Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Top 10 Warren Buffett Stocks For 2014

Benjamin Graham has been recognized for decades as the father of value investing. Warren Buffett was a student of Ben Graham at Columbia University and later worked for Mr. Graham for several years.

For this Special Report, I combine Warren Buffett�� and Ben Graham�� criteria for choosing stocks. During the past eight years, I have featured Graham-Buffett Stocks on 16 occasions; over that period, these stocks have increased 77.% vs. 28.8% for the S&P 500.

To find new investment opportunities for you, I looked for stocks with:

1) Free cash flow more than $20 million.
2) Net profit margin more than 15%.
3) Return on equity more than 15%.
4) Discounted cash flow value higher than current price.
5) Market capitalization more than $1 billion.
6) Standard & Poor�� rating of B+ or better.
7) Positive earnings growth during the past five years with no deficits.
8) Dividends currently paid.

Top 10 Low Price Companies To Own In Right Now: CommunityOne Bancorp (COB)

CommunityOne Bancorp , formerly FNB United Corp., incorporated in 1984, is a bank holding company. The Company has two banking subsidiaries: CommunityOne Bank, N.A. (CommunityOne), a national banking association, and through Bank of Granite Corporation (Granite Corp.), Bank of Granite (Granite), a state-chartered bank headquartered in Granite Falls, North Carolina. As of December 31, 2011, CommunityOne had 45 branches, $843.9 million in loans and $1.4 billion in deposits. As of December 31, 2011, Granite had 18 branches, $373.9 million in loans and $688.5 million in deposits. Through its banking subsidiaries, it offers a line of consumer, mortgage and business banking services, including loan, deposit, cash management, investment management and trust services, to individual and business customers through operations located in Alamance, Alexander, Ashe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Chatham, Gaston, Guilford, Iredell, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Moore, Orange, Randolph, Richmond, Rowan, Scotland, Watauga and Wilkes counties in North Carolina. On October 21, 2011, it acquired Granite Corp., through the merger of a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, Gamma Merger Corporation, merging into Granite Corp, with Granite Corp. continuing as the surviving corporation and as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. On June 8, 2013, CommunityOne Bank, N.A., the principal bank subsidiary of FNB United Corp. announced that it had completed the merger of its sister bank, Bank of Granite, into CommunityOne.

Lending Activities

The Company's loan portfolio segments are commercial and agricultural, real estate - construction, real estate - mortgage, and consumer loans. The commercial and agricultural portfolio includes owner occupied and non-owner occupied. The real estate - construction portfolio includes retail properties, multi-family, industrial and warehouse, and other commercial real estate. The real estate - mortgage portfolio includes one-to four-family residential and commercial and othe! r. As of December 31, 2011, its total loan portfolio totaled $1.2 billion.

Investment Activities

The Company�� available-for-sale investment securities portfolio includes obligations of the United Sates treasury and government agencies, obligations of the United Sates government sponsored agencies, obligations of states and political subdivisions, residential mortgage-backed securities- (government-sponsored enterprise (GSE)), residential mortgage-backed securities-(Private), and corporate notes. As of December 31, 2011, it no longer had securities in the held-to-maturity portfolio.

Sources of Funds

Traditional deposit accounts are the primary source of funds for the Company. As of December 31, 2011, deposits totaled $2.1 billion, consisting of approximately $234.6 million of non-interest-bearing demand deposits, $349 million of interest-bearing demand deposits, $68 million of savings deposits, approximately $431.7 million of money market deposits, $112 million of brokered deposits, $538 million of time deposits less than $100,000, and $398 million of time deposits $100,000 or more. As of December 31, 2011, it had $8.8 million of total short-term borrowings. As of December 31, 2011, its long-term debt included $58 million of Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) advances and $56 million of junior subordinated debt. Funds are borrowed on an overnight basis through retail repurchase agreements with bank customers and federal funds purchased from other financial institutions. Retail repurchase agreement borrowings are collateralized by securities of the United Sates Treasury and the United Sates Government agencies and corporations. As of December 31, 2011, CommunityOne and Granite had no lines of credit at the Federal Reserve Bank. As of December 31, 2011, CommunityOne had an available line of credit of $80.5 million with the FHLB and Granite had no line of credit with the FHLB.

Subsidiary Activity

CommunityOne owns three subsidiari! es, which! include Dover Mortgage Company (Dover), First National Investor Services, Inc. and Premier Investment Services, Inc. (Premier). Dover ceased operations during the year ended December 31, 2011, and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on February 15, 2012. First National Investor Services, Inc. holds deeds of trust for CommunityOne. Premier is inactive. Through Granite Corp., it also own Granite Mortgage, Inc., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on February 15, 2012. FNB also owns FNB United Statutory Trust I, FNB United Statutory Trust II, and Catawba Valley Capital Trust II, which were formed to facilitate the issuance of trust preferred securities.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

    Cobham Plc (COB), the world�� largest maker of airborne refueling kits, tumbled 4.6 percent to 272.9 pence. An investor, who was not named, was sold 39.1 million shares at 273.5 pence to market price, according to terms obtained by Bloomberg News.

  • [By Namitha Jagadeesh]

    Cobham Plc (COB) retreated 4.6 percent to 272.9 pence, the biggest drop in six months. A shareholder of the world�� largest maker of airborne-refueling kit is selling 39.1 million shares in the company, terms obtained by Bloomberg News show.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Stocks For 2014: Etablissements Delhaize Freres et Cie le Lion SA (DEG)

Delhaize Group is Belgium-based food retailer, which operates in six countries and on three continents. The principal activity of the Company is the operation of food supermarkets in the United States, Belgium and Greece, with operations in Romania and Indonesia. The Company�� retail operations are conducted by its consolidated subsidiary, Delhaize America, LLC (Delhaize America); its businesses in Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Delhaize Belgium), and the business of Alfa Beta Vassilopoulos S.A. (Alfa Beta) in Greece. On May 12, 2010, Delhaize The Lion Nederland B.V. (Delned) acquired approximately 90.83% interest in Alfa Beta. On July 7, 2009, the Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Mega Image closed the acquisition of four supermarkets in Romania previously operated under the Prodas name. On November 23, 2009, the Company, through Alfa Beta acquired the Greek retailer Koryfi, which operated 11 stores and a distribution center in the Northeast of Greece. On January 2, 2009, the Company completed the acquisition of Knauf Center Schmett SA and Knauf Center Pommerlach SA.

The store format consists of retail food supermarkets. The sales network also includes other store formats such as proximity stores and specialty stores. In addition to food retailing, the Company is engaged in food wholesaling and non-food retailing of products, such as pet products and prescription drugs. Delhaize Group SA is the parent company of a number of direct and indirect subsidiaries.

United States

The Company is engaged in one line of business in the United States, the operation of food supermarkets in the southeastern, mid-Atlantic and northeastern regions of the United States under the banners Food Lion, Hannaford, Sweetbay Supermarket, Bloom, Bottom Dollar Food, Reid�� and Harveys. During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company opened 30 new stores in the United States, closed and relocated seven stores, and decided to close 17 other stores. As of De! cember 31, 2009, the Company operated 1,607 supermarkets in 16 states in the eastern United States. In 2009, it re-opened 53 supermarkets in the United States. It included 35 Food Lion renewals in the Columbia, South Carolina market and five in the Daytona Beach, Florida market.

The Company�� United States-based supermarkets sell a range of groceries, produce, meats, dairy products, seafood, frozen food, deli/bakery products and non-food items, such as prescriptions, health and beauty care and other household and personal products. The stores offered nationally and regionally advertised brand name merchandise as well as products manufactured and packaged under private brands. Food Lion offers between 15,000 and 20,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs) in its supermarkets, Harveys between 15,000 and 20,000 SKUs, Bloom between 21,000 and 25,000 SKUs, Bottom Dollar Food between 6,500 and 8,000 SKUs, Sweetbay between 28,000 and 40,000 SKUs and Hannaford between 31,000 and 45,000 SKUs.

Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

In Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the sales network consists of several banners, depending on the specialty, the store size and whether the store is company-operated, franchised or affiliated. At December 31, 2009, the sales network consisted of 792 stores in Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The network included 369 supermarkets under the Delhaize Le Lion, AD Delhaize and Red Market banners, 287 stores primarily under the Proxy Delhaize, Delhaize City and Shop �� Go banners. It also included 136 pet food and products stores operated under the Tom & Co. banner. At December 31, 2009, the Company operated 41 stores in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. In 2009, the Company divested its German operations, which consisted of four stores.

The supermarkets operated by the Company in Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg carry the Delhaize Le Lion banner. At December 31, 2009, there were 144 company-operated supermarket! s of whic! h 14 supermarkets were remodeled. The AD Delhaize supermarkets have an average size of 1,142 square meters and offer approximately 12,000 SKUs.

In 2009, the Company opened the first two Red Market stores. At December 31, 2009, the Company�� network of proximity stores in Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg consisted of 287 stores under the Delhaize City, Proxy Delhaize and Shop �� Go banners. Proxy Delhaize stores have an average selling area of approximately 500 square meters and offer approximately 6,500 SKUs.

Caddy-Home, the food products home delivery banner in Belgium, sells food products to customers for which orders can be placed by the Internet, telephone or fax. As of December 31, 2009, Caddy-Home delivered in 17 cities throughout Belgium, offering approximately 5,500 SKUs to customers. In 2009, Delhaize Belgium launched Delhaize Direct, allowing customers to order their groceries through the Internet and pick them up at their local store.

Tom & Co. is a specialty chain focusing on food and accessories for pets. At December 31, 2009, the stores were operated under franchise agreements with independent operators.

The supermarkets in Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg sell a range of groceries, produce, meats, dairy products, seafood, frozen food, deli/bakery products and nonfood items, such as health and beauty care and other household and personal products. Delhaize Belgium is also selling a basic offering of lottery and postal products in part of its network.

Greece

In 2009, the Company operated a total of 216 stores in Greece. As of December 31, 2009, Alfa Beta directly operated 142 supermarkets under the Alfa Beta banner, 10 cash and carry stores under the ENA banner, 13 AB City stores and served 39 affiliated stores operated under the AB Food Market and AB Shop & Go banners and 10 Koryfi stores.

Rest of the World

As of December 31, 2009, Mega Image operated 51 super! markets i! n Romania. The stores offer private brand ranges, including 365, Care and the house brands available at Delhaize Belgium and Alfa Beta. In 2009, Mega Image introduced a private brand for Romanian products called Gusturi Romanesti. As of December 31, 2009, the Company operated 66 stores in Indonesia.

The Company competes with Wal-Mart, Kroger, Harris Teeter, Bi-Lo, Lowes Food, Save-A-Lot, Supervalu, Price Chopper, DeMoulas, Royal Ahold, Publix, Winn-Dixie, Carrefour, Louis Delhaize-Cora, Aldi, Makro-Metro, Lidl, Intermarche, Colruyt and Mestdagh.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Brian Pacampara]

    What: Shares of Brussels-based supermarket operator Delhaize Group (NYSE: DEG  ) climbed 10% today after its preliminary quarterly results and outlook topped Wall Street expectations.

  • [By patokehoe]

    Traditional grocers such as Kroger Co (KR) and Delhaize Group SA (DEG) are having an increasingly hard time dealing with competition from nontraditional grocers. Both of these firms have tried to adapt to the pressure stemming from rival discounters, with varying degrees of success. Whereas Kroger has been able to utilize its scale to leverage fixed costs, Delhaize has struggled to maintain margins, and is being forced to lower prices.
    Fending off competitors Investment gurus John Hussman of Hussman Economtrics Advisors and Joel Greenblatt of Gotham Capital own considerable positions in Kroger, one of the largest retailers in the U.S. The firm currently operates over 2,400 supermarkets, 750 convenience stores, and 325 jewellery stores across 31 states. Shareholders have reason to be optimistic, as the company recently acquired Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc (HTSI). The $2.44 billion deal means Kroger will be looking at an 8% increase in its store base and a 4% boost in revenue.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Stocks For 2014: Huntington Bancshares Incorporated(HBAN)

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated operates as the holding company for The Huntington National Bank that provides commercial, small business, and consumer banking services. The company?s Retail and Business Banking segment offers various financial products and services, including checking, savings, and money market accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer loans, and small business loans and leases; and investments, insurance, interest rate risk protection, foreign exchange hedging, and treasury management services to consumer and small business customers. Its Regional and Commercial Banking segment provides commercial lending; depository and liquidity management products; treasury management solutions; equipment and technology leasing; international services; and capital markets services, such as interest rate risk protection, foreign exchange hedging and sales, trading of securities, mezzanine investment capabilities, and employee benefit programs to government, not-f or-profit, health-care, and publicly traded entities. The company?s Automobile Finance and Commercial Real Estate segment offers financing for the purchase of automobiles, and new and used vehicle inventory by automotive dealerships; and financing for land, buildings, and other commercial real estate owned or constructed by real estate developers, automobile dealerships, or other customers. Its Wealth Advisors, Government Finance, and Home Lending segment provides investment management; investment servicing; custody, and corporate trust and retirement plan services; and administrative and operational support to fund to high net worth customers. It also offers online, mobile, and telephone banking services; and operates approximately 1,300 automated teller machines. As of December 31, 2011, the company had 652 branches located in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Bieglmeier]

    But that doesn't mean there aren't companies worth highlighting. This week insider focus is Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN). �Huntington is a multi-state diversified regional bank holding company. Through its subsidiaries, including its bank subsidiary, The Huntington National Bank (the Bank), Huntington is engaged in providing full-service commercial, small business, consumer banking services, mortgage banking services, automobile financing, equipment leasing, investment management, trust services, brokerage services, customized insurance programs, and other financial products and services.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Stocks For 2014: Knightsbridge Tankers Limited(VLCCF)

Knightsbridge Tankers Limited, through its subsidiaries, engages in the seaborne transportation of crude oil and dry bulk cargoes worldwide. The company?s customers include oil companies, tanker companies, dry bulk companies, petroleum products traders, government agencies, and other entities. As of September 6, 2011, it owned and operated a fleet of four double-hull very large crude carriers, and four Capesize dry bulk carriers. The company was founded in 1996 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Maxx Chatsko]

    The horrendous flops
    I wrote a blog post explaining why Knightsbridge Tankers (NASDAQ: VLCCF  ) made the right move in slashing its dividend and why its prospects were looking up. The shipping company was extremely undervalued at the time, so why was I wrong? I made the mistake of thinking that a company trading below book value represented good value for shareholders. In reality, many shipping companies were -- and are -- trading below shareholders' equity because their fleets are enormously valuable assets. Unfortunately, that inflates book value enormously. It may not seem so harmful at first, but perpetually low charter rates have actually forced many shippers -- including Knightsbridge -- to sell tankers at less than market value to keep the lights on. Those practices can erase large chunks of book value overnight.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Stocks For 2014: Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc. (UBA)

Urstadt Biddle Properties, Inc., a real estate investment trust (REIT), engages in the acquisition, ownership, and management of commercial real estate properties in the United States. Its properties primarily consist of neighborhood and community shopping centers, office buildings, and industrial properties in Fairfield County, Connecticut; Westchester and Putnam Counties, New York; and Bergen County, New Jersey. As of October 31, 2007, the company owned or had an equity interest in 39 properties containing approximately 3.7 million square feet of gross leasable area. As a REIT, it is not subject to federal income tax to the extent that it distributes at least 90% of its REIT taxable income to its stockholders. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Fairfield County, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Smith]

    Urstadt Biddle Properties (NYSE: UBP  ) (NYSE: UBA  ) -- the real estate investment trust with two tickers -- now has two separate executives at the top of its corporate structure, as well.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Stocks For 2014: VirtualScopics Inc.(VSCP)

VirtualScopics, Inc. provides imaging solutions for clinical trials serving the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries. The company offers a suite of image analysis software tools and applications, which are used in detecting and measuring specific anatomical structures and metabolic activity using medical images. Its image-based measurement and visualization tools enable automated, accurate, and reproducible measurement of changes that occur in anatomic structures in musculoskeletal, oncological, cardiological, and neurological diseases. VirtualScopics has strategic relationship with Pfizer Inc. for the discovery, validation, and application of image-based biomarkers for clinical research; and with PPD Development, LP. to provide to provide clients with an integrated and customized clinical development and medical imaging solution for oncology clinical trials. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Rochester, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Paul Ausick]

    VirtualScopics Inc. (NASDAQ: VSCP) provides imaging services on a contract basis for the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries. Shares were up more than 20%, at $3.70 in a 52-week range of $2.93 to $7.50. Only 10,000 shares had traded hands, against a daily average of just 14,000. The company had no news Monday.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Stocks For 2014: Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (MTD)

Mettler-Toledo International Inc. supplies precision instruments and services worldwide. The company operates in five segments: U.S. Operations, Swiss Operations, Western European Operations, Chinese Operations, and Other. It offers weighing instruments for use in laboratory, industrial, packaging, logistics, and food retailing applications; analytical instruments for use in life science; automated chemistry solutions used in drug and chemical compound discovery and development; and metal detection and other end-of-line inspection systems used in production and packaging for food, pharmaceutical, and other industries. Its laboratory instruments include laboratory balances, pipettes, titrators, thermal analysis systems, and other analytical instruments comprising pH meters, density and refractometry instruments, moisture analyzers, as well as laboratory software, automated chemistry solutions, and process analytic instruments. The company�s industrial solutions comprise in dustrial weighing instruments, industrial terminals, automatic identification and data capture solutions, vehicle scale systems, industrial software, and product inspection systems. Its retail solutions consist of multiple weighing and food labeling solutions, such as stand-alone scales, and networked scales and software for handling fresh goods, such as meats, vegetables, fruits, and cheeses. The company serves the life science industry covering pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and independent research organizations; food and beverage producers; food retailers; chemical, specialty chemical, and cosmetics companies; transportation and logistics, metals, and electronics industries; and the academic community. It markets its products through its direct sales force, as well as through indirect distribution channels. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. was founded in 1991 and is based in Columbus, Ohio.

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 Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE: MTD  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

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