Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; UTi Worldwide Reports Q4 Loss

Related BZSUM Mid-Day Market Update: Nordion Surges On Acquisition News; BlackBerry Shares Decline Brent Supported By Conflict Between Russia And The West

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded up 0.88 percent to 16,466.61 while the NASDAQ surged 1.22 percent to 4,206.58. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.78 percent to 1,872.17.

Leading and Lagging Sectors
Monday morning, the healthcare sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Nordion (NYSE: NDZ) and Pacira Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: PCRX). Utilities sector rose by just 0.19 percent in the US market today.

Among the sector stocks, Pure Cycle (NASDAQ: PCYO) was down more than 1.3 percent, while Korea Electric Power (NYSE: KEP) tumbled around one percent.

Top Headline
UTi Worldwide (NASDAQ: UTIW) reported a wider-than-expected fourth-quarter loss. UTi Worldwide posted a quarterly net loss of $50.7 million, or $0.48 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $142.8 million, or $1.38 per share.

Excluding items, UTi lost $0.15 per share. Its revenue slipped 2.1% to $1.08 billion. However, analysts were estimating a loss of $0.11 per share on revenue of $1.09 billion.

Equities Trading UP
Nordion (NYSE: NDZ) shares shot up 11.19 percent to $11.58 after the company agreed to be acquired by Sterigenics for $11.75 per share.

Shares of Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: HALO) got a boost, shooting up 6.11 percent to $12.85 after the company reported that Consistent 1 trial Of Hylenex(R) recombinant has met primary endpoint.

ING Groep NV (NYSE: ING) was also up, gaining 4.11 percent to $14.28 after the company announced its plans to resume paying dividends in 2015. 

Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of GenCorp (NYSE: GY) were down 5.16 percent to $17.64 after the company reported Q1 results. GenCorp reported a Q1 loss of $0.03 per share.

BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) shares tumbled 5.23 percent to $7.97 after falling 7.07% on Friday. Analysts at Credit Suisse downgraded BlackBerry from neutral to underperform and lowered the target price from $7 to $6.

UTi Worldwide (NASDAQ: UTIW) was down, falling 5.42 percent to $10.65 after the company reported a wider-than-expected fourth-quarter loss.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.07 percent to $101.60, while gold traded down 0.16 percent to $1,292.20. Silver traded up 0.23 percent Monday to $19.84, while copper fell 0.48 percent to $3.03.

Eurozone
European shares were higher today. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 1.27 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index gained 1.53 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX surged 0.25 percent and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.26 percent while U.K. shares gained 0.70 percent.

Economics
US Chicago PMI fell to 55.90 in March, versus a prior reading of 59.80. However, economists were expecting a reading of 59.00.

The Treasury is set to auction 3-and 6-month bills.

Posted-In: Earnings News Guidance Eurozone Futures Forex Global Econ #s Economics Intraday Update Markets Movers Tech

© 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Buffett rakes in $123 million as firms boost dividends

Bloomberg News

Warren Buffett's bet on U.S. banks will generate $123 million more a year now that companies including Wells Fargo & Co. and American Express Co. have passed the Federal Reserve stress tests and been cleared to lift dividends.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc., where Mr. Buffett is chairman and chief executive officer, has a larger allocation to financial firms among its equity investments than to any other industry. It is the biggest shareholder in Wells Fargo and American Express, the No. 1 credit-card issuer by purchases.

While Mr. Buffett, 83, has rejected the idea of a dividend at Berkshire, he welcomes them from companies he invests in, using the funds to build up his own firm. The increased payouts highlight how returns from some of Mr. Buffett's largest investments now rely on Fed approval.

Top Penny Stocks To Buy Right Now

(See Mr. Buffett's top 10 stock holdings.)

Increasing dividends “are probably something he was hoping for in the long term,” Andrew Kilpatrick, a Buffett biographer, said before Wednesday's announcements. “Patience is the big lesson.”

The firms announced capital plans after the Fed evaluated how they would fare in a hypothetical financial crisis and found they could pay dividends while still maintaining a cushion against losses. The regulator is working to avoid future taxpayer bailouts like those of 2008 by evaluating banks' capital and management.

Wells Fargo, the largest U.S. home lender, increased its quarterly payout by $0.05 to $0.35 a share. That would give Berkshire $96.7 million more a year from its stake of 483.5 million shares disclosed in its 2013 annual report. Berkshire began accumulating the stock more than two decades ago.

AMERICAN EXPRESS

AmEx raised its quarterly dividend to 26 cents a share from 23. That gives Berkshire, which owns 151.6 million shares, $18.2 million more a year. Mr. Buffett's firm holds 96.1 million shares of U.S. Bancorp, and will get an extra $5.8 million a year after the lender raised its dividend to 24.5 cents from 23.

(Don't miss: How Warren E. Buffett's top book purchase could guide an adviser to beat the market.)

Berkshire has smaller stakes in Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Bank of New York Mellon Corp. and M&T Bank Corp. BNY Mellon's 13% dividend increase will contribute about $2 million more a year to Berks

First Allied to Expand Mentoring Program for Female Reps

First Allied Securities says a pilot mentoring program for female advisors has “proven successful,” and the independent broker-dealer will roll out the broader program at its national conference in June.

The first phase of the Women Advisor Mentoring Program matched several younger advisors and mentors, who guided the younger reps in building their business. The initial program grew out of First Allied’s Women’s Impact Network (WIN).

“We are extremely pleased with the first results of our women’s mentoring program,” said Marissa Fox-Foley, senior managing director of marketing at First Allied, in a statement. “We initiated a careful screening process to match mentors and mentees with compatible personalities and professional goals, and this resulted in relationships that yielded both qualitative and quantitative results.”

According to Fox-Foley, the mentees met agreed-upon goals, received actionable advice and benefited from direction that helped them increase their business and improve their performance, while the mentors found the experience gratifying and enjoyable. “We are excited about offering this program on a larger scale throughout our organization in the very near future, as well as to our Legend Group sister company,” she noted.

Out of 800 affiliated advisors, First Allied has 127 female reps, while Legend’s 400-strong advisor force (which focuses on providing financial services to nonprofit organizations) includes some 60 female advisors.

“As a new advisor, I came to the program hoping to learn how to increase my book of business and to gain new perspectives on how to be successful in my career,” said Stacey Stanek-Byars of the Thom Group in San Luis Obispo, Calif., in a press release.

“The strategies I learned directly helped me to retain several new clients. I highly recommend the program to other young advisors.”

In addition to the mentoring program, First Allied’s WIN hosts events and resources geared to furthering the successful careers of its female advisors.

“As women increasingly play a greater role in our economy and in our industry, both as advisors and investors, we feel it is our responsibility to nurture our women advisors’ professional development as well as help all advisors service the distinct needs that often arise among female clients,” stressed Fox-Foley.

First Allied Securities is in the process of being acquired by RCAP Holdings (RCAP), which is led by Nicholas Schorsch.

Top Cheap Companies To Watch In Right Now

A slow, steady comeback has continued for General Motors (GM), with May sales up 3% year-over-year, the best month of total sales since September 2008. Further, the stock itself remains cheap given GM�� potential for sales and earnings growth.

New car sales for the industry as a whole grew double digits last year, lending additional credence to GM�� recovery and potential.

And now, GM is revamping its lineup, redesigning the Malibu and the Impala, and launching more competitive (i.e. lower fuel consumption) vehicles in the North American market.

But GM is also looking outside the U.S., and is pressing its position as the largest U.S. car company (by market share) in China to boost exports into emerging markets by 70% this year.

Top Cheap Companies To Watch In Right Now: Express-1 Expedited Solutions Inc.(XPO)

XPO Logistics, Inc. provides third-party logistics services using a network of relationships with ground, sea, and air carriers in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. It operates in three segments: Express-1, Concert Group Logistics, and Bounce Logistics. The Express-1 segment offers ground expedited surface transportation services for freight. It operates a fleet ranging from cargo vans to semi tractor trailer units. The Concert Group Logistics segment provides domestic and international freight forwarding services through a network of independently owned stations. Its domestic freight forwarding services include air charter, expedites, and time sensitive services, as well as cost sensitive services comprising deferred delivery, less than truckload, and full truck load services; and international freight forwarding services consist of on-board courier and air charters, time sensitive services, less-than-container and full-container-loads, and vessel charters. This segm ent also offers documentation on international shipments, customs clearance and banking, trade show shipment management, time definite and customized product distributions, reverse logistics and on site asset recovery projects, installation coordination, freight optimization, and diversity compliance support services. The Bounce Logistics segment provides premium freight brokerage services for truckload shipments. The company serves approximately 4,000 retail, commercial, manufacturing, and industrial customers through 6 U.S. operations centers and 22 agent locations. It offers its services to the automotive manufacturing, automotive components and supplies, commercial printing, durable goods manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, food and consumer products, and high tech sectors. The company was formerly known as Express-1 Expedited Solutions, Inc. and changed its name to XPO Logistics, Inc. in September 2011. XPO Logistics, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is based in Buchanan, Michi gan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: Shares of XPO Logistics (NYSE: XPO  ) jumped 13% today after announcing an acquisition.

  So what: The company will pay $365 million for logistics provider 3PD, consisting of $357 million in cash an $8 million in XPO restricted stock. Is will use its own cash and borrow $195 million from Credit Suisse Group for the remainder of the purchase. �

Top Cheap Companies To Watch In Right Now: Uranium Resources Inc.(URRE)

Uranium Resources, Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and mining of uranium properties, using the in situ recovery or solution mining process. It owns developed and undeveloped uranium properties in South Texas; and undeveloped uranium properties in New Mexico. The company?s primary customers include utilities who utilize nuclear power to generate electricity. Uranium Resources, Inc. was founded in 1977 and is based in Lewisville, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Well, I'll give myself an A for effort, but a C- for timing. But, I can bump that C- up to a B+ if my intuition is right as we head into the last few days of 2013 and the first few of 2014. What I'm talking about is a bullish commentary I penned back on November 26th regarding Uranerz Energy Corp. (NYSEMKT:URZ), Uranium Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:URRE), and Ur-Energy Inc. (NYSEMKT:URG). All three stocks were perking up, and more than that, the buzz surrounding URG, URRE, and URZ was getting louder. More often than not, when the fervor and bullish action and chatter reaches the levels they had reached a month ago, an explosion is right around the corner.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  If you listened to my bullish calls from December 27th and/or February 24th about Uranerz Energy Corp. (NYSEMKT:URZ), Uranium Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:URRE), and Ur-Energy Inc. (NYSEMKT:URG), then congratulations - you're now up as much as 50%, depending on when you stepped into a trade, and which stock you chose. Now get out. See, as well as URZ and URG have done and are doing (URRE not so much), it looks like the short-term rally I first spotted a little more than a couple of months ago has fully run its course, and now these names are setting up a pullback.

• [By John Udovich]

  Since the start of the week, small cap nuclear fuel stock USEC Inc (NYSE: USU) more than doubled for investors, something that has not happened for investors in uranium stocks like Uranium Resources, Inc (NASDAQ: URRE), Denison Mines Corp (NYSEMKT: DNN), Ur-Energy Inc. (NYSEMKT: URG) and Uranerz Energy Corp (NYSEMKT: URZ). To recap: USEC Inc closed at the $6 level on Friday, but then it surged to the $15 level on Monday only to open at the $10 level on Tuesday when it ultimately closed at $12.46. So what in the world is going on with USEC Inc and is it time to revisit nuclear fuel and uranium stocks?

• [By James E. Brumley]

  You know, were it just Uranium Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:URRE) or just Ur-Energy Inc. (NYSEMKT:URG) or just Uranerz Energy Corp. (NYSEMKT:URZ) making a decided bullish move, I might be able to dismiss it. Similarly, if URZ had only been moving higher for one or two days (or only URG or only URRE), it might be easy to not be impressed. Neither of those situations has been the actual case, however. All three stocks have been moving upward for several days now, quite a bit, on noticeably higher volume. There's something "going on", as it were, and if prior group-wide movements are any clue, it's the kind of move worth tapping into.

Best Value Stocks For 2014: Lionbridge Technologies Inc.(LIOX)

Lionbridge Technologies, Inc. provides language, development, and testing services. Its Global Language and Content segment provides product localization services, such as creating foreign language versions of its clients? products and software applications, including the user interface, online help systems, and documentation; and content translation services, such as translating and maintaining clients? Web-based content, eLearning courseware and training materials, technical support, and sales and marketing information. It also offers technical authoring, eLearning courseware development, and production and integration of content; and global language and content services delivery. The company?s Global Development and Testing segment develops and maintains on-premise, SaaS, and smart phone and tablet applications, as well as provides Web production services. This segment also offers various testing services under the VeriTest brand, including managed test teams, test proc ess design, test automation, functional testing, performance testing, globalization testing, and product certification. In addition, it provides specialized search relevance, online content editorial, keyword optimization, and related services. Its Interpretation segment offers interpretation services for government business and healthcare organizations that require experienced linguists to facilitate communication. It provides interpretation communication services, such as onsite interpretation, over-the-phone interpretation and interpreter testing, training, and assessment services in approximately 360 languages and dialects. The company serves the technology, mobile and telecommunications, Internet and media, life sciences, government, manufacturing, automotive, retail, and aerospace sectors in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Lionbridge Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

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

• [By Jeff Reeves]

  Lionbridge (LIOX) is the kind of cheap, small-cap stock that investors love. This player has soared 60% in the last three months thanks to nice earnings and improving investor sentiment.

• [By Seth Jayson]

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

Top Cheap Companies To Watch In Right Now: The Travelers Companies Inc.(TRV)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Dzombak]

  On the other side of earnings, Travelers (NYSE: TRV  ) is today's worst Dow stock, down 3.4% after reporting better-than-expected earnings but disappointing future pricing guidance. The company reported EPS of $2.41, far better than analyst expectations of $1.64 per share, while revenue of $6.39 billion was well ahead of analysts' expectations of $6 billion. Despite all the good news, in the conference call the company indicated that its increased prices, while contributing to the great results, were leading to a drop in volume. This suggests that Travelers' recent outperformance is unsustainable and the company will have to lower its prices to remain competitive.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  What's been up with Cincinnati Financial lately?
  Property and casualty insurance companies have seen some major ups and downs over the past few years, as a series of major catastrophic events have led to extremely bad losses. But, while industry giants Allstate (NYSE: ALL  ) and Travelers (NYSE: TRV  ) posted losses related to Hurricane Sandy of more than $1 billion each, Cincinnati Financial largely dodged Sandy's bullet, with losses of only $30 million. Yet, players throughout the industry have seen the long-term benefit from those events of stronger pricing power at policy-renewal time and, if the bad loss experience finally comes to an end, that will mean even bigger profits for Cincinnati Financial and its peers.

Top Cheap Companies To Watch In Right Now: Cloud Peak Energy Inc(CLD)

Cloud Peak Energy Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in coal mining operations in the Powder River Basin of the United States. It produces sub-bituminous steam coal with low sulfur content for electric utilities and industrial customers. The company owns and operates Antelope surface coal mine located to the south of Gillette, Wyoming; the Cordero Rojo surface coal mine located to the south of Gillette, Wyoming; and the Spring Creek surface coal mine located in Montana. It also owns a 50% interest in the Decker surface coal mine located in Montana. As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately 970 million tons of proven and probable reserves. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Gillette, Wyoming.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Reuben Brewer]

  A ready supplier
  Malaysia, which is a coal export powerhouse, is going to be there to help fill the void. However, Cloud Peak Energy (NYSE: CLD  ) notes that Malaysian coal is at the lower end of the quality spectrum, particularly compared to its U.S. Powder River Basin coal. That's a positive sign for Cloud Peak's export hopes, particularly as China looks to clean up the most obvious pollution problems related to coal. Right now, Cloud Peak exports about 5% of its coal, but it plans to increase that as U.S. ports increase their capacity.

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  At the same time, there are a few glimmers of hope for the coal industry. Cloud Peak Energy's (NYSE: CLD  ) balance sheet shows some characteristics that could help it survive another rough patch for coal. It may not be a great balance sheet overall, but it's certainly better than many others in the space. Tune into the following video to get Fool.com contributors Tyler Crowe and Aimee Duffy's take on a couple other coal companies that either look like they are headed for a big fall or have stronger balance sheets to weather the storm.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The price of natural gas, however, has dropped 0.4% today, and wouldn’t you know it, coal stocks are weak. Cloud Peak Energy (CLD) has dropped 4.2% to $16.15, while Peabody Energy (BTU) has fallen 2.9% to $17.27. Arch Coal (ACI) is off 1.3% at $4.45, Alpha Natural Resources (ANR) has declined 1.4% to $5.76 and Consol Energy (CNX) has dipped 0.7% to $31.35.

Top Cheap Companies To Watch In Right Now: Sirius XM Radio Inc.(SIRI)

Sirius XM Radio Inc. provides satellite radio services in the United States and Canada. It broadcasts a programming lineup of approximately 135 channels of commercial-free music, sports, news and information, talk and entertainment, traffic, and weather on subscription fee basis through two satellite radio systems in the United States; and holds an interest in the satellite radio services offered in Canada. The company also simulcasts music and selected non-music channels over the Internet; and offers applications to allow consumers to access its Internet services on mobile devices. As of December 31, 2010, it had 20,190,964 subscribers. In addition, the company designs, establishes specifications, sources or specifies parts and components, and manages various aspects of the logistics and production of satellite radios; licenses its technology to various electronics manufacturers to develop, manufacture, and distribute radios under various brands; and imports radios distri buted through its Websites. The company?s satellite radios are primarily distributed through automakers, retailers, and its Websites. Further, it provides music services for commercial establishments; a satellite television service to offer music channels as part of certain programming packages on the DISH Network satellite television service; music and comedy channels to mobile phone users through mobile phone carriers; Backseat TV, a service offering television content designed primarily for children in the backseat of vehicles; Travel Link, a suite of data services that include graphical weather, fuel prices, sports schedules and scores, and movie listings; and real-time traffic and weather services. The company was formerly known as Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and changed its name to Sirius XM Radio Inc. in August 2008. Sirius XM Radio Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  I went out on a limb last week, and now it's time to see how that decision played out.

  I predicted that Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI  ) would close lower on the week. The satellite-radio provider has been a market beast over the past four years, but racing to a new multiyear high when tech giants were starting to enter the premium-audio market seemed risky. Shares of Sirius XM declined 2.5% on the week. I was right. I predicted that the tech-heavy Nasdaq would outperform the Dow Jones Industrial Average. (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) . This has been a tricky call lately, so how did it play out this time? Well, the market finally took a breather this week, and secondary stocks closed flat, with the Nasdaq shedding less than 0.1% on the week. The Dow managed to close 1.2% lower. I was right. My final call was for Costco (NASDAQ: COST  ) to beat Wall Street's income estimates in its latest quarter. The class act in warehouse clubs has been posting blowout quarterly results over the past year, and I was banking on seeing the trend continue. Analysts were looking for a profit of $1.03 a share during the quarter, and it came through with earnings of $1.04 a share. Wow! That was close. But I was right.

  Three out of three? Awesome! That makes me 16 out of 18 over the past six weeks.

Top Cheap Companies To Watch In Right Now: Compass Minerals Intl Inc(CMP)

Compass Minerals International, Inc., through its subsidiaries, produces and markets inorganic mineral products primarily in North America and the United Kingdom. The company operates in two segments, Salt and Specialty Fertilizer. The Salt segment produces salt and magnesium chloride for use in road deicing and dust control, food processing, water softeners, pool salt, and agricultural and industrial applications. This segment also purchases potassium chloride and sells as a finished product. The Specialty Fertilizer segment produces and markets sulphate of potash crop nutrients and industrial grade sulfate of potash for use in the production of specialty fertilizers for vegetables, fruits, potatoes, nuts, tobacco, and turf grass. The company also produces and markets consumer deicing and water conditioning products, ingredients used in consumer and commercial food preparation, and other mineral-based products for consumer, agricultural, and industrial applications. In ad dition, Compass Minerals provides records management services to businesses located in the U.K. The company operates rock salt mines in Goderich, Ontario, Canada; and Winsford, Chesire, the United Kingdom. It primarily serves producers of intermediate chemical products used in the production of vinyls and other chemicals, and pulp and paper, as well as water treatment and other industrial uses. The company markets its products through direct sales personnel, contract personnel, and a network of brokers or manufacturers? representatives. Compass Minerals International, Inc., formerly known as Salt Holdings Corporation, was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brendan Mathews]

  Compass Minerals (NYSE: CMP  ) is a sleepy producer of a boring product: rock salt. But it has a strong competitive advantage. It owns the world's largest rock salt mine, which luckily is conveniently located near the major deicing markets of the Great Lakes region. This combination of a great mining resource and ideal location provide the company with a wide, crocodile-filled competitive moat.

Top Cheap Companies To Watch In Right Now: CVS Corporation(CVS)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Kelley Wright]

  CVS Caremark (CVS) is the 800lb gorilla in this space. An ��+��S&P Quality Ranking, and free operating cash flow of three times the dividend. CVS just produces year in and year out.

  Chevron (CVX) is just a beast. There's a lot to like here: A $4.00 per share dividend; an S&P ��+��Quality Ranking, and a Dividend Aristocrat to boot. A must position for a quality portfolio.

Top Cheap Companies To Watch In Right Now: S&P Smallcap 600(PH)

Parker Hannifin Corporation manufactures fluid power systems, electromechanical controls, and related components worldwide. Its Industrial segment offers pneumatic and electromechanical components, and systems; filters, systems, and instruments to monitor and remove contaminants from fuel, air, oil, water, and other liquids and gases; connectors that control, transmit, and contain fluid; hydraulic components and systems for builders and users of industrial and mobile machinery and equipment; critical flow components for process instrumentation, healthcare, and ultra-high-purity applications; and static and dynamic sealing devices. This segment sells its products to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and their replacement markets in the manufacturing, transportation, and processing industries. The company?s Aerospace segment provides flight control systems and components, including hydraulic, electrohydraulic, electric backup hydraulic, electrohydrostatic, and electro -mechanical components for precise control of aircraft rudders, elevators, ailerons, and other aerodynamic control surfaces. It also provides electronics thermal management heat rejection systems, and single-phase and two-phase heat collection systems for radar, ISAR, and power electronics. This segment markets its products primarily to OEMs in the commercial, military, and general aviation markets, as well as to end users. Its Climate and Industrial Controls segment offers systems and components primarily for use in the mobile and stationary refrigeration, and air conditioning industry; and in fluid control applications in various industries, such as processing, fuel dispensing, beverage dispensing, and mobile emissions. This segment serves OEMs and their replacement markets. Parker-Hannifin Corporation markets its products through direct-sales employees, independent distributors, wholesalers, and sales representatives. The company was founded in 1918 and is headquartered i n Cleveland, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Motion and control systems manufacturer Parker-Hannifin (PH) raised its quarterly dividend 4.6% to 45 cents per share, payable on Dec. 6 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 8. The increase marks the 57th consecutive annual dividend increase.
  PH Dividend Yield:�1.55%

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Motion and control technology manufacturer Parker-Hannifan (PH) raised its quarterly dividend 7% to 48 cents per share, payable on Mar. 7 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 10.
  PH Dividend Yield: 1.69%

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The market in aggregate might have gone nowhere, but that wasn’t for lack of big moves from individual stocks. Parker-Hannifin (PH) gained 2.4% to $115.06 after it was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird, while Newmont Mining (NEM) gained 2.2% as gold miners headed higher today.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Parker-Hannifin (NYSE: PH) is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $1.48 per share on revenue of $3.26 billion.

  Textron (NYSE: TXT) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.47 per share on revenue of $2.97 billion.

Top Cheap Companies To Watch In Right Now: Capstone Turbine Corporation(CPST)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  On Thursday, Capstone Turbine (NASDAQ: CPST  ) will release its latest quarterly results. But lately, investors have already anticipated some huge results from the company, having bid the shares up by about 50% in just the past several weeks. Can Capstone deliver on what investors want to see?

Watch Out, Investors: 'Candy Crush' IPO May Rot Your Teeth

Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images "Candy Crush Saga" fans know that it's not always easy to find the right match, but that's not stopping its developer King Digital Entertainment from hoping that it's the right match for investors. The mobile game-maker's IPO finally hits the market Wednesday, and it's easy to see why there isn't a lot of consensus as to where King's stock will go after its Wall Street debut. Bears can point to Zynga (ZNGA), the game giant behind "FarmVille," "Words with Friends" and "Draw Something" that went public with a market cap of $8.9 billion three years ago. It fell out of favor once its hottest games began fading in popularity, leaving Zynga with cascading revenue and bookings as its new releases failed to captivate players. If Zynga stumbled with so many hit franchises, what can investors expect out of King, which is really riding on the success of a single game that wasn't even around two years ago? King's Sticky-Sweet Success So Far Investors angling to get in on this week's IPO will see things differently than the naysayers. Yes, King is a one-trick pony, but it's a heck of a trick. The sticky success of "Candy Crush Saga" -- a free-to-play game where players can pay up for extra moves and to expedite the opening of new levels -- finds King generating a lot more money than Zynga did at its 2012 peak. King's gross bookings skyrocketed from $181.6 million in 2012 to nearly $2 billion last year. Zynga never got that high. Its gross bookings topped out two years ago at $1.15 billion before plunging to $716 million last year. King's also been consistently profitable since "Candy Crush Saga" was introduced 23 months ago. Zynga can't say that. Bulls will also point out that even at the high end of its pricing range, King's initial market cap will be less than Zynga at the time of its 2011 IPO. The sheer success of "Candy Crush Saga" can't be ignored. It drew 93 million daily active players for the month of December, and those users played an average of 1.085 billion games a day. Across its entire portfolio of diversions, King attracted 128 million players for the month. These are impressive metrics, but the bearish argument also packs a pretty fierce bite. Good Timing on the IPO The biggest thing that could keep King's IPO in check is that it's already showing signs of peaking. Quarterly revenue, gross bookings, earnings, adjusted earnings and monthly unique payers all fell from the third quarter of last year to the fourth quarter. It's not a seasonal thing. King's one-trick pony -- a stallion, if you will -- may have peaked late last summer. We won't know if that's the case until we can sink our teeth into this year's freshman quarter, and that won't come until at least late April. By then the IPO will already have been trading for several weeks. Things don't have to end badly, naturally, but investors are right to be cautious. An initial pop Wednesday could be a head fake. We saw that happen with Zynga which traded above its $10 IPO price for most of the four months following its IPO in late 2011. Then again, Zynga was still growing as a company through most of 2012. King's first quarter report in a few weeks will be critical. The market saw in Zynga what happens when a debutante starts to stumble. A share of Zynga these days won't be enough to buy you a value meal. A lot is riding on the popularity of a single game. Its next most popular offering -- "Pet Rescue Saga" -- attracted just 15 million daily active players, and they played fewer games a day on average than "Candy Crush" crushers. It also doesn't help that "Candy Crush Saga" relies on in-game purchases for nearly all of its revenue. King stopped turning to third-party advertisers several quarters ago, preferring gamers to pay up for perks instead of putting up with ads for free gameplay. This could be a factor because folks hooked on the game aren't just carving out time to play. "Candy Crush Saga" is costing them money. Can It Maintain that Sugar Buzz? King still deserves credit for going where no Zynga has gone before. Yes, it's all riding on one game. King has failed to woo "Candy Crush Saga" players into other diversions despite promoting its other games within "Candy Crush Saga" itself. This isn't really so awful, especially if it's able to exploit its one marquee game into licensing opportunities including toys, merchandise, and even filmed entertainment. Look at "Angry Birds." However, investors need to be cautious here. The valuation is somewhat fair at the starting gate, unlike the bubbly overvalued situation that we saw when Zynga went public. The market's jaded after being burned by Zynga, so it has to be this way. Still, King will have plenty to prove in the coming quarters if it intends to keep its crown.

Manitowoc (MTW) Has Uncharateristic Slide Today

5 Best Stocks For 2014

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Manitowoc (MTW) -- which has been one of the top performers in the U.S. machinery space this year -- had a rough day finishing down 5.2% on the news that Jeffries had downgraded the stock.

The Wisconsin-based manufacturer has had steady success, rising 33% this year. However, Jefferies downgraded the stock due to an inflated valuation.

Manitowoc finished the day at $30.86 and continues its slide in aftermarket trading, down another 0.13%.

Must read: Warren Buffett's 10 Favorite Stocks

STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates MANITOWOC CO as a Buy with a ratings score of B. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation: "We rate MANITOWOC CO (MTW) a BUY. This is driven by some important positives, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, notable return on equity and good cash flow from operations. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income." Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows: Compared to its closing price of one year ago, MTW's share price has jumped by 50.35%, exceeding the performance of the broader market during that same time frame. Turning to the future, naturally, any stock can fall in a major bear market. However, in almost any other environment, the stock should continue to move higher despite the fact that it has already enjoyed nice gains in the past year. The return on equity has improved slightly when compared to the same quarter one year prior. This can be construed as a modest strength in the organization. Compared to other companies in the Machinery industry and the overall market, MANITOWOC CO's return on equity exceeds that of both the industry average and the S&P 500. Net operating cash flow has increased to $270.50 million or 15.99% when compared to the same quarter last year. Despite an increase in cash flow, MANITOWOC CO's cash flow growth rate is still lower than the industry average growth rate of 27.15%. MANITOWOC CO's earnings per share declined by 30.8% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. But, we feel it is poised for EPS growth in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, MANITOWOC CO increased its bottom line by earning $1.14 versus $0.77 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($1.70 versus $1.14). Despite the weak revenue results, MTW has outperformed against the industry average of 17.1%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly dropped by 2.3%. The declining revenue appears to have seeped down to the company's bottom line, decreasing earnings per share. You can view the full analysis from the report here: MTW Ratings Report STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.

Stock quotes in this article: MTW 

Costco recalls freeze-dried fruit snacks

Costco shoppers who bought Kirkland Signature Real Sliced Fruit could get an unexpected, unwanted element in that product: salmonella.

Freeze-dried fruit maker Oregon Freeze Dry initiated a voluntary recall of Real Sliced Fruit cases marked with a Feb. 14, 2015 to March 11, 2015 "best by" date due, saying the food might be contaminated with salmonella. The recall involves nearly 60,000 cases, which each contain 20 single-serving pouches of dried fruits such as apples, strawberries and bananas.

Those who purchased the product were contacted by phone and mail about the potential issues, said the Food and Drug Administration. A letter explaining the recall was also posted on Costco's website.

The organism salmonella "can cause serious infections in young children, frail or elderly people and those with weakened immune systems," the letter said. "Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain."

No confirmed cases of salmonella poisoning have been reported, said the FDA.

Kirkland Signature Real Sliced Fruit currently for sale in Costco stores is safe to eat and no other products made by Oregon Freeze Dry are affected, said the FDA.

Customers who purchased the potentially contaminated fruit can return it to Costco for a refund.

Kirkland Signature is Costco's private-label brand. The store carries more than 300 products under that house brand, including luggage, pet food, bedding, baby formula, apparel and wine.

United Capital Launches Liquidity Program for Advisors

United Capital announced Monday a liquidity program that allows advisors who have been with the firm for at least six years to convert up to 25% of holdings in company stock to cash.

“We’ve been growing the company now for going on nine years, and virtually all of the advisors who join us, join us through a sale of their previous business,” Gary Roth, CFO of United Capital, told ThinkAdvisor on Thursday. He noted that those advisors typically take a portion — “sometimes a very substantial portion” — of the purchase price in stock.

“We thought it was the right time to start a program internally to create some liquidity for the people who have been holding the shares for at least six years,” he said.

United Capital announced the program to its advisors in the fourth quarter of last year and began the first round of liquidity in January and February.

Clive Cholerton, a managing director with United Capital based in Boca Raton, Fla., was one of the advisors who participated. He joined the firm in February 2007.

“When United purchased my independent practice, part of the deal was I took stock in the company,” Cholerton told ThinkAdvisor. “Now, this event gave me the opportunity to realize some of the actual investment that I had in the company.”

Cholerton said that he first heard of United Capital when he hired Angie Herbers (who is a writer for Investment Advisor and ThinkAdvisor) as an independent consultant as he tried to separate his partnership with accounting firms who were minority shareholders. “We started to realize that our paths were going in different directions, so we looked for a way of unwinding the partnership,” he said. “What was so appealing to me was here was a company that was doing exactly what I wanted to be doing, only doing it better, and with bigger and better toys.”

Roth, who is based at the firm’s headquarters in Newport Beach, Calif., noted that the firm recently acquired a round of private equity capital. “The vast majority of that is earmarked toward other acquisitions and new growth strategies, but we all agreed to use a portion of the money on our balance sheet to create a liquidity pool for our advisors,” he said.

Top 10 High Dividend Stocks For 2014

Advisors can only cash out up to 25% of their holdings in United Capital stock because, as Roth said, “the goal isn’t to cash people out, per se, it’s just to allow people to take some chips off the table and diversify if they need to take care of some things in their lives.”

In fact, United Capital advisors are fairly young and not nearing retirement yet. Roth estimated the average advisor at the firm is likely “mid- to late 40s.”

Most advisors eligible for the program took advantage of it, but Roth said that the majority of those didn’t take the maximum allowed. “It’s a good validation for us that we were creating the flexibility for people to be able to create some liquidity, but when people had the option and did their own analysis, people felt really good about continuing to hold onto the stock,” he said.

Roth said the program will be an annual event. “Each year, a new group become eligible based on their tenure with the firm, so that the next priority will go to people who haven’t had a chance to sell anything yet and we’ll go from there.

“We’ve had terrific feedback from the people involved and terrific feedback from the people who will be eligible in the future. So far, it’s been one of the best-received programs that we’ve ever had.”

Cholerton noted that one of the benefits of the liquidity program is confidence in the firm. “Any time you go into any of these deals when some of it’s being paid for in stock,” he said, you have to ask yourself, “is that going to have value in the future?”

In the case of United Capital, he said, “Here’s a company that went through the financial downturn, still found a way to continue to grow revenue each and every one of those years, still has continued to build shareholder value at a very impressive rate. For me as a shareholder, when you take that leap of faith going into it, it’s nice to see it realized.”

What's working, and what's not, in market

NEW YORK Heading into today the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index was up just 0.6%, but the ho-hum gain masks what's really working (and not working) in the U.S. stock market in 2014.

The winners and losers so far this year might be a surprise to many investors.

Bespoke Investment Group provides a quick analysis of what types of stocks are soaring and which are bombing out. The analysis of the S&P 500, through yesterday's close, breaks down the 500 stocks in the benchmark index into deciles of 10 groups of 50 stocks. (For example, price-to-earnings ratios of stocks ranked from largest to smallest P-Es.)

WINNERS:

1. High P-E stocks. Despite rising angst and a market weighed down by geopolitical risks like the Ukraine crisis, fears of a hard landing in China and talk of a market top in the U.S., the best performance came from stocks with the highest (yes, the highest!) P-E ratios, or those typically deemed more risky.

The 50 stocks with the most pricey P-Es rose 7.24%. In contrast, the decile with the lowest P-Es fell 0.04%.

"Stocks with the worst valuations are doing well this year," says Bespoke co-founder Paul Hickey.

2. Stocks that pay no dividends. Oddly, despite the market turbulence, the decile of stocks in the benchmark stock index that do not pay out any of their earnings to investors in the form of cash dividends posted a solid gain of 6.91%.

3. U.S.-centric stocks. Given all the turbulence this year in global markets, ranging from the early-year emerging market crisis to the more recent geopolitical situation in Ukraine, the 50 stocks in the S&P 500 "that get no revenues outside the U.S." have jumped 3.47%, vs. a gain of just 0.95% for the 50 companies that get the most revenue from abroad.

"This makes sense," says Hickey, "given that all of the worry recently has been about global, non-U.S. issues."

LOSERS:

1. Large-cap stocks. The 50 stocks with the largest market values in the S&P 500 declined 0.8%, and were t! he only one of the 10 deciles in the market-cap category to post a year-to-date loss.

2. Analysts' least-favorite picks. The 50 stocks Wall Street analysts liked the least performed the worst of any of the categories tracked by Bespoke, falling 1.41%.

"So far analysts are on a roll this year," says Hickey.

3. Low P-E stocks. The stocks deemed the least-pricey fared poorly, dipping 0.04%.

The other major trend: the stocks that did the best last year are also topping the performance charts again in 2014. The 50 best-performing stocks in the S&P 500 last year are up 6.85% this year, vs. a gain of just 1.52% for last year's worst-performing decile of stocks.

So there you have it. In a risk-off year, risk-on stocks are leading the way.

Top Insurance Companies To Buy Right Now

Top Insurance Companies To Buy Right Now: PartnerRe Ltd (PRE)

PartnerRe Ltd. (PartnerRe), incorporated in August 24, 1993, is the ultimate holding company for its international reinsurance group. The Company provides reinsurance on a global basis through its wholly owned subsidiaries, including Partner Reinsurance Company Ltd. (PartnerRe Bermuda), Partner Reinsurance Europe plc (PartnerRe Europe) and Partner Reinsurance Company of the U.S. (PartnerRe U.S.). Its risks reinsured include property, casualty, motor, agriculture, aviation/space, catastrophe, credit/surety, engineering, energy, marine, specialty property, specialty casualty, multiline and other lines and mortality, longevity and health. The Company also offers alternative risk products, which include weather and credit protection to financial, industrial and service companies on a global basis. In January 2013, the Company acquired Presidio Reinsurance Group, a United States-based specialty accident and health reinsurance and insurance writer. In March 2013, the Company ann ounced the formation of Lorenz Re Ltd.

The Company provides reinsurance for its clients in approximately 150 countries globally. Through its branches and subsidiaries, the Company provides reinsurance of non-life and life risks to ceding companies (primary insurers, cedants or reinsureds) on either a proportional or non-proportional basis through treaties or facultative reinsurance. The Company operates in three segments: Non-life, Life and Corporate and Other. Its Corporate and Other segment is consisted of the capital markets and investment related activities of the Company, including principal finance transactions, insurance-linked securities and strategic investments, and its corporate activities, including other operating expenses.

Non-life Segment

The Non-life segment is divided into four sub-segments, North America, Global (Non! -the United States) Property and Casualty (Global (Non-the United States) P&C), Global (Non-the United States) Specialty and Catastrophe. The North America sub-seg! ment includes agriculture, casualty, motor, multiline, property, surety and other risks generally originating in the United States. The Global (Non-the United States) P&C sub-segment includes casualty, motor and property business generally originating outside of the United States. The Global (Non-the United States) Specialty sub-segment business include agriculture, aviation/space, credit/surety, energy, engineering, marine, specialty casualty, specialty property and other lines. The Catastrophe sub-segment is consisted of the Company's catastrophe line of business. The Company reinsures, primarily on a proportional basis, agricultural yield and price/revenue risks related to flood, drought, hail and disease related to crops, livestock and aquaculture. The Company provides specialized reinsurance protection for airline, general aviation and space insurance business on a proportional basis and through facultative arrangements.

The Company's space business re lates to coverages for satellite assembly, launch and operation for commercial space programs. Its casualty business includes third party liability, employers' liability, workers' compensation and personal accident coverages written on both a proportional and non-proportional basis, including structured reinsurance of casualty risks. The Company provides property catastrophe reinsurance protection, written on a non-proportional basis, against the accumulation of losses caused by windstorm, earthquake, tornado, tropical cyclone, flood or by any other natural hazard, which is covered under a property policy. Credit reinsurance, written on a proportional basis, provides coverage to commercial credit insurers, and the surety line relates to bonds and other forms of security written by specialized surety insurers. The Company provides reinsurance coverage for the onsh! ore oil a! nd gas industry, mining, power generation and pharmaceutical operations on a proportional basis and t hrough facultative arrangements.

The Company p! rovides r! einsurance for engineering projects globally, predominantly on a proportional treaty basis and through facultative arrangements. The Company provides reinsurance protection and technical services relating to marine hull, cargo, transit and offshore oil and gas operations on a proportional or non-proportional basis. The Company's motor business includes reinsurance coverages for third party liability and property damage risks arising from both passenger and commercial fleet automobile coverages written by cedants. This business is written predominantly on a proportional basis.

The Company's multiline business provides both property and casualty reinsurance coverages written on both a proportional and non-proportional basis. Property business provides reinsurance coverage to insurers for property damage or business interruption losses resulting from fires, catastrophes and other perils covered in industrial, commercial property and homeowners' policies, and are written on both a proportional and non-proportional basis. The Company's predominant exposure under these property coverage is to property damage. The Company's property reinsurance treaties exclude certain risks, such as war, nuclear, biological and chemical contamination, radiation and environmental pollution.

The Company provides specialized reinsurance protection for non-the United States casualty business. This reinsurance protection is offered on a proportional, non-proportional or facultative basis. The Company provides specialized reinsurance protection for non-the United States property business. This reinsurance protection is offered on a proportional, non-proportional or facultative basis. The Company's Non-life business is produced both through brokers and through direct relationships with insurance companies. In North A! merica, b! usiness is written through brokers, while globally, the business is written on both a direct and broker basis.< /p>

Life Segment

The Company's Life ! segment i! ncludes the mortality, longevity and health lines of business written primarily in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. The Company provides reinsurance coverage to life insurers and pension funds to against individual and group mortality and disability risks. Mortality business is written on a proportional basis through treaty agreements. Mortality business is subdivided into death and disability covers (with various riders) written in Continental Europe, term assurance and critical illness (TCI) written in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and guaranteed minimum death benefit (GMDB) written in Continental Europe. The Company also writes certain treaties on a non-proportional basis in France.

The Company provides reinsurance coverage to employer sponsored pension schemes and life insurers who issue annuity contracts offering long-term retirement benefits to consumers, who seek protection against outliving their financial resources. The Company's longevity p ortfolio is subdivided into standard and non-standard annuities. The non-standard annuities are annuities sold to consumers with aggravated health conditions and are underwritten on an individual basis. The Company provides reinsurance coverage to life insurers with respect to individual and group health risks. The Company's Life business is produced both through brokers and through direct relationships with insurance companies. During the year ended December 31, 2011, one cedant accounted for 13% of the Life segment's total gross premiums written and one broker, the Aon Group (including the Benfield Group), accounted for 16% of the Life segment's total gross premiums written.

The Company competes with Munich Re, Swiss Re, Everest Re, Hannover Re, SCOR, Transatlantic, Arch Capital, Axis Capital and XL Group.

Advisors' Op! inion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  International insurance holding company PartnerRe Ltd. (PRE) raised its quarterly dividend 5% to 67 cents per share, payable on Feb. 28 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 18.
  PRE Dividend Yield: 2.72%

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-insurance-companies-to-buy-right-now.html

Top 5 Penny Stocks To Own Right Now

Top 5 Penny Stocks To Own Right Now: Crown Media Holdings Inc.(CRWN)

Crown Media Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiary, Crown Media United States, LLC, owns, operates, and distributes pay television networks for adults and families primarily in the United States. The company operates and distributes Hallmark Channel network to approximately 87 million subscribers through approximately 5,369 cable, satellite, and other pay television distribution systems; and Hallmark Movie Channel network to approximately 45 million subscribers through approximately 2,680 cable, satellite, and other pay television distribution systems. Its networks offers a range of entertainment programming, including television series, movies, miniseries, theatricals, romances, literary classics, and contemporary stories. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Studio City, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Equities Lab]

  The stocks that currently pass the stock screen in order of market cap are Frontier Communications Corp , Crown Media Holdings (CRWN), Vonage Holding (VG), MCG Capital Corp (MCGC), 1-800-FLOWERS.COM (FLWS), MTR Gaming Corporation (MNTG), Alaska Communications (ALSK), and Enzon Pharmaceuticals (ENZN).

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-penny-stocks-to-own-right-now.html

Hot Blue Chip Companies To Watch For 2014

Hot Blue Chip Companies To Watch For 2014: Philip Morris International Inc(PM)

Philip Morris International Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in markets outside of the United States. Its international product brand line comprises Marlboro, Merit, Parliament, Virginia Slims, L&M, Chesterfield, Bond Street, Lark, Muratti, Next, Philip Morris, and Red & White. The company also offers its products under the A Mild, Dji Sam Soe, and A Hijau in Indonesia; Diana in Italy; Optima and Apollo-Soyuz in the Russian Federation; Morven Gold in Pakistan; Boston in Colombia; Belmont, Canadian Classics, and Number 7 in Canada; Best and Classic in Serbia; f6 in Germany; Delicados in Mexico; Assos in Greece; and Petra in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It operates primarily in the European Union, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. The company is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matthew Coffina]

  Philip Morris International (PM)

  Among our holdings, Philip Morris is arguably the most exposed to depreciating emerging market currencies, since it doesn't have any US sales. Unfortunately, currency fluctuations are an unavoidable tradeoff for emerging markets' relatively stable cigarette volumes.

• [By Lawrence Meyers]

  That means you should go with either Altria Group (MO) or Philip Morris International (PM). And if you’re only interested in buying one, I think I'd select MO stock. It pays a slightly better divided (5.2% vs. 4.7%).

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Lorillard have jumped 4.6% to $51.29 at 1:32 p.m. today, while Reynolds American has gained 2.5% to $52.12 and British American Tobacco has dropped 1.1% to $107.62. Altria Group (MO), meanwhile, has risen 0.4% to $36.43 and Philip Morris Inte! rnational (PM) has declined 0.9% to $80.21.

• [By Kelley Wright]

  Tobacco is a controversial business; but for Philip Morris International (PM), it's a market basically unaffected by economic slowdowns or rising commodity prices, which means it is stable and defensive; a combination we can live with. We also like the $3.76 dividend, outstanding growth, and a five-year average return on equity of over 160.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-blue-chip-companies-to-watch-for-2014.html

Top 5 Small Cap Stocks To Buy For 2014

Top 5 Small Cap Stocks To Buy For 2014: ATA Inc.(ATAI)

ATA Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides computer-based testing services in the People?s Republic of China. It offers services for the creation and delivery of computer-based tests utilizing its test delivery platform, proprietary testing technologies, and testing services; and provides logistical support services relating to test administration. The company?s computer-based testing services are used for professional licensure and certification tests in various industries, including information technology (IT) services, banking, securities, teaching, and insurance. Its e-testing platform integrates various aspects of the test delivery process for computer-based tests ranging from test form compilation to test scoring, and results analysis. ATA also provides career-oriented educational services, such as single course programs, degree major course programs, and pre-occupational training programs focusing on preparing students to pass IT and other vocational certification tests; test preparation and training programs and services to test candidates preparing to take professional certification tests in securities, futures, banking, insurance and teaching industries; online test preparation and training platform for the securities and banking industries; and test preparation software for the teaching industry. In addition, the company offers HR select employee assessment solution, an online system that utilizes its proprietary software and an inventory of test titles to help employers improve the efficiency and accuracy of their employee recruitment process. As of March 31, 2010, it had contractual relationships with 1,988 ATA authorized test centers. The company serves Chinese governmental agencies, professional associations, IT vendors, and Chinese educational institutions, as well as individual test preparation services. ATA Inc. was founded in 1999! and is based in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  Industrials stocks gained Friday, with ATA (NASDAQ: ATAI) leading advancers. Meanwhile, gainers in the sector included Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG), with shares up 22 percent, and Korn/Ferry International (KFY), with shares up 12 percent. In trading on Friday, basic materials shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 1.36 percent.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  Industrials stocks gained Friday, with ATA (NASDAQ: ATAI) leading advancers. Meanwhile, gainers in the sector included Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG), with shares up 22 percent, and Korn/Ferry International (KFY), with shares up 12 percent. In trading on Friday, basic materials shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 1.36 percent.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-small-cap-stocks-to-buy-for-2014.html

Best Growth Stocks To Own Right Now

Best Growth Stocks To Own Right Now: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)

Nordstrom, Inc., a fashion specialty retailer, offers apparel, shoes, cosmetics, and accessories for women, men, and children in the United States. It offers a selection of brand name and private label merchandise. The company sells its products through various channels, including Nordstrom full-line stores, off-price Nordstrom Rack stores, Jeffrey? boutiques, treasure & bond, and Last Chance clearance stores; and its online store, nordstrom.com, as well as through catalog. Nordstrom also provides a private label card, two Nordstrom VISA credit cards, and a debit card for Nordstrom purchases. The company?s credit and debit cards feature a shopping-based loyalty program. As of September 30, 2011, it operated 222 stores, including 117 full-line stores, 101 Nordstrom Racks, 2 Jeffrey boutiques, 1 treasure & bond store, and 1 clearance store in 30 states. The company was founded in 1901 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Dillard’s have dropped 1.4% to $89.99 at 3:13 p.m., while Macy's (M) has dropped 0.6% to $57.33, Sears Holdings (SHLD) has fallen 2.7% to $44.61 and Nordstrom (JWN) has has dipped $61.59. JC Penney is little changed at $8.29.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Fashion specialty retailer Nordstrom (JWN) raised its quarterly dividend 10% to 33 cents per share, payable March 25 to shareholders of record as of March 10.
  JWN Dividend Yield: 2.15%

• [By Grace L. Williams]

  The hits keep coming at high-end retailer Nordstrom (JWN).

  Bloomberg

  After reporting a decline in fourth-quarter earnings and weak sales, shares traded down 0.3% to $59.24 today. And Sterne, Agee & Leach's Charles Grom, while acknowledging that the fourth quarter was "OK," warned that there were issues developing underneath. He! explains:

  Beneath the surface, there are two disturbing trends emerging that shouldn't go unnoticed, including: 1) a more promotional environment/gross profit margin risk (as Nordstrom price matches); and 2) full line cannibalization (via e-commerce), which structurally compresses Nordstrom's top-line algo. All told, the Nordstrom experience is one of the best in retail, but the stock is dead money for the foreseeable future, in our view.

  Grom accentuated a few positives that included a rise in same-store sales by 2.6% and decent earnings. A rise in inventory levels and lower EPS guidance were some of the negatives, Grom said.

  Nordstrom’s pain didn’t cause stand in the way of gains for some other department store stocks. Dillard’s (DDS) gained 1.5% to $89.33, while Macy’s (M) rose 0.5% to $53.71. Even J.C. Penney (JCP) had a better day. It finished down just 0.2% at $5.64.

   

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  Stifel reported on Friday that it has cut Nordstrom, Inc. (JWN) from “Buy” to Hold.”

  Analyst Richard Jaffe said that although JWN reported strong fourth quarter results, the company’s weak outlook for 2014 is a concern. The analyst noted that JWN’s Q4 results were “cautious given the current retail environment and the additional expenses related to Canada expansion, technology investments and accelerated Rack pre-opening costs.”

  The analyst also noted that “management has taken a long-term view, recognizing that the retail world is changing rapidly and dramatically, and has adjusted its growth investments to be consistent with the changing environment. Nordstrom has focused its efforts on the e-commerce business, the Rack off-price business and the new markets of Canada and New York City. These investments are different than prior investments and differ greatly from the investment in a new Nordstrom full-line store.”

  Regarding the company’s expans! ion to Ca! nada, Jaffe said: “Canadian retail real estate in prime locations is different than the US. There are fewer high quality locations and as a result they are costly; requiring upfront expenditures, build-out expenses and monthly rent to be paid. The analyst notes that population density is better around larger cities in Canada.”

  Nordstrom shares were down $1.24, or 2.09%, during pre-market trading Friday. The stock is down 3.82% YTD.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-growth-stocks-to-own-right-now-2.html

Best Canadian Stocks To Buy For 2014

Best Canadian Stocks To Buy For 2014: SAP AG(SAP)

SAP AG provides business software primarily in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific Japan region. The company?s products includes SAP Business Suite software, which supports large organizations in their core business operations, such as supplier relationship, production, warehouse management, sales, administration, and customer relationship; SAP Business All-in-One, a business management software that assists midsize companies in managing various business functions, including financials, human resources, procurement, inventory, manufacturing, logistics, product development, sales, and marketing; SAP Business One, a business management application for small businesses; and SAP Business ByDesign, an on-demand solution for integrated business management applications. Its products also comprises SAP BusinessObjects Edge business intelligence and enterprise performance management solutions; Xcelsius, a data visualization software; Crystal Reports, which helps users design interactive reports; Sybase IQ, an optimized analytics server designed to deliver results for business intelligence, analytics, data warehousing, and reporting solutions; SAP solutions for sustainability; and SAP NetWeaver technology platform, which integrates information and business processes across various technologies and organizational structures. In addition, the company offers industry and solution-focused, business transformation, information technology transformation, custom development, and support services; and program, project management, quality assurance, and education and certification services. It sells its products through its subsidiaries and resellers. SAP AG has a strategic relationship with Cap Gemini S.A. to develop and deploy enterprise mobility solutions. The company was formerly known as SAP Aktiengesellschaft Systeme, Anwendungen, Produkte! in der Datenverarbeitung. SAP AG was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Walldorf , Germany.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Taulli]

  John Chen: Chen came on board as the CEO of BBRY late last year. No doubt, he has an impressive resume. For example, he led the turnaround of Sybase and sold it to SAP (SAP) for $5.8 billion. And he has wasted little time trying to give BBRY stock a boost. First, he reorganized BlackBerry’s divisions with a focus on the enterprise market to help with product development and sales effectiveness. But perhaps the most important move has been to outsource hardware development to Foxconn. With the deal, BBRY can focus on software while Foxconn can leverage its scale and supply-chain efficiencies. By April, BBRY will launch two new phones that are based on Foxconn development.

• [By Jonathan Buck]

  SAP's (SAP) outlook is full of clouds – but it isn't cloudy.

  The Walldorf, Germany-based company, which provides software that helps businesses manage their back offices, warehouses, stores, desktop computers and mobile devices, spooked investors Tuesday by pushing back its margin target from 2015 to 2017.

  SAP's American depository receipts slipped more than 2%, but the weakness is a buying opportunity for investors. The stock can add as much as 20% in the next 12 months as the company advances its transition from traditional software applications to cloud-based computing and analytics.

  The stock traded at $80.43 on Wednesday afternoon, giving SAP a market value of $98 billion. Analysts, generally, are bullish on the stock, with a consensus price target of $86.56. However, the more upbeat estimates approach $96, which look feasible given the company's prospects.

  "We are the fastest-growing mega-cap company in the information technology industry. We are also the fastest-growing mega-cap company in the cloud in the information technology industry," Co-Chief Executive Bill M! cDermott ! told a small group of reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos Wednesday.

  A day earlier, SAP reported preliminary results for 2013 that showed operating profit in 2013 increased 13% from a year earlier to 5.51 billion euros ($7.46 billion) on an 8% rise in revenue to EUR16.90 billion. Operating margin jumped by 1.5 percentage points to 32.6%.

  The performance was impressive, but it was the outlook that got investors all jittery. SAP pushed its target for a 35% profit margin from 2015 to 2017.

  McDermott attributes this to the shift in business to the cloud, where customers rent software rather than pay for it up front. "Instead of recognizing your software revenue all up front, you recognize it over time," McDermott says. "And it takes a few years before that starts to kick in. Therefore, for t

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-canadian-stocks-to-buy-for-2014.html

Best Safest Stocks To Own For 2014

Best Safest Stocks To Own For 2014: Timeless Software Ltd (TLW)

Timeless Software Limited is an investment holding company mainly engaged in the provision of computer consultancy and software maintenance services, software development and sales of computer hardware and software. It operates in four divisions: software development, hardware sales, software sales and e-commerce services. As of March 31, 2012, the Company's subsidiaries included Three Principles Computer Service Company Limited, which is engaged in the provision of computer consultancy services, development and sales of computer software; Encore Trading Limited, which is engaged in the trading of computer software and hardware and provision of information technology consultancy services in Hong Kong; Timeless Northern Software (Beijing) Company Limited, which is engaged in design, development and maintenance of computer software and systems, as well as provision of computer consultancy services, and other subsidiaries. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Namitha Jagadeesh]

  IAG, the parent of British Airways, climbed 3 percent to 373.6 pence and Air France advanced 1.5 percent to 7.62 euros. BG Group Plc (BG/), the third-biggest oil and gas producer listed in the U.K., dropped 1.2 percent to 1,245 pence and Tullow Oil Plc (TLW) retreated 1.4 percent to 875 pence.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-safest-stocks-to-own-for-2014.html

Top Safest Stocks To Watch For 2015

Top Safest Stocks To Watch For 2015: ProShares Trust II (YCS)

ProShares Trust II (the Trust) is a statutory trust organized into separate series. The Trust offers seven Funds. The Trust offers beneficial interest in each of its 24 series. The 24 separate series include ProShares Ultra DJ-UBS Commodity, ProShares UltraShort DJ-UBS Commodity, ProShares Ultra DJ-UBS Crude Oil, ProShares UltraShort DJ-UBS Crude Oil, ProShares Ultra DJ-UBS Natural Gas, ProShares Short DJ-UBS Natural Gas, ProShares UltraShort DJ-UBS Natural Gas, ProShares Short Gold, ProShares Ultra Gold, ProShares UltraShort Gold, ProShares Ultra Silver, ProShares UltraShort Silver, ProShares Ultra Euro, ProShares UltraShort Euro, ProShares Ultra Yen ProShares UltraShort Yen, ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF, ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF, ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF, ProShares UltraShort VIX Short-Term Futures ETF, ProShares Ultra VIX Mid-Term Futures ETF, ProShares VIX Mid-Term Futures ETF, ProShares Short VIX Mid-Term Futures ETF and Pro Shares UltraShort VIX Mid-Term Futures ETF.

The Funds offer investors the opportunity to obtain leveraged, inverse or inverse leveraged exposure to a particular benchmark. The Funds include funds linked to futures-based commodity indexes (the Commodity Index Funds), particular commodities (the Commodity Funds) or particular currencies (the Currency Funds). ProShare Capital Management LLC serves as the Trust's Sponsor, commodity pool operator and commodity trading advisor. Wilmington Trust Company is the sole Trustee of the Trust.

Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index

ProShares Ultra DJ-UBS Commodity and ProShares UltraShort DJ-UBS Commodity are designed to track a multiple or an inverse multiple of the daily performance of the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity IndexSM. The Dow Jones-UBS Commodity IndexSM (the Dow Jones-UBS) is designed to be a highly liqu! id and diversified benchmark for the commodity futures market. It focuses to reflect the overall c ommodity sector by measuring the performance of commodity fu! tures contracts. The Dow Jones-UBS is a rolling index, which means that the Dow Jones-UBS does not take actual physical possession of any commodities; rather, it tracks a rolling futures position. An investor with a rolling futures position is able to avoid delivering (or taking delivery of) underlying physical commodities while maintaining exposure to those commodities. The roll for each Index component occurs over a period of five Dow Jones-UBS business days in certain months according to a pre-determined schedule. The exact roll methodology differs between certain commodities. The Index will reflect the performance of its underlying commodities, including roll costs, without regard to income earned on cash positions. The Dow Jones-UBS is consisted of eight different commodity sectors, such as petroleum, natural gas, livestock, grains, industrial metals, precious metals, softs and vegetable oils. These eight sectors track futures contracts prices of 19 specific commodities , such as natural gas, crude oil, unleaded gasoline, heating oil, live cattle, lean hogs, wheat, corn, soybeans, soybean oil, aluminum, copper, zinc, nickel, gold, silver, sugar, cotton and coffee. The Dow Jones-UBS is consisted of commodities traded on the United States exchanges, with the exception of aluminum, nickel and zinc, which trade on the London Metal Exchange.

Dow Jones-UBS Natural Gas Subindex

ProShares Ultra DJ-UBS Natural Gas and ProShares UltraShort DJ-UBS Natural Gas are designed to track twice (2x) or twice the inverse (-2x) of the daily performance of the Dow Jones-UBS Natural Gas SubindexSM, respectively The Dow Jones-UBS Natural Gas SubindexSM is intended to reflect the performance of a rolling position in natural gas futures contracts traded on the NYMEX without regard to income earned on cash positions. An investment in natu! ral gas f! utures contracts may often perform very differently than the price of physical natural gas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Charles Sizemore]

  As always, use common sense when trading. You can be "right" about a short and still lose a lot of money if you get caught on the wrong side of a short squeeze. An ETF option to consider in lieu of shorting the yen directly would be the ProShares Ultrashort Yen (YCS).

• [By Anthony Mirhaydari]

  Today, the yen carry trade, as represented by the ProShares UltraShort Yen (YCS) , is collapsing below both its lower Bollinger Band and its 50-day moving average — the most significant downtrend initiation since June. The scramble to cover positions funded by yen carry trades is why the selling is so frantic.

• [By MONEYMORNING]

  Split your capital in two halves. With one half, buy ProShares UltraShort Yen (NYSE Arca: YCS), and with other half, buy shares of AMLP, simple and clean.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-safest-stocks-to-watch-for-2015.html

Top 10 Asian Stocks For 2015

Top 10 Asian Stocks For 2015: Emak SpA (EM)

Emak SpA is an Italy-based company primarily engaged in the manufacture of outdoor power equipment for gardening, forestry, agriculture and industry. The Company's portfolio includes chainsaws, brush cutters, lawnmowers, garden tractors, water pumps, high pressure washers, transporters, rotary cultivators, motor hoes and power cutters, among others. It also manufactures spare parts, accessories and protective clothing. The Company sells its products under various brand names, such as Oleo-Mac, Efco, Bertolini, Nibbi and Staub. Emak SpA directly manages distribution in the Italian market and it sells products, through its commercial subsidiaries, in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, the countries of Benelux, Poland, Ukraine, among others.The Company is controlled by Yama SpA, which is an industrial holding company. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Canadian Value]

  For 20+ years there has been a coherent growth story around Emerging Markets (EM), where the label "Emerging Market" had real meaning within a common knowledge perspective. Today … not so much. Today the story is that it was easy money from the Fed that drove global growth, EM or otherwise. Today the story is that Emerging Markets are just the levered beneficiaries or victims of Fed monetary policy, no different than anyone else….

• [By Holly LaFon]

  As true value investors, Brandes oft en moves against the crowd amid markets' constantly changing performance cycles. Take the recent equity market weakness in a number of emerging market (EM) countries for example. Over the last year, while macroeconomic and geopolitical concerns cast a cloud of uncertainty over the asset class in general, we started to see some interesting investment opportunities at the company level as a result of such market weakness.

• [By Federico Zaldua]

  Brookfield Infr! astructure has a number of potentially profitable areas for investment around the world but, above all, in infrastructure hungry Emerging Markets (EM) such as Brazil. According to Credit Suisse analysts, in Brazil, funds can be invested at Funds From Operations (FFO) yields above 12%. Therefore, the company's ability to grow its distribution yield, whether through acquisitions or organically, is critical to evaluate the company's value. Moreover, the currently conservative dividend payout ratio should allow Brookfield Infrastructure to self-finance on going opportunities.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-10-asian-stocks-for-2015.html

Will Tim Hortons Come Out With Guns Blazing?

Growth continues to turn from good to better for Tim Hortons' (NYSE: THI  ) competitors Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX  ) , Dunkin' Brands Group (NASDAQ: DNKN  ) , and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE: KKD  ) . Though Little Timmy has lagged behind, that could change, beginning with the five-year strategic plan the company will outline on Feb. 25.

What's going on?
Tim Hortons will hold an investor conference on the morning of Feb. 25. At this event, "the Company plans to communicate its new strategic plan for the next five years." Normally it would be easy for you to dismiss this as the eyewash that every company says ahead of each and every presentation, but in this case there may be much more to it.

For one thing, Tim Hortons is scheduled to release its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report on Feb. 20. Analysts expect another semi-uneventful report with the company's sales up by 3.5% and earnings per share up by 10%. This isn't bad on the face of it, but it's not nearly as exciting as what we've seen from the company's rivals.

Peers are growing faster -- is Timmy next?
Starbucks for example reported a 12% revenue rise with traffic up 4%. Its earnings per share popped 25% to an all-time high of $0.71. CEO Howard Schulz sees continued rapid growth in sales and earnings for Starbucks even while shoppers retreat from the malls. 

Krispy Kreme is seeing quarter after quarter of success as it landed its 20th quarter in a row of positive same-store sales last quarter. Revenue climbed 6.7% and adjusted operating income rocketed 26.5%. Krispy Kreme sees more "accelerated growth domestically."

Meanwhile, Dunkin' Brands as well sees opportunity. Last quarter it reported a revenue gain of 13% and a diluted earnings per share gain of 26.5%. Dunkin' Brands plans to aggressively expand its Dunkin' Donuts brand where it does not yet have locations or where it barely has any presence yet, such as California.

Tim Hortons expansion spree time?
Speaking of expansion opportunities, Tim Hortons currently has 4,350 restaurants. With only 817 of those in the United States and almost all of the others in Canada, Tim Hortons has barely tapped the vast coffee and treat market that exists.

In the last conference call, CEO Marc Caira may have dropped a hint that aggressive United States expansion is coming next. He stated, "Turning to our U.S. business. Our goal is to focus on the core to develop a successful, thriving and profitable business that can be scaled aggressively to become our longer-term growth engine."

"Scaled aggressively." It doesn't sound like Tim Hortons plans to be sticking with 817 U.S. locations much longer.

Caira also gave a number of clues for the upcoming presentation that will outline Tim Hortons' strategy for "sustainable and profitable growth." This includes a number of new menu items, especially outside of the traditional breakfast and lunch hours, and new technology investments to get the drive-through moving more quickly such as the ability to take orders further back in the line.

It seems there is no bigger opportunity available to Tim Hortons than simply "scaling aggressively." For that the company has the largely untapped U.S. market and the almost completely untapped international market. We may get some details on that as well on Feb. 25. Caira said, "Finally, while Canada and the U.S. will remain top priorities, we believe we have longer-term international opportunities."

Foolish final thoughts
Cautious Fools should consider sitting firmly in place until the presentation. Until there are details out, Tim Hortons' future remains somewhat speculative but it could be very promising. The company's locations are nicely profitable and growing, and the environment as judged by Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, and Dunkin' Brands is quite healthy. If Tim Hortons has the right ideas and expansion plans, look for it to post improved growth numbers similar to those of its rivals.

Is Tim Hortons, Starbucks, Dunkin' Brand Group, or Krispy Kreme Doughnuts the one?
There's only one way to find out if one of these is Motley Fool's top stock for 2014.  There's a huge difference between a good stock and a stock that can make you rich. The Motley Fool's chief investment officer has selected his No. 1 stock for 2014, and it's one of those stocks that could make you rich. You can find out which stock it is in the special free report "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2014." Just click here to access the report and find out the name of this under-the-radar company.

Mustang's 50th takes Boomers along for ride

Everyone I know has either owned a Mustang or knows someone who did.

By the time Ford unveiled the first mass market sports car in 1964, the last year in which joining the boomers' club was a demographic birthright, a youthful generation of 83 million strong was emerging whom Ford could target as customers.

The first regular production Mustangs rolled off the Dearborn Assembly Plant line in Michigan on March 9, 1964. According to Sam Abuelsamid, Mustang editor at Global Team Ford communications, the initial media preview of the Mustang took place at the New York World's Fair on April 13, and the official on-sale date was April 17, 1964.

MUSTANG: All 50 years and six generations of Mustangs; timeline and photos

2015 MUSTANG: Radically new and retro

Ford originally forecast fewer than 100,000 sales in the first year. Instead, more than 400,000 were sold.

In the ensuing 50 years, more than 9.2 million Mustangs would be produced and sold, most of them originating close to Ford's headquarters in Dearborn, Mich.

I've owned two Mustangs, both used. My first was a Vintage Burgundy, 8-cylinder hardtop that I drove to college in upstate New York. When I moved to California, I bought a black Mustang convertible.

Both cars became associated with my deepest regrets. The first because I traded it in for $200 toward a new powder-blue, feel-the-road-on-your-fanny, no-pep Pinto when the Mustang needed $300 of transmission work. My Mustang soon would be known as a Classic, easily worth $10,000. The convertible turned out to be a Lemon Classic that left me repeatedly stranded from Route 101 to the Santa Cruz Mountains. (I should have known something was afoot when a day after driving the car off the lot, black smoke began pouring out of the tailpipe.)

The original 1965 Ford Mustang convertible in Wimbledon White -- the early version known to many as the 1964 1/2. Mustang went on sale on April 17, 1964 and sold more than 418,000 in the first 12 months.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen The sixth-generation, redesigned 2015 Mustang.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen The 1963 Ford Special Falcon: A prototype of the upcoming Mustang on the Falcon chassis before the name was final. At this time it was referred to as the "Special Falcon" and had Cougar badges, one of names under consideration.   (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen Company head Henry Ford II with the 1964 1/2 Mustang Ford at the car's unveiling at the New York World's Fair in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. on April 17, 1964.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen The 1965 Ford Mustang hardtop on display in the Ford Pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair where the car was introduced April 17, 1964.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1964 Ford Mustang ad from the New York World's Fair.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen Ad photo for the 1965-model Mustang: By June 1964, Mustang has three body styles -- fastback, hardtop and convertible -- with four engine options.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen A 2010 photo of Gail Wise, the first known retail buyer of a Mustang, with her 1965 convertible bought in Chicago. She still owns it and it has been restored.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen Another view of the 1965 Ford Mustang convertible  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1965 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350: Carroll Shelby helped establish Mustang's performance credentials by developing the 1965 Mustang Shelby GT350.  (Photo: Ford Wieck)View Fullscreen 1966 Mustang GT fastback  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1967 Ford Mustang GT fastback  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1968 Ford Mustang coupe  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302: This model, with a look created by designer Larry Shinoda and a high-output 302-cu.in. V-8, became one of the most iconic Mustangs.   (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1970 Ford Mustang hardtop: The 1970 Mustang got a revised look with headlamps moved inboard into the grille.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1970 TransAm champ: In 1970 Parnelli Jones and George Follmer drove the Ford Mustang Boss 302 to the SCCA TransAm championship.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1972 Ford Mustang Sprint edition fastback: Ford honored the 1972 U.S. Olympic team with the Sprint and its red, white and blue color scheme  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1 fastback: This was the final year for the first-generation Mustang. The Mach 1 fastback offered 302- or 351-cu.in. V-8s.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1974 Ford Mustang II:After growing larger and heavier 1965-1973 to accommodate big V8s, Mustang was rebooted in 1974 for a changing market and rising gas prices. The 1974 Mustang II offered only four-cylinder and V-6 engines and was much lighter.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1976 Ford Mustang II Cobra II: A302-cu.in. V-8 was added to the Mustang II lineup in 1975 and the Cobra II package added for 1976 with body stripes, hood scoop and front and rear spoilers restored some performance image.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1979 Ford Mustang Cobra:Mustang was completely redesigned for the third-generation model in 1979. The quickest 1979 model was the Cobra with a new turbo 2.3-liter inline four-cylinder, a first for Mustang  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1980 Ford Mustang "convertible":The 1980 Mustang hardtop offered a padded roof that gave it the look of a convertible, a body style that had not been available since 1973.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1982 Ford Mustang GT:Performance made a comeback with the return of the Mustang GT with a 5.0-liter, 160 hp. V-8.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1984 Ford Mustang SVO:After establishing the Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) group to run Ford motorsports, SVO developed a high-performance Mustang for 1984 with retuned suspension, bigger brakes and a turbo 2.3-liter, 175 hp. four-cylinder.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1985 Ford Mustang GT Convertible: The ragtop model returned to the Mustang lineup in 1983 and in 1985, the GT received an upgraded 5.0-liter V-8 with output bumped to 210 hp., the first Mustang at that level since the early-1970s  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1987 Ford Mustang GT convertible: The 2007 Mustang was redesigned with flush headlamps and new taillamps. The GT continued with a fuel-injected 5.0-liter V-8.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1989 Ford Mustang convertible was powered by a standard 2.3-liter four-cylinder.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 25th anniversary model 1990 Ford Mustang convertible with and orginal 1965 Mustang convertible. Mustang almost became a front-drive coupe just two years earlier.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1990 Ford Mustang LX: – The 5.0 LX debuted and was available until 1993. Using the same 5.0-liter V8 and upgraded brakes and suspension as the flashier GT, the subtle but fast model became the most popular pony car.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1993 Ford Mustang Cobra: – The new Ford Special Vehicle Team (SVT) debuted its first model in 1993, the 235-hp. SVT Cobra with upgraded brakes and suspension.   (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1994 Ford Mustang Cobra coupe: The new fourth-generation Mustang was redesigned in 1994 with classic 1960s-model styling cues such as the side scoops, tri-bar taillamps and a pony emblem in the grille.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1996 Ford Mustang GT coupe: The Ford small-block V-8 that had powered Mustang in various forms since 1964 was replaced in 1996 by the new 4.6-liter single-overhead-cam "Modular" V-8.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 1999 Ford Mustang GT convertible: Mustang was restyled in 1999 with straighter lines based on Ford's "New Edge" design language.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 2000 Ford Mustang GT coupe: The 2000 GT continued with a 4.6-liter V-8, boosted to 260 hp.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 2001 Ford Mustang Bullitt GT: Ford introduced the "Bullitt" edition for 2001 that was inspired by the 1968 Mustang GT driven by Steven McQueen in the 1968 film. The was the same Highland Green and got suspension and engine upgrades.   (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 2002 Ford Mustang GT Premium convertible:The 2002 GT was available with the five-spoke aluminum wheels originally used on the car in the movie "Bullitt."  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 2002 Ford SVT Mustang Cobra: Only 300 of the 2002 Mustang SVT Cobra R models were built. With its rear wing and dome hood, the track special easily distinguishable. It has a 385-hp. DOHC 5.4-liter V-8 and six-speed manual.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 2003 Ford SVT Mustang Cobra: SVT added a supercharger to the 4.6-liter dual-overhead-cam V8 in the Mustang Cobra in 2003, pushing output to 390 hp.  (Photo: Ford Wieck)View Fullscreen 2003 Mustang Mach 1: The model returned for that model year with a 305-hp. V-8 engine and the signature ram-air "Shaker" hood scoop  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 2004 Ford SVT Mustang Cobra: For the final model year of the fourth-generation Mustang, the SVT Cobra was available in a special color-shifting paint called Mystichrome.  (Photo: Ford Wieck)View Fullscreen 2005 Ford Mustang GT convertible: The fifth-generation Mustang debuted for 2005 with an all-new platform that provided better handling and retro styling inspired by late 1960s Mustangs.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 2006 Ford Mustang with Pony Package powered by a 210-hp., 4.0-liter V-6.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen The 2007 Ford Shelby GT500: In 2007, SVT introduced the most powerful Mustang yet and brought back the Shelby name. The 2007 Shelby GT500 Mustang has a supercharged 5.4-liter V8 producing 500 hp. and 480-lb.-ft. of torque.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen The 2007 Ford Shelby GT500.  (Photo: Ford Motor Company)View Fullscreen 2008 Ford Mustang: A 300-horsepower 4.6-liter V8 powered the 2008 Ford Mustang GT.  (Photo: Steve Petrovich, Ford)View Fullscreen 2008 Mustang "Bullitt" special edition -- recalling the 1968 Steve McQueen movie and the 1968 Highland Green Mustang used in the famous chase scene on the hills of San Francisco.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 2010 Ford Mustang GT with "Vista Roof": The fifth generation Mustang was redesigned for the 2010 model year with more sculpted haunches and new front and rear fascias.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 2011 Mustang V-6 Coupe with a new standard 3.7-liter V-6 with 305 hp and EPA-rated up to 31 mpg on the highway.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 2012 Mustang Boss 302: For 2012, the Boss 302 returned to the lineup for the first time since 1970. It has a 444-horsepower 5.0-liter V8 and special track-tuned suspension.  (Photo: Ford)View Fullscreen 2014 Shelby GT500: Its 662-hp. aluminum 5.8-liter supercharged V-8 is the industry's most powerful production V-8 engine.  (Photo: Ford Wieck)View Fullscreen The sixth-generation, redesigned 2015 Mustang.  (Photo: Ford)View FullscreenLike this topic? You may also like these photo galleries:ReplayAutoplayShow ThumbnailsShow CaptionsLast SlideNext Slide

Top Growth Stocks For 2015

The first time I saw a Mustang up close was as a youngster waiting to board the Ford Magic Skyway Ride at the World's Fair. It made more of an impression than the concept cars on display at the other end of the ride like the Aurora, "station wagon of the future," though not as much as Disney's Audio Animaltronics dinosaurs seen from the ride itself.

The last time I rode in a Mustang was on a Michigan test track during a press junket for the first dealer-installed MiniDisc player in an American car — a 1994 Mustang. Ironically, neither myself nor an editor from a rival magazine could accept Ford's invitation to get behind the wheel. Neither of us had learned to drive a stick-shift. (Where's that Cruise-O-Matic when you need it?)

Mustang owners have a habit of naming their automobiles. A coed I dated at college called her lime-green hardtop "Boone's Farm" after her favorite brand of fruity jug wine. When a fan site asked, "Does your 'Stang have a name?," replies included: Bessie, Jillian, Demona, Daisy, Miranda and Moneypit.

So, what will future generations of Mustangs bring? He! ads-up displays? Touch-screen controls? Self-driving cars? (The latter could prove useful to millions of us fairly soon.) Will Mustang mavens at the end of the road wish to be buried in a hardtop after public viewing in an open convertible?

These and other topics will likely be discussed at twin birthday celebrations April 16 – 20 to mark 50 years of Mustang. Ford describes the event as "so large it will be held at two locations — Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway." It's open to enthusiasts from around the world and will feature a range of activities from car cruises to live bands.

For more information, go to the Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration website or the Mustang Club of America site.