Top 10 Stocks For 2014

Insiders and managers of nontraded real estate investment trusts typically own much fewer shares of their REITS than those affiliated with publicly traded REITS, a factor that could influence whether broker-dealers decide to sell shares in non-traded REITs.

A long-held tenet of institutional investing known as “eating your own cooking” or having “skin in the game,” the practice of aligning the interests of investors and REIT managers and executives is gaining importance for some independent broker-dealers, brokerage and REIT executives said.

(Dive in: Inside ownership of 11 big nontraded REITs)

Top 5 Healthcare Technology Companies To Buy Right Now: Zoetis Inc (ZTS)

Zoetis Inc, incorporated on July 25, 2012, is engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and commercialization of animal health medicines and vaccines, with a focus on both livestock and companion animals. The primary livestock species are cattle (both beef and dairy), swine, poultry, sheep and fish, and the primary companion animal species are dogs, cats and horses. In February 2014, Benchmark Holdings PLC purchased aquaculture vaccine and development assets from animal health company Zoetis Inc.

The Company�� more than 300 product lines include vaccines, parasiticides, anti-infectives, medicated feed additives and other pharmaceutical products. The Company�� product portfolio also includes businesses, such as diagnostics, genetics, devices and services, such as dairy data management, e-learning and professional consulting. The Company operates in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and Latin America.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  Complete spinoff of animal health division
  When Pfizer kicked Zoetis (NYSE: ZTS  ) out of the nest earlier this year, it held on to 80% of the company. Now the pharmaceutical giant wants to boot its remaining 401 million shares in an effort to boost earnings and focus on pharma. Animal health is an important and steadily growing international industry, but it just doesn't bring the same margins as prescription drugs. That's probably why Pfizer shares rose 3% after announcing plans to unload its massive stake in Zoetis.

• [By Johanna Bennett]

  Bill Ackman is going to the dogs, not to mention the cats and cows.

  Shares of Zoetis (ZTS) closed at $43.72, rising 8.86% after the Wall Street Journal reported that the hedge fund titan had taken a $2 billion stake in the animal-health company and could push Zoetis to sell itself to a large drug maker.

  Zoetis was spun off by Pfizer (PFE) in last year.

  As the WSJ reports:

  Ackman�� Pershing Square Capital Management LP has built the stake, which amounts to roughly 10% of Zoetis, with fellow hedge fund Sachem Head Capital Management LP, the people said. Sachem Head is run by Scott Ferguson, a former prot茅g茅 of Mr. Ackman.

  A spokesman for Florham Park, N.J.-based Zoetis, which has a market value of about $20 billion, said the company got a call from Mr. Ackman regarding the investment, but declined to comment on it.

  Zoetis makes vaccines and medications for livestock and house hold pets, generating $4.6 billion in sales last year. It is the largest player in the animal-health industry.

  Citing unnamed sources, the WSJ reports that Ackman could be setting up Zoetis as a �� fallback plan��for Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) if it fails to buy Allergan (AGN)

  The WSJ reports:

  The animal-health industry has been an active participant in the recent mergers-and-acquisitions boom. In April, Novartis AG agreed to sell its animal-health unit to Eli Lilly & Co. for $5.4 billion. The deal is expected to boost Lilly�� position in the industry to No. 2 behind Zoetis.

  Valeant Chief Executive Michael Pearson has said he has ambitions of tripling his company�� size through acquisitions, and has indicated animal health is an area of potential interest.

  �

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  The biggest new holdings are pharmaceutical company Actavis�and fertilizer specialist Mosaic. Other new holdings of interest include Zoetis (NYSE: ZTS  ) . If you haven't heard of Zoetis, that may be because it was just spun off by Pfizer�earlier this year. It's a major enterprise, though ��the world's largest animal-health company, and a new addition�to the S&P 500. Its dividend is on the puny side at the moment, but with a low payout ratio, it has much room to grow.

Top 10 Stocks For 2014: Rose Rock Midstream LP (RRMS)

Rose Rock Midstream, L.P., incorporated on August 5, 2011, owns, operates, develops and acquires a diversified portfolio of midstream energy assets. The Company is engaged in the business of crude oil gathering, transportation, storage, distribution and marketing in Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas. It serves areas that are through its exposure to the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and Montana, the Denver-Julesburg Basin (DJ Basin) and the Niobrara Shale in the Rocky Mountain region, and the Granite Wash and the Mississippi Lime Play in the Mid-Continent region. The Company�� operations are conducted through, and the Company�� operating assets are owned by, its wholly-owned subsidiary, Rose Rock Midstream Operating, LLC, and its subsidiaries.

Cushing Storage

The Company owns and operates 28 crude oil storage tanks in Cushing with an aggregate storage capacity of approximately 7.0 million barrels and an additional 600,000 barrels of storage. The Company�� storage terminal has a combined capacity to deliver 480,000 barrels of crude oil per day, and has inbound connections with the White Cliffs Pipeline from Platteville, Colorado, the Great Salt Plains Pipeline, the Cimarron Pipeline from Boyer, Kansas, its Kansas and Oklahoma gathering system and two-way interconnections with all of the other storage terminals in Cushing.

Kansas and Oklahoma System

The Company owns and operates an approximately 640-mile crude oil gathering and transportation pipeline system and over 660,000 barrels of associated storage in Kansas and northern Oklahoma. This system gathers crude oil from throughout the region and delivers it to third-party pipelines and refineries and its Cushing terminal. During the years ended December 31, 2012, the Company�� transported an average of approximately 52,000 and 36,000 barrels per day, respectively, from multiple receipt points. The system has pipeline diameters ranging from 4 to 12 inches and! has 25 pump stations. This system also includes 18 truck unloading stations.

Bakken Shale Operations

The Company owns and operates a crude oil gathering, storage, transportation and marketing business in the Bakken Shale area in western North Dakota and eastern Montana. Using its fleet of trucks and two truck unloading facilities, the Company purchase crude oil at the wellhead, transport it through its trucks and third-party pipelines, including the Enbridge North Dakota System, and market it to customers. The Company owns tanks in Trenton and Stanley, North Dakota, with an aggregate storage capacity of 61,800 barrels that connect into the Enbridge North Dakota System. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company handled and marketed an average of approximately 7,100 barrels per day.

Platteville Facility

The Company owns and operates a modern, sixteen-lane crude oil truck unloading facility in Platteville, Colorado, which connects to the origination point of the White Cliffs Pipeline. Much of the crude oil production from the DJ Basin and the nearby Niobrara Shale must initially be transported by truck due to a shortage of gathering capacity. Throughput at the facility averaged 43,500 and 32,400 barrels per day for the years ended December 31, 2012. The facility includes 230,000 barrels of crude oil storage capacity. The Platteville facility also allows customer pipeline gathering systems to connect to the origination point of the White Cliffs Pipeline.

The Company competes with Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P., Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P., Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., Blueknight Energy Partners, L.P., Enterprise Products Partners L.P, MV Purchasing, LLC, Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., National Cooperative Refinery Association, Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. and Eighty Eight Oil LLC.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Rapier]

  Rose Rock Midstream (NYSE: RRMS) isn’t a name we have discussed much here. RRMS is an MLP that owns oil-gathering, storage and transportation assets in Colorado, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas. The MLP was formed by midstream energy giant SemGroup (NYSE: SEMG), which acts as the general partner. RRMS had its IPO in December 2011 with an initial EV of $1.2 billion and a minimum yield of 4.7 percent.

Top 10 Stocks For 2014: Rochester Medical Corporation(ROCM)

Rochester Medical Corporation engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of PVC-free and latex-free urinary continence and urine drainage care products for the home and acute care markets. Its home care products include a line of silicone and latex male external catheters for managing male urinary incontinence; intermittent catheters for managing both male and female urinary retention, including Magic 3 line of silicone intermittent catheters; and the FemSoft Insert, a soft, liquid-filled, urethral insert for managing stress urinary incontinence in adult females. The company manufactures male external catheters in six models, including UltraFlex, Pop-On, Wide Band, Natural, Clear Advantage, and Transfix catheters; and intermittent catheters in four versions that include standard, antibacterial, hydrophilic, and antibacterial personal catheters. Its acute care products include a line of standard Foley catheters and Strata brand of Foley catheters; and Strata-NF Catheter, an antibacterial Foley catheter that reduces the incidence of hospital acquired urinary tract infection. The company?s primary customers include distributors, extended care facilities, and individual hospitals and healthcare institutions. It markets its products under the Rochester Medical brand name through a direct sales force in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, as well as through independent distributors in other international markets. The company also supplies its products to various medical product companies for sale under private label brands owned by these companies. Rochester Medical Corporation was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Stewartville, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  Gabelli then made two separate buys into Rochester Medical (ROCM). On Sept. 4, the guru upped his stake by over 30% and on Sept. 5, Gabelli added an additional 10.21%. The guru purchased a total of 227,600 shares at an average price of $19.90 per share. Gabelli now holds on to a total of 750,110 shares, representing about 6.12% of the company�� shares outstanding.

• [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 Rochester Medical (Nasdaq: ROCM  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Top 10 Stocks For 2014: Werner Enterprises Inc (WERN)

Werner Enterprises, Inc., incorporated on September 14, 1982, is a transportation and logistics company engaged primarily in hauling truckload shipments of general commodities in both interstate and intrastate commerce. The Company also provides logistics services through its value added services (VAS) division. As of the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company had a fleet of 7,150 trucks, of which 6,505 were Company-operated and 645 were owned and operated by independent contractors. The Company operates in two segments: Truckload Transportation Services (Truckload) and VAS.

Truckload segment

The Company's Truckload segment consists of the One-Way Truckload and Specialized Services units. One-Way Truckload includes the operating fleets: the regional short-haul (Regional) fleet transports a variety of consumer nondurable products and other commodities in truckload quantities within geographic regions across the United States using dry van trailers; the medium-to-long-haul van (Van) fleet provides comparable truckload van service over irregular routes, and the expedited (Expedited) fleet provides time-sensitive truckload services utilizing driver teams.

Specialized Services provides truckload services dedicated to a specific customer, generally for a retail distribution center or manufacturing facility, including services for products requiring specialized trailers such as flatbed or temperature-controlled trailers. The Company's Truckload fleets operate throughout the 48 contiguous United States, both common and contract, granted by the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The Company also has authority to operate in several provinces of Canada and to provide through-trailer service into and out of Mexico. The principal types of freight the Company transports include retail store merchandise, consumer products, grocery products and manufactured products. The Company focuses on transporting consumer nondurable products that generally ship.

!

VAS segment

The Company's VAS segment is a non-asset-based transportation and logistics provider. VAS is consists of four operating units that provide non-trucking services to the Company's customers: truck brokerage (Brokerage) uses contracted carriers to complete customer shipments; freight management (Freight Management) offers a range of single-source logistics management services and solutions; the intermodal (Intermodal) unit offers rail transportation through alliances with rail and drayage providers as an alternative to truck transportation, and Werner Global Logistics international (WGL) provides complete management of global shipments from origin to destination using a combination of air, ocean, truck and rail transportation modes. The Company's Brokerage unit had transportation services contracts with approximately 9,400 carriers as of December 31, 2012.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading DOWN
  Shares of Outerwall (NASDAQ: OUTR) were down 16.03 percent to $47.00 after the company lowered its forecast for the third quarter and full year. Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN) shares tumbled 4.71 percent to $23.26 after the company issued a weak third-quarter profit forecast. Bank of America downgraded the stock from Buy to Neutral. Pandora Media (NYSE: P) down, falling 1.71 percent to $23.58 as the company announced its plans to sell 14 million shares of common stock, including 4 million shares from current stockholders.

• [By Michael Flannelly]

  Following Werner Enterprises, Inc.’s (WERN) third quarter earnings warning, analysts at KeyBanc downgraded the transportation and logistics company on Tuesday.

  The analysts downgraded WERN from “Buy” to “Hold.”

  KeyBanc analyst Todd Fowler said, “We downgrade WERN from Buy to HOLD following its negative 3Q pre-ann’ct, which reflected a number of company-specific issues that we expect to limit upside going forward; we would focus investors on other, stronger-performing names within the truckload space, specifically, BUY-rated Swift Transportation Company (SWFT), Marten Transport Ltd. (MRTN), and Knight Transportation Inc. (KNX).”

  Werner Enterprises shares were down $1.66, or 6.80%, during pre-market trading on Tuesday. The stock is up 12.64% year-to-date.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN) shares dropped 4.83% to $23.23 in pre-market trading after the company issued a weak third-quarter profit forecast.

Top 10 Stocks For 2014: Rakuten Inc (RKUNF)

Rakuten Inc. is mainly engaged in the electronic commerce (EC) business and Internet-related businesses. The Internet Service segment operates Internet shopping mall Rakuten Ichiba, EC sites, travel reservation sites, portal sites, digital books, as well as sells advertisements and contents on these sites. The Internet Finance segment provides banking and securities services, credit cards related services, life insurance and electronic money services through Internets. The Others segment provides communication services and operates baseball teams. On March 27, 2013, the Company announced the completion of the acquisition of AIRIO, a life insurance company. On March 28, 2013, the Company acquired additional 61.29% stake of Stylife Corp. On October 15, 2013, the Company announced that it had acquired Spotlight Inc. On January 1, 2014, it transferred its online mall business Rakuten 24 to Kenko.com Inc. On February 3, 2014, it acquired the entire share capital of VI-VI-VI.COM Co., Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks rose in early Monday trading, with weaker-than-expected trade data pushing the yen lower, which in turn helped some export stocks. The Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) added 1% to 14,704.36, with the broader Topix up 0.8%, also enjoying support from gains Friday in the U.S. After data showing exports grew less than analysts had projected, the dollar (USDJPY) moved back above the 98-yen level, sending some exporters climbing, with a 2.2% rise for Fujitsu Ltd. (JP:6702) (FJTSY) , a 1.2% improvement for Alps Electric Co. (JP:6770) , and a 1% bump for Toyota Motor Corp. (JP:7203) (TM) . Shares of Suzuki Motor Corp. (JP:7269) (SZKMF) added 2.9% after a Nikkei report saying the company would record its highest-ever operating profit for the April-September half. Retailers were also a strong spot Monday, with J. Front Retailing Co. (JP:3086) up 2%, online marketplace Rakuten Inc. (JP:4755) (RKUNF) adding 2.4%, and 7-Eleven operator Seven & I Holdings Co. (JP:3382) (SVNDF) ahead by 1.4%.

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks slipped early Monday, with the Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) down 0.1% at 14,298.17, and the Topix dropping 0.4%. Singapore-traded lead futures for the Nikkei Average had suggested a 0.8% gain for the index, but the indicator fell after the Cabinet Office reported fourth-quarter economic growth of 0.3%, flat from the previous quarter and below expectations in separate Reuters and Wall Street Journal/Nikkei surveys. The disappointing economic data also pushed the yen higher, weighing on some exporters, with Panasonic Corp. (JP:6752) (PCRFF) down 1.8%, NEC Corp. (JP:6701) (NIPNF) off 1.3%, and Sony Corp. (JP:6758) (SNE) down 0.7% after S&P downgraded the firm's credit rating to BBB- from BBB with a negative outlook. Shares of Internet retailer Rakuten Inc. (JP:4755) (RKUNF) dropped 12% after announcing plans to buy online messaging and telecom firm Viber Media Inc. for $900 million as well as posting below-consensus full-year profit. Banks were broadly lower, with Mizuho Financial Group Inc. (JP:8411) (MFG) off 1% and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. (JP:8316) (SMFG) off 1.1%, though Daiwa Securities Group Inc. (JP:8601)

Top 10 Stocks For 2014: TheStreet Inc (TST)

TheStreet Inc. (TheStreet), incorporated on April 2, 1982, is a digital financial media company. The Company provides users, subscribers and advertisers with a range of content and tools through a range of online, social media, tablet and mobile channels. The Company's subscription products include paid Web services, such as RealMoney, RealMoney Pro, Options Profits, Actions Alerts PLUS, Chat On TheStreet and Stocks Under $10. In addition to its subscription products, the Company�� premium services business also includes information services revenue from its RateWatch business, which maintains an updated database of financial rate and fee data collected from more than 90,000 financial institutions (at the branch level), including certificate of deposit, money market account, savings account, checking account, home mortgage, home equity loan, credit card and auto loan rates. In September 2012, it acquired The Deal LLC from Wasserstein & Co.

The Company's advertising-supported properties include TheStreet, Stockpickr, MainStreet and BankingMyWay. TheStreet generates advertising revenue from its content through the sale of a range of advertising placements, including banner, tile, contextual, performance-based and interactive advertisement and sponsorship placements in its advertising-supported Web sites, as well as on select paid subscription sites; advertisement placements in its free email newsletters and stand-alone emails sent on behalf of its advertisers to its registered users, and advertisements in its video programming, TheStreet services for mobile and tablet devices, RSS feeds, blogs and in its podcasts.

The Company competes with The Wall Street Journal Digital Network, CNN Money, Forbes.com, Reuters.com, Bloomberg.com, CNBC.com, Yahoo! Finance, AOL Money & Finance, MSN Money, CNBC, the Fox Business Channel, Standard & Poor's, Morningstar, Lipper, Informa and SNL Kagan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  TheStreet's (NASDAQ: TST  ) asset list is slightly longer following the financial media company's latest acquisition. The company announced that it bought several properties from DealFlow Media in order to compliment its offerings. Those assets are The DealFlow Report and The Life Settlements Report, both newsletters, and PrivateRaise, a database.

Top 10 Stocks For 2014: The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated(CAKE)

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated operates upscale, casual, full-service dining restaurants in the United States. As of February 23, 2012, the company operated 170 dining restaurants, including 156 restaurants under The Cheesecake Factory mark in 35 states and the District of Columbia; 13 restaurants under the Grand Lux Cafe mark in 9 states; and 1 restaurant under the RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen mark in California. It also owns and operates two bakery production facilities located in Calabasas Hills, California; and Rocky Mount, North Carolina. The company produces baked desserts and other products for its restaurants, as well as sells cheesecakes and other baked products on a wholesale basis to other foodservice operators, retailers, and distributors. The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated was founded in 1972 and is based in Calabasas Hills, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]

  Alamy McDonald's (MCD) has been struggling to heat up its sales for more than a year, but let's not assume that all fast food chains are in the same boat. In fact, as McDonald's tries to upgrade its menu with premium-priced items and update its eateries with fancy decor, free Wi-Fi, and barista-brewed coffee beverages, a much smaller rival is doing just fine with a throwback business model and menu. At a time when many of its more modern peers are struggling to ring up sales, Sonic (SONC) -- the chain of drive-in restaurants where some orders are still delivered to parked cars by carhops on roller skates -- is doing just fine. Retro Chic Sonic reported another solid quarter on Monday. Same-restaurant sales rose 2.2 percent for its fiscal quarter ending in November. Margins improved to the point where adjusted earnings per share climbed 18 percent with the help of an aggressive share buyback plan. McDonald's doesn't operate on the same fiscal calendar, but we know that same-restaurant sales in the U.S. declined 0.8 percent in November and were up a mere 0.2 percent in October. McDonald's is the world's largest burger chain, but it's had several months since Oct. 2012 where it failed to drum up more sales than it did a year earlier. Meanwhile, Sonic is on a roll. This isn't a fluke. Sonic posted a 5.9 percent surge in same-restaurant sales during its summer quarter. Zigging When McDonald's Zags Sonic and McDonald's both serve cheap burgers, but what's more interesting to consider is where the two companies are going in different directions. McDonald's has been on a health kick lately. It's been promoting its grilled chicken salads and recently added breakfast sandwiches made with egg whites. Sonic, on the other hand, is crediting no small part of the success of its most recent quarter to its milkshakes and new Cheesecake Bites. Consumers may talk about eating healthier, but they do something else when they're eating out. We're seeing this in the chain

• [By shash63]

  For those who like to opt in food and beverages segment stocks, can always look at Chipotle (CMG) and Cheesecake (CAKE). Both these companies are recording growth. These two are established players as well.

• [By Alex Planes]

  Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz thinks that Krispy Kreme is part of the leading edge of junk food franchises that Americans have gravitated toward, in spite of health warnings and the persistent sirens of an obesity crisis. Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ: CAKE  ) , another franchise known for its unhealthy baked goods, is also growing quickly. It hasn't gained as much as Krispy Kreme, but it hasn't had to start from such a low point, either. There remains a certain prestige in being "the treat franchise," and Krispy Kreme embodies this better than Dunkin -- at least from this writer's humble perspective.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Back in April, The Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ: CAKE  ) -- the haven of decadence with its huge portions and massive dessert list -- also posted positive comps. Despite the general malaise in casual dining, The Cheesecake Factory is now working on its fourth year of consistently positive same-store sales.