Undervalued Stocks To Buy For 2016: March 2014

Monday, March 31, 2014

10 Best Energy Stocks To Own Right Now

As 2013 rolls to a close, energy will end up being one of the underperforming S&P 500 sectors in what largely has been a tremendous year for investors. While some stocks disappointed, the energy team at Merrill Lynch are actually reasonably positive about the sector for 2014. They do not see a total collapse in West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude due to oversupply, and they anticipate fairly firm pricing for natural gas. Their average price forecast for WTI is $92. For natural gas, they expect $3.90 per MMBtu.

In a new research report, Merrill Lynch analysts�have a list of some specific energy sector themes they expect to play out over the course of the coming year. We picked the themes that may have the largest effect on investors.

Theme 1: Rising self-sufficiency in the Northeast gas market could have big implications for the entire market. With the price of gas likely to remain in a narrow range next year, Merrill Lynch�suggests investors buy high-quality, large resource-based stocks. The analysts have two top names to buy.

10 Best Energy Stocks To Own Right Now: Transocean Inc.(RIG)

Transocean Ltd. provides offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells worldwide. It offers deepwater and harsh environment drilling, oil and gas drilling management, and drilling engineering and drilling project management services. The company also offers well and logistics services. In addition, it engages in oil and gas exploration, development, and production activities primarily in the United States offshore Louisiana and Texas, and in the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea. As of February 10, 2011, the company owned, had partial ownership interests in, and operated 138 mobile offshore drilling units, including 47 high-specification floaters, 25 midwater floaters, 9 high-specification jackups, 54 standard jackups, and 3 other rigs, as well as 1 ultra-deepwater floater and 3 high-specification jackups under construction. Transocean Ltd. was founded in 1953 and is based in Zug, Switzerland.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Ben Levisohn]
Last week, Barclays issued a very bearish report on offshore drillers, including Transocean (RIG), Seadrill (SDRL) and�Atwood Oceanics�(ATW). This week, Raymond James added its voice to the growing chorus of naysayers.
Associated Press
Raymond James analyst Collin Gerry and team explain why they’re bearish in the short-term–and why it’s too early to step in and buy:

Welcome to a typical oilfield cycle: step 1) attractive newbuild returns entice new capacity; step 2) newbuild capacity delivers as demand begins to soften; and step 3) pricing and utilization suffer. This is not new to the oilfield services sector and it appears the offshore drillers are set to experience a cyclical downturn. Over the past several years, the market has easily absorbed robust newbuild activity without affecting pricing. Going forward, demand growth is decelerating as newbuild supply is accelerating which likely creates utilization and pricing sloppiness.

Though stocks are screening cheaper, we believe it is too early to step in and buy: Are we piling on too late? Honestly, kind of. Offshore drillers already underperformed the OIH by 20% since late 2012. However, valuations currently offer little downside support. In addition, we fear the headline risk of continued dayrate and utilization sloppiness. Longer term: It is very important not to abandon this space.

As a result, Gerry cut Atwood Oceanics, Ensco (ESV) and Noble Energy (NE) to Market Perform from Outperform. He raised Rowan (RDC) to Outperform from Market Perform. Rowan was also a favorite of Barclays.

Shares of Atwood have dropped 4.3% to $45.35, while Ensco has fallen 2.1% to $49.30, Noble has declined 1% to $30.72, Rowan has ticked up 0.1% to $31.41, Seadrill has dropped 0.7% to $35.46 and Transocean is off 1.9% at $42.48.
[By Vanina Egea]
The offshore trend is so strong that it has the potential to revive companies believed to be permanently out of business, like Transocean (RIG) after the Deepwater Horizon incident. Hence, moving jobs from Liberal, Kansas, to Pampas, Texas, is coherent with current trends in North America as onshore reserves begin to dry. On the other hand, many offshore reserves remain untapped or undiscovered.
[By Taylor Muckerman and Joel South]
Shareholders of Transocean (NYSE: RIG ) should be busy this weekend reading up on how the two proposed dividends could affect the company financially and about the backgrounds of the nominees to the Board of Directors. Each of these decisions will likely weigh heavily on the future outlook of Transocean which resides in a competitive and growing industry.��
[By Claudia Assis]
But Transocean Ltd. (RIG) �climbed, leading energy stocks on the S&P 500 Index with a 3.7% gain, after the offshore driller announced two measures in a deal with activist investor Carl Icahn.

10 Best Energy Stocks To Own Right Now: Bumi Resources Tbk PT (BUMI)

PT Bumi Resources Tbk is an Indonesia-based company engaged in exploration and exploitation of coal deposits, including coal mining, and oil exploration. It also owns gold, iron, ore, zinc, lead and copper mines thorugh its subsidiaries. The Company and its subsidiaries classify their products and services into four core business segments: coal mining, services, oil and gas, and gold. The coal mining activities comprise exploration and exploitation of coal deposits, including mining and selling coal. The activity of services represents marketing and management services. The activity of gold, oil and gas are still under exploration stage. Advisors' Opinion:

[By Inyoung Hwang]
GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) was the biggest drag on the benchmark measure after an executive said some employees may have broken the law in China. Bumi (BUMI) Plc tumbled 8.6 percent after the coal producer at the center of an ownership dispute ended a three-month halt in London trading. Fresnillo Plc and Randgold Resources Ltd. each added at least 3 percent as gold and silver rallied for a third day.

Top Cheapest Stocks To Own Right Now: VAALCO Energy Inc (EGY)

VAALCO Energy, Inc. (VAALCO), incorporated in 1985, is an independent energy company principally engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas. VAALCO owns producing properties and conducts exploration activities as operator in Gabon, West Africa, conducts exploration activities as an operator in Angola, West Africa, and has conducted exploration activities as a non-operator in the British North Sea. The Company owns minor interests in production activities as a non-operator in the United States. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Etame, Avouma, South Tchibala and Ebouri fields produced approximately 8.1 million barrels of oil (2.3 million barrels of oil net to the Company).

Offshore Gabon

The Company�� primary source of revenue is from the Etame Production Sharing Contract related to the Etame Marin block located offshore the Republic of Gabon. VAALCO operates the Etame Marin block on behalf of a consortium of companies. As of December 31, 2010, VAALCO owned a 30.35% interest in the exploration acreage within the Etame Marin block. The Company owns a 28.1% interest in the development areas surrounding the Etame, Avouma, South Tchibala and Ebouri fields, each of which is located on the Etame Marin block. The Company produces from the Etame, Avouma, South Tchibala and Ebouri fields on the block.

Onshore Gabon

The Mutamba Iroru block is ocated onshore near the coast in central Gabon. The Mutamba Iroru block contains an exploration area of approximately 270,000 acres.

Offshore Angola

The Company has 40% working interest in Offshore Angola. The four year primary term with an optional three year extension awards the Company exploration rights to 1.4 million acres offshore central Angola.

Onshore Domestic-Texas

In July 2011, the Company acquired a 480 acre lease in the Granite Wash formation in North Texas. In November 2011, the Company commen! ced drilling a second well on the initial Granite Wash formation lease.

Onshore DomesticMontana

In May 2011, the Company acquired a 70% working interest in approximately 5,200 acres (3,640 net acres) in Sheridan County, Montana in the Middle Bakken formation. In September 2011, it acquired a 65% working interest in approximately 22,000 gross acres covering the Middle Bakken and deeper formations in the East Poplar unit and the Northwest Poplar field in Roosevelt County, Montana.

DomesticOutside Operated

The Company has minor interests in Brazos County, Texas producing from the Buda/Georgetown formations. The Company also owns certain minor non-operated interests in the Ship Shoal area of the Gulf of Mexico and in Pickens County, Alabama.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Eric Volkman]
Vaalco Energy (NYSE: EGY ) hopes to put some power into its common stock by repurchasing a chunk of outstanding shares. The company's board has authorized a repurchase program for up to $25 million worth of stock. The initiative will be in force for one year.
[By Laura Brodbeck]
Thursday
Earnings Expected From: AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVEO), Kirkland��, Inc (NASDAQ: KIRK), Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG), Stein Mart, Inc. (SMRT: NASDAQ), Mattress Firm Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: MRFM), SeaWorld Entertainment (NYSE: SEAS), Vaalco Energy Inc (NYSE: EGY) Economic Releases Expected: Chinese retail sales, French CPI, Brazilian retail sales, US retail sales, Japanese industrial production
Friday
[By Laura Brodbeck]
Friday
Earnings Expected From: Covidien plc. (NYSE: COV), Eldorado Gold Corporation (NYSE: EGO), Vaalco Energy Inc. (NYSE: EGY) Economic Releases Expected: �US Wholesale Trade, US non-farm payrolls
Posted-In: Bank Of England European Central Bank Federal ReserveNews Eurozone Previews Global Economics Federal Reserve Markets Trading Ideas Best of Benzinga

10 Best Energy Stocks To Own Right Now: CST Brands Inc (CST)

CST Brands, Inc., incorporated on November 7, 2012 , is a retailer of transportation fuels and convenience goods in North America. As of April 30, 2013, the Company operated 1,032 Corner Stores throughout the United States, including Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona and California. Its stores also provide prepared foods. In May 2013, the Company announced that the Company which includes Corner Store and Depanneur du Coin, spun off from Valero Energy Corporation.

The Company offers a range of products, such as snack foods, tobacco products, beverages and fresh foods, including its own brands: Fresh Choices sandwiches, salads and packaged goods; U Force energy drinks; Cibolo Mountain coffees (the United States); Transit Cafe coffee and bakery (Canada); FC bottled sodas, and Flavors 2 Go fountain sodas. Its Corner Store locations also provide in-store Subway sandwich shops.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By David Sterman]

3. CST Brands (NYSE: CST) The gas station operator was spun away from parent Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO) in May, and though shares eventually moved up above $33, they've been backsliding recently. A company director thought he spotted value by the time shares fell to $31.55 a share (where he picked up $142,000 in stock). But shares have continued to fall below $30.
CST's newly independent management team aims to spruce up the company's 1,900 gas stations. It has the resources to make that happen: Valero left CST with more than $400 million in cash to work with.

10 Best Energy Stocks To Own Right Now: Compressco Partners LP (GSJK)

Compressco Partners, L.P. is a provider of wellhead compression-based production enhancement services (production enhancement services). The Company provides its services to a base of natural gas and oil exploration and production companies operating throughout many of the onshore producing regions of the United States, as well as in Canada and Mexico. Its production enhancement services primarily consist of wellhead compression, related liquids separation, gas metering, and vapor recovery services. It also provides ongoing well monitoring services, and, in Mexico, automated sand separation services in connection with its primary production enhancement services. It design and manufacture most of the compressor units it use to provide its production enhancement services. Compressco Partners GP, Inc. is the general partner of the Company. In January 2014, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of Compression assets for gas lift markets as part of its defined strategic growth objectives.

GasJack unit fleet

The Company�� GasJack unit allows it to perform compression, liquids separation and optional gas metering services all from one skid. The Company focuses on the natural gas wells in its operating regions that produce between 30,000 and 300, 000 cubic feet of natural gas per day (Mcf/d) and less than 50 barrels of water per day. The Company primarily utilize its natural gas powered GasJack compressors, or GasJack units, to provide wellhead compression services. Its GasJack units increase gas production by reducing surface pressure, which allows wellbore fluids that would normally block gas flow to produce up the well. The 46-horsepower GasJack unit is an integrated power/compressor unit equipped with an industrial 460-cubic inch, V-8 engine that uses natural gas from the well to power one bank of cylinders that, in turn, powers the other bank of cylinders, which provide compression. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had a fleet of 3,145 GasJack units.!

VJack unit fleet

The Company utilizes its electric VJack compressors, or VJack units, to provide its production enhancement services on wells located in larger, mature oil fields, such as the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico, and in environmentally sensitive markets, such as California, when electric power is available at the production site. Its VJack unit is designed for vapor recovery applications (to capture natural gas vapors emitting from closed storage tanks after production and to reduce storage tank pressures) and backside pumping applications on oil wells (to reduce pressures caused by casing head gas in oil wells with pumping units). Based on GasJack unit technology, the VJack unit is capable of full wellbore stream production, and can handle up to 50 barrels per day of liquids on a standard skid package. As of December 31, 2011, it had a fleet of 50 VJack units. Its GasJack and VJack compressor units are mounted on steel skids.

ePumper system

Utilizing its ePumper system, SCADA satellite telemetry-based reporting system, it remotely monitor in real time, whether its services are being continuously provided at each well site. The ePumper system improves the response time of its field personnel.

Well Monitoring and Automated Sand Separation Services

The Company also provides ongoing well monitoring services and, in Mexico, automated sand separation services. Its well monitoring services consist of ongoing testing and evaluation of wells to determine how its wellhead compression services are optimizing the production from a well.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Energy sector gained 0.85 percent in the US market today. Among the energy stocks, McDermott International (NYSE: MDR) was down more than 9.3 percent, while Compressco Partners LP (NASDAQ: GSJK) tumbled around 5.3 percent.

10 Best Energy Stocks To Own Right Now: Pacific Drilling SA (PACD)

Pacific Drilling S.A., incorporated on March 22, 2011, is an international offshore drilling Company. The Company is a provider of ultra-deepwater drilling services to the oil and natural gas industry through the use of high-specification drilling rigs. The Company�� primary business is to contract its ultra-deepwater drilling rigs, related equipment and work crews, primarily on a dayrate basis, to drill wells for its customers. The Company is primarily focused on the ultra-deepwater market. The Company generally consider ultra-deepwater to begin at water depths of more than 7,500 feet and to extend to the maximum water depths, in which rigs are capable of drilling, which is approximately 12,000 feet.

The Company operates four drillships and has four drillships under construction, two of which are under customer contract. In connection with the Restructuring, the Company�� Predecessor was contributed to a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company by a subsidiary of Quantum Pacific International Limited.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Roberto Pedone]
Pacific Drilling (PACD) is an international offshore drilling contractor committed to becoming the preferred provider of ultra-deepwater drilling services to the oil and natural gas industry through the use of high-specification rigs. This stock closed up 1% to $9.94 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $9.87-$10.00

52-Week Range: $8.63-$10.99

Thursday's Volume: 450,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 308,772

From a technical perspective, PACD bounced modestly higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $9.67 with above-average volume. This stock has been trending sideways and consolidating for the last five months, with shares moving between $8.89 on the downside and $10.23 on the upside. Shares of PACD are now starting to trend within range of triggering a breakout trade above the upper-end of its recent sideways trading chart pattern. That trade will hit if PACD manages to take out some key overhead resistance levels at $10.14 to $10.23 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in PACD as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $9.81 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 308,772 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then PACD will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $10.71 to its 52-week high at $10.99. Any high-volume move above $10.99 will then put its all-time high at $11.47 within range for shares of PACD.
[By Aaron Levitt]
Management recently announced a hefty 50% hike in its quarterly dividend to 37.5 cents per share of NE stock. And with a 4.8% dividend yield, NE stock is now one of the best-paying dividend stocks in the energy sector.
Dividend Stocks To Buy #5 — Pacific Drilling (PACD)
Estimated Dividend Yield: 6.5%
[By David Smith]
Chevron has been working hand-in-glove in implementing DGD with offshore rig operator Pacific Drilling (NYSE: PACD ) . Pacific's drillship Pacific Santa Ana was specifically built to Chevron's DGD-enhancing specifications and is working for the big company in the Gulf of Mexico.

10 Best Energy Stocks To Own Right Now: Dresser-Rand Group Inc (DRC)

Dresser-Rand Group Inc., incorporated on October 1,2004, is a global supplier of of custom-engineered rotating equipment solutions for long-life, critical applications in the oil, gas, chemical, petrochemical, process, power generation, military and other industries worldwide. Its rotating equipment is also supplied to the environmental solutions market space within energy infrastructure. It designs, manufactures and markets engineered rotating equipment and provide services to the worldwide oil, gas, petrochemical, power generation, environmental solutions and industrial process industries. In July 2012, the Company acquired compressed air energy storage property.

The Company has two segments: new units and aftermarket parts. New units are predominately engineered solutions to new requests from clients. New units also include standardized equipment such as engines and single stage steam turbines. The segment includes engineering, manufacturing, packaging, testing, sales and administrative support. Aftermarket parts and services consist of support solutions for the existing population of installed equipment and the operation and maintenance of several types of energy plants. The segment includes engineering, manufacturing, installation, commissioning, start-up and other field services, repairs, overhauls, refurbishment, sales and administrative support.

The Company's products and services are used in oil and gas applications that include hydrogen recycle, make-up, wet gas and other applications for the refining industry; cracked gas, propylene and ethylene compression for petrochemical facilities; ammonia syngas, refrigeration, and carbon dioxide compression for fertilizer production; a number of compression duties for chemical plants; gas gathering, export, lift and re-injection of natural gas or carbon dioxide (CO2) to meet regulatory requirements or for oil field enhanced recovery in the upstream market; gas processing, main refrigeration compression and a variety of other! duties required in the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG); gas processing duties, storage and pipeline transmission compression for the midstream market; synthetic fuels; and steam turbine power generation for floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels as well as power generation or mechanical drive duties for a variety of compression and pumping applications in the oil and gas market. It is also a supplier of diesel and gas engines that provides customized energy solutions across worldwide energy infrastructure markets based upon reciprocating engine power systems technologies.

The Company's custom-engineered products are also used in other advanced applications in the environmental markets it serves. These applications use renewable energy sources, reduce carbon footprint, recover energy and/or energy efficiency. These products include, among others, compression technologies for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS); hot gas turbo-expanders for energy recovery in refineries and certain chemical facilities; co- and tri-generation combined heat and power (CHP) packages for institutional and other clients; and a number of steam turbine applications to generate power using steam produced by recovering exhaust heat from the main engines in ships, recovering heat from mining and metals production facilities and exhaust heat recovery from gas turbines in on-shore and off-shore sites.

It provides an array of products and services to its worldwide client base in over 150 countries from its global locations in 18 United States and 32 countries (over 76 sales offices, 49 service and support centers, including six engineering and research and development centers, and 13 manufacturing locations). Its clients include, among others, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Dow Chemical Company, ExxonMobil, Gazprom, LUKOIL, Marathon Petroleum Company, PDVSA, Pemex, Petrobras, PetroChina, Petronas, Repsol, Royal Dutch Shell, SBM, Saudi Aramco, Statoil, Total and Turkmengaz.

New Units

The Company is a manufacturer of engineered turbo and reciprocating compression equipment and steam turbines. It is also a manufacture power turbines; special-purpose gas turbines; hot gas expanders; gas and diesel engines; trip, trip throttle and non-return valves; magnetic bearings and control systems. Its new unit products are built to client specifications for long-life, critical applications. It is a supplier of turbo machinery for the energy infrastructure markets worldwide. Applications for its turbo products include gas gathering, lift, export and injection; CO2 compression for enhanced oil recovery; storage and transmission; synthetic fuels; ethylene and fertilizer production; refineries and chemical production; CCS and CAES. In addition, it offers a variety of gas and power turbines covering a power range from approximately 1.5 megawatts to more than 50 MW, which support driver needs for various centrifugal compressor product lines, as well as for power generation applications. It also offers control systems for its centrifugal compressors.

It is a supplier of reciprocating compressors, offering products ranging from medium to high-speed separable units driven by engines or electric motors, to slow speed motor driven process reciprocating compressors. It is a supplier of standard and engineered mechanical drive steam turbines and turbine generator sets. Its steam turbine models cover a power range from a few kilowatts up to 75MW, are available for high inlet steam pressure and temperature conditions, with or without induction and/or extraction sections and in condensing or back-pressure designs. These units are used primarily to drive pumps, fans, blowers, generators and compressors. It is a supplier of diesel, gas and dual fuel internal combustion reciprocating engines. Its Guascor engines cover a power range of up to 1.5 megawatts. Guascor engines are used in 1) industrial applications and power generation, 2) marine propulsion and auxiliary genera! tion, and! 3) environmental solutions, CHP and bioenergy (waste water treatment plant, landfill and biogas generation).

Aftermarket Parts and Services

Aftermarket parts and services segment provides them with long-term growth opportunities. Aftermarket parts and services are generally less sensitive to business cycles than the new units segment, although revenues and bookings tend to be higher in the second half of the year. With a typical operating life of 30 years or more, rotating equipment requires substantial aftermarket parts and services over its operating life. Parts and services activities realize higher margins than new unit sales. Additionally, the cumulative revenues from these aftermarket activities often exceed the initial purchase price of the unit. Its aftermarket parts and services business offers a range of services designed to enable clients to maximize their return on assets by optimizing the performance of their mission-critical rotating equipment. It offers a broad range of aftermarket parts and services, including: replacement parts, field service turnaround, service and repair, operation and maintenance contracts, rotor / spare parts storage, condition monitoring, controls retrofit, site / reliability audits, remote area energy solutions, equipment repair and rerates, equipment installation, applied technology, long-term service agreements, special coatings / weldings, product training, turnkey installation / project management and energy asset management.

The Company competes with GE Oil & Gas, Solar Turbines, Inc., MAN Diesel & Turbo, Siemens, Rolls-Royce Energy, Elliott Company, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Burckhardt Compression, Neuman & Esser Group, Ariel Corp., Howden Thomassen Compressors BV and Mitsui & Co., Ltd, Elliott Company, Shin Nippon Machinery Co. Ltd, GE/Jenbacher, Caterpillar and Cummins.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Michael Fitzsimmons]
General Electric's (GE) Oil & Gas division is on fire and growing much faster than the rest of the company. Yet it is such a small part of the company, its valuation is being diluted by GE's other businesses. However, the company has a cash hoard and CEO Jeff Immelt has spoken frequently about his desire to grow the industrial base while reducing the size of GE Capital. As a result, the best way to invest in GE Oil's & Gas business may be to invest companies which GE is likely to takeover. Two likely candidates are the Dresser Rand Corp. (DRC) and Dril-Quip (DRQ).

10 Best Energy Stocks To Own Right Now: Williams Partners L.P.(WPZ)

Williams Partners L.P. focuses on natural gas transportation, gathering, treating and processing, storage, natural gas liquid fractionation, and oil transportation activities in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Gas Pipeline, and Midstream Gas and Liquids. The Gas Pipeline segment owns and operates approximately 13,900 miles of pipelines with annual throughput of approximately 2,700 trillion British thermal units of natural gas and delivery capacity of approximately 13 million dekatherms of gas. This segment also owns interests in joint venture interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline systems. The Midstream Gas and Liquids segment includes natural gas gathering, processing, and treating facilities; and crude oil gathering and transportation facilities that serve the producing basins in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, the Gulf of Mexico, and Pennsylvania. Williams Partners GP LLC serves as the general partner of the company. Williams Partners L.P . was founded in 2005 and is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Aaron Levitt]
When it comes to natural gas, Williams Partners (WPZ) is simply one of the biggest players. The firm is one of the leading midstream players in the prolific Marcellus shale. That dominance has WPZ�� network of pipelines carrying roughly 14% of all the natural gas consumed in the U.S.
[By Stone Fox Capital]
Williams has one of the leading energy infrastructures in North America. It owns interests in, or operates, 15,000 miles of interstate gas pipelines, 1,000 miles of NGL transportation pipelines, and more than 10,000 miles of oil and gas gathering pipelines. It owns more than 70% of Williams Partners L.P. (WPZ), one of the largest diversified energy master limited partnerships.
[By Dividend]
Here are my most promising stocks from the list:

Williams Partners (WPZ) has a market capitalization of $19.99 billion. The company employs 3,658 people, generates revenue of $7.320 billion and has a net income of $1.232 billion. Williams Partners�� earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $2.273 billion. The EBITDA margin is 31.05 percent (the operating margin is 20.72 percent and the net profit margin 16.83 percent).

10 Best Energy Stocks To Own Right Now: Transocean Ltd (RIGN)

Transocean Ltd. (Transocean) is an international provider of offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells. The Company operates in two segments: contract drilling services and drilling management services. Contract drilling services, the Company�� primary business, involves contracting its mobile offshore drilling fleet, related equipment and work crews primarily on a dayrate basis to drill oil and gas wells. Its drilling management services segment provides oil and gas drilling management services on either a dayrate basis or a completed-project, fixed-price (or turnkey) basis, as well as drilling engineering and drilling project management services. As of February 14, 2012, it owned or had partial ownership interests in and operated 134 mobile offshore drilling units. On October 4, 2011, the Company acquired Aker Drilling ASA (Aker Drilling). In February 2011, it sold the subsidiary that owns the High-Specification Jackup Trident 20.

During the year ended December 31, 2011 (during 2011), the Company completed the sale of its 50% ownership interest in ODL to Siem Offshore Inc. In October 2011, the Company completed the sale of Challenger Minerals (North Sea) Limited. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� fleet consisted of 50 High-Specification Floaters (Ultra-Deepwater, Deepwater and Harsh Environment semisubmersibles and drillships), 25 Midwater Floaters, nine High-Specification Jackups, 49 Standard Jackups and one swamp barge. In addition, it had two Ultra-Deepwater Floaters and four High-Specification Jackups under construction.

Drilling Fleet

The Company engaged in both types of drilling activity: floaters, including drillships and semisubmersibles, and jackups. Also included in its fleet is a swamp barge drilling unit. It categorized the drilling units of its fleet as High-Specification Floaters, consisting of its Ultra-Deepwater Floaters, Deepwater Floaters and Harsh Environment Floaters, Midwater Floaters, High-Specification Jackups, St! andard Jackups and a swamp barge. High-Specification Floaters are specialized offshore drilling units that it categorize into three sub-classifications based on their capabilities. Ultra-Deepwater Floaters are equipped with mud pumps and are capable of drilling in water depths of 7,500 feet or greater. Deepwater Floaters are generally those other semisubmersible rigs and drillships capable of drilling in water depths between 7,500 and 4,500 feet. Harsh Environment Floaters are capable of drilling in harsh environments in water depths between 10,000 and 1,500 feet and have displacement, which offers variable load capacity, more useable deck space and motion characteristics. Midwater Floaters are generally consists of those non-high-specification semisubmersibles that have a water depth capacity of less than 4,500 feet.

As of February 14, 2012, the Company�� fleet was located in the Far East (27 units), Middle East (16 units), West African countries other than Nigeria and Angola (14 units), United States Gulf of Mexico (13 units), United Kingdom North Sea (12 units), India (12 units), Brazil (10 units), Nigeria (10 units), Norway (eight units), Angola (four units), Australia (three units), the Mediterranean (two units), Canada (two units), and Romania (one unit).

Contract Drilling Services

The Company specializes in offshore drilling business with a particular focus on deepwater and harsh environment drilling services. Its contract drilling operations are geographically dispersed in oil and gas exploration and development areas throughout the world.

Drilling Management Services

The Company provides drilling management services primarily on a turnkey basis through Applied Drilling Technology Inc., its wholly owned subsidiary, which primarily operates in the United States Gulf of Mexico, and through ADT International, a division of one of its United Kingdom subsidiaries, which primarily operates in the North Sea (together, ADTI). As part o! f its tur! nkey drilling services, the Company provides planning, engineering and management services. Under turnkey arrangements, it designs and executes of a well and delivers a logged or cased hole to an agreed depth. In addition to turnkey drilling services, Transocean participates in project management operations that include providing certain planning, management and engineering services, purchasing equipment and providing personnel and other logistical services to customers.

Integrated Services

Transocean provides well and logistics services in addition to its normal drilling services through third party contractors and the Company�� employees. These other services include integrated services. As of February 10, 2011, it was performing such services in India.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Corinne Gretler]
Nestle, which makes up 21 percent of the benchmark Swiss Market Index by weight, slid 2.6 percent after reporting the slowest first-half revenue growth in four years. Adecco SA jumped to a two-year high as the biggest provider of temporary workers posted income that exceeded projections. Transocean Ltd. (RIGN), the largest offshore-rig contractor, added 1.1 percent after posting a second-quarter profit.

10 Best Energy Stocks To Own Right Now: Newpark Resources Inc (NR)

Newpark Resources, Inc., incorporated on June 3, 1988, is a diversified oil and gas supplier providing products and services primarily to the oil and gases exploration (E&P) industry. The Company operates in three segments: fluids systems and engineering, mats and integrated services, and environmental services. The Company's Fluids Systems and Engineering segment provides customized drilling fluids solutions to E&P customers globally, operating through four geographic regions: North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Latin America, and Asia Pacific. The Company's Mats and Integrated Services segment provides composite mat rentals, well site construction and related site services to oil and gas customers at well, production, transportation and refinery locations in the United States. The Company's Environmental Services segment processes and disposes of waste generated by E&P and industrial activity, primarily along the United States Gulf Coast. On December 31, 2012, it acquired operations of Alliance Drilling Fluids, LLC

Fluids Systems and Engineering

The Company's Fluids Systems and Engineering business offers customized solutions, including technical drilling projects involving complex subsurface conditions, such as horizontal, directional, geologically deep or deep water drilling. These projects require increased monitoring and critical engineering support of the fluids system during the drilling process. The Company provides drilling fluids products and technical services to markets in North America, EMEA, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific region. The Company also provides completion services and equipment rental to customers in Oklahoma and Texas. The Company has industrial mineral grinding operations for barite. The Company grinds barite and other industrial minerals at facilities in Houston and Corpus Christi, Texas, New Iberia, Louisiana and Dyersburg, Tennessee. The Company uses the resulting products in its drilling fluids business, and also sell! s them to third party users, including other drilling fluids companies. The Company also sells a variety of other minerals, principally to third party industrial (non oil and gas) markets, from its main plant in Houston, Texas and from the plant in Dyersburg, Tennessee.

Mats and Integrated Services

The Company provides mat rentals, location construction and related well sites services to E&P customers in the Northeast United States, onshore United States Gulf Coast, and Rocky Mountain regions, and mat rentals to the petrochemical industry in the United States and the utility industry in the United Kingdom. These mats provide environmental protection and ensure all-weather access to sites with unstable soil conditions. The Company manufactures its DuraBase Advanced Composite Mats for sales, as well as for uses in its domestic and international rental operations. The Company's marketing efforts for this product remain focused in principal oil and gas industry markets which include the Asia Pacific, Latin America, EMEA, as well as markets outside the E&P sector in the United States and Europe.

Environmental Services

The Company processes and disposes of waste generated by its oil and gas customers. Primary revenue sources include onshore and offshore Gulf of Mexico drilling waste management, as well as reclamation services. Additionally, the Company provides disposal services in the West Texas market. The Company operates six receiving and transfers facilities located along the United States Gulf Coast. E&P waste is collected at the transfer facilities from drilling and production operations located offshore, onshore and within inland waters. Waste is accumulated at the transfer facilities and moved by barge through the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway to the Company's processing and transfer facility at Port Arthur, Texas, and, if not recycled, is trucked to injection disposal facilities. Any remaining material is injected, after further processing, into envir! onmentall! y secure geologic formations. Under permits from Texas state regulatory agencies, the Company operates waste disposal facilities in Jefferson County, Texas (Fannett and Big Hill). The Fannett site is the Company's primary facility for disposing of E&P waste. Utilizing this same technology, the Company also receives and disposes of non-hazardous industrial waste at the Big Hill facility, principally from generators in the United States Gulf Coast market, including refiners, manufacturers, service companies and industrial municipalities that produce waste. These non-hazardous waste streams are injected into a separate well utilizing the same low-pressure injection technology. The Company also disposes of non-hazardous industrial waste.

The Company competes with Schlumberger, Halliburton and Baker Hughes.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Travis Hoium]
What: Shares of energy service provider Newpark Resources (NYSE: NR ) jumped 17% today after the company released earnings.

So what: Revenue was up 7.7%, to $283 million in the first quarter, and net income jumped 11.1%, to $17.4 million, or $0.18 per share. Analysts only expected $278 million in revenue, and earnings of $0.17 per share, and the slight beat was enough to send shares higher. It didn't hurt that the report was accompanied by a $50 million share repurchase plan, which indicates that management is bullish on the company's long-term future.�

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Uncovering Value in MLPs

Energy sector specialist Elliott Gue, editor of Energy & Income Advisor, helps unravel the complexity of master limited partnerships—highlighting two favorites for growth and income potential.

Steve Halpern: We're here today with Elliot Gue, editor of Capitalist Times and the Energy & Income Advisor. How are you doing today, Elliot?

Elliot Gue: Good, good. How are you? Thanks for having me on the program.

Steve Halpern: My pleasure. Today we're going to be discussing master limited partnerships, specifically, recent IPOs in the sector. First, let's look at the structure of these investments for our listeners who might not be familiar, and you note that MLPs are usually comprised of two entities. Could you explain that?

Elliot Gue: Sure, well MLP, or a master limited partnership, is typically comprised of a limited partner, or LP, and a general partner, or GP.

Now, when you buy an MLP you're typically buying a stake in the limited partnership and what that means is that you're entitled to receive regular distributions, which represent a share of the cash flows generated by that business.

But with the limited partner, you, typically, have no interest in the actual management of the MLP so, in other words, you're not making decisions or voting on decisions like, "shall we make this acquisition?" or to go ahead with a new pipeline construction project, or to go ahead with new oil storage terminal.

That management path is undertaken by the GP, or the general partner. Now what's really important about this relationship is that the LP—which is, basically, you and me who buy the MLP—we pay a fee to the general partner in exchange for managing and helping to grow those assets over time.

That fee is called an Intensive Distribution Right (or IDR) and, typically, those IDRs rise—the share of IDR rises as the underlying distributions of the LP to the MLP increases. The reason it works that way is it's basically incentivizing the general partner to make decisions that allow the underlying LP to grow its payout to new holders or shareholders.

It's typically a very good relationship, particularly in the earlier years of a partnership's existence because it's designed to encourage growth and yield, and MLPs—most people buy master limited partnerships for that yield.

The average MLP in the US yields a little over 6%, which, of course, is many times what the S&P yields right now, so it's typically a very good relationship but you have to watch it very carefully because at some point in the future, you can get into a situation where the general partner is taking too large a fee as an IDR out of that LP which affects their ability to grow distributions going forward.

Steve Halpern: As you pointed out, in order to attract investor attention, these MLPs offer particularly high yields in the first few years. What specific factors do you look at to determine if these distributions will be maintained and continue?

Top 10 Performing Companies To Watch In Right Now

Elliot Gue: Right. Well, most master limited partnerships, or MLPs, are involved in what we call the midstream energy business. Basically, the energy business is divided up into three parts; you have upstream, which is actual oil and gas production. There are handfuls of about a dozen MLPs in that segment.

Then you have the midstream, which is really transportation and storage, so it's owning things like pipeline, like natural gas storage caverns like oil terminals and tankers. That would be midstream, transportation, and storage.

Then you have downstream, which is usually refining. There's just a couple of MLPs involved there. About 80% are involved in that midstream area, 80%, 90%. Now that area is typically very stable business.

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The expert featured in this column, Elliott Gue, may or may not own positions in any investment vehicle mentioned here. The views and opinions expressed are his or her own.

Friday, March 28, 2014

S&P downgrades Target following 4Q results

NEW YORK (AP) — Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its rating on Target following weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter results that were dragged down by a massive data breach and a disappointing foray into Canada.

The rating agency said Friday that it lowered its ratings one notch down to "A'' from "A+." The rating is still four grades above speculative or junk status. S&P says the outlook is still "Stable," implying further changes are not imminent.

"The downgrade reflects our expectations for limited recovery of credit metrics given continued operating losses at the Canadian division as well as potential costs related to the data breach," said S&P's credit analyst Ana Lai.

The move comes more than a month after the nation's second-largest discounter reported its fourth-quarter profit fell 46% on a revenue decline of 5.3% as the breach scared off customers worried about the safety of their personal data.

Target expects business to be muted for some time: It issued a profit outlook for the current quarter and full year that missed Wall Street estimates because it faces hefty costs related to the breach.

S&P noted that it expected that the breach will have a "somewhat lingering effect on customer traffic at least through the first half of fiscal 2014, but this should moderate over time." It said that while the costs related to the breach are difficult to forecast, it believes these expenses could be "significant but manageable given Target's good cash flow generation."

The ratings agency expects that Target's performance at its Canadian stores should improve this year as the retailer ramps up the new stores and resolves its out-of-stock issues. Last year, Target made its first foray outside the U.S. in Canada with 124 stores, but sales were below expectations and it reported a hefty loss for the division in the first year.

Target's shares were unchanged at $59.98 in after-hours trading Friday after rising 24 cents in regular trading. The s! tock is down about 12% in the past 12 months.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Alli weight-loss drug recalled for tampering

GlaxoSmithKline is recalling diet drug Alli after reports of tampering in seven states.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Alli, a popular over-the-counter weight loss drug, is being recalled in the United States and Puerto Rico because of possible tampering.

GlaxoSmithKline (GLAXF), the British company that makes the drug, said in a statement Thursday the recall comes after complaints from customers in seven states.

"A range of tablets and capsules of various shapes and colors were reported to be found inside bottles," the company said. "Additionally, some bottles inside the outer carton were missing labels and had tamper-evident seals that were not authentic."

GlaxoSmithKline spokeswoman Deborah Bolding said that 20 tampered bottles were reported to the company by 12 customers. She did not say whether anyone had consumed the fake pills, but she did say that no one got sick.

"We have received no reports of serious illness from the consumers who have reported these tampered products," she said.

The company is assessing the tampered products to try and find out what they are, she said.

GlaxoSmithKline described authentic Alli as a turquoise blue capsule with a dark blue band imprinted with the text "60 Orlistat," which is the active compound that prevents the absorption of fat.

23andMe: FDA ruling had huge impact

The London-based company said the questionable Alli was purchased in retail stores in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina and Texas. Bolding said the drug is also sold in Europe, but there are no reports of tampering outside the U.S.

The company said it's conducting an investigation with the Food and Drug Administration.

Back in 2010, the FDA warned that a counterfeit version of Alli that was being sold online was potentially harmful to dieters.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Get Ready for the Battle of the Bitcoin Funds

Latest Bitcoin news: SecondMarket, which already operates a Bitcoin hedge fund for wealthy investors, this week said it plans to expand the reach of that fund to retail investors.

Whether SecondMarket's Bitcoin Investment Trust becomes the first Bitcoin fund open to ordinary investors is now up to financial regulators, but it is expected to win approval before the end of the year.

latest bitcoin news The other contender is the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust, a Bitcoin ETF (exchange-traded fund) that twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss submitted to regulators last year.

The Bitcoin Investment Trust fund opened its doors to high-roller investors last September, but so far the less well-heeled have had few options for investing in Bitcoin aside from buying the digital currency directly.

The SecondMarket Bitcoin fund, which has $54 million in assets under management, would trade on the electronic marketplace run by OTC Markets. SecondMarket now must await approval from OTC Markets and FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

Even though the Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF has a months-long head start in the regulatory process, it faces higher hurdles as an ETF - it requires the pre-approval of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

While the SecondMarket Bitcoin fund will probably beat the Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF to the market, the Winklevoss option might prove safer for retail investors, as it will have SEC approval and will be denominated in dollars, not bitcoins.

Apart from the SecondMarket Bitcoin fund, it was another busy week for Bitcoin news...

Latest Bitcoin News: The Pros Are Getting on Board

Investing in Bitcoin was a major theme of the week. In addition to the SecondMarket announcement, Fortress Investment Group, Benchmark Capital, and Ribbet Capital said on Tuesday that they were buying stakes in San Francisco-based Pantera Bitcoin Partners.

Pantera runs a Bitcoin hedge fund that as of December was worth $147 million. Pantera Chief Executive Officer Dan Morehead said his company, which was founded in 2003 as a macro hedge fund operation, has completely shifted its focus to digital currencies.

It's just one more piece of evidence that major players in the investing world are getting serious about Bitcoin...

Researcher Aite Group LLC reported on Thursday that Bitcoin startups in North America have attracted $98.6 million in venture capital to date. Worldwide, Aite said $117 million of venture capital has gone into Bitcoin startups.

So it's no surprise that on Thursday, none other than Bill Miller, the Chairman and CEO of Legg Mason Inc. (NYSE: LM) subsidiary LMM, told Bloomberg Television that "Bitcoin is like making a venture bet. The potential return is huge."

Miller gained notoriety as the manager of the Legg Mason Capital Management Value Trust fund, which beat the Standard & Poor's 500 index for 15 consecutive years, from 1991 through 2005.

The Latest Bitcoin News - Quick Hits It's a Miracle! The bankrupt Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox announced late Thursday that it had "discovered" 200,000 bitcoins in an "old-format wallet." Mt. Gox said in February that it had lost 750,000 of its customers' bitcoins, as well as 100,000 of its own. Just as with the sketchy explanation for the original problems that led to the bankruptcy, the sudden discovery of a huge trove of "lost" bitcoins was met with widespread suspicion. One thing is certain: The Mt. Gox story is far from over. Bitcoin Payments Soaring: According to a Monday story in CNNMoney, the largest processor of Bitcoin payments, BitPay, is growing exponentially. The number of businesses using the service worldwide has zoomed from just 1,000 in 2012 to 26,000 now. Don't Count China Out: When the Chinese government announced restrictions on the use of Bitcoin last fall, Bitcoin prices plummeted, and many believed that Bitcoin in China was finished. But on Thursday the head of BTC China, the biggest Bitcoin exchange in that nation, told Bloomberg TV that Bitcoin is not banned in China and that the digital currency is continuing to gain traction.

Will you be investing in Bitcoin when the SecondMarket fund and Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF go live later this year? Tell us on Twitter @moneymorning or Facebook using #bitcoin.

In another corner of the tech world, Apple Inc. has quietly been putting together a strategy that will allow it to gain the upper hand in a wearable tech market that is forecast to explode over the next few years. Here's how Apple plans to dominate wearable tech...

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Disney's Numerous Future Potential Growth Catalysts

Source: Disney.com.

Disney (NYSE: DIS ) recently announced a lot of news at once. This news includes a third installment to the Cars franchise, a second installment to The Incredibles franchise, and new information about Star Wars: Episode VII. Disney acquired Lucasfilm for $4 billion back in 2012, giving it the rights to the Star Wars franchise.

Future installments
Cars 3 and The Incredibles 2 are both set to be released after 2015. In order to determine the potential for these two films, we must look at past results.

The original Cars had a production budget of $120 million. It grossed $244 million at the domestic box office and $462 million at the worldwide box office.

The sequel, Cars 2, didn't perform as well at the domestic box office, but it performed better than the original at the worldwide box office. This likely stemmed from the movie taking place overseas. This seemed to be a strategic move by Disney, but domestic moviegoers felt let down. Cars 2 had a production budget of $200 million. It grossed $191 million at the domestic box office and $560 million at the worldwide box office. Looking ahead, it will be interesting to see if Disney goes for the domestic or international moviegoer.

The Incredibles had a production budget of just $92 million. It went on to gross $261 million at the domestic box office and $631 million at the worldwide box office.

Then there's Star Wars.

Star Wars news
Disney hasn't given much away, but there are some clues. These clues include that some very familiar faces will be in Star Wars: Episode VII and that there will be a trio of new young leads. The only character that we know is certainly returning is R2-D2.

We also know that JJ Abrams is the director, that John Williams is still the composer, and that Disney's open auditions called for a street smart orphan girl in her late teens as well as a smart and capable male in his late teens or early 20s. And according to The Hollywood Reporter, Adam Driver will play the villain.

Disney's approach of dropping small hints every once in a while is brilliant. In marketing, it has been proven that this is an effective approach, as it heightens consumer excitement.

Other reasons to consider Disney
In addition to the above potential growth catalysts, which should further improve brand recognition, Disney owns ABC, ESPN, and all Disney channels; it's a retailer; and it's a theme park operator. This diversification is what makes Disney so attractive to many investors. If one segment falters, another sector often picks up the slack. Below is a breakdown of revenue per segment for fiscal-year 2013:

Fiscal Year 2013

Revenue

Media Networks	$20.36 Billion
Parks and Resorts	$14.09 Billion
Studio Entertainment	$5.98 Billion
Consumer Products	$3.56 Billion
Interactive	$1.06 Billion

Source: Statista.com

Disney's future potential with Cars, The Incredibles, and Star Wars franchises can lead to revenue gains in each segment. In addition to aforementioned growth potential areas, these brands can be leveraged to the television market, implemented in theme parks, and be made into video games. Therefore, these brands go well beyond the box office.

Of course, Star Wars: Episode VII should be a massive success. The movie wouldn't even have to impress moviegoers to sell tickets. The brand is that strong. And in addition to future installments for the Cars and The Incredibles franchises, Frozen will have a sequel and a show on Broadway, and Shanghai Disney Resort is set to open on Dec. 31, 2015. Shanghai is a wealthy and highly populated city with more than 14 million people -- a very good combination for Disney.

Disney also stacks up well against entertainment giants Time Warner (NYSE: TWX ) and Twenty-First Century Fox (NASDAQ: FOXA ) . First, consider top-line performances over the past year:

DIS Revenue (TTM) Chart

DIS Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts.

Twenty-First Century Fox has grown its top line the fastest, and that should be recognized. However, Twenty-First Century Fox doesn't have anything close to what Disney has in future growth catalysts.

Twenty-First Century Fox did deliver a 15% increase in revenue in the second quarter, primarily thanks to the inclusion of Sky Deutschland revenue and a 14% boost in affiliate revenue growth in its Cable Networking Program segment.

In regards to filmed entertainment and future brand potential, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Walking with Dinosaurs don't compare to what Disney has to offer.

Furthermore, while Twenty-First Century Fox is impressive, it doesn't compare to Disney in merchandising potential. With all the aforementioned movie brands, Disney will have extraordinary merchandising opportunities, especially with Star Wars.

As far as Time Warner goes, it has been growing the slowest, but it does offer a 1.9% dividend yield, higher than Disney and Twenty-First Century Fox at 1.1% and 0.8%, respectively. This might entice dividend investors, but Disney is very capable of increasing capital returns to shareholders in the future.

Time Warner's fourth-quarter revenue improved 5% to $8.6 billion in the fourth quarter. TBS (cables #1 network in primetime among adults 18-49), TNT (#2 network in total day among adults 25-54), and HBO (most Primetime Emmy Awards of any network) all performed well. Warner Bros. delivered hits Gravity and Her.

Looking ahead, The Lego Movie may inspire a sequel, and 300: Rise of an Empire continues a successful brand. However, while everything is well at Time Warner, its brands can't be leveraged to the same extent that Disney can leverage its brands.

The Foolish takeaway
Disney has several potential future growth catalysts, partially in thanks to the ability to leverage some of these brands across all segments: added installments to Cars and The Incredibles, a sequel and Broadway show for Frozen, Star Wars: Episode VII, and Shanghai Disney Resort. While nothing is a guarantee, it would be difficult to find another company that is so fiscally sound and "mature" while also offering significant future growth potential. However, please do your own research prior to making any investment decisions.

Disney is very impressive, but it's not Motley Fool's top pick for the year....
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.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Book Review: Meb Faberâ€™s Global Value

How does an investment manager reconcile all of the various prognostications he hears on a daily basis?Simple—ignore them.—Meb Faber, Global ValueIf you've never heard of Cambria Investment Management's Meb Faber, then you have some serious catching up to do. I consider Faber one of the most innovative strategists in the business today, and I found his research on shareholder yield to be compelling enough to make the Cambria Shareholder Yield ETF (SYLD) a core, long-term holding in multiple ETF portfolios I manage. (For readers unfamiliar with the term, "shareholder yield" is a holistic measure of shareholder friendliness that includes dividends paid, shares repurchased, and debt repaid.)Faber's latest book, Global Value: How to Spot Bubbles, Avoid Market Crashes, and Earn Big Returns in the Stock Market, provides the research underpinnings for Cambria's latest ETF offering, the Cambria Global Value ETF (GVAL).Faber is a "quant" who ignores the news of the day and instead focuses on the raw numbers. At its core, Global Value is a roadmap for implementing the value investing concepts originally espoused by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd in their 1934 classic Security Analysis in a systematic, quantitative manner.Specifically, Faber uses the cyclically-adjusted price/earnings ratio ("CAPE"), a metric popularized by Yale economist Robert Shiller, as a valuation tool to rank countries. In Faber's model, an investor buys the stocks of the cheapest countries as ranked by the CAPE.The CAPE divides the current market price by the average of annual earnings across the economic cycle, with 10 years being the most popular time interval.Why? Because using a single yea! r's earnings can massively skew the results based on where you are in the economic cycle. As an example, a collapse in earnings in 2008-2009 would have made the S&P 500 look expensive had you used a simple P/E calculation with 2008 earnings numbers, even though the market had lost half of its value during the crisis.Faber notes that the U.S. market is expensive today and priced to deliver lackluster returns in the decade ahead. This is consistent with the forecasts made by, among others, GMO's Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio). But Faber—also like Grantham—makes it clear that we are not technically in a bubble. "Overpriced" does not mean "bubble." The former implies disappointing returns; the latter implies the potential for a devastating crash. And some of the market's overpricing is a natural product of the low-inflation / low-interest-rate environment today.But while the American equity markets are looking pricey these days, there are plenty of values to be found overseas for investors with strong stomachs. Among the countries Faber notes as being cheap—and which, not coincidentally, are current holdings of GVAL—are problem countries Russia, Greece, and Spain.Do Faber's methods work? Indeed, it appears they do. Variations of Faber's CAPE strategy returned between 15.9% and 17.6% per year, compounded annually, from 1980 to 2013.The MSCI EAFA Index—the standard benchmark for international investing—returned only 9.6%. (These numbers exclude taxes, trading costs, and management fees.)Importantly, Faber's valuation models are intended, in his words, to be long-term strategic guides, not short-term timing tools. And had you implemented the strategy espoused in Global Value in 2013, you would have been out of the U.S. market—and would have missed the 33% total returns for the year. Of course, you would have been invested Greece (GREK), Ireland(EIRL) and Argentina (ARGT), which saw returns of 24.9%, 45.6% and 15.0%, respectively. That's not too shabby.I'll leave y! ou with a! quick summary of Faber's advice to improve your risk-adjusted portfolio returns:At a minimum, allocate your portfolio globally reflecting the global market cap weightings. In the U.S., that means allocating 50% of your portfolio abroad. To avoid market cap concentration risk, consider allocating along the weightings of global GDP. This would mean closer to 60-80% in foreign stocks. Similarly, ponder a value approach to your equity allocation. Consider over-weighting the cheapest countries and avoiding the most expensive ones. Currently, this would mean a low, or zero, allocation to U.S. stocks.I recommend you pick up a copy of Faber's Global Value. And for that matter, I would recommend his Shareholder Yield and Ivy Portfolio as well. All are excellent additions to any investor's library.About the author:Charles SizemoreCharles Lewis Sizemore is the Editor of the Sizemore Investment Letter premium newsletter and Chief Investment Officer of Sizemore Capital Management. Mr. Sizemore has been a repeat guest on Fox Business News, has been quoted in Barron's Magazine and the Wall Street Journal, and has been published in many respected financial websites, including MarketWatch, TheStreet.com, InvestorPlace, MSN Money, Seeking Alpha, Stocks, Futures, and Options Magazine and The Daily Reckoning.

Visit Charles Sizemore's Website

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Sunday, March 23, 2014

Hot Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now

Try one of these paths to pursuing your dream career without going broke.

(Money Magazine) So the corporate club isn't quite what you imagined: 11-hour days, constant deadlines, never-ending meetings. Your one ray of sunshine? Biweekly direct deposit.

No wonder 80% of workers in their twenties said in a recent Harris survey that they'd like to change careers. Why don't they?

"Many young people are reluctant to pursue jobs they're passionate about because of financial constraints," says Ellen Gordon Reeves, author of Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview?

Well, stop suffering. Here are three ways to go after your ideal career without resigning yourself to a lifetime of ramen.

Start on the side

Don't quit your day job; instead, test-drive your dream profession in your off-hours. A corporate worker eager to launch a business might dedicate weekends to devising a plan and researching potential investors (get help at score.org).

Hot Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Ethan Allen Interiors Inc (ETH)

Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (Ethan Allen), incorporated in May 25, 1989, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Ethan Allen Global, Inc. and Ethan Allen Global, Inc.�� subsidiaries, is a manufacturer and retailer of home furnishings and accessories, offering a complement of home decorating and design solutions through home furnishing retail networks. The Company operates in two segments: wholesale and retail. As of June 30, 2013, the Company operated 147 design centers and its independent retailers operated 148 design centers. Its wholesale segment net sales include sales to its retail segment and sales to its independent retailers. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013 (fiscal 2013), independent retailers opened 11 new design centers, acquired two from the Company, closed 12, and sold two to the Company.

The Company�� customer service offerings include gift card, on-line room planning and Ethan Allen Consumer Credit Programs. Gift Card allows customers to purchase gift cards through its Website or at any participating retail design center, which can be redeemed for any of its products or services. The Company offers, through its Website, an online room planning resource, which serves to assist consumers with their home decorating needs. Through the use of this Web-based tool, customers can determine which of its product offerings fit their particular needs based on their own individual home floor plan. The Ethan Allen Finance Plus program offers consumers (clients) a menu of custom financing options through the use of just one account.

Wholesale Segment

The wholesale segment, principally involved in the development of the Ethan Allen brand, encompasses all aspects of design, manufacture, sourcing, sale, and distribution of its range of home furnishings and accessories. Wholesale revenue is generated upon the wholesale sale and shipment of its products to its network of independently operated design centers and Company-operated design centers through its na! tional distribution center and one other smaller fulfillment center. The Company�� domestic manufacturing is included in the results of the wholesale segment. The Company operates four case plants (including one sawmill), three upholstery plants (two upholstery plants on its Maiden, North Carolina campus and one cut and sew plant in Mexico) and one home accessory plant. The Company also source selected case goods, upholstery, and home accessory items from third-party suppliers located both domestically and outside the United States.

Retail Segment

The retail segment sells home furnishings and accessories to consumers through a network of Company-operated design centers. During fiscal 2013, the Company opened seven design centers acquired two from independent retailers, closed four design centers and sold two to our independent retailers. As of June 30, 2013, the Company�� network of approximately 300 retail design centers and approximately 4,000 independent members of the Interior Design Affiliate program benefit from these marketing efforts.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Ben Levisohn]
As if to drive that point home, the Gap (GPS) is getting hammered–its shares have dropped 6.6% to $36.89 today– after its same store sales fell 3%, below analyst forecasts for a gain of 1.6%. Ethan Allen (ETH), meanwhile, has fallen 4.3% to $26.32 after the retailer said earnings would come in between 30 cents and 32 cents, below forecasts for 40 cents.
[By Gerelyn Terzo]
Clearly Bob's isn't new to private equity ownership, but it is new to Bain's way of doing things. So what can the company expect under Bain, which oversees $70 billion in assets under management? And is there a chance that Bob's will present an investment opportunity and join the ranks of La-Z-Boy (NYSE: LZB ) and Ethan Allen Interiors (NYSE: ETH ) in the stock market in the future? � �

Hot Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Sonic Corp.(SONC)

Sonic Corp. operates and franchises a chain of quick-service drive-in restaurants in the United States. As of October 03, 2011, the company operated and franchised approximately 3,500 drive-ins. It also leases signs and real estate. The company was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]
AFP/Getty Images You can never know in advance all the news that will move the market in a given week, but some things you can see coming. From the year's most important consumer tech exposition to a struggling casual dining chain reporting quarterly results, here are some of the things that will help shape the week ahead on Wall Street. Monday -- Steaks on Skates: When it comes to fast food with throwback charm it's hard to beat the retro ways of Sonic (SONC). There are more than 3,500 "drive-in" locations where guests can pull up to a parking stall and order burgers, shakes, and taters from intercoms. Things haven't been easy for the fast food industry. An improving economy is sending customers to the higher quality fare at fast casual concepts, which combine fresher food with quick service. Sonic has held up better than its more traditional burger-flipping rivals, posting same-restaurant sales growth of nearly 6 percent in its most recent quarter. It will provide financial results for its latest quarter on Monday. Tuesday -- Check In with the Tech Insiders: Consumer tech has never been hotter as consumers snap up smartphones and tablets. CES -- the annual consumer tech powwow -- kicks off on Tuesday for four days of companies showing off their latest gadgets. Wearable computing will naturally be a big part of the event, and we'll see on Tuesday how many companies will be aiming for this market with high-tech bracelets, shoes, glasses, and other accessories. Wednesday -- Ruby Tuesday in the Red: It's not just fast food that's feeling the pain these days. Many of the more ordinary casual dining chains are also struggling to woo the hungry. Ruby Tuesday (RT) is no different. The stock hit new lows three months ago after posting disastrous quarterly results. Comps are plunging, profits have turned to losses, and Ruby Tuesday has missed Wall Street's expectations in back-to-back quarters. Ruby Tuesday's trying. Its latest strategy has been to offer pretzel

Best Financial Companies For 2014: Washington Banking Company(WBCO)

Washington Banking Company operates as the bank holding company for Whidbey Island Bank that provides community commercial banking services in northwestern Washington. Its deposit products include interest-bearing demand and money market accounts, saving deposits, time deposits, NOW accounts, and noninterest-bearing demand deposits. The company?s portfolio of loans comprises secured and unsecured commercial loans for working capital and expansion; real estate mortgage loans, including one-to-four family residential and commercial real estate loans; and real estate construction loans, such as commercial real estate, one-to-four family residential construction, and speculative construction loans. Its consumer loan portfolio include automobile loans, boat and recreational vehicle financing, home equity and home improvement loans, and other secured and unsecured personal loans, as well as SBA guaranteed loans for small and medium sized businesses. In addition, the company pro vides non-deposit managed investment products and services, and sweep investment options. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 30 branches in 6 counties located in northwestern Washington. The company was founded in 1996 and is based in Oak Harbor, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Eric Volkman]
Washington Banking (NASDAQ: WBCO ) is diverting some of its capital to repurchase its own stock. The company announced that its board has authorized a buyback program for up to 775,000 shares. The program is expected to continue through the end of 2014, although the firm stressed that it "is under no obligation to repurchase a specific number or dollar amount of shares and the repurchase program may be discontinued at any time."

Hot Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Tortoise Pipeline & Energy Fund Inc (TTP)

Tortoise Pipeline & Energy Fund, Inc. (the Fund) is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company. The Fund�� investment objective is to provide a high level of total return. It focuses to provide stockholders a vehicle to invest in a portfolio consisting of equity securities of pipeline and other energy infrastructure companies. It focuses on pipeline companies, which are engaged in the business of transporting natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined petroleum products, and on other energy infrastructure companies. It focus invest at least 80% of its total assets in equity securities of pipeline and other energy infrastructure companies. It may invest up to 30% of its total assets in unregistered or otherwise restricted securities, primarily through direct investments in securities of listed companies. Tortoise Capital Advisors, L.L.C. serves as the Fund�� investment adviser. Advisors' Opinion:

[By Robert Rapier]
As I write this, Tortoise Pipeline and Energy (NYSE: TTP) trades at a discount of 15.1 percent to its underlying assets, while at the other end of the spectrum Cushing MLP Total Return Fund (NYSE: SRV) trades at a 17.4 percent premium. The average MLP closed-end fund listed trades at a 4.9 percent discount, which is perhaps reasonable given the loss of certain tax advantages and the fact that management fees will eat into returns.
[By Robert Rapier]
As I write this, Tortoise Pipeline and Energy (NYSE: TTP) trades at a discount of 15.1 percent to its underlying assets, while at the other end of the spectrum Cushing MLP Total Return Fund (NYSE: SRV) trades at a 17.4 percent premium. The average MLP closed-end fund listed trades at a 4.9 percent discount, which is perhaps reasonable given the loss of certain tax advantages and the fact that management fees will eat into returns.

Hot Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Plantronics Inc.(PLT)

Plantronics, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of lightweight communications headsets, telephone headset systems, and accessories for the business and consumer markets under the Plantronics name worldwide. It also offers specialty telephone products, such as telephones for the hearing impaired and other related products for people with special communication needs under the Clarity brand name. The company?s products are designed for specific markets and applications, such as offices; contact centers; mobile devices comprising mobile phones and smart phones; computer and gaming; and residential applications, as well as for other specialty applications. It sells its products through a network of distributors, retailers, wireless carriers, original equipment manufacturers, and telephony service providers. The company was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Santa Cruz, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Sean Williams]
Can you hear me now?
Unlike YRC, which I consider to be in awful shape, audio communication solutions maker Plantronics (NYSE: PLT ) is merely a sell in my book based on its recent share price appreciation.

Hot Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Transcananda Pipelines Ltd.(TRP)

Transcanada Corporation operates as an energy infrastructure company in North America. The company operates in three segments: Natural Gas Pipelines, Oil Pipelines, and Energy. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment develops and operates energy infrastructure, including natural gas pipelines and regulated gas storage facilities. Its network of natural gas pipelines extends approximately 60,000 km tapping into gas supply basins in North America. The Oil Pipelines segment operates Keystone crude oil pipeline system, which includes completed 3,467 km Wood River/Patoka and Cushing Extension phases, and the proposed 2,673 km U.S. Gulf Coast Expansion. The Energy segment engages in the acquisition, development, construction, ownership, and operation of electrical power generation plants; the purchase and marketing of electricity; the provision of electricity account services to energy and industrial customers; and the development, construction, ownership, and operation of non-regulat ed natural gas storage in Alberta. The company was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Paul Ausick]
The wait has been long, and�still�there is no resolution. On Friday afternoon, the U.S. Department of State released its supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) related to the Keystone XL pipeline project proposed by TransCanada Corp. (NYSE: TRP) to transport 830,000 barrels a day of western Canadian and northern U.S. Plains crude oil to Steele City, Nebraska, where it would link up with existing pipelines to continue on to the Gulf Coast.
[By Isac Simon]
President Obama's climate change address at Georgetown University has been hailed as among his best by environmental activists. However, the president's much awaited response to TransCanada's (NYSE: TRP ) Keystone XL pipeline, hasn't exactly been the best in terms of clarity.
[By Arjun Sreekumar]
TransCanada (NYSE: TRP ) , the operator of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, said it will be postponing the line's in-service date from late 2014 or early 2015 to the second half of 2015, as the regulatory process drags on longer than anticipated. �

Hot Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp (MTGE)

American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp., incorporated on March 15, 2011, is a real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company�� investment objective is to provide risk-adjusted returns to its investors over the long-term through a combination of dividends and capital appreciation. It invests to achieve this objective by selectively constructing and managing a mortgage investment portfolio consisting of asset classes that, when properly financed and hedged, are designed to produce risk adjusted returns across a variety of market conditions and economic cycles. In December 2013, American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp, through its subsidiary acquired Residential Credit Solutions, Inc.

The Company is externally managed and advised by American Capital MTGE Management, LLC. American Capital MTGE Management, LLC is an indirect subsidiary of American Capital, LLC, which is a wholly portfolio company of American Capital, Ltd.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Brian Pacampara]
Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, mortgage REIT American Capital Mortgage Investment (NASDAQ: MTGE ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.
[By Matt Koppenheffer and David Hanson]
After an incredible run-up this year, the broader market trend was downward this week, to the tune of 1.6%, but some of the stocks out there were hit particularly hard. In this video, Motley Fool financial analysts Matt Koppenheffer and David Hanson take a look at what was behind three big dives this week:�National Bank of Greece� (NYSE: NBG ) ,�Newcastle Investment� (NYSE: NCT ) , and�American Capital Mortgage Investment� (NASDAQ: MTGE ) .�
[By Amanda Alix]
As for American Capital Agency, CIO Gary Kain seems adamant that the trust will stay true to its agency roots, noting at a recent presentation that investors who like a little more diversity can invest in American Capital Mortgage (NASDAQ: MTGE ) , the hybrid cousin of the agency mREIT.
[By Sean Williams]
These spreads are what have allowed mREITs to pay out double-digit yields for years now. However, with spreads tightening as mortgage rates hit their highest levels in two years, dividend cuts are beginning to cycle through the sector. American Capital Agency (NASDAQ: AGNC ) , Annaly Capital Management� (NYSE: NLY ) , and American Capital Mortgage Investment (NASDAQ: MTGE ) all recently cut their dividends�in lieu of smaller investment profits.

Hot Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: j2 Global Inc (JCOM)

j2 Global, Inc., incorporated on December 14, 1995, is a provider of services delivered through the Internet. The Company provides cloud services to businesses of all sizes, from individuals to enterprises. The Company operates in two segments: Business Cloud Services and Digital Media. The Company's Digital Media business segment consists of the Web properties and business operations of Ziff Davis, Inc. (Ziff Davis). The Company�� cloud services and solutions include fax, voice and unified communications, email and customer relationship management, online backup, global network and operations, and customer support services. In February 2013, it acquired IGN Entertainment, Inc. On November 9, 2012, the Company acquired Ziff Davis. Effective March 18, 2013, it acquired MetroFax Inc. In April 2013, the Company acquired Backup Connect BV.

Business Cloud Services

The Company's eFax and MyFax online fax services enable users to receive faxes into their email inboxes and to send faxes via the Internet. eVoice and Onebox provides the Company's customers a virtual phone system with various available enhancements. The Company's FuseMail service provides the Company's customers email, archival and perimeter protection solutions, while Campaigner provides its customers email marketing solutions. KeepItSafe enables the Company's customers to securely backup their data and dispose of tape or other physical systems. The Company's CampaignerCRM business provides customer relationship management solutions designed to increase the Company's customers' sales and increase efficiency. The Company also generates Business Cloud Services revenues from patent licensing and sales and advertising. The Company�� Business Cloud Services and solutions are of two types: direct inward-dial number (DID) -based, which are services provided in whole or in part through a telephone number and non-DID-based, which are its other cloud services for business. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had DIDs issued! to approximately 2.1 million paying subscribers.

The Company's services allow individuals to receive and send faxes as email attachments. In addition to eFax , the Company offers online fax services under a variety of alternative brands, including MyFax , eFax Plus , eFax Pro, eFax Corporate and eFax Developer . eVoice is a virtual phone system that provides small and medium-sized businesses on-demand voice communications services, featuring a toll-free or local company DID, auto-attendant and menu tree. With these services, a subscriber can assign departmental and individual extensions that can connect to multiple United States or Canadian DIDs, including land-line and mobile phones and Internet protocol (IP) networks. These services also include advanced integrated voicemail for each extension, unifying mobile, office and other separate voicemail services and improving efficiency by delivering voicemails in both native audio format and as transcribed text. Onebox is a unified communications suite. It combines the features of many of the Company's other branded services, plus added functionality, to provide a virtual office. Onebox includes a virtual phone system, hosted email, online fax, audio conferencing and Web conferencing.

FuseMail offers hosted email, email encryption and email archival services to businesses. These solutions are hosted offsite and seamlessly integrated into a customer's existing email system. The services include hosted email, VirusSMART virus scanning, CypherSMART encryption services, SpamSMART SPAM filtering and VaultSMART / PolicySMART archiving, which delivers a secure, scalable email archiving and customizable compliance tool to correspond with a company's retention policy. Campaigner is an email marketing service that enables businesses to easily create and send personalized one-to-one email communications to subscribers and customers to build better relationships. Campaigner also helps businesses increase the size of their mailing lists, compl! y with em! ail regulations like CAN-SPAM and get more emails to more inboxes. CampaignerCRM is a cloud-based CRM solution specifically designed to help small/medium-sized businesses close more deals, reduce the sales cycle and sell larger deals. CampaignerCRM has a sales checklist capability that gives sales representatives a step-by-step plan to closing a deal. With CampaignerCRM's Social CRM capabilities, companies can seamlessly integrate a customer's latest information from Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook directly into their Contact profile. KeepItSafe provides managed and monitored online backup solutions for businesses, using its ISO-certified platform.

The Company's Business Cloud Services business operates multiple physical Points of Presence (POPs) worldwide, a central data center in Los Angeles and several remote disaster recovery facilities. The Company connects its POPs to its central data centers through redundant, and often times diverse, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) using the Internet. The Company's network is designed to deliver value-added user applications, customer support and billing services for the Company's customers anywhere in the world and a local presence for its DID-based service customers from thousands of cities in 49 countries on six continents. The Company offers DIDs covering all major metropolitan areas in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, and such other major cities as Berlin, Hong Kong, Madrid, Manila, Mexico City, Milan, Paris, Rome, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei, Tokyo and Zurich. The Company has customers located throughout the world.

The Company's Business Cloud Services customer service organization supports the Company's cloud services customers through a combination of online self-help, email communications, interactive chat sessions and telephone calls. The Company's Internet-based online self-help tools enable customers to resolve simple issues on their own, eliminating the need to speak or write to the Company's customer service re! presentat! ives. The Company's Business Cloud Services segment customer service organization provides email support seven days per week, 24 hours per day to all subscribers. Paying subscribers have access to live-operator telephone support seven days per week, 24 hours per day. Dedicated telephone support is provided for corporate customers 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Live sales and customer support services are available in nine languages, including English, Spanish, Dutch, German, French and Cantonese.

Digital Media

The Ziff Davis portfolio of Web properties, including PCMag.com, ExtremeTech.com, Geek.com, ComputerShopper.com, LogicBuy.com and Toolbox.com features reviews of technology products, technology-oriented news and commentary, professional networking tools for IT professionals and online deals and discounts for consumers. The Company generates Digital Media revenues from the sale of display advertising targeted to in-market technology buyers and from the sale of customer leads to online merchants and business-to-business leads to IT vendors. During the year ended December 31, 2012, Digital Media Web properties attracted 345 million visits and 1.1 billion page views.

PCMag is a trusted online resource for laboratory-based product reviews, technology news and buying guides. Toolbox.com is a network of online communities that allows experienced technology professionals to share collective knowledge and collaborate to resolve problems more efficiently. Toolbox.com includes professional networking tools, blogs, collaboration tools and reference guides. Geek.com is an online technology resource and community for technology enthusiasts and professionals. Its gaming site includes IGN.com and men's lifestyle site includes AskMen.com.

The Company competes with Google AdSense, DoubleClick Ad Exchange, AOL's Ad.com and Microsoft Media Network.

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 j2 Global (Nasdaq: JCOM ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
[By Chuck Carnevale]
j2 Global Inc. (JCOM)
One company that many readers may not be familiar with is j2 Global Inc. My purpose in featuring this aggressive candidate was to offer an example of a historically pure growth technology company that appears to be morphing into a dividend growth stock. But before I show that, I offer the following slide that provides an overview of j2 Global�� business.
[By Rich Smith]
j2 Global (NASDAQ: JCOM ) just keeps on growing -- by acquisition.

In its third corporate purchase in the past three months, j2 announced this morning that it has acquired Netherlands-based Backup Connect BV, a provider of online data backup services.

Hot Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: San Juan Basin Royalty Trust (SJT)

San Juan Basin Royalty Trust (the Trust) is an express trust created by the San Juan Basin Royalty Trust Indenture, between Southland Royalty Company (Southland Royalty) and The Fort Worth National Bank. The Trustee of the Trust is Compass Bank. The function of the Trustee is to collect the net proceeds attributable to the Royalty (Royalty Income), to pay all expenses and charges of the Trust and distribute the remaining available income to the Unit Holders. The Royalty conveyed to the Trust was carved out of Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Company LP�� (Burlington) working interests and royalty interests in certain properties situated in the San Juan Basin in northwestern New Mexico.

Burlington is the principal operator of the Underlying Properties. A percentage of the Royalty Income is attributable to the production and sale by Burlington of natural gas from the Underlying Properties. The Underlying Properties are primarily gas producing properties. The Underlying Properties consist of working interests, royalty interests, overriding royalty interests and other contractual rights in 151,900 gross (119,000 net) producing acres in San Juan, Rio Arriba and Sandoval Counties of northwestern New Mexico and 4,015 gross (1,158.5 net) wells. Gas produced in the San Juan Basin is sold in both interstate and intrastate commerce. Gas production from the properties totaled 32,580,756 million cubic feet (Mcf), during the year ended December 31, 2012. Gas produced from the Underlying Properties is processed at one of the five plants: Chaco, Val Verde, Milagro, Ignacio, and Kutz, all located in the San Juan Basin. Gas produced from the Underlying Properties and processed at Kutz is being sold under three separate contracts with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), Shell Energy North America (US), LP (Shell) and New Mexico Gas Company, Inc. (NMGC).

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Rich Duprey]
San Juan Basin Royalty Trust (NYSE: SJT ) announced yesterday its July monthly distribution of $0.080643�per unit, based principally upon production during the month of April.