RF) and acoustic surveillance sensors for both domestic and international defense customers, with a portfolio of related technology-based products in the commercial area. R2A's capabilities include d! efense su! rveillance radars, air traffic control radars, command and control, towed and hull mount sonars, tactical data links and airborne multifunction radars. The R2A business also provides electronic warfare and signal intelligence systems for reconnaissance and surveillance, with monitoring and signal processing systems and equipment for Electronic Intelligence (ELINT), Electronic Support Measures (ESM), Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) and Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) applications.

Integrated Structures (IS) is a designer and producer of aircraft-armament suspension and release equipment, weapons interface systems, and advanced composite structures and subsystems for military and commercial customers. IS is an advanced designers and manufacturers of lightweight advanced fiber-reinforced composite structures. The Company has supplied composites to aerospace prime contractors, including Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky and BAE Systems.

The Company's Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) business is a total GPS navigation systems supplier providing GPS payload, receiver and control solutions. The next generation Global Positioning System Operational Control System (GPS OCX) provide command, control and mission support for current and future GPS satellites based on a modern, service-oriented architecture, which will integrate a government and industry open system standard. The Company is providing the key navigation processing elements and precision monitors station receivers during the current phase of the GPS OCX program, which includes advanced anti-jam capabilities, and system security, accuracy and reliability.

Information and Technical Services

The Company's Communication, Command and Control Systems (C3S) business provides systems engineering, lifecycle sustainment, logistic support, modernization, and operations and maintenance for the United States military launch, test and training ranges, NASA's Ground Communications Networks and ot! her the U! nited States Government assets globally. C3S supports complex mission requirements, which covers a spectrum of support, from facilities maintenance to reverse engineering of legacy systems. Key areas of support include system engineering, sustainment, logistics, depot maintenance, software engineering and configuration management for range instrumentation, such as tracking, telemetry, optical, weather, communications, and command & control networks and systems. The Company is a contractor on NASA's Space Communications Network Services (SCNS) contract for the Goddard Space Flight Center, which provides communications and tracking services for a range of Earth-orbiting spacecraft, such as the International Space Station. The Company operates, maintain, and sustain the communications networks and infrastructure, which supports deep space exploration missions, such as the Cassini mission to Saturn and the Mars Rovers. The Company is also the contractor for the Joint Spectrum Center's (JSC) Electromagnetic Spectrum Engineering Services contracts, where the Company provides engineering systems support, technical analysis, test support, and long-term strategic planning. C3S also provides payload processing and launch services for numerous government agencies. These systems and assets are critical to the launch range and space communications network infrastructures, including air, land and sea training range for the United States Navy, the United States Air Force space launch ranges on the United States East and West Coasts and NASA's space ground communications networks.

The Company's Advanced Information Systems business serves a range of federal customers in defense, intelligence and homeland security. The Company serves missions in military and national intelligence, deterrence and defenses against chemical, biological, radiological nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) threats, strategic programs and other core defense programs. The Company develops information-enabled solutions for the United States! Governme! nt customers.

Afghanistan Programs (AP) consists of two contracts with the United States Army Corps of Engineers to provide facilities operations, maintenance and training services for the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and the Combined Security Transition Command in both Northern and Southern Afghanistan (ANSF Facilities Support programs). Under these two contracts, AP provides operations and maintenance support for more than 300 ANSF locations in Afghanistan, while simultaneously training Afghans to assume responsibility for the facilities at the completion of the contract. AP also supports the warfighter under the Logistics Civilian Augmentation Program (LOGCAP), which provides logistics and supply operations, airfield operations and transportation support to the United States warfighter and to the Afghanistan National Security Forces.

The Company provides the FAA with engineering expertise and full system solutions in the development and implementation of a modernized air traffics system. The Company's core program is the ADS-B system: the cornerstone program of the FAA's Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) initiative to modernize from a ground-based system of air traffic control to a satellite-based system of air traffic management. As a contractor on ADS-B, the Company is designing, building and operating a nationwide system of radio communications, telecommunications networks, information technology and software to deliver accurate, networked, real-time surveillance data to the automated systems of the FAA. The Company is developing concepts under the Systems Engineering 2020 (SE2020) contract. The work spans all dimensions of a national effort to transform air traffic control, including ground systems, avionics, aircraft, air traffic control rules and procedures, human factors, safety and security, environmental processes and standards.

Middle East Programs (MEP) provides oversight and management for the Company's teams working in t! hat regio! n. The core capabilities of the MEP include logistics, vehicle maintenance and repair, facility and utilities maintenance and repair services, civil engineering, minor construction, transportation services, base operations, guard services, and emergency fire and life support services. MEP also maintains a range of equipment, from small arms to Patriot missiles, performing maintenance tasks both domestically and overseas. Logistics services also include transport of soldiers and equipment for combat operations. The Company's vehicle maintenance and repair contract is its Kuwait based Army Preposition Stock-5 (APS-5 Kuwait) contract.

The Communications and Information Systems (CYBER) business supports a range of the United States and Joint Forces military activities, as well as Federal civilian communications infrastructures globally, ranging from wideband satellite communications systems to network operations and management services. CYBER's capabilities include network management; mobile and fixed satellite communications operations and maintenance (SATCOM O&M); help desk support; switch, node and router support; database development; engineering; furnishing and installation of communications systems; information assurance of protected military networks, and field and depot level maintenance of communications equipment. As the prime contractor for the United States Army Network Command's Total Army Communications for Southwest Asia, central Asia and Africa program (TACSWACAA), CYBER maintains operational availability and information security for network resources in the battlefield network ever deployed. For the United States Southern Command, it operates and maintains tethered aerostats, which perform core drug interdiction and air sovereignty missions along the United States southern border. Communications support includes operations and maintenance for missions, such as the Defense Red Switch Network, which provides the President, Secretary of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, combatant co! mmanders ! and various agencies with secure communications technology and systems.

The United States and Europe Programs is centered on logistics, base operations and infrastructure support to multiple military and governmental agencies in the United States and Europe. The business consists of supporting contracts with the United States Air Force and United States Army, including bases in the United States and Germany. The Company provides full spectrum base operating support, logistics, supply, maintenance and security to each of these installations. United States and Europe programs also focus on the nature of surface, rail and air transportation services, all life support services, as well as civil engineering and minor construction services.

The Company competes with Lockheed Martin Corporation, The Boeing Company, Raytheon Company, General Dynamics Corporation, L-3 Communications Corporation, SAIC Inc., Northrop Grumman Corporation, Harris Corporation, BAE Systems, Inc., Thales Group, EADS N.V., Finmeccanica S.p.A., DynCorp, KBR and Fluor.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  U.S. defense contractor Exelis (NYSE: XLS  ) wants to help Italian soldiers see in the dark.

  On Wednesday, Exelis announced that it has been contracted by local Italian defense contractor Selex ES to supply Selex with binocular "i-Aware" Tactical Mobility Night Vision Goggles, which Italy will then incorporate into its "Future Soldier program."

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Aerospace and defense technology specialist�Exelis (NYSE: XLS  ) announced today its third-quarter dividend of $0.1033�per share, the same rate it's paid since it began making a quarterly payout in 2011.

• [By Rich Smith]

  The U.S. Department of Defense awarded multiple contractors shares in some 17 contracts Tuesday, valued at up to $1.3 billion in combined dollar value. Most of the funds awarded went to a series of 13 contractors working on a single cyber-defense project -- but there were a few other winners. Among them:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Maybe there's something to this whole "sequestration" phenomenon after all -- because for all intents and purposes -- and certainly in comparison with recent trends -- Department of Defense spending has come to a screeching halt in recent days. On Wednesday, for example, DoD issued a grand total of three new contracts, totaling a mere Pentagon pittance of just $44.4 million.

5 Best Defense Stocks To Own Right Now: Thales SA (HO)

Thales SA is a France-based provider of integrated solutions and equipment of security systems primarily to the aerospace and defense markets. The Company operates in numerous countries through its divisions, including Aerospace, specialized in onboard equipment, electronics and systems for the civil and military markets; Space, offering solutions combining space and terrestrial technologies; Defence, which designs and delivers systems for all four environments: air, land, sea and space; Security, which offer the emergence of new types of threats from terrorism and organized crime to drug trafficking, mass immigration and cyber attacks; and Transportation, which offers a range of railways signaling solutions and integrated transportation systems, to ensure safe and secure transportation of operators, freight and passengers. In November 2013, it acquired XPI Simulation Ltd. In February 2014, it created a new business line called Critical Information Systems and Cybersecurity. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By USATODAY 8 a.m. EST February 15]

  Alex Pettyfer about to take the wheel of the Maserati Gran Turismo for a joyride with co-star Dayo Okeniyi.(Photo: HO)

  Pettyfer and Okeniyi's character end up joyriding in the car along with Gabriella Wilde, who plays the rich girl falling in love with Pettyfer.