Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Top 10 Consumer Service Companies For 2014

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Brunswick (NYSE: BC  ) were getting fired up today, climbing as much as 12% after issuing a strong quarterly report and improved guidance. �

So what: The boat-and-engine maker delivered an adjusted profit of $1.23 per share, better than expectations of $1.08, as revenue edged up 5%, to $1.1 billion, helped by growth in outboard boat products, fitness equipment, and bowling products. Most importantly, the company lifted its outlook for the full year, saying it now expects earnings per share of $2.55-$2.65, up from a previous range of $2.30-$2.50. Analysts had called for $2.50. The increase is due, in part, to aspects outside of operations, including a favorable debt-financing agreement and a lower tax rate.

Now what: Despite a weak marine market, Brunswick keeps on pleasing the Street. Though management is only forecasting 4% sales growth for the year, improvements in profitability are enough to keep earnings growing a solid pace. Even with the sluggish economy, Brunswick looks like a decent bet, but if the recovery picks up and boat sales improve, the stock could surge once again.

Top High Tech Companies To Watch In Right Now: JDS Uniphase Corporation(JDSU)

JDS Uniphase Corporation provides communications test and measurement solutions, and optical products for telecommunications service providers, wireless operators, cable operators, network-equipment manufacturers, and enterprises worldwide. The company?s Communications Test and Measurement segment supplies instruments, software, and services to enable the design, deployment, and maintenance of communication equipment and networks. Its product portfolio consists of test tools, platforms, software, and services for wireless and fixed networks. The company?s Communications and Commercial Optical Products segment offers components, modules, subsystems, and solutions that are used by communications equipment providers for telecommunications and enterprise data communications. This segment?s products comprise transmitters, receivers, amplifiers, ROADMs, optical transceivers, multiplexers and demultiplexers, switches, optical-performance monitors and couplers, splitters, and circ ulators, which enable the transmission of video, audio, and text data through fiber-optic cables. It also provides various laser products, including diode, direct-diode, diode-pumped solid-state, fiber, and gas lasers for micromachining, materials processing, bioinstrumentation, consumer electronics, graphics, medical/dental, and optical pumping; and photovoltaic products, such as concentrated photovoltaic cells and receivers for generating energy from sunlight, as well as fiber optic-based systems for delivering and measuring electrical power. The company?s Advanced Optical Technologies segment offers optical solutions for security and brand-differentiation applications; and thin film coatings for a range of public and private-sector markets. This segment also provides multilayer product-security solutions that deliver overt, covert, forensic, and digital product and document verification. JDS Uniphase Corporation was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Milpitas, Califo rnia.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    Facebook certainly took the spotlight in the decision from S&P Dow Jones Indices to include the social media giant in the S&P 500. But lost in the Facebook news was the fact that Alliance Data Systems (NYSE: ADS  ) and Mohawk Industries (NYSE: MHK  ) also gained admission to the prestigious index, while Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF  ) , JDS Uniphase (NASDAQ: JDSU  ) , and Teradyne (NYSE: TER  ) made their exit. Let's take a closer look at the other winners and losers in the Facebook index shuffle.

  • [By FinanceGuru]

    Compelling product and customer base Finisar appears to have one of the broadest product portfolios in the industry. While the firm does have a number of potent competitors, notably JDS Uniphase (JDSU) in the telecom space and Avago (AVGO) in the datacom space, it appears that no other company matches the breadth of Finisar's product offerings across both of these segments.

  • [By Stephen Simpson, CFA]

    PCTEL's other major business is in test equipment, particularly scanning receivers that are used to monitor, optimize, and diagnose problems in wireless networks. While this is a smaller market (by at least an order of magnitude), the company has carved out a good niche against rivals like Anritsu and JDSU (JDSU).

  • [By John Divine]

    Lastly, JDS Uniphase (NASDAQ: JDSU  ) shed 3.6% today. The company makes equipment that measures and tests the use of communications technology, and naturally many of its customers include players in the telecom business. Unfortunately for JDS shareholders, telecom was the worst-performing sector in the market today. Like Micron, shares are extraordinarily volatile -- they swing nearly three times more violently than the average stock -- so even a slight setback like today's sluggish telecom sector can cause chaotic price movements.

Top 10 Consumer Service Companies For 2014: Vornado Realty Trust(VNO)

Vornado Realty Trust is a privately owned real estate investment trust. The trust engages in investment, ownership, and management of commercial real estate. It invests in the real estate markets of United States. The trust primarily invests in office, industrial and retail properties. Vornado Realty Trust is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dimitra DeFotis]

    Among real estate trusts:

    American Tower��(AMT),�the diversified �REIT, is the best performer in the index.�It was�up 4.6% after saying�Friday it will buy the parent of tower operator Global Tower Partners for $4.8 billion. HCP (HCP), a healthcare REIT, was�up 3.3%. Prologis (PLD) an industrial REIT, was�up 2.8%. Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) was�up 2.7%. Boston Properties (BXP), the office REIT, was�up 2.3%. Equity Residential (EQR), a residential REIT, was�up 2.4%. Ventas (VTR), a healthcare REIT, was�up 2%.

     

  • [By Dividend King]

    Earnings per share (TTM) came in at $3.48, compared to -$0.33, $1.46, and $4.17 for competitors General Growth Properties Inc. (GGP), Macerich Co. (MAC) and Vornado Realty Trust (VNO), respectively.

  • [By Robert Hsu]

    Name Type of Security� Recommendation� Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: KMP) � MLP August 15, 2013� TeeKay LNG Partners L.P.� (NYSE: TGP) � MLP September 16, 2013� PowerShares S&P 500 BuyWrite Portfol ETF� (NYSE Arca: PBP)� Buy-Write ETF September 30, 2013� Madison Covered Call Equity Strtgy Fd (NYSE: MCN)� Buy-Write ETF September 30, 2013� Nuveen Equity Premium Opportunity Fund (NYSE: JSN)� Buy-Write ETF September 30, 2013� BlackRockEnhanced Dividend Achievers Tr (NYSE: BDJ)� Buy-Write ETF September 30, 2013� Vornado Realty Trust � (NYSE: VNO)� Real Estate
    Investment
    Trust September 26, 2013�

    Robert Hsu is the editor of Permanent Wealth Investor and a former hedge fund portfolio manager at Wall Street powerhouse Goldman Sachs. He retired from Goldman at age 31. He since has come out of retirement to establish and preside over his money management firm, Absolute Return Capital Advisors. His retirement experience has given him his current mission: helping investors like you achieve their goal of comfortable retirement through profitable income strategies.

Top 10 Consumer Service Companies For 2014: Landauer Inc (LDR)

Landauer, Inc. (Landauer) is a provider of technical and analytical services to determine occupational and environmental radiation exposure. The Company is domestic provider of outsourced medical physics services. The Company operates in two segments: Radiation Monitoring and Medical Physics. The Company has provided radiation dosimetry services to hospitals, medical and dental offices, universities, national laboratories, nuclear facilities and other industries. Landauer's services include the manufacture of radiation detection monitors, the distribution and collection of the monitors to and from customers, and the analysis and reporting of exposure findings. In addition to providing analytical services, the Company leases or sells dosimetry detectors and reading equipment to customers. Medical physics services are provided through the Company's Global Physics Solutions, Inc. (GPS) subsidiary. In November 2011, it acquired IZI Medical Products, LLC.

In November 2009, Landauer completed the acquisition of GPS. GPS is a nationwide service provider of clinical physics support, equipment commissioning and accreditation support and imaging equipment testing. In June 2010, Landauer, through its GPS subsidiary, completed the acquisition of Upstate Medical Physics (UMP), a provider of imaging physics services in New York. In November 2009, Landauer completed the acquisition of Gammadata Matteknik AB (GDM), a Swedish provider of radon measurement services. GDM provides measurement services throughout the Scandinavian region and Europe. In October 2009, Landauer completed the acquisition of dosimetry service in Sweden, called Landauer Persondosimetri AB (PDM).

The Radiation Monitoring revenues are realized from radiation monitoring services and other services incidental to radiation dose measurement. The Company enters into agreements with customers to provide them with radiation monitoring services, for a 12 month period. As part of its services, the Company provides to its custome! rs radiation detection badges, which are produced and owned by the Company. The badges are worn for a period selected by the customers (wear period), which is usually one, two, or three months in duration. At the end of the wear period, the badges are returned to the Company for analysis. The Company analyzes the badges that have been worn and provides its customers with a report indicating their radiation exposures. The Company recycles certain badge components for reuse, while also producing replacement badges on a continual basis.

The Company offers its service for measuring the dosages of x-ray, gamma radiation and other penetrating ionizing radiations, to which the wearer has been exposed, through badges, which contain optically stimulated luminescent (OSL) material, which are worn by customer personnel. This technology is marketed under the trade names Luxel+ and InLight. A component of the Company's dosimetry system is OSL crystal material. The Company's base OSL material is manufactured utilizing a process to create aluminum oxide crystals in a structure that is able to retain charged electrons following the crystal's exposure to radiation.

Landauer's InLight dosimetry system provides in-house and commercial laboratories with the ability to provide in-house radiation monitoring services using OSL technology. InLight services involve a customer acquiring or leasing dosimetry devices, as well as analytical reading equipment from the Company. The InLight system allows customers the flexibility to tailor their dosimetry needs. Landauer's operations include services for the measurement and monitoring of radon gas. The Company offers a service, which provides radon monitoring and, when necessary, remediation to purchasers of personal residences. Testing requires the customer to deploy a radon detector and return the detector to the Company's laboratories for dose determination and reporting. The Company assists with remediation services on properties where radon measurements ! exceed a ! specified threshold.

The Company competes with Mirion Technologies.

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 Landauer (NYSE: LDR  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Top 10 Consumer Service Companies For 2014: Prudential Financial Inc.(PRU)

Prudential Financial, Inc., through its subsidiaries, offers various financial products and services in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. The company operates through three divisions: The U.S. Retirement Solutions and Investment Management, The U.S. Individual Life and Group Insurance, and The International Insurance and Investments. The U.S. Retirement Solutions and Investment Management division provides individual variable and fixed annuity products, as well as offers retirement investment and income products and services to retirement plan sponsors in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. This division also provides investment management and advisory services to the public and private marketplace. The U.S. Individual Life and Group Insurance division offers individual variable life, term life, and universal life insurance products; and group life, long-term and short-term group disability, long-term care, and group corporate-, bank-and trus t-owned life insurance products to institutional clients. This division also sells accidental death and dismemberment, and other ancillary coverages, as well as provides plan administrative services; and offers preferred provider and indemnity dental coverage plans to clients. The International Insurance and Investments division provides international individual life insurance products in Japan, Korea, and other foreign countries; and offers proprietary and non-proprietary asset management, investment advice, and services to retail and institutional clients internationally. In addition, the company engages in real estate brokerage franchise business, which involves marketing its franchises to the real estate companies. Further, it provides institutional clients and government agencies with various services in connection with the relocation of their employees. Prudential Financial, Inc. was founded in 1875 and is headquartered in Newark, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Amanda Alix]

    A U.S.-born trend
    Sun Life may be a trailblazer to the north, but it first developed an interest�in this type of transaction after U.S. insurer Prudential (NYSE: PRU  ) snagged itself two such pension pacts last year. The first, with General Motors (NYSE: GM  ) (NYSE: GM  ) , involved the transfer of pension obligations for 110,000 salaried workers�by GM to Prudential for approximately $25 billion. Earlier in the year, GM had estimated that it would hand over about $26 billion�in retirement obligations to Prudential.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    MetLife (MET) has gained 3.1% to $48.53, while�Prudential�(PRU) has climbed 3.1% to $78.29 after Barclays upgraded the stocks to Overweight from Equal Weight Underweight. Analyst Jay Gelb and team explain why:

  • [By Wallace Witkowski]

    Insurers such as Aflac Inc. (AFL) ,�Allstate Corp. (ALL) , Aetna Inc. (AET) , Cigna Corp. (CI) �and Prudential Financial Inc. (PRU) �will also report, along with exchange operators Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) �and CME Group Inc. (CME) .�

  • [By Amanda Alix]

    So far, not so good
    Other companies -- like GE Capital, as well as MetLife peers AIG (NYSE: AIG  ) �and Prudential (NYSE: PRU  ) �-- have already earned that tag, which could push stricter new capital rules upon them. Though AIG and GE Capital are not challenging the classification, Prudential is appealing�its recent designation.

Top 10 Consumer Service Companies For 2014: Insignia Systems Inc.(ISIG)

Insignia Systems, Inc. markets in-store advertising products, programs, and services to consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers in the United States and internationally. The company focuses on providing in-store services through the Insignia Point-Of-Purchase Services (POPS) in-store advertising program. Its Insignia POPSign program is a national account-specific in-store shelf-edge advertising program, which allows manufacturers to deliver vital product information to consumers at the point-of-purchase together with each retailer?s store-specific prices. The company also offers Stylus software, which allows retailers to create signs, labels, and posters by manually entering the information or by importing information from a database; and laser printable cardstock and vinyl labels, including adhesive and non-adhesive supplies in various colors, sizes, and weights to retailers for their in-store signage and shelf-edge product information needs. The company dire ctly markets its Insignia POPSign program to food and drug manufacturers and retailers; and markets its Stylus software through resellers. Insignia Systems, Inc. was founded in 1990 and is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By CRWE]

    MINNEAPOLIS- October 26, 2013 -(CRWE Press Release) -Insignia Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISIG) announced that it intends to hold a conference call on Wednesday, October 30 at 4:00 PM Central Time to discuss the Company’s financial performance for the third quarter of 2013, which will be released Wednesday, October 30 at 3:05 PM Central Time.

    Participants may access the live call by dialing the toll-free number 877-268-1608 and provide Conference ID 98094181. Please be sure to call in about 5-10 minutes before the call is scheduled to begin. Audio replay will be available approximately two hours after the call until November 6, 2013 by dialing 855-859-2056 and referencing Conference ID 98094181. The audio recording will also be archived on the Company�� website approximately two days after the call until November 30, 2013. Financial information to be provided in the conference call, as well as information pertaining to the Company�� past financial performance, may be accessed on the Investor Relations page of the Company�� website at www.insigniasystems.com.

    Insignia Systems, Inc. is a developer and marketer of in-store media solutions, programs and services to retailers and consumer goods manufacturers. Through its Point-Of-Purchase Services (POPS) business, Insignia inspires shoppers and delivers value by providing at-shelf advertising solutions in over 13,000 chain retail supermarkets, over 1,700 mass merchants and 7,000 dollar stores. Through the nationwide POPS network, over 200 major consumer goods manufacturers, including Armour-Eckrich, General Mills, Hormel, Kellogg Company and Nestl茅, have taken their brand messages to the point-of-purchase. For additional information, contact (888) 474-7677, or visit the Insignia website at www.insigniasystems.com.

    Contact

Top 10 Consumer Service Companies For 2014: China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation(SNP)

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation engages in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of crude oil and natural gas properties primarily in China. It operates 16 oil and gas production fields in China. As of December 31, 2010, the company?s estimated proved reserves of crude oil and natural gas consisted of 3,963 million barrels-of-oil equivalent comprising 2,888 million barrels of crude oil and 6,447 billion cubic feet of natural gas. It also engages in the refining of crude oil; marketing and distribution of refined petroleum products; and production and sale of petrochemical products that consist of intermediate petrochemicals, synthetic resins, synthetic fiber monomers and polymers, synthetic fibers, synthetic rubber, and chemical fertilizers, as well as owns and operates oil depots and service stations. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China. China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation is a subsidiary of China Petrochemical Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jayson Derrick]

    Sinopec (NYSE: SNP) has agreed to purchase assets from Russian oil producer Lukoil in Kazakhstan for approximately $1.2 billion. Shares lost 3.77 percent, closing at $88.86.

  • [By GuruFocus]

    This screen generates 37 stocks in the U.S. market as of today. The largest companies among the list are BHP Billiton (BHP) (BBL), Intel (INTC), China Petroleum & Chemical (SNP) and Royal Bank of Canada (RY).

Top 10 Consumer Service Companies For 2014: Arrium Ltd (ARRMF)

Arrium Limited is an international mining and materials company. The Company�� principal activities are mining and supply of iron ore and other steelmaking raw materials to steel mills internationally and in Australia; the manufacture and supply of mining consumables products globally; the manufacture and distribution of steel long products and recycling of ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal. Its key businesses include Mining, Mining Consumables, Steel and Recycling. Arrium Mining is an exporter of hematite ore with operations in South Australia. Arrium Mining also supplies pelletised magnetite iron ore and some hematite lump iron ore to the Company�� integrated steelworks. Arrium Mining Consumables supplies resource companies with a range of key mining consumables, including grinding media, wire ropes and rail wheels. Arrium�� integrated Steel and Recycling include OneSteel Manufacturing, long products steel manufacturing business, and OneSteel Distribution. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By MARKETWATCH]

    LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australian stocks rose modestly in early Tuesday trade, with the market reacting to a mixed batch of earnings. The S&P/ASX 200 (AU:XJO) added 0.2% to 5,391.80, with BHP Billiton Ltd. (AU:BHP) (BHP) rising 1.7% after its July-December profit almost doubled from a year earlier, beating forecasts. However, smaller rival Arrium Ltd. (AU:ARI) (ARRMF) added 2.5% after reporting a swing back to profit. Other miners got a bump up from rising commodity prices, as Newcrest Mining Ltd. (AU:NCM) (NCMGF) gained 2.3% and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (AU:FMG) (FSUMF) added 1.2%, though Oz Minerals Ltd. (AU:OZL) (OZMLF) slipped 0.4%. Shares of Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd. (AU:CCL) (CCLAF) slumped 5.1% after the drinks firm saw a more than 80% drop in 2013 profit, weighed by a writedown on its fruit-processing business. Packaging firm Amcor Ltd. (AU:AMC) (AMCRF) lost 4.6% after its fiscal-first-half profit fell by about a third.

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