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%